Chapter 22

Ruby Slippers

The Emerald Tower's occupants could see for miles now that the morning sun had finally come out of hiding behind rain clouds. Bullheads filled the skies but for once they didn't belong to Atlas. They were property of Beacon Academy and were flying first year students all across Vale in order to fulfill their right of passage. Their first ever official missions as huntsmen and huntresses in-training, given to them directly by the grand marshal of Vale himself.

All except one team that is, who were sitting across from him at that very moment. Four chairs sat in front of a large clockwork desk with gears moving inside just like all around the office, but only three were occupied.

"So that's it then!?" Yang threw her hands up and leaned back in her chair. "Pat us on the back and tell us to do better next time!?"

Weiss glanced between her and the headmaster afraid she was pushing him too far but all he did was calmly take a sip from his coffee.

"I would have worded your situation better," Ozpin said, setting the cup down, "but in a manner of speaking yes, miss Xiao Long."

The heiress decided on a different tact than that of her hot headed teammate. While Yang was forward and blunt, Weiss Schnee was if nothing else calculative and conniving. She had learned from the very best after all.

"Please, Professor." She folded her hands over her lap politely. "Even if it's just the three of us, combined we still have the highest combat rating of any freshman team. We all know our roles and we've trained for what would happen should Ruby, our leader, go down in the middle of battle. We've passed every test Professor Goodwitch has given us with flying colors, and if we're not number one in a statistic or training scenario, then we're within single digits of passing JNPR. If we miss this mission and don't make the Vytal Festival, it would kill Ruby..."

She kept her face crestfallen but inside Weiss was pleased with herself. Since day one Ozpin had taken a keen interest in her team. Both Ruby and Blake had been asked to join Beacon Academy by him personally in spite of not having graduated from a combat school, and in her partner's case she'd skipped two years of training to become the youngest team leader in the school's illustrious history, while Blake had been given a clean slate on her record, meaning she could no longer be held legally accountable for her deeds in a terrorist organization.

Yang like her sister was the daughter of a tenured professor at Signal Academy and also the niece of the combat school's combat instructor, who also just so happened to be one of Vale's leading huntsman operatives having four tours of duty under his belt. An almost unheard of accomplishment. She was also with the possible exception of Pyrrha Nikos, the most powerful freshman and the reason the team's combat rating still edged slightly ahead of JNPR's even without Ruby.

With all that said however, the headmaster was also sitting across from the future head of the Schnee Dust Company. Her family not only manufactured over half the equipment used by the school, but they also contributed extensively to its funding as well as the three other academies, and had always been very generous with its donations every Christmas. Which come to think of it was just a month away, and a good word from her could effectively mean the difference between getting presents or lumps of coal...

Surely he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their chances of qualifying for the Vytal Festival, or risk upsetting a certain family or its long legacy in the tournament all because of a technicality.

"I'm afraid my hands are tied," Ozpin said after a long look at the heiress. "The rules dictate that a mission cannot be carried out without all four members of a team, and your missing teammate just happens to be your leader. Even I cannot bend the rules this time."

Weiss didn't want to believe that, nor did she. If she had learned one thing as a Schnee, it was that if the laws could not be bent then, they could always be rewritten.

'Perhaps Beacon could use even more funding?' she mused. 'Or perhaps they have more than enough...'

Her family also invested heavily in the school's scholarship programs for lower income students, which in reality was just a fancy term for student aid.

Before Weiss could propose her idea, or veiled threat, Blake interrupted.

"Has there been any news about Ruby's attacker?" she asked, breaking her silence for the first time since entering the headmaster's office.

"None." He shook his head. "Roman Torchwick and the White Fang have also been inconspicuous the past week."

Yang clinched the armrests so hard her knuckles turned white, but her partner once again spoke before either of them could open their mouths.

"Do you have any leads?"

The headmaster eyed her curiously just as she stared back searching for any hint of deception.

"Yes, I'm following up on a hunch that may turn up a few," he answered cryptically.

The blonde gritted her teeth in frustration. She didn't want hunches or possible leads. She wanted her sister's attacker found and beaten senseless, preferably by her own fists.

Blake followed her gaze knowing exactly how her partner was feeling. She'd been obsessing over Torchwick and the White Fang for months before their talk and it still threatened to overwhelm her. She also understood that if the professor could bend the rules he would. She was the perfect example of his rule bending. Yang was her partner however, and she would stand by her objections even if she thought it was futile.

"Isn't there something we can do?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, children, but you'll just have to wait patiently for miss Rose's recovery to be cleared for combat."

"But that could take weeks!" Weiss cried, losing her calm demeanor which seemed to take everyone aback. "That glass had traces of red dust, and it's literally burning her from the inside out. I spoke with one of her doctors and they said the medicine is hardly having an affect. They're doing their best to keep her wounds clean, but they're not even sure if they'll be able to do a proper skin graft for her feet this week. If it turns into an infection-"

"-I understand the situation, miss Schnee," he said calmly. "Those doctors do happen to work for me."

"She's been dreaming about this all year!" She slammed her fist on the desk which caused her teammates to stare at her in awe while the headmaster merely watched her from behind his glasses.

"Weiss…" Yang put a hand on her shoulder. Seeing how upset she was getting over Ruby's condition suddenly made her appreciative that she was her sister's partner.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, though not sounding as though she entirely meant it, "but look at her aura. It's been nearly three days and her aura levels have barely moved."

She pushed a button on her wrist scroll to bring up Ruby's profile, but Ozpin kept his eyes on his students not needing it to know the girl's vitals.

"The chief medical officer tells me miss Rose's aura is fighting the medicine, and combined with the aggravation of the red dust it's making this a slower recovery than previously thought," he agreed. "I'm sorry, but all you can do is be by her side and wait patiently."

The heiress froze as she unclipped the scroll's strap.

'That's not possible...'

"Weiss, what's wrong!?" Yang demanded, her heart skipping seeing her wide eyes.

"That's not possible," she said aloud shaking her head.

"What's not possible?" Blake narrowed her eyes readying herself for anything.

"I checked my scroll last night. I don't understand."

"Weiss!" Yang shouted. "What is wrong with my sister!?"

"GOOD MORNING, TEAM RWBY!"

The automatic doors of the headmaster's office nearly flew off their hinges as a small hooded figure posed dramatically in the doorway. A cloud of rose petals blew through the air as did a certain red cape that had been relegated as a blanket the past few days.

"Ruby!?" her teammates cried, jumping out of their seats before freezing.

"That's me," she beamed. "Sorry I'm late. I had to run back to the room to pick up some clothes."

The caped-girl twirled for her teammates and roses scattered to every corner of the room.

"What are you doing-" Yang choked. "I mean, how are you here?"

"I ran," she said proudly.

"No duh, dolt, we can see that!" Weiss snapped, losing her composure again. "She means how are you walking? You didn't just heal overnight."

"Actually I did."

*hic*

Ruby covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Well mostly." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. The important thing is that I can run again!"

A disheveled Goodwitch dragged herself through the door gasping for breath, and her eyes met the headmaster's.

'Sorry,' they said. 'I tried to stop her.'

Ozpin gave her a curt nod before turning his attention back to the newly arrived caped-girl. She scooted past her teammates who were all stared at her dumbfounded, and she stood up straight in front of the headmaster's desk.

"Hello, Professor," she greeted, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Miss Rose," he welcomed back. "It seems you no longer have need of your wheelchair."

"Nope." She giggled as her 'p' popped.

"What brings you to my office on a fine day like this?"

Ruby closed her eyes took a deep breath. "Team RWBY reporting for duty, sir." The team looked on in disbelief as she saluted.

"So I see." He laced his fingers together. "But I'm afraid yesterday was the deadline for missions to be accepted." Ruby bit her lip but otherwise looked undeterred. "And as you know I would never bend the rules..."

Ozpin's eyes twinkled as he opened a drawer to his clockwork desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. Her eyebrow raised in confusion, a trick she had learned from Blake.

"Would you look at that?" he said feigning surprise. "It would seem team RWBY did receive a mission after all. I must have forgotten all about it."

The professor handed the paper over to her who couldn't believe what she was holding. An actual mission request with the actual huntsmen seal. Her team's name was on the bottom along with her teammates', but above theirs written in gold ink was 'Ruby Rose' to signify her as team leader. Her hands began shaking as it was what she had always dreamed about, but when she saw the date beside the grand marshal's signature her eye's widened.

"You've had this request since we defeated the Paladin," her voice cracked. The girls all looked at each other equally stunned.

"It's a good thing I never throw anything away isn't it." He smiled.

Ruby didn't know what to say or do so she settled on the one thing her heart was saying. "THANK YOU, PROFESSOR!" She reached out to hug him but the desk was too large and she fell over nearly knocking over his coffee.

The headmaster chuckled before getting serious again. "Don't thank me just yet, miss Rose. You haven't even read what the mission is yet."

Ruby quickly scrolled down the page. "Grimm population control in the south." she read carefully, re-reading it thinking she missed something.

"What's the catch?" Yang asked, knowing it couldn't be that simple.

"The catch as you put it is that your team will be going to just south of the City of Vale to Mt. Glenn where the lost city resides."

It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. "You can't be serious." Weiss looked around hoping she'd heard him wrong.

"I am," Ozpin nodded gravely, "but you will be doing much more than just killing Grimm. Unofficially you will also be scouting the city in search of any clues that may point toward Roman Torchwick or the White Fang using it as a base of operations."

"You think they're hiding in the lost city?" Blake asked skeptically.

"It's a possibility I cannot ignore, miss Belladonna. If you do not turn up any leads however you will still be doing the kingdom a great service."

"It's the Grimm isn't it?" Yang said, knowing she was right. "They're getting out of hand."

"Correct. After the perimeter breach last week I think it wise to thin their numbers a bit. The city was lost decades ago to the Grimm and-"

"And you want us to retake the city!" Ruby cried excitedly.

"No," he said emphatically to deflate the caped-girl's hopes. "The city is lost for good. Even the combined efforts of the military and huntsmen have been unable to retake what was lost of Vale."

Ozpin cleared his throat looking into the distance where the silhouette of Mt. Glenn rose from the ground. "Your mission is kill as many Grimm as you can while searching for the possible hideout of the White Fang. You will be given one week to cover as much ground as you can, and will report back immediately should you find them."

"Yes, sir," Ruby promised.

He looked between the four girls standing before him and sighed. "I had hoped to pair you with another team so you could each take half of the city, but unfortunately they were unable to accept the mission do to personal problems at home. I will extend the mission if need be, but only at the discretion of your chaperon."

"Chaperon?" they all moaned.

"All first years must be accompanied by a huntsman, and I will be assigning an expert on the lost city. You are to follow their lead am I clear?"

"Yes, sir..." the team said reluctantly.

"While your real, unofficial mission is to search for the White Fang, let me remind you the dangers of Grimm." He paused to look them each in the eye. "Kill anything that gets in your way. The longer you are in the city the higher the possibility of the Grimm realizing you're there. By the end of the week you will most likely be hunted non-stop by an endless number of monsters. Avoid large skirmishes if you can and pick them off in small packs. You will be overwhelmed otherwise." The team gave a sizable gulp. "When the city was over run hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Huntsmen have gone into that city and never returned. This is not for the faint of heart, children."

He took a sip from his coffee and let that sink in. "We're not children..." Ruby whispered.

Ozpin smiled but but his eyes looked sad. "With all that said will you still accept the mission?"

Ruby paused and turned to her team. They all had understandable fear and uncertainty in their eyes but something burned in each of them.

"It's your call, sis." Yang grabbed her shoulder and stooped down so they were the same height. "You think we're ready for this?"

The caped-girl took a deep breath and swallowed. She had waited all her life for this moment. She was going on her first official mission with her sister and best friends. They were going to keep the people of Vale safe by killing Grimm and they were going to find the White Fang. No more waiting around in a hospital bed.

This was the day they had all been waiting for. "Team RWBY is combat ready, sir, and we accept!"

"Very well." He waved his hand with a small smile. "Any questions?"

The team shook their heads trying desperately to hide their excitement and worries. "Good. Your chaperone will explain more tomorrow morning before you leave."

"Tomorrow?" Weiss exclaimed. "Isn't that a little soon?"

"Freshmen teams already left this morning, miss Schnee," Ozpin pointed out. "There are a select few upperclassmen leaving tomorrow on their own missions and team RWBY will be among them. You leave tomorrow at O'six hundred from platform seven. You are dismissed."

The team stood there still processing the information. Eventually Ruby realized that they had just been dismissed from an official mission debriefing by not just their headmaster but the grand marshal himself, and turned to leave with her teammates hazily following.

"By the way, miss Rose." Ozpin brandished a devilish grin as she turned.

"Yes, professor?" she asked nervously.

"I'll be sure to give General Ironwood the news about your sudden bill of good health."

*hic*

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I'll let you interpret Ruby's hiccups however you wish. You'll get to see more of Ruby's condition next chapter as this was meant to set up the Mt. Glenn arc. It's nice to write something that isn't depressing. Once again thank you for reading and all of the feedback you guys have given me. Thank you. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who has made this story possible. God bless