Chapter 56: Displaced

Sitting at the breakfast table in the quarters Ozpin had assigned me, I stared down at my bowl of cereal, still in a bit of a daze. The date from the day before replaying in my head.

Outside of dealing with Roman Torchwick, the random Grimm attack and Winter tearing said Grimm into dozens of little pieces, it'd actually gone pretty well. Pyrrha and Winter enjoyed their time, even participating in some of the games, winning more than a few stuffed animals that had, in turn, been stuffed into my inventory.

There had been a moment where it appeared as though the Amusement Park was going to kick us out for damaging their ride, but once it became apparent that Winter and I were Huntsmen and a Grimm was involved, they backed off.

"So," Maria said suddenly, placing a cup of coffee on the table. "What's next on the agenda? Are you three heading out on another mission or are you going to stick around a while longer?"

Looking up from my cereal, I met Maria's interested gaze. Winter, sitting next to me, dabbed her mouth with a napkin before she grabbed her Scroll. Pyrrha's spot, on the other hand was empty as she'd gotten a call from her mother that couldn't wait.

From what I'd been able to hear before she went to speak with her in the bedroom, her mother wasn't exactly happy, but not exactly angry either. It was somewhere in the middle, with a tinge of parental disappointment.

"There are a few missions that I have been looking at," Winter commented. Placing her Scroll on the table, she paged through the mission details Ozpin had sent her a while ago. "There's the haunted forest in the northern section where the Forever Fall and the Emerald Forest meet. All that's known is that there are a few Geist there, but it's assumed that there are others that are intelligent enough to work with them."

Eyeing her Scroll, I watched as she swiped through a few pictures. Old buildings with large claw marks, aging construction equipment that had been abandoned when the workers fled and a shadowy figure sweeping through the forest.

"Heh, sounds like fun," Maria hummed. "It almost sounds like the kind of mission I'd do back in my day. What else you got?"

"There is the dead marsh to the south," Winter replied. "Nothing grows there... Nothing even lives there, not even the Grimm. There were plans to build a completely Grimm free city there, but it fell through when everyone disappeared."

The images accompanying that one were a little eerie. Generally, Grimm left some kind of sign, whether it was a footprint, a few claw marks, or even a victim, but the only sign here was the absence of everyone that's been sent, including the Huntsmen that were sent to search for survivors.

"I might be a little out of my depths with that one," Maria admitted. "Got anything else? Preferably something that's straight forward?"

"... I could check," Winter said, going back to her Scroll.

"Take your time. It's not like I've got anywhere to be," Maria muttered as she went back to her coffee. Catching sight of my growing smile, her goggles clicked. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," I hummed. "It just seems that you want to come on a mission with us."

"Is that so," Maria smirked. "Well, you'd be right in thinking that. Beacon's just so boring and... Safe?" Maria tested, before nodding. "Safe."

"It is a school," I pointed out.

"For future Huntsmen and Huntresses," Maria replied. "They could stand to add a little more danger."

She did kind of have a point there.

"Well, I do have a mission in mind that shouldn't be too difficult," I hummed.

It might just be a trick of the light, but I could swear that Maria's goggles glowed a bit brighter. "What did you have in mind?"

"Ozpin did mention that there's a nest of Grimm to the east of the Forever Fall forest that need to be exterminated," I explained. "I was thinking about taking Team RWBY there, but you could tag along if you like."

The mission actually required a second or third year team, but, since I was going to be mentoring them, I could technically pick whatever mission I wanted and while this one was bound to be harder than the first year missions, I was confident that Team RWBY would pull through.

If not... Well, I'd be there to help out.

"Hm, interesting," Maria hummed, rubbing her chin. "You know what, I'm in. I could do with the fresh air."

I nodded and turned towards Winter. "What do you think?"

"Team RWBY performed adequately under my simulations," Winter answered professionally. "I think that some real experience in fighting Grimm will be nothing but beneficial to them," She nodded.

Well that took care of that. Now all I needed to do was confirm it with Ozpin and let Team RWBY know that we had a mission. At the very least, I knew that Yang would be excited.

"So–" I began.

The door to the bedroom thumped open as Pyrrha strolled out. "Do I really have t... No, mother, but... Can't I just... Alright." Slumping in defeat, her face tinged red. "You really don't have to... I can... Please don't make me..."

Despite my curiosity, I tried to ignore as much of the conversation as I could, but I did manage to hear my name mentioned a few times during the call.

Watching as Pyrrha marched, almost mechanically, towards the table, I blinked when she offered me her Scroll.

"My mom wants to talk to you," Pyrrha muttered under her breath.

"O...kay," I hummed. Taking the Scroll from her, I pressed it against my ear. "Hello?"

"Coal, it's wonderful to hear from you. I trust everything's going well?" Thetis asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine here," I answered, Pyrrha falling bonelessly into the chair next to me. "And you... How are things in Argus?"

"A little stressful, but that's to be expected," Thetis hummed. "I imagine you're wondering why I asked to speak to you?" She asked. "Well it's due to something that I heard from Pyrrha. Something that has me worried."

Well that was concerning. My mind was abuzz, trying to figure out just what it was that had Thetis concerned. Maybe the missions I'd been taking Pyrrha on, or maybe even how I was dating Winter alongside her daughter.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously.

"Her education," Thetis sighed. "I know she's training hard to be a Huntress and that'll keep her safe when she's out on missions, but I also want her to finish her education."

Oh... That's all this was about? That was a weight lifted off my shoulders. And here I thought I was going to be in for an argument with Pyrrha's mom.

"I could talk to Ozpin and see if I could get a hold of the coursework for her," I suggested.

"That would be greatly appreciated," Thetis replied. "I know it might be a little overbearing with my worries, but I only want the best for Pyrrha."

"I get it," I hummed, glancing between Pyrrha and Winter. "I do too."

A few seconds ticked by before Thetis answered. "Thank you. You can hand the Scroll back to Pyrrha now. It was nice hearing from you again, Coal. Be sure to call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, uh, you too," I replied, before handing the Scroll back to Pyrrha. "She wants to talk to you again."

Nodding, Pyrrha took her Scroll back. "Mother, yes... He will... Yes, I promise I'll resume my studies. I love you too, bye."

Grinning, Maria waited for Pyrrha to end her call before adding her two cents. "You know, right about now's the time where I'd be asking what that was about, but I think I got the gist of it. Someone's been neglecting their studies."

"I... Yes," Pyrrha sighed in defeat. "With all of the training we've been doing and, well... Salem. I didn't really see the point in devoting much time to studying."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Maria hummed, finishing her morning coffee. "Sure the certificate itself might open a few doors, but what really matters is how you cope out there. Everything else is just extra."

Pyrrha perked up a little at that.

Winter coughed lightly. "Yes, well that may be true to some extent, there is important information that you could be missing out on. I would be more than happy to help tutor you, if you would like," She offered. "As a Specialist, I have a wealth of knowledge that could save your life one day."

"So long as it's not a bother," Pyrrha smiled. "I do have a lot of catching up to do."

"Then we can begin immediately," Winter answered confidently, before shooting me a quick look. "However, that does mean that we'll be missing out on a mission."

"Mission?" Pyrrha asked.

"Just a small Grimm extermination mission that I'm taking Team RWBY on, nothing too important," I replied. "All you'll miss out on is being crammed into an airship alongside several other people for a few hours."

I seriously needed to look into getting my own Airship. Beacons worked, but they were far from comfortable. Maybe once we got back... Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

"Well," Pyrrha hummed softly, looking a little conflicted. "I suppose I wouldn't be missing out on much..." She trailed off.

"You really won't," I hummed.

Giving her a small peck on the cheek, I found Winter shooting a few glances my way. Leaning over, I gave her a quick peck as well, gaining a satisfied smile from the Schnee Specialist.

...Breathe...

Waiting by one of the several Airships that were currently stored in Beacon, Ruby was stuck between bouncing on the balls of her feet and taking a nap.

On one hand, they were about to go on a super cool mission with their mentor while everyone else would be stuck collecting sap in the Forever Fall Forest. On the other one... She'd just pulled an all nighter modifying Crescent Rose and had really been looking forward to getting some sleep.

If she'd only known that it'd come to this, she'd... Well, she probably would have pulled that all nighter again, but how could she not. She'd just bought those sweet new weapon mods, one of which being a scope that could see nearly two miles away.

Oh, oh, and that wasn't even mentioning the types of Dust she'd bought for herself. Now she'd be able to blow up Grimm with extra style.

She'd even gotten something small for her teammates as well... Tea for Blake, some kind of miniature cake for Weiss and cookies for her and Yang. It wasn't the investment thing that Weiss wanted or the parts for Bumblebee that Yang requested, but hey, it was something.

Just a little something to help pick up their moods... And speaking of moods.

"You're sure that this is the location he said?" Weiss asked, pacing around the Airship bay impatiently. "We're not at the wrong place?"

"Yeah, I'm..." Ruby yawned. "I'm sure. He's probably just running a little late is all." Resting her eyes, she began to nod off.

"Yeah, probably," Weiss muttered. "Or maybe we are in the wrong place and we're keeping him waiting. He'll eventually have to leave for the mission on his own and we'll miss our shot."

"Or... Something a little less depressing," Yang suggested. "Since we're stuck waiting, why not do something to take your mind off of things. You're pretty well known for your music, right? How's that going."

Weiss paused for a second. "Admittedly, it's been going a little slow. Since I've been at Beacon, I haven't really had the time to record any new songs."

"But didn't you release one just the other day?" Yang asked curiously. "I think I heard Blake listening to it last night," She said, throwing her partner under the proverbial bus.

"I did, but that one was already recorded prior to my coming here," Weiss answered. "I still have a few more to release, but after that... Well, I'll need to look into recording a few more, although that would likely mean taking a few days off from Beacon."

"Then we could come with you and you can show us how it's all done," Yang grinned. "We could probably get Coal to come along too. I bet he'd be interested too."

Taking a few moments to consider Yang's proposal, Weiss nodded slowly. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask," She hummed softly. "And I have been meaning to ask Coal if he's interested in doing a few of the duets with me. Yes, I think I'll ask him when we see him."

"Ask who what?" Maria asked, suddenly appearing behind Weiss.

Letting out a short, surprised shriek that woke Ruby, Weiss pressed her hand to her heart. "Was that completely necessary?"

"It wasn't not necessary," Maria cackled, enjoying the affronted look Weiss was sending her. "Anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and let you four know that Coal's running a little late. He has to make a few arrangements with Ozpin. So what's this you were talking about?"

"I was just going to, uh... Just," Weiss said, struggling to find the right words. "It's nothing important."

"Smooth." Grinning, Yang slung an arm around Weiss' shoulders only to have it immediately shoved off. "So, since you're here, does that mean you're coming as well?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Yang," Weiss huffed. "If anyone else is coming with, it's likely Pyrrha and Winter, not–"

"Actually," Maria interrupted, smirking the whole time. "I am coming on this one. Red and White on the other hand... Well, they're otherwise occupied."

"Oh," Weiss muttered.

Letting out a snort of laughter, Yang slung her arm over Weiss's shoulders again, only this time, she wasn't rebuffed. "Aw, be too down, Weiss. You've still got us," Yang hummed, before leaning in closer. "And just think, this way, we'll have Coal's undivided attention."

Blushing a little at Yang's implication, Weiss smiled nervously.

...Breathe...

The smell of the forest always brought me back to when I first started training with Maria... Although, the Forever Fall forest did smell a bit different than the ones back in Mistral, likely because it hadn't been frozen over... I wasn't even sure if it snowed in this part of the world.

The flight over wasn't too bad either. The mission had changed a little, although it wasn't anything too drastic. At its core, it remained an extermination mission with a higher concentration of Grimm.

It wasn't anything too drastic, like the missions I'd been doing with Pyrrha and Winter, but it was difficult enough that Ozpin considered sending a graduated team.

There was also the fact that the Grimm had begun acting strange... Not enough to suggest that Salem was doing something. No, if that was the case, then Qrow would have picked up on something a while ago.

It was, however, enough to suggest that a more intelligent Grimm was in the area. One that was smart enough to use the surrounding Grimm to its advantage.

Currently, I stood back and let Team RWBY handle the Grimm that occupied our immediate area. They'd done a fairly good job at fighting off the Grimm, while controlling their Breathing.

They did stumble a few times and revert back to their regular breathing pattern, but, once they became aware of that, they immediately swapped over to Total Concentration Breathing.

It was pretty difficult in the beginning, especially when fighting Grimm, but, the more they fought, the more comfortable they should be using it in battle.

One thing I was particularly impressed with was their ability to work together. Whenever one of them stumbled, another would be there to help cover for them.

Even now as Ruby slashed through a few Ursa Major, Weiss remained nearby, ready to cut down anything that would try and harm her teammate. Blake and Yang acted in much the same way, one attacked while the other covered them, once done, they traded positions and the other attacked.

There were a few moments where it looked like they were about to be overwhelmed and I'd need to step in, but they managed to pull through by regrouping.

"On your left," Maria warned.

Hearing a growl, I turned to see a single Alpha Beowolf stepping through a bush. Pressing a clawed palm to a nearby tree, cutting it in the process, it launched itself towards me with its claws held forward.

Not feeling the least bit threatened, I let go of my sword and stepped into its attack. Ducking under its claws, I lashed out with my hand, stabbing a single finger into its skull, killing it instantly.

"Gross," I muttered under my breath, pulling my finger out of its skull.

Throwing its evaporating body to the side, I flicked the black fluid off my hand. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting when using the Finger Pistol, but that wasn't it. Feeling the Grimm's brain with my finger wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"Well what did you expect," Maria laughed. "It's not like they're filled with cotton candy."

"Yeah, well... I just thought I'd try something new," I replied, wiping my hand on my cloak.

"Heh, I bet you won't do that again."

Actually, I would. If I was going to unlock the Seventh Power, I'd need to master the rest and while it was a little disgusting, the Grimm here gave me the perfect opportunity to grind my skills.

Turning my attention back towards Team RWBY, I glanced down at my Scroll to see how much Aura they had left and found Weiss and Yang were starting to run a little low. Judging by the influx of Grimm, they were about to be overwhelmed again and two members were on the brink of exhaustion.

Taking a step forward, I readied myself to take down the approaching wave, my Scroll pinged, alerting me to a sudden drop in Ruby's Aura.

A bright flash of silver washed over the forest a moment later, blanketing it for a handful of seconds before dying down, leaving a frozen army of Grimm statues behind.

Blinking the spots of my vision away, I took a quick glance through them and found that they indeed had all been turned to stone. There wasn't a single one left alive.

"Ruby's certainly come a long way... And in such a short time too," Maria hummed. "I can't help but wonder what she'll be capable of once she masters those Breathing techniques of yours."

"Yeah," I agreed. Glancing down at my Scroll, Ruby's Aura gauge flashed red. "But she still has a long way to go."

Standing in front of a now crumbling Grimm, Ruby breathed heavily, straining to keep Crescent Rose in the air.

"Damn, sis," Yang whistled. "Leave some Grimm for the rest of us."

"Sorry," Ruby said, struggling to get her breathing under control. "Too many Grimm... Needed a break."

"Don't worry about it," Yang hummed, turning towards Maria and I, she waved us over. "Hey, does this count as the mission being over?"

While they did manage to thin the horde, there were still more than a few Grimm out there, but I could take care of that on my own while they rested. They'd definitely earned it.

"Yeah," I replied, making my way over to the group. "The four of you can head back to the Airship while Maria and I–"

A deafening shriek sounded through the forest, cutting me off.

"Guess not," Yang muttered while Blake and Weiss groaned tiredly. "Hey, you mind looking after Ruby. The three of us will handle this."

"What? No! I can still fight," Ruby argued weakly. Swinging her scythe in an attempt to prove her point, she succeeded in getting it stuck in one of the nearby Grimm statues.

Taking in the team's tired state, I looked towards the direction we'd heard the shriek come from and spotted the Shadow, waiting for me as it always did in moments like these.

The ground began to rumble as a line of trees toppled over.

"Shit!"

Rushing forward, I stopped in front of Ruby and Yang. Unsheathing my sword, I brought it up just in time to block a green, stinger-like appendage that had been aimed at Ruby.

"What the?!" Yang muttered.

"Move!" Maria called out as she ran forward with her scythe in hand.

Feeling the ground rumble, I took a hissed breath and cut through the stinger, forcing it to pull back. Wrapping an arm around Yang and Ruby's waists, I jumped back, just barely avoiding a massive pincer

Landing some distance away, I let out a relieved sigh when I saw that Blake and Weiss managed to get away. Maria, having stopped, stood a few feet in front of us, watching the Grimm cautiously.

Tearing free from the ground, the Grimm's full form was revealed. It was a Deathstalker, but it was strange. Various parts of its body were glowing a cyan green.

Using the Transparent World to glance through it, I was met with even more questions. Outside of its oddly glowing exterior, there were various pieces of metal embedded in it, forming an internal skeleton that helped protect its vital organs.

"That thing was engineered," I muttered softly.

"Engineered?" Yang said, looking a little concerned. "Salem?"

"Maybe," I hummed. "But I don't think so. It's too... Mechanical for it to be something she'd do."

Salem was more likely to shove a person into a Grimm than try and modify it with various pieces of equipment... Someone else had done this. Who? I wasn't sure.

There was something about the Grimm's appearance though... Something that was sparking a memory. It somehow looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it before.

Looking between the six of us, the Deathstalker let out a screech before several Grimm tore free from its sides and rushed towards us.

"Did that thing just..." Yang trailed off.

"Well don't just stand around and stare," Maria yelled, cutting down the few that had been sent our way.

"Right," I muttered. "Maria and I will go first, you two follow afterwards."

Running forward alongside Maria, I matched my speed with her and met the Grimm head on. Watching as the Grimm lashed out with a pincer, I slid under, while Maria volted over.

Taking a hissed breath, I lashed out with my blade, cutting through several of the Grimms legs before continuing forward.

"Sun Breathing: Raging Sun"
-200 AP

Cutting through the last two on my way out from under it, the Grimm collapsed to the floor, its movements severely stunted.

Maria followed not long after, landing next to me along with a good portion of the Grimms stinger.

"That was fun," Maria chuckled. "Now let's see how they'll handle things on their own."

Following in our footsteps, Ruby and Yang raced towards the Grimm with Ruby reaching it first.

Ducking under one of the pincers, Ruby held her scythe at the ready, only for Yang to grab onto it. Nodding, the pair of sisters disappeared in a blur of rose petals and speed, slicing the Grimm's pincer off, before landing a little ahead of us.

Seeing all of this, Blake and Weiss launched their own attack.

Jabbing her rapier into the ground, a pillar of ice surrounded the Grimms remaining pincer, locking it into place. Forming a Gravity Glyph under the Grimm, Weiss locked it in place, before giving Blake a nod.

Running forward, Blake examined the Grimm and, more specifically, the ice that froze its pincer in place. Jamming her blade into the ice, it cracked loudly, before shattering, destroying the Grimms final pincer.

All in all, it was a fairly brutal way to kill the Deathstalker, but at the same time, it was highly effective and would give me some time to examine it.

"Well, that takes care of that," Maria hummed.

"So, uh, should we kill it now?" Ruby asked.

"In a minute, there's just something I need to check first," I said. Stepping around the Grimm, I paused and looked towards the teammates. "Oh, and good job on fighting this Grimm. Even some of the older teams would struggle to take down a Grimm like this with such ease."

"Hehe, thank you," Ruby smiled bashfully.

"It's only natural," Weiss crooned happily. "We have been training hard as of late."

"You and Maria did the dangerous part first," Blake deadpanned, but still looked a little pleased.

"It was fun," Yang grinned.

Shaking my head in amusement at the variety of responses, I jumped onto the Grimm and began looking for anything that could give a hint to who experimented on it.

Spotting something shift inside it, I stabbed my hand into its body, doing my best to ignore how it felt and grabbed a metallic cylinder. Tearing it out of the Deathstalker, it let out one last screech, before going silent. Its body began to evaporate.

Hopping off the Grimm, I wiped some of the Grimm sludge off the cylinder and found myself staring at a symbol that resembled a molecule with what appeared to be an M in the center.

Why did it... Wait... Merlot?! As in Merlot's labs... As in Grimm Eclipse. No wonder that Grimm looked familiar, it was the freaking boss fight, but what the hell was it doing out here in the middle of nowhere? If I recalled correctly, it was supposed to be on an island somewhere off the coast of Vale.

"Find anything?" Maria asked curiously.

"Yeah," I muttered. "We're going to have to call Ozpin. It looks like there's a new player on the board."

Damnit... And I'd just reassured Pyrrha this morning that this mission was going to be a simple one.

And we're at the start of the small Merlot arc... A two parter at that. Maria tags along with Team RWBY while Pyrrha and Winter take a back seat in this one. The team get a little more experience in dealing with the massive hordes that the upper years deal with and Merlot's strongest creation makes an appearance only to be cut down immediately.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 61 on the spooky P word website.

P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 26th of May.
See you all then, dudes and dudettes.