Ding ding ding, the soft sounds of the school's bell marked the end of the class. The professor, an elderly woman with a commanding voice, made a few last remarks. "Students, remember to read sections four through eight of chapter three before our next lecture. These varieties of Grimm may not be common in Mistral, but you will almost certainly encounter them when you begin your careers as licensed huntsmen."

Pyrrha made a note of the assigned reading and packed her belongings.

"Woohoo! Last class of the day!" Nora leapt from her seat. This professor wasn't nearly as long-winded as Port, but she'd probably have been as excited for any other class to end. "What do you guys want to do now?"

"Mission assignments are up, you guys want to check them out and see if we can get a good one?" Jaune asked.

"That sounds good," Ren said.

Neither Pyrrha nor Nora minded, so they headed to the boards where the missions were posted. Along the way, many of the students moved aside without them even needing to ask.

That was a regular occurrence whenever Pyrrha went around Haven. At the beginning of the year, the students had kept apart from her, preferring to watch and whisper to each other whenever she passed by. It was better now, at least. From the corner of her eye, she spotted only a few who spared her more than a glance. Most just stepped aside without any trouble.

Fortunately, the Haven students keeping their distance didn't seem to inconvenience her team. Even before they'd joined JNPR, Ren and Nora had seemed perfectly content with each other's friendship. Jaune also seemed happy, satisfied with the friends they had now, and Pyrrha felt the same way. She would have like to speak with Blake and Weiss again, but her own team, Ruby, Yang, and Clark were plenty. They made for far more companionship than she'd had as a Mistralian champion. She truly didn't need to seek more.

She supposed that was also why she'd found it so easy to join Clark's Interference effort. Most other students might have been reluctant to spend weekend nights patrolling the city, but she didn't have much to sacrifice.

Her team arrived at the screens displaying the missions. They went to the ones for second years, which several other teams had already crowded around. As expected, once they saw Pyrrha, they gave team JNPR a wide berth. Admittedly, her fame could be convenient at times.

"Man, I can't believe we get to go on missions already," Jaune said. He browsed through the options on the screen. "It's not even two months into the semester. You guys have anyplace you want to go?"

"Somewhere a good distance away from the city. A remote town or village would be best," Pyrrha said. If she was lucky, they'd find a region where she wasn't well-known.

"Okay, far is good, got it." Jaune changed some options and sorted the missions by distance.

While they discussed which ones sounded the most interesting, Pyrrha picked up the conversation of some students behind her.

"That blond guy's her partner?" A girl asked. It sounded like she was trying to keep her voice down, but she was very much failing.

"Yep, that's him." A deeper, male voice said.

"Huh, doesn't look like much. Is he any good?"

A third voice answered. "Nah, I've seen him in combat class. He's average at best, can just barely swing his sword around well enough to keep up with his opponents."

Pyrrha clenched her hand into a fist. Jaune and the others seemed focused on the missions, so she was the only one who heard. It was on the edge of her hearing, so she had to focus to pick up what they said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you look at their team's fight for the Vytal Festival, you can see him in the background. He was even worse then."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. He was bad. If you watch it, you can't help thinking about what it'd be like if she'd had a partner who could pull his own weight."

"What, like you?' Another girl said.

"Nah, I'm not that good. Seriously though, something had to have gone wrong when a nobody like him gets to be her partner."

Excuse me?! Pyrrha slowly let out a breath. It was stupid to get upset over their opinions; they didn't know Jaune. They didn't know how hard he'd worked to bridge the gap between him and the other students in Beacon, how he'd tried to keep up his optimism during such a daunting task, and how much effort he put in to be a good team leader and friend. They didn't know anything!

"Pyrrha?"

"Hm?" She was snapped out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry Jaune, I was distracted. What was the question?"

"I was asking about what you think about the mission for this Beringel problem in Norona. We don't have any experience with Beringels yet, I think it'd be a good time to get some."

"Ah, yes, it definitely sounds suitable for us." Pyrrha calmed herself. She couldn't let Jaune know about what the other students thought of him.

"Yeah, I really think so too. Is it settled?"

Apparently, it wasn't, because something on the screen had caught Ren's eye. He stepped forward. "Actually Jaune, may I take a look at the details for some of the other missions first?"

"Sure, go right ahead," Jaune stepped aside to let Ren read through them. Then, he faced her. "You okay Pyrrha? Is something bothering you?"

"I'm fine, Jaune." She smiled to reassure him.

He didn't seem convinced at first, but then he smiled back. "Alright, if you say so. But I don't believe you." He bumped shoulders with her, getting a laugh out of her.

That sparked more conversation behind Pyrrha.

"Wow, look at how he is with Nikos. Hey, think he has a crush on her or something?"

"If he does, he should know to quit while he's ahead. He's lucky enough to get to ride on her coattails."

Pyrrha seethed at the accusations but did her best not to show any outward signs. Jaune had never once taken credit for success that wasn't his. She may have helped him spar and study for exams, but he'd been the one to put the work in.

She tried to remind herself that they were just ignorant strangers, that their opinions didn't matter. She'd received plenty of hate during her career, and she didn't let that weigh on her. If she thought rationally, this wasn't any different.

But it was. Strangers could disparage her all they wanted, but if they wanted to do it to Jaune? If she had been alone with them, Pyrrha would have raised hell. Here, all she did was bite the inside of her cheek. Couldn't Ren read through the missions any faster?

Almost immediately after she'd thought it, Ren turned back to them. His face was strangely blank. Not calm like he usually was, but . . . empty. "I've found a mission that I think would work better for us. It's for a village called Kuroyuri."

Pyrrha leaned forward and read the description. It was far enough for her liking, and it also described an issue with Beringels, but there was also an unconfirmed mention of a type of Grimm she'd never heard of before. A Nuckelavee.

"Wait, isn't that near . . ." Nora trailed off, her tone uncertain.

"In addition to the Beringels, the rare Grimm mentioned would provide us with invaluable experience. We won't be able to find information on what to expect from a simple search, we should have a mission like that before we graduate."

"Ren, are you sure about this?" Nora asked.

"I am."

Pyrrha looked between her and Ren. There was certainly more to this mission than what met the eye.

"Well, I don't see why not," Jaune said. "Pyrrha, Nora?"

"Whatever this mission entails, it shouldn't be too dangerous for the four of us to handle," Pyrrha said, offering some subtle reassurance to Nora. "I think it could work."

Nora silently studied Ren's face for a few seconds. "O-okay. Renny, if you're a hundred percent sure, then I'm with you."

"Thank you." Ren pressed the screen and reserved the mission to Kuroyuri for team JNPR.

\\\\\

Clark leapt back, dodging the scythe slicing down at him. Ruby kept up the attack. She spun her weapon around multiple times, making him dodge or parry the large blade. They'd decided to have a light spar, just a chance to get some practice rather than make an ordeal that drove Clark's opponent to exhaustion.

He had a feeling that was what Pyrrha and Yang were off to the side waiting for. They'd turned training with him into a sort of game, seeing who could last the longest against him. Pyrrha had lasted the longest, an hour and fifty-three minutes of heavy sparring.

Back home, that would have been considered clear superhuman stamina. Here, for huntresses at least it was an impressive feat but not anything to get worked up over. In fact, Nora and Yang had close times, one hundred and three minutes and one hundred and six minutes respectively. Not that far away from Pyrrha's record, which Clark hadn't expected Pyrrha to be so eager to defend. Then again, she must have had more than a little competitive spirit to have become a champion fighter.

They could be fun sessions, and Clark appreciated the experience they gave him. However, at the moment, they'd have to wait their turn. Sometimes he preferred a more relaxed pace.

As Clark weaved around Ruby's attacks, he waited for his chance. At times, Ruby held her scythe with only one hand. She minimized those moves as much as she could, of course, but it was unavoidable with her style. Those moments were when the path of her weapon was most predictable, since its direction was the most difficult to change. Even so, it was a bit of a challenge for Clark to find those openings without resorting to enhanced senses.

There, she only had her left hand gripping the handle. Clark rushed forward, forcing Ruby to retreat. Without his gauntlets, she had the advantage at mid-to-long range. His fist clanged off her scythe's shaft and pushed her back.

"So, you guys are leaving in a few days?" Clark asked.

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Ruby nodded. "Yep, we're getting our first mission of the semester."

"Is it going to just be you and Yang on your mission?" Clark let her approach and ducked under her diagonal swing.

"Actually, we're going with team SSN."

Clark kept his arms up to guard. "That's good, you're going with students you already know."

"Yeah, she got lucky," Yang said from off to the side. "Just imagine if Ruby had to talk to new people during the mission."

"Hey, I wouldn't have been that bad! Whoa!" She just barely dodged a kick from Clark, flying back with her Semblance.

"Keep your eyes on the prize, sis!"

"Then don't distract me!" Ruby said, this time watching Clark. "Anyway, since we're gone for missions, we're gonna miss a weekend of Interference patrol with you. That's okay, right?"

"Sure," Clark said. "Pyrrha, you and Jaune will be on missions too, right?"

"Yes, it's to a town that's somewhat far, so we may take a day or two longer to return."

"Got it." Clark nodded. Then, his ears picked up a set of footsteps approaching. Qrow's, and he entered the training room a few seconds later.

Clark and Ruby exchanged a few more moves before Qrow called out to them. "Hey, you two, cut it short. I need Clark for a bit."

"Wait, now?" Yang asked. "Is it gonna be long. It's my turn to spar him next."

"I only need to talk to him for a bit, you can have your marathon with him after. But . . ." Qrow faced Ruby and seemed to consider something. "First, warm yourself up with some hand-to-hand against Ruby. No weapons."

"What? Now?" Ruby asked, clutching her precious weapon tighter.

"Yes, now. It's gonna do you more good than the prancing around you were just doing with Clark, so I don't want to hear any complaining."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Don't go too easy on her either, Yang," Qrow patted his niece's shoulder. "I'll be back to see how you're doing."

"Yeah yeah," Yang headed up to the arena and passed by Clark. "This isn't gonna stop me from hitting the two-hour mark today, sure you'll be able to handle it?"

He grinned back at her. "Maybe you should make me sweat first before asking that."

"Watch yourself big guy, it's only a matter of time before we leave you out of breath."

"Maybe," Clark shrugged. He usually wasn't the type of person to banter, but with Yang, it was fun to quip back good-naturedly.

"What is it?" Clark asked once he walked up to Qrow.

"I got a possible lead on the Spring Maiden, a woman in a town in the east with elemental abilities. I'm planning to head out while the kids are on their missions, and you're coming with me."

Clark rubbed the back of his head. "Well . . . I'm not going to outright say no, but do you really need me?"

Qrow blinked, apparently he'd expected Clark to immediately say yes. "Yeah, I do. Why, you got something to holding you up?"

"I do, I've already told you about it, remember? I'm trying to change things in the city, I even asked you for permission to let Ruby help."

"Oh, that. Alright, but I'm not gonna need you twenty-four seven. Can't you just flash back here whenever and do what you need to?"

"It's not that simple. I spend a lot of time watching or talking to people, super-speed doesn't make that go by faster."

Qrow's brow wrinkled. "Okay, but it's only a few days. Mistral's not gonna go down in flames just cause you're missing. And have you forgotten how important this is? Finding the key to a Relic and guarding it against the Queen of the Grimm? Also, if the Maiden gets violent, which I wouldn't rule out, you're the only one we have who can deal with her."

Clark sighed. "I get it. I'll go."

\\\\\

Consider a typical mission for a licensed huntsman or huntress: dispatched to a remote village to eliminate a troublesome pack of Beowolves. Write an essay with at least 1500 words and no more than 2500 on what steps you should take. E.g. Examining the terrain, reducing negative emotions by calming the inhabitants, etc. You should use your own knowledge of protocol and common sense, no outside sources allowed.

Okay, no big deal, Ruby knew this. Even if she wrote something that wasn't technically right, as long as she explained her reasoning, she wouldn't lose points.

What was the order again? After arriving, she had to talk with the mayor and get more specific information on the Grimm. Then, she should survey the area, get an idea on where the pack was before hunting them. There was only one of her and a pack of them, after all, and she couldn't let any slip through. The survey would also give her a look of the defenses the town already had.

On her bed, Ruby scribbled down notes before organizing them for her first draft. There were so many more aspects to a mission than just killing the Grimm. She wasn't going to mention all of them, of course, but she had to at least put down why the ones she did mention were the most important.

She crossed a few things out, circled a few more and added points to the important topics. Then, three good paragraphs into writing the first draft on her tablet, her scroll rang.

Ruby stared at it for a moment. She thought she'd set it on vibrate. If she wanted to keep working on her essay, she should probably answer it just to tell them she'd talk later

She'd already written three paragraphs though. That had to be, like, what, three hundred words? This was due next week, she had enough time for a little break.

Ruby picked up her scroll but didn't recognize the number. The area code didn't seem to be Vale or Mistral either. She shrugged and tapped her phone to only answer through audio, probably a telemarketer or something.

"Hello?" Ruby said.

"Hello? Ruby? Is that you?" A girl's voice. It sounded familiar, like someone Ruby should know. Wait . . .

"Weiss?!" Ruby jumped up from the bed.

"Yes, yes it's me," The cheerful, carefree laughter on the other end was something that Ruby had rarely heard from her partner. "I'm sorry I took so long. I wanted to call sooner, but there are certain circumstances, and I didn't

"It's fine! Totally fine! I'm just so glad that we get to talk again."

"So am I. Can you turn on video?"

"Sure," Ruby tapped the screen and held the scroll away from her. She could see Weiss, wearing a white nightgown and her hair down. She must have been getting ready to sleep. Whoa, that was her room? It was big. "Is that good?"

"Yes, it's perfect." Weiss' eyes explored Ruby's surroundings. "Are Yang or Blake there as well? I'd like to speak with them too."

"Oh, um, Yang's here, but we don't know where Blake is."

"You don't? What happened?"

Ruby sighed. "It was after you went to Atlas. She stayed for a little bit to recover from an injury during the attack, but once she was healed, she disappeared. I-I'm sure she's okay though!" She added quickly. Even if their team wasn't together right now, she was team leader. It was her responsibility to keep a positive outlook.

"I hope so . . ."

"It's Blake, she was with the White Fang for years, she can take care of herself. By the way, can you stay on for long?"

"Well, I think I can risk half an hour."

"I'll go get Yang, then. She's in the shower right now."

Weiss giggled. "Okay, I'll wait, but I think it'll be a miracle if you get her to cut her hair routine short."

Ruby smiled. "Don't worry, I'll make her. Just wait a sec."

"Alright."

Ruby rushed down the hall to the showers, and burst in. Yang was humming, and the mirrors had gotten foggy. This wasn't a small bathroom either.

"Yang hurry up! Weiss is calling us!"

Her sister's head peeked out from the curtain. "What, really?"

"Yes, so get out already so we can talk with her together!"

Instead of listening to her team leader, Yang went back under the water. "Alright, tell her I'll be there in like ten minutes."

"No, not ten minutes. Now!" Ruby stomped her foot. "Weiss only has like thirty minutes to talk with us right now, and she says that she won't be able to call us often. It's already been two months, do you want to wait two more?"

Yang turned off the water. "Alright, I get it now." She came out of the shower, and quickly dried herself off with her towel. She tied it around herself and went to their room.

"We're back!" Ruby announced, then set it up her scroll on her desk so Weiss could see them no matter where they were in the room.

"Hey Weiss, you better appreciate this. I didn't finish washing my hair," Yang called out. She was in the middle of putting on her clothes.

"Do you ever consider the process of washing your hair 'finished'?"

"When it comes to my hair, there's no such thing as too clean."

"Ridiculous," Weiss rolled her eyes, but she said it with a smile.

"Seriously though, it's nice to see you again," Yang sat on her bed closer to the scroll. "But what's up with the time limit?"

Weiss sighed. "It's because my father may notice if I stay longer. He's forbidden me from contacting you because he thinks that my time at Beacon was a distraction and that I should focus on the SDC. The scroll I'm calling you from has been modified to circumvent him."

"Damn, what kind of dad does that?"

"Mine, unfortunately."

"Well, there has to be some good things about being back home, right?" Ruby said.

Weiss smiled. "There are. I get to speak with my sister and butler more often, and in truth, I don't find it too bad here. Really, my biggest problems are frustration and boredom." She leaned forward. "However, I'd rather not talk about Atlas. How have you two been? Is this your home in Patch?"

"Actually, this is our room in Haven. We're students here now," Ruby replied.

"Really? How is it there?"

"Not that different from Beacon. More crowded though, since a lot of other students from Beacon also came here," Ruby said. "Team JNPR's with us too."

"That's fortunate. Did you decide to go there together?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll explain." Ruby went into detail on what had happened the past couple of months. She couldn't say anything about Salem or Relics, even though Weiss could obviously be trusted. If they told her now, she probably wouldn't believe them, and they had to consult Qrow anyway before telling anyone. So instead, Ruby and Yang told her about their decision to find out more on Cinder.

They hadn't been organized at all, just going to Haven with JNPR because Cinder had forged records there. It wasn't until Uncle Qrow, yes, their uncle who liked to drink, had revealed that he'd worked directly under Ozpin and could use their help against Cinder that they'd had definite plans to get into Haven.

Ruby also told Weiss about Clark. Not that he'd been the Dart or was an alien with like a dozen powers that didn't drain aura, but they talked about him like he was Qrow's assistant. That's why Yang had been in the shower, she'd just sparred with him.

Weiss had been short on time after that, so they'd had to quickly summarize their semester at school. It was a little different from their first-year classes at Beacon. Less combat focused, but more opportunities for practical experience. They'd met up with three-fourths of team SNNN too, and gave Weiss an update on Neptune. They were going on a mission with them soon, so Yang offered to keep an eye on him if she wanted.

"I have no need for that." Weiss cleared her throat, her blush very visible on her pale skin. "Anyhow, it sounds like you've had a very interesting time in Mistral."

"Oh yeah, there's plenty of cool stuff here," Yang said. "The city has its issues, but it can still be really fun."

"It does sound nice. I'd really like to see it." Weiss looked at something in the background. "We're almost out of time."

"Already?" Ruby frowned. "When's the next time you can talk with us again?"

"If I can call again, it'll be a month at the latest. I promise."

\\\\\

This time, Clark had chosen one of the city's caves as a meeting place. Dark and out of the way, not a place someone would just happen to stumble into. It wasn't hard to enter, but you had to know where you were going.

Phil arrived first, taking careful steps outside the cave as he looked around with a flashlight. Once he got to the entrance, he shone the light into Clark's eyes.

"Um, hey Farmer." He waved with his free hand. "Sorry, is the light bothering you?"

"It's fine." Clark just put a bit more effort into making sure his eyes didn't automatically adjust to the brightness. Nobody was around who'd see the light, so he could keep it for now. "Andrea isn't far, so we won't have to wait for long."

"Gotcha." There wasn't anywhere to sit, so Phil chose to stand up against the cave wall.

When Andrea arrived, Clark told them why he'd called for them. "The Interference is going to be mostly inactive for a number of days, maybe an entire week."

"How come?" Andrea asked.

"Unfortunately, all of us have other obligations that we need to attend to. You won't be able to contact me through the walkie-talkies except for maybe during certain times of the day."

Andrea had a concerned expression. "Wait, are you guys in trouble of being found out or something?"

"No, the Interference isn't at any serious risk." Clark fought down a smile as he answered. He had to wonder how they'd react if he were to say that the other members had schoolwork and he had to go on a mission to track down a magic woman.

"So, what should we be doing if you guys aren't going to be there to help?" Phil asked.

"I have a few tasks for you." Clark pulled out a folder and handed it to him. "Inside that is a list of individuals who might know about some past dealings by Dolus or Atreus. If you can, I want you to approach them and see if they'll share any information."

"There might be some problems with that," Phil said. He flipped through the news clippings and notes that Clark had put in and got closer to Andrea to let her see them. "Some people, if we can convince them it'd be in their best interest, might talk. Others though, if they see cops, they might just clam up even more."

"I see, I think I should leave it to your discretion then. Will that be okay?"

"Sure, and it's not like we can't try both," Phil said. "One of us asks as a cop, the other asks while undercover."

"Which will be me, since your acting still needs a lot of work."

"Hey, I didn't do too bad with Petridis."

"Yeah, really hard when you just had to act like a cop for most of that."

"It's not like you had that much more to do either."

"Excuse me, I was the one who did most of the talking."

Clark chuckled, interrupting their back-and-forth.

"S-sorry about that, Farmer," Phil said.

"It's fine. We're meeting in a cave in the middle of the night, some lightheartedness could do us some good." Clark raised a finger to make a point. "Although there is something else I want to ask. Andrea, a number of crime families and a few Eastern gangs have agreed to move the majority of their operations out of the city. Could you find out about what connections they have, or how they might smuggle products back into the city?"

Andrea paused, apparently thinking it through. After a few seconds, she nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Thank you. That's all I have to ask of you for now. Is there anything you want to bring up?"

Phil and Andrea both shook their heads.

"Then I'll probably speak with you again in a few days. You can go now." Clark waited until the two were out of sight before leaving at super-speed.