Solar Flare
Chapter 1: Hunting
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters involved except Merc.
"Welcome to Beacon Academy, here you will be taught the skills needed to combat evil and keep the world at peace, I will be one of your instructors Glenda Goodwitch," The small hologram said.
The ship was currently flying through the air over the large city of Vale, and on board students of all kinds and walks of life were preparing to be admitted into the prestigious Beacon Academy. Once such student was currently leaning against the wall of the ship with his arms crossed. The young man was slightly below average height, he was thinner in build, but his body was toned and his figure was fit. He wore a simple gray shirt which hugged his body tightly, a pair of billowing black pants covered his legs, two katars hung from his belt. His face was covered by a light gray scarf and his hair was hidden under a light gray bandanna, a small tail trailed down from the bandanna. His eyes were the only visible portion and they were a bright orange color.
"Oh, this is gonna be great! My little sister's going to beacon with me!" A girl shouted.
The boy looked over and saw two young women, one about seventeen the other about fourteen. The older girl was currently hugging the smaller one in a painful looking bear hug.
"Pleash stop," The younger one muttered.
He chuckled slightly and closed his eyes to concentrate, drowning out all other sounds except for his own vitals. His heart beat in his chest, and his blood was pumping regularly.
"Hey!" The same voice suddenly shouted next to him.
He jumped as his eyes shot open to see the two girls standing next to him.
"Hello," he said calmly.
"We saw you standing over here by yourself and you looked like you were falling asleep," The older girl said.
Now that he had a chance to look at them; the older girl wore a simple yellow top with a brown jacket over it, she had black gloves on her hands and two yellow bracelets hugged her wrists. Her legs were slightly covered by a pair of tight black shorts with a white open-front piece. She also wore brown boots that came up to mid shin. Her hair was blonde and ran down to her waist, and she had blue eyes.
"I was concentrating," He replied.
"Sure looked like you were sleeping," The younger girl muttered.
She was much younger looking than he thought. She wore a black dress with red finish that hugged her torso before fluttering out around her thighs, a pair of black tights hid her legs and black boots with red soles covered her feet, her hair was short and had the same color scheme as her outfit, the only difference was her silver eyes.
"Anyway, we wanted to introduce ourselves, I'm Yang, and this is my sister Ruby," The older girl offered her hand.
He was reluctant to take it at first but eventually shook it.
"My name is Merc," He said simply.
"That's an interesting name," Yang said awkwardly.
"You should probably get ready, we'll be arriving soon," Merc told them.
He let go of Yang's hand and turned, shaking his viciously.
"That girl's got quite a grip," He thought to himself as he made his way to the front of the ship.
They did arrive shortly after and Merc disembarked, he saw Ruby and Yang have a conversation before Yang ran off with some other people. He went to take a step toward her but stopped.
"I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to receive training," He told himself.
He shook his head and went to look away when something caught his eye. A scene was playing out as Ruby backed up into another girl's luggage and knocked all the suitcases on the ground. She was a pale-skinned girl with a white dress similar to Ruby's in design, just not as frilly. Her hair was kept in a large ponytail that went down to the middle of her back and was a bright white color.
Another figured walked past him and closed her book. She was an interesting figure. She wore a white shirt and shorts under a black jacket. Thigh high tights that were purple at her ankles and turned black as they came up covered her legs and she wore small black boots. Her black hair flowed freely in the wind, but a small black bow kept some of it in place on top of her head. He'd caught her face and noticed the large yellow eyes she had.
"Who do you think you are anyway!" Ruby shouted.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust corporation," The black-haired girl said.
"Finally, some recognition," Weiss stated.
"The same company notorious for its labor disputes, and questionable business partners," She added.
"Well, I, ugh!" Weiss shouted before storming off toward the school.
Ruby went to say something to the black haired girl but she was already walking away from the school towards Merc.
"Excuse, I saw what you did over there, mind telling me your name?" he asked.
"It's Blake," She said without stopping or looking at him.
"Blake…" he said to himself before shaking his head and focusing on the school.
He approached the front doors and stepped inside, wondering what would await him from here on.
That night, the students were briefed on their initiation tests the following day: Each student would be positioned at random inside a forest, and an objective would be given to them to complete before returning, after that they were sent to the main hall to rest for the night, as their dormitories would be determined by their tests.
Merc looked around, everyone else was changing into their pajamas, but he remained wearing his normal attire.
"Merc!" Yang shouted seeing him.
He jumped at the sudden burst of noise before spotting her and approaching.
"How's your day been? Ruby exploded earlier," Yang said jokingly.
"You don't have to tell everybody!" Ruby whispered fiercely.
"I saw," Merc said.
"You don't talk much," Yang told him.
"No need to,"
She looked him up and down before nodding, "How do you think you'll do on the test tomorrow?" She asked.
He looked down at the two katars at his waist before meeting her gaze again.
"I'll do fine, you should worry about yourselves before others,"
"More than three words, I'm getting there," Yang said with a grin.
"Lights out!" An instructor called as he hit the switch.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Merc whispered to Yang and Ruby in the darkness before returning to the boy's side and laying down on the floor before falling asleep.
The next day arrived and everyone seemed to be a bit nervous as the hour before the test began to dwindle. Merc remained calm on the outside, but inside he was turning over trying to figure out what they'd want them to do. After the hour was up the call was sent out for where the students were to gather.
They all met at the edge of a cliff where small areas had been cleared away to make starting platforms, two figures stood at the edge, the lady from the hologram on the ship, Glenda Goodwitch, and the headmaster of Beacon academy, Professor Ozpin. He was an older gentlemen wearing a dark green suit with lighter green highlights, a cane at his side indicated a slight gape in his walk, his face was calm and his white hair was short, barely touching his forehead. Professor Goodwitch stood beside him carrying a holographic clipboard, she wore a tight black dress with white ruffly sleeves and a purple cape, black tights covered her legs and her feet were covered by black heeled boots that came to her knees, her blond hair was kept in tight curls around her head and her green eyes were seen through a pair of small glasses.
"Hello everyone," Ozpin said, "This will be your testing grounds today. Know that this forest is filled with dangers other than the traps we've set, and that you will have to make your way through it, alive. While you are in the forest you will need to find a relic, and bring it back here to complete the test. One other thing to note, is the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years,"
Merc nodded, more to himself, and got ready, loosening the buckles that held his katar and grasping their handles tightly before releasing them and repeating the gesture, each time his gripped lessened until he was bouncing them inside the leather thongs.
"Stand on these platforms and when we call for it, the test will begin," Ozpin said as he indicated the cleared areas with his cane.
Merc took his place along with the other students and soon one of the platforms flipped up sending a student flying into the air.
"So uh… are we going to get any parachutes or anything?" One student asked
Another was launched into the air, the one to Merc's left.
"No," Ozpin answered, "You will each have to find your own landing strategy,"
Merc was launched into the air, twirling around so he saw all the students behind him in an inverted view. He realized he was now flying backwards, and upside-down.
He grunted with force as he righted himself before he crashed into a thicket of trees, he drew his Katar and sliced through the branches to clear a path. He ran out of the thicket into the rest of the forest, aiming for a cleared area he'd seen on top of the cliff. He heard crashing and roars behind him, assuming that was the other students meeting some of the dangers Ozpin had warned them about he ignored them. Soon he arrived at the relic altar where chess pieces of gold and black were aligned on small platforms. He grabbed the nearest one, a gold Bishop, and turned to leave when he saw Yang and Blake come crashing through the forest.
"Hey Merc!" Yang shouted as they approached the altar.
He lifted one his occupied hands in greeting as they approached. They grabbed their piece and sat down to rest.
"That was fun!" Yang shouted.
"So it seems," Merc said looking at Blake who was calmly standing.
"So where's your partner?" Yang asked.
"Haven't seen anyone yet, didn't go looking," Merc answered.
"That's a bummer, well, I hope you find them soon, this place can be pretty dangerous if you don't have one,"
A loud cawing sound above their heads alerted them to a large, black, raven-like monster, flying over their heads.
"A Nevermore!" Yang shouted.
"Wait, but what's that riding on it?" Blake asked.
"Where, I don't see it?" Yang asked, putting her fingers over her eyes to shade them.
"There," Merc said indicating the red and white spots on its back.
"That's, Ruby!" Yang shouted.
The red dot fell off and began to fall through the sky before landing safely in the trees, meanwhile the white piece fell away.
"That's Weiss," Merc said.
"She's falling," Blake added.
"Yep,"
Another figure leapt from the trees and grabbed Weiss, freezing in the air for a second before falling to the ground again. They landed nearby as Ruby came out of the trees, a large scorpion-like monster burst from the trees in another direction, chasing a red-headed girl in a golden gladiator-style set of armor.
"Did she seriously run here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked.
A thrashing form burst from the trees to reveal a bear-monster.
"Ursa!" Merc shouted getting into a crouch.
It fell over and an orange haired girl wearing a pink dress appeared on its back.
"Aw, it's broken," She said.
A young man with black hair and a pink highlight stopped, gasping next to it.
"Nora, don't do that again," he said.
Yang had begun to growl and suddenly exploded.
"Can we all calm down for ten seconds before something crazy happens again!?" She shouted.
The group gathered around the altar and waited, after a period of five seconds Ruby pointed up.
"Uh…"
The Nevermore was circling around coming for them, while the Deathstalker thrashed about trying to grab them.
"Time to move," Merc said.
Everyone grabbed their relics before setting out from the altar towards the cliffs. The group rushed through the trees as the Deathstalker stayed right on their tail, the Nevermore following overhead.
"Heads up!" Merc shouted as the Nevermore released a barrage of feathers that tried to stab them.
Ruby looked up at the Nevermore before darting off with her scythe to try and slice the feathers, she got through most of them but one pinned her to the ground via her cape. The Deathstalker closed the gap and lifted its claw to crush her, but a white blur stopped it in ice.
Merc had opened his hand, and a swirling orange energy had begun to form, he closed it now and steam rolled out of his palm, but no one noticed it because of Weiss and Ruby.
"Thank you," Ruby said.
The two joined the main group as they burst from the trees onto a ruined tower. The Nevermore rested at the top and sprayed feathers down on them, each group split: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang separated to the right. Juane, the boy who saved Weiss from falling, Nora, Pyrhha, the girl being chased by the Deathstalker, and Ren took to the left. Merc rushed straight up the middle, darting from cover to cover.
"We need a plan!" He shouted to Ruby.
"I've got an idea, keeps its attention," Ruby told him.
Merc lifted out from his cover and pulled on a third trigged hidden on the handles of his katar and the blade folded away to reveal a barrel. He pulled the first trigger on each, sending a shot out at the Nevermore each time, the rounds flew past, glowing brightly with power. It looked at him and released a barrage of feathers at him, he dodged these easily and darted between them still shooting. Ruby and her team charged forward to attack the Nevermore while Juane and his team fell back to defend against the DeathStalker.
Merc grunted as he dropped the katars to his sides and reloaded them, letting go of the third triggers the blades returned to their positions, but a stray Nevermore feather grabbed the tail on his bandanna and bound him to the ground.
"Crap!" He shouted as he fell over.
He watched, as the teams each dealt with their own creatures, constantly trying to remove his head piece. After a few minutes of struggling he succeeded and disappeared in a flash, rushing toward Ruby. He lifted his Katar up and leapt off a pillar slamming into the Nevermore, the blades of his weapons stabbing into its breast. It roared in defiance before shaking him off. He slammed down onto the bridge below and grunted as he lifted back up slightly, the ancient stone cracking beneath him.
"Whoa…" Yang said looking down at him as she climbed up one of the pillars.
Merc's hair, normally hidden by his bandanna was a bright orange color, after being thrown through the air it was messy and distorted.
He stood up and wiped away a trail of blood from his lip with the back of his wrist. He opened his guns again and began to shoot at the Nevermore.
"Go for it Ruby!" He shouted, "I'll keep it busy,"
The group went back to work before readying their strategy. The Nevermore was currently sitting on top of the tower looking down at the group of five as they moved around to prepare for their final attack.
Yang and Blake were suspended from two pillars, Blake threw one of her pistols to Yang who gripped the small firearm firmly and tied it around the pillar. Ruby was currently flying towards the Nevermore as Weiss froze it in place and leapt back to the others. Ruby landed on its head and fired her weapon, sending her flying back to her team. Weiss summoned a large rune with a red color as Ruby landed on the ribbon that Blake and Yang were holding, she stood on the blade of her scythe and the ribbon stretched into the center of the rune.
"This had better work," Weiss said.
"Can you make the shot?" Ruby asked.
"Can I?"
A slight pause gave Ruby a worried look.
"Can you?"
"Of course I can!"
Weiss flipped her fingers and the rune turned black before shooting Ruby toward the Nevermore, Ruby fired shot after shot to propel herself forward before locking the giant monster's head with her scythe blade, a line of runes appeared on the cliff wall as Ruby began to run, dragging the Nevermore behind her, she reached the top and leapt into the air, taking the head off of the creature and landing safely on the edge.
"Whoa…" Merc said as he watched in awe.
The Deathstalker released a last roar of fury as Merc turned to see Juane's team take care of it. Knowing they were safe he walked over to where his bandanna was being pinned by one of the feathers from the Nevermore, he cut the thing to pieces with his katar and fixed the cloth piece back into place before sheathing his katar.
Later that day the new students were gathered in the main hall as teams were being sorted.
"Cardin Winchester, you will lead team CRDL," Ozpin said.
The group of four boys stepped off the stage as Ozpin turned toward the crowd.
"Juane Arc, Nora Valkyrie , Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. You will form Team JNPR, and be led by Juane Arc,"
The group had stepped up on the stage before being dismissed.
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladona, Yang Xiao-Long. You will form team RWBY, and be led by Ruby Rose,"
The group looked to their new leader who smiled before leading them off the stage.
"Merc… hm, interesting," Ozpin said.
Merc stepped up on stage and waited for what he was going to be told.
"As the only student to complete the trial without finding a partner or team to work with, and bringing back one piece unique to you, you will form team M, run by yourself," Ozpin said.
He approached the young man and whispered.
"See me after the ceremony's over,"
"Yes sir," Merc replied.
He stepped off the stage.
"There are your teams for the next four years, I wish you all luck in your studies, and you training," Ozpin said before stepping off the stage.
Teams RWBY and JNPR were standing together talking to Merc.
"That's so cool, you're your own team!" Ruby said.
"Nice work man," Juane said slapping Merc on the shoulder.
"Thank you," Merc said with a bow of his head.
"If you'll excuse me," he walked past them toward Ozpin.
The Head master led him down into a side hallway where he began to walk slowly, leading the way for Merc.
"So, it seems that you have your father's gift for trouble," he said.
"My father, sir?" Merc asked.
"Oh yes, I've met him, he and I were comrades at one time," Ozpin said before taking a sip of his coffee.
"What are you referring to, by my making trouble,"
"Well, you are by yourself aren't you? No team, no partner, in a school renowned for training huntsman and huntresses in teams,"
"I suppose that would be considered making trouble, but is that all you wanted to say sir?"
"No, I'm going to give you a piece of advice: Keep your head on your shoulders at all times, you're the only student in Beacon's history to achieve the status you have, so other students will challenge you, harass you, and mock you. Keep your temper under control and don't let your powers show,"
"Yes sir, is there anything else?" Merc asked.
"No, thank you for your time Mr. Vermillion, I hope to see great things come from you," Ozpin said as he stopped in front of the elevator door that led to his office.
"Of course sir, thank you," Merc bowed from the waist as Ozpin stepped into the elevator and ascended.