Entry log: 21-0A of Cpt. Richard Simmons of the Chorus Army
It seems I've appeared on a grassy field in an unknown location. Wherever I am, it seems like Earth or Chorus. I can't be on Chorus, I was previously there aboard the Staff of Charon before the downfall of Chairman Hargrove. And Earth seems too far off from where I could be. Where have I landed? How did I get here? Wherever I am, it seems to have civilization. Just past the horizon I can see a large spire. It almost looks like a beacon. I can see some ruins from here as well, and they appear to be closer. I should head there and see what I'm dealing with. The only things on me are my Needlers with a few crystals, a Magnum and a few clips left, and a rocket launcher with only 4 rockets. If there is anything here, I should conserve my ammo.
I heard something off in the distance, within the trees. A rustling of some kind. Looks like I'm not alone.
Wait—what the hell is that? Is that a bear!? What is that!? If anyone finds this, get off this planet! Whatever is here isn't something you want to fight!
==End Log==
He had woken up not long ago. On a grassy clearing no less. It was odd for him to be certain. One moment, fighting Space Pirates on the Staff of Charon. Then, with no recollection of any of the past few moments in time, however long that may be, he found himself on a grassy clearing in the middle of forest that stretched for miles. He had no idea of the time between defeating Chairman Hargrove and landing here,did he know. Like he just teleported, for reasons he didn't know.
It wasn't long after the maroon space marine starts his log entry that he is attacked by a large bear-like creature. It stood tall on hind legs, a deep black color of fur with boney structures on its back and large white claws. Its face is adorned by a white, boney skull that seems like a mask.
With a frantic pace and panic in his voice, the simulation trooper began to defend himself from the ursine monstrosity. Deploying a set of Type-33 GML, he began to spray shards of crystalline material as the creature. Each shard whizzed through the air as if ripping through it, and dig deep into the fur-covered flesh of the large black bear creature. The maroon armor begins to backpedal, then turns tail and runs away as the needle-ridden monster glances at the crystals imbedded into fur, greeting an explosive death. Bits and pieces of black flesh burst into the air as energy crackles about. The marine looks back at the black remains, witnessing the disintegration of the large creature's corpse.
"Holy fuck. That was close…" He said, turning his head to take in his surroundings. Through his visor, he focuses on the stone ruins in the distance. Not too long from here. What really caught his attention was the sound of wolves. 'An explosion like the one caused by the Type-33 seems like one that would attract attention from at least a 24-mile radius', the marine thought. 'Best I move on', he continued, moving forward as to get closer to his destination.
Through scattered cameras, two figures atop a cliff monitors the students sent into the Emerald Forest. A man and a woman, the man with unkempt grey hair, crooked glasses and standing on a cane. The woman wore glasses as well, kept her blonde hair in a bun and wore an outfit similar to that of a witch. In one hand was a tablet, with various camera feeds showing the events of the trail. One picking up the feed of a certain maroon armor fighting an Ursa.
"How did he get here?! Ozpin, should I stop the initiation?", the blonde woman asks
"No, continue the test Glynda. I have a feeling this peculiar individual will be more of an asset than an enemy", the man replied
"You always say that! First was the girl Rose, then this Jaune Arc character. Now you say you want what could possibly be an Atlas agent interfering!?" Glynda voices her opinions. Though, she knew she wasn't going to sway Ozpin
"He doesn't look like Atlas. And, with what I can see, he certainly can hold his own." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee from his regular mug. A few thoughts running through his head.
The deeper the maroon-armored soldier ventured, the more unnerved he became. He keeps his Needlers and his wits about him, preparing for anything that would have come about to do him harm. It was finally before him, a set of ruins made of stone. The shape was odd, with stone altars lined in the inner ring of a circular area. And atop sat chess pieces. The soldier walked before the pieces, holstering one Needler onto the magnetic plate on his hip as to free his hand and examine the pieces.
"Chess pieces?", he exclaimed in confusion. It was a white knight, held in the palm as the soldier stared at it through his orange visor. He sets it back where it was, and looked behind to the treeline. It was eerily quiet, a slight wind rustling the trees. "I wonder...where is everyone? Did anyone see me? And where is the nearest city?" He began to ponder to himself, wandering what to do next. Luckily for him, his options weren't plentiful.
It was then that the space marine took notice of something off in the distance: gunfire. "I guess that answers that". Inside his visor, he shifts his eyes to look at two figures standing above. He shifts his head to them, and takes in their image. A blonde girl in a brown jacket, an orange scarf, a brown belt and a pleated brown piece of material and a pair of black mini-shorts going hip to hip with meticulously kept hair that drapes past her shoulders. The other sports a black bow, comically large, atop black hair. She wore a black vest over a white sleeveless shirt and white shorts, and low-heel boots paired with matching stockings.
The speakers on his helmet were turned off, letting his voice be heard by only himself. "Looks like I'm alone after all…"
Yang and Blake stood above the temple ruins, and took in the sight of an armored individual. He grasped one of the 'relics', a chess piece. "Chess pieces?" Blake questioned, before turning her sights to fully examine the armor. It looks similar to those of Atlas, except it seems more advanced. It was a full brownish-red, maroon color. She noticed the odd weapons equipped by it. A pair of outlandish pistols, with a sleek design and covering the hand as it grips and the upper portion skewered by pink crystalline shards. A heavy-looking pistol, large and bulky, appears attached to one of its sides. On its back is a large rocket launcher. Whoever, or whatever, it is seems to have trained in heavy weapons. It was off-putting, to say the least, to see an Atlas agent wander during an entrance exam for Huntsmen-in-training. Especially one armed like him. It made him suspicious to Blake, wanting to know why.
It turned towards them, and stared. Granted, it looked through a visor, but it almost felt as if they were being observed.
The armor looked away. It shook the strange weapon, causing a few crystals to jut from the weapon, as if it were reloaded. It began to walk towards the relics and observe them. It seems to be talking to itself, complimented by the gestures it gives while observing in blatant confusion.
"Who do you think that is?" Asked the the blonde.
"I have no idea. But they seem like Atlas" replied the other girl. After a few moments of watching, they began their quick descent.
Blake and Yang reach the temple, looking at the supposed 'relics' situated on the stone altars. The walking armor looked at the ruins, scanning them.
Yang approaches on of the pieces,observing it with a 'hmmm'. She grasps it, the same white knight the mysterious figure grabbed. "How about a cute little pony?". Blake responds with a "sure", and looked at the armor as it's head bobbed up in a gesture. Perhaps it's talking to itself.
The two students regroup at the center of the ruins. It wasn't long before a blood-curdling, high-pitched scream was heard all throughout the forest. The armored figure joined the three.
"Some girl's in trouble!". Yang quickly responded to the cry. When she realized she didn't get a response from her partner, she turned towards her. "Blake, did you hear that? What should we do—" When she turned to Blake, she was gesturing to look up. Upon looking up, she could see a younger girl, clad in black and red, falling down directly above her. And as if in slow motion, before impact, she and another body collided together in midair, sending them both off into the trees.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" She asked. They all turned towards a rustling in the trees, a few being knocked down as what appears to be another bear creature appears. Only difference is the fact that, when arriving, the strange monster collapses, and from behind appears to be a girl with bright orange hair, accompanied by another, this time a boy with black hair accented by a magenta highlight. From afar, they have a conversation that is outside of earshot. Within the blink of an eye, the orange-haired girl grabs a white rook from one of the stone altars. With a pose of triumph, the girl begins to jeer at herself, singing to herself, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle—". Her cheering is cut short, with a rather frustrated "NORA!" being shouted out by her partner. Nora stops her antics, skipping along back to her partner for the next four years with a chipper, "Coming, Ren!".
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Yang asked in bewilderment. Blake went to respond, but only cut short by the sight of a large scorpion tearing through trees, chasing a red-haired girl in rather light and skimpy armor. Hopping through one pincer and rolling through another, the girl manages to escape the claws of the overgrown insect. "Jaune!", she calls out to boy hanging off a tree limb. "Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked, seeing the final student appear at the ruins. By the looks of it, Yang was ready to explode, seething with anger. Within the span of seconds, they saw a girl fall from the sky, two ride in on an Ursa, a girl chased by a Deathstalker, and not to mention the suit of Atlas armor behind them.
"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!?"
Yang vented out her frustration, while time passed with no significant event like she asked. While a the small grace period passed, her sister, that stood beside her, patted Yang's arm to get her attention. "Umm, Yang?", She asked, then gestures up with her index finger.
Above, grasping at a talon of a Nevermore, was a white haired girl dressed in a white dress shirt and combat skirt. She held on for dear life, as the height was far too much for her aura to handle. "Why did you leave me?" She yelled, as she looked down at the rest of the group on the ground. "I told you to jump" Ruby retorted, with a clear argument.
"She's gonna fall"
"She'll be fine"
"She's falling". She was falling, having lost her grip on the Nevermore. To the surprise of Blake and Yang, the armor breaks in a sprint. It was moving quite fast for a robot, and in one fluid motion, it jumps and catches the falling girl from the air. It lands on its feet, crouching to let her down safely onto the ground. Standing, the group of students compare the heights of everyone to the soldier, and take in how massive it is. Perhaps beyond 6'8. And with how fluid it moves, it can either be a well-trained soldier or a specially advanced machine.
Their question was answered. A hissing sound emits from the base of the neck, latches releasing the helmet. Hands grasp the sides, and pull it up and over a smooth set of hair, a muddled mess of brown and red. A deeper maroon color than his armor. His skin, as they could see, was a pale tone and blotched by a spray of freckles along the ridges of his nose and around his ears. But a more astounding, or rather shocking, feature was the small plates and exposures of metal, his entire left eye and around it replaced by cybernetics. It looked like a mechanical corruption of an eye and glows dimly. One of the students release a stray gasp.
The saved heiress scanned his only features that he has exposed so far. From the smooth and well-cleaned hair, down to the augmented eye, to his other shiny emerald eye, and down more to his lips, thin and almond color. They shine in her eyes. Seeing him reminds her of a soldier she's seen countless times in Atlas, but what was truly underneath. Yet there was something underneath. She wasn't sure what it was yet.
"Uhhh...are you alright miss?" His voice was shaky, as if he was scared to ask. Almost as if he hasn't spoken to a girl in a long time. It was also high pitched, not very high but compared to a male's voice, it was high. To her, it was kinda...cute. It was cute, but she didn't know why.
Looking past the girl he just saved, he still saw the overgrown scorpion. It hissed, showing its hostility. The soldier reached behind him for his rocket launcher, quickly settling it over his shoulder. "What the fuck is that!?" He shouted in slight panic. And rightfully so.
"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!" Yang quipped, in a quite morbid fashion. "Not if I can help it!" stated Ruby, before pulling out a scythe from a large compact mass of metal and parts. The sound of unlatchcing and clinking metal resonated through the air, and immediately she put her speed into a showcase of power, complete with a battlecry.
Though her display was cut short, as a swing of the pincer was enough to stop the little girl's assault. She was knocked back and onto the ground, and began to stagger back up. "Don't worry! Totally fine…" She reassures back towards everyone, but turning around she came face to face with a Deathstalker. It's enormous pincers and looming stinging tail greeted her. It was upon her that, not everything is fine.
Before either could move, a distinct sound is heard. A low whistle, like air escaping as a sudden explosion overcame the large insect monstrosity. Behind her was the armored man, kneeling while the rocket launcher laid on his shoulder and his hand on the trigger. He looked at her and yelled, "What the hell are you standing around for? Get out of there!" He has created a chance of opportunity for Ruby to run. And she took it. She retreated from the monster as it stumbled in and out of shock from the concussion caused by the rocket. And hastily it began to give chase.
Her sister, Yang, began to run towards Ruby, going to lend her support. As they made their way towards each other, the Nevermore above began its siege.
Razor-sharp feathers rain from the sky, trailing behind the young Huntress-in-training. Ruby suddenly jerks forwards, having her motion stopped by something. Looking behind her, she saw her hood caught and pinned by a large feather. Panicking, she began to tug on her hood to free it. All the while, the Deathstalker behind her crept closer.
A/N: This one is an updated version of Chapter 1. After rereading for the upteenth time, and fixing some mistakes, I've decided to rewrite a portion that would better fit. I'm still working on Chapter 2 of both this and A Merc turned Huntsman, so expect that in the future. I don't have a schedule, so expect erratic updates. Meaning I will update this.
And for those wondering, I haven't decided if Simmons will be joined by his friends or if OCs will be introduced. The next chapter will hold the answer. So have a good read.
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