Hello there! Thanks for bothering to pay attention to this story. I really appreciate it, and don't think you'll be disappointed. Disclaimer, I don't own RWBY, etc etc. Anyways, on to the story! Thanks again!
"I'm telling you, Sapphiro, I don't think this is the best idea…" Dergo commented, the Faunus in question scoffed at his remark.
"Those White Fang arseholes are after us, Dergo. Let's go into Forever Fall while we still have the chance to escape. Next time, I doubt Erebus will be around to save us." He responded as he peered around the group, which consisted of four people, and included him. Sapphiro had deep, hazel eyes that looked like they were an artist's depiction of the transition from summer to autumn. He wore black pants and a plain, long sleeved blue shirt, a V neck white undershirt beneath it. Armored plating that he had scavenged and had others redo and repair stuck to his frame. However, time was beginning to make its mark, and small cuts and nicks in the armor were beginning to show. He had a lanky build, with a slightly diamond shaped face. His hair was a bit scragly and black, reaching slightly below his ears and to the top of his neck. His eyes peered around with a spark of eagerness in them. On the top of his head rested a pair of wolf-like ears. His bull's tail blew in the wind. Both of these features marked him as a Faunus. He was tall, but not incredibly strong. He raised his left hand, pointing towards something he saw in the woods. The hand in question was replaced with a metal implant. There was still trace amounts of flesh, muscle, and bone within the implant, although the sum of the organic material was still incredibly small. The metal claw he wore on his left hand had different metals within it, and was a good heat conductor. It had a black paintjob, with orange stripes on the fingers meeting in the middle. The gauntlet took up the space from his fingers to a little more than halfway up his forearm. He took a moment to speak.
"Let's move guys. I think I saw something." Sapphiro decided to take the leader role of the group.
"On the way, Sapphiro." A female voice stated, from right behind the man in question.
"I appreciate it, Amethyst." He replied. Amethyst was a strange one. She had purple hair, with a stripe or two of white in it. She wore a purple skirt at the moment, along with a black buttoned up shirt that rolled down to just above her elbows. An unzipped purple jacket lay on top of it. She wore black leggings, and had boots of the same color, which had a purple toe cap. Her hair cascaded down to the bottom of her shoulderblades. Grey eyes gazed around the scene from their sockets. Her face was thin. She gave off a casual air, and always had a smile on her face.
"Always rushing blindly into the combat...so be it." Dergo remarked, walking behind the two. He unsheathed his axe and dagger, the former gripped in his right hand and the latter in his left. He had light green eyes, and light brown hair that blew in the wind. The hair parted at his forehead to the sides, and reached towards his ears. High cheekbones supported his oblong shaped face. His clothing consisted of leather armor colored dark orange, while the metal straps, belt, and other smaller things on the armor were dark red and brown. The armor covered him from head to toe. He turned towards Erebus.
"Hey, you coming Erebus?" The man in question wore a hood, which covered his entire body and concealed his face. Only his mouth could be made out. The man was the tallest of the group, and gave off a strange presence. The hooded cloak was dark green, and reached down to his knees. He wore black plate greaves. He nodded, and kept walking. Sapphiro turned back towards them.
"You guys comin'?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah...we're right behind you." Dergo answered, sighing as he crouched under another branch. The makeshift team kept on walking through the green forest, being careful not to make any more noise than necessary. After five minutes of sneaking through the forest, Sapphiro turned his head slightly to the left.
"Stop." Amethyst made her way to his right side.
"What is it?"
"Ursa Major." Dergo proceeded to Sapphiro's left. The large, bear-like creature was wandering around the clearing, its red eyes seeming to peer through the forest. It's midnight black coat, as well as its white and red skull, gave it a terrifying visage.
"Can we sneak around?" Dergo suggested, looking around.
"Yeah...but it doesn't seem like the best idea." Sapphiro replied, a bit of nervousness present in his voice.
"Why?" Sapphiro pointed outwards in response.
"The woods get really thick beside this clearing, and ahead of it too. There's a path behind that Ursa. Also, I heard some rustling in the bushes over there." He said as he pointed to his left.
"Probably some Beowolves or something. No big deal." Amethyst commented, a grin on her face.
"Alright, so let's charge that Ursa, and deal with the consequences." Sapphiro decided.
"Are you sure?" Dergo questioned.
"Of course. We got Erebus after all, right? What's the worst that could happen?"
"Oh, you know-"
"Don't answer that." Without warning, Sapphiro rose from his hiding place. In his right hand, he held a mace. Before everyone's eyes, it turned into an SMG. He raised his metal fist.
"CHARGE!" He cried, breaking into a sprint towards his target. Amethyst followed right behind him, unsheathing an LMG. Dergo followed right behind them, transforming his axe and dagger into a shotgun. Erebus silently pursued them, producing a greatsword from his back.
The Ursa Major turned in place, standing up on its rear legs. It roared its displeasure at being surprised by unwelcome guests. It lumbered back onto all fours, and slowly dashed towards his attackers. Sapphiro took aim as he was running, and fired off several bursts from his weapon. Dergo rolled to the right, and let his shotgun do the talking. Amethyst decided not to get involved fighting the Major, and was making sure that nothing came from the left. Erebus covered the right.
The Ursa Major swept its right claw, attempting to hit Sapphiro. Sapphiro blocked it by stepping to his left, and swung down his mace on the monster's over extended arm. A sickening crunch was heard, although the Major didn't seem to care. It then swung its left claw, which Dergo wasn't prepared for. He took a step back, but the attack still glanced him on his head, and he would've gotten knocked unconscious if it weren't for his Aura. A deep cut went from his ear to his cheek, and he grimaced in pain. A second later, however, he began to glow a deep orange, and his cut was healed. Dergo then refocused his attention on the immediate foe. He mashed the trigger, his shotgun barking in response, as if it were a loyal hound doing its master's will.
"Erebus! We got company!" Amethyst shouted to her comrade. Erebus broke into a dash towards her. A few howls were heard. Black, wolf-like silhouettes rushed out of the brush, sniffing and howling.
"Come on, you cute little things!" Amethyst teased, mocking the Beowolves that were charging at her in a vicious pack. There were at least twelve now, but more were probably making their way through the forest. Erebus crouched once he was halfways towards Amethyst. She briefly wondered what he was doing, until she saw him convert his greatsword into the rifle he was decently fond of. Several shots whizzed by Amethyst's head, and she turned to see just as many dead Beowolves, small crystals imbedded within the skin beneath their thick fur. They began to fade into green dust, which swirled back into the air and vanished gracefully.
Amethyst converted her LMG into a spear, and leapt five feet into the air, using her Aura to propel herself upwards. She landed straight on top of a Beowolf's shoulders, and grinned. She did a front flip, maneuvering past the annoyed creature. She was then ten feet up in the air, she centered her spear, and sped up her flip. An unfortunate Beowolf believed it would be a good idea to pounce on her, and it was rewarded by being bisected down the middle. More Beowolves were beginning to come in from the forest.
"Hahahaha!" She laughed, landing on her heels, holding the spear upwards in her right hand. The Beowolves briefly growled their disdain before running on all fours towards her. She twirled, and took the head off of the irritated monster behind her that she had leapt off of. While she performed the execution, she noticed that Erebus wasn't covering her anymore. She looked past Sapphiro and Dergo to see Erebus fighting something, although she couldn't make out what it was. She ripped her attention back to her predators.
Erebus grunted as he blocked another savage attack from the Death Stalker. He couldn't keep this up for long. Already, the oversized scorpion had pierced his defences twice. The monstrosity then wound up its tail, and took a stab at its delectable prey. Erebus rolled backwards, and grunted, as he was already tired. It had already tried to cut his leg, but his Aura made sure he was safe, at the cost of some energy. He held his sword in a two handed grip, readying it to slash through the more exposed parts of the creature. As the scorpion rose both of its pincers to strike, Erebus charged straight forward.
Sapphiro got close to the Ursa, and drew his mace downwards and back as he wound up to attack. Dergo covered him, firing off rounds from his firearm at the flailing limbs.
"Sapphiro! FINISH IT!" Dergo shouted, realizing the plights of both Amethyst and Erebus. Sapphiro took a brief half a second to focus. His mace began to glow a deep blue. He swung the mace upwards viciously, and another sickening crunch was heard. The Ursa stood up again on its hind legs and lumbered around for a few seconds. It hit the ground with a loud thud. Sapphiro turned towards Amethyst, and bolted. Dergo broke off towards Erebus.
Amethyst focused, and managed to keep her distance from the savage creatures of Grimm. She warded them off with her spear, while doing cartwheels and somersaults to keep herself alive and unharmed. Just as one of the Beowolves reached out to hurt her, its face was smashed in by a one handed mace. Sapphiro flew in, standing his ground.
"Thought you might need some help." He smiled, taking a defensive stance. She smiled back, and slashed down vertically at another Beowolf, taking its arm straight off. Sapphiro jumped in, and slammed his mace straight into the left side of its face. Sapphiro turned to his right, and slashed the nearest Beowolf with his claw, raking the side of its face. It briefly growled its hatred before its face was smashed in as Sapphiro twirled around again. Amethyst swung horizontally as she spun on her heels, bisecting another Beowolf through the waist. She channeled the remaining momentum from her first strike, and lifted the spear again to slash diagonally, going straight through another Beowolf's shoulder, and down to its waist, effectively cutting its body in twine. She turned to Sapphiro.
"Give me a little time." She ordered. Sapphiro looked back towards her.
"You got it." He made his way to her front, and made sure none of the animals harmed her. As Sapphiro protected her, Amethyst focused her Aura, and drew in any Dust from her pockets into her body. She closed her eyes, and soon found herself looking down at Remnant from a bird's eye point of view. She focused harder, and her vision was now restricted to Vale. She grit her teeth in pain and frustration, and was now looking down at Forever Fall. She put all of her effort into this last concentration, and saw both her friends and her up against a swarm of creatures of Grimm. She looked inside of herself, and saw a swirling vortex of purple and black energy deep inside of her, right in the center of her body. Her mind began to reel from the continued pain, but she barely held on. She manipulated the energies within her, molding and bending them to her will. It was like she was making something out of clay. She shifted the now tiny ball of energy into a small ball of thunder, which constantly buzzed and crackled. It was waiting to be unleashed. With her final ounce of strength, she opened her eyes and let go of the focused energy that had built up.
The thunder crackled across her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She opened her palms, and electric energy rippled outwards, killing at least thirty Beowolves. Sapphiro was left rapt, and gawked in awe at the display of raw power that was presented. He snapped out of his dream-like trance, before sprinting towards Erebus and Dergo, who were still trying their best to keep themselves alive.
Dergo sidestepped again, narrowly avoiding another hit as the ground next to him was smashed. If it wasn't for Erebus, Dergo, would be dead. Of course, the opposite could be said with just as much evidence. Erebus blocked the right claw, while Dergo did the same on the left. They were waiting for assistance, and would be dead in some time from eventual and inevitable exhaustion.
'Those White Fang bastards...' Dergo thought to himself. If it wasn't for their former pursuers, this battle wouldn't have been so hard on the group. Amethyst was borderline unconscious from when she unleashed her Eldritch Nova, and Erebus was tired from when he saved the rest of the group from the White Fang patrols that had been hounding them. Even then, Erebus was their best fighter. He still had enough stamina to almost hold his ground against the Death Stalker. Amethyst was in no shape to fight, and Erebus wasn't much that better. It was pretty much up to Sapphiro and Dergo to finish off the job.
"How are we going to kill this thing, Sapphiro?" Dergo asked, shrugging off a few more blows from the aggressive monster.
"Just a little more time, and it'll be dead. Watch." Sapphiro answered as he kept himself out of reach of the scorpion's attacks. Dergo nodded, and continued to focus on keeping it distracted. Sapphiro closed his eyes, and looked towards Amethyst. She was resting against the side of a tree, and Sapphiro almost thought she was dead. However, he focused and saw that she was still breathing. He sighed, and look towards Erebus. He only had a few scratches and cuts on his cloak, and was busy fighting the Death Stalker. Sapphiro repeated his sigh. He then turned his gaze towards Dergo. Sapphiro noted his weaponry, a one handed battle axe, and an ornately crafted dagger. Sapphiro observed the Death Stalker's numerous bulbous eyes, and an idea sparked in his mind.
"Take out its eyes." He commanded. Dergo turned his head towards him for a brief moment and nodded. Sapphiro rushed in, and jumped over its left claw, which Dergo was busy occupying. He put his claw outwards to his left, and cut open one of the smaller eyes near the center of the creature's face. This action outraged it, and the creature of Grimm raised its pincers in defiance, ready to crush the life out of Sapphiro. Before it could, however, Sapphiro rolled underneath its right claw, smirking to himself.
'That's one out of ten...' Dergo thought to himself. He took a glance at its eyes for a moment, before he utilized the rage that had overtaken the Death Stalker. He maneuvered his way around the pincer in his face, and brought the dagger in his left hand up towards the left eye of the monster that was closest to the mandible on that side of its face. The creature shrieked in pain, and closed its mandibles together just as Dergo let go of his dagger and put his arm down, leaving the blade to jut out of the ruined eye socket. He crouched underneath his foe, and dashed beneath it. While it was distracted by Dergo, Erebus did something very similar. He blocked another strike, before putting himself past the monster's defences. He swung diagonally with his greatsword, and destroyed two more of its eyes. Before it could react, Erebus went back to his position at its right, defending himself from the pincer again.
While Dergo moved underneath it, he outstretched his right arm, axe in hand, and started to chop off the legs on its right side. However, he only succeeded in severing the first two, and he peeled off to the left, back around the Death Stalker. As Dergo made his way around, Sapphiro took out another of the eyes through a vertical swing from his mace. The creature of Grimm kept on shrieking in pain, and got more and more berserk with its attacks as time went on.
Dergo finally made his way to the front. However, before he could distract his foe in the way he desired, the monster turned to him. Dergo quickly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, right before he pushed those negative feelings away. He stood proud and tall, ready to fight the creature that would dare attack him and his friends. Dergo raised his axe to defend himself. However, he didn't expect for it to use its stinger, and not its pincer. Dergo tried to step away, but was too late. The attack hit home, and slashed Dergo across the abdomen as he attempted to dodge it. Of course, his Aura protected him to some extent, but his body still took the brunt of the attack. He flew back, slamming his head into a tree. Sapphiro saw the event transpire, and he twitched slightly. He could've sworn he heard a slight snapping sound in his head.
He crouched directly underneath the creature of Grimm. With almost superhuman speed, he pulled out a red Dust crystal with his armored hand, and crushed it. He then snapped two of his artificial fingers together, and the whole hand erupted in flame. Luckily, Sapphiro wouldn't be able to feel it, at least until the fire spread to the rest of his body. He stuck his hand right into its center, and gripped it with all of his strength.
'Burn...' He thought to himself. The scorpion-like creature began to screech, and it flailed every part of its body. After a few more seconds, it began to spasm, its body not able to take the intense heat. Its tail began to contract in its death throes, and the monster screamed as it was slowly being melted through. Sapphiro endured, and burned his way through. However, it took more than a couple of seconds. The sound of the Death Stalker dying reverberated throughout the forest, flocks of birds flying out of their resting places. After about a dozen more moments of being burnt through, the abomination finally stopped moving, and died. Sapphiro waded his way through its scorching remains, picked up Dergo's dagger, and began to walk towards Dergo. However, he just remembered that his hand was still on fire. He looked around, and decided to wave his hand around in the air frantically. It didn't help much. Sapphiro then decided to stop, drop, and roll. After five more seconds, the fire was finally put out.
'Phew...' He thought to himself. Erebus rested on one knee, putting his greatsword in the ground. Sapphiro found Dergo propped up against the tree, just as he was before. Sapphiro quickly reached for his pulse, and sighed his relief.
"He isn't dead…" Sapphiro muttered to himself, a miniscule smile plastered onto his face. He set down his comrade's dagger on his friend's side, so that it held. It was on the opposite side of the axe. He got up from his stooping position, and stretched his back and arms.
"Hey!" A female voice cried out. Sapphiro turned around, and saw a strange sight. Four girls, around his age, who were all roughly thirty feet away from him. He looked straight back at them.
"Uh...hello?" He hesitantly replied, wondering if the girls were friend or foe. They looked kind of friendly. One of them, who was dressed in all red and black, walked forward. Without warning, she began to dart towards him. He took a tense stance, and was ready to be attacked. However, she stopped just as she was a foot in front of him. Sapphiro stood back a tiny bit.
"Hi! I'm Ruby! Nice to meet ya!" She expressed, holding out her hand. She had an almost impossibly large smile on her face. Her beautiful silver eyes glinted in the sunlight, which would only last about an hour more. She was very pale, and surprisingly a bit on the short side. Her clothing and hair blended perfectly with the background, as if she were an incarnation of this place. She waited for a response, the occasional red leaf landing beside her.
"Nice to meet you too, Ruby. My name is Sapphiro." By the time he had finished introducing himself, Ruby's friends made their way to her side. They all exchanged looks.
"Wait...oh no!" Sapphiro slapped his forehead, and turned around. The girls all shared expressions of confusion.
"Amethyst!" He shouted as he looked around the clearing. He was almost immediately greeted by a hand rising from the ground, like some corpse come back to life. He sprinted over.
"Thank goodness you're alright." He said as he stared down at her. She lazily moved her hand towards him. He silently chuckled, and pulled her up. Amethyst's hair was an absolute mess.
"Thanks!" She giggled, just as she noticed the new arrivals.
"What's with the bunch of girls?" She asked, while she simultaneously made sure they didn't hear her.
"Uh...I dunno. They just...showed up." He replied, rushing off towards Erebus. Before he took more than three steps, he noticed that Erebus wasn't where he used to be. He turned towards the girls, but he wasn't around them either. He looked to his right. He was greeted by a cloaked figure looking down at him. Erebus.
"You scared me." Erebus simply looked down and motioned his head towards the girls.
"Got it." Sapphiro walked towards them, with Amethyst following not too far behind. Erebus made his way over to Dergo, and lifted him up over his shoulder. Sapphiro was in front of the girls, and cleared his throat.
"So...why are you girls here?" Without consulting her friends, Ruby spoke up.
"Wellll...first we heard some shooting, then we heard some screaming. Then we ran towards the sounds, and found you standing there." She turned towards one of her friends, who was dressed in white and had a rapier resting at her side.
"Is that an okay explanation, Weiss?" The teenager in question scoffed.
"While less than...perfect, I suppose it'll do."
"YAY!" Ruby cheered enthusiastically, raising her arms as she leapt in the air like some random cheerleader. Amethyst smiled. Erebus walked over, and the girls briefly looked at both of them, before reverting their attention back to Sapphiro. Sapphiro waited a few seconds, before mentally slapping himself.
"These are my friends. Amethyst." Sapphiro introduced, gesturing towards his purple haired compatriot.
"Nice to meet you all." She waved and smiled. Sapphiro pointed towards a large, cloaked figure.
"This is Erebus." Before they could react, Sapphiro put his organic hand up to one side of his mouth, as if shielding his voice from anyone but his intended targets from hearing his statement.
"He doesn't really talk." Erebus gave them a nod in return, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards. Erebus was trying his best to smile.
"And lastly, Dergo. Poor guy got knocked out by that Death Stalker." Sapphiro finished, frowning a bit. The group looked at Sapphiro with questioning looks on their faces.
"Wait...you guys killed a Death Stalker?" The blonde one of the group asked, even her eyes conveyed her question. They showed her doubt. Sapphiro stared back awkwardly.
"Uh...yeah. Is there a problem?"
"How did you do that?"
"Working together, I guess. We're not very good at it." He pointed towards Dergo.
"Annddd...there's your proof, I'm guessing?" The blonde one questioned, a grin on her face. Sapphiro laughed a little.
"Yep." Ruby cleared her throat.
"Oh! Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. These are my friends."
"There's Weiss, Blake, and Yang." She introduced, pointing towards each of her friends as she rattled off their names. "The four of us make up team RWBY!" She exclaimed, and smiling as she struck a heroic pose. Her friends joined her. Sapphiro and Amethyst laughed, while Erebus had the faintest smile still stuck to his face.
"Your enthusiasm is pretty admirable." Sapphiro commented. Ruby spoke up again.
"Sooo...what is it that you guys were doing out here?" Yang asked while she cocked her head to the side a tiny bit, which was followed by crossed arms.
"We planned on finding a place where we would be accepted. We've been trekking the continent for a while now. Also, I'm going to just ask the same question."
"Well...Professor Port told us to come out here and see if we could recover any samples of creatures of Grimm we hadn't seen yet. He said he would teach us about them after. Kind of a hands-on thing, really." Ruby answered.
"Why isn't she talking?" Blake asked. She gestured towards Amethyst.
"Oh, her? She was busy fighting a ton of Beowolves. She's definitely still tired from our whole battle. Which you guys heard." Sapphiro explained. Blake nodded.
"Wait...you mentioned a professor? You guys are students out here?" Ruby nodded excessively.
"Yessiree! We're going to enter our second semester soon at Beacon Academy."
"BEACON?! Just great, I'm acting all casual in front of a bunch of prodigies." Sapphiro sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ruby blushed a tiny bit.
"Hehe...thanks."
"Anyways, I think Professor Ozpin might care to see you all. He has an appreciation for people like you." Blake piped up. Sapphiro turned his head sideways.
"Really? What would he want with us?"
"Well, your group did kill a Death Stalker, and whatever else. That takes talent." Sapphiro and the others lightened up at the statement.
"Oh...thanks!" He chuckled.
"So...we can come with you all?" Sapphiro asked.
"Yeah, sure! It'll be fun. Plus, we know the way back to Vale anyways, where you guys'll be safe."
"Oh wow...thanks a lot. We appreciate it."
"No problem! Glad to help!" Ruby energetically expressed. Sapphiro looked around.
"Well, that's that. We're ready when you guys are."
* (Roughly forty minutes later.)
Sapphiro, Amethyst, and Erebus, with Dergo in tow, followed their new found friends. Within five more minutes, they had found their way to the Beacon Cliffs. Unfortunately, they had trek up paths that led upwards towards the academy. On the way to Beacon, they discussed different things. Ruby walked up to Sapphiro's side.
"So...who's the leader in your group?" She asked. She kept up pace with Sapphiro and had her hands behind her back. Sapphiro looked back at her.
"Leader? Well, you probably could say I am. I boss them around enough, so yeah. I guess I am the leader."
"You don't sound very confident for a leader."
"Well, one of us could've easily been killed just fifteen minutes ago...so yeah. I'm not feeling particularly confident in our abilities as a team right now." Ruby looked at him, a friendly expression locked onto her face.
"I see what you mean. When I became the leader of team RWBY, the whole group didn't get along extremely well, especially when we all first met."
"Really? You guys seem like a bunch of childhood friends now. Well, except for that Weiss girl. She doesn't seem very...tolerant." Ruby silently chuckled. Her smile got even wider.
"Yeah, we still clash a little. But, we're friends, and it's as simple as that." Sapphiro looked back at her.
"You're lucky it's so simple. What I would give to have a good friend…" Ruby looked back at him, eyeing him down as if he were slightly deranged.
"Hey, you never know when you could find another. You just have to meet them."
"Hmm...you're right."
"So...what do you think of your 'team'?" Ruby asked hesitantly. Sapphiro cocked his head sideways at her, and resumed walking forward.
"Well...Erebus is strange. He hasn't directly talked to me...ever. Only through hastily written notes have we actually communicated. I haven't even seen his face either. I don't think anyone knows what's under that mask of his. However, he is the best fighter out of the four of us, and we probably wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for him." Ruby nodded, and signalled for him to continue.
"Amethyst is my friend. We've known each other for about two months now, and we look out for each other. She's a bit more optimistic than I am, but that doesn't really lead to any clashes of personality. She's pretty talented at manipulating her Aura. Actually, her Semblance allows her to use powers relating to strong winds and storms."
"That. Sounds. Awesome!" Ruby beamed, practically jumping for joy as she ran the countless possibilities through her head. Sapphiro smiled at her.
"Lastly, there's Dergo. He's always questioning every aspect of an attack. Every angle, every attack, every shot possible, he can conceive 'em. He's always playing the devil's advocate, doubting every single assumption and working with what he's got, although I've learned to respect that. Him and Erebus saved my life a time or two." Ruby looked back at him, estranged by his statement.
"You guys seem to have a lot of close calls. You must really trust each other."
"More so out of desperation than anything else. We aren't really that close with each other, actually. Erebus is practically souless, Dergo is cautious of everything and everyone, and Amethyst is nice, but we haven't really talked that much one on one."
"That's sad." She frowned slightly, looking towards Sapphiro's friends as she thought to herself.
'Hmm...maybe they really can come to Beacon? Could they grow close to each other?'
In the background, Dergo slowly opened his eyes, and noticed that he was being carried by Erebus. He nudged him with his hand.
"Hey, put me down please?" He asked, Erebus responded with a nod, and set him down.
"Anyways, how close are we to the academy?" Sapphiro asked, changing topics to avoid any further awkwardness or socialization.
"Actually, we should be close."
"Found it."
"That was quick."
"Let's get back to the others. Come on." Dergo looked over his shoulder, seeing Ruby and Sapphiro as they approached everybody. Dergo jogged towards them.
"We're here already?" He commented, looking up towards the spires of Beacon as he contemplated their aesthetic beauty.
"Yeah, I can hardly believe we're seeing a part of Vale so soon after we met you guys. It's only been forty seven minutes." Sapphiro added as he turned in place to see the rest of the group loosely arranged around him.
"Welcome to Beacon."
Within another few minutes, the group had just about reached the front entrance. Half of them looked at the beautiful complex in awe, wide-eyed and mouths agape. The other half were glad that their reactions were positive. Team RWBY started to make their way towards the interior of the school. However, they were greeted by someone. A man, with shaded spectacles and white hair, which partially covered his left eye. He wore a green scarf, with a black suit, as well as a black buttoned vest, with long black pants.
"Done so soon? I shouldn't be surprised." Dergo responded with a questioning look on his face, unsure about what the man meant.
"And who would these new arrivals be, hmm?" He asked, walking forward a bit as he was accompanied by a woman with blonde hair and light green eyes.
"I'm Sapphiro Sunil, at your service sir. These are my friends." Sapphiro responded, gesturing towards his comrades as he listed off their names.
"This is Amethyst Tonitrus." The girl in question did a small bow, grinning from ear to ear as she did so. Sapphiro pointed to his own right.
"That is Dergo Aequus." The male replied with a slight wave, a neutral look occupying his features.
"And finally, there's Erebus Ignotus." The silent man offered no more than a simple bow.
"Interesting. We observed you all in the forest using our Scrolls." The stranger informed. Sapphiro stepped up.
"So then why are you asking for our names?"
"First and last." Blake stepped in.
"Professor Ozpin, what should we do with them?" Ozpin looked to the four new arrivals.
"Considering that you four seem to make a decent team, and are looking for somewhere to stay, why not join Beacon together?" Sapphiro, Amethyst, Dergo, and Erebus all looked at Ozpin wide-eyed, expressions of genuine surprise plastered onto their faces. Of course, nobody actually knew that Erebus was expressing anything at that moment, due to his hood.
"Are you kidding me? This school is for prodigies, not for simple drifters like us." Sapphiro responded. Ozpin regarded him with a strange and doubtful gaze.
"While that may be true, you are not simple warriors. You know how to use your Auras and Semblance abilities. You can even coordinate, to some extent. Some steps in the right direction, and the four of you could all be Huntsmen."
"I genuinely can not believe this is actually happening." Dergo commented.
"Uh, can you pinch me, Erebus?" The giant in question turned, and pinched Amethyst extremely hard on her right arm.
"OW! Not that hard!" Erebus shrugged in response. Sapphiro turned towards Ozpin.
"Sir, it would be a privilege for us to be students at Beacon Academy." Sapphiro looked to his friends, who all had looks of approval stuck to their faces.
"We will take you up on the offer. Thank you very much." Ozpin smiled at them.
"Not a problem. Just do your best, and you'll fit right in. Consider that fight you had earlier to be your initiation."
"Wow…"
"Dergo Aequus, Erebus Ignotus, Sapphiro Sunil, and Amethyst Tonitrus. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Shade, led by Sapphiro Sunil. Welcome to Beacon." Applause was heard, and the newly formed Team SADE turned to see Team RWBY offering their support.
"Great job, guys. It's awesome to have you here." Ruby stated.
"Congrats!" Yang smiled.
"Thanks, all of you." Sapphiro said, turning towards the entrance as he rolled his neck.
"Now, let's go home."