Last Time on Power Rangers Animus…
"So how'd you girls get your crystals?" Jaune asked.
Weiss removed her Condor crystal from her necklace and smiled as the fond memory of how she got it came to mind.
"When I was a little girl, I loved the flying feathered creatures of the world. None more so than the majestic Condor. One day, my mother took me to a nature shoot that she was doing for a magazine publication. We were climbing through the trees when I stumbled upon an abandoned Condor nest. Being the curious little girl that I was, I decided to see what I could find. I climbed into the nest and to my surprise there was the crystal that I treasure so! I brought it back to my mother and she made it into a necklace for me. I've worn it around my neck ever since." Weiss explained.
Jaune honestly couldn't say anything. He was given the black Lion crystal by his grandpa when he was a little boy. He'd always taken good care of it and never let anyone so much as touch it.
"Weird. I found my crystal in the same way, only mine was given to me by a Leopard." Yang said.
"I found mine in the water near a Saw Shark breeding ground." Pyrrha added.
"Mine was found in a prairie near a stampeding herd of Buffalo." Velvet said.
"It's kinda strange how there's five of these crystals. Do you think they mean something?" Weiss inquired.
Now…
First Night at Beacon - Trial of the Prowling Leopard!
The Bullhead landed at the Beacon Academy airstrip, and the young hopefuls piled out. They were all eager to get started and pass initiation, but none more so than our young protagonists. Jaune and the others had met up with Yang's younger sister, Ruby, and they quickly became friends.
"Wow, look at all these potential huntsmen and huntresses!" Jaune said in awe.
"There certainly are a lot of them." Velvet said in agreement.
That's when Ruby suddenly turned chibi as she began geeking out at the sight of all the unique weapons.
"OMYGAWD, YANG LOOK! That guy has a collapsible staff! And that girl's got a fire sword!" gushed Ruby.
As the fifteen year old teen tried to float off in chibi form, Yang just rolled her eyes and dragged her sister back to the group by the hood of her cloak. This in turn reverted the younger girl to her normal form. Although it did make Jaune and the others wonder how Ruby could be as adorable as a puppy and yet as deadly as a tarantula.
"Why do you always do that, Ruby? They're just weapons." Yang said.
"JUST WEAPONS?!" demanded a highly offended Ruby. "Yang, mom always said that our weapons are an extension of our being!"
"Okay, okay! But you don't have to geek out over every weapon you see, sis. Unless you're trying to replace your own." Yang said with a teasing grin.
Jaune and the others recoiled back as they saw Ruby take out a freaking big scythe that looked to be heavily customized.
"What are you saying, Yang?! I love Crescent Rose! It's just that meeting new weapons is like meeting new people. Only better." Ruby said, looking a bit depressed.
Yang just laughed a bit and pulled her sister's hood over her head, making the silver eyed girl stumble a bit.
"Come on, Rubes, you've gotta come out of your shell and make some new friends!" Yang said.
"That's easy for you to say. All of your friends are here with you while all of mine are still back at Signal." griped Ruby. "Besides, why would I want to make new friends when I have you?"
Before Yang could possibly try any sink or swim methods of getting Ruby to make friends, Jaune decided to intervene. After all, he understands where Ruby is coming from. They're both pretty much socially awkward and have very few friends here at Beacon.
"Hey, no worries Ruby. Me and the girls are still your friends. And we'll help you make a bunch more! After all, strangers are just friends you haven't met, as my mom always says." Jaune declared.
Ruby smiled, knowing that she at least has a few friends here. Maybe the Beacon life won't be so bad. But for now, they had to get to the auditorium for the first half of initiation.
Speaking of which…
"Does anyone know where we're going?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know. I was following you guys." Velvet admitted.
"Not to worry, I think I saw a directory board over there somewhere." Weiss said.
Well, at least they don't have to worry about getting lost during initiation. That might've been bad.
/Later that Evening…\
Everyone had heard Ozpin's speech about their possible acceptance into Beacon and was now gearing up for bed. Since no one has been assigned dorms yet, the students had to sleep in the auditorium. Fortunately, the staff were able to supply the students with futons to sleep on for the night, so no one would technically be sleeping on the floor.
"Hey, Yang?"
"Yes, Ruby?"
"Can you tell me the story about how you got your animal crystal?" Ruby asked.
"Why do you want to hear that one again, Rubble? You've already heard it like a bazillion times now!" Yang stated.
"Well I think that's a story we'd all like to hear."
Yang looked up to see her new friends sitting down in front of her. They were each in their sleeping gear and had a look of childlike curiosity. Although Yang didn't really want to tell the story, she could see that there is no escaping it this time.
"Oh alright. I'll tell you the story." Yang conceded.
Yang sat up in her sleeping bag and took a moment to collect her thoughts. The story took place quite a few years ago, so she had a bit of trouble remembering certain details.
"It all started when I was a little girl…
/Initiating Flashback\
Yang and Ruby's uncle Qrow had taken the blonde girl to the nature preserves of the Savannah on my seventh birthday. And I tell you now, she was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet from excitement. The two of them saw all sorts of animals there!
Elephants, Giraffes, Monkeys, even the occasional Okapi!
It was so beautiful, little Yang could barely stop myself from tearing up at its beauty.
"You having fun there, sunflower?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah! It's all soooooo pretty!" replied a seven year old Yang.
Qrow just laughed at his oldest niece's response, but even he had to admit that the natural beauty of the Savannah was quite the welcome change from the Grimm infested areas that he's had to deal with for so many years. And he also loved the sight of the Cheetahs running free across their natural habitat.
But as you all know, for every good thing there's always a bad thing.
Suddenly, most of the animals got spooked and started running away. It was like they were sensing something that they weren't. Of course, at that point Yang's Aura had yet to be unlocked.
"Uncle Qrow, what's wrong? Why are the animals so scared?" asked an equally frightened Yang.
Qrow just grabbed his weapon and climbed out of the Jeep, closing the door on his way out.
"Stay in the Jeep. I've got a bad feeling about this." Qrow instructed.
Yang just did as her uncle told her. She knew if he was being this serious, it was better to just listen to him. And both she and Ruby have made their uncle mad at least once in their short lives. Particularly when Yang brought Ruby along to the Grimm infested woods of Patch in search of her birth mother.
Their bottoms were sore for a week after that incident.
But before she could dwell on that any further, something did happen.
Several Grimm started stampeding towards them! There were Beowolves, Ursas, King Taiju and even a few Nevermores. And they were there for one thing and one thing only…
To eradicate all wildlife in the area and claim their homes for themselves!
Yang screamed as a Beowolf tried to get into the Jeep to eat her. She was probably going to regret this later, but she had no choice but to go against her uncle's instructions. She quickly got out of the Jeep and started running towards the trees, hoping to lose the Grimm by hiding in the foliage. The last thing she heard from her uncle was…
"Keep running, Yang, and don't look back! Don't worry, sweetheart! I will find you!"
And so, she ran as far and as fast as her little legs could carry her. Sure enough, the Beowolves couldn't find her as she ran through all of the trees. But Yang refused to stop until she was absolutely sure she wasn't being followed.
Finally, after what felt like hours of running, though it was really fifteen minutes, Yang stopped running and hunkered down inside a hollow tree to catch her breath. As soon as her adrenaline had left her system, Yang did what all small children would do in this situation. She broke down crying out of fear and loneliness.
She continued to cry for about an hour until she finally stopped and fell asleep, completely exhausted from the day's events.
A few hours later, Yang began to wake up feeling warmer than when she fell asleep. Thinking it was her uncle, she curled up and snuggled against his furry coat.
'Wait, furry?'
Yang gasped and opened her eyes to see that a full grown Leopard had found her and was now curled around her. It didn't seem hostile. In fact, it almost had this parental look in its eyes.
"Wow, who are you?" Yang asked.
She slowly and carefully reached up to pet the mighty big cat, and to her surprise it leant into her touch and purred loudly as she scratched it's ears. Yang smiled and began giggling as the Leopard began to groom her like it would one of its own cubs. She looked back up at the Leopard and something caught her eye.
It was a little round jewel tied to its neck by a thin piece of string.
"What's that?" Yang asked curiously.
The Leopard seemed to know that she was referring to and leaned down to give her a closer look. Yang reached up to remove the crystal, and the Leopard made no move to stop her. Instead, it just let her take the crystal. As Yang removed the string from the crystal, she heard a roar from a big cat and the crystal began to glow with a golden yellow light. As the light died down, a little stone carving of a Leopard appeared in the crystal.
"Oh my gosh…!" Yang gasped in awe. "This is you…!"
The Leopard seemed to flash a smile as it too was bathed in golden yellow light. Yang watched in awe as the beast turned into a ball of light before floating into the girl's free hand. When the light died down, it revealed a sort of flip phone that was stylized to look like a Leopard's head.
"Whoa…! What just happened?" Yang asked herself.
That's when Yang heard growling from behind her. She spun around and gasped as she saw a pack of Beowolves closing in on her. Their fangs glistened in the evening light and they looked like the equivalent of a horde of hungry zombies! The girl's first instinct was to run away and find her uncle, but then she thought of something.
What if she ran away when Ruby needed her the most?
Such a thought was absolutely appalling to the little one! She loves her baby sister with all her heart and soul never abandon her! She quickly pocketed her new animal crystal and steeled her resolve.
"I am through running!" growled Yang.
She flipped open the strange phone and somehow knew exactly what to do.
"ANIMARIUM ACCESS!"
Yang pressed a button on the phone and was soon engulfed in a ball of pure light. When it died down, she had changed. Her body was now that of a full grown woman. She was wearing a form fitting golden yellow suit with a Leopard spot pattern with black gloves and shoes. She also wore a helmet in the form of a Leopard's head that concealed her face with a black visor in the open mouth that hid her eyes. On the left side of her chest was a stylized Leopard head emblem, and she had a small dagger strapped to her left hip.
This was the scene that Qrow arrived on.
"Hey, whoever you are, you'd better get out of here!" Qrow ordered as he transformed his weapon from a sword to a scythe.
Yang just thrust out her arm and flicked her fingers as claws contracted from her gloves.
"Sorry, but I'm the Prowling Leopard Ranger!" she said in her now adult voice. "And the Animus Rangers never run from danger!"
She struck the ground with her claws before striking a pose that made her look like a Leopard on the prowl.
She drew her saber and charged into the fray, slashing and stabbing away at any Grimm stupid enough to challenge her. Qrow was shocked by what he was seeing. This, whatever she is, just appeared out of nowhere and was taking down all these Grimm with a puny dagger like someone slicing through a cake in a bakery!
Just who are these Animus Rangers?
/Flashback Over\
"After I took out those Grimm, I found a spot to change back. Luckily, the accelerated aging process was only temporary and I turned back to my right age after turning back. Uncle Qrow found me, took out the remaining Grimm, and that's my story." Yang finished.
There was not a word spoken throughout the whole story, and Yang could see why. Everyone was in awe at what they'd heard.
"Oh my gosh, you're like me!" Velvet suddenly blurted out.
"I thought I was the only one!" Weiss added.
"No, something similar happened to me too!" Jaune said.
"Oh my goodness, it's nice to know I'm not alone in this world!" Pyrrha all but shouted.
"You guys mean that you all…?"
They answered by pulling out similar flip phones and showing them to Yang. Jaune's resembled a black male lion with a bronze mane, Pyrrha has one that looks like a Saw Shark's head, Velvet's resembled a brown Buffalo, and Weiss had a blue Condor.
Yang's eyes widened and she grinned like mad. It looks like there really are other people like her out there!
***To Be Continued…***