Team JEST
Chapter 1: 4 Priceless Gems
S/N: Hey, guys! SolarEnergy07 here with a RWBY story, collabed with Arctic01. I hope you guys enjoy Team JEST, and please read and review! Also, if you haven't already, check out Arctic01's story, The Tri-Blade Alliance. It's going good so far, so take a look.
Also, the lack of action in this chapter will be made up for in the next chapters with extra duels and semblance reveals.
Key: S/N = Solar's Notes
A/N= Arctic's Notes
(x)
"Beacon Academy," the red-haired teenager said as he got off the airship.
"I know, right? Way bigger than I thought it'd be," the green-haired hooded teenager said as he followed his brother off of the airship.
"That's what she said," the yellow-haired female said as she got off.
"This coming from an actual 'she'", the blue-haired male said as he got off.
"Guys," Red said as he stepped in front of the others, "let's try to make friends while we're here, shall we?"
"I've already got you guys, and that's honestly enough for me," Green calmly said.
"C'mon Eric, don't be so antisocial," Yellow pleaded.
"I dunno. I might have to go with Eric on this one, Sam," Blue said last.
"Alright," Red said, "I'll go first." He scanned the crowd and saw a lone girl in red. "HEY, YOU!" The red girl looked in their direction after jumping a bit. "WANNA BE FRIENDS?!"
In the blink of an eye, she ran over to them. "SURE! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!" she yelled back in front of the quartet.
"Stop yelling," Eric said.
"Fine. I'm Johnny. And you are…?"
"I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."
"Well, Miss Rose," Blue said as he walked to her side, "prepare to regret your decision."
"Thomas, don't be so mean to her," Sam pleaded.
"No promises."
"Didn't you come here with someone?" Eric asked.
"Yeah. My sister. Before she left me and I exploded," Ruby grumbled.
"That was you?!" Johnny looked like he was going to break out into laughter.
"Hey! That's not funny!"
"It's kinda funny," Thomas said.
"Wait a minute," Sam said. She pointed back to where Ruby came from. "Isn't that the kid who puked on the airship? HEY, SCRAWNY!"
Said kid jumped in fright, then walked over as Skye motioned for him to come over.
"And I'm being mean?!" Thomas incredulously asked Sam. Sam shrugged in response.
"Y-Yeah?" Poor kid was frightened.
"My name is Sam. And you are?"
"Jaune Arc," the kid, Jaune, said as he shook Sam's outstretched hand.
"Okay, now me and Johnny have friends."
"I'll see you guys inside," Johnny said as he walked towards Beacon.
"We'll catch up later, guys," Thomas promised as he ran after Johnny.
"You two get along now, you hear?" Sam jokingly said as she and Eric left Ruby and Jaune.
(x)
Later…
"There you guys are!" Thomas called over the crowd as he saw his siblings.
"Yeah, yeah, we'll be right there," Eric said as he made his way through the crowd. Once he was joined by Johnny and Sam, he took note of the new girl next to Thomas. "New friend?"
"Yep. Guys, say hello to Yang," Thomas said, motioning to the blond girl next to Thomas, who waved to the others.
"Hi, Yang. I'm Johnny. This is Sam and that is Eric." The two waved when they were called. Yang got a good look at her new friends. Johnny was wearing a red overcoat over a red t-shirt and black skinny jeans, with black combat boots. On his back were two swords. Sam was wearing a yellow shirt with a grey skirt, and white combat boots. She had no visible weapon on her, other than a dagger on her waist. Then she looked over Eric, who was wearing a green hoodie and had green shorts, with two knives strapped to his sides, one on either side. Looking back to Thomas, who had a simple blue shirt and grey jeans, and had two swords on his back like Johnny.
"You guys are a colorful bunch."
"Thank you," Sam said.
"I have to go. I'll catch you after the ceremony!" the quintet heard a familiar voice call.
"Hey, wait! Ah, great," another voice said.
The siblings looked back to see Ruby standing behind Yang. Yang said, "How was your first day, little sister?"
"Hey, you guys are sisters?" Eric said.
"I don't see the resemblance," Sam said.
Ignoring them, Ruby said, "You mean since you ditched me, and I exploded?"
"Yikes. Meltdown already?"
"No, she actually exploded," Thomas said.
"Right," Yang said sarcastically.
"I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, then she yelled at me! And then I sneezed, and then I exploded! And then she yelled again! And I felt really, really bad! And I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" Impressively, all this was said in one breath.
"YOU!"
"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby screamed as she jumped and clung onto Yang as a girl dressed in white approached the bunch.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"
"Oh my god, you really exploded," Yang said.
"It was an accident! It was an accident!"
"Yeah, lay off, ice queen! She said she was sorry!" Thomas stood up for Ruby.
"I'm not talking to you!" The girl snapped back. "And talk when you're addressed!"
"Hey!" Johnny stepped in between the two. "Calm down, both of you!" He gestured towards the stage. "The headmaster's about to talk."
The headmaster cleared his throat to, successfully, get everyone's attention. "I'll keep this brief.
"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose… direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." When the headmaster finished, the huntress who was up there with him stepped up and spoke.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"He seemed kinda…off," Yang said. "Almost like he wasn't even there."
"...I dunno about you guys," Johnny turned and began to walk away, "I'm going to the ballroom before all the good spots are taken."
"See you guys later," Sam said as the family walked away.
(x)
"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang said as she (literally) jumped into the bed next to Ruby, who was writing something.
"Could you not right now?" Eric groaned as he turned over. "Some of us are trying to sleep." Eric and his siblings managed to get good spots before the other students due to their earliness.
"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though," Ruby said, ignoring Eric.
"What's wrong with me?" Thomas and Johnny asked at the same time from nearby beds.
"Nothing guys, don't worry," Yang replied to the two. Deciding to take the compliment, they tried to go back to sleep. "I know I do," Yang said to Ruby. After tearing her eyes off of all the boys, she looked to what Ruby was writing. "What's that?"
"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."
"Adorable," Sam squealed from the next bed. "It's nice how you still keep in touch with your friends."
"I didn't get to bring them with me to Beacon, you know. It's weird not knowing anybody here."
"How about Thomas and his siblings ? Or Jaune? They're…nice. That's 5 friends on the first day!"
"I know, but it's not the same."
"One more friend won't hurt!"
"Yang, what're you-AH!" Ruby screamed as Yang ripped her off of her bed to introduce her to a girl reading in the corner.
"They're a lively duo," Johnny said to Thomas.
"Yup. Now get some sleep. We have to be ready for the initiation tomorrow," the blue-haired teen responded as he turned to the other side.
(x)
"Jesus. I wouldn't want to be that guy," Johnny said as he and his siblings walked to their lockers. This was in response to him seeing that poor guy being bothered by an annoying girl.
"Right?" Thomas said as they approached their lockers.
"I wonder what those two are so worked up about," Ruby said as she got her weapon from her locker.
"Ah, my beauties," Johnny said as he retrieved his twin swords from his locker. "How I missed you." He strapped them on his back and got ready to leave.
"You call your swords your beauties?" Yang said incredulously.
"Yep," Thomas said as he pulled his swords out and sheathed them, leaving afterwards.
"What about you, Sam?" Ruby asked.
"That's a secret," Sam said as she left with her brothers.
"Don't bother," Eric said as he strapped his knives to his sides and left while everyone was discussing teams.
(x)
Everyone was on Beacon Cliff, where Professor Ozpin was giving a speech.
"For years, you have trained to become warrior. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Goodwitch spoke after him. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."
"What?" Ruby asked incredulously. "Oh…"
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well."
Ruby groaned.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Ruby felt her entire world shatter. "WHAT?!" she said rather adorably.
"See?" the orange-haired girl said to her friend.
"Once you are partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die." Jaune laughed nervously and gulped.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene.
"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately.
"Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune started.
"Good. Now, take your positions."
"Guys," Thomas said to his siblings, "let's make sure we're paired together."
"Copy that," Johnny said while smirking.
"Of course," Eric said.
"Get ready, boys!" Sam said.
Sam was launched first, and as she soared through the air, she flew towards the trees. Once she was in the leaves, she grabbed a tree branch and swung on it, gracefully flipping off and landing on her feet. "BIRDIE, NO!" Sam looked up to see Ruby go by and hit a bird in the process. She sighed and went towards her left, as she heard something.
Thomas was next, making sure he was in the trees before he softened his landing. Strangely, he was launched farther and higher than everyone else. Ozpin pushed his glasses back as he thought, Interesting. He made sure to slow his fall down before he hit the floor. "Gotta love the semblance," he whispered to himself. He heard a sound to his right and turned to see his sister walk through the bushes.
They both looked at each other. Then they broke into a grin and gave the other a thumbs up. "PARTNERS!"
Eric landed farther than the others, landing on his feet after landing on a tree branch. He dusted himself off, made sure his hood was still on, then progressed onward.
Johnny was the last of the four to be launched, making sure to follow his landing strategy. As he entered the leaves, he took out a small black dagger from his belt and threw it towards the ground. He felt himself vanish, then reappear right behind the knife. He grabbed it, and rolled onto the forest floor, breaking into a run once he got back up. He sheathed it as he ran. Gotta find them, he thought to himself as he ran. He stopped when he saw a tree block his way, making a sharp right. As he ran, (How the hell is my stamina so high?) he saw the temple where the chess pieces were. He ran forward and grabbed a black knight piece. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a familiar gloved hand go for the piece he was going for. Johnny turned to face the would-be thief, but was relieved to see his hooded brother. "Hey, Eric. Partners?"
"Obviously."
"Cool! We'll join you!" The two new partners turned to see Thomas tossing a black knight piece in his hand with Sam by his side.
"Now it's a party!" Eric said happily.
"C'mon guys, let's go. Ozpin's probably waiting for us. Or whatever team," Johnny said as he led the group the way he came from.
The newly-formed team heard a loud roar from behind them. "MOVE!" Thomas yelled as the team did so. Johnny and Thomas rolled to one side of the path, while Sam and Eric rolled to the other side. An Ursa of an ungodly size barreled past them. Stopping in its tracks and turning itself around to face the family of future Huntsman, the Ursa roared, shaking the trees as it did so.
"Got a plan, anyone?" Sam asked as she prepared herself.
"Yeah, I've got one," Johnny said as he drawed his swords. Sam's focus went on those weapons, as she was starting to forget their appearance (it was about a year since they all drew their weapons). His swords were about 3 feet tall, with the pommel having the shape of spikes going downward on either side. In the center of the pommel were two rhombus-shaped gemstones, and there was a line in the blade that went down the blade and stopping about a quarter of the way. "Sam, mark the weak points." Sam nodded and drew her own dagger. She held it in front of her as three more daggers formed. She threw them one by one, making sure to throw her dagger last. As the daggers hit the Ursa, Thomas drew his own double-edged swords (with spikes at the ends of his pommels going up on one side and down on the other, and a gemstone on the bottom of the hilt of each sword), Eric drew his knives (which had gemstones on the hilt of each knife), and focused so they became a green color, indicating that it had Earth Dust.
"Ready…" the knives reached the Ursa, "NOW!" They all threw their knives at the Ursa, disappearing as the knives flew. They reappeared right in front of the Ursa, and assaulted it. Thomas stabbed the Ursa's back, Johnny sliced the Ursa's face, and Eric threw his knives to trap the Ursa into the floor. As it was struggling to break free, Sam threw a Lightning Dust crystal, and all of them dodged backwards as the Dust exploded. The Ursa was getting shocked continuously, and eventually fell over due to the combined assault.
"Is it dead?" Sam asked.
"Let's make sure," Thomas said. He twisted his swords in his hands in a clockwise rotation, and now held guns in his hands. He looked over to Johnny, who flicked his swords downwards and brought his hands up, holding guns. Then he looked over to Eric, who put his knives away and drew guns from the small of his back. Looking over to Sam, who had seemingly drew guns out of nowhere, he nodded. They all went forward to the beast and shot it in the head until their clips ran dry. After reloading, Johnny and Thomas reverted their weapons back to their original forms and sheathed them. "C'mon. We have to get to Ozpin." His siblings nodded as they ran after Thomas.
When they reached a field with ruins, Eric stopped Thomas. Thomas looked over to Eric confused, until Eric pointed at the cliff. Thomas turned to where Eric was pointing, and smiled when he saw Ruby run up the cliff and decapitate a Nevermore. "Not bad," Johnny said from the side.
"Yeah," Thomas said as he stared in admiration. "Let's go." He began to run again. His siblings followed suit.
(x)
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark," Ozpin said to the bunch that stood on the stage with him. "The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL. Led by Cardin Winchester." The newly formed team looked forward to their new leader, who nodded. The audience clapped and cheered for the new team. After Team CRDL stepped off of the stage, Jaune and his partners stepped up. "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR-" Nora giggled happily as she hugged Ren, "-led by… Jaune Arc!"
"Huh?" Jaune asked after hearing that, too shocked to notice the smile that Pyrrha was giving him. "Led by?"
"Congratulations, young man." In her glee, Pyrrha gave Jaune a light punch to the shoulder which knocked him down. As the next team stepped up, Ozpin pushed his glasses up and smiled. A family, huh? "Thomas, Johnny, Samantha, and Eric Rogers." The quartet groaned silently as murmurs broke out amongst the audience and the teams formed.
From the side of the stage, the yet-to-be-christened team could hear Weiss, Yang, and a black-haired girl with a bow tie yell, "WHAT!?"
"The four of you retrieved the Black Knight pieces, and in record time, no less. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JEST, led by...Johnny Rogers!"
"YES!" Johnny shouted as he fist pumped.
"Congrats, bro!" Thomas said as he clapped Johnny on the back.
"I just knew it'd be you, Johnny," Eric said with a smirk as he gave Johnny a light punch to the shoulder.
"Hooray! Johnny's the leader!" Sam sang as she jumped on her brother's back.
Johnny was laughing all the while. After Sam jumped off, the team walked off.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long! The four of you have retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by…Ruby Rose!" Weiss was shocked and Ruby was happy. Weiss looked disappointed, as she wanted to be the leader of the team.
(x)
"You jerks!" Yang said as the two teams were standing outside the school, and as she scolded Team JEST. "Why didn't you tell us that you were Rogers?!"
"Yeah!" Weiss spoke up, putting her hands on her hips. "I would've shown respect to you if you did!"
"Calm down, you guys!" Sam attempted to soothe the anger of the two females. "We just didn't want people to think that we had an advantage when we got into Beacon!"
"Um, guys," Ruby spoke up. Everyone looked towards Ruby. "Who're the Rogers?"
"The Rogers, dear sister," Yang said as she put an arm around Ruby's shoulder, "are a family of very famous Huntsmen."
"They also work in tandem with the Schnee Dust Company and have helped to spread the company," Weiss informed.
"Not to mention that they're large supporters of Faunus, and they look to take down the White Fang non lethally," Blake (Bow Tie girl) said. "Rumors are that they even have a Faunus child."
"Those rumors are true," Eric calmly said.
"How do you know?" Blake challenged.
Calmly but hesitantly, Eric's hands reached up to his hood. He grabbed it and lowered it. Much to Team RWBY's surprise, Eric had green hair and what appeared to be cat ears, with green fur on those ears. "Because I'm that Faunus child. Happy now?"
"You should keep your hood down. It looks better that way."
"Wow," Ruby said, her eyes sparkling.
Thomas blinked and jumped slightly when he saw Ruby appear right next to him. "What's it like? Living like that?"
"Most of our life was busy, but modest," Thomas replied. "We'll tell you more about our life tomorrow. Let's try to get some sleep. We have classes tomorrow." As Team JEST turned to go into the school, they waved behind themselves to Team RWBY. "Catch ya later."
(x)
S/N: Once again, terribly sorry for the boredom this chapter may have caused. I'll make up for it with future chapters. Also, the basic structure of this story is going to follow the canon, with some slight alterations (obviously).
Read. Review. Let me know where I went wrong. Thanks a lot.
Till next time.