Chapter 1 - Not much chance of survival
Beacon Academy, 8:43 PM Monday.
I withdrew in a deep breath before i dove into my paper. Thoughts already sorted out within the depths of my brain, i sighed out, and started to write what was going to be my longest journal prompt ever.
Another long day writes it's name in the books of my life. What else shall encounter within this messy globe? Today was a handful, but somehow, it settled out in the end. Mr. Ozpin made a brief speech about our time here, and tomorrow, we'll go on our first quest. Find a chess piece, get the hell out of here.
I had time to look around the school for some people to group up with. Nevermind that, everyone was already sorted out. Yet again, i was left alone for a moment of time, before i ran into a scene in the courtyard.
"What the hell we're you thinking?" A girl in a white skirt screamed at a girl in red. There was a crater in the ground, a small explosion had occurred without me noticing apparently...
Immediately uninterested, I turned myself towards the front of the school, and made my way towards the front entrance.
I was met with a group to Mr. Ozpin, who is the head director of the school. He gave a speech about our time and how we will inevitably go through bumps throughout our school years. My heart sank as he went on with his rough but true speech. It was odd enough to ring a bell to my head, which never happens because I barely pay attention.
I don't even know how I ended up here in the first place. I was one of the luckiest plucked out of my school to get a scholarship because I stunned a high end student in my school being clever.
Otherwise, i took the offer and now i'm here, stuck in a room full of unwanteds. Nevermind the long journal, I need to go to sleep…
Placing my pencil down, a girl with a bow spotted me as i placed down my pencil. Her bow twitched oddly, but then she was then caught off guard suddenly by a pair of obnoxious students. It was the people who were causing a scene in the courtyard earlier.
I sighed, slipping into my sleeping bag as the argument went on for at least 5 minutes, until i felt it die down, setting me off into a deep slumber.
Beacon Academy, 7:15 AM
Letting out a groan, I unzipped my sleeping bag to find a crowd of student lying flat on the floor. No one has yet awoken. Is it early?
I unzipped my backpack to get my clothes and toothbrush out. Stretching for one last time, I then tiptoed my way around other people to get myself into the public bathroom near the lockers.
I entered the bathroom. There was one person in the corner asleep with his face on his knees. It seemed like he went through a tough first day. Wait a moment, is that ears on his head? Poor kid, got made fun of because he was a faunus. It's sad we have racism still roaming around the world today. We're only separated because our attributes.
As i turned on the sink, his ears twitched immediately. He picked his head up, shifting his eyes, locking them on me. He gasped, flinching to stand up. "Mmph~" He grunted as he attempted to come up with a reason he was sleeping there, but failed to do so. He sighed in defeat, slouching himself to make his way awkwardly out of the bathroom. He picked up his two knives, and headed out.
Eager to talk to someone to group up with, I need to come up with a lie to talk to this person. His knives would do the trick. Hopefully if i ask him about it, he won't go full-on-geek with me. Taking out my toothpaste, i asked him a question. "What type of knives are those?"
He stopped at the exit of the door. He turned his head around, "Why do you ask?" His deep tone voice took shivers down my spine.
"Sorry…" I turned towards him as i scratched the back of my neck nervously. "Just asking."
He lightened up my mood at my nervous scratch. He was aggressive towards me, but knew what he saw and changed it.
"What type of faunus are you?" I asked bluntly.
"Wolf faunus." He flattened his ears on the question.
"Sorry if i'm asking pushy and common questions." I started to brush my teeth.
He shrugged, "It's fine. You're the first person i've actually had a decent conversation with."
I nodded, spitting out my paste and rinsing out my mouth. "It must be tough being a faunus."
He nodded, "Yeah."
"Wanna team up for later?" I asked, taking my backpack into the stall and peaking out for his response.
He was hesitant with his response, "S-Sure… I guess."
"Alright sweet!" I smiled. This was definitely a relief to have someone to hangout with. Someone who's gone through worse than what i've had.
I unzipped my clothes, but as I was undressing, he slipped the toothbrush under the stall. "Thanks man!"
"No problem." He replied. "What's your name?"
"Ezeckiel Reyes." I replied, slipping into my normal clothes.
"Alright." He accepted. "My names Silver Galvestine."
I opened the stall as his ears jolted upwards. "Welcome to the team."
He smiled happily for the first time, "Thanks."
Beacon Academy, 8:45 PM
Silver was definitely an interesting person. He's lived on the faunus island only for about 8 years, and finally managed to get a hold of himself by slipping past guards and forging up a fake document to slide himself into the school so he could get a job. He was definitely talented, using lessons he's learned from his relatives to slip around fast. He did know the basics of fighting with semblance on, using the lessons snuck in from other students and teachers. He hid himself under a small black arctic hat, reminding me of his wolf faunus genes. His hat slipped off of himself, causing a scene in the other side of school.
"Damn that sucks…" I said as we talked quietly in the hallways. We were making our way through the maze to get into the lunchroom to get our breakfast.
"What's your weapons?" Silver asked me, searching around for anything.
"It's in my bag." I said, shuffling my backpack. "It's a longsword."
"Oh, so you have that type of backpack?" Silver asked.
"Yep, it's deep." I said. "I've snuck in many things in it."
"Like a person?" Silver said jokingly.
"We can try…" I eyebrowed him.
"You wish…" He and I laughed as we entered the lunchroom, where there was only minimal people here. Two to be specific. They were both side by side with each other, talking casually as they went along. We grabbed our breakfast from the lunch line, and took the table next to the pair. They glared at us as we looked at them. One of the pair gave small handwave to us. They were two girls, one with white hair and another one with black hair. They were somehow, taller than us. Although both Silver and I aren't into dating, we would definitely not be able to date them what's-so-ever.
"Wanna scoot over to our table?" The white haired girl asked.
Silver and I looked at each other, then shrugged. We got up from our spot and brought our breakfast to their area.
"Hello!" I said as I greeted myself.
"Hey." The girl in white hair offered a hand to shake. I gladly accepted it. "My name is Alice Ekert."
"Weren't you the faunus in the corner getting pummeled?" The pink haired girl asked.
"Uhm…" Silver said uncomfortably.
"No worries." She offered her hand to shake. "Sorry I didn't come to help. It must suck being a faunus."
"Meh." Silver shrugged, "It's alright." He smiled, shaking the girl's hand.
"My name is Yi Ralph." She said "Two letters, simple as it is."
"Seems complicated." I joked.
"Heh, It's backstory is." She replied.
Alice brought up a question, "What schools do you come from?"
"Intel Academy." Yi said smirking.
"Was I asking you?" Alice growled.
"Byte National." Silver said.
I started to sweat. I need to come up with a name. "Circle City High." The town I saw from across the school I was taught at.
"Mmm... I was taught at Mistral Academy." Alice said.
"WHAT?!" Silver screamed up, probably waking up half of the school. Slapping his hands over his mouth, he calmed down and sat back down. "Sorry…"
"Heh, it's fine." Alice said. "I didn't belong anyway. Bitch girl came along and basically stunned the academy in place."
Yi que'd with a question, "And who is this bitch girl again?"
"Weiss Schnee…" Alice rolled her eyes. "She was the top notch student, daughter of the Schnee dust company."
"You indecent.. DOLT!" Her voice rang in my head as she yelled at the girl in red.
My mind flashed back to the girl in white with the Schnee Dust company symbol screaming at the innocent girl. "Ohh… Was she the one on the court yard causing a scene?"
"Yeah." Alice said. "Good thing she didn't notice me."
Just then, the speakers rung open, "All the students arrive to the front court yard for group assignments at 11:00 PM. Again, all the students arrive to the front court yard for group assignments at 11:00 PM. Thank you!" Click…
There was a moment of silence as we ate our breakfast. "What time is it?" I asked.
Yi flipped up her scroll, "It's 9:01 PM."
"We have a couple of hours." Silver said.
"Let's head out early just incase." Alice said, picking up her tray and dumping the contents in the trash can. "It's better if we arrive there early than never."
Silver thought about being around a crowd of people, and thought otherwise. "Yeah, you're right."
The Courtyard, 9:12 PM
We opened the doors to see various types of aircraft on the launch pad, and still more diving in. Mr. Ozpin directing for the teachers to do some work as more aircraft landed. We walked up to Ozpin, who was watching the aircraft land.
"Oh!" Ozpin flinched. "You're here early."
"Yeah." I said. "Better to be here early than never."
"Good point." Ozpin said as he waved to a couple of teachers. "Glynda, can you come over here and direct these students?"
"Sure!" The teacher yelled as she waved to us to come to them.
We started to walk towards her, but Yi had a comment to make. "Is she wearing a bra?"
Indeed i question myself that, her sets were freely roaming around as she trotted towards us.
"Welcome to Beacon." Glynda said blandly.
"Yikes." Alice whispered to Silver.
"You four can just actually fly off to your destination now since you people are early goers." Glynda said. She found the small crater that was left yesterday, pointing her wand at it to reform its contents.
"Woah." I said in awe as the pieces pieced back together.
"Off you go." Glynda said as she walked towards Ozpin.
"Thanks…" Silver said oddly as we started to walk into the aircraft that's listed #3, "I guess?"
"Welcome aboard children." The pilot said. "Did Glynda just set you here?"
"Yep." Alice replied, obviously wanting to speak for us.
"Alright. We'll wait for the plane to fill up with more people, then we'll set off."
It was silent as we waited for people to slide themselves into a seat. 30 minutes went by slowly, and the three of Yi, Silver, and Alice slopped into a small nap. Meanwhile, I was here wide awake as I saw one of the people I saw at the schools down near Circle City.
"Zeke?" Ion asked.
"Shh…" I shushed him.
"Can't believe you actually made your way onto here…" Ion said as he smirked.
"Anything to survive." I said, not meaning to be suspicious. Silver's hat twitched as he awoken from his small nap. "Morning Silver."
"Anything to survive?" He said as he rubbed his eyes open.
"Long story." Ion and I said simultaneously.
"Ah, alright." Silver said as he leaned back onto Yi's arm, sleeping tight in a ball like a Wolf.
"Is he the wolf faunus?" Ion asked.
"Yeah." Silver said, peaking his eye open to look at Ion.
"Must suck to be one." Ion said.
"I get that a lot." Silver said as he closed his eyes.
As more and more people piled in, a handful of them recognized Silver. I sighed as he was constantly getting up to tell them that indeed he was the faunus.
Suddenly, a person with extremely large bunny ears entered the plane. It was another faunus. She was carrying a brown box alongside another person with another brown box. The door suddenly started to close as i observed the two settle into the final spots of the aircraft. We then took off, heading to the right. The windows untinted themselves, showing the terrain around us as we left for wherever the plane is taking us.
The speakers went off, "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving at our destination within 20 minutes. You may roam the aircraft, but please stay seated once were under the landing process."
Almost immediately, everyone on the aircraft turned their bodies around to see the terrain around them. Some wondered off into other spots to sit by their friends, others went onto their scroll to take pictures. Silver, wandered off to the girl with the large bunny ears. He removed his hat, twitching his wolf wars for attention. The bunny girl flinched upward, and they immediately went deep into a conversation.
I observed everyone's actions on the plane like a stalker of course. Not as many rude or disrespectful people. A handful were outgoing, screwing around with their friends as we went along the ride. Within minutes of the trip, the people settled down into a calmer state, scattering the plane into groups. The ones who didn't have a group didn't look suspicious. They seemed as if they were civilized. The pairs were definitely attached to each other, relying on each other for comfort. The grouped people were in a cluster discussing friend-like topics. It was more of gossiping unsurprisingly, but the plane remained still for the rest of the ride.
I was on the side of the plane sitting opposite of Alice and Yi, who were casually talking to each other. My scroll suddenly vibrated, showing in big title letters, "NO SIGNAL". I sighed, clicking the phone into a sleep.
The pilot picked up his microphone, "Attention students, please sit in a seat as we are going to land shortly." Everyone shuffled back into the benches as the plane started a slow spin, planting itself calmly onto a cliff edge, in which we were met by Mr. Ozpin.
I blinked a couple of times. How the hell did he get here fast?
The windows tinted themselves, shading the room into a deep dark. The only lights were neon strips around the aircraft, dimming the plane in a silent mood. The back gate then dropped open, sliding out it's bridge. Sweat started to form, and the sense of suspended future, came into mind. Heart rates were definitely raised once the students slowly started to walk out of the gates. Some grabbed a hold of their partner. Others, confidently walked out. Some knew they weren't ready, but all had the confidence of breaking out of their bubble to walk out.
Silver caught up with me on the end of the bridge. Both of us nodded silently at each other, preparing for the unpredictable. We caught up with Alice and Yi, who were feet away from us. Ozpin glanced at us as we were weaving our way through the standing crowd, catching up with Yi and Alice. As soon as we grouped up, Ozpin started his speech.
"You students are now going to be put to the test within the Emerald forest. Each of your scrolls have been assigned with one simple mission. Find the relic, and bring it home." Ozpin stated. "Each one of you will be given teams, as rumored."
The crowd gave a brief discussion before Ozpin returned to talking. "Your teams will be assigned by random. Who ever you come across, will be your partner for the next four years."
Some girl screamed from the many aligned up, "WHAT?!"
"You will make your way up north following the many paths." Ozpin ignored the comment. "Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or else you will die." Ozpin ended his statement on a low note. "Are there any questions?"
My heart sank. We have a chance of dying, on our first day? I let out a brief sigh, looking up against the forest.
"Good." Ozpin stated. Glynda, who appeared out of nowhere, received the nod from Ozpin to set the pads up. "Align yourselves on the pad. They'll lift you up into a random position in the forest. You'll come up with your own landing strategy."
Landing strategy… No parachutes?
"Oh shit." I cursed at myself, as well as a couple others.
I stepped onto a random path. Aligning side by side with Alice and Yi, who had Silver side her as well. My heart rate exploded as Ozpin gave the nod to Glynda to set us off. The pads shook, as I stood myself straight up. Suddenly, what seemed like a bomb went off on my left end. A person was flung for what seemed like for miles. My eyes widened as he shrank to a dot size in the distance.
Silver gave me a worried look from across Yi, who was definitely prepared. Alice too was focused, looking straight ahead at the terrain. Another bomb went off, flinging a person across the horizon. Some seemed as though it was endless for them to fall, others flung only at least a -mile.
Another person was flung. I looked down, and It was the person 3 away from Silver. The next person got flung, then the next. The next person screamed unprepared as he flipped through the air. Next was Silver, who bent his knees. The pad shook below him, flinging him far and wide. He straightened himself up, saluting me as he went along his journey. As i saw him fling into the trees, Alice then suddenly flung into the distance. The wind caught her mid flight, pushing her to the right.
My heart raced as then the pad below me shuffled. I stuffed my hand in my backpack to unsheathe a longsword which had a golden handle and guards. Ozpin whispered to Glynda, who the nodded. It was then I was flung suddenly into the deep forest, which would be one of the most memorable moment of my life.
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible