1: Team VLCN
"We're finally here, Chester!"
As the airship emerged from the vast expanse of clouds, the great white tower far below became visible, and the ship's passengers were staring out the windows in awe. Beacon Academy - the shining light of the Kingdom of Vale, and the dream of every aspiring Huntsman-in-training. Almost all the people on board were students - some returning, and eager to get back to their studies, some fresh new faces who were ready to begin a new chapter in their lives.
"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it," came the voice of Professor Glynda Goodwitch from the projector screen mounted in the main cabin. "You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
Standing by the windows, seventeen year-old Nigel Knighton pressed his hands eagerly to the pane, his spectacled face centimetres away from the thick layers of glass. "Holy shit, this is so damn cool," he said with a laugh of exhilaration. Nervously, he fiddled with his short dark hair, while turning to the stocky young man beside him, who was glancing around the airship. "You ready for this, man?"
"You bet I am," Chester Fortree agreed, giving his friend a hearty slap on the back. Also seventeen, Chester was noticeably more muscular than Nigel, though the dark-haired boy was a few inches taller. The two of them had been inseparable companions since their days at Wave Academy, and they'd been the only ones in their year who had passed the entrance exam to Beacon.
Chester was happy that he'd made it in, naturally, but couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. "Thanks for the help on the exam, man," he said to Nigel. "I'd probably be fucked if you hadn't let me copy your notes."
"Hey, don't you sell yourself short," his friend replied. 'And it's not like you needed my help on the practical examination, did you?"
He was right, but in the end, all that mattered was that they were in. And it wouldn't be long before he could finally be recognized for his prowess. Chester could already feel the blood boiling, burning like scorching flames in his heart.
"As mentioned previously, the White Fang intruded on the Faunus Civil Rights protest that took place last Saturday." Above their heads, on the projector screen, the Valian newscaster, Lisa Lavender, was just finishing the hourly news report. "The terrorists opened fire and killed two officers and five civilians, injuring dozens more. The mastermind behind the attack is believed to be Archibald Tigre, the leader of a rogue faction of the notorious extremist group..."
The image of a tall, imposing man appeared on the screen. He was wearing the White Fang's signature mask, except rather than the usual white and red colouring, it had been painted entirely red. The man's entire body was enveloped in a thick, light-green coloured jacket, and a large fur hood covered the top of his head. "Well, that asshole looks pretty scary," Nigel muttered, staring warily at the picture of Archibald Tigre.
"Hey, wait just a fucking second. Why would a member of the White Fang wear a fur hood? That's some hypocritical shit right there," said Chester.
"Well, that's because…" Nigel opened his mouth, his tone relaxed and confident as if lecturing a small child. He had gotten used to explaining things to his friend. "...uh. Y'know what, don't think too hard about it. Aaanyway, we should be getting off any minute now."
As the airship descended onto the landing platform, the two boys eagerly waited by the doors, shoving their way through the ocean of other students as they gruelingly waded out into the sunlight, where they beheld the full majesty of Beacon Academy. "The place looks even better up close, doesn't it?" Nigel said as they walked toward the amphitheatre, marveling at the sleek white buildings. "Hopefully the inside lives up to the hype, huh?"
Chester wasn't paying attention. Just like on the airship, he was glancing around at the various other students. Some short dark-haired girl with red streaks was sitting on her ass, next to a collapsed trolley, with the suitcases it had been holding spilt out onto the ground. Another girl, this one wearing a fancy white dress, was angrily chewing her out. Some distance away, a scrawny-looking blond boy was staggering aimlessly through the front garden, weakly clutching his stomach.
What really interested him though, was the weapons. A student with a large hammer that retracted into a makeshift grenade launcher, a pair of long, sleek gunblades, a mace that could be extended into a whip...Not bad. Not bad at all. Mine'll always be better, though.
"Yeah, yeah, mm-hm," Chester muttered in response to whatever his friend had just said. "So, do you think we'll be doing some fighting right from day one, or is it just gonna be more boring-ass desk work for a few months?"
Nigel shrugged. "C'mon man, don't be like that. Life's not just about how many evil black things you can cut up in a day, y'know?" He frowned. "Wait. That didn't come out right."
Ahead of them, a crowd of students were gathered in front of the entrance to the auditorium, partially blocking the way. Most of them were chattering boisterously, and even from several metres Chester could, with a rush of irritation, register their obnoxious banter. "Holy shit, have you guys seen…." "Yeah, like, isn't he so amazing? I hope he…" "Oh fuck, dude, you think that bitch's checkin' me out…?" Dumbasses, he thought. They even looked like a bunch of stuck-up party animals, with the guys dressing like typical teen heartthrobs and the women dressed like total sluts, with their ludicrously low necklines and shorts.
"Those guys look pretty friendly. Maybe we should talk to them," said Nigel, pointing to them without a hint of irony in his voice. "Hey man, are you fucking serious?" Chester grumbled, glancing at his best friend in disbelief.
Mercifully, by the time the boys reached the entrance, the party animals had given up on their chatter and were making their way into the auditorium. The last two remaining were a tall blonde beauty and a petite Faunus girl with rabbit ears as white as her shoulder-length hair. "See ya, Luna! Talk to you later, alright?" The blonde waved at the other girl before turning to run after her friends.
"A-ah, wait. Yang-?" The Faunus reached out awkwardly to the blonde, but she had already disappeared. "...Aww," she sighed, hanging her head sadly as a wave of students made their way past her, occasionally pushing her to the side with a rough shove. The girl staggered back, stumbling and falling clumsily on the side. The stack of books she had balanced on her left hand spilled out onto the pavement.
Nigel ran over to the unfortunate Faunus. "Hey, here, let me help," he said kindly, gingerly picking up a leather-bound textbook from the ground, dusting the grime off the open pages. "Advanced Social Sciences, huh? Good choice." He handed it to the girl, who looked up at him gratefully as she took it back in her hands.
She's actually kind of hot, Chester admitted to himself, seeing her sky-blue eyes, pale skin, and the adorable little pout her face made as she glanced up at the boys. As he caught himself staring at her, the bell rang from inside the auditorium, signaling the beginning of the opening ceremony.
"Oh, I should go," the girl murmured softly, getting up and dusting off her skirt. She picked up the rest of her books and stacked them back onto her hand. On the top was a copy of How To Fit In and Find Your Place In Modern Society, a book Chester would certainly never be caught dead reading in public. "Um, my name's Luna, by the way - Luna Artemia," she said, flashing a brief smile at them. "M-maybe we'll see each other again sometime. A-a-anyway, bye for now." Before Chester could respond, Luna ran into the building, yelping as she almost spilled her books again immediately. After a moment, Chester and Nigel realized they were last people still standing outside, and quickly followed after her, making their way into the auditorium.
Nigel turned to his friend. "You sure were looking at her funny," he said, with a teasing smile on his face. Pushing up his glasses with a dramatic flourish, he added: "Looks like you've already got some new friends in mind, eh?"
"Piss off," Chester grumbled, not glancing at him as they walked toward the main hall. His face had flushed a bright shade of red.
"Hey now, I mean that in a good way. New places always mean new faces, and it's always good to know 'em all! Nothing wrong with a few new friends every now and then. Besides," he added with a wink, "If I'm the only person you hang out with all the time, people'll get the wrong impression...if y'know what I mean."
"Yeah. Fuck you too, man." The two boys reached the main hall.
"...But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." On the centre stage, Professor Ozpin, the lean, elderly headmaster of Beacon Academy was delivering the opening speech to the students gathered in front of him. Out of boredom, Chester had zoned him out until now, but the headmaster's last line caught him off guard. Wasted energy? The hell's he talking about? All the students here had worked their asses off to be the strongest of the strongest, and now this old fart had the balls to tell them that their effort was wasted? So much for a good first impression, Chester thought, disgusted.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this," Ozpin continued, "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." With that, the headmaster turned and walked off the stage.
"That was it?" Chester muttered.
"Well, at least it wasn't a hour-long seminar on the principles of Grimm biology," Nigel replied. "God knows we've had a lifetime's worth of those! Remember Mrs. Chamelia back at Wave Academy?"
"Ugh, good point. That old bitch's voice still haunts my dreams." Chester made two pairs of bunny ears with his fingers and waggled them mockingly. "Mister Fortree,", he screeched in a high-pitched, womanly voice, "A Beowolf's insides are empty and devoid of matter, just like your mentally challenged brain!" Unable to go on, he burst out laughing, and Nigel joined in. Several students around them turned and stared.
Once they were done fooling around, Chester and Nigel made their way to the ballroom, stopping at the lockers to put away their equipment. Beacon Academy turned out to be more massive than either of them had imagined, and by the time they reached their destination the sun had already fallen. Sleeping bags were scattered all along the carpeted floor, and some students were already asleep.
Looking around, the boys saw that most of the ballroom was already filled up. Everyone had silently split the whole room into two general halves: boys on one side, girls on the other. Some members of opposite genders would occasionally wave flirtatiously at each other, and a few brave individuals had gone over to the other side. It was in the centre of the room that things started to get more mixed. The majority of students were avoiding that area, however, largely in part due to the young woman standing directly in the center, shoving cream-coloured pamphlets into the hands of anyone who passed her by.
"Your vote can make a difference!" The girl announced pompously. She was quite beautiful, with long dark-grey hair flowing down to her thighs, and bright purple eyes. She wore a sleeveless violet dress and black high heels, and she towered above most of the students around her. "Make the right decision today! Vote Valerie Iris for student council president!"
"Hey bitch, the election isn't until next month!" a young man complained from nearby.
Valerie Iris shot him a piercing glare, causing him to cower in fear. "It's never too early to campaign for change," she declared, her voice retaining its pompous tone. "Under my authority, all students will have the chance to change this wonderful academy in their own way! All I need is your support, and I'll make these next four years the greatest period in Beacon's history!" She rambled on, oblivious to the fact that absolutely no one was giving her the time of day. Chester would have felt sorry for her if she wasn't so damn annoying.
"Come on," Nigel nudged him. 'Let's go."
"What? You want to go over to that crazy chick?" Chester muttered.
"I mean, why not? She's kinda cute, don't you think?"
"Sure, I guess. But that's not really the poi…" he sighed as Nigel wandered over to Valerie anyway. Shaking his head, he followed him.
"Hello, you two!" As soon as they approached, Valerie's hand shot out towards them, a pamphlet clutched in her dainty fingers. "Are you boys ready to make a contribution to the future of Beacon Academy?"
Nigel graciously accepted. On the pamphlet, the heading VALERIE IRIS: THE FACE OF THE FUTURE! was written in large cursive letters with black ink. "So, babe," he said, glancing up at Valerie with a smile, "if I agree to vote for you, wanna go out with me?" Hearing this stupidity, Chester rolled his eyes.
To his astonishment and dismay, Valerie Iris actually blushed a little. "Well, that's not out of the question," she acknowledged. "You seem to carry yourself with an air of dignity, Mr-?"
"Nigel. Nigel Knighton."
"Yes, Nigel. I think you're capable of making a real difference someday. Now as for you…" she turned to Chester, a frown forming on her lovely face. "Now see here, young man-" She reached out to grab his hair.
"What the fuck?!" Chester yelled, as Valerie roughly combed his messy, hay-coloured hair back with her nails. "Your hair is disorderly," she told him nonchalantly. "Sorry, but you're not fit for going out in public when you're in state like this. And as for your attire…" She glanced down to his crotch level, where his undershirt was leaking out from beneath his camo vest. "You should really learn to tuck in your clothes properly, especially in the presence of your peers."
Furious and embarrassed, Chester tucked his shirt into his jeans, glaring at Valerie. "Thanks," he spat. "I'll consider it." Well, I know who I'm gonna avoid like the goddamn plague for the next four years.
At some point, Professor Goodwitch came into the ballroom to announce that curfew had begun, and all the students were to tuck in immediately in preparation for tomorrow's initiation. As a result, Valerie finally ceased her incessant preaching, the girls angrily fighting over in the corner stopped their scuffle, and Chester and Nigel were able to get some actual sleep for the night.
When Chester opened his eyes, bright rays of the morning sun were already pouring in through the windows of the ballroom. "Urghh…" he muttered, picking his weight off the floor as he groggily forced his eyelids open. Glancing around the room, he was momentarily confused, as all he could see were empty sleeping bags strewn on the floor. Crap, he thought. Did I sleep in again? Groggily, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Scroll, which had one new message on it.
Morning, buddy. Enjoy your sleep, alright? Nigel had left him a text. Just got the announcement that our initiation's taking place at the cliff. Don't miss it?
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Cursing, he got to his feet, almost stumbling over from fatigue, and ran toward the locker room.
The room was as empty and quiet as the ballroom. Shit, shit, shit...Chester was really starting to feel panic rising inside him. The last thing he wanted was to humiliate himself on the first day by showing up late for initiation. He shoved his locker open with such force it swung open and struck the adjacent door, creating a small dent. After retrieving his battle-axe, Executioner, and several vials of yellow and red Dust, Chester made a beeline for the exit.
When he reached Beacon Cliff, Nigel was waiting for him, holding an obsidian-black sword in his hand, with a similarly-coloured shield lying at his feet. "Hey," he smiled, nodding at Chester as he approached, taking his place at the platform next to him. "Did you get a good sleep?"
"Hah...hah…" Chester panted, glancing down at the vast expanse of the Emerald Forest below. "Yeah...so well that I almost missed this! Why the hell didn't you wake me up?"
His friend shrugged. "Well, I know what you're like when someone forces you awake. Also, by the way, you missed the first part of the headmaster's explanation. When we launch into the forest, the first person you make eye contact with is your partner for the next four years."
"Wait, WHAT?" Chester was astonished by the casual tone in which he said it. "Seriously? We don't even get to choose? I don't even know anyone else here!"
"Looks like that's about to change then!" Nigel replied, an enthusiastic grin on his face as he grabbed his shield off the ground. Behind them, there were the sounds of the platforms being flipped, and silhouettes of various students could be seen flying through the air, toward the depths of the Emerald Forest. "If you're lucky, though, maybe we'll end up on the same team!" As he said that, the platform beneath him launched him away.
Chester groaned. "Great...this is not gonna be my day, is it?" Grimacing, he tightened his grip on his axe. He felt the platform move under his feet, closing his eyes as he felt himself being propelled upward, the wind rushing against his body. Okay. What's my landing strategy? Opening his eyes again, he glanced downward at the forest, looking for a safe spot to land. ...Nothing. All he could see were the droves of lush emerald trees.
Suddenly, he heard a loud, high-pitched screech from somewhere beside him. Glancing in the sound's direction, he saw a large, black avian creature soaring through the sky. A Nevermore! Feeling a gleeful rush at the sight of the rare Grimm, Chester found himself changing the direction of his fall. He pointed the edge of his axe behind his body and pressed a switch, setting off an explosion that propelled him in the direction of the Nevermore.
"Hrrahhhhhh!" he yelled, holding the axe over his head as the edge burst into flames, charging toward the flying beast. Unfortunately, the Nevermore didn't reciprocate the young Huntsman's interest, and simply flew away to pursue something else in the distance. "Wh-" Chester tried to stop his reckless charge, but the force of the explosion was already blasting him downward into the forest, and he was unable to change his trajectory as he crashed into the trees.
CR-CRAAACCKKK! The tree collapsed like glass under his weight, snapping into pieces of wood as Chester stumbled and tumbled his way down its wrecked stump, twigs and leaves cutting into his face and eyes. "Ow, ow…" he snarled as he hit the ground gracelessly, face-first, the pain of the impact finally settling in. Without my Aura, I'd be dead right now, he thought grimly.
He got up, taking in his surroundings. All he could see were trees all around him, and it was impossible to tell where exactly in the forest he was. If I remember right, I need to get to the center and get some relic...thing. The center? Where the hell could the center be? If it looked the same as the rest of the forest, then Chester was going to have a hard time finding it.
As he walked away from the burning stump of the tree he'd crashed into, he heard the distinct growls of Grimm as they approached him. Soon, he was surrounded by Creeps and Beowolves. "Hmph," Chester grinned. "Now we're talking." He drew Executioner, setting the weapon on fire again. "Alright, time to make the old man proud!" The young man ran toward the Beowolves, slicing off the head of the one leading the pack. Yelling his battle cry, he swung the axe wildly, feeling it carve through the insides of the Grimm as they dashed at him. The flames from his weapon was setting the grass below him on fire, but Chester wasn't afraid of it.
Howling, a trio of Beowolves from deeper in the forest charged out of the bushes toward Chester. Grinning, he flipped a switch on his axe's hilt, splitting it into two curved machetes, which he swung like chain whips at the Grimm, bisecting all three of them in one clean swing. "Yeah!" he whooped, swinging around the chains in large circles as he turned around, the blades casually slicing apart more Grimm as he wandered through the horde. Is this really the best challenge Beacon as to offer? Chester thought smugly, as pitch-black limbs flew through the air, occasionally landing limply at his feet. Who even needs a partner? This is gonna be the easiest four years of my li-
"Ahh! Look out!" Suddenly, a familiar voice rang through his ears. Huh? Chester blinked, feeling a sharp gust of wind breeze by his head. He glanced backward, and saw a short silver arrow embed itself in the head of a large Ursa that had snuck up behind him, its paw raised to attack. Growling meekly, the bear fell backward, its body disintegrating into nothingness.
"...Oh." Chester moved his gaze back, the high of the battle quickly fading from his body. That...was close. Some distance in front of him, a girl stood with her silver bow drawn, glancing at him with uncertainty in her sky-blue eyes. That's the girl from yesterday, Chester realized. What was her name again…? As an afterthought, he decided he should probably thank her for saving him.
"Uh...I'm sorry," the girl stammered.
Chester frowned, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "...Sorry?" he repeated. "What are you sorry for?"
The girl looked down glumly at her feet. "You, uh...you really seemed to want to fight those Grimm, right?" she muttered, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry for stealing your kill. I-I should have left that thing for you."
Chester stared at her in disbelief. "You don't need to be sorry," he said, feeling awkward as he walked over to the girl. Hesitantly, he tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she just recoiled away from him. Shit. That wasn't the right move, apparently. What would Nigel do…?
"Look, you...you don't have to apologized. I kinda need your help back there." Chester felt a savage blow to his pride as he said that, but he assumed that was what the girl wanted to hear right now. "I remember you from yesterday - I'm Chester. Chester Fortree. And you're…?"
The girl looked up at him again with her pretty blue eyes, and soft white hair. "I'm Luna," she said. "I-I guess this makes us partners now, huh..?"
Holy crap. That's right. Chester had already forgotten about the whole 'first-person-you-see-will-be-your-partner' shtick. Well, it looks like this is my lucky day after all! He found himself smiling. To think he'd get an attractive girl like Luna as his partner...even Nigel wouldn't have this sort of good luck! "I guess so," he said in a hearty voice. "So uh, Luna, right? I guess we should head to the relic area now. Any idea where it is?"
Luna nodded, pointing in the direction behind Chester. "...There," she said uncertainly. "Well, I think so…" It wasn't exactly reassuring, but they had no other leads on where to go, so the two of them began walking in the direction she'd pointed in. As they walked, Chester turned to his new partner, still wondering how to initiate a conversation. Might as well start with what I know. "Nice bow," he said gruffly.
"...Hmm?" Luna seemed surprised. "Oh, you mean Hourai Elixir? I-it's pretty good, I guess...about as good as I could make it."
"Oh, you made your weapon yourself? So did I!" Chester started to feel more confident. Hell yeah! Just keep this up, man!
"Really? ...I guess your parents didn't want you to be a Huntsman either, huh?"
"My parents? Nah, I'm sure they would've loved to see me right now! I mean...I were Huntsmen themselves, so probably. They died on some random mission when I was a kid, so I wouldn't know for sure."
"Oh." Luna looked down at her feet again. "W-well, I saw you fight, and yours looked really cool! I really like how they glow, all on fire and all that...just like when Yang fights…"
Chester frowned. "Yang?" Oh yeah, that blonde party animal she was hanging out with. Luna doesn't really strike me as their type. "She your friend?"
"My best friend!" Chester jumped a little as he heard her bubbly response. He had to check to make sure it was the same girl walking next to him. Luna was now standing up straight, an excited gleam in her eyes. "Yang Xiao Long. I've known her since Signal Academy," she said, babbling enthusiastically, swinging her arms by her side. "She's really pretty, and really strong too! When she fights with her fists, her hair lights up, and it looks sooo amazing! I was really lonely when I first came to the Academy, but she was so nice to me, and I met all sorts of people thanks to her! She could make friends so easily, it made me kinda jealous, to be honest…"
She continued rambling, and Chester began tuning her out. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, deciding internally that all people just had a weird side to them. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. "Hey, you hear that?"
Luna stopped too. After a moment, her rabbit ears stood up on end. "Y-yeah," she said, her shy personality returning. "I think some people are in trouble!" She ran in the direction of the noise, and Chester followed her.
They reached a wide clearing, which Chester immediately knew was their destination. A large shrine sat in the middle of the scene, with what looked like chess pieces placed delicately on various parts of the structure. He didn't register that part for long, though - right next to the shrine, two people were busy fending off a horde of Grimm. He recognized one of them immediately.
"Nigel!" Grinning, Chester ran over to his friend, leaping into the air and bringing his axe down on the head of a Beowolf in front of him. The two boys shared a high-five, taking a momentary break from their life-or-death struggle. "Knew you'd be alright," Nigel said, nodding approvingly at Luna, who was firing arrows at some Creeps. "Hey, I recognize that girl! You've got yourself a nice partner there."
Chester shrugged. "She's pretty good. Hate to admit it, but she's already bailed me out once. And you look like you're doing we…" He glanced at the other person - Nigel's partner. The girl with long grey hair and a purple dress, flinging her weapon, a cat whip, into an unfortunate Ursa repeatedly. "Wait, that's…" He felt his heart sinking.
"Oh. It's you again, isn't it?" Valerie didn't bother turning her head to face Chester, but he could feel all the self-righteous disdain in her voice. "Well, between the two of you, I'm certainly glad that I ended up stuck with your friend instead of you." She finished off the Ursa with a sharp crack of her whip. She seemed to handle the weapon with ease, and Chester had to grudgingly admit that it suited her quite well.
He supposed this was the part where he would make a snide remark to get back at Valerie for yesterday, but before he could think of anything, a pair of Alpha Beowolves burst through the trees, trampling over even their own brethren in an attempt to get to the Huntsmen-in-training. Nice. "Talk down to me all you want, bitch. But don't underestimate me!" Chester drew Executioner, the rush of battle filling him again.
Luna, meanwhile, had fallen on her back in surprised terror. Thankfully, she quickly got up and fired an arrow at one of the Alphas, only for it to bounce harmlessly off the beast's armour. "Uh..uh-oh," she stammered, dodging the Alpha's swing. Changing tactics, she split her Hourai Elixir apart. The two halves of the bow became two nunchucks, which she swung at the Alpha, beating at its chestplate repeatedly until the armour cracked and broke off. With that, Luna leapt back and changed her weapon back into a bow, landing several arrows directly in its flesh. However, the Alpha still wasn't done, and still lumbered agonizingly toward her.
"Need some help, girl?" Valerie leapt in front of her, swinging her whip. The various tendrils came together into a single large strand, which turned rigid and formed the tip of a sharp lance, piercing straight through the Alpha's chest and out of its back as it recklessly continued its charge. Howling, the beast disintegrated. "Th-thanks…" gasped Luna, staring at the grey-haired girl in awe.
Chester and Nigel soon wore down the second Alpha with their combined strength. "Hrahhh!" Chester yelled, slamming Executioner into its chest and sending it flying backward into the shrine. "Oops," he muttered as a column of the structure crumbled and collapsed, several of the relics falling over. "Hope that wasn't important."
As the beast recovered, Nigel nodded at his friend. "Let's finish this." He placed his shield behind him and readied his sword. "Gog and Magog can handle this!" Knowing what he needed to do, Chester charged up Executioner, before swinging it at full force into his friend's shield. Using the force from the impact, Nigel launched himself toward the Alpha with his sword, Magog, drawn. He felt the kinetic energy that Gog had absorbed vanish, as he transferred all that power into the tip of his blade. "Taaaake this!" He swung Magog at the Alpha, ripping its body in two and setting off a gust of wind that cut down several trees behind it. Nigel landed on the ground feet-first, turning to flash his friend a thumbs-up.
"Phew," Chester muttered. He was sad that it was over, but that battle had been the most fun he'd had in weeks. It was good to be able to fight alongside Nigel again. He walked over to the shrine - or what was left of it - and picked up a piece. It was a black knight. "Think this is the relic?" he asked, tossing it to his friend.
"I'd say it's a likely candidate." It was Valerie, not Nigel, who responded. She retrieved an identical-looking piece from the structure, and glanced at it thoughtfully. "I never did get into chess. Could never quite get the hang of it, so it didn't catch my interest."
"You mean you didn't like it because you sucked at it," Chester said, unable to resist. The girl did not humour him with a reply.
Chester and Luna took two more of the black knight pieces. The four of them found themselves walking back toward each other, as if silently deciding that they were a group now. "Well, that went well!" Nigel exclaimed. "Good job, team!"
"Team…" Valerie smiled. "I guess we probably will be put on the same team after this. You all seem like capable enough fighters, so I'd say it could have been much worse." And as the four Huntsmen walked away from the shrine, back in the direction of the Academy, Chester found himself agreeing with her.
The auditorium was packed full of people. As Chester, Nigel, Valerie and Luna made their way onto the stage, they passed by several other students who were also waiting to receive their team ceremony. Luna spotted Yang standing with three other girls, who Chester also vaguely recognized from yesterday, and waved at her.
Finally, the four of them stood before Professor Ozpin. "And for our next team. Valerie Iris, Luna Artemia, Chester Fortree, and Nigel Knighton." On the projector screen above, their portraits were displayed with the letter placed directly below them. "The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From now on, you will work together as Team VLCN, led by Valerie Iris."
The audience cheered as Valerie nodded in approval at her appointment. Nigel and Luna clapped along with the spectators while Chester just sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, the idea of Valerie bossing him around for four whole years wasn't appealing, but he couldn't imagine anything worse than himself being forced to lead anyone. This is, how you say...a lesser of two evils, I guess.
Despite himself, Chester grinned. This could be the beginning of something extraordinary. He felt like he was going to have quite a bit of fun here at Beacon Academy...