I told you guys this would suffer of infrequent updates. If I can foresee the coming days, this will be the only update for the coming two weeks or even longer. Not that I hope it comes to that, but I think it will turn out that way.
I also have the idea of stopping the fics that don't get a lot of reviews or feedback. It may sound stupid, but this one, I have five stories that are now open. The point is that reviews are the things writers do it for. With the ones I got reviews, that are the ones I'll work on.
Last two weeks and last months I worked my butt off to get a decent amount of chapters on different stories. The amount of feedback was quite low and that really pissed me off. For that reason, I decided to let go of the fics that don't get too many reviews and focus on the works that are well liked by my readers.
Because if I can be frank, I'm a bit shocked. This fic hasn't been online for twenty four hours and I already get 8 reviews, 15 favorites, and 20 followers. Is that a lot for a first chapter?
Well, for me it is. I spent half a year at one fic which now only got 16 followers, 16 favorites and 39 reviews on thirty one chapters. Not to mention with the amount of time I spent literally thinking on how I should turn the story as it was an Original Flavor work. I pumped 200.000 words in it.
The point is that with this fic that hasn't been up for so long, I got a decent amount of feedback, so I think I'll be working on that. On the fics I get feedback, I'll update.
Sorry for my rant, I had to get that out.
As for this story, well, normally I'd put up some kind of summarization on it, but for this, no. Read and find it. Because at the point I started it, I really had no idea how I should write the entrance exam. It will turn out. That's how I do most of these things.
Jaune was now standing at the cliffs, together with the remaining students. He really didn't listen to his explanation. What he picked up was the first person they made eye contact with would be their partner. He hoped somewhere in his head that would be or Pyrrha or Ruby. Yang was a bit too loudmouthed to his liking and Weiss.
Well, the two hated each other and didn't make a secret of that.
After they were launched in the air. Jaune had no idea on how he should land until he got an idea. From some 'co-workers', Jaune learned to carry something a wingsuit. He opened his arms and flew on. He saw flashes of others using their weapons.
Yang for example used her gauntlets to push herself on, while Weiss made use of glyphs. He smiled, he would try to find a place to reduce his speed and try to land, but try to find an open spot without crashing in the trees. Jaune cursed the idiots who thought of that idea.
Unlike the others, he really couldn't use his weapons to slow down. He looked up and saw a spear flying his way. From the design, he could make a safe bet it belonged to Pyrrha. Boy, somewhere the cold, brutal and rude mercenary was very glad with that. The spear rammed in a tree. "Thanks." He shouted to the direction of the spear.
"I'm sorry." He heard from her. Jaune looked up and saw the spear, hanging on his hoodie. "Well, I have to thank her for it." Jaune said. Holy fuck. Since when would this boy give a thanks? But after all, Pyrrha saved his life. And for that, he was grateful. He took the spear from his hoodie, gave it a good pull and landed on the ground.
In the back, he could hear some noises and the white flashed out. As he only saw Weiss with those clothes, the mercenary saw a tree laying down. He smiled and began to run. With his feet on the trees, he began to run in them and he used his skill to free run five meters above the ground. The safest and fastest way.
He learned it from a group of fighters. Jaune would help them occasionally and from those guys came the idea of not hurting those who were deemed innocent. Jaune had to give them credit. He ran on and came to hear some Grimm sounds.
"Ah, shite." He shouted as he saw Pyrrha surrounded by a few Ursa. Not hesitating, he took Kalash of his shoulders. He had to admit, this girl really had some skill. She tried to block the attacks, but without her spear, she was utterly fucked. Jaune made a grimace and ran to her. One of the beasts came from behind and with his claws, he stroke down on the girl.
She closed her eyes, ready to feel the pain. She didn't. She only felt someone standing in the way. She looked up and saw Jaune standing in the way. The Ursa fell down and she looked up. "Just in time." He said. Pyrrha couldn't believe he found her so fast, but looked up. Jaune's right cheek was open. Her mouth fell open, her eyes wide and her facial expression was hurt.
This man had taken the hit meant for her. How far could that man push him? "Jaune." She muttered, being crushed by the guilt. "I'm so sorry." Jaune looked surprised, until he tasted the blood. He took some of his cheek, but made a shrug. "Oh, don't worry. I got hurt a lot more." He told her at a somewhat comforting tone.
She looked back and saw he offered her Miló. He made some smile at her. "Take it. You'll need your weapon if you want to survive." She understood his point and took the weapon. Jaune went to stand back to back. "One, two, three, four." He counted the Ursa. "You take down two, I'll take down two?" Pyrrha nodded while she felt the tears coming down.
She nodded and got at the first one. She blocked the claw with Akoúo. She slashed with the spear, taking it down. She then looked to the other one. She jumped up and buried the spear in the back of its head. After that, she looked to Jaune.
He made two clicks on his rifle, looked through the iron sight and pulled the trigger four times. Which rave pull, a bullet came out. Pyrrha saw him firing and the first one fell down. The other one ran to him from behind. He let the beast come closer. With the claw aimed at him, he jumped back for it, evading the first two attacks. It was like Jaune was toying with the opponent.
After the Grimm slashed for a third time, Jaune jumped up and landed at the front legs of it. Before the beast could get him off, Jaune swung the back of his rifle at the head. He used so much strength that the beast flew off. Jaune wasn't done yet and in one movement, the bayonet was buried in the head of the monster. The Ursa fell down and Jaune pulled it out.
He saw the monster moving and rammed the knife back in the head, stopping the movements. He saw the monster dissolving and looked back to Pyrrha. She on the other hand couldn't bear to look at him. He saved her, treated her as a normal person for the time she knew him as only one, was kind to her and the way she repaid him was letting him ended up hurt.
He walked to her and stood right in front of her. "So that makes us partners, I guess. Are you hurt?" The boy asked. Finally, she looked up and saw him standing. "Jaune. I'm okay, but you." Jaune pondered, but was reminded a claw was in his cheek five minutes ago. He touched the blood and looked at it. He wasn't surprised by it, but it would leave a huge scare. "Ah, yes. I'm indeed wounded. Meh, don't worry about it. I have taken a lot more." She looked back in shock. The blood now really covered his entire face. She looked up and down. "Aren't you mad?"
The mercenary was now really surprised. "Eh, no. Why should I be mad at you? You saved me by using that spear. Thanks for that. I couldn't land." She looked up and saw him with the clothing. "What is that?"
"Oh." He looked at the wingsuit and pushed a button. The wingsuit disappeared. "It's a wingsuit. I got from a trip and I used to land. It's really handy, but because I had no place to land, your spear, well, it saved my life." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. This man was really calm with everything that happened.
"Jaune. Shouldn't you let your aura take care of it?" The man looked up. "Aura? Ah, right. The manifestation of our souls that we can use to heal ourselves in fights and every creature has one. Well, I don't have it. Or better said, I didn't' have unlocked." Pyrrha could now look back at him. "You don't use an aura?" Jaune shook his head.
"Or course, I heard of its effects and usefulness in fights, but from the fights I was in, let me just say, an Aura wouldn't have helped you surviving. The reason I don't use it is very simple. One." He lifted the first finger. "A human body can take a lot. That's the reason I'm not worried of my new scar. It will heal the old way. I learned to live with that. Even if that takes longer Second." He lifted a second finger.
"I have seen its effeteness and I would say it could help me., but it has one big problem. Who fights with it, grows attached to it and loses the edge I now have. But that's not the biggest reason. You have use it and practise with it. I'm not so good with all that stuff and I have nobody who can teach me. For me, I'm all fighting and because I survived with that, I never found it useful to look it up." Pyrrha looked up. "So I guess you don't want an Aura?"
Jaune shrugged. "Well, I haven't said I never wanted." Pyrrha looked up. "I don't follow. You said you had no reason for it." Jaune smiled. "Wrong, I didn't say I didn't want it, because I won't have time to use it or to practise with it. That's why. And I don't know how to unlock it." Pyrrha smiled back at him.
"Do you want me to unlock it?" Jaune looked back at her. "I can teach you for it. If the most important reason is that you have nobody to practise on." Jaune looked back at her and smiled. "So you want me to teach how to use Aura?" Pyrrha became as red as her hair and began to stutter. 'Oh, no. Does he think I'm weird? Or that I act like a champion? Or?'
Jaune tapped her on the head. "I'm fine with that. If you can teach me how to use it, I happily accept your offer." She smiled and looked at him. "You're really sure?" Jaune nodded. "Well, it's always nice to learn and it would really help me with the blood coming off my face." Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death." After that, she placed a hand on his chest. "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."
She let him go and Jaune began to glow. She looked at him and Jaune felt the wound closing as the blood stopped coming. Even the scare shrunk, till there was only some traces of it if you looked directly at his face.
"This is Aura? Well, it's weird. We'll see how it turns out." Pyrrha crossed her arms. "You have a lot of Aura, Jaune." He made a grin. "If we survive this forest, I'd be happy to take lessons from you. I will lose my edge, but hey, that's not such a big deal."
Pyrrha eyes shot open. "You will become weaker?" Jaune shook his head. "Nah, it just means I wouldn't be able to fight at my fullest. But it has been six years when I needed to go all out. So I guess I won't need that advantage anymore. We should head that way." He pointed behind some trees. "Professor Ozpin said up North. That's the direction."
Pyrrha looked again surprised. "How did you know that?" Jaune smiled. "Let me tell you. You learned in school, I learned my skills on the field." She smiled and joined him. The two spent talking. At least. Pyrrha was explaining to Jaune how a Semblance. He on the other hand told her about some occasions he was in.
It came down to the fact Jaune thought and fought on his feet. Despite being trained in close range, he would often shoot before close range. Not that he didn't' like it, but in the occasions he was in, he preferred to shoot.
Still, he had to censor up a lot. Pyrrha stirred something in him and he rather didn't ruin it by telling her of the things he did. To be honest. The things he saw in his life. It was strange shit that churned in his stomach and he thought on how he should censor it.
At the cliff.
Glynda swapped over her scroll. "The last pair is made. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. As for mister Arc, your bet turned out swift. I would think the boy would shut himself of everyone and act rude to his peers. Still, he didn't hesitate to take a blow of an Ursa to save miss Nikos. He can turn out into a very good person. But we'll have to wait and see."
Ozpin sighed. He hoped someone could help open up to Jaune. Clearly, there was someone. Miss Nikos did a good job on that and he had the idea that Jaune could help her as well.
Jaune and Pyrrha walked on, now in comfortable silence. "Think that's the place?" Jaune asked when they saw a cave. Pyrrha shook her head. "No, I'm doubting that. Should we go in?" Jaune shook his head. "No, but something in my gut tells me to go in there. Unfortunately, I don't trust it, but sometimes it worked out."
He made a torch and walked in. His partner followed him. It was wet, warm and dark. Jaune's instincts told him one thing. "Run." He said when they saw a Death Stalker coming out. The two got out with the beast after them. "Shit." Was Jaune's word. He wanted to tear the Grimm apart with Kalash.
Before he got the chance of even taking the rifle of his back, Pyrrha tripped and fell down. The stinger came down at the Spartan. In the nick of time, the mercenary got in the way. He took the stinger in his hands, struggling to keep it away from her. "Pyrrha, please don't make a habit of the action I have to take Grimm attacks meant for you. I'm a bit in a bind right now."
Pyrrha couldn't help, but smile. "You really are incredible." She said and made her spear transform in a rifle. "Aim for the eyes if you can. That should give you the five seconds you need to run. Don't worry. I have a plan." She crawled back on her feet and aimed for the eyes. Before she could shoot, Jaune jumped back as he couldn't hold it.
Before the two could fire, the stinger swung again and took Pyrrha up. Jaune saw her in her position. "Don't let." He couldn't speak it out as she was being swung away. "Go I would say." He sighed and looked at the beast. He took his rifle from his back. He jumped back from the stinger. He aimed his rifle and gave it a few shots.
The magazine was empty and he hoped it would blind the beast enough for him to run. The bullets did a lot of it and for some reason, they pushed the beast back.
He began to track back Pyrrha. He saw the direction she flew in and began to run. He hoped she would be okay. His bullets took the monster down for now, he didn't have enough in his power to kill it by himself. He ran, knowing the beast would follow.
The mercenary hoped he could find a spot to fight back.
Meanwhile Pyrrha flew through the air. She saw a Grimm bird in the sky. "Ok. Flying through the air, no control of anything. Is a girl coming from the sky?" She wondered, before she saw Ruby coming down. "Heads uuuuuuppp!"
The two collided and ended up in a tree. The younger girl was dizzy with Beowolves circling around her head. "Uhh, what happened?" Pyrrha was in a higher branch. "Well, we collided in the sky and by that, we changed the path you were falling down. The two waved at each other, still feeling the effects of the trip.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked her newfound partner. Yang could only bring out. "I" before something else happened.
An Ursa was roaring in the back and an explosion was ending its movements. "YEEEEEE-HAWWWW!" Nora shouted before the orange haired girl fell forward. "Aw, it's broken." She went to look at the beast. "Ewwwww." Ren showed up as well.
He had a shock of the ordeal. "Nora. Please. Don't every do that again." He looked up and saw the hyper active huntress gone. She was at the relics, looking at the [Rook] piece. "Ooooh." She grabbed one and cooed in on her head. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!." She sang in her head.
She was stopped by Ren shouting at her "NORA!" She gave him a mock salute and she skipped over to him. "Coming, Ren." She took the piece in her hand.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked. Yang was once again interrupted by Jaune who came running with screeches of the Death Stalker after him. He made fifty meters between it, that should be enough to meet up.
Ruby came down from the trees. "Ruby?" The scythe user looked up and saw her older sister. "Yang!" The two sister raised for a hug, before Nora got between them. "Nora!"
In the meantime, the Death Stalker came out the forest. "Did he built distance up between him and a Death Stalker?" Jaune looked back and while jumping backwards, he fired a few rounds. He got around four magazines left, minus the one in the holder. He better saved some ammo. It turned the beast of to follow.
Yang had it. "I can't take it anymore. Can everyone just chill out for two second before something crazy happens again?!" She screamed while fire got around her and her eyes went red.
She took a few heavy breaths while a clock was ticking down. Ren joined the group and went the ding went off, Ruby patted her older sister at her arm. "Um, Yang." Ruby brought out while looking up the sky. Yang's head was the only one who dropped while everyone looked up.
They saw Weiss at the claws of the Nevermore. "How could you leave me?" The girl had the feeling her partner betrayed her.
"I said jump." Ruby hoped to make a statement.
"She's gonna fall." Blake said.
"She'll be fine." Ruby said.
"She's falling." Ren deadpanned. Weiss got back on earth, before being caught in Jaune's arms. Jaune gritted his teeth when he got her bridal style. He had to jump for it and was glad he was in time. He looked up to see if she was wounded.
Pyrrha frowned, feeling a bit jealous. Weiss saw who caught her and began to struggle. "Ugh. You. Let me go." Jaune shrugged and let his arms go up, causing her to unceremoniously falling on the ground. He ignored Weiss who wanted to mouth him. Pyrrha's frown became a smile and her jealous was gone.
The mercenary walked to the tree. "Do you want me to catch you?" Jaune asked her. His partner sighed and got out the trees by herself. The two joined the rest. "I've shot at the Death Stalker, but there is no way my bullets stopped it. And for your information, I only have 200 rounds left." He informed the group and reloaded his gun while doing so. They looked back, seeing the giant scorpion came back.
"Great. The gang's all here! Now we can die together." Jaune sighed. He would spend an awful lot of time putting bullets in magazines. "Not if I can help it." Ruby said. Before Jaune could even aim, he was blocked by the Scythe wielder. She screamed and got at the beast.
The damage she did wasn't enough and she was blocked off. She landed a few meters away and got back up. "D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine." Jaune thought over his option. His melee style was useless at Grimm with that armour.
Ruby got chased by the Death Stalker, followed by the Nevermore. The bird shot his feathers at the girl, stopping her. Her sister was blocked and couldn't help her. "Ruby, get out of there." Yang shouted at her sister.
Ruby's cloak was really holding her down. "I'm trying." She said while the Death Stalker got close. "Ruby!" Yang shouted. Before the stinger would come down, it was met by a familiar sound. Jaune was standing in front of Ruby firing at the stinger that wanted to pierce her. He hoped it would work.
His eyes shot open when the magazine was empty. Clearly, he still didn't have enough. Stupid him. He had to think his ideas over. Seeing his tormentor had no chance of fighting back, the Death Stalker raised his stinger again. Jaune hoped he could get Ruby away.
A white figure appeared and stopped the stinger. "You are so childish." The two heard while ice was cracking around them. "Weiss?" Ruby brought out. Jaune was now really surprised. "And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer." Jaune sighed at her. She wasn't so bad after all.
Ruby gave Weiss her answer. "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this." Weiss shook her head. "You're fine."
"Great, if you two have kissed and made up, maybe we can get away. We have two Grimm on our back." Jaune broke the moment and pointed at the bird. "That beast will be back any second." He looked at the seven Hunters. "We found the relics, so I suggest we took one and get the hell outta here."
"Jaune is right." Ruby stood next to him. "There is no reason to fight those things."
They all nodded. Ruby took a [Knights] piece and Jaune took a [Rook].
After that, the two groups began to run to the cliff side still being followed by the Grimm. If they had to make a stand, it was a decent place.
The Nevermore screeched and circled around. "Well, that's great." Yang commented as everyone took cover from behind the pillars.
Jaune saw the Death Stalker coming. "Ah fuck it." He was the first one, firing at the Death Stalker. "Run, everyone." The rest got out of their cover and began to run for the bridge.
"Nora, distract it!" Ren ordered the girls. Nora got out of cover and avoided the feathers coming from the bird. She took the weapon from her back and aimed at the bird. One of them got in the beak. For avoiding more rounds, the bird flew up. The scorpion got back as Jaune had to reload. She was saved by Weiss while Ren and Blake slashed at the monster.
Pyrrha transformed her spear to a rifle. Jaune got next to her. They weren't strong enough to stop the monster, but at the very least, they could stop it until Weiss, Nora and Blake got at the bridge. After that, Jaune placed a hand on both the shoulders. The monster couldn't follow them. "Save your ammo. Even combined, our rounds aren't strong enough to stop it.
They heard the Nevermore and Jaune saw it coming down. The bridge was destroyed, getting Ren, Pyrrha and Blake caught at the place. Their attacks did little than agitate it. "Nora. Do you have a way over?" Jaune took off a grappling hook he carried with him. Hopping it would stick somewhere on, he launched it by a throw. He looked to his companion who gave him a nod. "Yep." Nora exclaimed while she changed her launcher to a hammer form. Jaune sighed and swung over to the other side. With using his speed, he landed on his feet, retracing it in his flight.
"Woohoohoo." Jaune shouted while he got at the other side. He landed feet first and took his rifle off his back. "Wheee." Nora exclaimed and she used her speed to attack the monster. The hammer made contact with the beast but didn't do that lot of damage. Nora knocked Blake of the bridge, but the black haired girl found her way back up.
"We need to get it down." Jaune got his hands at the butt of his rifle while Pyrrha changed back her a spear mode. Jaune blocked one of the claws, using the butt of his rifle, while Pyrrha took care of the other one. Ren ran at the beast, firing at the head. When the stinger came down, he got at the top of the beast and fired at it. Pyrrha slashed at the beast while Jaune hit it with the but while shooting a few rounds and combining it with the bayonet.
Nora got her weapon back to launcher mode and fired a couple of rounds. Pyrrha used her shield to counter the effect while Jaune just jumped back, using the impact to get back on his feet. He landed next to her but had to roll to slow down.
When the Spartan threw her spear, Jaune shot a few more rounds. Both of them hit the eyes of the Grimm. The screeches were getting louder and by swinging its tail, it got Ren off against a wall. Jaune looked at the stinger.
It had taken a lot of damage. This could work. "Phrrha" He looked at her and she got the idea of the damaged stinger. "Done." She gave as reply and threw the shield, causing the stinger to land at a spot where the armour of the Death Stalker didn't reach. Jaune looked to Nora. "Think you can nail it?"
The girl gave him a nod. "Heads up!". She hopped on Pyrrha's shield, for extra effect. She got in the air and gave an extra effect. She got in the air and shot a few times for extra effect. Jaune had the idea that the bridge would be destroyed, so he looked at one of the pillars. He launched it and took Pyrrha's arm.
"Hold on tight." He said while throwing his hook again. He took Pyrrha up by one hand, giving her a blush. "Jaune, what are you?" Pyrrha shouted.
Before the claw of the Grimm could hit them, Jaune pulled back and used his rope to avoid the damage. The two swung around the pillar while Jaune was shouting. The two landed at the ground, feet first, Nora landing at her bottom. They were joined by Ren who fell face first at the ground.
The four could just see how Ruby ran off the cliff, cutting the Nevermore of by the neck in a flurry of red petals.
"That should do it." Jaune summarised the work the Hunters did. Jaune looked at the four. "So how are we going to get back?" Ren made a high jump and jumped over it while Nora used her hammer to get over. Jaune looked to Pyrrha. The Spartan crossed her arms. "Jaune, what was that thing?" Jaune took the grappling hook. "Oh, sorry. This." He took it. "It's a grappling hook. I use to swing around when there is no ground to cover. I forgot the thing with me. My bad." Pyrrha smiled. "Well, you seem to have a lot of surprises."
Jaune launched the hook at one of the few reaming pillars. "Wanna test it out?" The Spartan nodded and with a smile and a slight blush, she took his arm and held on tight. Jaune swung over and by using his hook, he got over the destroyed bridge. They were the last at the cliff and saw the rest climbing up.
"Think your hook can cover up the entire side?" Pyrrha asked him with a little, wry smile. As answer, Jaune just threw it up and got himself hooked at the very end of the cliff. Giving his partner a small smile and by offering a hand, she took it. He launched himself up and passed the climbers. They landed next to Ruby. "Wow." Was her reaction.
Later at the team assignment.
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black [Bishop] pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by Cardin Winchester," Ozpin said as the crowd beside him applauded the creation of this new team.
"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren." Ozpin said at the four. "The four of you retrieved the white [Rook] pieces. From this day forth you shall work together as team JNPR (Juniper)." Jaune had his look back at neutral while Nora gave Ren a bear hug. "Lead by Jaune Arc."
"Ha?" Jaune couldn't believe it. He, was the leader?
"Congratulations young man." Ozpin told him as Pyrrha gave him a friendly hit on his shoulder. He shot a look at her and shrugged. Maybe this wasn't so bad.
The newly appointed team JNPR left the stage as Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang got on. "And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white [Knight] pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose!" Ruby had a similar reaction as Jaune.
The mercenary could only nod. He and Ruby maybe weren't the first you thought of as leaders, but maybe you have that with Hunters.
"I'm so proud of you." Yang gave her sister a hug.
"This is going to be a very interesting year." Ozpin concluded. Jaune couldn't help, but agree.
Okay, I'm done. I promised I'd give you guys a second chapter, but like pointed above, this will be the only one in the coming weeks. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid I'm not. For what it was worth, I'm glad that the situation is settled and that when I wrote this chapter, I got a few more favorites and followers on this.
I hoped it turned out right as like I said above I really had no idea how this whole thing would work out. But it was decent to what I got and I hope I didn't let you guys down.
Thanks for reading, please leave a review (a few short words are enough) and check out my profile for my poll.
Saluut.