Welcome fellow RWBY fans. (If you're not a RWBY fan, that's cool, but then I question why you're reading this.) I'm Xjentryn and this is my second chapter of The Chronicles of ZFRR. It is a good deal longer than the previous chapter, but hopefully still to your liking. It will show initiation and the teams being formed. Many of the circumstances are very similar to Beacon's initiation, but there are a few differences. I will make edits as needed.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, or any other fandom referenced. I do own a totally unrelated hat though. It's very comfortable!
Warning: May contain mild swearing.
"Talking"
"Thinking"
Memory
Sound effect
"~Singing~"
The students stood along a cliff face about a mile away from campus, each on a platform. Professor Caesar stepped forward. "Welcome to initiation!" He said loudly. "Today you will be put into teams of four. These teams, once formed, will remain as such until graduation, so you will want teammates you can work well with. That being said, the first person you lock eyes with will be your partner."
Zaffre looked over at the other students. Some of them looked quite nervous, while others looked determined. One or two just looked completely lost. Scanning the line of students, Zaffre saw Hazel. She was now dressed in a simple brown shirt, where the sleeves barely passed her shoulders. On top of it was a white hunting vest, unbuttoned and full of pockets. Tan cargo pants covered her legs, with short, brown hunting boots on her feet. A brown satchel hung across her torso, from her right shoulder to her left side. She had a loose metal chain necklace around her neck, with a red diamond-shaped stone as an ornament. She also had a brown headpiece across her forehead depicting five gray stones. She glanced over and, seeing Zaffre looking at her, smiled at him.
"It is the job of you and your partner to make it to the clearing on the far end of the forest, and retrieve one token." The Headmaster continued. "You must bring that token back to this cliff before nightfall. But be warned, the forest is full of dangers. Once you leave this cliff, you will receive no support of any kind until you return. Now, are there any questions?"
"Yes." Said Rusty. "When you say 'no support of any kind', does that include toilet paper?"
The students laughed. Professor Caesar simply ignored the comment. "Best of luck to you all."
Professor Morningstar reached to her left and pulled a lever. One by one the students were flung into the air, starting at the left end: the end farthest from Zaffre. He watched as many students were launched. He saw Hazel crouch down, as if to jump, before she too joined the airborne ones. Next to him, Rusty pulled out his weapon and mounted it, a huge gleeful smile on his face.
WHOOSH!
Rusty was gone. Zaffre turned forward, a smile on his face. "This is gonna be fun." He thought. Without warning, he was in the air. The wind rushed against his face as he soared higher. It felt good, to be in the air. It felt free. He looked ahead to see Rusty firing his weapon while riding it like a broom. Farther down, a girl with wings was gliding like a bird over the forest. "Well that hardly seems fair." He thought. However, a certain blonde monkey came up behind her, appearing to be slightly out of control.
SMACK!
Rusty collided with the winged girl, sending them both toward the ground. The girl managed to regain herself right above the trees, using her wings to slow her descent, but landing nonetheless. Rusty crashed a ways away from her. Zaffre snapped his focus back towards his own landing, as it was coming up quickly. He reached back and whipped out his blades. As he descended into the trees, he grabbed a large trunk with the flat of his blades, using them to spiral around the tree. The spiral slowed him down, but not fully. As he neared the bottom, he released the trunk and instead hooked his swords on a low branch, converting his momentum into a flip. He did a backwards summersault through the air and landed safely on the ground. "That was fun!" He thought to himself. He looked around. There were trees and rocks everywhere, but no signs of any other students. "Well, best get going." With that, Zaffre started walking.
– ZFRR –
In the middle of the forest, a tall, lightly tanned, green-haired boy was walking in the direction of the clearing. He wore a green turtleneck sweater with a brown vest depicting many pockets and pouches. He had two brown bands on each bicep, with a short, green streamer coming off of each. His pants were simple and light brown, and he had brown shoes. He also had a brown cloak on, attached by a shining, circular, green stone on the front. Tattoos of twin pale green stripes went from under the bottom outside corners of his eyes up to his ears. A gem flower earring sat on his right ear lobe. A silver necklace hung around his neck with a tree emblem pendant on it. He carried a walking stick staff with him, covered in intricate carvings. His landing had been no problem, he was very much used to forests. Here, walking through this forest, reminded him of his home.
– 8 Years Ago –
"Franky, what are you doing?" A voice asked. The green haired boy turned around, a small plant in his hand, roots and all. He looked up at the woman who had spoken. She had waist-length, green hair and ruby red eyes. She wore a pale green sundress with a vine-like pattern on the bottom and a few orange and yellow flowers on it.
"This flower." He said, "It's alive. But the rest of the flowerbed has died. I want to know why."
The woman shook her head with a slight smile on her face. "You always were the curious sort. Come on in, it's time for dinner."
Franky nodded. He followed the woman inside a nearby house, flower still in hand. It was a fairly simple wooden house, in a fairly simple village. The people in this forest village preferred the simple life, though many of them enjoyed traveling to the cities and surrounding areas. The inside of the house was basic. It had a main room with a couch, a couple armchairs, and a coffee table on the right, and a dining table on the left. A door by the dining table led to a kitchen, while another door by the couch led to a bathroom and 2 bedrooms. The place was covered in decorations ranging from carvings to books to paintings. Franky's family really enjoyed art. In fact, one of Franky's favorite times of year was visiting Forjador City for The Founder's Day Festival. Franky loved getting to view the craftsmen's work and learn about it. There was very little Franky did not enjoy learning.
Franky followed the woman to the dining table. An adorable young girl, about three years younger than Franky, sat at the table, coloring on pieces of paper. She had the same long, green hair that Franky did, but hers was braided with beautiful beads. She had on a light green t-shirt with shorts of the same color. Franky himself was wearing similar clothes, but his shirt was darker and his shorts were brown. Franky sat down next to the young girl and looked at what she was drawing. It was an image of a valley of grass with two men walking horses to a well. The drawing was very well done for someone so young.
"Nice drawing Sis." Said Franky.
"Thanks." She replied, still scribbling away.
The woman walked over to the table. "Time to put away your drawings Sham. We're about to eat."
"Ok Mom." Said the little girl. She got up and carried her papers over to a small chest sitting on a shelf next to the couch. Franky walked into the kitchen. A man stood in there, putting the finishing touches on some roasted pork. He was a tall man, with neat, green hair that ran just past his shoulders. His eyes were shining blue. The man wore a light blue button shirt tucked into dark gray dress pants. A white apron protected his clothes from the potential messes of the kitchen.
"Hey Dad, is there a pot I can use for this?" Franky asked, holding up the flower.
"Sure Son." He replied, handing Franky a small clay vase. Franky gratefully put the flower's roots in the pot along with some dirt, and returned to the living room to set it on the coffee table. As he returned to the dining table, his Father came out of the kitchen, carrying the meat, while his Mother brought out a veggie salad. The two youngsters scampered over to their seats, eager for some food.
"Did you catch this yourself dad?" Franky asked.
His father smiled. "Sure did son."
"Cool." The little boy replied happily. "One day, I'm gonna be a great hunter just like you dad! I'll even take down the Grimm! I'll keep everyone safe!"
"I'm sure you will honey." His mom said with a loving smile. "In the mean time, let's eat."
– End Flashback –
Franky smiled at the thought of home. He had traveled to many places, seen many things. But, as they say, there's no place like home. He snapped his attention back to the task at hand. He had a token to find. He continued his walk through the forest, enjoying the peace. It was short-lived however.
BOOM!
Off to the side, a very large explosion erupted. Franky turned to see a cloud of dust in the air. "Someone's in trouble." He started running towards the site, by stopped after only ten yards. Still a ways away from the explosion, a Beowulf blocked his path. The dark creature turned towards Franky, baring its teeth. Franky held his staff out to the right, waiting for the beast to attack. He didn't have to wait long. The Beowulf lunged at Franky, hungry for a bite. Franky stepped to the left and swung his staff right into the jaws of the monster. The blow knocked it back, but did little else. With a howl the beast charged Franky again. Franky jumped over it and spun, firing a dart from his left gauntlet. The dart struck the Beowulf's hind leg. It let out a howl of pain as the poisoned dart rendered the leg mostly immobile. Enraged now, the Grimm turned around and began swinging wildly at Franky. He blocked each and every blow with his staff. As the creature held its claw high for another strike, Franky grabbed out a small, round pellet and chucked it at the beast's head. On impact, it released a gas that consumed the Beowulf's head.
Dazed and unable to see, the beast swung wildly in every direction. Franky evaded back, and fired another dart at the Grimm's other hind leg. The Beowulf roared in rage, blowing away the gas. It turned just in time to see Franky lunging at it with his weapon. The raging monster caught the end of the staff in its mouth and snarled. Franky just smiled victoriously as the end of the staff released a blast of gas directly into the Grimm's throat. The Beowulf let go of the staff, coughing relentlessly. After about five seconds, it fell over, dead. Franky re-acquired his knock-out darts from the carcass's hind legs, and walked away, once more in search of the tokens.
– ZFRR –
Zaffre ran as fast as he could. Only moments ago he had witnessed a large explosion off to his left. "An explosion like that can mean only one thing." He thought, "Rusty." He continued to run in the direction he hoped to find his friend. After a few minutes he broke into a small clearing to see his blonde friend sitting on top of a dead Ursa Minor. Well, half of one anyway. The rest appeared to be scattered everywhere.
Rusty looked at his friend calmly. "What took you so long?" He said with a smile.
Zaffre grinned at his best friend. He reached out and grabbed Rusty's hand. "Partners from the beginning."
"Partners til the end." Rusty finished.
The two joined in a bro hug. "Should've saved some for me buddy." Zaffre said.
They split apart. "I did." Rusty gestured at the corpse-ified half of the bear. "Just for you man."
Zaffre laughed. "For me? You shouldn't have."
Rusty shrugged. The pair began walking. "You seen any action yet?" Rusty asked.
"Nope." Zaffre replied. "Just been a quiet walk through the bug-filled forest."
"Shame."
"That looked like quite the rough landing by the way."
Rusty laughed, "Hey, you know perfectly well that gravity's always been on my side."
"That it has my friend."
Rusty looked over at his friend. "So what made you decide to come to where I was?"
"The explosion. I figured only one guy would make a boom that big."
"Yeah, that was fun."
"How'd you get it that size anyway?"
"Women often ask me that." Rusty winked at his friend, who chuckled at the joke. "A vial of dust." Rusty grinned mischievously. "But still, why did you come to where you knew I was if you didn't have a partner yet?"
"Is that a trick question?"
Rusty shrugged. "I just figured you'd want to be partnered with that cute brunette from the other day."
Zaffre blushed heavily. "Wha? No…I…No…She's…I mean…No"
"Uh-huh." Rusty grinned.
"Shut up."
"Hey, all I'm saying is if I had a chance to be partnered with that, I'd take it." He turned to his best friend. "And buddy, you had that chance."
"No, I didn't." Zaffre said in denial. "Besides, that's your area of expertise."
"Well in that case, I suppose you won't mind if I ask her out?"
"Go nuts dude."
"Already halfway there!" Rusty beamed.
"Hey," Zaffre suddenly paused. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
– ZFRR –
"What was that?" An explosion had just gone off a little ways away. The black-haired teen looked to the sky to see a cloud of dust in the air. "Looks like somebody found trouble. I better keep my wits about me." The boy continued walking, making sure to pay close attention to his surroundings. He wore a close-fitting black shirt and pants of the same. On top of it was silver samurai armor with red decal. His chest plate featured two red arrows pointing down. On either side of his helmet rested a silver and black emblem of a shield depicting the image for the scales of justice. The boy himself had light skin with brown eyes and thin, black eyebrows. A long scar sat on his right cheek, a memento of one of his battles. On his waist was a sheathed red and black katana. His gaze darted around his surroundings, looking for any sign of trouble. The forest seemed peaceful enough, but he knew all too well how deceiving looks could be. He heard a rustle behind him. His head whipped around, his hand instinctively on the hilt of his blade. "Nothing." He slowly turned back and resumed his walk.
He walked for a while before he heard what sounded like a muffled scream coming from ahead. He yanked out his sword and charged through the trees. He stopped at a blackened log, lying across his path. Slowly he approached it. Once it was right in front of him, he reached up and prepared himself for whatever what on the other side. With a deep breath he pulled himself up and pointed his sword at…nothing. There was no one in sight. Not even a hint of a person anywhere. He almost relaxed, until he came to a frightening revelation. Under him, the black log began to shake and threw him off. He rolled onto his back and witnessed what he had thought to be a log rise up. The black head of a mighty King Taigitu stared down at him, a hungry look in its eyes. He couldn't believe he hadn't been ready for that, he'd seen this trick before. Sometimes a Grimm would learn to imitate a victim's scream in order to attract prey. Unlike animals, humans and Faunus would run to screams.
The boy stood up quickly, holding his sword in a defensive stance. The snake lunged at him. He quickly activated his semblance, generating a blue force field in front of him, holding the snake's fangs back. "Kind of Ironic that my semblance is blue, when everything else I use is gray and red." He thought to himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't maintain the force field for very long, so he needed a plan. He heard a very quiet hissing behind him, barely audible over the sound of the giant snakehead in front of him. He turned his head to see the white twin of the snake on the ground, staring at him. It lunged. He stepped to the left, dropping the force field. The two snakeheads collided, both trying to bite him.
"Make out on your own time." He smirked
The heads separated and roared at the sky, the rest of the twin-headed snake finally revealing itself. The boy prepared himself for a fight. The white head lunged first, the boy dodged to the side and slashed at the black head. His sword glanced off, leaving hardly a scratch. The hide of this snake was particularly tough. The black head lunged at him. He narrowly managed to avoid it. The two heads reared back, mouths wide open. The boy looked at his sword. "No dust, and no stored power. Great." Unfortunately for him, he'd forgotten to grab any dust vials on his way to initiation today. "Laevateinn is a great sword, but it'll be of little help without energy." He gripped his trusted sword tightly. The two heads came in for another lung. He rolled out of the way. Jumping over them wasn't really an option with this armor on. It did wonders to protect him, but it also slowed him down some and made him heavy. Shedding it would allow him a major boost in speed, but he wasn't as practiced without it as he was with it. "I'll leave the shedding to the snake."
The two heads came at him again, the black one from the top and the white one from the left. The boy plunged his sword into the ground, the blade pointed left. At the same time, he threw a force field up above him. The black head deflected off the force field, and the white head gave itself a nice paper cut on his blade. The white head roared back in pain, while the black head crashed into a tree. The boy quickly dropped the force field, and pulled out his blade. Before the snake could recuperate, he swung Laevateinn in a wide arc above his head. The slash wasn't all that deep, but the boy noticed something, tiny gaps in the snake's scales. Theoretically, a well-aimed stab would go right through. Rather than test this theory though, he retreated back. The snakeheads were ready for another strike, and his position was terrible. He darted back to a large trunk, and prepared to battle his foe.
Suddenly, a winged girl jumped out of a nearby tree, firing arrows from twin crossbows at the snake. Both arrows glanced off the thick hide. The girl opened her mouth. An ear-splitting screech emanated from her throat. The two snakeheads shuddered from the painful sound. The girl extended her wings and swooped in close. She linked her crossbows together and they shifted into a double-ended spear. She threw it at the black head's left eye, but the snake's convulsing caused it to hit its hide and fall to the ground. The white head regained its composer and lunged at the girl. A circular shield unfolded from her left arm to protect her, but the impact of the snake still sent her flying towards the ground. The boy quickly sent his force field out to catch her. She stopped just above the ground, slightly dazed.
"Thanks." She said, standing up. "That thing has a tough hide."
"I noticed." The boy responded.
The girl ran over and picked up her spear. "Any ideas?"
The boy looked at her weapon. "Can you make sparks with that?"
She grinned. "Well I have been known to show a guy a good time."
The boy dodged another attack by the snake. "Can you or not?"
She also dodged an attack. "Probably, why?"
"My sword absorbs heat. I noticed the snake's scale have slight gaps in between them. If I can juice this thing up, I think I can penetrate the hide."
She looked at the snake, then at him, and smiled. "Here!" She tossed him her shield. "Be ready!" With that she took off into the air. She shifted her weapon back into its twin crossbow form and fired a few arrows at both heads. The arrows did little more than irritate the snake. "Over here slime brains!" She shouted. She then did a perfect imitation of the snake's hiss. The hiss drew the attention of the snakes. They both lunged at her. She swooped around them, leading them away from the boy. When she'd gotten it to move about twenty yards, she rushed around behind it. The two heads turned to face her, opening their mouths to strike. The winged wonder released a volley of arrows into the monster's mouths, imbedding them in the tongues. The heads roared in agony and rage. She just smiled, and took off in a straight line towards the boy. The snakeheads chased her in a blind rage. As she neared the boy, she shouted, "Raise the shield!" He did so. She suddenly pulled up. The snakeheads were not expecting it, and collided with both each other and the shield, creating a large amount of sparks and friction.
The Boy smiled at the brilliance of the plan, as all the heat poured into Laevateinn. The already red blade glowed with the fires of life. The boy threw the shield Frisbee style back at the girl, and rolled under the great beast. With all his might he thrust the blade into the black neck above him. Pouring his aura into the blade, he released a massive flame that tore through the snake. "AAAAAA!" He shouted and with all his strength, sliced the head clean off. The remaining head screamed in pain. The girl threw her shield so it imbedded in the snake's mouth, keeping it open. She then fired arrow after arrow into the ferocious mouth. The white head struggled with all its might to close its mouth and protect its throat. The girl, seeing this, charged in and planted her spear on the monster's tongue. She then yanked out her shield, allowing the Grimm's own jaw strength to force the sharpened end up through its brain. With one final scream the remaining snakehead fell on the ground, dead. The girl flew down to the massive jaw and tore her spear out.
"Thanks for the help." Said the boy. "The name's Loy, Loy Ginn."
"Nice to meet you Loy." She said with a smile. "I'm Thistle, Thistle Sora."
"Pleasure." Responded the young samurai. "I'm surprised you didn't use your wings to just fly over the forest and collect a token."
"That was the original plan, but some idiot crashed into me. I'm fine, but my wings are too sore to go very high or very far." She frowned. "Guess that means I'm grounded."
"Lucky for me."
Thistle smiled. "Yeah well, you can kiss me later. Let's go."
– ZFRR –
Scarlet darted between the trees. Just a minute ago, she'd seen a huge explosion in the forest, and she didn't want to be left out of the fun. She jumped high and landed on a tree branch. She then proceeded to jump from branch to branch. Her parents had often joked with her about how she sometimes acted more cat-like than dog. But she couldn't help it; she loved being in trees! She jumped back to the ground now, racing toward the explosion site. Another couple minutes and she'd be there. "Almost…"
SMACK!
She collided head-on with another person.
"Oof! Not again." Scarlet muttered to herself. Little brown coyotes ran in circles above her head. She shook it off and looked at whom she'd hit. A brown haired girl sat across from her. She looked like a hunter by the way she was dressed. Not a Huntress, but a regular animal hunter.
"I'm so sorry, are you ok?" Asked the brown haired girl.
"That was fun." Scarlet responded, still a little dazed. She stood up. "Anyway, I hit you. I'm the one who should be apologizing."
The other girl smiled. "Don't worry about it."
Scarlet helped her stand. "I'm Scarlet. Guess we're partners."
The brown-haired hunter shook her hand. "I'm Hazel, I guess we are." She smiled. "So where were you off to in such a hurry?"
"I saw an explosion in this direction. Looked like fun."
"Weren't you worried that someone might be hurt?"
"Nah. This is Storm Academy! Anyone here can definitely handle themselves!"
Hazel chuckled. "I suppose that's true. So, shall we go get a piece of the fun?"
Scarlet beamed. "Lets do it!"
The two began walking. Scarlet looked her partner up and down. "So, who were you hoping for?"
"Huh?" Hazel asked, slightly confused.
"As a partner. Most people go into this with an idea of who they'd like to be partnered with. Most also don't get their wish. So I'm curious, who were you hoping for?"
Hazel shook her head with a smile. "No one in particular. I figured I'd just let the chips fall where they may."
"You didn't have a friend you wanted to be with?"
"I don't know anyone here."
"Well you must've met someone since you got here. Beautiful girl like you, how could you not have?"
Hazel laughed. "I did meet a few people."
"Any of them worthy candidates?"
Hazel's thoughts turned to one particular boy. "Well, there was one I met the other day who seemed quite nice. A boy named Zaffre."
Scarlet gave her a knowing look. "A boy huh? I gotcha." She winked.
Hazel chuckled. "No no, nothing like that. He just seemed really nice."
"I bet he did." Scarlet kept grinning.
Hazel just shrugged it off. "Look up there!"
Ahead was a small clearing, most likely the site of the explosion. The two girls stepped out of the trees and looked around. The bottom half of an Ursa Minor lay in the middle, with bits of the rest of it scattered all around. There was no sign of any people though.
"Ah man, we missed it!" Scarlet frowned
"Looks like whoever was here really did a number on that thing." Hazel examined the severed beast.
"Must've been a pretty powerful shot."
"Not necessarily. An ordinary explosive round down the throat would do this. Whomever did this is either a really good shot, or was bold enough to be right in this creature's face." She stepped back.
"Maybe they just wanted a hug!" Scarlet proceeded to hug herself with a smile, making Hazel laugh.
"You really love your inner child don't you?"
Scarlet beamed in response.
"Well, we'd better head toward the tokens. I don't expect these guys to come back anytime soon."
"Why do you say 'these guys'? How do you know it wasn't just one."
"It was one, but he or she was quickly joined by a friend afterwards. Probably a good friend."
"But how can you tell?"
"I come from a village of hunters. Not huntsmen and huntresses, but regular animal hunters. As such, I'm very good at tracking." She pointed at the ground. "See here, only one set of footprints fighting the creature." She walked to the trees. "But here, we see another set come out." Hazel walked back near the Ursa carcass. "And here. The footprints are right next to each other, face to face. These people either really liked each other, or hated each other."
"Maybe they were a couple?" Scarlet suggested.
"No, look at the prints. The indentation suggests some force with their impact. But there was no scuffle. So most likely it was a hug. And guys are known to hug rougher than girls. So most likely it was two boys." Hazel pointed at the trees. "And there you can see the two sets of prints leaving together." Hazel frowned. "…In the wrong direction." She sighed. "I hope they find their way."
"Wow." Scarlet awed. "That's some sweet skills!"
Hazel smiled. "Let's go get a token."
"Oaky!" Scarlet bolted into the forest, with Hazel chasing after.
"Wait! It's this way!"
– ZFRR –
The woods were silent. No growling Grimm, no noisy students, just quiet. A young boy with black hair stared at the tokens. They rested in a circle on top of low-cut grass. A chasm separated them from the forest, with three old, stone bridges lying peacefully on top. The boy took in a deep breath. Two pairs of students had come through and taken tokens, none of them noticing him. He just continued to stand next to his tree. He looked down at his hoodie. It had changed from it's normal white to a deep brown with lines all over it. His pants and shoes had similarly changed. Standing still, one could not distinguish him from the tree he stood by. He sighed a little. "I'd hoped by now someone would have spotted me." He thought to himself. But no such luck.
His landing in the forest had been rough; it had almost cost him his bandana. Luckily for him though, it survived and stayed on. After that it had been a relatively short walk to the tokens. He hadn't seen a single Grimm the entire time, though he'd past many students. Most of them were lost, some even whimpering. It was rather pathetic. Not a single one of them had seen him. Not surprising, after all he was camouflaged. And he was certainly used to blending in. Still, those students didn't interest him. He was only interested in the student who could spot him. So far though, that quest seemed to be in vain. He heard some leaves rustle. Turning, he saw a guy and a girl come out of the forest.
"That Beowulf was kinda frightening." The girl said quietly.
"Don't worry." The boy replied, putting his arm around her. "I'll protect you."
She smiled and snuggled toward him, glancing down briefly. The hidden boy smirked under his bandana. He could see exactly what was going on. "Tonight you're gonna make a move on her. She's gonna fain interest long enough to steal from your wallet." He watched as each of them grabbed a different token. "As I suspected, you're not even partners, you both left your partners for this bullshit." He groaned at the thought of all the drama he might see in the coming year. The sound of his groan startled the two students. The boy practically jumped out of his shoes, instinctively grabbing his weapon. His eyes darted around. "Drama queens, idiots, and scaredy cats. Ugh." The two students cautiously walked back into the forest, headed back to the starting point. The hidden boy face palmed. "Why didn't I go to Beacon?" Truly, it seemed that this school was full of second-rate wannabes.
"Don't worry, those two hardly reflect the rest of us."
The hidden boy looked around quickly, trying to figure out who'd spoken.
"Up here."
The boy looked up to see a green-haired boy his age sitting in the tree above him, looking right at him. He lowered his camouflage.
"That's better. I was wondering how long you were gonna stand there." The green-haired boy jumped down, his brown cloak fluttering as he did so. "I'm Franky."
The previously hidden boy nodded. "Ryku." He then looked up at the branches. "How long?"
"Was I up there? About five minutes. I spotted you pretty quickly. Didn't know what you were doing, so I decided to watch. I was pleased to see you weren't trying to sabotage people." Franky Smiled. "Have a partner yet?"
Ryku shook his head.
"Me either. Pleased to meet you partner." Franky offered his hand to shake. Ryku simply nodded. "Ok then. Shall we grab a token?"
Ryku turned and began walking towards the stone circle. Franky shrugged and followed. He wasn't insulted by Ryku's behavior, some people are reserved, and without knowing why he was, Franky saw no reason to judge him for it. The two crossed the center bridge and looked at the tokens. Each one was a smooth stone about the size of Franky's palm, with a symbol carved on. There appeared to be two of each symbol.
"These look like zodiac symbols." Franky observed. He reached to grab one when he suddenly heard a crashing sound. The two boys whipped around to see two girls charging out of the forest. One had red hair, the other had brown hair.
"Run!" The red haired girl shrieked. Behind them trees were pushed to the side as a massive creature charged out after them.
"Oh, my, gosh." Franky whispered to himself. If it was possibly, the pasty white Ryku paled a little.
– ZFRR –
On the starting cliff, Headmaster Caesar stood with his hands held behind his back. He gazed intently at the forest stretching out in front of him. Next to him, Professor Morningstar stood with a scroll in her hand, watching the various students' progression.
"Looks as though most students have found a partner." She said. "And so far four groups have obtained tokens."
The headmaster continued to stare at the forest, giving little reaction to her words. Professor Morningstar continued to scroll through the students.
"Looks like Franky and Ryku have been paired together. I expect they'll be a force to be reckoned with, if they can work together." She frowned. "There aren't too many other students I feel I can say that about though. I have to say, so far I'm disappointed in this year's batch."
The headmaster turned ever so slightly. "Give them time. I see some great potential in many of them."
"For some, I'll agree. Although that boy Rusty, I don't expect he'll last long here. He has no regard for rules or safety."
Headmaster Caesar smiled slightly, deep in thought. Noticing this, Professor Morningstar gave him a puzzled look.
"What is it?"
"I was just remembering my youth. I traveled a lot, and had quite the affinity for danger. To the outside world, everything I did was selfishly for fun. But even looking back now, I believe I did good works, and I believe our young friend Rusty has that same potential. The face of a clown is a mask many wear, but what lies behind that mask is what's important."
He turned to face her.
"In this forest, within theses challenges, many students laugh, or cower. Some fight, some run. Some refuse to even stay focused. But beyond that, look at how they treat each other, at how they treat themselves. See why they choose their courses of action, and what they do second. In every student down there, I see the raw materials of a huntsman or huntress. It is our job to forge them."
Professor Morningstar looked a bit skeptical. "If you say so."
The headmaster turned back to face the forest. "You are still new here, but give it time and you'll see, sometimes the most unrefined man, becomes the most refined huntsman."
– ZFRR –
"This way! Come on!"…"Wait, sorry, this way. Just got turned around is all."…"No, hold on. I think I was right the first time."
"Ok, just admit we're lost."
"We're not lost, I know exactly where we are!"
"And what about where everything else is?"
"Ah, semantics!"
"So then we're lost."
"I'd prefer to say exploring."
"Uh huh."
Rusty turned to his friend "Ok, which way do you think we should go?"
Zaffre grinned. "Toward the tokens."
Rusty smiled. "Oh yeah, that clears everything up."
Zaffre and Rusty had been wandering around for about an hour now, with no sign of the tokens. They had seen a Beowulf or two, but those had been taken care of quickly. Now Rusty was pacing back and forth, while Zaffre leaned on a tree.
Rusty's stomach growled. "I need some food."
"When do you not?" Zaffre smiled. He reached into his pocket. "Here, I figured you'd need this." He tossed Rusty a snack bar. Rusty gratefully gobbled it down.
"That's better." Rusty said happily.
"Good, then what do you say we take a peak above the trees?"
"We haven't seen anything the last few times, but why not, I do love flying."
"I would call it 'falling with style', but whatever. Lower your gravity."
Rusty nodded. A faint brown glow came to him as he activated his aura. Using his semblance, he decreased his gravity to the ground. Zaffre walked over and grabbed his friend's ankles. With a great thrust, Zaffre sent Rusty into the air. Rusty spun around, trying to find any indication of where the tokens were. Unfortunately, a mist had set over the treetops just under an hour ago. So, just like each time before, he couldn't tell where to go. He landed next to Zaffre with a sigh.
"Nothing dude, the fog is still too thick."
Zaffre groaned. "At this rate we'll never find them."
"Well, time to show off your tremendous leadership skills. What do we do?"
"You know perfectly well I'm no leader."
"Yeah well, I'm a monkey, so what do we do?"
Zaffre looked around. "Well, we don't have a compass. I can't see any moss indications on the trees or rocks. And the sun is too high to get a good direction from it." True, the fog was in the way, but the sun could be made out somewhat through it. "Honestly, I don't know."
"We could try flying."
Zaffre stared at his friend. "Dude, that's not a good idea. We can't maintain it long, and in that fog we won't be able to tell if anything's in front of us."
Zaffre looked up. "Although…" He looked back at his friend. How long can you keep us in the air without wings?"
Rusty shrugged. "Probably not long."
"Alright, I have an idea. Let's fly!"
Rusty grinned happily; he loved flying. Pulling out his weapon, Rusty planted one end on the ground, and had spikes pop out of it. Zaffre reached back and pulled out his twin swords. With the push of a button, they expanded into mega swords. Each one was about six feet long. He hooked the ends of the hilts together, in such a way that they looked like wings. He then held them up to the spikeless top of Rusty's weapon.
"Remember," said Zaffre, "These babies are heavy, so without a really strong gust of wind, this won't work long."
"Yeah yeah I know. Danger, crashing, ouchies. Now let's go!"
Zaffre grinned. He and Rusty held onto Rusty's weapon with death grips. Rusty glowed again as he lowered their gravity. Together the two friends jumped at the same time as Rusty fired his weapon at the ground. The pair was sent straight up, each of them mounting their ride. Zaffre sat at the front, controlling his swords. Rusty sat back near the spikes, using them to keep the whole thing from flipping. As they began to clear the fog, Zaffre tilted the blades. The makeshift plane began to level out.
"I'm about to remove the wings!" Shouted Zaffre. "Keep us up as long as you can!"
"Ok!" Shouted back a gleeful Rusty.
Rusty continued to fire his weapon, providing the propulsion needed to stay airborne. Zaffre unhooked his swords, and spun one of the blades over, so it now faced backwards. He then re-clipped them together into a giant bladed boomerang. With a mighty heave, he threw the boomerang forward. It tore through the fog, pushing it away from the trees. Zaffre smiled as he saw the edge of the forest off in the distance, but the smile dropped as their ride shuddered and they began to descend.
"Uh dude, we're headed down!" Rusty called out.
Zaffre grimaced. His boomerang was on its way back, but it was now going to fly right over their heads.
"I'm gonna have to abandon ship!" He called back. Rusty nodded in agreement.
As the giant blades neared the air above them, Zaffre leaped up, off their ride. He managed to catch the blades in midair, but then began to fall. He quickly folded his blades back to their condensed size and put them away. He braced himself; it was all he had time to do before…
CRASH!
He smacked into the ground, right next to Rusty. "Thank goodness for Rusty's gravity." He thought. "Without it, I doubt that fall would've been so pleasant."
Next to him, Rusty was lying with a smile on his face. "That was sick! I'm glad my semblance held out through my landing!"
The two boys sat up and began laughing. "There is no way that should've worked!" Zaffre exclaimed happily. Rusty just beamed. Zaffre stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, I believe I saw the tokens this way."
Rusty jumped to his feet. "Well what are we waiting for?"
Rusty took off in the direction Zaffre had indicated, Zaffre close behind. The two bolted through the woods, jumping and dodging vines, roots, and rocks. Rusty managed to stay just a little bit ahead of Zaffre, no surprise considering his monkey side.
"C'mon man! Is that all you got?" Rusty taunted at his friend.
Zaffre ignored the comment and kept running. Ahead Rusty was looking back and laughing, completely not paying attention to what was in front of him. This ignorance proved unwise as a large root came up on them and tripped him.
THUD!
Rusty face planted into the ground. Zaffre himself nearly fell over from laughing. "Behold, the pinnacle of modern jungle apes!"
Rusty stood up, grinning, and threw some dirt at Zaffre. Zaffre ducked and continued laughing.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. It could have just as easily happened to you."
"Ah, but it didn't did it?" Zaffre laughed a bit more, and then suddenly stopped, his smile dropping instantaneously. "Something's wrong."
"What do you mean?" Rusty asked curiously.
"I don't know, but something feels very off." Zaffre pulled out his swords, and began looking around. The woods were quiet; there was no sign of anything. Zaffre tensed up. It was too quiet. "No birds chirping, no anything. Even a quiet forest should have some noise to it." Zaffre heard a low growl nearby. He whipped around to face it, but saw nothing. Then it dawned on him: he saw nothing, and no one. "Where the heck is Rusty?!" Zaffre began to get nervous. As he turned, a black blob suddenly shot out of the trees at him. Before it could hit him however, it was struck by an explosive round from above. Zaffre looked up to see his blonde friend in the trees, weapon out. Turning back, the 'blob' was revealed as a Boarbatusk. It was unconscious from Rusty's shot, but not dead. Smirking, Zaffre plunged his blade through the beast, ending its miserable life.
Rusty jumped down. "You were so scared." He mocked.
"Hey, I was right about something being off. I just thought it'd be a lot worse. Let's be thankful I was wrong."
Rusty grinned. "Ok then, scaredy cat."
Zaffre was about to say something, when another black mass suddenly appeared and knocked him back. Rusty quickly aimed his weapon and fired. The shot hit the Grimm dead on, but again only succeeded in dazing it. Zaffre stood up with a grimace.
"You ok?" Asked Rusty. "That looked like it really hurt."
"I'm fine, barely felt it. But I think we forgot one very important detail."
"Which is?"
"A Boarbatusk often travels with a herd."
Around them, many pairs of red eyes appeared in the trees. Boarbatusk after Boarbatusk rolled out at the two. At least twenty or thirty of them attacked. Rusty and Zaffre stood back-to-back, dodging and blocking every hit.
"Slice em up Zaffre!" Rusty called out. He was currently using his weapon like a bat, hitting each Grimm away.
"You got it!" Zaffre expanded his blades. He held the right one up high, and swung down hard at the nearest beast. Rather than kill it though, the blade hit the protective armor and glanced off.
"This isn't working!" Zaffre cried out.
"I thought your blades could cut through anything!" Rusty smacked another couple Grimm away.
"The problem is the size." Zaffre deflected a rolling Boarbatusk with his blade. "They're too small. It's difficult to hit them straight on, so the blows just glance off."
"Then we need a plan!" Rusty continued to hit them back, now with spikes extended on each end of his weapon.
"Agree. We're too vulnerable here, we need to move the battlefield!" Zaffre managed to flip a charging boar over and slash its stomach.
"That sounds a lot like running away!"
"Call it a strategic withdrawal! Unless you've got a better idea!"
Rusty looked around. The beasts were still coming, and even he didn't fancy being overwhelmed. "Alright, let's go!"
"Lower our gravity and hold on!"
Rusty complied. He activated his semblance, lowering the gravity on the two of them, then grabbed onto Zaffre. Zaffre leaped over the oncoming Grimm, allowing them to crash into each other. But they were far from defeated. Zaffre and Rusty took off running in the direction of the tokens, the Boarbatusks right behind.
"I hope you've got a plan!" Rusty called out.
– ZFRR –
Hazel panted as she chased Scarlet. Hazel was used to running, and was in good shape, but she'd never met any human, Faunus, or animal that had as much energy as Scarlet. "Wait! Up!" Hazel shouted. Scarlet seemed oblivious. Hazel frowned. She'd been chasing Scarlet for awhile, and Scarlet was going the wrong way. Running out of breath, Hazel broke into a small clearing. The young coyote was nowhere to be seen. Hazel examined the ground, trying to figure out where her partner had gone, but found no tracks. Puzzled by this, she glanced around, and then smiled as she saw the young redhead sitting in a tree. Still out of breath, Hazel walked over to her.
"What are you doing up there?" She asked.
Scarlet smiled down. "I love trees! They're so much fun."
Hazel continued to smile. "I thought it was cats that climbed trees."
Scarlet shrugged. "I guess I'm not your ordinary puppy then."
"I'll agree to that." Hazel sat down beneath the tree, resting her legs. "Why'd you take off like that?"
"It felt good. The release of energy."
"That makes sense, but the tokens are that way." Hazel pointed to the left and a bit behind them.
"Oh." Scarlet replied sheepishly. "Oops."
Hazel shook her head. "Don't worry about it, we still have plenty of time. Let's rest for a moment before we continue."
"Ok!" Scarlet said happily. "I need to use the little coyote's room anyway."
Scarlet jumped down and ran on all fours over behind a large tree. "Is she really?" Thought Hazel. Much to her amusement, Scarlet did indeed do what Hazel was thinking. She crouched next to the tree and raised her leg. Hazel smirked and turned her back, allowing the energetic teen some privacy. After a minute, Scarlet rejoined her partner.
"You're certainly an odd one, you know that?"
"Yep!" Scarlet beamed. She sat down next to her partner.
"So, what do you do?"
"What do you mean?" Scarlet asked with a puzzled look.
"Well if we're gonna be partners, we may as well get to know each other. What do you do for fun? Where are you from? How do you fight? What's your semblance? What's your favorite food?"
Scarlet smiled. "I'm from a small city/large town, however you want to say it. I live with my parents and siblings, though I spend much of my time with my grandmother. She's a retired huntress. She take me out to various activities and tells me stories about when she was younger."
"Sounds nice." Hazel smiled.
"It is. When I'm not with her I generally play with my siblings. As far as my fighting, I use these beauties." She held up her arms, showing off her silver gauntlets. "Watch." As she said that, three blades extended out from each, like really long claws.
"Cool."
"That's not all!" The claws began to spark with electricity.
"Nice. Is that your semblance?"
"Nah, I've just always had an affinity for electricity. I can also shift these into grappling hooks." The three blades on her left arm shifted into a circle.
"Pretty cool. You make those yourself?"
"Yep! My grandma helped me. She also taught me how to use them." Scarlet held them up in a fighting pose, obviously wanting to show off her skills.
"Maybe later." Hazel said, seeing the eager look in her partner's eyes.
Scarlet sighed. "Okay. Anyway, my semblance is Pulse. I can create ripples, pulses, vibrations, and waves. The more energy I put into them, the bigger they are."
"That's a pretty useful ability."
"What about you? Tell me about yourself!"
Hazel smiled. "Okay. As you know, I'm from a village of hunters. So for fun I generally go hunting, camping, hiking, or other outdoor activities."
Scarlet smiled at the thought of those pastimes.
"My weapons are these." Hazel pulled out two curved short swords. "They may not sparkle like yours," Scarlet beamed at the word 'sparkle', "But they are each a small machine gun. And I can combine them into a horseshoe trident."
"What's your semblance?"
"Rift. I can teleport short distances. I can teleport at most three times in rapid succession, with each one taking an hour to recharge. The time also stacks, so if I use all three at once, I have to wait three hours."
"Cool! Can I see?" The young pup was practically jumping in her seat.
"Not right now. I should save them in case we need them in battle."
Scarlet pouted some, but understood. Becoming bored, she got up and started running back and forth through the trees. Hazel watched with a light smile.
"I'll cut any Grimm I meet to pieces!" Scarlet exclaimed as she whipped out her metal claws.
"Be careful!" Hazel warned.
Scarlet didn't pay attention though, happily running and swinging wildly. She fired a couple electricity blasts into the air for show. It was all good fun, until she tripped. Her foot hit a root right as she was letting loose some electricity. As she fell to the ground, her arms flailed, sending the electric blast at a nearby tree. The shock broke the trunk, and the tree started to fall. Hazel bolted to her teammate's side, and quickly pulled her out of the way. The tree fell right where the girls had been, the top of it hitting some white rocks a little ways away.
Scarlet looked at the fallen tree and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAA!
The sound of the roar made Scarlet jump. "You didn't have to shout." She said to her partner.
"T-That w-wasn't me." Hazel said worriedly.
The two looked to the rocks the tree had hit, and saw them begin to shudder. Slowly they rose up, revealing a massive black body. A giant tail sprung up from the ground, with an enormous yellow stinger on the end. The giant creature turned to face them, its yellow eyes lit with rage.
"I don't think that was just a pile of rocks." Scarlet said nervously.
"It's a Death Stalker!" Hazel exclaimed fearfully. "And I think we woke it up!"
The giant scorpion glared at the two girls, snapping its massive claws menacingly. Scarlet and Hazel stood frozen with fear. Angry at the abrupt awakening, the beast charged them. The girls jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit. The Death Stalker instead slammed into a tree, knocking it down. The large Grimm turned to the quivering students, unfazed by the impact.
"I think we should run!" Scarlet called out.
"This way!" Shouted Hazel.
The two took off, Hazel leading the way. Behind them the great beast plowed through the forest like a lawnmower through tall grass. Trees, bushes, and boulders were all trampled and flattened by the angry Grimm. Hazel turned around and began firing her machinegun blades at it, but the bullets did little more than piss it off more. Scarlet also tried hitting it using her electricity. It proved to be equally ineffective.
"This isn't good!" Hazel cried out.
"We need a plan!"
Hazel looked around, and suddenly had an idea. "Hit that tree!" She pointed ahead to the right. "Knock it down when I say!"
"Okay!" The young Faunus readied her weapons.
"NOW!"
Scarlet shot the tree with her electric blast, causing it to break. Simultaneously, Hazel used her swords to cut at another tree on the left. Both trees slowly began to fall inward. The girls bolted out. As the Death Stalker came through, both trees fell on it, pinning it to the ground. The two partners stopped and tried to catch their breath.
"Let's finish it!" Scarlet exclaimed.
"We can't, our ammunition can't penetrate the shell."
"So what do we do?"
"Keep running and hope it stays pinned!"
"Ok!"
They resumed their mad dash, frantically trying to put as much distance between them and the Grimm as possible. Unfortunately, they soon heard the unmistakable sound of the beast freeing itself. Up ahead, the tree line was visible. The partners were about thirty yards from the edge of the forest. The students channeled every bit of energy they had into their legs. For Scarlet, it was a lot. She burst out of the woods, Hazel close behind, and stopped on the edge of a deep chasm.
– ZFRR –
Franky and Ryku could not believe their eyes. Two girls had just burst out of the forest being closely followed by a Death Stalker. They were running frantically, trying not to be dinner. Fearing for them, Franky activated his semblance. "Let's go!" He charged at the beast wicked fast, a trail of green leaves behind him.
Ryku watched him charge into battle. "Speed semblance huh? Not bad." He activated his own semblance. Numbers and figures began to scroll across his vision. Lines and charts gave diagnostics. Paths and calculations appeared in his peripherals. He reached back and pulled out a sniper rifle, aiming it at the beast. Calmly he waited, planning his shot.
Franky reached the girls within seconds. He darted between them and threw a gas pellet at the Death Stalker. Temporarily blinded, it began thrashing around violently. Franky jumped back avoiding the blows, but the beast continued to advance. Franky ducked and dodged as best he could, but the Grimm still managed to land a sideways blow, throwing him to the ground. Behind him, Hazel and Scarlet had stopped their retreat, and were once again trying in vain to shoot through the beast's shell.
The Giant scorpion moved forward to attack, raising its stinger for a strike. Before it could loose it though, a single shot fired from Ryku's sniper hit a weak point in its leg, causing it to collapse. Franky used this temporary pause to stand back up and ready his staff. He thrust the end into the Death Stalker's face, and let loose a blast of Grimm-lethal gas. The scorpion stopped flailing, and lay still.
"You killed it!" Scarlet exclaimed happily.
"No, just knocked out. A Grimm that size would take a good deal more gas to kill."
"Then let's finish it." Hazel chipped in.
"I don't have the means to. The gases I have with me aren't strong enough for something this size."
"Allow me!" Scarlet let loose dozens of electricity bursts, none of which did anything. Ryku face palmed as he watched. Franky put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"That's not going to do anything. We need to grab tokens and get out of here."
"I'm with him on this." Hazel added.
Scarlet sighed. "Okay."
The four turned toward the tokens and began walking. Franky led the way across the bridge. However, when they had only gone halfway they heard a growl from behind them. The students whipped around. The large Grimm husk began shuddering. Slowly, its claws opened and closed. The Death Stalker opened its eyes, and began to stand up.
"Looks like the gas is wearing off." Franky commented.
The four took battle-ready stances. Hazel combined her weapons into their trident form, and set the double barrels aimed at the beast. Scarlet crouched and held her claws out to the sides, electricity sparking from the blades. Ryku held his rifle up, readying his shot. Franky held his staff pointed at the Grimm, and loaded a new gas pellet into it. The Grimm stood up fully and roared, snapping its claws at the sky. The four students braced themselves. The Death Stalker's gaze shifted down the line of future Huntsmen and Huntresses. With one more roar, the giant charged. Three of students followed suit, charging head on. Ryku stayed back and released an army of bullets. The shots hit the Grimm's weak points, but did little to slow it down.
Franky leapt into the air, spraying a pale green gas all around him. The Death Stalker cried out in rage as it lost its view of the world. From the left, two jolts of electricity struck the beast. It swung its claw in retaliation, but hit only air. From its right, a barrage of bullets fired from Hazel struck the shell. The monster thrust its tail to the spot where the shots had come from, but hit nothing. A pulse through the air hit it from behind. Spinning rapidly, the Death Stalker lashed out, hitting only the wind for the third time. More bullets came from the right. In a state of pure frustration, the Death Stalker roared and began pounding the ground with its claws. The resulting vibrations caused all the young attackers to fall. The beast extended its tail and claws outward, and spun. The left claw managed to connect with Franky, throwing him back and knocking his staff away. With Franky no long maintaining it, the fog began to clear.
The lack of gas allowed the large scorpion to see its prey, but it also allowed Ryku to see it. Seeing his chance, the hooded boy fired a shot right into one of the Death Stalker's eyes, partially blinding it. In pain and anger, the beast screamed and charged him. Scarlet put her hands on the ground and sent out a wave of vibrations. The trembling ground caused the Grimm to trip and collapse once more. Regaining his weapon, Franky ran around the beast towards its head, jumped over a swinging claw, rolled on the ground and stopped with his arms outstretched. His left gauntlet fired a dart at another eye, while his gauntlet arm fired a dart at the stinger. The eye dart missed, instead striking the white shell. The other dart imbedded right where the stinger met the tail.
With a wink, Franky darted away. The other three continued to fire at the Grimm from various locations, furthering its rage.
"This doesn't seem to be very effective!" Hazel shouted out.
"We need a new tactic!" Scarlet added."
Ryku glanced at the forest. "Reinforcements."
Not five seconds later, two figures emerged from the forest. One was a light-skinned boy wearing samurai armor. Above him, a winged girl flew with twin crossbows in her hands.
"Looks like we're just in time for the party!" Thistle exclaimed happily.
She swooped in and unleashed a volley of arrows at the Grimm. The arrows did little damage, but did gain its attention. On the ground, the armored boy swung a red katana horizontally, sending out a slash of fire. The flames hit the Death Stalker square in the face. It screamed as the heat bore into its eyes, further worsening its vision.
"Oh yeah! My partner's hot!" Thistle gloated in joy.
Loy smirked, continuing his heat assault. Franky prepared for another go, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Ryku pointing off to the far bridge. Two boys had just emerged from the forest, followed by a horde of Boarbatusks. Franky nodded in agreement. Right now those two needed their help more. Franky and Ryku took off to assist them, leaving the Death Stalker to the mercy of the others.
"Where are they going?" Scarlet shouted. "The fun's over here!"
Loy looked in the direction they'd gone. "Looks like two other students are also having a Grimm problem, and faring worse than us."
"Yeah well, we are pretty awesome!" Thistle cheered. However, in her moment of distractedness, the Death Stalker managed to hit her in the back with its stinger. "AAAAAHHHHHH!" Thistle cried in pain, her wings going limp. She fell to the ground with a thud, landing in front of the merciless monster. It held its tail high for a second strike, but was stopped by a blue force field.
"Not my partner you ugly beast! Not on my watch!" Loy held the protective shield between the Grimm and Thistle, much to the former's annoyance.
"We need to get in there!" Scarlet shouted.
Hazel looked at the beast's stinger. "I've got an idea." She held her arms in a x-pattern over her chest, and quickly extended them. The next second she was gone. She appeared on top of the Death Stalker and began slicing at its tail and stinger. It didn't take the angry Grimm long to take notice. It raised its tail high, and stabbed straight for her. Hazel smiled, and whipped her arms once more, teleporting out. The stinger went through the air unchallenged, and imbedded in the Death Stalker's own hide. The Grimm screamed in pain once more, trying desperately to dislodge its tail. These attempts were in vain though; the stinger didn't budge.
Weakly Thistle watched it all take place. She then looked over at the bridges. "I have…a plan." She groaned.
"You can't keep going." Loy insisted.
"I know. But listen."
Loy nodded.
Hazel and Scarlet continued to attack the Death Stalker, still mostly in vain. Now though, they had the advantage that it couldn't use its stinger. Loy ran over to them, surrounding the vengeful Grimm with a force field to temporarily contain it.
"That works." Said Scarlet.
"Yeah, but not for long. Listen, my partner has a plan."
Scarlet glanced over at the fallen bird girl. "Her?" She scoffed.
"Just listen. You."
"Hazel."
"Okay, Hazel, can you bring someone with you when you teleport?"
"Yeah, but I can only do it once more before I have to let it recharge."
"Okay, here's the plan…"
– ZFRR –
Rusty and Zaffre ran as fast as they could, the horde of Grimm close behind.
"Boy, these guys are really determined!" Rusty shouted, grinning despite the danger.
"Yeah, maybe you should apologize to them."
"For what?"
"You're you. If we did something to piss them off, it was probably your fault."
Rusty turned his head back. "I'm sorry you're so ugly and nobody loves you!"
"Real smooth moron."
Rusty's grin grew. The two continued running, managing to stay just ahead of the deadly stampede. Ahead the trees began to thin.
"I think I see the edge!" Zaffre shouted.
"Huh, so the world is flat."
"Not of the Earth dumbass! Of the forest!"
"You think they'll stop chasing us there?"
"Yeah, because Grimm explode in direct sunlight." Zaffre replied sarcastically.
"Cool! Vampire Grimm!"
The two best friends headed for the edge. Within moments they burst through the last of the trees and into the sun. Ahead of them was a large crevasse in the ground, with three stone bridges across it. The rightmost bridge was ahead of them. Over near the leftmost bridge, they could see a battle going on with a Death Stalker.
"Looks like we're late to the party." Rusty joked.
"Better late than never." Zaffre looked behind him to see that most of the Boarbatusks were rolling. He looked ahead at the chasm. "I have an idea!" They ran to the edge of the chasm, and stopped. Zaffre whipped out his blades, expanded them, and plunged them into the ground at an angle. Ten or so Boarbatusks rolled off the makeshift ramp and fell into the chasm. The others stopped short, not wanting the same fate. Zaffre withdrew his blades from the ground.
"What, no 'Hi, nice to meet you'?" Rusty asked.
One of the Boarbatusks snorted, and each stood patiently, waiting for their quarry to leave the cliff face. Suddenly a green-haired boy jumped into the middle of the horde, spraying gas everywhere. He jumped out and struck a piece of metal and stone. The gas ignited, tossing many of the Grimm aside. A couple more Grimm went down with sniper shots to the eyes from a pale boy in a white hoodie. A few Boarbatusks charged the sniper. Ryku shifted his weapon into a glaive, and started swatting the boars away.
Franky turned to Zaffre and Rusty. "You looked like you could use a hand."
"Us? Nah!" Rusty Scoffed. "Those dimwitted beasts were just about to surrender!"
Franky smiled. "I'm sure."
Zaffre looked at Franky's staff. "Can you do that again?"
"Sure." Franky said, pulling out some more combustible gas pellets.
"Alright. How good a shot is he?" Zaffre gestured at Ryku.
"Very from what I've seen." Franky replied.
"Ok, I have an idea."
– ZFRR –
Hazel and Scarlet continued to attack the Death Stalker, hitting it with bullets, electricity and pulses. The beast grew angrier and angrier, frantically swinging its claws at them. The two girls backed up across the bridge.
"Of course the 'winged wonder' would come up with this plan." Scarlet scoffed.
Hazel looked at her with a questioning look. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, let's just do this."
"It's a great plan."
Scarlet sighed. "I know."
The two girls continued to lure the giant monster across the bridge. When they were near the other side, Scarlet leapt onto Hazel's back. Scarlet continued to send pulses at the Grimm, annoying it all the more. The Death Stalker raised its claws high, ready to end the pesky pain-in-the-necks once and for all. The claws descended rapidly, but just before impact, Hazel thrust her arms to the side, using her last teleport to return them safely to the other side. Instead of flattening the girls, the claws smashed the end of the bridge. Thistle used as much breath as she could to whistle at the Grimm. It turned back to face the students. Loy stood on the other side of the bridge, his sword drawn. With the last of its current power, he plunged it into the remaining end of the bridge and released a powerful flame into the ground. The stone broke, and both bridge and Death Stalker fell into the chasm. With one final scream, the great monster finally met its end. After watching the fall, the students turned to see how Franky and Ryku were fairing.
Ryku now held what looked like a giant metal q-tip aimed at a horde of Boarbatusks. The beasts themselves were occupied by Franky and a blonde boy. Across the bridge from them, a blue-haired boy with two massive swords was inserting said weapons into the cliff face. Hazel recognized the boys quickly from the previous night. Without his blades, Zaffre rejoined his fellow combatants. Franky and Rusty nodded at him. Rusty raised his hands and Hazel could swear they began to glow a deep brown. Franky threw the pellets beside the Grimm, and Zaffre jumped into the middle. As he descended, Zaffre began to glow yellow, He punched the ground, hard. The shockwave sent the Boarbatusks into the air. They flew up as if their gravity had been weakened. As soon as the boars were up, Ryku fired at the gas, igniting it. Simultaneously, Rusty pointed at the implanted blades across the chasm. The gas explosion shoved the Grimm horde towards the gaping gash in the ground. But even beyond that, they soared to the pit like something was pushing them. As soon as they were all over the chasm, Rusty dropped his arms, and the Boarbatusks fell to the same fate as the Death Stalker had not moments ago.
Hazel and Scarlet stood amazed, until they suddenly remember what had happened to Thistle. They, along with Loy, bolted over to the girl lying on the ground. She was still breathing, and still conscious. Over by the far bridge, the boys followed Franky towards Thistle as well.
"Is she gonna be ok?" Loy asked with concern.
"I don't know." Hazel said sadly. "I don't know how much venom got in her system."
Thistle looked at Loy. "If you were gonna kiss me, now would probably be the time." She said weakly with a grin.
Loy chuckled. "You'll be fine."
"He's right." Franky added, finally returning. "The dart I shot into its stinger contained an agent that nullified the poison. The stabbed tissue is the only damage you have to worry about."
Thistle smiled. "Good to know."
"She still seems pretty bad off for a stab." Said Zaffre. "Do you think it hurt her spine?"
"No." Thistle croaked. "My people, that is, my Faunus people, our wings are our weakness. A good hit to them can take us completely out of battle or even kill us." Seeing their worried expressions she added, "Don't worry, I'll live. It'll just take time to heal."
"That's a relief." Smiled Hazel.
"Indeed." Added Zaffre. "Now what do you say we all grab a token." He looked at Thistle. "Then we'll help you get back."
Thistle smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
– ZFRR –
The students all stood in the large auditorium back at Storm Academy. Professor Caesar stood on the stage, with a large screen behind him. Professor Morningstar stood next to him as he announced the newly formed teams. The screen behind them showed the students in question. The current students were just walking off stage. As they left, the next four students walked up, beckoned forward by Professor Morningstar. Professor Caesar leaned in towards the mic. "Thistle Sora, Hazel Shizukana, Scarlet YoruNo, Loy Ginn. You retrieved the Scorpio Stones. You will work together as Team THSL. Led by … Thistle Sora!"
Applause erupted as the still weak Thistle smiled and waved.
"You see that?" Rusty gestured at Loy. "That could've been you." He trailed off some. "On a team with three hot girls. Lucky guy."
The now Team THSL walked off the stage, and Professor Morningstar beckoned Rusty and Zaffre up.
"Our turn buddy." Rusty grinned.
They walked up on stage along with their two new teammates.
"Zaffre Wellen, Franky Ginseng, Rusty Cooper, Ryku Shirogane. You retrieved the Virgo Stones. You will work together as team ZFRR, led by… Zaffre Wellen!"
Zaffre paled at the sound of his name. Seeing this, Rusty stepped forward to cover him. Rusty crouched down, pulled out his weapon, and fired a round into the air. As it exploded he shouted out. "Yeah Zaffre!" This gained him some disapproving looks from the professors, as well as a decent amount of applause and laughter from the other students. His friend's antics restored Zaffre's confidence, and he punched the air in joy.
Franky smiled. "Nice job Zaffre."
"Hey, thanks."
Professor Caesar stepped back as the students applauded the new team. He stepped next to Professor Morningstar, who was still glaring somewhat at Rusty. "This is going to be an interesting year Clarice." He smiled.
"Yeah…interesting." She said.
Author's note: And that ends my second chapter. I had fun writing it, especially the fight scenes. Please let me know what you thought. I would really like to know what you liked, what you disliked, what you want to know more about, and any general comments you have. I have a general idea where this story is going, but I'm mostly taking it chapter by chapter. Any feedback will help me determine where this story goes. The next Chapter will focus on the new teams adjusting to life at Storm Academy, and will feature a new Grimm. I hope you all look forward t it, and have a good day!