A/N: The JNPR fight against the Deathstalker is kinda lame, but idk how to make it any better because i suck at writing fight scenes with more than three people. Tbh this whole chapter's kinda lame to me, but eh, that's cause i get so bored of the initiation.
Chapter 2: sometimes i feel so restless, some things i'll never show
Ruby stands on the very last platform, one of many embedded into the cliff-side overlooking a large forest, enjoying the feeling of the sun warming her skin. Roman's hallucination is nowhere in sight, much to her relief. She can feel her aura moving sluggishly beneath her skin, and having to deal with it as well as that smart-ass would probably make her snap. Perhaps she trained too much last night. Ruby's lips purse. She had awoken in an infirmary earlier this morning. Apparently, Professor Goodwitch had found her and brought her in. The nurse actually told her not to participate in the initiation, fearing for her low aura. Then, she had been told to wait, as Professor Goodwitch wanted to speak to her. Ruby was quick to make an escape once the nurse had turned her back. She knew what the professor would say. You're killing yourself. Just like what her father told her. She's apparently training too much. The very thought makes her want to scoff. How can you train too much? Training is good for you! And it makes her feel better! Her eyes drift over to the professors standing near the cliff's edge. Goodwitch is glaring at her, lips drawn in a thin line and tablet clenched tightly in her hands. Ozpin, at first glance, appears to be indifferent, but Ruby can see what looks like worry in his eyes when he glances at her.
"Rubes?" Yang asks, and Ruby turns, looking at the older girl. Yang is studying her, eyes raking over the red-wearing girl's clear exhaustion. "Are you sure you can do this?" Ruby huffs and crosses her arms, diligently ignoring the twinge of pain the motion causes.
"I'm fine, Yang. I just didn't sleep much last night." Lilac eyes narrow at the obvious lie, but before Yang could comment, Ozpin begins speaking,
"For years you all have trained to become warriors. Today, that training will be put to the test. Your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Goodwitch steps forward at that and continues for him,
"I'm sure many of you had heard talk of teams being formed. Let me put and end to any confusion. You will be given teammates, today." Ruby makes a soft noise of surprise as Ozpin picks up with,
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here in Beacon. So it is in your best interest to pair with someone with whom you work well with." Ozpin gestures to the forest behind him. "That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with will be your partner for the next four years." Ruby squeaks in horror. "After you've gotten a partner, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. There are many Grimm in this forest, so it is in your best interest to destroy any you come across. Or you will die." Someone down the line yells out a loud what. Ozpin merely smiles and continues, "You will be monitored and graded throughout the duration of your initiation, but be assured that our instructors will not intervene. There is an abandoned temple at the northernmost edge of the forest. In this temple, there will be several relics. Each pair must bring one of the relics back here to the top of this cliff. We will regard the relic you bring, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Movement flickers in the corner of Ruby's vision, and she turns to see the blond boy from last night raising his hand from his position on the platform next to Yang.
"Yeah... uh... sir?" Ozpin ignores him and nods at the applicants.
"Good! Take your positions." The boy once again raises his hand.
"Um, sir? Uh, how exactly are we entering the forest?"
"You'll see." One by one, applicants are catapulted off the cliff-side. The blond boy seems to not even notice.
"So, um, are you, like, dropping us off?" Ozpin raises a brow.
"In a way. You're expected to use your own landing strategy to make it to the ground."
"Uh, right, so, um, what's a landing strate-" The boy is launched before he could complete his sentence. Ruby can hear him screaming as he flies into the forest. She sighs, and looks to Yang, who simply grins and flicks on a pair of sunglasses, just as she is launched. Ruby takes in a deep breath and prepares to be launched as well, only for nothing to happen. She winces and looks at the professors.
"Miss Rose, are you sure you can compete today? Your aura is staggeringly low." Ozpin says, Goodwitch nodding along with him. Ruby, now looking away from them, shrugs.
"I'm fine, professors." The two professors look at each other. After a moment, Goodwitch sighs, and Ruby hears an ominous click beneath her. A second later she is flying through the air.
Yang slows herself down a little, but doesn't let gravity bring her to the ground. She looks over her shoulder upon not hearing the next platform go off. It takes a bit, but eventually she sees a blur of red go flying from the cliff, heading straight for her. Yang lets out a breath, in equal parts relief and terror. Relief, as Ruby hadn't been banned from initiation, and terror, as she knew her sister was dangerously low on aura. Yang watches Ruby fly, and punches the air twice, releasing a couple of large burn dust rounds, rocketing herself through the air towards her sister. Yang slams into the younger teen and grins as they begin to descend together. The blonde lets go as they reach the treetops, and the two execute their respective landing strategies, Ruby using her scythe and Yang slowing her momentum with her shotgun-gauntlets before landing in a roll. Climbing to her feet, she grins again, turning to look her clearly happy sister in the eyes.
"Yo, Rubes! Looks like we're partners, huh?" Ruby dashes forward and hugs the blonde, letting out a loud whooping noise.
"Yang! I can't believe it! We're partners!" Yang laughs, returning the hug gaily.
"This is gonna be great!" The two separate. "So... which way is north?"
Weiss is not scared. She's not. Sure, she's surrounded by two humongous Ursai, and yes, Myrtenaster has not been particularly effective against them, but that doesn't mean she's scared! She's just... cautious. Cycling through her dust vials, she chooses burn dust, and slashes forward, igniting one of the Ursa. It roars in pain, but the damage doesn't appear to be too bad. It rakes its claws towards her and she raises her sword to block it. Her instincts suddenly shout for her to dodge and she does, just in time for the second Ursa to slam its arms down. The two Grimm ram into each other and Weiss takes the precious few seconds she just gained to switch to ice dust. She stabs her sword into the ground, and ice crackles to life before her, encasing the two Ursai up to their necks. They growl at her and try to move. Weiss can see the ice start to break and nearly groans in frustration. Lifting Myrtenaster, she shifts into one of her offensive stances, and, cycling back to burn, she launches forward, stabbing one of the Ursa as it is mid-roar. The Grimm's head burns brightly, and, with a final angered roar, it dies, body slowly vanishing in a curl of smoke. The remaining Ursa howls in fury, breaking through the ice encasing it. Weiss narrowly dodges the wide paw swipe, parrying quickly when it brings its other paw down at her. Before she can attack back, the Ursa makes an odd grunting noise, and Weiss watches, confused, as it falls onto its side. As its body begins to dissolve, a dark-haired girl drops down from the trees, tugging a blade from the Ursa's neck via a ribbon as she does so. Gold-coloured eyes land on her bright blue. The girl sighs,
"I guess this is a thing now." Weiss almost puffs up in indignation. But this girl had saved her, so she simply offers a curt nod instead.
"I guess so." She says, eyeing her new partner. "I am Weiss Schnee." The girl smirks and sheathes her weapon.
"Blake Belladonna."
"So..." Yang starts, staring up at the blond haired boy pinned to the tree. He glares down to her and crosses his arms at her amused grin.
"Don't laugh!" He snaps. Ruby, who had been silent since they landed, giggles lightly and points at the javelin keeping him impaled.
"That's Pyrrha's weapon! She'll be here soon, no doubt!" As if summoned, Pyrrha crashes through the underbrush, slamming a Beowulf into the ground. The Grimm dies quickly and Pyrrha, straightening with a huff, waves once she spots them.
"Hello again!" She says cheerfully, before turning to look up at the boy. "Sorry about that." Pyrrha raises her arm and her javelin comes flying towards her. The boy shrieks as he falls, landing rather heavily on his rear. He moans in pain as he stands.
"Ow..." He looks around at the three girls. "Um..." He coughs into his hands and forces a cocky grin onto his face. "The name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, ladies love it!" Yang guffaws loudly at that. Jaune glares at her again. "Hey! Stop laughing!" It takes a moment for Yang's laughs to fade into giggles. Wiping a tear from her eye, she grins at him,
"Sorry, sorry, it's just-" She smothers another laugh. "-you sounded so ridiculous!" Jaune pouts and crosses his arms again. He looks to Pyrrha.
"So, uh, are we partners then?" Pyrrha nods, stepping towards him.
"Yes! My name's Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos." The redhead shoots her new partner an odd look, expecting him to recognize her name, but all Jaune does is nod.
"Cool. I'm Ja..." He trails off, reddening in embarrassment. "...right, already introduced myself." He turns to the two sisters. "Um, you two are?" Yang grins widely and flexes an arm.
"Yang Xiao-Long. And unlike you, the ladies sure do love it!" She shoots him a wink, chuckling when both Jaune and Pyrrha redden. Ruby gives a short wave as she says,
"I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!" Recognition flares in Jaune's eyes, but, upon seeing the glares directed at him from both Yang and Pyrrha, he wisely says nothing. Jaune smiles at them all.
"Nice to meet you all!" A sudden tap on his cheek draws his attention. Confused, he turns to Pyrrha, who has her hand raised to his face, her head cocked to the side in question.
"Jaune, why haven't you used your aura to heal this?" There's a brief flare of pain on his skin as he reaches up, feeling a small cut on his cheek. He blinks.
"Aur-what now?" The three girls gape at him.
"D-Do you not know what aura is?" Pyrrha asks. Jaune casts her a suspicious look and grumbles,
"Do you know what aura is?" Yang snorts, mumbling under her breath about how that never works. Jaune glares at her again. "Shut up! It does so!" Ruby, who had been watching the proceedings in silence, makes a confused noise, drawing attention to her.
"Jaune..." She begins, "If you don't even know what aura is, who unlocked yours?" The boy groans in defeat,
"You have to unlock aura?! Man, that's gonna take forever!" Pyrrha sighs, shaking her head,
"Aura," She looks at Jaune. "is the manifestation of our souls. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. With practice, aura can shield us from injury. Everyone has aura, even animals." Jaune frowns.
"So even monsters?" Pyrrha shakes her head again.
"No. The monsters we fight – the creatures of Grimm – they lack a soul. They are the manifestation of anonymity. They are the dark, and we are the light. Understanding the dark and the light helps us manifest our aura. Everyone has some of both within them." She smiles at Jaune. "By bearing our souls outward, we can deflect harm. Our tools and equipment are conduits for our aura. You protect yourself and your soul when you fight." Jaune's eyes brighten.
"It's like a force field!" That sends the two listening sisters into hysterics. Pyrrha blushes a bit and mutters,
"Yes, I suppose that's accurate enough." She clears her throat and raises a hand to Jaune's cheek. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate inward." She waits for him to do so before flaring her bright red aura. For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Jaune slowly begins to glow with a white aura. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. Pyrrha raises her other hand to Jaune's chest. I release your soul, and by my shoulder, I protect thee. With a sharp gasp, Pyrrha lurches back, panting slightly. Jaune's eyes snap open,
"Pyrrha? Are you alright?" She nods, straightening.
"I'm alright. I used my aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." She smiles as she watches the cut on Jaune's cheek heal. Jaune looks down at his hands as the white glow begins to fade. "You have quite a lot of aura." Jaune grins at her and makes to respond, but he is cut off by Ruby tackling them in a hug with a shout of,
"GUYS! That was awesome!"
Weiss and Blake approach the abandoned temple. Blake grabs one of the relics, a knight-piece akin to the ones used in a game of chess, and wags it in Weiss' direction.
"The knight? That work for you?" Weiss gives a noncommittal shrug. Honestly, she didn't really care which relic they took, as long as they got one. "Great." Blake tucks the relic into a hidden pocket, and the partners begin to walk out of the temple.
"Should we take a short rest and see who grabs the other knight?" Weiss asks, and she swears she sees Blake's bow twitch. Her partner hums in agreement and leans against one of the crumbling pillars. Weiss watches her for a moment longer before sighing and looking to the forest.
"Hey, Weiss." Blake starts suddenly and the heiress turns to her. "Why'd you choose Beacon over Atlas?"
"Beacon has the best reputation among-" Weiss begins, but Blake cuts her off,
"No, that's one part of the reason, sure, but it's not why." Weiss eyes the dark-haired girl warily. Their gazes lock, and, surprising herself, Weiss is the first to look away.
"It's... personal." She mumbles. "My father..." She shakes her head and scowls. "I don't have to give you my reasons! I'm here, and I'm your partner, and my reasons don't matter!" Blake cocks her head to the side, eyes narrowed with an intrigued light in them, and her blasted bow twitches again.
"Fine." She says. Weiss casts her a suspicious glare.
"Why did you choose Beacon?" Blake shrugs.
"I want to become a huntress. I've seen a lot of inequality in the world, and I hope that as a huntress I can help put a stop to it. Beacon is an end to the means, in a way." Weiss nods, teeth digging into her cheek. Suddenly, her reasons for being a huntress seem so... shallow. Silence falls between them. After a minute or so, Weiss breaks it with,
"My father is... not a good man." Blake perks up at that, and, once again, Weiss can see her bow twitch. "I came to Beacon to live up to my name. Schnee." She looks directly into Blake's eyes. "My father wasn't the start of my name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it." She scowls heavily. "I'm not stupid. I know what he's been doing to the company, what practices he's been employing. I hope..." She trails off, mind blanking for a moment. "...if I become a huntress... I can stop it. Stop him." Weiss takes in a deep breath and turns to Blake. She needs to know the truth. She's seen Blake's bow twitch, far to often for it to be the wind. Most likely, Blake was actually a faunus in hiding. And Weiss needs to know if she's correct in her assumption. "Blake... are you..." Her sentence hangs, unfinished. She wants to ask, wants to know, but... why did it matter? If Blake was a faunus... did it really matter? To her father, maybe it would, but did it matter to Weiss? It's not like Blake was a member of the White Fang or anything! So...
"Weiss?" Blake asks, eyes wide. Weiss smiles at her and shakes her head,
"Never mind. It doesn't matter."
"Do you think the relics are in there?" Jaune asks, gesturing to the large cave before them. The three girls share a look.
"Uh, probably not?" Yang says, eyeing a sign with a crudely drawn scorpion on it. "How about you and Pyrrha head in and see, and me and Rubes will wait out here."
"Um..." Jaune starts, looking to Pyrrha. "Okay?" As the two partners disappear into the cave, Yang turns to Ruby with narrowed eyes.
"Alright missy, what's going on with you?" Ruby blinks.
"Uh..." She cocks her head to the side. "What do you mean?" Yang taps her sister's nose, eliciting a squeak from the girl.
"You've been really, really quiet and you keep looking over your shoulder at nothing! What's going on?" Ruby winces. How was she supposed to explain that the fucking hallucination had come back? She never told anyone that it was there in the first place! She glances over her shoulder at Roman, who is smoking a cigar while leaning against a tree. He smirks at her. "Again! You did it again!" Ruby whirls around and raises her hands pleadingly.
"It's just – I keep hearing something! That's all!" Yang pauses, head moving to listen for whatever it was. After a moment, an odd, fluttering, sound reaches them. Ruby's eyebrows shoot up. She'd been lying about the noise, but now there actually was a noise! What luck! Yang's gauntlets activate, and she raises her fists.
"Who is there? Show yourself!" As if answering, a huge Nevermore swoops down at them, shrieking loudly. Its wings are humongous, easily stretching across the small forest clearing. "Oh shit!" Yang shouts, rolling out of the way of a talon grab. Ruby, however, gets an absolutely brilliant idea with her exhaustion-addled mind, and begins to speed towards the large bird Grimm. "Ruby, what the hell are you doing?!" Ruby grins maniacally at her sister as she leaps up onto the Nevermore, grasping at its plumage.
"Hitching a ride!"
"Oh god we're going to die." Yang deadpans as she grips tighter to the shrieking Nevermore. Currently, they're flying rather high in the sky, desperately holding onto the Grimm. Ruby giggles.
"Don't worry, sis! We're gonna be fine!" She smiles widely at the blonde, a manic glint in her eyes. "Isn't this awesome though?!" Yang glares at her for a moment, before breaking out in a toothy grin.
"Hell yeah! This is the best!" She looks down at the quickly passing forest, and spots a large stone structure. "Oh! Look! The temple!" She shakes her head in the temple's direction, and Ruby whoops.
"Yeah! Let's see if we can steer this thing!" Slowly, Ruby climbs the Nevermore's side, hopping over its wings to land on its back. She unsheathes Crescent Rose and slams the scythe down onto the Grimm's right wing. "Hold on tight!" She shouts, as the bird screams in pain, beginning to drift to the right. Ruby pulls her scythe from the Grimm's flesh, and, aiming for the left wing this time, slashes down. "Get ready to jump!" She hollers, as the Nevermore begins to pass over the temple.
"You're crazy Ruby! I love it!" Yang booms, releasing her grip. Ruby laughs and, stabbing the Grimm one last time, sheathes Crescent Rose. She pushes as much of her aura as she could into her semblance, and launches off the Nevermore's back.
Blake's jaw drops slightly as she watches two of her fellow applicants jump off a fucking Nevermore. One that they had been riding. Weiss, standing next to her, is gaping openly.
"D-Did they just...?" The heiress asks, turning to look at her partner. Blake nods dumbly. "I... okay, wow..." Weiss shakes her head. "They're insane."
"Probably." Blake mumbles, as the two applicants land with a roll. The blond one is grinning widely, while the red-wearing, familiar looking, one is positively beaming. Weiss groans, burying her face into one of her hands.
"Dear god, I know those two." Blake raises a brow and Weiss gestures to the two vaguely. "They're sisters. I met them the moment I got off the airship. The blonde's Yang Xiao-Long and the other's Ruby Rose." Blake's eyes widen and she does a double-take.
"That's Ruby Rose?" She says, not quite believing what she just heard. The kid who killed Torchwick was here? At Beacon? "She..." Her jaw works about, but Blake isn't quite able to make a noise other than a confused whimper. Weiss heaves an understanding sigh and raises an arm.
"Yang! Ruby!" She calls, drawing the two's attention. The sisters rush forward, still grinning. Yang reaches them first, hand raised in greeting.
"Yo, Weissicle!" Weiss sputters,
"D-Do not call me Weissicle!" Yang laughs loudly, turning to Blake.
"Hello! I'm Yang, Yang Xiao-Long! Nice to meet you!" Blake gives her a slow nod.
"Blake." She then adds on, as an afterthought, "Belladonna. Blake Belladonna."
"This is my little sister!" Yang slings an arm around the red-cloaked girl beside her. "Ruby!" Ruby waves shyly, before ducking out from under her sister's arm. She seems to melt into a blur of red, rushing into the temple, faster than anyone Blake has seen before. She's back less than a second later, a knight-piece held in her hands. She smiles at Yang,
"I got the relic, Yang!" Yang flashes a thumbs-up.
"Awesome! It's a cute little pony!" The blonde looks to Weiss. "Which one did you guys take?" Blake gets out their own knight-piece. "Ooh! Samsies!" Before anyone can respond, a loud crashing sound comes from the treeline. A large Ursa comes through the underbrush, paws swiping randomly. It falls over, dead, a moment later. An ginger-haired girl giggles as she leaps off the Grimm. Yang's brows shoot up. "Did she just ride an Ursa here?" Weiss snorts.
"Like you're any better. You two rode a Nevermore." Yang shrugs and says,
"It seemed like the quickest way here." The ginger girl races past them into the temple, oohing and awing over the many relics. She finally picks one with a sing-song,
"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" As she dances, a dark-haired young man staggers from the brush, clearly winded.
"Nora!" He shouts, and the girl stops, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Coming Ren!" She runs back to him, and pounces on him. Another loud crash is heard, and this time, Pyrrha comes running out of the forest, a huge Deathstalker skittering after her. Hanging onto it's stinger is Jaune. The boy is screaming loudly. The Deathstalker slams a claw into Pyrrha, who brings her shield up just in time. The claw bounces off the shield, the force of which sends Pyrrha flying towards the four girls gathered by the temple. Ruby jumps forward, catching the redhead before she hits the ground. Pyrrha smiles at her saviour, standing and dusting herself off with an amused,
"Thank you, Ruby." She waves at Yang. "Hello again!"
"Uh..." Yang fumbles, "...hey?" The blonde shakes her head. "You okay, Pyrrha?" Pyrrha dips her head.
"I'm doing just fine, Yang. Although," She looks at Jaune, still screaming and holding onto the Deathstalker. "I could use some help with this." She then looks up, lips pursed. "Oh, and with that." The group collectively look up, and see the large Nevermore circling them.
"Of for the love of..." Yang growls under her breath. She rakes a hand aggressively through her hair. "Great, just great!" She looks over the group. "So, uh, how we gonna do this?" There is a flash of red, heading into the temple and then back out, and Ruby is now holding out a rook-piece to Pyrrha,
"Here, Pyrrha. You should ask those two," She points to Ren and Nora. "to help with the Deathstalker. Yang, Weiss, Blake, and I will deal with the Nevermore." She looks over the group, getting a few nods. "Since we all have relics, we don't need to beat them. We just need to distract them enough to make a run for it. Of course, if you get a chance to, destroy them." Pyrrha smiles, tucking the relic into a hidden pouch.
"A sound plan, Ruby!" She looks over at Ren and Nora. "Excuse me!" She shouts, running for them. Ruby watches her talk quietly with the two for a moment longer, before turning to the three girls behind her.
"Alright, first, we need to lure the Nevermore away from this temple." She points off to the north-east. "I saw a set of large ruins that way while Yang and I were riding it. If we lure it there, we'll be able to hide. Hopefully, it flies off, away from the temple." She tilts her head. "Unless you three want to try and kill it?" Blake responds,
"If we get the chance, we should take it."
"Right. Let's go!"
"You know, Red, I knew you were crazy, but riding a Nevermore and then planning to kill it? Insane." The hallucination Roman says, crouching next to the cloaked girl. Ruby growls lightly, glaring at him.
"Shut up." She can see the other girls look at her in confusion.
"Hey, no need to be hostile. Just, ah, you might want to dodge." Ruby blinks, turning to him, confused. She doesn't get a chance to question him. The Nevermore, which she had, unfortunately, forgotten about for a second, comes crashing into the ruins with a loud shriek before she could. Ruby swears under her breath and dashes through the crumbling ruins. She leaps up, running along a few falling rocks, sparsely using her semblance to speed herself up. She lands atop the ruins' tower, Crescent Rose coming unsheathed into her hands. She looks around for her teammates. She can see Yang standing on a pillar a few metres away, shooting at the circling Nevermore. Weiss hops up next to Ruby, panting slightly, her sword held tightly in a white-knuckled grip. There's a glint of a blade that draws Ruby's attention, and she sees Blake swing herself on top of the Grimm. The dark-haired girl hacks and slashes as she runs along the Nevermore's back. Ruby's eyes narrow. 'How do we kill this thing...' Her eyes flick around. Finally, she's drawn to Blake's ribbon, as the teen swings herself up next to her partner, and, after seeing Weiss use a glyph to blast a piece of stone at the Grimm, a plan forms.
"Yang!" Ruby shouts, gaining the blonde's attention. "Distract it!"
"Got it, sis!" Yang grins, launching herself at the Nevermore. She lands on its head, and begins pummeling it mercilessly. Ruby turns to Weiss and Blake.
"Weiss, Blake, I have a plan." The partners look at each other.
"What is it?" Weiss asks, an eyebrow raised. Ruby begins to explain the basics of her plan, and the gazes of the two girls beside her slowly grow more and more incredulous as she finishes. "You're kidding, right?" Ruby opens her mouth to explain once again, but she is cut off,
"WATCH OUT!" Yang calls out, blasting out of the way of the Nevermore. The large Grimm rears back with a loud, screaming-like noise, and its wings lift. Ruby, knowing exactly what it is about to do, slams into Weiss, pushing her into Blake, leading to both of them tumbling off the tower. The Nevermore shrieks, the sound piercing through her eardrums, drilling into her brain. It hurt. "RUBY!" Yang screams, and Ruby begins to turn, trying and failing to bring up enough aura to place into her semblance. There's a gust of wind and something presses insistently, painfully, against her right shoulder, and Ruby pauses, silver eyes drifting down,
"Oh." The sound escapes her involuntarily. A large feather is embedded into her shoulder, running straight through. 'It hurts,' Ruby thinks, staring, incomprehensibly, at the blackness poking through her flesh, scythe dropping from her shaking hands. There is a surprising amount of blood leaking from the wound. Her aura is pulsing around the injury, trying to heal the impalement, but being unable to do so with the feather still inside. Ruby brings her left hand up. Gently, she touches the blood-stained end of the feather, sending a screaming twinge of pain through her entire body. Her hand shakes violently as she clutches the area above the injury. Ruby figures that she's probably in shock.
"Ruby! Oh my god, oh my god!" Yang leaps next to her, lilac eyes wide in horror as she takes in the scope of her sister's injuries. "Oh fuck, I – Ruby are you – oh fuck what do I do?!" Weiss and Blake climb back up over the ledge, anger set in the their eyes, until they land on Ruby.
"Oh god, Ruby?!" Weiss shouts, rushing forward, Blake at her heels. Ruby blinks dumbly at them, her head feeling light, her heart racing in her chest. "We have to do something!" The three older girls begin conversing, trying to decide what they should be doing, pooling their collective knowledge of first aid.
"Red, just pull the feather out." Ruby turns to the hallucination. Roman grins, taking a drag of his cigar. "Your aura's trying to heal it already. But it can't, because the feather's still in there." He shrugs, "So remove it!" Vaguely, Ruby knows that doing so is a very bad idea, but her head is so light, and her fingers are beginning to feel so cold. She nods, her left hand moving from holding her shoulder to begin pushing the end of the feather back through. It doesn't budge. "Gotta hit it a bit harder than that, little red!" She tilts her head and, pulling her arm back, slams her fist into the feather tip, striking it with enough force to push it right through. The feather falls to the ground with a wet thud, drawing her teammates attention.
"What the fuck, Ruby?!" Yang nearly screams, her eyes widening further. "Why the hell would you do that?!" Ruby's head lolls back, and she mumbles,
"Heal... trying to... aura..." Her aura flashes brightly, the dark red centralizing on the wound. It doesn't heal it completely, considering her aura is still staggeringly low, but it does slow the bleeding. "Hurts..."
"Of course it hurts, you dolt!" Weiss sputters, "You shouldn't have done that!" The heiress strides forward, inspecting the now sluggishly bleeding wound. "We need to wrap this. Do either of you have any bandages?" She looks back at the rest of the team. They both shake their heads. "Damn..."
"Wait, use this!" Yang shouts, pulling off her orange scarf. Weiss grabs the scarf, nodding her thanks to Yang. The heiress begins wrapping the fabric around Ruby's injury, desperately ignoring the feeling of blood on her fingers, but she runs into a problem fairly quickly. She tries to tie the make-shift bandage off, but it's too short. It'd probably be long enough if she only wound it around once, but winding it once wouldn't be tight enough.
"I-It's too short, I can't tie it." Yang scowls,
"Try harder!"
"I can't!"
"Try harder, dammit!" Blake cuts them off,
"H-Here." The two turn to Blake, who is holding out a black length of fabric, a ribbon, and immediately their eyes are drawn to the pair of cat ears perched on her head. The ribbon had been hiding them; hiding her heritage. Both girl's jaws drop.
"B-Blake, you're a-" Yang starts, but Blake once again cuts her off,
"Just take it!" Weiss holds the ends of the scarf in one hand, and grabs the ribbon. She ties one end of the ribbon to the an end of the scarf, and winds it around once more before tying it off. Weiss backs off from Ruby, wiping her stained hands on her dress.
"O-Okay, now what?" Weiss asks. Ruby coughs, and the three older girls look at her.
"The plan... we do... it." She hisses out between ragged breaths. Weiss and Blake exchange a look.
"But..." Silver eyes glare at them, as if piercing their souls.
"We're doing it."
"Excuse me!" Ren and Nora look to the redhead calling at them. The exchange a glance.
"Can we help you?" Ren asks, Stormflower unravelling in his hands.
"Please!" The redhead points at the Deathstalker. "I'm Pyrrha. Can you help me save my partner, Jaune?" Nora grins, grabbing her hammer,
"Hell yeah! I'm Nora, this is Ren!" Ren gives a small wave. "Let's kick some ass!" With that, Nora launches at the Deathstalker, slamming her hammer into one of it's legs. Ren begins to pepper the scorpion Grimm with gunfire as Pyrrha races forward, spear in hand. The redhead blocks a grab from one of its claws and stabs her spear into its eyes. She tries to dislodge her weapon, but it is stuck. The Deathstalker sweeps its other claw at her, and Pyrrha is forced to dodge back, spear-less.
"Jaune!" She shouts, and Jaune looks to her. "Let go! Now!" Jaune's eyes widen.
"Are you crazy?!"
"NOW!" Jaune groans, but lets go nonetheless. He's sent flying a bit, and he lands on his back.
"Ow..." He mumbles, staggering to his feet.
"JAUNE!" Pyrrha's shout startles him, and he looks up to see the Deathstalker running at him. He squeaks and gets out his shield, ducking behind it, just as the scorpion brings its stinger down. The stinger bounces off his shield. Jaune takes in the stinger's current position and a plan to beat it forms in his mind.
"Pyrrha! The stinger! Separate it!" He hollers. Pyrrha takes less than a second to process the order, and throws her shield. The disc spins viciously, tearing easily through the heavy chitin on the Grimm's tail. The stinger drops, stabbing deep into its face-plate. "Now, hammer-girl!" Jaune leaps back as Nora grins. Pyrrha recalls her shield, and uses it alongside her natural strength to launch Nora into the air. The ginger girl laughs as she soars through the air. There's a brief moment of silence before she comes barrelling down, hammer slamming into the stinger with the aid of a grenade. The Deathstalker screams and skitters back, dark ichor leaking from the wound on its face. The damage is fatal, however, as the Grimm falls down, its scream puttering out into a hiss as it dissolves. Jaune breathes heavily for a few seconds, before he grins widely. "We did it!" Pyrrha walks towards the dissolving Grimm and grabs her spear. She smiles at him,
"We did it. All thanks to your plan, Jaune."
"Holy shit, Red. Here I thought riding a Nevermore would be the height of your insanity." Ruby ignores Roman's snark. She's currently balanced rather precariously on her scythe, which is situated on Gambol Shroud's ribbon. They used the ribbon to set up a makeshift catapult. Weiss is using some sort of gravity glyph to prime the catapult, all while sending worried glances at Ruby's injured shoulder. The red-cloaked girl tightens her grip on her scythe, ignoring the pain, and turns to Weiss,
"Weiss, think you can make the shot?" The heiress scoffs, drawing up bravado she surely isn't truly feeling,
"Can I? Of course I can!" Ruby inclines her head, looking to the Nevermore. Yang had jumped back on it, to distract it once more. The blonde is firing her gauntlets at it, leading it to a specific area.
"YANG!" Ruby yells, and her sister back-flips off the Grimm. Ruby nods to Weiss. "Now!" The gravity glyph releases her, and Ruby fires a shot at just the right moment, sending her speeding towards the Grimm. She ignores the flash of near-blinding pain radiating from her shoulder as she nears the monster.
"HAH!" She hears Weiss shout as Crescent Rose hooks around the Nevermore's neck. A series of white glyphs appear beneath Ruby's feet, leading up the large cliff-face. Pushing what is left of her aura away from her wound and into her semblance, Ruby runs up the cliff, dragging the Nevermore behind her. It takes maybe two seconds to reach the top. Ruby fires a burn crystal round, using the power behind it as well as the speed gained from her semblance to tear the Nevermore's head clean off. She spins flashily in the air before landing with a crack and a flash of dark red, signifying that her aura had broken. She leans on her hands and knees for a moment, grunting at a stabbing pain emanating from one of her ankles. A quick look determines that it is not broken, merely fractured if any. She forces herself to her feet and staggers to the cliff-edge. She smiles down at her teammates, Crescent Rose held proudly beside her. They did it.
"Russell Thrush," Ruby watches as a green-haired boy with a mohawk strides onto stage, a picture of him appearing on the large screen behind the headmaster. "Dove Bronzewing," This time, a brown haired boy with neatly combed hair walks up. "Cardin Winchester," An arrogant looking boy with burnt-orange hair that is slicked back swaggers onto the stage. "and Sky Lark." The final boy takes his place, his long dark blue hair standing out oddly with his teammate's brighter colours. Ruby claps politely alongside the rest of the students. Her shoulder is now wrapped by actual bandages and hidden beneath a new set of clothes. Her ankle hadn't been very injured, merely a small fracture that her aura (what little had been restored) healed before they even made it to the infirmary.
"I'm calling it," Roman starts, "bullies, the lot of them." Ruby sighs. The hallucination Roman had disappeared shortly before she slaughtered the Nevermore. And now he's back.
"Go away..." She mutters under her breath. Roman smirks at her, giving her a wink as he vanishes. Ruby tunes back into Ozpin's short speech,
"-you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester!" The newly designated Team CRDL leave the stage among ovation. "Jaune Arc," Jaune stumbles his way forward, earning a few snickers from the audience. "Nora Valkyrie," Nora skips onto stage. "Lie Ren," Ren strides confidently forward, coming to a stop next to Nora. "and Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha smiles as she walks on, until she is standing next to Jaune. Altogether, the group of four hadn't been injured at all from the Deathstalker. "You four retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forth, you will work together as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc!" Jaune blushes, blue eyes widening.
"L-Led by?!" Ozpin gives him a smile.
"Congratulations, young man." Team JNPR leave the stage, Jaune still in awe about his new position. Ozpin clears his throat, and Ruby knows which team is next. After all, there's only four of them left from initiation. "And finally;" The crowd begins clapping preemptively, "Blake Belladonna," Blake walks onto stage, gold eyes flicking around the room, her ears once again hidden by a bow. There is a small bandage on the faunus' wrist. "Weiss Schnee," Weiss holds her head high as she saunters onto the stage. The heiress had changed into a set of more casual wear, as she ended up smearing blood on her combat outfit. "Yang Xiao-Long," Yang grins, jogging forward to stand beside Blake. The blonde has a few bandages wrapped around her fingers, the digits being bruised from her assault on the Nevermore. Ruby sees her picture flicker into existence on the large screen behind the headmaster, and the room explodes into chatter. "and Ruby Rose." Ruby takes a deep breath and strides onto the stage, looking far more confident than she truly felt. Her left hand twitches, and she wants to bring it to her injured shoulder, but she knows that it wouldn't help any. If anything, it might make her wound worse. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces." The pictures on the screen rearrange themselves, and Ruby gets a sinking feeling in her gut when her photo is placed first in line. "From this day forth, you will work together as Team RWBY," 'Oh god oh god oh god no no no no-' "led by Ruby Rose!" Yang booms a laugh, sweeping her sister into her arms, being mindful of her injury. Ruby's eyes are wide as she stares, disbelieving, at Ozpin's vaguely saddened face.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang shouts. Ruby feels like dying. What the hell is Ozpin thinking?!
"I... I..." She tries to say, but nothing comes out. She looks to her two other teammates in terror. Blake is looking at her speculatively, while Weiss looks both shocked and incredulous. Ozpin lets out a forlorn sigh,
"Looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."
Glynda Goodwitch is not feeling particularly happy. She stalks out of the elevator into Ozpin's office, green eyes lowered into a harrowing glare. The silver-haired man of her ire sits behind his desk, sipping from his mug of cocoa.
"Glynda, what brings you here?" Ozpin asks.
"Ozpin, what the hell were you thinking?!" Glynda growls. "We agreed that Miss Rose is not mentally fit to lead a team right now!" Ozpin hums, taking another sip of his drink. "Ozpin!"
"Glynda, calm down." He starts, "I know we agreed on Miss Rose's current state. However," He sighs, leaning deep into his chair. "there are circumstances beyond our control."
"What circumstances?"
"The Vytal Festival, for one." Glynda raises a brow. "The councils decided on Vale, on Beacon, to host this year." Green eyes narrow.
"Is it because of-"
"Yes." Ozpin places his mug on the desk and clasps his hands together, resting his chin against them. "As you know, it was down to either us or Atlas to host the Vytal Festival this year. Lionheart dropped Haven out early on, and, as we know, Shade is currently embroiled in a series of Grimm infested sandstorms, and was subsequently disqualified from the running." Glynda nods. "The decision was left to both the Vale council and the Atlas council. Truly, I figured Atlas would have won the right this year. However..."
"Miss Rose." Glynda says, her voice dropping into a whisper of realization. Ozpin dips his head.
"When Miss Rose caused the accident that took the life of the infamous thief Roman Torchwick, the councils near unanimously declared the Kingdom of Vale, and as such, Beacon Academy, the host. But there was a condition." Glynda's hands clench into fists. "Miss Rose is expected to take part in the singles round of the tournament. And as the team leader is the one who decides who enters the doubles rounds..." Glynda scowls,
"If Miss Rose wasn't the team leader, there would be no way for her to participate past the team rounds." Ozpin nods, eyes sliding closed.
"If we had went with our original idea for either Miss Schnee or Miss Belladonna to lead the team, Miss Rose is near guaranteed to not be able to participate. Both girls have already seen Miss Rose's fragile mentality, with her stunt with the Nevermore and her sheer disregard for her own injuries. No leader would allow such a wildcard to fight for their team." Glynda sighs heavily,
"This is going to end badly, Ozpin."
"I know."
Yang lies on her bed, listening to the quiet breaths of her sleeping teammates. She can't sleep. Every time she closes her eyes, all she can see is the Nevermore's feather stabbing through her sister. She can see the blood gushing from the wound; can see dark red aura trying and failing to heal; can see her sister slowly dying. If the feather had been a inch to the left, it would have gone through her spine and she'd be... Yang scowls, shaking her head. No, no, don't think like that. Ruby is fine. She's alive. Yang throws an arm over her eyes, a soft groan escaping her. What had Ruby been thinking, when she forced the feather out of her shoulder? Didn't she know that that could have made things exponentially worse? Then again, with the blood loss... yeah she probably couldn't think very clearly. Yang lets out a quiet sigh, her eyes closing. Maybe this time she can actually fall asleep...
"Ah!" Yang lowers her arm from her eyes, turning to look over at the sudden gasp. Ruby is sitting up in her bed, eyes screwed shut, shaking hands tightly gripping her cloak. Yang makes to call out to her, but the younger girl hops off her bed before she could. She watches Ruby pace quietly, muttering something too softly to hear, before leaving the dorm room.
"What...?" Yang mumbles, shifting out of her bed to follow. What is her sister doing?
"Little red, little red, come out come out, wherever you are~!" Ruby shivers, ducking further into the side of the dumpster in some dead-end alleyway. Loud, ragged, breaths leave her, no matter how much she tries to quiet them. "Little red? Where are you?" Unbidden, a soft whimper escapes her. "Oh?" Footsteps echo closer to her hiding spot. Ruby looks around, hoping to spot a way out. She slams her eyes shut as the footsteps stop next to her. "Found you!" A freezing cold hand grips the top of her head, dragging her from her hiding spot by her hair.
"Stop, stop!" She cries, desperately trying to pull his hand from her hair. He laughs,
"Can't do that, Red! We have unfinished business!" He continues to tug her along for a few minutes, until they come to a sudden stop. "Here we are!" Ruby cracks open her eyes and chokes as she recognizes where they are. A large bloodstain is soaked into the ground, from where he had landed minutes before.
"No, no, no, no-" His cane slams down onto her back.
"Shut up!" He sneers down at her. "I said we have unfinished business." He kicks her in the side. "Stand up, little red!" Ruby stumbles to her feet, arm wrapped around her abdomen. He smirks. "Much better." He twirls his cane. "Come on, get out your ridiculous weapon." She shakes her head, and he scowls. "I said-" He brings his cane down, slamming it into the arm protecting her abdomen. "-get your ridiculous-" He smacks her on the back of the head, sending her to the ground. "-weapon out!" He brings his cane down, bashing it against her over and over. "NOW!" Ruby struggles to do as he demanded. Crescent Rose slips from its sheath, clattering across the ground. She reaches for it, but a booted foot stomps onto her outstretched hand. She cries out in pain as the bones in her hand break. Cold green eyes blaze in satisfaction, as he stomps down onto her hand once again. He slams his cane onto her head, and she screams. "God, I love hearing those screams!" He kicks her, rolling her onto her back. "Now, let's get to it." He lifts his cane, the bottom popping up into a target sight. Ruby's eyes widen and she begins to scramble back. He brings a foot down on her abdomen, preventing her from moving any further away, and she clutches at his ankle. "Come now, Red! You've had plenty of fun. Now it's my turn." He presses his cane to her right breast, digging it into her flesh. He grins. "This might hurt." He squeezes the trigger-
Ruby shakes the memory of the nightmare away as she tiptoes down the darkened hallways. Her first instinct is to head to one of the many training rooms, but she hasn't forgotten what happened last time. Chances were, if she went into one again, one of the professors would stop her. She looks out large windows beside her and nods. Some fresh air will help.
She opens the large doors before her, and enters the courtyard. The cool air of the night tickles her skin, sending goosebumps up her arms. Perhaps she should have changed into something other than her pyjamas and cloak.
"You know, Red," She jumps at the sudden appearance of Roman. "if you wanted some alone time with me, all you had to do was ask." Ruby glares at him, a frown breaking across her features.
"Shut up."
"Still so hostile!" He presses a hand to his chest dramatically. "What ever did I do?" She scowls at him,
"I said shut up Roman!" She swings her fist, and the hallucination shatters like glass once she hits it. Ruby breathes heavily, bringing her hands to her head. She grips her hair, giving a short tug. "I hate him. I hate him." She crouches on the dew-covered grass and digs her fingernails into her scalp. "I hate him." Shehates him, she truly does. So why is it, when he disappears, she misses him? Her fingers dig deeper into her head, the stinging pain bringing tears to her eyes. "I fucking hate him!" She whispers hoarsely. "...Roman..." She mumbles, feeling a few tears slip loose.
"Ruby?" Her head snaps up, and she sees Yang standing behind her. The blonde raises a hand. "Ruby, what are you doing out here?"
"Nothing..." Yang's lips purse.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Ruby flinches, and Yang takes a step closer. "Hey, Rubes, it's okay. It was just a dream!" Ruby scowls.
"I know that, Yang!" She huffs, pushing herself to her feet. "Leave me alone."
"Look, Ruby-"
"Just go, Yang!" Ruby glares at the ground. "I want to be alone."
"I..." There's a moment of silence between the sisters. "...alright. Just... don't stay out too late." The grass crunches beneath Yang's boots as she begins to walk off. "I love you, sis." Ruby shudders, left hand rising to her head while her right clenches into a tight fist. What is wrong with her? She's never been so flippant with Yang. She sucks in a few hitching breaths. She's just tired. That's all. She'll apologize to Yang tomorrow. Ruby lets out a heavy sigh as she drops back down to the ground. She kicks back, looking up at the shattered moon. She watches a few wispy clouds snake across the sky, eyelids feeling suddenly heavy. Tomorrow.
"Such a shame." The dark-haired woman sneers, heels clacking against the floor of the warehouse. Glowing amber eyes roam around the warehouse, alighting on a map of Vale from where it hangs above a cluttered desk. Multi-coloured pins dictating the location of dust stores decorate the map's surface, alongside crossed off areas and various locations of importance, such as Beacon Academy. She runs a finger over the lid of an empty crate, scowling in disgust when it comes back dirty. "That man never cleaned this place, did he? Hmm, well, it's too late for that." Footsteps echo through the darkness. A man steps from the shadows, donned in grey clothes and a mask reminiscent of a Grimm's. He's dragging a trolley behind him, a large crate situated on it. "Open it." The woman commands, and he nods, pulling the trolley into the light and popping the lid of the crate with a crowbar. Gleaming dust crystals lay inside, nestled in soft fabrics. The woman lifts a heavy ice crystal out, eyeing it with well hidden malicious glee. She gently places the crystal back into the crate and smirks. "We're going to need more men."
A/N: To those wondering where Neo is, y'all gotta wait just a bit longer for her to appear.
On Ruby's behaviour in this chapter: she's manic. She's exhausted, running on fumes, and sweeping between moods involuntarily. Have you ever been so tired that you just feel so free? So happy? Yeah, she's that kind of exhausted.
This is turning into 'how much trauma can i pile onto a 15 year old before she snaps' and i honestly didn't see that coming lol. Anyway, chapter 3 will be released in about a week or so, i finished the first draft the other day and am now just going through and editing it
Also that cover image? I drew that lol