I wonder if I broke my own personal record for upload speed?
Oh, who am I kidding. Of course I did.
By the way, I would appreciate seeing the people who read my story to review. Even if it's something simple like, "Nice chapter, keep 'er going.". Or even some constructive criticism. The former gives me encouragement, the latter helps me improve as I go, hopefully. Just saying.
Also, if you want to read Seraph's lines in someone's voice in your head like for the others, I personally prefer Sean Schemmel. Maybe Johnny Yong Bosch, IDK.
Welp, here's the 2nd chapter of The Vigil of Remnant, where our heroes take the initiation test. Enjoy!
...
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!"
The excited babble-planning was coming from a girl with orange hair and turquoise eyes, wearing a mishmash of different clothing that included a black vest and pink skirt. This hyperactive girl's name was Nora Valkyrie.
She was speaking at her oldest friend (who seemed to be stoically taking her rambling as if it were an everyday thing), a young man with sorta spiky black hair in a long ponytail midway down his back that had a magenta streak in it, with equally magenta eyes. He wore a dark green tailcoat and tan pants. His name was Lie Ren.
Ren worked on his weapons, a pair of green SMGs with extended magazines and outwards curved folding blades called The Stormflowers, while he was listening to Nora.
"A secret signal! That way we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?" Nora suddenly asked.
"Nora..."
"Yes, Ren?"
Ren then concealed his weapons up his loose sleeves. "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"
"Come on Nora. Let's go."
"But not, 'together-together'." she giggled.
The two walked out of the room together.
They passed Ruby, Yang and Seraph, who were all dressed in their normal outfits, weapons at the ready. Seraph had double and triple checked the number of spare mags he had in his coat, so that he'd be aware when he ran out. IF he ran out.
"I wonder what they're so worked up about." Ruby said.
"With those two, God only knows " Seraph responded. He'd met the two this morning, getting to know the inseparable pair a little bit. Ren was a pretty chill guy. Nora was...a character, that's for sure.
"So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang observed.
"Yep! No more awkward small talk! Or getting to know you stuff. Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking!" Ruby said cheerfully, as she pet her Crescent Rose in its compact form.
"Well Ruby, just remember your not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together."
"Ugggghhhh! You sound like Dad!" Ruby complained. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
Seraph snorted at her last comment.
"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked.
"I...I don't know. I guess I'll be on your team or Seraph's team or something."
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team." Yang said, nervously stroking her hair.
"My dearest sister Yang! Are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?!"
Seraph stayed silent, this was getting more amusing by the second.
"What?! No! Of course I do! I just thought...I don't know. Maybe it would help break you out of your shell?"
"What the-! I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely-"
"Ridiculous!" Jaune said, walking by with a piece of paper in his hand.
"There's no way I put my gear in locker 363 yesterday! I would have remembered to count that high! Ugh, why does this have to happen today?!"
Jaune walked past Weiss who was talking to someone else. She was an extremely attractive young woman who had her red hair in a waist length ponytail and had vivid green eyes. Her outfit was also rather interesting, as it seemed to be inspired by Trojan Warrior Armor, including a light brown strapless top over a low bronze v-neck, a black miniskirt, and a red ankle-length drapery round her waist. She was the famous Mistral champ, Pyrrha Nikos.
"So Pyrrha, have you given any thought on who's team you'd like to be on?" Weiss asked her. "I'm sure that everyone must be eager to unite forces with such a strong and eager individual such as yourself."
"Hmmmm...I'm not quite sure Weiss. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well I was thinking that you and I can be on a team together!"
"Well that sounds grand!" Said Pyrrha.
"Great!" 'This will be perfect!' Weiss schemed in her head. 'The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together, we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!'
'Why am I suddenly getting the feeling that a villainous plot is being hatched somewhere close by?' Seraph wondered.
"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc." Jaune broke in, leaning against a locker.
'Oh God, is he really?' Seraph thought, watching as Jaune tried to act all smooth with Weiss. 'He is. Dammit. I think he might have taken Weiss talking about him yesterday a little too seriously.'
"Hey, Seraph?" Ruby piped up.
"Yes?"
"About last night. Thanks for helping me out and all, but I wanted to ask...where did you learn to sing like that? It was really awesome."
Seraph chuckled, fiddling with Kitsuki a bit. "Please. I'm not that good. Nowhere NEAR professional. That was just my mom's favorite song. When she couldn't be around to sing it to Lily, I decided to learn right quick to do it my own damn self." He grinned. "You REALLY wanna hear awesome? Wait till you hear me sing Micheal Jackson. I've got his voice down pretty well."
"Really?" asked Yang. "And how'd you go about that?"
"It's just like any other skill, Yang. All you need is a little practice." He twirled Kitsuki on his finger a few times, then smoothly slotted it into his holster. Seraph turned to the left...
In time to see Jaune get pinned to the wall by Pyrrha's spear. Obviously, things did not go as planned.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation." came Glynda's voice over the loudspeakers. " Again, all first year students, report to the Beacon Cliffs."
All the first years filed out of locker room, and Jaune was unpinned as Pyrrha retrieved her spear.
"Nice meeting you, Jaune!" She said as she walked out with a smile.
"Likewise..." he said, slumping against the locker.
Seraph, Ruby and Yang walked up to the poor guy and Seraph pulled Jaune up by his arm.
"Having some trouble there, lady killer?" Yang asked teasingly.
"I don't understand...my dad said that all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?"
"Jaune, women are exceedingly different creatures." Seraph explained sagely. "As mere men, we are not able to comprehend their thought processes." He turned to the two girls present. "No offense."
"None taken." Yang said
"Come on, Jaune."
Everyone was gathered on the cliff side. Seraph, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and several other students stood at attention, awaiting Professor Ozpin's instructions.
"For years, you have been trained as warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He explained.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Ms. Goodwitch began. "Well, allow us to put and end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. TODAY."
Ruby moaned in disappointment.
"These teammates will be your partners for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin continued. "So it may be in your best interests to be paired with someone you can work well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"What?!" Screamed Ruby silently. Seraph swore he heard shattered glass.
"See, I told you." Nora told Ren.
"Once you are partnered up, make your way up to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your way. Or you will die."
'How delightfully macabre.' Seraph thought.
Jaune laughed nervously.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But your instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing many relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yes, um, sir?" Jaune tried to ask.
"Good. Now, take your positions."
Everyone got into their own ready-position, except for Jaune, hand still raised.
"Sir? I have a question?" he asked once more.
The tiles began to launch students into the air, one after another every couple seconds.
"What is this 'landing strategy' thing? Are you dropping us off or something?"
"No. You will be falling." Ozpin stated, holding his mug up, ready to sip at his tea.
"Oh...I see. Did you, uh, hand out parachutes for us?"
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."
"Uh-huh."
Yang winked, then put on some yellow aviator glasses and launched off into the sky with a smile, followed by Ruby.
"Relax Jaune, you'll make it." Seraph assured his friend. "I believe in you."
"So, um, what exactly is a landing strategeeeeey!"
Jaune was launched into the air before he could complete his sentence. Seraph looked at Ozpin, and noticed he was smiling at him. Seraph gave him a raised eyebrow.
'He has something planned for me, I just know it. Devious SOB.'
He then launched into the air after everyone else. Ozpin simply smiled as he watched his students fly off into the sky, taking a sip from his mug.
Most everyone had managed to concoct their own form of landing strategy on the fly (no pun intended). Ruby fired Crescent Rose a few times, using the recoil to slow down, then shifted to scythe mode to catch a tree branch.
Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summoned a white glyph beneath her and leapt off of it into the forest below.
Ren spun in the air as he descended, eventually using StormFlower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...
"Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!"
Yang, soaring right over the treetops, using Ember Celica, her shot-gauntlets, and their fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with every blast, finishing by crashing through the leaves of several trees and leaping off two more, finally tumbling to the ground.
"Nailed it!" she exclaimed as she ran off.
Pyrrha held her shield, Akouo, in front of her as she crashed through THREE FUCKING TREES, and rolled onto the branch of a fourth, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looked through the scope at Jaune, the poor guy helplessly tumbling through the air. Pyrrha coolly transformed Milo to its spear form, took a moment to evaluate her throw, and rocketed the javelin deep into the forest. Eventually, a satisfying "THUNK!" was heard.
"Thank you!" Jaune called in the distance.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized, waving in his direction.
"Nice throw, Pyrrha!" Seraph yelled, rapidly passing by.
"Um, Thanks!" she called after him.
Seraph noticed he was getting dangerously close to the treetops, so he finally activated the first part of his semblance. With a burst of aura colored black with a white outline, a large black wing emerged from his left shoulder. He flapped this wing once, and immediately ascended.
Seraph's semblance was called 'One-Winged Angel'. He'd named it so due to the single black wing, obviously, and his first name, Seraph (or Seraphim), referring to an angelic figure in some religion or other. The second part of his semblance was his ability to augment his speed and precision at will to various levels at the cost of aura. He could potentially attack hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds.
Unfortunately, it seemed The Other Guy was loosely tied to his semblance somehow. If he went to one hundred percent of his power, he ran the risk of letting him take control. That had happened once already.
ONCE.
Thankfully, he had been far younger, and far weaker back then, and wasn't as much of a threat. Now, however, was a completely different story. Equally thankfully, he hadn't needed 100% in a long time, and that margin went up as he got better with his powers.
"WHOOOHOO!" Seraph screamed in delight, grinning all the while.
He LOVED flying. While airships were cool and all, flying under his own power was one of the greatest feelings in the world. Hell, it didn't even use up that much aura anymore, so he could do it more often. He could probably fly all the way to the temple, recover the relic, and fly to his end destination, bypassing all the Grim in the forest. Two problems with that plan, however.
1) He wouldn't get a partner that way, and 2) ...where was the fun in that?
Once he figured that he got enough distance, Seraph angled down, shooting towards a small clearing. As he came close, he righted himself, and gently floated to a landing, his wing then disappearing. As he was in no hurry, he started walking in what he believed was the direction of the relic temple. As he pressed on, he began contemplating teammates.
'Let's see then. There's Ruby, she has to be really effing skilled to be at Beacon two years early, not to mention using a scythe! She seems really fun too. Then there's Yang, tough, reliable, awesome big sister. She seems a little headstrong though.' Seraph rolled his eyes. 'Like I'm one to talk. There's Blake, she's a book lover and Whovian, like me. We'd likely get along great. She doesn't seem like a conversationalist, though. But I could work with that. Weiss...she's seriously got to work on her attitude. She does that, and I could work with her too. There's also Jaune, he's a great guy, but he seems more than a little hapless. But if we become teammates, I'm confident that I can get him into proper fighting form. And then there's Pyrrha Frickin Nikos! Me and her fighting side by side, we'd be nigh unstoppable. Plus, I'd get to know her beyond the celebrity stuff.' Seraph then chuckled, remembering the duo from breakfast this morning. 'There's no way I'm teaming up with Ren or Nora, though. Their teamup was decided the moment they ARRIVED. Hah! "We're not 'together-together'" my ass! If that's true, then they're as close to it as they can get.'
As Seraph finished his thoughts, he heard it. A low growling sound. He stopped and tensed up, noticing he'd reached another small clearing. Soon, the bushes around him parted to reveal a pack of Beowolves slowly closing in.
Seraph smiled. "Well?" he asked. "I don't have all day, let's go!"
As if they understood, one of the Beowolves charged forward for the opening attack. It drew back a claw and swiped at Seraph, only to hit air.
Seraph was behind it, Kitsuki drawn and pointed at its head. "Bang." With a single trigger pull, the Beowolf's head was blown open.
At that, the rest of the pack moved to box him in. Seraph aimed Kitsuki out and began to slowly spin clockwise, firing as he went. One Beowolf after another fell to his shots. When one behind him got to close, he lashed out with a roundhouse kick to its chest, then shot it in the head. He slashed with the blade at another, cutting it down. As four more Beowolves closed in with claws ready to slash him to ribbons, he converted Kitsuki to katana form, gripped it with two hands, and vanished, reappearing on the other side of the Grimm. The 4 offending Beowolves were bisected. He stabbed Kitsuki into the chest of another, then slashed through it to the side, cutting through the Grimm next to it.
Seraph then proceeded to deal with the last of the pack, moving at breakneck speeds to each Beowolf, attacking each one several times before they could get a hit in. As one last injured Beowolf tried to crawl away, Seraph stabbed it in the head. It began to dissolve like all the rest.
"Ahhhh." Seraph groaned, stretching. "Gotta love a morning workout."
As he moved to put Kitsuki away, he heard more noise. He looked to the side, and noticed several other kinds of Grimm approaching. Seems like he'd drawn a crowd with all the commotion.
Seraph grinned. "Alright then." he said, bringing Kitsuki up and at the ready. "BRING IT!"
"That Ursa wasn't so tough, y'know. Like I said, I could have taken him."
"Still, its attention was focused on you. I had an opening, so I took it."
Blake and Yang were walking along a rough path after having met up a little while earlier, a couple of Ursa having tried to make some trouble. They were on their way to search for the forest temple as well. However, they stopped once they heard some noise nearby.
"Blake, you hear that?" Yang said, readying Ember Celica. She was looking around, trying to find the source. Blake also looked around, her hand gripping the hilt of Gambol Shroud.
"Yes. It sounds like someone else is fighting close by..." Blake trailed off, drawing her sword.
Suddenly, out of the brush to the side of the pair, a figure flew backwards out at the two women, as if ejected. Blake rolled out of the way, but Yang caught the flying person directly, and the two rolled to a stop on the ground, Yang lying on top of him.
As Yang shook her head, she looked down to find that Seraph Argyros had been the one to come out of nowhere.
"Hey there, handsome." Yang said teasingly.
"Hello there." Seraph greeted. "Come here often?"
"Oh, you know, whenever I get bored."
"Neat. Mind getting off of me, Yang?"
"Ohh? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Yang flirted, pressing her ample chest down on his.
Seraph blushed a bit, but raised an eyebrow. "Frustrated, actually. This is neither the time nor place."
Yang got up off the poor guy, and gave him a hand up. "And if it WERE the time and place?"
"I dunno." Seraph said, grinning. "It MIGHT just be a different story."
"Are you two done?" Blake asked, slightly annoyed.
"I believe so." Seraph said. "Well then, looks like you tw-" He was interrupted by the roars of the Grimm still lurking nearby. Seraph shot a look to the brush he'd come from.
"Ladies, please excuse me." Seraph announced. "Unfinished business and all." He then grabbed Kitsuki and leapt back into the brush.
As Yang and Blake looked on, they heard the sounds of battle again. Gunfire, Grimm grunting, blade slashing. Eventually, a Beowolf was sent flying out of the brush next. Followed by another. Then another. Then a pair of Boarbatusk. Then a frickin URSA. At last, the fighting stopped.
Seraph emerged again, Kitsuki holstered, dusting off his hands. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Looks like you two are partners now. Unless you've been walking all this way without making eye contact?"
"Nope." Yang affirmed. "We're partnered up now. No such luck for you."
Seraph snapped his fingers. "Damn. Haven't found anyone myself, yet. Mind if I stick with you guys? Someone's bound to show up at the temple ruins."
"Sure, let's get going." Blake said, leading the way. Yang and Seraph fell into step beside her.
"Hey, Seraph." Yang began. "I just wanna say thanks again. For helping Ruby."
"Anytime." Seraph replied. "Like I said, Lily was the same way for the longest time-"
"That's not it. I was talking about you and Jaune, making her feel welcome." She smiled tenderly.
Seraph smiled back, nodding. "Like I said, anytime."
Meanwhile, Professor Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch were still at the top of Beacon Cliff, monitoring the teens' progress.
"The last pairs have been formed sir." Glynda reported. "All in exception for...exactly who you'd expect."
"Seraph, yes. I know."
Glynda gave the enigmatic Headmaster a look. "Professor Ozpin, what are you planning for that boy?" she asked
"Let's just say I've came up with something...creative, Glynda. I have a feeling that, despite his...unique issues, Mr. Argyros is going to go far."
Eventually, the trio stepped out into a much larger clearing that held a circular stone temple, broken and decrepit but for the platforms around its inside, holding several black and gold objects.
"Think this is it?" Yang asked.
Blake gave Yang an incredulous look.
"Nah, this is the OTHER stone temple in the Emerald Forest used for the Initiation Test." Seraph stated sarcastically, smirking. "We'd better double back, I think we missed the one we're looking for."
"Ha ha, very funny." Yang replied, following Blake down the hill towards the temple.
"I try." Seraph said, likewise following.
They walked across the floor and got a better look at the black and gold relics.
"Chess pieces. How very symbolic." Seraph commented.
"Some of them are missing." Yang said. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."
"Well, I guess we should pick one" Blake suggested.
They all strode forward, observing the pieces that were left.
"How about a cute little pony?!" Yang asked, grabbing the white knight piece.
"Sure." Blake smiled.
Seraph was scanning all the pieces on the pillars, still wondering which one to pick, not to mention that there was still nobody around to be his partner. He was broken from his musings as he spotted something out the corner of his eye.
It was sitting in an indent in the wall, unless you had really keen eyesight, you'd probably miss it with all the other pieces so obviously in the open. It was a pawn piece, colored gunmetal grey, but made from the same material as the others. It didn't look like there were others like it around. Either this was the only unique piece of its kind...or someone else had grabbed its mate. By that logic, Seraph decided to take the pawn piece, pocketing it safely in his longcoat.
"That wasn't too hard." Yang stated.
"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Seraph replied
Suddenly, a loud girly shriek pierced the air.
"Some girl is in trouble!" Yang said, readying her weapons. "Did you hear that Blake?"
'I wonder if I should tell her that I'm pretty sure that was actually Jaune.' Seraph thought to himself. 'Nah, I'd rather not humiliate the poor guy more than he has himself.'
"Blake? What should we do?" Yang asked, turning toward her partner, Seraph doing the same
She was completely focused on something in the sky, pointing to it.
"HEADS UUUUUUUUP!"
It was Ruby, falling towards them from the sky. How she got up there was anyone's guess.
Seraph was about to launch up and catch her, but was interrupted as Jaune flew in out of scenic nowhere, crashing into Ruby, and sending them careering into a tree. Ruby was shaking off the crash into the tree as she was sitting down on one of the high branches.
"Oohhh...What was that?" she said holding her head. She heard an "Eh-hem", and looked up to see Jaune hanging upside down from the tree branch above.
"Hey Ruby."
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang.
"I-" before she could say anything, the three heard rustling in the bushes. Out of them came an Ursa, clawing at the air. A bright pink explosion hit it from behind as someone screamed, "YEEEE-HAAAAW!"
The Ursa fell to the ground dead as Nora Valkyrie rolled off its back.
"Awwww, it's broken." she said dejectedly
Ren stumbled into view, clearly out of breath.
"Nora...please... Don't ever do that again." he pleaded.
As Ren looked up, he saw Nora was already gone, and looked around frantically. Seraph was even surprised that she'd slipped passed his view.
She was already at the temple behind them, curiously observing one of the White Rook pieces. She grabbed it and started to sing, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" as she balanced the rook on her head.
"NORA!" Ren bellowed. She giggled a bit, dropping the piece into her hand
"Coming Ren!" she called, running off.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked, rather surprised.
"I-" before Yang could answer, she was interrupted yet again.
Pyrrha emerged from the treeline, running away from a thirty foot creature of Grimm in the form of a scorpion, called the Death Stalker.
"Jaune!" she yelled.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune replied.
"Whoa!" Ruby exclaimed, leaping from the tree, quite literally leaving Jaune high and dry.
"Ruby!" He yelled after her. Ruby rolled to a stop next to her sister.
"Ruby?!" Yang bleated. Ruby looked to her, and burst into a smile
"Yang!" She yelled, moving to hug her.
"NORA!" Nora yelled, popping up between them, to their shock.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was still running from the scorpion.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked. Before Seraph could snark about her grasp of the obvious, Yang literally exploded in a ball of fire.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! COULD EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!"
Seraph, who had leaned away from the exploding Yang, straightened back up, while Ren finally ran up to Nora, as she did a ditzy little dance, evidently incapable of standing still for any length of time. Yang panted as her flames died out, and Ruby tapped her on the arm.
"Um, Yang?" She pointed to the sky. Yang didn't even bother to look, she just slumped forwards in frustration.
Then they all looked up to see exactly how Ruby had gotten up in the air.
"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" Weiss screamed from above, hanging on for dear life to the talon of a fifty foot Giant Nevermore. NOW the question was how did the girls get on the bird in the first place?
"I said jump!" Ruby yelled back.
"She's gonna fall." Blake said.
"She'll be fine."
"She's falling." Ren announced.
"Don't worry, I got her." Seraph assured. As he prepared to do his flying thing, he was once again interrupted.
Jaune finally managed to free himself from the trees. He also saw Weiss falling. With an eager and happy grin, Jaune dove out of the trees and successfully caught her in his arms.
"Just...dropping in?" he asked, smiling at Weiss
Weiss was speechless... but for an entirely different reason, which Jaune realized as they both looked down.
"Oh, God." The two hugged each other tightly, and began to fall again, Jaune screaming all the way down.
A black blur raced by, snatching them out of the air, then depositing them next to the group. The two wondered how they got to the ground on their feet so fast, then looked to see Seraph right next to them, his wing disappearing.
"You're welcome for the painless landing, by the way" he stated. "No need to thank me. I actually mean that, though. You don't need to."
"Well what if we WANT to?" Jaune queried
"I don't." Weiss said.
"Big surprise." Seraph quipped.
Pyrrha was STILL being chased by the Death Stalker, but soon got knocked on her side towards the group.
"Great. The gang's all here! Now we can all die together!" Yang said
"Paragon of hope, you are." Seraph commented. Yang turned a dirty look to him, but didn't look like she meant it.
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby declared, charging towards the Death Stalker with a war cry.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang yelled after her.
She continued her charge and pulled the trigger on her scythe to give her a speed boost. However, the Grimm merely swiped with a claw, and knocked Ruby away.
"D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" She said, picking herself up.
She tried shooting it in the skull, but this had no effect. She morphed her scythe back into compact form and holstered it, running away with the scorpion on HER tail now.
Yang and Seraph both launched forward to help, Ruby rushing to meet in the middle. The Nevermore had other plans, however, and flew behind Ruby, flapping its wings and releasing lines of sharpened feathers with points that caught on Ruby's cape, getting her stuck. As Yang approached, she was stopped by the hail of feathers. Seraph faired a little better, dodging and deflecting some, but stumbled back before a pair impaled him.
"Ruby! Get out of there!" Yang yelled.
"I'm trying!" she called back, struggling to free her cloak.
The Death Stalker stopped, raising its tail to impale the trapped girl.
"RUBY!" Yang screamed, reaching toward her in vain.
Seraph was having none of it, though. He would NOT let Ruby die, not here, not like this! He couldn't go to 100%, but he pushed himself as close as he would allow, and rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, Seraph was already beside Ruby, the stinger about to descend on them. He brought out his wing, and used it to shield them both, hoping it would be enough.
Nothing happened. Then...
"You are SO childish!" came Weiss' voice.
Seraph lowered his wing-shield, and both looked up to see a wall of ice trapping the Death Stalker's tail.
"Weiss?" Ruby said, puzzled.
"AND dim-witted, AND hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." she continued. "And I suppose I can be a bit...difficult...but if we are going to do this, we are going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off, I'll be...nicer."
"That's honestly ALL we ask of you, Weiss." Seraph said, glad to see progress being made.
"I'm not trying to show off." Ruby replied. "I want you to know I can do this."
"You're fine." Weiss huffed.
She walked back to the group while Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, then closed her eyes and clasped her hands.
"Normal knees..." she whispered gratefully.
"What's that now?" Seraph asked, bewildered.
"N-nothing!" Ruby said, blushing a bit, before getting up. Seraph decided he was better off not knowing.
Ruby grunted as Yang rushed up and hugged her.
"So happy you're okay!" she said in relief. The moment was ended, though, when the Nevermore, still in the air gliding majestically, screeched loudly.
"Guys! That thing's circling back!" Jaune said urgently. "What are we gonna do?"
"Look, there's no sense in lollygagging. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss stated, indicating the remaining chess pieces.
"She's right." Seraph agreed. "Remember what Ozpin said. Our mission is retrieving an artifact and returning to the cliffs."
"Right. There's no point in fighting these things." Ruby said.
Weiss was impressed at their decisions.
"Run and live... That's a idea I can get behind!" Jaune happily agreed.
"I'd prefer to call it a 'Tactical Retreat' myself." Seraph grinned.
The remaining warriors who needed them chose their respective pieces and pocketed them. The Death Stalker was starting to break out of the ice wall as the finished.
"Time we left!" Ren said.
"Right! Let's go!" Ruby said confidently, waving to the others. She ran ahead of all of them as they started towards some ruins up ahead that were comprised of dozens upon dozens of three hundred foot stone pillars. Yang still wasn't running. Blake stopped as well.
"What is it?" She asked her partner. Yang proudly stared at Ruby as she lead everyone to their (hopefully) victory.
"Nothing."
Blake smiled in realization, and the pair followed their friends.
The group of 9 soon reached the edge of the ruins, and took cover behind some of them. The Nevermore flew overhead, and landed atop the tower, screeching again as if saying, "What now, fuckers?!"
"Well, that's great!" Yang said in annoyance.
A crashing sound was the only warning as the Death Stalker, free once more, plowed through the trees, obviously very angry with the teens.
"EVEN BETTER." Seraph said sarcastically.
"Oh, man, RUN!" Jaune yelled. Several of them dashed out of cover, beating feet towards the bridge.
"Nora, distract it!" Ren ordered. As the Nevermore unleashed a hail of feathers, she pulled out her weapon, a massive grenade launcher named Magnhild, and began to fire at the massive bird, causing pink explosions bursting all around it. This made it fly off in another direction. Blake and Ren slashed at the scorpion before it attacked Nora, while Weiss took Nora and catapulted them both with a glyph next to Jaune, and hit the ground running, Blake and Ren likewise running for their lives.
"Go, GO!" Pyrrha yelled, dropping to one knee. She began firing a few rounds from Milo into the approaching beast, while Ren pulled out his Stormflowers and Seraph drew Kitsuki, both emptying their magazines, to no visible effect.
As the teens fled across the bridge, the Nevermore was flying back towards them. None of them noticed until it was upon them, and Seraph pushed Nora and Jaune ahead of him as it crashed though the bridge, separating the group into two. Jaune looked around, but didn't see Seraph anywhere.
"OOOHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIIIT!" he heard ring through the air, looking where the Nevermore went, seeing Seraph holding on to its tail for dear life
Pyrrha, Ren and Blake continued to attack the Death Stalker on their other side. Jaune looked on, worried.
"Man, we gotta get over there. They need help!" He said.
Nora came to Jaune's side, "Let's do this!" she stated.
"Yeah...but uh... I can't make that jump!"
There was a large gap between them and the other side of the bridge. Nora giggled and grinned diabolically, knocking Jaune back with Magnhild, and changing her weapon into its alt form, a large War Hammer. She leapt into the air and was about ready to strike their end of the bridge to send them over.
"No, wait!"
Nora had slammed her hammer into the bridge and sent Jaune flying to the other side, screaming. Nora jumped on her hammers head and pulled the trigger, causing an explosion that propelled her to the other side.
"Nora Smash!" She yelled before slamming her hammer into the Grimm's head.
It tried to sting Nora with its tail, only for Nora used another explosion to move out of the way. It send her flying back, causing her to collide with Blake, sending her off the bridge. She spotted the Nevermore above her, Seraph still gripping its tail, and launched her whip so that Gambol Shroud's blade sank into the edge of the bridge, and started circling around, intending to leap onto the avian Grimm's back.
Meanwhile, Seraph had continued to hold on to the Nevermore's tail-feathers as if his life depended on it. Until he remembered, just now, that it didn't.
'YOU CAN FLY, YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT!' Seraph screamed at himself in his head.
With that, he let go, brought out his wing, and soared up, circling to the Nevermore's back. At the same time, Blake came around, looking for the same landing zone.
The duo landed on the bird's back, and both dashed across its body, slashing the entire time, before they jumped off and landed on the ruins next to Ruby, Yang and Weiss.
"It's tougher than it looks!" Blake said, Seraph nodding in agreement.
"Then let's hit it with everything we've got!" Yang said, readying her shot-gauntlets.
Everyone prepared their respective weapons, Seraph reloading, then turning Kitsuki's dial to the 'AP Rounds' setting. The Nevermore grew ever closer.
"DUST THIS BITCH!" Seraph yelled. The girls complied, joining him in firing a barrage of projectiles at the flying beast, which either missed, or the Nevermore ignored. Which was impressive, as Seraph was sure his AP Rounds were sinking into it. It crashed through the ruined tower they were on, and the 5 traversed the crumbling pieces to reach the higher bridge, underneath the cliffs.
"None of this is working!" Weiss said.
"I'm completely open to suggestions right now." Seraph offered.
Ruby watched as Blake swung away with her whip, and Yang launched round after fiery round at their ongoing headache. A light-bulb went off in her head.
"Ive got a plan! Cover me!" she stated.
Elsewhere, the Death Stalker is still busy attempting to kill Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha.
"We gotta move!" Jaune ordered. All four rushed forward.
The Death Stalker swiped a claw at Pyrrha, but she deflected it with Akouo and slashed at it with Xiphos-Milo. The scorpion recoiled and attacked with its other claw, but Jaune deflected THAT with his own shield, knocking it back, while Pyrrha leapt over and attacked its face. Ren ran up the stinger when it tried to hit him, and stated shooting at the base between it and the tail. Nora fired more grenades at the claws. Pyrrha hurled her javelin straight into one of the monster's eyes, which made it throw Ren aside in anger.
"Ren!" Nora called out in worry.
Ren slammed into a stone wall, and fell to the ground, barely moving. Jaune then noticed the Death Stalker's stinger was now hanging limply due to Ren's efforts.
"Pyrrha!"he called to the redhead
"Done!" she responded, reading his mind. She hurled Akouo like a discus, and it cut through, removing the stinger and causing it to impale the Death Stalker's head. Pyrrha's shield then rebounded back to her.
"Nora, nail it!" Jaune called to the energetic girl.
"Heads up!" she said to Pyrrha, jumping onto Akouo. Pyrrha leapt into the air as Nora fired Magnhild in order to achieve maximum lift. As she reached the zenith of her launch, she giggled a little, then fell back, twirling down until her hammer slammed the stinger deeper in, killing the Death Stalker once and for all, while also destabilizing the remainder of the bridge.
Jaune and Pyrrha bounded over the monster to solid ground, and Nora launched herself up as the monster fell with the bridge. Jaune hit the ground on his back, Nora on her bottom, and Pyrrha managed a proper landing. Ren simply walked over to them, and collapsed in exhaustion.
Yang was firing unending shots from her Ember Celica at the flying creature. It swept around and tried to eat Yang, but she jumped in its beak, holding the Nevermore's mouth open with an arm.
"I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUN! GRY!" she raged, blasting shots into its mouth with the other arm.
She then jumped off and landed on the ground near the others as the Nevermore, unable to alter course, crashed into the cliff. It didn't stay down long though. Weiss rushed forward, and trapped its tail in ice, preventing it from moving, while Blake stood atop a pillar. Yang got up on the other pillar as Blake shot her weapon over to her. She caught it, and they stretched it out between them forming a band. Ruby and Seraph jumped onto their makeshift slingshot, stretching it backwards, and Weiss used one of her glyphs to hold it in place. Ruby had Crescent Rose ready, and Seraph, strangely, had Kitsuki stowed away, his right fist cocked back.
"Of course YOU would come up with this idea." Weiss commented.
"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.
"Hmm! Can I!" Weiss said confidently.
Ruby looked concerned, but Seraph looked amused, as they both asked the same thing for different reasons.
"Can you-?"
"Of course I can!"
Weiss' glyph turned from black to red and released Ruby and Seraph at high speed. Seraph used his semblance to accelerate slightly faster than Ruby, then activated the third part to One Winged Angel.
His final ability was that he could channel his aura through his limbs to unleash an absolutely devastating attack on whatever he hit upon impact. However, it would massively drain him, so he only really used it as a last resort. The current situation counted.
His right arm was wreathed in flames made of his black-with-white-outline aura. He let loose a war cry as he slammed his fist into the Nevermore's chest. A loud *BOOM* issued from the impact zone, as the Nevermore rammed back into the cliffs, which cracked a bit from the strain, its chest partially caved in. Seraph managed to land back with everyone else, and stumbled back against a pillar.
Then Ruby's scythe caught the beast by the neck. Weiss created a series of white glyphs up the wall, which Ruby used to climb up, dragging the Nevermore with her, firing to gain more momentum.
Monster and warrior simultaneously cried out, as Ruby reached the top, firing one last time, finally decapitating the giant bird in a shower of rose petals.
Ruby landed beside the severed head as the Nevermore's lifeless body crashed to the ruins below while everyone else looked on. "Whoa." Jaune said in awe.
"Well." Yang said, breaking the silence. "That was a thing."
"It sure was, Yang." Seraph agreed. "It sure was..."
Then he started laughing. "We did it. We freaking did it!" He leaned back.
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHAHAHA!" he belted out.
"We kicked its ass! We're the best! WE'RE THE FUCKING BEST!"
"Seraph." Blake tried to get his attention.
"Try to fail our Initiation Test now, Ozpin! Hooyah!"
"Seraph!" Yang said, giggling at his increasing over-the-topness.
"What's that, Nevermore?! I can't hear you over the sound of HOW DEAD YOU ARE!"
"SERAPH!" Weiss yelled, having enough.
"Hello, yes?" Seraph said in a normal volume.
"You done?"
"...I think so, yeah. Well done, all round. Now let's get the hell out of here, shall we?"
Later, in the auditorium, Professor Ozpin was announcing the last of the official team formations.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin listed, as the big screen displayed the aforementioned's profiles, the 4 boys lined up on stage. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by... Cardin Winchester!"
The audience gave another round of applause as the new team walked offstage.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. " The four in question took the stage. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)."
As the crowd applauded, Nora laughed and gave Ren a hug.
"Led by... Jaune Arc!"
"Huh? L-Led by...?" Jaune sputtered, perplexed.
"Congratulations, young man."
Pyrrha smiled, giving Jaune a friendly bump on the shoulder. However, her 'fine leader' got knocked over by it, to the audience's amusement. He got up and the new team took their leave.
"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin smirked slightly. "And Seraph Argyros."
The four girls who took the stage turned back to their comrade in surprise.
"What?" Seraph wondered, just as perplexed as Jaune had been.
"Join us, young man."
Seraph obeyed, taking the stage, but still wondering what was really going on.
"You four girls retrieved the white knight pieces." Ozpin turned to Seraph. "You, Mr. Argyros, retrieved the grey pawn piece. In chess, the pawn, once reaching the opposite side of the board, can be promoted to queen, rook, bishop, or knight. This make it one of, if not the most, versatile pieces in the game. I believe you fit the bill nicely. And not everyone would have found this 'wild card' where it was placed."
'I fucking KNEW he had something planned for me. He's a closet evil mastermind, I swear.'
"There were an odd number of students this year, Mr. Argyros. You turned out to be the odd man out. Now, as Headmaster, I believe I can bend the usual 'four-man team' rule for this instance. I placed you with these four, as I believed you forged rather strong bonds with them, both in the field, and out." He held up a tablet to Seraph. "However, if you so choose, you can switch to any of these teams here."
Seraph looked at the tablet. On it, he saw among the listed were Team JNPR, Team BLAC (Black), and Team XSRA (Sahara).
He looked back at the 4 girls. They all looked back at him expectantly. Seraph turned to Ozpin, and shoved the tablet back at him.
"Absolutely not." Seraph stated firmly, grinning. "I wouldn't trade in these four even if you offered me a second-year team!"
The girls all beamed at Seraph, even Weiss.
"Very well." Ozpin said, smiling warmly. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBYS (Rubies). Led by... Ruby Rose!"
Weiss looked to her new leader in surprise, who happened to be in equal amounts of shock.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang said happily, hugging her sister.
"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin commented.
Later that night, amidst the city of Vale, in a shadowy room filled with shelves, Roman Torchwick was recieving a phone call.
As the coversation ended, he angrily slammed the phone down, letting out a sigh.
A man in a white mask came into the room with a large crate. Torchwick fished out lien from his pocket and placed it on the desk, and the man took it.
"Open it." Roman ordered.
The man used a crowbar, prying open the crate to reveal a multitude of Dust crystals. Roman picked one up, observing it closely.
"We're going to need more men." he concluded.
...
And that, lads and lasses, concludes chapter two. Now, you know the Darksaber from Star Wars: The Clone Wars? (if not, google it) That's what I'm going for with Seraph's aura color. Thanks to JcL107 and hegerslenny for following. Am I gonna shout out my reviewers, favorite-ers, and followers every chapter? As long as there's new ones, you bet I am! Hope to see you guys soon. Leave some reviews, please and thanks!
Oh yeah, and You lost The Game.
LLaP