They dash through the forest as quickly as they can. Soon they come across what looks like ruins, and the Killraven flies overhead. They take cover out of its sight. It lets out a shrill cry as it searches for them.
Angel stays motionless, freezing completely in place. How the hell are they going to get through this...
"Well that's just perfect," Yang groans. Suddenly the Deathstalker bursts from the woods behind them.
Jaune shouts, "Oh man, RUN!"
As they start to run, Ren yells out "Nora, distract it!"
Not needing to be told twice, she expertly dodges the sharp feathers the creature launches at her and pulls our her weapon. Nora fires a few shots and one of them nails it in the squarely in the head, making her smirk. Suddenly, she turns around, only to be greeted by the deathstalker, poised to strike. Ren however, leaps over and deflects the blows with the blades on his weapon.
Nora watches, and Weiss grabs her, all of them taking off running yet again. They make it to the bridge, but Smoke looks to their left. "Look out!"
That accursed bird flies at them, and flies through the bridge. Cinder grabs Angel, and with Smoke they run across it's back towards a lower bridge.
"Oh shit," Smoke groans as the Nightcrawler appears at the edge of the ravine the ruins tower sits in, and crawls down the rock cliff towards them.
"Y'know I'm finding it very hard to remain positive right now." Angel sighs, aiming her weapon at the freakishly strong creature, and firing shot after shot, never one stopping. Her anger seems to be rising.
It winds itself around the bridge, weaving between the supports below with a hiss.
Up above Jaune sees Ren, Blake, and Pyrrha with the Deathstalker. It's not looking good for them. "We have to get over there," he says.
Nora watches as Ren charges at the Deathstalker, and points her weapon with a determined look "Let's do this..."
Jaune looks down, "yeah, but I um... I can't make that jump…"
Nora just giggles at him and knocks him back forcefully with her weapon. A crazed grin on her face, the grenade launcher turns into a war hammer. She suddenly races forward and with brute strength, smashes it into the ground, causing the bridge to collapse from underneath them. However, having calculated the momentum perfectly, Jaune is consequently sent flying into the air. Nora then steps onto the hammer part and fires a blast, causing them both to go shooting forwards. Ren backflips as Nora comes flying over him and brings her hammer straight down on the creature's head.
Now THAT...is SKILL...
Unfortunately that skill knocks Blake off of the bridge when Nora has to dodge backwards to avoid a pincer strike. Blake sees the carnage above her and fires her weapon into the bridge underneath Angel's company.
She swings upwards on the length of material on the handle of her weapon while narrowly avoiding getting eaten by the giant centipede, and lands on the head of the giant Raven. She tries shooting it, and slashing it as she runs down it's back. Then she lands on the tower above next to Yang. "It's tougher than it looks!"
"So is this one," Smoke yells as the centipede charges them from the side. He dodges sideways, and fires a kick at its side that bounces off.
"So what do we do then!?" Angel yells, looking at each creature. Those things are certainly tough, but she's confident that they all have the skills to beat it...at least, she really hopes so.
Cinder lifts a large chunk of rubble, and shoves it in the jaws of the Nightcrawler as it charges, "Well we obviously cannot breach the armor, so we need to find a place where it is not armored."
Smoke shouts, "No shit!? Why don't I just pull out my "how to kick monsters ass 101" and look it up?!"
Eyes wide, Angel fumbles for the book that she found, and flicks through the pages in a panic to find the Nightcrawler's profile. "Hang on a sec! There might be something in here!"
"... You mean you actually have one?!"
"Enough Smoke! We need to buy her some time!" They both charge the monster ask Angel read the entry...
The Nightcrawler is one of the fastest, biggest, and most heavily armored of the Grimm creatures. The older ones, older being 50+ years, have the ability to produce electricity in their venomous pincers. Avoid at all costs, but if this is not a viable option then the less heavily armored parts of its body are prime targets. This includes the underbelly, and the joints in the armor where the membrane is shown. also the eyes are useful targets, and the only known kill spot is the brain.
Her eyes frantically scan the page until she yells "The brain! It says aim for parts without much armor, it's underbelly, joints in the armour and its eyes! Go for its eyes and blind it!"
Cinder nods, and rolls under it as it tries to bite her. She grabs one of its antennae, and Smoke leaps high over it, grabbing its other one. Suddenly two Ursa bone spikes shoot from the sky, and nail the antennae into place on the bridge. They look up in time to see Adam defending towards them, one more spike in his hand.
Smoke shouts, "Where were you, taking a nap?!"
Suddenly the tower behind them shatters as the Killraven flies right through it. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss are forced to use the falling rubble to ascend to more stable ground. Angel puts the book away, noting how useful it's been as of lately. She wouldn't mind borrowing it for a while longer. She glances behind her at the other girls. If that bird destroys any more of the bridge and it's towers soon there won't be anything else left to stand on...
Adam turns to her, "Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone seems fine, no-one is seriously hurt." She replies "Are you okay? You had me worried back there.."
He smirks, "Like I can't handle a giant bug."
Up above the Deathstalker yanks it's stinger out of the. Ridge that Jaune's group is on. He calls out, "We have to move!"
They charge the scorpion, and Phyra blocks one pincer with her shield. Jaune covers her back, the two of them exposing the head. Ren charges forward, firing a few rounds. He suddenly stops and leaps high into the air, grabbing the end of the tail, just close to the stinger, and firing again. Nora too fires a few blasts, however Ren is sent flying into a wall, and with a groan his body is smacked on the floor as he falls.
Jaune looks up, and notices the stinger hanging limply on the Deathstalker's tail. "Pyrrha!"
"Done!" In a move that would make Captain America proud she throws her shield, severing the stinger so it falls onto the hole in its armor on it ahead, sitting there firmly as Pyrrha catches her shield.
Jaune calls over his shoulder, "Nora nail it!"
"Heads up!" She yells and leaps into the air. She rests her grenade launcher on Pyrrha's shield before firing a blast which sends her flying into the air as she sits on the handle. Nora simply giggles and brings her weapon down full force on the head. She fires a second blast to propel her back to safety. Ren appears beside her and pants, promptly collapsing.
Up above Yang is using her wrist guns to fire at the Killraven, one shot catching it in the eye. It banks sharply, and flies at her with an open mouth. Yang jumps, and holds the beak open with one arm as she stands in it, using her free hand to shoot down its throat.
"I! Hope! You're! Hun-gry!" She punches a shot into the beast with each syllable, and then jumps to safety. The Killraven is so dazed from the barrage that t crashes right into a cliff. Yang lands in a kneeling position, and sees Blake standing on a pillar. Ruby stands on a shorter one between Blake's pillar, and another just like it. She smirks as she starts to see where this is going... She dashes for the empty pillar as Weiss speeds past her towards the monstrous bird.
Weiss leaps high into the air, sword at the ready. She twirls around and stabs her weapon into the ground, right next to the Killraven's tail, effectively freezing it into place. Smirking, she backflips away from the area, and Angel notes just how in sync they all seem to be. They're truly skilled...
Blake shoots her weapon to Yang who stabs it into the pillar, the length of material stretching between the two columns of stone now. Ruby fires her Crescent Rose into the ground, propelling her into the air, and onto the material. As gravity, and the force of her fall bring her back downwards their formation looks for all the world like a giant sling-shot.
Weiss holds up two fingers, pointing to where Ruby is positioned and creating some kind of holographic plate with what looks like a weird snowflake design. "Of course, YOU would come up with this idea..." She scoffs
Ruby either ignores, or doesn't pick up on the dog. She has eyes only for the monster, "Think you can make the shot?"
"Hmph! Can I..." She abruptly glares at Ruby "Of course I can!" Weiss readies her weapon and before anyone has time to blink, releases the pressure on the makeshift slingshot...causing Ruby to fly forwards.
Ruby blasts her gun a few times, hooking the scythe around the crow's neck, and slamming it into the cliffs. The force of this is enough to pull the crow put of the ice, and more of Weiss's white magic circles appear in a trail up the cliff.
With the crow choked for breath, Ruby runs up the trail, blasting her weapon for propulsion with a rising battle cry. When she reaches the top she fires her gun one last time, severing the head of the great fowl, and letting the corpse fall back down he cliff.
Adam aims his sheath at the Nightcrawler's head, and fires his sword at it. "Angel, blind it "
Nodding, she fires a shot at its eye...which abruptly misses "Oh shit..." She panics and tries again, but because she's shaking she just can't seem to get it dead on, which makes her panic even more.
The Nightcrawler tries to pull away as Adam's sword handle nails it between the eyes, and spins high in the air.
"Breathe," Adam says calmly. "It's not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Easy for you to say!" She whines, taking aim yet again. Another shot lands just above the left eye, and she growls in frustration. "I can't! I'm not good enough, damn it!"
Adam takes a step back so he's behind her, and lays his arm across hers. "Use your arm like the barrel of a fun, and use you first two knuckles as Sights..." He positions the weapon in her grip so the firing end is lined up straight for the left eye. Her thumb knuckle, and index knuckle act like Aiming Sights on a gun.
"Okay..." She sighs, blushing a little at his close proximity, not quite used to it. After taking some time to concentrate, she fires a few times, and successfully hits the left eye. "Finally...I'm so stupid..." She mumbles.
"We'll work on target practice later," he says, taking out the other eye with a shot from his sheath. The monster shrieks in agony at both shots. High above it Cinder grabs Adam's sword, and comes down hard on the head, stabbing downwards. She manages to penetrate the armor, but it's not deep enough to get to the brain.
Adam kicks the Ursa bone he brought into the air, and Smoke grabs it. He fires himself really high up into the air, and kicks the spine at Cinder. She yanks out the sword, and flips backwards as the bone hits it in the crack.
Smoke rockets himself towards the bone, "You have something on your face... IT WAS PAIN!" He flips, kicking both legs Ito the bone, and firing through the creature's head.
It rears up so intent that it rips it's own antennae from the bones nailing it. Cinder jumps off, rolling to her feet near Angel as Smoke lands by Adam. The Nightcrawler writhes, and shrieks, and doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Smoke complains, "This thing just refuses to FUCKING DIE!"
Angel throws her nunchucks at the creature, and sighs as she thinks about her previous performance. If Adam is helping her with target practice she sure hopes he has a lot of patience...
Adam takes his sword from Cinder as Angel's nuchucks wrap around its pincer. "Reel it in Angel." Cinder hugs her around the waist to help hold her in place. Angel does as she's told, gritting her teeth. Her hand starts to shake with the force. Adam sheathes his sword as the monstrous head is brought towards them. At the last second he draws his sword halfway, just as the pincers close on it. Electricity crackles along his weapon furiously for a few seconds until a sudden discharge blasts the creature back. Angel's nunchucks clatter to her feet as red energy seems to swirl around Adam.
He chuckles to himself as flecks of red appear in his gold eyes, and he leaps. He comes down on the creature, performing a Flash Slash where he slashes so fast, and sheaths his sword they never even see it leave the scabbard. The Nightcrawler's shrieks are cut brutally short as it abruptly explodes into red leaves.
Adam lands in the flurry, and calmly walks back to his group as the leaves disperse around him.
"Holy crap..." Angel gapes at him "Remind me never to piss YOU off!"
Smoke raises a finger, "Question... Why the hell didn't you do that earlier?!"
"Because it wouldn't have worked earlier," he replies, looking up. His eyes meet with with Blake's, a sad memory coming back to them. She turns, following her team as they start their way up the cliffs.
Cinder nods, "Well... I do believe we have a ceremony to attend."
"What kind of ceremony? Where are we going now!"
Since she is wearing a mask, Cinder smiles with her eyes, "We have our entrance ceremony. We just passed initiation I believe… Assuming you both still have your chess pieces?"
Smoke, and Adam pulled their pieces out of their pockets.
"Why don't we need one each?" Angel questions. "What happens to those who do get them..."
"I don't know," Smoke replies. "I guess we'll find out in a bit though."
...
At the ceremony students are pulled up to the stage in teams of four. The headmaster seems to be grouping them by the chest piece they each collected.
He puts Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune in one team, making Jaune the leader of Team Juniper. He puts Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Ruby in another, making Ruby their leader of Team Ruby.
And finally he calls Angel, Smoke, Adam, and Cinder to the stage. "From this day forth you four will be known as Team Eden, lead by... Angelique Quillute," he says, using the false name on her transcript as the crowd cheers. He nods a congratulations to her as Smoke high-fives Cinder.
Angel's face falls. What...the...
"No..." She whimpers, walking over to him "That's the worst mistake you'll ever make. They'll die if I'm leader, I'm not doing it. I CAN'T do it! YOU'RE INSANE!"
He just downright ignores her as the assembly splits up.
"Oi...OI! Don't ignore me, goddamnit!" She pleads. "I...you've made a mistake, you must have read out the wrong name."
He stops, and turns to face her. "Angel... I've made more mistakes than every man, woman, and child on this earth combined... But I don't think this is one of them." He bends at the hip so he can look her in the eye, "But for the sake of argument, why SHOULDN'T you lead Team Eden?"
Angel stares at him with a sad expression "Because I can't even shoot a giant creature, let alone lead a team. Take a look at everyone else, they're confident, they'll leap into battle without hesitation. Me? I'm the complete opposite..."
He smiles, "Angel, being a leader isn't about fighting prowess, or something equally fantastic. Leadership is about having a team willing to follow you. Loyalty, trust, and courage Angel, these are the qualities of a good team." He looks behind her with a smile, "Now look at your team, do you see what I see?"
Smoke waves, and Cinder nods to her. Even Adam watches her expectantly, not minding her leadership role in the least.
Angel stares at them "I see leaders...I see every single attribute that I DON'T possess. Leaders are expected to be nigh on perfect. I can't fight, I can't even socialise without getting shy, and I can't LEAD. Look at him," She points to Adam "He's a perfect fighter! He should be leader. Didn't you see him in that fight?"
"I did," he replies. "But from what I see in all these people are fighters, not leaders. Fate has brought you four together, and out of that four you are best suited for the mantle."
Angel stares at him, and laughs "Good joke there! After years of being told I'm not good enough do you really think I'll believe that? I admit, it's exciting, but even I know I'm not capable..."
He straightens, "Well you are right about one thing, leaders are expected to be perfect. Here's a secret though... Not a single one is." He sips his mug as he walks off, "I wish you four the best of luck."
Smoke jogs over, and throws an arm over Angel's shoulder jokingly, "So what's next, Oh Fearless Leader?" Cinder gives him a kidney punch, and he lets go of Angel.
"Well that was helpful," She mumbles, and sighs heavily. "I don't know what's next. And I'm not fearless." Angel glares at him
"Good, you'd be an idiot if you were," Cinder replies.
Smoke rubs his gut, and then stretches. "Well... It's been a long day... Who's up for some shut-eye?"
Angel nods "Where are our sleeping quarters?"
Adam watches the other new students, " I think we just head to the forms, and find an empty room."
Cinder checks a schedule book, "We have classes starting tomorrow at nine..."
"So it's like school? How exciting." She groans, and follows the other students "Do you guys not feel...insulted?"
Adam looks confused, "How would we feel insulted?"
"Because you all know your skills far outmatch mine, yet I'm leader...it's bizarre. What if I do something wrong?"
"Then you learn from it," he says simply. "If anything you can consider our skills as a wide margin for error."
Smoke sighs, "Not the most sensitive way to put it, but he's right for the most part. We got your back, Girl!"
"I don't doubt that at all. Hey...back before all the fighting, that guy said the first person we made eye contact with was to be our partner, so why are we in a team of four?"
Cinder replies, "Well from our initial contact in the forest pairs were cemented. After that it was up to random chance who we were paired with in four person units. I think that was meant to teach us that we may not always know who our allies will be. This hunt against the Grimm Creatures feels very much like open war to me."
"Why are WE even involved in this...we don't belong here...do we?" Angel asks her, chewing on her lip, a nervous habit from way back. "Do...we?"
Cinder shrugs, "Regardless, we're here now, and until we find some way back to Möbius we might as well start settling a life for ourselves here."
"Okay..." She replies quietly
Adam looks at them, "Möbius?"
"The place where we come from," Angel smiles "Where we live. Where all our friends are."
Adam nods slowly, "I see..."
Smoke opens a door, "Yo! Empty room!"
Angel walks past him and into the room "...Are we expected to share this?"
Adam looks around, "Four beds, two bathrooms...I expect so."
"But...why? Don't girls usually sleep in one dorm and the boys in another? How are we supposed to get privacy..." She blushes, and looks around.
Smoke rubs his neck, "Well we've already seen the chest of everything here with a Y chromosome, and despite my best efforts I have seen Cinder topless..."
The Echidna Faunus is at the moment inspecting the bathroom doors on either end of the room. "At least there are locks on these doors."
"Oh..." Angel immediately heads for one of the bathrooms "Excuse me."
Once inside, she slams the door shut and locks it, sliding down and sitting on the floor in an awkward position with her back against the door. Her head thumps back, the sound echoing in the room. Angel looks up at the ceiling, wanting nothing more than to cry...to let her emotions out.
"You alright in there?" Smoke's voice carries through the door. "No worries about privacy, we're doing our best out here to set up a curtain."
"'kay..." She replies, cringing as her voice breaks. The fear she's feeling is almost overwhelming. There's sounds of rummaging outside the door as the others leave her be. She hears Adam say, "It was an interesting choice to make Angel leader of this team."
Cinder says, "Judging from the other team leaders I think I suspect his motive for doing so."
Angel frowns, and listens in. She braces herself for hurtful comments, or insults, at least from Adam. Cinder and Smoke, she figures, would be gentle. But he seems like the type to deliver the harsh truth and not give two shits about feelings.
It's not like this was her choice anyway...
Adam says nothing however, allowing Cinder to continue.
"Cardin, a clear bully is a leader. Socially awkward Ruby is a leader, and if Jaune is a warrior then I and a three-toed sloth," Cinder says. "Like Angel they all lack something that I believe the mantel of leadership will provide them with."
Smoke asks, "So what is it in Angel's case?"
"Confidence," Adam says. "She has a good heart, and she would not intentionally lead us astray. However experience is the best teacher of all."
"Agreed," Cinder replies. "And any leader is only as good as the team they have backing them up."
Smoke chuckles, "Well then it sounds like we're all taken care of here."
Footsteps approach the door, and there is a knock. "Angel," Adam says. "May I see your weapon? I would like to make some modifications, and I think they will make it easier to use."
Angel hesitates, before standing, and opening the door. She holds out the device Adam gave to her in her hand. "Here..." She whispers "It's yours anyway."
He shakes his head, but says nothing as he carries it to the other side of the white curtain. Cinder sits on one of two beds on their side of the room, untying her mask.
Angel sighs, before walking to the window and peering out. She glances at Cinder, and thinks about what they had said mere moments ago. "...Why am I not confident?"
Cinder lets her mask fall to the bed sheets, "You have never felt a pressing need to be until now."
"But it comes naturally to most people...why not me?"
Cinder takes off her hat, and sets it on a nightstand table. He brushes her dreadlocks behind pointed ears positioned on her head just like a human's, almost giving her a fairy-like appearance.
"That's where you're wrong Angel, confidence does not come naturally. Not to me, not to Smoke, to no one. It stems from having dealt with life, and survived. A good example is today we survived an attack from no less than three monsters never even dreamed of on Möbius."
"That's true..." Angel breathes a laugh "But I long for the day when I can be put into a situation like this and feel everything BUT fear. I want to...be someone that others look up to. That instead of teasing me for being less confident than they are they point and say 'That's her...that's the girl everyone aspires to be'...y'know?"
"Indeed? Like who?"
"I don't know..." She sighs again "Maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself here. But it can't hurt to dream. What do you think the classes are like here?"
"Well they are going to be training us to fight monsters like the one we saw in the forest, so I would guess battle tactics, survival skills, and a few other things I may not be aware of yet. This world is so much different than Mobius."
"I know...it's scary, but at the same time it's really quite exciting!" Angel goes to sit on the other bed "Meeting new people, making new friends...a whole new place, and it's like having sleepovers every night!"
Cinder laughs with a smile. "Well... I suppose the only downside is the school uniforms... Skirts..."
"Ooh...skirts. Don't you like them?"
"I will admit they make leg movement easier," Cinder replies. "However I find them impractical for a fighter who wants to keep her modesty."
"You walk around topless for the world to see when you step out of the shower," Smoke says from the other side of the curtain.
Cinder turns to the white curtain, "Not for the world to see, and you learned long ago not to ogle me Smoke."
"...Very true..."
"...I am really glad that curtain is there..." Angel can't help but laugh "Why'd he do it when he knows you'd beat him to death?"
"Well he didn't at the time, it was roughly about the time we first met, and you know how he fancies himself a ladies man."
"Indeed...I'm thinking maybe he's going to get smacked around a fair few times here..."
Cinder smirks, "Doubt it, he spent three years dodging ME. He'll be fine."
"I'm right here," Smoke deadpans.
"We know." Angel laughs "Will we all be together for classes?"
"Probably," Adam replies. "I'll have your weapon ready by morning Angel."
"What are you doing to it?"
"Making it easier to shoot," he replies. "I figured something a little more standard was more your pace."
Cinder undresses, and slips under her blankets. "Sleep well Team Eden."
"Good night ladies," Smoke calls.
"Night..." Angel replies, and sits on her legs to give herself a little boost so she can peer out the window into the darkness, thinking about the days' events. She sings to herself in a whispered voice so as to not disturb the others, and her heart feels heavy with the burden of being dubbed "Team Leader".
