I stood before a large building with the sound of metal clanking as it echoed through the building. I pulled the door open and made my way to the room my scroll said Ozpin had rented out for me. I entered the room and inside I found a mass of machine and materials waiting for me to use. Having been taught by Aria I knew exactly how to use all the machines that surrounded me. Looking through the materials I knew exactly what I was going to build. Pulling a piece of paper from the table I began scribbling down the design then took to work.
The hours passed as I forged my creation till soon enough it began to take shape. A sudden knock on the door startled me causing me to jump from my seat and reach for the hammer next to me. My semblance activated instantly and the hammer was quickly engulfed in flame.
The door swung open and a familiar man entered the room. "Ah, Boone I didn't expect you to still be in the workshop. You should rest or else you'll have no energy for tomorrow's initiation." I stared at Ozpin in shock "What do you mean tomorrow! I've only been here for a few hours" I laid the hammer down and turned my semblance off. "On the contrary, you have been here for quite some time. Close to three days." Looking around me I tried to remember how much I had done.
On the table laid my newly crafted weapons and armor. Ozpin peered at my creations and a small smile appeared on his face. "These are fine pieces of equipment you have made. May I ask how you completed them so quickly?" I stared back at the man and began to fine tune the weapons. "I began making these years ago with Aria. I just needed to remember where I had left off" Ozpin left the room as I picked up my weapons and gear into a bag so I could take it back to my room.
Ozpin entered the room with a bag in his hand. "Tomorrow is a big day and you haven't eaten since you got here." Ozpin placed the bag onto the workbench and moved toward the door "Initiation starts at ten a.m. tomorrow please rest up before then." Ozpin left leaving me alone in the workshop pulling my bag of gear over my shoulder I grabbed the food and made my way toward my room.
Pulling the door open I laid my gear out for tomorrow and proceeded to pull the food out of the bag and began to eat my fill. After filling myself with the first real meal in three years I felt the three days of no sleep catch up to me. Slowly my eyes fell shut and sleep claimed me.
Sweat poured from my face as I looked at my scroll as it displayed the time. The scroll showed the time to be four a.m. Pulling myself from the bed I tried to forget the nightmare I had experienced. Heading toward the bathroom I began my preparation for the day.
Pulling my gear on I followed the directions the scroll gave me to the initiation Ozpin kept mentioning. Keeping to the shadows I avoided small groups of people wandering around. Slipping past a group of overly loud females I walked down a past leading to a cliff where a group of students waited at its edge.
Slinking to the back of the group I examined the crowd looking to see which individuals seemed to stick out. Of the large group, there was a handful who caught my eye. The first being a pair of girls chatting as if they had known each other for years. The first girl was tall with a long golden mane of hair. She seemed to be the most confident of the two as she had no hint of fear as she talked. The girl next to her was much shorter with covering herself with a red cloak as the blonde continued to talk nonstop.
The others who stuck out didn't talk much other than some black haired guy being bombarded by a redhead bouncing around as gave very little notice to her. To my left, some a blonde guy was talking to a redhead clad in a set of greek armor. The girl seemed entertained by the boy as she chuckled at his jokes.
The person who interested the most was a female standing in the back of the crowd checking out the crowd just as I was. Her black hair flowed down her back with a bow placed neatly on top. Looking into her eyes they a light amber color as the light reflect off them. As soon as I had looked at her she began moving through the crowd till she ended up on the opposite side. This girl peeked in interest in me as I instantly recognized the secret she was trying to hide.
Before I could make my way over Ozpin emerged with a blonde haired woman to his left. "This Is the most important day of the rest of your life. Today you will learn who you will spend the next four years with. Professor Goodwitch here will explain." Wth that the woman stepped forward and began to explain. "You will be entering the forest where your objective will be to collect a relic from the ruins of a temple. Please remember the Emerald Forest is filled with Grimm. The forest will test your skills as hunters and huntresses."
With that, the woman stepped back and Ozpin spoke. "One more important thing. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner. With that please take your places on the platforms."
Everyone proceeded to metal platforms lining the cliff edge many taking a stance preparing for what was coming. Ozpin made his way down the line till he stopped in front of me. "That is quite an interesting set of armor you are wearing Boone. It fits you quite well." with that Ozpin continued walking down the line.
What he said was true the armor I wore was much different from everyone else's in the group. Most wore armor made up of a metal chest piece gauntlets and grieves. I, however, had gone a completely different route. Over the past three days, I had crafted a full set of reinforced plastic body armor. Over top that I wore a tan trench coat that I had lined with leather to make stronger. What tied it all together was the helmet I had crafted. The mask had taken me the longest to craft other than my weapons. It was shaped like a skull fitting my head perfectly. Inside I had hooked up a hud system displaying an ammo count and Aurameter. The best part was on the neckline was a button that allowed the helmet to slide back and fold down into the collar of my armor
After finishing his walk down the line Ozpin looked at Professor Goodwitch and nodded. The Professor proceeded to hit a button on her scroll and soon the platforms began to launch everyone into the air. At the end, the blonde hair boy began to freak out as he figured out what was going on.
Feeling the platform on me buck forward I found myself sailing above the forest toward the tops. Adjusting my position in the air I slowed my descent and prepared to land. Reaching to my wrist I pushed a button on the metal gauntlets I wore and the gauntlet extended to cover my hand. Flying toward a large tree I reached out with my hands as they slammed into the wood.
The gauntlets slammed into the wood halting my descent toward the ground. Let go of the branch I fell toward the ground stopping myself every few feet with a branch till I had landed on the ground safely without any injuries.
With a quick check of my gauntlets, I made sure they weren't broken or damaged. Happy with how well my handiwork had held up I began making my way toward the ruins using the map displayed on my hub.
Halting for a break I checked my surrounding for any sign of Grimm. Above me, the tree above me rustled and I jumped back expecting a Grimm to appear. Instead I girl emerged from the tree holding a sword in her hand. The girl was none other than the black haired girl I had seen earlier in the crowd.
Pointing the tip of the sword at my chest The girl stared me down with an intense look in her eye. "Why and how are you following?" Surprised by what the girl said I took a step back only to have her shove the sword up to my neck. "Who are you?" Not taking the time to answer the question I knocked her sword away Then grabbed hold of her as she was surprised by my sudden movements. Holding her in place I reached up toward my helmet and clicked the button the caused it to retract.
Revealing my face I looked into the girl's eyes. "My name is William Boone and I'm your new partner!" Letting go of her I turned and picked her sword up from the ground. "If you would like to know I had no idea I was following you. I was just following the map on my hud." Holding out the weapon to the girl she nodded and took it from me. With a sigh, the girl slammed it into her sheath then stuck out. "My names Blake Belladonna. I'm sorry I tried to kill you." I took her hand I shook it. "No, its ok I would have done the same if I thought someone was following me."
With introduction over I activated my helmet and began to make my way toward the ruins. "Follow me the ruins are this way." As I said this A group of red eyes appeared in the bushes surrounding us. Blake immediately pulled her sword out holding the sword in one hand and the sheath in the other.
Activating a button in my gauntlet my weapon began to take shape as it began to move. Out of the side, a large curved blade extended from each side of the gauntlet stopping when it had reached out about two feet. On the back of the blade, a barrel poked out the back. The blades rotated on the gauntlet and the blade faced backward while the barrel was pointing forward. Pulling a clip from my coat and slammed the magazine into a slot with a click my weapon signified it was ready to go.
From the trees, a group of Ursa took their position around Blake and I. Looking at her she nodded and we immediately took action. Pointing my weapon at the closest Ursa a let loose a torrent of armor piercing round. The Ursa's armor held against the bullets doing almost no damage. Blake had dashed into the group of Ursa slicing at them with amazing speed.
Deciding to switch up the fight I rotated the blade around and dashed toward the Ursa I had been shooting at. Rolling under it arm as it swung at we I cut it along the back of its knee cutting straight through its armor. The Ursa roared in pain and swiped at me with its paws. Dodging the attack with ease I jumped onto its back and slammed one of the blades into its spine. The Ursa slumped down to the ground as I jumped off its back.
Blake had taken out two of the Ursa by the time I made it over to where she was. With only one Ursa remaining we charged sending a barrage of stabs and slashes at the Grimm. The Ursa dove at us with its arms wide open trying to give us a bear hug. Rolling under the paw I slammed the blade into the Ursa side. Blake did not fair as well when she tried to dodge the Ursa. The attack had hit her foot as she jumped over it causing her to slam into the ground. The Ursa pounced at Blake with it jaws wide pulling me along as with it.
Activating my semblance I sent a spout of black fire along the blade in its side. The fire burned straight through its chest leaving a large hole in its side. The Ursa hit the ground and slid to a stop a foot away from where blake laid. Pulling the blade free I allowed them to retract as I held out a hand. She immediately accepted the gesture and rose to the ground placing her weapon onto her back. Without a word we simply nodded at each other and returned on our way to the temple.
After walking for some time Blake and I emerged from the forest and in front of laid the temple or what was left of it. The temple was very small the floor was a small circle engraved with a pattern. Surrounding the perimeter of the floor pillars stood connected to what was left of what could have been a ceiling. On one side about a third of the wall remained to leave the rest open to the forces of nature. From the floor, there was a group of pedestals set in a large arc. On a hand full of pedestals where chest pieces of various colors.
Blake was the first to break the silence as she spoke "Chest Pieces?" Picking up a white knight I held it out to her. "These must be the relics we're supposed to collect. How does a white knight sound." As I held it out to her she walked over and grabbed it from my hand "Sure, why not." Blake threw the piece back at me. Snatching it out of the air I placed the chess piece in one of the pockets lining my coat.
As I walked toward Blake a loud piercing shriek came from the forest. The first thing I thought was some girl is in danger but this thought was quickly replaced. I looked over at Blake who had her head cocked looking up at the sky. A yellow and red dot flew down toward us as A nevermore flew overhead. "Are those two girls falling toward us" Blake looked at me and nodded. What the hell else could happen?
Speaking too soon an Ursa came bounding out of the forest skidding to a stop. A redhead with short hair jumped off the Ursa and kicked it. "Ah, it's broken" The girl held a large war hammer in her hand and proceeded to dash toward the temple. Picking up a white rook the girl danced around singing "I'm queen of the castle." From the Ursa, a male with long black hair with a single pink strand running through it stumbled over the beast back and hit the ground. "Nora, can we never do that again. Ever!"
Taken back their Arrival it wouldn't last as the two girl land on the ground with a loud thud. They both stood up and began to dust themselves off. The black and redheaded girl in the red cloak was the first to speak as we stared at them in silence. "I told you my idea would work Yang."
I looked at blake who gave me a shrug and we proceeded to walk over to the four newcomers. The girl in the red cloak kicked off the conversation immediately before anyone else could speak. "Hi. My name is Ruby Rose and that blonde bimbo over there is my sister Yang." The energetic redhead decided to take this as her chance as she began to spout nonsense. From what we got her name was Nora Valkyrie and the guy was Lie Ren.
I took the chance to reveal my face as my helmet turned into its compact form. "My name is William Boone. And this is Blake Belladonna." I stuck out my hand toward Ruby who immediately shook it." "Nice to meet you William, but we met Blake last night." I looked at Blake who only gave me a shrug. "Nice to meet you too and if you don't mind I like to go by Boone." Ruby nodded and a large grin appeared on her face.
From the forest the sound of trees crashing to the ground all made us turn and pull are weapons out. From the treeline, a redhead girl in bronze armor came speeding out as she shot at something in the forest with a rifle. Ruby Immediately lit as she saw the girl. "Hi, Pyrrha." Without hesitation, the girl looked at Ruby and smiled. "Hello again." Not a second later a deathstalker broke through the treeline with a loud shriek. Hanging onto was a boy. Pyrah went back to shooting at the creature as the boy held on for dear life. "Hold on Jaune we're coming."
Activating my gauntlet the blades shot out and locked into place. Behind me, everyone else prepared to fight as Jaune lost his grip and was launched into the air where he then landed next to us with a groan. "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can all die together." All eyes fell onto Yang as she stood with the mightiest of grins on her face.
Above us, a loud shriek echoed as a nevermore flew above. Now to giant Grimm stood in our path. "You have to be fucking kidding" Without a second's hesitation Ruby spoke. "Swear." "Wait what?" She looked dead into my eyes with her silver eyes. "You swore and that's not ok." Not knowing how to respond I shook my head and activated my helmet. "Ok let's do this."