Chapter 4: The Emerald Forest
"I hope Ruby managed to land safely." I said to myself as I saw columns of green, black and yellow smoke tower into the sky, a sure sign that our titan hunter friends were down and maintaining communication with each other. I remembered Torrez telling Ruby earlier that if she had gotten lost to "look up at the sky and go in the direction that the smoke flares are going in to link up with friends." I took that advice to heart quickly and moved towards the now fading base of the green smoke column, hoping that I would run into Torrez or Ruby. Nope, it was two ursas. Nothing too troublesome, their slow and wide attacks were easy to dodge. But, one got my hair. I went mad and killed one, but before I could get the other one, someone else did. I noticed that it was the girl from last night, Blake.
"I could have taken him." I simply said, then we both went straight towards the temple.
"Alright, my blades slice clean through 'em! Weiss, looks like it's your lucky day!" I heard Torrez shout from behind me as I focused on my fighting technique.
"Remember you're training Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, not that forward, slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike and…now!" I thought to myself, launching myself straight at a Beowolf when I heard from behind me Torrez.
"Target locked, Beowolf at the three o'clock position! Ruby, strike it now!" Torrez shouted as they both attacked and killed the Beowolf I was attacking. I had to throw my attack in a different direction of the two, igniting a forest fire as all three of us were forced to back up to each other. Both Torrez and Ruby prepared to continue fighting, even as the forest was going up in flames around us.
"C'mon you two, let's go now!" I shouted as I grabbed them both moments after a burning tree fell in front of them and dragged them out of there as the Beowolves howled their own retreat due to the raging inferno. Making sure they both ran in front of me as we escaped, Torrez was cursing the whole way.
"Fucking Ice Princess! What's wrong, you scared that a little fire's going to melt you?" he called out as we finally stopped a safe distance away from the fire.
"What was that about, we could have taken all of them easily!" Ruby complained.
"For people who like to talk and bitch a lot, you're horrible at communicating with your fellow teammates!" I screamed, tired of the way Torrez was treating me.
"Maybe if you called out which of those bastards you were going after instead of being silent and listened better, then maybe all of this could have been avoided." Torrez explained as he showed me footage of what exactly he had been doing the entire time all of us were fighting, but he was also making a subtle point as well. After seeing the footage he recorded through a camera on his targeting system's lens, I realized that he and Ruby had been calling out to each other exactly which Beowolf they were going after but not once was my voice heard.
"Also, I'm only being an asshole to you because you're being an asshole to me and my friends. So stop trying to act like you're perfect which you're not and never will be and you'll get treated better by me." Torrez continued as we started walking towards the jungle temple, making me shed a single tear as we walked through the forest. Before long, he fired off a black flare into the sky, allowing his friend to know where he was.
"C'mon step lively now, we got artifacts to recover!" Shendaru called out to me and Pyrrha as he swung in the treetops above us thanks to his 3D maneuver gear. All three of us had been walking, or swinging in Shendaru's case, as we were searching for the temple. Shendaru though, seemed as if he knew something that me and Pyrrha didn't. We continued, but stopped after hearing gunfire.
"Sounds like Ruby's sister Yang lost a bit of hair, else her shots wouldn't ring out like that. Also, it seems like there's a forest fire raging now, I bet it was Weiss with her unstable dust!" Shendaru worried as we saw a black flare arc through the sky, showing that Torrez was alive and in danger.
"Torrez is still alive! God I hope he's okay." Shendaru worried as we continued on, but then I got hit in the face with a branch and was knocked down by it as well.
"I'm sorry Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed immediately after hearing my yelp of pain.
"I'm okay, it's just a scratch." I began as she helped me get back on my feet.
"Why didn't you activate your aura to protect yourself from the branch Jaune?" she asked, getting a "bless you" from Shendaru.
"You do know what aura is Jaune?" she asked me.
"I know what it is, but could you explain it to Shendaru since he probably doesn't know." I lied, but she had to of seen through it.
"Aura is the manifestation of our soul, it bears our burden and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing someone was even there?" Pyrrha questioned us both as Shendaru took some time to switch his tanks on his 3D maneuver gear.
"Yeah, especially when me and Torrez were out on our own scouting ahead of the Survey Corps." Shendaru answered.
"With practice, our aura can become our shield. Everything has aura, even animals." she continued on.
"Except for the creatures of Grimm and apparently titans. Both of these are the same because they have no soul henceforth no aura, right?" I questioned, but both Shendaru and Pyrrha assured me that I was correct.
"Everyone has both light and dark aura, and to be able to control both will allow you to manifest your own aura. All of our weapons and tools allow us to manifest our aura." Pyrrha explained.
"They are the darkness and we are the light, we fight not because we ask why, but because we must know." Shendaru began, but then realized something.
"Holy shit, Torrez already has his aura unlocked for three years then!"
"Wait, but you both only have been here for a few days. How can he already know how to manifest his aura already without practice?" I asked.
"Torrez's lineage was once hunters of demonic creatures from our original home world, which used similar techniques to what you guys used in order to slay the demons they hunted. I'll have him show you guys later when we link up with him and whoever he's with." Shendaru began as he walked ahead of us now, unwittingly leaving us behind as I decided to unlock Jaune's aura for him since his hasn't unlocked yet. I told Jaune to close his eyes and to relax and he did as I asked. I whispered to myself the chant that had been stated when my aura was unlocked while pushing my own aura through Jaune to allow his to flow free. Soon enough, I had unlocked his aura as he glowed white. I caught my breath as he opened his eyes and made sure that I was okay. I smiled and assured him that I was fine and that his aura was unlocked, and that he had a lot of it. He saw the white glow around him before it faded away, then I told him that we needed to catch up with Shendaru and we followed after him when he reappeared and began asking why we fell behind.
"Sheez, those two are taking their time. What are they doing?" I asked myself as listened for footsteps behind me. Hearing none, I turned back to see if they were still in the clearing when I caught a glimpse of Pyrrha and Jaune both glowing white and red for a moment before it died down and they exchanged some talk between each other that I couldn't hear. I kept to myself about the exchange, only thinking to ask Ozpin about this whole aura business later after completing this test. I stepped out from my piece of cover and questioned them about why they fell behind as we continued on towards what I hoped was the target.
"Everyone but Mr. Lunarius and Mr. Vertaxian have been paired up and are heading towards the Jungle Temple Ozpin. I feel sorry for Ms. Nikos, Mr. Arc is not ready for this level of combat yet. Also, if what Mr. Lunarius said about Mr. Vertaxian's skills are true, then Ms. Nikos shouldn't be expecting to get any chances to show her skills in combat." Glynda stated to me as I changed cameras to Ruby, Weiss and Torrez as the three of them argued about Weiss not admitting that she was lost.
"What did you use for artifacts this year anyways Professor Ozpin?" she questioned me, but I didn't answer her as I watched over the completed pairs, ensuring that the Initiation was going along well.
"Weiss, admit it." I began.
"No, because I know exactly where we're going and that is the forest temple." Weiss stubbornly stated.
"We're lost and you know it." Ruby replied.
"No, we're not! Besides, it's not like you two know where we're at anyways!" Weiss screamed this time.
"At least we're not hiding it and willing to admit that we're lost you bitch!" I screamed at her, finally giving up on her.
"C'mon Ruby, we'll continue on our own without Weiss. At least then we can find our way without the stuck-up girl who thinks she so perfect." I calmly told Ruby when a loud screech made all of us dive for cover.
"That's a Nevermore! Wow, I didn't know they got that big." Ruby began as the giant black bird flew overhead of our position.
"What the hell is a Nevermore?" I asked as I undid a sealing jutsu on one of my storage scrolls to release my ACR and readied it to fire in one swift action, surprised by how Ruby was keeping herself under control at the sight of a new weapon mere inches away from her.
"It's a rank S Grimm Torrez. It can use its own feathers as projectiles and the bone-like structure on its head allows it the ability to ram anything and not suffer injury to its head." Ruby explained to me, bringing Weiss into the situation.
"How do you know so much about that thing Ruby, aren't you still just a child?" Weiss asked, but I answered for her.
"Ruby's mother was a SS ranked Huntress, her father a scientist who studied the creatures of Grimm. Before you ask me how I know this, Ruby told me on the plane ride over here." I whispered to her, but then I noticed that it was heading in the same direction as the temple was. I pointed this out to Ruby and she came up with a plan to get us to the temple in mere minutes.
"Do you think this is it?" I asked as the three of us looked into a dark cave.
"Nope, but there's only one way to find out." Shendaru replied.
"I'll make a torch then." I sighed, quickly making a torch before we delved into the cave. But soon enough, both Pyrrha and Shendaru began questioning me.
"I don't think this is it Jaune." Pyrrha began as the three of us went deeper into the cave, my only request being that they both humor me for five more feet when I stumbled over something on the cave floor and dropped the torch into water.
"Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked.
"Soul crushing defeat?" I questioned her.
"No, the sudden warmth is what she meant Jaune." Shendaru answered with a hint of worry. I had only just noticed that the part of the cave we were in was unusually warm. We moved even deeper into the cave when I found something that was glowing gold a few feet off the ground. Thinking that it was the relic we needed to recover, I reached out to grab it. It moved away from me, causing Pyrrha and Shendaru to worry. I kept trying to grab it until I finally succeeded, then it lifted me off the ground. Pyrrha and Shendaru bolted straight out of the cave as I hung on to the Deathstalker's stinger for dear life, screaming that "this is not the relic, it's not the relic!" Once outside of the cave they were both yelling for me to hang on, but I didn't hear them over my own girly screams of terror. Soon enough though, the Deathstalker flung me away to who knows where.
"REMIND ME HOW YOU GOT US TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS RUBY?" I shouted at the top of my lungs over the rushing wind as all three of us held on for dear life as the Nevermore flew over the Emerald Forest unabated by our weight.
"I DON'T REMEMBER TORREZ, SORRY!" she answered me, while Weiss just cursed Ruby the entire trip. Soon enough and lucky for us, the Nevermore flew over the temple we needed to retrieve an artifact from in order to complete initiation. But, we encountered a problem when all three of us realized that the thing wasn't going to land nor did it have any intentions to land anytime soon.
"SO RUBY, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET DOWN FROM THIS THING ANYWAYS?" I shouted to her, but I already noticed her small figure thirty feet below the Nevermore.
"DAMNIT RUBY, DON'T LEAVE ME UP HERE WITH WEISS!" I shouted as I jumped off the Nevermore, leaving Weiss behind as she refused to release her grip from the talon of the Nevermore. I caught up to Ruby and grabbed hold of her as we free fell, then I told her my idea how to make sure we both survived the landing.
"RUBY, I'M GONNA ATTACH YOU TO MY GEAR'S FULL-BODY HARNESS TO CRESCENT ROSE'S SUPPORT HARNESS AND USE MY 3DMG TO GET US ON THE GROUND!" I shouted to her, hoping that I could attach her harness system that allowed her to carry Crescent Rose on her back to my 3DMG's full-body harness system. At that moment she reminded me how light Crescent Rose actually was.
"TORREZ, I DON'T USE A HARNESS TO CARRY CRESCENT ROSE! I JUST ATTACH HER TO A CUSTOM-BUILT PLATE ON MY BELT!" she shouted back, striking fear into my heart. I would once again have to watch a squadmate die as I rushed to come up with another plan to get us both down as the ground flew up to meet us as Ruby only let out a panicked scream of " I don't want to die Torrez!" as she clutched me as if I would be the last thing she would ever see.
"Well, looks like this is the place Blake." I began as Blake and I walked up to some collapsed ruins with what looked like chess pieces. We both looked over the pieces and I picked one out.
"How about a cute little pony?" I turned to ask Blake, but two loud screams silenced me. I looked up to see my sister Ruby in Torrez's arms as they both fell from the sky, Torrez's back to the ground as his now audible scream of "I'm not gonna let you die Ruby, I won't let you die!" reached our ears as a sudden silver flash of light occurred and they both impacted the ground.
