Subversion

by CelticPhoenixProductions

Remnant is shaken by a catastrophic explosion, one causing panic around the globe. The Third Year Team RWBY, along with the other students of Beacon, find themselves dragged into a conspiracy bred by deceit and betrayal, spanning the world over. The threat looming, they must rise to restore peace, or die trying. INDEFINITE HIATUS [Cover by gin-1994 on DeviantArt]

4. Chapter 3 - Sprung!

Author's Preface: This one's a long one guys. Brace for a hefty chapter ahead and clear some time so you don't get lost!

-Suggested Listening: "An End of Dying", Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary OST-

---

RWBYS
Chapter 3
Sprung! Launched into the Emerald Forest!

-Beacon Academy, Common Room-
-Three Days post Desol Event, Morning-

"Hey… you gon'a ge' up?"

There was a prodding in his side.

"Oi, kiddo, I'm bein' nice in wakin' ya, we're gon'a be late ta initiation…"

More prodding.

"Fine, whate'er, sleep through me 'elp, guess yer missin' breakfast."

Lux shot up at that point, shaggy mint hair trailing a few seconds behind his jerky movement. Flapping his lips in morning fatigue the hapless teenager turned to his peer, another boy with smooth ponytailed red hair. Their gazes connected, pale lavender to sage-jade.

Lux smiled.

"Heya! Do you happen to know where we are?" he asked, closing his eyes to accentuate the grin.

The other teen just stared at him dumbfounded.

"We're at Beacon. In Vale. We're 'ere to learn ta fight…" the teen answered. "Or at least I 'm… Can't speak on yer behalf…"

Lux took in the words the stranger was speaking before nodding.

"Okay, sounds good enough," he flashed his pearly whites. "You said there was food?"

Once more the other student was silenced by the mintette's absentmindedness.

"Yes…" he said slowly. "'oo the 'ell are ye boyo?"

"Oh, me? My name's Lux! At least I think…" he responded, whipping out a notebook from his sleeping bag, tapping the pencil from his ear to the pages. "Yup, that's me, Lux Castella!" he replied, holding his hand out for the teen.

They shook hands, albeit rather awkwardly.

"Name's Sven… Heior…" the redhead replied, letting go of the grip.

Lux continued beaming.

"Anyway…" Sven started, standing from the crouch he'd positioned himself in. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his long silver coat. "Thought I'd wake ye up. Karma's been a right bitch wit' me recently an' I thought I'd score some brownie points by keepin' someone from missin' meal before initiation," the redhead explained, nodding to the doors leading from the hall towards the food court. "So, ye comin'?" he asked, lending a hand to the bagged man.

Lux took the hand. In one swift tug he was out of his bag and standing on the floor, the bottoms of his pajama pants brushing his toes. He cracked his neck and then his knuckles, stretching his arms to complete the wakeup motion.

Slowly his lavender eyes surveyed the hall. Sleeping bags we strewn about the floor, some neatly packed and ready to go, some left as they'd been slept in, some neatly piled near a wall for collection. Next to the pile was another assortment of items, clearly designated by person to be moved off to assigned rooms once initiation had finished.

The mint haired boy then noticed one more sleeping student, a boy with floppy fuchsia hair and an uneven set of ram horns casually splayed out around his sleeping bag not ten feet away.

"You didn't wake him up?" Lux asked, nodding to the last occupant of the room.

Sven shifted on the balls of his feet before rubbing the sore spot on the back of his scalp from his fall the day before.

"Me an' 'im didn't get off on the right foot…" the silver coated teen explained, glancing away from the sleeping figure.

"Looks like you didn't get off on the right horn either; he's missing one," Lux noted, squinting his eyes towards the jagged stump of a left horn. "You must've done some serious pummeling to break that thing off…"

Sven scoffed.

"Nah, 'e was always that ugly far as I can tell. Must've lost it few years ago or so… Yer prob'bly right though; one Helluva fight to break a horn…" the shorter boy noted. He glanced at Lux with a small grin. "You wake 'im. Do it meself, but I know 'ed not be 'appy to see me, 'specially after that whole 'out of line' crack I made the other day," Sven looked Lux in the eyes. "Look, Lux, right? I'll keep a seat open for you an' ol' ornery ova' thar. Just don' be too slow."

With that Sven grabbed a pair of deadly looking guns from the top of his rolled up bag, hooked them to his hips, and walked out the door.

Lux perked an eyebrow at the student's retreat before returning his attention to the sleeping man on the floor. Ever so carefully he edged forward, pulling out his notebook and writing down Sven's name along with his appearance. It always helped to have names down.

Circling the large and scraggly written name so he could easily find it, Lux lowered the open notebook to the sleeping faunus' ear. With a twitch of his fingers the book snapped shut, creating an audible 'pop!'

"WHOWHATWHERE?!" the faunus' eyes shot open. In moments he was bolted upright in place, hand desperately reaching out to his bag to the side. His fingers found purchase with a rather well maintained rifle that he quickly pointed down range, aiming at nothing in particular.

A minute passed before his senses returned to him. An irritated scowl crossed his face as he looked up to find Lux's smiling mug. With an irritated groan the sheep-man rolled his eyes and fell back to the floor, gun slipping to the wayside.

"Good morning Mr. Sheepy!" Lux grinned, finally standing to his full height of five-eleven.

The faunus combed his hand through lavender locks, scratching the base of his right horn as he did so.

"What time is it?" the boy asked.

"Breakfast time!" Lux answered, not missing a beat. The boy groaned before tiredly edging out of the sleeping bag and standing.

"Yeah, okay, thanks for the wakeup call… uh…" the faunus paused, trying to pull a name.

"Lux," Lux replied, just barely catching the unspoken question.

"Francis," the fuchsia-haired boy responded. Lux quickly whipped out his book and scribbled down the name.

"You're welcome Francis, though you should be thanking…" Lux glanced down at the book and scanned for a name. Damn he was bad with this.

"…Sven!" he exclaimed, shutting the book. "You should be thanking Sven, it was his idea to wake me up and by association you up," the greenette beamed.

Francis' eye twitched.

"Red hair?"

"Yup!"

"Stupid accent?"

"Could only be dumber if he came from Holkin!"

Francis sneered, collecting his things and placing them at the proper locations for delivery to his yet-to-be-determined dorm.

"I'll thank you," the faunus stated, walking past Lux, rifle slung over his shoulder. "Not the Islander."

The statement left a confused contortion on Lux's face.

"Who?" the blue draped boy asked with genuine intrigue.

Francis froze mid-step, eye twitching for the second time that morning.

"I'm… not… awake enough… or drunk enough… to deal with this…" he mumbled, pushing his fingertips into his forehead.

"We don't have the time either!" Lux yelled, looking from his notebook to a clock on the wall. "Apparently we've only got about ten minutes to shower and eat!" he screamed, legs beginning to move on their own. "C'mon! TO THE SHOWERS!" Lux declared heroically, grabbing the faunus' wrist and dragging him out of the room.

"HEY WAIT WHERE ARE YOU GOING? LET GO OF ME YOU IDIOT!" Francis howled as he was forcibly tugged out of the hall and towards the bathrooms.

He didn't manage to escape the hold.

It was going to be a long day.

---

-Beacon Academy, Food Court-
-Initiation Day, Late Morning-

The oatmeal was cold.

Okdes scowled, tossing his spoon into the mush.

He couldn't eat and now that he was hungry his food had chilled off. Figured.

His belly groaned and his nostrils flared.

Steeling his stomach he decided to continue eating the paste.

"You realize where you're standing, right?"

Okdes looked up, shoveling the flatware into his mouth at the same time. He cringed from the unpleasant gunk hitting his tongue but kept his focus on the disturbance downwind. The boy from the day before, Sven, was standing before one of the long tables of the food court, apparently locking wits with a girl with similar fiery hair.

"In a cafet'ria. Next to a table. In front of me friends," the boy remarked flatly. It surprised Okdes how well the sound carried in the room.

"Hmm… there's food, tables, friends to talk to… sounds like a pub to me…" came the response from the girl. Even from this distance the armor-wearing warrior could see the standing teen tense.

"Aye, still playin' at that, are ya? Fine, I'll find me own table… with-" the Islander was cut off as a piece of toast flew into his face. The food slid down, leaving a slick trail of butter in its wake.

Sven raised his finger to counter the point, but quickly closed his mouth and dropped his hand, silently walking away from the table, lunch tray now carrying an extra piece of toast.

Okdes gave a silent chuckle. Seeing the smartass get shafted was incredibly amusing.

Wait, is he coming over here?

Okdes stopped enjoying the moment. In moments the Islander was upon him.

"Yer… yer Okdes, right?" the boy asked, mouth moving in an uncertain pattern.

The paladin sucked in a deep breath before allowing a lengthy exhale.

"And you're Sven," he responded, shoveling in another spoon of oatmeal. He flinched as the bitter cool filled his mouth.

"Right…" Sven sighed, looking off to the side, eyes fit with genuine concern. "Look, I… I'm sor'y 'bout that crack yesterday. Yer pob'bly not an ovabearing lumberjack… prob'bly," the redhead muttered. "Do ya mind if I sit wit' ya? My… friends are still mad at me about somethin' from yesterday…"

Another spoonful of oatmeal. Blech.

Okdes dragged a finger through the hair on his temple. He huffed through his nose and nodded to the seat across from him.

"Watch your tongue and you'll be fine," the paladin stated plainly, laying down ground rules as soon as possible.

Sven complied, silently leaping over the table and sitting on the opposite bench. Okdes would have complained had the action not been quick enough to be barely noticeable.

True to the implication, Sven did not open his mouth aside from stuffing his full plate of food down his gob.

That didn't stop a peppy greenette and grumpy sheep-man from breaking in and ruining the mood.

"Hey! You buddy! Thanks for waking me up this morning!" the green haired boy punched Sven's shoulder lightly, taking up a seat beside him. Sven gave an elated sigh.

"Oh thank God you two made it fer breakfast…" the redhead noted, taking a bite of a slice of toast. His eyes drifted over to the sheep-boy. The teen looked rather well washed, yet incredibly bedraggled. "You 'kay there buddy?"

The faunus gave Sven a dead eyed glare while he set his tray down next to Okdes' seat.

"That. Thing." the lavender haired teen hissed, nodding to Lux. "Isn't. Human."

Okdes took one look to the hapless mintette, who was busy slurping down a cup of coffee.

"He doesn't look that bad to me…" the knight observed, shoveling down the last of the oatmeal. It hadn't been that horrid, in retrospect… just cold and mushy.

Okay, it'd been horrible.

"IT HAS! NO! SHAME!" the faunus exploded, pointing at Lux with a furious index finger. Lux merely shrugged.

"Oh c'mon Francis! All I said was that you needed to get naked! Everyone needs to do that to shower, even faunus do it… at least so I hear…" the guilty party defended.

Francis' eye twitched while the heat rose in his face, either from embarrassment or from anger, both were equally as plausible.

"I SHOWER AT NIGHT YOU BAFOON!" Francis sneered, brown orbs drilling into the airhead.

"'ey! Relax," Sven but in, trying to calm the mood. "We don' need this kinda stress right befer initiation!"

Francis' enraged gaze fell upon Sven. Okdes thought he saw a hint of recoil in the Islander's body language, but it was well disguised.

"And you," he snapped, taking an angry bite of a celery stick sitting on his plate. He wiggled the un-chomped end at Sven in a menacing fashion. "I'm still not letting go of our little encounter yesterday. You're day is coming, slurboy."

"CRIPES!" Sven yelled, throwing up his arms before crossing them. He piled them underneath his chin before resting it all on the table next to his tray. "Won't anyone cut me a little slack for a rough day?"

"You just don't get along with anybody, do you?" Okdes growled, casually observing Sven's overly dramatic mannerisms.

The Islander perked up to look Okdes in the mismatched eyes, a wry grin his only assistance.

"Eh, I make it a 'abit not ta make too many friends. Keepin' track o' 'em is a pain," Sven snarked, pulling his neck to the left. "Besides, me an' Luxy-boyo seem'd to've 'it it off!" he exclaimed, putting his arm around the green-haired boy's shoulder.

Lux quirked his brow.

"Who are you again?" the teen asked, staring deadpan at Sven with his lavender orbs.

Sven's eyebrows collapsed in on themselves.

"What?! If it weren't fer me yo' wouldn't've gott'n breakfast!" Sven panicked, gripping desperately at the boy's white hoodie sleeve. His gaze also fell on the faunus. " 'ell, neither would've you!" the redhead snapped bitterly.

"Yes, thanks for that, and also thanks for insulting my species you impaired asshole!" Francis spat (both figuratively and literally).

Okdes' hearing perked at that moment. If what the faunus was saying was true, his (admittedly pretty low) opinion of Sven just dropped into the negatives.

"I was chased by an angry woman with knives and barely made it to my first day of class, I wasn't in the best of moods," Sven explained, sipping from his glass of orange juice. The paladin noticed the boy's lip quivering with anger.

"Oh, so that gives you an excuse to be racist?!" Francis slammed his fist down on the table for emphasis.

"Why do yo' think I avoid work?! I avoid stress so I don't say stupid thin's!" Sven clarified, shoveling some egg down his throat.

"Drunk words, sober thoughts!" the faunus immediately snapped back.

"Look," the Islander nearly screamed. "I was a right ass yesterday, that's fine. Made a bad first impression, I accept that, but yer more stubborn than I can bear, so pleas', I'm beggin' ya, give me anether shot…" Sven pleaded, dropping his fork and shaking his flat hands together before him in a praying motion. His eyes were deadlocked with Francis' for the better part of a minute.

The faunus' nostril flared.

"…Watch your back in the field," Francis snapped, clicking his fingers right between Sven's eyes. "Because I will… through my iron sights," he stated, standing with his tray and walking towards the exit to the commons.

Lux leaned back and yelled after the boy.

"Hey, what's got your goat?" the greenette asked sincerely.

In seconds the lavender-haired form came marching right back to the table, gabbing Lux by the collar.

"Really? REALLY?! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO GET ME STARTED ON THAT AGAIN?" Francis snarled, baring his canines at the airhead. Before anything could happen Okdes stood and pulled the two apart, his superior strength dividing them from each other.

"Go, before we keep this going any longer…" he muttered to Francis. He kept his tone diplomatic, trying to avoid hostility towards the faunus' hair trigger.

Biting his lip Francis took the advice and stomped down the row, not looking back once. Okdes reclaimed his seat, downing the rest of his milk with a small cookie to top it off. Sven was about to open his mouth once more before Okdes stopped him.

"No more talking," the paladin commanded, his voice rife with irritation and resolve.

Neither Sven nor Lux continued the conversation.

The table fell silent.

Okdes smiled.

---

-The Emerald Forest Launch Station-
-Initiation Day, Nearing Midday-

The Emerald forest was quite the sight to behold.

A long, sprawling, uninterrupted patch of greens and browns of all varying heights and shades spanning out over miles of land, the wood was quite the exceptional piece of land. Ozpin quite enjoyed the forest, even with the local Grimm population being as high as it was. He fancied himself a walk each morning through the ancient oaks, if only to wake his senses.

Nothing like a good game of life-or-death chase to keep a man on his toes in his routine.

Nearing the end of his walk, he spotted an older man with peppered hair standing next to the launching station for the test of the new students. Clothed in fine white robes with golden trim, the man carried a large tower shield that was strapped firmly to his back. He peered out at the sky with quizzical eyes, his bespectacled face rife with worry.

"It's a terrible day for initiation, don't you think?" an old craggy voice sounded from his mouth. Ozpin didn't hesitate to notice the dark state of the sky himself, yet stayed quiet on the subject.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the first aid tent?" Ozpin asked back, looking down the rims of his glasses.

"Hmm?" the raspy voice replied quizzically. "Yeah, probably."

"Then why aren't you attending to your duties?" the Headmaster asked, his tone staying steady. The robed man turned to meet Ozpin's green eyes.

"Well, I wanted to see the view. Besides, you haven't sent them out yet. No one's going to die while I'm gone… well… probably not," the shield bearer shrugged.

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Father Jeremiah, I do believe I would prefer you down at the tent. You know, the one I'm paying you to man today…" the cane wielding man groaned, stepping off to the side.

"I'll leave in just a moment," Jeremiah responded, craning a neck back to the greenery. "I was just hoping you got my message about that one recruit to look out for, that Kali… Kallu…" the priest stumbled, tripping over his tongue.

"Eireen Kaliannah?" Ozpin asked, quirking a brow.

"That's right, the bitch with a weird name, that's her," came Jeremiah's response, nodding assuredly. Ozpin detected no ounce of remorse in the use of profanity. "She's crazy. I mean, I saw her firsthand, but she's crazy," the Father emphasized, motioning with both hands towards Ozpin. "Seriously, that girl shouldn't be in a school, she should be in a straight jacket," Jeremiah quipped, putting a hand over his face.

"You two would make good cellmates, I imagine," Ozpin responded with a small grin. Jeremiah ignored the insult (or didn't notice it).

"Anyway, I also wanted to let you know about that boy you sent me to examine last night. Young Corr is doing well, in peak physical form for a thirteen year old, even better in some regards. His aura is off the roof," the Father noted from his scroll log, his lips twisting to resemble a sturgeon's. "Which reminds me, what are you doing letting a thirteen year old into a school like Beacon?!" Jeremiah shouted, though his raspy old voice made it sound more like a quiet and hoarse cough.

Ozpin's nostril twitched.

"That is none of your concern. I ask merely that you take care of any injury the boy receives," the Headmaster commanded, sending a staggering glare the old man's way.

Most men would collapse under the piercing gaze. Father Jeremiah was borderline senile.

"Are you kidding? THAT MAKES IT MY CONCERN! You want me to keep a boy who's four years inexperienced alive from not just the deadliest creatures imaginable, BUT ALSO THE HORRORS OF A HIGHER EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT?!" Jeremiah exclaimed, shaking his arms to the sky. "By the Great White Moth that boy will be bully bait by the end of the semester. Heck! I hear Port and Oobleck are already taking a poll on when the boy will snap!"

The Headmaster's neck snapped violently towards his companion at that last comment.

"And who told them about Corr?" Ozpin asked, his lips attempting to morph into a snarl.

For once the Father was genuinely stricken.

"Uh… no one… they read the roster… yes…" Jeremiah explained, surreptitiously stuffing a small wad of Lien for the bet deeper into his robe sleeve.

Allowing a small sigh to part his lips Ozpin bowed his head and pinched his nose once more.

"He's listed as fifteen on the records, so it was either you or my dear Glynda… And you know how she gets when she's accused of something she's innocent of," Ozpin observed dryly.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, she does become kind of a bitch when she's caught in a lie…" he confirmed, nodding while scratching his chin.

Ozpin delivered a single death glare at the priest.

"Don't. Tell them. Again," he hissed, fingers tightening around his coffee mug.

"Never told them in the first place!" Jeremiah said, unfazed. He glanced at his open scroll. "Look at the time, initiation is about to start! I should get down to that tent, don't you think? Probably a student with a stubbed toe I'll need to amputate and all…" he explained quickly, heels digging down the hillside towards a white pitched tent near the base of the cliff.

Ozpin let out another sigh and sipped the last of his coffee.

Might actually kill that man one day… Oh well.

He put his cane in the hand with his mug, fitting the two together in a practiced hold. Retrieving his scroll from its pocket in his suit he pulled up a direct line to Goodwitch.

"Ms. Goodwitch, I do believe it is time to assemble the students for initiation. If you would please lead them to the cliffs, we may get underway."

---

-The Emerald Forest Launch Station-
-Initiation Day, Midday-

"Well… that's a bit of a drop," Dante noted grimly, leaning over the cliff face.

"It's not that high," said the boy next to him, also peering over the edge.

Dante glanced to his right to observe the teen, though the black cape the figure was wearing made getting exact details impossible. The boy's face was the only clearly identifiable particular; soot-red hair mixed with a tan complexion, all tidied up with a low ponytail tightened by an ebony ribbon. The only other distinguishable things on him were the curled wing imprinted on the back of his cape and the rather long cross-like pole-arm that was nestled in his grip.

"Says the guy whose clothes could act like a parachute…" Dante scoffed, leaning back on the pad he'd been told to wait on. The metal creaked under his foot. He cringed.

The teen gave him a glare before returning to his own pad.

"Actually, I find my inflated ego to be better at offsetting my weight," the boy returned, continuing in the same monotone.

Okay, that was good, Dante chuckled. He could appreciate self-deprecating humor, especially if said with a straight face.

"I'm Dante," he introduced himself, holding out his hand. The teen glanced down at it and simply looked Dante in the eyes.

"Luthais," the other teen responded coolly, not even giving a nod.

Dante bit his cheek. This was not someone he was going to get along with.

"Did I hear Dante?" came a voice from his left.

Dante closed his eyes and groaned internally.

Well if Sven's here, makes sense that they would be too…

"Laviana…" he began, turning to face the brunette staring expectantly not four spaces away. They each leaned out a bit to talk better. This also helped confirm his suspicions as he saw the last two of the regular gang behind her. "Aveline, Jake, been a while."

Laviana put her hands on her hips and gave him a pout, fingers twining with the belts on her waist.

"Two years Dante, that's just not fair," she huffed. "Not even a postcard, what've you been up to this entire time?"

Fire and blood flashed through his eyes. He blinked and the image was gone.

"Just… doin' my thing," he answered with a strained grin. He hoped they didn't notice.

"How the hell did you get into Beacon?" Aveline asked, jerking forward out of the line to look Dante in the eye. The silver fedora atop her head almost slid off with the action. She fumbled a bit but managed to catch it before it fell.

"I took all of my qualifying tests in private, that's why you guys never saw me," he scratched the back of his head, giving an embarrassed smile with closed eyes.

Aveline's face twisted into that of an angry hippo.

"WHAT?! You mean we could have kicked back, skipped school and taken the tests later?!" she asked, baffled. Dante chuckled.

"It's not quite that easy. I still had to study like crazy for the written segments," he responded earnestly.

The last person in line leaned out and gave Dante a short wave, only slightly ruffling the fluffy collar attached to the arm.

"Good to see you again Dante," Jake said curtly before stepping back in line. Dante could only smile at the predicable response.

Jake's probably the only person quieter than mister loudmouth here… Dante snickered silently, glancing at Luthais. Then again, it could be the other way around… maybe they're tied?

"So why haven't we seen you until now?" Laviana prodded, the center of her forehead wrinkling. Dante gave a jostle of his shoulders.

"Luck I guess. Ran into Sven though. Surprised he's not standing with you guys," the teen returned with equal curiosity. "Actually where's he now?"

There was a small rustle from farther down the line of forty students.

"THA'S 'CAUSE AV'LINE WANTS ME DEAD!" came an answer. Dante turned and looked down the line to see Sven waving to him from a considerable distance away. The redhead smiled before freezing and sliding back into the crowd just as a rock sailed by him. Dante looked back to his left to see a huffing Aveline recoiling from a throwing stance.

He smiled and shook his head.

I guess things haven't changed all that much… he sighed, a small smile coming to his lips. It faded rather quickly though, as just a small flicker of flame flashed across his sight. But things still changed…

"I-I think the Headmaster's about to talk…" the boy to Dante's left commented, pointing to the rapidly approaching duo of Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch.

Dante nodded before doing an immediate double-take.

I… what, you gotta be kidding me!

The kid next to him was just that; a kid, no more than fourteen. The boy wore a high collared dress outfit, vaguely military in design, though it seemed to be made out of a strange rubbery material. It seemed like part combat armor, part military uniform, black with gold trims and bobbles along the joints and at selected symmetrical parts of his torso and back.

Initially it appeared to be a singlet, but upon closer inspection he could see the suit was actually divided at the waist, though still connected through the strange circuit trims. Aside from his cherubic face and bobbed iron hair his hands were the only pieces of skin still exposed. His stern red eyes gave a solid gaze towards the approaching teachers. He looked ready to kill.

Still… he's just a kid. What the hell is he doing at Beacon?

"If I could please have your attention," a voice floated on the air.

Dante craned his neck to look at Professor Goodwitch, his attention somewhat divided between the literal kid standing next to him and the taskmaster standing at the head of the class.

"Today your initiation will begin," the teacher started, locking eyes with as many individuals she could. "You will be launched into the forest and tasked with collecting one of the objects mounted in the ruins on the far side of the wood. I have also heard murmurs among you about teams, so we shall address that immediately. Teams will be decided today, during the test."

A loud muttering rose through the crowd as the Huntress explained the situation. The ever-present Headmaster decided to step in at that moment and pushed Glynda aside to address the gathering himself.

"The first person you make eye contact with after you land will be your partner for the remainder of your four years here at Beacon. So I suggest you be careful with where you direct your gaze, lest you be met with an incompatible teammate," Ozpin continued, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Each pair will retrieve one of the totems and full teams will be matched from an undisclosed process," he explained, making a small gesture forward with his mug.

"Oh, and one more thing," Ozpin paused, sipping from his cup before continuing. "Grimm live in the forest."

There was another wave of muttering. Some of it was scared, another section oddly excited.

"Do not hesitate to kill anything in your path. We have agents on standby to observe and to retrieve the unconscious or dead. However the proctors will not intervene in your fights. Either you protect yourself or you will perish…" he stated nonchalantly.

Dante tensed up, his fingers running over the partially sheathed Cold Dust trench knives at his side.

"You will be arranging your own landing strategies. Godspeed," Ozpin declared, pulling the lever to the catapults.

Dante glanced left as Jake was the first one flung by the panels below, the boy having already assumed a proper launching stance. A second later was Aveline, who gripped onto her hat as she hurtled into the sky. Laviana soon followed, one hand firmly on her sheathed cutlass and the other free to do whatever she deemed necessary.

There were two more students before the chain would reach the young boy standing next to him. And of course after that would be his go.

He scowled, thinking of the optimal landing strategy. With a twist of his mouth to the side he drew his trench knives, holding them backhand, griping them tightly and testing the connection between his weapons and his aura. Feeling the energy flow freely he assumed a stance that would give him the best possible forward momentum while reducing both his upward and downward speed.

It was the boy's turn. The kid crouched and pressed his open palm to the metal pad, spreading his legs as wide as he could across the cool material. The roughly triangular stance finally finished the boy closed his eyes. The pad fired and he disappeared into the clammy sky.

Dante widened his legs and steeled his nerves for the shock.

I can do this.

A flicker of fire drifted across his vision.

I have to do this.

The pad fired and he sailed off into the cloudy daytime air.

---

-The Emerald Forest Launch Station-
-Initiation-

Sven watched with giddy anticipation as the first of his fellow classmates began sailing through the air. He knew exactly how he was going to play his 'landing strategy'.

"So Luxy-boyo, fancy teamin' up? I'm pret'y sure I could play tha system wit' 'is one," Sven asked, leaning over to his green haired friend.

The airhead gave a shrug and a small smile.

"I think I'll be happy with whoever I end up with, but yeah, I'd be fine teaming up with you… you…" Lux responded, putting a finger to his lips. "Who are you again?"

Sven opened his mouth to respond but quickly shut it, shaking his head and gritting his teeth in irritated disbelief.

"Nev'r mind, just 'ope I don't wind up wit' 'orn-head ov'r there," the redhead sighed.

"You might want to get into a proper stance, your pad is coming up young men," Professor Goodwitch noted, taking stock of the boy's brief back and forth. The teacher glared at them from her position about ten feet away.

Lux immediately looked down at his feet and widened his posture, drawing a pair of strangely designed ice-picks from slots in the climbing harness adorning his torso. Sven could see a microfilament wire connected between the bottom of the pick-hilt and the body rig. The blue sickles were about as long as the boy's forearm and were stained a slick silver color to match the white handle.

"Fancy toys there Lux," Sven commented, drawing his own pair of weapons.

"Thanks Sven," Lux smiled, staring directly at him.

Sven's eye twitched.

"Pay attention!" came the authoritarian decree. Sven's eyes immediately snapped forward, noticing the chain of launch participants was nearing him and Lux.

However, that did not stop him from musing quite the curious matter. As he articulated his thoughts he failed to see the greenette launch right next to him.

"I'm sor'y, Professor Goodwitch, but I jus' 'ave ta ask: if yer Glynda Goodwitch, wo'ld tha' make yer evil twin sister Blinda Badwi-?"

Sven was cut off as he found himself suddenly airborne in a distinctly diagonal direction. Finger still outstretched, Sven swished his lips, not even bothering to finish his thought.

Right… well… shoulda seen that one comin'… he thought tiredly.

Briefly he felt a sudden case of déjà vu wash over him. He immediately ignored it.

He looked down and was unimpressed with the fall distance before him. The canopy of the trees was probably no more than fifty feet below him.

Plenty of space… not much of a challenge really… he sighed, flipping in the air from his upside-down position so that his feet were once again oriented with the planet.

Exhaling he focused ever so briefly on his boots. There was a warm click as the dust compacted in the heel mixed with the spiritual energy of his aura, engulfing his feet in a halo of black sourced silver light.

Two seconds pasted before the gradient of color made contact with the leaves of the trees below. However, instead of dropping through them, the energy suspended Sven above them. In moments he was whizzing over the canopy, easily speeding past miles of trekking distance and completely breaking the concept of 'walking'.

He leaned into the glide, slipping even faster into the noontime light.

Now this is the life… No nasty Grimm, no getting stuck with lousy teammates, just me an' the freedom of the air…

After about ten minutes of nonstop sliding atop the endless sea of trees, Sven finally gazed upon the ruins that had been mentioned by the professors.

The structure consisted of an elevated mossy stone platform that was surrounded by a number of chiseled marble pillars that had once held a roof. The remains of a surrounding wall curved around three of the five standing pillars, leaving the once proud stone to be beaten and tattered by the elements.

On the inner ring was a set of pedestals made from smooth stone, each about waist high and containing a different item. Upon closer inspection the objects were slates of metal shaped into ornate face masks. The pieces of headwear were obviously decorative in nature, having no visible way to secure themselves to a person's face.

Sven waltzed into the temple, noting that none of the masks had been taken.

"Great, first one 'ere!" he declared happily, snatching up one of the more simply designed masks.

The material felt as though it were made of porcelain, though its weight betrayed the fact the mask was definitely more than met the eye. Sven eyed it with curiosity, seeing as the piece only had only its right eye and the right half of a large curved smile. With an understandable curiosity he flashed the mask over his own face, putting his right eye in line with the socket. Nothing happened.

"Load of crock this is, ain't anythin' special wit' these bloody things," he muttered, shoving the piece into one of the pockets of his jacket.

Looking up he caught the sight of something. Not too far a distance away was a chasm, one that housed similar structures to that of the small hut he stood in now. Sven rushed forward and after a minute of running he finally came across the remains of an impressive ancient civilization.

"Holy 'ell…" he whispered to himself, surveying the distraught and injured stone platforms with amazement.

Aside from the obvious time wear there was evidence of battle buffeting the landmark. Crushed stone, burn marks, singes and chip were scattered all about the site, even the lack of all but recent vegetation betrayed the heartily tread nature of the masonry.

"Impressive isn't it?" came a familiar voice. Sven turned to find the twin-toned eyes of Okdes staring down his own green orbs.

Sven hitched a breath. Eye contact. He and the man were now tied for the duration of schooling. Okdes seemed to share this reaction, a small flare in the left tip of his lips betraying his displeasure.

"Aye," the Islander finally responded, returning his gaze to the impressive wreck. "We're partners then, eh?"

The bulkier teen strolled up beside Sven, sleek suit of armor encasing his body almost perfectly. Only his deep brown hair and scrutinizing gaze remained exposed to the elements. Sven couldn't help but notice the crossed long swords below a halo etched into the teen's left shoulder plate, nor the unreadable script scribbled into the armor's collar.

Well… we are going to be partners… I'll ask about that stuff later.

"It appears so… didn't run into anyone else on my way here. Just don't get on my nerves too badly and we'll be fine," Okdes explained, giving a quick shrug.

"I make no promises," the Islander responded cheekily. Okdes shot him a glare of irritation. The redhead shook his chin.

"Anyway… 'owed you get 'ere so fast? Thought I'd be 'ere for at least…" Sven closed one eye and stuck out his tongue, looking off to the side with his one open sphere. "Twenty more minutes befer anyone else 'rrived…"

The paladin looked around and pointed in the direction of the cliffs where they had come.

"I actually arrived at Beacon by wandering through the forest for a couple of days… I remembered the way here from when I passed by. I was hoping to get here before other people, but you already know that's been dashed," Okdes responded, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You weren't accepted through a school?" Sven picked up quickly, addressing the inconsistency almost instantly. Okdes grunted as he made his way to the small 'shed' that housed the masks.

"It's a long story, not going to explain it to you, at least not right now," the knight remarked, continuing his languid stalk. Sven walked up behind him and laid a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I've already go' a mask. We're fine on tha'," Sven explained, flashing the theatric piece to Okdes.

The knight paused and observed the mask before nodding.

"Alright then, we need to get out of the woods and back to Beacon," Okdes explained, changing his gait towards the tree line. "Fastest route is this way. Should make it back in about half an hour if you can keep up."

Sven grinned and walked up besides the more imposing figure.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty good on my feet," the Islander answered, falling in line with the brute.

"Helphelphelphelp!" came a panicked voice. Immediately both sets of eyes fell upon the expanse of green and brown ahead of them.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU IDIOT?" came a second voice, this one easily more frustrated with the first.

Moments later a stricken green haired boy broke the barrier of trees, speeding past Sven and Okdes and into the totem temple. Behind him was a slightly slower sheep faunus with fuchsia locks that blended in with his furiously red face.

"Got one! Let's go!" Lux shouted, reaching one of the pedestals and retrieving a mask. He lifted it up for the exhausted Francis to see, the poor sheep man completely out of breath.

"You idiot don't stop moving! We're dead meat if that thing catches up!" the faunus yelled, wheeling around to aim a rifle towards the woods.

Sven and Okdes followed the man's gaze just as a massive shadow blocked out the already cloudy sky.

Rain started to pour as an owl the size of a house ascended from the foliage. A thick white mask adorned its face, turning the beak into a downward spear to match the spiky tips of its wings and the spines rising from its back.

The pair of fresh partners gazed at the thing, awestruck by both its size and its apparent speed.

"Well…" Sven muttered, drawing both his automatic pistols and taking aim. "Shit."

---

-Midair over the Emerald Forest-
-6.8 Seconds after Initiation Launch-

Well… this is really exhilarating , Lati thought as she hurtled through the air. I wonder how high up I'd have to get so I could stay flying like for a few minutes… she pondered briefly.

So… landing… how should I do this? She asked herself, fingers gripping the grappling hook buried under her mountain of belts. Wait… is that a tree?!

Yes, indeed. It appeared the brunette was rapidly approaching a large tree that was bare of all but a few branches. Using her grappling hook would be pointless. Her hands fell to the saber at her waist and swiftly loosed the sword from its sheath.

Reacting to the oncoming mass quickly, Lati managed to wedge her cutlass into the rather thick tree trunk midflight, leaving her dangling by the blade's hilt. Her knees swung forward with her momentum and crashed into the tall oak, scraping the skin and denting the bark. Chips flew out of the three impact points, showering the ground below her with debris.

The sideswipe in her hair had come loose during her descent and impact. With an irritated huff she blew it out of her face.

Glancing down she noted that there weren't any branches well within reach to climb to, nor were there any that were close enough to get a stable foot hold. Taking her chance with a straight fall to the forest floor she wiggled her sword… and quickly realized it was stuck.

Sighing with a frustrated bite of her lip she pulled herself up closer to examine the impact site. The gleaming steel saber was caught in a particularly gnarly knot of the wood. She frowned considerably more, realizing she'd have to expend a round of ammunition to escape the tree's fiendish hold on her beloved Greig.

She pulled back and rotated the roulette chamber at the top of the hilt, cycling it so that a small white slot was loaded in the firing chamber. With a determined breath she pulled the lever serving as the finger guard of the weapon, her finger tightening around the ring sticking out its side that made the trigger easier to manipulate while in combat.

There was a loud pop as the dust-based projectile rocketed through the spine of the sword before exiting out the tip of the blade where the hidden barrel came to an end. Lati tensed her body just as the bullet made impact on the tree.

One moment the ancient oak stood tall and proud among its spruce and conifer siblings; the next it was engulfed in a shower of thunder and lightning, cracking all the way down the spine. The top half of the tree burst into mulch, raining pieces of smoldering wood chips upon the immediate vicinity.

Lati was forcibly ejected from the impact, her sword now free and flying with gusto along with her iron grip.

As she flew she couldn't help but ponder what the rest of her plan had been. Yes, getting out of the tree had been a priority, but then she neglected to think what would happen if she succeeded. And now she was moving horizontally much more quickly than she had anticipated. Before she could decide an emergency course of action she made impact with something. What surprised her was that this something was relatively soft compared to a tree trunk and gave off a very feminine "Oomph!" as she crashed into it.

Lati didn't even manage to get her bearings before she and her 'cushion' slowed to a grinding halt mid-fall.

"Well that's one way to make an entrance…" came a calm alto voice. Lati opened her eyes, which had been screwed shut since the explosion, and looked up into the face of a girl with purple hair and a pair of elongated goggles that examined Lati silently. The girl wore a wry grin. "I don't know what that tree did to you, but my side is sure regretting it right about now," the girl joked, nodding to the set of ribs Lati had crushed in her fall.

The brunette looked around her and noticed that they were being suspended between two tree trunks and a branch by a wide three-pronged flower, the center of which formed a ring that the girl was latched onto.

"I…" Lati stuttered. She blinked as her right mind returned to her. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She mumbled, dropping down to the, now considerably closer, dirt floor.

The girl smiled and shook her head, doing a rocking motion with her legs. She did a frontward flip and dislodged the flowered arms of her weapon. The pieces slid together to form a long sharp red and gold cone that tipped itself sharply. A handle extended out of the bottom which the girl grabbed. The pommel of the lance dropped to the ground, digging into the soft earth.

"No problem. I imagine I'll have to get used to it," the girl said removing her goggles and flashing her turquoise spheres at Lati. "Looks like we're partners now," she smiled, extending a fingerlessly gloved hand. "Call me Nikko."

Lati smiled. While she'd planned to team with one of her friends and was slightly irritated that she wasn't, at least this girl was nice. She returned the gesture, the two shaking with strong arms.

"Lati," the brunette grinned, sheathing Greig with her free hand. Nikko's eyes darted right to the weapon, her fingers darting down to touch the pommel.

"Oh! Hey! Never seen a Saber Powered Roulette Blade!" the goggled girl whistled, thumbing the nub at the bottom of the hilt.

The sudden action caused Lati to jerk back and cover her weapon with her hand.

"Hey, hey, hey! Just because we're partners now doesn't mean you can get touchy feely with my sword!" the brown eyed girl exclaimed, backing to a fair distance from Nikko.

There was a silence between them as what Lati said sunk in.

The brunette's cheeks instantly flared as her ramblings finally caught up with her thoughts. Nikko, on the other hand, went beet-red for another reason entirely.

"Hahahaha! You're right! I should at least buy you dinner first!" Nikko chortled, letting the heavy laugh flow right through her pearly whites. Lati simply narrowed her eyes and averted her gaze to the ground, shaking with embarrassment.

Damn you Sven, you and Aveline are rubbing off on me… she cursed silently. A thought secondary to that one ran past her mind, perverting the last few words. Another blush crept up her neck. DAMNIT SVEN!

"Ah… hahaha… ah… ah… ow…" Lati's inner suffering was interrupted by Nikko's gradually worsening laugh. The purple haired girl clutched her side and fell to her knees.

"Ach! Nikko!" the brunette ran to her new partner's side, internal swears momentarily forgotten. The mechanic grunted as Lati wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I think maybe catching you wasn't such a great idea…" Nikko admitted, grasping her ribs tightly. The rugged girl gritted her teeth and pulled up the deep violet shirt to expose her belly. Lo and behold her entire left side was covered in sickeningly dark splotches.

Lati tentatively laid a bare finger across the bruises, earning a sharp hiss from her savior. An idea popped into Lati's head.

"Oh! Here, I've got some of that medical dust gel that Seele Inc put out last month!" Lati explained, fingers dropping into one of the pouches on her belts. The nimble phalanges retrieved a vial of green goo that she was quick to pour onto Nikko's side. Soon she was lathering the cream over the girl's injuries.

"What about 'no touchy-feely?'" Nikko giggled, smiling with a slight wince as the fingers brushed particularly bruised portions of skin.

Lati smiled at the wit.

"Don't be a smartass," the brunette replied, massaging in the gel properly. "I don't like seeing people get hurt, so I take care of them, fair enough?" she noted, giving one or two more good kneads of the slick material. "There," she pulled Nikko's shirt back down. "I suggest using your aura to speed that up."

"Thanks a bundle," Nikko nodded, a dim turquoise glow surrounding her ribs. The girl tested her arms briefly to make sure they were moving properly. She winced once or twice more but seemed comfortable with the treatment. "Though I still don't think it's fair you got to touch mine and I didn't get to touch yours," Nikko giggled, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh God, you're almost as bad as Sven…" Lati groaned, leaning back and covering her face with her palm. Nikko perked at the name.

"Sven? Wouldn't happen to be a guy from Islet, about ye-tall?" the purple haired girl asked giving an indication of height with her flattened fingers.

"Yeah…" Lati started, raising a brow. Nikko gave a wide smile.

"Aw! The friends list multiplies! He's a cutie," the mechanic laughed, clutching her side as the momentary sting returned.

The brunette simply groaned.

"Anyway," she said, rapidly changing the topic. "I think we're headed that way," Lati explained, pointing due north-east of where they stood. Nikko glanced that way and gave a firm nod.

"I think you're right," the goggled girl responded, slinging her lance across her back.

Without another word the pair began making their way through the wood, using the wide stretches of clear grass between the trees as a makeshift path.

"So are you ever going to let me see your weapon?" Nikko asked once they were a tad farther away from where they landed.

Lati glanced back at her new comrade before returning her eyes to the trail.

"It's not a Powered Roulette Blade," Lati explained, fingers curling around the weapon's hilt defensively.

Nikko snorted.

"Well I could tell you that if I could see the damn thing," the girl responded indignantly.

The brunette rolled her eyes.

"Well only I touch Greig. No one else. Clear?" Lati clarified.

"Greig? Your sword? I suppose I can understand that, though I'd argue a piece of fine craftsmanship should be handled to get the full experience," Nikko grinned. "So if it isn't powered I take it that it's a Roulette Gunblade? That's the only other arrangement they come in so…"

Lati gave an affirmative nod.

"Cool, never really got the chance to see one in action before, looks like they pack a punch if they can take out a tree like that," the mechanic noted whimsically.

"Oh just you wait til…" the brunette trailed off, the smirk on her face fading as they came to a clearing with a high canopy of leaves. In the center sat a fine, silver fedora, gently resting right-side up in the dirt.

Without hesitating Lati looked up to find the dangling form of Aveline, the redhead's fine locks splintering out from her head into the wind. Next to her, more surprisingly, was Jake, who was swaying just as much. Aveline looked up from her poorly set position and smiled at Lati.

"Heya," she said with a false cheeriness. She struggled against the vines wrapped around her legs before resigning herself to more swinging. "So… Me and Jake are partners now…" she noted, giving Lati and Nikko a beaming smile, freckled cheeks glowing in the little light shining through the branches.

Lati sighed, though it was a happy one to see her friends. Off to the side of the clearing was a set of weapons that had been carelessly tossed; a rifle/shield combo and a long rifle with a fixed bayonet that had been collapsed into a smaller, more manageable form. She looked up again and shielded her eyes from a particularly annoying beam of light.

"Need a hand?" Lati asked wryly.

"Just one. With all its fingers this time, preferably," Jake commented in his usual quiet tone, only stressing that one word.

The two on the ground gave a chuckle just as there was movement in the corner of their vision. They glanced around trying to ascertain what had moved but only found Aveline's errant fedora.

Which then proceeded to move.

"Oh, living hell…" Aveline muttered angrily.

It was only a few inches, but the hat was definitely moving. The rim popped up briefly, allowing Nikko and Lati to see under the shifting apparel.

A small, squirrel-like creature with red eyes poked its head out, big spiky buck teeth chittering in the wind. Its black fur was matted down in places where bony spine-like chitin covered the body, starting at the tail and ending in a miniature mask that adorned the form's face.

Lati narrowed her eyes.

"Wendigo…" she muttered, keeping her eyes locked on it. "Nikko, get them down…" she ordered in a hushed tone, circling around the creature and the stolen hat.

Silently Nikko pressed a button on her lance, forcing it to reassume the three-petal flower form. A string extended from each tip of the Y-shape ending in a small mechanical apparatus that began glowing with dust energy. Nikko lowered her goggles, grabbed hold of the string and pulled it back, extending the energy from the core and forming it into a rough pike-like beam.

She took careful aim, licked her lips and fired two silent shots at the vines ensnaring the dangling partners.

"GIVE ME BACK MY HAT YOU RAT BASTA-!" Aveline screamed as she fell, aiming directly for the wendigo. She landed with her face in the dirt, cutting off her declaration of war and scaring the small Grimm into retreating deeper into the woods, hat in tow. "OH NO YOU DON'T, GET BACK HERE!" she continued, following after the miniscule monster in a fury.

Jake landed and brushed himself off, staring after the redhead with chagrin.

"Suppose I should go after her…" he mumbled, picking up both his set of weapons and Aveline's. Shield and bayoneted rifle slung across his back he headed after the woman, bringing the railgun in his hands to bear. Lati rubbed her brow and corkscrewed her eyes.

"We should probably go after her too… she gets into way more trouble than it's worth…" Lati explained, bringing Greig to bear and running after the duo. Nikko rolled her eyes and followed.

At least some small game hunting would be fun.

---

-The Emerald Ruins-
-Late Morning-

"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Okdes screamed, the wind whipping past his ears.

"HOW THE BLOODY 'ELL SHOULD I KNOW? YOU SA'D WE SHOUL' CHARGE IT!" Sven yelled back, grappling at his waist, gloved fingers slipping off the tight claw gripped around him. The slippery wet bone and the rush of rain staining his face weren't helping.

"IT USUALLY WORKS!" the dark haired teen snapped back, bashing the claw around his own torso with the hilt of his sword. "I'VE NEVER SEEN A GRIMM THIS BIG BEFORE!"

"WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULDA GIVEN A WEE BIT MORE THOUGH' BEFORE RUNNING AT A THING THA' FLIES WITH A FRIGGEN MELEE WEAPON!" Sven returned coldly, trying to reach back with his left hand and cut the meat of the Owl's thigh. The bird responded by tightening its grip. Sven gave a short cry along with the uttering of "Me kidneys!"

"FIRE UP! JUST FIRE INTO IT!" Okdes screamed, trying to work a switch on his long sword.

With a click the weapon's blade was covered with metal panels that prevented the sharp edge from being exposed. The left cross guard folded into the right cross guard forming one solid, blocky mass. The newly formed grip shifted backwards and a small trigger appeared at its base.

Okdes hastily gripped the prong and aimed his hilt up at the beast's neck, the only vital area that was well within his line of sight. With a few quick pulls of the trigger the pommel flashed, bullets erupting forth and digging into the thick feathery armor of the bird.

Following his example Sven lifted his only drawn Faux Claw and held down the trigger, letting forth a hail of automatic fire from the battered blue handgun. Neither of what they were doing seemed to be making too much of an impact on the beast.

Their weapons ran dry.

"WELL, THIS IS LOV'LY, NOW WE DON' 'AVE A LICK O' AMMO FER WHEN SHE FEEDS US TO 'ER CHICKS!" Sven chided, rolling his eyes.

Okdes ignored the remark, awkwardly switching back to his weapon's sword form.

"LET GO YOU GODDAMN HELLSPAWN!" he shouted, twisting as best he could towards the creature's body and jabbing his blade into its sternum. The sword met resistance before sinking in to a shallow degree. "GOD DAMNIT!" Okdes dragged the blade back out before swinging at the thigh connected to the claw holding him. The edge bit into the feathers, breaking through the more lightly armored hide.

A loud shriek erupted from the bony maw of the owl before it released that claw, dropping Okdes into the forest below.

"OH! SURE, I'LL JUST WAIT 'ERE WHILE YOU GO AND SAVE YER OWN SKIN! SUITS ME JUST FINE!" Sven screamed after his falling partner.

Just as he finished yelling several pings lashed against the bony talons ensnaring him. Seconds later, the beast had relinquished its grip on Sven as well.

Who in God's name…? Sven thought, plummeting towards the foliage. Once more he focused his aura into his boots, activating the dust and forming the silvery-black glow. Rather less gracefully than last time, Sven managed to twist his body so it was once more properly oriented to the land.

With a brief spin he landed on a tree-top, the upward propellant doing its best to counteract the incredible pull of gravity. Even with the shoes keeping him from breaking his legs he fell hard through the brush, landing at the completely wrong angle to allow him to slide. With a relieved breath he touched the forest floor, spinning to give a small slipping effect, redistributing the force of the impact and preventing himself from breaking his spine.

Allowing the energy to fade his heels made contact with the earthy floor, scraping bits of moss off the hardened dirt-turned-mud. He panted; leaning against a tree to stabilize himself while his heart settled down from the little rock concert it had been playing in his chest. Noting the momentary lack of threats, he dropped a finger into one of his jacket pockets and retrieved a magazine of ammunition, popping out the dry magazine and clicking it into the feed.

Instead of the usual blue, this particular curved magazine was dull red in color, sporting a heftier weight to it as it lulled to the side. He pushed a switch on the side of his gun and the barrel became slightly wider.

Sven grinned.

He was nowhere near proficient at crafting, managing only to come up with the static gun/blade combination for the overall design. But he took pride that he had been skilled enough to add in a changing ammunition size into his weapon's repertoire. Case and point, the red clips held a much heavier bullet, containing only fifteen shots a piece. Sure he'd only be able to fire it single-shot, but it definitely made his bullets hurt more.

Drawing the weapon's twin from his thigh he followed through with the same procedure, loading the weapon with the heavier bullets. He needed punch right now, not suppression.

Glancing at the sun and the gauging the direction the bird had been flying in he quickly attempted to ascertain his partner's landing spot. With haste he ran forward, downing aura into his boots. With a jump he was gliding forwards over the patches of grass and soggy soil, sailing off towards his teammate.

---

-Skies near the Emerald Ruins-
-Late Morning-

Okdes was honestly quite confused.

He knew he'd fallen.

He knew that he should have crashed to the ground and sustained at least some kind of injury.

But he hadn't.

Instead he'd felt a vine-like whip wrap around him and drag him out of the sky, one that carefully suspended him from a thick tree branch.

"Well, that could have been a nasty fall. I should know, I can't count how many times I've fallen that far myself while climbing back home in Palisade," came an all too familiar tenor. Okdes shifted his eyes down to the ground and found a cheeky green-haired teen tottering on a damp log with a white stick in hand.

"What was your name, Lux or something?" Okdes asked groggily. The blood rushing to his scalp wasn't helping his focus.

"Yup! Say it a few more times and I might actually remember it!" the teen quipped, stepping down from the fallen tree. It was then that the knight noticed the stick in the boy's hand was actually the hilt to a rather long micro-string, one that was stranded all around the surrounding forest, one that he was hanging from right at that very moment. "Might want to brace yourself, by the way," Lux said, leaning forward to inspect one of the microfibers.

The amnesiac's eyes followed the string to where it was attached to a polished four-pronged grappling hook that'd been dug into a tree trunk. His hand clicked one of the nigh invisible buttons on the hilt he held. The grappling hook shifted and folded back into one contiguous sickle blade that he easily popped out of the tree with a tug of the string. Lux stuck out his tongue and closed one eye, pushing yet another button on the stick. With a mechanical grinding the cord sticking from the end began to rescind into the cylinder, winding a nanite-thick spool with a mechanical whirl. The sickle, dragged by the quickly retreating string, flew around the branches and trunks it had been wrapped to, soon enough it flew by Okdes, unceremoniously dropping the Paladin to the ground.

Thankfully, Lux's warning hadn't fallen on deaf ears, so the teen landed quite safely, if not a little clumsily from his previously hanging position. Okdes' feet dug into the mud as his rather heavy form touched ground.

"That wasn't the smartest thing I've seen a person do," Lux explained as the blade finally made its way back to the matching handle. It snapped in with a satisfying 'click', completing the ice pick. "Charging an Ovid generally gets people killed. It's incredible that neither of you got impaled, heck, even a miracle that both of you seemed to have gotten away unscathed," the greenette commented, gazing to the skies, mauve eyes scanning for the large fowl.

Okdes spit out to his side, clearing out what little blood had accidentally filled the cavity during the flight.

"Right… So… that thing's an… 'Ovid'?" Okdes asked, eyes also drifting to the treetops.

"Most definitely," Lux confirmed, pulling out a notebook and flipping through the pages absently. "Big owl, spiny back, horrific red eyes that stare into your soul, and it was sleeping when we met it, so I assume it's nocturnal. Textbook Ovid," the boy remarked, flipping to a page and showing it to the knight. A crudely drawn bird was visible, along with other terribly drawn Grimm. Okdes gave it a thorough stare before something that Lux had said hit him.

"Wait a minute," the paladin stalled, face scrunching into a scowl. "It was sleeping? Why is it awake?" he snarled, looking at the green haired teen.

Lux just gave him a baffled look before putting a finger to his chin.

"I… I don't remember," the amnesiac replied honestly.

Okdes' eye twitched.

The taller Lux leaned over and patted Okdes on the shoulder, the metal armor clanging with the soft impacts.

"Ah, don't worry about it, probably wasn't anything I did…" the teen laughed, attempting to comfort the now steaming knight. "…then again I wouldn't be surprised if I did do somethin-…"

Lux was cut off by Okdes grabbing the collar of his white sweat shirt.

"C'mon," the stronger of the two muttered, dragging the ice climber behind him. "We're finding our partners and getting the hell out of here before that thing circles back." Okdes paused and gazed out into the sky once more. "As much as I would love to kill that thing, we're can't do too much alone… which reminds me," the Paladin muttered, glancing back at his 'captive'. "How long is the cord to that thing, anyway?" He asked, motioning to the grappling-hook/ice-pick combo.

Lifting his chin in momentary recollection, Lux smiled.

"Well, if memory serves me right…"

---

-Deep in the Emerald Forest-
-Late Morning-
-Suggested Listening: "Night of Rain", craigsmusicchannel-

Dante brushed himself off.

That could have gone a lot better.

He sheathed his trench knives in his jacket and continued to swipe away the dirt and moss that now covered his clothing. It amazed him that even in the laps of unconsciousness he'd managed to hold onto the weapons. Then again, it wasn't too far a stretch considering he'd used them to slow his descent.

A lot of good that ended up doing… he muttered silently.

He reached up and fingered through his grey locks, knocking bits of dirt loose from the jumbled strands, even going so far as to brush a thumb over the scar across his nose to make sure no grime had locked itself in the small inlet. As he did so he felt his right side stiffen.

Bruised… definitely bruised, and badly, he noted, dragging his left arm across his torso. His entire body was rigid with purple blemishes. He must've rolled after he touched down. A swift check to the back of his head confirmed that he was bleeding from a rather nasty cut.

Crap, might even have a concussion… he pondered, standing up from the small impact crater he'd formed.

Glancing into the sky he figured it was roughly midday, though it was hard to tell through the dark clouds. It was raining and a few stray drops found their way onto his face. From the way the sky was becoming even dimmer he could tell it was going to start pouring quite soon. He focused his aura and breathed, allowing a deep red and gold light to grow around him. He felt his skin prickle as the bruising lessened. Though the act would by no means cure the wounds entirely, they'd definitely be much less significant.

Still, his movement was stiff, so he carefully plodded his way in a direction he thought was correct, hoping to find another person or his objective.

Heading due East he managed his way through the thick wood, over stumps and around vines, carefully avoiding any and all dangers he could. As he had predicted, the storm eventually erupted, sending a steady cascade of water down onto the forest. This did little to deter him, only really succeeding to make his clothing damp. At one point he'd even managed to slip into a deep mud puddle, sinking his leg in up to the knee and absolutely ruining the pair of tan cargos he was wearing, let alone drowning his shoe in gunk.

After what felt like an eternity he came across a clearing that sported a small creek and an incredibly large conifer just a little East of the banks. Relieved to find some running water he approached the stream, his feet padding into the soft silt lining the bed. Finding a nice big rock nearby, he took a sit and removed his muddy shoe, pouring the contents into the flowing water.

He followed that up by dunking the footwear, his sock and his pant leg, doing his best to wash out the clumpy hindrances. He hissed as the ice water drove over his leg. It was definitely uncomfortable, but he needed to be at his best if he was going to get out of the forest alive.

A growl behind him alerted him to the fact that getting out in a body bag was also a distinct possibility.

Slowly, as to not provoke the sounding animal, Dante craned his head back, foot still firmly in the water. Even through the hazy, pelting rain he could make out the distinct form of a Beowulf, bony faceplate firmly fixated on him as though a prized desert. Glowing red eyes remained trained over his form, not moving an inch, even in an involuntary flinch like most living things.

Dante's spine tingled. Grimm had no souls, no use of aura. As such it was impossible to connect with them on any level other than sight. Even regular animals gave off a pleasant warmth, a radiation that could ease a person's wariness. This thing presented none of that.

As discretely as possible Dante slid a hand into his jacket, fingers gripping at his right-handed trench knife.

This would have to be quick. The beast was only standing a few meters away, much too close for comfort.

The rain continued buffering them, drowning out all noise. The quiet lasted for far too long.

The Beowulf twitched.

Dante drew his blade.

Thunder erupted from the sky as he loosed his knife from its holding place, pumping gratuitous amounts of aura into the weapon. The Beowulf leapt forward, claws and fangs bared for succulent human skin.

Just as the creature neared him the edge of his weapon flashed a brilliant golden red, sending out a long crescent slash of energy that sailed through the air. The monster and the beam met midway, connecting at the beast's waist.

The creature's stance dropped, its torso arms and head flying across the creek while the lower body slammed into Dante, knocking the already unbalanced teen into the stream. Were it not for the downpour and the strengthening waters around him he would have been coated in the thing's blood.

He sucked in a gasp of air: he'd been holding his breath.

He was soaked, he'd been shocked out of his wits and now he was freezing.

But at least he was alive.

His shoe floated by in the running water. With a frown he plucked the stray footwear and stood up, making his way back to the rock upon which he had been sitting. With a huff he slid his soggy sneaker back on, lacing it up as he did so.

He stood, his body now entirely drenched. He needed to get out of there fast. With the adrenaline building inside his system he sheathed his drawn Peacemaker before making a mad dash for the tree line. Beowulves hunted in packs, the others couldn't have been far off.

His thoughts were confirmed when a bustling shadow burst out in front of him, cutting off his escape vector. With an eagle eye he redrew his weapons, holding them backhand in a more practiced stance. He became irritated at the to-and-fro this battle was beginning to take. He lashed forward and another string of energy at his assailant, the Cold Dust blades seething with his auratic energy.

The Beowulf, having seen what had happened to its pack mate, leapt to the left just in time to avoid the vertical slash. However its left arm hung back a second too long, severing the appendage from the main body. The creature howled in pain just as three more of the beasts burst from the surrounding foliage.

This… isn't going well… he flinched, ducking as one of the new combatants attempted to tackle him. He countered by bringing his left blade into its gut and pulling it upward, leaving a fatal wound in the soulless being. Just by the sounds around him he got the indication that he was quickly being surrounded by unseen opposition. Gotta get out of here somehow…

The third wulf charged, teeth glistening in the pounding rain. On reflex Dante brought his right trench knife around to slash it through the open mouth. Had the top-half of the head stayed on it would have left a very nasty Glasgow smile on the monstrosity.

Dozens of Beowulves emerged from the shadows, the red sinewy strands in their armor glowing a pale crimson in the downpour.

Oh for the love of… he swore. Now things were really not going well. What do I have on hand! I'll need a battering ram to get through this! He panicked, backing up into the clearing even more. And then his back hit the tree near the center. He was cornered by a pack of Beowulves.

Wait…

Without hesitating he turned a full one-eighty and cut at the tree with both his daggers, aura infused blades extending and slashing clean through the overgrown stem. With a furious cry he kicked the base of the slash, attempting to force the log to fall in his direction With a sickening creak the wood acquiesced, tip perilously leaning towards him. Him and the incoming wulves.

Dante sidestepped and swiftly climbed the trunk of the collapsing tree, running up its spine as it crashed into the forest. At the peak of his sprint he managed to catch a glimpse of the top of the trees. Just a ways North and East of where he was running happened to be a smooth white structure. Above it was a dark fluttering shape that was being chased by gunfire and flashing lights.

That's gotta be it! he thought just as the tree finally made impact with the ground.

He jumped as the bark made landfall, rolling forward as the branches cascaded down on the panicked Beowulves. The creatures barely had time to react before the ancient conifer crushed them in its knotted pines.

Dante merely kept his sprint, diving deeper into the woods at top speed. If he guessed things properly, he'd make it there in less than ten minutes. As he ran there was a sickening crack that echoed throughout the forest.

Fate… I hate you… he sighed, glancing behind him.

His little stunt with the tree had merely swapped his opposition from Beowulves to collapsing trees. Trunks and branches were now folding around themselves in a domino effect that was rippling out through the thick woodland. One particularly young oak that'd gotten caught in the onslaught was falling right towards him.

Mirroring the incident with the initial Beowulf, Dante spun, sending a flurry of slashes up at the collapsing tree, shredding it into pieces diagonally. This was just enough to allow him to slip under the branches and escape unharmed.

Or at least he wanted to tell himself that as he felt one of the branches swing down and smash his right arm.

"Gah!" he cried out, tripping forward and landing face first into the mud. His aim had been good however, so aside from that one errant branch he'd avoided being crushed.

Determined not to let this comedy of errors deter him, he pushed himself up with his now only good arm. He cringed at the searing pain as his right muscles reflexively pulled.

Eyes straight he pushed onward, rushing past lines of brown and green, his numb face barely registering the prickling drops of ice water stinging his muddied cheeks.

After about five minutes he'd wandered upon another clearing. One that was once more occupied by Beowulves.

"Oh come on! Can't a guy catch a break?!" he screamed. The creatures, who hadn't noticed the running grey-haired madman prior to this outburst, glanced over at the fresh meat.

Note to self: save that for internal screaming.

The Beowulf with the most ornate mask, likely the alpha male, howled and charged Dante, mimicking the animalistic attack stance its brethren had taken earlier. Time slowed for Dante as he tried for a third time to quick-draw his blades and cut the approaching monster down to size.

However, he didn't get the chance.

The alpha male yelped as a thick chain wrapped around its throat and jaw, forcing its mouth open in a reverse muzzle. Behind it stood a teen with rusty brown hair tied loosely in a ribbon ponytail. The black robe around his body blew chaotically in the wind and rain, the bottom edges caked with mud.

He pulled the chain back and the wulf reared with it, exposing the fleshiest part of its neck. Moments later a darted blur exited the shadows and slashed the creature with what appeared to be a half-rusted broad sword with two hilts. Blood spewed forth from the animal's wound. In less than a second it dropped.

A girl in oddly cut clothing landed next to it, decaying weapon in hand. She spun on her heels and drew a revolver and a small vial with one hand, tossing the glass case at the rapidly approaching hoard. She pulled back the hammer of the pistol and fired a single shot towards the airborne bottle. A fireball exploded forth from the canister, spreading out to consume the shadowy figures.

Two managed to make it through the blaze, pushing through the fire as their bony countenances became singed.

The duo acted simultaneously.

The boy spun about, retrieving his chain and sliding out a long cross staff, from which sprung a rather wicked blade that he slammed into the approaching threat. The blade bit down into the creature's spine before exiting its ribcage. Following through on his first motion he spun the scythe around and brought the back of it into the sternum of the second approaching wulf. A sickening 'crack' echoed out ward as the blow sent the monster flying into the girl's blade range.

She pulled apart her broad sword, revealing that the rusted half was actually just one of two blades. Crossing the blades she made a scissors and sheered the last threat in half, flipping backwards to avoid the flying corpse.

When all was said and done the fight had only taken a few seconds.

The boy approached Dante, who managed to recognize the cross-bearer as the boy he'd been speaking to on the launch pad, Luthais.

"Need a hand?" the teen asked in a contiguous monotone. Luthais held out his hand.

Dante shelved his knife and took the offered appendage, having only just realized that he'd collapsed to his knees during the fight.

"Thanks," he mumbled, leaning on the shorter man for balance. "I'm not too good when it comes to getting ambushed," Dante chuckled, glancing at the girl to his left. "Who're you?" he asked, nodding to her.

"Eireen," she answered curtly. More so than anyone else Dante was getting the 'shut up and leave me alone' vibe from her chilly statement.

Okay… that's TWO people rivaling Jake…

He turned to Luthais and nodded in the direction of the ruins he'd seen, pointing for extra emphasis.

"So, am I the only one ready to get the hell out of this place?" he asked, his right arm twitching with pain.

Luthais gave a small titter. Eireen remained silent.

"Right… okay… temple's that way… let's go…" he muttered. Without a word Luthais wrapped Dante's arm around his shoulders and supported him as he walked. While Dante was about to argue he could walk just fine, he found that his legs weren't exactly complying with his demands. Resigning himself to the shorter man's grasp, Dante limped along, eager just to get the hell out of dodge.

He had a feeling that fate wasn't done screwing with him and he was sure as hell not going to let anything more happen in this forest.

---

-Northern Emerald Forest-
-Midday-
-Suggested Listening: "A Violent Encounter", Shadow of the Colossus OST-

"Why don't we just shoot the damn thing?"

"BECAUSE YOU MIGHT HIT MY HAT!"

"Wouldn't be too much of a loss really…"

"SHUT UP JAKE!"

Lati pinched her brow: this bickering was getting irritating.

They'd been chasing the Wendigo for the better part of a half-hour. Her legs were getting tired not to mention it had started raining ten minutes ago, quickly leaving them puddles of thick mud and slippery roots to stagger through. Speaking of which…

"THAT LITTLE RAT BETTER NOT GET IT MUDDY!" Aveline screamed, rushing forward at top speed. Right beside her was her newly-appointed partner, Jake, his shield slung across his back and his rifle in hand. Behind the pair were herself and Nikko, who were barely keeping up with the growing number of obstacles.

Lati snarled as the chase continued.

"Oh for the love of-Jake, take the shot!" she yelled, wanting to end this all quickly.

After having worked together so long at Signal Jake almost reflexively followed through with the command. In one smooth motion he stopped, raised his rifle to bear, and pulled a gauntleted finger down on the trigger. There was a warm cranking sound as small bouts of electricity erupted from the barrel, followed briefly by a silent bright flash.

The Wendigo, covered almost entirely by the silver fedora it had stolen, only managed to glance at the sound before the small metallic pellet grazed its mask, shredding the bony material in two and knocking the creature away from Aveline's apparel.

Aveline herself, out of breath but still rushing forward, managed to catch up to her wayward hat, plucking it from its resting place on a thick patch of grass and moss. She dusted it off with a frustrated 'harumph' and placed it back atop her head, folding her hair into it as she saw fit. She threw a hard glare over to Jake.

"You son of a-" Aveline started, green gems glowering at the teen.

"Your hat's fine, let's go," Jake noted, cutting her off and walking past her and leaving the girl speechless at his detachment. He glanced around absently before his brow creased into that of confusion. "…Was anyone watching the corpse? Because it's gone now…" he asked, staring where the Wendigo had been.

Lati, leaning against a tree to catch her breath, managed to glance where the creature had been dropped prone only to find it gone.

She cursed under her breath.

"Come on, let's get out of here before that thing goes and gets reinforcements," Nikko spouted, putting her weight on her lance for support.

"It was dead! That thing had half its head blown off!" Aveline responded, motioning to half of her own face for emphasis.

"Half its mask. Grimm can survive without them, you know. Not like a vital organ," Lati huffed out, drawing Greig from her belt. "Let's move," she sputtered. With a brief glance at the pouring sky she tried to get their general location, at least in reference to the objective. Finding no source of information she glanced for the tallest nearby tree. Her eyes located a relatively large maple with reddening leaves. Early for the season, she noted, walking towards it. "One minute though," she mumbled to the rest of them.

She unclipped the grappling hook from her waist, swinging it before launching it up into the branches. Finding a good foothold, she climbed, scaling the slick bark in about half a minute.

At the top, or the near top of the tree the rain became more belligerent on her face, no longer being buffered away by the canopy of the forest below. In the distance she could make out the rough white and grey blob of a structure. Above it was another indistinct blob made of black and marble. It was flying.

Well that was one obstacle.

Below her she heard the distance shouts of her friends, something she couldn't make out over the storm and winds. She turned to face them, craning her neck down to the ground, only to be met with a solid ivory horn charging at her full speed.

And that was another obstacle.

Before she had any chance to react the beast had plowed through the tree she was standing on jagged horn blasting the wood into toothpicks. She barely had time to react as her perch collapsed, rolling forward and leaping from her branch. In panic she launched her grappling hook and managed to ensnare the horn. Lati swung with her knees, locking them forward and whizzing around the beast in a dizzying frenzy of motion.

From what she could tell it was a giant horse of some sorts, long spindly horn adorning its face along with a matching scared mask and glowing red eyes. The body was armored from neck to tail, with barbs and spikes expanding forth from the haired appendage. The skin and fur were an incredible ebony, almost making the beast invisible in the dark day. Were it not for the armored carapace, the creature would have been too hard to discern from the surroundings.

Lati's eyes widened as she realized what this thing was.

Sleipnir, she thought instantly.

With a pull on the rope she whipped herself around and landed on the creature's back, sitting upon one of the damp and slippery plates. She gripped her fingers around the divide between armored sections, one arm still holding onto the rope. Trying not to lose her grappling hook she curled her hand wrapped the material around her wrist.

I think… damnit! Remember, what's the quickest way to take one of these things down?! She thought hastily.

A loud snap shifted through the air as she witnessed a large chip of the Sleipnir's facemask flick off and into the rain. The horse reared back and let out a booming demonic neigh, nearly throwing Lati off its back. Looking to her right she saw her teammates running through the trees. Jake was among them, recoiling from the shot he just fired, twisting to continue his way alongside the rampaging beast.

The group finally emerged in a clearing, one occupied by a curved stone temple, their target Lati supposed. She tugged at her hook in such a way to knock it loose. All she got in return was a leaping gallop that sent her hurtling off the Sleipnir's back. Feeling the straining pull of the cord on her arm she decided that losing the hook was preferable to losing her limb. With a conflicted grunt she let go of the rope at the nadir of her swing, dropping into the muddied grass below. She tucked and rolled, dousing her outfit in gunk, but allowing her to land safely.

She felt the heavy steps of the Sleipnir fall to her left, galloping off away from the teen.

Lati lay motionless for a period of time, her muscles strained from all of the sudden activity. Groaning she moved her lead-laden arms and pushed against the soggy ground, fingers slipping into the muck. She fell forward in the awkward position, her elbow now spilling into the mud. Her legs felt even more worn than her arms and she feared that she wouldn't be able to stand.

She felt a strong hand encircle her wrist and a matching one gripped her shoulder. With a single gentle heave she was lifted from her prone position and placed gingerly on her feet. With haste Lati wiped the mud from her face, trying to free her eyes to see who was aiding her. She was met with a set of mismatched irises, a set of silver and green that had the marks of worry, weary and woe.

He was slightly shorter than her, but the height meant little to her with the genuine concern reflected in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, wiping her down with one of his greaved hands. She followed suit, trying to free herself of the uncomfortable substance covering her clothes and skin. He finished a cursory inspection and then looked into her eyes once more. "You're not injured are you?" he questioned.

She blushed. Briefly she thanked the mud and the dark sky for preventing him from seeing it.

"I'm fine, I think, just a little tired," she explained, trying to step forward. Her legs gave out and she fell into him. Both of their reflexes kicked in and the managed to grab hold of her before she repeated what happened with the Sleipnir. She blushed once more and she felt she could almost see his face become red as well.

"You're more than a little tired," he responded. He gripped her shoulders tightly. There was a surge of energy as his hands glowed bright silver. Suddenly her body felt lighter and more responsive.

"How did you…?" she asked, glancing at him. He smiled.

"I've got my tricks," he explained.

By this time her friends had managed to catch up with the wild beast's trail and met her and her rescuer in the middle of the field.

"Hey! Okdes! My main man!" Nikko roared, sliding up next to the Paladin with a smile. "I see you got my partner all safe and healthy." The purple haired girl slapped Lati on the back for emphasis.

"Heh, she'll be good provided she gets plenty of rest tonight," the knight explained. He motioned to the small shrine that housed several pedestals of masks. "Those are the objective, grab one for your pair and get out of here. Even without your friend over there," he explained, pointing to the Sleipnir with his shoulder. The monster was tearing up ground much farther down the clearing straightaway, circling back when it reached the cliff leading to the remaining ruins. It continued in a back and forth loop, but there was no way to determine how long it would stay there. "We've got plenty of trouble to deal with here."

Just then the Ovid overhead decided to let out a particularly deafening screech.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We get it ugly! When I can start remembering you screaming things, you know you're overdoing it!" came a shout from the base of the temple.

The green haired Lux was there, firing up at the bird with a crossbow consisting of his two combined ice picks. The group looked over at him and then back to Okdes.

"Why haven't you left yet yourself?" Aveline asked, looking between Okdes and Lux. Okdes sighed.

"He's not my partner, it's that other redhead you seemed to have fun messing with," he explained.

"Sven?" Lati asked with a quirked brow.

"Yup," Okdes nodded. "Lost him somewhere during the first encounter with the Ovid. Lux's partner went to look for him while he came to look for me. We've been waiting for them to get back," the Paladin explained. He glanced to his right, their left, eyeing the angered Sleipnir in the distance. Then his eyes lifted to the skies above where the giant owl was still doing circles, idly ignoring the bolts Lux was firing at it. "We probably shouldn't stay out in the open right now," he said, waving them towards the small amount of shelter provided by the ruins.

"So we're just going to wait here for them?" Nikko asked, jogging behind the now moving Okdes. He rewarded her question with a frown.

"No, not you at least. Me and Lux are staying behind for them. We're not leaving without the two," he responded, stepping up the damp stone steps. His boots splashed in water that had pooled in one of the blemishes of the rock. "You four are getting out of here. Get your mask and leave," he stated that with absolute certainty.

The four of them merely froze in place. The only sounds were that of the rain and Lux's mad cries of attack.

"No."

Okdes turned to Lati, disapproval written on his face. Hers was a stone of defiance.

"Listen, yo-," the knight started. He was quickly silenced by an outstretched palm.

"Sven's my friend, partner or not, and I'm not leaving him behind," she hissed, laying her foot down. "Besides, we'd be leaving you guys with an even bigger mess than before, so we might as well be courteous enough to take care of that for you," Lati clarified, managing a weak smile.

Okdes stared her down, locking eyes with her for what seemed like an eternity. She felt the urge to cringe under the gaze but immediately resisted.

"Hey! Guys!" the shout came from someone not previously present. From the southern tree line came a trio of figures, one of which was obviously injured and being supported. "Crazy day, huh?" Dante said, limping forward with the help of his comrade.

Aveline immediately rushed forward to help, finally dropping Dante to the stone steps where he could cradle his bad arm. Lati moved closer and peered at the injury, frowning at the blackened and molted skin. She pressed a finger to the elbow, eliciting a sharp hiss from Dante.

"It's either broken or dislocated, I can't really tell," Lati voiced, turning to Okdes.

The Paladin approached and uncrossed his arms, putting his fingers over the wound. The ethereal glow surrounded his touch once more. He closed his eyes and focused, nostrils flaring, his wet face twitching silently.

"Dislocated, but it's still pretty bad," the knight explained, opening his eyes and looking around for something. "Do we have anything for him to bite down on?"

A hand popped into the crowd of people, carrying a damp light blue scarf.

"Don't worry, just be sure not to rip it," Lux smiled, poking his shaggy green hair into the lot.

Okdes stared at the article before folding it into a thick wad of cloth. He handed it to Dante who took it and promptly bit down.

"Oh, and careful of drool!"

Dante rolled his eyes and lifted his right arm at the shoulder, muttering something out through the balled material along the lines of 'get it over with'.

Okdes nodded and placed his arms on either side of the dislocation. Pumping his aura into the wound he gave an appropriate tug in opposite directions with each of his hands. A nauseous pop radiated from the movement, echoing outward. Dante screamed into the cloth, the material doing little to stifle the cry. Just about everyone present cringed at the squandered noise, most trying to avoid making eye contact with the boy. Tears drifted out of Dante's lids as Okdes tightened his hold. The silver light in his palms intensified, warming the surface.

Dante's shrieks died down as the healer's power flowed into him, mending the internal damage. After a few moments Okdes released his hold and wiped his brow, succeeding only to smear some of the mud he'd wiped off Latin onto his face. Dante squeezed out one last tear before blinking and flexing his arm. He winced as he did so, but it was quite obvious that the injury was far less extensive than it had been before.

"We'll have to have you looked at when we get back to the cliffs, but other than that, you'll be fine for now," Okdes explained, standing. He handed Lux back the scarf, the greenette examining it for mares and holes. "In the meantime, we have two angry Grimm on our tail and we're down to…" he counted the standing students. "Six combatants."

The entire group eyed him with raised brows.

"Six? There are eight of us," Lati voiced. Okdes gave her a firm glare.

"You and him," he motioned to Dante, "aren't in any condition to fight. My healing is a quick fix and getting you to a proper medical facility is a priority."

Lati let her nostrils flare. He raised his hand.

"No arguing, we need to do this properly or else you two are going to wind up dead, and I don't want anyone dying on me. Am I clear?" he hushed firmly. The girl gritted her teeth. Dante just watched.

"Fine," she muttered, realizing she really wasn't in fighting condition with her exhausted body, even with his healing touch.

"Good," the Paladin confirmed. "Now, I have a plan to take down the Ovid, but the horse I'm not so sure about."

"Why bother, it doesn't look like it's bothering anyone right now." Jake commented, pointing with an open palm to the towering beast. Lux clicked his teeth.

"Nah, wouldn't work. Sleipnir's don't like artificial structures, but as soon as we step foot out into the lawn we're hay to its big grinding molars," the green haired boy explained, grinding his teeth for emphasis. He pointed to an open page of his notebook. "Same goes for the Ovid."

Lati looked from the book to Okdes, to the ragtag collection of people around her. She smiled.

"Actually, I have an idea…" she murmured.

All eyes fell on her.

---

-Deep Emerald Forest-
-Noon-
-Suggested Listening: "Occupied Thinking", Code Geass OST-

Of all the things Sven was hoping to find while scouring the forest for his partner, a pointed gun barrel was not one of them.

"So… you'v been standin' there fer the better part of a minute an' not said a bloody thin' lad. Yo' gonna shoot me or not?" the Islander asked his assailant.

Holding the rifle to bear was none other than Francis Chispa, the scorned faunus.

The lavender haired teen remained silent.

"Listen, I've been tryin' all frackin' day ta apologize fer what I said, honest slip o' the tongue it was," Sven mouthed, his nose curling.

A throaty growl escaped Francis' lips. The grip on his weapon tightened.

Sven flinched, preparing for the inevitable sting of lead against skin.

The bullet never came. Sven unscrewed his eyes to peak at Francis, finding the boy scowling and lowering his rifle.

"I'd kill you but I don't think Lux and I can take down that Ovid alone," the faunus spat, shouldering his weapon and turning around. Sven's shoulders relaxed.

"Ovid?" he asked, walking forward.

"The big owl thing. Apparently Lux has this little book of his filled with helpful information. Has notes on different Grimm in there, along with his memories," the lavender-haired teen explained, walking back towards the temple. "And from the way he tells it, we're going to need every gun we got to take that overgrown pigeon down."

"Well," Sven started, wiping a damp curl of hair away from his eyes. "Thanks for not shooting me. Would kind o' soured my day, if ya know what I mean," the Islander expressed honestly. He only received a sharp glare.

"You're lucky. After this, you and I are going to have a good long chat about this whole superiority complex you have," Francis spat, not once slowing his pace. Sven rolled his eyes.

"Oh, fer God's… listen I don't…" Sven paused, grimacing. "You know what? Yer right. I'll save it. Let's just get back there and get our partners out of here."

Francis gave a grunt of approval before continuing on his way, grey sneakers and purple laces becoming thick with brown mud.

A few minutes passed in relative quite. This did not suit Sven well.

"So… how'd you guys man'ge ta piss o'f birdy-boy so badly?" Sven asked absently, waving to the sky through the rain. Francis looked back at him, his face definitely more… agreeable.

"That notebook of Lux's. Bastard seems to lose it quite often. Somehow it wound up in that thing's nest…" Francis explained, pulling the string of his rifle absently.

"So… it's Lux's fault?"

"YUP."

That was all Sven needed to hear.

---

-Temple Ruins-
-Noon-
-Suggested Listening: "Counterattack [Extended Version]", Shadow of the Colossus OST-

-Initiates VS Sleipnir + Ovid-

It took Sven and Francis ten more minutes to break the final tree line, entering the temple grove once more. They were greeted by the sight of their fellow students all huddled around the totem area, the group collectively conversing while trying to find ways to stay out of the rain, which had thickened considerably in the time that Sven and Francis had traveled. Now it was coming down in near-literal sheets of water and the risk of some type of sickness was quickly becoming a possibility. Shields, rocks and even a strange mechanical three-petal flower on Nikko's part were being used as umbrellas against the onslaught.

"Oi!" Sven yelled, walking across the field and waving. A few members of the conglomerate looked up, surprising Sven to see his four friends from Signal. "What're you sor'y saps doin' out 'ere? C'mon, time ta go 'ome!" he laughed, looking at them with one gleaming green eye open. He stuck out his tongue just as the first of them began to wave him back towards the tree line.

He furrowed his brow.

Are they really taking this whole 'exile' thing that far? He asked himself honestly.

He received his answer in the form of a deep snort.

Looking to his left he found a horse that stood easily three stories tall, black fur and skin adorned with white plates of chitin armor. Its legs were made entirely out of the material, creating large, spiked hooves that dug into the soft earth. A thick mask crowned its head, draping over its wide jaw with jagged edges, giving it a carnivorous set of external 'teeth' so to speak. Red veins littered the beaten ivory material. A single horn stretched from its head, a misplaced grappling hook locked around the bony substance.

So THAT'S why they're waving for you to run… his subconscious mused, finally catching up with his eyes.

The thing bowed its head and thrashed its legs, launching forward at an unprecedented speed with its horn pointed directly at the Islander.

He glanced further to his left and found the equally as stunned Francis stopped in place just behind him. Thinking quickly, Sven turned away from the monster.

"Oi! Frankie! Get to 'em and get a plan togetha! I'll draw its ire!" the redhead screamed over the pounding walls of water.

They locked eyes briefly, the mutual shock still flowing between them. Then, with a nod, Francis backed up, clearing the way for the horse to chase Sven, avoiding the oncoming charge.

Sven immediately began running, building his weary aura into his boots and jumping once he reached the apex of his legs' capabilities. The sliding boots kicked in and he rocketed forward, propelled by dust, aura and inertia. A row of fine sycamores stood tall before him, scattering around the wide field before condensing into the final line of the clearing.

Okay, I can lose it in the thicket, double back and-

Sven's thoughts became mixed with static as a horrifying shriek blossomed through the valley. He chanced a glance back finding the horse bearing down on him only a barrel of meters behind him… however it wasn't the horse making the racket. Above him and the rampaging unicorn was the Ovid, masked maw outstretched and howling the single most utterly stunning sounds Sven had ever had the displeasure hearing.

The avian monstrosity bobbed its head down, alabaster beak dividing to an ungodly maw.

It dived.

Sven reflexively jumped to the side.

They met half-way.

It took everything in Sven's firing neurons to extend his arms upwards and block the hardened bill from smashing down around him. He jammed each of his Faux Claws into opposite lips of the mandible, pushing up with the limited force his still active sliding boots could give him.

"Shiteshiteshiteshite!" the teen muttered desperately, his arms beginning to bend under the force of the Ovid's mouth.

The creature's movement made it hard for Sven to stay upright, what with the thing starting to move vertically into the sky. It wriggled its head, trying to dislodge him and failing only by a small margin. Sven could feel his weapons straining under the force of the jaw, the secondary grips helping keep the blade attached to the gun not use to the pressure. The wind whipped at his face, along with the rain… or it was the Ovid's drool. He didn't care to find out which.

The bird moved to do a flip, rolling midair and jostling Sven all the more as they ascended. Taking this as his chance he purposefully slipped his legs to the left of the creature's mouth, retracting the Claw he had on the right side of mouth and jamming it into the lower jaw on the Ovid's left side. This allowed him a brief window to slide out, one he took with gusto.

His glowing feet made contact with the bird's feathery neck, exposing him once more to the open elements. Sure that it was rain this time pelting his face he attempted to get his bearings. Failing to do so the Ovid flailed, jerking up and down and sending the surface of its back into spasms. Sven, still trying to stick to the neck with his boots, found himself in a rough series of jumps that continually pushed him closer to the beast's tail feathers. His movement was almost completely uncontrollable as he continuously slid further along it's back, passing jutting ivory spines and thick molted feathers.

Barely able to see in the whiplash of water and wind, Sven fell on to his back, gliding over the feathers purely by slicked plumage alone. His gut flopped as it shuddered again, launching him direly close to the spread tail.

In a desperate last attempt to not fall to his death he hooked the back ends of his Claws into the thick barbs of the creature's feathers. It halted his inevitable fall, but his feet were now dangling over the edge of the Ovid's body.

From below Lati was watching the whole event unfold, along with the rest of the crew huddling in the temple. She cringed as she watched her friend be picked up by the Ovid and flown around the forest as dinner.

"SVEN!" she yelled almost reflexively. Gritting her teeth she returned her attention to the other problem at hand, the Sleipnir.

The faunus from the airship came rushing towards her, panicked expression drawn under his clinging fuchsia locks. She turned back to the rest of the group as Francis made it into the collective.

"Alright!" she yelled. "They're here! Kick things into gear people!" she screamed, raising her cutlass and pointing to the galloping Grimm. "Eireen, Luthais, Aveline, run noise on that thing. Jaden," she said, turning to Jake and using his rarely uttered nickname. In the strange reverse of the norm, the designation was saved for more critical moments. Her eyes dropped to her own partner, aquamarine eyes shining in the dim light. "Nikko, get yourselves into position, stat."

The five immediately glanced to her, recalling what they'd discussed.

Eireen dashed forward, a flurry of black and white against the deafening sheets of rain. Behind her sprinted Aveline, the flicker of silver balancing out Eireen's dark repertoire. Even further behind them calmly walked Luthais. The older teen calmly retrieved the cross from his back and flicked open the scythe and planting it firmly in the muddy field. He stood directly in the monster's path, while the two girls divided in the middle and spit to either side of the distant beast.

"OVER HERE YOU OVERGROWN PONY!" Luthais shouted. Even with his voice carrying he managed to keep his tone steady.

The Sleipnir, who was confused by Sven's sudden disappearance, craned its neck around to look at the defiant man. Nostrils flared under its mask, coming out as a thick white billow of steam. It rounded its body to face him and then charged, rearing its head down to impale Luthais. He did not move, staring down the rampaging monster with an unshakeable will.

There was a glint to the Sleipnir's left, the flash of a blade and the expulsion of gunpowder. The horse jerked its head to the right as pieces of its already cracked mask exploded out from its face. This was followed up by a maniac Aveline leaping forward and plunging her foot and a half long shotgun bayoneted into the wounded creature's eye socket. She leveraged off the stock and hurtled herself into the air, kicking lose the grappling hook tightened around its horn. She managed to loose her blade just as the braying animal barreled past her, head now swaying low in pain.

Aveline now dropped behind in the mush of the field, it was Eireen's turn to attack, sliding from the shadows and hurling one of her small dust vials at the Sleipnir before firing at it with revolver. The shot hit its mark and forced the beast to rear its head back, finally unable to continue charging as it had.

Inertia, however, said otherwise, forcing the horse to continue forward even though it no longer felt it should. Soon enough the mangled creature was upon Luthais, blood and chips of white chitin flying every which way. He finally drew his scythe out of the mud and gripped it in both hands. The enraged brute soon passed over him, front legs landing just inches from his left and right flanks. In a smooth, practiced and graceful swing he launched his blade in a clockwise spin. The metal tooth bit into the talon-like hooves of the creature, nipping off the lower tips of its legs.

The Sleipnir, used to running with precise traction, did not know how to properly move now. It continued on its path forward, obviously confused and unsure of how to proceed.

It didn't get a chance.

There was another shot from farther up ahead in the grotto, from the edge of the cliff. A small metal pellet the size of a rubber ball dug into what was left of its face mask.

Before anyone could comprehend what had struck the beast, Jake came flying up to where the object had struck, shield magnetically dragging him towards the impact site. His brown jacket fluttered in the wind as lightning cascade through the sky. The sound of thunder would have been deafening if not for the already relentless rain.

Jake flipped to his side and rolled down the Sleipnir's neck, arriving on its back. Without a single hesitation he chambered a strong magnetic round into his rail gun and aimed it straight down at the horse's spine. He squeezed the trigger, earning himself an electric whirl from his gun and the quiet flash of the weapon's discharge. An incredibly magnetic ball bearing found its way into the chitin plate. The only reason Jake himself hadn't been pinned to the source was his specially designed gear.

However, someone else's weapon was not attuned to resist the magnetic effects. Between the cliff and the Sleipnir ran Nikko, rushing with her Lance oriented forward. Her goggles were pulled and a wicked smile adorned her face.

Using the mud as a slide, she slipped under the horse and jabbed forward at the unarmored belly. The lance sunk into the flesh easily, but not deep enough to be fatal.

That's when the magnet came into play.

Nikko was dragged upward by her weapon, the tip scraping the bottom of the plate holding the magnetic sphere.

The Sleipnir tried to cry but all that came out was a strangled yelp.

Giving the monster no time to pause she clicked a button on the staff and the lance unfolded into its Y-shaped bow as it had before. The horse's internal organs shredded as the flowering piece of weaponry crushed and chewed whatever it touched and dragged. The Sleipnir's belly expanded with the sharp instrument.

Nikko gave it a tug and pressed the button to reverse the process. The lance folded halfway before it plopped out of the gaping hole in the creature's stomach. She fell into a roll, now covered in blood, guts and mud.

The Sleipnir lost all control over its body and dashed towards the cliff aimlessly. Jake fired a third shot into a nearby tree. He leveled his shield where the sphere made impact, the magnetic energy from the shield linking almost instantly to the field coming off the projectile. He leapt and was tugged towards the tree, flying the entire distance without dropping.

The Sleipnir was not as lucky; it ran clear off the cliff, collapsing on its own weight and fading into the white fog below.

With the exception of ambient noise, the field was quiet.

"WHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Aveline screamed from down the field, walking up to where Eireen was standing quietly. She put an arm around the girl's shoulder, their soaked clothing sticking together as Aveline raised her free arm in victory. She shook the girl besides her with a wild grin. "Hey, you're a pretty good shot, you know that?" the Islander asked, nudging the raven haired girl.

Eireen, for her part, looked off to the side with a somewhat stunned glaze over here eyes. She wasn't used to this kind of attention or affection.

"Aveline, stop bothering the poor girl and get back over here!" came Lati's tired voice. Aveline looked up before peering down at the slightly shorter girl. She gave Eireen one more playful punch to the shoulder before running to catch up with Lati.

Soon enough the teens had regrouped, Aveline handing Lati her errant grappling hook. The brunette was thankful her friend could save it from its original rock bottom fate.

A loud screech sounded from above. The majority of them glanced up to find the Ovid still circling around the ruins, a hapless body still swinging from its tail. Okdes immediately separated himself from the crowd, dragging Lux and Francis to the side.

"Francis, we need that thing's attention, NOW," the knight commanded, pointing to the flying threat.

"On it!" Francis replied, shouldering his rifle.

"And try not to hit Sven!" Okdes growled, taking Lux by the arm.

"You're taking all the fun out of it now!" Francis called back, his body glowing with a bright pink energy.

The aura encased his rifle as he aimed, the ticking water dropping from the sky evaporating upon contact with the energy. Pointing at the bird's neck he pulled the trigger, rapidly letting shots fly. Fuchsia streaked towards the Ovid, poking its body with bullets, some rounds even driving out the other side.

Another horrible howl escaped its jaws, as it swung back to focus on him, red eyes glaring him down. He didn't hesitate in refreshing his ammo and opening fire once more. Before he could empty even half his magazine a rough hand grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him backwards.

"We just needed its attention. Go stand next to Lux," Okdes instructed, taking up a defensive stance where Francis had been posted.

The faunus complied, not in any sort to argue with the Paladin. As the Ovid got closer it opened its jaws wide, ready to swallow Okdes whole.

The knight smiled; it had fallen right into his trap.

He tapped his left shoulder where two crossed swords under a halo were engraved on the battle plate. With a sharp exhale he focused energy into the symbol.

A bright flash burst forth from the etching, partially blinding the teens still standing downwind of Okdes and definitely blinding the nocturnal Grimm.

Completely without sight the thing closed its eyes and thrashed about, heading towards the high cliff at the other end of the ravine.

Francis watched as the Ovid faceplanted into the stone barrier. Sven, still dangling from its tail feathers, managed to use this to climb farther up into a more secure position.

"Now what?" Francis asked turning to Okdes to hear the rest of the plan.

To his chagrin, Okdes wasn't the one who answered the question.

A strange pommel was shoved into Francis' hand, one he realized looked just like a scythe merged with a grappling hook. To his horror he found himself holding on part of Lux's weapon set.

"We're going up!" Lux announced, coiling string from the grappling hook around Francis' arm. He shoved the other end of the contraption into a special slot in his climbing harness. "Try not to break your arm!"

Francis' head snapped up to look at Lux.

"What?!"

He didn't receive an answer as Lux ran towards the canyon and jumped. The greenette flung his second weapon forward, launching the second grappling hook just as the falling Ovid was regaining its orientation. The bladed catch caught the beast just below the left wing.

"ALLYOUP!" Lux shouted as he fell.

Francis soon felt the cord around his wrist thickening with tension. In a rushed attempt to follow Lux's advice of not losing his arm, Francis followed him in the jump. The two were airborne for only a few moments before the lines finally snapped taut. From there they swung heading towards the cliff while the recovered Ovid made its way back towards the gathering of students.

With their momentum Lux and Francis actually began swinging up towards the bird, with Francis actually able to touch foot to the cliff ever so briefly during the rising motion. Lux twisted his body and activated the recoil of the strand connected to Francis, propelling the faunus towards the Ovid. The pink-haired teen drew his rifle and worked his fingers so it the stock folded over the sights and extended a smooth ax blade.

Getting within spitting distance Francis arched his weapon forward, hooking into the feathered flesh. He let go of Lux's grappling hook as he grabbed one of the lower spines of the monstrosity, gaining a firm foothold on its back. A single glance to the chasm below made his heart pound with anxiety. He snapped them shut and refocused on the goal at hand, breathing hard and trying to get his emotions under control.

Lux appeared to Francis' left, having used his momentum to flip around the Ovid's other flank and land on its hide.

"'bout time you came ta join me. I was gettin' lonely…" Sven yelled back from a perch he'd carved out in the middle of the spinal thicket. "WHA' TOOK YOU SO DAMN LONG?!"

"Sorry!" Lux shouted back, crawling up the shifting spindles towards the redhead. "Traffic was terrible. There was this angry sheep man with a gun and everything!" he joked, reaching the middle of the body. "Okay! Okdes needs us to do some things," Lux explained as Francis crept his way closer. The force being exerted on his body by g-forces was incredible; how the greenette could stay so calm amazed him. "Sven, dig your little blades into the thing's neck about half a foot from the spinal cord," he instructed, looking at his notebook.

"Hey! Ya remembered mah name!" Sven yelled, crawling up to the owl's spindly neck. He eyeballed the number Lux gave him and drove the spikes of his Faux claws into the creature's neck. It let out a pained shriek as he did so.

"Francis, whap you're doohickey into its tailbone, about…" he drew his finger down to the third last spine. "There. Pull when I tell ya to!"

The faunus followed the command, infusing himself with strength from his aura and delivering a deliberating blow to the designated point. Another straggled cry rung out.

Lux himself fired off his hooks into each individual wing, creating a puppet string between himself and the appendages. As they flapped, he moved, shifting so that his body weight and one wing's movement counteracted the opposite's.

"SVEN!" Lux grunted under the strain, keeping a mad smile on his face the entire time. "TWIST YOUR BLADES LEFT FIFTEEN DEGREES! FRANCIS, BEND YOUR AX TOWARDS THE HEAD!"

The two complied, following through with their tasks even as the bird tired to shake them off. Suddenly, with the combined forces on its body, the Ovid stopped flapping and began gliding downwards and to its left… straight down towards Okdes.

From what Sven could see, the knight grew the same giddy and maniac smile as Lux.

Below them Okdes was poised with his sword out, blade forward. He was going to impale the bird through the brain.

This is gonna be awesome! Sven screamed mentally, laughing with frivolous anticipation. Provided we don't die, 'nyway.

Okdes narrowed his eyes as the Grimm dive-bombed towards him, squinting through the chilling winds and freezing rain. He only needed one shot.

In seconds the Ovid was upon him. He lunged forward, long sword driving into the monstrosity's skull and penetrating its brain.

It had been a clean shot… that forced the bird to rear back in pain.

Not expecting the sudden upward force, Okdes was lifted off his feet and into the air. He floated for a few seconds as the now brain-damaged bird flailed below him, the three riders trying desperately to maintain control. The knight landed amongst the back spikes, sans sword, which was now sticking out of the beast's head at a strange angle.

The bird twitched again, this one obviously involuntary as the irreparable harm done to its mind started cascading into the rest of its body. Still in a state of pure shock and still not having grabbed onto something, Okdes began sliding back along the spine, free to where his weight and the winds would take him. Lux had other plans.

As his comrade came sailing by Lux nailed a brown boot to the man's chest, both jarring the teen from his trance and holding him still while he regained his faculties. Okdes managed to grab one of the spines and clung to it religiously.

In the mean time the bird flailed again, managing to get some height. It was aiming for a safe flying altitude purely out of instinct.

"This thing's a flying corpse! We need to get off!" Francis yelled, fiddling wildly with his ax handle.

"No!" Sven yelled, looking back at the rest of the Ovid. "How long do yo' think this thin'll keep movin'?" he asked Lux with a straight face.

"Till the hemorrhaging gets to it or the brain damage becomes worse, about fifteen minutes for a Grimm this size!" Lux yelled back.

Sven smiled.

"Oakie!" the Islander yelled, turning to his partner. "How far is it ta tha' launch pads?"

Okdes squinted at his 'friend' and glanced into the distance.

"A couple of miles, wh-?" Okdes stopped himself as he answered his own follow up question. "Oh, nonono, you're crazy!" he yelled desperately. Sven merely gave the man a wry smile.

"'Course I'am!" the redhead replied. He leaned over the side so he could see the gathered group of students below. "SO LONG SUCKERS! 'AVE FUN WALKIN' BACK 'OME!" he bellowed, cackling with complete disregard to sanity. Lux joined him in the chortle, the two filling the air with a certain type of maddening jollity.

"I like the way you think Sven!" Lux replied, pulling the wings so they flapped and kept them airborne. "Okdes! Which way home?"

The Paladin sighed, rubbing his forehead with a free hand. He pointed due West.

"That way," he replied, giving in to the two mental cases he was riding with.

"RIGHTO! SVEN, FIFTY SIX DEGREES RIGHT! FRANCIS, PUSH BACKWARDS PLEASE!" the greenette commanded, pulling his hooks in sync to produce flight. The still shuddering bird twitched in response, actually making it easier to maneuver all of its body parts. Soon enough the four were well on their way back to Beacon.

During this trip Sven managed to look to his right. What he saw surprised him. The Emerald Forest was on fire. Or, more specifically, a small portion of it leading from a random point near the center towards the temple ruins.

"What in God's name is tha'?" he muttered to himself. The bird began to list and he realized he was leaning too much on one blade. He corrected himself in momentary panic and soon they were back on a straight course.

Minutes passed as the edge of the cliffs became clearer through the drenching haze. Soon enough a tent and several umbrellas were visible, as were the figures standing under such structures.

"Gentlemen… and Francis… I do believe we'v' made it!" Sven declared as they came increasingly closer to their destination.

"Uh… problem…" came a worried groan. All eyes turned to the lone faunus at the back of the bird, now holding his freed battle axe. "So… apparently my ax went a little… too… deep…" he voiced out, squirming under the other three's gaze. Taking a deep breath he did as close an approximation to a shrug as he could while still maintaining balance.

The Ovid's corpse at this time was angled slightly below the cliff.

They were going to crash. Hard.

The four shared a look between themselves, each coming to the same eventual conclusion.

Sven was the first to react, backing up before running forward and taking a long-distance bound towards the cliff edge. His sliding boots activated mid-fall and he landed safely on the lip of the ledge.

Next was Okdes, who dashed forward, grabbed his sword and jumped, doing his best to use his momentum to his advantage. He fell just short, but Sven's arm lashed out to grab him and haul him to safety, straining briefly under the combined weight of man and armor.

Lux didn't give Francis time to react. Without warning he detached his hooks from the wings and fired one at the wall. He reached back and grabbed Francis by the arm, dragging them both out of harm's way. The two swung up the side of the cliff just as the Ovid ran head-first into it, shaking the very foundation with the impact.

The body slid down, face mask peeling off in chunks as it folded into the trees below.

The four of them gathered on the cliff, each panting and sweating, soaked by the rain and covered in miscellaneous pieces of debris and gunk.

But they were alive. And they had just taken down one of the strongest know predatory Grimm.

Lux was the first to laugh, starting out in a slow chuckle before doing a deep belly chortle. Sven joined him, and soon enough so did Okdes and Francis. The four sat there, in the downpour, laughing like idiots.

From a distance, under a particularly obnoxious yellow umbrella, stood Ozpin. The Headmaster slowly sipped his coffee, his face unreadable.

He pinched the bridge of his nose before blinking absently.

A multitude of words flittered through his mind.

For him it was going to be yet another… 'interesting' year.

How he wished he could have fewer of those.

---

-Emerald Forest Ruins-
-Afternoon-
-Suggested Listening: "The End of Battle [Extended]", Shadow of the Colossus OST-

Dante sat on the stone steps, wind whipping by his face as the pounding rain continued to hammer the people around him.

"Well, looks like they're gone…" Lati moaned bitterly. "So much for chivalry, leaving us behind like that…" she huffed, puffing her cheeks and putting her hands on her hips.

Dante laughed.

"You haven't changed a bit Lati…" he sighed whimsically, staring off into the clouds. It was then that he noticed a thick plume of thick smoke reaching to the heavens, almost completely obscuring the firmament. Without warning the trees on the lip of the clearing closest to the smoke ignited in flame, whipping and lashing around as though a living being in its death throes.

Dante couldn't help be gaze into the fire, enchanted by the flame yet also horrified. Memories of what had happened at the orphanage sprung to mind. He shuddered, trying to suppress such thoughts.

"Aw c'mon Lati, I would've done that too," Nikko joked, coming up to elbow her partner in the ribcage. "Who wants to walk all the way back to base, amirite?" she asked with her somewhat raspy voice.

Lati had some form of retort, but Dante tuned them out. Something else had caught his eye, something more… distressing.

A figure was walking out of the flames, completely untouched by the hellish blaze. He was vaguely aware that the others had started to notice the other person's appearance a well.

As it came closer the figure took on a clearly male shape, muscle-wise at least.

It was a boy no older than fourteen.

Wearing a strange rubbery suit.

With iron hair and deep crimson eyes.

Eyes that were looking directly at Dante.

A smile broke out onto the boy's young face as he ran forward, cutting the distance between himself and the group to shreds. He stopped and looked at the assorted people before finding Dante once more.

"So are you all paired?" he asked, his lighthearted tone almost sickening to Dante's ear.

What the hell is this kid doing in a school like Beacon?

"I don't think Dante is," Nikko voiced, smiling at the kid and lending an arm towards the silent slasher.

"Ah! I thought so. From the way you were sitting I was kinda guessing you didn't have anyone to hang with," the boy explained crouching down to meet the sitting man at an even level. He raised out a hand for Dante to grasp. "Looks like we're partners, hope you don't mind," the child closed his eyes and cocked his head to the sides, a universal sign of trust and innocence.

Dante paused before realizing he really had no say in the matter. He gripped the outstretched palm, noting that it was completely dry, along with the rest of the boy's outfit.

"Looks like it. I'm Dante, Dante Scales," the older teen responded wearily, exhaustion quickly setting in.

"Name's Corr, it's great to meet you Dante!" the child smiled.

O-o-O

-Emerald Forest Medical Tent-
-Late Afternoon, Initiation Completed-

"Been one helluva day, 'asn't it Lat'i?" Sven asked, taking a seat next to the bedridden girl.

The brunette looked up at him with a soft smile.

"Yeah, yeah, just can't wait till I'm allowed out of here," she responded, rolling her shoulders into the cot. "I barely have a scratch on me. I overexert myself a little bit and everyone panics," she explained with a roll of her eyes.

"To be fair, you weren't exactly holding up," came a gruffer voice. Okdes strolled up behind Sven, bottle of water in hand. "Got you this, least I could do after leaving everyone behind," the knight explained, handing her the bottle.

She grinned as she accepted it, popping the cap and downing half the contents.

"Oh yeah, give one to the lady first, the one who was fainting from being too tired. Don't give any to the guy, who, you know, broke his arm running after you idiots," came a disgruntled scoff from across the way. In the bed opposite Lati was Dante, his arm in a sling and a bandage wrapped around his head.

"Pipe down, it was only dislocated," Okdes responded snidely.

A bottle was launched in front of Dante's face, startling the injured knife wielder. Holding the bottle was a fresh face boy with boiling red eyes, metallic hair bobbing just off his brow.

"Here you go partner, I followed the big guy and got you some," the kid grinned, putting the refreshment forward.

Sven watched as Dante's jaw moved in confused circles before forming coherent words.

"Th-thanks Corr, you didn't have to," he responded, taking the bottle and sipping.

"Nonsense, I'm supposed to do nice things for a friend… we are friends right?" Corr asked, his eyes glazing over with brief concern.

Dante gave another pause before flashing a smile. Sven couldn't help but notice the forced nature that his friend was trying to mask. It fooled outsiders well, but for someone who knew Dante it was obvious the teen was uncomfortable with his standing.

"I… not yet, but I'm sure we can get there," Dante explained, widening his grin. Corr smiled in response.

"WHO THE HELL ARE THESE KIDS!?" came a baffled yell.

Sven glanced through the tent, seeing an older man in white flowing robes enter through the rear flap. The skinny man set a large tower shield against a stationary chair.

"Flying Ovids and setting the forest on fire… why back in my day we didn't get to fly on giant godless birds, oh no. We had to settle for the little ones, had to stand on them and jump off a big rock if we wanted to go anywhere," the man continued raving.

The redhead looked on with bafflement as the robed figure began walking up to occupied cots and examining machine readouts. He looked up at the bed connected to one particular panel to find another one of the initiate students, bandage wrapped around his head. The older gentleman leaned forward and closely examined the red blot at the center of the gauze.

"Hmm…." the elder murmured. He tapped the wound twice. "I know exactly what this needs…"

He sucked in a deep breath, a bright yellow aura surrounding him. Without warning, the old man reared back and slapped his palm right atop the wound.

"BANDAID!"

The injured student reared back from the blow, head falling onto the pillow. The boy's eyes closed, obviously falling into unconsciousness. Sven leapt forward from his seat

"What in the name o' Posiedon are ya doin'?!" the Islander shouted, staring in utter horror and disbelief.

"Complex medical treatment, what does it look like?" the man explained nonchalantly, checking the sensors next to the now sleeping boy.

"First-degree assault, tha's what!" Sven shouted back, stomping up to the cot. The old man furrowed his brow and glanced back at his accuser.

"What? I was giving him medical aide!" came the raspy response.

"Ya gav' 'im a right concussion!" Sven poked the man's chest before pointing to the unconscious figure.

"I healed his concussion!" the old man exacerbated, waving his hands in the air for emphasis.

"You're a bloody nut!" Sven shouted.

"And you're an uneducated heathen!" the robed man shouted back.

"And you're both right," Okdes clarified, stepping between the two. "Sven, meet Father Jeremiah. He's the school's foremost medic and the Field Medicine teacher," the Paladin introduced calmly. "Farther J, this is Sven, my… partner…"

Jeremiah eyed Sven carefully, squinting unevenly and putting a finger to his chin. "Yes, yes… I can tell you drew the short straw my apprentice…"

Sven drew back from the man.

"Ehy! Only thin' 'e's gotta worry 'bout is me takin' all the ladies 'way from 'im!" the Islander shot back with a snarl. He glanced to Okdes with a disbelieving brow. "Hold a tick, you trained und'r this guy?"

The Paladin shrugged, sitting down in one of the nearby visitor chairs.

"I was going to tell you to stop, but as you can see, I didn't react fast enough," the teen sighed, rubbing his dichromatic eyes. "He helped me focus my aura's healing semblance. I wouldn't have been able to heal up Dante's arm if he hadn't trained me to fine tune it," Okdes explained, nodding towards the bedded dark-haired teen.

"Ah! Yes, I looked at him when he came in here!" Jeremiah spoke up, nodding with a sturgeon face planted on his features. "You did quite well with him. Just a little rest and he'll be back up in fighting shape!"

Okdes beamed and nodded at himself approvingly, proud of his work.

"Now wait," Sven snapped in. "Just 'cause you can magical'y heal people doesn' mean you can go 'round boppin' people on the 'ead like that!" the teen cried, motioning once more to the motionless boy in the bed beside them. Father Jeremiah stared at him deadpan.

"That's how I work it. Deal with it," the bespectacled man replied dryly. Sven rolled his eyes.

"Then yer never gettin' within a foot o' me. Okdes, yo' can cover me, 'ight?" the Islander asked, patting the knight on the shoulder. The armored teen shrugged.

"Sure, I guess," he responded. Father Jeremiah slammed his foot down.

"Wait just a second! I'm the head of the medical wing, I'm the one who takes care of the students!" the priest returned vehemently. Sven shot him a raspberry.

"Well ya old bag, you'v' jus' been replaced!" he taunted with a smiling sneer.

"I swear! One day you will be hurt and I will lay my hands on you, you arrogant boy!" Jeremiah exclaimed, shaking his fist in the air.

A pregnant pause fell between them as what the priest said met their ears.

"I… uh… yo…" Sven stuttered, looking between the bewildered looks of Okdes and the Father himself.

"Yes, I realized as soon as I said it. Shall we call this a truce and go along our ways?" the old man asked flatly, showing a stoic face even though his voice betrayed his embarrassed nature.

"Yes, pleas'!" Sven spouted without hesitation.

"Good, have a good day then Sven, Okdes," the father said, nodding to them both before leaving through the tent flap.

Sven just stared at the retreating man with an eye twitch. He sighed before turning around and whispering to himself.

"The day's almost over, the day's almost over, the day's almost over…"

---

-Beacon Auditorium-
-Post-Initiation Ceremony, Evening-

"Jake Sickor Draken, Aveline Maolisa Zaira, Voreia Nicholo Lancea, Laviana Agaith," Ozpin called, standing atop the auditorium stage. The screens behind him flashed to portraits of the four teens he had just named, the first initial of their first names lining up in tandem.

JAVL

He tapped his scroll as the quartet walked themselves on stage, now showered and rested after their ordeal in the forest.

"You four retrieved the matching Blind Men Masks. From here on out, you shall be known as Team Javelin. Led by Laviana Agaith"

The room erupted in applause, feverous clapping drowning out the cheers and hugs being delivered to her new teammates by Aveline. She gave an extra long embrace to the stunned Lati, who merely gaped in shock at her appointment. Nikko punched the girl's arm, proud grin adorning her face.

Dante smiled, noting that they did make one attractive team. Then again, the team consisted of primarily women and they were all above the bar, so as a hot-blooded male he couldn't say he wasn't biased. He grinned and watched carefully. Ozpin waved the four off stage and the line shifted so the next cluster of students could ascend the stage. Dante was jostled as he was pushed closer to the stage. It wasn't quite his time, but he couldn't help but feel nervous being this close to the platform. He and attention didn't really go hand-in-hand.

"Francis Chispa, Okdes Lucis Suscpetor, Sven Heior, and Lux Castella," the Headmaster announced. Their mismatched hair colors contrasted each other in the simmering stage lights, though their projected portraits flattened out the color so it was more pleasing to the eyes. Once more the initials lined themselves out.

FOSL

"You four retrieved the paired Grinning Man Masks. You are hereby designated as Team Fossil. Led by Okdes Scusceptor."

Once more the audience broke out into applause. The knight, clad in full armor, stood proud, chin held high. Sven nodded in approval, cracking his neck and stringing his fingers through his ponytail. Lux was off to the side, writing down something hastily in the notebook he always kept by his side.

Only a few moments passed before they were ushered off stage and the final group of initiates was brought up to be presented. This group included Dante.

Before long he was standing in the burning gaze of the entire auditorium, illuminated by light fixtures that almost hurt to be under.

"Corr Otto Giudice," Ozpin said. There was a pause when he looked up with a cross brow from his scroll, glancing at the young man to Dante's right. He looked down and continued. "Dante Crescent Scales, Luthais J. Cleric the Third, Eireen Kaliannah."

As before, their names formed a new team designation on the overhead screens.

CDLE

"You retrieved the Heavy Mask and the Light Masks, the Masks of Balance. From this point forward, you are designated as team Candle. Led by, Dante Scales."

Dante felt himself choke.

He'd never led a team before. Hell, he'd never lead anything before. He wasn't that kind of person. Then again, glancing over at the other three, he didn't know how cut out they would be for it either. Learning what he had in the brief time with the four, Luthais and Eireen were loners who only looked out for themselves. Ironically, it was that reason why they'd seemed to work so well together in the forest. There was a natural bond through pariahship.

Neither of them were leaders and he knew now Corr was barely fifteen years old…

"Hey buddy, congratulations!" the boy said, slapping Dante on the back with a smile. The older teen shuddered with the soft blow.

He and the boy had locked eyes in that forest. That made them partners.

He was the leader of team CDLE; that made him the boy's superior as well.

That didn't mean that he could ignore the troubled feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Something was horribly wrong not just with the boy being at Beacon, but with the boy in general. He couldn't shake it.

The younger man completely unnerved him, to the point it was going to be hard to sleep in the same room.

And now he was bound to the boy for the next four years, not to mention saddled with the responsibility of keeping all four of them safe.

A chill rippled through him.

He might not make it that long.

---

-Beacon High Tower, Beacon Enclosure-
-Night-

"Ah, yo've chos'n a good spot ya 'ave."

Francis perked up, looking back at the voice.

Sven stood next to the door on the left side of the platform, his shape illuminated by both the moon and the large light sitting in the center of the expanse. The columns supporting the roof shadowed a vertical set of lines to obscure details of the boy's face.

The islander walked forward, making his way to the railing of the circular room, his feet making soft echoing pounds on the weathered marble floor. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared out over the ocean in the distance.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" the faunus asked, averting his gaze from the other teen.

"Okdes sa'd yo'd be up 'ere. Sa'd he told ya it was a good place ta think," Sven explained. Before the sheep man could speak again, Sven reopened his mouth. "So tell me, how bad was it? Growin' up with tha 'orns?" he questioned. His voice was detached, his brows arched and his mouth was drawn in a quiet frown.

Confused and somewhat insulted, Francis just gave an exhale of irritation, turning to leave the perch.

"Look Frankie," Sven started, catching his harsh diction and shifting to a softer tone. "Francis… I can't pretend I kno' what it's like ta be a faunus, and I kno' what I said on the airship got under yer skin, tha' was the point, and tha' only point," the Islander spouted earnestly, turning to face his retreating teammate. "I can't of'er but apologies at this point, so… I'm sorry. Genuinely. Can we ge' past this? Please?"

Francis turned to face Sven, looking the Islet native deep into the eyes. Both of them stared, the intense gazes shifting only naturally with their unconscious eye movement.

Taking a deep breath, Francis' shoulders relaxed. The faunus returned to his previous post at the railing.

"Fine… I accept," he declared quietly. He took a breath of the well-elevated air. "Just watch your mouth in the future," the boy requested with a groan.

"I make no prom'ses; I'm a smartass, it's in me nature!" Sven replied cheerily, wrapping an arm around Francis. The lavender-haired boy flinched with the sudden physical contact. "Frankie and me, best buds, eh?"

"What about being best buds?" Lux's head popped out of the door that lead out of the chamber, green mop bobbing along with his movement. Sven leaned back and raised his free arm.

"We all are Luxy-boyo! Me 'an Frankie made nice!" the Islander called back with a wide grin. "Now c'mere, group 'ug!"

Lux bounded over and slid under the offered arm, reaching around and hugging both his teammates around their waist.

Sven smiled, though now somewhat uncomfortable with the unorthodox way that Lux was… nuzzling him. It suddenly occurred to him that Lux was incredibly weird.

Ah well, I'm jus' as crazy, aren't I?

A heavy hand leaned on Sven's shoulder. Looking up he found Okdes sliding into the embrace. Or, more accurately, onto the embrace, having decided not to hug anyone and merely keep his arms on top of the trio as a form of railing. Sven had to lean against the banister to keep from toppling over.

"You guys think you can take my spot and not have consequences?" the Paladin asked with a playful scowl. He laughed as Sven's legs finally caved in and the Islander was forced to roll to the side to avoid being crushed by his partners' combined weights.

"Ey!" Sven spouted, standing and brushing off his jacket. "Yo' listen 'ere. From now on, we'r' a team, right?" the redhead questioned with a quirked brow.

Okdes put a finger to his chin and looked at the domed ceiling.

"I suppose we are; what about it?" he retorted, waving a dismissive hand towards the speedster.

"Well, thin' of it like this, now this is our spot, just fer us four," Sven expressed, pushing Lux to the side and gazing out towards the ocean. "This is where we come after anythin'. Win, fail, we com' 'ere to celebrate," the Islander explained with a whimsical smile.

"As the best team at Beacon?" Francis jumped in, picking up on Sven's gusto.

"Aye! The best team at Beacon!" the redhead responded, pumping his fist in the air. "What'dya say chief? Yer in charge," he asked, turning to Okdes.

The burlier teen smiled.

"Every victory we have will start here, today, in this spot… Team Fossil's spot," Okdes declared. "TO THE BEST TEAM AT BEACON!"

"TO THE BEST TEAM AT BEACON!" the other three joined in, raising their fists in the air in unison.

Their optimism carried far into the night, echoing around the campus.

They'd do their damndest to prove themselves the best.

A fresh start at a new school with new friends and new challenges.

The four of them were ready for anything.

---

ARC 1: Initiation

-Complete-

ARC 2: Adaption

-Begin-

---

Author's Note: WHEW! When I wrote the line "It was going to be a long day." I did NOT expect it to actually be THIS freaking long.

Seriously, this chapter is about a third as long as my full-length novel. Admittedly, I typed this in Arial and my novel in Times New Roman, but still, it's daunting.

Now the die is cast. As you can see, all of the teams are matched and I'm incredibly glad I could scrounge up convincing names for them as well as the great little character dynamics that you'll start to see explored in depth.

Oh, and before anyone asks, look up what a Barn Owl sounds like. Now duplicate that and drop one of the doubles twenty octaves, raise the volume by forty and give it a distortion effect. THAT'S what an Ovid sounds like ;P

As for the names of the creatures, Ovid originates with the Roman poet who used Owls every once in a while for symbolism. The Sleipnir is named after Odin's horse in Norse Mythology.

There is more to come, though after this monster I'm taking a week's break to recharge and make sure that I have time to write the next chapter (finals and all are comin' up).

This year I'm thankful for all of the wonderful friends I've made through RWBY and through . I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving (for those of you in the USA that is) and I hope you all have a wonderful time stuffing your faces!

Again, I ask that you please review, as I crave feedback. Tell me where I messed up or tell me where I hit the nail on the head, either way you'll be feeding me what I want to hear! :D

Favorite, Follow, Review and Kick Ass!

I'll catch you all in two weeks when Chapter 4 rears it's ugly head, where we'll see the return of Team RWBY, JNPR and other fan favorites! :D

Catch you all on the flip! Gear001 Out!

Chapter Facts (Bar Author's Notes):

Pages: 65

Words: 24,425