Chapter 5: The First Battle
Harriet walked carefully through the forest, occasionally glancing around to check for Grimm or other students. Nothing. Everything was eerily quiet. Looks like everyone must be close to the destination. I should make my way there, too.
All of a sudden, her ears perked up, catching the sound of leaves rustling somewhere nearby. As a Faunus, Harriet had enhanced animal senses that surpassed those of most humans. Although she was primarily adept at agility due to being a rabbit-type Faunus, and couldn't see or hear as well as a cat Faunus, it was still enough for her to notice that something was very close by.
Instinctively, her feet began to twitch. She readied her weapon, preparing to fight if it was a Grimm approaching her.
However, her worries were unnecessary. A rather out-of-breath Heather came bursting out of a nearby bush, carrying her pistols. "Hahh, hahh," she gasped. "Alright, I think I lost them."
She looked up, noticing Harriet. "Oh, hello! You're that Faunus, Harriet Maroon, right?"
"Umm, yes, that's me." Harriet stammered, sheathing her gauntlets. "And you're, um, Heather Fox, aren't you? The Vacuo champion."
"That's me." She smiled, adjusting her spectacles. "I suppose now that we've properly met, it means we're partners, hmm? It's good to meet you, Harriet." She reached out her hand. Harriet took it reluctantly. "So what have you been up to since we all landed?"
Harriet gestured vaguely behind her. "There was a cave back there. I thought it looked important, so I went in to explore," she muttered. "There wasn't much in there, just a couple of Grimm."
"I see. Well, exploring the unknown is also a part of being a Huntress, isn't it?" Heather said comfortingly. "Anyway, shall we be off? If we're lucky, we may run into the others. You want to see that Summer girl again, don't you?"
Harriet nodded timidly. "Yeah…I guess that'd be nice."
"Then let's go." Heather turned and walked back the way she'd come. Harriet stood there in silence for a moment, frowning uncertainly at her new partner. She seemed distressed…almost afraid of something. Surely one of the best first-year students in the school wouldn't be so flustered from a few Grimm, would she? Had something else happened to her while she was alone in the forest?
Harriet shook her head. It's probably nothing. Anyway, I should concentrate. With that, she followed Heather into the bushes.
"You hear that?" Qrow asked.
Summer nodded. The pair stood silently for moment, looking around for the source of the noise. Suddenly, a large bird-type Grimm flew above their heads with an ear-piercing screech.
Qrow winced. "Great. So those stupid things are here, too. Let's hope some other poor sap has to deal with that thing before we do."
"Yeah," Summer nodded in agreement.
The two of them continued walking in a rather uneasy silence. Summer glanced up at Qrow, who was walking in front of her while holding his sword over his shoulder. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was very unhappy. Well, we definitely got off on the wrong foot. Still, what exactly did I do wrong? She recalled Qrow's angry rant at having to become her partner. I don't think I did anything that could have pissed him off so much.
Still, it wouldn't do for the two of them to have to argue like this all four years of their partnership. At some point, they'd have to open up to each other if they wanted to function as a team. Summer wasn't exactly Qrow's biggest fan, and she'd never been one to "open up" to others, but now was the time to discard her personal displeasures.
"You're really good with that sword." Summer spoke up, still walking. A compliment was probably the best way to start.
"…." There was a brief silence before Qrow replied, "Yeah, I guess I am."
Well, he's willing to chat, so that's something. "It can change forms, right? I've never seen a sword do that before. I, um, think it's really cool."
Qrow turned in surprise. "Really? Most Huntsmen use weapons that have multiple forms. It's not exactly unique." Without stopping, he raised his sword over his head and changed it into its scythe form. "Mine isn't that crazy, really. It's a big-ass sword, it's a big-ass scythe." He retracted it back into a sword, only for the top layer to open up, revealing a built-in cannon. "And it's also a gun."
"Whoa…" Summer muttered. Regardless of what Qrow had said, the idea of weapons that could change into other forms was something very new to her. She began to wonder who else at Beacon had weapons that were more than what they seemed. "I think I like the scythe the best."
"Seriously?" Qrow seemed surprised. "I only ever really use it when I have to deal with something particularly dangerous. It's badass, yeah, and powerful as hell, but it's way too heavy and hard to handle, so I just stick with the sword."
Summer frowned. "But doesn't it weigh the same?"
"Well…" Qrow struggled to answer. It seemed that he'd genuinely never considered that fact. "Uh, well, yeah. I guess it does." He paused for a second, then said hesitantly, "Is your thing really just a normal bow? Nothing special at all?"
"I can use Dust to make it stronger, but other than that, yeah, it's just a bow." Summer took it out, and examining it, breathed a sigh of relief. It's not damaged from that last fight. And I still have plenty of arrows and Dust crystals left. "I didn't actually make it. It was the best model they had back at my old school, and they gave it to me as a gift after I graduated at the top of my archery class."
"Really? You were that good?" Qrow raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Maybe you aren't as weak as you look."
Summer winced. I guess that's about as nice as he's gonna get, she thought resignedly. "Yeah, I'm alright. What about you? You must have done really well at whichever school you came from."
"I went to some small place in the countryside-nothin' too special." Just like me, Summer noted. "I did pretty well, but…" Qrow's eyes darkened. "Sis was always the best at everything. She was a master and a genius. The two of us were-not to not sound cocky or anything-leagues beyond any of the other chumps who went there, but she was the number one, so only she got any real attention. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't compete with her."
"I see." So, pretty much as I thought. "You and Raven came from Atlas, right? She said so yesterday when we first met."
"Err…" Qrow seemed strangely hesitant to answer. "Well, kind of. It's a little more complicated than th-"
Before he could finish, a loud explosion shook the area. Red-and-black flames burst out of the trees where the noise had some from.
"What was that?" Summer yelled.
"Sounds like it came from around the destination." Qrow muttered. "I think I might know who that is. Hold on a sec, I'll check it out."
Suddenly, he disappeared into thin air. Or, at least, Summer thought he had, but looking up she saw a small black bird-a crow-flying towards the source of the sound. She remembered seeing the same bird back when they'd all been launched into the forest.
I get it, that's his Semblance. So that's how he found me.
About half a minute passed before Qrow returned, transforming back into his human form. "Grimm at the relic site!" He shouted. "Let's go! Sis is fighting them off, and your boyfriend's with her, too." Without waiting for her response, he ran off.
M-my "boyfriend"?! Does he mean Tai? "O-okay!" She readied her bow and followed him.
They saw the Grimm before they reached the site.
There were lots of them, far more than there had been when Summer had been attacked. Luckily, they hadn't noticed the pair running up from behind, so Summer and Qrow were able to kill quite a few of them before they noticed their presence.
Bursting into the clearing, they quickly saw the ruined temple where the relic pieces were gathered. They'd reached the destination. Unfortunately, that wasn't their priority at the moment. In front of the temple, dozens more Grimm were gathered, while Raven and Tai were defending themselves against a giant scorpion Grimm-a Deathstalker.
"Hiya!" Tai's tattoos were glowing red. He rammed his fists, which were glowing with flame-elemental Dust, at full force into the beast, making small cracks in its tough head. Raven leaped gracefully into the air, swinging her katana with excellent precision, slicing off the Grimm's stinger. The Deathstalker hissed in pain. Tai turned, noticing Summer and Qrow, and gave a brief wave before returning to his battle.
"Looks like they're doing pretty well!" Qrow shouted. "C'mon, let's take care of the rest!"
"Got it!" Summer began firing arrows at Beowolves before they could get too close, while Qrow cut up Creeps and Ursas left and right with his sword.
Summer was feeling rather confident in her abilities. Despite there being more Grimm than before, it was significantly easier with more people by her side. So this is what it means to have teammates, huh?
Meanwhile, Tai had landed a well-deserved final blow on the Deathstalker, crushing its forehead with a concentrated Aura punch. Grinning and fueled with adrenaline, he set his eyes on a nearby Beowolf and prepared to strike-only for someone else to decapitate it first.
"Hey, that was my kill!" he protested at Qrow.
"I didn't see your name on it, Blondie." He replied bluntly.
"Wait, what did you just call me?" Tai stared at him in disbelief.
"Blondie. I couldn't be bothered to remember your name, so I'm just gonna call you that. M'kay?" Qrow responded without even looking at him. "Just leave 'em all to me, you'll just cramp my style."
Tai scowled. "Hey, you're that kid who insulted Summer in the locker room, right? You've got some nerve if you think she's going to be your partner after that."
Qrow shrugged. "Wasn't my idea. I just swooped in to save her after she almost, y'know, died."
Tai's eyed widened. "Wait, really?"
"Don't believe me? Ask her. I was actually gonna be Sis' partner, but it looks like she's stuck with you, huh? Pity."
"Heh! Trying to trash-talk me? Don't underestimate me…Birdy."
Qrow froze. "W-w-what did you just say?" He stammered.
"That's what your classmates always called you back when you were a kid, right?" Tai grinned evilly. "Your sis told me everything about the two of you growing up on our way here-and I do mean everything."
"K-kh…" Qrow's face became white as a sheet. "Wh-what exactly did she-"
A loud growling interrupted him. Qrow and Tai realized that in their bickering they'd been surrounded by Grimm. An awkward silence followed.
"Hey Blondie." Qrow said, readying his blade. "Bet I can kill more than you."
"In your dreams, Birdy." Tai grinned. "And if you lose that bet, I'm going to spill your dirty kiddie secrets to the entire school."
Qrow smirked. "You're on, pal." With that, they charged into the fray.
They seem to be getting along, Summer noted with mild amusement as she continued to shoot down Grimm. On the other side of the temple, Raven was cutting down Ursas with ease.
Qrow wasn't kidding, Summer realized. She's a master-a genius. I've never seen anyone fight as well as she does.
She heard a growl from very close by. Oh crap! I got distracted. Panicking, she raised her bow to defend herself from the Beowolf's attack.
Bam! A gunshot rang out, and the Beowolf slumped over, dead.
"Sorry we're late!" Heather came running into the clearing, with Harriet close behind. Heather immediately began firing bullets into the hordes of Grimm, while Harriet unsheathed her claw gauntlets and began slashing at some nearby Creeps. She noticed Summer, and smiled shyly at her. Summer smiled back. Just as I thought, she's stronger than she looks. Regaining her composure, she readied her bow once more.
Before long, they'd nearly cleared out all of the Grimm. Suddenly, a high-pitched, familiar screech rang out through the forest, and the giant Grimm bird flew into view of the group.
"An avian-species Grimm-a Nevermore." Heather murmured, reloading her pistols. "Rare, but deadly. Let's use teamwork to take it down." Summer gulped, but nodded.
The Nevermore was now flying straight towards them. Raven fidgeted briefly with the Dust slots on her katana's handle, before firing a black-and-red beam of Dust energy at the beast. Unfortunately, despite landing a direct hit, the Nevermore only seemed to become more enraged. Cawing madly, it continued its descent.
Everyone dodged out of the way as it neared the ground. "We need more firepower!" Heather yelled. Using her spectacles, she quickly gauged the bird's weak points and began firing at them. Harriet loaded an Aura Capsule into her gauntlet and launched a powerful laser beam. Summer fired as many Dust-infused arrows as she could spare. Qrow transformed his sword into its gun form and bombarded the Nevermore with bullets. The Nevermore flew wildly around the area, dodging as best as it could.
All of their attacks began to slow the beast down, but it wasn't quite enough. Screeching, it prepared for another dive attack.
"Hey, everyone." Tai spoke up suddenly. "Can all of you get behind me for a moment? Get as close as possible."
"Huh?" Qrow stared at him. "What's this all about?"
"Just do it!" Reluctantly. Qrow obeyed. Summer, Raven, Heather and Harriet also stepped closer to him.
Tai breathed. "Ok, that should be good." He moved into a battle stance, grinning. "Now prepare for awesomeness."
He closed his eyes and focused. Suddenly, his body began glowing. The young man was practically radiating energy.
"W-what is this…power?" Summer asked, awestruck.
"Oh, I see! Quite impressive." Heather smiled approvingly.
Raven nodded. "Taiyang Xiao Long's Semblance. When others are in his close proximity, his Aura increases in power. The more individuals he has supporting him, the stronger his attacks become."
The Nevermore was closer than ever now. It opened its beaked mouth and prepared to strike.
"Hrooooooh….HRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tai yelled, his fist meeting the bird's face.
There was an ear-splitting explosion of golden energy as his attack made contact. The Nevermore was completely obliterated by the impact alone, and disintegrated. Several trees in Tai's direction were knocked clean over. There was a brief silence. "W-wow…" Harriet muttered in awe.
Summer nodded in agreement. Tai was certainly powerful. With a single blow, he'd destroyed the Nevermore like it was nothing. His Semblance was really impressive, too.
"Well," Qrow said, trying to remain composed but clearly awestruck as well. "That was something. I guess you win this one…Tai."
Summer glanced at Tai thoughtfully, remembering something he'd said when they'd first met. When Summer had explained her reason for attending Beacon.
"Not having to rely on anybody else…I see. That's a pretty good reason," he'd said with an unusually serious expression.
And now it turned out his Semblance relied entirely on having other people to support him. Summer couldn't help but feel the two things were connected somehow.
"It seems that that's done with." Raven spoke up. "The rest of the Grimm appear to have retreated. I think it is best that we finish what we came here to do." Oh right, the relics, Summer thought.
As Ozpin had instructed, each pair took a relic from the temple. Summer and Qrow took one that looked like the head of a small horse. Looking at Tai and Raven, Summer noted that their relic looked the same. Heather and Harriet took a relic that had the shape of a castle. There were spaces in the spots where the relics were placed; it seemed other students had already reached the destination before them.
"Phew!" Tai sighed. "That sure felt good. Good play, partner…" he said, grinning at Raven, "…Summer," he continued, flashing a thumbs-up at her, "…and Birdy." He smiled hesitantly at Qrow.
"Please don't call me that." He muttered.
"Sorry." Tai smiled sheepishly. "You're pretty good with that sword…scythe…whatever the heck it is, huh? The sword's especially cool."
Qrow smiled back. "I do my best. Y'know, Summer actually thought the scythe was the coolest one."
Tai raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? It just looks way too impractical to use, if you ask me."
"I know, right? Wonder what she was thinking." Qrow grinned. "So, um…can you not spread my, uh, unsavoury childhood memories to everyone at Beacon?"
Tai smirked. "We'll see about that, Qrow. Anyhow, as a token of respect to your badassery, I'll forgive you for being a jerk…at least for now." He held out his hand for a fist-bump. Hesitantly, Qrow accepted it.
"Are we all done here?" Heather asked. Everyone nodded. "Alright then. Let's head back to the cli-"
"Not so fast."
A new voice rang out. The group turned around to see a young man with black hair, bushy eyebrows and a yellow robe walking towards them with a royal sceptre in hand.
Jin.
Upon seeing the bully, Harriet yelped in fear and hid behind Heather.
Summer felt a rush of nausea, seeing the bully from yesterday approaching them. He had his usual unpleasant grin, but something seemed different about it…
"Jin Shi-Huang?" Heather stared at him in surprise. "When did you get here? Do you not have a partner yet?"
"Shut up. I'm not here to talk to any of you." Jin sneered, and pointed his sceptre in Summer's direction. "I'm here for you, lady."
"Me?" Summer asked, shocked.
"That's right. You haven't forgotten yesterday, right? We never finished our duel…thanks to that rotten bitch over there." He spat at Raven. "But now, nothing's gonna get between me…and my prey. I'm gonna teach you a lesson in respect…that you'll never forget!"
"You…" Tai stared at him, furious. "Just let it go, won't you? Now's not the time to pick a fight! You'll just get marks off for attacking a student! Are you really that stupid?"
Summer hesitated, then spoke up. "Hey guys…is it just me, or does something about Jin seem…off?"
"I don't see anything different." Tai growled. "As far as I can tell, he's still as much of a jackass as he was yesterday."
Qrow shook his head. "No…Summer's right. I can't really tell what, but…" He turned to Raven. She nodded.
"Yes, Brother. I can sense it…something is wrong. I feel…an unnatural presence around that boy." She turned to Summer. "Be on your guard."
Summer nodded. She could now see what the problem was. Jin's movements…the way he walked…it seemed unnatural-forced, even.
As if someone was controlling him.
On top of Beacon Cliff, Ozpin glanced at his Scroll. Several students had already returned from their initiation, but he paid them no attention.
A few minutes ago, Glynda had drawn in a sharp breath and said: "Sir-!"
"Hmmm?" Ozpin had replied. "What is it?"
"One of the students…Jin Shi-Huang. He's being…"
Ozpin had looked over at her Scroll. On it, he could see Jin wandering alone through the forest. Behind him was a small black rat-like creature. Suddenly, the creature dissolved into a thick black substance and entered the young man's body. Jin shuddered for a moment, then continued walking as before.
"Is that…" Glynda muttered. "Sir, could this be-"
Ozpin nodded gravely. "It is. I know all too well what that creature is. It seems our enemy is here."
"Then we should-"
"No, Glynda. We will do nothing."
"But sir-"
"Please understand, Glynda. If we break tradition and directly interfere with the initiation, it will only cause confusion-exactly what the enemy wants. I have reason to believe that, at this moment, Mr. Huang is not in any serious danger. And so, for now we shall simply observe."
"…Understood." Glynda looked unhappy, but she had not furthered the argument.
And now, Ozpin stood there, watching as Jin drew his weapon once more on Summer Rose and her companions. He, too, could clearly notice the changes in the young man's behaviour. He, more than any other man, had plenty of experience with noticing when people were acting differently.
Yet even he was not certain how this scenario would play out. Even so, he'd chosen to have faith, and would continue to do so.
"Now, Summer Rose," he murmured. "What will you do?"