Edited 10'th September 2017
A/N: Just a quick note, I've changed the names of Team SABL so that each member now uses their real names instead of their class names. Their team name is now Team ASCH (Team Ashes). Just so you don't have to go back to previous chapters, here are their full names:-
I. Arturia Pendragon
II. Shirou Emiya
III. Cu Chulainn McRemitz
IV. Heracles von Einzbern
Now, on to the chapter:-
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Even though most of ASHC had decided to sleep early last night, as a result of having completed their first semester midterms, the feeling of sleep deprivation still hit each team member like a truck hitting a civilian with no aura. That's certainly how Arturia felt that particular morning when she reached out her hand towards her desk, in an effort to try and find the item responsible for waking her up from her deep slumber and smashing it to the ground. However, try as she might, she just could not find the source of the alarm. Getting up, with a fierce glare on her face, she finally spotted the infernal piece of technology and promptly switched the alarm off.
"It's a Saturday and it's not even nine o'clock, yet… It's too early…" Came the muffled voice of the team's resident bowman, as he placed a pillow above his head "Why did we decide to do this again?"
Sighing, Arturia reluctantly got up from her bed "Training camp… Come on, guys… It's time" She told the rest of her team, though it was obvious even she had trouble listening to herself as evident from the fact that she sat on the edge of her bed for another few minutes or so. Finally facing the inevitable, Arturia grabbed her towel and clothes for the trip ahead and shut the bathroom door behind her. After a few more minutes of cursing the universe, the rest of Team ASHC promptly got up from their beds.
"Morning" Shirou grumbled, looking at the other boys of the team.
"Good morning" replied Heracles. Chulainn only replied with a grumble that vaguely resembled a greeting. Coming out of the bathroom in her regular combat clothes, Arturia looked refreshed and ready for the day ahead of her. It took a few more minutes for the whole team to get ready but once they were, it was as if nothing could bring them down.
"Right. So, it's half-past nine now. The Bullhead that's scheduled to bring us to Fuyuki will be here at twelve. Best to get our breakfast now" Arturia announced to her team, her bag of supplies for the upcoming ten days already slung behind her back "I called in a favor back home to supply us with a Bullhead today to bring us to Fuyuki and again in ten days to bring us back to Beacon"
"Sounds good but before that, do we have any idea the layout of the place we're going to, at least?" Chulainn asked, himself making last minute checks on his supplies.
"We do, actually. Hold on. I got this map from the computer at the library a few days ago" the golden haired leader of ASCH then took out a map from her bag and unfolded it on the nearby desk, clear for her team to see. The map showed roughly the area of Fuyuki village and the area surrounding it. To the north of the village was the forest where they'll be camping and to the north of the forest lay the coast of the kingdom of Vale.
She then pointed towards the border where the village and forest met "If I remember correctly, there should be a wall surrounding the village and it only has four entrances: North, South, East, and West. We'll be landing inside the village. There's a freshwater waterfall in the forest. We can set up camp there. What do you think?" she asked, looking at her team.
"Easier said than done. How do you propose we find our way there?" Chulainn asked, ever the skeptic.
Arturia was silent for a few moments and was about to answer the boy's question but for Shirou beating her to the punch "I can help there. I've had experience being a hunter… The normal kind, not the Grimm-killing kind" Shirou answered, looking at the map in front of him "Shouldn't be too much of a problem"
"Excellent. Now that that's settled, lets head to the cafeteria before everything's gone" Arturia stated, as she exited the dorm first.
"What are we specifically going to do during this training camp, by the way?" Chulainn asked.
"I'm glad you asked that because I've spent these past few days thinking up ways for us to strengthen our teamwork for the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament. As I've said, individually, our skills are good but it won't hurt for us to learn team attacks, right?" Arturia answered, earning a nod of approval from the boy.
"Is that all we'll be doing?" this time it was Shirou who voiced the question.
"Well, more than likely we'll encounter quite a number of Grimm there so at least we won't be bored out of our minds" Arturia answered. Reaching the cafeteria, the four teens weren't surprised to find the cafeteria mostly deserted, save for a couple of tables being occupied. One of those occupants included Team ASHC's sister team, Team RWBY. Their leader seemed to be whizzing about the table, excitedly chattering to her team about something. After getting their respective trays of food, they then made their way to the all-girl team. Ruby waved them over as she noticed their approach.
"Hey, guys! Good morning" Ruby said
"Morning, Ruby" Arturia replied with a smile, also acknowledging the rest of her teammates "You seem excited this morning"
"Of course I am. I have so many things planned for the break for all three of our-" As if seemingly just now noticing that each member of ASHC had their weapons on their person and not to mention the bags each member of ASHC were carrying, the fifteen-year old leader stopped mid-sentence "What's with the bags? What are you guys up to?"
"We're going camping north of Vale" Arturia answered, as she and her team sat down.
"What?!" Ruby recoiled in shock "Why didn't you guys tell me?! How long are you guys gonna be gone?!"
"Ten days"
"Ten days?!" Ruby screamed, the shocked expression turning deeper "That's almost the whole break. That will just leave us with four days to have fun" Ruby stated, deflating at her words.
"We thought you knew. Sorry" Shirou shrugged, as he took a bite out of an apple.
"And here I was, planning out all the fun things we were gonna do" the girl said, pointing at a giant binder on the table in front of them "We were gonna have a blast, Arturia. Weiss was even looking forward to spending time with you again" Weiss, choking on her food at that comment, tried to deny what her leader just said.
"Well, we'll still have four days to spend time together with when we get back. We'll just have fun then" Arturia said, in an attempt to console her fellow leader.
"It won't be enough" Ruby muttered under her breath, as she went back to her team.
"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be gone for most of the break?' Weiss asked, as she suddenly made her way over to Arturia.
"Sorry, Weiss. I guess with everything that went on this past week, it just slipped my mind" Arturia replied, an apologetic look on her face "And you even went to the trouble of planning the whole break, too"
"Wha- I did no such thing.. That was all Ruby" Weiss shot back with a huff.
"Sure, Weiss… I believe you" Arturia replied, a knowing grin on her face.
"Ugh… You're insufferable" Weiss answered back "Where is this 'training camp' of yours going to be, by the way?"
"Fuyuki Village. It's located somewhere in the northern parts of Vale. I've been there before with my father once or twice. So, what does your leader have planned for you over the break?" Arturia asked, as she took a bite out of some bacon.
"Oh, I don't know… She's just been rambling about some super fun activities that we'll be doing together as a team" Weiss answered, a look of disinterest on her face "I've learned to tune out most of what she says by this point"
"Hah… There's the Weiss I know" Arturia commented, as she and her team got up, their breakfast finished "We'll be off now, Weiss. Try not to kill Ruby if - when - she annoys you too much"
"No promises" the Heiress huffed but a moment later, her expression softened as she stared at her childhood friend "Stay safe, alright?"
"I will, Weiss. See you all again in ten days" Arturia said to the rest of Team RWBY, as the four teens made their way to the Bullheads.
[Four hours later, Fuyuki Village]
"I thought you said the ride here from Beacon was three hours" Chulainn complained, as he exited the Bullhead and was greeted with the sight of wooden buildings.
"No, I said three hours give or take an hour. It took an hour longer" Arturia answered, as she took in her surroundings "Oh, calm down, Chulainn. What's got you so pissy today, anyway?" The girl asked, receiving only grumbling in return.
"So, this is Fuyuki Village, huh?" Shirou asked, as he stepped towards one of the buildings.
"Yup. It's not much, certainly unlike Vale but I find it a comfortable and a good place to retire to when you're old"
"You think so? I find this place just screams danger, what with the Grimm most likely to break through those walls at a moment's notice" Chulainn commented, as the team surveyed the town. It was like any regular village outside the main kingdoms. The buildings were wooden, most of them were either two or three storeys tall, and had a wall surrounding the village. True to Arturia's information, there were only four entrances to the village and each entrance had two watchtowers to guard against incoming threats. The north of the village was indeed covered with trees, the place the four of them were going to be staying.
"Come on, I'm starving. Lets at least find a place to get some lunch first" Heracles said, as he began making his way deeper into the town.
"You're hungry already? We just ate breakfast" Chulainn asked, exasperated.
"That was four hours ago. A man like me has to eat if I want to kill Grimm" Heracles replied, not bothering to look back. Sharing a look and shaking their heads, Arturia and Shirou made to follow their teammates.
After a few minutes of walking around town, the four teens finally came upon an inn that also sold food and drinks. Chulainn offered to step inside first, followed closely by the other three. Entering the building, they saw it to be mostly deserted, save for two patrons to one side of the inn and a couple of kids on another side, playing among themselves. Arturia offered to order her team the lunch while the rest of them found a table. Stepping towards the counter, the golden haired leader of ASCH was greeted with a scowl on the receptionist's face, as she lowered her book.
"Whatever is is ya wan', we ain't buying" the woman hissed, before going back to her book.
"Oh, uh… We're not selling anything" Arturia answered as the woman raised her brow "We were just wondering if you could sell us some food?" In an instant, the woman's face softened and began regarding Arturia with a more honest smile.
"Oh, well… Why didn't ya say so?" the woman asked "What can I get you?"
"Um… Whatever it is you serve for lunch for my friends and I" Arturia answered, as she pointed to the three boys.
"Certainly, girl. Will you be needing rooms, too?" the woman asked, a glint in her eyes.
"No, that's fine… Just the food, thanks"
"Coming right up" the woman replied, as Arturia nodded in thanks before she rejoined the rest of Team ASHC.
"Welcome back. So, how'd it go?" Heracles asked, his stomach grumbling as Arturia took her seat beside him.
"It'll just be a few minutes" Arturia answered "After we're done here, we head to the forest. We'll no doubt encounter Grimm along the way so I think it's best if two of us carry the bags while the other two take care of any approaching Grimm. Agreed?" A few minutes later, the woman from before appeared before them, two trays of food and drinks on her hands.
"Enjoy, kids. That will be eighty lien" The woman said, extending her hand out, to which Arturia promptly placed the required amount. As they were finishing up their lunch, the four teens were approached by a couple of kids who looked to be between seven and ten years old.
"U-uh… E-excuse me, miss?" one of the kids, a female dog Faunus, asked as she approached Saber.
"Hmm? Hello, there. What can I do for you?" Arturia asked, a kind smile on her face.
"W-well, we couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier" the girl stuttered "About how you were going to go into the forest north of the village"
"Yeah? What about it? Spit it out, girl" Chulainn said, scaring to girl only to receive a glare from Arturia and an elbow in the side from Shirou.
"Ignore him. You can tell me. What's wrong?" Arturia asked once more.
"It's… our friend, Jack… He's been missing for five days now. He went into the forest five days ago with some people in black and we're afraid that he might have been… been… ki-" try as she might, she just could not finish the thought, as she tried, and failed, to hold back the tears that were flowing down her face at the moment.
One of the other kids placed a hand on her shoulder and looked straight into Arturia's eyes before bowing deeply at her "Please, lady! Help us find our friend!" the boy screamed as he pushed a few lien onto the table in front of her "We'll pay you. I know it's probably not enough but-?!" the boy could not finish his sentence as Arturia held his head on her hand.
"We'll help you. We'll find your friend and bring him back. That's a promise" Arturia answered, earning a grateful smile from the kids in front of her, before giving back the kid's lien "And please, keep your money. We won't be accepting any rewards"
"We won't?" Chulainn asked, as he took a drink of water, only for Arturia to send death glares at the boy "Alright, alright… We won't"
"R-really? Thank you, miss.." the boy said, taking back the money.
"I'm all for saving the guy but we don't exactly know the guy which means we won't know who to look for" Chulainn commented.
"Fair point" Shirou agreed, looking at the boy "Do you have a picture of your friend?"
The boy looked at his friends for a moment before the Faunus girl from earlier stepped up, handing Arturia a picture of her friend. The boy in the picture had short light brown hair, wore a white shirt under a brown vest. He also had brown pants on with a pair of black sneakers to complete his attire. Most noticeably is that the boy seemed to be older than the kids in front of her at the moment, for he looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old.
Putting it in her pocket, Arturia then looked at the group of kids in front of her, a comforting smile on her face "Don't you worry, kids. We'll find your friend and we'll bring him back. Safe and sound. That's a Huntress guarantee. Isn't that right, guys?"
"Yup. You can count on us. The number one team in Beacon, Team Ashes" Shirou agreed, followed by Heracles and Chulainn.
"There you have it. Consider your friend safe and in good hands" Arturia stated, as she got up ready to start their training camp.
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Team ASHC were in the middle of trekking through the forest at the moment, Arturia and Shirou now being the ones to keep Grimm that were approaching them at bay.
"Any idea how much more walking we have to do?" Chulainn asked, pointing at the bags he was carrying "These things aren't exactly light, ya know?"
Opening the map, Shirou took a few seconds to examine it before looking at the compass he brought along "Shouldn't be too long now. If you listen closely, you can hear the waterfall, can't you?" Team ASHC walked for a few more minutes, all the while Arturia and Archer dealt with all manner of Grimm. From the tiny Creeps to the large Ursa Major. There was even a King Taijitu but it was swiftly killed from the two teens combined efforts. Finally, from a distance, Chulainn saw it. Or rather, he heard it. The roaring sound of water splashing down. As soon as he did, he raced past the white haired teen that had been their guide for the past hour or so, eager to let go of the burden on his back.
Upon reaching the destination, Chulainn immediately placed the bag he had been carrying and laid down on the ground beside it, a smile of relief on his face. Unfortunately for the teen, however, the smile vanished soon after the rest of his team arrived.
"Come on, Chulainn, we need to get our supplies set up. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can get back to whatever it is you were doing" Arturia answered, as she rummaged inside the bag she brought.
Groaning, Chulainn got up and started unpacking, as well, as he took out a simple sleeping bag and laid it down in front of him. Arturia stared at him with a brow raised as if to ask 'Really?' only for the boy to shrug in return. Chulainn was, after all, a simple person who enjoyed living the simple life.
Shirou, on the other hand, started filling up the canteens with the water from the stream nearby before proceeding to dig up a fire pit for later. Shirou then proceeded to unfold the sleeping bag he brought beside the fire pit, as did Heracles.
"Right. Now that we're all set up, how's about we get started?" Arturia asked, unwrapping Avalon, Excalibur sheathed within. Unsheathing her weapon, she performed a few practice swings before looking over at her teammates.
"What do you have in mind?" Chulainn asked, Gae Bolg in hand with a bit more enthusiasm in his voice than before.
Taking in her surroundings, Arturia thought for a moment before she looked back at the boy "How about we spar two-on-two by making use of the forest? From what I saw during previous Vytal Festival Tournaments, the terrains always change during the team battles and the two-on-two battles. We can take advantage of blindspots and after that, we can give the other advise on how to better cover the blindspot. How does that sound?"
"Sounds as good a plan as any" Heracles commented, taking out his own weapon "So, partners versus partners?" Heracles asked, receiving nods of agreement in return.
"Excellent. It starts in one minute and ends when one team reaches fifty percent of their aura first. Agreed?" The four teens then set their scrolls so that it would record and display their auras. Receiving no arguments in return, the two pairs of partners then started walking towards different parts of the forest.
"Got a plan, at least? Heracles isn't exactly the easiest person to take down" Shirou stated, as he conjured up a dagger.
"Don't use your dagger. For the tournament, I'm thinking you utilize your specialty, that is, your bow. Let Chulainn and I worry about the melee during the tournament. For now, if we can train your bow skills, it'll give us a great advantage" Arturia suggested, to which Shirou agreed.
"So, you're going to take on the both of them alone? You're just asking for a loss there" Shirou commented, as he created his bow and an arrow, before seeing that the both of them still had thirty seconds to prepare.
"That's where you come in. I'll go for Heracles first. You take Chulainn. I'll make it look like we're trying to take Heracles down first but Chulainn's our real target. You whittle him down before I deal the finishing blow. Okay?" Shirou nodded at Arturia's instructions, before he jumped to a higher point on a tree, taking aim.
Looking ahead, Arturia readied herself, resolve in her eyes. A few seconds later, her scroll vibrated, indicating that their minute was up and that the training camp had officially begun.
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Lancer was standing in the middle of the forest, he could hear the waterfall to his right while to his left, silence. Waiting for his opponent to slip up, he stood there, his eyes closed in order to focus all his attention on his ears. Suddenly, there was a rustling in one of the trees behind him as a projectile sailed through the air with him being the target. Turning around, spinning Gae Bolg to block the shot, Chulainn missed, as the arrow buried itself in the boy's shoulder. Grunting, the blue haired teen got up before pulling the arrow free. Checking his aura, he saw that it was now at fifty-five percent. Gritting his teeth, he scanned his immediate area for the damned bowman.
Once more, he heard a rustling in the leaves to his side and another arrow came sailing through the air, the target this time his chest. Grabbing the arrow with his hand at the last possible second, Chulainn was had no time to rejoice when another arrow struck him in his thigh, causing him to fall down to one knee. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his arrow and looked up, just in time to see an arrow being pulled back and pointed at his face at point blank range. The one doing the pulling looked down at Chulainn, and smirked before helping him up to his feet.
"That's my win" Shirou stated, as they made their way back to their camp.
"Hmph… I know when I'm beat but sooner or later, you'll be looking up at me" Chulainn shot back. It had been a few hours since Team ASHC had started their training. During that time, they went through various scenarios of combat, ranging from two-on-two battles, one-on-one battles, and even three-on-one battles, all with varying degrees of success. Of course, there had been no shortage of Grimm during that time, either.
The sun was starting to set and Arturia had stated that this next match between Chulainn and Shirou was to be the last one for the day. Reaching their camp, the two boys saw that Heracles and Arturia, both their weapons at their sides, already had a fire going and they were currently boiling some water and frying some fish they had caught from the river.
"Oh, you guys are back. So, who won?" Arturia asked, sitting on a log.
"It was me, of course" Shirou replied, a smug grin on his face, much to Chulainn's displeasure "But I have to hand it to Chulainn. He's getting better at sensing his surroundings"
"Hmph.. I don't need your compliments, Emiya. Just know that by the end of this camp, I'll be the strongest member of this team" the blue haired teen stated proudly, as he took a seat beside Heracles.
"You do know that the point of this camp is to strengthen all of us as a team, right?" Heracles retorted, as he inspected the fish in front of him.
"I wouldn't bother, Heracles. If I know Chulainn, and unfortunately I do, he won't give up in trying to be better than everyone" Arturia replied, taking a sip of water.
"Well, at least it'll benefit the team as a whole" Shirou stated, wiping off some sweat from his brow.
"I'll be back" Heracles stated, getting up "We need more firewood"
"I need to take a leak" Chulainn said, as he, too, left the camp site, leaving Arturia and Shirou alone.
"Say, Shirou, I don't think I've ever asked you this but why do you want to be a Hunter?" Arturia asked, as she poked at the fire in front of her.
"Hmm? Why the sudden interest?" the boy replied, as he took a drink of water.
"Small talk, for the most part. Humor me"
"Hmph.. Well, what's there to say? I'm not naive enough like Ruby to say I want to save people. I don't have such a noble intention of trying to be a champion of justice or anything like that. I just want to help wherever I can, that's all. Whether that's by killing Grimm or stopping terrorists, I'll do what I think is best" the boy answered, looking into the fire as if it held dark secrets to be told "What about you?"
"Me? It's my duty to be a Huntress, I suppose. I told you guys before that Excalibur is a family heirloom but it's more than that. You don't just receive it. You have to be worthy of it. It doesn't matter if you're from the main family or the branch family, you have to be worthy for Excalibur to appear before you. Long story short, there's a sort of 'test' we Pendragons have to go through in order to be worthy of the blade and in the end, I bested my other relatives, you could say, and my reward was Excalibur and its sheath, Avalon" Arturia then chuckled as she remembered memories from her past "Needless to say, Mordred wasn't thrilled that she lost to me"
"Mordred?" Shirou asked, an inquisitive look on his face.
"It's nothing. Forget it" Arturia answered. A few moments later, Heracles and Chulainn came back, both carrying a bundle of dried wood.
"Right. Now that we're all here, who's gonna be taking first watch?" Arturia asked, as she took a bite of fish.
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The sun had already set but two individuals were currently in the middle of the forest, torches in each of their hands. One man and one woman, they were wearing identical clothing. That is, they were wearing all-black clothing. Black shirt under a black jacket with a pair of black pants and black shoes. The only thing that wasn't black were the identical human bone mask covering the top half of their faces. They were currently staring at an illustration on the wall of a particular ruin. The painting was an illustration of a white grail with what looked to be some sort of black liquid spilling out of the grail. A group of people were drawn below the grail, grovelling before it, as if worshiping it like some sort of God. Below the illustration looked to be some kind of ancient language.
"You think this is it?" The man asked.
"Hold on. Let me check" the woman replied, as she took out a piece of paper and started comparing the sketch on the paper to the painting on the wall "Yup. This is the one"
"Good" grabbing the scroll, the man typed in a message that read:
'We've found it. Inform Mr. Chiron'
[Chapter 7 END]
A/N: And that's that. I'm glad with how this chapter turned out. I hope you are, too. I'm actually excited with what's coming next. I've already planned out a few chapters in advance. Hopefully I'll get to writing them and releasing them soon after so, stay tuned.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, too. This is just a prologue to things to come. Also, just wanna state it out there. Those two at the end there were wearing clothing the same as Assassin from Fate/Zero.
Also, just putting it out there, I read all of your reviews and I love every one of them. So, don't be bashful. Tell me what you think of it so far. Good? Bad? Average? Also, I'm thinking of getting a Beta. As always, follow and fave.
No XIV signing off