Chapter Three
Luke stared at the table, the dumbbell he had been using lay in his hand. Often times he would wake up in the middle of the night from his dreams and, though he would never admit it to anyone, he doesn't want to go back to them. So, to circumvent the problem of being bored, he would work out. Unfortunately for him, the exertion never cleared his mind, never made him forget what he saw. He remembered ever dream with frightening clarity. Unwillingly thinking back on the dream he just had, he let out a howl of rage and brought the dumbbell down on the table. A loud cracking sound could be heard as the two objects collided, the metal table crumpling into a ruined heap under the large weight. His chest heaved as he breathed, trying to calm himself before he did anything else irrational. After a long period of time had passed, he calmly let go of the dumbbell and backed up from it. He shook his head and got dressed into his outfit, stepping outside after he had inspected himself in the mirror. Wade was outside waiting for him, his arms crossed and a questioning look on his face. "What the hell are you looking at?" Luke asked, his voice seething with venom.
Wade shrugged and nodded into his room. "Depends on what the hell you just did in there."
Luke walked up to him, putting his face within inches of Wade's. "What I do is none of your business," he responded coldly.
Wade tilted his head and frowned. "Excuse me, but we're a team. We're only as strong as our weakest link, and if that link is going to be you I think the rest of us have a right to know."
The two glared at each other for a few more seconds before Luke growled and looked away, taking a few steps down the hall before stopping. He turned to say something to Wade, but he saw that he had already gone. He growled again before turning and continuing his walk.
"You think this is the place?" Yang and Fenrir had been traveling for some time, Yang communicating with his twin to try and locate him before they came across another group. The trek to where they were now had been uneventful, though they had heard many sounds of battle along the way. Some were close enough to cause Yang to pull out his sword, but many were far off. Fenrir had almost fallen down a hole, but even then it wasn't a very deep one. Now they had come across this cave. Yang looked back over to Fenrir. "You still here man?" He asked him.
Fenrir nodded and responded. "Yeah, I'm still here." He looked the cave up and down and then back into the forest. "Didn't they say it was supposed to be a temple?"
"They did." Yang said back, then after some time, "Maybe it's in here?"
Fenrir turned back and stepped into the cave a few feet, sniffing. "I don't smell anyone else, but maybe we're the first ones." He motioned for Yang to follow and he did, pulling out his sword and letting it hang by his side. The two of them walked in until they came upon a split. After a moment's debate they decided to go left. It gradually got darker and darker until Yang could barely see Fenrir a few feet in front of him, so when he stopped he had no idea. They bumped into each other and before Yang could say anything, Fenrir had put a hand over his mouth. "Don't." He whispered, it was so faint that Yang could barely hear it. But he did hear Fenrir sniff a couple of times in rapid succession. After a second passed he saw the shadow of Fenrir's hand motioning for him to go back the way they came. There was something in the cave, and whatever it was it frightened Fenrir enough to cause him to exit. Yang felt Fenrir's hands grasp his shoulders gently and start to turn him the way they had come. He felt Fenrir's head close to him and listened as closely as he could to hear what he was saying. "I'm going to fire off a couple of rounds, and when I do, you need to run." Yang nodded his head to show that he understood and then turned his head to where his body was facing. A few moments passed before Fenrir fired and a vision of the cave up ahead was etched into Yang's eyes.
He ran as soon as the vision appeared and kept his hand on the right wall. As it curved to the right he curved with it. After some time he finally saw the light at the exit and heard roars from the Grimm behind him. Knowing that Fenrir would yell if he needed help, Yang kept running and sent a message out to his brother. 'Big trouble dude, BIG TROUBLE!' They had established a rule, some time after a prank that had gone wrong in their early teen years, in which they would only yell to each other if something was extremely wrong; they called it the FUBAR call. And right now the situation definitely called for that call. Yang heard footsteps quickly catch up to him and go to his right, and he turned to see Fenrir running just as fast as him. "What are they?!" He yelled as they ran.
"Ursa, big ones!" Fenrir responded. Taking him on his word, Yang continued to run. Seconds of frantic running passed before he received a message from Yin, 'What do you mean big trouble?' Yang sighed and took out his sword, turning to face the Grimm while going back as fast as he could. What he saw made his jaw drop in amazement, and fear. The Grimm were Ursa, just as Fenrir had said, but they were unlike any he had seen before. These Ursa had bone-like protrusions all about their body, acting like a mixture of both functional and aesthetic armor, making it seem like there was a sense of rank. The first one launched itself at him and he dived out of the way, sending an image of the Grimm to Yin. He had to spin and slice at another that tried to tackle him to the ground, and quickly began to run again. When he caught up to Fenrir a massive Ursa barreled its way in front of them, splintering two trees that were unfortunate enough to be in the way, and slid to a stop, the grass beneath it being churned to dirt. This one had more armor than any of the others, probably even combined, and when it opened its mouth to roar the two of them decided that they would rather not step into it. The roar was deafening and they both let out screams of terror as they ran away from it. "Do we know where we're going?" Fenrir yelled to Yang.
Despite all that was happening, Yang laughed as he turned to face Fenrir. "No idea!"
"Great!" Fenrir responded, throwing his hands up and out in frustration. He then pointed a finger at Yang. "If I die I'm going to kill you!"
The two of them ran through some bushes and emerged from them into an open area. A good length away from them stood a structure, and around that structure stood a group of people, the one closest to them was one that Yang recognized immediately.
Cynthia was thrilled to see that Yang, who was shortly followed by Fenrir, sprint out of a bush. She began to walk away from the group and almost got to where Yin was standing, when the first Ursa crashed through a tree. Yin noticed her and frowned, immediately turning to her. "What are you doing, you're not suited for close quarters combat, get back." She opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted. "Don't argue, just go to the others. Tell anyone that is ranged to stay back and anyone who isn't to come up."
Cynthia sighed in frustration, but ran back to the others, hearing more Ursa pounding their way through the row of trees. Elisia and Luther ran past her as they joined Yin, their weapons in hand. When she reached the other two, Ian was already looking down the scope of his rifle. "What's the situation?" he asked her without looking.
"How comfortable are you with melee combat?" Though she was looking at Ian when she asked it, she was also talking to Yveir.
"I'm not particularly fond of it, I prefer a little distance between me and my target." Ian responded.
Cynthia turned to Yveir and she shrugged. "I might be able to help out," she said with a smirk.
"I…don't really know what you mean by that," Cynthia started out. "But if you feel more comfortable up there, by all means go for it."
Yveir nodded and then ran up to the others, reaching behind her back and grabbing her biggest knife. Cynthia crouched down next to Ian and aimed at the Ursa. "Six in the front, two supporting from behind," Ian commented under his breath. "They should keep our guests plenty entertained." She couldn't see his face, but she would have put money on him having a smile.
Yin and Yang were in the center of the line, both holding their swords out in anticipation. To Yin's right was Fenrir and Luther, to Yang's left was Yveir and Elisia. The two of them were thirty feet behind the front line, but even if one of the Grimm decided to try at them it wouldn't be long before it was upon them. When she finally got around to looking at the Grimm it almost took her breath away. They stood in a line opposite their own front, numbering nine in all. They were all powerful looking, and it sounded like there were more either coming up behind them or they had already stopped, but what concerned her the most was the one standing in front of the line. Obviously the leader, it towered over the others as it stood on its hind legs, it had much more armor and its claws were long and razor sharp. It sniffed twice and then let out an earsplitting roar, the smaller Ursa roaring in response and charging out. "I've got left side," she called out to Ian as she started firing.
As the Ursa charged, the ones closer to the ends slowed down slightly, making the line curve into an arc. Yang saw what was happening and yelled out, "They're going to blow through us!"
Both Yveir and Yin yelled, "Spread out!" and they all did so. Elisia spun around and threw her axe low, succeeding in halting one of the Ursa as two of its legs were cut out from under it. Yveir ran straight at one and disappeared, causing it to stop in confusion. When it decided it was just hallucinating and looked over to Elisia its head crashed to the ground, a knife jutting out from the back of it. Yveir materialized and gave a two fingered salute to Elisia, who returned it before they rushed over to help the others. Luther swung at the Ursa as it met him, stopping it in its tracks and severing an arm. Not fazed at the lost limb, the Grimm merely swung with its other arm. Luther parried the attack and jumped into the air, spinning around and delivering a nasty kick with his left leg to the Ursa's head. It went to the ground and did not move. Fenrir fired continuously at the approaching Ursa, but it did not shy away from him. When it reached him, it lashed out with a paw. He jumped over it and planted a foot on its face, kicking off it and sending it tumbling to the ground. After it had righted itself it shook its head and then growled at Fenrir. He raised his hands. "Hey, it's nothing personal." It rushed him before he could say anything else to defend himself. The Ursa faked a swipe at his right and then followed with a direct hit to his midsection when he dodged the fake, sending him flying. He rolled along the ground and landed in a crouch. Before it had a chance to come at him again, it was hit in the head by a bullet, causing it to flinch. Fenrir lunged and slid under it, dragging a hand along its stomach. The slide carried him out from under it and he stopped himself, jumping onto its back and, using his semblance, slammed his fists down on its spine. It collapsed under him with a yelp of pain and then let out a long breath as it died.
Both Yin and Yang were engaged by two Ursa, though the situation was well in hand. Yin focused on blocking all attempted hits and added in a slice with his sword where he could to slowly weaken the Ursa. Yang used a portion of his aura to fuel his semblance and then easily copied what his twin was doing. With help from both Cynthia and Ian, the Ursa were eventually felled and the six stood in a semicircle looking at the giant Ursa. It seemed to laugh and then pounded the ground with a fist. This time Beowolves rushed out from the line of trees. Ian heard something from behind him and turned around to see three Beowolves behind them. "Cynthia!" he yelled as he dodged the first one. She turned to see the first one stumble but failed to move out of the way of the second one that was aiming for her. It scratched her back, not in the good way, and she fell to the ground. She rolled out of a stomp and pulled her rifle up, landing a point blank shot on its midsection and sending it up into the air three feet. It died before it hit the ground. Ian tried to fire at the one closest to him but his rifle was knocked out of his hands. "Bollocks!" was the only thing he could say before he was punched in the gut, the force driving the wind out of him. He collapsed to the ground and did not move. Cynthia, now in a better firing position, aimed at the Beowolf and hit it in the head, killing it instantly. The third Grimm jumped at her and swiped down. She blocked the attack with one kick and then kicked it with her other leg, making it stumble backwards. She hit a button one the side of her trigger guard with her thumb as she stood up. Her rifle made a clicking sound and split in two, the half in her left hand transforming into a shield, and the half in her right hand transforming into a sword. Cynthia ran at the Beowolf and hit it with her shield. After the contact was made, it was sent tumbling into the air, thrashing in confusion. Spinning around and stopping in a crouch she aimed her shield at it and flexed a muscle that caused a round to shoot out of the shield and kill the Grimm. Now that the threat had been neutralized she focused on Ian. "Ian!" she exclaimed as she bent over him, panic creeping into her voice. "Are you alright?"
Ian grunted in pain as he rolled over, flashing a smile that was obviously forced. "I'm alright love, nothing can stop me." He tried to sit up but groaned and stopped. "Though that does hurt a hell of a lot more than it ought to."
Cynthia quickly surveyed her surroundings and then looked back to where everyone else was fighting. They had dispatched most of the Beowolves that had come as reinforcements, though that now meant that the biggest Ursa was moving in on them. She let out a sigh and then looked back down to Ian. "Do you think you'll be fine on your own?" He nodded and gave her a thumbs up, he had closed his eyes and that caused Cynthia to wonder what kind of damage had been done inside him. "Before I go I need you to do something."
He opened his eyes and gave her a comical look. "Whatever it is I'd prefer to keep my clothes on."
Failing to prevent the smirk from showing itself, she shook her head. "It's not like that. I'm going to give you some of my aura, but I need your permission to do so." She saw him forming a question but she cut him off. "It's my semblance, I'll explain more later if you want, just give me your permission." Though she had faith in the others not to mindlessly attack the Ursa, she still wanted to try and be of some assistance.
"I'll try to remember to ask about it. I give you permission to…manipulate my aura supply?" He said it slowly, trying to form the sentence properly as he said it.
Cynthia felt the opening and shrugged. "I guess that was good enough." She commented as she transferred a majority of her aura to Ian. Before she left she put a hand on his shoulder. "Hopefully this will make you feel better. If you can, try and help us out, but you should also be focused on keeping yourself aware of any other surprise attacks on you. You're going to be on your own for a while." She stood up and rushed over to where the others were as the last Beowolf was killed; Luther had had enough with his foe and suplexed him into the ground. When Cynthia had finally reached them they had formed another line with Yveir holding the left end and Luther holding the right. Fenrir was the closest to her, so she inched toward him and asked, "How's everyone doing?"
He looked at her and she saw something flash across his face as he did. She couldn't tell what it was and wasn't really in the position to analyze it, but would try to do so when she could. "We're all putting on a brave stance but I think that we're almost gassed. We should try to take this thing out quick." He responded.
Cynthia took a quick look around and saw what he meant. Both Yin and Yang were standing straight, but their swords were lower to the ground than when they had started off. Fenrir beside her was breathing heavily through his nose and crouching low to hide a slouch, though it was still evident. Yveir made no attempt to hide her exhaustion, though maybe it was a tactic to have the Ursa underestimate her. Elisia was breathing heavily and held her axe in her left hand, holding it in a way that made her seem to be more ready than she was, most likely letting her right arm rest for any heavy attacks she would need to give out. Luther, the seemingly mighty warrior and unstoppable warrior, was heaving. If Yveir was actually as tired as she was letting on that meant that Cynthia was the only one that had a full tank of gas. That was not good.
The gigantic Grimm in front of them looked up and down the line and, before Cynthia could decide whether or not it had seen the same things she had, it swiped its right claw into and through the dirt in front of it, creating a smokescreen to blind them all. They all moved back as soon as the Ursa made its move but were not prepared for the next one. It burst through the screen on Luther's side and targeted him. There was nothing they could do to prevent the attack, so he was swiped aside almost casually. He was in the air for a good time and covered a large distance, and when he landed, the sound of it told them that he was out for the rest of the fight. Then the tree that fell down on top of him helped to drive the point home. If they wanted to take it down, and Cynthia really didn't feel like dying today, they would need a distraction, or else it would pick them off one by one. Elisia threw her weapon at it and ran to be closer to the others, stopping when she was behind the twins. The Ursa had knocked her weapon away when it had come close, but now it flew back to her when she raised her hand. "We have a plan, right?" She asked as it roared at them.
"I think that not dying is a pretty sound plan." Yang commented.
Fenrir looked at the Ursa, its crimson eyes staring back hungrily at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, mumbling something before turning to the others. "Is there anything that anyone here can do to kill this thing in one hit?"
For a moment no one said anything and Cynthia was actually afraid, but then Yveir took a reluctant step forward and slightly raised a hand. "If you guys can distract it long enough for me to get a good look at it then I can hit its weak spot."
"How long would you need?" Yin chided in.
Yveir shrugged. "As long as it takes for it to show its weakness. If it's a long time then there's a better chance of someone getting hurt."
"But if we don't at least try this," Yang started. "Then we lose our chance at finishing it quickly."
Fenrir nodded in agreement with Yang. "Some injuries can't be avoided, but let's try to avoid them as much as we can while still putting on some pain." He approached Yveir and put a hand on her shoulder. "Try your best not to get hit, we're banking on you to finish it off." He paused a second before adding, with an apologetic smile, "Sorry for the pressure."
Yveir shook her head and smiled back. "I'm better when under pressure, keeps me focused. And besides, I should be the one saying not to get hit to you guys, you're my distraction."
"It's moving." Yin raised his voice.
They all turned and saw that the Ursa was slowly approaching them and letting out a low and fearsome growl. "Try not to die." Yveir said, and then she vanished, just like she had before. It let out a howl and then charged at them. Yin was at the front and he jumped out of the way, trying to land a hit as the Ursa barreled past him but missing by a wide margin. It continued its charge and was met by Elisia and Yang. Elisia blocked a downward swipe and Yang came up to take a slice at its head, but the Grimm dodged out of it with surprising grace and swiped the two of them away. They tumbled to the ground and Cynthia saw that Elisia was down for the count, while Yang struggled to get up. The only ones standing in front of the Ursa, visibly at least, were Cynthia and Fenrir.
Cynthia aimed her shield at it and fired, causing it to raise an arm to block its face and giving Fenrir the opportunity to get closer to it. Wanting to be able to give him some form of backup, she ran up with him. The Ursa swiped at Fenrir with the arm it had been blocking its face with. Though the attack was fast, Fenrir managed to launch himself above the arm and land a flurry of scratches. Cynthia jumped up and tried to swing down with her sword but was shoved out of the way by Fenrir, she was just able to see its arms come up with amazing speed. They landed and looked back up to the Ursa, who let out another roar. Yin was on the other side of them and Yang was to their left on one knee, breathing heavily and poking at Elisia. "This isn't exactly good," she commented to Fenrir.
He shook his head, his eyes wide and studying the Ursa. "No, we should be tiring it out."
"Should be, or we have?" It wasn't showing any signs of fatigue even after it had thrown one hell of an attack. It missed, true, but the energy that it had to have expended just to be able to do it must've been incredible. And they were all running on reserves, except for Cynthia. Without any warning, it launched itself at Yang. There was a moment when he was outlined in a gray light and he seemed about to be completely obliterated. The next he was in the air above the Ursa, dealing out a large number of cuts along its back. Not feeling very happy about what had happened, the Ursa jumped and spun around, kicking Yang midair and sending him into a tree. Cynthia grimaced at the sound and tightened her grip on her sword. 'Only three left to fight it.' She thought to herself. Technically there were four, but she had no idea where Yveir was. A shot rang out and the Ursa's head was thrust to a side as something collided with it at a high speed. Fenrir was the first to react, breaking into a sprint as another shot sounded. Either Ian had recovered or someone was taking pity on them, both were situations that made her smile. The next shot hit the Ursa in the chest and it stumbled back a step, now off-balance. Fenrir jumped up and drove a hard kick down on its face, flipping it end over end and sending it to the ground with a satisfying rumble. Yin rushed to its side and raised his sword to deliver the final blow but was knocked aside by a large paw, his sword flew through the air and then planted itself into the ground. Cynthia let out a frustrated sigh and looked to Fenrir. "What the hell is this thing?" She asked.
That was when Yveir materialized between them. "This thing is going to be dead. I found the spot, one more attack is all I need." She spoke quickly and then vanished again. Cynthia was about to ask Fenrir if he heard it when the ground shook beneath her. The Ursa had used her distraction to get the edge on her. It swiped low but she jumped over it, receiving a head-butt instead. The pain that flared through her was almost unbearable, but the suit had absorbed a lot of the damage and she had kept her weapons in her hands. 'Go me.' She thought as she rolled to a stop on the ground.
She looked to Fenrir and pointed her sword at the Ursa. "One more!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Not waiting for anything else to happen the two of them ran at the same time, coming at it from two different sides. Before it could choose who to attack it was hit by another shot from behind and went to its knees. Cynthia spun to the right and sliced through the back of its left knee, feeling the tendons fly apart from one another. Fenrir jumped and kicked the side of its head, jerking it so hard and fast that a loud crack sounded from it. Yveir showed up again after its head was turned, already flying at it. The long knife that she held in each hand dug into the Ursa's neck, burying themselves in the soft exposed flesh up to their hilts. It let out a roar of defiance, but made no attempt to shake off its attacker. Instead it flopped down to the grassy floor of the clearing and pieces of it started to break off and get carried away by the breeze. Cynthia reformed her rifle and then put it back on her back. She looked at the Ursa as Yveir tore her knives out of it and then looked around at the rest of the carnage, all the Grimm slowly decaying around them. Then she remembered what had happened to the rest of her allies, how they had gotten beaten so clearly. If that was what it was like to be a Hunter she didn't want to have any part of it, not if it meant that she would watch a member of her team die. But she had already come so far, had already been training to become a Huntress for such a long time, all of it would have been for nothing if she just stopped now. And besides, someone had to do the dirty work, might as well save the innocence of future generations as long as possible.
Luke was about to board the airship that would take him to his destination when someone yelled his name. He sighed and lowered his head, trying to suppress the anger as he turned to face whoever was preventing him from doing his job. "What?" he barked out to the lackey that stood in front of him.
The fact that he had flinched at his inflection almost brought a smile to Luke's face, he liked it when he saw people's fear of him, it made him feel powerful. The lackey coughed into a fist and then pointed back to the door leading from the landing pad to the building. "Wade said that he had something to tell you, that it was important."
Wade normally came after him himself when there was something he wanted everyone else to see, so this piqued his interest. He stepped down from the airship and let his smirk show as the lackey flinched away from him as he walked by. When Luke entered the room that Wade was in, he was met with a large holographic projection that looked to be blueprints. It didn't take long for him to connect the dots and a grin broke out across his face. "Does that mean what I think it means?" He asked Wade.
Wade nodded and said, "Christmas came early. They've already started the infiltration."
Luke laughed and then pushed a button on the projector that sat in front of Wade. "Let's get over there then."
Wade frowned and tilted his head. "But what about-"
"The main objective?" Luke cut in. "This could help us along in that regard." Before Wade could say anything else he walked out of the room and called the pilot of his private airship to get ready for launch, then told the one he was about to board to close up shop for the week. He had started off the day in a very bad mood, but this had washed away that feeling. This was something he had been waiting for for a long time now. He felt like nothing could stop him. And that was something he hadn't felt outside of a fight in a long time.
The two teams sat at the same table as they ate their first dinner, a wide variety of foods that also included breakfast items, much to Ian's delight. Everyone had gotten patched up after they had returned, Luther had been very angry at the fact that he had been knocked out, but again Yveir seemed to be able to calm him down easily. The naming ceremony for the teams was long, but everyone was too busy worrying about who would be the leader. When Ozpin called up Elisia, Luther, Yveir and Ian, Cynthia gave them all a pat on the back as they passed her. "You four that stand before me chose the black rook pieces. Your team name shall be YIEL, and you shall be led by Yveir Lasorell." They walked off the stage as the crowd applauded them and then Cynthia heard her own name being called. She walked up on the stage with the rest of her team and stood there nervously playing with her hands. "The four of you obtained the white bishop pieces. Your team's name shall be FYSY, and your leader shall be Fenrir McGregor." The team names and leaders was all they had talked about during the first hour of dinner, making jokes and poking fun at each other, even Luther had some amusing words. The next hour was filled with talk of how to prepare for the next day, the first day of actual classes. They finished their dinner and were showed to their dorms. It didn't take long for any of them to fall asleep after the events of the day. She didn't know what anyone else's last thoughts were before they had gone to sleep, but hers was the name of her team, she kept repeating it in her head until she finally couldn't stay awake. FYCY.
