Phew! 10 Chapters, 46 Favourites, 74 Followers, 46 Reviews and 6830 Views. I love you guys!
Best thing, this fic still has a lot to offer! Though the poll for my next fic is up on my profile!
Now, lets get onto reviews:
flamelegendvargas: Thanks for the support!
kyrogue23: You mean Trish and Zeke, I may show the argument as a flashback, but I want to progress the story a bit for now.
Noob6: As much as I'd love Cole to fake death and regen, that would make him too OP. If and how Cole deals with Cinder, I'm keeping under wraps cause plot twists etc.
Dog: Hoooo boy, where to start? With the shouting, he was still explaining his powers to the faculty, so he doesn't need to shout again. Physical feats: Cole's main advantage over anyone in RWBY is his reaction speed and Radar Sense. Although he can't sense Aura, he can still sense neuro-electric energy, giving him effective 360 vision when fighting.
Comparing Cole's strength to Aura users, their strength can match and easily exceed Cole's, even Ruby's strength is impressive for her size (think carrying Crescent Rose). Though I have devised a sneaky way to temporarily boost Cole's strength based on RWBY logic.
Finally, Ionic attacks. You make good points, but I don't want Cole to have immediate access to them off of his own power. Lightning Storm is an exclusive case because it originally ran off his power source.
With that out of the way, let's move on!
Beacon – 2 weeks after the visions:
Amber strained under the workload before her. Marking tests was pure torture, and Cole wasn't around to help her teach either. The Conduit had taken some leave to 'discover himself' after quite a brutal slating at John. As soon as the arguing had ceased, Cole had dropped a message to Ozpin, leaving for Forever Fall. Naturally, the Headmaster had approved Cole's 'request' and continued on with his day nonchalantly. Even after all Amber had seen, all the pain that Cole had endured, she was furious!
'How dare he run off without telling me first!' Raged Amber as she shifted another marked test sheet aside. Not only had he left Amber to teach alone, Cole had made no contact in two weeks. The lack of contact both frustrated and worried Amber, only reports of freak thunderstorms over Forever Fall signalling Cole still existed. Leaning back in her chair, Amber let out an exasperated sigh. 'Perhaps I should call it a night, I can still mark the tests on Sunday.'
A brief buzzing of her Scroll forced Amber to sit upright, reaching across her desk for the mobile device. Sliding it open, a message from Glynda popped up.
G – Mr MacGrath has requested a Bullhead. Perhaps you would like to head the retrieval?
Amber let out another long sigh, one of relief or exhaustion, she couldn't really tell. Cole was the first friend the Fall Maiden had made in a long time, due to her constant travelling. In the week the two had planned their lessons, they had spent plenty of time chatting and cracking jokes. Amber had seen and felt the humanity hidden underneath the haunting appearance Cole first wore. After the sacrifices he made and the visions, Cole had very little left to dissuade her from believing he was anything other than human. No matter how many times he claimed to be a monster, Amber saw a man fallen from grace, and now rising from the ashes. After a brief moment, Amber tapped into her Scroll.
A – Of course. Will a student team be escorting me?
G – That can be arranged. Thank you, Amber.
A – No, thank you, for telling me.
G – Please try not to tear him apart. Professor Ozpin values his staff very highly.
Amber giggled a little at Glynda's sense of humour, while a little dark, it was fitting and calming to see the stern woman crack a joke. Rising from her seat, Amber grabbed her double-ended Dust staff and walked out of her room.
A – Has a team been notified?
A new name popped up in the chat, nothing escaping the Headmaster.
O – Team JNPR will be escorting you. I believed it prudent to send a team that knows the professor well. Stay safe.
Amber rolled her eyes a little at the last words. Ozpin still treated her like a child sometimes, even if he means well for her safety. Making her way out to the courtyard, JNPR greeted her with bubbly excitement. Well… Nora made up the bubbly excitement, JPR all stood together discussing what their mission could be. Nora's constant darting about eventually brought Amber into her field of view, the young hammer wielder brightening even more than before.
"Professor Keziah!" Nora yelled in excitement, arms raised high in the air, prompting her team to spin round.
"Evening, Nora." Greeted Amber with a warm smile. "Good evening to the rest of you as well."
"Good evening, Professor." Pyrrha replied politely. "May I ask why we were called out so late for a mission?"
Amber smiled, signalling for JNPR to follow with a nod of the head. "I've been tasked with retrieving an individual from Forever Fall, Ozpin picked your team specifically."
"What could we have that means we get picked?" Jaune asked.
"Not what you have. What you know." Amber corrected, her grin unseen by the students behind her.
"Always so cryptic." Mumbled Jaune, annoyed.
As the five approached the landing pad, a Bullhead landed, opening its door. Amber hopped in, followed quickly by JNPR.
"Forever Fall?" Asked the pilot, Amber nodded. The door shut behind the team and the teacher, the pilot lifting off without another word. Turning to the students behind her, Amber noticed the instant look of regret of Jaune's whitening face.
"Motion sickness?" Amber asked with concern.
"Motion sickness." Deadpanned the rest of team JNPR, Pyrrha placing a caring hand on Jaune's shoulder. Amber chuckled a little before addressing the team properly over the engines of the Bullhead.
"Alright! Our mission is to land within Forever Fall and locate the individual who requested extraction."
"Two questions." Ren stated while raising two fingers. "Who are we extracting? And how will we find them?"
Amber grinned. "You are a bright young man, Ren. Who do you think?"
Ren studied Amber's grin before it clicked in his head. It didn't take long for Pyrrha to read Amber's expression too. Neither knew why Cole had left so quickly that day, but neither were comfortable with him coming back, given the state they last saw him in. Jaune was too busy holding back his dinner to comment, but Nora slowly began to put the pieces together. Each little clue she added to the puzzle of the individual's identity made her grin more and more. Then she realised who they were helping.
"Professor Kessler!" Nora blurted out halfway through the flight, startling all but Ren, who slapped a hand to his face. Ren really loved Nora as family, possibly more, but sometimes… sometimes he couldn't comprehend his best friend's behaviour.
"Yes, Nora. We are going to find Professor Kessler." Ren said through his hand. It still sounded weird to know Cole's name and past, but call him Professor Kessler, given JNPR and RWBY knew the truth.
"This is perfect! I want to fight him then break some Grimm legs! Maybe eat pancakes afterwards?" Ren was pinching the bridge of his nose, groaning in exasperation.
"Let's… just find the Professor first. Okay?" Ren said to Nora, who was almost hovering in excitement.
"Okey dokey, Ren!" Nora replied, giving her friend a massive smile. Amber knew of the eccentricities of the first years, but Nora… Nora made her job far harder than it needed to be. She was glad Nora had a friend like Ren to keep in line. Well, relatively in line.
Forever Fall – 10 minutes later:
Setting down in a wide clearing, the Bullhead opened its door. Amber stepped out with JNPR on her tail, making some distance between themselves and the VTOL before addressing the team.
"Cole- I mean Professor Kessler should not be far from this clearing. I want you to split into your partner pairs and search within a perimeter. Kill any Grimm on sight and contact me if you come across the Professor. Is that clear?"
"We won't let you down, Professor." Said Pyrrha proudly.
"Very well, get going before it becomes too dark. Grimm numbers increase at night." Ordered Amber, flourishing her staff and walking away from the group, into the autumn treeline. With Amber gone, JNPR took in Forever Fall properly. The trees were a beautiful red shade, leaves decorated the ground with similar colour. Calming, was how JNPR felt the forest affected them. Unlike the Emerald Forest, which was dark and overcrowded below the canopy, Forever Fall radiated the elegance of autumn. Not that it had any effect on Nora, who whizzed off into the treeline with zeal. Ren huffed, rolled his eyes, and followed with a light jog.
"We'll see you back at the Bullhead." Jaune shouted after Ren, who briefly waved without turning back. "Ah man, how are we going to find the Professor in a maze of a forest like this?"
"We don't, Jaune. He'll find us." Pyrrha corrected cryptically.
"Let's… let's get going." Jaune sighed, lacking enthusiasm. The two jogged off in the opposite direction to their teammates.
Nora couldn't hold back her excitement. In only one week, Professor Kessler had helped her so much with her semblance. What he had done before Beacon didn't matter now, he was her favourite teacher, and his return meant she'd only grow stronger under his teaching. Zipping through the trees, Nora yelled at the top of her lungs in a sing-song voice.
"Oh Professor Kessler~! The mighty Nora has come to help you~!" No reply came from the Professor, meaning to Nora that she had to shout louder. Ren beat her to it.
"NORA!" Shouted Ren, now running after his friend. Ren caught up with Nora as she stopped for him, the boy heaving for air. "Nora… wait… for me… next time." Nora gave him a big hug, almost crushing the ninja of JNPR.
"Awww, I'd never leave you behind, Ren! We've been together for sooooo long!" Ren forced a smile through the constricting embrace, tapping Nora to submit.
"Nora… too tight." Ren managed to squeeze out of his mouth. Seeing Ren's condition, Nora let go quickly.
"But not 'together-together'," giggled Nora. As the hammer-wielder watched Ren recover, she heard a low growl from the brush behind her. Out from the shrubbery stepped an Ursa. Not an Ursa Major, but still a large Ursa. Nora grinned maniacally, drawing Magnhild in its hammer form. "Ooooh, look Ren: transport for us!"
Ren paled, remembering the last time Nora used an Ursa as a means of transport. He wasn't fond of going on another Grimm rodeo. Instinctively drawing out StormFlower, Ren's intellectual mind came up with an idea to possibly kill two birds with one stone.
"Nora, for once, be loud." His childhood friend craned her head to give Ren a confused look.
"But I'm always loud, Renny." Nora stated matter-of-factly.
"I mean be louder than normal. Make as much noise while killing this Ursa, and it'll attract the Professor." As Ren explained his idea, Nora's grin grew wider and wider.
Snapping upright, Nora saluted her friend. "You got it!" Twirling her hammer in her hands, Nora leapt at the Ursa, swinging her hammer down hard towards its head. "NORA SMASH!" She yelled as the hammer connected with the Grimm, stunning but not killing the Grimm. Firing a blast from her hammer, Nora launched back from the Ursa as it retaliated in rage. Rolling out of the way of the Ursa's wide swipes, Nora cackled with glee each time Magnhild crushed a Grimm body part. If the Ursa had been anything but a monster of pure darkness and evil, Ren would've felt sorry for it. Soon the Grimm was crippled, Nora changing Magnhild into its grenade launcher form to obliterate what remained.
"Pfft, easy peasy!" Chirped Nora as she rested Magnhild on her shoulder. "Now we can wait for the Professor!" It wasn't Cole who reacted to the explosions and screaming, but more Grimm. Ren realised the flaw in his plan: while noise could attract Cole, it also attracted the Grimm. Sighing loudly, Ren dropped low, weapons at the ready. More Grimm stalked into the vicinity, Beowolves, Creeps and Ursa surrounding the childhood friends.
Nora laughed at the appearance of more Grimm. "How many skin rugs can we make out of these, Ren?" Both students backed up together, pressed together with weapons ready. Ren glanced over his shoulder, amused at Nora's imagination. He played along.
"Enough to buy a castle of pancakes. Will that do, Nora?" Nora glanced to Ren, giving him a friendly grin.
"And we all know who is queen!" Nora declared, charging forward with a battlecry. Ren copied her, albeit silently. The Grimm didn't know what hit them.
Jaune felt at ease for once. Sure he was in a Grimm-infested forest with night riding in, but he still felt relaxed. Why? Because he was paired up with not only his partner, but the best fighter in his year without a doubt. Pile this with the tranquillity of Forever Fall, and you had a recipe for an enjoyable evening mission. The sentiment was unknowingly shared by Pyrrha, but her training and her mission kept her from truly relaxing in Jaune's company. Minutes had passed since the split, and not one shred of evidence had been found to locate Cole. It had crossed Pyrrha's mind to contact the professor on his phone, but she had no number for him. So the two soldiered on through the sunset, patrolling the perimeter in search of Amber's assistant.
Explosions and gleeful cackling echoed across Forever Fall, a sign of Nora encountering Grimm. Opening his Scroll, Jaune observed Nora's Aura level, not shifting one bit. Happy his teammate was fine, he gave a reassuring smile to Pyrrha and explained with one word:
"Nora." Pyrrha was unsurprised, rolling her eyes and smirking. With the ice broken, Pyrrha made conversation.
"So, Jaune." The blond leader turned his head to look at his partner. "What have the Aura Professors taught you?" Unlike other classes, Aura Control was very student specific, often meaning some students had to have individual training rather than as a team. Take Pyrrha and Weiss for example, who both have excellent Aura control in combat already through their Semblances. Therefore they were tutored by Professor Keziah in order to perfect their technique and prevent large amounts of Aura drain. Students who used Aura less actively in combat were shifted onto Professor Kessler, who tested and trained them to develop a style of combat that integrated Aura. The absence of Professor Kessler, however, meant that these students almost had to be self-taught for the two weeks. Jaune especially struggled.
"Oh… uh. Well, all I really know is I have a large amount of Aura. I've not exactly found my 'style' yet." Jaune frowned at his lack of progress.
"Don't worry about it. You haven't had Aura until initiation, so it isn't surprising you struggle with it right now." Pyrrha said comfortingly, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder and smiling.
JNPR's leader sighed and smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah… I'll give it some time."
"Good!" Chirped Pyrrha, giving her partner a playful punch to the arm. Jaune subconsciously rubbed his arm as he smiled back at Pyrrha. Neither of the two heard the low growling as they were strolling along discussing school. A Creep launched from the undergrowth, straight for Jaune's legs, intent on crippling its prey. What it never expected was to be bisected mid-air. Bisected by a small, blue bolt of energy. Dissolving as it fell, the Grimm dissipated on contact with the ground, both students jumping back with weapons now drawn. Instantly, Pyrrha was scanning the trees around her, looking for the culprit of the Grimm's demise. Then she heard a familiar crackling, a blue glow emitted from her right.
"Who's there?" Asked the Spartan, Milo in rifle form, pointing at the blue light. Dry chuckling answered her, a grizzled Professor Kessler stepping out with an extended Amp in hand. Two weeks had not been kind to the professor. Cole's shirt was shredded, hanging in pieces over his body. Cole's stubble had thickened, but still been maintained by the Conduit. Add a layer of dirt over his light tan, and the man looked like hammered shit. Additionally, the Amp fared no better, scratches and small dents illuminated by the blue electricity arcing between the prongs.
"Ain't this nice. I knew they were sending out someone to help me, but who'd have thought it would be you guys." Cole said, giving his students a smile.
"We were hand-picked by Professor Ozpin to join this mission." Pyrrha stated proudly.
"Heh. Nice to see Oz cares." Cole smirked before gazing at the darkening sky. "Let's go find your teammates before they draw even more Grimm."
"Right." Jaune nodded, leading the way in the general direction of Nora's previous explosions.
"Professor," Pyrrha started. Cole tilted his head, humming in response. "Do you mind if I ask what you were doing out here?"
"Oh nothing special." Cole dismissed casually. "Just training, sorting my head out a bit. Having John sitting in the back of my mind didn't go down well at first." Jaune was going to query how Cole could be so casual about it, but he remembered that the Conduit had done far weirder than have a dead man inhabit his mind.
Finding the childhood friends took no time at all, given Nora had made a small clearing with her explosions. A clearing that both now sat in, said girl leaning on her friend, snoring loudly. Ren's eyes flicked up, barely perceiving the outlines of his teammates and Cole through the dark night.
"Mission accomplished?" Ren asked casually through the darkness.
"Close enough." Replied Cole in a similar manner, squatting in front of Nora with the Amp cradled in his arms. "What's up with Nora?"
"Full day plus a fight with Grimm, she's exhausted." Ren explained, Nora stirring but not waking.
"Hmm, Ursa skin rugs… pancakes." Mumbled Nora happily as she shifted her head slightly on Ren's shoulder. Jaune and Pyrrha laughed softly at the childish dreaming.
Cole smirked, placing the Amp down and sparking his hands. "Well… this should perk her up enough to get to the Bullhead."
Ren shook his head quickly but carefully, not wanting to wake Nora. "Please don't, it's hard enough to get her like this in the first place."
Cole shrugged his shoulders, "Fair enough. I'm not carrying her though."
"No need, I'm used to carrying her about on my back." Following his word, Ren slowly lifted the girl onto his back. "Shall we be going?"
"Yes please." Said Jaune in relief, beginning the brief trek to the Bullhead. Pyrrha took the chance to finally message Amber that they had found Cole. Trekking back was simple, the Bullhead sat neatly in the middle of the clearing. Afterwards… not so much. Grimm had followed the group back to the Bullhead, packs of varying Grimm headed by alphas.
"Seriously?" Jaune groaned as the Grimm stalked from the treeline.
"Never simple." Chimed Cole, raising his Amp to point at a small Beowolf. Before the weapon had even extended, a smaller variant of the Scythe Bolt shot from between the prongs, decapitating the lesser Grimm.
"When could you-?" Asked Jaune, Cole cutting him off.
"I figured if you could fire stuff from your weapons, I could use the Amp to channel and fire electricity from. It wasn't that hard to master." In response to the dead Beowolf, the Alpha Beowolf howled, signalling the rush of Grimm.
"You three watch over Nora. I have this." Cole stabbed the Amp into the soil, cracking his knuckles as electricity arced along his arms. In normal circumstances, Cole would've struggled to hit targets when it was this dark. The Grimm handicapped themselves with the glowing red eyes. Cole raised his right arm, obliterating Beowolf heads with Magnum Bolts. Any lesser Beowolves that got close never remained there long, blasted into the sky with Graviton Blasts. Multiple Grimm types were tricky to deal with. Ideally Cole, wanted to prevent the Grimm from reaching the students, but that was impossible with their numbers. This fact forced Cole on the offensive.
Wrenching the Amp from the ground, Cole fired a Lightning Tether, the rope of electricity connecting with a large Ursa. Dragged towards a now swinging Grimm, Cole let go, sliding underneath the bear Grimm. While beneath the Grimm, he gutted it with a Gigawatt Blade, rolling away as the Grimm dropped dead. Instantly he was pounced on by a Creep, which got launched high by a kick. Rolling backwards onto his feet, Cole pressed further into the Grimm numbers, aiming for the Alphas. Bone armour shattered under the Amp, the weapon groaning under strain it had suffered for two weeks. Worried that his weapon could break with further combat, Cole backhanded a Beowolf in his way, then gripped the Amp like a javelin. Charging up the Amp, Cole propelled it into the neck of the Beowolf Alpha from thirty metres away.
Jaune couldn't believe what he was seeing as the Amp clotheslined the Alpha, taking its head clean off with a sickening snap. Two weeks, and Professor Kessler could decapitate an Alpha Grimm, with a blunt object! Watching almost got him in trouble, as a Beowolf leapt at him, only to be cut down by Pyrrha.
"Jaune! Focus on protecting Nora. The Professor is fine." Pyrrha ordered. Jaune groaned, taking a defensive stance in front of his teammate. How could Nora sleep through all this?
Back with Cole, he had 'unsheathed' his Gigawatt Blades, slashing and tearing through any Grimm between him and the Ursa Alpha. This Alpha was grotesque; thick bone spikes protruding from its back, as well as a mangled face from previous encounters with humans.
"Eh, not the ugliest thing I've faced." Cole said as the massive Ursa lumbered towards him. Two large paws smashed the ground, forcing Cole to jump back. Opening with a few Alpha Rockets to the Ursa's face, Cole weaved around the lesser Grimm that assaulted him. His Radar Sense was useless against Grimm, but his instincts were not. A Creep slashed at his right side, but Cole stepped back, driving his left knee into the soft underbelly of the Grimm. Charging electricity through his right leg, Cole performed a 360 pivot on his left leg and drove his charged leg into the lesser Grimm. Charged with electricity, the Creep exploded with lightning when it came into contact with the Ursa Alpha. A considerable chunk of the large Grimm was ripped from its body, allowing Cole to use a Lightning Hook on it. Pulled towards the Alpha, Cole pushed off of the Grimm into the air above. Clasping both hands together, Cole sparked all over as he crushed the Ursa's head with a Thunder Drop.
Cole stood straight up, cracking his back to shake off the effects of shattering bone bare-handed. Unknown to the students, Cole was exhausted. Two weeks with minimal sleep and only Dust crystals to recharge himself. It didn't help that the remaining Grimm, a few Creeps and their Alpha, were bearing down on the Conduit. Preparing a Lightning Storm, Cole hesitated when he felt a breeze wash over the clearing. Quickly the breeze became a tornado, as Amber stepped out of the treeline, the wind Dust crystal on her staff flaring. Her expression? Amber was furious, not only did she have pent up aggression against Cole for ditching her, now she had to help clean out the remaining Grimm before leaving. This meant more wasted time. Every step she took made her appear more and more like Glynda, swatting Creep's left and right. With the pesky lesser Grimm dealt with, Amber twirled her staff rapidly and efficiently to the fire Dust side, unleashing a massive fireball. JNPR (minus a sleeping Nora) had never seen a Grimm vanish so quickly, incinerated and vaporised in milliseconds.
Cole appreciated the help, ignorant of her fuming expression. "Great to see you, Amber" He said genuinely. Amber snapped a glare at Cole, storming towards him with vicious intent. "Um… Amber. Are you alright?" Cole asked, slight nerves setting in. Amber's response? Across Forever Fall, a resounding crack of a hand meeting a cheek.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Got to have a few touching moments between JNPR, and some Nora, can't go wrong there. Ren and Nora are without a doubt my favourite characters, the childhood friends done right (more development please RT!).
With the poll, I'll announce the results after chapter 12, that gives about another week for the votes to come in!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Wardtortle, out!