Longest chapter yet! Sorry that this ones out a little late, enjoy!
Dark clouds hung in the sky over the Emerald forest, threatening to downpour onto the woodland below. Carter walked through the forest, keeping pace with the Faunus a few yards ahead. "Hey, wait for me!" Carter called for the umpteenth time.
As he usually did, the Faunus continued without hesitation. "Stop following me." He growled.
Carter's patience was beginning to thin. "What part of partners do you not get? I'm just as happy about it as you are, but if we're gonna pass this, we've got to work together." The boys entered a small clearing, its floor covered in tall grasses which swayed with the wind.
The Faunus stopped and turned to Carter. "I work alone." He said. "I don't need your help."
Carter stopped in front of the boy. "I'm not trying to force help on you. All I'm saying is-" he paused, seeing something in the corner of his eye. He turned quickly, but there was nothing there but the tall grass rustling in the breeze. Carter turned back to the Faunus, but the boy had already begun to walk away. "Hey, wait." He said.
The Faunus spun around. "What is it this time?!" He asked angrily. He neglected to see the huge shape rise out of the grass behind him, rearing to strike.
"Look out!" Carter yelled, pushing the Faunus aside as the King Taijitu lunged at them. The boys fell to the ground as the snakes head impacted where they had been standing, tearing up dirt and grass.
"Get off of me!" The Faunus said angrily, pushing Carter away and standing up. He extended the blades from his bracers as the Grimm turned to face them.
"A simple thanks would have been appreciated." Carter said, standing up as well and drawing his pistols. The King Taijitu hissed at the sight of weapons, and reared back to strike again. "Alright, I'll distract it, while you-" but the Faunus had already rushed ahead, striking at the snake. Carter sighed, and was about to join the fight until he heard a hissing behind him. He whirled around to see the second white head of the Grimm rearing itself to attack.
He fired at the creature as it lunged at him, forcing him to dodge to the side. Carter fired multiple shots as he moved around the creature, but they did nothing to the glimmering scales of the snake. He changed strategies as he dodged another attack, transforming his weapons into the twin broadswords. He held the blades in front of him as the Grimm hissed angrily, weaving around him to find an opening. It lunged, mouth agape at the boy. Carter jumped the attack and struck downwards, striking at the head of the snake. He landed and turned towards the creature once more as it shook its head. The Grimm spared no time as it lunged at him again; this time though he sidestepped the attack and sliced out at the snake. The creature reared up in pain as one of its fangs landed on the ground a short distance away.
The snake continued to writhe in pain, and seeing his chance Carter ran towards it, swords raised. He jumped, about to deal the last blow, until the Faunus boy was thrown into him, sending them both spiraling to the ground.
As Carter's eyes cleared he shook his head and looked around, seeing the Faunus a few feet away, unconscious. Hearing more hisses he turned to the two heads of the snake slithering towards the pair, reading to strike. One of the heads reared up, about to attack the unconscious Faunus on the forest floor. Carter stood and rushed over as the snake lunged, activating his semblance as he slid in front of his partner. The Grimm's teeth shattered as it hit the glowing boy, and it hissed in pain. As he deactivated his semblance Carter swung his blades around the creature, beheading it in one swift motion.
The second head hissed angrily as the first landed on the ground, agape and smoking. Carter turned to face the snake before it lunged at him. He jumped and landed on the head, stabbing into the creatures hide. The snake thrashed around in pain, trying to throw the boy off. It swung its head up, and Carter lost his grip as he was thrown high into the air. Looking down onto the Grimm he spun and threw his sword, pulling the trigger as it left his hand. The blade propelled towards the earth, slicing right through the King Taijitu's head and impaling into the ground. The snake froze before collapsing onto the forest floor in a heap, just as Carter landed beside it.
The boy pulled his sword from the dirt and transformed his weapons back into pistols as he holstered them. The Faunus was just regaining consciousness as Carter walked over to him. "You alright?" He asked, holding out his hand to help the Faunus up.
"Fine." The boy growled, slapping the hand away and getting up on his own. He looked around at the remains of the snake, and gave a quick glance to Carter before walking off once again.
"Hey," Carter called. "Can I at least have your name? I did save you twice just then."
The Faunus stopped, his ear twitching as he appeared to be thinking. "Raphael," he said before continuing out of the clearing.
Carter sighed. "It's a start," he thought, following his partner back into the trees
Sam and Yuan walked through the vast forest. A thick layer of clouds was overhead. Sam had finally agreed to stop chasing the boy and accept their fate, if only to pass the initiation. She still planned on using him as her own personal punching bag for the next four years however, which gave her a little comfort. The trees around them had begun to thin, and they found themselves at the bottom of a tall cliff. A small cave was embedded into the side of the rocks, and cave markings of people with spears and bows appeared to be fighting various monsters.
"Think this is it?" Yuan asked. "The temple, I mean."
Sam looked around the small entrance to the cave, but saw nothing that looked like a temple. "No." She said bluntly, turning and walking briskly away.
"H-hey!" Yuan said, turning and running after her. "C'mon! I could make a torch and everything!"
The clouds had now completely covered the sky, and though light still shone through, the shadows underneath the canopy of trees had thickened. Hidden in one of these shadows, behind a few fallen logs, sat William and Tiffany. "Really my dear, I see no point in hiding like this," the writer said.
"Shush!" Tiffany put a finger to her lips before peeking out over the logs. "You're gonna blow our cover!"
"It's just a few Beowolves my dear, nothing to be afraid of!" William said.
"Oh really?" Tiffany whispered, turning back to the boy. "Just a few? Why don't you take a look?"
"That's a grand idea," William said, and he carefully peeked over the logs. The shadows beneath the trees made it nearly impossible to see anything, but the boy could still make out a few shapes moving among them. He counted less than a half dozen. "See? Only a few. Nothing we can't handle," William whispered over his shoulder.
"Look harder," she breathed, peeking up beside him. William turned back towards the darkness, and though it took a minute for his eyes to adjust, he began to see more. What had appeared as half a dozen was in fact far more; maybe two or three dozen Beowolves were prowling around the forest, each looking and sniffing for the pair that hid in the shadows.
"Hmm, perhaps I was mistaken." William hid back behind the cover.
"Ya think?" Tiffany hissed, ducking down as well.
"So, what's the plan?" the writer asked.
"I'm not sure. We could just wait for them to pass as long as it doesn't start to-" a small drop of water dripped on her nose, stopping her. The two looked up to see that a small drizzle of rain had begun to fall from the sky, and was dripping through the leaves onto the students.
"Oh, lovely!" William said happily. "I do love a little rain. Helps set the atmosphere of a story."
"I really hate you." Tiffany huffed, edging closer to one of the trees to try and avoid the rain. Then her eyes widened as she heard a sound approaching, like a dog sniffing around. She scooted back behind the logs beside William, who had heard the noise as well. The two hugged the logs, trying to make themselves as unseen as possible. But the sniffing got closer and closer, until a shadow appeared over the two. They looked up to see the head of a growling Beowolf right above them, fangs bared. Tiffany gasped, but William quickly out a hand over her mouth and raised his other to the Grimm. His hand glowed as he activated his semblance, and the creature suddenly stopped growling. It's eyes seemed to glaze over, and it stopped bearing its fangs at the hunters.
William raised his hand, and as he did so, the Beowolf stood up and backed away from the logs. Tiffany watched in amazement as William then flicked his finger at the creature, and it looked up into the sky and howled. All the other creatures turned towards their companion and began running over to it. Before the first could arrive however, William pointed once to the charmed wolf and then off into the trees, directing the creature. The Beowolf howled again before bounding off into the direction the boy had indicated. The rest of the massive pack followed, believing the charmed monster had found their prey. Soon the forest was still again, except for the slight rain from above.
"How did you do that?" Tiffany asked.
"That, my dear, was a little something I refer to as charm" William responded, winking at the girl. "Quite a skill, is it not?"
Tiffany rolled her eyes as she stood. "Oh please, get over yourself." She continued towards the direction of the temple. "We gotta go before they figure out your little trick."
"My dear, that little trick just happened to save you, could you perhaps be a little more grateful to me, your rescuer?" William asked as he walked up beside her. "A reward, perhaps?"
"Oh, don't worry, you've already gotten your reward." Tiffany said. "That's the thirty-seventh time today you've called me dear, and normally I would've put a stop to it just then. But considering that you did help us save on time, I'm gonna let it slide. For now." And she continued off through the trees.
"Touché." William said with a smile, walking after her.
Kyla and Opal trudged through the trees as more and more water dripped around them. Kyla was using her shield to try and avoid the rain, while her sister on the other hand was happily enjoying the weather. "Are we there yet?" Opal asked as she skipped around her sister.
"Not yet," Kyla responded. "You asked that five minutes ago. It's gonna take awhile."
"Okay!" the girl said, continuing to skip. A few minutes passed before she asked again. "Are we there yet?"
Kyla sighed as she trudged along. She was used to her sister, but even she had limits. She was about to respond to Opal when she felt a presence behind them. She halted mid-stride, spinning around and narrowing her eyes.
Opal stopped and turned, head cocked to the side. "What's up sis?"
Kyla put her finger to her lips, silencing her sister. She drew her sword from the shield, and readied it. "Who's there?" she called into the darkness.
For a minute no response came, and Kyla almost thought that she could have been mistaken, until a voice sounded from empty space in front of the two. "Relax. We're on your side."
"Then show yourself," she said, easing up but keeping her weapon raised. "If you're with us, then why are you hiding?"
"Fair enough." A brown haired boy in a blue hoodie suddenly materialized before the sisters. "But you can never be too safe," The boy said. Kyla lowered her weapon, but was still unsure of the boy.
"Coooool" Opal said, amazed at the boy's ability. At the sight of her awed expression the boy looked away, embarrassed.
Suddenly brush could be heard breaking and crashing as something approached from the undergrowth. Kyla raised her weapon once again and stood in front of her sister. As the sound got closer a boy burst from the bushes, performing a double backflip as he landed. "Dude, I thought I lost you!" Chad said, turning to Norem.
Kyla looked from one boy to the other. "You know him?" She asked the hooded boy.
"Yes, he's with me."
The dancer turned as he noticed the girls standing there, Opal looking at him with the same expression she had shown Norem. "Hey there! Sorry if I scared ya!" he said.
"That was so cool!" Opal gushed. "How'd you do those flips?"
"Years of practice!" Chad responded, puffing out his chest.
As Opal continued to bombard the dancer with questions, Kyla turned to Norem. "Sorry about that back there." She said, sheathing her weapon. "I get a little protective of my sister."
"It's alright," he said. "Sorry about following you."
"Wait, you were following us? Why?" she asked.
The boy looked a little sheepish as he looked away once again. "We, umm... well we got lost," he admitted.
"You could have just asked." Kyla said, "We would have been happy to help."
"Thanks," he replied, scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm Kyla." She held out her hand. "My sister's name is Opal."
"Norem," the boy said, shaking the girl's hand. "My partner's Chad."
"You're partner is quite... interesting," Kyla mused, looking over to Chad and Opal. The dancer was performing multiple flips and dance moves at the girls request.
"The same could be said for your sister." Norem replied.
As they had been talking, the had rain become a downpour, and suddenly with a flash of lighting thunder boomed above the group, causing all of them to jump. "We should probably get going," Kyla said. "You're welcome to come along."
"Thanks, I think that'll be safer." After rejoining their partners, the group of four quickly continued off towards the eastern temple.
Rain pelted Sam and Yuan as they trudged through the darkening forest. Both used their shields to protect them from the rain, their feet squelching through the wet ground. "Uggg," the boy complained. "We can't see anything."
Sam ignored him as she continued on, but he was right. The darkness and rain made for poor visibility, and the two could barely see beyond a few trees in front of them. The constant downpour also made it almost impossible to hear anything, leaving the two vulnerable. Their only ally now was their aura, and while Yuan complained, Sam scanned the area around them.
As the two passed by yet another huge tree, she sensed something behind a few bushes in front of them. Quickly hiding behind the tree, Sam dragged her parter along with her. "Hey!" Yuan said. "What was that for?"
"Shhh!" Sam said, quieting the boy. She crouched and looked from behind the tree past the bushes. A Boarbatusk was rooting around in the dirt, only a few yards away.
Yuan poked his head out from behind the tree as well, looking at the creature. "Oh C'mon, it's only one monster. What are you afraid of?" he asked.
"I'm not afraid!" Sam said angrily. "There could be an entire heard of them!"
"But there's only one." Yuan said, pointing. "They don't always travel in groups, you know."
"If you're so sure, then why don't you go find out?" Sam said.
"Alright, sure." Yuan said, stepping out from behind the tree. "Like I said, it's only one. It'll be fine."
A tall hill stood at the eastern end of the forest, covered almost entirely by trees. At its top was a long flat field. A sandy slope led down one side of the hill towards the cliffs, but it was quickly turning to slick mud in the rain. Perched precariously at the edge of the slope stood a small square temple; a few dozen pedestals could be seen inside. Each held a different glittering gem, and many colors shone in the structure under the temple's crumbling roof.
Carter and Raphael saw all this as they walked onto the field from the forest, having reached their destination. They saw a group of four standing in the temple as they approached it. Carter stopped when he saw the group.
"Well well well, looks like you finally made it." Emmett said, strolling over to the two. Inside the temple were the rest of the group, which consisted of Nyte and Veronica, along with a shadowy dark haired boy. "You guys couldn't have been slower."
"We took our time," Carter responded. "Besides, there's nothing to be gained by getting here first."
"Other than showing who's better of course." Emmett said, smirking. He gave a glance to Raphael, who had remained silent during the conversation. "I almost feel bad for you, getting an animal as a partner."
The Faunus growled and quick as a flash extended the blades from his bracers. He advanced on Emmett, but Carter blocked his path. "Don't. It'll only make things worse," the boy said.
Raphael tried to dodge around his partner, but Carter stood his ground. "Get out of my way!" The Faunus ordered.
"He's not worth it." Carter stated, glaring at Emmett.
The boy smirked at Carter. "Try and keep your pet on a leash next time."
Carter would have told Emmett to back off, but he had been distracted enough to let down his guard. Raphael knocked him aside as he rushed at Emmett, but just as he got close, a huge tree fell in his path. A King Taijitu had erupted from the forest, flailing about and knocking down trees. A figure was riding on the head of the creature, and they saw that it was Oliver, exclaiming "Blimey, this one's a doozie!" As the Grimm thrashed he jumped off the head and threw one of his boomerangs. The weapon spun through the air and smashed into the snake's head before returning to Oliver's hand as he landed. The King Taijitu collapsed beside him, defeated. "G'day!" Oliver called as he waved to Carter. "Lovely weather we're having."
"Yeah, the sun's really shining," Carter responded sarcastically, looking around at the pouring rain. He glanced towards Emmett, who had returned to his group in the temple. Raphael was glaring at the group, but had retracted his blades. Carter took that as a good sign as Oliver walked over to him. Then a thought occurred to him; "Hey, don't you have a partner?" he asked.
"She's catching up," Oliver said, motioning behind him. More hissing could be heard from what sounded like the other head of the snake, but ended abruptly when a few gunshots were heard. A moment later Rowan emerged from the forest, replacing her weapons at her side. Oliver waved her over, then he motioned to one of the trees. Carter happily followed him underneath the cover of the leaves, his partner following as well.
"Are we the only ones who've gotten here yet?" Rowan asked as she joined them underneath the canopy.
"The rest might be here soon," Carter said. "We could wait for them."
Oliver and Rowan nodded in agreement, but Raphael wasn't as patient. "Why do we need to wait? Let's just finish this and be done."
"It'll be better to travel in numbers," reasoned Carter.
"Hmmf." The Faunus folded his arms and leaned against the tree, away from the rest.
"What's with him?" Rowan asked.
Carter shrugged. "Wish I knew."
Thunder boomed above them as rain continued to fall, giving no sign of stopping. A few minutes passed with no one else arriving, until Rowan's fox ears twitched as she listened. She turned and squinted into the sheet of rain, towards the tree line. "More students incoming," she said, pointing.
They turned towards the direction she indicated, but it took a few seconds for the rest of the group to see what she did. Kyla, Norem, Opal, and Chad all entered the clearing together. Three of the four trudged unhappily through the rain, but not Opal. She was skipping around playfully and splashing water, much to the others' dismay. As they neared where Carter and the rest stood, they saw two more enter the field. William and Tiffany entered close by, shaking the rain off themselves.
"C'mon," Carter motioned. "Let's head to the temple." They quickly made their way through the rain into the structure. There were no walls in the temple, only pillars that held up the roof. The ruin still covered better than trees however, so no one complained. Carter was amazed at the gems that were housed here. One to each pedestal, all the crystals were cut uniquely, and each gem sparkled like they had just been polished.
"Let's pick one," Oliver said, and he and Rowan walked over to one of the pedestals. They retrieved the sparkling white gem as their artifact, and Oliver stuffed the crystal into his pocket. The rest of the students arrived, each pair taking a gem as well. Opal happily held a blue gem above her head as she skipped around the ruins. Chad retrieved a similar crystal, saying that he liked how it matched his hair.
As Carter looked around the group and artifacts, he noticed that neither Yuan nor Sam were there. Before he could ask anyone if they had seen them, Emmett and the rest of his group approached. "Alright, alright, you've got your artifacts, now if you don't mind, get out."
"What?" Kyla asked.
"I beg your pardon?" William said, turning away from the gem he was about to retrieve.
"You heard me," the boy said. "We were here first, and since we're obviously better than all of you, we get the temple to wait out the rain."
"Better than me?" Tiffany asked incredulously. "I highly doubt that. We have just as much right to be here as you. Unless you'd like to discuss the matter?" And she placed a hand on her weapon.
"Are you seriously challenging me?" Emmett asked, smirking. The other three with him walked up beside him, hands on their weapons as well.
"Four against one is hardly a fair fight!" William said, rushing to his partner's side. Tiffany rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I wanna join too!" Opal said excitedly before being dragged back by Kyla. Norem and Chad however stood by Kyla in the face off.
"Now hold on there mates," Oliver said, getting between the groups. "Fighting's not going to get us anywhere. If we're gonna get through this storm, we gotta work together."
"I'm not working with with a bunch of weaklings like you." Emmett sneered. "Especially not ones that associate with animals." He glared over at Raphael and Rowan.
That was it. The straw that broke the camels back. Weapons were drawn on both sides, and both Carter and Oliver stood between the groups. It seemed fighting was inevitable as they tried to calm everyone down. Oliver spoke out; "Listen mates! Let's all just keep our heads and not lose our-"
"RUN!" A voice echoed from outside the temple. "RUN RUN RUN!"
Everyone stopped and turned to see Yuan sprinting out of the forest, followed closely by Sam. A few seconds later a single Boarbatusk erupted from the tree line as well in pursuit. "It's just one monster." Rowan said, watching the pair curiously. It was then however that they first felt the ground begin to shake. Suddenly a stampede of the boar Grimm erupted from the woods, knocking down trees and flattening bushes.
"You know what?" All eyes turned back to Emmett, who was holding a purple gemstone. "On second thought, the temple's yours. Later losers!" he called as he jumped and slid on his feet down the muddy slope of the hill, the rest of his group following.
"Oh no you don't!" Tiffany snarled, and charged after them, sliding along her feet as well.
"Wait for me darling!" cried William, snatching up a white crystal and following his partner.
Yuan and Sam sprinted by, Yuan grabbing a gem as he passed through the temple and jumping down the slope as well. Carter turned to Oliver as he drew his weapons. "Go after them, and try and make sure they don't kill each other, we'll buy you some time."
"Sounds like a plan mate!" Oliver jumped along with Rowan. "See you on the other side!" he called behind him.
The rest of the students joined Carter to face the oncoming horde. "Exactly how much time are we expected to buy for them?" Norem asked, knocking an arrow into his bow.
Carter transformed his weapons into the riffles and loaded in clips "Each one is fairly weak on its own, so we should try and-" suddenly a roar was heard, and what looked like the herd leader charged from the forest. Four times the size of the other Grimm, its horns were almost as large as its armored body. Even the usual weak spot of its stomach was protected. The Grimm set its sights on the temple and and curled up into a ball, spinning towards the students. "On second thought, RUN!" Carter yelled, and the remaining students turned tail and fled towards the slope. Carter grabbed a red gem as he ran alongside Raphael. They reached the edge but just as he jumped from the temple, the huge Boarbatusk collided with the structure, shattering it.
Carter landed unevenly on the slope, threatening to tip over. The rain had made the mud slick as ice, and he slid upright down the hill as if on skates. He wove left and right to avoid the rocks and ruins that fell around him, keeping a grip on his weapons. Carter glanced behind him to see multiple boar Grimm charging towards him, and he turned and fired at the creatures. Some tumbled, but still more of the creatures appeared from over the hill.
Carter dodged around trees, rocks and Grimm alike as he sped down the slope. He saw Raphael wrestling with one of the creatures as he tumbled downwards, and Opal skating and spinning happily. Then a huge slab of the temple floor appeared next to him, with Chad, Norem and Kyla riding on it. He jumped onto the sliding platform, firing more rounds at the stampede that chased them. Opal and Raphael joined them on the giant sled as well, but were closely followed by more Grimm.
Chad kicked one of the creatures off as Kyla slammed another aside with her shield. Norem tried to keep the Grimm at bay, but more just continued to roll on to the platform. As Carter and his partner fought off a small group, he saw two of the creatures facing off against Opal. One of them charged her, but she easily jumped to the side and pulled out her weapons, transforming them. She held a pair of hefty single handed maces, and she giggled as she twirled them around like batons. The Boarbatusk charged again, but Opal slammed one of the maces into the charging creature. The beast was launched off the platform with a strength that didn't seem to match the girls stature. The second Grimm charged as well, but met a similar end.
A few more boars rolled up beside the platform, knocking into it and nearly shaking the students off. Opal sprung into action, pulling a trigger on the handle of the mace. With an explosive force the head separated from the handle, but was still attached with a long chain. Opal swung the transformed flail in an arc, knocking away the rolling Grimm.
Chad laughed as he kicked aside another boar. "Radical! We're gonna win this!"
"We're not done yet!" Kyla exclaimed, pointing up the slope. The huge Boarbatusk from before was speeding towards the platform, outpacing it completely.
"Can't we go any faster?" Raphael yelled as he slashed aside another monster.
Chad brightened up as he appeared to have an idea. "I got you guys! Hold on to something bros!" And he began to glow as he activated his semblance. He slammed his fist onto the platform, causing it to glow as well. Suddenly the surface became as slippery as the mud, forcing the rest of the students to stab weapons into the ground and hold onto each other. The platform picked up speed, eventually outrunning the entire herd of Grimm.
The small group celebrated briefly, before realizing just how fast they were going. Too late did they realize they were at the bottom of the slope, with multiple jutting rocks at its end. The platform crashed into one of these boulders, sending the riders flying though the air. Carter tried to steady himself, but a large stone hit his head, and he blacked out as he hit the ground hard.
Glynda and Ozpin watched the events unfold on their scrolls from the top of the cliff. Each had a large umbrella that protected them from the pounding rain.
"It's a pity, we'll have to find another temple now." The headmaster said, taking a drink from his nearly empty mug.
"I've already arranged for a new temple to be used." Glynda said. "A small circular structure at the northern end of the forest should suffice."
Ozpin nodded as he finished off his drink. "Good. I think its time to head towards the finish. The initiation will soon be over."
Thanks for reading!