Chapter 11: Over the Wave
Emerald Forest, Vale

"You realize he is going to kill you later, right?" Mura remarked as she clenched her right hand on the strap of Dawn, triggering its guns. This gave the two Boarbatusks trying to flank her a mouthful of explosion, preserving the tiny breathing room the two remaining initiates had for a short while longer.

"Glad you believe in me then," Leif chortled back, orange blade raised as he carefully watched the Grimm surrounding them.

"Ummm no offense, but if you two fight, my Lien is on Umbra," she retorted while dipping Dawn behind her back, allowing it to absorb the Dust from the vials on her belt.

"Mine too. I meant that since you think he'll get kill me later, you must believe we'll survive this." Mura actually broke eye contact with the Grimm to stare at the guy next to her for a second. Bruises covered his body, his shoulders rose and fell with exhaustion, fear even showed on his face, yet his voice had nothing but resolve. Resolve could only get you so far however; she returned her attention to the Grimm. The sole surviving Ursa roared as it took a menacing step forward; hissing from the King Taijitu grew louder as it continued to slither behind the line of Grimm. Howls and squeals echoed off of the canyon walls as a wall of fire exploded into existence in between them and their prey; Luna just bought them a little more time with a Dust arrow from across the gorge.

"Come on Umbra, hurry up," she heard Leif mutter angrily. Risking another glance away from the Grimm, she saw Umbra across the canyon just over half way to the top, with Luna anxiously looking back and forth between the rope and them, her bow nocked and ready.

"The minute he gets up there, you need to jump and catch the next arrow Luna sends." Leif called out. Annoyance filled Mura again. Why on Remnant did Leif seem to think he could order her around? He wasn't even her partner, yet that didn't seem to stop him. She was only listening to him so far because she happened to agree with him; that stopped now.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," she snapped back.

"We don't have time to argue-"

"I'm not arguing with you, I'm telling you. You're not the boss of me; I can take care of myself!"

"Then how do you propose we get across, huh? Fly?"

"Using my shield, yeah, I can probably make it to the rope" Only the crackling of fire and the sounds of the Grimm was audible as that gave the boy pause.

"You-you can fly with it?" He finally stammered, shocked.

"Not exactly, but I can propel across the gap by firing off Dust," Mura explained, "In fact, I can get both of us across." Her right hand tingled, the strap of her shield vibrating to indicate it had charged up. She widened her stance, spreading her arms before looking at her fellow first year. Leif's face was a mix of uncertainty and surprise, yet after hearing the Ursa behind the flames roar, he shrugged acceptingly.

"Yeah okay, let's do that," he said as he sheathed his sword, moving towards her. Although she tried not to show it, nervousness had eked its way into her system. She had never tried to move two people at one time with her shields. Still though, this was her plan, her idea. That thought was far more comforting to her than anything else was as Leif laid his left arm around her neck, grabbing hold of her left arm while bracing his back against her right arm. The fire was still crackling behind them but the roar of the Grimm was growing louder. It was now or never.

"Here we go!" Mura shouted as she gripped her shield straps tight, engaging the guns. Twin explosions detonated as she flew across the canyon, grapping the rope as her forward momentum slowed.

Only she had flown across the canyon however. In the split second between the trigger being pulled and lift off, her aura twisted as warning bells went off in her mind. In that same second, she felt Leif slip off her. Hanging from the rope, her shields banging off the rock, Mura raced her eyes around the canyon panicked. Did she drop him? Did he fall? Did she just get Leif killed?

The sight her eyes found answered all of those questions with a resounding no. At the top of cliff where she had been moments ago was Leif, sword drawn, struggling with all his might to hold back the black head of the King Taijitu from clamping shut on him. The snake's body was still in the flames; sensing its prey was about to escape, the Grimm must have tried to a last ditch attack. If Leif hadn't done what he did, they both would have been snake food.

Now just Leif would be and there was nothing Mura could do.


Dumb. Stupid. Idiotic. Foolish. Just a few of the many adjectives rushing through Leif's skull as he tried not to get pushed back off the cliff by the King Taijitu bearing down on his blade. One second he was praying his heart out that Mura wouldn't drop him, the next he had yanked himself away from her to react to his aura sensing a threat. She was alive at least, so it wasn't in vain…or at least he thought she was alive; this snake wasn't giving him the chance to check.

Pressure lessened on his arm as the snake hissed loudly, yanking its head back with two arrows embedded in its skull. Luna was still watching out for him, thankfully. Using the distraction to look across the cliff, he saw to his immense relief Mura climbing up the rope, along with Umbra just reaching the top. His plan had actually worked, they made it across!

Then his brain actually realized the situation. They had made it across. But he was still here. With the Grimm. And no back up.

'Well not the best decision I've ever made' Leif grimly acknowledged as he turned back to face the Grimm. The flames Luna had made had all but vanished, only smoldering ashes remained in the grass. Yet apart from the King Taijitu, the Grimm had not resumed their advance. Not out of fear, more just they knew not to get between the snake and its prey. While nice to confirm that story that he heard from a huntsman about the way Grimm hunt, this didn't help the situation at all. It just meant even if he did kill the King Taijitu, the other Grimm would just rip him to shreds.

*WHY DOES MY SIDE- * Lots of teeth, all sharp, clamped around my right side-* Leif winced as he pushed out the memory for the third time today. His damn semblance always chose the worst moments to kick in. The past few minutes would likely be added to the rotation of bad memories he didn't want to relive, provided he survived to be plagued by it. Staring dead on at the King Taijitu, whose black head was still reeling from the arrows, he gripped his sword tighter, trying to stay calm. He wasn't dead yet, just beaten around a bit. The other half of the snake caught his eye, coiling behind the black head as it retreated. It would strike now while the other recovered. But how it would strike would be key. Leif should be dead right now, but it must be wary of Luna's striking distance, keeping it from ending his life outright.

That wouldn't last though. Grimm weren't stupid.

*"-but they can be made stupid" This guy must be drunk. Four mugs. Yeah, definitely drunk. Hope Dad finishes up selling the fish soon "You're full of shit mate" "I'm telling you, when they get too fixated on their prey, they make dumb moves. Once we caused a sharzark to chase itself in circles by coating a remote sub with a little blood, it was hilarious!" "Seriously, you need to lay of the boo-"* This time his semblance activating was no accident as Leif manually cut off the memory he started. The sight of the docks vanished, replaced with white head of King Taijitu staring him down.

Foolish. Stupid. Idiotic. Dumb. All words rushing through his head to describe the idea he was formulating. Yet it was the only one he had. Flicking his wrist to snap the blade back, he took a deep breath before pointing the gun at his foe.

"HEY UGLY! COME AND GET ME!"


"He's going to die."

"You don't know that."

"Is it not obvious?"

Umbra was really starting to piss Luna off now. Not just his non-caring attitude towards everyone, but the unfortunate fact he was looking more and more right by the second. She only had a few actual arrows left, and while she still had Dust left, there wasn't enough room between Leif and the King Taijitu to ensure his safety. Umbra didn't seem to have any long range attacks and while Mura might be able to reach, she was still only half way up the rope. Leif's roar brought her attention back to him.

The muzzle flashes faintly showed in the distance as he shouted incoherently at his target. The snake, looking angrier than hurt, hissed loudly and coiled tightly near its center. Paleness filled her cheeks; her dad said Taijitus only coil when it was about to launch a lightning quick attack. Leif didn't show any signs of moving however, only twisting his sword so the blade was no longer covering his arm, but kept it in gun form. Her arm reached for an arrow only to have it caught by Umbra. Did he really mean to have his partner die just so he could be rid of him?

"It won't kill it and you would only prolong his suffering. Let this end now, either he lives or dies," he said flatly.

"Let me go!" She yelled, pulling her arm hard, trying to break his grip.

"You know I'm right," he coldly stated, but released her anyways. She grabbed the arrow and nocked it, but as she sighted the snake it was too late. The white head launched itself forward mouth wide open, with frightening speed. There is no way he would be able to dodge in time.

Which is likely why Leif didn't try. Right as the outstretched jaw reached him, he lifted his sword above his head and let the snake impale itself on the blade. Hissing in pain, the huge Grimm flew off the cliff, having no way to stop itself. Leif snapped the blade back together as he used the leverage to flip himself over the mouth, pulling the blade out while landing on the snake's skull. Luna could only watch in amazement as he kept his arms outstretched, trying to keep his balance as the King Taijitu flew down and across the gorge. His face was a mix of fear and focus; her own eyes widened as she realized his plan.

The white head slammed into the cliff wall on their side. Right before it did, Leif took two steps and launched himself forward. The momentum carried him straight towards his goal: the bottom of the rope. The impact on the cliff face forced Mura, who was two thirds of the way up now, to freeze or risk falling. The snake's heads hissed in pain as the Grimm continued its fall towards the bottom. Its passenger didn't join them; Leif, looking very shaken and relieved was safely clutching the bottom of the rope with one hand. The whole area went quiet as the hissing faded away. The Grimm on the now vacant side of the gorge had slunk back into the woods as well. Dead silent, for a moment anyways.

"I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID EARLIER! NOW THAT WAS THE BALLIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!" Mura shouted down at Leif. A very weak smile appeared on his face but no words quite yet. Luna heard laughter then realized it was her own as she collapsed backwards onto her knees, letting her bow fall from her hand. Umbra continued to stand beside here, utter amazement on his face. This whole situation was just unbelievable. They weren't even huntsmen yet, let alone official students.

CRACK. The loud retort caused Luna to jump to her feet with fear. That sort of sound could never indicate something good. The cliff face tree that the rope was tied to, shaken by the impact of the Taijitu, suddenly lurched downwards, then fell completely away from the cliff. Reacting quickly, she threw herself forward, leaning over the cliff to snap the branch the rope was tied to away from the falling tree. She felt herself lurch forward, her muscles screaming as she used all her strength to keep the rope from falling with both her and Umbra's partner along with it.

Then she felt the ground give way underneath her, taking her along with it.


'I could have just let them die' Umbra groaned internally as he felt Luna's weight along with those on the rope pull hard at his arm. Embedded into the cliff face where the tree once was his staff, with one arm wrapped around it to keep him from falling. The other arm was wrapped around Luna's waist to keep her from falling. Inches below him was Luna's shocked expression, many feet below him was Mura's and Leif's terrified ones. He could have just let them all plummet to their deaths. He had no reason to save them, they weren't his friends, they weren't even his tribe. Yet his body moved without a second thought as their deaths would have brought unwanted questions from the teachers who were supposedly monitoring them during this test. Frustration continued building however as more feelings raced through his mind as he looked back down at those he just saved.

Frustration was building because he knew those reasons didn't occur to him until after he already was moving. Until after he caught Luna.

His muscles screaming in pain snapped him out of these conflicting thoughts.

"CLIMB OR FALL NOW!" Umbra roared down the rope. That seemed to snap the Luna's and his partners out of shock and both scrambled up the rope. His arms felt incredibly fatigued by today's events, his face strained with exertion. Glancing back down, he was surprised to find Luna's yellow eyes staring back at him. While she said no words, the Faunus mouthed 'Thank you'. Umbra just nodded wordlessly, as her look caused a weird pit to form in his stomach. Too many conflicting feelings were going through him right now, he just wanted this day to end.

Mura reached the top first, only having been a few feet away. Umbra winced as she carefully clambered around Luna and up his left arm onto the cliff, letting out a huge sigh of relief as she collapsed. Leif was now half way up. His pained exhausted expression still had streaks of…joy? Relief? Some sort of positive feeling that one gets from pulling off an insane foolhardy feat. That was his partner right there. Still so weak, so inexperienced, yet Umbra felt another uncomfortable feeling within him, it too unrecognizable one, caused by see Leif pull off that foolhardy maneuver.

That uncomfortable new feeling seemed to make him even more shocked at the rope snapping.

The wear and tear on the rope from people climbing on it, not to mention the earlier impact, was just too much. Luna screamed while Umbra watched in what he could only guess was horror as Leif's face turned stark white despite the sweat and dirt as he began to plummet downwards. His worries multiplied by two as his arm felt his staff starting to give way; the cliff was still unstable. While there was nothing he could do for Leif, he did the only thing he could for Luna and him. He used the rest of his strength to fling her back over the cliff top before pulling himself back over as well. The wolf girl was already back looking over the cliff, screaming Leif's name as though it would somehow save him.

It wouldn't, but the blur to their left might succeed where they couldn't.


"WHY. CAN'T. THINGS. BE. EASY!" Mura shouted to no one in particular as she felt the air rush around her. She had just gotten out of this gorge yet there was no hesitation as she dove back in, for reasons she could only begin to fathom. Her eyes found Leif plunging deeper with every second below her, with no chance at her catching him given the laws of gravity. Which meant resorting to her semblance to change that.

Her hand outstretched, she felt her aura flow through her as she focused on Leif below. Nothing noticeable happened at first, but after a few seconds, Leif had begun to slow. Her semblance, which she could use to raise things up against gravity, wasn't strong enough to bring him towards him but it was enough to keep him in a motionless limbo long enough for her to catch him. With great effort, she moved her left arm towards her head while loosing the strap by a good amount. She then slid her shield from her wrist to around her head, twisting it around so it was around her neck with the front facing outward from her back. Now just to catch Leif.

Three seconds of falling later, she did.

"What-how-?" He stammered, his lips flapping as he resumed falling now that her semblance was back off.

"Attempt number two." She just muttered back as she wrapped her arms around chest tightly. Cocking her head down, her chin hit the trigger. A fully charged explosion followed suit sending them both back towards the top of the canyon. Their momentum started failing before they reached the top, forcing her to roll them both until Dusk across his chest was pointed down.

That next shot propelled them over the cliff edge onto solid ground next to Luna and Umbra, finally safe. It wasn't a soft landing, but the feeling of solid ground beneath her was welcome nonetheless. For the next few moments, there was no words spoken, just heavy breathing amongst the breeze. No Grimm. No gunfire. No danger.

Just safety.