Hello, my fellow perusers of fanfiction! This is a story I've already posted on Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity, and have decided to post here as well (and also soon, AO3) because... well, I want to, that's why! Conveniently, this also marks my return to posting fanfiction on this site after about five and-a-half years of not posting anything at all. Hopefully y'all enjoy reading this!
Now, without further adieu, here is Remnants of the Void!
It was a beautiful morning on the island of Patch. The sky was a clear blue, obstructed only by the faintest, wispiest of snow-white clouds. The grass, bushes and trees were a verdant green, still sparkling faintly with the last traces of morning dew. A gentle ocean breeze caressed the coastal settlements and blew further inland, causing the canopy to rustle as it swayed. In the wilderness, birdsong and the chirping of insects filled the air, composing the sounds of life. The settlements scattered across the island bustled with people going about their early day routines, starting their day's work.
Yes, it was a beautiful morning indeed… until suddenly, in a clearing deep in the woods, the boom of an explosion filled the air. A cloud of dirt, smoke and dust shot up into the sky, and the trees around the blast's center shook violently. Nearly drowned out by the sound of the explosion, two voices cried out in shock, and four of them screamed, the noise joined by a reptilian screech and a squeal.
High up in this cloud, with dirt and smoke rushing through her hair as she fell screaming to the earth, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere wondered why the world hated her so much.
In the Vestri Courtyard of the Tristain Academy of Magic- the first and foremost magical academy in all of Tristain- a crowd was gathered. Almost entirely composed of young students clad in uniforms- white, long-sleeved dress shirts, black cloaks with an inner purple trim with a single brass, pentagram-engraved clasp, and either a black skirt or pants- the crowd was nearly silent, focused on a large magical circle drawn in the dirt before them and the student standing in front of it. Beside the crowd stood an older man with balding, short black hair, blue eyes, and spectacles, clad in a blue robe and holding a wooden staff in hand. Like the students, he too was focused on the circle and student.
"...answer my call, and appear!"
With the incantation finished, the circle lit up with a brilliant light. Quickly, the light faded, revealing a giant, brown-furred mole with abnormally large eyes and an odd, triangular-shaped patch of blue on the top of its head standing confused in the circle's center.
With a light smile on his face, the balding man stepped forwards, and spoke.
"Congratulations, mister Gramont. You have successfully completed the familiar summoning spell."
Guiche de Gramont- youngest son of Marshall Gaston de Gramont- turned to face his professor, wiping the sweat from his brow and slightly tousling his blonde hair. His face was set in a disappointed grimace, blue eyes slightly narrowed.
"Thank you, professor Colbert, b-"
"Now," Jean Colbert interrupted, causing Guiche's mouth to shut with a clack of his teeth, "If you would please, bind your familiar."
With a sigh, Guiche turned to his familiar, quickly moving into the circle and towards it and ignoring the chatter and laughter of his classmates. The mole stared curiously up at him as he approached, cocking its head. With a slight grunt, Guiche got on one knee, examining his familiar-to-be closer.
"A mole for a familiar. My brothers will never let me hear the end of this… although, you are awfully adorable."
The mole, being a mole, did not respond to his words, merely cocking its head further. Guiche smiled, his previous disappointment evaporating.
"Yes, I suppose you are the perfect familiar for me! A beautiful familiar for a handsome man!" His face now set in a full-blown grin, Guiche cleared his throat, and raised his wand. "Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers-"
As Guiche proceeded to bind his familiar, a girl fidgeted ever so slightly in the crowd. Shorter than most of her peers, she tried to stand as dignified as she could, resisting the urge to brush a hand through her long, pink hair as she clenched her skirt. Her pink eyes stared solely at professor Colbert, filled with nervousness despite her effort to project confidence.
She was Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere, youngest daughter of Duchess Karin de la Valliere, and she couldn't help but feel an ever-growing dread in her chest. How could she not, when today was the day she and her classmates were summoning their familiars, and she had never cast a single successful spell in her life? If she failed here, she would be sent back home, expelled for her failure. She'd have to face her father, his face set in yet another too-familiar grimace. Her sister, Cattleya, her gentle eyes shining with pity. Her mother, stern face so disappointed-
No. No, she couldn't- wouldn't fail. She'd told Kirche and Montmorency last night that she'd summon a grand familiar, and that was what she was going to do. She was a Valliere, and she'd show everyone she belonged here!
"Now, who has yet to summon their familiar?" Professor Colbert called out, snapping Louise out of her thoughts. Suddenly, the dread was back, and despite herself Louise took a step backwards. She swallowed thickly, opening her mouth as she worked up the strength to call out-
"Louise hasn't summoned anything yet, professor!"
Louise hissed under her breath, turning to glare at the far-too-familiar girl near the front of the crowd. Taller than her by a head, dark-skinned, and with long crimson hair running down her shoulders, Kirche von Zerbst smiled back at her, a hand on her hip. She'd left the top button of her shirt undone again, and Louise deliberately chose to ignore the results of that as she instead glared at Zerbst's stupid, smug face.
Stupid, Germanian cow…
It was too late for the glare to do much, however, because now the crowd around Louise was focused on her.
"Founder, couldn't Kirche just keep her mouth shut about the Zero?"
"Right, I'm just going to plug my ears…"
"Hold on, the professor can't seriously want to-"
"Going to blow us all up, Zero?"
"Hopefully just herself. Save the staff the trouble of expelling her after she-"
Whispering and muttering filled the crowd, all of it focused on her inability as a mage. Louise pushed down the hotness in her eyes and grit her teeth, clenching her fists as she fought the urge to turn her head down.
"Enough!"
Mercifully, Colbert's exclamation shut most of her fellow students up, and his stern glare caused the stragglers to quickly follow suit. He swept his eyes across the crowd twice, before focusing solely on her. He smiled kindly at her, but Louise couldn't help but feel a bit patronized.
"Miss Valliere, if you would approach the summoning circle and call upon your familiar."
A few brave souls in the crowd broke into another bout of whispering, but the meaty smack of their professor hitting his free hand with his staff caused them to quickly quiet down once again. Louise breathed in and out deeply, composing herself as best she could, and did as instructed. Soon, she was standing in front of the circle, and pulled out her wand.
She sincerely hoped nobody could see the faint shaking of her hand as she raised her catalyst, focused squarely on the circle. She breathed in again, and then out, and then she began to speak the incantation.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe…"
The circle lit up, causing Louise's chest to swell with hope. Her fellow students had gone completely silent, watching quietly.
"...my divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, heed my call."
An airless breeze seemed to blow through the courtyard, causing cloaks, hair and clothing to shift under its caress. The glow grew brighter, and the air was filled with an unmistakably magic hum.
"I wish from very bottom of my heart; answer my call, and appear!"
The circle was shining brilliantly now, the strange breeze becoming stronger, the hum becoming a buzz. Louise felt her mouth turn upwards in a proud smile, her heart filled with joy-
And then the circle exploded.
A cloud of smoke, dirt, and dust was thrown into the air and across the Vestri courtyard, following a wave of force and noise from the blast. Louise's classmates cried out in shock, throwing up their hands to cover their faces. The familiars made a cavalcade of panicked noises, throwing themselves back or taking to the air in surprise. Quickly, the uproar turned into shouted curses and exclamations, but Louise could barely hear them over the faint and yet too-loud ringing in her own ears, her eyes locked on where the circle had been.
As the ringing faded, she dimly registered professor Colbert calling out, though to who she couldn't tell. Even if her hearing had been fine, she'd still have not been able to tell, eyes locked dead ahead.
No. No, she- she couldn't. She hadn't. She- she just had to try again. That was it. She could still do this!
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe; my divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, heed my call."
Through the settling dust, she could see the circle- somehow still intact- glowing once again, and the humming and buzzing came in turn. The crowd was muttering and even jeering at her, but she ignored them to focus on her willpower.
"Miss Valliere-" Professor Colbert began, but Louise ignored him in favor of the ritual. She continued the chant, doing her best to keep the shaking from her voice and from her hand.
"I wish from the very bottom of my heart; answer my call, and appear!"
Once again, the circle lit up brilliantly. Once again, the buzzing reached its apex. Once again, Louise felt hope.
Once again, the circle exploded, kicking up a new cloud of debris. The crowd once again entered a frenzy, and once again Louise couldn't hear them, too focused on that damn ringing and the racing of her own thoughts.
She had failed. She- she was a zero. Nothing. She- no, no, no! She wouldn't- she- she refused to just-
Before anyone could stop her, Louise's wand came up a third time, and she spoke. Despite her best efforts, she could hear her voice cracking as she desperately clung to the last of her composure.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe-"
She could hear the crowd panicking, though she didn't care to look at them to see what they were doing. Professor Colbert called out to her again, and she ignored him.
"My- my divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, heed my call!"
Colbert called out again, and this time she couldn't ignore him.
"Miss Valliere! I'm sorry, but you cannot-"
Louise grit her teeth and bit back a snarl, her pink eyes shining with unshed tears. Tearing her mouth open, she cried out the final line of her summoning.
"I wish from the very bottom of my heart-"
"Guiche, get back!" Someone shouted. The crowd and familiars were panicking, and she could hear feet trampling dirt and grass behind her. The circle lit up one final time, the runes warped from the abuse thrown at them. The buzzing sound came again, warbling dangerously..
"-answer my call, and appear!"
For a moment, it seemed like everything was quiet. The shouting and animalistic noises faded into the background, and all there was was that distorted buzzing. Then, suddenly as it came, it vanished. Louise felt a twisting, hard pull at her gut, and then a sudden, enormous drain on her willpower, causing her to stumble.
Another explosion rocked the courtyard, and suddenly the pull intensified, leaving Louise feeling completely weightless as her feet gave out from under her. She was dimly aware of a chorus of panicked exclamations from her peers, which suddenly and abruptly cut out into just three voices as the world became distorted and seemed to glow an odd green color. She closed her eyes to block out the sight, and flailed her limbs as she realized she was falling-
Suddenly, the pulling, twisting feeling vanished, and a rush of sound hit her ears. Two more voices crying out, the rush of wind past her ears, the familiar rumble of an explosion past. Her eyes snapped open, and she screamed as she realized she was still falling, dirt and dust whipping past her head. She could still hear the three voices of her classmates, now screaming alongside her, as well as a frenzied squealing and panicked screeching.
Why does the world hate me?
Then, she hit the ground, and the world went black.
Biting back a curse, Colbert began to mutter an incantation under his breath. The wind in the courtyard picked up, quickly blowing away the massive cloud of debris kicked up by his student's desperate last attempt at summoning. Quickly taking stock of the situation, he grit his teeth as a ball of ice settled into his stomach.
Miss Valliere was gone, the ground where she had been standing blasted apart. The circle was equally in ruins, the runic pattern blown away by the sheer force of Valliere's explosion. Thankfully, he saw no sign of the blood and gore he would expect from a corpse, and so he quickly turned his attention back to his panicking students.
"Students!" he yelled, his commanding tone just barely breaking through the frenzy and bringing the first signs of order. "All of you, form up immediately! Do so calmly, and make sure your familiars are secure!"
A few seconds passed, and then some of his wards began to comply, gathering and herding their familiars with all due haste. As they did so, Colbert began to take count of his students, his keen eyes and mind moving from head to head.
"Guiche? Guiche!?" A girlish voice cried out, his eyes snapping to the blonde, drill-haired source. Montmorency, he recalled her name was, was frenzied, desperately searching through the throng of her peers. "Where is he!? Guiche!"
Immediately, Colbert switched tasks, incanting the flight spell and rising above his students. His eyes swept the crowd, searching for the youngest Gramont, only to find no trace of the boy.
"H-hey, where'd Zerbst go? Kirche?"
"And that blue-haired girl, too-"
The ball of ice in his gut seemed to sink even deeper, and Colbert redoubled his searching. Curses finally slipped from his lips as he realized both the girls were missing as well. He quickly began to search for their familiars as well, only for a desperate roar to break the silence as the wind dragon that served as Tabitha's familiar took flight, head and neck widely swerving back and forth as it looked for its master. The students began to panic again, and Colbert once again turned his focus to them.
As he began to bark orders for them to return to their rooms immediately, he could see other members of the faculty quickly flying towards them. The wind dragon roared again, managing to almost look fearful as it began to circle the academy with incredible speed. As his students began to rise into the air carrying their familiars to their dorms or quickly move towards the stables with their familiars in tow, Colbert turned to inspect the circle, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Rapidly, he began going over each and every possibility he could think of as to what had just happened.
This was a disaster.
The air in the clearing was filled with the sound of gunfire, moving feet, and screaming munitions. Despite this, Ruby Rose couldn't help but smile, even as she threw herself to the side to avoid yet another explosive round aimed directly at her torso, combat boots throwing up dirt in the process. Her black combat skirt moved as she did, the red frills ruffling.
Her red cloak rustled behind her as she darted to her left to avoid another shot, and then rose petals exploded from her form as she dashed forwards, pulling Crescent Rose back as she rushed towards the only other figure in the clearing, the high-impact sniper-scythe catching the early-morning sun as it came around in an arc. The blonde-haired figure she was rushing smiled cockily, her lilac eyes focused. Yang Xiao Long- clad in her usual brown jacket, yellow undershirt, orange scarf, black short-shorts and half-skirt- braced herself, golden hair billowing behind her as she raised her arms to block the blow, the yellow-painted metal of her shotgun-bracers Ember Celica covering her forearms. Her own boot-clad feet settled into a wider-set stance as she stood her ground.
With a cry, Ruby swung her weapon at her sister. Crescent Rose struck Ember Celica with a resounding clang of metal-on-metal, the blade sliding against and then off of the bracers. Yang immediately countered, rushing inside of Ruby's guard and slamming a fist into Ruby's gut. Ember Celica fired an explosive round point-blank, and with a pained cry Ruby found herself flying backwards across the clearing. She swung Crescent rose around, driving it blade-first into the dirt to slow and then stop her momentum, hissing in pain through her teeth. Her aura had taken the shot, but it still hurt.
Yang smiled, crossing her arms and settling into a more relaxed stance. Her hand came up to adjust her scarf, and she smiled.
"Nice try, sis," she shouted across the clearing. "Almost got me that time!"
Ruby pouted, her pale cheeks puffing out from her heart-shaped face. Her silver eyes were narrowed in faux-annoyance, and she quickly brushed the crimson-tips of her dark red hair out of the way of her face.
"Almost got you? I did get you!" She huffed exaggeratedly, crossing her arms and turning away from her sister. "You just blocked it!"
Across the clearing, Yang blinked, before her gloved and armored hand came up to her mouth and she began to snicker. At the sight of her sister's action, Ruby's pouting increased, and Yang broke into a full-blown laugh. Then, Ruby joined her, her lips quirking upwards as she began to giggle as well.
They had come out here to practice following the eventful… er, events of last night, while Dad took Zwei and ran into town to pick up supplies. Ruby had headed into Vale and stayed late last night, stopped a Dust shop robbery by being in the right place at the right time, met (but sadly didn't get the autograph of) the famous Huntress Glynda Goodwitch, and been offered an early ride into Beacon all in the same night. Her mouth opened up into a beaming smile at the thought of it. I mean, sure, professor Goodwitch had yelled at her a bit for endangering others... and damaging private and public property… and for- oh, that didn't matter! She was going to Beacon! Two whole years early!
Despite her happiness, Ruby could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach, but she pushed it down as she looked back up at her elder sister. The blonde had stopped laughing, and was now smiling proudly at her as she rapidly closed the distance. The taller girl's arms were behind her head, her eyes twinkling.
"Ooh, I'm so proud of you, sis!" Yang said, smile widening. Just as Ruby realized what she was doing, the elder Rose-Xiao Long sister swept her up into a tight hug, physically lifting her younger sibling off of the ground. Ruby groaned, partly from the creaking of her bones and party as an over-the-top exaggeration.
"Yaaaaaang!" Ruby protested, half-heartedly.
"You're going to be going to Beacon with me! Just a couple weeks, and we'll both be that much closer to being Huntresses together!" Yang's smile became that much more mischievous after saying this, as did her eyes. "We're going to give dad a heart attack. Fighting Grimm, going on missions... meeting cute guys and gals~..."
"Yaaaaaaang!" Ruby whined, this time more genuine as her cheeks pinked. Her beloved sister laughed again, setting Ruby down and resting a single hand on her shoulder. Ruby pulled her hood up as soon as her arms were free, even as she turned to look up at her sister's beaming smile, a slight smirk on her own face.
Proud lilac eyes met silver orbs, and Yang's smile seemed to get as wide as it could. Ruby could just feel the pride radiating off of her older sister, and it left her feeling warm even as the butterflies churned in her stomach again. She opened her mouth to speak-
"-y-am-iar-"
-and instead blinked in confusion as she heard a faint voice saying something she couldn't make out.
"Did you say something, Yang?" Ruby asked.
Yang returned the confused blink, cocking her head. Her face quickly shifted to an amused expression, that mischievous smile returning.
"'Meeting cute guys and gals'?" Yang mockingly questioned, before mock gasping and bringing up her hand to her mouth dramatically. "My dearest little sister, are you getting interested in that? Oh, they grow up so fast~!"
Ruby could feel her face turning as red as her cloak, and pulled her hood further over her head in response.
"N-no! I thought I heard-"
"-swer-nd ap-"
"There it is!" Ruby exclaimed, spinning around and searching for the source of the voice. As she did so, she grabbed Crescent Rose, wrenching it from the ground, twirling the scythe in her hands before collapsing it into rifle form.
"Are you sure you heard a voice? I'm not hearing anything." Yang said, before narrowing her eyes in half-serious concern. "I didn't hit you that hard, right?"
"No, Yang- I heard it!" She said, looking back to her sister.
Yang's mouth curled down into a frown, her brow scrunching with worry. She opened her mouth to speak-
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe-"
And immediately closed it, spinning around in reaction to the voice.
"Do you hear it now?"
"Yeah." Yang said, eyes darting back and forth as she checked the tree line. "Weird… I dunno, warbling sound, right?"
Ruby- who had been scanning the other side of the clearing- turned back to her sister again, brow furrowed.
"No…? It sounds like a girl saying something, but I can't understand it. It kinda sounds familiar, I think?" Ruby put her chin in her hand for a second, Crescent Rose held in one hand at her side. Suddenly, she removed her hand from her chin and snapped her fingers. "Ooh, it kinda sounds like another language! Like, I dunno, kinda like that one weird baker guy who we met at the docks on our way to Vale that one time!"
Yang's scrunched-up expression suggested she did not, in fact, remember "that one weird baker guy", but she didn't say anything about it.
"My- my divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, heed my call!"
Ruby might not have been able to understand what the voice was or where it was coming from- wait, was that in her head? No, focus Ruby- but she noticed it sounded… sad? Desperate? She couldn't exactly place the emotion in the voice, but she knew she didn't sound very happy.
Then a buzzing filled the air, and Ruby brought up Crescent Rose in both hands, aiming her weapon towards the trees. She felt Yang's back press up against her own and could hear Ember Celica re-engaging behind her, which meant Yang was probably doing the same thing. The buzzing got louder-
"I wish from the very bottom of my heart; answer my call, and appear!"
And then, suddenly, a green, ovular, shimmering… something sprang up from the ground a few feet in front of her, causing Ruby to yelp and shift Crescent Rose into its scythe form. Yang spun around her side, half-imposing herself between Ruby and the whatever-it-was in front of them.
Both sisters stepped backwards, eyes focused on the green light. It warped, expanded, and contracted randomly, making a weird warbling sound to go with the buzzing as it just sat there, doing… whatever it was it did.
"Is that a semblance?" Ruby questioned, keeping her weapon ready and taking a wide-set stance.
"I- I don't know." Yang replied, nervously. "Whatever it is, we should stay back, just in case-"
The circle-oval-thingy suddenly began to make a sharp whining noise, and then it began to distort violently. Ruby and Yang's eyes both widened, and both sisters jumped back as far away from it as they could.
Then, it exploded, causing Ruby and Yang to cry out in shock as they were blown off their feet by the blast. They quickly recovered, Yang rolling as she landed and springing to her feet while Ruby slammed Crescent Rose head-first into the dirt, halting her movement. It was then Ruby heard people screaming in panic, a weird squealing, and a screech of some kind, quickly followed by the faint thuds of multiple somethings hitting the dirt and the screaming stopping.
Yang and Ruby glanced at each other, eyes wide. They turned back to the dust cloud in front of them, and quickly started moving towards it before a young, soft voice called something out from within it. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the clearing, blowing away the cloud and revealing six figures.
The first one Ruby noticed was the only one of the figures standing. It was a girl that looked about her age, wearing what kind of looked like a school uniform with a black cape that had a purple inner trim over her shoulders. She had a plain old wooden staff of some kind in her hand. Her clothes and her blue hair was frazzled- I mean, she did explode, Ruby thought-, but her icy teal eyes were sharp and alert behind cracked classes, and quickly focused on Yang and her.
Laying in the dirt next to her were three other people; a taller, dark-skinned red headed girl that was groaning face-first into the dirt, a short, pale pink-haired girl that was laying on her back, eyes closed but breathing, and a blonde-haired boy sprawled on top of a big, furry blob thing that she couldn't identify who also seemed to have been knocked out.
Lastly, there was a red, dog-sized lizard next to the redheaded girl- and wait was that thing's tail on fire? Looking at her gaping sister, back at the lizard, and back to Yang confirmed it; that thing's tail was definitely on fire, which was really really cool but Ruby forced herself not to stare at it and instead focus on the people.
"Where are we?" The girl said- asked? It was kinda hard to tell because Ruby couldn't understand a word she was saying, but the tone definitely sounded questioning in a demanding kind of way- as she raised her staff and pointed it at them. Was that a weapon? She couldn't see any trace of mechashift on it. "Who are you?"
"Uhh… hi?" Ruby replied, nervously. The girl didn't lower her staff, and it took Ruby a second to realize she still had Crescent Rose in her hands, causing her to let out a quiet, "Oh!". Laughing awkwardly, she returned it to its magnetic clip on the back of her belt, compacting it into its carrying form. Besides her, Yang lowered her arms, but left Ember Celica armed, looking as confused as Ruby felt.
The blue-haired girl looked confused for a moment, too, before her face went blank. Yang opened her mouth to speak, but the blue-haired girl beat her to it.
"You speak Albionese?" The girl asked with a weird accent. It definitely sounded kinda like the one that one guy had, for sure- wait-
"Alby-what?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow, looking even more confused and a bit concerned. Ruby shared a look with her. "You mean Vyt- nevermind, are your friends okay?"
As if she'd been waiting for a queue, the redheaded girl groaned again before the blue haired girl could respond, starting to push herself off of the ground. The pink-haired girl let out her own pained groan, starting to wake up. Beneath the blonde boy, the furry whatever-it-was began to shift, causing him to twitch.
"It appears they are." The blue haired girl said, finally lowering her staff. She quickly moved over to the redhead, looking slightly worried as she helped her up. The blonde boy yelped and jerked as the thing he was sprawled over accidentally knocked him off of it, and the pink-haired girl jolted awake in response, pink eyes darting around in confusion. The cool fire lizard finally started moving as well, cracking open a slitted eye and hissing.
Using her semblance, Ruby dashed over to the pink-haired girl, grabbing her shoulder. The girl let out an alarmed squeak, fumbling for something on her hip in panic.
"Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you! Here, let me help you up!"
"W-what- where- who?" The girl questioned in… whatever it was she was speaking. Her eyes widened as Ruby easily pulled her up to her feet with one arm, before she pulled away, still grasping at her side. Her hand landed on what kind of looked like an empty holster, and her eyes went even wider as she started looking around frantically. "Where's my wand!?"
Hearing a grunt behind her, Ruby quickly took a look over her shoulder, watching as Yang- Ember Celica finally compacted again- helped up the blonde boy, who was clutching his head in his hand. The furry thing had turned around, and it took Ruby a second to realize that it was a giant mole the size of a large dog. She hadn't heard of anything like that before, but Vacuo had gigantic turtles in the middle of the desert, so it wasn't that weird-
A triumphant exclamation behind her reminded Ruby that the pink-haired girl was right behind her, and she turned back to her to see her holding up a… stick? The girl was holding it up to her face, probably looking for damage on it. Looking closer, Ruby realized it looked kinda like a magic wand- ooh, was that her weapon? Did she use it to direct her semblance like Glynda Goodwitch? Was she a fellow Huntress-in-training and oh, wait, she's being talked to-
"-me, where are we? Who are you?"
The pink-haired girl had turned to her, apparently satisfied with her wand-thingy's condition, and was now staring at her frustratedly.
"Um," Ruby fumbled, "Sorry, I don't speak, ah, whatever it is you're speaking."
The pink-haired girl's face scrunched up, eyes narrowing in annoyance, and she started to reply before a deeper, frazzled-sounding, differently accented voice interrupted her.
"Honestly, Zero, didn't you hear her before? She's not speaking Tristanian, clearly."
The pinkette glared over Ruby's shoulder, the cloaked girl turning to face the new speaker. The red-headed girl was up and standing on her own now, returning the glare with one of her own.
"Zerbst." The pink-haired girl growled, eyes narrowing. She scowled, eyes darting over the others in the clearing, and her lip trembled just a bit.
"I mean," The redhead continued, hotly, "I shouldn't be surprised, considering you somehow managed to turn the summoning ritual into an explosion that sent us to Albion!"
Summoning ritual? Like, magic? And there was that word again- Albion? Was that a place? Ruby took a step back from the two angry girls, glancing at Yang to see her sister looking just as confused as she was feeling. The blonde boy was looking back and forth between the two, expression hesitant.
"I'm sorry, Zerbst," the pinkette- Zero?- said icily, finally speaking Vytalian as she began to march towards the redhead, "But you seem to be somehow implying that this is my fault!"
"You blew us up!" The redhead- Zerbst, apparently- was starting to sound hysterical, glowering at 'Zero' as she approached, "Three times! How could it not be your fault!?"
"Well- well maybe- I- you Germanian-!"
"Hey!" Yang interrupted, getting between the two. Both girls recoiled as they watched her eyes turn from their usual lilac to an angry red as she glared at both of them, 'Zero' raising her wand-thingy and Zerbst grabbing for something at her waist. Seeing that she had their attention, Yang breathed out deeply and closed her eyes, opening them to show they'd returned to their normal coloration. "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but shouting isn't going to help anybody right now. So, how about we all just chill out, and-"
A familiar growling cut Yang off, causing Ruby and Yang's attention to snap back to the canopy around them. Ruby quickly counted seven pairs of hellish, glowing red eyes staring hatefully at the group from the trees, and already one of the Grimm were stalking into the open. Prowling on all fours, the lupine monster snarled, it's head covered in a white bone-mask with the tell-tale red patterns of a Grimm engraved on it. Bone spikes jutted from its shoulders, back, arms, and legs, the beginning of further armor sprouting from its pitch-black fur. Wicked claws gouged the dirt beneath the not-quite-an-alpha beowolf as it began to circle around them.
Crescent Rose was in her hands in a second, unfurling into it's scythe configuration and put into a battle-ready stance as the rest of the pack began to follow their leader into the clearing. A series of mechanical whirls and clinks suggested Yang had unfurled Ember Celica behind her. She could hear 'Zero' gasp in shock and fear, someone whimpering, and what she thought was the lizard-thing let out an alarmed hiss.
Ruby lowered her stance, silver eyes fixed on the Grimm.
The explosion and its gut-churning aftermath had shaken Tabitha more than she'd care to admit. It had taken a good deal of her experience with doing missions for that man to cast the flight spell and break her fall before she could hit the ground as a result of Valliere's latest failure. She'd instantly put herself on-guard the second she realized she wasn't at the Academy anymore, and that Sylphid was nowhere to be found.
Staring at the demonic-looking creatures that had just entered the clearing, Tabitha decided that keeping up her guard had been the right call. Her staff raised in a moment, mind running through her arsenal of spells for the right option to engage the monsters with. Her classmates were far less prepared, Gramont stumbling back in fright as he fumbled for his wand, Valliere shaking like a leaf and backing away from the creatures, and Kirche staring at the beasts in fear, even as she pulled out her own wand. Gramont's mole had begun burrowing itself into the dirt at his feet, and Flame had put itself between its master and the new threats, the fire on its tail ablaze and the faintest tongues of flame rising from its mouth.
The two strangers, in contrast, had slipped into what were clearly battle-ready states. The blonde girl had done something to extend her bracers again, covering her forearms in yellow armor and taking on a boxer's stance. The red-cloaked girl had unfurled her strange scythe again, taking a lower stance and bringing the blade behind her in preparation to strike at the creatures. The speed at which they did so surprised her, a twinge of worry settling in her stomach as they reacted notably faster than she had.
Tabitha counted seven monsters total in the clearing now, trying to circle around the group to flank them. She pointed her staff at one of the smaller- half-way to seven feet, by her estimate- beasts, drawing up her willpower and opening her mouth to cast a spell-
Bang!
Then, to her surprise, the blonde girl threw her arms behind her, her gauntlets roaring and firing like blunderbusses backwards, sending her shooting forwards towards the monster she had been targeting. She was a yellow and brown blur as she crashed into the beast, Tabitha barely able to keep track of her as she brought her arms back around and smashed a fist into the creature's skull. Another boom of her bracers followed, and the thing's head was blasted apart into a cloud of shattered bone and black viscera.
An even louder gunshot sounded from the red-cloaked girl's position as this happened, and Tabitha took action. Targeting a new beast, she cast, a barrage of icicles forming around her before blasting towards the thing. They struck even as it tried to jump away, the creature roaring in pain before a lucky spike caught it in its eye, destroying its brain and causing it to collapse into the dirt. Absently, she noted as the creature began to disintegrate into black smoke before moving on to find a new target.
Three more of the beasts had been cut down, two laying bisected behind the red-cloaked girl who was now on the other side of the clearing and another crushed by the blonde. The biggest of the beasts and one of its pack were all that were left, and she quickly targeted the former as it charged straight for her. An incantation had another barrage of icy spikes fired towards it, only for it to weave to the side, avoiding all but a single spike which embedded itself into the creature's shoulder. The thing stumbled, but continued to charge her, hateful fiery eyes locked on her form.
Tabitha was about to cast a spell to blow the thing back when suddenly, its knee was blown apart, the loud crack of a gunshot piercing the air. Behind the monster, the red-cloaked girl had embedded her scythe blade-first into the dirt, and the end of it was smoking like a musket. Tabitha didn't hesitate to consider the implications, a quick incantation sending a single large spike of ice straight for the collapsing beast's chest. It struck, and it roared in fury and pain, desperately trying to struggle to its feet. Another spike finally pierced its skull, killing the creature.
A cry of pain from Valliere sounded even as she turned to face the last of the beasts, which towered over the pinkette as she laid in the dirt. It was on fire courtesy of what she assumed was Kirche and Flame, but even still it was swinging a massive clawed paw at her classmate, seeking to end her life. Kirche's mouth had just opened to cast again, and Tabitha raised her staff to do the same when a yellow blur slammed into the thing's side, sending it sprawling into the dirt. It raised its head and began to scramble to its feet desperately before a leather-clad foot stomped on its head, causing it to go still with the crack of bone.
Instinct taking over, Tabitha turned to the treeline, searching for more of the creatures lurking in the shadows of the woods. After a minute, she lowered her staff, satisfied that no more of the things were lurking around. She turned to face her classmates and the two strangers, taking stock of their situation.
The monsters that they had slain were almost entirely gone, the leader of the pack almost entirely finished dissolving into that black smoke. Valliere was back on her feet, still trembling slightly. Her long pink hair was slightly singed on the end and had clearly had part of it sliced away by something jagged- a claw, most likely- leaving it clearly uneven. Gramont was pale, shaking almost as much as Valliere despite having not done anything to contribute to that fight. Kirche was still alert, wand grasped tightly in her hand and breathing deeply.
The strangers had relaxed mostly, the silver-eyed girl having collapsed her scythe once again and returned it to her back. She was looking at Valliere, her face openly showing her concern. The blonde still had her odd bracer weapons extended, but had crossed her arms and looking between her and her peers.
"W-what were those things?" Gramont shakily asked (in Tristanian, Tabitha noted), eyes wide. The two strangers turned to face him, confused, and so Tabitha decided to translate.
"He's asking what those creatures were."
The reaction of both girls was telling, their eyes almost bulging out of their heads and mouths dropping open in shock.
"What those- Grimm!" The blonde exclaimed, "You know, the soulless monsters that want to kill humanity found everywhere on the planet? Those Grimm?"
"I do not." Tabitha replied. The blonde seemed to grow even more slack-jawed at that, staring at her incredulously. Her gaze swept over the rest of the nobles, and she quickly seemed to realize they were serious.
"How- seriously, how do you not know-!?"
"Uh, Yang?" The red-cloaked girl interrupted, looking as confused as her fellow. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else, in case more Grimm show up? We're not too far from home."
The newly-named Yang- an eastern-sounding name, Tabitha noted- blinked at the silver-eyed girl, before sighing and nodding, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You're right, Ruby. This is just- okay. Right." With a clap of her hands, Yang looked back to Tabitha and her classmates. "I don't know who you guys are, but that can wait a bit. Me and Ruby live nearby," at this, the blonde pointed to a dirt trail leading off into the woods, "so how about we go there and clear things up? And, uh, maybe let you guys clean yourselves up."
Considering their offer, Tabitha turned to look at her peers. Gramont was already nodding, seemingly all-too glad to take the offer of shelter. Valliere followed him in nodding, grimacing as she ran a hand through her ruined hair. Kirche was looking back at Tabitha, having raised a single eyebrow in an unspoken question.
Tabitha was unsure- both of these girls had displayed abilities like nothing she'd encountered before, and that had her worried about what would happen if they turned hostile. On the other hand, neither of the girls had really shown any hostile intent, and had acted to protect the nobles when those 'Grimm' attacked them. And considering they had no idea where they were…
Hesitantly, Tabitha nodded, Kirche following suit. Ruby returned the nod, sighing in relief before straightening up and turning to face the path.
"Well, then, uh.. follow me?" The girl half-asked, before starting off towards the trail. After a few seconds, Kirche made to follow, and her fellow students, the two familiars, and Tabitha followed suit, Yang bringing up the rear. Tabitha turned to look over her shoulder at the violet-eyed stranger even as she kept walking, noticing her pulling out a strange, white piece of metal. She resisted the urge to stop and stare with her mouth agape as Yang pulled the piece of metal apart like a paper scroll, revealing a semi-translucent glass pane in its center, glowing icons and letters dotting its surface and changing as her fingers began to tap at it. Despite her best effort, Tabitha's eyes widened, and Yang looked up to see it, taking on a confused expression. Tabitha looked away, carefully forcing her expression to be blank even though no one was looking at her face.
Just where in the world were they?
And thus ends Chapter 1! Poor Sylphid got left behind- for now, at least.
And yes, the choice of only four characters to get reverse summoned is very much intentional. Free internet cookies for whoever guesses our displaced Halkeginians' team name!
The next three chapters are already written, but will only be posted tomorrow because A) making sure that the story formatting doesn't break horribly when moving it between Google Docs, SB and SV, FFN, and AO3 takes time and B) it's late where I'm at and I'm tired.
Constructive criticism is always appreciated, dear readers! Once again, I hope you all liked this chapter, and I hope you all like what is to come!