Chapter 9: Setting the Board Part 3
Taylor
The nine of us rushed through the forest back to the cliffs. Ruby zipped ahead, rose petals in her wake.
Almost everyone was outpacing me, not a drop of sweat on their brows while I panted through burning lungs.
Jaune shared my troubles. He had bursts of speed that would trickle away until he was falling behind again. He didn't seem used to Aura enhanced speed and frequently stumbled from moving too fast at times, like I had and sometimes still did.
His running form didn't change and there wasn't any sign of a Mover ability like Ruby—a Semblance, as they called the individualistic powers Aura gave people.
Semblances were supposedly the 'expression of one's soul'. Each ability was unique; no one had a Semblance that worked the same way as another, like parahuman powers.
Some were very noticeable, like Ruby's trail of petals. I didn't know when or if I would manifest one, or whether it would be as flashy. Another reason I couldn't pass off my bugs as my Semblance. No one had ever shown two Semblances before; there would be questions or examinations. There also hadn't been a recorded case of a Semblance that controlled animals or people.
Additionally, I worried over what mine would be. Semblances related to the person in some way, whether as a reflection of their personality or some other esoteric speculation. Regardless, if it was true… I knew what kind of person I was.
I had entertained the idea of Aura being a parahuman power, the cold dread I felt then had nearly stopped my heart. However, Aura flew in the face of everything I knew about parahumans, not to mention how Aura and Semblances could be strengthened like a muscle. Aura was different in restrictions, how it was obtained, and its use, so it was likely something else entirely. I just wasn't sure what that something else was.
Yang's hair burst into yellow flames while her magenta eyes blinked into crimson.
She fired her gauntlets backward, the recoil sending her sailing through the air, and her fist smashed through a Beowolf's skull.
Ruby picked off the other Grimm, and we were moving on before I had a chance to slow down.
If Ruby didn't kill all the Grimm while ostensibly scouting, then Yang helped, and Pyrrha carved through any they missed before the rest of us could even draw our weapons.
Everyone reacted faster than me, something I hoped more Aura training would help with, but Pyrrha was head, shoulders, and feet above all of us.
A distant rumble like an army march was a constant reminder that the Deathstalker was hot on our tracks. Every tree or obstacle in its path was smashed or crushed under it, clearing a line through the forest after us.
The Deathstalker wouldn't sneak up on us, but the Nevermore would go completely silent for a time. An occasional screech in the distance was our only indication that there wasn't a beak about to stab through the leaves and impale us.
"We have to do something about the Deathstalker," I called out, and everyone slowed to a jog, still moving but able to talk.
"Why fight them if we don't have to?" Weiss—the white-haired girl—asked pointedly.
"If it catches up to us, it'll knock over the trees to let the Nevermore flank us, then we're screwed. Or, if we get slowed down by enough Grimm, it'll catch up, and we'll be flanked by those Grimm, the Deathstalker, and the Nevermore."
"You sure? It sounds pretty far off," Jaune said, more hopeful than arguing.
"It has been getting closer," Ren said, his voice more serene than emotionless.
"It has?" Jaune gulped.
"The crashing of trees is more pronounced, and I'm starting to feel its steps."
"What's the plan?" Yang asked no one in particular, though she glanced at Ruby expectantly.
However, Jaune spoke up. "So, we set a trap for the Deathstalker, decide where to fight it?" His confidence ended halfway as we all turned to him.
"I like it," Pyrrha said encouragingly. I wasn't sure if she was being honest or not.
"What about the big birdie?" Nora asked.
"There's a clearing ahead where the trees are a bit taller and bigger. The Deathstalker might not be able to knock those trees over," Ruby stated.
"Then we lay our trap there," I said, my swarm already in the area Ruby pointed out. "How are we going to get through its armor, or get close enough to hit an unprotected section with the pincers and tail?"
"Let's just punch them until they break," Yang said with an easygoing grin, Nora gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement.
"That isn't a plan."
"Do you have one?" Weiss was taking every opportunity to doubt me. I wouldn't care for her need to have her way if it wasn't in the field.
"If we can trap its legs and tail, then we can attack its body in its unarmored spots." I doubted we could flip it over to get at its belly. "How much Ice Dust does everyone have? Weiss, could you trap it like before?"
"Once more, and it would be the last of my Ice Dust, but we can't hit it if it's encased in ice."
"We could freeze it right as it steps over a pile of everyone's Dust and—"
"Boom!" Nora cut in, hands mimed an explosion.
"Then we charge it?" Jaune suggested. No one objected, so we had our plan.
We entered the small thicket, the trees old and towering above us.
"If we took some time, we might be able to knock over a tree on it. One shouldn't lose enough cover for the Nevermore to get through," Ruby said.
Two people couldn't reach each other if they hugged the tree from opposite sides, and they could bring one down? Aura made options available that I wouldn't have even considered. I need to get a better idea of the capabilities of Aura users.
"Nora, think you can handle that?" Jaune asked.
"I can be a lumberjack, no problem." Nora flashed a grin that was hungry for action.
"We'll cut into it, to make sure it falls the right way," Pyrrha said with a nod to Ren, who returned the gesture. They started hacking at a tree, Ren with twin emerald pistols sporting long curved blades that hung like icicles from the muzzles, and Pyrrha with her spear that shifted into a sword.
Deep lines and wood pulp came from each swing. The task was much easier than I had thought it would be.
"Then Pyrrha and Yang will engage, Weiss will prepare to freeze, Nora will be ready to take the tree down, and the rest of us will come at it from the sides?" I asked.
"Just yell timber." Nora saluted, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I suppose I can agree to that," Weiss said, not begrudgingly, but something was there.
"Alright everyone, let's do this!" Ruby pumped her fist up with determination, her optimism infectious for the others.
I dumped all my Dust rounds except one into a small divot along with the others who had extra Dust.
We waited for our prey.
The rumble of the Deathstalker's approach could be felt through the ground, leaves vibrating and falling.
Insects marked its limbs as it rushed toward us, and everything in its path was ripped apart or crushed.
Two pairs of students followed the route the Deathstalker had carved through the forest, using the clear path as a quick trip back to the cliffs. The pairs were far enough away from each other that I didn't think they were together, but both had the same idea.
I wondered if they would help us when they got closer, or go around.
We shared a tense, pregnant moment, weapons gripped white-knuckled, and breaths held with clenched teeth.
"It's here," I called out.
Two massive pincers burst from the brush and slammed into the giant trees barring its pursuit.
Despite their size, the trees bent but didn't fall, and the Deathstalker squeezed through the gap.
"Over here, you overgrown insect!" Yang yelled. Scorpions aren't insects.
She cocked her fist and punched forward, firing a round from her gauntlets. Pyrrha's sword shifted into a long rifle, and the two fired at the Grimm.
It raised its pincers like a bulldozer, a shield for the incoming rounds, and marched forward. Each bullet bounced harmlessly off the monster's hide.
Pyrrha and Yang's barrage didn't let up, but it didn't slow the Grimm either.
Then, it stepped into position.
"Now!" Ruby said, the slab of metal she carried unfurling into a deadly scythe taller than her.
Two white beads of light, like tiny shooting stars, launched from a snowflake sigil that Weiss formed in front of her.
They soared in a targeted arc and exploded into ice all around the Deathstalker, trapping its legs and tail.
Spindly legs struggled against the icy bonds, we raised our guns, and the stinger stabbed into its prison like a snake's strike.
"Shoot the Dust before that thing gets out!" Jaune screamed.
I aimed at the beetle perched on top of the pile of ammo and Dust containers and squeezed the trigger.
A volley of overlapping gunshots vanished in the consuming blast of sound and light as the Dust ignited.
Dirt, chunks of ice, and sparks danced through the aftermath.
The smoke settled, and the Grimm hissed angrily. The ground under it was black and charred, embers still glowing red, but beyond an increase of the black smog coming from its belly, it looked unharmed.
Fuck, this thing is tough.
The ice was partially melted or broken apart, and a backhanded swing of its pincer freed one of its sides. The stinger pulled free next, patches of ice still clinging to it.
"Nora!" I yelled out before drawing my sword.
Nora took two practice swings in a batter stance, then slammed the tree with a hearty grunt.
The dull thud led the way for the slow snapping of wood.
"Timber!" Nora watched triumphantly as the tree's shadow grew over the Grimm.
The Deathstalker raised its pincers, clicked them in deadly promise, before catching the tree.
The ground cratered slightly under the Grimm from the weight of a tree twice as long as the giant scorpion and at least five feet in diameter.
There wasn't a single sign of strain in the Grimm.
Pyrrha and Yang were still firing away, but the Grimm used the tree as cover.
"What do we—" Blake began.
"Charge!" Ruby cut in, and everyone moved in.
The Deathstalker reared its arms back, letting the shots splinter against bone armor, the motion emphasized as though…
It was going to throw the whole damn tree and crush us.
I wouldn't make it in time. "Stop it before—"
A red streak shot forward ahead of everyone, and Ruby slashed at the arms under the pincers. The tree shuddered as the pincer flinched from the blow.
"Keep on the pincers or it'll throw the tree!" Then there would be nothing stopping it from breaking free.
A blur of black and green rushed the Grimm from flanking sides. Blake took a roundabout approach to the pincers while Ren took a more direct route under the shadow of the tree, leaving him in range of the Deathstalker.
The stinger of the Grimm bobbed and swayed between the two, deciding on who to strike, before it lashed out with lethal precision.
I didn't get the chance to open my mouth for a warning.
Ren turned his head, eyes widening in realization as the stinger stabbed toward him, no time to dodge.
A pink and orange meteor crashed down onto the stinger inches from Ren's face.
The force of Nora's spinning blow held her in the air for a moment as the stinger cratered and crunched under her hammer, her battle excitement cast aside for a deep snarl.
Ren made a noise that sounded like "Cerrraw," as he passed Nora. Both him and Blake slashed at the flesh under the pincers.
The Deathstalker's arms finally gave way, and the tree fell on top of it with a satisfying crack.
Ruby and I came down with our own strikes alongside Ren and Blake. We chopped until the pincers tumbled from its body.
Pincers gone, stinger crushed, body trapped, and still the Deathstalker fought back, frantically stabbed at us with its legs. Anything to attack us.
The tail flailed about like a whip, the stinger too mashed to function, but Yang and Nora took turns smacking it aside when it got close. The rest of us took positions around it, Pyrrha and Jaune shielding us from blows, and we began hacking at it.
The battle was straightforward after that. The Grimm fought to unpin itself unsuccessfully, while we stabbed and cut until it evaporated around our weapons.
Jaune fell backward in exhaustion. Everyone else besides Pyrrha panted slightly.
"Thanks for the assist," Ren said to Nora.
"Well, of course! I heard the distress signal," Nora stated, yelling the first part and whispering the second like it was a secret.
"That… worked out surprisingly well," Jaune said, still lying on the ground.
"Yeah, great job everyone." Ruby gave a thumbs up.
I wasn't so sure. No injuries, yes, but we had it trapped and maimed, and it still took a solid two minutes of attacking to kill it. Most, if not all, our Dust was gone.
We couldn't hit any 'vital' part of it, if Grimm biology even had vital parts.
I needed a stronger attack for Grimm like these, otherwise, I was doing no better than I had when I swarmed that Ursa with wasps.
"I was kinda hoping for more face punching though…" Yang complained.
"Didn't enjoy being the distraction?" Blake asked.
"I'm more of a frontline kinda gal. With an explosion happening behind me." Yang put on a pair of aviators and posed.
"The Dust trap could have worked better," Weiss huffed, shooting a glance at me.
"I don't think anyone was expecting it to shrug off that much Dust blowing up under it," Ren stated.
"Well, I think it all worked out fine," Pyrrha said happily, possibly an attempt to defuse the situation, though I didn't think Weiss's comment was really enough to cause any friction.
"I'm surprised no other Grimm attacked us during that," Blake said.
She was right. We hadn't been quiet, yet the Grimm in my range had even wandered away from the battle...
"I haven't heard the Nevermore in a while," I said. A cry should have been due.
"Maybe it flew off?" Jaune suggested hopefully.
"Well, we did totally kick its buddy's butt," Yang stated, hands resting on the back of her head.
I knew from several studies that Grimm didn't show any care for their fellow Grimm. They also didn't get bored; they pursued until they couldn't get their target or found a new one—shit.
They had gone in the direction of the two pairs of students that had decided not to get involved in our fight.
"Or it found a new target."
"We have to hurry then!" Ruby turned to move.
"Slow down. We don't know where it is or if it is attacking someone. We should just head back to the cliffs," I stated.
Ruby rounded back on me. "But—"
"We can't help if we're tired."
She slumped, a small pout puffed her cheeks up around her frown.
I started the trek, setting the pace, before she could protest.
We took it slow for a time to recover. Ruby quickly took point, but had to be called back so she wouldn't rush off ahead.
All the Grimm I sensed moved toward the cliffs, either unaware or ignoring us.
A whining screech rent the air, louder than the Nevermore had made before. A chorus of growls and howls rose to follow.
Everyone shared a look of comprehension before we resumed our previous breakneck speed.
My bugs mapped the scene and latched onto the Grimm.
We broke through the treeline onto a vast plain. Scattered ruins and stone croppings led to a deep gorge that separated the forest from the cliff we needed to reach.
In the ravine was another circular stone temple, more intact than the one we'd found the relics in. It was built into the cliffside and held up by pillars and stone bridges that rose from far beyond my power's range, a bastion against the vast bottomless abyss below.
An army of Grimm lined the edge of the cliff, a mass of snarling shadows in the sunlight.
There were so many of them. My bugs counted over a hundred.
Beowolves, Ursas, and Boarbatusks batted and clawed at the empty air over the gorge at the stone temple, the pathway to the structure broken and lost.
The Grimm hadn't bothered with us because they had tasted a new rush of negativity in the air.
Two students, the ones that had been the farther pair following the Deathstalker, fired their guns along the cliffside from the roof of the small temple. The first pair must have already made their way up the cliffs.
I slowed but no one else followed.
"Everyone stop!"
They did, looking either frantic to help or eager to kill Grimm. We hunkered together under the canopy of one of the stone structures on the way.
A distant cry of distress from one of the students was barely audible over the growling of them Grimm. Everyone else tensed, knowing that someone was indeed in trouble.
"Why are we stopping?" This was the second time I had delayed Ruby in helping someone, and I expected to see some blame or accusation, but there was none. Not a hint. Her eyes were clear of everything except concern.
With another cry, the Nevermore swooped toward the two students, who jumped down off the roof into the room below with a panicked yelp, just as large talons clawed the space they were into rubble.
The large bird Grimm cried out in what might have been frustration and continued its flight, preparing for another pass.
A daring Beowolf leaped onto the broken pillars that once held up a bridge and then to the next in rapid succession.
It landed on the last one, prepared to lunge at the boys. They fired a barrage of bullets that sent the Grimm into the chasm below.
"Why are we stopping?!" Weiss reiterated with annoyance.
"There's too many of them to charge in without a plan. We need a strategy, or at least a formation," I said. Weiss huffed in response but didn't protest.
Bugs marked the two boys. They were breathing heavily and obviously frantic. They had no escape and they weren't really equipped to handle an opponent at long-range.
At the same time, clouds of bugs formed in the fight path of the Nevermore in hopes to grab on and follow its movements. Spiders rushed through grass and along the cliff face to spin webs and triplines, using the bodies of the Grimm as cover as they weaved and spun around their limbs.
"Obviously, Pyrrha and I will lead the front—our best fighters—while you all assist," Weiss said, like it was plain as day. "We'll create a wedge that cuts through the group to the temple."
"That'll get us swarmed or surrounded if we can't kill them fast enough," I stated.
She spun on me, a scowl on her face. "Well, then what would you suggest." She didn't know anything about me, yet was so self-assured that I wouldn't come up with a better idea.
"Ruby in front, then Jaune and Pyrrha. Nora and Yang in the middle. Then Ren, Blake, me, with you at the back."
"And how is that any better?"
I narrowed my eyes. She had just asked for a plan, and explaining it wasted time, but she wouldn't listen otherwise. At least it gave my bugs more time to tie up the Grimm for the initial assault.
"The Grimm are spread out along the cliffs edge, so if we rush them, they'll just collapse around us and we'll be surrounded. We fire what we can and knock the Grimm off the cliff. Next, Ruby will move ahead so they'll gather toward one point."
"You want her to be bait?!" Yang asked with clenched fists.
"Yes, Ruby's the fastest and has a good gun." The girl preened and patted her weapon at the praise. "She's the best at dodging or retreating if things go wrong. When they're in a group, we don't have to worry about aiming as much, and Dust explosions will hit more." The blonde's anger receded with a nod. Ruby didn't protest either.
Weiss's obstinate expression broke down with every word. At one time, I might have taken satisfaction in that, now it just made me tired from the wasted effort. I made sure to speak to everyone and not single her out.
"Next is Jaune and Pyrrha, because they have shields." And so Pyrrha could protect Jaune. Honestly, he didn't seem to be good for much else. He threw my idea of what level of skill was expected at Beacon into disarray. "Nora and Yang are the heavy hitters"—Nora smiled and Yang tapped her fists together—"so they can crush or push back what Jaune and Pyrrha can't wall out. Ren, Blake, and I run support for everyone. Make sure no one gets overwhelmed. Weiss has the best battlefield control with her Dust. She can take her time to take out huge groups."
"How did you figure out our fighting styles?" Weiss asked with a small undertone of accusation, her last bit of resistance. The others watched my response, mostly with curiosity unlike Weiss.
Because I've been spying on you all with my powers. "I've been paying attention."
Everyone shrugged or nodded, but Weiss stayed transfixed on me, an odd expression on her face.
"Okay, the plan has merit," Weiss said, stepping to the back of the group. I was surprised she conceded so easily.
"And if we get attacked from behind? Or the Nevermore attacks?" Blake asked.
"Anyone coming from the back we'll either see coming and reposition, or we'll improvise. I doubt we'll stay in formation anyway. Real combat doesn't let you." And we're not trained enough for it, and we haven't worked as a team beyond the Deathstalker.
We moved to get into range, and the temple, as well as all the Grimm, came into view.
Alcoves made of stone pillars lined the path leading to the various Grimm. The grass was a grayish dead hue that contrasted ominously with the vibrant green of the Emerald Forest behind us. It squished and broke apart with the lightest step.
"There's two of them! On that structure," Pyrrha said, eyeing the two boys through her rifle's scope.
One was a blueish-gray haired boy in matching colored armor that wielded some kind of halberd-rifle. The other boy had a pale green mohawk with twin daggers that he slashed through the air to create waves of wind and fire.
A gentle fog hovered in the ravine, a blanket to hide the depths below, as well obscuring the jagged pillars stabbing upwards from structures long since crumbled.
Wind swept through the plain like a wave from the Nevermore's wings as it made another pass at the temple. The Grimm ignored the pillars that broke against it, talons outstretched and ready.
The boys dove to the side, rubble exploding from the Nevermore's latest attack, leaving even less room for them to dodge next time.
"Everyone, together!" Ruby called out, and everyone who could fired, my bugs biting down into the Grimm as well.
The line of black monsters burst with pink blooms, fire, electricity, and shrapnel. The Grimm tripped or stumbled from the webbing, letting us continue our barrage for longer.
Black smog mixed with smoke and dust, and the Grimm charged through it. Many had been pushed off the side of the cliff, but I counted ninety-six more. Bugs crawled onto their joints, hidden in the black fur.
Ruby rushed forward with a trail of red petals, then rolled into a kneel, her scythe curled into a gun, and began firing away.
The Grimm converged toward the younger girl, the line of Grimm becoming a mob.
One of the leading Beowolves sprang toward her with claws ready to swipe, but it hit air and petals as Ruby retreated back, using her gun's recoil to shoot and back up simultaneously.
A large sigil expanded above where Ruby had been, and I smelled ozone in the air.
The snowflake emblem crackled once, then bolts of lightning shot down in a flash of death.
Embers rose along with the flakes of dying Grimm, but the monsters paid no mind.
"Yeah! That's my partner!"
"Stay focused!"
Eighty-three left.
Weiss panted lightly behind me, that display having tired her out.
Hearts thrummed, weapons were drawn, and gunpowder flavored the air.
Then the Grimm were on us.
Two Boarbatusks spun along the ground like buzzsaws and slammed into Jaune and Pyrrha's shields, who met them with a yelp and composed ease respectively.
Yang and Nora stepped in and sent the two Grimm pinballing into the others.
My bugs bit down, distracting the Grimm or making them paw at their own hides, leaving an opening for the others.
Ren, Blake, and Ruby fired over the defenders, picking off any Grimm that tried to go around the killing ground that was Pyrrha's reach.
Yang and Nora sent any that got near flying. Jaune almost hid behind his shield, swinging wildly and at inappropriate moments.
Weiss's attacks were less frequent, but always devastating. Waves of flames and lightning raged with each wave of her rapier.
I barely helped. A stab or poke at a Grimm before it was swiftly defeated by another.
Pyrrha was a machine.
Each spin of her weapon was to build momentum for another attack, each swipe set up the next.
She was killing so many that the Grimm weren't fading fast enough, building up a mound in front of her, and a particularly large Ursa took advantage.
It stepped off the corpses of its fellow monsters and loomed over all of us, its shadow blocking the sun as it descended in a body slam.
"Cheese it!" Ruby called and the group dove to the side, our formation broken.
I rolled to a standing position, my bugs sensing the approaching danger, and I kicked Jaune away while jumping off him.
A spinning Boarbatusk tore through the space we had been, a trench of ripped dirt and stone following it.
Nora and Pyrrha had pounced on the large Grimm, Pyrrha's sword making a pincushion of its neck while Nora made pulp from its limbs.
Ren slid under the legs of another Ursa and jumped onto the shoulders of a Beowolf, both guns aiming down, and filled the Grimm's skull with lead.
Ruby and Weiss worked in concert. Weiss used her emblems to send Grimm flying into the air with what looked like areas of decreased gravity, allowing Ruby to zip up and hack them apart without retort.
Yang and Blake fought more independently but back-to-back, taking on individual opponents but not worrying about those behind them. Yang smashed Grimm after Grimm while Blake moved with deft speed to each one, delivering a series of slashes before moving on.
Blake's weapon was a sheath that was also a rectangular machete, and a sword-pistol that she used as a chain scythe thanks to the ribbon tied to its hilt. A weapon with so many forms could fulfill any combat role it needed to. Far off, up-close, a healthy medium.
Pyrrha had a sword, shield, spear, and rifle, all carried in two hands.
It must have taken three times the amount of training to learn to use each form of the weapon, along with the time it would take to get the exact timing down for switching between the forms, not to mention using the different forms in combination.
But there was a benefit to it, one that I might take advantage of as well.
Insects swam through the grass and up the legs of Grimm. They chomped down on the side of the Grimm that was opposite me, making the beasts stagger or look away from wherever I moved.
The Nevermore made another pass, its wings cutting through a cloud of bugs. Most died or slipped off, but a few were able to get onto the Grimm for me to track it.
Hundreds of limbs around me, and I felt each one's position and movement.
Gunfire, snarls, and steel singing in the wind were the only sounds.
"Weiss, Boarbatusk from behind!" I called out as Weiss finished off a small Ursa.
She turned and flung up an emblem just in time for the Grimm to crash into it, but I was sure she would have dodged the blow without my warning anyway.
"Now switch!" I sprinted toward the Boarbatusk as she glided across the grass like a figure skater, stabbing into the flailing Ursa as I gutted the boar Grimm.
"Blake, on your right." Blake teleported behind the Beowolf about to bite her, leaving an afterimage—Oni Lee flashed in my mind—with what I guessed was her Semblance.
I lunged and cut at the side of the Grimm where Blake had just been as it spun to face her. It staggered, letting Blake slice at its back.
It collapsed between us. We nodded to each other, then moved on to our next target.
I hissed in frustration. I was 'helping', but everything I did was superfluous. I hadn't saved anyone, or turned the tide of the battle, or defeated a deadly Grimm with any of my warnings or assistance. At best, I had saved the others the few seconds they would have needed to do the job themselves.
Compared to the others, excluding Jaune, I was useless. A convenience to have rather than someone who actually made a difference. They were cutting through the Grimm, one after another, fire to kindling. Each at least tripling the amount of Grimm I had killed.
There has to be something I can do!
The Nevermore came to a stop above the temple, winding back its wings in an almost exaggerated motion, then flapped them forward furiously.
Feathers flew from its wings, raining down like spears at the temple.
One clipped the mohawked boy as he tried to dodge, sending him spinning, before he lodged a dagger into the floor to stop from falling off.
The two boys were running out of room and luck quickly, there was no sign of Ozpin or Goodwitch interfering, and at best, I was assisting in kills the others could have handled on their own instead of helping in a meaningful way.
So, I moved to deal with the Nevermore.
The smaller Grimm had been mostly dealt with anyway.
Everyone had taken hits, except for Pyrrha and me—Pyrrha through skill, me by staying away from the bigger Grimm and using distractions to avoid notice. Jaune had been struck the most, but his Aura hadn't broken. I could see it gleam around him just as strongly as before.
They would be fine.
The Nevermore released a brutal, shrill cry as it rose higher and higher, abandoning its driveby charges.
When it was high enough, the wings folded in, and it nosedived down to gain speed.
This time, it was going to break the entire temple with one charge.
I had to send it off course, divert it somehow.
No bullets left. Not enough bugs on it to do anything, and the wind was too strong for them to climb along the bone mask and blind it.
Hadn't the professors noticed that the two boys were about to die? Or did they expect to save them after the boys were smashed into the oblivion of the gorge?
I was already at the cliff edge while everyone else was too far away to help.
The Nevermore swooped down and spread its wings for a head-on collision with the base of the temple. The boys fired away, but the Grimm wasn't fazed.
I sprinted alongside the cliff ahead of the Nevermore, flipped my sword into a reversed grip, then I jumped.
The howl of the ravine whistled around me but was deafened by my hammering heart.
I stabbed downward with as much Aura as I could maintain, right as the shadow wings swept under me.
The blade dug firmly into the wing, the Nevermore's momentum adding to the blow's force.
My arm burned from the strain, but Aura stopped it from being ripped off.
The Nevermore shrieked, veering to the side as its wing instinctively curled from pain. The temple was saved.
My plan had been to jump back onto the plain or the cliffside. The Nevermore had been gliding rather than flapping its wings, staying above the treetops of the forest. Naturally, it decided to change habits after I was on it.
The Nevermore dove lower, beneath the mist, and furiously pumped its wings to remove the needling pain of my sword.
The world was a rush of movement, wind and my own pained grunts filled my ears.
I was bludgeoned helplessly against its wing as I clung to my blade for dear life.
The irony was that every time it beat its wings, my sword dug a little deeper into the wing.
Up and down, I felt my body slam into the feathered wing, like a rollercoaster where you got battered into a wall with every twist and turn. Each slam knocked my breath and senses away, along with a piece of my Aura.
The cloudy gray sensation of support dipped and faded. I was running out fast.
The Nevermore rose above the trees once again and made a sloppy turn back toward the temple. Its wings stretched out into a flat glide, putting me on the far side of the canyon from the others. My blade was more than a quarter through its wing, yet the creature still managed to fly.
My bugs scattered into the grass as the last two Grimm were finished. Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha were already jumping between the stone pillars to the temple.
The front of my body felt like a massive bruise, but I forced my feet under me in preparation to jump off.
Then, the Nevermore tilted so its back was almost flat along the cliff.
My eyes bulged as I saw the sharp rock protrusion the Grimm was going to try and splatter me against.
This feathered asshole.
I tried to twist the blade, but it wouldn't budge against the Grimm's flesh.
Nowhere to jump and I'd lost my footing. Bugs weren't in any position to do anything. Aura too low to take the hit—didn't think I could take it if my Aura was full anyway.
Ruby called out something that the wind swept away. I didn't have enough bugs near her to hear.
The others stood at the cliff edge and fired at the Nevermore's exposed stomach. The impacts buffeted the Nevermore and forced it towards the cliff.
The tip of the wing clipped the rockface, catching purchase and tearing the cut I had made until the wing split.
I was flung through the air, the Nevermore tumbling beside me.
My bugs were the only reason I didn't lose track of where I was as I spun wildly in freefall.
I desperately stabbed into the rock, and the blade snapped with a clean twang, along with my hopes.
Cursing myself as the others cried out, I focused my Aura into the blade and tried again.
The broken blade skittered and halted my descent with a jarring lurch. My arm screamed in strain. It stung, but it hadn't snapped or separated from the shoulder. Aura really changed what was possible.
I hung off the cliff, slightly below the temple floor's level.
The Nevermore vanished into the gorge and out of my power's range. An echoing wail was all that it left.
"Taylor! Are you okay!?" Ruby's worried voice bounced along the canyon walls.
"I'm alive," I yelled back.
Ruby looked like she was about to say something else, but Nora pushed her out of the way.
"That was AWESOME!" Nora beamed, arms wide to the sky. "You're a Nevermore wrangler!"
"Please get me down. I can't hang here for much—" A bronze streak like a missile slammed into the cliffside an inch under my feet. "Gah! A little warning next time?"
"Sorry!" Pyrrha yelled.
I lowered myself onto the shield lightly, testing its weight. It held firm, and I relaxed slightly.
"We'll come over to you!"
"It's fine, start climbing. I'll join you after I rest a bit." No point in them shuffling over to me if we were just going to have to go up the cliff anyway.
Mohawk and gray-blue hair hopped along the pillars first, eager to be off the temple, though it was more like another stone pillar based on what was left of it.
They reached a stone plateau that the temple had once bridged toward, before they started scaling the cliff. No displays of gratitude apparently.
I rolled my shoulder and glanced up to plan my route.
Doing this with one hand is going to suck.
My sword was now short enough to use as a climbing knife, at least. I hadn't even had it for two days before breaking it.
Practice with Aura would get me into the habit of using it in my weapons, but I should have remembered and been more conscious of my Aura. My amateur mistake almost got me killed.
Also, I had literally thrown myself into a situation where I needed to grab onto something to live, only remembering my lack of an arm after I was already on the monster.
"You sure you don't need a hand?" Yang shouted, making herself chuckle.
"Yang!" Ruby admonished.
"Actually, I will take you up on that offer." One slip and I would fall if I didn't.
"We'll find a way over to you!" Jaune yelled as he made another hesitant jump to the plateau, joining everyone there.
Great, I guess I'll just wait here and—
I froze.
My bugs on the Nevermore had come back into range.
"Oh shit!" I ripped my blade from the rock. "It's not dead!"
The dark outline of the Nevermore appeared through the fog.
Its talons carved into the cliff with every step, almost running up the wall. Black smog billowed out from its stump of a wing, crimson eyes locked onto me.
"I'm almost out of Dust."
"Two more shots left."
"I'm close to empty."
The Nevermore stopped and pivoted its upper body, wing lashing out in a wide arc.
Large feathers speared around me, one clanging Pyrrha's shield, forcing me to stab into the rock again to avoid falling off. The shield now wobbled slightly with my weight, so I reverted to holding myself up with my broken sword.
"Could one of us swing over there?" Jaune asked hurriedly. Their voices almost lost in the echo.
The plateau was around forty feet to my left but I had no way to get over there. Weiss could glide along the air with her glyphs, but there wasn't anywhere for her to land.
"Wait! I have an idea!" Ruby almost bounced with her own inspiration.
"This better be good, we have to get to Taylor now. Bullets aren't hurting this thing. We don't have time for—" Weiss started.
"No! This will help!"
They spoke quickly enough that I couldn't make out their words, and I had already pulled my bugs away to swarm the Nevermore.
One feather that had almost skewered me was about hip height. I used a foot to test it, and found it firmly planted into the wall.
I pulled out my knife, praying that the shield would hold, before grabbing the feather and lowering myself down to two other feathers below.
With my new footholds, I wiggled the shield out and shoved my maimed arm into the straps. It was a tight fit, but it worked.
I reached down and grabbed the knife in my boot, placing it between my teeth.
My back was against the wall, both figuratively and literally, with only a broken weapon, a tiny knife, and a shield on half an arm.
It was all I had.
The echoes of the crunching rock resounded louder and louder as the Nevermore renewed its charge, red light bleeding from the paths its eyes made.
My only chance was to dodge its beak and stab into it again for another ride. I didn't have the footing to avoid continuous attacks.
The Nevermore broke through the mist.
Sixty feet.
The others were arranging themselves in a weird way.
Fifty feet.
I didn't have enough bugs on them to see what they were doing, and the alcove of the plateau hid them from sight.
Thirty feet.
The cliff shook with each crunch of stone under its talons.
With a gunshot and the sound of steel on stone, Blake's weapon lodged into the cliff halfway between me and the others, a black ribbon tied to it.
I almost slipped when I followed the piece of fabric back to them.
They were peeking around the edge of the alcove, enough to show me that they were doing something ridiculous and that I was probably going to die.
Blake held the other end of the ribbon with both hands, her legs wrapped around Yang's waist to hold the blonde girl up. Ruby was behind Blake while sitting on Yang's backside, her red scythe aiming backward. They were being held up off the floor by a black sigil that looked like a snowflake. Blake's face scrunched in strain from holding everyone.
Nora was behind them, hammer ready. Jaune held his shield like a target, with Yang's legs bent on it like a ramp.
"Blast off!" Ruby shouted.
Nora squealed in excitement as she hammered Jaune's shield, right as Weiss's sigils fired off, launching the three girls forward at a blistering speed.
They swung out into the canyon before the ribbon went taut. I could make out Blake's teeth clenching as she gripped as hard as she could.
Ruby fired behind her for more speed, rose petals outlined their wide arc. Yang burst into Aura fueled flames, her grinning beamed in savage glory.
They were a red, black, and yellow wrecking ball.
I watched the spectacle, trying to conjure up the logic behind what they were doing. Nothing came.
Ten feet.
The Nevermore lurched back and lunged, its body encompassing my entire view.
It was less than a foot away when Yang's fist collided with it with all the force of a falling meteor.
The stone broke under the Nevermore, cratering around it.
Yang peeled her fist back with a sickening crunch from the Grimm's caved chest.
The whole forest shook from the blow, and I was forced to grab the feather by my head.
The girls cheered in victory as the Grimm's body started to peel off the wall.
Their delight melted to dread as the Nevermore let out a raspy squawk and stopped itself from falling by digging its talons into the wall.
The girls swung away, the momentum of their swing pulling them back.
I threw my broken sword into the open beak of the Grimm, cutting off its hoarse screeches.
Then, I pushed off the cliff and rocketed toward the Nevermore.
Pyrrha's shield was a battering ram as I slammed into the Grimm. The force knocked the Grimm back, sending it teetering as it fought against gravity.
I spat out the dagger in my mouth, grabbed it out of the air, and rained down quick blows.
It struggled weakly against the assault, enough that I wasn't thrown off despite my lack of handholds, then began to fall as its talons lost the strength to hold it up.
"Taylor!" Ruby yelled.
The red-hooded girl was running along the wall back toward me, still holding onto Yang and Blake.
I leapt from the Grimm as it tumbled in a heap of smog into the darkness below, and Yang grabbed onto my wrist.
Blake's face scrunched from the extra strain as we swung back.
At the zenith of our swing, Blake let go, and we fell in the waiting arms of Nora and Pyrrha, but ended up knocking them over into a pile of limbs.
Something inside me broke, and my Aura fractured along my skin, leaving me sore and tired, but it didn't matter.
We untangled enough to lay down and groan, stewing in exhaustion as the adrenaline faded.
Yang was the first one to start laughing, a small chuckle that slowly built.
Ruby was the next to join her.
I grinned as everyone erupted into hearty laughter, happy to be alive. Flabbergasted that whatever just happened worked.
We soaked in the moment. We had survived.
Next, we needed to see if we had passed the initiation.
Chapter 9 End
Author Notes:
A big thank you to 6thfloormadness, Juff, Breakingamber, Majigah, Chris C, and Biophosphoradelecrystalluminescence for cleaning this up and making it prettier to read. My shrine to you four will be glorious and my sacrifices to you bloody.
I cut so much in the edit… how did it get longer?