Chapter 3 – Initiation Part II
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~Drake~
"Judging by what remains, three teams have already been formed. Assuming no one has died, there are enough pieces for two more teams."
"And if they did die?" Gareth asked.
"Then we're fucked." A small breeze swept through. "Can I ask you something?"
"What's up?"
"Why did you want to become a Huntsman?" I looked up at Gareth. He seemed to think hard about it.
"I was given a task to perform a couple of months ago, I failed, and I'd figured becoming a Huntsman would allow myself to improve as a fighter. You?"
I rolled my neck. "Slightly similar. I want to improve myself as a fighter. What do you plan on doing after? I was thinking mercenary work." Gareth shrugged.
"Not sure. Still working some stuff out."
Suddenly, I heard a rustle in the bushes. I drew my Charge Blade, and I could feel the heat from Gareth's tattoos. We were at the ready, but we saw that it was girl in a blue hood, followed shortly by Ninn. I lowered my weapon and relaxed a bit at the sight of them. Happy to have what is most likely a full team. The girl in blue waved over at us while Ninn simply nodded.
"So it seems to be that you two are looking for us?" the girl said. "Name's Rache, and this is my partner, Ninn."
"Pleasure to meet you, Rache. Good to see you again Ninn." Ninn simply nodded. "I'm Drake, my partner's Gareth."
"Yo."
"Are we the only ones to have made it here?" Ninn asked.
"Seems so. There are some chess pieces here. I guess they are the relics." Rache was already looking over at them. I turned back to Ninn. "Any trouble on the way here?"
"No."
"Same for us." Gareth chimed in.
"Hey guys!" I turned to see Rache was looking over at us. "Think fast!" I quickly caught whatever she threw at us. Looking in my hand, it was the white king piece. "Nice catch! Quick reflexes." She commented.
"I thought we were going to decide together." Gareth mumbled.
"Well, you guys were taking too long, and the sooner we get out of here, the quicker we can get into a nice, soft bed." Rache retorted. She trotted past us. Ninn followed silently.
"We should probably get going." Gareth motioned, while walking with his hands behind his head. I pocketed the "relic" and followed the rest of them.
~Ninn~
I was not sure how to feel about my "teammates". Rache, while a skilled fighter, is tolerable. Drake is a little unsure of himself, but I think he can do good. Gareth is the one I don't trust. His tattoos, for one, are not like anything I've seen before. They glow with fire Dust. That isn't a good sign. That means his past is shrouded. But I shouldn't be one to jump to conclusions, given my own situation. But I have this…feeling…in my gut. It hasn't been wrong before.
"Golem!" I was startled out of my thoughts by Rache. I glanced down at her. She simply smiled. "You had that look on your face, even though I can't see your face."
"How do you know what I'm feeling if you can't see me?" I grunted. She appeared in front of me. And poked my chest plate.
"You just give off that vibe. You need to let your mind be clear. We don't know what's coming up next."
"What makes you say that?" I heard Gareth call from behind.
"Considering what we saw at the temple, and the fact we haven't been challenged by any large Grimm. I think we will be challenged on our team composition and teamwork compatibility." Drake replied, now having caught up with us.
"And where did you get that idea?" Rache questioned.
"The years of video games I have played." I couldn't help but chuckled at his response. More so the confidence that the answer itself. "We are being tested, and someone needs results. Otherwise, we would have been picked up the moment we picked up the relic. It's also possible that the remaining teams had faced opposition as well. So, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened to us."
I shrugged.
~Drake~
I wasn't very sure what to expect from here on out. I've had a bad feeling on this trip back. I had my MH set at the ready. But it was then I heard a rumbling. I quickly drew my weapon. I felt the heat from Gareth. Good thing I wasn't the only one. From the tree line, a large flock of birds flew up high and as I realized what was coming from there, I shouted at everyone to dodge. Because what came out was a large mound of dirt barreling towards us. While I was able to quickly get out of the way. However, much to my shock, Ninn took the approaching Grimm head-on. I was going to help him, but then the ground shook again and the Grimm rose from the ground. It was a giant worm-like being. It wasn't facing me, so I had no idea what it looked like from the front, but it was heavily armored. A thundering KATHOOM nearly made me lose my balance, and the Grimm reeled in pain as I saw a glimpse of Ninn, but he was completely covered in what looks like a metal alloy. I was finally able to see the creature's six eyes and gaping mouth with rows of sharp teeth. I saw some fireballs being thrown as well as what looked like ice Dust arrows. I rolled next to Ninn as he seemed to take a defensive stance and I had my Charged Blade in Sword and Shield form. I dashed towards the creature, rolling out of its attack which I could hear it was being stopped, and I climbed onto its back. Taking my Hunter's Dagger out, I stabbed between its scales, and I could hear it roar in pain as it tried to throw me off.
"Get out of the way!" I heard Gareth shout, and I loosened my grip on the Grimm just as I felt a large heatwave. I ran as fast as I could as I turned to see the Grimm's armored plating looking charred. I stored what phials I had stored and switched to my axe form, performing the finishing move. I felt the mechanisms in the axe roar with energy as I slammed it down onto the Grimm's back. It crashed down onto the ground. I could see glimpses of the others. Rache's sword was glowing with some kind of energy, and she slashed at what I figured was the Grimm's eyes. It cried out in pain, but they were quickly silenced as Ninn slammed his hammer into the Grimm. No doubt killing it. I wiped the sweat from my brow and went over to the rest of them. All of them were clearly exhausted.
Damn, that was tough." I breathed.
"Yeah. Quite the workout." Rache replied.
"Eh. It wasn't that big of a deal." Ninn replied. I turned towards him.
"Are you okay? You took that attack head-on. Also, did you turn to steel or something?"
"It's my Semblance, yes. But you clearly can hold your own. Risky move climbing onto it's back." Ninn rolled his shoulder.
"Well, at least it's all over." Rache replied. Suddenly, there was a massive heat wave, and we all turned around to see the creature completely engulfed in flames. Gareth was torching the thing. The flames would clearly reach the rest of the forest.
"Hey, Gareth! We killed it. You can stop now!" I ran towards him, but the heat was getting more intense. I had to switch to my fire-resistant armor set. As I got closer to him, I could hear him cackling quietly. I placed my hand on his shoulder, which caused him to turn around. There was a wild look in his eyes and a sneer on his face. I shook his body. "Yo! Snap out of it! You'll burn the whole place down! It's dead!" There was a shift in Gareth's eyes and he seemed to snap out of it. I felt the heat around him die down, and he turned to see what he was doing.
"Ah, shit. Not again." I heard him say, as he seemed to be irritated with himself. Rache came up towards us and fired a few ice Dust arrows into the inferno, putting out the flames. "My bad. Side-effect of my weapon. Doesn't happen as often. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"As long as you're ok. We need to get out of here before any more Grimm show up." He nodded. He didn't look to be harmed, only his clothes were tattered. As we all grouped up, I could hear the sound of a Bullhead above us. We stepped on as it took us back. I rested against the side of the vehicle and let my eyes rest.
It was not long after that we arrived back at Beacon. A woman, who I remembered was Glynda Goodwitch, lead us somewhere. We ended up in a large lecture hall, where the rest of the teams were there as well as what was probably the entire student body. They were cheering for us. I could see Ruby and Yang waving at us, while a girl with orange hair waved towards Ninn. Huh…did they meet at some point? We were told to stand next to Ruby and Yang's group. Ozpin walked onto a podium.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. I noticed a screen light up that showed their faces. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!" The audience cheers for them as they leave and the next group of students show up. "Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR." Amid the clapping, the girl I now knew as Nora gave the one I now know as Ren a hug. Ozpin continues. "Led by... Jaune Arc!" Jaune seemed to be surprised. "Congratulations, young man." I noticed Pyrrha giving a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune, but he falls right on his butt, causing the audience to laugh, and I couldn't help but chuckle. It was then Ruby's group walked on stage. "Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!" Weiss seemed surprised, Ruby clearly was shocked, and Yang gave her a bear hug while stating how proud she is.
"That won't be confusing at all." Gareth commented. I smirked. We were then called up.
"And finally, Drake Cross, Ninn Howell, Gareth Mackroy, and Rachelle Van Zeel. The four of you retrieved the white king piece. From this day forward, you will work together as Team DRGN. Led by…Drake Cross!" I was surprised, yet I couldn't help but be prideful. Gareth high-fived me. "Congratulations." I could hear Ozpin mention how this was going to be an interesting year.
We went ahead and found where our dorm was going to be, and I basically crashed onto the nearest bed.
"I call dibs on the bathroom!" I heard Rache call out. But I didn't really care. I could hear the moving of furniture. I tilted my head towards the sound, and saw Ninn was moving the beds in a way that gave everyone enough space. It wasn't long until Rache was in her nightwear, to which Ninn took the bathroom next. Gareth stood in a corner and was blocking himself with the closet door.
"Congratulations, O'great leader! May you lead us to victory!" Rache declared. I threw my pillow at her face. She dodged and giggled. Ninn shortly came out of the bathroom, he still had his helmet on, as well as some dark clothes that covered his body. "Do you need to sleep like that?" she asked him.
"Do not question my sleeping habits." He said rather coldly. She seemed to be taken aback by his demeanor.
"Don't worry about it. He's just sensitive about it." I reassured her. She nodded slowly.
Gareth groaned. "Man, I am tired. Catch you guys tomorrow."
I had to get up to change, and after getting dressed, turned out the lights. I wasn't sure as to what was in store for the foreseeable future, but it will surely be as interesting as Ozpin claims it to be.
(October 13th, 2021) So it has been well over a year for this as well as some of my other stories. A lot of things had been going on. But the bottom line is that my priorities shifted, and writing fell off the wayside. I wouldn't be surprised if most of you are gone or have forgotten. I'll be more impressed if y'all were still waiting.
I think when it comes to the consistency of writing, or at least how updating will be happening, I will make a better effort to continue. Especially since I don't have a job or am in uni anymore.
This has been TheTriforceofAwesomeness, and I'll see you guys next time.
Peace!