-Here I am with the next chapter. Here is where many more of my OCs make their appearance, as well as 'my' version of the Haven Academy team placement test. As there was little to no indication from the show as to what their version was, and how I wanted to make it as different from both Beacon's and even Vacuo's version from Before the Dawn, I came up with a completely new test that I hope will impress! And with that, please enjoy!-
The morning of the next day finally arrived. For some of the students it felt like it came rather quicker than usual. Others felt like it took nearly an eternity to get here. Each one felt differently especially in regards to what this day represented: Their official test for team placements in Haven Academy!
After a quick breakfast, the students were redirected to the locker rooms, where their weapons had been relinquished last night. There were no protests about this course of action, as the Haven Academy instructors were professionals after all. Though a select few were a lightly objecting to the idea of being separated from their weapons, but they were quick to fall in line with proper protocol. Also to the relief of the majority of newly admitted students, the lockers in question were separated in two for boys and girls.
"Yeah, I'm pretty much all that, and more!" a boisterous voice could be heard from the boys' side locker room. Closing the door to his locker, Jackson Lithe stood in the midst of a group of fellow boys, also in the process of gearing up with their own various weapons.
"Really, a whole pack of Sabyr Grimm, single-handed...?" the nearby Nadir Shiko asked skeptically, "They can be pretty nasty by themselves."
"Eh, what can I say? Guess I've got everything it takes to be the greatest huntsman ever!" Jackson said, flexing his open arm at his side, "So feel free to quiz me for some helpful advice anytime!"
"For someone I don't recognize, you sure speak highly of yourself with great confidence," Bolin Hori said, closing his own locker, "And, that is a curiously shaped staff you wield there. I take it you're disciplined well with it?"
"Oh this? Just my trusty weapon, Candelabra!" Jackson indicated to his thick staff in hand, "This baby can take down Grimm of all kinds with the best of 'em! Did I mention it packs some serious Fire Dust punches?"
"Think someone might be showing off..." one of the boys could be heard muttering under their breath. No one heard him though, or if they did, they chose not to reply.
"Hm, amusing..." Bolin said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. He caught sight of Nadir looking at him, who was just as quick to look away and continue at his own locker. Bolin himself placed his own bo-staff, named Jin Yu, upon his back and prepared to exit the room. However, as he walked and made it to the center of the locker room, he stopped and hesitated. His mind was strangely filled today, with thoughts not exclusively upon his great goal to be achieved today. He turned back around to regard the other boys in the room; the people who would be come to known as peers to him.
"I suppose... it's best that I wish you all the best in your endeavors of today's test as well," he spoke clearly, addressing everyone in the room, "In light of the... differing backgrounds we've probably have compared to each other, we've no doubt come here with the intent on becoming model Huntsmen."
"Hmph, 'differing backgrounds'?" a voice spoke up. Victor Rataxes closed his own locker door, noticeably harder than others, and spun around to face Bolin's direction, "Feels like you got some hidden meaning behind those words. You trying to say something, human...?" Even standing a few feet away and against the wall of lockers as the other boys did, the look he leveled at the yellow-robed boy felt no less hard than if he were standing right before him. Yet despite that, the cool-headed Bolin Hori held his composure as he returned Victor's gaze with a look of his own.
"There is no hidden meaning here; simply a factual observation," he stated, "Some of you are of renowned heritage, while some are not. I'm simply saying that we shall soon see who exactly among us is cut out for this prestigious school." Victor broke away from the line of fellow boys along the wall to step forward. In addition to his sneer, he jabbed a finger in the direction of Bolin. At closer proximity, the faunus boy's attributes of rough-looking skin all along his thick arms could be seen in much clearer detail.
"Yeah yeah, I know about you Horis, and your 'perfect clan of huntsmen'," he harshly stated while waving his hands at the sides of his head in an exaggerated manner, "How you think you can only be a great huntsman if you have some big background as well? Well you can save it; I don't give a crap about stuff like that, and I'm sure not looking for any human sympathy! I'm doing my own thing my own way, damn what anybody says...!" There was a pause in between his little rant, in which even Bolin was left to raise an eyebrow just a little in response. The sound of slow clapping could be then be heard, as everyone in the room turned to the source. Nadir Shiko immediately grew self conscious from all the eyes in the room suddenly upon him, and stopped completely. With a final grunt, Victor holstered his weapon onto his belt holster and left the locker room.
"That guy's definitely got his eyes set on what he wants..." one of the boys with light green hair and a light brownish shirt spoke up, "And even though he sounds a little 'extreme', I kinda agree with him. I'm not letting something like that weigh me down from doing what I want!"
"And, who are you exactly?" Jackson asked.
"Nikau Kiwi," the boy replied.
"Ah cool- Jackson Lithe!" Jackson mock saluted, "Oh wait, I already told you all that- didn't-"
"Yes! For the thousandth time we know who you are!" one of the boys in the room exclaimed.
"A-and I'm Nadir Shiko, just letting you all know..." Nadir spoke up, though his word went mostly unheard against the boisterousness of Jackson's talking.
With a shake of his head, Bolin turned to walk out the locker room himself. His mind was cleared, he had done his basic warm-up exercises upon waking up, and he had a proper breakfast. There was nothing more he could do in terms of preparation, so he was ready to begin, to face the initial challenge that Haven Academy would present him with. And while his mind was clear, there was one factor that he did openly wonder about: teammates. Who were to be his?
Well, he was planning to set the standard upon completing this initial test, so it's only fair to assume that who his partners would be would be on equal skill level as him! Yes, that'd be a rational assumption...
As he exited the locker room, the door behind him didn't immediately close, which told him that he was not the only one to exit the room. He fell in with the group of boys as they walked on to where they were instructed to meet. They also walked passed the girls' locker room as well, with sounds that could be heard from within...
"Um, everyone...?" a small voice spoke up from an equally small girl in the locker room. The small girl was easily the shortest one there, barely reaching above four and a half feet. Her voice was so quiet and timid when spoken, barely anyone turned to acknowledge her. Thus, she was forced to put more force into speaking again, "Excuse me? Everyone?" This time, a small number of girls' heads turned to look at her. A blush spread across her face, but she quickly shook off the feeling, "M-my name is Oriel... Baltimore, and, I just wanted to say... good luck to everyone...!"
"Aw, you're so cute! Look at you-!" Reese Chloris couldn't help but reach over to pat the smaller girl's head, ruffling her hat she wore a little and earning a high-pitched yelp from her in response, "So you're gonna try and be a huntress too?"
"Um, n-not 'try' to... I'm going to be one!" Oriel said, tightening her fists in front of her in determination, "A-and stop that; it messes with my hair-!"
"Okay okay, but only cause you're so adorable...!" Reese practically gushed, while still taking her hand away. The smaller Oriel was left pouting in place, her hands reaching up to readjust her hat on her head.
"Aren't you a little... young to be in such a school?" Gail asked, her head turned to her side to look at the smaller girl. Oriel's pout was only exacerbated at that comment.
"I-I'm not young! I'm the same age as all of you! " she protested, "Well, I'm going to be 17 in a couple months now, but still!"
"Really does seem like all sorts of odd-types are enrolling at this school..." Gail off-handedly remarked, while turning back to finish up at her locker before her.
"Oh, you're one to talk, aren't you?" Liz's voice could be heard in response. The human girl spun her head to flash the faunus girl a look.
"You again? And just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"How about that you've been judging people from first glance since pretty much the whole time I've known you?" Liz shot back, "You really think you are any better than any of us?"
"I never said I was!" Gail said, practically slamming her locker door shut, "And maybe you should learn the difference between judging and making simple observations! That was all I've been doing!"
"Don't try to deflect it- I know you've looked down on faunus, you even admitted it!" Liz exclaimed.
"Would both of you please be silent?" Arslan Altan's voice openly proclaimed, silencing both girls, "Both of you, this conduct is entirely unbecoming! I would suggest you two start acting like the huntresses you're both striving to be!" The platinum blonde's pose stood firm and strong, perfectly matching the stern façade she put forth. A couple of mocking sounds were heard from the surrounding girls as well. Gail and Liz were both left at a loss for words, but nonetheless settled for leveling angry glares at each other instead.
As for Arslan, she looked down at the now mortified Oriel, who continued to stand in place, "As for you there... the sentiment is appreciated."
"O-oh! Uh, thank you! Yeah, thanks a lot!" Oriel replied, her mood improving a little, at least until Arslan held up her hand.
"It's appreciated, if largely unnecessary," Arslan's gaze turned hardened again, "Because from what I've seen initially, nearly everyone here seems to lack essential prerequisite attitudes for being a huntress! Petty bickering, small-minded judgements, timid dispositions, complete lack and borderline disregard for general discipline!" She looked all around at the surrounding girls in the locker room as she addressed them all, each one returning her gaze with shocked ones of their own, "The only possible exception being you, Miss Amarillo, though that is only because you have yet to do anything unsavory yet. And even then, practical application is still to play a huge factor in cases like these."
"Huh, what? Me?" Angelita said, incredulously, "And wait, you questioning what I can do...?"
"M-Miss Altan...?" Oriel spoke.
"Whoa hey, come on!" Reese cut in herself, "You can't just lay that upon us all like that! You don't even know us!"
"I feel I know enough, especially given a person's... attire," Arslan shrugged, while pausing to give a quick eye up the mint-green girl before her. But before Reese could give any sort of retort, much less think of one, Arslan was already turning and leaving the locker room herself. The girls within were left remaining standing in place, various dumbfounded expressions upon their faces. The same Arslan Altan that had defended Gail and Eleanor the previous night from being bullied had made herself openly recognized as so cold and indifferent.
"Hm, feels like there was insult in there somewhere, I just know it..." Reese commented, putting a hand to her chin in mock thought.
"Seriously, all humans are really going to be like this...?" Liz could be heard saying to herself.
"Miss Altan..." Oriel softly spoke, "She doesn't think... I can do good...?"
"P-shaw! Who cares what she thinks? What anyone thinks?" Reese said, reaching over to put a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder, "Don't care what anyone says or thinks of you; you just do you! I mean, that's what I'd do anyway!" The smaller girl looked up at Reese's eyes, those crazy, quirky eyes, and that smile that held a hint of mischief to it. Her mouth quivered, as if searching for the right words to respond, until they tightened and pursed together. This was quickly followed up by a quick nod by her, showing her that she very much understood. The two broke apart, each one moving back to their own lockers for final preparations, all the while Eleanor watched out of the corner of her eye, before resuming her own work.
One by one, the girls hastily exited the locker room, well equipped with various weapons and equipment on their persons. Some appeared largely ordinary, while a fair few stood out from the very outlandish ways they appeared from the rest.
The final two girls, Oriel and Eleanor were the last to exit the locker room. However, the vastly taller Eleanor watched the smaller girl before her as she made to exit herself. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, as if entertaining a thought. She quickly rushed up to casually join Oriel at her side. The smaller girl quickly took notice of the much taller girl walking beside her, and also looking at her as well, only adding to her self-consciousness.
"Hey, my name's Eleanor," she greeted as warmly as she could, "It's good to meet you, Oriel."
"Oh, hello, Eleanor..." the smaller girl said, her voice trailing off as her gaze traveled further up to meet the other girl's eyes at their height, "Wow... you're really... tall...! Oh wait, you don't mind me saying that, do you? That's not insulting, is it..?!"
"It's fine, don't worry; I'm used to my height," Eleanor assured her, dismissing the notion with a wave of her hand. The two of them by now walked through the locker room door and exited out into the hallway outside.
It was there that they fell in with the ever flowing crowd of students moving through the hallway. From the excited group chatter of fellow applicants talking, this was where they all were on their way for their first ever test. It would be to the outdoors section of the school grounds, where the transports would await them. All newly-arrived students were to report to the transports immediately for their tests to begin. Beyond that, no more information on the test's specifics was revealed.
"Of course I'm here 'for reals'!" Reese spoke to Gail, the two walking side by side themselves, "What kind of question is that?"
"It's just... you don't 'look' like you're here to be a huntress, you know what I mean?" Gail tried to say, "How does what you're wearing offer the slightest bit of protection from Grimm?"
"Hey, I'll have you know I take safety to my body very seriously!" Reese put on a mock serious face as she looked at Gail, even as she pointed a finger towards her knee and elbow, "... That's what the knee and elbow-pads are for, see?" This strange, yet quick response left Gail almost completely wide-eyed, and nearly scratching her head.
"And, you really think your knees and elbows are what the Grimm would go for?" This was a completely random series of foolish comments being thrown back and forth between the two of them. Thus, it was only a matter of time before Gail was trying, and failing, to hide a small smile on her face.
"Gotta be careful, that's what I'm saying-" Reese said, until she cut herself off, "Hey, check it out! There's that one girl, with that big shell... thingie, on her back!" It was true, there was that Angelita girl, with that massive... well, for lack of better word, 'shell thingie' on her back. She was walking alone, or was she avoiding walking with others?
"Yeah, that is her..."
"Hey! You there! Angelita!" Reese suddenly called out. The girl in question seemed to tense up in response, before slowly turning her body and head to be seen around the edge of her shell.
"W-wait! What are you doing...?!" Gail half whispered half demanded.
"Huh...?" the girl with shorter hair replied.
"Yeah you, come on! Wanna walk with us...?" Reese offered. Angelita appeared to give no verbal reply. On the other hand, Reese seemed to not register this as refusal, and dragged Gail by her hand to jog up alongside her. The three girls were now walking side-by-side, each matching the other in speed.
"Um, how do you know my...?"
"Oh! I heard you talking with one of the other girls in the locker room earlier; you name-dropped yourself!" Reese explained.
"Oh yeah, I guess I..." Angelita said, until she suddenly shook her head, "Wait a minute- were you listening in on me?!"
"I am sorry, by the way!" Gail tried to say herself, "But she just dragged me into this, by the hand no less!"
"Oh come on! You're both so serious!" Reese said, opting to clap Gail on her back, earning a yelp from her. She wanted to do the same with Angelita, except that not only was her other arm holding McFly within it, but there was a big shell blocking said back at the moment, "Sure this is a big test and all, but there's no need to be so uptight; so loosen up!"
"I'm still not sure what this 'test' is exactly..." Angelita said.
"Well you know what?" Reese said, "You're not the only one! I haven't the faintest clue myself-"
"Um pardon me, but Miss Chloris? Miss Reese Chloris?" a voice from behind them could be heard. The three girls turned around to their right, and finding Professor Rohan standing their, having passed by him without even realizing it, "I was wondering if you might come with me for a moment...?" The trio came to a full stop now, with Reese herself turning around fully.
"Hm? You want to see me? Now?" Reese asked, "But, what about the test that I'm supposed to be heading out for?" The tone in her voice was spoken with complete childish complaining, and Gail could not help but cringe at it. However, the ever gentle expression of Roger Rohan's face never changed for a moment, in light of the impertinence.
"I'm afraid this cannot wait, as something has come up that requires your immediate presence," he said.
"Huh. Strange timing..." Reese said, a little quieter this time. She turned to look back at the two girls with her, "Well, you two go on ahead, and I'll... catch up with you, I guess...?"
"Alright, I'll see you soon..." Gail said. With that Reese broke away from them to walk with Professor Rohan. The gait in her step was noticeably different; less bounce and more in casual stride. Eventually she and him rounded a corner and could not be seen again.
Gail and Angelita were then left to proceed onwards with their walk down the hallway. The mood was definitely lower than it was before, with no more of Reese's chatty voice to fill the air between them.
"So that girl," Angelita finally spoke up, "She a friend of yours...?"
"A friend?" Gail said, "Well, I don't know if we're 'friends'... I mean, already... I had only just met her recently; yesterday, on the transport coming here..."
"Wait, you're not from around here either?" Angelita asked, to which Gail shook her head, "Ah, that's kind of a relief. I'm not from here either."
"Where do you come from?"
"Erm..." Angelita paused, though this time searching for the right words as opposed to reluctance, "I guess you could say far east of here. It's really dry where I came from... You?"
"I come from Mantle, where it's always dark, cold, and smoke-filled," Gail replied, a light chuckle at the end, "That was one thing I noticed when I got here: just how clean the air felt!"
"Smoke...?" Angelita said with a tilted head, "Smoke can... fill the air?"
"Oh yeah, Mantle is mostly known to be an industrial city, with lots of petrol and general mining plants," Gail explained, "And they usually have to keep running all the time, especially since it's so cold there. It was actually part of the reason I came here, just to get away from it all..."
"Yeah, I guess I understand that," Angelita said, "Moving away from where you grew up... Then I heard about this place, where people who kill Grimm learn and train to 'kill them better'; become Huntresses or something..." She glanced back at Gail, "I didn't really get it at first, why some school was needed for that. But, there's a lot of things I don't know about the world I guess..."
"That's why you came here though, isn't it?" Gail asked. The back-armored girl gave her a nod, "Yeah, that's what it was for me too. This world is just too big to let bad things weigh us down. If we have any chance of making things good, for someone out there, then we should take them, no matter what!" Angelita did not reply, yet still nodded again with a smile. The two girls then proceeded to walk the rest of the way down the hallway, in comfortable silence.
The two finally reached the end, where the outside greeted them as well as the surrounding students that walked with them. The bright morning light greeted them warmly, as did the cool, yet gentle morning breeze. The sights they all took in were a colored marvel; the grass and trees' own colors of vibrant green contrasted nicely against the cooler, yet firmer colors of the Academy's own painted walls. They all swayed on the wind, a morning dance for all to see, with light bits of dew glistening off of their edges.
In the clearing of the school's quad area were also a pair of transports; air-buses with the Haven Academy décor styled about them. The size of both of them suggested they would be more than enough to fit the amount of students that were gathering here. The group itself massed at around at least two dozen people. Of course, that was excluding the two familiar adults who were also present. Professors Cypress and Celsius stood in between the new students and the transports, their mouths moving, but what they were saying couldn't quite be understood from the distance.
However, the teachers weren't the only familiar ones recognized. Almost immediately, the two girls caught sight of one particular student; one with thickened arms and rough looking skin. Victor Rataxes stood in the back of the group, looking forward.
"Him! That's him! From last night!" Gail exclaimed, pointing a finger, "That faunus guy that roughed past me!"
"There he is alright..." Angelita added, "Well, no Arsalana or whatever her name is will save him this time...!" With that, she broke away and practically stomped onward towards him.
"Hey, wait up!" Gail said. She started to walk a little harder to match the pace, until she noted the slight strain in her legs. Curse these legs... She instead activated her pack's small-scale hover function to just lightly levitate her off the ground, her toes now just barely able to scrape the ground. She'd more than be able to keep up the pace at this rate.
Before her, Angelita had nearly closed the distance in between them and the larger group of students. The rhino faunus still stood facing forward, completely oblivious to all that was behind him. The girl quickly pulled forth Anky out of her holster as she called out to him,
"Hey! You there, Victor!"
The boy slowly turned around, facing that who called his name out.
"Huh? What was-" Immediately, Angelita was upon him. She stood before him, holding Anky in hand with its mace head pointed at him. Despite the attempt at a threatening display, there was still the fact that Angelita stood at a whole foot shorter than the boy. As such, she looked up at him with Anky pointed at him, while he ended up looking down upon her, literally, "What are you doing? You looking to start something?"
"More like finish something!" Angelita countered, "Think I'll let you get away with knocking me down the way you did to me yesterday?!"
"I don't even know you!" Victor snorted. His comment earned a snarl from Angelita, who gripped Anky's shaft end tighter.
"How many other people here wear a Derma on their back?!" she said, giving a gesture to indicate her own back shell she wore.
"Don't forget about me neither!" Gail's voice called out. The girl floated her way to the two students by now and touched back down. She leveled a glare of her own at Victor, and while she did not grip any weapon and point it threateningly at him, she did hold her own fists tightly at her side, "You roughed your way past me yesterday! What is your actual problem!?" At the sound of voices raised, a couple of kids from around the back of the group where they stood were beginning to take notice. They one by one turned their heads to watch this conflict begin to unfold, giving off-handed comments of incitement here and there.
"You expect me to remember everyone I come across here?" Victor said, "And how was it my problem if you were in my way?" His remarks made both girls widen their eyes in surprise, then bring back their glares in full force.
"You are unbelievable!" Gail exclaimed. Angelita herself pulled her arm back, poised to swing Anky at the bulkier faunus boy.
"That's it, I'm teaching you a lesson, here and-"
"Would you all quit it, seriously!" Both sides were quickly interrupted by someone jumping in between them. Nikau Kiwi stepped forward with his hands raised, palms stretched out to hold the two sides away from each other, "This is seriously not the time, nor the place for this!"
"You, that one guy with that green hair? Victor said, "What do you care what's going on? If these two wanna attack me, let them! I'll properly defend myself..."
"Oh don't try and act innocent in this!" Gail fired back, "You've shown nothing but a flagrant disregard for fellow students here, pushing them around like you do!" She began to feel a slight strain within her chest; her anger must be pushing this a little harder than usual.
"You won't get away with this..." Angelita added.
"And I said enough!" Nikau forcefully shouted. All three's attention were now redirected to him, and more than a couple of onlookers were looking at them fully as well, "What all problems you have with each other, could you not wait until 'after' you've taken the initial test? You know, for the school that you came here for in the first place?" His comment seemed to remind them of where they were as well. They each looked around and before them, noting the onlookers casting their odd remarks their way as they did. Angelita and Victor looked back at each other, hardened gazes locking onto each other for but a moment, until they stepped back and away from each other finally. The back-shelled girl replaced Anky back onto her hip holster.
"You'd better watch yourself..." she spoke with finality.
"Hmph, against the likes of you, I think I'll be fine..." Victor added. The two of them then turned and made their way towards the transports. Gail and Nikau found themselves following a little in behind them.
"Seriously, there's so much hostility among the new students joining this year..." he noted.
"Well it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for people like him!" Gail said, gesturing to the direction that Victor had departed.
"Whoever's at fault here..." Nikau said, rubbing his head, "Could this not be settled at a later time? It's too early to be screaming each other's heads off-"
"Gail? Hey Gail! Wait up!" Gail practically spun around upon hearing her name being called out. By a familiar voice no less. She turned to see the familiar form of Reese, zooming her way forward towards the group upon her McFly. She came to a stop by flipping her hoverboard up, catching it into her hand, and landing perfectly into a stride walk to approach her.
"Oh Reese, you're back," the dark-haired girl said, "What was that all about?"
"What?"
"You know, what Professor Rohan was calling you about-"
"Oh yeah! Yeah I know..." Reese said, then waved a hand in dismissal, "Ah, it was nothing, nothing at all." Something about the way Reese was speaking just now; there was a strange lack of her usual spunky personality she interjected into her speech most every time. This time, she was speaking a little quieter, slightly more reserved.
"Are you sure?" Gail tried to press, "Is everything... alright?"
"I'm fine, yes, I'm fine, alright?" Reese said, a little more forcefully than she intended. Gail winced a little at the slight sting, but Reese was quick to speak again, "S-sorry, it's just, I really am fine, okay? So! Let's just move on to bigger and better things, yeah?"
"You really are a strange one..." Nikau noted as the three of them merged into the group.
"Says the guy whose hair is more neon-colored than mine!" the girl laughed, "I'm joking- name's Reese, by the way!"
The students began the slow, yet concise process of boarding each one of the transports before them. As they began to fill each one, the two teachers monitored them do so. Each one viewing everything with growing intrigue. The woman gave a sly smirk, while the man maintained a stoic face.
"Gotta say, this is a lively bunch we've got this year, don't you think so?" Professor Venus Cypress spoke.
"Hmph, the sore lack of basic discipline is jarring to say the least," Professor Kelvin Celsius noted himself, "I predict less than half will ever amount to greatness, much less pass a simple initiation test."
"I don't know, some of these kids possess a nice fire in them! They passion they show...!" the woman said, "You wanna follow up on betting whom will make it?" Her innocent question earned her a look from her counterpart, "Ha, I'm joking! Everyone knows you're terrible at gambling!"
"Or maybe I've learned the hard lesson of refusing to gamble with you..." Kelvin said. This earned a hearty laugh from Venus again.
"Ha! See- who said it's only the students who learn stuff at Haven?" Kelvin shook his head with a grunt. Venus had a way of keeping the blood-flow warm; ironic given the type of person he was in every sense...
"Right, that's all of them..." he said, lowering his arms. By now the last of the students had boarded onto each of the transports.
"Time to separate the promising from the hopeful as I say!" Venus declared. She and Kelvin then made their way to each ot the transports' entrances and boarded in themselves. Moments later, the two transports lifted off the ground and took flight, a great mountain lay before both of them...
A roughly ten minute flight had finally brought Professor Kelvin Celsius and his half of the students to their destination: at the base of a tall mountain. This mountain retained an incredible reach in height, with a snow-top that managed to stretch all the way up to scrape the low-floating clouds. The dark clouds themselves gave distant low rumbles, with lightning flashing patches of the darkness periodically. There must have been a storm way up there. The mountain easily dwarfed Mistral's man-made buildings in terms of sheer height by a significant margin.
"So, you all are this year's new applicants?" the adult teacher openly spoke. Standing horizontally to his students, the entire group stood in a straight line, side by side, facing the mountain itself at its base. Next to him stood twelve of the new students this year admitted; the other half being with Professor Cypress. At first glance, it seemed to be mainly human comprised, with only a couple of them being faunus; a lizard and a rhinoceros by the looks of it, "Then welcome to your first official test at Haven Academy. You already know who I am, introductions were already made yesterday by Headmaster Lion-"
"Well my name's Jackson Lithe! A pleasure to meet you, sir! All of you!" a boisterous voice of one of the students rang out. Nearly all eyes were drawn to him, yet the boy did not shy away with any sort of embarrassment. If anything, his cocky smile persisted even in spite of it.
"And I'm Reese Chloris!" another voice rang out, with the girl in question more replying to Jackson herself. The two looked at each other, exchanging equal looks of mischief.
"Well, some of you at least don't seem to lack for confidence..." Professor Celsius noted, while casting a sideways look at the two kids, 'Jackson Lithe' and 'Reese Chloris', "But an important lesson you'd be wise to heed is restraint. As well as common sense..." Celsius cleared his throat, "Anyway, before the test officially begins, a quick refresher in geography; Do you know exactly where you are?"
"Mount Everett!" both Gail and Liz called out in unison. The two looked at each other however, and looked the other way in huffs. The onlooking Bolin Hori shook his own head at this display, while muttering something under his breath. He then raised his hand to speak himself.
"We stand at the base of Mount Everett, Professor," he spoke calmly and professionally.
"That is correct," Professor Celsius nodded, more specifically to Bolin, "One of the great landmarks in all of Remnant, its home being here in Anima no less. A testament that demonstrates the true immortality of the natural world..." He looked up and at the mountain itself, "While man-made structures crumble with age or from destruction, great extensions of the world itself, like this mountain, are truly what withstand the test of time, " He looked back at the students, "And it is here, that your test will be conducted."
"So what are we even doing here?" Victor spoke, his voice heavy with impatience, "All we've been told is that we're coming here; so now what?"
"Your task is quite simple," the professor explained, ignoring the impudence in the rhino faunus' words, "You are to signal for an airship to retrieve you after entering into the mountain. This can only be done from the mountain's exterior of course, and by utilizing these..." Professor Kelvin briefly paused to hold his own scroll horizontally flat so that a hologram projected above the flat surface. He presented to the students the floating, rotating image of a small stone terminal object, with a hollowed out centerpiece at the top, "This is an air-ship terminal, an additive to the mountain constructed for the sole purpose of hailing one of the ships to arrive at your location. To activate them, a corresponding control stone must be found and placed into the center where it is missing. Only then will the terminal activate, and the airship be signaled."
"Alright, a quick question," Nadir Shiko nervously and quickly raised his hand, "Where exactly are these 'control stones', and how will we know what they look like? This is a mountain after all." Professor Celsius tapped a couple more times upon his scroll, and the images above changed. They now resembled three distinct shapes: a square, a circle, and a triangle.
"These are the control stones," he explained, "You'll notice how each one is different from the other. This coincides with the fact that each of the terminals you're striving to reach require different ones in order to activate. One control stone to one console."
"Wow, a circle, square, and triangle," Reese pointed out, crossing her hands dramatically over her chest and smirking, "Really creative on those shapes, aren't we...?"
"As for where they are," Celsius continued, ignoring Reese's snark, "Well, you're job is to locate them. They will be easy to spot however, as the color you see them perceived here is what they are in real life. They tend to stick out against the drab colors of the mountain itself."
"Excuse me, I have a question," Arslan spoke up, raising her hand, "You specifically said that we are to find these pieces in order to activate a console." She raised her arms up and away from her to indicate to their fellow students standing at each side of her, "And yet, there are twelve us here. Twelve students for, as I understand, 'three' of these pieces." She relaxed her arms, "Does this imply that three out of twelve have potential to recover them, before the others?"
"An astute observation, Miss Altan," Professor Celsius noted. In response, he tapped against his scroll a final time, changing the images yet again. This time, the three distinct shapes of their targets each broke apart; fragmenting into four separate pieces. There were now a total of twelve holographic pieces floating above his scroll, "That is why, I would disclose an important detail to you all. The control stones you are to recover are actually fragmented. Each one broken into four pieces." His explanation was met with murmuring among the students, some a little louder than the others.
"So we're looking for pieces 'of' pieces to put into... a piece of something?!" Jackson exclaimed.
"This is crazy; how are we ever to find them...?" Angelita said to herself.
"So then, by having them in fragments..." Nikau said, "If we found a piece, we'd have to find others with pieces that fit with ours..."
"That is absolutely correct, Mr. Kiwi," Professor Celsius said with a nod, "The primary principle of this test is to determine the team that you all will be spending your school life here with. That will be determined by who all works together to reunite the exact piece fragments in order to see this through. Alone, you are skilled, but as a team, you become more than yourself; you become better." His statement was followed by silence from the students before him. A few of them, like Liz, Oriel, Eleanor and Nadir looked all around and side to side at the potential teammates. A few of them narrowed their eyes, while others looked on in wonder.
However, Victor Rataxes crossed his own arms over his chest, giving off a dismissive snort.
"Teams? Really?" he said, "Yeah right, like I'd be any better than I am now without some dead weight to carry around. And besides, I bet I could easily find all these pieces myself!" His declaration was met with a returning hard glare from Arslan, looking at him from the side.
"The flagrant disrespect!" she called out. Her open declaration earned him glares from Gail, Angelita, and Liz in addition.
"I think... that'd kinda go against the point of the test...?" Nadir spoke.
"A perfect demonstration as to why you are a student," Professor Celsius spoke, a calmer tone compared to Arslan's, "Why all of you are still students. And it will remain this way until you choose to learn. Now then, if there are no further, pressing questions...?"
"Um, I have one..." Oriel slowly raised her hand, "Is this mountain... I mean, are we going to find any Grimm there...?" Professor Celsius paused, deliberately, after Oriel had spoken. This hesitation drew attention from a few of the students in response.
"There is no denying that you will be met with opposition within Mount Everett; yes, you will encounter Grimm," he finally responded, "Recent and careful monitoring have reported however that they are mostly of the smaller, lower ranked variety. Nonetheless, any Grimm you encounter you'll be expected to dispatch yourselves. Whether on your own, or with aid from your fellow test-takers, the choice is yours. But know that proctors such as myself will not be providing aid in the event."
"Oh... ah- alright, s-sir..." Oriel spoke.
"All on our own? Fine by me!" Jackson said. Professor Celsius announced then reached into his side pocket to pull forth a small handheld device.
"So then..." Nadir spoke up, "Where do we start? The mountain I mean. Is there some pathway we have to take?" The students redirected their gazes to the vast base of the mountain before them. Looking all around, it was true; no obvious pathway could be seen from anywhere. There were nothing but large, jagged rocks that were piled on top of each other in asymmetrical ways. An attempt to scale this mountain would mean certain discomfort for one's feet.
"There is no pathway." Kelvin said simply.
"Huh?" Nadir said, scratching his head with his open hand, "Well... how do we climb up the mountain from here?"
"Essentially... you don't," With that, Celsius pressed the button on the handheld device. In an instant, the very ground that the twelve students stood upon broke apart, opening up like a massive maw to swallow them whole.
-As per usual, read and maybe leave your thoughts in the reviews, and I'll be back real soon!-