Chapter 1: Bloody Evolution
They had already been fighting for what felt like hours. They had expected light resistance, if you could call a horde of Beowolves that had taken over a village light. Instead, they had landed only to be attacked by not only the Beowolves but three Giant Nevermore and a pack of Ursa. Somehow, Team CFVY had still managed to secure the village. Tired, their aura's ragged, ammunition and dust supplies running low, they had finally been able to perform the SAR mission they were actually here for. They had just completed sweeping the last building and had called in their ride to come pick them up, when their luck decided their day had been far too pleasant.
Velvet ducked under another swipe of the death stalker's massive claw, rolling back away from it. She had tried striking at the monster using her martial arts skills but the thick armor was too strong for her blows to do any real damage. The ancient Grimm, larger any they had seen before had already positioned itself to strike at her with its massive tail. Driving on instincts that had been pounded into her by teachers, teammates, and bullies alike, Velvet didn't stop moving with the roll, side stepping to avoid the lightning quick tail strike.
"Hey, stop looking at her and look at me!" Velvet's team leader, Coco, shouted as she finished reloading Gianduja with the last belt of ammunition she had.
Velvet more heard than saw her open fire again with Gianduja. It's rotary cannons spinning up and spitting out dust rounds that slammed into the head of the ancient Grimm. It roared, more in irritation than pain, and turned its attention towards Coco and the rest of her team. Its claw raised to intercept the stinging bullets firing at hundreds of rounds per minute, the massive Death Stalker started to advance on Coco, ignoring Velvet all together.
Seeing the opening that her team lead had given her, Velvet dropped back to Professor Oobleck. In the opening seconds of the fight, he had been caught by surprise and slammed repeatedly by the Grimm's claws. Team CFVY had been out on training missions with the hyperactive Professor several times and seeing him taken down so quickly had been a blow to their moral. They needed him back in the fight as soon as possible if they were going to take down this over-sized scorpion.
Kneeling beside him, Velvet saw his eyes already opening. Letting out a groan, he pushed himself up, taking a moment to get his baring. "It would seem that we have been rudely interrupted, Ms. Scarlatina. Come, let us assist your team mates in teaching it proper manners," he said in his usual rapid fire voice.
Velvet nodded silently, lifting the Professors coffee thermos from the ground and handing it to him. Oobleck gave a nod of thanks before spinning the lid off and taking a drink. Then with a single motion that looked more like teleportation than moving, he was standing, the thermos extending out into its combat configuration, its pilot light now lit at the open end.
Velvet ran forward at the Professor's side as he shot blasts of fire at the Death Stalker. Each blow shook the beast, forcing it back from where it had been trying to crush Yatsuhashi in a contest of strength, claw vs sword. "Mr. Daichi, that is quite enough of playing with our prey. It is time to end this fight."
Coco nodded, calling out to her team, "Fox, get in there and pound that things face. Get it pissed off. Doctor, keep that left claw off of him. Yatsuhashi, soon as its tail comes down, cut that stinger off. Velvet, be ready to step in and get Fox out of there."
The combined voices of her team and their Professor responded with variations of confirmation and they moved as a unit. Both Doctor Oobleck and Coco opened fire on the claws, their assault pushing them wider away from its face. Fox darted in, Sharp Retribution slamming against the scorpion Grimm's face in rapid fire succession as he aimed for its eyes. Yatsuhashi brought his massive two handed sword, Fulcrum, back into a side stance, his legs tensing as he prepared to leap forward and intercept the stinger tipped tail of the Grimm once it was in range.
Then things went sideways in a literal sense. The Grimm pivoted, keeping its face locked on Fox while turning its flank to the other hunters. Its tail started to drop rapidly, aiming for Fox but now Yatsuhashi was out of position to intercept it, the Grimm's massive claw in the way. Velvet sprinted forward, dropping into a slide to avoid being crushed by the claw facing them and slammed into Fox on the other side, taking his legs out from under him. The move saved her blind teammate from being struck by either the Grimm's other claw which snapped in over their heads or the stinger that came down in the space Fox had been standing in, but left them both on the ground and vulnerable.
Velvet heard Coco's voice, an edge of fear that was usually absent from the confidant huntress in training, calling out new orders. "Yatsuhashi, get them out of there! Doctor, take out that tail!"
The sound of Gianduja being reloaded was loud in her ears, as Velvet tried to push up. The renewed attack against the tail keeping it from coming down on them, but as Velvet and Fox got back to their feet they found themselves dangerously close to the claw on the far side of their teammates. It swiped in at them and suddenly Yatsuhashi was there, blocking it with Fulcrum. Not one to look a gift swordsman in the mouth, Velvet hoisted Fox all the way to his feet and the leaped back, trying to get distance between themselves and the Grimm that was giving them so much trouble. They hadn't gotten far but it was enough for Velvet to set Fox down and return her attention to the Grimm threatening their lives.
The other claw, left free of being hindered came in then, grabbing the rabbit faunus around the waist and squeezing down hard. Her aura started to crackle with the damage, quickly draining until it flung her away and into the side of one of the crumbling buildings. Dust and debris rained down around her as she coughed. Knowing her aura was nearly gone, she prepared to bring out Anesidora. She didn't have many options having used most of them already in clearing the town of Grimm to begin with. Still, with the trouble her teammates and teacher were having with this monster, she knew she'd have to do something to help or they might not make it out at all. They were on a timer, having already called for air lift back to Beacon. If this Grimm was not down by the time their ride arrived, it wouldn't be able to land and they were far out enough that it wouldn't have the fuel reserves to loiter for long, waiting for them to finish it.
Then something caught her attention. In the corner of her eye a glimpse of red and gold. When she turned to find what had drawn her attention she was shocked to find an unconscious girl. She looked to be a faunus, blonde cat ears poking out from equally blonde hair. Her style of dress was casual, jeans and a t-shirt that left part of her stomach exposed. She was petite, Velvet estimating her height at just over five feet and weight at just over 100lbs. Laying next to her, one hand wrapped around its handle, was an axe the color of fresh blood. Its handle seemed longer than normal, almost like a miniature pole-arm, with a large wooden spike coming out from the bottom, a ring of studded metal circling the base of the spike.
Scrambling over to the girl, she pressed her fingers to the blonde's neck. Finding a strong pulse, she let out a sigh of relief. The blonde was still alive and had no obvious injuries. Crawling back over to the hole she had made during her violent entry, Velvet crawled back out and ran to her Team Leader.
Things were worse now than they had been when she was sent flying. Velvet could see Fox on the ground several feet away unconscious. Yatsuhashi was staggering under the repeated blows from the death stalker's claws as it tried to remove him from the fight. Her teacher and team leader were still no closer to taking its most deadly weapon out of the equation. The Grimm was looking in worse shape than before, certainly, its armor pitted and cracked from the repeated blows of her team's weapons. But it was still moving unimpaired, maneuvering itself to keep its less damaged flank to her team mates while isolating Yatsuhashi from their aid.
"Coco, survivor," Velvet said as she skidded to a stop beside her team leader. She could see the tightening of Coco's eyes behind her sunglasses. A survivor was good news but it also meant that retreat was completely out of the question. Even if there wasn't the danger of trying to board air transport with a Grimm of this size present, they had to take this thing down no matter what now.
"Alright, Velvet, you still have our weapons, get ready," Coco started to say but was cut off by a series of roars sounding behind them.
Glancing back, knowing her team leader couldn't take her eyes from her target, Velvet's eyes widened. "No," she whispered before finding her voice again, "Ursa! Four incoming from behind," she called out as she watched the Ursa come out from behind the wreckage of the village. One of the four stood taller than the others as well. It's bone plating looking thicker, its spines and spikes longer and more twisted. "Alpha and 3 others."
"Students, we may need to leave," Oobleck called out to them as he continued firing at the death stalker. The thing was ancient and wily and frustrating him to no little end. His students had fared well, better than many licensed huntsman he had seen in his years in the field, but now they were being flanked by more Grimm and he would be damned if he let First Year students die in the field like this.
"Can't do that, Doc," Coco called out, shortening his title in a way that made him grimace but also take note. Coco was one of the few students that remembered almost religiously to address him as Doctor and not Professor. "Velvet found a survivor we missed somehow. We can't leave her here for the Grimm"
Oobleck blinked for a moment. A survivor they somehow missed? It was ludicrous. Team CFVY had been exceptional in their work to secure the village then perform the SAR operation that followed. They had not left a single stone un-turned, he would swear to it. He pushed that thought out of his mind. How they had missed the survivor was moot. The fact was they had found one, and huntsman didn't leave survivors behind for the Grimm "Quite right, we'll need to take those Ursa out quickly before they can overwhelm us. Velvet, do you think..."
He was cut off by the sound of pounding feet running. At first he thought it was Velvet already moving to cut off the Ursa on her own. A viable strategy considering the versatility of her weapon and semblance, but not what he was going to instruct her to do. Four Ursa, even with an Alpha leading it, would be within his own ability to handle easily enough even being so close to out of the fire dust that fueled his weapon. That just meant they needed Velvet to finally be brought into play at full strength against the death stalker. It was weakened enough by now that she should be able to finish it off. When he realized he was still looking at Velvet, who was still standing next to her team leader despite having brought her magnificent weapon out, Oobleck couldn't help but feel confused as he took a quick glance towards the Ursa.
Velvet followed his gaze and gasped. It was a petite blonde running towards the four Grimm, her red weapon held to her side. Oobleck quickly deduced from Velvet's reaction that this was their mysterious survivor. Whom ever she was, she instantly gained respect from the Doctor. Only moments before she had been found by his student. Now here she was charging headfirst into battle. Foolish, perhaps, but noble.
"I suggest we not waste that one's efforts," Doctor Oobleck told his students
Coco nodded in agreement, "Velvet, pull out all the stops, we need this thing down now."
Velvet couldn't help the smile that brought to her face despite the current circumstances. She rarely got to use Anesidora thanks to the need to recharge it by taking new photos of each weapon over and over again. Each time she did get to finally bring it to bear, she couldn't help the thrill that ran through her. It made her feel like Coco's big gun, and not the one her team leader was currently holding. Being the second time in one day to be able to really stretch her legs in a fight was a treat for her.
The first thing she brought out was Coco's weapon. The massive gatling gun was heavy but usable. She opened fire with the hard-light rounds her copy used, piercing quickly through the already damaged carapace of the death stalker This brought a primal screech of pain from the Grimm, drawing its attention away from her more wounded team mates. Quickly swapping to Fox's weapons, she sprinted forward, continuing the earlier assault Fox had begun, using her few strikes with the weapons to finish blinding the Grimm Blind and angry, the monster began to swipe at her with its claws. She easily lept above to land on them, pushing off and flipping backwards.
Velvet landed on the flat edge of Fulcrum as Yatsuhashi held it up for her. He pushed and she leaped, a copy of Fulcrum appearing in her own hands. At the peak of her forward leap, she sliced out at the venomous stinger that had held them at bay for so long, cutting it free to fall towards the death stalker's back. Spinning in the air, Fulcrum vanished and her teacher's weapon appeared next. With a quick blast, a super-heated fireball launched out at the stinger, slamming it down into the body of the death stalker It gave one last hissing screech before falling limp to the ground, its body quickly dissolving away.
Through this, Doctor Oobleck had kept his eyes on the unknown girl who had raced ahead to face the Ursa. He brought his weapon to the ready, prepared to cover her if she were overwhelmed, but not wanting to fire unless he had too. He didn't know this strange huntress which meant that she would not know what to expect from him. He didn't want that unknown to cause her to falter and do more harm than good.
The blonde raced straight at the first Ursa in the pack that had taken the lead in the charge towards the humans they so hated. She leaped up, landing on the Ursa's head, slamming the wooden spike at the end of her weapons handle into the head of the Ursa, straight through the bone plating that protected it. Despite being made of wood, it slipped into the bone with ease. Before the Ursa could even start to turn to ash as it died, she had already lept off of it straight at the next in line. Spinning like a top, she brought the rounded bulb of studded metal at the base of her weapon to bear against the bone plating of the next one's head. Like with the first, this was much more effective than Oobleck had expected it would be, cracking the bone face-mask of the Ursa completely in two and pulping the head of the beast.
Oobleck couldn't help but be impressed when she hit the ground in a roll, rising to her feet right between the legs of the last of the more standard Ursa. Rising up, she brought the bladed portion of her weapon into play, the red axe head looking as deadly as any dust infused weapon he had ever seen. He had been expecting fire to come bursting from it as it connected, but instead there was simply the sound of the Grimm being cleaved in two. She simply walked between the falling halves as they turned to ash as if she were taking an afternoon stroll.
"Hey, Winnie the Pooh," the blonde called out, her voice giving him the impression this was a child still in her early teens despite the competence she had shown as a warrior. "I thought Rabbit already told you, no more honey."
Oobleck blinked. Then blinked again. She was taunting the Alpha Ursa. Not only was she bothering to taunt it, it seemed to be working.
The large alpha roared at her, then charged blindly forward much as its lessors had. Where it had held back to watch its fellows be slaughtered, letting the lessons learned of its many years take over, now it rushed forward in the blind rage that they witnessed in younger Grimm It's fangs bared, it bent forward to swipe at the petite huntress with one of its massive clawed paws.
The blonde lept over the swipe, kicking the beast in the face with both feet, pushing away from it with enough force to set it off balance. She was already moving as she landed, rushing back in towards the Alpha. Now with it upright and staggering backwards, its face was out of range of her, so she swung with a backhanded one handed attack from her axe. The silver edge of the crimson axe head cut into the Alpha's calf deep before she yanked it back out, rolling out of the way of the Alpha's own retaliatory strike.
That confused Oobleck. The attack, while executed flawlessly, was a crippling attack that wouldn't work against a creature of Grimm. All Huntsman and Huntresses knew that despite often looking like animals, they didn't share the same biology of animals. The blow had been aimed to cut the tendons in the leg, reducing a targets mobility. It was an attack that would fail since Grimm had no tendons to cut. It was a mistake that even first year Combat School students wouldn't make.
Oobleck watched as the blonde realized her attack hadn't worked as well as she had expected. She didn't panic, though. That gave her a great deal of credit with Oobleck. She realized the results were not what she expected and simply adapted, changing tactics on the fly rather than raging about what 'should have' happened. She raced forward again, fainting for another leaping attack at the Ursa, causing it to raise its arms up in an attempt to grab her once she was airborne. Instead, she went low again, attacking the same leg but from the front this time. Her second cut met with the first and the Grimm was crippled this time, its leg sheered off.
As the old Alpha toppled, the blonde leaped upon its back. Lifting her odd axe she brought the bit down on its neck, severing its head in a single blow. The moment its head was severed from its body, the Grimm turned to ash beneath her and she dropped to the ground.
A glance to the side told him that Team CFVY had finished with the Death Stalker, Velvet supporting a new conscious Fox as the four of them watched the last moments of the blonde's own fight. He watched closely as Fox's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth forming an O of surprise.
"Mr. Alistair, tell us what you find so surprising," Oobleck casually ordered as he turned back to the blonde, who was now down on one knee, catching her breath.
"Professor..."
"Doctor," Oobleck quickly interjected.
"...Oobleck, her aura. Its not unlocked," the faunus boy of team CFVY said in awe. "She has no active aura and she just took an Alpha Ursa in melee combat."
That confirmed Oobleck suspicions. He hadn't noticed it at first, of course, or he'd never have stood by while the girl fought four to one against the Ursa. It wasn't until she was facing off against the Alpha that he had bothered to pay closer attention and realized he couldn't sense her aura at all.
The girl, worn out from her sudden fight, fell over, once more unconscious. Velvet quickly passed her teammate over to Coco and raced forward to check on their sole survivor of their ill fated SAR mission. "Most curious, most curious indeed," Oobleck said with uncharacteristic slowness. This was something that Professor Ozpin needed to know about. Perhaps he could figure out how a faunus girl with no active aura was able to do the things she had done.