G116: A deep knowledge of the Buffy-verse won't be needed. So long as you know the basics of what a Slayer is and can do, you'll be good. As for folk that likes to attack RWBY as a series, who cares. To each their own. Trust me, I've got my own opinion on all the Super!Xander fics over in the Buffy Fandom. That doesn't mean people don't have the right to their own opinion.

Chapter 6

Partners

Summer felt the light of the sun fall across her face and opened her eyes. Pushing herself up, she looked around and smiled at what she saw around her. Several of the students were already up and moving. Some were heading towards the locker rooms and likely the showers beyond them. Others were sitting where they had slept, whetstones, gun oil, and magazines scattered around them as they prepared their weapons for the coming day. Every one of them shared one thing, a calm determination that they would succeed in the coming day. Certainly, some looked nervous, others were excited, she could even tell the coffee addicts amongst them as they drug themselves about like the living dead. But universally they had that aura of determination.

Glancing to her side, she saw the sisters asleep still. Shaking her head, Summer decided against waking them. There would be time enough for them to prepare so she left them to sleep as she unwrapped herself from the cacoon of her sleeping bag and headed to the showers herself.

She moved through the motions of the shower quickly. Memories floated back, clearer than most she had, of doing much the same in her former life. She could remember the teasing and camaraderie in the showers and locker room as her teammates recovered after their exertions. In some of the memories, she was young, much as she was now. Others she was older and was surrounded by younger teens and twenty-somethings. She let the feeling of those memories wash over her to distract her as she showered then quickly headed into the locker room to dress in her combat outfit.

Once dressed, Summer retrieved the Slayer Scythe and Willow from her locker. Grabbing the portable maintenance kit that Velvet had insisted she put together, she decided against staying indoors like so many others. Instead, she headed outside to enjoy the early morning. Finding a secluded spot not far from the building they had slept in, she leaned against a lone tree and brought out the kit.

Spreading the kit out in front of her, she brought out Willow and released it from its carry mode and into its rifle configuration. She quickly went about dismantling it for cleaning, almost reverently laying each piece on the cloth before her. Willow, the name meant something to her but she couldn't remember what. The name brought a feeling of warmth and comfort, the smell of cookies and burning ozone. She associated wild power but also wisdom and compassion with the name. Summer had hoped that by naming her weapon as such that she would have the same when wielding her.

It didn't take long until Summer's maintenance of Willow was complete and the weapon was once again assembled. She had taken the time to polish the gun-sword's blade as well, though ruled against using the whetstone once she had tested the edge. She had to hand it to Remnant, their metallurgy skills were superior to what she remembered from back home. She could remember the hours of maintenance required to keep the various swords and axes the Slayers had used lethally sharp. Only the Slayer Scythe had never needed to be sharpened or polished. The alloy Velvet had selected for the blade was proving to be every bit as good and even better than any man-made weapon from back home.

As Willow retracted back into her carry mode, Summer perked up as the announcement came over the speaker system of the Academy. It was time. With a smile, she stood and brushed her skirt free of any loose detritus that might have clung to it.

She was going to enjoy this.

Summer was standing on the square that marked her starting position as she waited on the other students to arrive. Ruby and Yang were some of the first to come out and join her, each taking a spot on either side of her. Shortly after she spotted the Weiss girl who seemed to have latched onto a tall redhead. Listening to the banal chatter coming from Weiss as she all but fawned over the redhead, Summer could help but feel sorry for the taller girl. She'd not wish Weiss on her worst enemy no matter whether the girl was being nice or vile. Either seemed to be equally cruel upon its victim.

Slowly, one by one, others filed out and soon all the starting positions were filled.

Ozpin took that as the sign to begin his monologue causing Summer to roll her eyes skyward. "For years, you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forrest," he said, his gaze crossing the various students. Summer could help but notice that Ozpin's gaze lingered on Ruby for the briefest of moments before it continued past her.

That briefest of pauses brought forth memories she had suddenly found herself immersed in when she had first made eye contact with the girl. Another person with silver eyes looking at her, pleading, begging her to protect her daughter. That pause made Summer wonder if Ozpin was one of the people she was supposed to be guarding against.

Goodwitch picked up the explanation, something that Summer had to give credit for. The two highest authorities in Beacon had seemingly learned not to monologue. Villain or hero, it was just bad form after all. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams," she said from her position next to Ozpin. "Well, let us put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

A quiet whimper from Ruby caught Summer's attention. She glanced over at the other girl, the movement catching Ruby's attention. Summer did her best to give the girl a reassuring smile before turning back to face the instructors just in time for Ozpin to pick up where Goodwitch had left off.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work with well," he said, now looking out past the students. Summer wanted to look back at what had his attention but stilled herself when her gut said that would be a mistake. "That said," Ozpin continued, "the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Ozpin's eyes pulled away from whatever he had been looking at and started to roam across the students again. Where he had seemed almost distant, he now was smiling as he wrapped up his instructions. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation but our instructors will not intervene."

Summer couldn't help the grim smile on her lips as she listened to Ozpin. She remembered similarly training the Slayers. There was only so much one could learn by sparring after all. She'd often tell the girls the same thing, that there would be no safety net, they were on their own and simply surviving the night was a pass. It hadn't been true, of course. Herself or others she trusted had always been nearby, ready to step in if things went truly pear-shaped. She couldn't imagine Ozpin doing the same here. It didn't eliminate the risk, but that was the point of the exorcise. And these students had far more experience than she had when she started hunting the monsters.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"I've got one," Summer stated aloud. "Any limitations on how we get down there?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, his eyes curious as he regarded her. "Use your own landing strategy," was all the instruction he gave.

Summer smiled and nodded as the sounds of students being catapulted into the air began to fill the air. "Sounds good," she said before suddenly taking off running at the cliff.

She heard Ruby and Yang make sounds of confusion as she sprinted past both instructors and lept off the cliff under her own power. As she passed the edge and entered free fall, she could hear Goodwitch let out an indignant yelp of surprise joined by Ozpin's laughter.

Falling feet first, she quickly realized this was certainly the best of the bad options available to her. Being flung into the air like a circus clown would likely end with her being splatter-slayer when she hit a tree. That was if she didn't end up impaling herself on a, particularly troublesome branch. Here at the cliff face, she had a chance to control her fall and hit the ground running. She was pretty sure she could outpace any of her fellow classmates once she was on the ground.

Reaching under her cloak, she pulled out the Slayer Scythe. Velvet had actually been surprised when she had made her intentions to carry both weapons despite forging Willow. At the time, Summer had simply smiled and told her that sometimes, the old school was the best school. This was going to prove to either be one of those times or she was going to quickly pancake against the stone causeway she saw rapidly growing closer.

Turning in the air to face the cliff, Summer slammed the ancient weapon of the Slayer Line into the cliff face and held on for dear life. At first, nothing changed other than a gouge being cut into the side of the cliff as the axe sliced through the earthen side with ease. Then, after falling another 50 feet, she felt herself slowing. Once she was about thirty feet above the causeway that crossed the chasm that stood between Beacon's border and the forest, she quickly planted her feet and pushed herself off from the wall, ripping the Slayer Scythe out of it and launching herself into a twisting leap. She hit the causeway with a roll and was up to her feet almost instantly, breaking into a sprint. Grinning, she raced across the ancient structure and into the forest. Above, she could hear the sounds of the last of the students just being launched.

It had taken her barely five minutes to catch up to the other students. Or at least, catch up to a pair of students. Summer had watched as Ruby and Weiss had argued with one another about what to do now that they were partners as she ran past them in the tree's branches. She'd had to stop early on due to a pack of Grimm, Beowolves if she remembered Velvet's lessons correctly, had stepped into her path. Once she had dispatched them, Summer had taken to the trees, sprinting along their surprisingly sturdy branches at only a marginally slower pace. It was safer than being on the ground where the Grimm could surround her.

She debated turning back for Ruby for a moment. She didn't know the how or the what of her appearance on Remnant, but she did know the why and the who. She had only decided not to out of respect for Ruby. There was another girl she had been supposed to protect. The same one she remembered screaming she wasn't real as blood poured from her. Summer had stifled the girl, smothering her in her urge to keep her safe.

That girl had been defenseless. Not a warrior or a witch or a watcher. Ruby was anything but helpless. She had been invited to beacon two years early and the way she had handled both her own weapon as well as Summer's, had convinced Summer the girl knew a thing or two about fighting monsters.

So Summer ran past Ruby and her new partner, trusting her to look out for herself. Summer would keep an eye on threats from other directions. She imagined Ruby would have her hands full watching out for Weiss as well and wouldn't appreciate Summer if she started hovering over her as well.

It wasn't long until the sound of a gunshot grabbed her attention. Summer veered slightly eastward in her path through the branches of the trees until she came to a small clearing. There in the middle of it was the redhead she had seen Weiss fawning over earlier. With her sword and shield in hand, she was surrounded by four Beowolves.

Bringing out Willow, she flipped the fire selector to burst fire. She could likely drop any of the Beowolves with a single shot but she wanted her odds to be certain, not just likely. Bringing Willow to her shoulder, she sighted on one of the Beowolves furthest back and waited. The redhead didn't look distressed or worried about the coming fight. If anything, she looked focused and a little excited. Knowing how she'd feel if someone stole one of her kills, Summer simply waited to see if the redhead would need her help.

One of the Beowolves took the lead, charging the redhead as it swiped at her in a wide arc with one of its claws. Summer gave a small nod of approval as the redhead raised her shield to intercept the blow, causing it to skid along the edge and go high. The deflection had the benefit of moving the redhead inside the Beowolf's reach, allowing her to drive her sword upward and into its head from below.

As her first victim fell backward with a gurgle as it died, the next two charged in at her. In a mockery of teamwork, they closed simultaneously, one dropping to all fours to charge her, the other remaining upright as it ran. The redhead gave a leap, her body going into a lateral spin as she threw her shield at the upright Beowolf. The shield caught the monster in the throat, causing it to fall backward. The jump took her above the one down on all four of its limbs, giving her a clear shot at it from above. Buffy hummed in appreciation as the redhead's sword elongated into a spear, slamming down to sever the monster's neck just behind its head.

As she landed, her feet once again beneath her, the redhead held out her hand, her shield slapping into her open grip. At the same time, her spear retracted down but instead of a sword, it formed into a lever-action rifle. The redhead took aim and quickly pumped a few rounds into the already injured Beowolf before turning to the last one.

The final Beowolf, larger than the others, let out a roaring howl. Summer could swear she felt its rage and hatred for humanity in that howl. She also realized that she had a feeling in the back of her consciousness not unlike when she had faced down an older Master Vampire. That gave her pause as she stopped to concentrate on it. Intellectually, her memories told her that she was crap at this, one of her weakest points as a Slayer. Her gut, though, told her she needed to pay attention and do so quickly.

As the redhead took aim at the larger Beowolf, Summer finally felt something snap into place. That feeling, the one she would get when she really concentrated on sensing vampires nearby was screaming at her. Eyes widening, she realized what was going on. The redhead had walked into a trap. These four were only delaying her long enough for the rest of the pack to arrive.

Deciding it was time to step in, She took aim and let off a single burst of fire. Accurate down to the millimeter, her rounds slammed into the monster, finding the opening in its bone plate mask via its eye. Its head exploded backward in a mist of black tar.

Not wasting time, Summer dropped from the tree, setting the safety on her rifle between her feet leaving the safety of its limbs and touching the ground. "Sorry to cut in but there are a lot more coming," she said in quick, clipped tones that drew the redhead's attention. Summer wanted to groan when the redhead turned around and looked confused at first until she looked down and spotted the petite Salyer.

"Hello," she said in a confused tone.

"Hi, I'm Summer and I'm your friendly neighborhood Slayer," Summer replied by way of a quick introduction. "And as I've said, we've got Grimm incoming. Move or fight?"

The howling of the rest of the pack settled the question before the redhead could answer. Instead, she set herself into a firing stance and started scanning the tree line. "Pyrrha Nikos, it is a pleasure to meet you," she said with a small smile.

Summer grinned as she went back to back with the redhead, "Say that once we get out of this mess, partner."

Summer didn't even have to see it to know Pyrrha's smile had magnified a hundredfold. The redhead was practically vibrating behind her.

When the ring of red eyes started to light up the shadows beyond the clearing, Summer knew they were going to be in for a fight. Twenty pairs of eyes. Twenty Beowolves slavering for their flesh and bone. Summer spared her attention for just a second to look over her shoulder at her partner only to find she had done the same. The two meet eye to eye and nodded to one another.

Their world exploded into violence at that moment.

Summer opened up with Willow, the gravity rounds she had loaded tearing Beowolves apart with every burst. One Beowolf, Two Beowolf, Three little Beowolves were blown away, ragged holes in their chests. Behind her, she heard Pyrrha's weapon in its gone mode firing as the sound of two more bodies hitting the ground joined the others.

Five down, Fifteen to go.

A fourth Beowolf charged Summer, and it took another burst of ammunition, lifting it up off its four limbs and back onto its hind legs only. From above the dying Grimm, came another Beowolf leaping over the already disintegrating body of its fellow Grimm. Without time to shift Willow into its sword mode, Summer slammed the portion of her sword that was acting as a bayonet into the throat of the Beowolf as it descended upon her. A quick hop to put her feet between herself and the still snarling monster.

"Switch high," Summer called out as she began to push off the already dying Grimm, trusting in her partner to figure out what was going on in the madness.

Summer heard Pyrrha's weapon fire two times as she dropped to her knees, rifle reforming into a sword as she spun around as Summer came from over the top, launching herself from her Grimm springboard, ripping its throat out. As Summer twisted to land facing opposite the direction she had been, she watched as two more Beowolves dropped from the parting shots Pyrrha had gotten off before repositioning herself.

Nine down, eleven to go.

Taking the hint from Pyrrha, Summer tapped the control on Willow, sending the weapon into her sword configuration. The mechashift completing just as the blade sliced through the neck of a rushing Beowolf. Its head bounced away, severed body dissipating as it fell to the ground.

Summer could hear the sound of Pyrrha's sword slicing into Grimm flesh as she deflected another blow with her shield. One, Two, Three times steel cut into black muscle, and the sound of two bodies joined the already chaotic cacophony of their battle.

Twelve down, eight to go.

Summer grinned, Pyrrha had caught up to her. Keeping her back to her partner, she brought Willow up with both hands, catching an incoming claw swipe with the edge of the blade. The offending Beowolf the claw was attached to suddenly found itself with one fewer limb than it originally had. Shifting Willow into a high guard, Summer couldn't help but feel like a Samurai in an old black and white movie. Bringing the blade down, she sliced the Beowolf she had declawed through its skull diagonally, finishing the beast off.

Then the world decides to spit on her fun.

Behind her, she heard Pyrrha cut down another Grimm, the black ash from its dissolving corpse floating into the air. The crash of multiple blows striking her shield followed, and Summer knew that the three remaining on that side have moved in all at once, crowding her partner, trying to cut off any movement. In front of her, the three left had spread out, keeping themselves away from her deadly blade.

Then the Beowolves to either side charged. Summer realized she'd not be able to react quick enough to stop them both. If she turned to meet the charge of one, she'd leave herself open for the other. If she were alone, she could remove one of them from the equation by going over the top of the other but that would leave an already pressed Pyrrha open from behind. Mind racing, she reached for the Slayer Scythe at her back. As the two Beowolves reached her, Willow slashed out to the right, cutting deep into the chest of the black-furred Grimm. On her left, the Slayer Scythe swung upward, its enchanted wooden stake slamming into the lower jaw of the charging Beowolf.

Then she remembered there was still the third Beowolf.

Summer realized too late that she'd not be able to get either weapon-free fast enough to stop the final Beowolf before her as it ran forward. Desperate, Summer jumped to kick the Beowolf as it charged. Her feet connected with its head, sending it end over tea kettle but not before it was able to get purchase on her leg itself with its own vicious claws. Biting back a scream of pain, she stumbled as she landed.

Back on her feet, Summer ripped the Scythe free of the disintegrating Grimm she had killed with it. With a quick flick of her wrist, she adjusted her grip on the ancient weapon and threw the Scythe, end over end, at the last of her Beowolves. With a crunch, the blade of the Scythe made itself home in the Grimm's skull, killing it.

With Willow again in both hands, Summer spun around, ignoring the agony in her leg and activating Willow's mechashift back to her rifle configuration. She found her partner had managed to deal with two of her last three Grimm herself. She looked fresh still despite the protracted battle. The final Grimm was standing back from Pyrrha, eyeing her with what Summer thought was nervousness. Then it turned to run back into the forest.

Summer and Pyrrha both reacted. Pyrrha started the mechashift of her sword to its javelin form. Summer didn't even bother to aim, letting off a 3 round burst from the hip.

Both girls looked at each other then back to the Beowolf now turning to black particles in its death.

Slayer 11, Invincible Girl 9

Summer let out a long breath, closing her eyes. Reaching out as she would back home when trying to feel for vampires, she reached out instead for the wrongness that was the Grimm. She could feel them still, clear as day. They were far off, though. Nothing was close enough to threaten them for now.

"Okay, I can't feel anymore," Summer said once she had reassured herself they were alone once more. Blowing out a breath, she looked around at the now bare ground. "Good job, by the way," Summer said to Pyrrha, turning to go and retrieve the Slayer Scythe. "I wasn't entirely sure that switch would work as well as it did."

Pyrrha nodded, surveying the battlefield herself. "Thank you. Your direction said high and I assumed you were telling me where you would be. It only made sense."

Summer glanced over her shoulder to smile as she walked, intending to respond. That was the only reason she knew when Pyrrha noticed her slight limp. She had gotten lucky or had spent her lien well, she wasn't sure which. When the last Beowolf had gotten ahold of her, its claws hadn't managed to cut through her thick stockings. It had Summer wondering just what Mrs. Gray made her stockings out of considering how soft and comfortable they were. The blow still hurt and Summer knew she was going to have a rainbow of bruising in the next twenty minutes. She'd heal quickly, the bruising would fade sometime in the next few hours, the damage to the muscle below would be completely healed by morning. Until then, she'd just have to do her best to ignore it. She had fought with worse and it was only a minor injury.

"You are injured," Pyrrha said with concern and quickly moved to Summer's side. Before the Slayer could complain, Pyrrha had put one arm around her and pulled Summer's arm around her. "I did not realize you had been hit so badly during the fight. We can take a moment to rest while your aura heals you."

And there it was, the discussion she had been hoping to avoid until after they were all back at the Academy. Letting out a sigh as they arrived at the Scythe, Summer bent over and picked it up, swinging it around onto her back. "Yeah, that won't help any, Pyrrha. We should just keep going, I'll be fine. It's just some bruising."

"Bruising or not, it would be irresponsible of me to have my partner walking a Grimm-infested forest while her Aura is shattered," Pyrrha said, leading them over to a tree at the edge of the clearing. "Sit and rest. Once your aura has recovered we can start moving towards the temple."

Summer sighed as Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder, trying to gently guide her down to the ground to rest. Instead, Summer just leaned against the tree but stayed standing. "Pyrrha, look, I don't need to wait for my aura to recover. Kinda hard for it to do that when it isn't unlocked. Besides, I'll be fine by the time we reach the temple."

Summer watched as Pyrrha froze in place. The redhead turned to look at the clearing they had just been battling for their lives in and Summer could see her lips moving as she counted. When she turned back she asked in the most confused voice Summer had ever heard, "I'm sorry?"

"My aura, it's not unlocked," Summer said looking up to meet the taller girl's eyes. "Ozpin wanted to do it, I told him no."

Silence hung over the two for several minutes. Summer could almost see Pyrrha working through what questions she should ask. It was rather cute, in her opinion. This tall, strong woman had been vapor-locked by something so simple.

"I'm sorry, but why?" There was no accusation in the question, Summer couldn't help but note. Only a pure and honest desire to understand.

Such a simple question and the answers were complex beyond anything Summer wanted to go into right now. She wasn't secret identity girl, but the whole Slayer Mythos thing was not something to explain in Grimm-infested woods. With her memories fogged she couldn't even give specific examples of why she reacted so negatively to the idea of someone tampering with her soul. Regardless, it was magic and magic always had consequences. She knew that if she said that, Pyrrha would think she had gone crazy. Ozpin had explained how to the rest of the world magic was a myth, something from out of legends but with no place in the real world. It was the same back home for her, but she didn't remember anyone with superpowers due to an unlocked soul, either.

Then again, looking up at Pyrrha, Summer couldn't help but wonder if her partner would think she was crazy. It would take longer than they had now, though, so it was a question for another time.

Deciding she had to give Pyrrha some sort of answer, she sighed and tried to explain in a way that left out magic, Slayers, and souls. "Power always has a price, Pyrrha. What is the price going to be if I let someone do this whole aura thing to me? I've already paid a price once for power I didn't ask for, I'm not sure I'm willing to do so again."

To Summer's complete surprise, Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully. She had expected the taller girl to scold her or tell her to suck it up. Some sort of admonishment about being afraid, perhaps. Instead, after several minutes of silence, Pyrrha looked back up to her. "I think I understand, Summer. Not everything, but enough. Just know that if you ask it of me, I'll never ask you to pay a price for my help, no matter what it is."

Summer nodded once, too afraid to actually open her mouth and speak. Pyrrha's simple acceptance with no pressures or expectations felt freeing in a way she wasn't sure she had ever experienced before. It almost made her change her mind. Before she could open her mouth to say something, though, that sliver of wrongness that was all the Grimm in the area magnified. Something large was making its way towards them. Summer couldn't help but groan as she mumbled to herself, "First the vampires can't stop hunting me, now these things?" Shaking herself, Summer pushed off the tree and motioned to Pyrrha to follow her. "Come on, let's get moving."