Hello again!
RWBY is not mine, is property of Rooster Teeth.
This story was inspired in a bunch of ones I found across, "Those gentle souls" (A Tamado Kanjiro reincarnation into Bell Cranel) and others like that.
Warning(s):
First, English is not my first language, although I used a grammar checker, there will be probably a lot grammatical mistakes, feel free to point them!
Second, this is a fanfiction, don't expect god level writing, but feel free to leave a constructive review though!
Third, basically the same as the second, there will probably bad written characters (you know OOC and this is a fanfic thus is an AU, I tried to use canon characterization within my own interpretation, so I really hope I didn't fail) and random monologues and maybe bad used exposition.
Fourth, I'm trying another style of writing, so maybe the POVs are confusing, and the unreliable narrator, maybe will backfire. So again, feel free to point whatever incoherency you find!
Fifth… Like a put on the summary, this a convoluted crossover between RWBY, Demon Slayer and the Nasuverse (Fate series), The fic is in the main RWBY section, mainly because I didn't know where to put it.
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The Grimm Slayer I
For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.
Jaune gasped. For a moment everything was blank, and in the next second everything became clear. Suddenly he could see. There were details he couldn't see before, the leaves of the trees scattered across the ground, how the leaves were pushed by the wind.
He could see the soil of the forest with high definition, rocks, dirt… since when ants looked so weird?
And then the smell hit him, the forest morning dew. The smell of the trees, the dirt… and a sweet aroma. Was it some kind of fruit?
Jaune sniffed. What was that smell? It was like a mix between sweet and… sweat?
The blonde finally focused on what was in front of him, or rather, who.
"Pyrrha! Gods, are you okay?!"
His would be partner was on her knees. The redhead was panting and beads of sweat were running across her forehead.
"It's alright," Pyrrha was struggling to stand up. "I used my aura to unlock yours."
Jaune lent her a hand to help her stand up to her feet. The blond noticed that her grip was quite strong.
"Now the energy that protects you it's now yours" The blond could notice how she hadn't let go of his hand.
"You have a lot," said Pyrrha with a warm smile… damn how her eyes were so green?
The redhead's breathing was calming down. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. Their breathings synchronized.
Breath in, breath out.
Jaune moved his head to his left.
"Gunshots" muttered Jaune.
Was it Shinazugawa? Wait. Who was he?
"Ah! Yes, the initiation" Pyrrha let out his hand. She was red. Awakening his aura must have taken a toll.
"Yes, the initiation," said Jaune while he looked with worry at his partner. "Are you sure you are okay?"
She recovered her smile and said. "I'm tougher than I look"
That eased Jaune a bit, sure she still had red on her cheeks, but besides that she looked fine, happy and eager. Now that he thought of it, her grip was miles stronger than his.
Jaune frowned. Of course she was stronger than him, Pyrrha probably went to combat academy, and she was some kind of athlete, while he only ran down in the mountain.
His frown deepened. What mountain? Back home, he never went to the mountain. He only went to the forest, and while there were some hills, those weren't that tall. And it could be dangerous going alone, if there were demons…
Wait, demons? No, Grimm, he supposed he had read too much comics.
"Jaune, is everything okay?" Pyrrha had moved a few meters ahead. Now she was worried.
"Yeah, I was thinking about the Grimm," Answered Jaune as he walked in her direction. "The others must be fighting them; the gunshot sounds came from the east; I guess we should look"
As they walked, Jaune gripped the hilt of Crocea Mors. It felt right, because he had a blade in his hands. It felt wrong because it was the wrong type of blade. Maybe he should have prepared more, or grabbed a different type of weapon. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best of plans to use the family heirloom.
Something was weird…
Breath in, breath out.
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The Myrmidon I
At first Pyrrha dared to hope, hope that maybe Vale was different, that somehow Beacon was different. Mistral was her kingdom, and Argus her home… but her home shouldn't feel like a cage, a frozen cage half of the year… well at least she didn't live in Inner Argus, sure Outer Argus was more prone to the Grimm Attacks because of the lack of walls. But it was better fighting against the Grimm than freezing in the interior!
Her mom said it too!
Going to the big city wasn't an option, if Argus became annoying during her combat academy years, then the big city was a nightmare, too noisy and her privacy was not existent, seriously… Who cared if she wasn't wearing her tiara on Monday?
Even the tournaments she attended turned to a bitter flavor.
While Pyrrha enjoyed the thrill of her first two tournaments, the last two were disappointing. Ironically, it wasn't her rabid fan base, nor the paparazzi, nor those random gangs trying to induct her in the mistralian crime rings.
It was because of her opponents, in her third tournament, she fought Sun Wukong in the finals, while he was… skilled (he pulled some tricks in the previous rounds). He didn't take the fight seriously; he spent the first 30 seconds waving at the crowds.
At least something good came from that fight (if she could call it a fight). It was cathartic unleashing her spear-sword-rifle combo, and then finished him with shield-bonk to the head. Those two minutes of merciless beating were the best part of that tournament. Maybe it wasn't a challenge, but it was… fun.
Yeah, fun…
Then a year passed, and her fourth Mistral Tournament begun. At first, Pyrrha thought the level had increased. The first rounds were harsher. After Sun Wukong's beating at her third tournament, now everyone took the fights seriously.
There was something in the air. It felt dangerous, like fighting Grimm. It felt thrilling.
That feeling died in her last three Nikos versus Emerald Sustrai. Result: Pyrrha Nikos victory by Emerald's surrender.
Pyrrha Nikos versus Mercury Black. Result: Pyrrha Nikos victory by Mercury's surrender.
Pyrrha Nikos versus Cinder Fall. Result: Pyrrha Nikos victory by default… she didn't even show up on the day of the finals.
Arslan Astlan, third place.
Cinder Fall, second place.
Pyrrha Nikos, first place.
The invincible girl.
At least they could have let her have fight Arslan! Damn those dumb tournament rules!
Yes, the big city wasn't an option. Her life didn't need to become a show to be ogled.
She somehow convinced her mom to not send her to Atlas (She hated the cold) and finally took the Beacon's acceptance letter that was lying in her room for almost two years (Who thought that beating thugs were enough to warrant the attention of one of the best hunter academies in remnant?).
In hindsight, perhaps she should have taken the offer. Skipping two years ahead would have been preferable to the circus that was Mistral.
It wasn't her destiny being shackled, her destiny was being a protector of remnant, like her mom, like her father, like her grandparents and like all of those that came before them.
And Beacon presented the best opportunity. It wasn't as rigid as Atlas, nor it was as wild as Vacuo, nor it was annoying as Mistral. It was balanced…
Vale was different. It wasn't the frozen hell that was Inner Argus or Atlas. Neither was the scorching wasteland that was Vacuo.
The city of Vale differed from the city of Mistral. Yes, it was as big as Mistral., but it wasn't a jungle, at least not that she hadn't seen yet.
The paparazzi and her fans were a thing, but there were far subtler than their Mistral counterparts. Vale was different. The kingdom wasn't an invasion to her privacy, not at least at the level in Mistral. Now this new city felt lonely…
Maybe Pyrrha was exaggerating. She only arrived one month ago with her mom. Her mother helped her move into Vale. She stayed three weeks, helping her to get used to the works of the middle kingdom.
Vale may not be a compact jungle like Mistral. Certainly didn't have as much population as her home kingdom. Mom wasn't kidding when she said that Vale was at Remnant's center.
It was like someone put all the other kingdoms in a bowl and mixed them.
The city had been overrun by the Grimm at least a dozen of times, survived revolutions. Hell, it was one hotspot of the faunus rights movement… and top of all of that, was the victor of the Great War.
It was like a mix between the old and new. Its diversity surpassed Argus. Pyrrha had never seen so many humans and faunus living together. Maybe not peacefully, but at least tolerating each other.
Even their protests were somewhat civilized, if it were Mistral... Pyrrha didn't like to think about the violent situation back home, between the presence of the Atlas military and the White Fang…
Damn it! People were supposed to be fighting together against the Grimm, not fighting each other! It wasn't their destiny to destroy each other! It was their destiny to protect Remnant!
And attending Beacon was her first step towards that goal. And with the first step came the first challenge: find a partner. It was a standard through all the hunter academies, a team of four, two partnerships, 4 years of fighting besides someone and maybe more if the partnership was successful.
Destinies intertwined.
Pyrrha had had nothing like that before. Back in Argus it was a smile and wave, smile and wave. At first it had been genuine the smile and wave, but just like the tournaments it had turned sour. It was lonely. One would think that having a giant fan base would guarantee company, on the contrary, it only isolated her.
Besides, how could she smile and wave while there were people suffering against the Grimm… or against other people.
So Pyrrha dared to hope, hope that she would find her partner. A partner to share the long road ahead…
The redhead hadn't thought it would be easy. Alas, Pyrrha was wrong. It was easier than her third tournament.
When she arrived in Beacon, everyone was awestruck or intimidated (Oh c'mon, the beating she gave to Sun Wukong wasn't that brutal!). No one attempted to talk to her.
"Oh great… were I am supposed to find another nice quirky girl to talk to?"
Certainly not him. He not only made no attempt to talk to her, he didn't even see her. No, he wasn't ignoring her. In fact, he wasn't aware of her; he looked out of place… how could she say it? He looked lost.
He looked like she could touch him, and suddenly he would snap in two, like a twig. For a moment, he looked self-conscious. He was in the middle of a sea of students (some of them with weapons as tall as the blonde)
He awkwardly made his way to a less crowded place in the hall. Pyrrha noticed how he had a Valean sword and a sheath. (Wow, was it one of that could unfold into a shield? Those were old). Apart from the sheath, no mecha shift weapons, no guns. Was he prepared to enter Beacon?
She continued to observe him until she didn't. Suddenly, he disappeared until he didn't. Well, he hadn't disappeared, per se. He was standing a few steps away from her, and he wasn't there. How? It was like he didn't have a presence. It was like observing a plant.
It made little sense, even people without aura emitted some sort of presence, a presence she could detect, especially if they were standing in front of her.
Was it some kind of Semblance?
Pyrrha tuned out Professor Ozpin's speech. The redhead spent that time watching her would be partner.
At some point, the orientation was finished. Professor Goodwitch dismissed them. The blonde's presence was there again.
Her green eyes observed with a mix of amusement and curiosity how he approached a group of three girls… one of them was Weiss Schnee (Pyrrha hoped Weiss hadn't seen her yet, she probably would try to recruit her)
"I'm a natural blonde, you know?"
The redhead snorted. What was that? One moment he somehow erased his presence, and then another he made a clumsy attempt at flirting with the Schnee. How? One moment he looked lost, the next he displays some strange skill, and then he completed it with a false bravado.
Who was that tall, blonde, scraggly boy?
The first years headed to the lockers. Pyrrha locked her eyes on the blonde. If he erased his presence, she wasn't sure if she could follow him.
It surprised her when he entered the section for the students that were recommended! Despite her initial assessment, she didn't want to assume, besides he had a weird ability. Maybe… he could be her partner, but she had to know him first.
She saw how he put his weapons in the locker 636.
Then he disappeared again… what the hell?
She lost his trail. But at least she had a clue, locker 636.
The next day came, the initiation day had begun. Her hunt had begun, nice and slow, nice and slow. She only needed to see what was the deal with the blonde noodle.
And the first obstacle to her hunt was the Schnee. She came to the locker 636 trying to recruit her!
Pyrrha tuned her out when she began talking to her. Thanks to years of PR experience, she could say she had a nice interview face.
And then he came. He didn't know who she was; he didn't know who the Schnee was. The blonde flirted with them and failed hard. It was a kind of adorable.
She concluded. This Jaune Arc lived under a rock, a very secluded rock. A mysterious rock that didn't match what she had seen.
He walked with a certain security that didn't match his attitude. The way he talked… he didn't sound confident.
Then… the test began. He didn't have a landing strategy… or maybe he had? She wasn't sure. Like, he was here, at a Hunter Academy, even if he somehow didn't have a landing strategy, his aura would tank his fall. Right?
But again, sometimes he didn't have a presence. His semblance turned off his aura? Was it even possible?
Well, maybe it was destiny pushing her to decide. Maybe it was not. But she had to make her choice. Jaune Arc would be her partner.
She prepared her rifle and set her sights on Jaune. Surely he wouldn't mind if she caught him.
After all, it was better to say sorry than ask for permission.
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The Wizard I
Ozpin took a sip of coffee from his mug. Ah, everything was going according to the plan. Perhaps this will be one of the most promising generations of hunters. This was a win scenario for him.
The pairs had been formed.
Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.
A prodigal silver eyed warrior, yes she was young, but she was miles ahead than those of her same generation, naïve. But she could be forged into an excellent huntress, with Qrow's skill and with her mother's eyes she would be an unstoppable force against the Grimm.
Her partner, the SDC heiress… she was rough around the edges, but it was always good to teach the next generation of Schnees, perhaps one day she will reach the same skills like her grandfather. The problem was her upbringing, her father wasn't exactly the parent of the year, and her attitude would prove to be a problem if it wasn't corrected.
Luckily, he had the foresight to arrange a plan. Rig her dust vials and prepare a fated encounter with Ruby Rose. Albeit a little explosive, but with guaranteed results. Hopefully, the little rose would humble the heiress. Ah, and of course, he rigged their launch pads.
Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren.
Well, that pair was obvious, childhood friends with a tragic backstory, top marks in the admission entrance and a recommendation… from Oobleck. Well, it was fair enough. Separating them would be disastrous to the academy budget, so he rigged the launch pads.
Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long
A former terrorist and an arsonist. The daughter of the founders of one of the most important movements of the century turned into a terrorist seeking redemption. Her time at Beacon, hopefully, would help her heal.
As for Ms. Xiao Long, at first when he saw the video of her trashing of Junior's club, he thought Raven returned only to spite him, until he saw the blonde hair and her eyes turned back to lilac… a problem child that probably needed therapy, but there wasn't time for that. She came here to be a huntress. Perhaps her time at Beacon would temper her attitude.
Well, at least he hadn't rigged that one. He just hoped that Glynda wouldn't be mad if they caused trouble. After all, the both of them were candidates to be the Fall Maiden.
Pyrrha Nikos and… Jaune Arc.
He would not lie. That was set in stone and was written in blood the moment he saw their transcripts and their respective histories. Their assigned launch pads were rigged since two weeks ago.
The best fighter not only in the generation, but perhaps in the academy. A candidate to be the Fall Maiden, but she was likely the last in the list… if it weren't for her beating of Sun Wukong at the Mistral Tournament perhaps she would have received the power starting Beacon… but damn, she destroyed the faunus. A maiden was supposed to send a message of unity between humans and faunus, not a message of division.
And then, in her fourth tournament, her opponents surrendered or even didn't assist in their fights. A maiden was supposed to instill hope, not fear.
He could see a troublemaker in the making. An excellent warrior she may be, but what was a spear with no destiny?
When he saw her records, he could see a child that hadn't found her purpose. Mistral wasn't the best of places to grow up (an excellent example was Ms. Valkyrie and ) and Miss Nikos transcripts were a little too perfect, so he dug out all of her records. Yes, she was a top student, and a supposed model citizen… that last part didn't sit up well with Ozpin, no one was a model citizen!
And the parts that were covered in black by the Mistral Department of Security hadn't fooled him. The fight against those dust smugglers that made him to send her that recommendation letter wasn't the only incident. Multiple clashes against members of the Mistral organized crime.
Like Qrow would say, Miss Nikos was a battle junkie, and that worried him. One couldn't seek a fight for the sake of fighting.
He needed to give her a purpose.
That's where Jaune Arc entered the picture.
Mr. Arc's transcripts were fake. The only genuine thing was his traditional dance classes… well, the people in his home were always weird.
Mr. Arc, although coming from a linage of warriors, he wasn't trained. In fact, he didn't even attend a normal school; he was homeschooled. Seven sisters… he shuddered at that thought. He couldn't imagine seven Glyndas, yes if he had seven Glyndas he would have already won the war against Salem, but the price was too high.
He wondered why his family hadn't trained him, and why they had let him come here. They expected he failed?
Apart from being homeschooled and having such a big family, well, there wasn't nothing remarkable about him…
But he was an Arc. He was a descendant of her. He even had a sword.
Maybe Ms. Nikos could tap the potential, and it would help her find a path beyond senseless fighting. Beacon could use more teachers.
And Ms. Nikos was taking the initiative he intended. But even if Ms. Nikos hadn't caught him, that would have taught Mr. Arc a lesson about landing strategies (If he indeed had crashed in the forest, the only thing he would have lost would be his pride and a sizeable chunk of his aura)
Regardless of that, it remained to be seen. All of it depended on Mr. Arc.
He couldn't help but wonder.
What kind of hunter would he be?
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The Grimm Slayer II
Breath in, breath out.
A pack of Grimm. Wolves. This was the first time he saw them too close. He only had seen them from a considerable distance, and that was when his sisters were around.
Breath in, breath out.
He had been nervous the night before. And doubts crept like snakes in his body.
Everyone around him had flashy weapons. Some taller than his body (There was no way he saw a bazooka the last day!). One thing he could say he had been proud of was his height. And even if he was the tallest amongst the student body, he couldn't help but to feel small.
When he saw Ruby's sniper-scythe, he felt he had the wrong weapon.
That feeling of wrongness had only increased when he entered the hall. Everyone had sophisticated weapons, most of them were guns.
When he saw the guns, the first thought that crossed his mind was that he didn't possess a license or a permit to carry a gun.
You neither had the credentials to enter Beacon. A treacherous voice whispered in his mind.
Breath in, breath out.
What was he thinking? Who needed a gun anyways? Her sisters didn't have one, most of the corps didn't had one.
And certainly Weiss Schnee hadn't one. Heck, with the rapier, she looked out-of-place like him.
But unlike him, she looked confident. And if he wasn't mistaken, the blade she carried didn't shift into a gun.
She went with the classics, just like him.
Maybe this was his fated encounter, just like the fairy tales, the hero and the princess. Weiss certainly looked like the princess part.
But... How to approach her? He hadn't talked to girls his age, he rarely talked to girls at all! His sisters didn't count! And Terra was family!
All you need is confidence.
Yes! He needed that! If he could talk to Ruby, he could talk to the princess! Right?!
It turned that confidence wasn't enough.
Not only he didn't have his fated encounter, but he had been shot down at least three times in that conversation.
And Pyrrha... Wow, she was way out of his league. The previous (fake) confidence he had in his attempt at talking to Weiss had evaporated.
Why did he call her hot stuff?! Seriously?!
Okay, how was he supposed she was some kind of prodigy? How was he supposed to distinguish between cosplayers of seasoned hunters?!
No, no, she wasn't a seasoned a hunter.
She didn't feel like a Hashira...
Hashira... Hashira... What was a Hashira? Hadn't he got enough sleep? He meant like, like... his dance teacher?
No, his teacher had an elegant and regal appearance. Not that Pyrrha wasn't elegant or something like that.
Pyrrha was a hunter in training, just like him...
But unlike him she was prepared.
He saw how his redhead partner made her way across the Grimm Pack.
Stab, slash, pierce.
Pyrrha was efficient. Her spear shifted into a sword.
She slashed two... No. Three Grimm Wolves were done for.
The sword shifted back to the spear. She threw it at the fourth one. It pierced its body. The next second, Pyrrha, was next to its body. She grabbed her spear back and moved to the fifth one. Three quick stabs, and done.
Jaune gripped Crocea Mors' hilt. There were not all of them. A sixth one made its way towards Pyrrha and made a leap towards her.
Breath in, breath out.
He needed to act.
And before he could move, a loud noise was heard across the forest. Smoke was pouring from Pyrrha's weapon. Of course! Why not?! Her weapon was also a gun!
"That was a good warmup, don't you think so?" asked Pyrrha with a cheerful demeanor. She shifted her weapon back in its spear form.
A warm up she says.
"Yeah, just leave some to me the next time, o-okay?" said Jaune as he shifted nervously. He hadn't moved. He hadn't taken a single step. Why hadn't he moved? He was supposed to move, to do anything, to be a hunter.
"Are you okay, Jaune? You look a little pale," said Pyrrha as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay, just a little overwhelmed, you know, first day nerves,"
No, he wasn't okay. In fact, he felt like he was riding on a bullhead. He didn't want to drag Pyrrha down. He couldn't afford it.
Breath in, breath out.
"I just need to breathe," said as he tried to put Pyrrha's hand down without looking rude.
The redhead shot him down a quizzical look. "If you aren't feeling okay, you just need to tell me," said Pyrrha with a worried look. Why did she have to be so kind to a faker like him? If only she knew.
"Wait, there is more," said Jaune as he smelled… one, no… two more Grimm. The Grimm smelled… negative? Like a mix of sadness, despair, and fear. He didn't know those emotions had a smell. Guess you learn new things every day, first aura and now this.
"Ursas," said Pyrrha as she raised her shield and deployed her weapon in sword mode.
They didn't look like wolves; they looked like bears, and they were growling. Probably hungry for a piece of blonde noodle.
No. He didn't need to think like that. Breath in, breath out. He didn't want to be a burden.
"Pyrrha, let me handle it," said Jaune as he approached the Grimm. It was too late to back down. He needed to this. He needed to prove he hadn't made a mistake.
The redhead narrowed her eyes, but looked like she had gotten the message. She backed down and said, "If things get too rough, I'll intervene"
Jaune nodded as he turned his head to see his opponents.
Breath in, breath out.
He widened his stance, lowering himself to the ground, balancing his body, relaxing his upper body and tensing it, grabbing Crocea Mors hilt, not too strong, not too weakly. With one hand on the hilt and another on the sheath.
Breath in, breath out.
One of the Ursas leaned over him, raising its paw and swiping it down. Jaune rolled out of the way. He somehow regained his stance. He still hadn't unsheathed his sword.
The other Ursa leaped forward. Jaune evaded it, too. They were fast for being that big. If one of theirs paws hit him, then he was done for.
The first one growled loudly, it jumped towards him; he evaded again. The second one swung its paw horizontally. He jumped into the air.
The first one opened its maw, attempting to bite him in the air. Maybe it was years of dancing and years of flexibility classes, or maybe it was luck. But Jaune somehow maneuvered in the air.
He landed a few meters apart from them. Good, regain distance, engage again. He ran forward.
The second one started running towards him.
Sidestep.
It missed him. The Ursa tried to stop on its heels, but crashed in a tree. The first one leaped too into the fight.
Slide.
It landed with a heavy thud on its four legs. The second one got back on to its feet. It scratched the forest grounds. It got mad.
Now he was in the center, one to his right, one to his left.
Huh, it was like a dance… and the Grimm were his dancing partners. He would have laughed at his own joke if it wasn't so lame and if he weren't in this situation.
They started approaching him at the same time. The second one had gained momentum. It reached him first, its left paw swiping down to him.
Body roll.
By the regained his stance, the first one had reached him. It swung its paw. He didn't have the time to evade it.
So Jaune finally unsheathed his sword, and with a speed and strength he didn't know he possessed, he deflected the blow. But the blow proved to be too strong. It pushed him various meters away. Fortunately, he maintained his stance.
The sword wasn't the correct one; the balance felt wrong. Crocea Mors was too heavy. At this pace, he would only slow down.
Breath in, breath out.
The Grimm were side by side, whatever instincts they had, were lost to their rage. They jumped at the same time.
For a moment, everything was slow. And he saw a… string? It didn't matter, somehow he knew one strike wouldn't be enough if he wanted to decapitate both Ursas. He needed multiple slashes.
Jaune heard a hissing sound. It came from him. Whatever it was, it didn't matter now.
The blonde felt how air poured into his lungs. And then he moved.
As he leaped forward, he made a swing with his sword. Water appeared around his sword.
Fourth Form.
He made a slash towards the first one, beheading it. Then he twisted his body in a flowing way in the air. He made a second slash, beheading the second one.
Striking Tide.
He landed, the water splashed on to the ground. And he panted.
The Ursas disintegrated.
When you kill a demon, not even their bodies stay behind.
He had done it; he killed the Grimm, both of them! Relief filled his heart. It hadn't been a mistake coming here.
His dream wasn't a mistake.
Breath in, breath out. His breathing calmed down.
"You did it! It was amazing!" exclaimed Pyrrha as she approached him. He turned his head to see her smiling partner. Pyrrha's eyes were shining... with excitement? His chest felt warm. Whatever trace of nervousness or wrongness he had diminished and a hint of proudness was growing within him.
"That was beautiful! Technique and esthetic! combined!" Pyrrha grabbed his shoulders. She was too close. Jaune blushed. He hadn't done that good, right? After all, Pyrrha had annihilated those wolves Grimm in seconds, while he… danced around?
"And the water? Was that your Semblance?!" Pyrrha said as she closed more the distance. Too close! He avoided her gaze.
"T-the water thing? That was aura, no?" said as he took a step back. He didn't have the faintest clue. For a moment, he thought it was the heat of the moment making him see things.
"Oh right! Your aura, eh, a Semblance is the manifestation of your soul, and is a unique skill," said Pyrrha as she adopted a thoughtful look. She seemed to remember that she had unlocked his aura not too long ago.
"You're very lucky that you discovered it the same day that your aura was unlocked," Lucky? Minus one health point. "But I bet it triggered thanks to your swordsmanship, a Semblance is the reflection not only of your soul but of your life"
Well, that would have made sense if he had been trained! The only thing he had done besides helping around the house and being homeschooled was have dance classes, and that was in summer.
Ah, and fooling around with sticks, pretending that he was fighting against imaginary monsters while dancing, pretending he was a hero. Surely that wasn't enough to be passed as true swordsmanship, right?
But again, he had killed those two Grimm, with his very own hands, maybe not as fast and efficient as Pyrrha, but he had done it.
"Anyway, I wasn't joking when I said that it was a beautiful technique. It was like a dance. May I ask who trained you?" Said Pyrrha as she closed again the distance, he took another step back, and his back hit a tree. Was he being pinned?!
With a red face, he answered. "W-well, I mean, I took dance classes with a tutor each summer since I was twelve."
"Dance classes?" Said Pyrrha as she tilted her head.
"Very difficult dance classes! It involved a lot of exercising and flexibility!" While technically true, to Jaune, it didn't count as if he had been trained.
"Well, that makes sense. Your footwork was impeccable, and the only blow that made contact did little as you deflected it," Pyrrha said as she nodded to herself.
She bought it!
"Eh, so… we should go, I guess?"
Pyrrha seemed to realize that she was practically pinning him. She took a step back, almost tripping.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Don't be! I mean, we were distracted by my amazing moves, r-right?" Amazing moves?! Seriously?! Jaune wanted the earth to swallow him.
"R-right" Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't seem to mind his awful one liner.
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The Myrmidon II
Pyrrha hadn't made a mistake. Far from it, the redhead had made the best choice in a long time. Jaune Arc had potential; and not only that, he was an excellent swordsman.
Maybe he wasn't as fast as a typical hunter in training, and maybe he was a nervous wreck half of the time. But so far, she had seen a capable hunter in the making.
And he didn't know her! That was a relief. While he acted nervous (not so much now, killing the Ursas put him at ease), at least it wasn't because of her. It was comforting walking besides someone who didn't seem awestruck or intimidated by her mere presence.
And talking about presences, he hadn't done that again. Erasing his presence was something he wasn't conscious of?
And who had trained him? He said he took dance classes with a tutor. She believed that his swordsmanship was too graceful, and she saw how he literally danced around the Ursas. But he seemed evasive as he answered her question. She didn't probe more. The last thing she wanted was to seem too invasive. Argus wasn't built in one day, just like mom said. She had four years to build a partnership.
As for his aura (She was happy that she made the choice to partner up with him, he would have died if she didn't have caught him, the headmaster had known?! Sure; he was recommended, but to do the exam without aura?! Did Ozpin wanted to kill him?!), she didn't have any clue about that, given his talent for swordsmanship she couldn't understand why his parents hadn't unlocked his aura (if they were hunters, that sword, although effective, looked like a family heirloom and the sheath was a mecha shift equipment) Or why his mentor, whoever person it was, hadn't done it.
Was he from one of those settlements where they had one hunter protecting the entire village? She knew Mistral had many villages like that, and the Grimm usually destroyed them.
Or was he from one of those settlements? Secluded villages that were protected by people who didn't have aura unlocked. Pyrrha grimaced at that thought.
Aura was a double-edged weapon. While the power of your own soul gives a normal person an advantage against the Grimm, that same power amplifies emotions, it makes you a beacon to the Grimm.
With that idea, many settlements in the past prohibited Aura, preferring to stick to old methods.
Then the Dust revolution happened, the Great War happened.
Remnant's population exploded. Too many settlements, too many cities, too many emotions concentrated in one place. That's one of the reasons why the Combat and the Hunter Academies were created, to make the knowledge of Aura widespread, to give the tools to the protectors of Remnant.
So maybe Jaune's home was like that, to think one of those settlements had survived the test of time. That would explain to a certain extent why he did not know what aura was.
As for his reaction to the Grimm…
He knew how to fight them; he had gone by the fastest method of killing an Ursa, by beheading it. Why was he nervous then? Had one hurt him in the past? Had he lost someone?
"I don't think this is it," Jaune interrupted her thoughts. They arrived in front of a cave. It had drawings of people fighting against what looked like a scorpion. A Death stalker? Weren't those only native to Vacuo?
"I don't think so either" But would Professor Ozpin put the relics in a cave?
"It smells wrong and alive. Whatever it is, I don't think we should stick our noses." Whatever awkwardness he had had was replaced by that serious tone.
"And Oum, it really smells the wrong way, like someone hadn't taken a shower in a long, long time" And just like that, the tone disappeared. Jaune put a hand over his nose so he wouldn't smell whatever he was smelling.
"It must be a Death stalker, just like the drawings," Pyrrha said as she touched the carvings.
If Jaune's nose wasn't wrong, then whatever Grimm was inside, it must be old and powerful.
"A giant scorpion then, at least it isn't a spider," Jaune said as he looked at the drawings. Pyrrha giggled. For someone who doubted himself not too long ago against multiple Grimm, he seemed unfazed against a possible Elder Grimm.
They both agreed it wasn't a good idea to enter that cave. It had carvings, and it looked the ancient part, but it didn't look like a temple. Neither were signals of other students near the cave.
So they left the place, if it was indeed an Elder Grimm, better to leave it to its slumber.
As they walked through the forest, the blonde said. "So your sword thing… is also a gun, an Argus Type 99?"
"You mean Milo? She is a modelled after an Argus Type 5. You could say I'm also a fan of the classics," said Pyrrha as she glanced at his sword. "So, you know of rifles?"
"Not exactly. Back home, we have a lot of stuff from the Great War, like this thing," Jaune said as he patted his sword's hilt. "And my sister's wife is a collector of old guns. She is from Argus"
"Oh? I'm from Argus too!" Her theory about Jaune being from a secluded village gained weight at his statements. His home probably had stored a lot of bunches of old weapons dating the Great War. Those types of weapons were scarce, a bunch of those were scrapped in the past 80 years. You only could find them in museums or you could buy them from collectors. Or you could try your luck and travel to old settlements, those would probably have the surplus of old weapons, it would have made sense, after the fall of the Mistral-Mantle alliance and the disarmament of the Vale kingdom a lot of the old armament passed through a lot of hands.
"Right, uh, Weiss said you were from Mistral, an athlete or something?" Pyrrha's right eye twitched slightly as he mentioned the heiress.
"Something like that. You could say I'm just another Hunter in training." She definitely didn't want to give Jaune the wrong impression.
"Well, in that case, you're very talented, you killed the Grimm fast and efficient, I barely could keep the fight with my eyes," Pyrrha's chest swelled with pride, it wasn't every day that someone actually complimented her skills. Back in Sanctum Academy, the Professors were just happy that she beat people in arena rings in order to give prestige to the school's name.
"I, in another hand, need to do a lot of things in order to catch up," added Jaune as he gripped the sword's handle.
Why did he say that? Maybe he wasn't fast as your average hunter in training, but so far he was making his way through the initiation for the recommendation's students.
Maybe his nerves and lack of confidence were for the lack of a formal education… so she asked.
"For what I have seen, you didn't attend a combat academy, did you?"
Jaune froze, then a panicked look showed across his face. He opened his mouth, but he said nothing. He sighed, then looked her straight in the eyes.
"Pyrrha, the truth is-," Jaune didn't finish, instead he looked up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
In an incredible display of footwork and aerial maneuverability, Jaune jumped between the trunks of two trees, using them to propel himself, in order to catch something that was falling, or, more accurately, someone that was falling.
The blonde landed gracefully, carrying that someone in a bridal style.
That someone was a petite girl with a red cape. Pyrrha didn't know yet, but that someone was Ruby Rose, a prodigy like Pyrrha, that as same as Pyrrha had beaten criminals near to a Dust store, but unlike the champion, she accepted the offer to skip two years in advance.
"J-Jaune?!" Ruby said with a blushing face as she looked at him with wide eyes.
"Ruby, are you okay?! Y-you fell from the sky!" Jaune hadn't stopped holding her, instead he was still carrying her as if she were one of the most delicate things in the world.
"I-I was just dropping in?" The rosette stammered. She seemed to realize in what position she was.
And for the first time in a long time, the champion felt threatened.
…
…
…
The Grimm Slayer III
The trio was walking through the forest. Following Ruby's indications, the rose had said she saw a structure from the air the moment she was launched.
Jaune didn't know if he should feel relieved or guilty. In one hand, thanks to Ruby, he had avoided a really uncomfortable conversation, in another hand, thanks to her, he had avoided a really uncomfortable conversation. Knowing his luck, eventually that would definitely will bite him in the ass.
And talking about uncomfortable, he couldn't tell what was the deal with Ruby and Pyrrha. The former looked shyly back and forth between Pyrrha and him.
Ruby looked like she wanted to say something more, but relented each time she met Pyrrha's gaze. The latter had a kind of intense gaze right now.
Was Pyrrha mad at Ruby? It was hard to tell. Pyrrha had an excellent poker face, like his sisters, when they tried to assert authority over each other.
"Eh, so you haven't found your partner yet?" said Jaune, trying to defuse whatever situation that was brewing in.
Ruby's face soured at his question. "I wish I hadn't,"
Jaune grimaced. Great, it seemed he stepped in a landmine.
"Tough luck?"
"Yeah, I was trying to find Yang or you, but I ended up with the Ice Queen," grumbled Ruby as she looked down.
"Weiss Schnee? I understand then, if she gives you trouble, you always can come to us." Pyrrha's gaze softened and her demeanor relaxed at Ruby's answer.
"Really?! I hope it doesn't come to that, but she is being really difficult!" Ruby's shyness disappeared. And then gushed over Pyrrha's weapon. A small smile appeared on Pyrrha's face, and then she complimented back Ruby's weapon.
What had happened? One moment there was like an atmosphere of passive-aggressiveness. Jaune felt like he just missed some unspoken conversation between her partner and the caped girl.
And thinking about missing things, he felt like he was forgetting something.
Or more accurately, someone.
"Uh, Ruby, if Weiss is your partner, where is she?"
Ruby stopped on her heels, her silver eyes widened in horror, and her face paled.
…
…
…
The Good Witch I
Glynda sighed as she saw from her scroll's screen the first disastrous fight of Ms. Schnee and Ms. Rose against the Grimm. The former too stiff, the latter… well, despite what she had said against Ms. Rose in the Police department, she held no resentment against the girl. But it was like looking in a mirror.
Had she been that careless when she was her age?
Just like Ms. Rose, she too had beaten criminals to a Dust Store. The difference was that she was 14, younger than Ms. Rose, and that she had roughed them up a little too much.
She blushed at the memory. Back then, she felt like she could take the world, but then reality crashed down, and she nearly ended in jail. Not even in a correctional, aura users were held to higher standards.
If it weren't for Ozpin (Combat Professor at the time) vouching for her, she would likely have gone in to a dark path. Vale prisons were known for being breeding grounds for criminals.
Thanks to him, she found a place in Beacon three years earlier. He gave her a second chance.
The Combat Professor sighed again. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Glancing at her scroll again, she noted with amusement (Not that she would ever admit, especially to Ozpin) how Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee had burned down a small section of the Forest that had dispersed the Grimm.
A dysfunctional pair, but one that could be above of average if their cooperation issues were solved.
She swiped the screen. The scroll showed how Ms. Belladonna (Really subtle of her, to think she was hiding her features but not changing her surname) and Ms. Xiao Long were well coordinated. Glynda was pleasantly surprised by that level of teamwork. That pair would be a powerful one.
Then there was Ms. Nikos… and Mr. Arc.
At first, Glynda didn't know what possessed Ms. Nikos when she caught Mr. Arc. Surely it couldn't be only for the lack of a landing strategy (At that height and speed, the aura could tank a fall like that)
Red flags appeared when she saw his transcripts. Nothing seemed out of place. That was the strange thing. It seemed too average.
His credentials screamed fake.
Besides…
Jeans in a combat zone?!
Only Ms. Adel had been that imprudent in doing that kind of thing last year. And she had the privilege of not having one recommendation, but two.
Then she saw how he beheaded two Ursas at his first strike.
It seemed her initial assessment of Mr. Arc had been wrong. While he indeed looked out of place, and didn't even have a landing strategy, he could stand his ground against Grimm. At least against Ursas.
While those were Grimm many times above the weight of a normal person, they were one of the easiest prey to kill.
Mr. Arc, despite his initial bumbling around the forest (hanging in a spear wasn't that flattering for him), and despite been slow to kill the Ursas, didn't waste time unsheathing his sword when he was evading the Ursas attack, while his lack of speed was unfortunate, he compensated that by his reflexes and excellent footwork (again, slow for her liking, but he had a well foundation)
He only unsheathed when he couldn't evade anymore. While the Ursa almost took him down, he stood his ground blocking its blow with the sword. He could have avoided being pushed by the blow if he used the shield enhanced with aura instead of the sword.
Aside from that note, he showed a nearly flawless technique with the sword. And she thought it was nearly because she could notice how he carried the sword.
Mr. Arc carried a certain type of sword, the one that he carried was used alongside a shield. Except that he didn't deploy it during the fight.
He used the sword as if he was using a Katana, and Mr. Arc's sword wasn't made to make swings like that. If he was too careless, the sword would break, and then he could hurt himself. He fought not as a valean knight but as a mistralian samurai.
That certainly wasn't in his transcripts. The situation smelled as one of Ozpin's schemes.
The old Wizard had vouched for him, even allowing him to perform the initiation for recommended students.
He likely knew that Mr. Arc's transcripts were fake. He too revised the credentials of the students (Or at least of the people that gained his attention)
And thinking about the man that made plans within plans…
Said person was drinking coffee as he watched through his scroll with an amused face how Ms. Valkyrie was riding… an Ursa?
Glynda sighed again. She could feel the headache coming and the first day of classes hadn't even begun.
…
…
…
The Wizard II
Ozpin nearly snorted as he saw how Ms. Valkyrie was riding an Ursa while laughing maniacally, with Mr. Lie tailing her.
He wondered how Mr. Lie and Ms. Valkyrie had met one of the few things he knew of them. It's that they met a long time ago. Mr. Lie's father had been a hunter, and Ms. Valkyrie was an orphan.
After Kuroyuri's fall they met, and for what he had seen, they were inseparable. Traveling around Anima, encountering Professor Oobleck in some ancient ruins, getting a recommendation out of him, then crossing the ocean to Vale.
Usually is first the academic work and then the field work. He was sure they would prove to be an interesting pair. Maybe Ms. Valkyrie would be interested in fairy tales…
"The students are having problems against an elder Nevermore, especially Ms. Schnee" His thoughts were interrupted by Glynda. She was watching in her own scroll how Ms. Schnee was falling from the Nevermore.
"What of Ms. Rose?" Ozpin asked as he eyed how Ms. Xiao Long used her gauntlets to propel herself across the air in order to catch the falling heiress.
"She… was riding it alongside Ms. Schnee, she fell, fortunately Mr. Arc caught her, both of them with Ms. Nikos are nearly at the temple,"
The Wizard hummed, so Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee already had a rocky start. Well, the best partnerships had trials of fire. As for Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos, they didn't fall on his Death stalker trap?
Ozpin was sure that at least Mr. Arc would look at the drawings, that he would enter the cave and he would awake the Death stalker. It would have been the first of the many tests he had prepared if Mr. Arc wanted to be a hunter, a warrior, just like her.
Luckily, he had rigged the cave with dust bombs in order to awaken the Death stalker without killing it.
With a tap on his scroll, the bombs were triggered. A loud boom was heard across the forest, scaring the birds and the nearby animals. What it followed was a loud screech.
He heard how Glynda sighed again, for an umpteenth time in the day.
"Professor Ozpin, what did you do?"
"Just giving the students an opportunity for their first extra credit," said the Wizard as he took a sip from his mug.
…
…
…
The Grimm Slayer IV
What was that noise?! An explosion?! Jaune could feel how the ground tremble for a few seconds.
Then a loud shriek was heard across the forest. Followed by the bird's scared noises. That didn't sound good.
A strong wind current could be felt. It carried a distinct scent, no way…
"The Death stalker," said Jaune.
"What? What do you mean by a Death stalker? Here? In Vale?!" And just like that Ruby forgot Weiss, again.
"We found a cave, there were carvings of a giant scorpion, we decided to not risk it and leave it alone"
"The explosion, it must have awoken it," said Pyrrha as she gripped her weapons wearily.
"Well, then we must have to find Weiss and the relics faster, then head out of this forest!"
"R-right!" squeaked Ruby, remembering again she had a partner to find.
Pyrrha nodded. She put Milo on her back.
Jaune took a last glance back. Right, they had to advance, so they ran.
…
…
…
"You!" an enraged Weiss Schnee made its way towards the trio.
Jaune released a sigh. So the princess was safe. It was a mystery to the blonde how she was still standing on her two feet if she was swept out by a Nevermore as Ruby had said.
They finally have reached the temple. It was smaller than Jaune had thought. It was weird now that he thought of it. There were only twelve pedestals in the temple, four of them were empty. Weren't they over 50 people yesterday?
"Me!" said Ruby as she took a step back. Pyrrha tried to move and stand between the two of them, but Jaune stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't, this is between them. They are partners. If we intervene, we could make worse," whispered Jaune to his partner. The blonde had seen enough confrontations between his sisters to see where this was going to end if someone interfered and messed up. Pyrrha stared at him for a few seconds (Seriously, how her eyes were that green?) and then nodded.
"You're so childish, and dimwitted and hyperactive, and… and…" said Weiss as she tried to… stop herself? Hadn't she mean those insults? "Weiss, remember what we talked about…" The blonde girl intervened, uh, yeah Ruby's sister. Yang's eyes had that strange red glint. Uh oh, that was he meant when he said to not intervene.
Weiss nearly growled at what Yang had said. "Fine, I know… I just…"
What?
The white-haired girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I suppose I can be really… difficult"
Did she try to apologize?
Pyrrha finally relaxed out. She seemed surprised that the heiress, while not apologizing, was willing to admit a fault. To be fair, Jaune was the same. He only had talked once to the heiress, and only heard about her from Ruby and Pyrrha, and from that, he could tell that she was proud, confident… and certainly difficult.
"But if we are going to do this, then we'll do it together… so let me start again," she opened her eyes, and then saw Ruby straight to her eyes.
"I'm Weiss Schnee, your fellow hunter in training," Weiss extender her hand, in a sign of peace.
Ruby saw the extended hand of Weiss suspiciously, then she looked to Yang, the Xiao Long nodded. The little rose, then took Weiss's hand and shook it with caution.
"Then, I'm Ruby Rose, your normal knees girl,"
"Just keep your showing off out of the way when we chain our attacks," huffed the heiress.
"I'm just trying to show you than I can do this," said with a somewhat soft voice.
"Fine…" Weiss sighed again and then walked past her.
"That went better than I expected," said Yang as she approached Ruby. The blonde had a soft smile on her face, the red glint in her eyes had disappeared.
The caped girl leaped and hugged her.
"Thanks, really, thank you very much. I don't know what you did, but you saved me there, sis," said Ruby as she embraced her sister.
"Geez Ruby, it's my job as your Big Sis. After all, only I have the privilege of scolding you." Then she gave Ruby an arm lock.
"Yaaang! Not in front of my friends!" said the little rose as she struggled to get out of the arm lock. Yang glance back at Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Fine, fine, but only because you got out of your shell,"
"I'm not a turtle!"
"Whatever you say, sis," said as she finally let her go. "But don't thank me yet about our resident Ice Queen. I only talked to her. The rest is up to you."
"And you two, Vomit Boy, Cereal Girl. Thanks for sticking with my sister all the way here. She can be a bit clumsy at times,"
"Hey!"
"It was really nothing! She practically guided us here!" said Jaune as he scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, now that you say that, she also can be quick on her feet. In fact, she is quick, more than enough. She skipped two years!" said Yang as she patted Ruby's head.
"Normal knees," grumbled Ruby as she glanced in another direction, avoiding their eyes.
And she was lucky to do that. If she were looking, she would have seen that eager glint in Pyrrha's eyes. Jaune was still a little unnerved at that.
"Oh, then I'm looking forward to meet your steel in the arena. Milo and Akoúo certainly are."
Ruby didn't seem to catch neither Pyrrha's tone, neither her expression.
"Me too! Crescent Rose is ready too!"
Wow, so Ruby was–is- a prodigy. That explained things. She looked quite young, and she while didn't look out-of-place like him, she kind of was a nervous wreck half of the time like him. Jaune supposed she was anxiously moving two years ahead of her peers.
There could be worse things to be anxious. Like certainly missing Death stalker. It had been some time since the explosion and that damned ear-piercing shriek, and that giant insect hadn't made presence of itself.
"The Death stalker is still missing Jaune," his partner voiced his thoughts and worries. "And we are still six, we are one team and half, we need two more,"
Jaune grimaced at Pyrrha's statement. True, there were only six of them… out of 50? Seriously, what had happened with the others? No, there was no time to think about possible disturbing things.
"So we are low on numbers, in a forest full of Grimm, neat!" said Yang, while grinning.
"Great…" mumbled Weiss.
"… and there is a giant bird circling above us," trailed a Jaune as he fixed his gaze in the sky.
"A Elder Nevermore, now range is not in our favor," said Pyrrha as she looked up with a frown.
"For now, that bird will attack us eventually, again," That voice startled Jaune. The blonde turned back to see the black-haired beauty. For being that striking, Jaune nearly forgot her. She was Yang's partner. But he didn't know her name.
"What do you mean by again? Eh…"
"Blake Belladonna," said the girl as she nodded and her bow twitched (?). Blake pointed with her thumb to the field, it was filled with black feathers, and those were nearly as tall as him.
"So by again you mean with those giant feathers," So the Nevermores could throw their feathers like that.
Blake wordlessly nodded. Then she spoke.
"The Nevermore is probably waiting for the Death stalker you two mentioned. The older a Grimm is, the more intelligent is,"
"And if the two of them are together, they'll probably coordinate," Added Pyrrha. "What do you think we should do, Jaune?"
She was staring at him with her green soul piercing eyes.
Why are you asking me?! I didn't have Kill-Giant-Monsters-101; you did!
Now Blake was staring at him too, her bow twitching again.
Not the moment.
Breath in, breath out.
"We grab all the relics, we head back to the cliff, if we are lucky we'll find two more people and give them the two pieces, and we hope we don't find the Death stalker," That sounded better in Jaune's mind.
"So we are relying on luck then…" sighed Weiss, as if she was done with today.
"Don't be so gloomy Weiss! Besides, luck you have me!" chirped Ruby.
Weiss released a sigh that was more like a mix between a growl and a whine than a sigh.
"Then…" Pyrrha said as she approached the pedestals. She eyed the chess pieces, then she looked at him. "Here"
She threw the chess piece at him. He nearly missed it, but he caught it. A knight.
For a moment, he felt a lump in his throat. A knight, like the fairy tales and legends. The kind a person he wanted to become a hero.
Pyrrha was smiling at him.
Why did he feel guilty about that? He already had proved himself against those two Grimm, right?
The only thing that he could do was to give a smile back, a shaky one, but a smile nonetheless.
"So we get the rook, look Weiss, you can be the Queen of the castle!" said Ruby as she grabbed the rook piece.
And before Weiss could launch a snarky remark, a Grimm scent filled Jaune's nostrils. He was immediately on guard. And he wasn't the only one. Blake, Yang and Pyrrha were too.
An Ursa, bigger than the two he faced. And it fell as it arrived.
"DID SOMEBODY SAY QUEEN OF THE CASTLE?!"
What.
"Did that girl just ride on an Ursa?" said Blake as she saw the scene with widened eyes.
"Yes," said Pyrrha with a deadpan
"How?!" asked Yang and Jaune at the same time.
"Aw, it's broken" Seriously, what the hell?
"Hello there! I am Nora Valkyrie! Claimer of the pancake throne!"
What.
The Valkyrie, with a speed that no one saw coming, strolled straight to the pedestals. She saw the two rook pieces as someone saw 'the precious', but before she could grab it, Yang snatched the pieces.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, not sorry, these are for my partner and I," said Yang as she glanced at her sister. Ruby nodded happily.
Wait, so the teams were determined by which pieces you grabbed. Then it meant…
"Aw, that sucks!" For a moment, Nora displayed a downcast face, then her face lit up as she saw the remaining pieces.
"Then I will be a Knight, Sir Pancake Queen! Sir Vomit Boy, Sir Cereal Girl! Together with Sir Sloth! we'll be the Knights of the Pancake Table!"
How did she know that nickname?! Ugh, it seemed the nickname will be stuck with him. And now Pyrrha was sending him an inquisitive look. He wasn't sure if it was for Nora's eccentricity or if it was at the mention of the nickname. So he mouthed 'later'. Pyrrha only nodded.
"Um, who is Sir Sloth?" asked Jaune. The ginger girl had arrived alone.
"Oh, it's Rennie!" said Nora happily as she looked around. "Look, there he is!"
Said 'Rennie' was running towards them. The Death stalker was behind him.
"Nora!" said Ren with alarm.
"Ren!" said Nora back, whatever cheerful expression she had had disappeared, and had been replaced with a worried expression.
Ren was running out of energy; he was getting slower, and the Death stalker was getting closer to him.
Nora launched herself towards Ren.
And before he could think, Jaune was moving, too.
Why?! Why body?! Why I am doing this?!
And of course he knew himself why was he doing it. First because he was an idiot, second, he couldn't stand and watch while he did nothing. Not again.
Jaune ran towards Ren; he was still relatively far from them, but distance seemed to mean nothing. He was getting closer and closer. Since when he had been so fast?
It was weird. When fighting against the Ursas earlier that day, he had been between calm and fucking scared. One mistake was made in that fight and he was over. Simple as that. That fight hadn't been flashy. The only remarkable thing about that it was him being slippery enough to avoid being hit and the Ursas enough mad to not coordinate themselves to be made it more difficult for him.
He felt the same, a mix between calm and terror. He was moving only a few meters behind Nora, who herself was a few steps to Ren.
There were three things passing through his mind at that moment.
First, everything was slow, but not a sign of a string like earlier, instead it felt like watching those Spruce Willis movies, when there were explosions and gunfights in slow motion.
Second, he could understand how hunters in training could carry swords, spears, axes, firearms, a giant scythe which was also a gun.
But Nora's hammer wasn't also gun; it was also a grenade launcher. A pink themed grenade launcher.
He could see how she was covering Ren from the Death stalker. It really looked like a movie. Nora's grenades were exploding slowly.
And the third thing was nearly the same thing as the first thing. Another pungent odor filled his nostrils. Now it wasn't only the Death stalker. He was seeing everything in slow motion, including the giant feathers which were going to pierce him, the Nevermore. Those, even in slow motion, were moving fast. He wasn't going to be fast enough to evade them.
Was he going to die?
Then everything resumed at its normal speed. The feathers never touched him. They were blocked. By a flying round shield.
Holy Oum. Just like Captain Argus!
Pyrrha. Relief filled his body. Gods, his partner was amazing.
He continued forward. Ren had stopped running. Now he was nearly evading the Death stalker's pincers.
And one of them was going to hit his body at this rate. A few steps more and he was at Ren's side. The Death stalker had plates. Could he cut its pincers?!
He didn't have time to find out. What to do?!
SHIELD!
He deployed it. For the first time in his life. And again, he could feel and see how he would not be fast enough to block the pincer.
Until his shield was fast enough. That wasn't him. He hadn't reacted in time. What the hell had happened?
He wasn't sure what was he feeling right now. Was it the Death stalker's blow against his shield resounding across his body? No… if felt like… Pyrrha?
Not the time!
Whatever what happened, it gave him the opportunity to give Ren a breath.
And it gave the time to the Deathstalker to use its brain and attack them with its tail. Jaune hurried to raise his shield. In a panicked motion, he closed his eyes, hoping that he somehow would tank the blow of the Deathstalker.
But he was pulled back. Someone had grabbed him by the back of his hoodie.
Ren!
The Death stalker's tail was stuck in the ground. If he had stayed there a second longer, he would have been impaled.
"A-are you okay?" said Ren as he struggled to regain his breath.
"Y-yeah, thank you by the way," said Jaune as he watched how the Death stalker was trying to remove its tail from the ground. It was shrieking and it was moving its legs wildly.
"It is nothing, I think we should-,"
"REN!" Jaune saw how a blur of orange of pink passed through him.
"N-Nora," The Valkyrie picked Ren like he was some kind of rag doll.
"You! Dum-Dum! You almost got skewered by that Death stalker!"
Jaune wasn't paying attention to Ren being manhandled. Instead, he was glancing at how the ground surrounding the Death stalker's tail was cracking.
"Ren! Nora! Run!"
"At you orders Sir Fearless Knight!" being said that, Jaune and the duo (more like Nora carrying Ren) ran their way back to the group.
Jaune as he ran looked back, the Death stalker was back on their tracks. It had a chunk of the ground on its tail.
Then he looked forward again. His partner, along with the Rose-Xiao Long sisters (Yang's gauntlets were also a gun?!), was shooting at the Nevermore, which was shooting back its feathers towards them.
Pyrrha, with one arm, was deflecting the feathers with her shield (Just like the cartoon!) with the other she was shooting her rifle. Blake, in a familiar but strange manner, was cutting the feathers as soon as those were almost touching her.
Jaune gritted his teeth. Could that damn scorpion stop shrieking?!
The scorpion's scent became stronger, so he looked back again. FUCK, ITS TAIL WAS GOING TOWARDS-
And then everything became cold. Oh, and he almost tripped because of an… ice shard?!
The Death stalker was trapped on ice. How?!
"Arc," a frosty void said. "You owe me," Weiss. How did she arrive so quickly?!
"T-Thanks," said Jaune while he eyed Weiss, still unsure of what else to said, flirting with her was a no go.
"Where did that all ice come from?" asked Jaune. Was it aura? After all, apparently he could make appear water. "Was it your semblance?"
"Oh? The ice? Myrtenaster can also release dust," The blonde's eyes twitched, Jaune didn't know if he should laugh or if he should feel bad, Of course she didn't need a gun, she could make ice walls!
She looked at him, with eyes as sharp as her ice.
"It seems that your luck hasn't run out," said Weiss. "Remember, you owe me!" Yeah, that wasn't ominous at all.
"Okay…" said wearily the blonde, yep, he definitely hadn't made a good impression on the ice princess.
"Anyway, there is no sense in dillydallying. Our objective is half done. We may have the artifacts, but we still have to get back to the cliff," said Weiss as she turned to see Nora and Ren.
"She…" Ruby was aiming at the Nevermore. "Is right!" The little rose pulled the trigger.
"We should get back as soon as possible!" How her little body could handle the recoil?! Was this the power of Aura?
"There is bridge nearby. It heads back to the cliff. STOP MOVING STUPID BIRD!" growled Ruby as she emptied her magazine.
"Geez, Ruby, don't explode a second time," joked Yang. Behind her, Blake sighed.
"Okay, Yang, I get it!" said Ruby grumpily as she shifted her weapon back into its compact form. "There is no point in fighting these things. Like we said early, Jaune, now we are two full teams. Let's run and live!"
"That's an idea I can get behind," said Jaune as he watched how the Death stalker struggled against its ice prison.
"And we better be fast. It looks like the ice won't last long against the Death stalker," added Pyrrha. The redhead was right; cracks were showing.
"So run and live?" mumbled Blake, while a bitter smile formed in her face. She smelled… angry? "Time we left" said Ren. A bigger crack appeared on the ice.
"Let's go!" said Jaune. He looked at Blake one last time. Why was she angry?
So they followed Ruby. There was a still the scent of the Grimm, from the scattered feathers on the ground to the intense odor of the half frozen Death stalker. The Nevermore was following them, circling back and forth.
At the horizon, Jaune saw bigger structures, covered by mist. Now that was a temple! And how could he have missed it?! It was beside the cliff! The mist wasn't thick enough to cover it!
Ruby made a signal to stop. "The Nevermore is heading down!"
"Behind the pillars then!" responded Jaune. The giant bird was at top of one of the Temple's towers, just across the bridge. The thing was waiting for them to skewer them alive.
A familiar shriek was heard nearby them. The Death stalker rammed its way through the forest's trees. Jaune widened his eyes.
Seriously?! So soon?!
"Why doesn't that thing just give up?!" cried Jaune as he saw with desperation how the giant scorpion pursued them again.
"Well, that's great!" said Yang.
"Nora, bomb it down!" said Ren as his weapons shifted into blades (Honestly, why should he be surprised?!)
"On it!" Nora shifted her hammer to its grenade launcher form as a smile formed on her face.
Blake had turned back to help the duo. That's why she was angry?! Did she want to fight that thing?!
Breath in, breath out.
"Pyrrha, help me distract the bird!" said Jaune. The champion nodded as she deployed Milo and Akoúo. Pyrrha should repeal the feathers with ease, that should cover them.
Breath in, breath out.
He ran forward. Sidestep, slide, sidestep, body roll. Just like a dance, breath in and breath out. The apparent endless stream of feathers didn't touch him. Between his redhead partner and him, they sorted out the Grimm's attack.
Pyrrha shifted her sword into its rifle form. Jaune for a moment felt a strange pressure in the air. Pyrrha didn't fire immediately, but when she fired, the shot felt a lot stronger than the ones she made earlier that day.
Heck, even whatever rounds she fired exploded on the Nevermore's head.
Was it Aura?
The Nevermore shrieked. Even those explosions hadn't made a scratch?! Instead of attacking them again, it retired. Maybe it couldn't throw more feathers?
"The bridge is clear, GO!" Ruby ran towards it, so the group followed. That was good. They had a clear path, the bad news that the Death stalker was still on its legs.
Nora, Ren, and Blake were slowing it down. Weiss jumped towards them, landing gracefully beside the duo. A circle formed below them. She grabbed the duo and jumped back onto the bridge.
Blake did the same. What the hell was with those girls and their impossible jumps?!
The Death stalker stopped. The bridge wasn't wide enough for it to cross it.
Jaune sighed in relief.
The group was nearly halfway through the bridge, then the Nevermore made presence of itself again, ramming through the bridge and cutting their pathway.
And somehow the Death stalker encroached itself in the bridge to not fall towards its death.
Whatever relief he had died.
They separated the teams. Those who had the tower piece were ahead. Jaune's team was left on the other half of the bridge with the Death stalker.
"I have a plan. Follow me, girls! We'll get the Nevermore. Jaune, you get the Death stalker!" said Ruby as she deployed her scythe.
I have no plan! Think, THINK! Wait, that's it! Its Stinger!
"Pyrrha! Block its claws! Ren! Cover Pyrrha!" If the stinger could pierce into the ground, then it could pierce the Death stalker itself.
Nora was going to enter herself, but Jaune put an arm to stop her. "Wait for it…"
There had to be an opening, something.
Pyrrha deflected the Deathstalker's claw, then she slashed the other claw. Ren fired at its joints. The redhead hurled her weapon in its spear form straight into one of the Deathstalker's many eyes.
The scorpion shrieked, extending its claws.
There.
Breath in.
Now it's time to make my own impossible jump.
Breath out.
Jaune lunged forward. Air filled his lungs and a hissing sound was heard.
The blonde reached the Death stalker's head, where Pyrrha's weapon was stuck. He used it as a launching platform, then he jumped.
Second form.
Jaune spun forward while he was in the air. Water appeared around Crocea Mors.
Water wheel.
He released his attack in a circular motion, slicing the stinger off causing it to fall into the Deathstalker's head. He landed on the head too. The Deathstalker was moving wildly. This wasn't a safe place to land!
"Now Nora! Nail it!"
"Got it boss man! Heads up Cereal Girl!" The ginger jumped on Akoúo, Pyrrha leaped at Nora as she aimed her hammer. She twirled down and slammed the stinger through the Death stalker's head.
The impact not only crushed the Grimm but the entire section bridge. His teammates bounded over the Death stalker. Pyrrha grabbed her weapon back and to extend a hand to Jaune.
The redhead pulled Jaune in her jump. Seriously, what was that strength?!
They spun through the air, and they landed safely, but not gracefully. Jaune had hit the ground on his back. Nora landed gracefully while carrying Ren in a bridal style as she cackled.
Pyrrha somehow landed on the blond. The redhead was straddling Jaune.
My r-ribs.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha got up back immediately as she mumbled apologies.
Air flowed back to its lungs.
"Don't mind, you saved me back there," said Jaune as he stood up. Nora was still manhandling Ren. The latter had an expression that was a mix of tiredness and amusement.
So that was meant being whipped?
Jaune shook his head. Then he saw how the whole bridge was destroyed, no sign of the Death stalker. How deep was that fall?
Shots were being fired. Jaune turned back his head.
Rose petals were scattering across the air; Ruby was flying towards the Grimm. With each new shot, she got closer and closer to the Nevermore.
She used her scythe to caught the Nevermore by its neck, causing them both to hit the cliff's wall. A series of white circles appeared on the wall. Weiss.
Ruby climbed, running on the wall, pulling with her the giant Grimm and propelled herself with her weapon's shots. The little rose reached the top of the cliff, firing one last shot and severing the Nevermore's head from its body.
And for a moment Ruby stood proud and taller than anybody.
Jaune only could watch in amazement.
…
…
…
The Myrmidon III
"-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 gave another round of applauses, the four students walked out of the stage, as their faces disappeared from the screen. Pyrrha still asked herself how they had been the first team to find the chess pieces and get back to the cliff.
Maybe they had the luck to not encounter any Elder Grimm like Ruby's team and her team.
While they went through the initiation for recommended students, frankly, they didn't feel the part. Yes, they looked the part, but it felt that they lacked something… Perhaps it was too early to judge. After all, who knows what surprises might they show…
Just like a certain blonde. Pyrrha grinned at the thought. Jaune wasn't your average hunter in training.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led… by Ruby Rose!"
It made sense. After all, she had led her teammates into slaying the Nevermore.
"I'm so proud of you!" said Yang as she picked up her sister in a hug. The redhead saw the shocked face of the heiress.
Pyrrha didn't know if she should feel relieved that she hadn't had to partner up with Weiss Schnee (even if she was inclined to cooperate with others) or if she should feel bad for Ruby for partner up with her.
And thinking about the little rose…
Ruby… another person who surprised Pyrrha, her sister (adopted maybe?), had said that she skipped two years. At first, Pyrrha had been a little uneasy around her… she knew it was unreasonable to feel like that, but she was so close to her partner opening up to her.
Okay, maybe she was just a bit mad around her, but Ruby really made it hard to see her as nothing else but a friend… even if she was prodigy… the redhead gripped her knuckles at that thought.
"And finally: Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces, you will be led by… Jaune Arc!"
Pyrrha couldn't help but grin again. She knew it; she knew he would be the leader. The fight against the Death stalker showed it.
"L-Led by me?" stuttered Jaune. Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder in a friendly manner. He deserved it.
"From this day forward, the four of you will be known as Team… AVLN!"
Avalon?
Pyrrha didn't miss how Jaune paled at the name, neither she missed how the headmaster had a knowing smirk.
"Congratulations, young man."
But she felt how she was indeed missing something.
…
…
…
The Wizard III
The coffee mug lied untouched in Ozpin's desk. The headmaster was reviewing the initiation recordings. From the launching of the students, he mostly ignored the quite uneventful journey of team CRDL.
He paid little attention to team RWBY's nearly professional handling of the Nevermore.
Instead, he was focused on the last team.
Team AVLN's performance was unexpected. No, Mr. Arc's performance was unexpected.
There were more surprises than usual, more than he would have liked.
Mr. Arc's aura… that could have backfired in a truly horrific way.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality."
It was a mistake of the highest order. He didn't account that his family didn't have unlocked his aura. Why?
"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death."
Maybe the answer lied in front of his eyes.
"I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."
The light had blinded the cameras. Then it faded. Ms. Nikos was on her knees panting and Mr. Arc was standing, his aura flaming. Ozpin knew it was only a recording, but he could feel it.
A miracle.
Magic had been performed.
Ozpin didn't know if he should be surprised. Mr. Arc's family had a long history, especially when magic was involved...
As for Ms. Nikos… the champion had made magic. The chant… How did she know how to chant?
He changed the recording. A clumsy use of the shield, perfect footwork, low speed as expected, excellent swordsmanship, even with the wrong kind of weapon.
"And the water? Was that your Semblance?!"
It was quite the puzzle. Although magic was involved in Mr. Arc's aura awakening, he suspected that the technique wasn't exactly magic, not one that he knew, neither was a semblance.
Beautiful streams of water followed by a series of slashes. It certainly didn't waste efficiency at killing the Grimm.
"W-well, I mean, I took dance classes with a tutor each summer since I was twelve."
Not exactly magic, not a semblance, and he wasn't sure if it was technique from his family… a tutor, Mr. Arc had said.
Ozpin directed his gaze to another screen. It was displaying a recording from a few weeks ago.
He saw again those streams of water, a more beautiful set of slashes, even more graceful than Mr. Arc's display. The difference was the streams of blood that followed the slashes. Faunus blood.
The mysterious swordsman had decimated an entire white fang cell. That person had a traditional mistralian cat mask.
So while Mr. Arc had no aura before the initiation, he had been trained. Maybe the training was from his family.
Or maybe it was from that mysterious individual.
Yes, it was quite the puzzle.
…
…
…
The Myrmidon IV
"I think I'll lie down a bit,"
Ren might as well just have died; the green themed boy fell asleep as soon he touched the bed. The redhead snorted at the sight. With a partner as rambunctious as Nora, she could understand how one should be that tired, especially after a long day like this.
"You can hit the showers first. I'll start to unpack," the blonde said to Nora and her. Jaune had calmed down after the ceremony. Pyrrha still didn't know why the team's name had spooked him. Jaune had dismissed it, saying that it was only the surprise of being chosen to be the team's leader.
Avalon.
What did it mean?
"Pyrrha! Mind if we use the bathroom at the same time?" Nora barged into the bathroom, interrupting her thoughts. Pyrrha was removing her boots and armor.
"Yes, the room is quite big, the bathroom even has two showers!" said Pyrrha as she removed her gloves.
"Thanks! Momma needs its shower time! You too! The gods know that we totally rocked today!"
"Yeah, we are quite the team," said Pyrrha as she smiled at Nora.
"And we have quite the fearless leader," said Nora as she removed her own garments. Well, not quite fearless, but he was truly brave today, so Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
Jaune Arc. The A of the team Avalon. It was short, sweet and rolled off the tongue. Maybe it was nothing, as Jaune said… it had been a long day after all.
"Nice tattoo, by the way. It is weird that it is in the back of your hand, though,"
What?
Pyrrha directed her gaze to her hands. In her right one there were three markings, crimson twin crescents moons, like Jaune's shield, they were inside of a flaming red circle, just like a sun.
…
…
…
Well, that was it, take this chapter as a pilot! Did you like my take on the characters? What did you think? Did I burn someone's eyes? If I did tell me in the review-comment section!
Bye-bye baby!