Sorry for the wait, a few things got in the way, like my Office Word expiring.
Chapter 20: Emerald Forest.
Qrow flew quietly, prepared to report back to Ozpin and give him the information recovered from the latest scouting mission. It was imperative to tell him that he had discovered that Salem was moving Hazel and Tyrian towards Mistral. He frowned as he heard the familiar sounds of the launch pads being activated, and his eyes widened as colored dots began flying towards him. He immediately attempted to bank up to avoid the trajectory of some of the students flying towards him.
Unfortunately for Qrow, Ruby's trajectory was much farther than the average student, and she hit him right in the face with her metal head. He spiraled downwards, dazed after being hit by a metal object going 200 miles an hour and landed softly on the floor. Moments later, before he could say anything else, his other niece landed on him in a fireball of yellow hair, whooping with glee as she unknowingly trampled her uncle.
"Nailed it!" Was her cry of triumph as she ran into the forest.
Qrow stayed down on the ground for a good 5 minutes, nursing his hurt face, back, and pretty much every bone in his body.
/
Ruby cheered in delight as she felt the air rushing around her, the ground behind her disappearing very quickly. She realized that being a person made of metal meant that she would fly much higher than her fellow students, and she made one of that by pulling out her weapons, ready to use the gun recoil to get her down. It was then that she hit a bird on the way down, its feathers now scattering behind her slipstream.
"Birdie No!"
Alas there was no time to mourn, the ground fast approaching, and a screaming Jaune on her six. Ruby looked over to Pyrrha, who was flying parallel to her, and pointed at Jaune behind her. Pyrrha nodded, and got hold of the nearest tree, before sending a javelin towards Jaune. Ruby attached her scythes together and began spinning then, a purple glow around her as she tried to create lift with gravity dust and the spinning blades. She succeeded, slowing down her descent and landing on the ground, hooking around a tree with Crescent Rose.
She landed on the ground with a soft thump, looking for potential partners. Pyrrha had dibs on Jaune, so that was a no go, and Yang was nowhere to be seen. Blake and Weiss would also be good potential partners, since they were part of the select few people who knew about Ruby's metal constitution. She heard the trill of Weiss' voice nearby, and flew towards it as fast as her semblance could allow her.
/
Weiss had used her glyphs to get down safely, jumping from one to another, until she landed in a grassy clearing surrounded by trees. She looked up and saw Jaune flying overhead, a red missile gaining on him. There was a sound of a metal hitting wood, then a "thank you," and an "I'm sorry!" in rapid succession.
"That Jaune fellow was certainly a lucky person."
She suddenly felt as if someone had pinpointed there exact position and had begun rushing towards her. Oddly specific, but she was sure it was n-
"WEISS!"
Ruby exploded from one of the bushes, heading straight for Weiss. At the same time, a Beowolf made its presence known by lunging at Ruby, instead of the stock still Weiss. The two hit each other, and the Beowolf disintegrated into a black mist, while Ruby flew headfirst into the ground. Ruby's nerve receptors flashed a bit, suggesting minor denting in the back plates as she groaned.
A howl of another Beowolf rang out as paw steps became louder and louder as they drummed on the forest floor. Ruby stood up and deployed her scythes, the deadly blades humming once again. They stood back to back as a pack of Beowolf's surrounded them. Weiss drew Myrtenaster, ready to unleash icy elemental fury on the Grimm.
This is a partnership I can get behind.
/
Yang crashed into the ground, rolling as she chuckled with the adrenaline rush fading slightly. She started running into the forest, feeling that she may have stepped on something important on the way down. Shrugging, she ran deep into the forest, remembering that the ruins were located north of her.
"Hello?" she called out, hoping for an answer from her peppy sister or Blake.
"Is anybody there? I'm getting bored here."
A rustle came from the bushes behind her, and she quickly ran to them, hoping that Ruby would show up. She saw two Ursa Minors instead. They looked up from what other thing they were probably observing, and jumping at Yang.
She leapt back, before winding up and punching one of the Ursae in the abdomen.
"You guys haven't seen a girl in a red hood with wolf ears have you?"
This apparently triggered a response as they charged, roaring all the way, red eyes looking at Yang.
"You could've said no, eyes up here folks!"
She dodged the clumsy swings of the two Ursae, easily ducking and flipping around the lumbering arms of the Grimm. That changed when she saw a golden strand of hair fall to the ground.
"Goddamn, you assholes, that was Hair Strand #365, the second oldest of the bunch!"
She saw red, and the unfortunate Grimm saw an angry blonde with red eyes, and she descended upon them, completely obliterating the two of them in a smoke. A third one lingered in the bushes, unsure of whether that spike in negativity was a good investment to pursue or not. A blade to the back of its head ended its contemplations as Blake stepped out from behind, wearing a faint smile.
Yang's eyes turned back to their calm lilac, and she breathed out.
"Meh, I could've taken him."
/
Pyrrha jogged down to the area where her spear landed. Attached to it was Jaune, who was clearly struggling to unpin the javelin from his hoodie.
"Jaune? Do you still have spots left on your team?"
She perked up when Jaune looked at her, and he scoffed in mock annoyance.
"Haha, very funny."
He smiled back.
/
Ozpin watched as the students flew from the pads, eyebrows lifting up a bit when he saw a crow get hit by Ruby, spiraling in the air. He motioned to Glynda and pointed at the poor bird.
"Glynda, keep an eye on that crow, if it meets any misfortune on the way down its Qrow."
He watched for a moment more, his forehead creased as he watched Jaune Arc flail around and get caught by Pyrrha. He might truly be an unprepared student for all of this, but historically all Arcs have defined themselves in ways thought impossible.
"Professor, the crow- I mean Qrow was trampled by his other niece Yang as soon as he landed on the ground, the bird is now on fire."
The view now depicted an angry man patting his shoulders and cape as flames engulfed him, the flames only getting onto his hand when he tried to put it out, thank god for Aura. He put it out, and took one step before a stray 50 caliber bullet from Ruby's scythes hit his foot. Needless to say, this Qrow was in a terrible mood.
Ozpin nodded
Definitely Qrow.
/
Deep below the Emerald Forest an ancient Deathstalker lay sleeping. It slumbered, awaiting the day it's master needed it to cause misery, death and destruction when the day came. however, it detected a faint pulse of a instinct it couldn't describe. It felt as if it needed to chase down an entity that had died once before, and had cheated death. At once red lines began to glow for the first time in decades, it's glowing stinger now at the ready. It began to dig itself out of it's old den, stone and dirt falling away from it's old and heavily armored carapace. It's senses homed in on the wolf Faunus whose existence went against the laws it's creator itself had made long ago, to keep balance between life and death.
It had a target, and it wouldn't cheat death twice.
On a cliff far away, a Giant Nevermore raised it's head to screech, unfolding it's wings. It too had noticed the violation in the balance between life and death, and it sought to fix that.
Nevermore would that wolf Faunus live to see the light of day.
REEE LINE BREAKS