As Nero neared the tops of the trees he activated his Semblance which turned his body into smoke, allowing him to pass through the trees unfazed. When he hit the ground he heard what sounded like a girl struggling. It didn't take him long to find Jaune pinned high in a tree by his hood with a red and gold spear. He waved at Nero, who did an audible facepalm.
"Gods...," Nero muttered under his breath, "You manage to get more pathetic every time I see you Vomit Boy."
"I have a name ya know," he said struggling to pull out the spear.
"I don't care," Nero shot back. He started to walk away when a rustling came from the bush behind him. A tall crimson haired girl came into view wearing armor reminiscent of a Greek Spartan.
"Hello there," she said, "My name's Pyrrha. Who are you?"
"Is that your spear," Nero asked, ignoring her question.
"Um yes it is," she said, matter-of-factly.
"Then you missed," he said as he began to walk away.
"What do you mean," she asked, "I did pin him to the tree safely."
He stopped for a moment. "I meant his head." Pyrrha looked at him in shock as he walked into the woods.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he hates me," Jaune muttered.
"Well I wouldn't worry about him," she said, "I mean he's not on Team Jaune now is he?"
"Definitely not," he said.
"So I guess that means you still have a spot open," she asked.
Nero made his way through the forest, coming to a small clearing. He readied his weapons as he heard an explosion in the distance, followed by what could only be described as a unique sight. A familiar squirrel faunus came riding in on a bucking beowolf, screeching like a banshee. She grabbed one of the spines on its back and flipped it over, slamming it into the ground with enough force to crack the earth. The Grimm's body slumped over.
"Aw man I broke it," she said, poking its head. Xanthia looked around almost immediately finding Nero on the other side of the clearing. She squeaked happily and broke out into a full sprint towards him, electricity sparking from her feet. She tried to tackle him to the ground only for him to activate his Semblance, causing her to slam into a tree behind him. She fell back onto the ground with a soft thud.
"Hi Yin," she said as perky as ever, "A-are we still partners." He chuckled, bending over to look into her eyes, making her blush.
"Yes we're still partners," Nero said. He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet.
"Come on let's go find that treasure," Xanthia exclaimed, "I hope it's guarded by a fire-breathing princess."
"You mean dragon right," he asked as they began to walk in the direction of the ruins. The squirrel faunus simply gave him a sly look. "Or am I suppose to assume you're always kidding?"
"Pretty much yeah," she replied.
It wasn't long before they ran into a pack a beowolves, rummaging through the forest. Nero readied his weapons but Xanthia stopped him, putting away her own.
"What," he asked, "You scared?" She shook her head.
"No I-I wanna show you what I can do," she said with a hint of nervousness. He shrugged, gesturing for her to continue. She smiled, took a running stance, and began sprinting at the pack, electricity sparking off her body. Xanthia launched herself upward and as she landed in the middle of the pack slammed her fists onto the ground creating an explosion of electricity, and an echo of thunder, disintegrating anything unfortunate enough to get caught in its wake. She grabbed her weapon and shifted it into its ax form, slicing through what little of the pack remained. Nero clapped, walking towards her and chuckling.
"Well color me impressed," he said. She was about to respond when an Ursa charged out of the forest behind him.
"Look out!" she shouted, shifting her weapon into its gun form. Nero dropped to the ground, letting her unload into the bear-like Grimm.
"Thanks," he said as he stood, "just say drop next time though."
"Are you ok," she asked, a bit worried.
"I'm fine," he said, "so that's your Semblance huh? Electricity?"
"Yup I call it Stormbringer," she said confidently, "My big sister came up with it. Oh hey, what's your Semblance?"
"I can turn my body into smoke," he said, activating his Semblance. Even though there was no wind, smoke seemed to swirl and fall off of his now translucent body. "I can't get hit but then again." —He waved his hand through a tree— "I can't touch anything either."
"That's so cool!" She exclaimed, "What's its name?"
"Doesn't have one," he said, shutting it off.
"What?! You didn't name it?" She questioned, pausing for a moment then gasping. "Can I name it for you? Oh please please please."
"No," he said, chuckling, "Doesn't need a name."
"Aww you're no fun," she said as she pouted. Nero shook his head as they made their way towards the ruins. "Ok but if I come up with something really good can you please call it that."
"Maybe."
The young huntress to be beamed, her mind now deep in thought.
"Mr. Wispy?"
"...No."
"Casper?"
"No."
She stopped for a moment, picking up a large leaf and placing it on her head with her squirrel ears holding it in place. Nero stared at her, unsure how to react.
"Just... why?"
"It's my thinking cap duh."
"Oh, of course, my mistake."
She rubbed her chin, continuing to walk next to her partner.
"Smokey the Bandit?"
"No, and we're here." He pointed to a crumbling semi-circular stone structure with 16 small pedestals, some holding chess pieces while others were empty. Behind it was what remained of a castle, its decaying walls covered in vegetation. Xanthia bolted for the black knight piece.
"Horsey!" She exclaimed, holding it close to her. Nero looked around suspiciously. It was dead silent.
"That was too easy," he muttered.
"Well, who said it'd be hard?" Xanthia asked, "Arr now come on back to the cliff with our booty matey!" Her partner couldn't help but chuckle as they started to make their way back to the cliff.
"It's still quiet... too quiet," he said.
"Oh, you're just paran—"
Suddenly a shot rang out from somewhere in the forest. Xanthia looked down to see a large blood stain on her shirt. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as her shaking hands covered the wound. Nero looked back at her in shock. He grabbed her as she was falling and activated his Semblance, turning them both into smoke, allowing him to wisp her behind one of the castle walls. He laid her down and lifted her shirt just enough to see the wound in her side.
"Y-y-y-yin," she said, her voice weak and shaky.
"Shhh don't talk you're injured," he said.
"I'm s-s-s-so sc-sc-scared," she whimpered, "I d-don't wanna d-die p-please." Nero kept the pressure on the wound which caused her to cry out in pain. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bottle of clear liquid and a pair of forceps.
"You're not going to die ok, I'm not going to lose you. Now bite down on this," he said handing her a short but thick stick.
"Wh-what?"
"I'm going to have to remove the bullet, and that's going hurt like hell, so bite." She did as he told and bit down on the stick. He dipped the tip of the forceps into the bottle, relieved the pressure on her wound and began to dig around for the bullet, blood gushing out. Xanthia's scream of pain was muffled, trying as hard as she could not to move, still clutching the black knight piece. He had almost pulled the bullet out when he heard more shots hitting the wall near them, followed by something neither of them expected. Olivia and Inigo vaulted over the wall, landing not to far from the other two.
"XANTHIA!" Olivia yelled as she dropped her sword and shield, running to her. She put her hands over her mouth, kneeling down next to the shaking faunus. "What's going on why are those guys shooting at students?!" Inigo looked over at the girls, worried, occasionally peaking out from the wall with his sniper rifle Willow.
"I uh... I don't know," Nero said, pulling out the bullet, tossing it and the forceps to the side. He then pulled out a tactical knife from the back of his belt, twisting a knob in the bottom of the handle until a red line appeared. The blade heats up and once it began to glow red he placed the side of the tip on the wound. Xanthia had stopped screaming, only weak moans and sobs escaped her lips. He poured a small amount of the clear liquid on the burn, causing her to arch her body and the stick to fall out of her mouth. He held her free hand while Olivia sat on the other side, gently stroking her hair. Then she noticed some blood on Nero's side, in the same place as Xanthia's wound.
"Yin you're bleedin'," she said, now even more worried, "did ya get hit too?"
"No it's a uh, a side-effect of sharing my semblance," he said, "When I use it on someone with injuries I can transfer some of it to myself." He winced. "I've done what I can to her wound, but we still have to get her out of here."
"Well that's going to be a problem," Inigo said, "whoever they are they're moving up." He fired a couple shots to keep them at bay.
"How many of them," Nero asked.
"Three," he replies, "One with a ballistic mask and some high-end armor but the others just have hoods."
"Weapons?"
"The main one has some kind of DMR, the other two though... I think they just have swords."
"Yin if you and I could get close you think we could take 'em out," Olivia asked.
"Maybe but suppressing fire will only do so much. Can your shield block enough?" She grabbed her sword and shield, hold up the latter. A large translucent gold extension formed around the shield, making it look more like a hoplite's shield.
"My Semblance'll block what my shield canno'," she said, "Inigo, stay here with Xanthia, Yin and I are gonna try an—"
"Come on Reaper quit hiding and face me you coward!" One of them yelled, "I'll kill the rest of them if I have to." The team looked at each other confused.
"Who the fuck is he talking to," Nero asked, feigning ignorance. The others shrugged.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go out first and use my shield to block the gunfire Yin you'll follow behind me. Once we're close I'll focus on the main one and you handle the two with the swords." Inigo moved over to the squirrel faunus's side as Olivia and Nero got up. Xanthia grabbed Nero's hand tightly.
"N-no pl-please don't leave m-me," she pleaded.
"I'll be right back ok," he said. Inigo put his hand on her shoulder and took her hand.
"Don't worry I'm staying right here Xanthia." She tried to smile, but could only grit her teeth. Her face had become noticeably paler, and her breathing was fast and rapid. Olivia and Nero stood up and readied their weapons.
"Ya ready?" Olivia turned back to Nero who switched his weapons to their melee form. "And we dunna need ta kill 'em, just knock 'em out. We'll let the authorities deal with 'em."
"No guarantees," Nero muttered. Olivia charged out, shield in front of her, Nero behind her, weapons poised to strike. As their enemy's bullets bounced off the shield, a long pole telescoped from the pommel of her sword, making it more like a spear. She slammed into the man in the mask, knocking him back while Nero engaged the other two. She thrust the bottom of her spear at his head but he rolled out of the way, transforming his gun into a battle ax. He swung down hard and hit her shield, which cracked her Semblance. She pushed back then lunged forward with her spear, slicing deep into his side.
"AH! You bitch!" He screamed as the head of his ax burst into flames. The man brought it down onto her shield again this time shattering her Semblance, which sounded like glass breaking. She recoiled back, taking a defensive stance as he continued the assault. The bottom two-thirds of Olivia's blade split and rotated outward turning the weapon into a trident. Placing it in a small semi-circular notch in the side of her shield she reactivated her Semblance. However, it was drastically smaller, only being the size of a large buckler. He swung his ax at her side but locked the blade in between the prongs of her trident. Olivia twisted down, forcing the ax head into the ground, as she hit the side of his head with the bottom of the shaft. She swept his feet out from under him then held her blade at his throat.
"Surrender," she said, "Ya've been beaten." He responded by launching a fireball from his fist that hit her in the chest sending her flying back.
"You should run along," he said as he stood, "We're only here for The Reaper. We're not getting paid to kill three more." Olivia stumbled a bit as she got up, holding her chest.
"Who the hell is thes Reaper ya keep goin' on about?"
"Him!" The masked man pointed at Nero, who now stood over the two formerly alive swordsmen. Seeing Nero's back was turned he charged at him flaming ax in hand. Reaper spun around and crossed his hammers to block the strike. He pulled the trigger near the bottom the handle, firing a round from the face of the hammer. The shots hit his ballistic mask and knocked him backward, disorienting him. He held his head in his hands, with her opponent distracted Olivia swung her spear at the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. She looked over at her teammate then at his foes on the ground.
"Those two aren't dead are they?" Olivia changed her spear back into a sword and sheathed it then crossed her arms. He looked down at them.
"...No?"
She sighed and slapped her forehead with her palm.
"I told ya not ta kill 'em!"
He shrugged. "...In my defense, I was left unsupervised."
"Wotevar let's jus get back to Xa—" She was interrupted by a blast of fire that hit both of them sending them flying back. The man in the mask stood weakly as he created a large ball of fire above his head.
"I am not letting you get away again Reaper!"
Olivia stumbled to her feet and tried in vain to activate her Semblance. As he hurled the fireball at them Nero grabbed her and activated his instead. The fireball passed through them, disintegrating multiple trees behind them in a large explosion which knocked the would-be assassin back into the ground. Nero shut off his Semblance, walked over to him and switched one of his hammers to its gun form.
"I'll let your boss know you failed again Cole," he said low enough so that his teammate couldn't hear. Before he could respond Nero shot him in the throat then picked up his ax and slung it over his shoulder. He turned back to see Olivia holding up her sword at him.
"Who are ya?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You jus killed all three of 'em an' now yer pickin' up his weapon!"
"They were trying to kill us, not to mention he thought I was this Reaper guy. So if I didn't end him he's was going to keep coming after us, maybe even succeed in killing Xanthia. She doesn't deserve that."
Olivia thought for a moment, still holding her sword up when Inigo came running over, carrying Xanthia bridal style.
"Whoa whoa whoa what's going on," he asked. She glanced back at him and Xanthia, who looked like she was barely able to move.
"He killed them... all of them, an' he's takin' that one's weapon like it's some kinda trophy!" Olivia shouted.
"So what? You think if we turn them in they're just going to stop?" Inigo asked, "No, they're going to find a way to escape, and continue to do what they do."
"It's no' right!" She shot back, turning towards him.
"I didn't say it was right, but he did what he had to, and now there's three less killers in the world," he said. "Well, two less... since Yin did kill them." Olivia took a moment to think then shoved her sword back into its sheath with a huff.
"Wotevar it's not like we can change what's been done," Olivia said. She walked over and took Xanthia from him, and began making her way back to the cliff. The two guys looked at each other and shrugged before following. Once they got back to the cliff Ozpin and Glynda were waiting for them, not looking too happy.
"Once Miss Jocasta is properly treated I'd like to see the four of you in my office," Ozpin said, walking off before any of them could respond. Glynda took Xanthia using her Semblance and rushed her to the medical ward. The rest of them made their way to Ozpin's office. The trio walked in to see the Headmaster and Glynda standing in silence. They took their place in front of Ozpin's large futuristic looking desk.
"Sir, are we in trouble," Olivia asked, as calmly as she could. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she had never been in any real trouble before. Plus being involved in the killing of three people, even if they were evil, made her anxious.
"No Miss Aeronwen none of you are in trouble," he replied. She relaxed a bit but was still concerned.
Nero raised an eyebrow."Even me?"
"Yes, even you."
"May I ask why we're here then," Olivia asked.
"I will explain everything once we're all here. We are simply waiting for one more," he said. As if on cue the elevator behind them dinged and opened its doors. The squirrel faunus stepped out with a nurse walking next to her. She now had a set of bandages wrapped around her stomach. The nurse walked her over, making sure she didn't collapse. "Hello Miss Jocasta, how are you feeling?"
"Better, it still kinda hurts though," she said, her voice still a bit shaky.
"Do you need something for it," the nurse asked. Xanthia shook her head.
"It's not that bad," she said.
"Now I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked you here," Ozpin said, "Well Miss Aeronwen, Miss Jocasta, and Mister Monty, the three of you are in a very unique situation. Given the events of the initiation, I feel it's in you best interests to know" They looked at each other confused. "Nero If you wouldn't mind introducing yourself, I believe the rest of your team deserves to know what they're getting themselves into."
"Seriously? We're not even going to try and keep it a secret," Nero asked. The Headmaster only gave a look of disapproval in response. The young criminal sighed as he stepped forward and turned to face the rest of his team.
"Y-yin?" Xanthia said.
"My name isn't Yin. My real name is Nero Noire," he said. They looked at him, still thoroughly confused.
"Wot? Is tha' it?" Olivia asked, "Jus yer name?"
"Let me finish," Nero said. He paused for a moment. "I'm The Reaper of Vale." Olivia drew her sword and held the tip against his throat.
"I knew there was somethin' I didn' like about ya," she said.
Xanthia grabbed her arm, forcing her to lower her blade. "What are you doing? He's our friend!"
"No, he's no'!" Olivia spat. The squirrel faunus jumped back a bit, surprised by her friend's sudden outburst. "Don' ya know who he is? He's a murderer, a terrorist! He's the one who bombed that dust store a month ago!"
Xanthia looked at Nero horrified, shaking her head. "N-no it's not true i-it can't be." Her breathing became much more rapid, her heart beating faster, she didn't want to believe what she was hearing. "M-my dad was killed when a d-dust store exploded, b-b-but he couldn't have done that h-he said he was turning his life around for his mom..."
"He lied to ya. Jus like he lied about his name." Olivia put her hand on her timid friend, trying to comfort her. Tears began to fill Xanthia's eyes as she looked at Nero.
"Is th-that true?"
Nero had his arms crossed, glaring at Olivia. "Yes and no. Yes I lied about my past, but I am not a fucking terrorist." He removed his hood and pointed to the scars that littered the right half of his face. "You wanna know how I got these scars? I got them trying to prevent that very explosion. That Dust shop was under the protection of my family, and we failed." He tried to get closer to Xanthia, but Olivia stepped in front of him, holding her sword up again.
"Stay away from her," she said. "Ya could be lyin' about that too." Nero walked forward, turning on his Semblance, causing her sword and arm to go right through his chest. She stood virtually frozen as he got right in her face. Only his pale blue irises were visible in the dark sunken pits where his eyes were, and his skin was more translucent, allowing her to see the bones underneath.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he whispered so close she could feel his ice-cold breath.
"Miss Aeronwen, I can assure you that he is telling the truth," Ozpin said, "my scouts have been observing him for some time now." Nero turned to look at him, half relived that he was backing him up and half angry to find out that he'd been followed for so long. Olivia lowered her blade, staring at The Headmaster.
"Sir I still dunna know about thes," Olivia replied.
"I don't like this either Olivia," Glynda said, "but I trust Professor Ozpin and his decisions, and I'd expect all of you to do the same."
"Yes ma'am," Olivia said, reluctantly sheathing her sword. Nero moved towards Xanthia, who backed up a bit.
"Xanthia look... I'm sorry about your father," he said, "If it's any consolation, it was us that provided your family the means for a proper burial."
"Th-that was you?"
"Wot's he talkin' about," Olivia asked.
"Well after my dad died my big sister said she got a whole bunch of lien from some girl in white."
"Her name's Snow Angel. She's one of our enforcers... kind of," Nero said.
"Thank you. I-I guess." She hugged him lightly letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. The thoughts raced inside her head. She wanted to keep trusting him, but in light of this new information found it very difficult. Olivia crossed her arms, sighing, still unsure of the situation she had found herself in. Ozpin glanced at Inigo, who had been quiet the entire time.
"Mister Monty, you've been rather quiet. Do you have anything to say on the matter?"
Inigo shrugged. "Not really, I grew up in Vacuo so working with dishonorable people is nothing new to me. I mean uh, no offense Nero."
"None taken. It's probably the nicest thing I've been called."
Ozpin chuckled as he stood up and walked in front of the five students. "Alright, if everyone is ok with the current situation I'll just say one quick thing before we get back to team assignments." His normal look of quiet contentment then changed to a more serious look. "The other students are not to be told about Nero's alter ego. However, the staff have already been informed and told to report to me should anything happen. This information does not leave this room. Do I make myself clear?" All four students gave various forms of acknowledgment. "Good, now let's get back to the to the ceremony." As they began to walk out Inigo leaned closer to Nero.
"So do you just always have a bullet removing kit with you?"
"When you've been shot at as much as I have you learn to carry certain things around."
Before they got to the elevator Xanthia stopped and turned back towards the Headmaster. "Oh, Mr. Ozpin." The nurse helped her walk up to him. "Here you go." She held up the blood-stained Black Knight piece. Ozpin smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder, he couldn't help but admire her dedication.
"That won't be necessary," he said gently, "You did very well. You may keep the horsey. Although you may want to clean it." She wanted to squeal, but all she could muster was a small smile.
"Thanks," she said. Xanthia joined the others in the elevator as they made their way to the presentation room.