Chapter Three of the Heroes of Remnant. Re-Write Published as of 6/6/19
Song of the Chapter: The Avengers: Composed by Alan Silvestri
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.
-Perseus Jackson-
Free falling through the air was never really one of Percy's favorite things. He had done it twice before. The first time was when he was twelve years old and jumped out of the Gateway Arch - six hundred and thirty feet into the Mississippi River. The second time was when he had fallen into Tartarus with Annabeth, a nine day fall and the only reason they had survived was because he had used his powers to control the River Cocytus. This time though, there was no water to catch Percy, and he began to panic a little bit. Without even thinking he let out a whistle, an old habit of having a trusty pegasus.
After a few seconds and no flying horse, Percy knew Blackjack wasn't going to magically show up. Percy could feel himself come to the apex of his launch and he began to descend. His body and brain went into overdrive. He looked around to see if the other students were having the same dilemma he was.
He saw Yang blasting through the air with her gauntlet like weapons and Leo controlling his descent with his metal glove that he had forged from himself. Even Weiss, the cranky white haired girl, had found a way down as she created glyph like platforms and casually jumped from one to the other.
Percy cursed to himself. It was almost as if has bad luck had followed him from one world to the next. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he began to formulate a plan in his head. Percy pulled his newly named sword, Onyx, from his pocket and uncapped it. He might be able to angle his descent so that he could stick Onyx in a tree and slide down. It was a desperate plan, and since there was no water he could see, it was his only plan. He got lower and lower to the ground and Percy prepared himself for his crash down. However, right before he hit the tree line, a black blur zoomed under him. Percy's eyes lit up and a huge smile crossed his face as realized he was sitting on the back of an all black pegasus.
"Blackjack! You have no idea how good it is to see."
Blackjack let out a winnie, "It's good to see you too Boss. Got any sugar cubes?"
Percy let out a laugh. Some things never changed.
"I don't have any on me right now bud, but I swear I'll bring you some later. Right now let's catch up to Leo."
Blackjack let out a puff of air and nodded his head. With a quick flap of his wings, the pegasus sped up and began to descend to where they had saw Leo land in the forest.
They quickly caught up to younger demigod. As they touched down, Percy could see that Leo was surprised by the sight of something from back home. Blackjack cantered a bit as he hit the ground and he began to traut over to where Leo was.
"No way" Leo said as Blackjack got closer "Is that really your pegasus?"
Percy swung his right leg over and hoped off his steed, landing next to Leo.
"It is. I'm not really sure how he even got here. I was falling through the air and I whistled because back home, Blackjack would show up whenever I did that. And somehow he actually showed up here."
Percy and Leo then turned to face the Pegasus, both extremely confused.
"Blackjack how exactly did you get here?" Percy asked.
"Honestly Boss, I don't know. One minute I was in the stable, minding my own business, and the next thing I know, I'm turning to embers. First my wings began to disappear and then my legs. I was going nuts, thinking I was gonna die."
"He said he was in his stable and then he began to turn to embers" Percy relayed to Leo "But that doesn't make any sense? How could he…"
Percy then drifted off as he looked at Leo. The son of Hephaestus looked like he had seen a ghost. Gone was the confident and witty Leo, and in his place was a shocked one. It was almost as if what Blackjack said resonated with the demigod?
"Embers?" Percy said again, hoping that it would snap his partner out of it.
That seemed to snap Leo out of it as he snapped toward Percy. The boy grabbed onto Percy's shoulders and shook them slightly.
"Percy that sounds exactly like how I got here! Maybe how Blackjack got here is connected to how I got here!"
"You need to slow down" Percy said as he removed Leo's hands. "It might be connected, but even if it is, it doesn't seem like the process could be reversed."
A day ago, back when they were waiting at Beacon's Bullhead station, the two had had a conversation about if they could return home, would they take it? The two certainly weren't opposed to it. They had friends and family back home who they desperately wanted to see. But Percy wasn't sure if he would even be able to. He knew for a fact that he had died in Tartarus and therefore Earth, so if he went back, he might die immediately. Going back was a chance that Percy was unwilling to take as of now.
"We can talk about it later" Percy said to Leo "Right now we need to focus on our assignment."
"Yeah… yeah you're right" Leo said as he finally began to shake himself out of it "Ozpin said something about a temple, right? Which way do you think it is?"
Percy just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. What if we used the position of the -"
It was then that the older of the two was cut off when a loud noise filled the air, specifically a gunshot.
Percy was quickly at the ready, grabbing his shield from his back and holding Onyx at the ready.
"Ugh we're gonna run towards it aren't we?" Leo asked as he tossed his Archimedes Sphere into the air, and he grabbed a screwdriver from his tool-belt.
"Yeup," Percy said as he took off in a run, leaving Leo to catch up.
"Man why can't we ever just purposely avoid the bad things! I like being alive!" Leo yelled as he chased after Percy.
The two quickly charged in the direction of the gunshot. Percy and Leo soon came face to back with shadow like monsters that Percy recognized as the Grimm, specifically Beowolves. The pack had not noticed them yet, and they menacingly marched forward toward the person who fired the shot, Yang Xiao Long.
Percy recognized right away that Yang could use some help. The sheer number of them was a lot for one person to handle, so Percy decided to do what he did best, cause mayhem.
"Leo go!" Percy called out, and the two demigods rushed into battle.
Percy moved to attack the right side of the pack and Leo moved to hit the left. After that Percy lost track of Leo as he threw himself into combat. Percy swung with Onyx, slashing through the Grimm's back. The beast let out a wimper of pain, and dropped to the ground dead. On the other side, another Beowolf let out a cry of pain as Percy guessed Leo had finally made contact.
Percy readied his shield and gripped his sword tighter in his hand as a few of the Grimm swapped their attention from Yang and moved it to Percy. A Beowolf charged at Percy from the right. The beast went to bite Percy's head off, but the son of Poseidon side stepped at the last second. He quickly brought his blade up, and brought it down just as quickly, effectively lopping off the creatures head. The creature's head plopped onto the ground and the rest of its body was carried forward by momentum before collapsing to the ground.
The second Grimm took a different approach. It charged at Percy and before it got to him it stood up on its hind legs and swung its clawed, meaty hook at him. He instinctively raised his shield to block the blow and he felt the claws rake across the shield. However instead of attacking again, the Beowolf took a few steps backwards and let out a howl of pain. With a quick glance at the beast, Percy understood why. The claws on the Beowolf had been reduced to nothing, almost like how when chalk was used too much, it disappeared.
Percy, unwilling to give the creature any breathing room, slid his shield off his wrist and slung it at the Beowolf. The shield spun rapidly through the air, a testament to Percy's strength. The metal disk collided with the wounded Beowolf's skull and stayed there. The Beowolf fell face forward into the ground.
Before Percy could reclaim his shield another Beowolf charged toward him and attempted to attack the demigod from behind. However, Percy heard the monster charging. With his back turned, he rolled to his right and sprang back up as the creature barreled past. The monster turned around and viciously roared at him and began to charge again. This time though, Percy was ready. The son of the Sea God charged at the monster and as it lunged to try and rip his throat out, Percy dropped into a baseball slide. His stuck his sword up, jabbing it into the creature's belly, and as he slid, it sliced down its stomach. The Beowolf fell forward, dead, and the black contents of its stomach spilled over the ground.
Percy picked himself up and looked to see how Leo and Yang were fairing. Yang had practically bullied the Beowolves, knocking the snot out of them with her high powered gauntlets. Meanwhile, Leo had just pulled his screwdriver from the skull of a Beowolf. The boy gave Percy a nod, signaling that he was good, and Percy nodded back.
Percy turned to look back at Yang and surprisingly, a black haired girl with a bow was standing there talking to her. He actually recognized the girl, she was the one who had told off Weiss about her company and their sketchy practices.
Percy moved toward the group and Leo met him on the way. The two fell into stride as the made their way to Yang and her new partner. Before they got there, Yang turned toward the demigods and she had a smile on her face.
"Thanks for the help guys! But I think me and Blake here could've taken them on our own."
"I'm sure you could've" Percy said with a smile
"But it never ever hurts to have backup" Leo added on.
That earned a small laugh from Yang, but Blake remained stoic beside her.
"Oh I remember you!" Leo said as he pointed at Blake.
Not many people would've noticed Blake's reaction, but Percy certainly did. The girl's breath hitched and she shifted her hand ever slightly toward weapon. In response, Percy's grip tightened around Onyx, just in case it got ugly.
"You're the girl who totally burned the Ice Queen yesterday!" Leo continued.
And with that, all the tension in Blake evaporated. Her hand moved away from her weapon and back toward her hip. Percy was never one to pry, but he could spot when someone was trying to hide something. Mischievous monsters back home had taught him how to look for something that wanted to be hidden. Not to say Blake was a monster, she certainly wasn't at first glance. But like it or not, everyone had their secrets.
Blake gave a small smile, "Thanks, I'm not really a big fan of her or her family's company."
"Well I'm not really a fan of her face." Leo said, earning a small smile from Blake.
Leo flashed a toothy grin, "This is looking like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"Sorry to ruin your flirting Valdez," Yang cut in, "But do you guys know which way we're supposed to go?"
"I'm fairly certain it's that way," Blake said as she pointed east.
"Alright let's blow this popsicle stand!" Leo said enthusiastically, as the group took off into the forest.
The group trudged along through the forest. Leo and Blake led the pack. The mechanic was trying his best to get the girl to talk to him, occasionally telling jokes or making comments about Weiss that were less than flattering. Occasionally she would say a word or two back, but not giving Leo a lot to work with. Meanwhile, Percy and Yang were trailing a bit behind them, making small talk as they got to know one another.
In a strange way, Yang reminded Percy a little bit of his ex-girlfriend, Annabeth. They had the same hair color, and their hairstyle was somewhat similar. However, that's where the similarities ended. Yang was pale unlike Annabeth's tan, lilac eyes versus stormy gray, sarcastic and pun loving versus serious and inquisitive.
Percy found that he and Yang actually got along quite well. She would laugh at the stories he told her about him and the Stoll brothers pranks along with some of his mis-adventures that he had altered so that he wouldn't give away his demi-god heritage.
Yang was a good audience and she was an even better storyteller. She told him stories about times her and Ruby would goof around as kids and pull pranks on her step-mom, dad, and uncle.
"Wait wait" Percy said in between laughs "Tell me that again. Ruby dared you to take a sip from your uncle's flask?"
"She did!" Yang said "I was seven and she was five and my uncle had told her it was filled with special apple juice that she shouldn't have. How was I supposed to know it was filled with alcohol?!"
Percy began to howl with laughter and Yang joined in with him. He wasn't sure why he was laughing so hard, but he was. Maybe because it was the first legitimately funny thing he had heard days, but it was certainly a good story.
He hadn't known Yang long, but Percy was beginning to tell that Yang was the life of the party. Her outgoing and bold personality was certainly a force to be reckoned with, for good and for bad. He was excited to get to know her more, and hopefully the two would get into some situations which would provide them with plenty of wacky tales to tell to their friends.
Percy was about to say something to Yang until he heard Leo call out from in front of them, "Uhh guys? I think we found it."
Percy and Yang quickly caught up to their partners and they found themselves in a clearing that revealed a circular stone temple. The group started to walk through and they noticed that the ruins were broken and decrypt, almost as if a horde of Grimm had come through and wrecked the once beautiful place.
They made their way forward and into the ruins. Their weapons were drawn and they were on guard, the group unwilling to be surprised by any foe that lurked about. The two pairs of partners made it through the ruins and found what they were looking for: numerous pedestals, each one holding smaller black and gold artifacts.
As they got closer, Blake spoke up as finally noticed what rested on the pedestals.
"Chess pieces?"
"It looks like some people have already been here," Yang said as she motioned towards a few of the empty pedestals without chess pieces.
"Slow and steady wins the race Blondie," Leo teased her and Yang stuck her tongue out at him.
"Which one do you think we should pick?" Percy asked Leo, the younger boy studying the pieces.
Yang however didn't ask her partners opinion as she approached one of the relics.
"Oh how about this cute little pony!?"
Blake just smirked at her new partner, "Sure."
"What do you think Perce? Which one do you think we should take?" Leo asked again.
Percy studied the pieces, and eventually his eyes fell onto the piece. He wasn't sure why he picked it, but it just right.
Percy pointed at the piece, "That one right there."
Leo then walked up to the pedestal and snatched up the piece, and then deposited it into one of the pouches on his tool-belt.
"That wasn't too bad," Yang admitted.
"Well it wasn't exactly difficult to find this place," Blake as the two shared a smile with one another.
Percy and Leo let out a groan and Blake turned towards them, "What's wrong with you guys?"
Leo then spoke, "Every time someone says: that wasn't too bad or wow that was easy, shit usually hits the fan right after."
Percy just nodded his head slowly, "He's not wrong.
Then the group heard something and it sounded like… a scream?
"Is that a girl screaming?" Yang asked.
Blake looked towards the sky and squinted, "Is that... Ruby?"
The four looked towards the sky and it in fact was Ruby hurtling towards the ground like a comet.
"Heads up!" Ruby shrieked in fear as she descended toward the ground.
"Ruby!" Leo yelled as he moved out to catch her, his arms waving about.
Then out of nowhere, Jaune came flying through the air like a missile and crashed into Ruby. The good news was that he had stopped Ruby's descent. The bad news: they had now crashed into a nearby tree, with Ruby laying on the ground unmoving.
Leo and Yang were the first to move. They took of in a sprint and made it to Ruby.
Leo fell to his knees and started shaking her.
"Ruby I swear to the gods if you died I'm gonna kill you myself," Leo said through gritted teeth.
Ruby then let out a groan and she slowly sat up gripping her head, "Ohhhh, what happened?"
Before she got an answer, Yang engulfed Ruby in a massive bear hug, "Thank Oum you didn't die."
The hug was cut off when they heard a moan from above them. Yang and Ruby separated and the two along with Leo looked up to see Jaune hanging upside down from a tree branch.
"Uh hey guys," Jaune said as his voice cracked, "Can I get some help down?"
After the group got Jaune down, the party of six regrouped at the base of the ruined temple. Then suddenly a crashing sound was heard at the edge of the forest, and a bear like looking Grimm know as Ursa came crashing through. However, explosions erupted behind it and it fell to the ground dead with an orange haired girl they had seen at initiation riding on its back.
"Yeeeee-haw!" she squealed in glee.
However as soon as realized she had killed the Ursa, her face broke out in a frown, "Aw it's broken."
Then another boy from initiation arrived. He had black hair and a magenta streak emerged, and he was dressed in green, black, and white clothes which seemed to have an emphasis on Chinese culture.
"Nora! Please don't ever do that again."
But in the blink of an eye, Nora had raced past the group of six and was now at the temple. She quickly grabbed one of the chess pieces, before the boy yelled for her again.
"Coming Ren!" she giggled as she started to skip back towards the group.
"Did...did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.
Yang started to answer, but she was cut off as Pyrrha burst through the trees with humongous scorpion like Grimm, a Deathstalker, hot on her tail.
Yang's eye then flashed a violent shade of red and her hair burst into flames.
"I can't take this anymore! Can everyone just chill out for like two seconds before something crazy happens!" Yang yelled with anger in her voice.
Two seconds passed by, and no one moved a muscle. They were all more scared of Yang and her outburst than the Deathstalker.
Ruby then pulled on Yang's sleeve, "Uh, Yang?"
Ruby then pointed in the air, where a certain white haired heiress remained in the claws of a large bird Grimm the people of Remnant called a Nevermore.
"How could you leave me?" they heard Weiss shriek.
"I told you to jump!" Ruby called back to her.
"She's gonna fall," Blake said nonchalantly.
"She'll be fine," Ruby said nervously.
"She's falling," Ren said as he observed.
"I'll catch you Weiss!" yelled Jaune
Jaune then took off and had his arms out waiting for Weiss. However, the force from Weiss falling was too much Jaune and he landed on the ground in a face plant, with Weiss landing comfortably on his back.
"My hero," Weiss said sarcastically as Jaune groaned on the ground.
They picked themselves up and the group of ten was now standing together eyeing the Deathstalker on the ground and the Nevermore that had begun to circle them.
"Great! The gang's all here. Now we can die together!" Yang said sarcastically.
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby yelled as she took off in a burst of rose petals.
"Wait Ruby!" Leo yelled but she was long gone.
Ruby speed across the open field. As she emerged from the rose petals, she swung Crescent Rose at the Deathstalker and it swung its pincer. The force behind the pincer knocked the scythe away, causing Ruby to stumble backwards.
"T-totally fine!" Ruby yelled.
Ruby then pulled Crescent Rose back and switched it into its rifle form and fired a few rounds at the Deathstalker. The creature moved to cover its face, but it kept charging as she started to run back towards the group.
Yang then took off toward Ruby, "Ruby get out of there!"
Ruby was about half way towards Yang when the giant Nevermore above them gave out an ear shattering caw. It flapped its wings and sharp feathers flew towards them. However, only one of them found it's mark as it pinned Ruby's cape to the ground, thus locking her in one place.
"Ruby get out of there!" she called to her sister with panic in her voice.
Ruby was struggling frantically trying to get her cape free. However, her eyes got wide when the Deathstalker got behind her and raised its pincer.
Then a white blur shot past Yang and a wall of ice encased the Deathstalker and its stinger, effectively incapacitating it for the time being. Most importantly, Ruby Rose wasn't a shish-kabobed Deathstalker snack.
Weiss stood in front of Ruby and Percy was unable to hear what she said due to the distance. However, the two huntresses made their way back, and the group of ten prepared themselves for whatever layed ahead.
Huh maybe there is some good in her after all, Percy thought to himself.
Yang then took off towards Ruby and gave her a big hug.
"Ruby if you ever do that again I'm gonna beat you till you're senseless!" Yang scolded as she engulfed her in a giant hug.
"Ugh Yang, I'm fine!"
However, the Deathstalker wasn't out of it yet. It started to rip squirm and shake and the Nevermore above them gave out a ferocious shriek.
After a short five second reunion, of 'I'm glad you're not dead's and Weiss was so cool', Jaune noticed something in the air.
"Uhh guys? That thing is circling back. What should we do?" He said with a slight hint of fear.
Weiss spoke, "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us."
The group then eyed the chess pieces inside the ruins.
"She's right," Ruby said with new found confidence in her voice, "Our mission is to grab the artifacts and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."
"Run and live," Leo muttered "Now that's a plan I can get behind."
"Go and grab your artifacts then," Percy said. "We'll make sure those big ugly Grimm don't get too close."
Ruby and Jaune nodded as they took off for the ruins.
After a few minutes the the two returned, and the group took off. However, once they started running, the Deathstalker had escaped from its icy chains and began to give chase to the group.
Leo glanced back to sneak a peek at the Grimm, and he saw it was almost within striking distance.
"Ahh come on you stupid oversized bug, leave us alone!"
Leo a large amount of heat into his metal covered hand, effectively charging it the gauntlet. Once it had loaded to full capacity, the glove let out a small persistent sound and he shot the beam of energy at the beast.
The Deathstalker stopped in its tracks as the beam of energy connected with its face. The scorpion like monster let out a screech, and moved one of its pincers to protect itself. Once the beam of energy subsided, the Grimm let out a roar and continued to give chase to the teenagers.
After some more running, the group finally made it out of the forest and onto an ancient stone bridge connecting to an equally old giant stone tower. The ten of them began to sprint across but the Nevermore that had been stalking them from the air reappeared and crashed through the center of the stone bridge. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, Jaune, and Leo were on one side of the bridge, while Percy, Blake, Ren and Pyrrha were trapped on the other.
Percy, Pyrrha, Blake, and Ren pulled out their weapons and got ready to do battle with the Deathstalker.
Percy then started shouting orders, "Ren! Blake! Pin it down!"
The two nodded their heads and took off towards the Grimm, dodging and weaving through the scorpion Grimm's attack and shot at the beast. However, the more they shot it, the more annoyed it became.
"Do you see the stinger?" Percy said to Pyrrha as he eyed the Deathstalker.
"Yes. What about it?" she replied back.
"If we can cut it off there's only one place it can fall," Percy said as he pointed his sword at the stinger that was raised above the Deathstalkers head.
Pyrrha followed his eyes and understood without speaking. She was about to take off when they heard screaming. The next thing they knew Jaune and and Nora were next to them.
"How did you..." Percy started, but he stopped. Now wasn't the time.
"Go for the stinger!" he shouted as the four then charged.
Nora rushed in first, her giant hammer at the ready. She brought the hammer down and it surged with electricity. However, it barely made a scratch much to Nora's shock. The Deathstalker swung it's pincer at Nora and knocked her back, her aura flaring from the hit.
Percy, Jaune, and Pyrrha rushed the beast while Ren and Blake continued to pepper it with dust bullets. Percy moved to the right side of the monster while Pyrrha and Jaune worked together on the left. The red head moved in close and tried to stab and slash the beast's stinger while Jaune protected her side from a thrashing pincer.
The scorpion Grimm began to move backwards as it began to become overwhelmed by the five huntsmen and huntresses. Percy swung Onyx at the monster and it seemed to glare at the demigod. It then lunged it's stinger at Percy, determined to get rid of the annoyance. He sidestepped and swung Onyx down onto the Deathstalkers golden stinger, slightly loosening it. The beast shrieked and Percy rolled away, not wanting to become Grimm food.
Ren then moved in, determined to take the heat off Percy for a bit. He fired his dual wield pistols named Stormflower, and distracted the beast, while Pyrrha switched her sword into its spear form and hurled it into the beast's eye. The Deathstalker hissed in pain and knocked Ren into Blake, sending her flying off the edge of the cliff and Ren unconscious to the side.
"Blake!" Percy cried out.
Percy couldn't believe it. Literally one day into the job and a new friend had already died. Praying to the gods that she had managed to grab onto a ledge or something. He rushed to the edge and was relieved to find that she had used her weapon to hook onto the other side of the stone tower mid-fall. The hook pulled her up and she joined Ruby, Weiss, Leo, and Yang take on the Nevermore that was circling them.
Percy turned his attention back to the Deathstalker. The strategy of getting close to the Deathstalker without their heads almost getting ripped off was not working and someone would get killed if they didn't take care of it soon. They needed a way to throw the Deathstalker off its game. Percy then had an idea.
"Jaune!" he called out, "Keep distracting it! I have a plan."
"Uh... it is a good plan?" he asked as he blocked a claw strike from the Deathstalker.
"Best case scenario, it works!" Percy shouted, "Worst case scenario, we die!"
Jaune couldn't respond as he became locked in combat with the Deathstalker. Percy had to move quickly if this plan was going to work. He stabbed Onyx into the ground and he took a knee. He moved his hand in front of him and placed it on the ground, his fingers getting into the dirt before him.
Percy had rarely used this power of his. It was often unpredictable and dangerous, but right now, they needed unpredictable if they were going to beat this Deathstalker. He began to focus on where the Grimm was standing and he was careful to control it. If he allowed it to spread too far, everyone would be caught off guard and they'd be right back where they ground then began to shake violently, specifically focusing itself where the dark scorpion stood. The beast then began to stumble around, desperately trying to steady itself.
The group was confused as to why the Deathstalker was now acting like a drunken fool, but they weren't going to question it. Jaune then began to call out orders to those still in the fight.
"Pyrrha, aim for the stinger!" he shouted.
"Done!" Pyrrha said as she threw her shield and it sliced through the monster's stinger, sending the sharp appendage falling into the Grimms head.
The Grimm let out a violent roar and tried to move forward and attack its foes. However, its sudden movement made it fall to the ground as the shaking Earth made it trip over itself.
"Nora! Hit it where it hurts and make sure it doesn't get back up!" Jaune commanded.
"You got it boss!" she called back.
Nora slammed her hammer into the ground and fired a pink grenade from it, launching herself into the air. Once she hit the apex of her jump, she started hurtling towards the ground. When she got close enough to the Deathstalker, she let out a battle cry and swung her hammer with all her might. The blunt force of the weapon sent the stinger through the Grimm's head.
After Nora recovered from her finishing blow, the group began to celebrate. Percy, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and a now recovered Ren took a second for a quick group hug. However, it didn't last long. Their friends on the other side were still locked in combat, fighting for their lives against the Nevermore.
"You guys ready for round two?" Percy asked as they broke off from the hug.
"Born ready!" Nora said with a salute.
The rest of the group nodded their heads and began to prep themselves for another fight. They began sprinting toward the bridge and prepared to jump across. However, Weiss Schnee had just been throw off the side of the ruins and into the chasm below.
"Weiss!" Ruby had called out from across the chasm, a look of horror on her face.
Without thinking, Percy veered off and jumped off the side of the bridge and after Weiss.
"Percy wait!" Pyrrha called to him, but he was already descending down into the chasm was gone.
"Oh yeah, he's officially lost it." Nora said as he, Pyrrha, Ren, and Jaune watched as their new friend fell downward toward Weiss.
Percy wasn't sure why he jumped after Weiss. The girl had been incredibly rude to him, Ruby, and Leo, but Percy knew that if he could stop someone from dying, he would do it. Even if it meant sacrificing himself. Luckily he had a plan. He pulled his hands close to his side, increasing his speed as a result. He got close enough to Weiss to grab her, and when he did, he could see that the heiress was unconscious. He then let out his loudest New York whistle and Percy prayed that his steed would get there in time.
Percy saw a familiar black pegasus appear out of nowhere and the next thing he knew, he was sitting on the back of Blackjack, with Weiss snuggly secured in front of him.
"Blackjack I freaking love you" Percy said as he let out the breath of air that he didn't even realize he was holding.
Don't worry about it Boss. You know I always got your back his trusty pegasus responded.
It was at that moment Weiss began to groan and she finally opened her eyes. At first, she was dazed and confused. She groaned as a hand reached up and rubbed her temple. Once she opened her eyes and locked on to Percy, she began to shuffle in his arms, clearly uncomfortable.
"What are you doing?!" she hissed, "I had everything under control!"
"Under control?" Percy questioned "You would've been a pancake if I didn't catch you!"
Weiss humphed and crossed her arms, begrudgingly looking away from her savior.
Percy rolled his eyes, 'Girls'.
Once they reached solid ground again, Weiss angrily got off Blackjack arms and stood next to Blake.
The group that now consisted of Leo, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were now staring at Percy and Blackjack.
"Uhh Percy? Why does your horse have wings?" Ruby asked.
Blackjack let out a snort, I'm a pegasus! Do you not see the wings tiny flower girl?!
Percy spoke up, "That's not important right now. How's it going with the Nevermore?"
The group turned their attention back to the Nevermore and then Yang spoke, "I don't have much ammo left. What about everyone else?"
The people with guns checked their weapons.
"I have three shots with my hunting rifle left" Pyrrha said to the group.
"One grenade for me" Nora replied as she closed her launcher.
"I have one clip left on me" Blake said.
"Blake I have a third clip. You should take it" Ren said as he tossed it to her.
The looked slightly opposed to the idea, but she nodded her head and accepted, catching it in the air.
"And I'm officially out" Ruby said the new formed group "But good news is I have an idea."
The group shared a look unsure whether or not to follow Ruby. However, Percy made the decision for them.
"We're all ears Ruby. Call it."
A big small crossed Ruby's face and the ten teenagers huddled together, listening to the orders that the youngest of them had planned out.
"Huh," Leo said "it's crazy enough to actually work. Let's do it."
The group began to move but the Nevermore let out a gigantic caw. Percy turned to see the beast begin to fly toward them, its wings outstretched and ready to take out the tholos that was covering them.
"Brace yourself!"
The monster crashed through the stone structure, showering the ten with ancient mortar. Percy raised his shield up and covered himself and Yang. Weiss conjured a glyph shield in front of Ren and Ruby, while Jaune protected Blake and Nora, and Pyrrha protected Leo. As soon as the rain of stone subsided, the group emerged from their cover, taking up a circular position inside the remains of the ruined structure.
Weiss readied Myrtenaster, the silver glyph of her family's insignia appearing under her. The Heiress preparing herself to do battle and bring honor to her family name.
Nora and Ren took up position side by side, Nora's Maghild at the ready and Ren ready to shoot the Nevermore out of the sky with his Storm Flowers. The Dynamic Duo ready to fight to the death for one another, like they had down a thousand times before.
Blake calmed herself before she transformed Gambol Shroud from its pistol version, into its familiar, yet deadly katana. The Ex-Assassin un-afraid to eliminate another enemy that stood in her way.
Pyrrha transformed her hunting rifle back into her sharp spear Miló and she raised her shield Akúnö to defend herself. The Champion ready to defeat the Grimm that dared challenge her.
Yang loaded shotgun shells and snapped them into her wrist gauntlets. The familiar click sounded off, signaling that Ember Celica was now fully loaded. The Boxer got into a fighting stance, preparing to force her next opponent into submission.
Jaune gripped his sword and shield tightly. The Knight praying to his ancestors that Crocea Mors would hold true and give him the strength he needed to slay the beast.
Leo spun his favorite screwdriver, Sting, and revved his repulsor in his hand. The Mechanic ready to forge bonds of fellowship as he worked to build a safer world.
Ruby twirled Crescent Rose and sank the tip of the blade into the ground. The Reaper prepared to take the life of the Nevermore, especially if it meant saving the lives of the innocent.
Percy swung Onyx in his hand, and pulled his newly named shield, Bastion, from his back. The Sentinel stood ready to win the day, just as he had done so many times before.
Individually, the group wasn't much. They were people who were each driven by something... a desire for greatness, peace, normalcy, escape, adventure, worth, pancakes, security, heroics, and loyalty. However they all shared the same goal: to become greater than themselves and to help the people along the way.
But Together... the group was formidable. Led by the Greatest Hero of a Generation and a Silver Eyed Warrior, they were ready to do battle. United against a common enemy, the Heroes of Remnant stood ready.
The Nevermore let out a screech and began to speed toward the demigods.
"Go!" Percy shouted.
The Huntsmen and Huntresses in training scrambled to get into position.
Percy and Yang ran towards Blackjack, the pair quickly mounting the pegasus and taking off into the sky.
"Uh - is this safe?" Yang asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"As long as you don't fall off it is" Percy yelled in reply, the wind making it difficult to hear.
The Nevermore let out a caw and flew toward the fast moving target that had now gone airborne.
The Nevermore, now focused on the new target in the air, gave chase. However, the Grimm had made a terrible mistake. It had assumed that the other humans nearby would not attack and leave their comrades for dead. It couldn't have been more wrong.
Jaune and Pyrrha quickly took up positions on the edge of the ruined platform. Their offensive weapons long forgot. Instead, the partners were now facing Ren and Nora, holding their shields at the ready. The lifelong best friends ran forward and jumped, Nora pushing off Pyrrha's shield and Ren off of Jaune's, and the two leaped into the air.
The dynamic duo peppered the Grimm with gunfire as they continued upward toward the apex of their jump. Ren emptied the last of the ammo inside Storm Flower and Nora pulled the trigger on the grenade launcher form of Maghild, sending her last explosive projectile into the bird like Grimm.
Initially, Ren's gunfire slowed the Nevermore. The beast merely shrugged it off, but the blast from Nora's grenade brought it to a grinding halt. The Nevermore had to flap its wings and correct itself in the air as it hadn't been expecting to feel such a blast.
However, the Nevermore had no time to rest. As the two huntsmen and huntress entered a controlled fall due to Pyrrha's semblance, the dazed Nevermore was hit from above. Yang had dropped from Blackjack and began launching punch after punch into the Grimm's skull.
The beast couldn't get the blonde brawler off. Each punch pushed it farther and farther down, the Nevermore trying it's best to flap its wings and steady itself in the air. After a few seconds of rapid punching, Yang jumped off and free fell until she landed on the back of Blackjack, with Percy expertly maneuvering the pegasus to catch her.
The Nevermore, now with a raging headache, was flapping its wings and was about ten feet from the edge of platform that suspended the ancient ruins. When it came to its sense, the Nevermore was greeted by Leo. The latino boy had his metal right hand outstretched and a cocky smile on his face.
"Say cheese!"
With that, a blinding light exploded from the repulsor of the metal hand and the bird like Grimm recoiled in pain. It's vision now gone, the Nevermore tried to move backwards and away from the huntsmen who had temporary blinded it.
While the Nevermore was without its most important sense, Weiss, Blake, and Ruby moved into action. The beast had lined itself up between the last two remaining pillars. Blake wrapped the katana part of her blade and pulled on the cable that connected to it. She quickly moved to the other side and did the same the last pillar. Once it was secured, she signaled for Weiss and Ruby to move.
Ruby then jumped onto the cable and got into a ready position with Crescent Rose securely in hand. Behind her was Weiss, who had summoned a black glyph. The glyph pulled the cable and Ruby backward, thus building up power to launch the girl.
"Of course you'd come up with this idea" Weiss scoffed as she kept her focus concentrated on maintaining her semblance.
"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked as she eyed the blinded Nevermore.
"Hmph! Can I!" Weiss said confidently.
"... can you?" Ruby asked skeptically as she looked back to her new partner.
"Of course I can!" Weiss snapped back.
Weiss then released the glyph and Ruby launched forward at an inhuman speed with rose petals swirling behind her. Midway through the air, Ruby hooked Crescent Rose around the blind and disoriented Nevermore's neck. The force from the launch propelled her and the hooked Grimm toward the canyon wall.
Weiss then raised Myrtenaster and began to focus. White glyphs appeared on the canyon wall and Ruby took advantage of them. The young Rose began to run up the steep wall, the glyphs allowing her to defy gravity and drag the Nevermore the behind her.
Percy and Yang landed Blackjack next to a now watching Jaune, Pyrrha, Leo, Blake, Ren, Nora, and Weiss. They watched the youngest of them reach the top of canyon, and with one quick pull of the trigger on Crescent Rose, rip the Nevermore's head from its body.
Ruby struck a pose with Crescent Rose in hand and her cape fluttering in the wind. The Nevermore's headless body fell from the top of cliff, and down into the cloudy chasm below them.
Back on the ground, the nine of them stared at Ruby with smiles on their faces. Ruby's plan had worked after all.
"Wow" Leo said as he gave out a whistle, "Now that was freaking awesome."
Everyone just nodded their heads in agreement.
"We did it" Percy said catching the group's attention "Now let's get the hell out of here."
Back at Beacon...
After the battle with the Death Stalker and Nevermore, the ten students made their way back to Beacon. There they met inside the main hall where they would undergo the ceremony of passing initiation and receive their teams.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin said as he called the students forward onto the stage.
"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team CRDL. Led by… Cardin Winchester!" Professor Ozpin announced.
A chorus of claps filled the hall and many cheers were heard as the newly formed team waved to the crowd.
As soon as the noise died down Ozpin spoke again, calling another new team to the front.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie" he said aloud.
Percy flashed a smile at his new friends and patted Jaune on the shoulder. The four made their way up to the stage and stood in front of the esteemed headmaster.
"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR! Led by… Jaune Arc!"
Leo and Percy started to cheer louder than everyone else.
"Oh yeah! That's our boy! Way to represent Jaune!" Leo whooped.
"Atta boy Jaune!" Percy called out.
Jaune flashed them a weak smile before the newly formed Team JNPR walked off the stage.
Ozpin spoke again, "Blake Belladona. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long."
The four girls moved towards the stage with excitement. Each grinning ear to ear, with the exception of Blake who gave a small smirk.
"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose!"
"Yeah Ruby!" Leo cheered the loudest "That's what I'm talking about! Oh yeah!"
Ruby had a stunned look on her face, but when she heard Leo she blushed a little and waved at him.
Students began to cheer, and Percy clapped for his friends before the hall fell silent again.
"Perseus Jackson. Leonidas Valdez." Ozpin called out.
The demigods marched up onto the stage and stood before the Headmaster.
"The two of you retrieved the white king piece. However, due to the uneven amount of students that passed initiation, you will temporarily become a two man team until a time comes when we may fill your ranks. It is only a matter of time until that occurs."
Percy and Leo nodded their hands in understanding and dismissed the pair and they left the stage.
Professor Goodwitch then moved forward and took the microphone from her superior.
"Students, your team leaders will be sent messages as to which dorm rooms you have been assigned to. With that I leave you. You have one hour until curfew so please move your belongings swiftly. Students found to be out after curfew on a school night will be disciplined accordingly."
With Goodwitch's instructions concluded, the students filed out of the main hall. The newly formed Team RWBY and JNPR meet in the courtyard to celebrate along with Percy and Leo.
"Congrats guys!" Leo said "You guys are gonna kick some major butt this year."
"Thanks Leo," Yang said as she pulled Ruby in her for a hug, "But we'll only go as far as our fearless leader will take us."
"Ugh Yang stop!" Ruby said as she struggled to get out of Yang's vice grip, "You're embarrassing me!"
The group laughed at the two sisters antics.
As soon as the laughing died down, Nora spoke, "So a two man team huh?"
"Yeah I guess so" Percy said as he shrugged his shoulders "But it's only temporary. We'll be getting a third and fourth teammate soon enough."
He then felt a buzzing in his back pocket and Percy reached for his scroll. He pulled it out and saw that he had a message from the headmaster.
"Huh... It's Ozpin," Percy said.
"What does it say?" Ren asked.
Percy squinted his eyes, "It says he wants to meet with me and Leo in his office as soon as possible. Maybe it's to explain more about our potential teammates?"
The group nodded their head, agreeing with that conclusion. However, Nora spoke up.
"He better give you guys some crazy teammates. There's no way he wouldn't after seeing you guys kick butt during initiation."
The group laughed at the fiery redhead's opinion, but they new it contained a part of the truth. Percy and Leo had fought valiantly, their demigod training proving to make them more than capable warriors .
Percy slid his scroll into his back pocket, "We should head out Leo. Don't want to keep him waiting."
With that Percy and Leo waved to Team RWBY and JNPR, the sister teams waving goodbye to their friends and wishing them luck with the headmaster.
A brisk walk and an elevator ride later, Percy and Leo had arrived at Ozpin's office.
"Professor Ozpin" Percy said in greeting "You wanted to see us?"
"Ah yes, gentlemen. Please come in. What did you think of orientation today?"
"Well it was definitely crazy," Leo said as he answered his question "I didn't particularly enjoy the part where we got launched off a cliff though."
Ozpin chuckled before taking a sip of his coffee, "Well Mr. Valdez, that is an age old tradition. One I went through when I attended Beacon."
He then put his mug down, "However... you gentlemen probably want to know why I have summoned you here."
Percy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "We thought it had something to do with future teammates. But I'm guessing now that that's not the case?"
Ozpin simply shook his head, "Partially correct. You two will be receiving new teammates in the future, but they will be carefully vetted by myself and Professor Goodwitch. After all, we do not just let anyone into Beacon Academy."
"Makes sense" Leo said as he nodded his head.
Ozpin gave a small chuckle at Leo's candor, "Don't worry. I will not deprive you of one of Beacon's most important features. Teammates selected in your first year often become life long friends."
Percy and Leo smiled at the headmaster. At first they had been hesitant about trusting the man, but he had proven to had their best interest in mind. He had given them a place to stay and even offered them guidance. Normally, Percy wasn't one to trust easily, but Ozpin had slowly began to break down Percy's walls.
However, it was almost as if the Fates had read Percy's mind and decided to mess with him. The friendly look that was on Ozpin's face quickly disappeared and was replaced by one of deathly clearly had something important he wanted to share, but what that was… Percy simply didn't know.
"Mister Jackson. Mister Valdez. I have not been entirely truthful about the purpose of Beacon Academy."
The two demigod's shuffled slightly, uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going. Had they been tricked into coming to some place that was… evil?
Fortunately, Ozpin could sense the demigods change of pace and was quick to quell their nerves.
"Let me put your fears to rest" Ozpin said to them "Beacon is a place where we train the next generation to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, that is not a lie. However, Beacon Academy serves a much more... important purpose."
Ozpin then stood from his chair and began to move toward the elevator. Percy and Leo watched him warily, unsure of what was going to happen. The elevator doors binged and slide open, and Ozpin looked over his shoulder back to the teenagers
"It would be best if you'd follow me. I'd like to explain this purpose to you in the best way I know how."
The two shared a look. Percy knew that if this was a trap, they would have to fight their way out. This would be nothing new to him, but things could always go wrong. He had learned that the hard way. Percy was about to refuse the offer but Leo cut in front of him.
"Okay" Leo said simply.
The son of Hephaestus walked forward and into the elevator, joining Ozpin.
Percy stared at Ozpin. His whole demeanor had changed. It had swiftly gone from relaxed to deathly serious. He had seen that look before back at Camp Half-Blood. When Chiron had the same expression when he finally told him it was time to read the Great Prophecy.
Percy walked forward warily and stepped into the elevator and stood behind Ozpin. He wasn't nervous, but he certainly didn't trust the headmaster right now. The ride down was deathly quiet, with no awful elevator music to be heard.
"Many people think we are living in a time of peace in Remnant" Ozpin said breaking the silence "While this is true, I know there is something larger at play."
"An incoming threat…" Leo said under his breath, but the occupants of the elevator heard him.
"Precisely Mister Valdez. The threat has been lingering for some time now and has spread like a cancer" Ozpin stated, "A chess game that is starting to close in on the finishing move."
Before either of them could speak again, the elevator came to a stop. The machine dinged and the doors opened, revealing a long, barely lit hallway. However at the end of it, they could see a dim light but they were unable to determine what was emitting the glow.
"Follow me" Ozpin said as he stepped out of the elevator.
He began to walk down the hallway and Leo followed closely behind. Percy threw his hands up and he rolled his eyes, before following after the two. His demigod danger radar was going off in his head, but Leo's fast feet prevented Percy from stopping him.
Percy followed after the two. His hand in his pocket, grasped around Onyx. Eventually, he made it to the end, and what he saw was actually… shocking. Ozpin was watching over Leo as he looked at a girl who seemed to be on life support. The unconscious girl was in some type of pod. The computers near her displayed medical information that Percy couldn't quite understand.
"What the hell is this?"
"This…" Ozpin said as he motioned with a hand "is the Fall Maiden."
If what the Fall Maiden was was supposed to carry some type of weight, Percy didn't know. He and Leo were still new to this world, and what little information he had came from Ozpin himself and the news cycle he had watched on repeat at the bullhead station. The news had made no mention of any type of maiden, instead preferring to report on the much more popular White Fang and efforts of prominent Huntsmen against the Grimm.
"The Fall Maiden? What exactly is a Fall Maiden? A virgin born in the Fall?" Leo said as he stopped looking at the unconscious girl and back toward Ozpin.
Ozpin shot Leo a dirty look, "Please do not take this matter lightly Mister Valdez. This girl was attacked and beaten within an inch of her life and placed into a coma. The only reason she's alive now is because of Qrow Branwen and the life support you see here."
"Oh..." Leo said as he clearly realized his disrespect "Noted."
"This girl is one of the four maidens" Ozpin said as he tried to move past Leo's insensitive comment "A maiden is exceptionally powerful, gifted with beautiful power to help the world and make it a better place."
"Like a semblance? Except exponentially more powerful?" Leo asked.
"Half correct" Ozpin replied "While a semblance is unique to the user, a Maiden's power is transferred when the previous maiden dies. But like a semblance, it takes time for a maiden to control and understand that power. Similar to your control over fire and Mister Jackson's over water."
Leo nodded his head in understanding, but Percy was puzzled by Ozpin.
"Wait - hold on" Percy said as he raised his hands in confusion "Why are you telling us this? And how do you even know there's a threat to begin with?"
Ozpin chuckled a bit, "I'm telling you this because the story you shared with me and Glynda just a few nights ago showed me that you understand and you can be trusted. You understand myth and that the world has much more hidden behind the curtain than you'd care to see."
Ozpin continued "But we all know that once the curtain is pulled back, things cannot be unseen. It's impossible to pretend that all is good in world when it is very obviously not. That's why I'm asking you two questions now. The first: Can you help me fight back against what's behind the curtain?"
Percy and Leo shared a look. The two demigods did understand what Ozpin was saying. Ever since they had learned about their godly ancestry, their lives had been the strange that lived behind the curtain. However, Ozpin's secrecy and strange attitude finally started to make sense.
"I think we can" Leo said slowly.
"But if we're going to help you, we need to know everything" Percy said picking up for the son of Hephaestus "No lies and no half truths. If we're going to help you, we need to know how far down the rabbit hole really goes."
"That can be arranged" Ozpin said "Come by my office a week from now after your classes. My associates and I will tell you everything. The whole truth."
With that, Ozpin stuck out his hand. Leo was the first to shake it and Percy was next. Once the pair was done, the two demigods turned to leave and began to walk down the hall.
"Percy. Leo." Ozpin called to them.
The two demigods turned around and faced back toward the headmaster.
"Thank you for trusting me."
The pair offered a smile and nodded their heads. They turned back toward the elevator and stepped inside. Leo pressed the button for the regular ground floor entrance and they waited for the doors to close. When they finally did and began to move upward, Percy broke the silence.
"I don't trust him."
Leo raised an eyebrow as he looked at the taller boy, "And why's that?"
"Something just seems...off" Percy answered "I don't trust him and right now, the story seems far-fetched. There's too many pieces missing. Things that don't make sense."
"Well… yeah?" Leo said "He said he'd tell us the whole story in a week. It makes sense that that there are holes in our knowledge, but that's because he literally hasn't told us."
"Leo be honest with me. When we meet with him and Goodwitch, do you honestly think he'll tell us every honest-to-gods detail? If I've learned anything from interacting with people with more influence than myself, it's that they always have secrets, and those secrets always have secrets.
Leo mused over that for a few seconds and Percy could practically see the gears turning in his head. He needed Leo to be skeptical. A cautious demi-god was one that stayed alive.
"Did I ever tell you about Annabeth during the Titan War?"
Leo looked over and shook his head no.
"I didn't think I had." Percy said lightly "Well before it had all started, Luke Castellan was Annabeth's best friend. He had rescued her when she was seven years and brought her to camp, and for the next five years she worshipped the ground he walked on."
"So when he betrayed the God's and sided with Kronos and the Titans, Annabeth was hurt and for a long time, she couldn't think clearly when it came to matters involving Luke. He had been her rock for a long time and couldn't accept that he had betrayed them and tried to kill me. She kept persisting that there was a reason."
Percy snorted and rolled his eyes at the recalled memories. He and Annabeth had gotten into many fights over the years because of Luke, and it always resulted in one of the two storming off and avoiding each other for a few days.
"She may have called me Seaweed Brain, but I was no means stupid enough to just hope that Luke would wake up one day and come to his senses like she did. So in order to understand his motives, I would play a little game. I assumed the worst: What's the worst reason Luke could possibly have for saying what he said, or why he did what he did? Then I would would ask myself: how well does that reason explain what he said and what he did?"
"And what did you come up with?"
"Luke wanted to destroy the gods, and to destroy the gods meant that they had to destroy their children, regardless of who they were. It didn't matter what bond you had or what side you fought for, Kronos would have killed them all as soon as they weren't needed anymore. Luke's desire for revenge blinded him to Kronos' real motives and it was only when Luke became his host did he realize his real plan. He let Kronos whisper in his ear, and gave in instead of expecting the worst."
"If we expect the worst from Ozpin, we can only be pleasantly surprised. Who knows, maybe he's a good man with good intentions, but I refuse to be stabbed in the back again for trusting someone I shouldn't have."
The elevator door dinged and the pair stepped out and began to head to their dorm. Leo hadn't said anything to Percy, his partner clearly thinking about what he said. Percy could only hope that Leo would listen to him. Once they had made it back into their dorm, Leo broke the silence
"I doubt he'll tell us every single detail… but I think he'll be honest enough that we'll be able to do our part to protect people. Ozpin letting us into that vault was his leap of faith. He trusts us Percy, so maybe we should start trusting him."
Well. That wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"I know we haven't been here long, but I really want you to think of an alternate reality where we don't trust Ozpin. If we don't buy in to what he tells us, if there is even a sliver of doubt or hesitation from us, people are gonna die. Think about Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and all the other friends we've made since we got here. Are we really going to walk away from them because we know that Ozpin won't tell us the whole truth?"
He brugudinly realized that Leo made a point, but that was slipperly slope. Walking away now might get Leo and Percy out of the web of lies in whatever intricate game Ozpin had afoot. Their decision to turn him down could mean someone else, maybe even Team RWBY and JNPR, could potentially take their place. There was no guarantee Ozpin would get them involved, but there was always a chance it could happen.
However, it was when Percy made the realization. Maybe being in this inner circle of Ozpin's wasn't the worst thing. He was ninety five percent sure Ozpin wouldn't tell them the full truth, but maybe that was a weapon in itself. After all, the was wisdom in the old saying: keep your friends closer and your enemies closer.
"Fine, we'll trust him for now" Percy said begrudgingly "Just know that I don't like it, but I'll roll with it for now."
"That's fine with me" Leo replied "As long as we get to help people, I'm okay with it for now. We can always course correct if things start to go wrong or we don't like what Ozpin has planned for us."
A few hours after they had returned to their dorm and unpacked their belongings, Percy found himself getting anxious. The first day of classes was tomorrow and as a result, activities throughout Beacon were severely limited. He sat at his desk, his foot tapping rapidly on his ground and he was trying to make sense of the Grimm Studies textbook they had been required to purchase for lecture. The words and letters were swirling in his head as Grimm became grime and grass, he knew he would have a head shattering headache if he didn't call it for the night. Knowing he was done, he closed the book and put it into his satchel for tomorrow. He stood up from his desk and stretched before heading toward the door.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna go for a walk" Percy said to Leo.
"Sounds good" Leo replied absentmindedly "Just make sure Goodwitch doesn't catch you roaming around."
Percy nodded his head and stepped outside, closing the door gently behind him.
He began to walk down the hallway, a few boards creaking underneath him because of his weight. He continued down the hall and was about to turn a corner. As he was, a white haired girl in icy colored nightgown opened the door to to her dorm and narrowed her eyes when she saw windswept black hair turn the corner of the hall.
As he wandered aimlessly, Percy thought about the response Leo had given him when he had voiced his concern to him. For some odd reason or another, Leo seemed obsessed with wanting to do the right thing of late. And the most puzzling thing about it was that he had no clue why this change had occurred in the first place.
Leo was carefree and a goofball, at least from what Percy had gathered. Leo hated when he made mistakes, and he worked tirelessly to make it better when he did, but this thing Ozpin had recruited them for wasn't his mistake to fix.
He wracked his brain trying to think of a solution. Maybe something had happened at camp when he was dead and he had felt responsible for it? Or maybe a prophecy had been issued that Leo hadn't told him about? It could be anything, and that gave Percy a larger headache than his Grimm Studies textbook.
Percy eventually found a staircase that led to the roof and his breath hitched at the beautiful sight. The view was perfect, the lights of the city of Vale shown in the distance and the sea of green that was the Emerald Forest made it shine like a lighthouse on a peaceful night. He turned his gaze to the side and looked for the constellation of Zoë Nightshade, only to be disappointed to see that she was in fact, not there. However, his attention on the stars was broken when the door to the roof slammed open and Weiss Schnee emerged, seething with anger.
"What exactly, do you think you're doing up? Weiss hissed angrily.
Percy's panic disappeared when he saw it was Weiss and not a scary blonde haired professor, "Just unwinding after a long day. You should try it sometime! That way you might finally get that stick out of your butt." Percy teased.
Weiss was aghast with Percy's crude comment "I do not have a …! That is not me!"
"Really?" Percy said as he chuckled "Could've fooled me."
Weiss rolled her eyes at the insufferable boy. However, the Schnee moved closer and leaned against the ledge that the demigod had sat himself on.
"Do you mind if I stand here?"
"Not at all" Percy replied "You can even sit if you want. The ledge is certainly big enough for the both of us."
Weiss positioned herself as she sat on the ledge, careful to make sure Percy didn't get a view up her nightgown. The two sat in silence, as they looked out. The beautiful skyline of Vale blending perfectly with the stars and moon above.
"I'm - I'm sorry I wasn't more polite to you when we met" Weiss said, breaking the silence.
Percy glanced over toward the girl, her icy blue eyes staring at him.
"It's okay" Percy replied, accepting the apology
"No it's really not" Weiss admitted "I'm a Schnee. It was… problematic of me to be rude to you. I should have tried to be more polite. After all, you're the one who saved me today."
Percy laughed "It's all in a day's work. I'm sure you'll make it up to me someday."
Weiss offered Percy a small smile and the pair returned to the silence that was there before. After a couple minutes of silence, he decided to speak.
"You know" Percy began "You don't have to do the whole 'heiress' thing around me. You don't have to impress me."
"I do not …" Weiss started, but she stopped just as fast "I'm sorry. Back in Atlas, life was very strict and could be...unforgiving. My father demanded that I keep proper manners and never disgrace the family."
"Huh, what do you mean by disgrace?" Percy said as he finger quoted disgraced.
She picked at her night gown, slightly uncomfortable. "Well my father dictated that we did not associate with some of the more...unsavory people of society."
Percy frowned "You mean the Faunus?"
Weiss let out a very unlady like snort, "Of course. I don't particularly trust the Faunus. The White Fang has murdered more people in the SDC than I can count. But there are... others as well."
He raised an eyebrow, "Such as?"
If Weiss had looked uncomfortable at the mention of the Faunus, she looked even more uncomfortable broaching whatever the next topic was.
"Well as with most upper class people, they tend to use their power to get what they want. Finically, politically, and... sexually."
His eyes almost bulged out of his head, "You're telling me you sexually-"
Weiss immediately cut him off with the waving of her arms, trying to dispel the notion,"No! No absolutely not! I would never, but there are others who are like that."
Percy nodded his head in understanding, and Weiss continued.
"Back home... on the Schnee Manor grounds, we had a stable. And when I was a child, there was a boy who worked in the stables. He was there as part of a PR initiative my father had started in order to regain some of the public image our company had lost. While I didn't like him at first, he slowly became my friend."
"In Atlas, children who are products of such... sexual misconduct, are referred to as bastards and given specific last names. In Atlas, it's Snow, Vacuo is Sand, Vale is Rivers, and Mistral is Storms. The boy who worked in the stable was a bastard."
"And your father didn't like that you were forming a friendship with him" Percy concluded.
"He didn't" Weiss reaffirmed "He caught us after we had gotten back from riding one day and he was furious. Said that I was tarnishing the family name by associating with someone as low born as a Faunus. So I tried to keep my distance from him, only seeing him when I went with my sister to ride horses."
"So then what happened?"
"It was some time until we talked in any capacity more than a simple greeting. He found me in the gardens, and apologized for something that was never his fault to begin with. My father must have found out, and that must have been the final straw. When I went to ride the next day with Winter, he was gone. Replaced by a professional stablemen, the best money could buy."
Percy mused over that. Maybe he had misjudged Weiss in some capacity. He thought she had grown up a pampered princess, and in some capacities she certainly was. But maybe she had had it as rough as some others. Loneliness was its own kind of curse.
"Do you know what happened to him?"
She shook her head, "I don't. He was no older than ten at the time. Maybe he was sent back to his orphanage or maybe he was relocated to another part of the SDC as some type of servant. God's forbid he was sent to one of the dust mines or worse, sent to the Black."
Percy's brow furrowed, "The Black? What is that?"
Weiss let out a huff of air, "You're not familiar with Atlas at all are you?"
"Not in the slightest."
She rolled her eyes, but a small grin betrayed her annoyance.
"Atlas is split into two... sections, an upper class and lower class. The divide between them is fairly substantial, and in order to keep the peace in the lower sections of Atlas, the Night's Watch patrols and acts as a pseudo police force made up of mercenaries and even some of the more corrupt huntsmen."
"So not an ideal place for a ten year old" Percy surmised.
"Exactly" Weiss answered "I just hope that he's safe. Sometimes I feel like it was my fault he was removed..."
Weiss had a far away look in her eyes and Percy moved his hand to cover hers, giving it a gentle squeeze in comfort.
"It's not your fault. If anything it was your father's. He shouldn't have blamed a ten year old for being friends with another."
Weiss looked to his hand on hers, and then back to him. Giving a gentle smile to him. He then removed his hand, afraid he had lingered it there for too long.
"If I'm allowed to ask" Weiss said, filling the silence that had engulfed them "What is your relationship like with your father?"
Percy let out a sharp breath through his nose and looked back toward the night sky.
"My father is…. complicated" Percy answered "He had to leave when I was born, not his choice. But he left my mom, and we had a tough life. We had to struggle and make sacrifices for a long time."
Weiss listened intently beside him, clearly intrigued by someone else's parental problems.
"But my dad came back into my life when I was twelve. I was skeptical of him at first. Who wouldn't be if your dad left? But over time...I learned to forgive him and understand the situation he was in. Now, I know that he loves me, and that's all I can ask for."
"I understand…" Weiss said "My siblings and I don't necessarily have the best relationship with our father, but after what you said, maybe there's chance?"
"Yeah maybe there is" Percy admitted "I learned that you should never give up on family, no matter how bad it is. But it's also important to remember that sometimes it's better to let go than to hold on to something for too long."
Weiss nodded her head, taking his advice rather well. With that, Percy checked his scroll and realized that it was starting to get late.
"We should probably head to bed" Percy said to the heiress next to him "It's getting late."
He swung his legs back over the edge, firmly setting down on the roof. He offered a hand to Weiss and the girl took it. She gracefully turned around and set down on the roof. The two then made their way back toward the door, and quietly made their way back toward their dorms.
Eventually the pair made it back to Team RWBY's dorm.
"Well I guess this is it" Percy said as he stared at the door.
"Yeah it is…" Weiss muttered.
"I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night. Goodnight Weiss." Percy said as he turned to head back towards his room.
"Wait, Percy" Weiss called to him.
Percy turned around, "What's up?"
"Thanks for talking with me tonight. It was enjoyable" she said with a smile.
"No problem Weiss. I enjoyed it too" Percy said as he returned a smile of his own, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Little did Percy know that as soon as he was gone and the heiress had returned back to her dorm, she hopped into bed with a slight blush on her cheeks and the thought of sea green eyes on her mind.