"HEADS UP!" Ruby called out in a panic before getting knocked out of the air by Jaune whom was also seemingly flung out of nowhere. The two landing in branches... "Ugh..."
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang. But before Yang could say something something shifted in the foliage of the forest.
A badger bear fell down, dead as Ren panted while leaning against a tree. "Nora, never do that again."
"Aww it's broken!" Nora whined as she jumped off the bear and then approached the chess pieces, picking up a White Bishop. "I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!~" Nora sang out with a laugh.
"NORA!" Ren called out to her.
"Coming Ren!" she giggled as she walked back over to him.
"Did that girl just ride in on a Badger bear?" Blake was perplexed as Alix and Erika ran back from the forest.
"What'd we miss?!" he asked.
"I-" before Yang could even comment Weiss was yelling from a very high altitude, still hanging on for dear life as the Nevermore was flying in circles trying to shake her off.
"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" Weiss yelled. "YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE RED-" it was a good thing she was too high up to be clearly heard.
"She's gonna fall." Blake remarked.
"She'll be fine." Ruby assured.
"She's falling." Ren stated.
Jaune jumped up, trying to catch Weiss in his arms, just thinking about what cool thing he'd say to her when he caught her, only to fall short and land right on his face as Weiss landed right on him.
"My hero." Weiss scoffed.
"My back..." Jaune grunted.
Ruby then turned her attention to her sister. "Yang!"
Yang smiled to Ruby. "Ruby!"
before they could hug, Nora jumped up between them. "NORA!"
This only annoyed Yang more as her eye twitched and notably flickering between red and her normal lilac.
Pyrrha was suddenly flung through a tree and landed right in front of the entire group as the Deathstalker crashed through several trees.
"Did that girl just get flung here by a deathstalker?" Blake asked.
Yang was finally reaching her breaking point. Ruby and Alix both knew what this meant and braced themselves.
"I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE! WOULD ALL OF YOU PEOPLE JUST CALM DOWN BEFORE SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS?!" things were notably quiet for a moment as the Deathstalker finally got through the trees it knocked over.
"Perfect, here's my chance!" Ruby smirked as the Deathstalker had finally got through the trees and was approaching the group. She transformed her weapon into it's scythe form and threw herself at the beast only for her weapon to just scratch it's dense armor and bounce off, knocking her several feet back from it as it kept moving forward to attack her.
"Ruby!" Yang was running after her now as she got up and was about to run away when a feather shot down and stuck her cloak to the ground.
"Get out of there!" Alix called out as he cut through a feather that was blocking both him and Yang from getting through to her. A white blur moved past them both.
Ruby's eyes went wide as the Deathstalker's stinger was about to impale her when suddenly a wall of ice appeared in front of her, blocking the deathstalker's attack, along with a second wall that Ruby could now see Weiss had made that blocked more feathers that were flung in her direction.
"You're childish, a danger to everyone's health and trying way too hard." Weiss glared down at her as Ruby looked down sadly. "I admit... I went a little hard on you when we first met." she let out a sigh.
"I just want you to know I'm capable." Ruby stated.
"You're fine. Look we all have something to prove here." Weiss assured. "So why don't we regroup with the others, and come up with a plan? I promise to work with you, only if you agree to work with me."
Weiss offered a hand to Ruby that she took. "R-Right." Ruby nodded before starting with Weiss back towards the group as the Deathstalker was still struggling to free it's stinger.
Yang immediately ran up to Ruby and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she looked to Ruby who then had a different sort of glint in her eyes. She walked over to the ruins and grabbed a White Knight Piece, while Jaune took the White Bishop.
"So, our goal is just to reach Beacon Cliff, right? I say we go back in that direction while fending these things off. Our goal isn't to fight them, it's to get to the cliff." Ruby spoke up.
"Run and survive? That's an idea I can get behind." Jaune nodded.
"When we get close enough the school's defense mechanisms should be able to deal with the Grimm." Alix assured.
Ruby then got up to a high enough point at these small ruins, spotting the cliff and telling everyone to follow her as they all did.
Yang paused for a moment, Blake took note of this as well. "Yang?"
"Oh... it's nothing." Yang could almost feel a proud tear well up in her eyes before she then followed her sister's command and started towards the cliff.
As they ran they seemingly reached a dead end with more ruins, these ruins having been built into the side of the cliff as Ruby then saw the Deathstalker following behind them.
"We need suppressing fire!" Jaune directed as Nora smirked and fired her grenade launcher at the Deathstalker, that while not denting it's armor did stagger it, and slow it down more. Ren fired from his twin pistols at the beast and Ruby shot at it before a feather grazed her face.
Pyrrha was aiming at the Nevermore when the Deathstalker started to rush at everyone. Blake and Ren switched gears to start cutting at the Deathstalker's legs, but it merely swatted them aside with it's pincers. Everyone was now falling back further to the ruins that had not much support over this deep and seemingly never ending chasm that bordered Beacon and the Emerald Forest.
Nora just barely jumped out of the way of the Deathstalker's Stinger, but the result was her slamming into Blake and knocking her over the edge.
"Blake!" Yang called out in concern before her eyes went red and she fired at the Deathstalker as the Nevermore continued to circle the cliff and fire out more feathers at the group.
Alix was using the wind dust in his daggers to blow back the feathers while Erika was jumping on the feathers. In a desperate bid to reach the Nevermore while it circled around them, she however fell short and landed herself slightly higher up on the ruins.
Blake, now falling quickly regained her composure and threw her weapon at the ruins, stabbing into the side of a pillar that she then, using her ribbon swung around, coming face to face with the nevermore now. She brought her weapon back to her and started slashing at the Nevermore's back with her weapon's bladed sheath. She didn't damage the Nevermore, but she did sever a lot of feathers from it's back before jumping again and landing right beside Ruby who took note of this and smirked before firing a couple of shots at the Nevermore before her clip was drained and she started to reload.
"It's tougher than it looks." Blake stated transforming her weapon into it's glock form.
"Then we'll hit it with everything we've got!" Yang reloaded Ember Celica as the Nevermore flew right at them.
Weiss created several glyphs behind her and fired off icicles at the beast, Yang fired off Ember Celica's flare like rounds at it, Ruby fired Gravity dust rounds from Crescent Rose which were heavier and Blake fired from her glock before the Nevermore slammed through the ruins they stood on. The four girls quickly ascending the ruins more to an area that wasn't destroyed.
As they slammed through the ruins, Nora and Jaune were separated from Pyrrha and Ren with now a chasm between the two.
"We need to get over there!" Nora took a step forward.
"Y-Yeah but i can't make that jump..." Jaune lamented.
Nora simply smirked to him as she pressed a button on her grenade launcher and it transformed into a warhammer. She then slammed it right into the ground, launching Jaune at the Deathstalker. Pyrrha raised a hand up and Jaune's trajectory changed for a brief moment, landing just beside her as Nora flew forward and slammed her hammer into the Deathstalker's head, pulling the trigger again and hitting it with an electrically charged explosion that made it stagger back more.
Ren, seeing this opportunity, climbed up the Deathstalker's tail and fired off several shots between the tail and the stinger before the Deathstalker's tail flung him right off and into a wall harshly, his aura shattering instantly that moment.
"REN!" Nora called out, glaring at the Deathstalker and firing more rounds from her weapon in it's rocket form.
Jaune then saw how much damage Ren had done to the Deathstalker's stinger with how it dangled and looked to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, cut it!"
Pyrrha threw her shield at the stinger and it fell off, landing right on the Deathstalker's head.
"Nora!" Jaune motioned for her as he and Pyrrha both lifted their shields up. "Nail it!"
Nora smirked and transformed her weapon into it's hammer form again and jumped onto their shields. Jaune notably struggling with the weight as Nora fired a shot off into the shields, knocking Jaune on his back, but Pyrrha Jumped upwards, which launched Nora even higher into the air as she then sat on her hammer and laughed to herself before she descended down towards the Deathstalker. Firing another shot off to boost her speed as she then slammed her hammer into the stinger which impaled the deathstalker's head.
I couldn't take it,
Couldn't stand another minute,
Couldn't bear another day without you in it,
All of the Joy that I had known for all my life,
Was stripped away from me the minute that you died
It also collapsed the bridge that Jaune and Pyrrha both quickly jumped off of, Jaune landing not so gracefully on his face, Pyrrha landing almost like a super hero. Nora clumsily landed on her butt, but giggled a little as Ren got up and looked up at Team RWBY's fight with the Nevermore before passing out from exhaustion.
To have you in my life is all I've ever wanted,
But now without you I'm a soul forever haunted,
Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted,
No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this!
Yang stood atop a pillar firing off round after round at the Nevermore while it circled her. Before it lunged at her again. This time she jumped right at it's open mouth. Holding it open and now firing into it. "I. Hope. You're. HUNGRY!" she yelled as she jumped off, almost missing her jump, but thankfully getting boosted from a gust of wind from Alix's dagger that also pushed the Nevermore more off course and in the direction of the cliff, slamming right into it.
Alix shot a Salute to Yang as him and Erika then turned towards the others.
I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone,
I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong
How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay?
Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single Effing day!
"Weiss." Ruby looked to her as she then rushed towards the Nevermore.
The Nevermore was starting to reorient itself when Weiss jumped at it, stabbing Myrtenaster into it's tail feathers, creating a wall of ice that now kept it pinned down as she then glided herself back over to everyone else.
I know you didn't plan this,
You tried to do what's right.
But in the middle of this Madness,
I'm the one,
You left to win this fight!
Blake threw her weapon at Yang who caught it and stabbed it into the pillar she was standing atop. Ruby then jumped up, using a shot to propel herself upwards, landing right onto the ribbon as Weiss then held it in place with a glyph as Ruby landed right beside her.
"So you sure this will work?" Weiss asked.
"I'm fairly certain. So long as you can make the shot." Ruby grinned cheekily.
"Hmph. Can I?" Weiss smirked.
"Can y-" before Ruby's question could be answered she was cut off.
"Of course I CAN!" Weiss then immediately launched Ruby at the cliff.
Red Like Roses,
Fills my head with dreams and finds me,
Always closer,
To the emptiness and sadness that have come to take the place of you.
Ruby caught the Nevermore's neck with her scythe as Weiss then created glyphs in front of Ruby who then used them to help her sprint up the while as she fired off shots from her scythe, dragging the Nevermore with her up to the top where one last shot was all she needed to behead the beast, it's head landing right behind her as it's body then fell to the ruins below, dissolving into nothing as it fell.
Ruby then turned towards everyone else at the bottom of the cliff and smiled.
"Well... That was a thing." Yang chuckled a little to everyone. Blake just rolled her eyes, Alix chuckled.
"...Dove Bronzewing and Cardin Winchester. Together you four will form Team CRDL, lead by Cardin Winchester." Professor Ozpin announced as the next group stepped up to the stage.
"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White Bishop pieces. Together you will form Team JNPR. Lead by Jaune Arc."
"L-Lead by?!" Jaune was surprised.
"Congratulations Young Man." Ozpin smiled as as Pyrrha did the same while putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder which made him blush a little and look away with Nora cheering and Ren just silently smiling to himself.
"Next up Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. Together you shall form Team RWBY. Lead by Ruby Rose." Professor Ozpin took a sip of his coffee.
Ruby was surprised by this and Yang just attacked her sister with a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"
Blake smiled as well but Weiss's face turned to a grimace. "Unbelievable..." she muttered under her breath, but decided to keep her composure as she offered the best fake smile she could.
In a dimly lit office... Roman Torchwick cursed to himself as he took a seat at his desk. His mysterious assistant whom was a short woman with Neopolitan ice cream colored hair sat on his desk coyly, kicking her legs out. "I'm sorry Neo... Ends aren't gonna be meeting today." he shook his head.
Neo frowned but then Roman's scroll lit up with a message. "Need help?" he looked down at it suspiciously, especially since the number was blocked and then looked to Neo, almost as if he thought this was some sort of prank.
Neo merely shook her head in denial.
"Like I'd answer to this." he scoffed, deleting the message before he then received a call.
"Okay, now listen here you-!" before another word could be said Roman stopped talking. He nodded along. "Resources? Yes... Uh huh... Meet you, where now?" Roman picked his cane up and started towards the door, Neo following behind him.
He tried to stop Neo from following him but then he let out a sigh, looking out the window... "Alright, she'll come too." Roman hung up.
"Seems like our little operation is about to get bigger." a smirk formed on his face as he then took out a cigar, lighting it up and leading the way for the two of them.
Commentary: That does it for Initiation. Most of it happened very similar to canon, Though there are a couple of additions to the fight that don't help too much, some of how the fight turns out is a little different with the Nevermore using it's projectile attack more and the couple of extra fighters... Where we really start to deride is at the ending when Roman is first approached by a mysterious new benefactor. Wonder who that is?
