Chapter 22: The Spirit Carries On
"After we're gone, the spirit carries on..."
Two things.
One, screw Yang.
Two, screw Yang and Jaune.
A golden stinger the size of a cow smashed through the far wall, sending the pair of blondes careening into the chamber, along with a metric fuckton of stone and dust.
Thankfully, not the explosive kind.
Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long tumbled on the short grass, a flailing tractor of pure blondness, kicking up dirt and dried leaves. Nothing stopped the pair from crashing into the opposite wall. Specks of rock rained over their entangled forms, a collective groan slipping from their lips.
The monster roared, ramming its bulky carapace into the man-sized gap.
Bit by bit, the Deathstalker was forcing its mass into the chamber. The wall would probably give in after twenty seconds—a modest estimate, judging from how bone armour ground against the aged rock. Chipping it away into crumbs, much like how Ruby was with her cookies. Or him with his bagels, even.
Nex sighed, reaching for his longsword. "I'm not getting paid enough for this bullshit."
Scratch that.
No one was paying him at all.
"Yang, Jaune, hang on!"
Crescent Rose shot the Deathstalker right in its face.
Fuck.
A red glyph spewed fire, singeing the bone-white plates.
Double fuck.
Blake's semi-automatic spat a rain of bullets, pelting the Deathstalker.
Fuckity fuck.
The trio's firing line would only increase the rate of its squirming.
It roared, flattening his extra pair of ears. Lightning burst through his skull as more cracks ripped across the wall.
Oh gods. No. Stop agitating the bulletproof Grimm.
Was it too late to time travel back to The Club and get a mug of iced tea? Preferably on the rocks with three scoops of white, and no alcohol whatsoever.
"Vomit Boy, go get us a relic," Yang said, springing to her feet. "Hurry before this thing collapses."
Jaune scrambled to stand, grabbing his sword and shield. "Yeah, sure, partner. Jaune-express, coming right up."
Now if only a dark shadow did not cast itself over them, then it would have made the day a lot better.
The Nevermore's silhouette fell like the early coming of the apocalypse—a black kite blotting out the sun.
What the fuck?
Nex blinked and rubbed his eyes. Five times, even.
And of course, the scene did not change.
A pair of students hung from the Grimm, the woman's warhammer forcing the Nevermore's head to look up while the man's blades dug into its neck. There was absolutely no way these students were crazier than him. But they certainly came to a close second.
"Alright," Nex said, halfway through drawing his longsword. "This is—"
"Whohooo!"
The woman sang, plummeting straight through the gap on the roof. Her companion followed, rolling as he hit the floor, even as the woman herself exploded—a crater inches deep right in front of the altar.
Nex rolled his eyes. Rookie trainees.
Only people with aura would have made such a ballsy landing. But then again, only people with a severe lack of self-preservation would have ridden a literal monster through a forest.
It earned them a lot of style points, though. They could have dropped some fireworks and confetti, or landed with more flips, but that was just nit-picking.
The woman grabbed a relic, tossing it to her partner. Said partner pocketed the white piece, his eyes fixed on the Deathstalker—the one almost finished with bulldozing the wall. He held two sub-machine guns with blade attachments. But thank the gods he did not join the firing squad.
"See, Renny?" the woman said, hefting her weapon over her shoulder. It was a fucking grenade launcher. Oh gods. No. Please. "The big birdy worked."
Nex rolled his eyes, his eyebrows twitching. Yeah, sure—it did work.
It worked by bringing two very big and very deadly Grimm together. At the crumbling ruins of an old temple, even.
Smart plan right there. Easily genius calibre. Almost as good as shooting at bulletproof Grimm.
Thus, Nexus Shade fell back, stepping away from the altar. Stopping right beside Weiss Schnee. He placed a hand on her sword-arm, tugging at her wrist. No point in wasting any more of the more-expensive dust. More expensive since Roman and Cinder happened.
"We gotta go, partner," Nex muttered, shaking his head. "Not a very good idea. Definitely not in this place."
"I see your point," Weiss said, nodding. She smiled, glancing at his hand. The one on her wrist. "Let's go."
The wall crumbled, and the Deathstalker announced its presence, pincers clicking in his extra pair of ears. A shadow swooped down, whooshing, its talons poised to snatch them off the sweet, solid ground. Their security blanket, even.
Shit.
They sprinted out of the ruins, the rickety bridge just ahead.
The Deathstalker crawled after them. It skittered on the grass, hissing, the rage in its bead-like crimson eyes palpable.
The Nevermore kept pace with its terrestrial cousin, wings flapping in his extra pair of ears. Its red eyes peered through the clouds, hungry for human meat. Not that Grimm needed sustenance, but the metaphor was there.
"Watch out!" Ruby said as they crossed the bridge, just a few steps behind her. "It's gonna dive!"
A black meteor crashed into the bridge.
Boom.
The world fell.
Gravity tugged at his limbs.
Weiss smashed into a black glyph, launching her towards Ruby. The silver-eyed girl caught her, arms wrapping around her shoulders.
Blake stabbed her swords into the cliff, her legs dangling as she held on to dear life.
Nex flailed, the blue sky so far away, his coat fluttering. He gritted his teeth. Cold seeped into his toes.
The white clouds.
So far away.
Just out of reach.
Curse his lack of a flight semblance.
Curse his lack of faunus wings.
Both Pareidolia and his brain screamed—twin banshees wailing between the walls of his skull.
Darkness closed.
The wind tussled his fringe, blowing past his neck.
Dust.
Hard light.
Gravity.
Like Weiss.
He needed Vigilance—
A dog barked.
"Fuck yeah!" Nex said, his back slamming into steel. He smirked and swiped at his bracer. The battery was half-gone. It would have to last. "And fuck you, gravity!"
He stood up, balancing himself on the slab of metal. The board swerved around stone, lifting him up the abyss. Crumbs of rock stung his eyes. He squinted.
Blake was climbing the cliff with her blade and sheathe. Rivers of sweat raced down her neck, her arms shaking as she stabbed her sword into the jagged rock, heaving herself up another feet.
Nex stopped beside her, holding out his hand. "Hey, Blake. You're not afraid of flying, are you?"
Blake glared at the corgi face plate like it was stupid. It was most definitely not. But still, she took his hand, hoisting herself up the hoverboard.
"Thank you," Blake said, smiling as she shot him a look. It was definitely a shy little thing—like how her partner was at Signal. "Nex."
Blake's back pressed into his chest, the ghost-ninja just a few inches taller. Sweat clung to his torso, the heat seeping through her shirt.
But still, they had to manage. Slowly. As to not send them off the board.
Thus, it took a few minutes before they emerged—the sun warming his cheeks.
Nex leapt, landing between Weiss and Ruby.
The Nevermore squawked, circling over them.
The two blondes along with the crazy pair engaged the Deathstalker, waging a war on the other side of the broken bridge. An explosive one, judging from the booms and the high-pitched, Weiss-like screams of one Jaune Arc.
"Nex," Weiss said, breathing a moist sigh. "I thought I lost you."
Nex shrugged, drawing his sword and scabbard. "And leave you alone? Not a chance, partner."
Pinions whistled.
Vigilance expanded, the feathers pinging off its rim.
Ruby fired off a few shots, missing every single one of them.
The Nevermore was too fast. Too unpredictable—too enraged for human eyes to track. Or even his semblance. Spamming his weapon's cannon form would be stupid. The risk of hitting the four across the bridge was too great, and the risk of overheating his weapon, even more so.
Blake got the right idea, trying to swipe at it every time it took a dive.
Screw it.
There had to be something that could kill the avian Grimm.
Some way to exact payback.
"Hey, guys!" Nex said. The Nevermore's flight pattern was erratic. It traced circles around them, dipping and flopping and swerving. Crude. No rhythm at all. "We need to clip its wings."
Weiss spun another glyph, launching a salvo of fire-bolts—and missing. "How do we do that?"
"Maybe we need to distract it?" Ruby said, frowning. "Keep it in one place so we can get a clear shot."
That idea had merit.
Nex dug his heels into the dirt. Another volley of feathers clanged off his shield.
Apparently, Blake gave up on scoring a slash. She began firing at the monster's eyes.
It shrieked—a shriek that could have cracked a glass of wine.
Nex winced, his extra pair of ears flattening. The monster was really asking for it.
"I've got the distraction part covered," Nex said, bringing his bracer to his lips. He lowered his voice to a whisper, "this is Developer Shade to Atlesian Contender Mark 1. Engage the Nevermore in a protracted fire fight. Then proceed to feint into ground level, over."
A dog barked.
The hoverboard sliced through the air, cutting a blur towards the giant bird. Miniature cannons protruded from its frame. The cannons spun, whirring as they pelted the Nevermore with prime, dust-infused bullets.
Not confetti. At least, not anymore.
The bird screamed, talons clawing at the hoverboard. Every time it did, the hoverboard slipped between its limbs and continued firing at its exposed back.
Holy shit.
It was an aerial face-off between a flying corgi and a giant bird.
"That is so awesome," Ruby said, practically star-struck as she stared at the fight. It was straight out of an Atlesian commercial—the ones on the giant billboards. "Can I have it? Can you make another?"
Blake stared at the scene over the broken bridge. Her gun stopped firing.
Well, not entirely unexpected.
Weiss grinned. "While I can't deny my partner's creations are as brilliant as ever, we have a test to finish. There's a second part to this plan, right?"
"Yep," Nex said, nodding. "And it's right about... now."
The hoverboard flipped through the air.
The Nevermore swerved, following its trajectory.
A black meteor crashed.
This time into hard, unyielding dirt.
Ruby flickered, roses blazing on her path. Crescent Rose wound itself around the Nevermore's unarmored neck. She pulled, her scythe howling.
The Nevermore crashed skull-first into a blue glyph, stopping the monster in its tracks. It drove Crescent Rose even deeper into its flesh.
The monster's head flew, staining the grass crimson.
All in all, it was a good fight.
By the time they returned to Beacon, the sun was already in its zenith.
Midday came too soon, drenching his back with sweat as they lined up in the auditorium.
Ozpin and his blonde deputy stood on the stage.
The crowd murmured, and the ones who failed to retrieve any of the chess pieces left the auditorium, taking their bags with them. His theory was right—there was no way Beacon could accept every prospective student. The number that remained in the auditorium, about sixty students or so, was a more manageable amount.
If he did not retrieve the relic the night before initiation, then it was possible he would be leaving along with the rejected students.
But still, that was in the past.
It was time to live in the present.
"Pyrrha Nikos. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. You have retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forth, you will work together as Team PWDS, pronounced as Peridots. Led by... Pyrrha Nikos!"
The same redhead from the Sanus Festival walked up the stage, along with three unknown students. All males. They took their spots in front of the headmaster, the screen behind them displaying their faces. The three men grinned, waving their arms at the clapping audience. Pyrrha Nikos smiled, her hands pinned to her sides. Eventually, Team PWDS returned to stand with the rest of them.
"Jaune Arc. Yang Xiao Long. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forth, you will work together as Team AXRN, pronounced as Auburn. Led by... Jaune Arc!"
The four that fought the Deathstalker leapt up the stage.
Yang shook her head, punching Jaune's shoulder. Vomit Boy flinched and almost fell off the edge. But still, the two blondes grinned as they faced the standing ovation. The woman with the orange hair lashed out, definitely trying to do the same with the black-haired man. He dodged the fist before it could even land. The woman pouted, jumping off the stage. Eventually, the rest of Team AXRN followed and stopped to stand with the rest of them.
"Weiss Schnee. Nexus Shade. Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. You have retrieved the black knight pieces, with Miss Schnee and Mr Shade setting the record for fastest relic retrieval in Beacon history."
Their faces flashed on the giant screen. His mugshot emphasized his extra pair of ears while Blake's emphasized her bow.
The crowd chattered, all eyes turning to look at them.
Weiss flushed, ducking her head, her eyes fixed on her navel. She stiffened—an icicle in the middle of a hot day.
Nex shrugged, nudging her hip. Her shoulders twitched, definitely to copy his shrug. No harm, no foul. Nothing in the rules said they could not retrieve the relic before the test started. And it seemed the headmaster acknowledged that, seeing fit to mention it to the crowd and even set it as the new record.
"From this day forth, you will work together as Team SSBR, pronounced as Snowbear."
This was it.
No, this was totally it.
The one moment that could decide his entire time at Beacon.
Two of the same letters led their team's admittedly cool name. It was between Weiss and him. The SS—the Schnee and the Shade. It was between sleep and probably attending meetings reserved for team leaders. Between dozing off and leading the firing squad that could not just stop shooting at bulletproof Deathstalkers.
If he had his way, it would be Weiss. And surely, if Weiss had her way, it would be Weiss.
Definitely nothing less from her.
Certainly not from the more than competitive woman known as Weiss Schnee.
"Led by... Nexus Shade!"
But reality saw fit to turn that dream into paper, shredding it into tiny, itty bitty pieces. Then fate took a massive, ball-curdling shit on those torn pieces and chucked them into a dumpster fire. All the while destiny poured some gas and alcohol, cackling while the bitch strangled, hanged, and quartered his dreams of sleep. Kicking them straight into hell.
Please.
Why?
Oh fucking why?
"Fuckity fuck," Nex muttered under his breath. His partner grabbed his hand and practically dragged him up the stage. Squirming, giggling, and all. She was definitely more on the second. "This is so not my day..."
"Chin up, partner," Weiss said, flashing him a wide smile. Team SSBR stood in front of the clapping audience, even as she squeezed his hand, her fingers laced through his. "This is a big day for you."
Fuck.
Fuckity fuck.
If only she knew better.