Hey folks! Welcome to another chapter of RWBY: MNTR on RMNT. I would like to thank my good friend Sai Kunai Blade for helping make this chapter a reality. Without further ado, let us begin!
Chapter 9: New Allies and Painful Truths:
Chapter Summary: In light of becoming Cardin's pawn, Jaune feels guilt haunt him as the days pass, and it comes to head during one fateful trip to Forever Fall.
Disclaimer: I don't own anythingshown, all content belongs to RoosterTeeth and Capcom.
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It was bedtime at the Beacon Academy student dorms, where Pyrrha looked out the window sadly as Ren loaded StormFlower and Nora was jumping on her bed in the room for Team JNPR. Boomer was currently laying down on Jaune's empty bed. He'd been trying to cover for the blonde so his team wouldn't find out about his involvement with Cardin.
"So, do you guys think we'll find any more monsters like Boomer in the Forever Fall?" Nora asked.
"I suppose it's a possibility." Pyrrha said.
"That would be interesting." Ren admitted.
"Yeah! I hope I find a lightning unicorn! And maybe there will be a neatfreak monster out there for you, Ren! And Pyrrha! Maybe you'll find a metal dragon!" Nora said excitedly, jumping even more on her bed, to the point her head was getting dangerously close to the ceiling.
The Tigrex cracked an eye open.
"While things like that do exist back in my realm, I doubt you folks would last long against them." He said.
Nora gasped, instantly jumping from her bed to Jaune's and grabbing his head. "So there ARE monsters like that?! Tell me, tell me, TELL ME!" She demanded excitedly, shaking the Roaring Wyvern wildly.
"Okay, okay!" Boomer yelled, shoving the redhead off. "So, which of the three would like for me to explain first?"
"Thunder pony! Thunder Pony!" Nora cheered.
"Alright, calm down." Boomer laughed before clearing his throat. "Ahem. So the Thunder Pony is a called a Kirin. Kirin's are horselike monsters that can be as large as a Clydesdale horse. They are part of a classification of monsters known as Elder Dragons. Can any of you guess why they are called Elder Dragons?"
"They're really old?" Nora asked.
"Or they have power beyond other monsters?" Ren questioned.
Boomer pointed a claw at Ren. "Correct!! Elder Dragon's are beasts that have incredible power. These are beasts that defy almost every law known to mankind. They are beings so unlike any other that they are given their own classification. And Kirin is apart of it."
"So how far does Kirin go in terms of electrical currents?" Pyrrha asked.
"Well, not much is known about Kirins since they are often only seen during electrical storms. Despite being on the smaller side of large monsters, they are not to be underestimated in the slightest. While normally peaceful, a Kirin is a powerful opponent when provoked, using its crystalline horn to call down lightning even on a bright sunny day. Hell, when a Kirin calls down lightning down to strike itself, the heat causes the Kirin's scales to harden, causing most physical attacks to bounce off it's hide."
"Not to mentioned, they can run circles around Ruby WITH her semblance. Legends even say they can teleport." Boomer declared ominously.
"Incredible." Ren said in awe.
"And what about the neat freak monster? Who's gonna be Ren's best buddy? Besides me. Of course." Nora asked.
"Well, there are a few you can describe as neat freaks." Boomer explained. "One of the best examples would be Mizutsune, a Fox-like leviathan known for its ability to secrete a foamy mixture. They're pretty peaceful, but the males are known to get pretty aggressive during mating season, so when that roles around, Mizutsune become targets for hunters, just like how hunting season happens during a deer rut."
"Fascinating." Ren said.
"Ooh! Maybe we could sell the secretion as soap or shampoo! We'll be richer than Weiss!" Nora cheered.
"Maybe. But be careful when handling that stuff." Boomer warned.
"Why would we have to be careful?" Nora asked.
"It's VERY slippery." Boomer said.
"And the metal dragon?" Pyrrha asked.
"Kushala Daora. A monster who's hide is light and flexible like steel, and like steel, it rusts over, so it has to shed its shell every once and a while. It is an Elder Dragon that can control the winds. When it appears, it usually brings heavy rain with it because of the wind it creates, not to mention that it can summon tornadoes with its massive wings." Boomer explained. "They too, like Kirin, aren't seen often. Speaking of which..." Boomer looked at the door. "When is Arc coming back, I haven't seen him since the last class we shared."
"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha said, almost bitterly.
"Hope the guy's not making an ass of himself." Boomer growled, laying his head back down.
Outside the dorm, Jaune looked in through door, sighing dejectedly before closing it. Suddenly, a young voice piped up from behind him.
"Hey Jaune!"
Jaune yelped in fear and turned around to see Ruby and Shade. "Oh. Hey, Ruby. Hey, Shade." He greeted his first friend and her familiar.
"Haven't seen you in a while. Why are you out here. Locked ya self out?" Shade chuckled.
Jaune huffed. "No, Shade. I got my key right here." Jaune told him, holding it up.
"So, where have you been lately?" Ruby Asked.
"Yeah, you've been oddly elusive the last couple of days." Shade said, his eyes shining inquisitively. "Why is that?" His tone made Jaune gulp.
Jaune sighed. "I messed up and now Pyrrha won't even talk to me and Cardin has me on a leash. Sometimes I just think I'm a failure." He said.
"Nope."
"What?" Jaune looked up at Ruby.
"Nope. You're a leader now, Jaune." Ruby said. "You're not allowed to be a failure."
"But, what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Jaune asked.
Ruby hummed thoughtfully. "Mmm...Nope." She said. Jaune couldn't help but laugh. "You know, you aren't the best person to talk to about this kind of stuff."
"Nonsense." Shade said as he sat on Jaune's left while Ruby sat on the right. "She's a leader too. She believes in herself and her team, so it is time to start believing in yourself and your team as well.
"Yeah. You're right. Thanks, guys." He said.
"You have the potential to be a great leader, kid." Shade said. "You chose to come here because you wanted to be a hero, but to be one, you'll need people you can count on." Shade explained. "Don't ever forget that."
The Nargacuga then clapped his paws together and rise to his feet. "Now! If you don't mind...Ruby and I would like to be ready for what's coming tomorrow." Ruby got up as well and opened the door to their dorm.
"Have a good night Jaune!" Ruby said before she followed Shade into the room, closing the door behind them.
"Yeah. You guys, too." Jaune said. He was about to enter his own dorm when he suddenly got a call from Cardin.
"Hey, it's Cardin. I know you're probably busy on that Dust Run I sent you on, but this important. " I need you to go out and gather some rapier wasps for me. And make sure they got some nice, long stingers." The bully instucted as Jaune recoiled in fear.
"It's really important, so whatever you do, don't screw it up." With that, the call ended. Jaune closed his scroll and sighed. He needed to do something, and soon.
For now, he went to go track down a hive for whatever shenanigans Cardin had in store for them.
The following morning, during breakfast in the Cafeteria...
Boomer, along with Ruby and the monsters of her team were currently sat in the cafeteria, The Tigrex scarfing down a deep-fried turkey while Shade had a small mountain of bacon and Douglas had liver and onions, although the veggies were essentially decorative for him.
"Hey there!" A voice suddenly called as someone walked up to their table. She looked like a total fashionista with very sharp-looking clothes, a stylish purse and Barret along with some sweet shades. And accompanying her was a Flying Wyvern that looked like it was made out of blades and a Brute Wyvern that looked like a mud dinosaur.
"Can we help you?" Ruby asked.
"You're the first-years that helped save Velvet the other day, right?" The girl in brown asked.
"Actually, it was these three." The crimsonette pointed to the Pseudo-Wyverns. "But yes, we helped get CDRL off of her back. Why, are you her team leader?"
"Yes, I am. Coco Adel at your service." She said, lowering her sunglasses and winking at Ruby.
"Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you." She shook hands with the fashionista. "So, why are you here?"
"I just wanted to meet my Girlfriend's saviors. The rest of my team should be here soon." Coco said, sitting down. Shade tilted his head at the girl in brown, but his eyes lit up in recognition when he saw the Barroth and Seregios beside her.
"Well, well, if it isn't Swiss and Drift?" Shade said with a toothy grin.
"Shade." The Barroth greeted.
"So, what do you guys got going on today?" Swiss asked.
Douglas looked up and swallowed his mouthful of liver.
"We're heading to a location called Forever Fall." Douglas explained. "Apparently, the lass they call Professor Peach needs some sap for research. What is this sap like, honey?" The Barioth looked at Weiss.
"More like syrup, but close enough." Weiss confirmed.
Nora was drooling at the thought of one of her favorite things aside from Pancakes.
"Nora, you're drooling." Boomer deadpanned.
"Aww, but I want the syrup." She whined.
"You are aware we need to bring some back, right?" Pyrrha's asked.
"I know..." Nora sighed while Ren gave her a pat on the back.
"It's not a bad thing to want that stuff." Coco said nonchalantly. "Velvet kind of had a taste for it herself when we were first years ourselves. Speak of the devil." She turned and waved the approaching Velvet, followed by two tall men, over to the table.
"Hey, guys!" She greeted as she came over.
"Velvet. Good to see you." Shade greeted.
Yang looked at the men going to sit by Velvet.
"Who's the muscle?" The blonde raised an eyebrow teasingly.
"Oh, them?" She points with a thumb to the two men. "Tan boy is Fox Alistair, and the hunk is Yatsuhashi. Don't worry, they don't bite." The fashionista said reassuringly. Fox gave a nod while Yatsu gave a small smile.
"Oh, I wouldn't mind if they do." Yang said, purring a bit.
"Perv." All present monsters declared.
Suddenly, Coco began taking measurements of the monsters.
"Uh...what are you doing?" Shade said as she took a measuring tape around his neck before moving on to Boomer.
"You guys look like you could use some accessories. If you think of anything you want, let me know. It's on the house for saving my hun-bun." She explained, finishing by measuring Shade's tail. "Impressive length. Compensating for something?" She asked with a sly grin.
Shade hissed while his eyes flashed crimson. "I'll have you know that I'm normal sized and completely functional." He growled before leaning in so that his beak was next to her ear. "And If you're gonna jump my bones, I got barbs on mine." He whispered huskily, making Coco's eyes shrink as she sweated at the image that was just put in her head.
"I'll...keep that in mind." She said, sitting back down. Meanwhile, Boomer noticed that Jaune was awfully quiet, having spent the entire time just poking at his food.
"Okay, what's the issue this time?" He asked his partner.
The blonde sighed.
"It's nothing. It's just that Cardin is going to make me collect sap while he and his goons laze around." Jaune said.
"Do you want me to beat their asses?" Boomer offered.
"No, I can handle them. Can you maybe watch over my team until I finish doing their dirty work?" Jaune asked.
"Sure thing, buddy. I'll keep a close eye." The Tigrex agreed.
Jaune smiled tiredly before going back to eating. Boomer looked at the boy, concern rising in his chest, but he pushed it down and resumed talking with the others. He can worry later.
Later, at Forever Fall...
"Yes, the Forever Falls are quite beautiful, but you are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has instructed each of you to fill a jar of sap from these trees and bring it back to her. I am here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Goodwitch explained.
As the group trekked through the woods, the three Psuedo Wyverns looked around in astonishment.
"Fascinating. I've never seen trees that remain red all year round." Douglas said in awe. Shade just snorted. "You're one to talk, Yellow Snow." He murmured.
Douglas, instead of firing back, only sighed. "For once, I'd prefer that we don't fight, for our partner's sake."
"Quiet. Goodwitch is speaking." The Tigrex cut them off, pointing with his head to the teacher as the group stopped.
Behind them, Jaune was carrying a box with empty jars on top. He accidentally bumped into Cardin, who flared at him while the blonde chuckled nervously.
However, the bully turned around to see the vicious snarl of the Tigrex. "Watch what your eyes glare at, Winchester, unless you want to lose them."
"Ahem." Glynda brought the attention back to her, before beginning her instructions. "Each of you is to gather 1 jar of red sap. However, these woods are full of the Creatures of Grimm. So be sure to stick by your teammates, or familiars if you have them." Said familiars nodded while she continued. "With that said, we will be rendezvousing at 4 o'clock. Have fun." With that, the group began splitting off.
Jaune went to go with his team, but Cardin pulled him back. "Where do you think you're going, buddy? You're coming with us." Cardin said, leading him away with his team, much to Pyrrha's disappointment and Boomer's suspicion.
"Are you sure he'll be fine?" The Spartan asked.
"Jaune's a tough kid. I'll deal with them later." Boomer dismissed her, walking to join Ren and Nora.
"Hey! You two, huddle up!" He barked. "You too, Pyrrha!"
The group huddled up next to Boomer. "Okay, so what's the plan?" Nora asked.
"We split up. Pyrrha and I will stick close to Team RWBY and you two,-" The Tigrex pointed at the hammer-wielder and ninja. "Will head to that particular cluster of trees. The ones with the thicker trunks."
"Why the ones with thick trunks?" Pyrrha asked.
"In theory, they should have a lot of sap in them, which means you won't need to panic if Nora winds up eating all the sap in one tree." Boomer looked at Nora blankly.
To that, the hammer user looked away and whistled innocently.
"If you run into anything that registers as trouble, just holler, and remember, once we got the sap, we rendezvous back with Glynda. Got it?" Boomer said firmly.
"Understood." Ren said with a nod.
"Yes, sir!" Nora declared with a salute.
"Good. Now, move it!" Boomer ordered, before turning to head where Team RWBY are. He looked at Pyrrha. "You coming along, Spartan?" He asked.
Pyrrha was spacing out for a moment, before registering what he said. "Huh? Oh! Yes, I'm coming!" She said, hurrying after the Pseudo-Wyvern.
A few minutes later, with Ren and Nora...
Ren passed Nora a freshly filled jar of sap, to which the redhead gladly took from his hand. He went to fill another jar, but when he turned back to hand it to Nora, the jar already in her hands was empty, and splotches of the red substance were around her mouth as she giggled. She slurped it down...again. Ren sighed in mild irritation. That was the third time.
"Nora, I get you like how this stuff tastes." He said. "But for once could you control your sweet tooth? You'll drain the entire forest if you don't stop."
"I can't help it, Ren! It's SO good!" Nora declared, spinning around from all the sugary sap. But as she spun, she noticed a dark shadow in the trees that seemed to be moving quickly. "What was that?" She asked, running off to investigate.
"Nora!" Ren complained, chasing after her.
As she ran, she slowed down she saw a cyan light moving towards her. As it got closer, she noticed it was a beetle, one that glowed from it's abdomen like a firefly. She reached out to let it touch her hand, only to recoil as it SHOCKED her with a small zap of electricity. She had a high tolerance to getting zapped, but that actually stung!
The insect flew off, joined by others of kind as they flew around in a swarm. Nora's eyes shined with childlike wonder and giddiness. "It's beautiful..." She breathed, watching the light show in awe. Ren finally caught up to her, panting.
"Nora! Don't run off like tha-!" His scolding was cut off as he too was mesmerized by the sight. But, something felt off. His eyes caught movement ahead, and said movement seemed to be where these insects were headed.
From the trees, the sky seemed to darken as a hulking form emerged. It was larger than a Great Dane, and definitely heavier if it's bulky build were anything to go by. Covered in cyan scales and golden spikes, the beast seemed to glow in certain places with bioluminescence, and it flowed even more as the insects from before settled in the white fur on its back and forelimbs, causing them to crackle with untamed lightning. It's head vaguely resembled a wolf, the two horns on its head almost passing for ears if it's real ears weren't on either side of it's skull. This monster, as known back home, was the Thunder Wolf Wyvern, Zinogre.
The beast had a head or two on Nora, who was already kinda short to begin with, and it only got more clear how big it was once it stalked up to her, lightning crackling all around it as electric blue eyes glowered down at the two humans, growling. Nora was silent for a few moments, but then...
"IT'S A THUNDER DOGGO!!" She cried. The wolf-like monster, not anticipating that kind of reaction, quickly lost its charge, the scenery becoming light as it traded intimidation for bafflement.
"H-Huh!?" The beast, evidently male by his deep voice, hadn't expected the girl to start cheering. Then Nora jumped on his back, and his confusion turned to panic.
"Oh, god! Get it off! Get it off of me!" The beast roared, jumping and thrashing like a bronco to get the energetic girl off its back. While this was happening, the beast's white fur began to glow cyan as the Fulgurbugs within charged up in response to their host's panic.
"YEEHAW!!" Nora yelled as she was thrown around, not registering the shocks of the insects in the slightest. Ren tried to de-escalate the situation and approached them.
"Nora! Get down from the-AH!!" Ren screamed and dived to avoid the wolf monster's tail, which took out a tree behind him. He watched the beast run off with Nora laughing away on his back. He sighed in exasperation before running after them.
What did he do to get dragged into this?
Back with Boomer and Pyrrha...
"Do you need any help, pipsqueak?" Boomer Asked.
Ruby was knocking some kind of spout device into a tree. "N-no! I totally got it!" The red reaper denied, still trying to get the tap into the tree.
"Here, step aside." Boomer tore out the spout with his teeth and slashed it with his claws. Red sap oozed from the gash like blood. Boomer, curious about the substance, gave it a lick. It was then, something clicked in him. This shit good. His eyes flashed, and in heartbeat, he was tearing into the trunk, gorging for more of the delicious liquid.
"Um, Boomer? You are aware Ruby needs to collect at least one jar of sap for herself, right?" Pyrrha pointed out, referring to the crimsonette who was tapping her foot.
Boomer pulled his sap covered snout out to look at Pyrrha. He then looked back at the hole he created in his foraging. He forced himself off the scratched up trunk and placed his forelimbs back on the ground.
"Sorry. The sap is yours pint-sized." The Tigrex apologized before walking off to find an unoccupied tree.
Ruby huffed at the jab at her small size, but collected the sap regardless.
Boomer found another tree and tore into the trunk to get the sap. Pyrrha, who was about to fill her jar, paused and looked at the Wyvern.
"Why did you leave Jaune alone with CRDL?" She asked.
"He's got to learn to stand up for himself. How can he lead all of you if he can't even figure out what he should be doing." The Roaring Wyvern explained.
"I get where you're coming from, but your method is rather cruel." The Spartan said firmly.
"Maybe, but he needs the jumpstart. It won't work if you offer him a chance. He's too stubborn for that. He needs to be put in a situation he can only get out of himself." Boomer explained.
The redhead only sighed. "If you say so." She said.
Boomer ceased his feeding when his nose picked up a new scent. He hopped off the trunk and sniffed the air. It smelled like a lakeside, almost...clean. The Roaring Wyvern jumped a bit when heard a splat, and turned to find that Pyrrha had stepped in a puddle of what seemed to be a foamy mixture.
"Did...someone leave their detergent here and it spilled over?" Pyrrha asked.
The Psuedo Wyvern said nothing and sniffed the puddle. He looked to the left and saw several other puddles of the substance scattered around the area.
Boomers eyes narrowed as he stalked towards a cluster of bushes. Growling, he stuck his head in, and felt his nose touch something.
He then rose his head up out of the bushes, along with whatever he was touching. He was shocked to see he was nose-to-nose with another monster.
The new monster was sleek in design, with pearlescent scales and dull pink fins along its neck, back, and tail. Purple fur, bristly like a paintbrush, covered it's underside, mostly underneath the tail, and seemed to be secreting the foamy substance. The head was foxlike, and adorned with dull pink structures that seemed to function like ears. This was, as he remembered, a Mizutsune. The two of them locked eyes for a few seconds before it registered just how close they were.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there!" Boomer was sputtering. He never sputtered! And why the hell did his heart go into overdrive when they touched noses?
"N-no! It's fine, it's fine..." The leviathan, a female with a melodious voice, reassured them. "I was only sleeping." She sounded cranky.
"Shit, well...um..." Boomer tried to think of a coherent sentence to say.
"What's going on here?"
Oh, thank Gog that Pyrrha is here!
"Oh, Pyrrha! This is one of those Mizutsune I told you guys about!" He explained.
"Well, aren't you gorgeous. I like your colors." Pyrrha complimented the leviathan.
"Oh...um, thanks? I never talked with a human before." The Foxlike beast admitted.
"Well, there's a first for everything." Boomer said. "I'm Boomer, and the human is Pyrrha. Got a name?"
"Blossom. Nice to meet you." She says politely.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you don't know where the hell you are?" Boomer said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah. We have no clue where we are. We've been here for weeks with no clue how to get home." She confirmed.
"We?" The Tigrex and human woman asked in unison.
"Oh, yeah. Me, a Zinogre and a-" She began, before they all heard a roar. One Shade was all too familiar with.
"What was that!?" Ruby cried, shaking in fear.
"Shade, do you know what that was?" Weiss asked the Nargacuga. His eyes only narrowed, and his response chilled them to the bone.
"Only trouble."
With CDRL, a few minutes prior...
The team of bullies lazed around while Jaune slowly and tiredly walked into the clearing with them, carrying six jars of sap, before collapsing to the ground.
"Hey, great work Jauney-Boy." Cardin said to the moaning boy. "That wasn't too hard, was it?"
"I-I think I'm allergic to this stuff." Jaune moaned.
"Great, great, great. Now, you may be asking yourself, why did you get six jars, when there are only five of us?" Cardin asked.
"That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes." Jaune tiredly confirmed.
"Well..." The said as the blonde sat up. "Come with me, and find out." Cardin wasn't phased by Jaune's pitiful 'oh no'.
They moved to a cliffsedge, lying on their bellies to keep a low profile. Jaune was pulled up by Cardin to the edge, and he saw the others doing their tasks. Team RWBY were gathering sap with the aid of their monsters, like Shade using his sense of smell to locate the best trees to siphon, or Douglas using his claws to create gashes so Weiss wouldn't have to struggle with the spout.
He also saw Boomer tearing into a particularly thick tree while Pyrrha did her own sap collecting. He didn't see Glynda, Nora, or Ren, but he figured they weren't far. He turned back to Cardin, who seemed to be plotting.
"So...why are we here?" Jaune asked.
"Payback." Cardin declared with a smirk.
Jaune followed his gaze, which landed on none other than his partners. "Pyrrha? Boomer?" He asked.
"Why the-?"
"That's them. One is a red-haired know-it-all who thinks she's so smart, and the other has been a pain in my ass since he appeared in Emerald Forest." Cardin pulled out a box that seemed to buzz from within. "The plan is simple: Jaune here acquired a swarm of Rapier Wasps last night. Now, we got another job for him." He explained.
"Now, based on the essays you wrote for me last week, these things love sweets." Cardin said. "I think it's time we taught them both a thing or two."
He then forced Jaune onto his feet and shoved a jar into his hands. "And YOU'RE gonna do it."
"Do what?" The blonde asked, uncertain.
"Throw the sap at her." Cardin ordered. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the next flight outta Beacon."
Jaune looked down at the jar in his hands, then to the expectant gazes of CDRL. He had to do this! He moved into position to chuck the jar, but then hesitated when a thought struck him.
Was he really that desperate?
He thought of all the friends he made here at Beacon, of both man and beast. What would his friends think? What would his partner, Pyrrha, think? What would Boomer think?
That last question made Jaune's blood run cold. He knew that monsters were no joke when angered, but he witnessed the Tigrex's anger firsthand in the many times he snapped at Cardin. If he threw this jar, he would be at the receiving end of Roaring Wyvern's rage. Was his reputation really worth getting every bone in his body crushed by those steel trap jaws?
'No.' Jaune thought, his expression hardening. 'Boomer was right, I need to put aside my pride for my friends.' He lowered the jar.
"No." He said firmly.
"What did you say to me?" Cardin demanded.
"I said, NO!" Jaune shouted, throwing the jar at Cardin. Unfortunately, while Cardin wasn't the best student, he was still capable and easily dodged the sap.
The sap went into a thicket behind the other delinquents and landed with a crash. What they weren't prepared for was the loud snarl which to Jaune sounded like a cry of surprise.
Stumbling out of the trees was another monster they hadn't seen. Red and black scales covered its topside while it's underside was a light tan. It's wings were huge, with intricate flame patterns that were more noticeable on the underside. It's body was supported by two powerful back legs, armed with equally sharp talons. Behind it, a long tail that ended in a spiked club. From an arrow shaped head, two sapphire blue eyes stared back, radiating hate in their gaze. This, as Boomer had told Jaune before, was the King of the Skies, Rathalos.
The Wyvern searched for the one who dare throw sap at it, before it's sharp eyes locked onto the boys. It's eyes narrowed in anger, and it scrapped the ground in preparation to charge them.
Suddenly, the box burst open, and the swarm of Rapier Wasps immediately set this sights on the Wyvern. The monster shrieked as the insects attacked its head.
Jaune stared at the scene in a stupor, but was shaken out of it by Cardin. "Ya know what, forget it! We need to run! NOW!" He urged the blonde to started running. They heard a roar of rage that registered as a firm command to Jaune.
"GET OFF ME YOU PESTS!!" The Wyvern roared in a deep voice before reducing the swarm to piles of ash with a massive belch of fire from his maw. With the pests out of the way, the monster turned it's attention back to the boys, flames frothing from his jaws.
Jaune and Cardin exchanged a glance.
"Run?"
"Run."
RROOOAAAGGGHH!!!
All five men screamed like little girls as the monster took to the air, raining down fireballs on them that shook the ground as they exploded on impact. Jaune narrowly avoided a flaming projectile that took out a tree as he and CDRL ran back to where everyone else was.
Hope Boomer or one of the other monsters knew how to deal with this one?
Back with the others, present time...
The boys ran, but the beast was right behind them. And soon enough, it was close enough to where it could chomp down on Jaune. Fortunately, a panther-like roar was heard and a red streak became visible, rushing in and slamming into the dragon, revealing Shade had pinned the monster.
(Music: Monster Hunter World Iceborne - Zinogre Dynamic Theme (World, Chase, Mount) by Grav3staR)
The two beasts wrestled, each one leaving scratches on the other with their claws. The Rathalos managed to force the other Wyvern off him with a flame-riddled bite to the shoulder, the Nargacuga giving a pained shriek and leaping a safe distance away.
From his safe spot, Shade glared at his opponent as he rose to his feet. His eyes widened when he not only saw the healing scar across the top of his head, but the voice that came from the Red Wyvern.
"Hehehe...I know that ferocity anywhere. Never thought I'd find you out here, Shade." The King of the Skies laughed, arrogance heavy in his tone. Shade narrowed his eyes.
"YOU!! I thought you learned your lesson back in the Ancient Forest!" Shade snarled, his eyes burning crimson with fury.
"Hmph. It'll take more than a beating from a kitten to slow me down." The flying Wyvern mocked the already livid Nargacuga. "You will dread the day you fought me: TYRANT!!" He declared.
"I'll make you eat those words, you bastard!!!" Shade roared, leaping at the Rathalos to slit his throat. Tyrant sidestepped the psuedo wyvern and ascended into the air with his wings, the black Wyvern shouting profanities as he gave chase.
In the background, the others watched at the fight between the two monsters. Russel, the CDRL member with the Mohawk, was pulled aside by a furious Yang Xiao Long.
"What. The hell. Happened." Yang growled, her eyes burning into the boy's soul.
"W-we wanted to prank Pyrrha, then that red monster showed up!" He cried out in fear.
"That thing is a Rathalos!" Boomer shouted, marching up to them. "They are the apex predators of the air back home! They're highly territorial and will fight anything they label as threats!"
"We need to do something about him!" Ruby cried, pulling out Crescent Rose. "If we don't intervene now, Shade will get killed!"
"Easier said than done, little one." Said Blossum, looking the crimsonette in the eyes. "Once Tyrant sets his mind on a target, he won't stop until said target is unconscious or destroyed." She explained Grimly.
"So that's his name...we need a plan." Douglas said firmly. "Any ideas?"
"Not the time! That thing has to go down!" Ruby instantly readied her sniper rifle and started shooting at the red beast.
Tyrant was evading a tail swing from Shade when he felt the rounds bouncing off his armor. "The hell?" He snapped his head in the direction where the shots were coming from, but doing so left him open to be sent crashing down by a blow to the head from Shade's spiked tail.
The red Wyvern hit the ground hard, creating a cloud of dust in the process. Scrambling to his feet, he found himself surrounded by some kids and a few monsters.
'Hunters...' Tyrant thought, before correcting himself. 'No, wait. Riders, they got monsters on their side.'
"We got you surrounded! No where to run, Tyrant!" Shade snarled. The King of the Skies growled. Just his luck.
But then they heard something. Sounded like...jolly laughter and desperate screaming?
Suddenly, a Zinogre crashed through the trees, Nora still clinging tightly to his back. "Tyrant! Please help me! Get her off me! GET HER OFF ME?!" He cried out, trying to get her off, sending lightning bolts and Fulgur bugs everywhere, some almost even hitting the king of the skies.
"Rai!? What are you-!?" Tyrant couldn't find the right words to describe the chaos happening.
"Yeehaw! Ride 'em, cowgirl!" Nora cheered as she clung to the beast.
The monster, having enough of Nora's crap, jumped and flipped in the air before slamming down in an explosion of lightning. He didn't feel Nora struggling beneath him, so he rolled back onto his feet, crawling out of the small imprint he made in the ground.
'Finally.' Rai sighed internally, relieved. 'Glad that's over. That was night-.'
"Oh, how I love when they play hard to get!" Nora giggled maniacally. She rose out of the crater, grinning widely as her stocky form crackled with electricity with Magnhild in hand.
The Zinogre shrieked and ducked behind Tyrant. He peeked out from behind the Wyvern to point a shaking claw at the redhead. "K-Keep her away from me." He whimpered.
"I don't think anyone in the world can do that now." Boomer said, almost feeling pity for the Fanged Wyvern.
"You can keep her away by helping me fight these guys!" Tyrant ordered, preparing to take to the skies again.
"R-Right." The Thunder Wolf Wyvern gulped, already readying his Fulgur Bugs for battle. The two monsters were surrounded, and there was only one way out.
A good ol' fashioned brawl.
All hell broke loose. Shade followed by Boomer, Pyrrha, Blake, Yang, and Ruby attacked Tyrant while Nora followed by Douglas, Ren, Jaune, and Weiss attacked Rai. Blossom chose to hide behind a rock along with CDRL, the latter not wanting anything to do with the fight.
Rai howled and sent his fulgur bugs out, the small creatures building charge until the released electricity akin to a lightning bolt, Douglas doing into a defensive position to tank it, Nor absorbing some of the bolts and the others leaping to safety.
Nora laughed and fired grenades at the Lightning beast, the projectiles exploding on the Zinogre's back. Snarling, Rai sent bolts of thunder through the ground with a side slam of his tail, the surges exploding into pillars once they hit the redhead. While Nora did get shocked, it didn't phase her as she jumped, shifting her grenade launcher to hammer mode, swinging it to connect with the Zinogre's jaw.
Rai staggered was staggered by this, being unaware of the ice tornado Doulgas made before he was launched into the air.
The Zinogre screamed and sent out electrical swarm balls in all directions as it spun in the air. The Barioth was about to slash the thunder doggo with his claws before a stray swarm of Fulgur bugs smashed into him, shocking the white Wyvern and sending him crashing back down to the ground.
Rai landed on the red ground and spun around to face Nora, trading blows with the Valkyrie while dodging fire from the others.
Jaune shouted as he rushed in and slammed his shield I to the Fanged Wyvern's face, swinging with his sword and hacking halfway through one of the Zinogre's horns.
ROOOOOOOOO!!
Enraged, the Zinogre pulsed with cyan lightning as it howled, his attacker barely having time to pull out his sword before being blasted back by a shockwave as Rai went full power, Fulgur bugs swirling around him as honey-comb like structures became erect and released new swarms of the insects, the charge so intense that the Monster glowed from within.
"You want a fight! COME GET ONE!" The beast roared, arching with new power.
"Oh, it! Is! On!" Nora declared, firing her grenades at the beast.
Back with Shade and Co., the Rathalos was proving to be a challenge.
Ruby was just barely managing to stay ahead of its talons. "Ruby, careful! Its talons are venomous!" Shade warned, jumping onto and biting the king of the Skies' tail.
"Gah! Let go of me, you pest!" Tyrant roared, thrashing his tail in an attempt to throw Shade off. He managed to succeed by swinging his tail into a tree, his aggressor releasing his grip on the appendage.
"He's moving too fast! We need to force him to come down!" Pyrrha cried, firing shots from her rifle from behind a nearby tree. Boomer, who was occupied throwing rocks at the enemy monster, heard Pyrrha and had a lightbulb go off in his head.
"I know! We need to flash 'em!" He declared.
"You mean like this?" Yang asked, grabbing and slowly pulling her top open.
"NO NOT THAT KIND OF FLASH!!!" Boomer yelled. If he could blush, he would be redder than a tomato. "I meant flash-bang grenades, ya bimbo!!"
"Did anyone bring one?" Blake yelled over the sounds of the scuffle ahead.
"I've got some!" Pyrrha said, pulling one from her belt. She then whistled to attract everyone's attention. This caused the intended target, Tyrant, to turn to her as she tossed it, releasing a blinding flash that caused the beast to fall to the ground.
"MY EYES!" The Rathalos cried, stumbling around. In his stupor, he shot fire from his maw in all directions, his opponents scrambling to avoid the heated projectiles.
"That's enough!" Weiss shouted, firing a large ice projectile as Rathalos shot another fireballs, the projectiles exploding in the beast's face.
Tyrant shrieked in pain as the ice collided with his snout full-force. Though staggered, the flying Wyvern opened his eyes and stared down the source of all his problems, who laughed as he struggled to get on his feet.
"Is that all you got, fly boy?" Shade taunted the King of the Ancient Forest. The Rathalos swore steam was shooting out of his ears right now as he internal fire ignited even more.
"THAT DOES IT!" He roared, flames frothing out of his mouth just as Shade's eyes regained their crimson shine. "This. Ends. HERE!!"
ROOOAAAGGHH!!
YAAAAAOOOWLGGH!!!
Suddenly, Pyrrha got between the two and held them back.
"What the-!?" Shade cried out, screeching to a halt. "Pyrrha, step aside! You're gonna get hurt!" He ordered.
"Step aside, wretch! Incase you haven't noticed, I have a cat to skin!" Tyrant roared in Pyrrha's face. Pyrrha, however, stood firm and countered the Rathalos' sapphire gaze with her own Emerald one.
"No. Both of you have to stop. This fighting is pointless and will only draw the Grimm." She said.
"Whatever these 'Grimm' are is not my concern, woman. Now, move." Tyrant growled, his eyes burning into Pyrrha's soul.
"I will not stand by and watch you hurt my friends." She warned him.
"What makes you think I will bow down to you? You are but a mere insect compared to me!!" The Rathalos roared.
Shade was going to defend Pyrrha when a tremor behind him forced the Wyvern to turn around. He nearly pissed himself in fear at what was happening behind him.
Rai and Nora were battered and bruised, but they were still standing as they panted. Electricity crackled across their bodies as they stared each other down. Nora then gave battle cry and ran at the Zinogre, lightning dancing across her hammer as she prepared to go at the Thunder Wolf again. Rai did the same, Howling in rage as bolts struck the ground around him.
Shade's pupils shrunk and thinned to slits as he watch the two charged beings leapt up, hammer and claw drawn back for a heavy hit.
"EVERYBODY!! GET DOWN!!!" He shrieked, Grabbing Pyrrha by the skirt with his teeth before dashing behind some boulders with the others. Tyrant, however, couldn't reach cover in time before he witnessed Nora's hammer connect with Rai's paw.
An explosion of thunder and lightning resulted from the combined power of the two, and all who were there had to shield their eyes as a blinding light filled Forever Fall. Tyrant screamed as he was consumed by the flash of light.
The explosion left a massive cloud of dust in its wake, crackling with pink and blue electricity. Debris in the form of rocks and bits of the trees fell out of the sky and rained down on everyone, who either screamed or shielded their heads as it happened. When the dust settled, a crater spanning several acres had been formed, the remnants of what used to be there littering the ground.
And at the center of it all, laying on their backs side-by-side as they tried to catch their breath, was Rai and Nora.
"That was... pretty awesome..." Nora said tiredly.
Rai growled and rolled back over to get on his feet, only to give a sharp whine as a bolt of pain shot up his leg. He looked at his right forelimb and gasped when he saw it was bent in funny way.
"You broke my fucking leg!!" He roared, sending a death glare down at the exhausted redhead. His anger only increased when he saw the lopsided grin on her face.
"Finally. " She says warily
"Wha-!? How even-!?" He fumed before letting out a huff and sitting down, his back turned to Nora. "You know what!? I hope you're fucking happy, 'cause if I can't run, I can't catch food! So thanks for nothing, shitass!!" He snarled. Nora's smugness faded a bit when she caught a small shimmer in his eyes. Was he...crying?
"Defeated by a shrimp." Rai muttered, feeling ashamed that he got bested by a human. His frustration boiled over in the form of comical waterfalls streaming from his eyes. "No one's gonna take me seriously." He sobbed quietly. He jolted when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
He turned, only to scoff when he saw Nora. He only growled and turned his gaze to straight ahead, staring blankly at nothing.
"What do you want? Here to gloat?" He asked sarcastically. "Go ahead, mock me for all I care!! I'm beaten..." He moaned sadly.
She then put a hand on his head. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite and distant, unbound by death, I release your soul. And by my shoulder protect thee." She said.
The Zinogre looked at the girl in bafflement. Was this the same little shit that kicked his ass? This whole day was making his head spin.
"Um...what?" He asked.
He suddenly looked down to notice his body was glowing and the pain in his leg starting to subside.
"H-how? Those types of injuries take weeks to heal!" He exclaimed in shock.
"That's aura. It let's us heal a lot faster. It's still gonna take a day or two, but your leg will get better." Nora promised.
"Hmph. And what guarantees will happen to me then? Humans are known to be deceitful, lying creatures. Only out for themselves." The Thunder Wolf grumbled.
"Well, we only hunt Grimm, not you guys." Nora says.
"I'm referring to the in-fighting you guys cause among yourselves. Your kind always find reasons to start fights amongst yourselves, not to mention the destruction you create trying to conquer one another. Such conflicts nearly screwed the world back home over several times." Rai explained.
"Not everyone is like that. I want to make the world a better, safer place." Nora said.
The monster only gave a grunt at that. Nora looked down for a second, before an idea then struck her. "I know! I can prove it to you by having you help me find my friends. I wanna make sure they weren't caught in that explosion. How's your sense of smell?"
"Good enough. Who would you want me to sniff out first?" Rai asked.
"Maybe a girl that smells like roses?" Nora suggested. Rai huffed and sniffed the air. It smelled lightly of ozone, but he could also smell the lightest trace of roses. Slowly, he began limping towards the direction of the scent, with Nora trailing behind him.
Not too far away, a pile of large branches shifted before Shade rose out of it, small twigs and leaves falling off him. Though covered in bruises, he was relatively unharmed. He looked down at the bruised Redhead that was also rising up.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Y-Yeah." Pyrrha said, her usual confidence shaken by the explosion.
The Nargacuga nodded before looking out to the wrecked landscape. "Can anyone here me?! Hello!?" He yelled.
"Shade! Over here!" Nora called as she jogged up to the Psuedo-Wyvern with Rai limping shortly after her.
"Nora! Finally got off your adrenaline high I see!" Shade said. He then looked at the Zinogre beside her. "You're not gonna cause trouble, are you?"
"No...the little shit here took out all the energy I had for today." Rai glared at Nora, who chuckled sheepishly.
"Guys? Is that you?" They heard Ruby cry out in the distance.
"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang repeated her joke from the ruins.
Shade ignored her and looked around.
"Is everyone ok?" Shade asked as the others slowly walked out of cover.
"I'm a little battered, but I'm alright." Boomer groaned as he rolled his shoulders to ease the soreness setting in.
"Then, where is Jaune?" Ren asked as he approached.
"I could wonder the same thing." Blake added, dusting herself off.
"You referring to these dummies." A voice called out. Everyone turned and saw Blossom walking towards them, carrying all 4 members of CDRL plus Jaune by grabbing their collars in her teeth. She dropped them unceremoniously on the ground. "Found these idiots trying to sneak away from the scene. I suppose they have something to do with fact that Tyrant went on a rampage.
Jaune picked his head up and yelped when his eyes met the furious gaze of Boomer bearing down at him.
"You got a lot of explaining to do, twerp. Same goes for the rest of you boys." He growled. "Start talking."
"These guys wanted me to throw sap and wasps at you and Pyrrha." Jayne explained.
Boomer couldn't believe it. He covered this wimp's ass to make sure he didn't get canned by Cardin or the Professors, and this is what he got in return. Without thinking, his eyes flashed red with rage and he tackled the blonde to the ground.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!" He roared. "I TRUSTED YOU HOLD YOUR OWN AGAINST CARDIN'S WILL AND YOU BLEW IT!!"
"I-I was s-scared..." Jaune stammered, tears brimming his eyes out of fear. "I didn't mean-"
*WHAM!!*
Jaune was cut off by not a slash from the Tigrex's claws, but a punch to the face by the Roaring Wyvern, blow leaving a purple mark underneath his eye.
"CUT THE BULLSHIT! YOU WANTED TO BE PROUD WARRIOR, BUT I DON'T SEE ONE IN YOU!" The Tigrex snarled. "WE TRUSTED YOU TO BE THERE FOR US, AND HERE I AM, WASTING MY TIME BERATING YOUR STUPID ASS BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!! YOU'RE INABILITY TO ACT IS WHAT NEARLY COST US OUR FRIEND'S LIVES, YOU DICKLESS, PEA-BRAINED, WASTE OF GODDAMN SPACE!!"
Silence fell over the group as the Tigrex's words echoed throughout the forest. No one made a sound, not even the Grimm in the forest wanted to face the fury of a pissed off Tigrex.
"But I did stand up to him! I threw the sap at him, not you guys!" Jaune pleaded.
"It missed." Cardin corrected. "He had bad aim. The sap wound up hitting that red dragon thing. The Rapier Wasps attacked him and after he burned the swarm to ash, he attacked us. If it weren't for his clumsiness, we would've been back on the airship with the sap in tow and our plan would've gone unnoticed."
"Oh just shut up!" Blossom snapped, stepping up to the delinquent. "I don't know you, but I know a bully when I see it. You get off to belittling others because you were raised in a way that made you believe that you have the right to press others to the point where they off themselves. You could've helped when they were trying to handle my friend, but did you help? NO! You and your lackies hid like a bunch of cowards!"
Cardin was about to counter when Nora spoke up. "Speaking of your friend. Where is he?"
The others realized he wasn't there, and looked around, trying to find the red scales of the Wyvern.
*CRASH!!*
From a pile of rocks behind Pyrrha, Tyrant exploded out with a roar, pouncing on the Spartan and pressing down on their back to pin her.
"PYRRHA!!" The others cried. They tried to rush at the Wyvern, but it was too late as his teeth bit into the back of her neck.
...or it would've if it weren't for her aura, which pulsed as the sharp points met the barrier and bounced off, much to the fire monster's shock.
"What the-?!" Tyrant was baffled. Why were his teeth bouncing off? He tried again and again on different parts of her exposed neck and shoulders, each attempt getting the same result.
"Why won't you just bleed!?" He roared. He kept on biting until suddenly he felt his teeth catch on something. The string keeping Pyrrha's breastplate in place.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she felt the pressure on her chest, followed by several snapping sounds.
Her attacker growled and tugged, yanking his head back in an attempt to free himself. Each tug causing the string to strain further and further to breaking. Until suddenly, he managed to finally get free, stepping off the Spartan with a triumphant laugh. But then he heard the telltale sound of metal hitting the ground.
"Just my luck..." He heard her mutter. He turned to look at her, and saw the breastplate beside her, with a broken red string beside it. Pyrrha, who had a blush growing on her face, was frozen as her D-cup breasts, capped with light pink nipples, were exposed.
Pyrrha Nikos, Champion of Mistral, was topless!
"What the-!?" Blake cried out, blushing madly.
"Ruby! Close your eyes!" Yang cried, covering her sisters peepers.
"Yang, I've seen boobs before. You flaunt yours whenever you can." Ruby complained.
"Whoa, Pyrrha! You're huge!" Nora cried out, amazed at her teammate's chest.
Ren merely placed a hand over his eyes and respectfully turned away. As for Jaune and team CDRL, they passed out from nosebleeds.
"Impressive, little one. You certainly aren't little in one area." Blossom said.
The three PsuedoWyverns weren't so focused on the Spartan's tits, but her abdomen. That six pack was to die for...
"If she wasn't human, I'd court her." Shade breathed, his already red ears burning even brighter.
"Agreed." His Barioth and Tigrex companions agreed without a second thought, the former almost drooling before he caught himself.
Pyrrha ignored them and locked eyes with the Flying Wyvern, who was looking at her smugly. Tyrant smirked and shook his head.
"Well, well. Looks like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place...er...Pyrrha, was it?" He said. "What's it gonna be? You can either you fight me like a real warrior, or will continue to cower because of the so called 'shame' or 'dignity' you humans have!"
Pyrrha weighed her options. It was either fight this thing with only Aura and her skirt protecting her, or give into her shame and possibly be viewed as a coward. Her gaze steeled over and she outstretched her hands, her weapon and shield coming to her with a metallic hum.
The others (the ones who weren't passed out) watched on in awe as Pyrrha Nikos, with nothing to cover her chest, stood up and stared down her opponent. She rolled her neck and shoulders, creating satisfying pops from her bones, before shifting Miló to short sword form.
"I won't be defeated by shame!" She shouted firmly. Her opponent growled. "THEN HAVE AT YOU!!" He roared before charging at her.
The dragon roared and shot fireballs from its mouth at the girl.
Pyrrha somersaulted over one before moving in with a lateral slash with her sword, her opponent sidestepping so that the blade only grazed his armored shoulder. Extending Miló into its spear form, she stabbed it into the ground and used it to vault into the air. Spinning in midair, she mounted the beast, shifting her footing to remain balanced on the Rathalos.
"Get off me, you wretch! Non human is worthy of touching me, let alone trying to mount me like a simple Anjanath or Great Jagras!" Tyrant snapped, thrashing in the air to get her off his back.
"You talk too much!" Pyrrha fired back, striking it across the back with her spear. Grabbing onto a spike, she threw Akoúō out like a frisbee, her mount stopping to watch as it flew away from them.
"Hah! What was that supposed to-?"
*CLANG!*
"AGH!" At break neck speed, the shield came back, hitting the Rathalos in the nose. While her opponent reeled from the impact, Pyrrha jumped off him and began using her semblance to repeatedly hit Tyrant in the head with her shield. Each hit made the Fire Wyvern even more furious.
"Enough!" The beast roared, grabbing the shield in his mouth and flinging it to the side, where it became imbedded halfway into the tree that Boomer and Nora happened to be standing beside. The two flinched at the shield nearly hitting them at such a deadly speed. They sighed in relief, but what they didn't know was this tree was a goldmine of sap, which spewed out the side of the wound and covered them both in the red, viscous liquid, their eyes, wide with shock, were the only distinguishable features that could be seen.
(AN: Yes, I meant Boomer in that context, not Rai. Although, he'd probably be close, too.)
Tyrant then flew forward and grabbed Pyrrha in his claws, doing a backflip and flinging her into another tree, before launching a fireball after her. Pyrrha hit the tree and began to fall to the ground, but then the fireball hit her and sent her through the tree.
"It's useless! Give up!" He snarled, watching as Pyrrha pushed herself to her feet. With a battle cry she launched forward, with Tyrant doing the same. The two unstoppable forces met with a loud boom, creating a dust cloud with their limbs occasionally peeking out as the sounds of their scuffle can be heard from within.
The force sent Jaune flying back into a tree, before Ren and Nora were sent crashing into him, them Boomer was launched on top of them all.
Several times the dust cloud would clear, showing that one had pinned the other. Sometimes Pyrrha would be on top, sometimes it would be Tyrant (A/N: and no, this isn't one of THOSE fanfics. Go on AO3 for that.). They kept up with this until Pyrrha got the Fire Wyvern into chokehold.
"Unhand me! Wretch!" The Rathalos roared, struggling greatly against her.
"You are beaten! Surrender, now!" The topless Spartan ordered.
"The King of the skies never surrenders!" Tyrant roared, trying to shoot a fireball at their feet.
"That's enough out of you!" Pyrrha, with all her weight, jumped and choke-slammed the (shrunken) Wyvern into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. The beast shrieked and attempted to fire off another fireball, but all that came out were a few weak embers and a puff of smoke.
"You're exhausted." Pyrrha said seriously, pinning him by sitting on and straddling his neck. "I won't continue this fight if you can't even use your primary weapon."
"N-no! I cannot...be...beaten." As much as Tyrant hated to admit it, if he wasn't able to even cough up a spark, then the match was decided. He had lost.
"Tyrant." A soft voice called out. Tyrant eyes shifted to the familiar sight of a Mizutsune. His sapphire orbs widened. Blossom!
"H-hey, Blossom! Just in time, could you give me a hand?" He said, once again trying to move, but failing. His leviathan friend only shook her head. "No. There is no use fighting these people." The Rathalos opened his maw to retort, but the Bubble-Fox Wyvern cut him off. "Rai has already surrendered."
"How!? The bastard usually never backs down from a fight!" The flying Wyvern yelled in disbelief.
"Well he did after that hammer wielder broke his leg. There isn't a point fighting these folks." She said calmly.
"Damn you." The Wyvern cursed. "Very well. I concede." He declared.
Pyrrha gave a sigh of relief. That nightmare was over. She stepped off of the exhausted Rathalos and walked over to the others. Shade was the first to greet her.
"Nice work kicking that guy's ass, Pyrrha." He said, before looking down at her chest. "Need a towel to cover up?"
"I'll grab one at the airship. After what happened, I just want to get back to the dorm and relax." She said, wiping some sweat off her brow. Team RWBY approached her along with Douglas.
"You got a lot of confidence if you can fight topless." Blake said. "Most women would be mortified if their breasts were exposed."
"I was a little embarrassed, but not mortified." Pyrrha explained. "My family and I have been to nudist beaches, so it isn't as much of a shock to me. Though I spent good money on getting that breastplate forged." She sighed, looking at Tyrant, who was conversing with Blossom and Rai.
"You okay there, champ?" Rai asked.
"Better than you. Wasn't that your dominant paw?" Tyrant asked.
"Sadly. Apparently, that kid activated some weird energy field called Aura that would cause my break to heal quickly." Rai said.
"Hmph." The Fire Wyvern grunted. He then spotted a blonde human female in glasses walking onto the scene. He unconsciously gulped. Something about her terrified him.
Glynda scanned the destruction around her. That explosion was huge! She spotted Boomer cleaning himself of excess sap, and approached him.
"What happened? Is everyone alright?" She demanded.
Boomer quickly turned his attention to her. "Y-yeah, Everyone's fine. That red dragon caused all the commotion. Well, him and a certain team." He said, glaring at CDRL and Jaune, the team of bullies trying to sneak away as Jaune looked ashamed. "You've all got some explaining to do." He told them.
CDRL stopped when Shade cut them off, growling. "You boys ain't escaping punishment this time." He snarled. Glynda called him off.
"That will do Shade. I will deal with them myself." Glynda dismissed him. Shade grumbled but returned to sitting next to Team RWBY. "Who is responsible for this mess?" She asked, a quiet rage burning in her gaze.
Jaune looked at Glynda, who had her arms crossed as she scrutinized him under her green gaze. He looked at the others, specifically Pyrrha's, who looked back at him with worry. He sighed. Better to come clean than nothing.
"Miss Goodwitch." He said. "I'm...the one to blame. I wasn't cut out to be the leader, and I nearly helped Cardin in a prank that would've put Pyrrha in danger. I tried to avert the disaster by refusing to do the act, but my actions wound up bringing that guy over." He explained, pointing to Tyrant, who turned away in indignation.
"And what prank did Mr. Winchester have in mind?" Glynda asked.
"He wanted me to throw sap at her, then he'd set a bunch of Rapier Wasps on her." Jaune explained.
Glynda felt a growl build in her throat, but pushed it down. "Is there any motif as to why you agreed to participate in such a thing?"
Jaune once again looked at his friends, who were all looking at him expectantly. He sighed. Here goes nothing...
"The truth is...I lied to get into Beacon." He confessed, drawing gasps from the others. Pyrrha put a hand over her mouth while Ren and Nora stood in shock. Boomer seemed surprised, as if he wasn't expecting to Jaune to come out like that.
Jaune took another deep breath and continued. "I cheated the registration system to get access, thinking that being a hero would be easy. Well it isn't. Quickly, I found out that you had to be responsible to be a huntsman, and thus I became scared. I feared that I wasn't good enough, and that fear led Cardin to control me, using me as puppet. And that's what led up to what happened." Jaune explained, holding firm even as he felt his future growing grim with every word that left his lips. "And there you have it. A boy who tried to play hero and wound up a fraud in the process. I'm sorry for everything I've done and you all have a right to be mad."
It was silent. Glynda said nothing as she looked down at the blonde. This crap in any situation would get him expelled for sure. He openly admitted to endangering his classmates lives because he was afraid to stand up for himself. But...at the same time, he did attempt to Right his wrongs, so he was well on the way to becoming good huntsman. She sighed and pushed up her glasses.
"While your actions are despicable in the fact you endangered everyone's safety, you did attempt to make things right." She said. "Therefore, I won't have kicked out. But, you will serve Saturday detention for the next few weeks."
Jaune gave a sigh of relief while the others smiled. CDRL jumped, however, when Glynda focused her fiery gaze on them. "You delinquents, on the other hand, will be suspended until I can decide an appropriate punishment for you."
The three wild monsters attempted to sneak away as the woman was reprimanding her charges.
"And where do you think you three are headed?" She called out, dragging them back with her semblance.
Blossom gulped at this. "Back to the forest?"
"No, you will be taken back to Beacon do that Director Ozpin can decide what to do with you." Glynda said. Tyrant sputtered and slammed his wings on the ground in outrage.
"W-wha-!? We aren't your prisoners of war, four-eyes!!" He roared, not phasing the woman in the slightest. Rai sighed at his friends inability to let a loss go. "Dude, that one girl broke my leg in that explosion, and that red-haired warrior managed to beat you, even when topless. Give it a rest."
"Never!" Tyrant roared, attempting to fly away.
Glynda only sighed and pulled them back using her semblance. The Fire Wyvern struggled against the force pulling him back, but quickly stopped when his already tired body ached as post-battle soreness set in.
As he landed and Glynda began leading the three newcomers to the airship, the others followed behind them. Jaune was walking along when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked and saw Pyrrha with a disappointed look on her face, Ren and Nora having similar expressions on theirs.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Jaune." She said. Jaune, not bothered by the fact she was still topless, only sighed. His Tigrex friend gave him a bump with his hip.
"Hey, cheer up kid. At least you're still a student." Boomer's smile was, for the first time, genuine.
Jaune gave his own small smile and looked ahead at Team RWBY, who were conversing up ahead with their monsters. Maybe being a hero was worth it, after al-.
"WAIT A SEC!"
The group all stopped at Ruby's outburst. "What happened to the sap?" She asked, panicking. The others looked at one another before Boomer zipped over to the stump they had chosen to place the jars they had already filled.
As expected, the jars had shattered in the explosion, spilling the contents onto the wood. Boomer's eye twitched in rage as tick mark appeared on his eye ridge. He snapped his head towards CDRL, who all practically shat and pissed themselves when they found themselves under the Tigrex's awfully calm gaze. Too calm...
"You brought spare jars incase we lose ours, right Goodwitch?" Boomer asked, his voice so level it made Glynda nervous as a sweatdrop rolled down her face.
"Uh...yes. I brought a box of spares." She presented a box of glass jars.
"Good." The Roaring Wyvern said, before focusing right back onto CDRL, who all yelped when they saw the red hot anger in his eyes. "ALRIGHT, YOU WELPS! EACH OF YOU GRAB AS MANY JARS AS YOU CAN CARRY AND FILL 'EM UP WITH THAT SAP! NOMISTAKES!"
Veins now burning across his face and arms, Boomer snapped his jaws, making all four boys scream as they made a beeline for the closest trees, the Tigrex barking orders as he chased after them. The others looked on in stunned silence, before it was broken by chuckle from Shade.
"Just another day, right folks?" Shade laughed, getting some laughter from the rest. It truly was a good day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
And done. Once again, I would like to thank Sai Kunai Blade for helping me out with this chapter.
Next chapter will likely be another fillerchapter. It's the bearable kind, don't worry.
Anywho, catch you folks later.