A/N: So... You know how I said I'd try to update more?
...well... surprise...?
First off, I won't go into details as to why this took fookin' forever, but I will say that I just got busy with... well, life.
Hopefully, y'all understand. I am terribly sorry with the amount of time it took to put this out, not only writing it but also checking it over for errors, and reforming things for scripts purposes, blah di blah di blah, you know the process. This should have been out months ago but, like I said, busy.
Second off, I'm just going to say that I have no freakin' clue how firearms work in RWBY. I'll be honest, the way I'm laying it out is that Dust is used in both aspects of the bullet: The Propellant and The Projectile. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you can find pretty good vids about it on YouTube. For those who do know what I'm talking about, I'm substituting smokeless powder with Fire Dust. Dust can also be the part of the projectile in order to achieve ranged elemental attacks.
That being said, WHERE THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE THE CARTRIDGES IN RWBY? Seriously, the only weapons that I see actually ejecting empty casings are Ember Celica and Crescent Rose. Logically speaking, you can say that they're all energy weapons, but that makes no sense in many cases. For instance: Milo. Energy weapons require an energy source in order to produce the projectile, which in most cases is some form of bolt or laser. The logical choice for an energy source would be Lightning Dust, right? Which is yellow. So, why is the fireball at the end of Milo's barrel always red? Not to mention where is the energy stored in that thin-ass frame?
It's frustrating to me, as a partial… okay, more-than-partial-but-not-quite-full-on, firearms geek that I can't make heads or tails on the system of operations for most RWBY firearms.
I get it, it's all fantasy and I'm making it over-complicated as hell at this point. But I want things to make as much logical sense in this fic as possible, (Inner workings of Aura not-withstanding. Shit's straight-up fucking magic).
Also no, I did not call the magazine a "clip" when Pyrrha reloads in this chapter. Her rifle is apparently based off of the M1, so I'm simply keeping to the source material.
*Sigh*
With that out of the way, thanks for coming back. Hope you enjoy this one. Feel free to leave criticisms in the reviews, I greatly appreciate them.
Enjoy!
Note for future reference. Defer to Ren and not Nora for ideas.
Jaune grit his teeth as held onto the back of the Ursa Major for dear life. He'd already gone through the mental self-beatdown for listening to the idea, now it was all about survival.
He groaned as the Ursa barrelled through another tree, sending bark flying into his face that he spat out. He looked over at his partner and impromptu teammates to see them, sans Nora, faring just as well as he was. Ren didn't seem too bothered, though, with a look of quiet resignation on his face as he tried to dig himself as close to the Ursa's hide as possible.
Pyrrha was doing much the same, though looking at Nora with the most bewildered look Jaune had ever seen on a person, though he assumed his own face wasn't much different.
And Nora... was having the time of her life.
Jaune had half a mind to reprimand the ginger-haired girl for her, frankly, insane idea, were it not hypocritical of him since he'd gone along with it in the first place.
...they were also making good progress to the temple, going far faster than he had been going previously. That didn't mean he had to like the idea, nor did it mean he would ever consider this option again in the future.
A few minutes of rough riding later, their Ursa-mobile burst through the treeline and into a large clearing, where a large stone structure sat to the very back right beside a cliffside that spanned the whole length of the clearing. At that moment, the Ursa-mobile also decided to finally put itself out of its misery, collapsing to the ground with a tired groan and starting to dissipate shortly after.
The four of them hopped off their transport Grimm, Nora stopping for a short moment to comment on how it had broken with a pout. Jaune let out an audible groan at that before trudging toward the stone structure, presumably the abandoned temple that Ozpin mentioned on the cliffs. He turned when he heard giggling from behind, and he saw that Pyrrha was desperately trying to stifle a laugh as she stared at the interaction between Ren and Nora.
He stopped for a moment, allowing his partner to catch up, before resuming so that they walked side by side. Pyrrha seemed to notice this, shooting him a beaming smile.
"They seem close, don't they?" she asked, glancing at the other two teens. Jaune watched alongside her as Ren scolded Nora in a light but no less serious tone. The bright-haired girl had the decency to at least look sheepish, but the smile on her face didn't necessarily convey that she was very sorry about her actions.
Jaune felt his irritation toward her fade away as they neared their objective, amused by her antics and once again reminded of his sisters. Briefly, he called upon a certain memory involving piggy-back rides and horse costumes before he shook his head with a small grimace.
Never again...
Embarrassing memories aside, Jaune took the opportunity to observe the landscape around them, a mixture of uneven ground and plots of open land with buildings dotted all over and in various states of disrepair. Immediately, he identified several key strategic points should they come under attack, filing the information away for future use.
As they moved deeper into the temple grounds, Jaune could hear voices bounce across the walls.
To his pleasant surprise, as he and the rest of his companions turned the corner, just outside the entrance to an enormous building, they found an energetic Yang conversing with a girl, garbed in predominantly black and white, who was far more reserved. Surprisingly, she was the one to notice them first despite the fact she'd been facing the opposite way to them. The unknown girl turned and looked them over critically, a look that Jaune couldn't help but narrow his eyes at and return.
She was an agile fighter, that was for sure. Just judging by the grace with which she spun to turn to them and how light she looked compared to Yang, she was not an endurance fighter.
He saw the handle of her weapon peeking over her right shoulder. He vaguely remembered it being rectangular in shape from when she had her back turned to him, but he couldn't recall anything specific. A trigger on the handle indicated a firearm form, though.
Yang finally seemed to notice them and waved them over, settling her eyes on him with a wide grin.
"Hey, Vomit Boy!" she called out gleefully, much to Jaune's chagrin. He groaned at the name and sent a half-hearted glare Yang's way at the reminder.
"Thanks, Yang, I really appreciate you yelling that out loud."
His fellow blonde either didn't notice or, the more likely option, decided to ignore the sarcasm in his voice as she proudly stuck her hands to her hips and beamed, "Aw, you're welcome VB! Glad I could help. Name's Yang Xiao Long, pun-master extraordinaire and badass in training!" She added the last bit for the others' benefit.
Jaune rolled his eyes, the three behind him stopping with him in front of the other two.
"Introductions, I guess," he murmured. He turned to the girl in black. "Name's Jaune Arc, ignore anything you hear coming out of Yang's mouth about me."
"Hey!"
He ignored her and turned to his partner with a small hand gesture. "This is my partner-"
"Pyrrha Nikos," the girl interrupted, rather rudely. If she felt any remorse over it, she didn't show it.
Yang, seemingly picking up on her partner's unwillingness to talk, chimed in. "Far from home, huh? Cool to see a champ around here!"
Jaune looked to his partner to see a strained smile spread over her features, something he noted with a small frown but didn't comment on.
"Yes," Pyrrha replied politely. "I thought Beacon would offer me more opportunities. I hope to explore as many of them as possible."
Yang grinned. "Neat! Hit me up for a spar some time. Would love to see how I stand up."
Jaune cleared his throat and gestured to the other two. "Those two are… Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. I didn't get that wrong, did I?"
That last bit was directed to the pair in question, to which Nora shook her head with a bright smile. "Nope! You even got the order of Renny's name right! Most people tend to mess that up!"
With a nod of appreciation, Jaune turned to Rude Girl with a raised eyebrow.
The girl noticed his expression and sighed. Her shoulders seemed to lose a bit of the tension they had since they walked in, and she gave them a genuine smile, one that Jaune made sure to return if only for politeness's sake.
"Blake Belladonna. Nice to meet you."
When Pyrrha had first seen her partner, she had initially thought Jaune to be more akin to a wallflower. Polite and well-mannered, a sort of boyish charm and handsome face certainly didn't hurt, but he was hardly noticeable. Of course, the fact that he knew nothing of her really put a lot of points in her book, but other than that there wasn't anything special about him at first glance.
It made him hard to track. Not physically; being as tall and lanky as he was with a mop of blonde hair that was practically a beacon anytime sunlight hit it the right way made it easy to spot him. Emotionally, however, he was practically unreadable. An easy-going attitude supported by a relaxed smile and loose shoulders.
That's why when his body nearly seized, she immediately noticed.
Maybe it was her years of experience as an arena fighter, but the difference was nearly negligible that she could have easily missed it had she not been paying attention. That being said, the look of contemplation that settled on Jaune's face was hard to miss.
Pyrrha glanced at Blake, curious as to what it was about her that drew such a reaction. The girl in black was certainly beautiful, but so was Weiss Schnee and, not to toot her own horn, Pyrrha.
Something about her had set him off, and that slightly worried her.
There wasn't anything immediately concerning about her, at least not to Pyrrha. The only thing that could be considered suspect would be the rather out-of-place bow that sat atop her head. How did that thing not fall out of place?
Perhaps her attire could be a bit confusing. She hoped for Blake's sake that the cloth was breathable. Even though today was fairly windy, the sun was unbearable when the wind died down. Pyrrha could already feel how sticky her armor felt on her legs, and she found herself looking forward to entering the main temple.
She turned back to Jaune, who by all intents and purposes should be dying in his black hoodie and jeans, not to mention heavy plate armor.
Shoving aside a mental wince, she saw his hand casually make its way to the pommel of his sword, resting gently atop the metal as he cocked his hip to the side. A seemingly innocuous gesture, but given how he'd been acting only a few minutes prior, Pyrrha seriously thought he was going to draw his sword right then and there.
Instead, his shoulders relaxed and he turned away from Blake, though his gaze would occasionally flick her way.
Weird.
Jaune fought down every urge to tense up in his body as hard as he could. Thankfully, the girl… Belladonna didn't notice his distress, too busy trying to keep Nora away from her, "cute little bow."
What the hell was the daughter of the former High Leader of the White Fang doing here? He almost drew Crocea Mors on her right then and there, but he stopped and forced himself to reflect. Firstly, she was the daughter of Ghira Belladonna, a respected politician and, more importantly, a pacifist; secondly, he didn't have a concrete motive. He'd wait until Initiation was over and do some research, or outright confront her.
Quick, easy… okay, probably not easy, but simple.
He shook his head, sending a few glances toward her but making sure that she didn't notice his discomfort. He was too paranoid to let this just slide, but he'd give her the benefit of the doubt. For now.
He had every advantage in the world if she tried something.
Taking a look past Blake and Yang and into the temple proper, he saw what looked like large chess pieces sitting on pedestals which were arranged around a central circle in a large room. Nora, likely noticing them too, zipped over to one of the pedestals excitedly and picked up a rook piece.
He passed the black and yellow duo, hand twitching as he slipped past Blake, and stopped a few paces away from the circle. His eyes flicked around the room, analyzing its layout. Ornately designed, it was aged by at least a few millennia given the growth that encompassed the circular room. A tree wormed its way up the side of a wall and pierced the dome ceiling above allowing sunlight to filter into the building through its leaves. Faded carvings depicting some kind of ancient conflict were covered by its bark and foliage. The other walls, similarly decorated, were far more decrepit and their artistries were pretty much indiscernible. Pillars, some of them fallen and laid on their sides, were arranged around the center chamber in line with the pedestals. Upon his approach, Jaune found the circle was seated deeper into the ground than the rest of the room, dipping a good few feet into the floor with a series of steps leading down to it. At the center of it all was a kind of icon: a faded symbol of two gears, one laid inside the other.
Overall, the entire room just felt… sacred. Maybe that wasn't the right word.
He suppressed a shudder, some kind of weight settling itself over his shoulders as he went into the center. Standing in the middle of the ring, his skin tingled, as if he were being watched.
The pieces that sat upon the pedestals were variations of chess pieces, simply designed but enlarged than standard. They were roughly twice as large as usual and colored either black or gold, with the pieces arranged in a particular pattern so that they alternated in color around the entire ring. Oddly enough, there were two sets of each color, but no pawns; there was only the king, queen, knight, rook, and the bishop.
Idly, his mind pondered the possible outcomes of choosing certain pieces or colors, whether or not the piece they chose was a sort of test they were to figure out as well.
He stepped forward to reach for a piece when the ground beneath his foot shifted. He stumbled, righting himself so as not to fall on his ass, before looking down at the piece of offending stone: a brick in the ground roughly twice the size of his foot had shaken loose and sunken into the ground when he'd stepped on it. It was adorned with some kind of symbol, faded from age but still discernible. Then, to his surprise, it slowly slid back up before clicking into place.
Jaune narrowed his eyes at the brick. Sweeping his gaze across the floor, he noticed similar bricks spread all around, all of them with different symbols.
Was this a puzzle? Part of the initiation?
He crouched down to touch the brick.
*REEEAAAA*
Jaune caught up to the others outside, Crocea Mors swinging off of his shoulders in a flash and expanding into its sword and shield form.
The source revealed itself as a dark figure swooped in from behind, nearly knocking them all down from the gust of wind that followed. The silhouette took off again into the sky, and Jaune's heart nearly seized as he finally identified what it was they were going to fight.
It was gigantic, with wings that spanned easily over a hundred meters, with a body only a bit shorter than that. Its tail shook violently, and Jaune could see the hardened feathers bristle as they were prepped to shoot out. The beast's head was covered in intricate bone plating that was adorned with ornate, red, markings, indicating that it was practically ancient as far as Grimm went; probably been around for close to a hundred years, give or take.
An Omega Nevermore.
So close to Beacon?
It was struggling, evident by how it violently shook its body from side to side as if to shake something off of it.
That "something" quickly became apparent when he saw red and white spots on the Grimm's back, and he couldn't help but gawk. Apparently, Nora hadn't been the only one to think of Grimm as convenient transportation. Then, just as the Nevermore passed directly above them, the red spot fell off, shooting to the ground with what was undoubtedly lethal velocity.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled in genuine fright, and he squinted at the red spot to see that, yes, that billowing red cloak was Ruby Rose's. She was going too fast, and she didn't have Crescent Rose in her hands to slow her down, the weapon trailing behind her and thus out of her reach.
Jaune heard the sound of mechashift, and he looked over to see gauntlets form over Yang's hands. She pumped her arm back which let out the distinct sound of a shotgun pumping, and she shot off into the sky.
She collided with Ruby and the two of them stopped in the air for a short second, enough time for Crescent Rose to fall back into its owner's hands, and they started a fast but controlled descent thanks to a few shots from Ruby's weapon.
Jaune narrowed his eyes as the white spot began to fall. He wasn't able to see who it was from this distance, but he/she wasn't slowing down. He heard Blake inhale sharply beside him.
"She doesn't have her weapon," she told him when he looked at her questioningly. "It's Weiss Schnee, so I don't know if she needs her weapon to slow down, but whatever the case is, she's still falling too fast."
"Right," Jaune muttered. Clipping Crocea Mors back onto his back, Aura began to pour into his legs.
Pyrrha ran over to Ruby and Yang as they landed back on the ground, glancing up every few strides to check on her partner as he ascended into the sky. To her surprise, it appeared as if he was… jumping mid-air? She smiled to herself as she saw him catch Weiss in mid-air, and not a few seconds later a black Glyph spun into existence beneath the two of them.
The champion slowed to a stop beside Yang as she fussed over Ruby, checking to see if there were any injuries on the latter.
"Are you two okay?" She asked, resting a hand on Ruby's shoulder as she too checked the small girl for possible injuries, but also scanning over the other girl.
"I'm fine," Ruby said with a smile, "Yang can you stop fussing! I'm fine!"
Pyrrha chuckled lightly as Yang ignored her in favor of lifting one of Ruby's arms with a critical eye.
A distant call interrupted them. The three of them looked over to see Weiss waving her hand and pointing to the sky, and the trio all looked up to see the Omega Nevermore circling overhead; it wasn't doing anything immediately hostile, save for the occasional screech.
Ruby was the first to launch into the fray, her Pyrrha following suit with Yang not far behind.
The seven Hunters-in-training readied themselves for combat.
"Everybody pair up!" Jaune called out. Immediately, Pyrrha went to his side, watching as everyone did the same with their respective partners; there was a bit of a problem between Ruby and Weiss, though, some kind of debate between the two of them occurring in heated whispers.
Pyrrha was about to call them out for it but Ren beat her to it. "Perhaps your differences would be better settled at a less dangerous time?" He suggested with an annoyed expression on his otherwise passive face, but Pyrrha could see that his words had managed to cut through as the white and red duo turned away from each other in embarrassment.
Everyone tensed as the Omega Nevermore circled again, eyes set on the cluster of teenagers stood out in the open before it swooped down and fell into a dive. The group all prepared to move out of the way when it suddenly stopped itself with a single, powerful flap of its wings only a few meters off the ground, a powerful gust sweeping up debris, dust, and the seven Hunters-in-training in its wake, sending them a fair distance away from the temple.
A lightning-fast flick of its tail sent a barrage of razor-sharp feathers hurtling their way.
"Scatter!" Blake cried out, rolling off to the side and pulling Yang behind a stone pillar.
Pyrrha was separated from Jaune as the two lunged in opposite directions, feathers bombarding the space between them. She rolled and pushed her back into the wall,
Chunks of stone debris flew off in large pieces as the feathers slammed against the various rock structures with violent force, throwing up a large plume of dirt and smoke that choked and robbed the seven of them of their breath.
Pyrrha was the first to recover, Milo twirling in her right hand into its rifle form. She propped her gun against the side of the wall to steady herself and started laying down suppressive fire to give the rest of her companions time to recover from the attack. Soon enough, a barrage of ice crystals, courtesy of Weiss, slammed into the Omega Nevermore's side alongside a storm of small-arms fire from Blake and Ren. Pyrrha's eyes widened as the Nevermore raised its tail to send another volley of feathers at Weiss when a pink explosion violently jerked its head to the side, causing it to screech in rage and pain.
Pyrrha turned to see Nora giving a playful salute to the Nevermore with a malicious grin plastered on her face, her weapon now in the form of a rotary grenade launcher which was held at her hip. The launcher let out two more barks, grenades sailing into the sky and exploding against the monster's body.
One of the grenades managed to clip the Grimm's right wing, which sent it into an uncontrolled spiral straight toward the temple.
"Move! It's coming this way!" Pyrrha yelled out, pulling Ren along as they all scattered. With a loud boom, the Omega Nevermore crashed into the stone structures of the decrepit temple, a large plume of dust debris once more being sent into the air from the impact.
Pyrrha dove and rolled into a crouch with Ren not far behind her, both of them just outside the radius of the smoke. Off to her left, Pyrrha could see the other three were unscathed as well if a little short on breath. She and Ren ran over to them, eyes wearily glancing at the smoke that still concealed their enemy.
Pyrrha went over to Blake, Ren splitting off to check on Nora and Weiss a fair distance farther.
"Are you okay?" she asked the dark-haired girl as she approached, the latter forced to a knee as she caught her breath for a moment.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied breathlessly, though she did manage to flash an appreciative smile Pyrrha's way.
"Thanks."
"Of course."
A loud screech caught Pyrrha off guard. Whipping around to the source of the noise, a strong gust of wind blew away all of the smoke that clouded the air, simultaneously blowing the seven of them away due to the sheer force.
Pyrrha landed roughly on her back, expelling a grunt past her lips as she slid along the ground. Using the momentum of her slide, she lifted her hips and rolled into a crouch with feet and hands digging into the ground to stop her movement. Her eyes scanned the field and immediately noticed that her weapons had at some point left her grasp; Milo and Akuou laid on the ground some 20 meters in front of her. The second thing she noticed was that the avian Grimm was now situated between them and the temple, and therefore blocking access to the relics inside. The final thing she noticed was the tail of the Omega Nevermore as it rose and curled, preparing for another volley.
The Amazon poured Aura into her legs and exploded across the ground, leaving behind a small crater as she rocketed forward. She pulled her weapons to her hands as she passed with the help of her Semblance, just before she slammed the face of Akuou into the Nevermore's beak with a thunderous crack.
The Grimm reeled back at the violent blow, and Pyrrha went to advance only for the Nevermore to swing its wing directly into her side, sending her flying to the treeline. She curled in on herself and braced for a rough landing only to feel her momentum slow immensely.
Lifting her head, she saw a black Glyph spinning around her. It cracked and dissipated a few seconds later, and she was released to the ground. Pulling herself to her feet, Pyrrha let Aura flow into her legs and sprinted back into the battle.
As she approached, she witnessed a red blur zip around the Grimm in a spectacular shower of rose petals. Gashes and cuts appeared all over the Nevermore's body, too shallow to be fatal but big enough to be painful, and it screeched in rage at its wounds before folding its wings on itself. Pyrrha watched as Ruby was sent flying back when the Grimm forcefully unfurled its wings, the girl in red unfortunately caught by the gust of wind that it sent out.
She brought Milo to her shoulder as she ran, pelting the Grimm as she closed in. She saw that Ren, Nora, and Blake were circling the Nevermore while hitting it with their respective ranged weapons to no avail, the Grimm's armored hide too thick for small-arms fire to be effective. Yang and Jaune were busy keeping the Nevermore's attacks focused on them while Weiss was off in the back, kneeling with a Glyph beneath her that looked a bit like a clock face.
It wasn't until she looked closer as Blake flipped over the Nevermore's wing that she noticed the slight glow that encompassed the dark-haired girl. Looking off in the distance, past the Nevermore, she noticed the same glow surrounding Ren, Nora, Jaune, and Yang. She looked to Weiss and figured that the Glyph she had conjured was responsible for it.
The Nevermore apparently figured much the same, as its tail raised high into the sky before violently lashing out, a storm of feathers tearing their way through the air and in the direction of Weiss.
Pyrrha flew in front of the Heiress with Akuou raised in front of her. Feathers pelted her shield with almost overwhelming force, and several managed to clip the parts of her body that weren't protected by Akuou, her Aura the only thing keeping them from outright tearing their way into her body.
The volley eventually ended, and Pyrrha collapsed on her side as the pain from the impacted parts of her body began to register. All over her body, she could feel the bruises begin to form, and the slightest bit of movement caused pain. Weiss appeared at her side, as well as Ren, and together the two of them pulled her and her weapons behind a rock outcropping off to the side.
"Let your Aura heal you for a bit," Ren told her as he and Weiss set her down beside the rock.
"I'll… I'll provide cover fire," Pyrrha breathed out, rolling onto her stomach.
Ren nodded, while Weiss looked at Pyrrha with a worried expression.
"Thank you," the Heiress murmured before rushing back into the fight with the raven-haired boy.
Pyrrha pulled Milo closer to her and noticed with a frown that its bolt was open, signifying an empty clip. She rolled painfully onto her side to pull a new clip from her pouch and quickly jammed it down into the magazine, the bolt closing itself in one fluid motion.
Quickly sighting in her target, she prioritized hitting vital spots such as the eyes, the feet, and the wing joints. She was successful to a degree, as many of her shots hit their mark, but due to the chaos of the battle, just as many of her shots missed.
Another loud ping from her gun, another fresh clip into her rifle. She winced as Yang hit the dirt next to Nora, who quickly pulled away to cover the blonde as she got back on her feet.
This fight was getting nowhere.
This fight was getting nowhere.
The Nevermore's hide was too thick for normal attacks to deal significant damage, and it was doing an excellent job at keeping most of them away with its tail and wings.
With Pyrrha down for the moment, Jaune was the only person at the moment with a solid defensive option, so he was responsible for dealing with most of the Omega Nevermore's frontal attacks. Jaune bit out a curse as he ducked underneath the Nevermore's beak before spinning and delivering an upward slice across its vulnerable neck. The wound was nowhere near-fatal, but it quickly backpedaled with a screech of pain.
A sweeping wing sailed over his head as he rolled underneath it. He swung at the offending limb with his sword, but by that point, the wing had moved just out of his reach. The Nevermore screeched and switched targets to Yang, something that he had to change. She'd just taken a nasty hit in the form of a talon strike; she needed some time to get her bearings.
He ran up to one of the Nevermore's legs as it was busy chasing Yang around. With one fluid motion, he sheathed Crocea Mors, collapsed the shield, and transformed it into its bastard sword form. He detached the sword from his arm and swung the sword around his head, spinning once to build momentum before cleaving into the Nevermore's leg.
The Nevermore screeched and tried to fall back, but Jaune pursued it and pushed down into his sword, anchoring his position and effectively keeping the Nevermore in place as he called upon his Aura. The limb refused to separate, even with Jaune channeling Aura into his arms and leaning into the creature's appendage. With a roar of effort, he finally sliced the limb clean off. The Arc stumbled from the sudden lack of resistance and was subsequently launched as the Grimm swept its wing backward, knocking him into a stone pillar and causing the debris to pummel down onto him.
When the rain of rubble stopped, he raised his head and searched for his weapon. Crocea Mors had slipped out of his hand from the impact of the wing, and after a quick second, Jaune found it laying on the ground only a few meters away.
He turned back to the Nevermore to see it barreling towards him on one leg, from its mouth a loud screech of anger so loud that it was nearly deafening. Jaune rolled out of the way just in time, the gnashing maw of the beast missing him only by a few centimeters.
He picked up Crocea Mors along the way. Switching his footing with one quick twist of his leg, he changed directions and ran back up to the Grimm's torso. Seeing this, the Nevermore turned to snap its jaws at him, but he batted the head away with the flat of his blade before redirecting his sword and slicing deep into its neck.
A sudden cry caught his attention and he looked over the Nevermore's temporarily-prone body to see that Blake was waving at him, her weapon in her hands.
"Catch!" she shouted.
Jaune tracked her gun as it arched through the air, attached to some kind of ribbon, and he caught it. He looked over at Blake again in confusion, to which she pointed at the Nevermore.
"Restrain it!"
The Arc's eyes widened as her plan clicked in his head, and with a bit of Aura Enhancement, he imbedded the blade attached to Blake's gun into the ground before stepping firmly onto it, keeping it planted into the dirt.
He hooked Crocea Mors onto his back and grabbed hold of the ribbon, Blake doing the same on the other side, and the two of them pulled the line taught.
The Nevermore, whose neck was now caught under the ribbon, was now vulnerable.
But only just.
A wild swing of the wing nearly bowled Jaune over, were it not for him flaring his Aura. The offending appendage bounced off and over his head, but not without giving Jaune one hell of a smack to the noggin. He shook his head to clear the spots from his vision and refocused his efforts to holding the Nevermore down and dodging the wings.
He spotted Nora and Yang at the back end of the Nevermore, trying to deal with the tail that was tenaciously shooting feathers everywhere.
"Yang! Nora!" He yelled out, pointing at the wings. "Leave the tail for now! Cripple it!"
The two girls glanced at him, then the wings, and nodded.
Nora leaped over a sweep of the Nevermore's tail with a malicious grin, spun her grenade launcher into its war hammer form, and, with a sickening crunch, slammed the head of it down onto the joint connecting the Nevermore's wing to the body before pulling the trigger, throwing an explosion of pink smoke and Grimm filth into the air.
Yang, on the other wing, held tightly onto the edge of the wing and wailed on the joint with her free hand, firing off fiery pellets into its hide and causing the joint to break with a loud and wet crack.
Even though it was effectively crippled with a missing leg and two unusable wings, the Nevermore still thrashed around in its bonds, its tail still sporadically shooting feathers all over the place. One of them narrowly missed his leg, digging itself into the dirt mere centimeters from where his foot was planted.
He heard a gunshot over to his side and found Ruby taking pot-shots at the Grimm from behind a stone pillar.
"Ruby!" He yelled, grabbing her attention. "That thing you did earlier! The speed thing?! Get over to Weiss. She has Dust on her. Tell her to spare some Fire and Lightning Dust crystals if she has 'em!"
Ruby nodded and sped off.
They couldn't afford to simply keep wailing away at this thing, otherwise, they'd tire themselves out before Initiation was over.
A few seconds later, Ruby appeared at his side again with a Fire Dust crystal and a vial of powdered Lightning Dust.
"What do you need these for?!" She yelled over the Nevermore's screeching.
Instead of answering her question, he handed her the ribbon that he'd been tugging on. "Take over for me!"
Ignoring the confused squawk from behind him, Jaune rushed to the head of the Nevermore with the crystal and vial in his hands. As he ran, Jaune popped open the vial and stuck the Fire Dust crystal into the powdered Lightning Dust. Already, he could feel the heat that was coming from the reaction between the two Dust mediums, but it wasn't… volatile enough. Not yet.
He popped the cork back into place, sealing the vial with the Dust inside.
Skidding to a stop in front of the Nevermore's face, the Grimm screeched in rage as its enemy appeared right in front of it. Its tail rose to try and impale him with feathers, but it was suddenly slammed back into the ground via Nora's war hammer.
Jaune grinned as the Nevermore screeched, its mouth wide open.
With the vial in hand, Jaune flooded it with his Aura, and in a split second hurled it into the beast's mouth.
The Omega Nevermore made a choking sound as the vial hit the back of its throat, vainly attempting to cough it back up.
Oh no, you don't.
Jaune rushed over and wrapped his arms around the Omega Nevermore's beak, pouring Aura into his arms as he kept the Grimm's mouth shut. It thrashed its head wildly, desperately trying to shake Jaune off. The blonde only dug in tighter, carving his fingers into its beak even when he was taken off of the ground. The Grimm slammed him into the dirt, again and again, robbing him of breath with every impact.
A muted boom from the creature's neck ended the conflict only a few seconds later.
Still planted in the ground on his back, Jaune let out a groan and let his arms slide off of the Grimm's beak. He rolled to the side and pushed himself to his feet, grimacing all the while as his back screamed in protest. Calling upon his Aura, he pushed most of it to his back and healed anything that might be injured back there.
As the adrenaline wore off and his body began to feel the pain from his wounds, Jaune found that his legs could not hold his weight. Fortunately, just before he could hit the ground, he found his arm looped around the shoulders of his brand new partner.
He grunted as she took his weight, smiling in gratitude as the two of them limped over to a section of rubble. Pyrrha wasn't in much better shape, not that he was surprised. She must've had a strong Aura to tank those hits, or maybe just sheer quantity saved her life. He'd have to see what the qualities of her Aura were if he was going to be working with her for the next four years.
The two Hunters-in-training plopped themselves on a rock with twin groans of relief. Jaune idly rubbed a bit at his ribs, the pain he was feeling there was a sign of what was more than likely a broken or bruised rib. His left leg was flaring something fierce, too, maybe a muscle tear. Bruises were no doubt forming all along his body, and he groaned as his shoulder throbbed.
That damn bird was an unexpectedly difficult obstacle, and one that he wasn't entirely sure was accounted for by the faculty.
Omega Nevermores were a rare sighting in areas that weren't the Grimmlands, particularly because they never left their nests. Like other ancient Grimm, such as Ursa Primes and Uber Beowolves, Omega Nevermores learned that the path of least resistance was simply to never leave their spot of rest. That being said, there was no way that this Nevermore was allowed to stay alive so close to Beacon, let alone Vale. Either it had simply been hidden away too well for Huntsmen to find, or it had been driven from its roost.
As he quietly leaned his back against the broken section of the wall, he prayed that it was the former. Ancient Grimm only left their nests when there was competition for territory, which implied a stronger Grimm than that Omega Nevermore.
He shuddered to imagine what that could be. Honestly, they had gotten lucky with this one, especially considering that they had sustained no casualties and no critical injuries.
He was roused from his thoughts when Pyrrha nudged his shoulder.
"That was a good idea, using the Dust," she praised as she flicked her chin in the direction of the disintegrating Nevermore corpse.
"Heh," Jaune chuckled, "that was more half-baked than I wanted. If I hadn't held that thing's mouth shut, it could've spat it right back in my face. That… well…"
She let out a small giggle behind the back of her hand, and the mirth dancing in her eyes as she opened them was unmistakable. "Yes, that would have been terrible; but you came out of the fight with minimal injuries, as far as I'm concerned. A fight with an Omega Nevermore of all things could have ended worse."
He snorted, rotating his shoulder and letting out a sigh of relief as the pain slowly ebbed away.
"Definitely. I'll need to polish up on my planning skills huh?"
"Of course. This is a school, after all. We're all here to improve upon ourselves."
"Sure. Maybe get a bigger shield in case you need to block that many hits again, hm?" he joked with an impish grin, nudging her arm while being mindful of her injuries.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly in response, a smile playing on her features. He watched critically as she tested her limbs, wincing for her when she flinched a few times as she moved her arms. "I don't plan on being in a situation where I need to tank that many hits again," she groaned.
"Well, I don't suppose you planned for it to happen this time?."
Pyrrha let loose a light exhale of amusement through her nose, rolling her eyes with a small smile. "I suppose."
Jaune let the conversation end there. There would be time for a more meaningful talk later, once Initiation was over. Mentally going over his slowly recovering Aura, he guessed it would probably be a full hour before he was topped off, but he was just shy of a third, which was plenty for healing his wounds and heading back to Beacon Cliffs.
Or at least, it would be, if nothing happened.
A little dissatisfied with his Aura levels, he surveyed the rest of the group. Yang was making her way over to Blake, the other half of the dark-haired girl's weapon in her hands. Nora and Ren were off in the grass a little farther away, Ren sitting cross-legged with Nora draped over his shoulders like a blanket. Ruby and Weiss were together, but separate, pointedly turned away from each other and doing their own thing. Weiss was busy checking over her weapon, while Ruby was kind of just standing off to the side, kicking the dirt and looking like a kicked puppy in Weiss' direction.
It wasn't his jurisdiction, but he hoped that worked out sooner rather than later.
Everyone was tired but alert, heads turning every so often in case another Grimm showed up.
Jaune winced as he felt his Aura working on his ribs, mending the cracked bone but causing an irritating itching feeling. Groaning, he stood, catching everyone's attention with a pointed cough.
"Alright, good fight everyone, but Initiation isn't over until we bring those relics in the Temple back to the Cliffs," he reminded them, earning a groan from Nora and Ruby. "Anyone know if we have a time frame?"
"The teachers didn't say anything about a time limit," Pyrrha piped up. "At least, not that I remember."
"We should operate under the assumption that there is one," Weiss commented, spinning her weapon's cylinder and holstering it on her hip.
Jaune shook his head. "If it wasn't explicitly stated, we can use that to our advantage. I'd rather be safe than sorry. You heard what the Headmaster said on the Cliffs; we can't expect any help if things go wrong."
"So what should we do?" Blake asked. "I'm not entirely sure we can take another big fight like that, and going back to Beacon Cliffs isn't exactly going to be a cakewalk."
"We can rest at the Temple. The ruins around the central building give us the advantage should more Grimm come this way, and if there are more Nevermore around, we can retreat inside and funnel the Grimm in there and hold."
"We'll run out of ammo eventually," Weiss pointed out.
Jaune shook his head. "We're not staying there for long. Thirty minutes tops. Should be just enough to recover a good chunk of our Auras. And we only fight if we absolutely have to."
"I… yes, that seems like our best choice at the moment," Weiss conceded with a nod.
Yang groaned as she stood from her spot beside her partner. "Welp, I'm all for heading to the Temple now!"
"Same!" Nora exclaimed, shooting her hand into the air and pushing poor Ren down into the ground with a grunt.
"Oops, sorry Renny."
Jaune turned and offered a hand to Pyrrha, which she accepted and used to pull herself up. She winced as her wounds mended themselves, and he briefly held her by the shoulders as she steadied herself.
"You gonna be alright?" He asked.
Pyrrha shook her head with a small smile. "Don't worry, I can walk. Just… need a moment. Feeling a little tired."
Jaune nodded, gently leading her by the shoulder after the others. "You can rest in the temple. Your Aura should have you back to… well, not full strength, but you should feel better before we leave for the Cliffs."
The two walked in silence back to the temple. Jaune used this time to really observe his partner. From his position behind her, he could see a very sturdy frame beneath that bronze armor, though why she chose bronze of all metals confused him. Her weapons weren't anything overly crazy, a rifle from what he saw earlier that turned into the xiphos that was currently hooked on her shoulder, as well as a circular shield.
If her fight with the Ursa Major and Omega Nevermore proved anything, she was a very agile fighter and at the very least a competent marksman. She was the one responsible for blinding the Omega Nevermore, after all.
He idly wondered what her Semblance was, or if she'd used it at all during the fights. He had a good grasp on some of the others' Semblances. Weiss was the most obvious with her Glyphs, and Ruby's was more than likely her super speed. Blake had some kind of clone Semblance, something he'd seen when she used a clone to safely escape from a nasty talon swipe to the head. Yang's seemed to be something to do with fire. Towards the end of the fight, he'd seen fire surround her fist, which could have been either a product of her Semblance or Dust. The only people whose Semblances were completely unknown to him were Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha.
If they'd used it at all, he hadn't seen them.
He hadn't used his Semblance either, so there was nothing particularly wrong with that, but he couldn't help but be a little curious.
As they entered the Temple, Jaune led Pyrrha to the center chamber where the others were congregated. He helped her down onto a collapsed stone pillar, which she promptly laid down upon and closed her eyes.
Well, if she was going to do that, it was only right he stood watch. He settled himself down on the same pillar, but at a respectable distance. Crocea Mors came off of its place on his back and onto his lap. In its bastard sword form, he checked the edge to see if there were any chips he would need to address later, which there were thankfully none much to his surprise. Crocea Mors had taken a nasty beating from Nevermore, but it seemed the metal had stood up well to the challenge. The base sword seemed perfectly fine, too.
Stowing his weapon on his hip, Jaune spared a glance at Pyrrha before turning to the rest of the room. Weiss and Ruby were talking to each other quietly in a more secluded area, though it looked more like Ruby was having a one-way conversation with Weiss than anything. Yeah… he really hoped that sorted itself sooner rather than later. Yang and Blake were talking to each other as well, and they looked to be faring a lot better than the red and white duo standing a dozen paces away. Ren and Nora were the closest to Jaune, sitting on an adjacent pillar with Nora laid down in Ren's lap. They were undoubtedly close if the way she was talking up to him while he played with her hair was any indication. Either they were coupled, or they were just very close friends, something that Jaune could appreciate.
He stood with a quiet groan. It seemed his rib was mostly, if not fully healed, and it seemed his Aura was now thankfully working on his back. The pain was nothing short of agony like something had taken a hammer to his back and went to town which, thinking back on it, was pretty close to the truth. That Nevermore had been savage in its attempts to bat him off of its beak.
His gaze eventually drifted to the relics that stood atop their pedestals. There were twenty in total, which reminded Jaune of a very crucial fact: where were the other students?
Surely, the eight of them weren't the only ones who made it to the temple. The other twelve should be here by now, or at least very soon. Unless they'd been wiped out before they could. Wasn't that a depressing thought?
He shook his thoughts and went over to the pedestals, catching the attention of Weiss and Ruby. The two made their way over and met him at the center of the room.
"How you guys holding up?" Jaune asked.
"I am well," Weiss replied. "My Aura is well in the green thanks to the efforts of you and your partner."
"Me?"
Weiss nodded, raising a finely-manicured eyebrow at his confused expression. "Were it not for you, I might not have made it to the ground safely."
"Ah… well, that's… fair. How about you, Ruby?"
Ruby snapped to attention. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Aura's sitting at yellow. I only got hit by that Nevermore once."
"Wait, only once?" Weiss inquired. "Where did the rest of your Aura go?"
Ruby blushed and scratched her cheek, looking off to the side. "I… might have overused my Semblance just a little bit. I'll have to be a bit stingy with my Aura once we make our way back."
"At least you recognize that," Weiss murmured. Ruby looked hopefully at the white-themed girl, to which her response was an eye roll.
"We should choose relics while things are still calm," Jaune commented. "Which one did you guys want?"
"Hm… I don't suppose there's a pattern that we can discern from the type of relic we choose?"
Jaune swept his gaze over the relics once more, considering Weiss' words. It was no secret that teams at Beacon comprised four members per team, meaning two sets of partners in each. There was more than likely a method by which those pairs were selected to be together, which only left two methods aside from random chance or a pre-formed chart of which pieces would be together. They could either choose two of the same color, or two of the same type.
"I mean… the only obvious ways I can see are if we choose two relics of either the same type or the same color," Jaune murmured aloud for their benefit, to which Weiss nodded in agreement.
"So… what should we do?" Ruby asked.
"Well… I guess the guaranteed method to ensure we get who we want is to just pick the same type and color," Jaune responded, albeit with a small frown. "So really, it comes down to who we want to take on."
"We'll choose whichever one you choose, then," Weiss said, gesturing for Jaune to choose.
He quirked a brow at her, to which she rolled her eyes again. "You are probably the most optimal choice for a teammate," she admitted, eyes sliding closed in what Jaune could describe as resignation. "It was your plan that ultimately killed that Nevermore, and the fact you have Pyrrha Nikos as your partner is just a bonus."
His eyes narrowed at her answer. "That's pretty cold, don't you think?"
Weiss' eyes snapped open in surprise at his suddenly icy tone and opened her mouth to retort, but they seemed to die in her mouth before they could even form at the razor-sharp glare Jaune pierced her with. She looked to Ruby for support, but even she, as socially awkward as she appeared, could read the tension that had entered Jaune's voice.
Seeing that she could not argue, Weiss looked to her feet, shoulders folding in on themselves in shame.
"I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"
Jaune sighed, letting his prior irritation fade as the girl retreated in on herself, almost as if trying to make herself as small as possible. He took a second to compose himself, reminding himself just what kind of person he was dealing with. A small smile overtook his features as fond memories grasped his mind for but a moment before he laid a hand on Weiss' shoulder.
He shook her gently, grabbing her attention. He briefly frowned at the vulnerability he found in her eyes before it vanished, replaced by glass that betrayed nothing.
"I didn't mean to snap at you like that," Jaune sighed. "I forgot us Atlas-types can be pretty cold even when we don't want to."
The mask that took over her features cracked as understanding washed across Weiss' face, and she allowed a small smile to grace her features even as she sheepishly looked away. He patted her shoulder once as a gesture of camaraderie before turning to Ruby.
He hoped Ruby took what he said to heart, even if it wasn't directed at her. It would go a long way to helping her understand her partner more. He gave the little red reaper a smile and a wink, before tilting his head Weiss' way, and a brief flash of understanding caught her eyes before she turned to comfort her partner.
With that sorted, shifted over to one side of the circle, looking over one set of relics: a golden King, Rook, and Bishop with a white Queen and Knight. As his gaze swept over them, he felt a presence to his side and he turned to greet black hair and amber eyes.
His fingers twitched, but he fought down the urge to act.
"That was kind of you," Blake commented.
He let out a snort. "I snapped at her then apologized; that's kind of me, how?"
She turned away from him, picking up the white Knight piece, and turned it over in her hands.
"You might not have intended it, but you helped Ruby to understand her partner better. That deserves some praise, at least."
He stared at the side of her head for a second, trying to piece together what she was thinking. "You're perceptive," he quipped nonchalantly, not really putting any meaning behind his words.
"So are you," she replied, though there was an emotion behind it that he couldn't discern.
"I don't know what you mean," he questioned, his guard coming up slightly as her shoulders tensed.
"You know who I am."
Five words, and yet the way she spoke them nearly stole his breath away. His hand shot to the handle of his sword, but her hand stopped him from drawing it.
"Wait!" she hissed.
He almost punched her away but stopped on account of the sheer desperation in her voice.
"Tell me why I shouldn't cut you down where you stand," he growled quietly. He shot a glance over her shoulder to check on the others. Yang was talking with Ruby and Weiss, and the others had not moved. They paid the two of them no mind, but he was seconds away from making it such.
"I'm not here to hurt anyone."
"That's pretty flimsy," he muttered impatiently.
"It's the truth!" Blake argued desperately.
"I have no proof that it's the truth."
"I ran away!" she hissed.
He stared at her in surprise. She was practically on the verge of tears. He wanted to call bullshit on the act: say that it was just a ruse.
But he felt his heart waver, and he waved for her to continue, glaring all the while.
"I ran away from them in Forever Fall," she whimpered. "We were meant to sabotage the SDC security drones heading for Vale, but… my partner wanted to blow up the train… and all the passengers with it."
He stepped into her space, eyes piercing into hers and searching for any duplicity. He wanted her nervous so she would slip up; make up a mistake. She was nervous at least. Her eyes widened at the sudden move and her body tensed, but she did not move to retreat or attack.
"And then?" he urged.
"I… I-I couldn't… I couldn't let it happen. So I… I cut him off from the passenger cars, and then I… I ran."
She was shaking now, albeit only slightly. Her emotions were fraying, Jaune could see. He wanted to say she was playing him, but it didn't seem to be the case.
Even so, a part of him couldn't let it go.
So he cheated.
Eyes sliding closed for only a second, they flashed a brilliant orange behind his eyelids as his Semblance took effect. The world's color bled until there was nothing but grey, the wind faltered before coming to a sudden halt, and the ambient sound that once filled the area faded away until there was only the sound of Jaune's breathing. His eyes opened, but he saw none of this.
In his eyes, a flowing course of light expanded directly ahead of him, forming what looked like a river with millions of branches that all originated from the center line. Feeling his way through the river, he plucked the strands that felt close to the dark-haired girl in front of him. He could feel their connection, and peered into the distant future.
His Semblance was not perfect, as he could only observe the feelings that would be felt by his future self, but it was enough to get a grasp of what a future with Blake Belladonna entailed.
Turmoil and sorrow, but not of betrayal, more of distant longing.
With an internal sigh of relief, Jaune let his Semblance bleed away, time returning to normal and color returning to the world. Eyes coming open again, he nodded at Blake once, his stance relaxing as he tried to ignore the stinging headache that came with the use of his Semblance.
Blake looked at him, stunned. Understandably so; surely for her it had only been but barely a second that he'd closed his eyes.
"I'll believe you, for now," he relented. "This is a chance to earn my peace. Don't make me regret it."
She was still baffled, but she nodded slowly. Her face set into one of resolution. "I won't."
"Good. So what's your take on the pieces?" Jaune asked, changing the subject. It was an olive branch offering, an obvious one at that, but one that she took with gratitude.
They both looked down at the white Knight piece that had not left Blake's hand since she picked it up. In tandem, they turned to the other pieces.
"As you said with Schnee," she spat out that last bit, something he noted but didn't comment on, "it's probably based on color or type."
"So, plan on shacking up with me?" he asked easily, a hint of amusement in his voice, but he was genuinely curious.
"As much as I respect you, and your partner especially, I don't think I'd be comfortable," Blake admitted.
"Why's that?"
"You really don't know who your partner is, do you?"
Jaune shrugged, cutting his gaze to where his aforementioned partner was resting, though she was now sitting up and going over her gear.
"Apparently, she's famous, but that's all I really know," he admitted. "She won't tell me much either, not like I've tried; just told me she's a 'hometown hero' of some kind, but nothing else."
Blake snorted. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one, but it's not my place to judge. All you need to know is that she's famous. That means fans. And I don't fancy a lot of people following us around star-eyed."
Jaune hummed an agreement. That would be annoying. Hopefully, it's not too severe, but if push comes to shove we can just book it.
"I see," he murmured. "Thanks for the warning then."
"Hm. And uh… can you keep my… features a secret?"
Jaune smiled at the vulnerable look she gave him, giving some measure of reassurance that she didn't have any ill-intentions. He nodded before shooing her away, but not before she tossed the white Knight piece toward him.
Catching the relic, he rubbed his thumb across its surface, studying it for a moment. There was nothing odd about it, save for how big it was. He shook his head and tucked it into his hoodie pocket. He decided it was probably a good idea to check in on his partner.
Shifting over to Pyrrha's pillar, she noticed his approach and welcomed him with a small wave.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey, you feeling better?"
She nodded, rotating her shoulder for emphasis without even a twitch. "My wounds have healed, now I'm just waiting for my Aura to recover."
"What are you currently sitting at?" he asked, sitting down on the pillar.
He watched as she retrieved a Scroll from the confines of her sash.
"It's just into the yellow zone," she reported. "By the time we leave, it should be almost half."
"Good. Another 15 minutes should be good enough."
"Who's counting?" A third voice called from the side. He looked to the source to see that it was Nora, still laying down on Ren's lap.
"I guess I am," Jaune chuckled.
"Well, I'm kinda hungry, so I propose we leave right now!" Nora exclaimed as she flipped around so that she was on her stomach, looking at them with a bright smile. "There's Ursas all around to turn into Nora-mobiles! We'll get to Beacon Cliffs faster than you can say 'pancakes!' And trust me, I can say that really fast."
"I uh… I'm not exactly looking forward to riding another Grimm if I can help it," Jaune chuckled nervously, not sure whether or not she was joking, but he heavily considered that she wasn't.
"Besides," Pyrrha chimed in, "we're doing it this way so that we have the best chances for returning without injury. More Aura is never a bad thing."
"The idea is a solid one, Nora," Ren agreed, sighing when Nora craned her head sideways to pout up at him. "Not all of the missions we will be going on will be all action and fighting. There will be many instances of waiting and downtime such as this."
Jaune smiled at their interaction and leaned back onto his elbows. At Pyrrha's suggestion, he decided to rest and laid the rest of the way back, closing his eyes intending for it to only be for a few minutes. As the world went dark, he went over their plan of action. Judging by his earlier interactions, most of them would be alright. The only one he was worried about was Yang, as he hadn't asked about her condition. She'd taken a nasty direct hit by that Omega Nevermore and was winded for a little while. But Pyrrha seemed to be alright, and she'd taken a shit-ton more damage than Yang had, so she'd probably be alright. Blake was probably in the same spot as Weiss, so she'd probably be almost at full by the time they'd left.
They'd be in good shape so long as nothing came up.
A piercing siren woke him from his trance. His eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself into a sitting position as he looked around for the source, but it seemed it was coming from outside given how it echoed through the building. He looked at the others and found them just as confused as he was.
"What's happening?"
He turned to see Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Blake coming over to their side of the building. Weiss, the one who'd asked, walked over to him.
"I don't know," Jaune replied. "I was just resting for a bit."
Someone snorted off to the side, and he glanced over as Nora smirked at him. "More like sleeping. You snore really loud, you know that?"
Jaune flushed as he struggled to form a rebuttal, but nothing came forth, much to the amusement of the others. Blake cleared her throat and cut through the laughter, something that Jaune was supremely thankful for.
"Headmaster Ozpin's transmitting something on our Scrolls," she said, pointing at the device. She pulled it open and into its tablet form for everyone to see, turning the volume up so that they could all hear it.
"-aster Ozpin, all Initiation activities have been canceled. A Level-5 Grimm has been detected and is currently heading to the Emerald Forest. All Initiation Participants are to return to Beacon Cliffs immediately. I repeat, all Initiation activities have been canceled. A Level-5 Grimm has been detected and is currently heading to the Emerald Forest. All-"
A/N: And that's that. Something's amiss with the Ruined Temple and a bit of sub-division in Grimm classification. Also, Jaune's Semblance! Which has pretty much remained the same since the first iteration of this story.
Wow, I'm really in love with time control powers, aren't I?
Anyway, thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your criticisms in the reviews.