The first action scene I've ever written, I lost my job (rip), and more about the inspiration behind this piece at the end.
Chapter 4: Into the Green Gem Forest
On the cliffs of Beacon stood the first batch of students raring to go on gray metal platforms. Honestly, Jaune couldn't for the life of him understand Ozpin. The man seemed perpetually bored with the goings of the school. Unless he was training him or that one time they played chess. Jaune still lost the game. It felt like he was playing a different game compared to the Headmaster.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forrest," Ozpin said while standing perpendicular to the line of students.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates today," Glynda said while standing next to him.
Jaune could hear a little whine from Ruby. He chuckled. I wonder when Ozpin will break the news to them about the odd number of students. He thought.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon," Ozpin said, "So it would be in your best interest for you to be paired with whom you can best work. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."
"What!" Ruby exclaimed.
"See," a ginger-haired student turned to a long black-haired boy, "I told you."
"After you partner up, you will make your way to the forest's northern end. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item and as well your standing. Then you will be graded appropriately. Any questions?"
No one raised their hands and prepared to be flung into the forest. Jaune looked to the woods, the metal squares with the emblem of Vale, and then to Ozpin. Ozpin saw him looking between the three and just smirked. "How are we going to get them in the forest?" Soon a black-haired girl was shot from the plate with the force of a cannonball. "Oh," Jaune said while counting his lucky stars.
The rest of the students followed suit with their different methods of landing. Ruby was using her scythe like a video game character using their double jumps to slow down. Weiss was using strange circles to slow down. Yang was guiding herself with the golden bracelets that unfurled into gauntlets to guide herself. Are those shotguns?
Jaune's eyes sparkled with childlike amusement. "Wow," he said to no one in general, "that's her Huntsmen powers." Glynda scoffed in annoyance.
"Huntsmen powers? Did you seriously forget the name Semblance? The personal ability that makes each huntsman different? Created by either trauma or who they are as a person? It makes sense, considering that you're still wearing a hoodie." Jaune could only shrink into his body and slowly scoot over to Ozpin.
"It's okay, Jaune. I think your hoodie is fine," Ozpin said without looking away from his scroll. "Besides, it's his choice at the end of the day." Glynda could only roll her eyes in annoyance. She was probably thinking of ways to convince Jaune to lose the hoodie. That was his guess. Jaune then focused on his scroll.
"I still haven't found what I want to represent me. So give me some time, please? I promise I won't wear my Pumpkin Pete hoodie unless I don't have anything else." For a moment, and just for a moment, Jaune saw Glynda smile. To anyone else, that might have been waved off, but to Jaune, that was the most important moment of his stay at Beacon.
"Alright then, but don't deliberately be damaging your hoodies beyond public showing." Then the moment was even better.
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Gunshots echoed through the sky as the young Rose slowed her descent. The mighty rifle slowed her bit by bit. However, it wouldn't save her from the couple hundred feet drop. Maybe the bird she just hit would slow her down. "Birdy no!" Or it couldn't, who's to say.
Quickly thinking, she lifted her blade to hack down the forest trees. After a couple of well place jumps and a roll, she hit the ground running. Okay, Ruby think you have to find Yang. Maybe, Blake, she seems nice. Even Jaune would do fine. Wait, Jaune is not even part of the test. "Yang! Yang!"
Her reckless run was cut short when she found the last person she wanted to meet. Almost running them down in the process. It was Weiss. It could be worse. It could be someone I don't know. They exchanged nothing for several seconds, and Ruby started to smile uncomfortably.
"No," Weiss stated as matter factly and walked away.
"Wait!" Ruby shouted. "Where are you going? We're supposed to be partners."
"I never saw you, and you never saw me."
"I don't think you can just do that?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Honestly, do you think I Weiss Schnee would partner up with a child?"
"What! I am not a child! I'm 15, and I drink milk." Weiss could stop and stare at Ruby dumbfoundedly. Then she continued on her path, ignoring her all the way. "Hey, wait, you just did it again. If we weren't partners before, we are now."
"So, what kind of weapon do you have?" Ruby asked while looking at Weiss's hip. "It looks like a multi-action dust rapier. Oh, what kind of dust can it take? It looks like you have fire, ice, wind, lightning, gravity, and, oh, is that hard light! That's like super expensive. How did you afford that?"
Weiss just kept marching forward, ignoring Ruby all the while. "So uh, did you make yourself or…." Ruby couldn't find it in herself to continue the conversation. She hoped the rest of her time wouldn't be like this with Weiss. The sound of shifting foliage brought their awkward march to a halt.
From the forest came a red-headed woman with a circular shield strapped to her back and a rifle in hand. "Oh, Weiss, how are you?"
"Pyrrha!" Weiss exclaimed while crossing the distance between the two, which made Ruby's head spin. "Have you found a partner yet?"
"No, I haven't, but it seems like you have," she pointed towards Ruby.
"What? No, we haven't even exchanged words. How about we become partners?" She looked between Ruby and Weiss with a skeptical look. Before anything else could be done, growls and crimson eyes came from the foliage.
"Let's deal with the enemy first, and then we can figure out the partner situation." From the bushes came wolf-like creatures with fur as black as the night sky. They had elongated arms that ended in claws that could make each girl a kabab on almost every beast present. Their bones seem to grow out of their bodies comfortably. Finally, their bone-white mask was decorated with red lines that only seemed to accentuate their blood-red eyes.
They were Boewolves; with a large enough pack, they could quickly run down a town. Kill every civilian with ease and smell any runner miles away. With a pack, they, of course, had a leader if the smallest one was taller a head than the six-foot-tall redhead in heels. The most experienced one was at least 10 feet tall. It was the oldest one. The smartest one.
Its bones could hang the girl's bodies serval times over. The fangs were longer than an adult's ring finger. The battle scars it held were visible to the young Huntress-in-training. The number of bodies behind the beast was unknown but evident to the three. It was sitting in the back, studying the three with a cautious eye. It weighed its options and determined the best course of action while holding its near mindless brothers in control.
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Jaune couldn't believe that the Headmaster literary launched the possible new students into the air. Then he couldn't believe they were facing down Grimm only 10 minutes into the test. They were ready to face these things, and from the looks of it, their determination wasn't fake. They seemed fearless, while he was just scared watching. "Jaune, can you estimate the age of the Alpha?"
He turned to the person who asked the question. It was the Headmaster that was still looking at his scroll. "Um, the Alpha is the biggest one. Then guess by his size and the length of his bone armor." He pondered the question for several seconds and gave his answer. "I would say maybe 50 or 60 years?"
"That is incorrect," Glynda said with a patronizing tone. "Professor Port, our expert Grimm, made sure there were only at least Grimm as old as 30 in the forest. A 50 or 60-year-old Grimm would take at least a full team of first-year hunter trainees to defeat them. And from the looks of it." Jaune looked back at his screen as the girls moved around the battlefield. They were getting in the way of each other's attacks and even started a forest fire. "They seem lucky not to have that issue."
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The plan was simple the girls would take a side and focus on the enemies presented to them. This could be going better. Pyrrha thought to herself as she brought her shield up to deflect a strike from a Beowolf. Then she promptly guided her sword into the throat of the monster.
It was a good plan that anyone could come up with; when they were finished with their adversaries, they would help the others. Really nice and simple. But that's where they ran into trouble. The one with the giant scythe finished first. Maybe a semblance, or she was just that good? Pyrrha didn't know which, to be honest.
She yelled, "Here I come, partner!" Another thing Pyrrha learned in the short time she was with the two. They were partners, and Weiss lied to her. Keeping distance might be good for now. But not too far, considering she is a Schnee, and her father would have her head if she didn't make some kind of connection with her. Focus Pyrrha. Weiss misfired because the scythe wielder ran into her. We have to get out of here.
"Come on," Pyrrha motioned the two to follow her out of the clearing. The girls followed her, thankfully, but they were more off course from their destination. The Grimm were retreating, too, because of the fire. So there is no sense staying for them as well. "Alright, we seem to have lost them. Let's get back to the task at hand."
"What were you thinking!?" Weiss demanded as she turned to Ruby.
Or not. Pyrrha thought to herself.
"What do you mean I was trying to help you. Just like we planned," Ruby retorted.
"Oh, don't think that was your plan. It was Pyrrha's," Weiss said while she motioned to the girl.
Pyrrha was about to say something, but Ruby cut her off. "It doesn't matter whose plan it was. I was just doing what I had to do. You should watch where you're swinging all that dust." At this point, Pyrrha decided to look around and get a feel for the land. No sense in adding her two cents while they were having a shouting match next to this cave. She did take a closer look at the entrance to find cave paintings.
The school probably knew about the cave and its paintings. Nothing was perhaps in there either, but it wasn't they were supposed to be heading. The picture was a band of humans and fanus fighting a giant scorpion with spears. "I don't know what Ozpin was thinking when he let you in." Pyrrha looked back at the pair to find Ruby stunned.
"Hey, I think we should get a move on. We are still taking a test," Pyrrha said, hoping to bring the fighting to an end for now. They both looked at each other and then looked away from them. Pyrrha didn't know what to do, especially when Weiss stomped away in the wrong direction and Ruby sliced a tree in anger. "Wait, not that way. We have to go the other way."
Scuttling could be heard from inside the cave, and everyone stopped. Nothing happened, and then everything happened all at once. The cave wall exploded from the inside to reveal a giant Grimm the size of a school bus. From the string to the pincers, it was recognizable to her what it was; a Deathstalker. An overgrown scorpion Grimm with no natural antidote to its venom. However, that wouldn't matter since the stringer would put a hole in any part of their bodies.
It must have been old to get this big. Also must have gotten stuck in that cave for an unknown time, considering the thing had moss. Is it brighter than the pack leader they met? It wasn't something she or anyone was going to figure out. "Follow me and run!" Pyrrha barked as she went full tilt in the direction of North.
They ran past trees and bushes like a track runner with Weiss and Ruby tow. Unfortunately, due to the size of the thing. It wasn't far behind. If they slowed down, it would catch up. Any sharp turn they pulled was more or less useless because it just uprooted any tree in the way. "Look on our right," Ruby pointed to the foliage ten feet away from them.
Black shadows danced through the green, eventually revealing an adolescent Boewolf jumping at the trio. The three jumped over the pup and continued to run. From a distance, they could hear the howl of a familiar beast. "Great," Weiss sighed, "they're back." Pyrrha chose to ignore the cries for now.
If they slowed down, they would be overrun by a Grimm as old as at least 60 years. Which possibly lost its sense of self. That made it the equivalent of a baby driving a wrecking ball. Then the pack of organized Grimm could work around that thing. It would kill them all. They would have to find other students to survive.
The sounds of chatter were like a lifeline to Pyrrha. "Grimm!" She shouted. Truly the only callout that could ready any person on the other side. In the clearing was a group of colorful characters standing in front of ruins. There were beside pedestals holding what looked like chess pieces. Probably their goal, and hopefully, they could grab it before it got too crazy.
"Ruby!" A blond girl yelled.
"Let's open up, so they can open fire. Then we can run past and grab the relic," Pyrrha commanded. "Open fire." She shouted, hoping they could overhear her over the sound of the Deathstalker breaking through the treeline. Without a moment's notice, they unleashed a rain of ammunition to hold back the small horde.
"Hurry, grab a relic so we can fight them together," shouted Yang. Pyrrha and Ruby grabbed the golden rook and black knight with a nod. When Pyrrha turned around, she was faced with a problem. The Beowolf pack dodged the bullets, and it seemed the Deathstalker was talking to the Alpha.
It turned to them, and the lesser Beowolfs pulled back behind the giant beast. The creature of darkness rushed forward with the furry packages right behind it. "They can do that?" Ruby said. Every student went in their direction to avoid the black trouble. Pyrrha looked left and right to understand the situation.
The only people that could aid her were Ruby, an orange-haired girl, and a boy named Ren, if she remembered correctly. The beast surged forward, and they were further separated. "I got this!" Ruby shouted and sped ahead.
"Wait," Pyrrha attempted to hold her back, but her Semblance was too fast. A red mass surrounded the girl, and a trail of rose petals was left behind. She reappeared with her weapon unfurled. She held her arms back in a ready position and struck. Then bounced back like a ball on concrete. The scorpion retaliated with its bulbous stringer, but the students were already in action.
The orange-haired warrior threw her friend like a softball directly at the stringer. Pyrrha held her hand forward as a black aura surrounded it. The strike wasn't true with the extra weight, and Ruby was pulled by her weapon in the direction of Pyrrha. Pyrrha brought her hand to her side, and Ruby fell to her side. "We have to come up with a plan."
Ruby nodded, and they looked back to the battle. Ren was distracting the DeathSalker, and the girl was swinging a war hammer to find off the pinchers. "I have a plan," Ruby said. Pyrrha was apprehensive, but she didn't know what to do.
"Okay, let's hear it," Pyrrha replied.
"Hey, you two, retreat over here for a second." The dual-wielding boy retreated as she said and regrouped. "Now I have a plan, but will you hear me out?" Ren nodded as he watched his partner pepper the enemy with grenades.
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"Shouldn't we be down there?" Jaune said as he looked back and forth at the scene that played on his screen. Then, in the general direction of the battle.
"We are watching the battle closely, and I am confident in their abilities. If they fail the initiation, then they didn't deserve to be here in the first place," Ozpin said while not taking his eyes off his scroll.
"As much as I agree with your sentiment . Ozpin is also right - even if a Grimm that size shouldn't be that forest - if they can't pass this test. They won't be able to survive, Beacon."
"Survive? Survive? This is a school, not a cage match. What if they die," Jaune said, now directing his anger at both adults. Glynda looked at Jaune like she was ready to whip him.
"Do not mistake my abstain from going into the forest for apathy," Glynda's grip on her scroll tightened, "Yes, to survive. We live a hard life and face death every time we step out. We must be hard on them, or they won't graduate properly. They might die while at school or not even a year after graduating. Is what should be accepted by every Huntsman."
Jaune looked back to the forest and then back to his scroll, although he still had his worries. What if they do die? Then what? "I'm sorry, Miss and Mister Rose. Your daughter died in an insane test." Jaune was ready to die for this dream. But could he just sit here and watch others possibly die? He looked to the metal platforms and his two teachers.
He looked back at his scroll, and he couldn't believe it. It was a stupid plan, for sure. But Ozpin and Glynda made good points. "I think you should focus on what's happening because I think they figured it out," Ozpin said, bringing Jaune out of his stupor.
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Pyrrha and the now-known girl Nora rushed forward to intercept the pinchers. Her shield slammed against the left, and Nora's hammer beat back the right. Ren and Ruby were right behind them. With pinpoint accuracy, they shot their targets. Ren's twin green automatic pistols fired at its plethora of eyes. Ruby's sniper rounds found purchase where the tail and stringer met. With the loss of some of its eyes and the damage to the tail. The beast went into a fit of rage.
A swift Ren backed up Pyrrha to hold the stringer at bay. However, the difficulty proved to be too much for the three. It backhanded Nora into the distance, and the two narrowly missed being squashed. "Nora!" Ren shouted out in concern. The beast surged forward but was halted by an encasing of ice.
An ice line led their gaze to Weiss with her rapier pointed to the ground. Ruby nodded and surged forward. In half of a moment, Ruby cut the stringer from the tail. "Yang! Strike it down!" A fiery blond blur was there 12 seconds later and smashed the stringer into the white carapace. The ground shattered, and the Death Stalker let out a rattling death cry.
"Ruby!" Yang shouted as she tackled her into a hug. "You did amazing." Ruby sighed with relief as the hard part seemed to be over.
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In a room not too far from where the team names and leaders. It held the Headmaster, team Prawn or PRN, and Jaune. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora stood to his left, watching the boy with interest. "Team Prawn, this is Jaune Arc. He started studying as a Huntsman two weeks ago. He'll join you all in your studies and possibly your practical studies."
The black-haired boy with a magenta streak passively stared at him. Pyrrha's eyes widened as if Jaune was the most surprising thing today. Nora was just smiling and looking at him like a new toy. "So you're a student here?" Ren asked calmly.
"Yeah, I'm a first-year student here, but I'll be helping the staff around here. I was a civilian about two weeks ago."
"Wait! Really!" shouted Nora. She closed the distance between the two in an instant. "Why did you start studying so late?"
"Uh, I tried to get training when I was younger. But the Headmaster found me and gave me a chance to become one."
"Wow," she said with eyes full of wonder. "So what's your family like? Do you have any siblings?" Then from behind, she was lifted away by the green-garbed boy.
"Sorry about Nora. I'm Ren; I hope we can get along," he extended his hand for a handshake, and Jaune took it.
"Likewise."
"So you're a first year?" Pyrrha asked as she stepped forward.
"Yeah, I don't think I caught your name last time, but it's nice to meet you again." Pyrrha's eyes widened, and her mouth gaped, although she recovered her form.
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice to meet you."
Okay, before I got into anything, I didn't know how to finish this after the test, so eh. But that action scene was something else. I can't imagine how other people do it. But I'll figure it out someway. Now funny story on how I lost my job. I decided to stay late at my job because their was a shit tone to do.
Now keep in mind I don stay longer for like six hours. Anyway it was going on to the eighth hour in and my boss comes in to look at the area. It looked pretty much the same when I came in the morning. She asked, "Are you guys sure we'll get this all done?"
Then I snapped at her and said, "Not with that attitude." I apologized and went back to work. A couple of minutes past by and she pulls a manager and me into an office to talk to me. Keep in mind when they do that at Walmart, that's not good. Even if they say its not.
She basically says everything I've told you so far and asked "Do you really want this job?" I thought and about it and said no. Do I regret it? No. I weighed all options and thought it was best for me. I hate that place with a passion and the job more so. Now the moral of this story is to have a day where you can shadow what a normal day for a new position looks like.
Finally, another place of inspiration of this story was A Drunken Arcwitch marriage. Now before you get any ideas no there will not be any romantic stuff between the two like that fic. Although your boy is a sucker for romcoms and the like. It's something about a good romance story that gets me all feeling good about myself. It's one of the things I enjoy. My friend even got me a romcom manga for a b-day. I have been thinking of a romcom between the two though.
Where we see an evil witch trailed for her crimes and bounded to a knight to watch over her for the rest of her days. Or something like that. Anyway if you want to see anymore stuff I do go find me on Youtube, Twitch, Tiktok, and Facebook. Trying to make content creation my life and right now working to be partnered on Twitch and making vids for the others. Peace.
Next Chapter: August 16th