Angelfusion : Thanks again for pointing that out. I'll make sure to avoid small mistakes like that. I've also forgotten to put in Lemon's correct age, making him the same age as Neo when in reality he already is older than Huntsmen-in-training. This has been fixed.

The journey through the desert started easily. Everyone rode on camels to save their energy, except for Lemon who walked in front. The reason for that was easy. His semblance required him to have his feet on the ground, and thanks to it they could track the biggest grimms around and avoid them.

They couldn't avoid all the grimm, of course, but at least the ones they fought were simple. Through her semblance, Neo could see they barely went above level 3. She was more than enough to deal with all of them combined.

For her disguise, Neo had opted to take the look of a Mistralian woman, and Hush looked like a wooden parasol. She used a canopy full of wind and earth Dust, without any illusion Dust sprinkled in so the glow would still be visible. Neo loved the feeling of being able to freely use Dust again, thanks to Shade paying for all her fighting expenses.

Not that Theodore would pay for unlimited amounts of Dust, but what he was willing to pay for was more than enough for her to keep using Dust throughout the mission. This was also how she had sold herself, as someone proficient with Dust but unable to properly fight in a melee. If she was ever betrayed by the ones she worked for, they would be in for a surprise.

The caravan's first stop was at an oasis, and they stayed there for about a week. The reason was that one of the other caravans traveling through the desert was going to make a stop a couple days after them, and they would be able to trade their goods to each other.

This was actually the first time Lemon and Neo had to fight together. Since they were stopped, there was no way to actively avoid the larger grimm roaming through the desert, and one had eventually shown itself.

A huge scorpion like creature. A deathstalker, one of the most common types of grimm around here. A quick observation showed Neo exactly what they were up against.

Name : Deathstalker

Level : 8 (52%)

HP : 82/82

STR : 13

CON : 18

DEX : 18

INT : 3

WIS : 15

CHA : 10

Semblance : Grimm [a grimm's entire purpose is to destroy the very existence of living beings. Their soul. Gains 1d12 damage against aura]

Defenses :

AC : 22

For : 18

Ref : 18

Will : 16

Neo shivered in excitement. This grimm wasn't really much of a threat to her, however it would still allow her to have some fun out of the fight. The small beowolves and other critter like grimm they met before just wasn't cutting it.

Lemon tensed at the sight of the creature, and got ready for a tough fight. That was understandable. To him, this was a significant threat. One of the strongest grimm they could randomly walk into. Stronger grimm were too smart to get anywhere close to such a large gathering of humans.

The grimm crawled up to them, moving unimpeded through the sand. It didn't bother Neo much, and with a casual wave of her weapon she activated the earth Dust within it and made a spear of sand, which poked through the deathstalker's exoskeleton.

- 11 HP

Neo pouted. That was only one damage more than the minimum her Dust attack could make. Maybe she should care a bit more about this fight.

Meanwhile, Lemon had charged the grimm, and swung his broadsword right on the scorpion's head. The strength was enough to make the armor crack.

- 17 HP

Ok. Now Neo was mad. The failed Huntsman had dealt more damage than her. She had to set the record straight. The grimm wasn't going to take a beating while lying down though, and while it's head reeled back from being hit, it's stinger struck Lemon and threw him several meters away.

- 9 AP

- 5 AP

Lemon coughed a bit, having inhaled some sand when he had landed head first on the ground. The deathstalker ran up to try and attack him again while he was down, but Neo wasn't going to let that happen.

With a swing of Hush, Neo created a gust of wind that roared towards the grimm, gathering sand as it traveled. The mini-sandstorm hit the grimm right in the face, and thanks to some luck grains of sand were shoved deep in the deathstalker's eyes.

- 12 HP

The grimm shrieked, and it tried to rub its eyes with its pincers, to no effect. Grimm didn't need sight to perceive humans though, so it wouldn't stop so easily.

Neo, on the other hand, was done. She had just done a spell to disrupt the grimm, not harm it. Yet, she had done more damage than when she tried piercing it earlier on. If that's how life wanted to treat her, then she wouldn't fight anymore.

Still, Neo's Dust attack had indeed disrupted the grimm, enough for Lemon to get back up and charge again. He struck again, but the blinded grimm managed to block it with its stinger, reducing the damage.

- 8 HP

The scorpion followed by attacking with its left pincer, which Lemon blocked with its arm.

- 7 AP

- 8 AP

The damage was here, but Lemon wasn't pushed away like last time. Here he stood tall, and struck his blade right inside the small crack he had made earlier.

- 19 HP

The grimm recoiled, taking a few steps back, and Lemon attacked again. The segments of his sword separated, extending his reach, and the blade pierced through the deathstalker's head.

- 12 HP

Neo gave a look back, quickly checking of both side's remaining health.

Name : Deathstalker

HP : 3/82

(-)

Name : Lemon Corll

HP : 16/16

AP : 34/63

It seemed Lemon didn't even need her help. This made her pout increase, even if she knew the grimm was lower leveled than he was. Grimm who shrieked one last time before blindly charging at Lemon, impaling itself on his sword.

- 4 HP

Neo rolled her eyes as the grimm dissolved. What a stupid way to die.

Cinder was angry.

That stupid bull faunus had refused her help.

How such an idiot could have ended up leading the White Fang branch in Vale was beyond her.

She was offering them a chance in a lifetime to destroy the humans they hated so much, and he had refused. He. Had. Refused. Her !

It was ridiculous. She had always thought faunus were just as intelligent as humans.

Obviously she was wrong. They were just animals.

But she knew just where to find the power needed to make the beasts yield.

It was time to kill that maiden.

Qrow was not liking his current job.

He was tasked with protecting one of the maidens, but protecting her was easier said than done. Amber was a fully fledged Huntress, and had perfect control of her powers. However, that meant she did not appreciate the idea of being protected by another Huntsman, especially one like Qrow, who spent his time being drunk.

Not that Qrow minded. His semblance made it hard to protect someone if he was nearby. He preferred to stay away, hidden, so as not to plague the one he was protecting with his bad luck.

No. The problem was that Amber had found out he was following her, and she had decided to make it harder for him to track her.

And when you had bad luck and tried to follow someone hell bent on losing you... Let's just say that didn't tend to end well.

Qrow was managing to follow her, thanks to his extensive experience in that field, but it proved difficult. He feared that in a few weeks he might actually lose her trail, if only temporarily.

His thoughts were broken by a pack of beowolves that attacked him. Not really a threat, even Ruby could have dealt with them easily, but it was an annoyance.

Annoyance that grew when he realized the grimm weren't actually mindlessly jumping at him, like grimm should. Instead, they were acting strangely, like if they were trying to stall him rather than kill him.

In the distance, he saw a small tornado rise. A sign that Amber was using her maiden powers.

Qrow growled when he realized the grimm were indeed simply there to stall him.

Just his luck.

Cinder wasn't sure if she was simply pissed, or afraid.

She had failed to get the maiden's powers. All because of that stupid drunk Huntsman. Somehow the grimm sent to occupy him had proven useless. They were still alive, and Qrow had managed to interfere while she was taking the maiden's powers.

It was infuriating.

But what was going to happen if Salem heard of this ? If she heard that Cinder had failed ?

No. Salem couldn't know. Never.

It was fine. The maiden had been attacked near Vale. Surely that Huntsman would have brought her back to Beacon.

And since she was to make Beacon fall next Vytal tournament... She would use the commotion to get the maiden powers.

Then, Salem wouldn't know she had failed to get the powers here.

It was fine. Everything was fine.

Now she had to be sure to prepare thoroughly for that attack. She had to gather the White Fang, and use them to tear the city to shreds.

But first, she had to make sure her thief was doing his job properly.

It was summer break. Finally.

Glynda was still supposed to protect Beacon, but surely Ozpin wouldn't mind if she roamed the streets of Vale a bit. It's not like she was going to be far anyway, and he should spend some time dealing with his own paperwork, instead of unloading everything on her.

Now all she had to do was find Torchwick. That in itself wasn't hard, as she knew that he was close to Junior and she had set up some informants of her own to check if he came by.

And come by he did. To hire help for his next hit. A fact Glynda learned of quickly, allowing her to rush at the scene.

There, she laid in wait. Her goal wasn't to stop Torchwick, but to follow him to where he had his base of operations. This was the safest way to find Neo again, and if she wasn't there Glynda would still be able to question the criminal.

When she saw Torchwick's goons get thrown around by a small red-hooded girl with a scythe, she inwardly cursed. However, she trusted Roman would be able to run away. He had managed to stay out of prison for this long, so he wouldn't be caught by a girl too young to even be a Huntress-in-training.

She hadn't planned on interfering, but when she saw Torchwick blast a crystal of fire Dust next to the girl, whom Glynda didn't even know if she had her Aura unlocked yet, she was forced to intervene.

She might have wanted to chase Roman down, she might have wanted to find Neo more than anything, but she wasn't ready to let an innocent die for it. Or anyone for that matter.

When Roman saw her, he called for help, and a woman in a red dress attacked back. The dress was laced with fire Dust, which glowed whenever she used powers that could be linked to the substance.

Glynda didn't care much for it at the time. She was too focused on stopping both of them and protecting the girl next to her. She didn't manage to arrest the criminals sadly, but that meant she would have another chance at stalking Torchwick later.

However. That girl was getting arrested. She had ruined Glynda's plans, and Glynda was pissed.

Cinder was impressed.

When Roman had told her he was being delayed by a Huntress, she had thought he was simply making excuses. But now she could see it was the truth.

Moreover, it was Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's right-hand at Beacon.

The fact that Roman hadn't been caught yet with such an incredible Huntress on his back was worthy of praise.

She knew this thief would prove useful, but she had never expected this much.

Cinder smiled. She truly had an eye for talent.

Roman was sweating profusely behind his faked smile.

When Cinder had asked why he had barely stolen anything since the last time she had seen him, he pulled out the stupidest excuse ever by saying a Huntress was on his tail and he had to play it safe.

Obviously his employer hadn't believed him, and asked to personally witness his next heist. When he asked for money to hire Junior's goons, she had given him a burn and reduced his cigar to ash.

This wasn't looking great, but he didn't really see any way out, so he pulled the heist through. Only this time he was praying to be caught.

But before the cops, or better yet, some Huntsman could interfere, his plans were thwarted by a little girl.

Now that was ridiculous.

He was forced to flee. Not such a bad outcome, and if he could take the girl out as he left maybe he could convince Cinder he had been telling the truth earlier.

Then he saw Glynda step in, and both a surge of adrenaline and relief went through him.

Now he would certainly have preferred to be arrested by anyone but Glynda, but he was currently looking forward to the experience.

Sadly for him, Cinder did manage to protect the both of them along with the bullhead they were on. It stung, but he couldn't really do more than fly away or risk suspicion.

Still, not everything was bad. Thanks to Glynda's intervention it seemed Cinder was now believing him, and was pretty happy with him. However, this was the only good point of the day.

Because now, he was stuck. And clearly his employer was not someone he could go against.

Not on his own.

Glynda might have been angry at the red-hooded girl in front of her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity too.

She had called Ozpin as soon as the girl's arrest was secured, and she had been completely chewed out by the Headmaster.

To get out of her predicament, Glynda had made the mistake to point out that the girl in her custody had silver eyes. Now Ozpin was coming to see her.

Glynda bit her lip. She knew it was for the greater good, but she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Now, whether this girl wanted to or not, Ozpin would find her way to make her into a warrior.

And moreover, the teacher herself was going to be stuck in Beacon doing all the paperwork. As punishment for going out after Torchwick.

Just a reason so Ozpin could get out of his duties, she was sure.

But at the same time, she didn't really have room to argue.

Salem softly smiled, alone in her throne-room.

Cinder thought she didn't know that she had failed to get the maiden's powers.

It was laughable, really. A part of her was residing in all of her pawns, that's what allowed them to be safe from the grimm, and even control them to a degree.

Plus Cinder was someone Salem had her eye set on.

Still, Salem would let it go for now. The maiden was already dying. It wasn't a complete failure.

And for now. Destroying Vale was the priority.

Fun fact. On that last hit where the grimm died, it actually rolled a natural 1, which is why I had it impale itself on the sword. Otherwise it could have maybe given Lemon a bit more of a run for his money.

Oh, and both Neo and Lemon each critted once. I'll leave you to find out when, but it shouldn't be that hard to guess ;p

To be continued on May 22nd

Name : Neo Politan

Age : 15

Level : 14 (74%)

Class : Illusionist [You add both your Intelligence and Dexterity modifiers to your AC and to Dexterity or Intelligence based attacks as long as you can still cast illusions]

Path : Me, myself and I [You live for yourself first and foremost, no matter what pain you might cause others]

Title : The Gamer

HP : 10/10

AP : UNUSABLE

STR : 11

CON : 10

DEX : 18

INT : 21

WIS : 12

CHA : 16

Semblance : The Gamer

Status effects :

Gamer's body [Your body follows game-like mechanics. You can restore 1/4th of your total HP (rounded down) by resting 15 minutes. You can only die if your HP reach 0 and you fail your last breath]

Child of Remnant [You are from Remnant and follow different rules than other worlds. Your HP is always equal to your constitution and any bonuses that would normally improve it are transferred to your aura]

Fighting for your life [Your aura behaved in the only way that would let you survive, and will continue to do so until you overcome your trauma. You cannot use aura, but you can will any item you wield for it to reflect 100% of any attack that hits it]

Words that shouldn't be said [Your last words almost caused you to lose your life. You cannot talk until you overcome your trauma]

Defenses :

AC : 25(29)

For : 18

Ref : 24

Will : 22