Remember, times are hectic and it takes time to write and have my betas review my chapter. I know you all want chapters out quicker, but real life always takes priority. It's why I post progress on my home page so people know I'm still working. For this chapter, we're finally moving out of the fluffy slice of life stuff to the main plot. This is where we will start seeing a lot of divergence from the canon story line. There's a lot more exploration around Remnant that we don't get to see in the show.
Onishin Tsukitenshi: Yeah, that's the very first question Accelerator would ask. Did they check the data to see if anything was downloaded or uploaded?
JumpingToaster: Only way I could do that was liquid courage to help her.
Griefmore: Can I come join your party? Send me the address. I wanted the relationship between Weiss and Accelerator to be mutual beneficial for sure.
SkyChaser17: Obviously I planned everything out and this was all set up from the beginning.
Takedo: Yeah, story is going to take place on Remnant. RWBY cast would not last long enough back in the Toaru universe.
Nine To One: Nah, this is entirely Yang's fault and she knows it.
Ahsoei: I'm sure this will have no negative repercussions for her at all. Neo is very levelheaded and nice.
Don Orbit: Oh, you don't think they did? Touma is getting cursed by a lot of the males at Beacon.
alaude hibari: That's why Ruby had to break through the sister-zone with brute force.
Lovecrazyhedgehog: They needed a jump start since Ruby was falling behind. Sometimes you need to be direct with people who are in denial.
CNwamadu: Until he meets Tyrian.
Aminadab Brulle: Yeah, our cultures suck. We have to do it off campus.
alucard19910: Aftermath is pretty obvious, but I did go over it a little this chapter. People's imagination would be a lot more interesting than I can write. Ruby and Touma will get a chance to talk at some point. I'm happy with how Weiss and Accelerator are progressing too. I can't just have him suddenly like PDA, but he's willing to do stuff for Weiss at least.
Mr. X: Blake kissed him once too.
SlothDGod: I want to make changes from the main story line for sure. A repeat with small differences gets boring. This chapter shows how different the storyline is getting and it's building off the last chapter.
WwEpsilonwW: Four people. Yang, Neo, Mercury, and Coco. Neo just didn't get caught.
Mamb: It wasn't so much Vector manipulation, but just reflection. She can't adjust Vectors to do what Accelerator does. At most, she is copying his automatic reflection on a glyph.
Rajarshi Sarkar: Always good to keep things interesting. We knew something was going to happen at the dance. Just not what.
Cthulhu-On-The-Moon: I discovered I really like the Accelerator and Weiss ship. It's not the normal kind of relationship with typical swooning. It takes some interesting turns.
Random Person: Yeah, even with Aura, enough force with a sharp object seems to be able to penetrate Aura. The show isn't consistent for sure.
G119: Some of the secrets were shared, like Ozpin knows about Penny now. But yeah, Ironwood is the kind of guy to instantly push people away in an emergency and only trust himself. That is what Salem wants. To divide. It was pretty obvious in the show Ironwood only reveals stuff when he absolutely has to and the moment things don't go his way, no one can be trusted.
Omegas Prime: It's why it acted quickly. Extra potent. Even Neo didn't expect that, as she would assume most kids at Beacon are too good for that kind of stunt. Yeah, Touma refuses to admit a girl likes him unless they really hammer it in.
Guest: High praise indeed.
3dayskokoro: I try my best.
The Red Sun: Magic has unintended affects with Vectors. They act weird and he has to calculate them manually to get the desired outcome. Well, let's say Emerald has Accelerator see his teammates or friends as the enemy and uses his vector manipulated to reverse blood flow? Or he can target a building. There's a lot she can do.
zerofire210: I really enjoyed the team swap, even if it was short. It let me dive a little into some of the other teams like CRDL or NDGO. Gave them more character a lot of fics don't have time to do. Touma's a good influence and it will show later. Glad I surprised you. It seemed like a lot of people didn't expect Ruby to be the one at the dance. I don't know much about Konkai Impac, so I don't think I can.
GeeKING Out: Totally going to have them fight to show that you can defeat Touma. Tyrian would kick his ass. Well, Accelerator might have to visit Atlas at some point.
Smokolo: Then my job is done. It got you into the series.
WSarcasm: Of course Neo blames Ruby. And Yang. How dare the blonde do exactly what Neo did and how DARE Ruby act drunk when unknowingly drinking alcohol. Neo has every right to be upset.
Guest: Probably like most of the magic gods.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
The weekend passed quickly.
Naturally, the rumor mill was going crazy and spreading like wildfire. Couples no one expected at the dance, the robber at the CCT, and the students that spiked the punch. Glynda was furious and those that had been caught were not let off easy. Yang had one of the busiest weekends of her life. She, Mercury, and Coco were tasked with cleaning up the dance hall all by themselves, which took most of their Saturday, and then they were assigned detention for a month. The deputy headmistress might have reprimanded them more if Ozpin didn't step in. Thanks to him reminding her that they were kids and bound to make mistakes, they wouldn't want to wish they were dead.
Though, Yang had one punishment the others didn't have.
While Yang was thinking about Ruby when she spiked the punch, she never thought she would actually get into trouble, but the girl forgot about someone else. A child. Someone who could easily get drunk off a little bit of alcohol. That caused the blonde to realize how catastrophic her mistakes could have been when she was told this. Still, she didn't want to get lectured by Weiss. However, the heiress knew how to handle her teammate. She simply stated that Yang would have to go through severe belittlements as punishment, or go and beg Accelerator for forgiveness.
That boy had been dealing with a sick Last Order for a good part of Saturday and was not in a good mood.
It didn't take long for Yang to quickly accept Weiss' deal. For three hours, three full hours, Weiss lectured Yang on how irresponsible she had been. There was plenty of yelling and insults, which Yang took without retorting. It was better than the alternative. There were even rumors circling the school that Glynda Goodwitch herself recorded part of it to be used for later.
Then there was the fact that first years would be getting their first official assigned missions. Well, Team RWBY and Team JNPR actually got a head start, as their trip to Mt. Glenn happened earlier than expected. Ozpin had still contacted Ruby and Jaune to see if they were interested in participating in another, this time without a licensed Huntsman to assist them.
Naturally, they accepted.
Jaune did so out of a sense of duty. Ruby… well Ruby had been hiding in her room most of the weekend and was looking for an excuse to disappear for a bit.
"You're going to have to come out sometime," Weiss huffed, dropping a plate of food on her leader's desk for Sunday dinner. Her eyes rose to examine the lump on the hanging bed. "You can't sulk up there forever."
"Yes, I can…" Came the muffled reply from the blankets hidden behind the bedsheet blinds.
Weiss groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She knew why Ruby was acting this way. Yang and Blake knew why she was acting this way. Weiss was also pretty sure the one person Ruby didn't want to see her knew she was acting this way. Her big drunken mistake at the dance caused that young girl to hole herself up in her room. She didn't want to risk seeing Touma.
It had been Ruby's first kiss after all.
Not the one the girl ever imagined having. Before meeting Touma, Ruby always thought kissing boys was yucky. Touma was the first person she ever imagined herself doing anything like that with. Then she kept making a fool of herself in front of him. Starting from falling onto him through a roof, failing to ask him to the dance, and then drunkenly kissing him.
'He must think I'm such a ditz.'
Of course, Weiss knew this.
"A bunch of idiots, including your sister, spiked the punch," the heiress told her. "What you did wasn't your fault. A lot of people were making fools of themselves." Her words were true. Plenty of students had begun to feel the effects of alcohol before Glynda stopped the dance.
"But I did it right in the middle of the dance floor!" Ruby wailed, shrinking into a smaller floor. "Everyone…sniff… saw me."
"I seriously doubt Touma's mad or upset with you," Weiss tried to console. This wasn't something she was good at and she was trying to be understanding. "Listen, Accelerator and I are going into Vale to stock up on some Dust. Do you want to come with me? Check out some of the newer Dust rounds? Maybe we can experiment a little bit with ammo."
"…No."
Weiss had begun to notice just how grave Ruby thought the situation was. Did Ruby just refuse to go look at weapons or ammo? That never happens. There was a sharp knock on the door and Weiss went to answer it. Not surprisingly, it was her boyfriend and she smiled at him before stepping back so Accelerator could enter. His red eyes scanned the room and stopped on Ruby.
"She's still hiding?" The boy asked gruffly.
"Yeah, too embarrassed to risk seeing him."
"Not my business," Accelerator huffed and then grinded his teeth for a moment as he saw Weiss look worriedly at Ruby. He actually felt a little bad for her. That was new. Was this part of being in a relationship? Whatever this feeling was, it led him to say something he didn't expect. "Though, it might be a good idea. Our resident Ex-con has been unusually clingy to the damn hero. I doubt she'll be happy to see you intrude."
"No surprises there," Weiss muttered. After what happened at the dance, Neo was probably making sure no one would get near that boy. "Ruby's going to stay in all day, so we can probably-…"
"Did he mention me at all?"
The two white-haired kids looked up at the bed to see Ruby sticking her head out.
"Who?" Accelerator asked rhetorically.
"Touma!" Ruby's tone was a strange combination of annoyance and anxiety at his response. They all knew who she was referring to. "Did he mention me at all since… the dance."
This was actually a question Accelerator could answer.
Just one he didn't want to… at all.
Honestly, the boy knew the hero was working on trying to figure out how to talk to Ruby. He heard him more than once talking to himself in the bathroom trying to put his words together. The simple, 'you were drunk so it's not your fault' all the way to the 'I didn't know.' It was really annoying so Accelerator quickly left the area to not get pissed off. Neo on the other hand would try to interrupt anytime she caught him doing this. It was obvious she was annoyed at what happened and didn't want the hero to think about Ruby.
Weiss was looking at him with a slightly pleading look for him to tell Ruby. It would provide some comfort to her at least. Yet Weiss respected him enough not to actually tell him to do it. The choice was his to make.
"The damn hero's embarrassed too," Accelerator eventually spat out. "He wants to talk with you."
"Really?!" Ruby's dejected expression brightened up and then suddenly went red. "Oh no! What's he going to say? What am I going to say?"
"Not my problem." Accelerator turned to Weiss who was facepalming at her team leader's antics. "Are we going?"
"Yeah, I know what I need to stock up on for tomorrow," Weiss looked up at him and then turned toward Ruby. There was a hint of pity in her gaze. "You told Ozpin we would do another mission like the other first-year teams tomorrow, so you need to be up by then. Talk to Touma afterward when you've had some time to cool down. It's impossible for him to hate you. We all know how he's like, practically the nicest person alive."
Weiss then left the room with Accelerator, leaving Ruby alone to her thoughts.
"Maybe she's right," Ruby muttered, climbing down from the bed. "I'm being stupid. I never worried this much about making a fool of myself before." She remembered when she was young shortly after unlocking her Semblance. She used her speed and immediately collided with a wall, falling backward and revealing her underwear to her classmates. She hadn't worn a skirt for months after that, but that didn't warrant her staying locked in her room. "Weiss is so nice for putting up with me like this though. She even brought me meals."
Opening the box, Ruby froze and a single word came out as she wailed.
"Weisssssss!"
It was an incredibly bland-looking chicken salad. Ruby had asked for a huge juicy hamburger but what she saw was something that disgusted her. A salad. Something Weiss would eat or as Yang called it, rabbit food. There were no greasy fries either to make her feel better. The meal was also devoid of the most important aspect of any meal.
Dessert!
"Just because you think I eat too many cookies, doesn't mean you get to decide what I eat," Ruby growled to herself. "I planned ahead though, Weiss. You don't know about my emergency cookie stash!" Reaching into her drawer behind some fake boxes of school supplies, Ruby pulled out a box without any noticeable markings. Reaching inside, she pulled out one and bit into it.
Then immediately spat it out.
"What did you do to my stash!?" The young leader screamed in horror. "You're the devil, Weiss! How dare you do something so heretical!?"
Ruby, for all her strength, would never bear to eat such a disgusting concoction.
Oatmeal raisin cookies.
Meanwhile, Yang and Blake were currently hanging out with Pyrrha and Nora. The four girls had just finished some rounds using the training droids, careful to avoid over-exerting themselves because of the missions tomorrow. Nora was excited Jaune allowed them to go on another one since Mt. Glenn had been their first official mission. Yang, however, had other opinions.
"And here I thought we would get some time off," the blonde moaned for sympathy. "No classes, no missions, just some relaxation."
"It's what we signed up for," Pyrrha reminded her. "I thought you would have preferred that over the detentions Professor Goodwitch assigned you." Nora covered her mouth with her hands as she giggled.
"Man, ever since the dance, you've been a lot more outspoken." Yang complimented, after whistling. "Vomit Boy's been good for your self-confidence, huh?"
"It's been rather nice." Pyrrha reminisced fondly, thinking about their dances. She was a little upset it ended early because of the CCT attack and the alcohol, but that was a minor annoyance if anything else. "He's been a really good boyfriend."
"I'll say," Nora snickered. "He even got her a box of chocolates yesterday as thanks for going with him."
"Then she proceeded to eat them all?" Yang joked back. Pyrrha's face quickly matched her hair. Most of them knew her secret weakness to chocolate.
"I'm surprised you've been so cheerful with the rumors," Blake commented, looking up from her book. "Some have been… rather unpleasant."
Pyrrha's embarrassment faded and a frown appeared on her face.
"Those jerks don't know what they are talking about," Nora huffed. "Pyrrha and Jaune-Jaune are a perfect couple."
"Have to agree with you there, Nora." Yang nodded toward the ginger. "It was only a matter of time."
"I'm actually used to rumors circulating around me," Pyrrha admitted, earning the attention of the others. "They don't bother me. I was afraid when Jaune and I first talked, about how he would be able to handle it. He understood that there would be rumors about him… about us." She sighed and looked at the ground. "Yet he still was willing to give it a try. I want to protect him from the worst of it but at the same time…" The girl actually smiled, surprising the others. "It's nice to hear rumors about something that makes me happy, rather than about stuff that I rather forget."
"That's the spirit." Yang patted her on the back. "Sounds like your aftermath is better than ours at least."
"Huh, what do you mean?" Pyrrha was confused.
"Neo…" Blake and Yang groaned loudly.
"What did she do now?" Nora asked. "More pranks? Vandalism? She didn't look happy when you were dancing with Touma. I don't envy being in your shoes."
"Yes," Yang confirmed angrily. "I'm not even the target and I'm still being drawn into this."
"She's targeting me," Blake informed them stoically, closing her book. "It's as Nora said. She's not happy." Though she felt a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that Neo was upset, dealing with her antics was another story. At least she was able to start stressing to Touma that there could be some kind of romantic relationship between them.
"What's she doing?" Pyrrha asked.
"Have you caught her yet?" Nora added excitedly. "We can't get her in trouble if you don't."
"No…" Blake's hands made a fist so tight her knuckles grew white. "Yesterday, I found one of my favorite books with all the pages glued together." Nora and Pyrrha both scooted away as the air around her seemed to shimmer with rage. They all knew how much Blake cared for her books. "No one on our team would have done it, so it had to be an intruder."
"To be on the safe side, we also examined our bathroom supplies," Yang continued as Blake wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment. "One of Blake's shampoo bottles was filled with hair remover…" Yang's face paled. "I sometimes use her stuff by accident, so that could have been a disaster." The table cracked as she gripped it. "I'd be in jail for murder right now if we didn't check."
Pyrrha's hand touched her ponytail uncomfortably.
"I would be right there with you if someone did that to me." Nora agreed.
"At least she didn't spike the punch during the dance," Pyrrha pointed out, eyeing Yang. "It made the fun end earlier than planned…"
"Are… are you holding a grudge?" Yang gaped at her in shock. Nora and Blake looked surprised too.
"Me?" Pyrrha tilted her head as her face remained blank. "My first real date with a guy I like was interrupted because some people wanted to get drunk. Why would I be mad?"
"It wasn't just me! Coco and Mercury did it too!"
"I think she's mad," Nora whispered to Blake. "I've never seen her this passive-aggressive."
"I hope Jaune doesn't see this," Blake replied. "But it's nice seeing Yang on the receiving end."
"It's pretty funny," Nora said, stifling a bit of laughter.
Blake couldn't help but agree, but definitely wanted to see Yang squirm for her actions.
"It was totally worth it!" Mercury explained to Jaune and Touma as they sat outside at one of the tables behind Beacon. They finally had a chance to talk after Mercury got his punishment for his part in the spiked punch. "It wasn't supposed to get everyone wasted. Just… loosen up a bit."
Inside he was laughing as a lot of the students were staggering about that night. Was it really his fault if one of them drank too much? It was all in the name of fun.
"Sure you did," Jaune grumbled. "I was going to thank you two for pushing me to ask Pyrrha, but then you go and do this so our date was cut short."
"What can I say except you're welcome?" Mercury wore the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. "You two probably had some drinks before it was caught. I bet you both went back to your room and had some drunken fun."
Jaune's face turned red as he remembered what happened.
"HAHA!" Mercury declared triumphantly.
"Nice one, Jaune." Touma agreed. "About time."
"How can you be one to talk?!" Jaune shot back.
The truth was nothing crazy happened, but it was kind of embarrassing. They got back and laid down in the same bed. They were a little tipsy after all. Nothing happened though. They literally just cuddled a bit and talked before falling asleep. It wasn't until Nora got back and tucked them in under one of her emergency pink blankets then hung up banners saying congratulations they discovered in the morning that it became embarrassing.
Ren had simply congratulated them on his own and wished them well.
Nora also said they couldn't take the banners down all week.
"What are you talking about?" Touma asked. "You're the one that everyone knew Pyrrha was crushing on. Accelerator and I learned that within a few days of coming here."
Jaune and Mercury shared a look before simultaneously gesturing to Touma's lap.
More specifically, the girl sitting in his lap.
Neo had her feet up on the table, comfortably seated on Touma as she played a game on her Scroll, while also snacking on a box of chocolate chip cookies. Where she got them, Touma had no idea but decided not to question it. It's not like getting cookies was that bad. What the boy pondered was why she refused to leave his side after the dance. Even when she went training, she would drag him along to watch.
"Not sure why she's been so clingy, but I don't know how to get her to leave," Touma sighed dejectedly. "She's supposed to be escorted everywhere on Beacon anyways, so I guess it works out."
"Do you really not know?" Mercury asked, looking skeptical.
Neo even stopped laying and looked up to see if she could see any signs Touma wasn't as dense as a block of wood. Part of her was certain he had to be just pretending and eventually he would snap. The only positive side as if he truly was this dense, even Ruby's drunken kiss during the dance would be played off.
"It's just her normal antics?" Touma shrugged. "You would've gotten used to it too if you were in my shoes."
Neo gasped silently. Getting used to her? What is that blasphemy?
"More importantly, are you guys ready for your missions tomorrow?" Touma asked, changing the topic.
He was actually looking forward to some quiet around Beacon. It would give him a chance to think about what happened with Ruby the night of the dance. The alcohol was the culprit for sure, but why would she want to kiss him? Was it possible she had feelings for him? He wasn't sure why she would like him like that, but he had to at least talk to her and assure the girl he wasn't mad. It wasn't her fault. The problem was she was holed up in her room all weekend and none of her team would let him in.
Yang had promised Ruby would snap out of it eventually, maybe after their missions. At least she didn't try to kill him. That was a good sign.
"Eh, just some simple exterminate Grimm mission." Mercury yawned as he answered. "We go to some small villages with Grimm problems that are out of the way for the military and help them out. It's nothing unusual for us, right?"
"No, I guess not." Jaune agreed. "Ozpin mentioned they had more missions than teams, so even though we went on ours early, we got roped in to help." He leaned closer and dropped the volume of his voice. "Between you and me? If Nora found out I declined her the opportunity for us to fight Grimm as a team, I would've had to sleep with one eye open."
"She does know how to party." Mercury agreed, laughing at Jaune's seriousness, before turning to Touma. "So your team gets a pass on missions?"
"Yeah, being a three-person first-year team along with my hand causing problems with my Aura caused Ozpin to hold us back in case of an emergency," Touma replied, partially lying and partially telling the truth. They weren't going but not for the reasons he said.
"Accelerator and Neo kick ass all by themselves, so it seems kind of a waste." Mercury shrugged and leaned back. "Oh, well. That just means you and Neo get more privacy without anyone barging in."
Neo gave him a thumbs up.
"Please don't give her ideas." Touma moaned.
"Hey, maybe you can get Blake to join in for a nice threesome?" Mercury continued to push buttons like he always did. "We saw how you two were dancing. She was about to jump you."
"Neo, can you take care of this?" Touma asked the girl. For once, she didn't complain or try to argue.
"OOOOOOFFFFFFFFF!"
Mercury collapsed on the table. Neo's heel slipped under the table and jabbed him between the legs. The poor boy was foaming at the mouth and you could see the whites of his eyes.
"Will…. he be okay?" Jaune asked worriedly.
"He's got Aura," Touma told him simply. "And was asking for it." Neo was nodding sagely from his lap.
"True," Jaune conceded fairly. "I had to be at least a little worried because I owe a lot to you two. My debt's paid to him now."
Last Order was laying on her bed, enjoying lazing around. Yesterday was awful for the small girl. She had a huge headache that took forever to go away and she even threw up. Accelerator and Touma were awesome though. They made her soup and Accelerator even let her sleep next to him. If being sick didn't feel so awful, she would be sick all the time. Maybe she could pretend to be sick so Accelerator pampered her more.
The girl raised her head when she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in! MISAKA calls out as MISAKA stops playing her game."
"Salutations, Friend Last Order!" The ginger robot girl replied as she walked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything and that you are feeling better."
"MISAKA is feeling great, MISAKA admits. Though MISAKA is a little lonely since the others are busy, MISAKA adds as MISAKA feels a twinge of loneliness."
"Would you like me to stay for a little bit?" Penny asked sweetly.
"Yes!" Last Order sat up and gestured to the seat next to her. "What do you want to do? MISAKA asks."
"I actually was wondering if you could help me," Penny admitted sheepishly. "I've been trying to join an online forum to practice socializing with people, but I am having trouble getting in. Do you think you can help?"
"Of course, MISAKA agrees instantly, as MISAKA is happy to help. Let MISAKA see."
Penny handed her scroll over and Last Order opened it. Penny was still on the part she was having the problem with and the small girl paused. All she had to do was click a box and hit continue to make her account. So why was Penny having problems? Then Last Order saw the words next to the box she was supposed to click.
I am not a robot.
Penny didn't like to lie so Last Order realized why she was having problems.
"Done, MISAKA declared as MISAKA hits the button." She handed the Scroll over. "You should be able to access the forum now."
"Thank you so much, Last Order." Penny hugged the girl, careful of her strength this time. "Now we can see what people talk about."
After about five minutes after the two girls reading forum comments, they decided to log out.
"Why are people so mean to random strangers on the internet?" Penny asked worriedly.
Monday morning rolled around and Beacon was full of life. Multiple people were walking and talking with excitement.
Missions were selected from a large billboard and the students were being shipped out to their respective missions. Bullheads were arriving and leaving constantly. The first years were finally starting their mission and most were quickly heading off. There were a couple of teams who were lagging behind. Though no fault of their own.
"Why can't I select one?!" Ruby cried out, trying to use the electronic interface. "It won't let me register our team."
"Me either." Jaune frowned as he was having the same problem.
"There's a simple reason for that."
Both kids jumped and spun around in surprise to see Ozpin standing there with his mug in one hand, leaning on his cane.
"Headmaster!" They chanted in unison.
"What reason is there?" Ruby asked anxiously.
"I have a couple of special missions to assign to your teams," Ozpin told them lightly. "It's why you are unable to accept any of the other ones. I apologize for the confusion, but I needed you to fall behind the other teams for some privacy."
"Special mission?" Ruby's eyes lit up. "Ooooo! We accept! What is it?"
"You're going to be visiting a couple of villages like several other teams," Ozpin explained. "There have been some reports of strange Grimm activity. The nature of these activities is what required me to have your teams take them."
"What kind of activity?" Jaune felt something in the pit of his stomach.
"Mutated Grimm and rumors of Grimm that could talk."
Both of the leaders felt silent. They knew what that meant and why Ozpin waited for them to be alone.
Wellen Fischer.
The man who somehow could control Grimm using the magic of Touma and Accelerator's world. He made incredibly dangerous Grimm that were not only intelligent but also capable of human speech. The increased power allowed them to command other Grimm too. He could also remotely control them as if they were some kind of toy. Qrow was a trained Huntsman and even that man had trouble dealing with them.
"Our teams can handle it!" Ruby declared firmly. "Ever since we met the first one, we've been training extra hard. We're fully prepared to handle anything that comes our way."
"Hopefully, you won't have to face it directly," Ozpin explained simply, his voice calm. "You'll be acting as additional guards until Vale and Atlas can resupply the outposts. Just for a couple of days. There are plenty of normal Grimm that need thinning out and if Wellen's creatures do appear, you'll have the support of the city's defenses to take them down. I must stress that these assignments are more advanced than normal first-year missions so if you feel you aren't ready, I will accept your decision."
"We can handle it," Jaune assured him, his tone a lot more firm than he felt. His team had been working incredibly hard too. "What about Touma and Accelerator? Do they know yet? I'm sure they would want to know about Wellen's appearance."
"I plan to tell them once everyone has left," Ozpin informed him. "I had to wait until most of the other first-year teams had departed to even speak to you. Understandably, the specifics of your mission must be kept on a need-to-know basis. In order to avoid unwanted attention, Team TAN won't be able to go with you at the start. Should you require backup, we might be able to send them. They have proven themselves already at the Breach, so that won't be an issue."
"Of course," Ruby nodded immediately. "We know we can't let others know about what's happening unless we absolutely have to. It would cause a lot of panic. People can't know someone is out there that can control Grimm."
"I'm sure they would be willing to help too." Jaune agreed.
"Precisely," Ozpin smiled and then took a sip of his coffee. "We can't let his creations run rampant near towns and villages either. This has to be dealt with discretely. I don't know what exactly his plan is by doing this though. Hopefully, your teams will be able to discover something."
"We won't let you down, sir," Jaune replied.
"I have faith in you, both of you." The smile on the man's face was guanine. "Please go tell your team the news. I'll be sending the specifics of your mission to your Scrolls momentarily. Time is of the essence, so please make sure you use it efficiently."
Jaune and Ruby bid farewell and took off. Ozpin watched them until they were out of sight before turning around and headed back into Beacon. Things were getting busy. If everything worked out well, they might be able to make contact with Sienna Khan of the White Fang. Ninety percent of the missions provided were helping out locations in heavily Faunus populated areas. Beacon was dedicated to helping all people, humans and Faunus.
"James might hate the fact I'm willing to meet with the White Fang, but we're stronger united than divided." The headmaster mumbled to himself as he headed back up to his office.
"We're here!" Ruby declared to her team, as the Bullhead they were riding in touched down at the village.
"Everyone can see that, dolt." Weiss huffed, stepping out after her leader.
"Good to see you in a better mood, sis," Yang commented, slapping Ruby on the back. "The change of scenery will do you some good."
"Please don't remind me," Ruby mumbled, pulling her red hood over her head. "I want to forget about that and focus on killing Grimm."
"You know we're going to have to scour every inch of the room when we get back," Blake reminded them. "For any surprises that happen while we're gone by someone who we can never prove did it."
"And I did absolutely nothing to deserve this risk," Weiss mumbled, annoyance and irritation evident in her expression and tone.
"Deal with it, Ice Queen," Yang snapped. "You're a casualty of war, and trust me, the battle is heating up."
"Calm down, everyone!" Ruby stepped between them. "We can't be fighting right now. It's going to look bad for us and Beacon if people see us arguing. We have our mission, remember? Just like our last one, we should meet the mayor and then decide how to proceed. We have a specific Grimm to look out for while protecting the town."
"That's… very leader-like of you, Ruby." Weiss actually sounded impressed and Ruby had to resist cheering at the compliment.
When Ruby turned around, she fist-pumped behind her cloak.
"Things look dim," Blake commented, as they walked from the docks to the town center. The people were avoiding eye contact and moving quickly, with no one goofing around in the streets. "Despair is in the air."
"Which would just draw more Grimm here?" Yang replied, raising an eyebrow. The sounds of cannons in the distance followed her words. "I guess that answers that question."
"That just means we need to solve this mission quickly!" Ruby decided for them all. "Follow me. We need to hurry and find the mayor."
Weiss felt eyes upon her and slowly turned her head. It wasn't just her imagination. Just like the last village, there was a lot of Faunus here. Her white hair and pair completion stood out and labeled her as a Schnee. That did not make her popular among the Faunus. Of course, nothing changed for her. She was here to protect the town and that is what she was going to do. Once they saw she wasn't like her father, things would change for the better.
That didn't mean she had to like the unwanted attention.
"Hello!" Ruby greeted the receptionist at the town hall, or at least the small building that passed as one. It wasn't like this was a bustling city. "We're the team from Beacon here to help out with the Grimm problem."
"About time!" The woman snapped. She was a Faunus with curved horns. She pressed the intercom button on her desk. "Sir? They arrived."
"Send them in." Came a gruff voice and then the woman pointed to the door leading to the back room.
"Through there."
"Thank you," Ruby replied, ignoring her curt tone.
"Could have been a little more grateful," Yang muttered, annoyed, causing Blake to elbow her in the side.
The four girls entered the room to see a man, probably around 40 years old, sitting behind a messy desk, looking at several papers. He barely looked up to notice them. There were small claws on his fingers, indicating he was some type of Faunus. The man didn't say anything to them and Ruby looked at the others. Yang nudged her head toward the mayor, silently letting Ruby know she's the leader.
"Er…" Ruby began awkwardly. "I'm Ruby and this is my team from Beacon. We're here to-…"
"I know why you're here," The man growled. "We requested official help and they saw fit to send us children? Vale really has sunk low in helping our kind."
"Your kind?" Ruby repeated confused. Blake and Weiss however flinched at his words.
The mayor smirked, revealing a missing tooth, but didn't elaborate.
"Here." Instead, he pushed forward a couple of pieces of paper toward Ruby. "Reports on our Grimm problem from our scouts. Normally, we handle our own problems since we can't trust Vale."
"Why can't you trust them?" Yang asked as Ruby handed the paper to Weiss.
"They take their sweet time sending anything we request," The mayor spat at them. "You humans may not notice it, but Faunus are considered second-class citizens. We are always last on the list." His eyes flashed as he gazed at Weiss, who was busy scanning the papers. "Just ask the young Schnee there."
"We're here to help with the Grimm problem," Weiss answered without looking up, her voice deliberately calm. "Who I am means nothing as long as we do our job."
The man actually looked surprised and Blake felt a small jolt of pleasure. She had been horrified by the way the guy was speaking of a person coming to help them with a life or death task. Just like their previous encounter last time they visited a Faunus town. It was going to take a long time to restore Human Faunus relations. Maybe when they succeed here, it will be a start.
"Don't speak about her that way again," Yang warned. "We're here to help you. Insult a friend of mine again and you'll be begging us not to leave."
"Yang!" Blake cut her off. "Don't rise to his taunts."
Ruby gulped and then her eyes narrowed slightly. She knew enough about Faunus' relationships since meeting Blake and Touma gave her further insight. The young girl wasn't completely naïve anymore. While not as experienced as someone who faced discrimination their entire life, she liked to think she was at least open to understanding their plight. It was also something she had a struggle of understanding. Why be mean to Faunus when they are just the same as them?
"There's no reason to argue," Ruby stepped up and her voice was firm. "We are on the same side. If we want to clear out the Grimm, we need to work together. Understand?" Her team slowly acknowledged her words with a small nod, but the man just shrugged.
"Everything we know is on those papers," the male Faunus told them, not acknowledging he did anything wrong. "At first it seemed like it was just a group of Ursa and while the numbers pose a problem, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle."
"Until your scouts mentioned one of the Grimm could talk," Weiss muttered dryly. "Two other people corroborated his story based on this report."
"Has it done anything?" Blake asked. "Tried to attack the town, search for something, anything that tells us what it might be up to?"
"You lot don't seem quite as skeptical about this as someone should be," Avoiding the question, the mayor intertwined his fingers in front of him. "Have you seen something like this before?"
The girls shared a look. They weren't supposed to talk about what was really happening, but at the same time, they couldn't just lie to him. If they wanted to work together, they needed some degree of trust. Not like he did anything to really encourage said trust, he was still the leader of this town. Weiss, Yang, and Blake all turned to Ruby for her decision.
"This isn't the first village that has reported a talking Grimm problem," Ruby admitted slowly. "We're trying to figure out what's causing it." Technically true, even if they knew who was doing it, they didn't know how he was doing it. "It's been kept classified because people would panic if they knew. Right? That would then attract more Grimm."
The man stared at her with cold eyes and she returned the gaze back without looking away.
"Fuck it!" They all jumped as the mayor pounded the desk. "They are keeping something so serious a secret?! When my people's lives are at stake!" The next moment, he calmed down. "Can't say I don't understand keeping it secret, but they should let the leaders of each city know so we don't send people to their deaths."
"Did… something else happen?" Blake realized the underlying tone with his words. "Someone tried to kill the Grimm, didn't they?"
"Torn to shreds," Those words were devoid of any emotions. "We learned its body was covered by some kind of hard plates that resembled ice, but that's it before the soldiers died."
Weiss set the papers down and her gaze hardened.
"We'll take care of it," the heiress assured him. "We've dealt with them before. They are strong, but not invincible."
"Yeah!" Yang smacked her fist into her open hand. "We'll avenge your friends and keep your city safe."
"I guess you all aren't from Vale, are you?" The old man's gaze lightened up, even if it was only a tiny bit. "Try not to die, will you?"
Meanwhile, Team JNPR was having a much better time meeting the mayor at their mission location.
"Welcome!" A young woman with tall fox ears welcomed them sincerely, standing up and shaking their hands. "I want to thank you for coming all the way out here to help us out with our Grimm problem."
"It's our pleasure," Jaune assured her. "I'm Jaune Arc." He gestured to his team. "This is Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie."
"Hello!" Pyrrha gave a small wave and smiled.
"Just Ren is fine," Ren informed her.
"Your town is really nice," Nora complimented. "We'll make sure the Grimm know to stay away."
"I'm Linn Scarlet," the woman replied, smiling at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I really hope you can help us. Like other towns outside of Vale, we're used to dealing with Grimm."
"We got a general overview," Jaune admitted. "Do you think you can tell us what's been happening?"
"You might want to have a seat," Linn told them and then continued when they did as she asked. "We are used to dealing with the occasional Grimm. We are at a position where several more fortified towns handle the larger Grimm. Only the occasional Beowolf, Ursa, maybe a Deathstalker on a bad day. Even then, we've been able to handle all of that. It wasn't until we received a report about a new type of Grimm."
"A new Grimm?" Ren leaned forward. "Or one that hadn't been seen around here."
"We assume it's a new breed, as we hadn't seen anything in records from any location, or a mutation," Linn told them. "You see, it sort of resembles a Night Dancer."
"Night Dancer?" Jaune asked.
"It's a praying mantis type Grimm," Pyrrha answered. "They are clever and stealthy, with their primary attacks being ambushes at night. They are fast and those claws are very sharp, but they aren't very durable. Aim for their legs and we can make them lose their mobility."
"So it's not quite a Night Dancer?" Nora asked, confused. "Just looks like one?"
"That's the problem," Linn sighed. "It mutated… we think. The upper half resembles one, but the bottom half resembles a grasshopper, with powerful hind legs."
"I don't think an Alpha Night Dancer looks like that," Pyrrha admitted softly. "I can't say I have ever seen one personally, but the books I've seen never mentioned something like that."
"So its weakness in its legs might no longer exist," Ren considered. "We should plan a counter strategy for that before we go looking for it."
"If you can handle it, it will be a huge relief off our backs." Linn leaned back in her chair and looked relieved. "I wish I could give you more information, but our scouts retreated the moment they saw it. Hopefully, you four can handle it and we'll provide what support we can. We heard so much about Beacon students and Ozpin assured us your team was elite. Even fighting in the Breach made by the White Fang."
Team JNPR flinched because Linn and a large number of the population here were Faunus.
"What's your opinion on the White Fang?" Jaune asked cautiously.
"We don't allow them to advertise in our town," Linn's voice became sharp. "While most of us agree there are issues in the kingdom, the moment we lower ourselves to their level, we lose any sense of righteousness. Of course, I can't say there aren't any members in our town, but just that they can't operate openly."
"Do you think we can ask the scouts who saw it a few questions?" Jaune bit his lip nervously. "Any information they can provide might help us." He said that, but honestly, he was worried. New Grimm were always dangerous as you didn't know what tricks they wielded.
"Of course you can," Linn looked almost taken aback he would ask that. "Everyone here will work with you to the best of their ability. I'll make sure of that."
"We hope to be able to handle this quickly and prevent any casualties," Pyrrha informed her diplomatically. "We will definitely do our best." Ren and Jaune quickly nodded in agreement.
"What's that?" Nora asked, pointing to the wall behind Linn. "Looks like a weird staff, so I was just wondering."
"Oh, that?" Linn chuckled, stood up, and took down the metal staff. "It's the remains of the weapon of the founder of our town. He participated in the Faunus Rights rebellions all those years ago. After the war, there were a large number of people who followed him. None of them wished to leave Vale because it was their home, but due to racial tensions, they couldn't stay in the main city. So he decided to prove that soldiers could do more than destroy, they could create."
She handed the staff to Nora, who frowned when she took it.
"It's heavy."
Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look. Nora was super strong and if she said something was heavy, it was. But Linn lifted it with a single hand. It seemed there was more to the mayor than met the eye.
"Our founder's weapon was a large maul," The woman continued. "It lasted the entire war. Yet, it finally shattered when we were building the wall to protect the people from the Grimm. The remains were kept as a symbol to us. Understanding that we choose what we do. We can keep fighting over the past or work together to create a future."
She crossed her fingers together as she sat back down. The air around her seemed to shiver.
"So we do not tolerate discrimination here. Faunus or humans. If anyone shows you disrespect for your race, let me know. I'll take care of it."
"You're awesome!" Nora beamed. "We should totally become friends."
The woman laughed and shook the excitable ginger's hand before they left. They all could agree Linn was more than she appeared, but to what extent still remained unknown. It was also refreshing to hear that a city was working hard on preventing discrimination. Jaune knew Touma would be happy to hear it, as the two of them had some insight into why the White Fang fought so hard.
"Ozpin, I brought Team TAN."
Ozpin looked up to see Glynda opening the door to his office. Behind her, Touma, Accelerator, and Neo followed. Last Order was absent per the headmaster's request.
"Thank you," Ozpin acknowledged her simply. "Please close the door behind you all. I have a few matters to discuss with you."
"Is it about our situation?" Touma asked immediately.
"No… Well, not exactly." Ozpin corrected himself. "As you know, being close friends with Team RWBY and JNPR, the first years are out on their first official mission. They of course participated in an earlier expedition, while Mr. Accelerator could consider his actions during The Breach as his. Officially, you three are students here at Beacon, even with unusual circumstances. The reason you weren't sent with the others, officially, was because you're a first-year team of only three people. If you were a second-year or above, you would have gone."
"So what exactly does that have to do with why you called us?" Touma felt a sinking sensation in his stomach and he was pretty sure he knew what Ozpin wanted. Still, a small part of him hoped he was wrong and didn't want to jinx it by asking.
His blunt teammate wasn't under any restraints.
"He wants to send us on a mission." Accelerator spat out, while Neo clicked her tongue.
"I was afraid of this," Touma groaned. "He wouldn't call us if it wasn't important."
A small smile formed on Ozpin's lips at their reactions. His gaze met Glynda, who didn't look as amused as he did. The woman looked more concerned if anything. The reason was obvious and if he had a better option, he would have suggested it.
"The original plan was to have you three here and only send you out if a team requested backup," Ozpin admitted, leaning back in his chair warily. "Mr. Kamijou and Mr. Accelerator aren't technically part of our world, so I'm trying to avoid sending you on missions designed to train our students. Miss Neopolitan is already far beyond a normal student, so there's no reason to send her normally."
Neo puffed out her chest while Glynda pursed her lips at the girl.
"Team RWBY and Team JNPR were given missions that had signs of Wellen's involvement."
Ozpin dropped the bomb and Touma sat up straight instantly.
"You sent them after him without someone like Qrow helping?" The boy raised his voice. "They could be killed! They don't know how to deal with magic!"
Accelerator's red eyes narrowed as something churned in his stomach unpleasantly.
"They have more experience with Wellen's creation, at least Team RWBY does," Ozpin continued firmly. "Team JNPR knows what they encountered and knows about magic thanks to you. If anything, those two teams are the most suitable to deal with Wellen. Though, I don't expect him to be there. They are investigating rumors of mutated Grimm and Grimm speaking our language. I can hardly send normal people after those rumors, could I?"
"No, but you're taking a big risk." Touma bit back the venom in his voice as he worried about his friends.
"And I take it we're the backup when they get into trouble?" Accelerator asked.
"You were…"
The three kids turned to look at Glynda in surprise as she finally spoke up.
"There is no denying that Mr. Accelerator's action at the Breach proved his strength far surpasses a normal student," The assistant headmistress continued sharply. "Miss Neopolitan has some… behavioral issues… but other than that her skills are equal to many top Hunters."
Once again, the smugness just oozed from Neo.
"The problem is Mr. Kamijou." The woman's eyes fell on Touma. "Your ability to repel Grimm can be a boon for sure, but the fact it makes you unable to manifest Aura of your own is concerning. If a Grimm isn't affected by your hand, you could be at risk. I'm worried about what will happen to you." Her sharp gaze softened.
"I've been through a lot worse than a couple of monsters," the boy joked, trying to play off her worry. "Don't worry about me."
Glynda didn't look reassured.
"From the sounds of this, you want us to clean up someone's mess." Accelerator spat out. "Why?"
Neo gestured that she wanted to know too.
"You three weren't originally planned to go anywhere like I said until we received a call from Fort Grimlock." He gestured to his monitor that showed a map of Vale. An area was highlighted. "Vale was founded because of natural terrain advantages, and most cities and towns outside Vale proper are located in easily protected areas. This fort was placed outside a mountain pass to act as a choke point. It's one of Vale's most heavily guarded locations. It is used to seeing Grimm attacks almost daily."
There was a slap as Neo facepalmed loudly.
"I have to agree with her," Touma groaned. "Since it sounds like you're asking for our help, I assume it's either one of Wellen's Grimm, or they are desperate."
"The second," Ozpin answered flatly. "They are being hit hard by large numbers rarely seen… constantly. We are setting up to resupply them, but they asked for reinforcements from any Huntsman available in case something happens. The General there is a little overcautious. Though, that's what makes him so good at his job. He doesn't take chances. He can't take chances. If he requested reinforcements, then something is happening which requires our utmost attention."
"A location this important would normally be assigned to an older team at least," Glynda continued for the headmaster, her words stiff. "But we are stretched thin as it is. They have their own missions too. Grimm have been unusually active lately, ever since Wellen Fischer showed up."
"He's up to something for sure," Touma couldn't agree more. "I just don't know what. He shouldn't have any allies here."
Ozpin remembered what Qrow told him, but had to remain silent. That information couldn't be shared. It wasn't their concern and that secret would cause a lot of panic. Even Ironwood didn't know the full story about Salem.
"We won't have much luck until he makes a move," Ozpin informed him instead, keeping his thoughts to himself. "For now, we have to deal with immediate threats first."
"Why should we go?" Accelerator leaned forward in his chair, eyes flashing. "I don't see any reason for us. You made it clear that us being students is only a disguise."
"They are helping us get home!" Touma shot back. "People are in trouble and we can actually do something about it! It's the least we can do to help out now and then."
Neo frowned and didn't get involved. Honestly, she would have just let the Vale government deal with it. Putting her neck on the line for others wasn't her thing. Still, if Touma went, she would go just to make sure his neck wasn't on the line.
"Yeah, so what?" Accelerator shot back. "I'll kill Grimm in front of me or if it involves someone I know, but why should we go to some random location to protect it?"
"Because who else will?" Touma snapped. "Our friends do that here all the time. What do you think they'd say if they heard you didn't want to go and kill a few Grimm?"
Neo began flapping her arms and soundlessly clucking. She couldn't make the noise, but the meaning was clear. A vein throbbed in Accelerator's temple as he watched her.
"It would only be for two days, three at the most," Ozpin guaranteed. "Just enough time to resupply. You'll probably be back before the other first-year teams. Glynda here has also promised to watch over Last Order while you're gone."
Accelerator pursed his lips. Honestly, he really didn't want to go, but if he didn't, Neo would tell the others. Most of them were insignificant, but Weiss might be upset with him. She was the only one who actually weighed on his mind. Maybe he could go, bring some dust with him, and try some fun on larger Grimm. There were only scrawny ones left around Beacon. The damn hero's hand was causing them all to migrate away.
So that's probably the main reason why Ozpin wanted the bastard there.
"Fine, whatever." Accelerator spat out. "The damn hero is going to go and I guess I'll work off some steam."
"Neo?" Touma wasn't going to speak for the girl and turned to see her multicolored eyes observing him closely. Naturally, he wanted her to go. It would be a good step for her progress of leaving the world of crime behind and being a full-fledged Huntress. "You want to go with us?"
Part of her wanted to say no, flick Ozpin and Glynda off, and leave, yet there was no way she could do that. Her toy would get in trouble and there was no guarantee Accelerator would help. Grudgingly, she nodded her head, her mind telling her how stupid she was being.
"Excellent," Ozpin smiled and turned to Glynda. "Prepare them a Bullhead immediately."
The sound of cannons echoed even in the cabin of the Bullhead before Team TAN drew close to Fort Grimlock.
"That's pretty normal," Their pilot laughed. "Grimm swarm the mountain pass constantly. Soldiers and Huntsman take out small groups, while cannons are used to wipe out larger, armored Grimm."
Accelerator didn't seem to care too much. It's not like artillery could bypass his reflection ability. People pointing high-caliber guns at him was a pretty common occurrence back home. Neo was actually a little nervous herself. As a criminal… a former criminal, she was used to stealthy missions and assassinations. If she fought, it was with a couple of people at most. Large-scale combat was not her forte. Wanting a distraction, the multicolored girl turned to her favorite unlucky toy. Instantly, she grew concerned.
The boy was leaning his head back and looked sick.
Not sick like motion sickness, but tired.
Obviously, Touma didn't want to go into a war zone, but he volunteered their team for this. Now it looked like he was regretting it. He was fine on the way here but the moment he heard the sound of canons, it was like he was receding into his own mind. Almost like he had PTSD, but the boy was so young. What would he have PTSD about?
Confused, Neo poked his cheek, which caused him to open an eye.
"I'm fine," Touma assured her with a small smile. "Just… mentally preparing myself. Thanks for the concern."
It was rather impudent of him to think she was concerned with his welfare. Neo was only concerned about the fact he may be broken and thus no fun. She poked his cheek again and he finally sat up. Although… maybe she was concerned.
Just a little.
"Fine, fine. I'm up."
"Crap!" The pilot shouted. "Why are there so many god damn Nevermores!?"
Touma stood up with Neo right behind him as they ran to the cockpit and looked out the window. The fort was up ahead and now clearly in sight, but above it, there were a dozen or so Nevermores circling high above, out of range of ordinary weapons. It seemed like Ozpin wasn't kidding about the situation.
"Hang on, I'm calling this in." The pilot told them, grabbing his radio. "Fort Grimlock? This is A-237 with the Beacon Team. The skies are full of bogies. Orders? Over."
"If you don't think you can enter safely, fall back and wait until we clear them, A-237, over." Came the static-laden response.
"Fuckers, where the hell am I supposed to fall back to?" The pilot cursed, slamming the radio back down. "Okay, kids. We're going to wait until they clear the skies. Might be a while with how much shit is happening on the ground.
"Won't be a problem," Touma assured him. "Just fly to the landing pads as normal."
"Are you mad?" The guy actually turned around. "You do see the Nevermores, right? You aren't blind."
"They won't attack us," Touma elaborated. "So you're clear to go ahead."
"Are you guys some kind of Grimm repellent or something?"
Touma slowly turned to him and seemed exasperated.
"Yes, trust us. We're… Beacon students."
"If I die, I'm cursing your name." The pilot muttered.
"You wouldn't be the first one." Accelerator commented, actually sounding amused.
Neo had also had her share of people cursing her name with their last breath. It was rather exciting knowing that people were thinking of her when they died.
The pilot didn't seem fully on board with the plan, but with the confidence exuding from the three kids and his orders to bring them back, there wasn't much to be said. Powering the engines with a few flicks of switches, the Bullhead sped up and continued on course to the fort. The Grimm in the sky seemed to have taken notice as they drew closer and began to move toward them. The radio began to blare when the fort command realized what the pilot was doing.
"A-237, Grimm are converging on your location. It is advised you fall back now, over."
"Negative, you said if we can land safely to do so, over." The pilot hung up. "You kids better be right about this."
"You're about to find out." Touma reassured him, even if the man didn't seem entirely convinced.
A few moments later, his entire outlook on life changed.
Three large Nevermores began to attack, screeching loudly with their talons opened. Those claws could tear through steel and each one was almost as big as the Bullhead. The pilot gritted his teeth and prepared for some evasive maneuvers when suddenly, the Grimm seemed to have a heart attack. Stumbling and flapping wildly in midair, the monstrous birds veered away from the Bullhead, desperate to get away.
"What the hell…" The pilot muttered, disbelief etched in his words.
Neo noticed something and tugged on Touma's sleeves. When he glanced over at her, she began to gesture silently. Slowly, the boy's head nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, the radius has grown since we met."
Touma noticed that the Grimm had been avoiding him even further now. Not just when he was in a single location for a prolonged period of time. What used to be thirty feet has been constantly expanding. It wasn't that noticeable until after the fight with Adam. A lot of things changed after that. Nightmares returned, his wrist constantly felt like something was moving beneath the skin, and the area the Grimm refused to enter willingly had grown. Something was going on.
'I hope this isn't going to be a problem down the road. Not with those things inside my arm.'
He didn't know why they would suddenly act up if it was them. It's not like he knew enough about them or his hand to understand why the Imagine Breaker was causing problems. This wasn't his world, so Grimm shouldn't even know about it. Hopefully, he would be able to get back and have Index and Othinus look over it before anything unforgiving happens. The beasts had always helped when they were brought out, but what they really were was something that Touma didn't really want to know.
With the Grimm no longer a threat, their Bullhead landed without incident. The moment the doors opened and they stepped out into the sunlight, they were besieged by a dozen soldiers, with one individual human leading them.
"What the hell was that about?" The man with dirty brown hair demanded to know. "You decided to charge into a group of Nevermores when it was advised you fall back, and then the Grimm decided they didn't want to attack you? Tell me what the fuck happened?"
"Ask them," The pilot replied, pointing to the kids. "I'm as clueless as you are."
"We're the students sent by Beacon," Touma introduced them since neither Accelerator nor Neo would if they could avoid it. "That's Accelerator, Neo, and I'm Touma Kamijou."
"I'm General Taupe and I welcome you, as we need all the help we can get." The General shook Touma's left hand. "Now if you would kindly explain what the hell you just did?"
"My Semblance allows me to repel Grimm," Touma admitted with a shrug. At this point, there was no reason to go into details anymore. The people of Remnant would understand certain phases. "So we only had to fly forward. With me on the Bullhead, it's practically like flying with an invisible shield."
The soldiers gaped at him and, as a sign of his leadership skills, Taupe was the first one to recover. It was such a weird thought. Then again, Semblances are somewhat random.
"I see why Ozpin sent you." His voice was low but actually sounded impressed. "That will be handy while we prepare for the next wave of Grimm. Our primary concern right now is getting rid of the last few Nevermore above us, so we can bombard the Goliaths approaching our location. Think you can buy my men some time?"
"My power only goes so far," Touma apologized. "I can buy some time, but not much."
Neo thought about it and gave Accelerator a glare. Once the Albino noticed her, she began to gesture quickly then point up into the sky. The boy followed her sign to the Grimm way up in the air before rolling his eyes.
"I suppose they are blocking my view." Accelerator cracked his neck and looked towards the sky.
"Huh?" The general turned toward him.
"You guys might want to step back!" Touma warned instantly. The soldier's training did them justice as they stepped back.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Accelerator exploded as he shot himself straight up into the air, the wind whipping around him. The soldiers gaped at his display of power and it quickly became obvious to Touma and Neo that Ozpin did not give the General any warning of what they were capable of. What Semblance could even do such a thing? Everyone just stared up into the sky as one of the Nevermores realized Accelerator was heading toward it. He was just a kid, how the hell was he charging toward a Nevermore on his own? In midair?
That thought was immediately answered when they continued to look into the sky.
Everyone got a good look at the giant bird being torn in half before each section was propelled like a rocket into two other Grimm. A white-haired teenager had just killed multiple Nevermores in mere seconds.
"Are you lot really Beacon students?" The General muttered, still transfixed on the site above them.
"We all are, don't you see how young we look?" Touma joked, before looking back up at Accelerator. "And don't mind him, he just likes to show off."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two.
Wishez: It's been a while, but hey, everyone seems to like this story. Also, I have written something for SV, it's an Omake. Maybe you guys will like it, maybe you'll hate it. It might be the next chapter… or it might not release at all. Keep expectations low.
DB: Shhhh, let it be a surprise. If the readers don't like it, you'll be punished.
