A/N: Good evening, people! Surprise somewhat early post, I perhaps spent more time on this instead of studying for an exam than I should have, but oh well!
I received reviews and PMs from the last chapter, huzzah! I hope you folks who did it before can keep up the trend and let me know what you think about this chapter as well! It's the longest I've written for this story, and it was actually longer originally until I decided I cut a few parts and keep them in reserve for later use. Anyhow, I hope you guy like it and review! Or don't like it, review that too and let me know what I can do to improve the writing!
It was almost midday. Fifty one teams of students were lined up on Beacon's landing pad, where twenty five Bullheads lay in wait for their passengers. There would be two trips for each bullhead to make, with the exception of a third for one of them. Every team knew which bullhead was theirs, and in which order they were to depart. Behind them stood the rest of the students who were not participating in no orderly fashion.
Standing before all of the students were Headmasters Ozpin and Ironwood, along with Professors Goodwitch, Oobleck, and Port. Surprisingly, even King Braylor stood before them in what Aran had learned was an extremely rare public appearance of the man. Next to him was, of course, his captain. Lisa Lavender stood off to the side with her film crew, capturing every moment with camera drones and portable cameras held by crew to provide live coverage from every angle.
It was King Braylor who stepped forward to speak, still dressed very plainly with the exception of his forest green shirt being replaced by a dark brown shirt.
"Welcome, citizens of the four Kingdoms. With the Vytal Festival festivities under way, I think it's about time for the main event to begin. Many of you have likely heard rumors of a change to the Tournament. They would be correct. Fifty one teams have entered this tournament, but only thirty two shall progress into the team tournament proper, to be decided by the results of this event. As such, In addition to the team tournament, we have labored to bring to you something long overdue: a hunt to prove these future Huntsmen and Huntresses are worthy of their names. Over the next thirty six hours, each of these teams, two hundred and three students in total, will be hunting varieties of Grimm that have been captured and brought to the Forever Fall and Emerald Forests. But they must be careful in doing so, or the hunter shall become the hunted. A point system has been implemented and given to each of these Grimm, and a tally shall be kept for each individual team. At the end of these next thirty six hours, the tallies shall be counted up and a final score given to each team. The kicker is that the point value of each Grimm shall only be revealed at this time. Among the unusual Grimm gathered into these forests, you will find Sabyrs, Imps, Apathy, wingless Manticores, Geist, and even a singular Teryx."
As he spoke, several students seemed to shiver in both anticipation and in fear.
"These are on top of the normal Grimm that inhabit these forests. But I have faith in your abilities. Go forth, guardians of the people, and prove to the world your worth."
At once, excited cheers erupted from the students as they began to break their lines and move towards their respective rides. The first wave would be going to the Emerald Forest, while the second would go to the Forever Fall Forest. Team ARY had volunteered to be the team taken on the last trip, and were able to select either location once the Bullhead came back for them.
Truly, Aran decided, seeing the orderly embarking and takeoffs reminded her of past military operations. She watched as Teams MOAT, CFVY, and RWBY boarded their flights and took off for the Emerald Forest. JNPR and CRDL flanked ARY as they waited for their own rides. Somewhere off to the side, she made out Dolan giving her a wave and a smile before being cuffed by his leader. Idly, she wondered if the other Scions were watching this. Beside her, Ardbert looked on with unconcealable joy.
"Alphinaud! Thancred! Come quickly!" A white-haired young Elezen called. Her voice carried through the well-kept building that had become a home for the Scions over the past few months. The adobe walls were covered with maps and pictures of Grimm and important figures of Remnant.
The Elezen herself stood in the building's living room, facing a TV with a couch behind her where an ascian sat with his arms extended along the back and a leg over his knee. Normally she preferred to spend her time outside training, proven by the dark tan she now bore. But this was an unusual circumstance, where their host had bid her to come inside and watch the start of the Vytal Festival Tournament.
Said host stood off to the side. She was always in a state of readiness, dressed in baggy khakis with a red tank top that had a hood and face covering sewn onto it to combat desert storms, though they currently hung off her neck. Simple sandals were on her feet. Blonde hair with shocks of red reached down to broad shoulders, while her bangs framed a fairly attractive face for a woman in her early forties with faintly glowing hazel eyes that seemed to enhance her sun-darkened skin. One of her arms was completely bared with the exception of a fingerless dark red glove, while her right was covered by a green sash that reached up to her shoulder. Beneath that sash, the Elezen knew, the woman hid an artificial arm. On her hips, securing her khakis, was a belt which held a large serrated cleaver which she had named The Headsman. Its hilt curved back over the back of the blade nearly to its end, making the weapon slightly resemble an oversized bladed caestus that looked ready to saw through flesh and bone with equal ease.
At once, a flurry of activity could be heard from elsewhere in the home as two sets of feet stomped their way into the living room.
"What is so important that you're yelling loud enough to wake the dead?" Thancred grumbled, until he glanced at the TV. Any further thought was removed by Alphinaud's words.
"Is that - she's taking part in the tournament?! What about subtlety?"
Behind him, Emet-Selch chuckled.
"She apparently isn't worried about being subtle anymore. We don't know what she knows, so let's assume she's doing the best she can. At least now we know that she's actually where we've been led to believe."
Thancred turned on the Ascian with crossed arms as they heard the King of Vale begin to talk.
"You've led us to believe that she was there the whole time."
Emet-Selch shrugged as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, do calm yourself. I knew she was in a specific direction, and that she was alive. What more do you want from me?"
The older Scion sighed and shook his head before returning his attention to the TV. They had a place to be later that afternoon, but he wouldn't deny that seeing Aran, Y'Shtola, and Ryne safe had lifted a burden from him that he didn't realize he held. He did raise an eyebrow when a tall man in armor and with a mace who stood beside Ryne began to talk to and nudge her.
"It seems they've made some friends."
Their host let out a rich laugh, perhaps more boisterously than was necessary. When she spoke, contrary to the loudness of her laugh, her voice was quite soft and honeyed.
"Now, now, Thancred. There's no need to worry. Do you see the ease that your friends are in? If the man meant trouble for dear little Ryne, then I'm sure his hand would be gone. If not by Ryne herself, then by Aran if what you have told me is true."
"Full true that may be," Alphinaud interrupted, "but Aran does look tense."
His words earned a scoff from the Ascian behind them.
"Tense, but proud." The Ascian stood and walked to match them as they watched the TV. There was an unmistakable longing in the man's gaze, though only one white-haired female caught sight of it. "She's planning for something, though it seems she isn't sure quite what."
"How are you so sure?" Thancred asked.
"Oh, do remember that I've so adored Aran for the majority of my existence. She was already making waves among us in Amaurot by the time I had reached my maturity; do you not think I would not have done my best to learn how to read her?"
"Ah," their host began with a hint of amusement, "so you're some kind of super stalker. Why am I not surprised? Though I will admit, she IS a beauty."
The Ascian's right eye twitched as he seemed to stand a little straighter.
"Primitives. Her beauty, while it may be physical as well, lies in what she is at her core, and in what she stood for. Stands for. She has reclaimed her mantle of responsibility for all of the younger races, reclaimed her seat as Azem, despite every effort put forth by those that sought to put an end to her, followers of Zodiark and Hydaelyn alike. Look at how she stands, confident in her actions. See how she inspires courage in those around her, in such a short time spent with them. THIS is the Azem of eld, the Ancient that shepherded our creations into a worthy future. And just like her, no matter how much Aran seeks to hide it, I can see the insecurities she hides behind that wall of inspiration. Doubt in if what she is doing is the right course of action for those that follow her. Doubt that she will not be strong enough, despite the faith of those that believe in her. And first and foremost, the doubt that she possesses the will to continue what she has dedicated her very existence to. Think with me for a moment, my ephemeral allies. Can you comprehend the very nature of what our long-lived existences bring? We have spent oh so very long fighting for what we believed in. Even before Zodiark and Hydaelyn, not everything was perfect. Back then, it was a creation rebelling against their creators, or a rogue creator bringing such vile things into existence simply because they could. The Grimm, are one such thing. I remember them, because I personally tried to find their creator. I never did, and Azem, by this time, was too busy trying to convince the others that summoning a being such as Zodiark was fallacy to even notice such a small problem. Tempered even as I am to him, even I can say now that she was correct, though she could put forth no counter to the destruction of the Planet that would inevitably come without him. Our lives are misery, and yet there she stands, holding the creations together for a better future of what already exists. Think on what that must mean to her, that she follows the path she does instead of seeking to bring back all those she lost. The willpower she possesses, the sadness she endures, the pain she must not allow to take over as it did me."
The room was silent, except for the TV. Over the past months, it had become increasingly clear that Emet-Selch was attempting to break his tempering to Zodiark in some way, and that it involved Aran to some degree. Being an Ascian and one of the few people who understood Summoning for what it truly was, they assumed he would have a far better idea on how to do so if it was even possible. But this was the first time they had heard the Ascian speak of Aran so zealously, where before he had merely offered backhanded praise towards the woman when she was brought up.
A few moments later, the scene changed to view the departing Bullheads, with microcameras set up inside each of them showing the teams on the Bullheads preparing. Each of them had a bag packed with them, filled presumably with packaged food and survival supplies.
Beside them, their host seemed to reach for one of the panels that showed an all-female team labeled RWBY. The female twin recalled them standing with Aran before they boarded.
"Ruby… and Yang. They've both grown so much."
"Who are they?" Thancred asked.
"They're Summer's daughters. Well, Ruby's her only biological daughter but Yang's just as much her blood too, by her own words. Ruby looks exactly like Summer; Qrow never mentioned that."
Her reminiscing ended as she watched the teams disembark. Idly, she split the screen to keep RWBY's camera open in the corner of the screen while the main view returned to the students still waiting.
"This is going well." Ardbert stated with his arms crossed. "But I can't help but think that something is going to go wrong."
Aran nodded. She wouldn't speak to Ardbert while the cameras were watching her. Silently though, she agreed with him. Something always went wrong when things were looking the brightest. But for now, there was nothing to do but watch as the rest of the teams readied to board the returning Bullheads that could be seen. Lisa Lavender began to approach, cameraman behind her and a drone floating above them.
"Team ARY!" The reporter called, squeezing through the students until all that remained was the team she sought. "Lisa Lavender, Vale News Network. Who are you all? How do you all feel about being the only team to have three members? Are you worried at all about the Tournament with such a handicap? Is there anything you would like to say to the rest of Remnant as the only known Erzan survivors?"
Aran stood stock still, while Ryne began to look uneasy. Y'Shtola crossed her arms and tilted her head, waiting to see how her lover would lead the conversation.
The Warrior cleared her throat, though she made no attempt to hide her Vieran accent. Or rather, couldn't.
"My name is Aran Vinland, the Dragonsong. With me are Y'Shtola Rhul, the Archon, and Ryne Waters, the Oracle." As she introduced each of them, she used her hands to gesture towards the appropriate recipient.
"Three members or ten, it would make little difference. If we're determined enough, we will always find a way if indeed we must. Why would we be worried? While we thank Headmaster Ozpin for allowing us to attend his Academy, we are not here to further our combat skills. We have fought things that would cause most of these students to flee in our homeland." She was not lying; in her mind, she distinctly recalled such things as the eikons summoned by the beast tribes, and even the Ultima Weapon. Even were these students to have the Echo, she doubted many would have the skill or determination to face such things. And she knew none of the students that had seen her or her companions in combat would say otherwise to her words. The only one that came close to or has beaten a member of ARY in a spar is Pyrrha, with Yang holding a close second against Ryne.
"We came to Beacon to learn about things we did not know. When we arrived, we did not even know your written language. Now, we are all fluent. But along the way, we have made bonds and friendships we did not think we would make. Back in our home, we survived not because of our individual power, but because of our united strength against our enemy. Alone, we will fall. But together, we are a power that refuses to be snuffed at the whims of those who would see us dead."
Aran paused as she cocked her head.
"Together, we can do more than merely survive. Together, we can live freely. We can look forward to our futures. We can raise our kits without fear of having to bury them before our own time." As she said the last, she felt her features grimace despite her efforts to keep her face still. "Together, we can push back the tide of Grimm. Perhaps even find where they originate, and put an end to it. Kingdoms, races, gender, none of it matters while the Grimm exist. This is why I despise the petty squabbles between Kingdoms. Between the Faunus and Humanity. In the eyes of the threat that is constantly at our door, we are all equal. So why is it that we don't see that ourselves? It is foolish, nearsighted, and will ultimately lead to the downfall of us all. Band together or die. Those are our only choices."
With that, Aran turned to walk away, followed closely behind by Ryne and Y'Shtola.
"Wait!" Lisa called out to no effect. "What does 'Dragonsong' mean? Why -"
Whatever the woman was going to try and ask as she attempted to move after the team was stopped by the appearance of King Braylor's massive frame, his arms crossed. Almost immediately, the reporter stepped back and gulped as her cameras refocused on the man.
"King Braylor, Your Majesty, what have you to say on Aran Vinland's statements?"
He eyed the reporter carefully.
"She spoke nothing but the truth. It's a shame it takes someone who has seen so little of the true politics behind the Kingdoms and races to understand them for exactly what they are. Moves for power, for wealth, and for fame. We are set on a course that will inevitably lead us to our own destruction. It may not be in our lifetimes, or that of our children's lifetimes. But it will come if we don't change anything. I for one would not see our descendants suffer for the issues we had the ability to resolve, but refused to do so. This interview is over, reporter."
The woman took the hint immediately as her cameras all turned back to her.
"You all heard what has been said today. Do you, the people, support these words? Or is there something else that we don't know? This is Lisa Lavender, reporting for the Vale News Network, signing off."
Behind the reporter, it was easy to see Headmaster Ozpin staring at the Viera deep in thought, while Ironwood's glare told all his thoughts on the matter.
Aran sat down in the Bullhead with clenched teeth. A little known fact to those that had seen her from afar or giving a speech was that she absolutely hated speaking to large groups of people. It was precisely the reason why the other Scions always spoke in her place if they were able. Even as Aranaea the Ancient, Azem of the Convocation of Fourteen, there was a reason she would handle problems personally. Her talents were always for the action, not the acting.
She felt Y'Shtola sit down beside her and grab her armored hand soothingly, even though she couldn't actually feel her soft skin. It helped more than she thought it would.
"That was a good speech." Y'Shtola stated. "Enough to get the people of Remnant thinking at least, I would hope."
Aran quickly glanced up towards the camera in the Bullhead, earning a reassuring pat from Y'Shtola as the Miqo'te thought of a way to get Aran's mind off of everything.
"Fret not, I haven't forgotten about it. Did you tell our pilot where we're going?"
"Forever Fall Forest. I think we've spent enough time in the Emerald Forest for now."
Both Ryne and Y'Shtola nodded in agreement, then the youngest girl spoke.
"Do we know anything about what we might find there?"
Her question earned a shrug from Aran, enhanced by the large pauldrons of her armor.
"Not entirely, but it won't be anything we can't handle. The King was clear when he said there was a single Teryx among the Grimm that were somehow transported here. My guess is that it's going to be worth the most points."
"I'd hope so," Ryne replied. "It's like a dragon or something from what I remember. It's going to be the hardest thing to kill."
That earned a snort from both Y'Shtola and Aran.
"Dragons are something of a specialty for Aran, Ryne." Y'Shtola stated. "You remember what Thancred told you about Nidhogg, do you not?"
Her mouth dropped for a moment.
"Nidhogg? It was a dragon?! I just thought that its eyes were -"
Aran cleared her throat, stopping Ryne from saying anything else. The girl blushed as she began to rub the back of her neck.
Before they knew it, the Bullhead's pilot informed them that they had arrived. As one, they moved to the ramp and raised eyebrows at what they saw.
Around their clearing, they could make out roughly ten or so teams moving around with a flurry of activity and raising of pavilions. Among them, they noticed Cardin and Dove, who quickly trotted over to them.
"Hey, I hoped I would see you girls here!" The leader called.
"What's going on?" Ryne asked
"Oh, yeah. Dove and I thought it might be a good idea to make a home fort of some kind. We weren't exactly quiet about it, and some of the other teams were quick to jump in. So our home fort turned more into a staging area, where teams always have two members, likely partners, out and hunting Grimm while the other two are resting up here. It wasn't long until almost everyone had agreed to it."
As he spoke, Aran began to recognize that what she thought were ten teams were in fact a load of partners. Among them, she noticed Jaune and Pyrrha some ways away apparently helping set up some form of perimeter. Aran nodded in approval, bringing a beaming smile to Cardin's face.
"It's certainly impressive, Cardin. I've seen military encampments start out far less organized than this. Sending out partners for teams as you are is very much like setting up patrols. Do you have it figured out for how long each team is going to have a pair out?"
Cardin shrugged.
"I think most of us are in agreement for six hour shifts. If a pair finds a bigger Grimm, like a Geist or a Manticore, then they'll call their team to help out. I would personally add Apathy to that list too, but we're settling for whatever each individual team thinks is best. We've made it a point to keep sentries rotating fairly often though, just in case any Apathy comes in this direction. We don't want one person being exposed to one for too long."
"And the Teryx?" Y'Shtola asked.
Cardin shook his head.
"We're all pretty certain that whoever kills the Teryx, since there's only one, gets to move into the team tournament proper no matter what. That said, a Teryx is enough to wipe out a village on its own, so it's doubtful a single team would be able to do much to it on their own. But we don't even know if it's in our forest or the Emerald Forest."
ARY nodded in agreement; if possible, they had agreed to hunt the Teryx in particular just to make sure the other students were safer.
"We'll help set up for a few hours." Aran stated.
Three hours later saw Aran depart the staging area, finely organized pavilions and perimeter patrols in place. While Cardin and to Aran's surprise, Jaune, were doing quite well putting the safe area up together, the Warrior had put her expertise to the task. Both men had listened to her instantly, seeing why she would do things the way she was. As a result, the staging area was nearly finished in a basic, but exceedingly effective way. Nobody would be confused about what was where. Y'shtola and Ryne remained behind to put up the finishing touches, watching Aran on their scrolls through the camera drone that followed each pair of students. Apparently Aran was worthy of her own drone, while one stayed with Y'Shtola and Ryne.
And so she roamed. In some areas, it was clear that any Grimm, natural or not, were picked clean. But they did notice that the closer they got to the center of the forest, the more Grimm they found. It was odd to be sure, but they weren't sure of the cause.
It was nearing midnight when they finally made some progress towards the center of the forest after Aran returned to grab them, where they became oddly self-conscious of how much they were slowing the woman down. It astounded both Y'Shtola and Ryne every time they watched the Warrior slip through the trees like the wind itself, even in spite of the armor she now wore.
"Never fight a forest-born Viera in her own turf," Aran had once told Y'Shtola. She believed she knew why when she had seen the Vii of the First in action, but now she knew better. Aran had always ghosted through the trees before whenever they had been in a forest of any kind, but she had always had company before. To see the woman when she didn't was an absolute marvel. Neither were quite sure how the drone managed to stay on Aran.
Roughly three hours of walking and removing Grimm later, they began to hear uncontrolled gunfire. Without hesitation, they began making their way towards it, weapons in hand.
It wasn't long until the gunfire was joined by panicked yells and a roar.
"Manticore, maybe?" Ryne had guessed. It wasn't long until she was proven right.
A team of four students were doing their best to avoid the Grimm's attacks, but it was obvious that they were slowing down in exhaustion while the Grimm seemed just as spry as it likely was when it first found them.
Aran stopped her team before they engaged when she noticed something off about the Grimm. It was when the Manticore deliberately moved around a trap that the team had laid out in desperation that the Warrior understood.
"It's far more intelligent than it should be," she muttered. "See how it recognizes any attempt to slow it and avoids it?"
The Manticore dove towards the nearest, and slowest, member of the team it was attacking. The woman was tossed aside by a massive paw that shattered her Aura and sent her in ARY's direction.
"Catch her!" Y'Shtola shouted as she drew her chakram. Aran needed no such direction as she had already begun dashing to intercept the student. Despite catching her, a dull metallic thud coming from Aran's cuirass signalled that the woman probably didn't have that much of a softer landing than she would have with the she was flung towards.
The Miqo'te acted on the instinct that was driven into her by Aran's relentless training. The woman accepted only the best from those she taught, and Y'Shtola refused to be anywhere but among the best.
Aether flooded the air as her chakram flew from her hands with precision drummed into her by her lover, catching the Manticore's flank just behind one of its front legs. While it didn't do much more than leave a small flesh wound, it did precisely what she was wanting.
The Grimm snarled as it turned away from its original prey, staring into Y'Shtola's defiant glare.
"Begone!" Y'Shtola shouted. "Take your teammate and return to the encampment!"
The team's reply was lost as the Manticore howled, bounding towards Y'Shtola. The woman prepared to move when it leapt one last time, but the movement was proven to have been wasted as Aran's bulky form shot past her, twin jets of blue aether leaking from her back. Her gunblade was in motion, slicing forward in a Rough Divide. So focused on both the Manticore and Aran's speed, the Miqo'te didn't even notice Ryne latched on to Aran's side.
While on the ground, the creature might have been able to take the blow head on as it did now without much problem. It was, however, still mid-leap as the Lakeland weapon batted it downwards. The unexpected force from Aran's interception sent it to the ground, off balance but barely standing when Ryne landed on its back. Without hesitation, the Oracle drove her daggers into the back of the Manticore's skull and twisted multiple times until the Manticore finally dropped to its side, disintegrating.
"Whoa," one of the students muttered, approaching ARY with his team. "That was… what just happened?"
Upon closer inspection, Aran recognized the group to be Team PACR, a second year team from Shade Academy. Their leader was the girl that now rested against a tree, where Aran placed her in order to reach the Manticore in time.
The Warrior wasted no time in ignoring the question
"The Manticore, what was going on with it? It was no alpha, yet it was clearly more intelligent than a normal Grimm."
The same student cleared his throat before he answered.
"We're not sure. Paige and I - our leader, I mean - found the Manticore a few hours ago and called the rest of our team in. When we started fighting it, it seemed normal, and then about ten minutes ago it got… smarter? Like, much smarter. All of our previously placed traps, tactics, nothing would work. It was like a switch flipped in its mind or something."
The team circled around ARY to grab their leader as the man spoke.
"Did you notice anything in your surroundings, perhaps say anything?" Aran asked.
"Not that I can think of. Why would either of those matter? It's just a Grimm."
Aran cocked her head. True, the Grimm are only known to develop intelligence with age, but she has seen stranger things happen.
"Return safely. Take my scroll number and distribute it among the other teams; let them know to contact me if they encounter anything like what your team did."
A nod and an exchange of scroll numbers later, the team thanked ARY and began to make their way back to the staging area.
Aran put off going directly into the heart of the forest to make sure her number was distributed; she used her linkshell to contact Pyrrha, having given the Mistrali champion a linkpearl only a few hours before the start of the tournament. In a surprising turn of trust, the red-head had quickly turned it into a part of her bronze circlet.
Pyrrha agreed to distribute Aran's scroll number to the students, passing the word along to Ren and Nora who were resting at the camp. She and Jaune were still an hour away from returning.
It wasn't until just before dawn that Aran had agreed with Y'Shtola and Ryne to resume their trek to the center of the forest; in that time, nobody had reported a similar happening with any of the Grimm they were fighting.
That wasn't to say that Team ARY was idle during that time. They had tracked down a Geist that decided to use rocks and several fallen trees for its limbs and put an explosive end to it. They had also run into a small pack of Sabyrs completely by accident, where Ryne went to work putting down the creatures one by one while Aran and Y'Shtola led them on a chase.
Only one of the beasts had escaped Ryne's handiwork, and that due to sheer fortune. But only for a fleeting moment, before a heavily armored Aran simply crushed the Grimm into nothing with the use of her armor and thrusters.
A couple of Beowolves and Ursa were also encountered, though they proved even less a challenge than the unfamiliar Grimm.
Along the way, they encountered two other pairs of students handily taking care of a couple of Deathstalkers. Both pairs were teams from Atlas, and Aran had quickly agreed to Y'Shtola's mention that Atlas was certainly great at training disciplined soldiers. A look through the tournament's roster showed both pairs to be fourth years.
With the sun beginning to spread light into the canopy of the forest, they resumed their expedition into the forest center. The closer they got, the stronger the Grimm seemed to grow, as well as more intelligent. Not like the Manticore, but there was a marked difference between what they were hunting now and before. They had fought two more Manticores, though neither displayed the unnerving intelligence displayed by the first. A King Taijitu and an Alpha Sabyr had fallen to their blades as well.
By noon, they were sure they were only a couple hours away from the center when Aran received a call from Cardin. They halted as she answered and put it on speaker.
"Cardin?"
"Aran! Hey, more and more people coming back are saying the Grimm are getting particularly aggressive, and getting smarter with their assaults."
"What do you mean by assaults?"
"Oh, right. We've had a number of Grimm come attack the camp. We've so far kept everyone safe, but we're going to have to start asking some people to stay here to defend the place. I'm not sure how many people will agree to that."
Aran frowned; on one hand, she needed to track down the Teryx if indeed it was here in the Forever Fall Forest. And she needed to find the reason for the stronger Grimm congregating near the center, as well as the reason for their intelligence improving much faster than normal. But she couldn't leave the camp alone either, especially not when there was a chance the students wouldn't want to stay and help their allies.
She mentally berated herself for not thinking of this possibly.
Beside her, Y'Shtola had her arms crossed in thought, before Ryne piped up with an answer to their problem.
"Fine, then Y'Shtola and I can head back. We're slowing you down anyways; don't argue, we can both see it."
Aran wouldn't say she was relieved to have not been the one to say it, but she wouldn't deny it if asked.
"Do it. And be careful. Did you hear what Ryne said, Cardin?"
"I did. Thank you Aran, this means a lot to- Hey! We've got Imps incoming! Someone get Ren back here before he-"
Aran ended the call and nodded towards her companions. She gave them both a quick hug before they parted.
She wasn't worried about losing contact with them; both had a linkpearl of their own, from before they had left the First. But this was usually where things began to go wrong. They had twelve hours left of the hunt; at least six of those hours would be spent with her companions traveling back to the encampment, if they spent that time travelling as fast as they could. Aran was certain she could make the trip in around four, if she ignored any Grimm along the way.
And so they parted, with the Warrior venturing forth alone once more. Idly, she noted that a camera drone had followed her, as well as her companions. Strange, she had thought to herself. She was certain there was only one before, with the second one that was following them having broken off to follow another team.
Roughly half an hour later as she smashed her way through another pack of beowolves, she realized her mistake with the drone. If she had paid more attention to it, she would have noticed the fire Dust crystals strapped to the top of the machine. And she wouldn't have been taken off guard as it flew at her in a suicide dive, fire crystals glowing as they activated.
She ran her blade through the last Beowolf when she heard the rotors of the drone grow louder. When it made impact with her side, she at least was thankful that she had killed the last Beowolf around her before she felt the concussive force of the explosion throw her off her feet and slam her against a tree, where the back of her head hit a large knot. Then her vision went black.
Aran fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. She ignored the blood that covered a large portion of her being as she pulled the hyur kit into a final embrace.
His breathing was wet; the arrow had slipped in between his juvenile ribcage and punctured at least one of his lungs. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had been two, with how far the arrow had been embedded.
"My dear kit, your time has come to return to the Forest's welcoming embrace."
She pulled the child closer, weaving her arms up his back and twisting them in such a way as to grab his neck. She waited only a moment, to give the kit some final thought of a mother's warmth before her hands tightened and twisted. A final jerk, one last gasp, and the wet breathing halted. But she held on for a minute longer, her tears finally accompanied by vocal sobbing.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, she released the kit and placed him on the ground. She searched his person for something, anything, that could identify him, before finally settling on the leather belt he wore that was clasped with sculpted iron. She pulled it loose and slung it over her shoulder, then stood and walked a few yalms away, where her short sword stood, stuck into the ground. She pointedly ignored the bodies of her sisters, not yet ready to confront the truth that she had slain her own kin.
She raised her staff shakily, before bringing forth fire to turn the kit's body to ash. Lost in thought, she directed the flames to consume the flesh of her sisters, until it arrived at Krjt. The flames extinguished just before the woman's severed limbs.
The staff lowered, and Aran's eyes hardened. The tears stopped, as rage once more took hold of her actions.
"Rot in the Forest's embrace, Krjt. No kin of mine are you."
She turned away, unperturbed by the scent of burning flesh still lingering on the wind. It was oddly nostalgic, even when it had first touched her senses so many years ago.
She waded through the trees in a strange trance, stopping only when she came upon a stream. She washed herself and her robes before continuing onwards. Eventually, she was no longer in the comfort of the trees, walking quietly across foothills until she came to a small village.
She felt the eyes upon her, but she didn't care. She marched to the center of the village, where a pole sat in the Village Green; the villagers would gather here on the equinoxes to celebrate. Now however, she had nearly everyone following her.
The Viera turned to those that had followed her, ignoring their curious and somewhat worried glances.
"Have any of you had a kit go missing?"
As she spoke, her hand reached up and unclasped the belt. She held it forth, waiting for anyone to claim it.
A shrill gasp near the back sounded, prompting Aran to step forward through the crowd. It was fairly easy to do, as none of these hyur came close to her six foot height. When she found the origin of the gasp, the Viera's eyes softened in sympathy as she saw a short blonde woman, hands over her mouth. A smaller blonde girl, no more than five summers, clutched at her leg. She held out the belt, unsure of what to do.
"I… this is all that is left. I returned his ashes to the Forest." As she spoke, she emphasized forest. No longer would she follow the Word of the Wood, but she could not deny that the Forest was alive. "The one who felled him now lies rotting. You have my deepest apologies that I could not do more. That I could not save him. He did not suffer long."
Aran paid no attention to the hand that had grabbed her shoulder when she had first stopped, but now it had begun to apply pressure that would not be denied. She turned to face its owner, a short and stout blonde man with a bushy beard. She could see the unshed tears and anger in his eyes, but she was thankful that he had not yet tried to take it out on her. She would not allow that.
Instead, the man merely released her shoulder and took the belt, running his thumb over the buckle slowly.
"Thank you. For returning this. And letting us know."
A nod acknowledged the man's words as he stepped away towards who Aran assumed was his wife. She began to turn away, her mission accomplished, until he spoke again.
"What's your name?"
Several blinks came from Aran before she answered.
"Aran."
"Aran. Thank you. Would you stay with us for tonight? It's the least we can do."
"I… shouldn't. I don't belong among anyone. Not anymore. Not after today."
The man's eyes softened. Aran realized the man was extremely sharp, even in his grief, to have worked out what must have happened so fast.
"Then I must insist. You're welcome to stay for as long as you need. Vinland would have wanted it that way."
"Vinland…" Aran muttered, but apparently not low enough. The man swallowed back his emotions once more and nodded.
"Aye. That do be his name. Come, we can mourn him properly tonight."
Aran's eyes snapped open. A dull ache in the back of her head let her know that she was not safe. As memory came back, she realized she was quite lucky to have even survived.
A very faint mechanical tick sounded just beside her, causing her to roll without hesitation. Something struck the ground where her head had been, followed closely by a curse.
"Dammit! Get back here!" Called a familiar voice. Aran wasn't able to place it immediately, but she recognized the owner when she saw him.
"Mercury Black." She muttered, reaching instinctively for her gunblade. Her hand found empty air.
"In the flesh, bunny girl. Time to die."
As he kicked forward, she blinked at the incoming bullet.
A mechanical tick. Her mind reached back for knowledge that Neo had imparted, and clutched onto Mercury having mechanical legs and his past.
"Like father, like son." Aran taunted as she rolled out of the way. She came up on a knee, twirling to avoid another.
"Don't compare me to that monster!" Mercury snarled. The moment he did, he seemed to realize what Aran's ploy was and regained control of his emotions. But it did cause him to hesitate.
The hesitation was all Aran needed to launch herself forward with the aid of her armor. Mercury tried to kick at her, but her speed far surpassed his. A hand grabbed his mechanical leg, while the other slammed down into the joint. It didn't completely crush through the automated limb as Aran expected, but it certainly rendered it unusable. The arm that had grabbed it released as she spun, bringing her elbow into his shoulder and pushing him back.
His roll was well executed. Clearly, he had practiced with only having one leg available to him. Mid roll, he sent several more bullets toward his target, catching her by surprise. She avoided the first two shots, but the third had been well placed, piercing through the leather on her hip and puncturing the flesh beneath.
The Warrior attempted to ignore it, until her body froze up in pain as the Light within her seemed to react to how her body had been treated with the explosion and now the wound.
Desperately, she fought for control of her own aether, blinded to Mercury's confused look. He didn't wait to begin approaching though, seeing this for the opportunity it was.
"You know," Mercury stated as he began to hobble towards her. "Cinder was positive that you'd still be out after that bomb. Whatever she's doing with the Teryx, it's probably going to kill everyone else too. It's nearly seven. It'll fly towards that little camp you put together and kill all of the students. How does it feel to see everything you've worked towards get ruined? Thrown to the wind?"
Her muscles began seizing, causing her to drop to her knees. Mercury was getting closer, only a few yalms away now.
"But don't worry. The rest of Beacon will follow."
He stopped only a foot away from Aran, then reached forward with his hands to wrap them around her throat.
"It won't matter though. You'll die right here, by my hands."
He began to apply pressure, Aran's muscles still refusing to respond. Her foggy vision began to dim, before one final desperate idea came to mind. She channeled the Light as best she could to her mouth, and screamed. Light erupted, filling her vision as she felt Mercury's hands release her and his own yell fill the clearing. When the Light dimmed, she saw him rolling on the ground, digging furrows into his face.
She realized she had control of her body once more. Ignoring the lance of pain in her side, she stood and approached the young assassin. When she caught sight of his eyes, she tensed in horror as she recognized the pale white of a sin eater that had begun to spread in a thick white enamel.
"M-make it stop! ARAN! MAKE IT STOP!" Mercury begged.
Anything Aran could do at that moment was stymied when a white cocoon enveloped him.
Quickly, Aran searched for her gunblade. She found it piled with what looked like the gathered remnants of the drone that had attacked her and grabbed it.
Just in time it seemed, as she heard the cocoon break open. Emerging, was a Forgiven Cowardice.
She prepared herself to fight the sin eater, only to stop as she realized it was looking at her for what looked like direction. She felt like Raubahn had just punched her in the gut as the implications of what she had already known set in. She advanced swiftly, carefully eyeing the creature as she did so. She absently noted that it was missing its legs, while below it two mechanical limbs sat.
When she reached it, it seemed to cock its head at her in confusion before her blade removed it.
Mind racing, she stepped away and thought through what Mercury had said before.
Seven?!
She quickly glanced at the sky and mentally cursed, not having registered the darkness that had set in. She nearly looked away, until she noticed something else in the sky.
This time, her curse was quite verbal.
"An Alpha Teryx? What was Ironwood thinking? How did he even transport that here?!"
Little did she know, Ozpin was about to say very nearly the same thing to the man himself.
"What on Remnant were you thinking, James?!" Ozpin asked angrily in his office. Beside him stood Qrow, Glynda, and strangely enough King Braylor. Sitting down looking over Vale was Amber. "A Teryx is one thing. An Alpha, very nearly an Ancient? Are you trying to get our students killed?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! We brought a young Teryx for the hunt. That is not the one I brought here. Check the tracking tag!"
Braylor slid his scroll in front of Ironwood.
"Already done. It's yours, General Ironwood."
"This doesn't make any sense. How could it… Ozpin! Can you bring up a mission Summer Rose went on?"
The Headmaster raised an eyebrow and glanced at the King.
"Don't stop on my account. I know just as much about Salem as the rest of your circle."
"Courtesy of Miss Vinland, I presume."
"Don't kid yourself. That woman is nearly impossible to manipulate without her allowing it to happen. No, I just happen to do my own research. Such as the fact that you carry the very same cane as my grandfather. A strange coincidence, is it not?"
Ozpin cleared his throat and turned his attention to his fellow Headmaster.
"What did you want to know, James?"
"Something about when Summer was infiltrating Salem's home. She witnessed Salem control a Grimm, mature it with her touch."
Both Ozpin and Braylor frowned, before speaking the same words at the same time.
"If you think I would not know if that woman was in my Kingdom, you are sorely mistaken."
The two men glanced at each other with some amount of amusement, before turning back to Ironwood.
"Regardless, we need to intercept the Teryx, kill it before it can reach the encampment the students set up. I'll order a ship to engage it immediately," the General stated.
"Hold on," Ozpin said hesitantly. He motioned to the camera situated on Aran as she stared at the Grimm. The white creature that had previously been Mercury Black was dissolving, leaving behind virtually nothing except the prosthetics the boy had worn. Then, Aran was gone, bounding through the forest with reckless haste. "Let Aran handle it. I'm truly curious to see what she can do against such a creature."
"Oz-" Qrow tried, only to be stopped by the man himself.
"Y'Shtola and Ryne are back at the camp. I have full confidence in their ability to hold off the Teryx until Aran can reach them."
"Oz-" Qrow tried again, only to once again be stopped by the Headmaster.
"Enough, Qrow."
"OZPIN!" Qrow erupted. "Listen to me! Ignore Aran! Mercury was here. Here! That means Cinder is still here somewhere, along with her other lackey. Send me to find them. For all we know, she could be going after Amber again, or Ruby. You know as well as I do Salem's hate for Silver Eyes. We could-"
Ironwood, Ozpin, and Braylor's scrolls all rang nearly simultaneously, stopping Qrow once more. They looked at each other and answered. When they hung up, they each bore a frown.
"Emerald Sustrai infiltrated the CCT." Ironwood stated for those in the room who didn't get the call. "She was apprehended by Maven and Reisa of the Kingsguard, though the girl managed to knock out all of the Atlas and Valean guardsmen and was on her way out when she was captured."
Qrow frowned in frustration.
"Dammit. Then we don't actually know anything about where Cinder could be."
Ozpin nodded placatingly.
Braylor began to step away from the others, moving towards Amber.
"I'm going to attend the interrogation. Keep an eye on them for me, won't you Amber?"
The girl turned away from Vale and nodded.
"Of course."
Behind Ozpin and Ironwood, Glynda and Qrow stared at the image of the Teryx in anger. Ozpin was endangering innocents, solely for his interest in Aran. It seemed to have increased even further when she had turned Black into… whatever that was.
Deep in Qrow's mind, he slowly began to gain more respect for Aran, knowing that she was trying her best to keep the Light bound within her. It was a shame that Black had fallen to that fate, but the boy had chosen his side. Qrow would feel no remorse for an enemy, no matter how horrible it was.
Idly, he blinked as realized that must be how Raven felt. In that moment, he found that he was perfectly fine with that thought.
Perhaps, they were more alike than they cared to admit.
Y'Shtola stared defiantly at the tide of Grimm that approached. Beside her stood Ryne and teams JNPR and CRDL, while almost every other team began to make formations to face the threat before them. She had been contacted an hour ago by Aran, warning her of the Teryx. It was during that conversation that she began to see the Dark aether, though she could still see Aran's through it.
It was clear that the Grimm weren't hurried, which meant the horde before them was being led by an Alpha, or possibly an Ancient. That alone inspired people to listen to Y'Shtola as she started barking orders.
"Anybody with snipers or ranged Semblances, take out the Apathy scattered through them first. If they remain, we will fall."
Movement around and behind was followed by several cracks of gunfire. Through the Grimm ranks, the Apathy began to fall. They seemed to grow weary and let other Grimm stride in front of them, to begin taking the brunt of the fire. Then, all hell broke loose as the students began to fire all of their weapons into the tide. Those that didn't have ranged weapons simply waited.
Y'Shtola herself thrust forth her staff, gathering aether in preparation for when the Teryx arrived. It was up to her to keep the beast at bay until Aran arrived; she was under no delusions of her own currently diminished abilities. She had spent too much bringing any injured students up to fighting shape.
A roar sounded above them. She glanced up and smirked, memories of Carteneau surging to the forefront.
She was no Louisoix, but this was no Bahamut or Shinryu. Grunting, she brought forth her might.
Aran dashed desperately through the trees. The sun had fully fallen now, night time revealing itself. She encountered no Grimm, but that was for the best.
The wound in her hip had been healed with the use of a potion and a minor spell, but it still ached. Having little rest and being on the move had taken its toll, much to her shame. She thought herself hardier than this, ignoring that she had released an enormous amount of aether in the ravine. She also pointedly ignored the fact that she hadn't given herself time to rest since that time either.
She slowed to a trot and glanced at her scroll, cursing. It was nearly eleven. She had contacted Y'Shtola and Ryne, letting them know what had happened and gave them warning of the Teryx. It sounded like everyone began trying to recall their team members to prepare for something big when Y'Shtola had noted that she could see a wave of Dark aether approaching in the form of Grimm. They would be making a stand, and by now would be in the thick of it.
Probably had been for some time, Aran decided. She put away her scroll and returned to her reckless traversal of the forest. Anyone else would have broken their neck, she had been told before once.
Gunfire, roars, and yells were audible in the wind. A quick darting of her tongue confirmed the taste of blood as well. She tightened her grip on her gunblade, before she burst through the last expanse of trees into the clearing hosting the encampment.
The most notable thing Aran took in first was the Teryx, trapped much like Ilberd's foul eikon was by Papalymo. Unlike the deceased Archon, she could clearly see Y'Shtola struggling to keep the Teryx trapped. Around her stood a veritable wall of students, keeping back the horde of Grimm as best they could. She was proud to see Jaune standing back with Ren, the latter who seemed to be trying his best to keep his Semblance active on Y'Shtola. Like her, he looked ready to collapse.
Cardin seemed to be directing the front lines supported by Ryne, working with what he had available. It was through a minor gap that Aran was able to see between twenty to thirty unconscious forms behind the students, behind Y'Shtola and Jaune even.
"I can't hold it anymore! Brace yourselves!" Y'Shtola shouted.
"Hold the line!" Aran replied. Panting, sore, sweating from the impossible journey she seemed to have taken, she wouldn't blame the students if their hope faltered at seeing her in such a state. But the opposite happened.
Cries of happiness, of hope, filled the clearing.
"She's here!"
"Aran's back! We can do this!
"We're going to survive! General Ironwood may have abandoned us, but Aran hasn't! Push them back!"
At the last one, Aran wasn't sure who said it. But she certainly wasn't aware that her presence was as inspiring as it seemed to be, until now. Where had that come from?
"Let it go, Y'Shtola!" The Warrior called, shrugging aside the thought. The time for battle was now, and she had no time for such things. She bounded forward, ending an Imp with a Rough Divide. The barrier containing the Teryx fell, shattering and releasing the beast. It attempted to right itself midair, but Y'Shtola had trapped it too low for such a maneuver to be possible. It crashed into the ground awkwardly on all fours, but it was exactly what Aran needed. While the Teryx was barely even considered the size of a dravanian, it was still large enough that she needed it on the ground to do any damage. Not having safe access to her black magick would make this more difficult than it otherwise should have been.
Using her armor once more, she came at the Teryx as it regained its balance with her Rough Divide, slashing into its forearm and knocking it back off balance. She would use the same tactic she had used against Pyrrha the very first time they fought. Keep it off balance, and knock it off its feet so she can deliver a fatal blow.
The Teryx seemed to recognize her plan and spun away with surprising mobility. It didn't care about the Grimm it trampled on and swept away with its tail on the process, though Aran winced as the tip of it caught two students by surprise.
She rushed forward again, determined to stop the draconian Grimm from taking flight. Using an Ursa as a springboard, she jumped forward and onto the Teryx's neck, grabbing on to a bone protrusion.
An awkward Rip and Tear bit into the hardened bone plates covering the majority of its neck, but it did enough damage for Aran to create a chip in its defense. A roar and swing of its head stopped her from taking advantage of the weak point, but Aran held on relentlessly. She had been tossed around by Nidhogg; she would not give this mockery the satisfaction of doing what one of Midgardsormr's First Brood could not.
She waited, barely clinging to the beast, until she spotted her chance as the creature stumbled. Somewhere in her exhausted mind, Aran noted that the stumble was likely caused by a stray grenade from Nora's launcher.
The stumble was exactly what she needed. She lined up her blade and thrust forward, piercing the black flesh beneath the damaged bone plates. It began to roar in what was either pain or defiance, yet she would not be swayed from her course.
Despite this determination, she was not prepared for the Teryx to take flight. She cursed, holding on to the Grimm with sheer grit before deciding on a course of action. The Teryx could not be suffered to live much longer, lest the Grimm below overrun the students. She quickly reached for a cartridge, releasing the bone protrusion she had been holding on to. Once she had hold of it, she inserted it into her gunblade.
The things I do just to keep the world spinning, she thought to herself, before pushing her aether into and releasing a cartridge-charged Blasting Zone.
Below, Y'Shtola watched in abject horror as a large explosion came from the Teryx. It had separated the thing's head from its body completely, but that wasn't what held her attention. Instead, her focus was on the smoking body of her lover, falling limply with what looked like only the hilt of her gunblade remaining. She was even able to ignore the blindingly bright Light that suffused the air with the detonation, unlike the others around her who were wondering why the night had lit up bright as day.
And she could do nothing to save her. Her aether was spent, her mana non-existent. Everything in her except the bare necessity had gone into the barrier, and now she couldn't even use what little she had left.
Luckily, there was one other who was paying just as close attention to her as Y'Shtola was. A red and bronze blur shot forward, spear puncturing the throat of a Beowolf as Pyrrha used the creature to pole vault herself up and over the Grimm lines. Even now, it was noticeable that the horde was headless as they began to fall back into their normal savage and beastial routines.
The Mistrali champion threw Akoúo at Aran, using her Semblance to use it to catch the Viera and guide her down soft enough to not kill her on impact. Despite this, Pyrrha wasn't entirely sure if she spared the woman any broken bones. It mattered little, she decided, as Milo shifted into its xiphos form as she landed on the ground with a roll. She came up slashing at another Beowolf, preparing to meet an Ursa until a meaty thud took out the back of its leg, followed by two daggers plunging into its eye sockets.
Cardin and Ryne joined Pyrrha in her defense of the fallen Warrior of Light, until even more students began trickle in to her defense. Nora, Jaune, Dolan and two of his teammates minus his leader, and more.
And then, the Grimm were gone, slain to the last by the desperate defenders. All that remained were tired and haggard students, panting and waiting for anything else to show up. When none did after several minutes, cheers rang out across the battle-torn field. The tents were mostly trampled, the ground thoroughly marked with craters and the air thick with the scent of spent Dust.
The cheers continued until the Bullheads arrived to pick up the students, taking the injured first. Aran was among those, still unconscious as Y'Shtola and Pyrrha rode with her back to Beacon.
A few broken ribs, a recently-healed hip that had refractured, an arm fractured in three places, along with second degree burns. Despite this, her armor remained intact with the exception of where she had been shot by Mercury.
She woke up for a rough minute while passing through the halls of Beacon on a gurney. She was surprised to see both Qrow and Glynda flanking her with Pyrrha and Y'Shtola, with Ardbert walking somewhat behind them. His expression looked worried, yet proud at the same time. Then she faded back out.