Well I hope you enjoyed seeing someone get exactly what they deserved. Back to school life.
The first morning at Beacon Academy for the new first years was a quiet one, of getting their stuff together and preparing for the initiation that would be happening later in the day. With no exaggeration it would be the first day of the rest of their lives and hopefully a quiet one.
"WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!"
Or at least it would be if it weren't for Nora. The girl who seemed to always be in one long stream of consciousness the previous day and who woke everyone in the Dance Hall at precisely 7 A.M. in the process of waking up her friend. Indeed, as they day wore on toward the initiation, all the first years would become intimately familiar with Nora.
Such as Pyrrha Nikos who, while accustomed to getting up early, certainly did not appreciate the wake up call from the energetic girl. She couldn't help but wonder where the girl got the energy as she peeked her head out from under the pillow to glare at the girl, fully dressed for the day and dancing around the boy she had been with all day yesterday; Ren, she thought his name was. With her mind fully awake Pyrrha sat up and stretched her arms out over her head and turned to wake up her sleeping neighbor, only to find Jaune also fully awake and gathering his belongings into a bag.
"Good morning, Pyrrha," Jaune said with a smile on his face.
"Good morning," Pyrrha returned somewhat sleepily and pointed over to Nora, who was singing 'it's morning' over and over. "Aren't you…?"
"Bothered by that? Nah, I grew up with seven sisters so I'm used to it. She's actually pretty tame in comparison." Pyrrha stared at Jaune for a moment before deciding to let it slide and got out of bed to gather her belongings together as well.
"Well, today's the day," Pyrrha said after she had found her toothbrush, toothpaste, and her clothes for the day. "Are you ready Jaune?"
"About as ready as I'll ever be," Jaune replied nervously and glanced out of the windows. "At least it stopped raining. That has to be a good sign right?" Pyrrha nodded in response and, once Jaune had his things together, the pair made their way to the Dance Hall's bathrooms together. "So… do you happen to know where we're going for this initiation?"
"YOU WANT TO GO BACK?!" Raven shouted at Summer, who was sitting with her legs dangling off of her bed (an improvised bunk bed that she shared with Taiyang, with her getting the top bunk through leader order. Qrow and Raven wanted no part of that silliness, so their beds remained the same as they found it.) Taiyang and Qrow definitely seemed to be in agreement with their brunette teammate, if the stares of disbelief at Summer meant anything. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!"
"No, I'm not," Summer said, both her tone and her face dead serious, as she finished mending her cloak. "If there's even the slightest chance of that Grimm still being in there today, then we have to make sure it's either gone or dead. It's our duty as Huntsman and Huntresses."
"Yeah, the ones with a death wish!"
"I agree with Rae," Qrow said rubbing his neck, "I mean, you barely got out of that forest alive and you had to throw yourself off a cliff to do so. That Grimm is way beyond our skill level."
"Alone maybe, but not together. We've faced worse." Summer bit off the thread on her cloak and looked at her handiwork and, after nodding at her handiwork, threw it over her shoulders and fastened it around her neck.
"Didn't you say it knocked down a bunch of trees like it was nothing?" Taiyang asked, "So how are we-"
"We can manage, but if any first years run into it they won't be able to! You saw what it could do Qrow, what do you think would happen?" Qrow looked away in silent acceptance and Summer hopped down to the floor. "Look I know you guys have reservations, but I can't leave this alone even if Ozpin said otherwise. If someone dies out there because of that thing and I could have stopped it, I won't be able to forgive myself." Summer hugged herself and looked down at the floor as she thought the next part over.
"Look, if I thought I could be able to do this by myself I wouldn't think of asking you to put yourselves on the line. The fact is that I can't though, last night more than proved that to me. Please, just this once, help me out. After this I swear I won't-" Summer stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Taiyang who smiled softly at her.
"Like we could say no to you," he said before jokingly adding, "It's not like we had anything important to do today, right?"
"Besides, a Grimm that looks like a woman," Raven added crossing her arms and kneading the fabric of her sleeve. "That's something that I want to look into, even if it's not what I think it is."
"And who knows, maybe we could spin it to Oz in a way to get extra credit," Qrow said with a shrug, "That is, if you're sure we won't get in trouble for even thinking of doing this."
"Well, technically, Ozpin only advised us to get some rest. We're just… not taking that advice," Summer said smiling at everyone in turn. "Thank you, really."
"Let's hold off on that until we're not dead, ok?" Raven moving to the door and opening it, "Come on, let's at least get some breakfast before we hear this plan I hope you actually thought of."
"I got it! We should come up with a plan to make sure we end up on the same team! Maybe we should try bribing the headmaster! Wait that won't work, he has a school."
As it turned out, breakfast was no escape from Nora. The only solace that her fellow first years had was now the rest of the student body was witness to her antics. Even if it was mostly just bemusement at her and Ren, who at the moment was busy carefully eating pancakes.
"Oh, I know, what if we make a petition! If we get 50 signatures and show the headmaster it-"
"That won't work." Nora and Ren blinked and turned around at a student in a white cloak holding a tray of Pumpkin Pete's and some assorted fruit.
"What?"
"I'm telling you it won't work. A couple of months ago some upperclassman made a petition for unrestricted internet access on campus or something. Professor Ozpin doesn't care about petitions and the like though, so it fell flat. I'm just telling you so you don't end up wasting your time." The girl gave the pair a shrug and went on her way.
"Darn it," Nora said snapping her fingers and placing a hand on Ren's shoulder, "Ok, next plan, but first I'm going to need a jar of organic peanut butter. That'll be good for pancakes."
'At least some people are having fun,' Summer thought shaking her head slightly as she made her way over to where her team was, and found them talking with Velvet.
"Ah Summer, perfect timing," Velvet said waving at Summer and flinched a little when she sat down next to Taiyang. "Wow, you look awful. What happened to you?"
"Close call with a nasty Grimm last night," Summer replied pouring a bowl of cereal, "I didn't get much sleep after that."
"How nasty?"
"It leveled part of the forest chasing her," Qrow said casually over his coffee.
"…Right, I can count that as a large Grimm kill if you want to," Velvet said pulling out her scroll, "speaking of, I'm going to need your kill count for the bet Summer."
"Oh right, that thing," Summer sighed as she took out her scroll and pulled up Velvet's contact. "I honestly forgot all about that after last night. And there you go."
"Great, thank you. I'm going to be crunching those numbers for a while, so I'll get back to you when I got the results."
"You're not going to cheese it in your favor, right?" Taiyang asked the obvious question.
"I'm offended Tai. If we have to resort to cheating to beat you guys, then why even bother having the competition at all?" STRQ stared at Velvet for a good moment, save for Raven who was paying more attention to the bagel she was eating, until she finally sighed. "Ok, so Coco wanted me to do that, but I'm ignoring her. She'll thank me for that later. It's better to win honestly and all that."
"True words of wisdom, and I'm sure Coco was just joking," Tai said with a nod, "anyway we have some things to talk about, so we'll see you later."
"Sure thing, I'll let you and your little 'secret society' do your thing. Later." After one more wave the Rabbit Faunus left with a little skip in her step. STRQ waited until she was a fair enough distance away and leaned in close to each other.
"So what is the plan?" Taiyang asked. Summer, who was mid bite on some cereal, held up a finger and took out her scroll. She extended it out into its tablet mode and laid it on the table between all of them, a map of the Emerald Forest displayed on it.
"Before Raven called me last night, Ozpin said I was out of view of the cameras, right?" Summer looked at her team, who all nodded, and tapped her scroll. A red overlay appeared over a section of the forest before Summer continued, "Well, then that means I was outside of the preferred testing area for the first years. All we really need to do is go to where I encountered 'you know what' and investigate where it went. Once we know that, and if it left or we kill it, we simply leave the forest and the proctors won't even know that we were there."
"On that note," Qrow said leaning over and tapping an area on the map, "this right here is where I picked you up. It went into the woods immediately after you lost it."
"Are you sure that's the place?" Raven asked, earning a flat look from Qrow, "What? One of us has to ask."
"I'm sure."
"And I trust him," Summer added circling the spot Qrow tapped along with the immediate area of the forest. "So, to sum up, we go in and investigate this area for what I saw last night, kill it if it's there and leave if it's not, get out the same way we came in. Either way once we're done we go back to our room, relax, and look forward to pizza and maybe some ice cream. It shouldn't take longer than an hour or two to get done."
"And if it goes wrong or the staff finds us?" Raven asked.
"Well, we shouldn't be in the testing area," Taiyang said with a shrug, "so they can't get us in trouble for wanting to interfere with that, which we don't want to anyway. We could just say we were getting some extra training."
"And if it goes wrong, we improvise like always," Summer concluded picking up her scroll and closing it. "Anything else to add?"
"We're going to need a lot more coffee," Qrow said holding up his mug.
"Oh god yes," Summer agreed stirring her cereal, "some coffee would go well with my breakfast." Summer was about to take another bite when her eyes glanced over at the box, where she did a double take at the cover. "Holy shit."
"What?" Raven asked as Summer picked up the cereal box and turned it around to show the twins, pointing wide eyed at the girl on the front; a rather familiar red head with her hair in a ponytail with bronze armor smiling as she held a bowl of the cereal. "Huh, would you look at that. I thought she seemed familiar."
"I already knew about that," Qrow said standing up with his mug, "It took you this long to figure that out?"
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" Taiyang said angrily, "I tell you all about her accomplishments yesterday and a cereal box is where you recognize her from?! You both suck!"
"…I'm hungry for cereal now," Raven said quietly.
"Go get a bowl and I'll pour you some," the smaller girl answered shaking the box.
The lockers room, surprise, were also not safe from Nora.
"I know! Why don't we have a secret code so we can find each other! Those two guys from yesterday gave me a really good idea about that. Do you know what a sloth sounds like?"
"Nora…" Ren said, probably the first word he had said all day.
"Yes Ren?"
"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." Nora was quiet for a moment while Ren put his weapons away in his sleeves and shut his locker.
"It's perfect then! No one will know we're working together!" Nora exclaimed and followed Ren as he walked away, right past a bemused Raven as she was running a whetstone along her sword.
"We weren't that bad as first years, were we?" Raven asked Summer, who was tightening the laces on her combat boots on the bench she was sitting on, and motioned at the pair as Nora was going on about not being 'together together'.
"I would like to say no, but I'm also not the best at self-reflection," Summer answered tapping her boots against the ground a couple of times before picking up her weapons to fasten them to her belt. "So are you just about ready?"
"Yep," Raven answered simply holding her sword up to inspect the edge and got up to go to her locker. "I still can't believe we're actually doing this."
"Thanks again for this Rae," Summer answered as she drew York and set about refilling it with fire dust, "This means a lot to me."
"Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be sleeping in our room," Raven shook her head slightly putting the whetstone away and getting her sheathe. "I guess 'you know what' hit a personal nerve harder than I like." The smaller girl stopped what she was doing and looked over at Raven as she fashioned her rotary sheathe to her belt.
"Wait, you don't think that-"
"That's what we're going to find out, isn't it?" Raven cut her off sheathing her sword with a small twirl and shutting her locker. "Either way, this whole thing is still-"
"Completely ridiculous!" Jaune exclaimed out loud as he passed between Summer and Raven, derailing their conversation slightly to stare at him. He looked down at the slip of paper in his hands and shook his head, "There's no way I put my stuff in locker 636 last night, I'd remember having to count that high! Why did this have to happen today?" During his lamentations he passed by Qrow and Taiyang, who gave the first year a look of befuddlement and sympathy respectively.
"Please tell me he didn't actually count the lockers," Qrow said shaking his head.
"I'm sure he didn't," Taiyang answered and cracked his knuckles, "So you ready for this?"
"Yeah, just waiting for them," Qrow gestured to the other half of their team and sighed, "Isn't that how it always is?"
"Don't let them hear you say that." Taiyang took a second to look around the locker room at the various first years getting their weapons and armor together, along with any other preparations, and shook his head with a smile. "If only they knew. You remember when we had to do this?"
"You mean when I was sitting quietly with Raven only for you to come up and try to flirt with her, then getting lambasted by Summer for her bumping into me, then you trying to flirt with her, all before we even left this room?" Taiyang nodded and Qrow shook his head with a scowl. "No, I don't."
"Well I do. Good times."
"I did apologize for that." The boys looked up at Summer and Raven approaching them and Qrow stood up from the bench he was sitting on.
"No you didn't," he said to his white clad leader.
"…I didn't?" Summer asked looking at Raven, who shook her head no. "Oh… well, sorry Qrow. I-"
"I know you're sorry, and apology accepted." Qrow chuckled and gave her a small smirk, causing the girl to return the laugh. "So we good to go?"
"Hello again!" Qrow's face fell a little and he pinched his nose with a small sigh at the voice.
'Always something,' he thought as STRQ turned to Pyrrha giving them a small wave.
"Hello Pyrrha," Summer said returning the wave, "You seem to be in a good mood."
"Oh, you know, I'm just getting ready for the day." Pyrrha shifted a little to get Miló and Akoúo to rest comfortably on her back. "How are you today?"
"Tired as hell, waiting for the slow embrace of death. Other than that we're doing alright."
"…Rough night?"
"I'm not sure if we can tell you," Qrow answered, "but don't worry, we can handle ourselves."
"Oh there it is. Um, you're in my way Summer." Summer blinked and stepped aside so Jaune could get at a locker, which he put a code into and gave a small 'yes' when it opened and he found Crocea Mors inside. "And I didn't even have to count them all!"
"Oh my god, you were serious about that."
"That aside!" Pyrrha quickly said moving next to Jaune, "What are you all doing here? Are you helping with the initiation later?"
"No, we're getting ready for our own mission today," Summer answered adjusting her cloak, "And while I appreciate it, you really should focus on your initiation instead of worrying about how we're doing."
"Oh that reminds me!" Jaune suddenly said closing the locker and setting his sword against it, "I've been hearing rumors about teams since last night. I don't suppose you can tell us how that works?"
"I'm sorry Jaune, but-"
"You can't tell us, but you'll find out if you survive today," Jaune and Pyrrha finished for her with flat faces, to Summer's mild shock. Jaune shook his head slightly and added, "We kind of figured you'd say that. Kind of getting old by now." To their surprise, Summer responded by giggling.
"I suppose it is, but that's just how it is. I wouldn't worry too much though, you both trained for this after all. And if you stick with Miss Cereal here, you'll be fine Jaune."
"Miss… what?"
"You found out about that huh?" Pyrrha said quietly.
"Yeah we did," Raven said crossing her arms with a small smile, "but it is kind of hard not to notice you on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's marshmallow flakes." Raven's smile widened when Taiyang groaned at that. 'Oh Tai, you got to stop making it so easy.' Jaune, for his part, looked at Pyrrha and really took her in while she simply smiled and waved at him.
"What?! That's you!" he exclaimed pointing at Pyrrha, "but they only do that for athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Emphasis on athletes…" Taiyang growled out, causing Summer to giggle.
"Yeah, I guess it was pretty cool," Pyrrha said scuffing her foot against the floor, "Too bad the cereal isn't good for you."
"Still delicious though," Summer said just as the speakers chimed with Glynda's voice.
"Will all first year students please report to the Beacon Cliffs for initiation. I repeat…"
"And that's your cue. Good luck and remember to have fun."
"W-wait! I know you can't help us with this," Jaune said in a small panic, "But I don't suppose you can just… give us some general tips? You know, for life?" Jaune hoped that Summer would get what understand what he meant, and after a moment she did in fact seem to get it.
"Tips huh? Yeah we can do that, right guys?" Summer glanced back at her team, who all nodded with smirks. "Right, well to start…"
Jaune and even Pyrrha leaned forward, eager to hear their new upperclassmen's words of wisdom.
"People die when they are killed," Summer said lifting her hood over her head, "so don't get killed." Then she walked away, shattering the hopes of both first years.
"W-what?" Jaune asked.
"Dental hygiene is one of the most important things you can do," Taiyang said following Summer, "so brush your teeth twice a day and don't forget floss and mouthwash.""
"But I already-" Pyrrha started.
"Kill the dogs first," Qrow said and then added, "And I really mean that. If you see a monster that looks even remotely like a dog, you kill it dead first. Trust me, it'll save you a lot of trouble." Qrow then left with a small 'Bastards,' to punctuate his departure.
"But… I like dogs," Jaune whispered lowering his arms.
"And, most importantly," Raven said, "if you hear a Goliath out in the field you run as fast as you can away from it and hope it didn't see you. It's not worth fighting."
"But… what's a-"
"I'm fucking serious. Do. Not. Fight. Goliaths! Even if there's only one, even if it's just a juvenile, and even if it somehow managed to break one of its legs by being a dumbass before you even knew it was there, don't fight it. It's not worth it."
"Ok, I guess, but what is-" Jaune stopped with a yelp when Raven grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer.
"LISTEN TO MY WORDS MOTHER FUCKER!" She yelled shaking Jaune and scaring Pyrrha into taking a step back. "YOU DO NOT FIGHT GOLIATHS! COMPREHEND MY WORDS AND REPEAT THEM BACK TO ME OR I SWEAR-!"
"Gah, I won't fight Goliaths even though I don't know what those are! Please don't hurt me!" Jaune trembled a little before breathing a sigh of relief when Raven let him go. Less so when she pat him on the head and smiled at him like a cat watching a wounded bird.
"See, it's not so hard. Just follow those tips and you and Cereal Girl will be great Hunters in no time. Just remember mine in particular. Have fun getting killed!" And with that Raven left Jaune and Pyrrha to their own devices… again, and the two were left questioning their recent life choices… again.
"I walked right into all that, didn't I?" Jaune finally asked.
"Yeah," Pyrrha answered.
"…Let's just get to the cliffs."
"Yeah…" 'I was crazy. There's no way they are who I thought they were.'
"Each of you has trained for years to prepare yourselves for this day. Now it's come, and you are now in front of your First Step."
Finding the Beacon Cliffs wasn't that hard, since almost everyone else that Jaune had spent the last day with had gone that direction. No, the hard part was wondering why he was standing on top of a metal plate with the school's insignia that was conveniently placed next to the cliffs while Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch were giving a speech.
'Eh, I'm sure they'll get to that soon,' Jaune thought as Ozpin continued.
"Behind me is the Emerald Forest, where your initiation will take place. You're objective lies at the north end. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."
'Oh boy.'
"Now I'm sure you all have heard rumors about teams," Professor Goodwitch said looking up from her scroll at each of the students in front of her. "Well, allow us to set those rumors to rest. Each of you will be assigned teammates… today."
'Ok.' Jaune glanced down the line to his left at Pyrrha and looked back at Ozpin as he started speaking again.
"These teammates will be with you for the duration of your stay here, so it is imperative for you to choose people you can get along with."
'Ok, I don't know anyone besides Pyrrha, but that's not a problem.' Jaune's eyes narrowed a little at the realization. 'Yup, not a problem.'
"Having said that, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
'…Ok, that's a problem actually,' Jaune's eyes narrowed further as Nora said 'I told you,' to someone and, not for the first time, he thought he may have made a small mistake coming here. Too late to worry about that now. 'Even if the only person I know here is Pyrrha. Oh crap…'
"You will be observed and evaluated for the duration of your initiation, but our staff will not intervene. Once you've all paired up and reached the north end of the forest you will find an abandoned temple and inside you will find several relics. You will collect one of these relics and bring it back to the top of these cliffs. Guard it with your life, and once you return to the top of the cliffs you will be evaluated and graded based on your performance. Are there any questions?"
"Uh, yes sir," Jaune said raising his hand, "I got-"
"Good! Now take your positions." Jaune barely noticed how his fellow initiates were crouching down and otherwise getting ready, but ultimately paid them no mind because of the several questions he had.
"S-sir, I got a question." There was a metallic clang, followed by Nora hollering happily, as Professor Ozpin looked at him and nodded. "So this whole… going into the forest thing… are you going to drop us off in there or… something?" Those clangs were getting louder now.
"No, you will be falling," Ozpin answered simply.
"Falling… ok," Jaune looked to his left and only now realized what he was standing on, judging from how Ren was launched into the air. "So… did you hand out parachutes?" Jaune certainly didn't get one, hopefully that was just a mistake.
"No, you will be using your own landing strategy."
Jaune couldn't keep the fear off his face at just how loud those clangs were getting and knew what was coming soon. He looked to his to see Pyrrha to give him a sympathetic look just before she was launched too. "So what exactly is a la-" Then he was launched, flailing like a ragdoll and screaming his head off as Ozpin and Glynda watched him sail away into the forest.
"There's always one," Glynda said simply tapping her scroll to bring up the camera feeds.
"Indeed," Ozpin answered taking a drink of coffee. He'd never forget the 'one' from last year; a particular Huntress in White.
Meanwhile, Team STRQ was having fun in a forest tree with binoculars.
"And they're off ladies and gentlemen!" Summer shouted quickly looking through a pair of binoculars at the sailing first years some distance away. "It's a lovely day here in the Emerald Forest, nice and sunny with scattered clouds which is surprising given the weather last night, and we got a lovely batch of first years as they head toward certain injury, death, and dismemberment if they aren't ready for the terrors to come!"
"Indeed they are Summer," Taiyang said just as quickly and grinning like a madman, "and I have to say we have a lovely line up of potentials this year, with a few stand outs to boot! Pyrrha Nikos for instance is displaying perfect form as she goes. I will update as soon as she actually does something."
"I personally have my eyes on the boy in the green jacket," Qrow said watching as said boy started his descent. "He certainly seems to be the type to stay calm under pressure. And he just executed a perfect 360 tree encirclement landing!" Qrow lowered his binoculars as soon as the boy was out of sight, "Man after my own heart if I actually gave a crap."
"And where is she going?" Raven asked as she tracked Nora (her name managed to become well known throughout the school in a matter of hours) through the air. "Forget that, I think she's actually flapping her arms like wings. One of those people huh?"
"And then there's Vomit Boy," Summer said losing enthusiasm at the sight of Jaune flopping helplessly through the air. "He'll probably die on impact. That's too bad, I actually thought he would-" a gunshot tore through the air and a streak of red and gold snagged Jaune by the hoodie and dragged him down toward the trees. "WHAT, HANG ON, SURPRISE INTERECEPTION OUT OF NOWHERE! Probably from a certain red head!"
"You would be right," Taiyang said with a chuckle, "Pyrrha shield bashed three trees, scanned the horizon, and fired that javelin all in ten seconds. Just what I'd expect from her." In the distance they heard the javelin hit a tree, followed by Jaune shouting 'thank you' which was in turn followed by Pyrrha shouting 'I'm sorry!'
"As for the others, who gives a shit." Raven asked putting her binoculars away and standing up on the branch. "So are we going?"
"Wait for it…" Summer said watching the rest of the students disappear beneath the tree line. Once they were all gone she said, "And now we're going," and put her binoculars away and slid off the tree branch to the forest floor. She had barely landed and put her hood up when the rest of her team dropped down as well and they started walking as a group.
"We're close to where we first saw it," Qrow said moving ahead to take point. "We'll just follow the carnage and see what we can discern from it."
"And hope that it's actually gone, for everyone's sake," Taiyang added, to which the others nodded in response. They walked on in silence for the next few minutes, keeping an eye on the surrounding forest for any Grimm, until Qrow picked up the pace and waved them over to a thicket of trees.
Or rather, a pair of trees cut cleanly down.
"What the fu…" Raven said in surprise as she jogged over to the tree stumps and ran a hand over the top of the slanted top. "That's a clean cut! Your Grimm did this?"
"And that," Summer said pointing toward a section of forest that was absolutely thrashed, where Taiyang and Qrow were kneeling next to a set of tracks measuring the stride. Summer shivered at the memory and turned back to Raven crossing her arms. "So, what's the verdict? Is it what you're looking for?"
"Well, do you remember what it looked like?" Raven crossed her own arms while Summer tapped her forehead. 'I don't think it is, but…'
"I didn't really get that good of a look in the rush, but I do remember it used a scythe. It was maybe six feet tall, I don't really know. Um…"
"What about hair? Did it have hair?" Raven gripped her arm tightly as Summer continued thinking. She glanced over at Taiyang and Qrow as they made their way over to the girls and stopped when Summer nodded.
"Yes, it had hair. Short hair, about as long as mine," Summer held out a lock of her hair and shook her head, "I think it may have been black too. It was really dark though, so-"
"It's not it then," Raven interrupted and shook her head with a sigh. "I should have figured, the forest would have been an inferno if it had been the same one."
"Rae…" Summer walked over and placed a hand on her partner's shoulder, though the girl shrugged it off and turned to her brother.
"But that means we have another problem Qrow. There's more than one of those things."
"Yeah, you're right," Qrow replied rubbing the back of his head looking worried. "You think that's what Oz wants to talk about later?"
"Who knows," Taiyang shrugged and jerked a thumb back at the tracks, "but I hope he says something at least. That's easily a two meter stride at full speed, maybe three. Something that fast and strong and there might be more of them? Damn right I'd like to know, especially if they work with you know who."
"That'll be for later. Let's focus on 'now' problems instead of 'later' problems," Summer said and, once her nodded in response, started following the trail into the forest. Taiyang moved up next to her while the twins stayed behind a couple of steps.
"Some other day then, huh?" Qrow asked Raven quietly.
"Yeah. I've already waited three years, I can wait a little longer." Raven clenched a fist and looked up at Summer and Taiyang and couldn't help but smile a little. "Still, it might be easier than we thought back then."
"Yeah." Qrow nodded with his own smile, which dropped when he heard a loud screech echo through the forest. "What was that?"
"Giant Nevermore," Summer answered looking up. "It didn't sound close but… keep an eye on the skies. We don't need any surprises right now."
"Leave it to me," Taiyang said walking around a broken tree and looking up at the skies through the trees.
Far away from the Emerald Forest, and indeed far away from any of the Kingdoms, there was a land of black rock and red skies, with the only recognizable landmark being a black castle towering over its surroundings. For most who would see it, it was large, imposing, and undoubtedly the home to several monsters. For Ruby, it was the closest thing to home she and her sisters had known. She gripped the feathers of the Griffon and willed it into a dive toward the landing pad on the side of the castle, the small sense of relief at being back offset by the scratching in the back of her mind.
"You've finally returned General," the soothing voice of Salem echoed in her mind. For just a second Ruby closed her eyes and let it fill her for a moment before answering.
"I apologize Queen, it's a long flight from Vale; especially so by Griffon." The mount Grimm reared and landed on the landing pad, letting Ruby off its back and taking off again once she was on her way into the castle. "Are you…?"
"In the throne room with the other Generals. We're all awaiting your return."
"I'll be there post haste." The scratching in her brain was gone and Ruby picked up her pace toward the throne room. Having long ago memorized the twist and turns of the castle corridors Ruby made great time and was just a corridor away. She passed by Tyrian, who was probably the only other person here besides her and her sisters who stayed more or less permanently at the castle, at the throne room doors and like every other time they crossed paths he wisely stayed out of her way.
Ruby pushed open the doors and entered the throne room, even if it was in practice more of a meeting room, and found herself the center of attention. Salem was at the head of the table with her sisters on the chairs closest to her on either side of the table, Weiss and Blake on one side and Yang on the other with only a brush for company. Ruby closed the doors behind her and bowed to Salem, her right hand balled over her heart.
"At ease," Salem said and Ruby complied, straightening and crossing her arms behind her back. "As I was saying to the others just now, your combined work has provided valuable information. Vale will remain our focus for now, since it's likely they'll host the Vytal Festival this year. Once we're done we'll move on."
"Yes, that sounds like good plan Queen," Ruby said her eyes downcast to the ground.
"What's your problem?" Yang asked and stopped brushing her hair. "You're acting like Weiss when she gets caught eating-" She stopped and widened her eyes before she smiled widely at Ruby, who glared at the larger General.
"I told you not to talk about my eating habits Yang!" Weiss shouted and stood up from her seat. "I swear if you say another-!"
"You screwed up!" Yang shouted suddenly and pointed her brush at Ruby. "I don't know how, but you finally screwed up a mission!" Yang threw the brush onto the table and leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the table. "This'll be good to hear."
"Get your feet of the table," Salem said darkly and clenched her hands slightly. Yang's eyes widened and she quickly got her feet off the table and Weiss sat down for good measure. After staring at Yang until she gave a quick 'Sorry Queen,' Salem turned her attention back to Ruby and asked, "Is there something you wish to tell me?"
Ruby thought for a second before she started speaking. "There was a small complication." Salem's hands clenched a little tighter and her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. "I was spotted by a Huntress in training when I was about to leave Vale. She's dead now though, I dropped her off a cliff myself."
"And the problem is?"
"Well… I was in a hurry to get back, so I didn't check to make sure she was actually dead. I would like to make sure she is, and if she isn't rectify it." Salem closed her eyes in thought, the room absolutely still in the meantime, until she waved a hand in the air and opened her eyes.
"I'll allow you to do just that, but I need you here. Use a Seer and do what you need to and nothing more."
"Of course Queen, and thank you," Ruby said and bowed one more time before moving to the chair next to Yang, brushing off her combat dress before sitting down.
"How are you not sure if someone you fought is dead?" Yang leaned over to whisper into Ruby's ear, "Even I know that doesn't happen with you."
"I'll explain when I'm done," Ruby whispered back and glanced over at the door as a Seer slipped though it and floated behind her. "Don't worry though, this won't take very long," she said as the Seer's tendrils surrounded her and she closed her eyes.
Ruby felt her consciousness leave her body and, with the Seer's help, entered the mercurial landscape of the Grimm hivemind. She drifted through the 'mist' and past several red cores looking for a suitable Grimm for her purpose. "Mobile and strong… mobile and strong…" she repeated to herself as she looked around until she stopped next to a core and nodded. "You'll do, especially since you're close to where I need to be." She grabbed the core and forced herself to look though it, closing her eyes for a second before opening them to see herself flying over the Emerald Forest.
"I need you to search for something," she told the Grimm, who gave a screech in response. "I'll point you in the right direction, just be my eyes and do what you do best if needed." Another screech in response and Ruby pointed the flying beast in the right direction.
"Let me get this straight," Raven said looking down into a ravine, the same one that Summer fell down the previous night, "You jumped into this thing to escape that Grimm. You really are insane."
"Looking at it now that I'm calm, you're absolutely right," Summer replied taking a step back from the ledge. "Still, it was the only way out at the time. Or would you rather you open a portal and I lead it right to you?" Raven looked behind her at a small section of destroyed trees that Taiyang was looking at.
"Fair point," Raven said and followed Summer back to Taiyang. "Hey Tai, have you found anything yet?"
"No, I haven't seen anything yet," he answered looking up, "but that damn Nevermore certainly won't shut up." Said Nevermore screeched right then just to taunt him.
"I meant on the ground!"
"Oh… no, that was Qrow's job."
"Oh my fucking-!"
"I don't think it's here anymore." Raven and Summer leaned around Taiyang as Qrow walked toward them. He jerked a thumb behind him and added, "There are tracks that lead back there that just stop. It didn't look like it could fly, but if it could talk it might have a workaround; you know, like a flying Grimm to ride or something."
"Ugh, that's the last thing we need; Grimm riding Grimm," Summer said rubbing her forehead, "But, at the very least, it seems we got what we came for."
"So… we're done? We can go back and just sleep now?" Raven asked crossing her arms behind her head.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Summer nodded and started walking to the cliffs. "If you don't mind getting to the top Rae we can-" A loud screech interrupted her, causing her to clench a fist and yell, "God, shut up!"
"Uh, I just found the Nevermore," Taiyang said pointing to the sky. The team turned to see a Giant Nevermore flying towards them near the cliff. "That… is a really big bird."
"That's not right," Raven said lowering her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Isn't the Defense Grid right there? If it flies a little closer it'll be blown to bits, so why is it so close?"
"You're right," Summer replied, "animals learn to avoid things that cause them pain and Grimm are no different. That shouldn't be anywhere close to where it is."
"So… bad?"
"Very."
The Giant Nevermore spotted the group from the skies and its eyes narrowed, black sclera edging in from the sides of its eyes.
"Well, would you look at that. Thought you were clever, huh?" The Nevermore's vision narrowed more until it got a good look on the four Huntsman, more specifically the one in the cloak. "Investigating me huh? I hope it was worth it for you. Forget what I said, you have new orders: Kill the Huntress in the white cloak, by any means necessary." The Nevermore screeched loudly and opened its wings wide.
"Oh shit, it's going to attack!" Qrow shouted.
"Run for it!" Summer ordered and the team broke into a run for the trees.
"And the last pair has just been formed: Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Glynda tapped her scroll to enlarge the image of said pair, Ren having just killed a King Taijitu when Nora dropped from the treetops upside down. "That poor boy, I can't imagine what it'll be like partnered with a girl like her." Ozpin grunted in acknowledgment, though not looking up from his scroll. "Still, he'll probably fare better than Miss Nikos will. I don't care what the transcripts say, that boy is not ready for this level of combat."
'That boy' being Jaune Arc, who's first act in the forest was getting pinned to a tree by a javelin; which really was a precursor to his performance today. 'Still, could be worse,' Ozpin thought as he watched Jaune and Pyrrha walk though the forest on the cameras.
"That aside, the initiation seems to be going well and the first pairs will be approaching the ruins in a few minutes. Speaking of, what did you use for relics this year? Professor Ozpin?" Glynda looked at Ozpin, who didn't look up from the camera feed on his scroll.
Until they received a proximity alarm on both of theirs.
"What is…?" Glynda asked tapping the alarm icon. "Hm… a Giant Nevermore is close to the Defense Grid. It's not trying to break though, but it is too close for comfort."
"Keep an eye on it," Ozpin said tapping the alarm icon on as well, keeping the camera feed up, "I think I know what's causing that."
"What do you-?"
"Too many odd things are happening one after another. It's suspicious, especially since one of them showed up last night." Glynda's eyes widened and she nodded before turning her attention back to the alert.
A Giant Nevermore's screech echoed through the air.
"What was that?" Jaune asked at the sound of the screech.
"A large Grimm, I don't know the type," Pyrrha answered. "That and the gunfire earlier, our comrades must have found the enemy."
"Uh… right." Jaune's day hadn't exactly been going well, except for Pyrrha finding him first. It was still pretty cool watching her climb the trees to get to him while he was pinned. After that, Jaune was more than happy to let Pyrrha take the lead though the forest.
A second after he thought that, he got hit by a tree branch to the face and was floored.
"Oh, sorry!" Pyrrha said once it happened, since it was her fault.
"It's fine, I just got a scratch." Jaune stood back up, trying to ignore the sting of pain from his cheek, and wiped off the small bit of blood he got onto his jeans.
"Why didn't you activate your Aura?"
"My what?"
"…Your Aura."
"Gesundheit."
Pyrrha blinked and asked, "…Jaune, do you know what Aura is?"
'Wait, that's an actual thing?! Crap, make something up moron!' "Uh, of course I know! Do you know what Aura is?" '…Smooth dummy.'
Thankfully Pyrrha only chuckled a little before explaining, "Aura is the outward manifestation of the our souls. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts."
"Jaune, have you ever felt like something or someone was watching you that you couldn't see, but could feel?"
"Yeah…"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Spread out, don't make a larger target for it!"
"I'm going to stab the fuck out of that thing!"
Team STRQ was not having a good time, but then again when you're being bombarded by razor sharp feathers the size of trees it's hard to have one. Still, at least dodging around the feathers and hiding behind the ones that had landed was easier than it could have been.
"With practice, Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."
"What about monsters?"
"No, don't spread out, group up!" Summer shouted blinking out of the way of a feather, "We need to get to the trees!"
"Group up?!" Taiyang shouted from behind a feather he was using as cover, "Are you cra- oh I get it!"
"No, the monsters we fight are Creatures of Grimm; soulless and anonymity manifest. The darkness to our light"
"Right, that's why we fight them."
"It stopped firing, now's our chance!" Qrow shouted once the earth stopped blowing up around them and they started dashing toward the trees. Summer focused on the tree lines and charged her semblance for a jump.
"It's not about why, it's about knowing. By understanding both dark and light, we can manifest our Aura. Everyone has both."
"Gotha!" Taiyang called out grabbing onto her cloak, followed by affirmations from both Qrow and Raven after they grabbed her cloak too.
"Jump!" Summer ordered and, once everyone did so, Blinked to the tree line leaving behind a long trail of rose petals. STRQ stopped just at the tree line and rolled (or rather crashed) past the first set of trees. Once they stopped Summer breathed out a sigh of relief and picked herself up. "Is everyone ok?"
"Yeah."
"I'm fine."
"Seriously going to stab that fucking thing to death."
"By manifesting our Aura outwards, we can deflect harm away from ourselves. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura, and fighting brings it out the strongest."
"We're not stabbing anything! As long as we're in the trees the Nevermore can't-" There was a crash and Summer was thrown forward by a sudden wind and hit a tree. The screeching of the Nevermore was much closer than last time, mostly because the Nevermore was now feet away lunging at her. The trees strained against it and it's beak was closing around her. "Oh crap!"
"Summer!"
"So it's like a force field!"
"Yes, I suppose that's a good way to put it."
Summer was growling from the exertion, her hands on the tree she crashed into while her feet were holding the Nevermore at bay, one on each half of its beak. Her feet was glowing white as she pushed as much Aura as she could to her legs, though the Nevermore was slowly getting closer.
"Help me goddammit!" Summer shouted and pushed the Nevermore back a little more.
"SLAM!" The pressure was suddenly off of her and she fell to the ground when Taiyang tackled the Nevermore, his leading arm glowing yellow from Aura. Summer rolled to her feet, drew Soleil, and aimed it at the Nevermore. Futile yes, but it didn't matter once it turned back to her only to meet Raven's sword intimately via its eye.
"Flock off Feather Face!" She shouted at it and pushed her sword a little further before pulling it out and jumping away from it with another swipe at the eye as it started thrashing around, flattening any trees that were too close to it. "What the fuck is wrong with its eyes?!"
"Who cares, run!" Summer shouted and fired a few rounds at the Nevermore as her team ran past her, following after them once Raven was past her. Once they were at a sprint Summer looked behind her to see the Nevermore taking flight again and going over them.
"That bastard is determined," Qrow said slowing down to a jog, "And I've never seen a Nevermore land just to kill one person before."
"What makes you think that?" Raven asked.
"Because I was closest to it and it still went after Summer. This isn't normal by any stretch of the word!"
'Nothing's been normal for a while now. If it is after me… we need to test that,' Summer thought before saying out loud, "We need to split up! Make smaller targets for it. Black Rose and Fireball, got it?"
"Got it," they agreed at once.
"Go!" Summer took off in a run with Raven behind her, while Taiyang and Qrow went another way. Summer looked to Raven when she growled angrily.
"Seriously want to stab it to death."
"Raven, if you stop saying that, I'll let you. I've half a mind to do it myself."
"Hm, the Nevermore is heading into the forest. That's either very good, or very bad." Glynda looked over at Ozpin, who nodded and tapped a camera feed on his scroll. "So how do you know one of them was here last night?"
"Summer encountered it last night. She couldn't say which one, but it worries me all the same. When our business is done today I'll tell STRQ about them."
"Is that wise? After what happened with-"
"It's precisely because of that. If I don't tell them, then they'll try to find out for themselves which will get them into even more trouble than they already are." Ozpin's scroll beeped and he opened a camera feed that registered. "Well, speak and they will appear."
"Well, I think we lost it," Taiyang said stopping and bending over to catch his breath. "That's good, right?"
"Only if the girls lost it too," Qrow answered putting his hands in his pockets. "That Nevermore wasn't acting normal after all."
"Yeah, and since Rae pointed it out, something was wrong with its eyes. Did you see that?"
"Nope, too busy running for my life." Taiyang straightened up while Qrow looked around and asked, "So, do you know where we are?"
"Nope, too busy running for my life. I wouldn't be surprised if we're in the way of the cameras now."
"Which means the proctors would know we're here now. Just great." Qrow shrugged and shook his head. "Oh well, I can handle getting in trouble if it means we all get out of here alive. Let's just stay away from first years."
"Yeah, I'd prefer not to get in trouble." Suddenly a scream tore through the air and Taiyang and Qrow looked around in confusion. "That sounded like a girl in trouble! Do you think that was Summer or Raven?"
"Raven doesn't scream, not in terror at any rate, and Summer doesn't sound like that," Qrow replied and shook his head, "Which means that was probably a first year girl. I don't want to get in trouble more than we already might be, so we should just ignore-" it was just then that Qrow was alone and saw Taiyang running in the direction of the scream. "Of course. I bet Summer and Raven don't have to deal with this crap." Nevertheless, Qrow took off after his partner.
"And you're sure about the eyes? You saw that?" For the moment Summer and Raven have lost the Nevermore and decided to go over some things while they walked through the woods.
"I stabbed it in the eye, damn right I saw that," Raven said pulling her eyelids open, "Grimm always have solid red eyes, and the Nevermore had black and red. I've only ever seen that one other time and it was a real bastard. No way that's a coincidence."
"So… they were like human eyes, but with black instead of white?" Raven nodded and Summer stopped to tug on a strand of hair. "I think I saw the same kind of eyes myself last night. Just what is going on?"
"I know who'll have answers, or he'd better have them." Raven stopped at the edge of a clearing and held her arm out to stop Summer. "No, we should avoid clearings at all costs. I don't want to be target practice for that bird again."
"You and me both. What we really need to do is find Taiyang and- LOOK OUT!" Summer grabbed Raven and Blinked into the clearing, mildly disorienting the brunette. Raven looked back at where they were to find a Beowolf right where they were standing.
"Goddammit, it's always something isn't it?" Raven asked pressing her back against Summer's and drew their weapons as more Beowolves emerged from the trees around them. "I got eight on my side, how about you?"
"Five," Summer answered and aimed her gun at the nearest Beowolf. "This should be easy then."
"I'd hope so. Otherwise we-" Raven stopped when a Beowolf started clawing at its head before it opened its eyes with black overtaking it while the red narrowed at them. "Oh that's not good. We're probably going to have company soon!"
"Then let's kill them quickly. Ready?"
"Ready."
"Go!" Summer and Raven dashed in opposite directions, Summer shooting the closest Beowolf's head apart before Blinking to another and stabbing it in the throat while Raven shot toward the Weird Eyed Grimm and swung at its open jaw, lopping the top of its head off. She dodge back once it was dead to avoid a swipe from another Grimm, though it regretted that once Raven found her footing and cut it in half at the waist.
Raven sheathed her sword and waited for three Beowolves to lunge at her, which was when she pulled the trigger and caught the sword as it flew out, using the momentum to spin in a circle and cut two of the Grimm in half and the legs off the last one. The last one was on the ground for only a second before Raven jumped and stabbed a sword though its chest.
"Raven!" Summer shouted, which Raven answered by pulling her sword out of the Beowolf and swinging it in the air to open a portal to Summer. On her end Summer pushed back the last of her Beowolves back and sheathed York just as the portal opened behind her. She jumped backwards into and, once she was on the other side, fired the last of her rounds into the portal which killed the Grimm on the other side before it closed.
"I'm sick of fighting base bitches," Raven said watching the last few Beowolves slowly circle them, her sword held up in front of her while Summer reloaded next to her. She had just finished when they heard a familiar screech echo in the air. "And ugly's back. Let's mop these guys up."
"It's too close now," Summer replied looking up at the Nevermore diving towards them. She tapped a finger against her pistol in thought for a moment before nodding and turning it back into a dagger and sheathing it.
"What are you-?"
"Trust me?"
"That depends on what you're doing." Raven took a step backwards toward Summer as the Beowolves started closing in.
"You did say you wanted to stab it." Raven's eyes widened and she looked up at the Nevermore before sighing.
"Oh for- fine! Count it down."
"You have three seconds." Raven rolled her eyes and sheathed her sword before turning around and grabbing a charged up Summer's shoulder. A second later they were in the air in a storm of petals right in front of the Nevermore and scrambled to get a grip on its feathers while the Beowolves howled and tried to chase after them.
Not that long ago, Jaune and Pyrrha found themselves standing in front of a cave.
"You think this is the place?" Jaune asked looking into the cave.
"I suppose it looks suspicious," Pyrrha agreed and looked to the paintings right next to the entrance which showed a hunting party fighting a giant scorpion, "but I don't think this is what we're looking for."
"Still worth a look," Jaune decided and moved over to a nearby tree and picked up a branch from the floor. He then grabbed a couple of leaves and, with Pyrrha looking over his shoulder curiously, held up a makeshift torch. He then reached back to his pouch and pulled a flint and steel to light it, which admittedly took a few tries but it did work. "Yes! Glad I remember how to do that."
"…How do you know how to do that?" Pyrrha asked, once again silently marveling at the odd mix of knowledge the blonde had.
"I got lost in a cave with my sister Saphron when I was ten. She made a torch, led us out, and made sure I knew how to do that afterwards." Jaune rolled his eyes and walked into the cave, Pyrrha following close behind. "My sisters are annoying, but they do know some cool stuff."
"Well, they sound nice." Jaune shrugged at that and continued into the cave until the light from the entrance was gone. With only the fire of the torch to light the way the pair walked though the damp cave. Jaune ran a finger over the spot on his cheek that had been cut earlier and once again marveled at how well it had healed when Pyrrha unlocked his Aura.
'So cool,' he mused and smiled.
After a while Pyrrha asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea Jaune? We should have found something by now."
"Pyrrha, I went through the trouble," Jaune gestured at the torch, "Just humor me for another few feet." Jaune then promptly tripped on a rock and dropped the torch into a puddle, plunging the both of them into darkness.
"Are you ok Jaune?" Pyrrha asked while Jaune picked himself up.
"I'm ok."
"Do you… feel something warm?"
"That and soul crushing regret." Jaune walked a few steps forward in the darkness when he saw a faint yellow glow further in. "Hey, I see a glow! I think it's the relic!"
"Jaune, wait! Let me get to you!" Pyrrha cried out feeling for a wall.
"Found it! Hey, stop moving!"
"Jaune…?" Pyrrha started carefully stepping backwards as a chittering sound filled the cave.
"I got it!" Jaune shouted and that chittering was getting louder and louder until Jaune screamed loudly and Pyrrha felt the cave start to shake as something started coming closer. Naturally, Pyrrha did the sane thing and started running for the exit with whatever was coming out right behind her. Soon she saw the light from the cave entrance and made an extra effort to dash outside.
And ran right into Taiyang, knocking both of them to the ground. Pyrrha laid there for a second groaning before she got back to her feet and held her javelin ready in front of her. "Pyrrha? What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?!" Pyrrha shouted and pointed at the cave, "Get up, there's a monster coming out!" Taiyang blinked and flipped onto his feet and getting into a fighting stance as the cave rumbled a little.
"I told you to ignore it!" Qrow shouted as he ran up to them with Harbinger already drawn, "But no, you had to be a hero! Just my luck!"
"Stop bitching about your luck!" Taiyang shouted back. "You'd have come here too if it were up to you!" Another high pitched scream came from inside the cave and the rumbling grew louder. "See, a girl's in trouble in there!"
"But it's just Jaune in there!" Pyrrha said.
"…So a girl is in trouble then."
"Oh shut up you-" Qrow started to say.
"Both of you shut up! It's here!" The front of the cave started to crack and the trio got ready again, backing up a couple of steps just in case.
"Ah don't worry Pyrrha," Taiyang said cracking his knuckles, "you're about to see what real pros can-" the front of the cave finally blew open and Taiyang froze as a Giant Deathstalker emerged roaring at the sky, snipping its pincers and swinging a hapless Jaune around as he hung from its stinger. "…do…"
"Oh shit," was Qrow's reaction as he held up Harbinger and glanced at Taiyang.
"Uh…" Taiyang couldn't keep his eyes off the stinger and backed up a step.
"Don't you fucking DARE Tai!"
"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried holding for dear life, "this isn't a relic! Help!"
"Don't worry Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-" Pyrrha's advice was interrupted when the Deathstalker swung its tail forward, launching Jaune into the air while Pyrrha and Qrow watched him go. "…Go. Ok, this is less than fine, but we can- WHERE'S TAIYANG?!"
"What?!" Qrow looked away from the Deathstalker to where Taiyang used to be, only to find empty space and a dust cloud. "You arachnophobic son of a bitch!" The chittering of the Deathstalker got both Qrow and Pyrrha's attention again and the looked slowly looked back at it as it sunk down to look at them.
"Um, what do we do?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.
"Haul ass," Qrow answered and proceeded to do just that, running in the same direction that Jaune got launched in. Pyrrha followed after a second and quickened her pace when the Deathstalker roared and took off after her.
