Professor Ozpin stood over the cliff precipice, staring intently at the valley forest below while sipping his now lukewarm coffee. Beside him, Glynda Goodwitch kept her hawk-like eyes glued to her tablet where several video feedback of the students are displayed. It's been fifteen minutes since the students were launched from the cliff and many of them had found a shrine.
"How are you holding up?" Ozpin directed his question to Glynda.
She looked up briefly, somewhat startled at the headmaster's call, before returning her gaze back to her tablet.
"I'm still getting used to all the procedures and protocols, but otherwise I'm fine, thank you."
Her words were icy as her glare, but Ozpin didn't seem to mind. Instead, he let out a chuckle.
"Your teammates miss you greatly, you know. They were quite shocked when you suddenly chose to become a teacher. Frankly, I was a bit too, but I'm glad you stayed."
Glynda rolled her eyes while still immersed in the live feed.
"Please Professor, there is no need of flattery. We both know the real reason why I stayed. Revealing the truth like that, you knew I would stay, given the choice or not."
"Hmmm, perhaps."
Glynda let out a long sigh.
"Besides, considering I already did most of your secretarial work while a student, this just seemed to be the most natural choice of profession."
"And for that I am grateful."
Ozpin went for another sip of coffee, but as his lips touched the mug, he realized it was empty and a slightly disappointed expression crossed his face. Not taking her eyes off the tablet, Glynda raised the wand at her side and made a quick gesture. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a flowery porcelain kettle emerged and began pouring steaming hot coffee into Ozpin's mug. After the mug was full, the kettle floated away the same way it came. Ozpin took a whiff of the fresh coffee and his expression changed to one of mild content.
One could tell by the fluidity of this process that it was a situation which occurred often.
But as the kettle disappeared, Glynda's expression suddenly changed. Something had been bothering her and now that she was distracted from her duties monitoring the students, she felt this was the appropriate time to bring it up.
"I must ask, Professor…"
"Please, call me Ozpin, you are not a student no longer. We stand on equal grounds."
"Right...Ozpin. What I wanted to ask was what prompted the changes for the freshmen initiation?"
Ozpin turns to Glynda with a raised eyebrow. She continued.
"Just from my own experience, every year's initiation was always the same: find a relic and return to the cliff. Why change now?"
Ozpin didn't reply right away. However, in the silence, Glynda could tell Ozpin's mood shifted from lackadaisical to stern and serious.
"I'm sure you are aware. Grimm activity has been rising these last few years."
"Yes, a fact we are reminded constantly on the news."
Glynda suddenly froze, her eyes wide in shock. Something about the way Ozpin said that felt odd, leading her to a certain conclusion. She looked towards him for confirmation.
"Don't tell me. Are you saying…"
She did not finish her sentence, but Ozpin knew what she was hinting at.
He simply nodded.
"...I see."
"You seemed to handle the news quite well," Ozpin remarked, quite surprised by Glynda's nonchalant acceptance of the situation.
"No, everything you've done recently made much more sense if it involves her. For example…"
Glynda opened another application on her tablet, this one showing profiles of students. She quickly typed something into a command line and a shorter list of students appeared. Selecting the first two options brought up an image of a girl with fiery red hair and a boy with an eyepatch and silver hair..
"The Royal Flush. You had never gone out of your way to invite someone to Beacon personally before, especially with a free ride scholarship. I understand that every Huntsman Academy wishes to have the best students, but your approach was, how should I put, aggressive."
"Hmmm, how perceptive of you."
"So what, you are buying exceptional Huntsman-in-training and pitting them against each other? I didn't take you for a sadist. And your goal? Are you trying to build an army?"
At this, Ozpin scoffed, but not in an offended way, more in humor.
"Please, don't compare me to Ironwood. Building an army means training soldiers, and soldiers imply following orders. I am simply preparing them for the future, so they are equipped to choose their path once the darkness comes. And it will come. I chose those four, and the other invitees, because I believe they will be the spearhead of the new generation. The beacon of light against the encroaching dark."
Ozpin satisfactorily answered most of Glynda's complaints, but there was something else still bothering her. She flipped down the list of those who were invited to Beacon through scholarship and pulled up two profiles at the bottom. Two faces appeared, a boy and a girl, their face eerily similar yet different.
"Then, how do you explain these two?"
Ozpin saw the two faces and his face lit up in blissful happiness. An expression that greatly annoyed Glynda for some reason.
"Ah, yes. The twins. Let's just say they are an experiment."
"An experiment?"
Ozpin nodded, but provided no further explanation.
Glynda let out a huff and tried to press for more information, but stopped herself at the last second. At that moment, the sharp caw of a crow caught her attention. She went back to her monitoring application and flipped through the different feed until stopping on a particular one. On screen, Yu stood opposed to Diamon, his weapon directed at him.
In a quiet voice, Glynda softly murmured to herself.
"A mentally unstable boy with exceptional Huntsman skills."
Then she pulled up another feed where Jade was walking behind Amy with a sullen expression.
"And a fine arts girl with no credible Huntsman training."
She let out an exasperated sigh. She knew that trying to figure out Ozpin's intention is a taxing ordeal, so she preferred not to think about it too much. But, despite his enigmatic schemes, she trusted his decisions. No matter how odd or crazy, she knew they all serve a greater purpose. And so, she kept her eyes on the screen, tracking the twin's progress like a hawk.
"Show me. Show me why you caught his attention."
The caw of a crow catches Jade's attention, causing her to stop momentarily.
"What are you standing still for, the shrine should be close. Come on!"
"Sorry."
Amy's urging snapped Jade back to reality and she quickly caught up to her as they wade through the underbrush.
Soon, the thick forest shrubbery relented and the two walked into a clearing.
"Ooooh, look Jade, look. There's the shrine! I told you!"
Sure enough, as Jade and Amy stepped merged from the brush, there was a stone structure standing some 50 feet away.
The shrine itself was more like ruins. The stone was weathered and covered in moss. Sections of it had collapsed leaving small stone pieces strewn across a circular stone platform in which the shrine stands. However, in the middle of the ruins, there were three short pedestals that stood out. Probably because they were made from a shiny metallic substance, clean and unadulterated, amidst the sea of dilapidation.
Amy, drawn to the outlier, quickly rushed ahead to check it out.
"Oooh, this is interesting," Amy said as Jade finally caught up to her.
Amy pointed at something on the pedestal. Encased by glass, was a milky green stone in a flat circular shape. The color wasn't consistent, with a wide hue of green and white swirling inside as if a liquid substance frozen in that shape.
"Do you know what this is?" Amy asked, her mouth arced in a sly smile to express that she knew exactly what it was.
Jade shook her head. It wasn't any kind of Dust she had seen, so assumed this must be a gem instead. However, while she has never seen any gems before - at the very least never consciously recognizing something to be a gem - there was something entrancing about this jewel. Something familiar and soothing.
"You're named after it. It's a jade!"
Jade looked at Amy, dumbfounded, before returning her gaze to the stone. It was true that she and her brother were named after a green stone, but she never seen one in person. Or so she believed. But the feelings she felt when looking at it made her trust in Amy's words.
"What a big coincidence, huh?" Amy continued.
"Yeah…"
"But how do we get it out?"
At Amy's question, Jade began to inspect the pedestal. On either side of it, there were two scanners of some sort. Jade recognized these as door scanners that she had seen around campus. This gave her an idea, so she took out a small rectangular metal object from her hip pouch: her scroll.
This tiny device, unassuming it may seem, is actually one of the most important tools for any member of urban society, especially a student. Provided once a child started school, not only does it serve as a multimedia communication tool, it carries the very identity of the person who owns it. From personal identification to financial status to even personal health, this device carries everything that defines who you are. To lose this is tantamount to not existing. Well, at least not in the eye of modern urban infrastructures. But that is another story for another time.
In this scenario, it served another purpose.
Jade brought her scroll up to the scanner and an intense green light flickered on the scanner. Then, there was a quiet beeping sound before text appeared on the top portion of the machine.
It read:
ID: Jade Evergreen. Accepted.
Seeing this play out, Amy did the same thing with her scroll. After she got the same approval message, another light lit up, this time on the pedestal where the jade was displayed. After a pause, the glass casing slid open, exposing the gem, and Amy quickly snatched it.
Delighted, Amy rushed to the other side of the temple where another green crystal, which Jade could tell was a standard Dust crystal, was encased. However, when putting her scroll against the scanner an angry beep played and a message that stated "Error: ID already used" appeared.
"Aww, they really thought this through."
She looked disappointingly at the locked Dust crystal, then at the larger pedestal between the two. On this one, there were two slots, clearly meant for the jade and the Dust. With a sigh, she plopped down leaning against this larger pedestal.
"Well, looks like we just have to wait for another pair to show up."
With nothing else to do, Jade joined her.
They sat in silence for a minute, Amy staring at the jade in her hand and Jade quietly listening to the sound of nature, when Amy suddenly made a strange comment.
"Did you know, jade symbolizes luck, harmony, and balance."
"Huh?"
Amy held the piece of jade between them.
"Jade, known as the stone of healing. It is believed to have calm and soothing properties. Having one close to your heart will calm your turmoils and ward off negative energies in your daily life."
With a bright smile, she then took Jade's hand and placed the small green stone in it.
"Green. Calm. Elegant. You share some similarities with this."
Jade was a little moved by her compliment, but she felt the stone was a bit too perfect to describe someone like her. She looked at her namesake stone, then back at Amy.
"I didn't know you knew so much about gems."
Amy laughed.
"I blame Diamon. He's so vocal about his love for gems. Just droning on and on until I get the information stuck in my head. It's like he wanted the whole world to understand the beauty of them. But I guess that's pretty normal for the heir of a jewelry company."
Jade chuckled as well. She could easily imagine Diamon being that kind of person based on the interaction he and Amy had. But something about what she said bothered her.
"Hmm, if he is so infatuated with gems why become a Huntsman?"
Jade's question caught her off guard. Cracks start to form on her usually bubbly personality, revealing some turmoil beneath. However, she quickly covered it up as she attempted to answer Jade's question.
"Well, he does want to take over his family's company. But there is a tradition in his family where an heir must prove his or her strength and integrity before taking over. Being a certified Huntsman fits that description, don't you think?"
"Eh, so you can attend a Huntsman Academy even if you don't intend to become a Huntsman?"
This seemed to surprise Amy more than it did Jade.
"Yeah, of course. Learning to defend against Grimm is an essential skill as, let's say, math. Just because we take advanced math courses doesn't mean we want to be mathematicians. Math is a large spectrum that we only take what is necessary for our goals. Same with Huntsman training. While the primary goal of the Huntsman Academy is to train Huntsman, there are many students who wish to apply their knowledge for other purposes. There are many paths one can take at Beacon other than being a Huntsman."
Jade fell silent as she processed this knowledge. Everything she said made sense. And for some reason, knowing that there were more options than becoming a Huntress somewhat relieved her.
"Then, what about you? What did you come here for?"
"Me?"
Amy gave an embarrassed look. She knew that Jade would naturally reach that question. After ruminating over the question, she decided to answer truthfully.
"Well, I came along for the ride. Diamon insisted I come with him since I always beat him during training at school, but I don't have some burning passion to become a Huntress. You could say I'm in a similar situation you are, chasing after a boy's coattail with no plans for the future."
Jade didn't appreciate the wording Amy used, but she understood her feelings. Not knowing what to do, where to go, what you want. These insecurities eat at your heart when the people around you have that sense of direction you lack.
At least, I had a clear direction up until a few years ago, Jade thought.
Then, suddenly, she had an epiphany.
"You know, I was often told that our semblance is often a reflection of our personality and identity, that they help us discover who we are. My semblance helped me in dancing. And you, your semblance lets you manipulate your clothes into all sorts of designs, right?"
Amy saw where she was taking the conversation.
"That's right. And if you are suggesting I go into fashion, I had already considered becoming a seamstress at some point. I mean, if I could make all the cute clothes I want, that sounds like a dream come true."
But then, she made an embarrassed laugh.
"However, like most things, it never pans out the way I imagine. The designs I have in my head just never look right when I draw it out. And don't get me started on sewing. Let's just say, they don't look great unless I can affect it with my semblance."
"But you never know until you put in the effort."
"Yeah, I'm sure if I put in a lot of time it might work out, but it's not just about skills. I don't have the patience or focus for that sort of work. I'm more of a 'go with the flow' kind of gal."
"I'm not saying keep trying at it. Like you said before, there are more than one path to take at Beacon, why not apply it to yourself as well? Maybe you can find a way to utilize your semblance for your goal. I know that when I was learning to dance, we were told that infusing our semblance into our dance will make it unique. However, because my semblance was so weak, there was a limit to what I can do with it. That didn't stop me, though. Instead of creating grandiose spectacles, I used my limited power to make subtle effects, to draw the audience to my movement rather than the effect. And over time, I manage to control my semblance with precision rather than strength."
To demonstrate this, Jade called upon her semblance and lifted a nearby fallen leaf. Using subtle finger movements, she made the leaves dance in the air, like a lively fairy in a magical forest. It stood upright and flitted between Amy and Jade excitedly, as if trying to catch their attention, before going into a bout of spins and twirls that would be impossible for a leaf under normal circumstances. Its little stem bent like knees and its leafy section contorted like a torso. It really was hard to believe that such a soulless object could display such expressive movements.
And through the whole dance, Jade had a bright smile on her face, recalling her own experiences through the leaf's dance. But as quickly as she brought the leaf to life, she dispelled her semblance and the leaf lazily drifted back to the ground, lifeless.
She then continued with her advice, a little deflated after letting the leaf loose, but still upbeat.
"You may have trouble following that dream of yours through normal methods, but I'm sure there are many ways you can use your semblance to follow your dream. You just have to find it."
As Jade finished her sentence, she clasped hands with Amy. Coincidentally, the jade was in hand when she went to hold Amy's hand, so when Jade finally let go, the jade transferred hands again. Amy looked at Jade in surprise for her strangely uplifting message, then at the jade in her hand before bursting into laughter.
"Haha, I take that back, your name fits you perfectly."
Jade tilted her head in confusion at her words, but she made no attempt to elaborate. Instead, she offered her thanks.
"You know what, when you say it like that, I feel like I could do it."
Jade was glad she could help. But at the same time, seeing how cheery Amy was after discovering a purpose, reminded her of her own happiness while she was a dancer. But sadly, that was her in the past. Now, just thinking about dancing just brings pain and sadness. Jade couldn't help, but feel the irony in her advice. She told Amy to continue her pursuit of her wish yet she was the one that gave up on hers. It brought about a deprecating chuckle out of her, one that Amy luckily didn't pick up on.
However, she didn't dwell too long on such thoughts, as a loud crashing sound rang somewhere nearby.
Both girls perked up at the sound and stood up, drawing their weapons. But to their surprise, it wasn't some Grimm or other wildlife that emerged from the forest. Instead, the large frame of Diamon rocketed out from the thicket. He flew like a missile before hitting the ground, bounced a few times, and then came skittering to a halt close to the shrine.
"Diamon?!"
Amy yelled in confusion as she went to her companion's side.
"What's going on? Who did this to you."
Diamon did not speak, merely groaned in pain. He lifted his finger and pointed in the direction in which he came. And from where he pointed, Yu emerged, his bow drawn and hostile intent in his eyes.
"Yu?"
Jade was the first to speak up. She looked at Diamon then back at her brother.
"Why are you doing this?"
However, Yu didn't react. Either he was too preoccupied to hear or he simply ignored her.
"Probably on another team," Amy said as she brought her weapon, now in its spear form, ready.
"Wait!"
This plea didn't come from Jade. Rather, the girls' surprise, it was Diamon who said this as he grabbed onto Amy's shoulder to lower her weapon.
"You are misunderstanding the situation. It is not what it looks like."
Jade and Amy looked at the now kneeling Diamon in confusion, but a sudden roar that sounded like a horn caught their attention.
From the forest, another entity emerged. A large Grimm to be exact. However, it wasn't any ordinary-looking Grimm. It took a tortoise like form, but instead of having the bone like appendages of other Grimm, everything appeared to be made of stone. The shell was mostly made of slate-like rocks with some larger more shapely rocks extending from the otherwise smooth texture like spikes. It's legs were also made of stone, but there is no physical limb that attaches it to the main body. It just floated alongside the rocky shell while black smoky tendrils snaked out from a small orifice where a leg normally would come from and wrapped around the stone leg. As for its head, it didn't have one. But within the gap where a head would extend from was a bone white mask with a circular red bead at its center.
As this monstrosity emerged, Yu turned around and fired several energy arrows at it. The projectiles harmlessly bounced off and the Grimm continued forward, unfazed. Yu clicked his tongue and continued his retreat.
"What is that thing?" Jade asked his now exonerated brother.
However, it was Diamon who answered.
"That's the possession-type Grimm known as a Geist. A rarely seen Grimm. They are generally territorial and easily avoided, but SOMEONE had to provoke it."
Diamon gave Yu, who was still distracted by the Grimm, a sharp glare as he punctuated the word "someone."
Sensing some drama between the two, Amy had to ask.
"What...happened between you two?"
Diamon let out a tired sigh. He analyzed how long it will take for the Grimm to catch up to them before talking.
"Oh, have I a tale to tell…"
Fifteen minutes earlier.
An arrow made of Dust energy shot forth from Yu's bow. It flew true, speeding towards Diamon at an incredible speed. Even so, Diamon reacted to the approaching bolt by lifting his energy shield to where he assessed the arrow would strike. And as his adrenaline kicked in, he could see it inching closer and closer.
But it never struck him nor his shield. Instead, it went whizzing by his ears. For a split second, Diamon swore the arrow curved as it shot at him, but he did not have time to analyze the moment as the sound of the arrow shattering on some object behind him caught his attention. Alarms went off in his head when he finally realized that while he was distracted with Yu, some large entity had crept up behind him.
Quickly turning around to meet his assailant, he came face to face with a large tortoise-like Grimm made of rocks. A moment of panic washed over him as he gazed at such a strange Grimm, but it quickly passed as his intellects kicked in and deduced the truth behind this rock monstrosity.
A Geist. If his training taught him anything, when they possess an object, they are extremely tough to beat but tend to stay their ground. Not something he could beat by himself even if he were to include Yu's fighting strength. The best option would be to retreat and move around it, but sadly, the Grimm was directly in front of their path to the shrine. Taking a detour now would be costly. If there is no other choice, they need to push past it. The question left remaining would be what this tortoise can do.
However, as Diamon was processing all this information, he felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders. Looking up, he sees Yu using his back as a springboard to launch himself into the air.
"Raaaagh!"
With a yell, Yu lunged at the tortoise with his bow in blade-form, but it only clang against its hard rocky shell. That didn't deter him, though, as he continuously struck at the shell, trying to find a chink in its armor. While his blade ripped chunks of rocky bits off, it did not do any major damage.
The tortoise Grimm, annoyed at Yu's attack, starts to shake violently. Yu got launched from its back, but he quickly recovered and rushed at it again. Realizing that he couldn't pierce its outer shells, he tried a different approach. He struck at the dark tendrils that linked its body to the rock that made up its legs. Upon severing the connection, it did lose its balance momentarily before more tendrils reattached the piece back.
He clicked his tongue at this latest failure, but before he could try again, the tortoise brought its limbs close and started rumbling. Sensing danger, Yu jumped away just as small jagged rocks came blasting out from its plated shell.
But it wasn't finished. After its hail of rocks, it folded its legs into its shell and the slates that formed its underbelly rose up and covered every orifice until just the rock shell remained. Then, it started rotating. Slowly, at first, but quickly built up speed before finally shooting forward angrily towards Yu.
Yu leapt away from its path, mud and grass torn by the spinning shell splashing all over him.
However, he wasn't safe yet as the shell made a large roundabout and came at him again. Still a little disoriented from collateral damage, he wasn't fully prepared for the second rush.
But as the shell approached, a blue sparkle flashed by in Yu's peripheral, striking the ground next to the spinning shell's path. From its impact point, large ice crystals formed, partly obscuring the shell. Without any signs of slowing, the shell struck the pillar of ice with a large screeching sound like metal grinding against metal before it was knocked off its course. The shell crashed into a thicket of trees where it finally stopped and transformed back into its tortoise form, seemingly disoriented.
"Taking the reckless approach again, I see."
Now that Yu had some breathing room, he faced Diamon, who held a few glowing stones, each a different color, between his fingers. At first, he assumed they were Dust crystals, but quickly realized that these were gems.
"Aid me, memory of gems!" Diamon called out, his body glowing faintly, as he threw gems. Three gems - red, green, and blue - flew towards the Grimm leaving, each leaving an iridescent trail that twist and turned as they traced their respective gem's path. Then, when they struck the ground, a large multicolor explosion occurred, kicking up a storm of smoke and dust that completely shrouded the Grimm.
Then, he went to grab Yu's shoulder.
"Quickly, before it can recover. Let's move past it."
Yu stared at Diamon, then at the Grimm, slowly becoming more visible as the smokescreen cleared up.
"Is that your answer to everything?" Yu remarked back snidely, shaking off the hand on his shoulder. "To run?"
"Only against an insurmountable force!" Diamon made a sudden angry outburst. Realizing he lost his cool again, he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Retreat is not cowardly. To continue fighting in this situation is reckless and will only prove harmful."
At that moment a boulder was flung through the shroud, but Diamon reacted quickly and easily deflected with his shield. He then continued as if nothing happened.
"I'm not saying that we avoid this fight. Defeating this Grimm is one option available to us, but we need to evaluate our combat strength and find the safest option."
Yu scoffed at Diamon's words. To him, everything he said was laughable. Sure, they may be logical, but that's just it. It is cold, hard logic, like a computer trying to figure out the ideal path from point A to B. But in the field, during a battle where chaos reigns, it is just out of place.
Another boulder came hurtling towards them, but this time he shot it down with his bow, shattering it into a hundred tiny pieces.
"I got another idea." Yu said mockingly, as if sarcastically, but being one hundred percent serious. "We take that thing out right now and figure things out as we go."
"Ugh, listen…"
"NO, YOU LISTEN!"
Yu's sudden loud outburst caught Diamon off guard, causing him to take a step back. Who wouldn't blame him? From all his interaction with him, he had been either completely silent or spoke in a soft low voice, while having the same apathetic look on his face. Now, his eyes glowed with fierce passion.
"Out in the wild, fighting the Grimm, anything and everything can happen. They will not wait for your 'plan' to destroy and slaughter everything in their path. If you don't strike first, it will be those around you that will suffer for it."
Yu was particularly firm in his words, as if speaking from experience. But, Diamon didn't relent.
"But charging in without any information of what you are fighting against will be the same. You will just be forfeiting your own life for nothing."
Growing frustrated, Yu pointed at the corpse of the dear in the riverbed.
"Back then, what if the deer was not an animal, but a person? What will you do then? Would you sit back and come up with a plan?"
Diamon was lost for words. If that deer was a person, what would he have done? Surely, he would have jumped in to help, but at the same time, he could not deny that possibility Yu suggested. In the end, he could not judge his own reaction based on theoreticals. But more importantly, he did not want to acknowledge Yu's point.
"And what about you?"
"If a Grimm is in front of me, I will not hesitate to strike it down." Yu spoke without hesitation or deliberation and it baffled Diamon at how brazen he is compared to his own tailored responses.
At this point, the tortoise Grimm finally lost its patience and started to do its spin attack again. Seeing this, both Huntsman prepared themselves for the coming assault, but Diamon had something else to say.
"Even if it was beyond your capabilities? Even if you knew you didn't have a chance."
"Why do you think I'm here?" Yu responded. He gave Diamon a brief glance, a conceited look, but also burning with passion and purpose.
"So I make sure that will never happen."
Having said that, Yu brandished his weapon and rushed forward. Without hesitation, without fear, leaving a flabbergasted Diamon in his wake. He wanted to rebuke him, wanted to tell him he was being unrealistic. But there was something about that wild look in his eyes, one with such seriousness and conviction, that held the words in his throat. He saw someone with a purpose, a goal, that drove him here to this very spot. While he doesn't agree with his methods, he had a drive to be a Huntsman more than most he had seen at Beacon. One that may just match his own.
Diamon let out a chuckle. This young man he met no more than a day ago. Hopelessly unsociable. Lacking in any sense and without any sympathy. The complete opposite of who he is. All this time, he just read him wrong. His dismissive attitude and disregard of Huntsman ideals wasn't out of malicious intent or apathy...
"You're either an idiot or just crazy," Diamon laughed. His words did not reach Yu, but that's ok, he was mostly talking to himself anyways. "As I thought, I don't like you one bit. But I can tell you have the resolve of a Huntsman. And for that, I redact my previous statement."
With that, Diamon charged forward, ready to fight as well.
"...and that's how we ended up here."
Diamon finish recounting the events leading up to their current situation. He looked towards Yu, who was still fending off the Grimm, and sighed.
"I tried to convince him to distract it enough for us to push past it, but he kept on attacking it to the point it got enraged and chased after us."
Jade felt a little sorry for him. She was well aware of Yu's "approach" when fighting, but for someone else to experience it, it was as if someone had found her dirty little secret.
"Sorry."
Even though it was her brother, she still felt the need to apologize. Not out of shame for his behavior, more letting him know that this will be a recurring theme.
However, now was not the time to get sentimental as Yu came running towards them with an angry spinning shell chasing after him. The group frantically scattered as the Grimm blasted past them in a shower of dirt and pebbles, before coming to a halt some distance away.
"What's done is done. Right now we just need to kill this thing." Diamon grunted while dusting his white dress shirt of the grime.
Jade found it strange that despite how long they had been in the forest, Diamon's suit remained impeccably white. Even as he ran his hand across the dirt staining it, they seemed to slide off like water on wax paper, leaving not a single stain. But she quickly put such thoughts out of her head and focused on the current issue.
"What have you tried so far?"
"Well…"
"Shells difficult to crack, legs separable but easily replaced, nearly unstoppable while spinning." Yu interrupted Diamon's explanation both verbally and physically by inserting himself between the two. He appeared so suddenly, it nearly caused them to jump in fright. "But its face. It does everything to protect it."
Jade gave the distant Grimm another look and saw what he meant. The white mask tucked inside the crevice where a head would be looked very conspicuous. And to show proof, Yu fired an arrow at the mask which it blocked with one of its legs unnaturally fast.
If only they had a way to bring it into a vulnerable state.
Before Jade could finish her thought, the tortoise Grimm prepared its spinning attack again. Its legs folded into its body and started spinning, first slowly, then quickly building up speed, pulling the air into its rotation and forming a vortex. The trees around the creature spasm violently to the tumultuous wind, as if showing their fear.
Wait, wind?
Jade focused her concentration on the spinning current surrounding the Grimm. At first, she couldn't see anything other than the pulsating trees behind the Grimm, but slowly she could make out a faint black miasma surrounding it. One could call this the dark essence that constitutes a Grimm. However, Jade wasn't just trying to make out this essence. Rather, she was using this to visualize the speed of the wind.
Doing some quick mental math, Jade came to a favorable conclusion. Perhaps, there was a way to beat it after all.
And at the same time, the Grimm launched its spinning form at the party.
Like before, the four Huntsmen dashed out of its path of destruction, but this time Jade analyzed the wind force as it blasted past her, which confirmed her previous findings.
"Diamon," Jade called out to his tall companion. "Could you knock the Grimm on its back?"
Diamon frowned.
"The thought did cross my mind, but it is difficult to predict how much force is needed to topple that beast." Then, after a brief glance at the Grimm, who was about to circle around for another attack, he grimaced as a certain thought flicked through his mind. "Furthermore, I am rather reluctant to stand in the path of a gigantic spinning rock that can tear through trees as if they were made of straw."
"What if I said I can ? Will you trust me?"
Diamon paused, thinking over her proclamation. At the same time, the Grimm came hurtling towards them once more, causing them all to jump out of the way again. An expression of annoyance flashed across his face as he answered Jade.
"Yes. If it means getting rid of this pest, I'll do whatever you ask of me."
The Grimm stopped once more, and Jade took this opportunity to relay her idea with the rest of the group. Amy gave a surprised look, but quickly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, bold! I like it."
Meanwhile, Yu doesn't react at all, but Jade caught the subtle nod which showed his willingness to follow along.
With everyone's acknowledgement, determination flared in Jade's eyes as she readied herself.
She drew her two fans, but this time she linked the base of the fans together before unfurling them. The two semi-circle fans connected to become a full circle and a section of the outer circle extended to reveal razor sharp edges. What once were two fans now became a chakram.
"Ah, if you had something that cool you shoulda shown me earlier." Amy fumed. Jade, having interacted with her enough, could tell she wasn't actually mad, just annoyed at missing out on something interesting, but the childish way she said that still made Jade feel bad.
"Sorry, but using my weapon in this form can be physically taxing. I rather not use it like this unless absolutely necessary."
Amy mumbled something under her breath, but did not speak further as the tortoise Grimm prepared itself for another spin attack.
"You'll see what I mean soon enough," Jade assured Amy, and she nodded.
The two factions were now ready to face each other. Four eager Huntsman-in-training stared down the terrifying spinning form the Geist had possessed. It was a paradigm of good versus evil that had played out countless times over the history of Remnant. And while this was just one drop in the ocean of battles Huntsman faced against the darkness, this one was special to them. For this would be their first taste of the life of a Huntsman.
The two forces charged at each other. It looked like they were about to collide, but at the last moment, the party of four split to both sides, Diamon and Jade went one side and Yu and Amy to the other. As the spinning shell passed, Jade held out her chakram so that its edge touched the shell. As expected, her weapon was knocked back by the force of the spinning shell, but that was her intention. The chakram started to spin furiously and wind started funneling into the weapon. Then, it started to emit a wispy green glow as the wind was converted into some form of energy.
Now was the time to put her plan into play, which revolved around confirming three theories from her observation.
First, while spinning, the Grimm could not possibly see where it was going. Each time it spun towards them, it always rushed at where it saw them last. And if it can't see where it was going while spinning…
"Yu, Amy!"
A plethora of energy bolts came streaking towards the Grimm. However, they just bounce harmlessly off its rapidly spinning body. But that was ok. It did what it was meant to do, which was to get the Grimm to head in the direction where the shots were fired.
As this was happening, Jade concentrated on her chakram and surrounded Diamon with the wispy energy that she acquired.
It was a weird feeling. It started off feeling like being encompassed in wind, but as he grew accustomed to it, he realized his body felt extremely light.
"Whatever you just did feels amazing." Diamon exclaimed in astonishment, as he examined his body. However, despite this upgrade, he still had a nervous expression on his face. "Even so, I can't help but tense up when I imagine what I'm about to do."
Jade did feel some sympathy, but what they were about to do was absolutely necessary.
The second thing she figured out was it never made more than two pass before transforming back to its tortoise form. That means it can only spin for so long before reorienting itself.
The Grimm was now fully committed into its second run, which was directed towards Amy and Yu.
"Are you ready?" Jade asked Diamon, to which he replied with a long deep breath.
She took that as a yes, she activated her semblance and drew the wind into her chakram. It hummed with energy as it started to spin and pulsed bright green. Going into a throwing stance, she aimed her weapon at the Grimm. She made a mental countdown in her head, waiting for the opportune moment to topple it just before it will revert back. The moment approaches.
Three. Two. One
"Go!"
Jade tossed her chakrams, signalling Diamon to start, and he began running. Her chakram arced through the air, the green energy pouring out made it look larger than its actual size. The chakram struck the shell at its base where the powerful wind surrounding the weapon collided with the tempest shrouding the Grimm. The opposing forces created a small explosion that tilted its shell so that it was now rolling on its side. This change in orientation also caused its path to shift, making it swerve right. Directly towards the approaching Diamon.
"Raaagh!"
With a battle roar, Diamon activated his energy shield, causing a large translucent white barrier to form around the gauntlet on his right arm. The shield was much larger than his usual form, taking on a large rectangular shape instead of a circular one.
"You can do it. You can do it." Diamon repeated this mantra over and over as the Grimm draw closer.
Then, everything happened at once.
With a yell, Diamon went into a slide, his shield held forward. The monstrous Grimm collided into his shield, producing a high pitch screeching noise as its rocky surface grinded against the energy. And Jade, a short distance away, focused her concentration on the swirling wind created from the clash.
Beads of sweat poured from both Jade and Diamon as they struggled with their own pressing issue, but with a mighty scream, both used every ounce of strength to push against the literal weight on their shoulders.
Diamon's shield crackled and popped, creating a massive shockwave. The force blasted him back, causing him to tumble across the dirt. He struggle against this force of nature, his eyes squinting through debris flying in the air, so that he could confirm the result of his work.
But it was Jade's voice that ultimately revealed the results.
"It worked. Yu! Quickly!"
As Jade stated, their gamble paid off. The rocky shell, once tearing through the dirt, was now spinning a few feet off the ground. Diamon angling his shield like a ramp combined with the explosive force that Jade helped him deliver was enough to send it soaring into the air. But it was not over yet.
Yu drew an arrow from his quiver. At the tip was an unnatural looking bulge. He nocked this arrow, the bulge growing hot red as he pulled back, and sent it straight at the airborne Grimm. Another explosion occurred and the shell tilted past the turning point.
It landed on the ground, at first spinning vertically like a wheel, but gravity soon kicked in and the top heavy shell finally fell on its back. As it skidded to a halt - exactly the right time Jade predicted - its legs extended from its shell, with a look that amounted to what appears to be confusion if a mask could make such an expression.
Now that it was vulnerable, Yu fired a few energy bolts at its exposed faceplate, but even still, the tortoise managed to protect its face by shifting the upper and lower section of its shell to cover its face.
But Jade accounted for that too. Because her third theory was that the bottom portion of its shell should be less thick from the constant grinding against all sorts of surfaces while spinning.
"AMY!"
"Roger!"
A purple streak shot up into the air, directly above the flipped tortoise. Amy floated above the creature momentarily, almost like a tennis ball at the apex of a serve, before rocketing down lightning fast, her spear pointing at the soft spot. Crackles of purplish energy shot out from her spear as if her spear was a bolt of lightning. Then, with a sickening cracking sound, her spear dug deep into the underbelly of the Grimm, the purple lightning tracing across cracks formed by the blow. After a moment, the entire underbelly shelling exploded, scattering large chunks of its rocky plates in all directions and revealing its bone white mask again.
Not a second after its face was revealed, Yu goes rushing towards the crippled Grimm, his qatar pointed at it like sharp pointed fingers. But as his blades were inches away, the mask suddenly disappeared, causing him to sink his weapon into lifeless stone. Then, out from its cracked underbelly, a ghost-like Grimm - a humanoid with its lower half being a wispy tail - emerged wearing the exact same mask as the tortoise Grimm. This was its true form, the Grimm known as a Geist.
"Aaaaaaah!" Yu yelled as he extricated his blade from the rock and attempted another swing, but it was too late. The Geist had flown too high for his weapon to reach and it just kept getting further and further.
A haunting cackle came from the Grimm as it believed it had escaped their clutches, but it was wrong. Suddenly, a flying disc shot through the air and decapitated the fleeing Grimm. With an astonished gasp, the two pieces of its body fell, lifeless, and disintegrated before reaching the ground.
Yu and Amy, who witnessed all this, watched the disc curve through the air before returning to the hand of its owner: Jade.
The battle was finally over.
"Well, that was a thing."
Immediately after everything calmed down, Amy made such a cheery remark despite the state her team was in. Jade stood with her hand on her knees, breathing heavily and sweat pouring from her brow. Yu stood as stoically as usual off on his own and Daimon...laid on the ground completely still with his arms splayed out. He was still alive, as they could tell by the rising of his chest, but lacking any energy after such a stunt.
However, while no one shared Amy's energy, they all felt a sense of accomplishment in their own way.
After a moment to refresh, the team met up at the shrine once more where Amy explained the mechanism to the two boys who joined up with them. They opened the second pedestal with the Dust crystal and placed it in the center pedestal along with the jade the girls held. A mechanism clicked within the pillar and the two crystals were locked together on a circular disc that looked like a large amulet. Then a projector turned on and displayed a holographic message above it.
It read:
Find the sanctuary in time of yore,
Quoth the raven...
The message lingered for a few seconds before fading away. There was a quiet click and the amulet with the jade and Dust dropped into the little divot where it could be picked up. No one showed any signs of acquiring it so Jade took it upon herself.
"Soooo, what was that message for?" Amy asked to which Diamon let out a sigh.
"Hah, really Amethyst? We were told at the cliffs that there will be a riddle to lead us to the second half of our evaluation."
"Ahh, right...so what does the riddle mean?"
Diamon raised his hand in exasperation, but Jade decided to cover for him.
"'Sanctuary in time of yore?' Perhaps some sort of structure, a ruin maybe. But the second line...?"
A hint of recognition danced across Amy's face. She looked at Diamon and he nodded.
"During the drop, we did see a large temple-looking ruin to the north. Perhaps it means that."
"Hmm, I can't think of anything else, so let's try that."
"Let us make haste, then. Every second lost will affect our score."
The three all agreed on their course of action, but there was still one who hadn't said anything. Jade gave Yu an imploring look, expecting him to say something.
Instead of giving a reply, he walked off, much to Jade's chagrin. But after he was a short distance away he turned around to the other three Huntsman.
"Well, what are you standing around for? Weren't we going to the ruins?"
Jade's face suddenly lit up. Not because Yu replied, but because this was the first time she heard him say 'we' in such a long time. Hearing it gave her a warm fluttering feeling in the stomach. She returned Yu's word with a happy nod.
"Mmh!"
With a light skip in her steps, Jade followed suit with Diamon and Amy close behind.
