It's How You Play the Game
Chapter 3
Hello and welcome back. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. Be sure to favorite and follow and review, but if you're just going to complain without offering a way to make my story better, don't. I try to make as many people happy as possible, but I still have a plan for this story that I want to follow as best I can. I apologize if you don't like how I do things, but don't just post complaints. That's really rude.
Anyways.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
That night, Ruby was lying in her sleeping area in the ballroom, writing a letter to her friends back at Signal about her (mis)adventures so far at Beacon, when Yang plopped down next to her with a grin.
"This is awesome," said Yang, "it's just like a big slumber party!"
"Yeah," said Ruby, "but I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys though."
"So what're you writing?" asked Yang.
"It's just a letter to my friends back at Signal," said Ruby, "I kind of had to leave abruptly so I promised to write and tell them how things were going."
"Don't feel so down Rubes," said Yang, "you're already making new friends."
"I don't think Weiss counts," said Ruby dryly as she put her pen down.
"I was talking about Kazi," said Yang, "you two seemed pretty friendly."
"Yaaang," groaned Ruby, "I already told you it's not like that."
"C'mon," said the blond as she ignored her sister's embarrassment, "let's go see if we can find him."
Yang half-led/half-dragged Ruby around the other students that were preparing to sleep, eventually finding the teen they were looking for playing a game on a handheld device that was attached to a laptop. His sleep attire was a black long sleeve T-shirt with designs that resembled the buttons on a gamepad, and a pair of sweat pants.
"Kazi," said Ruby happily as she saw the teen.
"Oh hi Ruby, Yang," said the Kamen Rider without looking up from the device in his hand.
"Are you ok?" asked Ruby as she noted how focused he was on the handheld device.
"Yeah," said Kazi, "just working on an upgrade for Ex-Aid."
Yang looked over the teen's shoulder and raised an eyebrow, "…you're playing Gekitotsu Robots."
There was a flash on the screen and Kazi sighed as Game Over flashed across the display. The teen shrugged and began to explain as he packed up his gear.
"When I play certain games on that console, it allows my computer to collect data on the games that are eventually transmitted into Gashats, the cartridges I use with my Gamer Driver. If I complete the game data that my father sends me and imprint it onto a blank Gashat, of which I have several, then I gain an upgrade in my powers."
"You upgrade your powers by playing games?" asked Ruby, "That's kind of convenient."
"Not as much as you'd think," said Kazi, "I need to beat an entire game with no continues or saves to get the combat data I need."
"But anyway," he said as he closed up his laptop and put away his gear, "how's Beacon been so far for you?"
"Not that great," sighed Ruby, "I haven't been making a lot of good first impressions."
"I don't know about that," said Kazi, "my first impression of you was rather favorable."
"See there you go Ruby," said Yang, "thing's aren't that bad."
"If you say so," said Ruby.
"Give it time," said Kazi, "things don't often look that good on the first day, but given time, you can find some good friends that will stand by you."
"Maybe you're right," said Ruby, "and like Yang said, you're my friend, right?"
"Right," said Kazi with a chuckle, "now let's get some sleep tonight…unless you think you can beat me at Gekitotsu Robots?"
"Oh you are SO on," said Yang as she took a handheld console that Kazi offered her.
Ruby smiled as she watched her sister begin to play against her new friend before going back to the letter she was writing to her friends back at Signal. Maybe she should mention that things weren't as bad as she first thought, and she was already making some new friends.
xXsceneXx
The next morning, the group of prospective students ate, dressed and assembled on the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest.
"Now," said Ozpin, "before you is the location where you will face your Initiation test, the Emerald Forest."
Taking a sip from his cup of coffee, Ozpin gazed over at the teens wearing varied battle outfits with weapons at their side, before continuing his speech, "Within this forest, several special Relics have been hidden. Your mission today, is to retrieve one of these artifacts and bring it back here to these mountains."
Looking out over the tree line, Ozpin smiled slightly, "Be warned though, dangerous Grimm inhabit these woods, and if you aren't careful, you will die. Because of this, you will be assigned partners for the course of your stay at this Academy. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with shall be your partner."
Kazi glanced over at Ruby and almost sighed when he saw the absolutely horrified expression on her face at the almost random selection of partners that would be employed during this examination.
"Now then," said Ozpin, "take your positions."
The students got into ready stances as they stood upon metal platforms that were set into the cliffs. Kazi watched them and reached into his jacket for his Gashat, wondering if he should change now or after he arrived.
"Um, excuse me," said a blond student that wore white armor, "I have a question. How are we going to be getting to the forest?"
"You will be using your Landing Strategy," said Ozpin as a student was launched off the cliff by the platform he stood upon.
'Crap!' thought Kazi as he scrambled for his Gashat, 'that answers that.'
"Right," said the blond student, "so we're getting parachutes or something?"
"No," said Ozpin calmly, "you will be falling."
As Yang was launched into the air with a grin, Kazi quickly attached the Gamer Driver to his waist and pressed the button on his Gashat, causing a pixilated wave to flow outwards
[Mighty Action X!]
"Wait, mighty action-GAH!" exclaimed the student as he was launched through the air as Kazi's Gashat distracted him.
"HENSHIN, FIRST SHIFT!" yelled Kazi right before he was launched through the air, barely having enough time to slot the Gashat into the driver's Primary slot.
[Let's Game! Metcha Game! What's your name?! I'm a Kamen Rider!]
A holographic screen appeared in front of Kazi, causing him to fly through it as bulky white armor appeared on his body, making him look like a large chibi-fighter.
The other students watched in surprise as Kazi, or rather Ex-Aid bounced off several cubes that had appeared in the air before slamming into the trees, crashing through several and coming to a stop on the grass.
"Ok," said Ex-Aid as he looked over his slightly scuffed Action Gamer Level 1 armor, "I guess that could've gone worse."
Flexing his arms, he headed off through the trees at a light jog. He could hear the creatures rustling through the forest, and quickly summoned his weapon from a holographic card that flew around his body as he ran.
[Gashacon Breaker!]
As he held the weapon in hammer mode, he wondered what kind of Relics were hidden within the forest for them to find, and what kinds of hiding places would be chosen for them.
xXsceneXx
"I must say that I continue to be surprised at Mister Carter," said Glynda as she looked at a surveillance video of the forest on her Scroll.
"Why is that Glynda?" asked Ozpin as he sipped from his mug.
"I've never seen anything like that armored form of his," said Glynda, "he had no formal training in a combat school either if I am not mistaken."
"That is correct," said Ozpin, "but I think we will be pleasantly surprised by young Mister Carter."
Nodding, Glynda glanced back at her scroll, looking over footage of the other students as they made their way through the forest, some of them with their partners, and some without, all of them wary of the dangers lurking in the forest.
"On the topic of the initiation, Ozpin," said Glynda, "what did you use for Relics this year?"
Ozpin simply smiled and sipped from his mug as he leaned on his cane.
xXsceneXx
"Helloooooooo? Is anyone out there? Helloooo?" called out Yang as she wandered through the forest, "I'm getting bored here."
She had been walking for a while, but she hadn't come across anyone or anything, be they Grimm or other students. She was getting annoyed and hoped she'd meet someone or something soon before she died of boredom.
"Is someone there?" she called out as she heard rustling in the bushes, "Ruby, is that you?"
Suddenly an Ursa Minor Grimm emerged from the plants with a loud roar, causing Yang to jump back and activate her Ember Celica gauntlets.
"Nope!"
The blond brawler rolled to the side as the beast charged at her, firing several shots to boost her into the air, just as another Ursa emerged and attacked as well.
Flipping over the second beast, Yang fired several shots into its back before landing on her feet and delivering a devastating punch-kick combo that sent the Grimm crashing through several trees before it skidded to a stop and dissolved.
"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you? Or a grey-eyed gamer kid?" asked Yang, getting a roar from the remaining Grimm, "Guess that's a no."
The beast angrily took several swipes at the blond Huntress-in-training, which she was able to quickly dodge before flipping back to put some room between them.
"Geeez," she laughed, "you can't hit the broad side of a ba…"
Suddenly, she saw a strand of golden hair fall to the ground, and a look of horrified anger crosses her face as her lilac eyes become bright red and her aura blasts around her like fire.
"YOU MONSTER!" she yelled as she charged at the beast.
xXsceneXx
Meanwhile, Ex-Aid was making his way through the forest in his Level 1 form when he heard a loud explosion in the distance.
"The hell was that?" muttered Ex-Aid as he looked around, "Sounded like someone's seriously pissed off."
Suddenly, several Beowolves leapt out of the bushes with a roar and began to circle the Kamen Rider, causing him to tense and raise the hammer weapon in his hand.
"Well," said Ex-Aid, "looks like I'll be getting some action after all."
The lupine Grimm howled and lunged at the Gamer Rider, causing him to have to roll out of the way to avoid getting a chunk torn out of his armor by their teeth. Swinging the Gashacon Breaker, Kazi sent one of the wolves flying into a tree before slumping to the ground and disintegrating. The other Beowolves tried to attack from behind, but Ex-Aid jumped backwards over them and landed a drop-kick on one and smashed the skull of another with his hammer.
"Anyone else?" asked Ex-Aid, causing the remaining Beowolves to flinch slightly as if they recognized a significant threat in the Kamen Rider, "I won't even need to level up."
One Grimm felt brave and charged, but the Kamen Rider swung his hammer and landed a powerful blow that sent the Beowolf flying into the rest of the pack where they tumbled across the ground in a tangle of claws and limbs. As the beasts tried to right themselves, the Rider leapt into the air and swung his hammer down as he descended, slamming the Grimm with a powerful blow that shook the forest and left a small crater around their disintegrating remains.
"Well now," said Ex-Aid, "time to find those Relics."
So if you're thinking that Ex-Aid beat the Grimm too easily, it's because they are relatively weak ones. Higher level Grimm, like a Giant Nevermore, a Dragon, or even a Deathstalker, will be significantly harder for him to beat alone.
In any case, tell me if you liked it. I'm off to write my next chapter.
