It's How You Play the Game

Chapter 4

Hello again (dodges copyright lawsuit from Pyrrha) than you all for coming back to see this latest chapter. I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Note: The classic literature reference was unfortunately cut from last chapter, but it is here in this one. See if you can spot it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"…I think we're lost," sighed Ruby as she followed Weiss through the Emerald Forest.

The two of them had met up in the forest, much to the heiress's dismay, and now the two of them were partners in the initiation. Weiss was less than impressed with the hood wearing teen and had immediately taken point, leading them through the trees until they found themselves standing in a clearing, utterly lost.

"I don't need you to tell me that!" snapped Weiss.

"I'm just saying," said Ruby, "we maybe should have taken the path back there and followed the river!"

"I know exactly where we are," growled Weiss, "I don't need you to tell me where to go."

"Then where are we?" asked Ruby as her patience began to be wear thin.

"W-well," said Weiss, a bit caught off guard.

"You don't know, do you?" groaned Ruby in exasperation.

"You know what," snapped Weiss, "just because you got into Beacon early, doesn't mean you're any better than me!"

"Well at least I'm not a know-it-all who thinks she's perfect!" Ruby shot back.

"I'm not perfect. Not yet," said Weiss, "but at least I'm leagues better than you."

With that, Weiss turned on her heel and continued through the trees, leaving a crestfallen Ruby standing there murmuring, "…but you don't even know me."

Seeing as her partner wasn't going to wait for her, Ruby quickly hurried after Weiss's retreating form, not noticing a large black feather that fell to the ground behind her.

xXsceneXx

Meanwhile in another part of the forest, Jaune Arc, the blond student that had had questions about Landing Strategies, and Pyrrha Nikos, a redhead wearing a gold and red set of armor, were exploring a dark cavern with Jaune holding a flaming torch to light the way.

"Jaune," said Pyrrha, "I…don't think this is where the relic is hidden."

"It's classic treasure hunting 101," said Jaune with a shrug, "valuable objects are always hidden in dark caverns."

"I'm not sure about this," said Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha," said Jaune, "I made the torch. Can you humor me for a few more feet?"

The redhead sighed slightly and silently followed the blond deeper into the cavern as they traversed the dark tunnel, guided only by the light of the blazing torch. Suddenly the two of them saw a glowing object floating in the gloom, giving off a warm light that drew Jaune in.

"Pyrrha, it's the relic!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Jaune," said Pyrrha, "something doesn't seem right."

Ignoring his partner's warning, Jaune dropped the torch and made to grab the glowing object, only for it to dart out of his grasp.

"No," grunted Jaune as he jumped for the object, "bad relic!"

Jaune continued to jump and finally managed to grab the object in a bear hug, but was filled with horror when the object moved and its light illuminated the face of a Deathstalker Grimm.

xXsceneXx

While all this was happening, Yang had made it to the temple with the black haired girl that had identified Kazi after Ruby's incident with Weiss. Her name was Blake Belladonna and she had become Yang's partner after the blond's fight with the Ursai in the forest.

"Looks like we've made it," said Yang with a smile as they walked up to the ruins.

"I don't think we were the first," said Blake stoically as she looked over the ruins.

Standing among the ruins were several raised pedestals, with some of them holding random chess pieces of various colors. Several pieces were missing, indicating that several other teams had arrived and retrieved these 'relics' beforehand.

"So we just take one, right?" said Yang as she picked up a white knight chess piece, "How about a cute little pony?"

Blake gave an amused smirk as her partner placed the chess piece safely down the front of her shirt, before noticing something in the sky overhead.

Suddenly a scream broke through the air, causing Yang to look up, "Sounds like some girl is in trouble."

xXsceneXx

"Pyrrha! This is not the relic!" yelled Jaune in terror, having let out a scream earlier at seeing the giant scorpion Grimm.

The blond swordsman was holding on the Death Stalker's stinger for dear life as it tried to shake him off while chasing his red haired partner through the tunnel.

"Hold on Jaune!" yelled Pyrrha as they exited the tunnel and she spun, transforming the spear in her hand into a rifle before firing several shots at the large Grimm.

"What do you think I'm doing?" yelled Jaune before the Grimm finally managed to shake the boy off and send him flying.

"Jaune!" yelled Pyrrha as she ran after him, the Grimm hot on her tail.

xXsceneXx

"Gangway!" yelled a voice, startling Blake out of her musings as the chibi form of Ex-Aid burst through the trees with a Beowolf on his tail.

"What the…" said Blake in surprise as the armored figure turned about face and slammed the hammer weapon in his hand into the lupine Grimm.

"FORE!" yelled Ex-Aid as the Grimm was sent flying over the treetops and into the distance, becoming a twinkle of light in the sky.

"Well," said Yang, "that's one way to make an entrance."

"Who…are you?" asked Blake as she gave the Kamen Rider a skeptical glance.

"Who me?" asked Ex-Aid before standing up proudly, "I'm the Kamen Rider that Exists to Aid those in need: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid."

"Kamen Rider?" said Blake in confusion.

"Wait," said Yang, "Ex-Aid…is that you, Kazi? This goofy armor is supposed to be your superhero getup?"

"It's just the Level 1 form," said Ex-Aid as he crossed his arms, "Level 2 is a lot cooler."

"If you say so," said Yang.

"So these are the relics," mused Kazi as he looked over the chess pieces before picking up a red queen piece and placing it…somewhere in his armor, "so we just have to bring these back to the mountains?"

Blake was about to answer, when she noticed something approaching quickly from above: a certain red haired, hood-wearing girl yelling, "Look out below!"

"Ruby?" said Ex-Aid in surprise before making a spectacular jump, plucking the falling girl out of the air, and landing safely on his feet, "So, just dropping in?"

Ruby just groaned at the bad joke, while Yang laughed, "That was terrible. Wait, who are you?"

"It's me," said Ex-Aid, "Ex-Aid."

"Kazi?" asked Ruby, "What happened to your cool armor?"

"This armor is cool too," protested Ex-Aid, getting a chuckle from Ruby, "So does this make us partners?"

"Sorry," said Ruby as she got to her feet, "but I've kinda already found a partner."

"Really?" asked Ex-Aid, "Who?"

"Um, her," said Ruby sheepishly, as she pointed to a large avian shape that was circling overhead.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?" yelled Weiss from where she was hanging from the avian Grimm.

"I told you to jump," Ruby yelled back.

"I think she's gonna fall," said Ex-Aid.

"Looks like it," agreed Yang.

"She's falling," commented Blake as Weiss lost her grip and began to plummet to the ground.

Ex-Aid was about to jump again to catch the heiress, but his intervention was not needed, as at that moment, Jaune came flying out of the trees and caught her in the air. The two of them floated there for a second before gravity asserted itself and they fell to the ground to lie in a heap.

"My hero," said Weiss mockingly.

"My back," groaned Jaune from under her.

"Did you two just ride a Nevermore here?" asked Blake.

Before the red and white duo could answer, a large Ursa Minor burst from the forest with a roar before slumping to the ground, dead, revealing an orange haired girl dressed in pink and white that was riding it.

"Aww," pouted the girl, "it's broken."

"Nora," panted a green clad boy that emerged from the trees with black hair that had a streak of pink, "don't ever do that again."

"C'mon Ren," pouted the girl before she noticed the chess pieces and dashed over to grab a rook piece, "~I'm queen of the castle. ~I'm queen of the castle."

"Nora!" said Ren sharply, prompting the girl to stop with her singing.

"Did those two just ride here on a Ursa?" asked Blake.

Once again, before anyone could answer, Pyrrha burst from the trees with the Deathstalker still hot on her tail.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" asked Blake.

"I can't take it anymore!" yelled Yang as fire erupted around her, "Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

"…"

"So," said Yang, "the gang's all here! Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it!" yelled Ruby as she rushed forward to attack the Deathstalker.

"Ruby no!" yelled Ex-Aid as he tried to stop her.

The red-clad girl charged at the giant scorpion and attacked with her scythe, but was easily knocked back by the beast's claws, though she did give Pyrrha time to get away.

"D-Do-Don't worry!" said Ruby shakily, "Totally fine!"

Ruby turned and shot the Deathstalker with her weapon and was about to jump away, when the Nevermore from overhead fired off a razor sharp feather that pinned her hood to the ground.

"Ruby, get out of there!" yelled Yang.

"I'm trying!" said Ruby as she tugged on her hood.

Unfortunately, the girl was unable to free herself as the scorpion Grimm bore down on her and prepared to impale her with its stinger, but just as it was about to strike, a white blur shot forward and trapped the stinger in ice.

"What?" said Ruby in surprise as she looked up.

"You are so childish," said Weiss from where she stood in front of Ruby.

"Weiss?" asked Ruby in surprise.

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style," continued Weiss as she pulled her weapon out of the ice she had made, "and I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off," said Ruby, "I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine," said Weiss as she turned and walked back to the others.

Ruby hurried back to the group where she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by her sister. Once she managed to pull away, the group began to survey their situation.

"Guys," said Jaune as he glanced at the Nevermore, "that thing is circling back."

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying," said Weiss as she gestured towards the relics, "our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right," said Ruby, "our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live," said Jaune, "that's an idea I can get behind!"

Ruby and Jaune walked over to the pedestals and both picked out a chess piece. Once they had pocketed them, the teens looked over at the Deathstalker, which was starting to break free from the ice.

"Time we left," said Ren.

Just as he said this, an ape-like Beringel Grimm burst from the trees and let out a loud roar.

"Shit," swore Ex-Aid, "time to go."

The teens ran for the mountains with the Grim in hot pursuit, but the Nevermore flew ahead and perched on the pillars in front of them, blocking their way. Turning around, they saw the other two Grimm closing the distance between them, blocking off their path.

"Damnit," said Yang, "stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Think you guys can handle the bird and the bug?" Ex-Aid asked Ruby.

"Sure," said Ruby, "but what about you?"

"I'll take care of monkey-boy over there and buy you some time," said Ex-Aid as he reached for the Actuation Lever on his Driver, pulling it across to activate his Level Up, "Get to the Mountains."

[Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty Mighty Action X!]

Ex-Aid's chibi form ran through a holographic screen causing his white armor to shoot off as he transformed into the more humanoid form that Ruby had first encountered.

"Now then," said Ex-Aid Level 2, "get going!"

The Kamen Rider charged and the Beringel Grimm, slamming his weapon into the beast's armored hide, sending it skidding back.

"Ok buddy," said Ex-Aid as he rushed past the Deathstalker while slapping the A Button on his Gashacon Breaker.

[Ja Kin!]

A blade sprouted from the weapon and Ex-Aid proceeded to slash at the Grimm while dodging its attacks with his agility that his armor enhanced.

Meanwhile, the others were having a bit of trouble fighting the other Grimm. Nora was distracting the Deathstalker by firing off several grenades from her weapon while Blake and Ren slashed at its shell with their blades. Then, the Nevermore flew down and shattered the stone bridge with its wing, separating Jaune and Nora from Blake, Pyrrha and Ren while Ruby, Weiss and Yang fought off the Nevermore.

"Man, we gotta get over there!" said Jaune as he looked over the situation, "They need help!"

"Let's do this," said Nora with a smirk.

"But, uh…I can't make that jump," said Jaune.

Nora simply grinned and transformed her grenade launcher into a war hammer and smashed the edge of the platform, launching Jaune across, before blasting herself across to slam a strike into the Deathstalker. The Grimm blocked and knocked her back, sending her flying into Blake, knocking the quiet girl off the edge, but luckily, she used her Semblance to create a copy of herself that she vaulted off of to land on the Nevermore and deal several slashes before leaping off and landing by Yang, Ruby, and Weiss.

"It's tougher than it looks," said Blake.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got," said Yang as she cocked her shotgun gauntlets.

The four girls then fired off blasts from their respective weapons, which splashed harmlessly across the Nevermore's feathers before it slammed into the area they were standing, forcing them to jump away.

While the others fought the two Grimm, Ex-Aid was having his own trouble fighting the Beringel Grimm that he was holding off. The creature's armored hide was proving to be too tough for his weapon's edge to pierce and it shrugged off all of his kicks and punches, before landing devastating blows that lowered the life gauge on his chest.

"So you wanna play tough?" growled Ex-Aid as he pulled the Gashat out of his belt and slotted it into the end of his weapon, "My turn."

[Gashat! Kimewaza! Mighty Critical Finish!]

Ex-Aid leapt high into the air as energy gathered around the blade of his weapon and, as he descended, he brought the blade down HARD on the Grimm he was fighting, the energy allowing his weapon to cleave through the Beringel, killing it instantly.

[Kaishin no Ippatsu!]

Ex-Aid let out a sigh of relief as he got to his feet and looked over to the others. It seemed, Jaune's group had managed to defeat the Deathstalker by severing it's stinger and impaling the beast through the head with it, and, to his surprise, Ruby had just had Weiss launch her at the Giant Nevermore, allowing her to hook the blade of her scythe around its neck. The Kamen Rider watched as Ruby, with the help of Weiss's glyphs, dragged the beast up the side of the cliff by the neck until the head was decapitated and the body fell to the ground.

"And that's the Game," said Ex-Aid as he removed his Gashat and put it away.

[Gashun!]

xXsceneXx

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark," said Ozpin as the students gathered on the stage of the ballroom in Beacon, "the four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The four male teens flexed their muscles as they walked offstage and Ozpin proceeded to call up the next team.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR," said Ozpin, "led by…Jaune Arc."

"L-led by?" said Jaune in surprise.

"Congratulations young man," said Ozpin as Pyrrha gave her partner a shoulder bump and accidentally knocked him to the ground.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long," called Ozpin as the four-colored girls walked onstage, "the four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

"Now," said Ozpin, "before we conclude these festivities, there is one final matter. Kazi Carter."

The teen Kamen Rider walked onto the stage, wondering what would happen since he had not found a partner.

"This year, there was an odd number of students admitted," said Ozpin, "so I took the liberty of hiding a special relic amongst the others. Kazi Carter, you retrieved the red queen piece, and so, you shall be joining Team RWBY as its fifth member, and the team shall henceforth be known as Team RYBWK (Rebuke)."

"Well," said Ozpin, "It looks like things are shaping up to be an…interesting year."