Chapter 16 - On The Board Pt. 2
With an ear-bleeding battle cry and a flap from its wings, the monster fires several of its giant feathers at us, nailing the internal structure of the arch and forcing me to roll out of the way. I land with a grunt, watching on as three separate feathers violently impale the place I was just standing in five seconds prior, sinking at least three solid inches into the carved earth.
Good god.
The other three stand up in their respective ease, looking on as the ginormous monster whirls around for another attack. With both bridges destroyed, the four of us are given no other choice but to fight.
With little apprehension and grappling hook primed, The Girl surges forward and leaps off the bridge.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?! Come back here!" Weiss orders but she's already hurled herself towards the fearsome beast. "This day keeps getting worse and worse," she sighs, rubbing her temples. Spinning on her heels, she points an accusing finger towards me. "You, whatever your name is, what are you doing sitting on the ground?!" In a movement rife with grace, she brandishes her rapier with flair. "Stand up and fight!"
...I clench my trembling fingers on Warbreaker's grip, forcing myself to recover some frame of self-control. Regardless of my still shaking body, I haul myself up onto my feet, bucking the stock into my shoulder. I'm still scared, I'm terrified by god, but I'm ready to fight back when needed. Weiss nods strictly.
"Good. Follow me," she commands. I'm inclined to follow, except she's forgetting one important person.
Jaune - Standing vacantly, his eyes glazed over in a daze as he watches the Nevermore caw, firing another bombardment of sharp feathers at the airborne Girl who narrowly avoids their spear-like impaling tips with a flash of her shadow and a skid.
"Wh-what about Jaune?" I ask her. Turning on her heels, she dismisses me with a hand.
"Forget about him. He's useless. He can remain here and stay out of trouble," she answers in a bland tone.
"B-but..." I start reluctantly, eyes switching between him and the beast, its jaws biting at another shadow decoy, missing the real thing with an almost rabid fervour. "W-we could need him. W-we're only two people. Jaune could help us out?" In a situation like this, nobody is useless. She lets out a rather blatant scoff.
"What? So, he can trip and fall into its mouth? He's as skilled as a dead-horse. At best, he'll only be a hinderance," she says harshly.
"H-he can...!"
Boom!
The platform quakes, dust pouring out from all the nooks and cracks. The three of us stumble around, losing our footing to the sheer impact of the attack, below us at what I think is the base of the bridge, layered by hundreds of hardened stone bricks. It feels like we're tipping. It's trying to knock the whole thing down!
"We need to get off this thing. Now!" Weiss barks, peering over the edge of the platform. Focusing on a stricken Jaune, my body makes a push, rushing towards him, snatching up his arm as he stares down at the ground.
"Wh-what the heck?" He stammers, voice low and body quivering. "What is this thing?!"
"Come on, Jaune," I say hastily yet softly, pulling him towards Weiss. "We need to go." He feels like dead-weight in my hands, offering no resistance as I drag him through his paralyzed state. With him in hand, I peer over the edge on the bridge, finding nothing but the endless pit and a few ruins leading to nowhere.
"There," Weiss points me to one of the pathways underneath. Well, it's not quite a pathway. It's more like support for a higher pathway that has completely crumbled away, leaving the tower it's supposed to connected to completely cut off from the platform. It's a thirty foot drop onto a platform no more than six feet wide. Aura breakage upon impact is the best-case scenario in this situation.
"Watch," she says confidently. With a twist from the rapier chamber and air sucking through her nose, she summons a strange amalgamation of what I think are runes with her blade darkly aglow and a simple flick from her fingers. Spiralling from a light blue to a pure black, an incantation imprints itself onto the section of the supports length, stabilizing without the need for Weiss to sustain it.
Without further warning, she steps off from the ruin platform, hurling her off the ruin platform and towards the incantation.
Screeching, the Nevermore whirls around for another bash into the bridge's base. Anxiety taking over, I set Warbreaker on my back, wrap Jaune's arm around my shoulder, heaving him up, and stand millimetres on the bridge's precipice. Suddenly returning to reality, Jaune's eyes visibly dilate as he peers down at the falling girl below.
"I-I don't know if this is such a good idea, Eren!" He cries. Neither do I, but we're not in the position to be picky about good ideas.
"C-close your eyes, Jaune!" I tell him. My shoulders stiffen as the tip of my shoes dangle off the edge. Three. Two...
One!
Both of us step forward, the pair of plunging perilously towards the designated ruin, the wind kicking up our hair and our hoods flapping manically as we clench our teeth, stopping ourselves from screaming too loudly. Velocity determines where we land now. I see the support bulk speed towards us and...
No collision. I pry my eyes open, finding both Jaune and myself suspended above solid rock, mere meters away from crumpled bones and a broken spine.
I peer up, sight locking onto the safe and whole form of Weiss, heels clicking as the tap in tempo, staring at the pair of us with her white eyebrows furled. Unnaturally, I try swaying my legs underneath, wobbling uneasily as my shoes contact the stone, stabilizing myself as I adjust to regular gravity again.
Boom! Another massive concussive blast explodes from the side of the bridge, dust imploding from every pore of the giant structure, broken pieces of brick flying everywhere as the Nevermore bounds back away. The bridge shimmers slightly. It's taken some hefty hits and the threat of toppling is still very much an issue, but it's not going to fall quite yet. What a miracle that is for us.
I feel a tap on my shoulder, a signal from Jaune to tell me he's alright now. Relinquishing my hold, I release him to walk on his own terms.
"Weiss," he starts. "I... I think I might have an id-"
"No. You don't," she cuts him off coldly, rapier waving in her left hand, fully focused on the battle raging in the skies.
Gulping hesitantly, he keeps pushing. "B-but it could work! "
"Or, more than likely, it'll get us all killed," she hisses back. "Your 'ideas' so far can be boiled down to recklessly charging at something, messing up and almost getting yourself killed. I don't want to hear anymore 'ideas' out of you! Stand down and stop talking!"
"Weiss, please! I can hel-"
"I said be quiet!" She snaps.
Jaune reels, flinching from her verbal slap. Accepting defeat, he takes a step back from her, shoulders sloppy and expression despondent, nursing his wounded confidence with an unbecoming silence. I quietly beat the fiery tinge kindling in my heart into submission. She's made up her mind. Acting out would only make things worse for everyone.
I return to the ensuing fight, gawking slightly as The Girl weaves in-between the supports of a distant pathway. She flips and twirls out of the way as the rampaging Nevermore simply smashes through the stabilities, capsizing the stone slumps remaining without a single care for its battered condition, gunning after its target with an unquenchable hunger.
"What is she doing?" Weiss grumbles, lips curling into a grimace. Is she distracting it? Surviving it? Or is she actually trying to kill that damn thing all by herself? That's reckless. Far, far too reckless. "There's nothing for it," she sighs, twirling to us. "You, with the gun, keep an eye on them. Jaune, stick close and don't fall off the edge. We're heading for that tower."
"What?!" Jaune shrieks. If I had the guts, I surely would be doing the same. Disregarding the three hundred-meter dash we'd have to survive between here and there, there's a little problem concerning the massive jump we'd have to make up from the supports to the entranceway. Calling it a leap is understating it. "Th-there's no way we're going to make that jump!"
"That won't be an issue," she says, waving her rapier. "Now stop badgering me and run!"
She bolts forward. Eyes connecting with mine, Jaune bites his lip. I don't think it's ideal either but what else could we do? We can't go back; the sides lead to a seemingly infinite pit of death and the skies are rattling from the booming encounter above. Forward is all we have left.
I pull out Warbreaker, locking in a bullet with a tug. "I-I'll keep you covered," I assure him.
"...Thanks," he nods, grateful.
He runs first. I follow, flickering between the path in front of me and The Girl clambering on top of the flailing Nevermore's head. Like a wolverine clawing at a bear, she slashes one: two, three, four times up and down the monster's neck, emitting a flinch and a low gurgle of a growl. It thrusts its head back, attempting to throw off its smaller adversary.
It succeeds, somewhat. Against the building momentum of the beast, The Girl's feet leave the gigantic predator's neck, only for her grappling hook to find purchase in its midsection. She swings, circling around her opponent. The Nevermore thrashes around but she refuses to let go, its frustration screeching among the ruins.
That's when it has a thought.
Doubling its momentum, the Nevermore hurls itself towards one of the nearby towers, spinning around, seeking to remove the little pest latching onto it by throwing her into the hard-carved rock.
It caws, the tower shudders.
Aware of the impeding danger, The Girl disconnects her grappling hook, bounds off the tower walls and leaps away to safely, retreating from sight behind the large structure of the bridge.
The Nevermore, back pressed against the tower walls, sharpens its sight. Looking at the supports through its remaining two right eyes.
Looking at us, halfway across, right in the open. The only thing that could make us all the more appetising is a giant sign saying, 'Please eat us!' And that's not even the main issue here.
The supports. That tower is our only semblance of a safe haven right now. Its broken both ends of the bridge already. It breaks this, we'll have no path to the tower: no way out, and no leg to stand on. If the fall doesn't kill us, the Nevermore will.
I slide to a halt. Jaune and Weiss do the same, gasping and hissing respectively. Revolver chamber spinning, an incantation glyph spirals around her feet. I buck Warbreaker to my shoulder, peering down the scoop at my target, charging at us with murderous intent.
"Stop it before it knocks us off!" Weiss roars and we start firing, single-fire bullets precisely aimed from my end while homing almost mystical-looking projectiles shoot out from hers.
Every single one makes its mark. The beast isn't even trying to dodge them anymore, opting simply to power on through, tanking every little attack we make against it as though we're merely spitting at it.
We might as well be. Whatever damage we're truly doing to it, it's not showing. It's still coming at us, still charging, still screeching. I shouldn't be surprised. My bullets tickled the Ursa I fought earlier. Why on earth would it do anything more to the stronger, albeit injured, Nevermore. Body shots won't work.
"Very well, then," Weiss grumbles, pulling the lever as her revolving chamber lands on red. "Let's try this." A hazy red covers her rapier blade, the air around it sizzles and boils. The glyph around her feet changes from a snowy white to a fiery red. She concentrates, letting out a breath as thick as steam. Both Jaune and myself step back a pace, afraid that we'd be caught in the blast radius if she were to spontaneously explode.
Then, with a mighty swing from her rapier, she fires.
A humongous fireball blasts from her blade, setting the very air alight in a burning blaze bombardment. Following the commanding finger of its summoner, the infernal ball heads to meet the rabid raven head-on, surely scorching its already mangled face into a melted pool of decaying flesh. The Nevermore's not dodging. The fireball is still on course. I think this might actually do it!
That's when a dark figure flies straight in the face of the beast.
The Girl! No!
"Weiss! Watch out! You're going to hit her!" Screams Jaune.
Her teeth visibly scraping against one another, Weiss drags her finger away from its intended target, missing The Girl and the Nevermore by just a few inches before the fireball loses momentum and fizzles away like a damp firecracker. Foiled by an utter lack of communication.
Damn it.
The Girl's body jostles violently, her swords digging deep into its skull as the monster continues bulldozing towards us. Fighting against the winds bashing against her, she draws her left sword from its flesh and plunges it into one of the monster's right eyes.
It feels it this time.
It roars, screeches, screams, writhing around in the air, forcing her sword out from its socket, as its incoming trajectory is completely thrown out of sorts. In a desperate struggle to hold on, The Girl clings to her remaining embedded sword while the Nevermore thrashes wildly in an almost blind fury. Feathers fly out, impaling stone or missing entirely, trying to make its true target.
She decides to pull out her sword and switch to her grappling hook. She leaps off from its skull, tossing it at one of its legs. A decent plan to bound to a safer location but, things don't go quite as planned.
As the fabric wraps itself around the beast's leg, like a rabid dog taking a fit, the Nevermore goes berserk, contorting its body in ways that would leave a normal person boneless. Throwing its weight, The Girl is hurled in front of the monster's radius and, like swatting a mosquito, the Nevermore smacks its giant wing into her smaller body, smashing her towards the support pathway.
My heart lurches. I lurch with it. Ignoring the startled cries beside me, I rush forward, practically throwing Warbreaker on my back, jumping in the direction of the curdling Girl. Arms outstretched, I brace my body for a grievous impact.
We make contact, breath suckling from my lungs. A wave of blue flashes before my eyes. If my actions made any difference to her momentum, my ribs are sure paying for it. In an attempt to push back, my shoes drag against the pathway rock, the sheer force of the impact threatening to push both myself and The Girl over the edge, in to the abyss. I can't hold this back. I'm not strong enough!
"I've got you guys!" Shouts Jaune, hooking his longer arms around us both, using his superior strength to counter-balance. It's working, to an extent. We're slowing down but it's not enough. We're teetering over the edge.
"Come on," Jaune mumbles intensely. "Just this once. Let me do something right, just this once!" We're over the side! We're going to fall! Using all his power, Jaune roars almost manically, pushing my back away. He pushes. I push The Girl forward, my muscles shockingly tired and weary. Come on, dumbass! You're not doing enough! Fight harder! Fight harder!
With one last effort, we push forward one more time!
And we all collapse onto the supports, back onto solid ground. Jaune stands up first, staring at his arms as though ultimate power surged through their veins.
"I did it?" He asks, tilting his head. "H… hah hah! I actually did it! I saved them!"
"Jaune," a voice growls. It's Weiss, on her knees leaning on her rapier for support, pointing in our direction. Peering behind us, I find the black glyph she used spiralling slowly before shrinking into nothing. Oh…
"Huh…" he replies dully, his face skimming disappointment before disappearing behind a bashful neck-scratch. "Heh. Got myself a little excited there, didn't I? Silly Jaune!"
'Silly Jaune…' I hear him mumble. He… He gave it his best shot. That's what really matters in the end.
The Girl, now lacking her grappling hook, climbs back onto her feet next, finding herself confronted by a fuming red Weiss.
"What were you thinking?!" She yells. "You threw yourself in front of my attack! Are you suicidal or are you just brain-dead?!"
"I didn't see the fireball, alright? The pair of you stopped firing so I thought I was clear to attack," The Girl growls back, folding her arms. "I had a plan."
"Surprise, surprise: It failed," the smaller girl deadpans harshly. "Maybe if you didn't run off like an idiot and stayed with the rest of us, that wouldn't have happened, and you'd still have your grappling hook. Or was losing it part of your 'plan.'" The curves around her opponent's eyes crinkle.
"At least I was actually fighting. What were you three doing?!" She fires back.
"Making our way off this death-trap and away from that thing! You know, actually accomplishing something!" She shouts. This is devolving into a screaming contest very quickly. We seriously don't have the time for this right now. This has to stop.
I push myself to stand and…
Grunt as I slump back onto my knees, energy sapped from my limbs. A sudden fatigue erodes my bones, sucking the life from my lungs. I know this feeling. I've explicitly trained to avoid it at all costs during a fight.
This can't be right. No way. Counting the catch, I've only been hit three times!
"Eren?" Jaune prompts, noticing that I'm still on the ground. "Are you alright?"
"N…" I croak, tongue feeling like it's been waxed with saw dust. "A-Aura's… g-gone." This is not what the four of us need right now. Zipping down my hoodie, I feel my ribs for any injuries, thankfully finding none. At least I had enough to absorb any fatal injuries but, if I get hit by any one of that bird's attacks, I'm screwed.
"Guys!" The blonde, panic enveloping his face, calls out to the still arguing duo. "Eren's Aura is gone! We have to keep moving!"
No response – They continue to bicker, determined that the other's actions were wrong.
"Guys! Jaune shouts again. "Guys, seriously! Stop fighting! We're all in some serious danger right now!" They continue to ignore his pleas. We can't keep going like this. The Nevermore's going to recover soon. It'll kill all of us if this doesn't stop but Jaune can't seem to tear them apart.
I clench my shirt. My heartbeat races. We're all going to die.
"What is your problem?! You've been nothing but condescending to me since we've met! You're rude, arrogant and so full of yourself that you think that you can fight a Nevermore all by yourself!" Weiss shouts.
I can't handle this.
"Have you looked at yourself?! You're nothing but condescending! You act as though every single one of us are inferior to you and you don't even know a single thing about us!" The Girl snaps back.
I can't breathe.
"I'm the one who's been taking charge throughout this whole episode. I've been working, trying my absolute best, to lead and protect you all when you three have done nothing but irritate me!" She screeches.
Please stop it.
"Guys, come on! This isn't the time!" Jaune protests again.
I don't know what to do.
"Everyone irritates you! You're a stuck-up spoiled little brat who's gotten everything she ever wanted for so long, you think you're entitled to it." She roars.
Mum.
"That's not true!"
Louise.
"You've never known what it's like to struggle!"
Help me.
"You don't know me!"
"That's enough!"
Silence. All three of them stop talking as I stand back up, shock bare on their faces.
"Eren?" Jaune prompts tentatively.
"Enough. Both of you. This isn't the time or the place to be fighting each other," I say sternly. Despite using such a foreign forceful tone, the words roll off my tongue so naturally that even I can't believe I'm saying them.
Weiss can't either, raising her voice.
"Fighting?! I'm not the one at-"
"I don't care whose fault it is!" I shout her down, surprising both of us at my sudden audacity. "Blaming each other and squabbling over 'Fault' isn't going to get us out of here alive! If anything, all you're doing is helping the bloody Nevermore!" I point my finger at the recovering beast to illustrate my point, thrashing out my voice in a way that's especially unbecoming.
"I know you two don't like each other, and I don't care. This stops, and it stops now. What was the point of the four of us teaming up in the first place if you're not even going to bother trying to work together?!"
This isn't my voice, not truly, but I've heard it so many times in my life that it's almost insultingly easy to emulate. Despite being just as timid, she was always the one to step up when confrontations like these happen. She knew what to say, how to end them before they got any worse. Right now, I need that. I need that strength.
"I don't know you guys very well but…" My confidence wavers, energy trickling from my voice, belying my inexperience. Desperation coils around my throat. "Damn it. I don't want any of you to die."
The pair of them look at each other, snarling at each other with their eyes…
And then they part, The Girl folding her arms to focus on the Nevermore licking its wounds and Weiss directing her attention to me.
"That was an adorable speech," she patronises. "But you're ignoring the real issue here. She believes that the Nevermore should be killed when the obvious here is that we should retreat to safer ground in the tower."
And without a conclusion, they'll continue bickering over what method they think is right.
"Then we'll settle it. Right now," I say decisively.
"When did you grow a backbone?" She asks, raising a single eyebrow. "Very well, if you're so confident, tell us what we should do."
Hurling the responsibility onto me, huh? If doing so will lead to us all surviving, then I accept. Resting a finger on my chin, I think carefully about the correct course of action to take. Kill the Nevermore or retreat to safer ground…
I nod to myself. I've got it.
"We'll do both," I announce. As if a poor answer was expected, Weiss scoffs at me.
"That won't work," she shakes her head.
"For once, we agree," The Girl concurs. "In order to do that, we'd need to focus an equal amount of effort into retreating and killing the Grimm. With you out of Aura: Jaune lacking ranged weaponry, my hook still wrapped around its leg, and Weiss reaching her limit-"
"Don't tell me what my 'limit' is, thank you," the aforementioned girl snipes.
"It won't be enough. It'll take out the path, pick us off or destroy the tower before we'd be safe," The Girl finishes, frowning slightly at Weiss's interruption. I acknowledge those problems with a nod.
"I believe there is a way," I say, turning towards the only one to stay out of the conversation thus far. "Jaune."
"What? Me?" He startles.
"Oh, this is ridiculous," his partner groans exasperatedly. "Really? Your plan is Jaune?"
I don't give her a breath of mind, querying him. "You told us you had an idea earlier. What was it?"
"It's…" He starts hesitantly. "It's nothing. Just a stupid thought, that's all."
I shake my head, telling him "We need all the thoughts we can get. What's your plan?" He pauses for a second, a little resistance pushing him back before he brushes through.
"Okay," he begins, manoeuvring himself to observe the Nevermore, still perched on a clump of rock, screeching over its lost eye. Jaune points to its leg, the one with The Girl's ribbon around it. "I noticed it when she was fighting, back on the bridge. It seemed really protective about it for some reason. It always tried to hit her directly whenever she touched it. Even charging at her." When its main advantage is controlling the range of which its attacked, it gives up that advantage whenever that limb is even nicked.
I take out Warbreaker and peer down the scope. Narrowing my eye, I can just barely see an indent right above the ribbon and dangling hook.
"The bone marrow around it's been sheared at least a quarter of the way through. It hasn't been taken off or healed yet," I explain to the other three. That marrow on the legs is equally as durable as the one around its face. That wound must be excruciating to bare. "Nice catch, Jaune." I need to use an assault scope to see that one. He must've been paying close attention.
"It wasn't anything special," he replies, bashfully rubbing his back. "…You can keep going, though. I won't stop you."
"Plan," Weiss growls dangerously.
"Oh, r-right uh, I was thinking that if we were to get the Nevermore in the right angle, we could force it to charge right into the bridge," he explains, smacking his hands to emulate contact. "Boom! The bridge falls on top, smooshes it and we'd be free to escape through the tower."
"Absolutely absurd," Weiss says scathingly, shaking her head. "The only way to hit it without the tower falling on us is with her grappling hook. We three aren't agile enough."
"Then we'll have to get it back," I say, a plan stirring in my head. It's risky. Very risky and it could cost us all dearly if I'm not careful, but I'm not in the mind-set to falter to risks right now. I believe for certain that playing it safe and standing idly on the side-lines will earn us nothing but a painful death. Therefore…
"Weiss, you remember that ice summoning you did earlier?" I ask calmly. "How long can you keep it summoned for?"
She smirks at me, "As long as I need it to be." Perfect.
"Alright. I have an idea," I announce. This is crazy, but it might work.
As the Nevermore finally adapts to its lost sight, the four of us move into position: Weiss on the left with her rapier ready, Jaune and The Girl on the right swords barring and myself in the middle, ready to execute the first phase of the plan.
"This is so dangerous. Are you even sure that this will work?" Weiss asks. I… can't answer that. Taking a deep breath, I aim for the wounded leg.
"Ready?" I ask: Weiss rolls her eyes, The Girl nods sternly and Jaune gulps heavily.
Okay.
Bang.
A shot fires from Warbreaker, diving through the air, hitting its mark with a silent clink and a booming screech. With its single eye, it targets me, lifting off the ground and bolting at me with its beak biting menacingly. Timing is everything on this one.
Three. Two…
"Now, Weiss!" I scream, diving over to the right as its snapping maw almost swallows me whole. As the monster overextends its reach, practically leaping over the pathway, sprouts of jagged ice encircles the great beast, pinning it down with its head, wings and feet held by its icy restraints. Holy crap, it actually worked!
The beast screeches. Weiss does so too, "I've got him! Grab the hook!"
"On it!" I call back. Little problem with that, though. The plan worked, if a bit too well. As a great portion of the Nevermore's legs are encased in ice, so is the ribbon just below it.
Luckily for us, the exposed bone isn't.
"I'll cut it out," The Girl says, stepping up and raising it sword. Swiftly, she strikes against the indent but is sent reeling as her strike is repelled by the tough marrow. She clicks her tongue.
"It's no good," she grumbles. Recovering her cool, she turns to the only other person with a decent melee weapon on this side and beckons him. "You try."
"R-really?" Jaune stumbles, stepping forward as asked. "Uh, alright then. Cutting bone off. That doesn't sound horribly disgusting or anything." He takes his position above the limb, lifting his sword when I scramble forward.
"Wait!" I stop him. His grip's way too low again. I move in, adjusting his right hand higher, tightening it. "There." I nod. That should stop Corcea Mors from slipping out of his grasp again. "Try that now."
"When you are cutting, hit it in a chopping motion. Like this," The Girl adds, demonstrating a cutting motion her arms. Sticking out his tongue in concentration, Jaune takes a couple of small practice shots before winding a larger arc and slicing into the bone.
"Hya!" He roars. The monster roars louder. Pulling the blade back, we're met with bone cleaved almost a third of the way through.
"Jaune, you did it! You cut through!" I cheer. He stands there, gobsmacked.
"I… I did that," he gasps, breaking into a disbelieving laughter. "Hahah! I actually cut something!" Uh…
Ice crinkles as the Nevermore rampages against its chains.
"Hurry up over there! It's starting to break free!" Weiss grits, her glyph whirling like a dying computer drive.
"Do it again, Jaune!" I shout.
"Hya!" He roars, raising and striking the bone with a great battle cry. The bone cracks. Almost halfway through now.
"Again!" I shout again.
"Hya!" He roars again. Crack! Two thirds. The beast is writhing around rabidly. Weiss is on her knees, sweat rolling down her head as she struggles to keep the glyph up.
"Almost there, Jaune. Come on! One more time!" I egg him on. Growling at his target, he lifts his sword to cut it completely off.
"Hyaa!" With one final roar, Jaune tears into bone marrow, prying it from the rest of its body, very nearly taking the entire leg clean off.
That's when the ice breaks.
The monster has had enough. The strength of its wings versus Weiss's continually deteriorating energy – It's a no contest. Shatters of ice fly everywhere. The leg we've been trying so hard to break reels back and thrashes out in desperation, knocking Jaune back into me as we collapse to the ground. Pain rushes through my back.
As if to spite us, the leg does detach from the rest of the beast's body, falling off the edge towards the pit. Our efforts completely wasted.
Determined, The Girl swan dives off the edge after it. Neither of us can stop her but that's not our problem right now.
Weiss pants, completely worn out as the Nevermore's head looms over her, eager for revenge. With its massive maw, it grabs Weiss, brutally throwing her about like a ragdoll, before tossing her up into the air and slinking off the pathway.
Aware of what's about to happen next, Jaune stumbles back onto his feet.
"Weiss! No!" He shrieks but it accomplishes nothing.
Swooping around with its mouth open, the Nevermore goes in for the kill. She's going to die! Struggling with the bruises on my back, I fail to bring my gun up in time to fire. A booming clamping sound is heard…
But the beast misses the mark.
Thanks to a certain Girl swinging in and snatching her would-be enemy out of the sky. Our hearts lift. They're both okay! And she got her grappling hook back!
"Heck yeah! You go! …Whatever your name is!" Jaune cheers, albeit awkwardly.
They touch down in front of us, separating safe and sound. They both share this strange look, not quite a glare by not exactly fully grateful either. They hold for at least five seconds before Weiss opens her mouth.
"Thank you," she grumbles begrudgingly.
"Don't mention it," The Girl replies seriously.
Would it… be considered optimistic to say that they're passed their problems with each other now?
"But that's the only time that will ever happen. Don't expect you need to save me ever again," Weiss growls stubbornly. I sigh gently. I thought so.
All of us gasp out as the pathway shakes. Looking above, we find the Nevermore going absolutely berserk: throwing feathers everywhere, skrawing like death itself has possessed it, bashing into the surrounding towers haphazardly without a single thought. The loss of its leg was the final straw. It wants the four of us dead, no matter the cost.
"We're skipping to the second part of the plan. We're getting to higher ground," The Girl states. For once, none of us disagree. She can lead it away once we reach the tower. For now, the four of us begin to run.
One hundred and forty metres – We keep sprinting. Soaring towards our location, the Nevermore aims for the path in front of us in an attempt to cut us off.
"You!" Weiss calls, somehow, I knew 'You' meant me. I stop alongside her. "I'll summon some glyphs. Shoot them and they'll burst into cluster projectiles."
"Wait, what about your energy? You're exhausted," I ask her, biting my lip in concern.
"I still have some Aura left. I can keep going," she frowns before pointing her finger towards the sky. "Now, fire!"
Bright white glyphs appear in the sky. Warbreaker in hand, I do as she says and begin firing at them. With each hit, a swarm of the tiny projectiles she used earlier burst out and light up the sky. I'm hitting them all so quickly that Weiss herself can't quite keep up. Every single projectile smashes against the impeding Nevermore in a bid to stop it.
Wavering from the sheer amount, the Nevermore averts its trajectory, opting to circle to bridge and come back around again. Our collective deaths averted for a few seconds more.
Before I can utter a word of approval, Weiss drops down to her knees again.
"W-Weiss!" I rush to her side, only to be greeted with her proudly standing up and brushing my concern off.
"Forget about it. We're almost there," she says, moving forward. I muzzle any objections I have. We're far too close now for arguments.
Jaune and The Girl reach the end. Despite her assurance, Weiss isn't in a good way. She can't even muster herself to jog. I contemplate picking her up, no idea if it would do any good, when I notice the rebounding Nevermore coming straight for us. My eyes widen.
"Watch out!" I bellow, shoving her as hard as I possibly can out of the way before lurching away and peeling my arms against the stone.
Crash!
My ears explode from the great collision behind my back. Dust kicks up, poisoning my lungs as I cough and splatter my way back onto my feet. Weiss sits up from the other side, coughing into a fist, stunned at what just happened.
I say other side because, well, the path between us is broken. And it's not a small gap.
The Girl and Jaune spin, rounding back to us once they realise what's happened. The former lifts her grappling hook, aiming to leap over and rescue me.
Not if a certain someone has anything to say about it.
Screeching terribly, the Nevermore floats right above the tower, raising its wings in a familiar gesture. Taken off-guard, The Girl lowers her hook, jumping closer into the shade and away from harm. With a ginger hand, Jaune hauls Weiss onto her feet and retreat the same.
A burst of feathers pierce the ground in which they stood, cracking the stone and ultimately causing the remaining section to crumble away. The three hightail it to the tower entrance, The Girl utilizing her hook as a makeshift rope for them to climber up on. For the meantime, they're out of danger.
I'm not so lucky.
The Nevermore tilts its body upwards, shifting the bombardment towards me and a stream of feathers tearing the support to pieces. It's encroaching on my position, forcing me further and further from my goal.
I turn and run, run for my dear life. My feet belt against the ground. The sound of sharp tips making purchase pushes me to run faster. If I trip, slip or even stumble, I'm dead. Sweat pools down my shirt, breath hitching every time the spears draw closer.
Then, they grow further away, almost instantaneously. It might be the terror going straight to my head but, the world seems to be going… faster? Not keeping my eyes off the path, my eyes flicker briefly down to my feet.
White glyphs. They're propelling me forward.
Weiss.
Like a rocket engine has been strapped to my back, I sprint with all my remaining power away from my attacker. However, as quickly as the sensation came, I feel my velocity jitter erratically. The glyphs underfoot fizzling, fighting to remain active but Weiss is at her limit. One by one, the glyphs dissipate and I'm flung back first into the structure of the shaky bridge.
Resisting the urge to cry out from the shooting pain, I clamber back onto my feet. The feathers have stopped but they've left their mark. The support has been almost completely destroyed with a mere ten metres my only salvation from a tumbling death. I'm as far away from safety as I could ever be.
The beast cries, shooting up into the sky. Darkness clouds over me as its gigantic frame blocks the sun. It's going to charge, and there's no dodging it this time. My back is literally against the wall here.
It roars. It charges.
With a shuddering hand, I grab Warbreaker. Its bullet won't do any harm but, attack is all I have right now. There's no way I can survive this…
No, wait.
It's slim, micro-sized at best, but there is a chance.
The remaining eye. The Nevermore's been operating mostly on instinct but, it still has one working eye left. I sink into the stock of my gun. If I hit it, I may still have a chance! I'm not going to die here!
I've got way too much on the line to die!
My right-eye narrows. The rapidly approaching beast shrieks. My opening is minor and surrounding by nigh-impenetrable bone marrow. My finger aches on the trigger, my mind repelling the swamping ideas that I'm going to miss.
My teeth click together. It doesn't whether I can or can't. I need to make this shot. I have to.
Chest is heaving. Scope wavering on a speeding target. Wind resistance is accounted for. On my mark.
Three.
Two…
One!
Like my own breath exhaling from my lungs, smoke sparks from my barrel as the bullet flies. I close my eyes…
It shrieks.
I open them again. Black gunk oozes from the out-of-control Nevermore. The final eye now just an empty socket, completing the set, blinding the monster fully.
I… I did it.
I made the shot! I jump into the air in utter joy, throwing my fist into the air and screaming triumphantly,
"Yes! Gotcha, you bastard!"
I shouldn't be celebrating so soon.
The crumpling body of the beast barrels into the breaking underside of the bridge with a booming bang. The sheer weight of the monster is more than the already unstable bridge can bare. Bricks come undone. The massive mass falls forward, tilting the remaining portion of the bridge I'm standing on.
I slip down the slope, hands scrambling for security but there's nothing to catch me. I roll off the side, screaming my lungs out as I fall into the abyss as air curdles in my ear.
This time, the fall definitely will kill me.
"Eren!" I hear someone cry out, muddling by the ailing sounds of the wind. The structure crashes after me, shards of solid brick diving even faster than myself.
Then, my weight lifts, plucked from the sea of crumbling debris. Eyes shut, I let myself be taken. Bounding from spot to spot, floating in the air like a newly born butterfly. A wave of wind smacks me in the face as we touchdown against a wall. I finally open my eyes.
Cool amber greets me once again.
The Girl. Sh-she did it.
"Y-you saved me," I gasp.
Before she responds however, our attention is directed to the bridge, cascading into the abyss with a resounding crash. I stare closely into the wreckage, searching for the, hopefully, decaying body of the Nevermore. Smoke. I won't let my guard down until I see smoke.
Where is it?
Be dead.
Please be dead.
Then, floating out of the ongoing carnage, is a puff of thick smoke, quickly followed by enough smog to fill a factory. I let my shoulders rest and a gaping sigh of relief exhales. At long last.
It's dead.
It's at this time I notice where we are: Dangling off of one of the separate towers with the only things preventing me from falling again being the grappling hook and The Girl's arm wrapped around my waist. I… try not to focus on that.
Instead, as my mind relaxes, my face gushes red as my senses finally return to me. The gravity of my actions land heavily as I fully grasp what I did and, more importantly, what I said.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" I splutter hastily. "I-I-I shouldn't have said any of that. It was so rude of me. I was being such a jerk."
"Uh," she starts, eying me uneasily. "Don't worry about it. I've had worse."
"A-are you sure?" I stammer. I don't want any of them to hate me for being so aggressive. She gives me a pointed look as an answer. "O-okay." I stew in my rose-cheeked embarrassment. I don't know what came over me earlier but, I better not do that ever again.
"Hey!" Jaune waves from the tower entrance. "You're alive! We're all alive! Thank god! I had, like, five heart attacks during that whole thing. I didn't even know that was physically possible!" Good to see he's okay. "There's another pathway here leading to a bunch of towers. Weiss says that we'll need to find an exit further up. Which means: More walking! Yay for us!"
Weiss props herself against the interior as appears as though she's about to fall asleep. She mouths to Jaune, "Stop complaining. You're the least tired out of all of us." He raises his hands in defence, as if it would shield him from her barbs, and then locks eyes with me.
He nods his head towards The Girl before gesturing to the fallen structure in front of us. What is he…
Our conversation from earlier rings in my head, 'You can do that. Why can't you ask for her name?' My body shudders slightly. He wants me to…
He confirms my realisation with a nod before sitting back against the tower, waiting for us. I look at The Girl, stoic and focused. No giant killer beak or razor-sharp claws or bloodthirsty intent in her eyes. Compared to what I've fought today, is it really that scary?
Yes. Very.
But, I think…
I let out a held gulp of air. Three words. That's all I need to ask her. I suck in the broken shards of my courage and I turn towards her, asking in a brave macho tone.
"Wh-what's your name?!"
Her head bound backs, staring at me like she's holding a ticking timebomb in her arms. "Uh, what?"
"I-I, uh, what I mean, u-um, is…" I sigh. Oh, bollocks to it. My shoulders relax as I ask her earnestly. "What's your name? I'd… really like to know. Please." She blinks at me, eyes tilting away as if to consider her answer. I knew it. I was asking too much, wasn't I? I should've let her tell me first.
"Blake." Huh? She turns around, looking me straight in the eye. "My name is Blake."
"Blake…" I tell the name on my tongue. It feels nice to say. Smiling gently, I match Blake's gaze. "My name's Eren."
Through dehydrated gasps and swollen ulcers, the four of finally arrive back at the starting point, the once light sky now a dark-blue hue. Crowding closely at the clifftop are five figures: The Professor, of course, Miss Goodwitch, and much to my delight, Ruby and Yang, standing shoulder to shoulder alongside someone I'm vaguely familiar with. It's that tall redhead from the locker room - I think her name was Pyrrha?
Ruby catches sight of us, a bright smile breaking upon immediately making eye-contact.
"Eren!" She cries out, racing towards me.
"Ruby!" I call back, smiling all the while. It's only been half-a-day but, it still feels like it's been so long since I last saw her. Though as she makes it halfway, instead of vouching to run further, Ruby plants her feet into the ground and presses hard. What is she...
Oh dear.
"Eep!" I squeal as a lump makes weight with my lungs, squeezing the air out and scattering rose petals upon impact. This newfound weight pushes me down to the ground, what I assume was supposed to be a hug morphed completely into a curt rugby tackle instead.
"Ohhh. That was a bad idea," Ruby groans massaging her neck. She lifts herself off me and crawls onto the grass, kneeling over me. "Are you okay?"
"I-I think I'm alright," I cough drily, giving her a meek yet assuring smile. "Th-think I have a collapsed lung though." The irony in that, though. Survived a fall: an Ursa, a Beowolf pack, a Nevermore and Weiss and the thing that does me in is a simple overzealous tackle from a girl even shorter than me. What a way to go that'd be.
"My bad," she apologizes with a bashful giggle. I know she didn't mean anything bad by it. It's been a few hours since my Aura was depleted anyway. It should be a decent way replenished by now.
"Oh. Wonderful. She's here," Weiss bemoans, swatting away petals with the back of her hand. Her face quickly lights up however, as she begins walking towards the girl from the locker room, waving to her as only a blueblood would. "Pyrrha! Hello!"
Whatever keeps her out of our hair, I suppose.
Passing her on the way there, stifling a bemused snigger at Weiss' ragged attire before strolling towards us with a cocky smirk, is somebody I very much prefer to talk to: Yang.
"Hey there, stranger. What took you so long?" She asks playfully.
"We, uh, tried a shortcut," I tell them, sitting up from my grassy-bed. "Didn't work so well."
"You're telling me!" Jaune intersects with a moan. "We've been walking so long, I can't even feel my feet anymore!" I... wouldn't go that far but, the walk wasn't exactly a moonlit stroll by the beach. With a single gasp of air, he flops onto the ground, sprawling his fatigued limbs out with a joyous sigh. "Ahh! This is nice. Grass is nice. I'm just going to lie here. Eren, wake me up when I feel alive."
"Sure thing, Jaune," I nod.
"Thanks buddy," he yawns happily. Assured by my promise, Jaune closes his eyes and begins snoring almost immediately. What I wouldn't give to fall asleep so quickly. I'd honestly trade in my Semblance if it let me sleep soundly at night. Whatever it's supposed to be anyway.
The sisters are giving me the strangest looks right now.
"W-what?" I stutter. Did I say something odd?
"One day," Ruby whines hopelessly to herself. "It took him one. Day."
"I know, sis," Yang sighs, patting her sister on the back. "Life just isn't fair."
...This is one of those questions that I don't want answered, isn't it?
"So, uh" I quickly change the subject, legs folding into a basket. "Did you guys partner up?"
"Well, uh..." Ruby trails.
"Nope!" Yang answers, a little too cheery for my liking. "We didn't meet up until after the initiation was finished. I met somebody else but, she went back to the academy because 'Trees suck to sleep on.'" That's... certainly a reason to leave. Yes. "Ruby's partner is over there!" Energetically, she points me towards the tall red-haired girl Weiss is currently speaking to.
"That... Pyrrha girl?" I ask.
"Yeah, that's her," Ruby bobs.
"You should go talk to her some time. She's actually really cool to hang out with," suggests the older sister.
"And she's super nice! And an awesome fighter!" The younger sister adds with a peppy tone.
"U-um, sure. A-alright. Sometime then," I nod awkwardly. Of course, I don't when that sometime will be exactly. It's not lying if I genuinely don't know.
"Is that your partner?" Ruby asks, spotting Blake staring out into the vast forest the four of us just escaped from. By her cool gaze, you could never tell that she'd almost lost her life several times over today.
"Uh, yeah. That's her," I reply with a nod. Her eyebrows squint as she scans her, as if to judge her silently.
"She seems…"
"Kinda moody?" Yang interjects with a snark.
"Yang!" Her sister exclaims with a balk. "I mean, you're right but, you're not supposed to say it to his face!"
My friends, everyone.
Yang scoffs unthreateningly at the pair of us before settling on me again. "So! Know anything about her yet?"
"W-well…" I start, attention wandering slightly. I don't have a bio to read off for them if that's what she's asking. But… "I know her name?" I offer. It's something, I think.
She puts a hand on my shoulder, though, it feels more condescending than it does reassuring. "For you Eren, that's as good as getting her Scroll number," she says with a pat.
"Thanks, Yang…" I drone a reply. She could be a tennis player. She delivers some mean backhands. Really wish she didn't word it that way, though.
"Ahem!" Miss Goodwitch clears her throat with authority. Weiss and Pyrrha cease talking while both Ruby and myself spring back onto our feet, standing up so straight that it'd make multiple military regiments feel inadequate. Stepping forward, Professor Ozpin begins to speak.
"It's very good to see you four in one piece. You're the last students to arrive. The rest of your classmates have already been relocated to the academy where you will have your initiation ceremony." Ceremony? A wave of dread brushes me. They never told us about any ceremony. "But first: Your relics, if you please?"
"Gladly, sir," Weiss smiles... a little to sickly sweet, making her way towards to bare over her. "Wake up, Jaune!" With a vicious hiss, she prods her partner with the hard butt of her heels. She's a step away from walking all over him.
"Ouch! I'm up! I'm up!" He yelps, jumping to his feet.
"Hey, Professor?" Yang speaks up. "We were wondering: How are the teams supposed to be formed?" It's at times like these I'm glad Yang is my friend. The Professor contemplates this question with a sip and a hum, pressing his glasses back into position.
"Hm. Yes. I'm sure you're all very curious as to what team you will be working with," he remarks. "Now, normally, we inform students back at the academy and sort them out there but, with how little time we have before the ceremony, it'd be far more prudent if we reveal them now. Don't you agree, Professor Goodwitch?" The teacher thinks over his for a few moments, her lips shifting from place to place as she thinks.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she says with an affirming nod. "As you wish, Professor. Gather around students and show us the relics you've collected. Those of you who have matching relics both in colour and piece will be teammates for the coming years."
No pressure, right?
The three of us share a look, our intentions for teams were laid bare right at the beginning. As if we're about to have a standoff, the three of us form a circle, our hands, Ruby and mine anyways, trembling as we prepare ourselves mentally for the result. At least one of us weren't going to be in the same team.
"You guys ready?" Ruby prompts. I nod. Yang simply hums a 'Sure.' "Three."
My ammo bag opens with a click.
"Two."
I grab hold of the relic tightly, holding my breath. Whoever I end up with, I just hope that they're nice.
"One!"
We thrust out our hands and present our relics.
In my hands - The White Knight piece.
In Yang's - The White Bishop piece.
And in Ruby's - The White Rook piece.
None of them had a matching pair with the other.
"W-we're all on separate teams!" I exclaim with a reel.
"Wha..." Ruby stutters, caught in a stupor. "What?! How did this happen?! We had a plan and everything!"
"Huh. That worked out better than I thought," Yang says nonchalantly. She could at least show some empathy to our plight. She can be so cold.
"I can't believe this!" Ruby slumps. "Man. Our team would've been so great..."
"Pffft," snickers Yang. "Eren, look to your right." I blink at her before complying. Looking at my right, I find the other White Knight piece ensnared in a pair of hefty brown gloves.
"J-Jaune?"
"Hey! You picked up the White Knight piece too!" He cheers, grinning wildly. "Woah! That's some luck! Weiss and I found this thing when I tripped over it back at the ruins. I can't believe neither of us noticed we had the same piece." I can't believe it either. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's my teammate but, if we're both on the same team then, that means...
"No..."
Weiss.
"This isn't happening. You. An-and her? On my team?!" Her body's shuddering. Her brain's totally unwilling to comprehend the situation that she's found herself in. Can't help but feel a little rejected. "Th-this is impossible! It's inconceivable! This is a tragedy!" She screeches. That's a little harsh... "I- Him! Her! You! All of you! No. No!" Both of her hands latch on her temple, as though she's trying to hold back her swollen brain from busting out from her skull. She's turning a fierce colour of raspberry red.
"Oh boy. I think she's having a mental breakdown," Yang whispers non-so-secretively into our ears.
"This can't be happening!"
"Pyrrha Nikos: Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Ruby Rose," Professor Ozpin announces, his voice booming throughout the ceremony hall. Answering their names, the four students walk up onto the stage, formally folding their arms behind their backs. Her movements have been fluid so far but, every now and again, I can see Ruby's eyes flicker frantically to the crowd watching her every move.
Come on, Ruby. You can do it!
The Professor continues, "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will forward together as Team Raspberry. Led by... Ruby Rose!"
The crowd erupts in a flurry of applause. Projected on the massive screen is the team acronym – RPRV- From the other side, I can make out Yang jumping up and down, cheering and whooping manically. In a daze, Ruby sights darts from one spot to another, only settling when her partner Pyrrha puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, smiling proudly at her.
Smiling grandly to myself, I dart back from the curtains, returning to my about-to-be-formed team when Miss Glynda Goodwitch appears from behind the veil with her typical larger Scroll.
"Alright students, we're almost halfway through the ceremony. Now, just to remind you, when you walk up on stage, Professor Ozpin will present you with your team-name and announce which one of you will act as the team-leader." An icy shiver tickles my spine. "Remember: When you're walking out there in front of that crowd, you're not walking out as aspiring fighters anymore, you're walking as official Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training. So, hold your heads high and present yourselves in a dignified and respectful manner. Am I understood?" A few heads in the group bob, others silently accept her lecturing. Satisfied, Miss Goodwitch returns to her Scroll. "Good." With that established, she disappears back behind the curtain.
"Woah, man. This is it," Jaune says, heels bouncing like the floor's made of fire. Seems like he has his own energy to dispel. "You nervous, Eren?"
"V-v-very..." I murmur back, tapping frantically on the back of my hand. I don't think I'd be this nervous at my own execution.
"How about you, Blake?" He asks her next. Silence is her answer. "...Gotcha. You're fine." Tentatively, he asks his partner. Despite her outfit being thoroughly cleaned by her butlers, which I swear set a world record in such a short span of time, the rich girl is currently folding her arms and staring a hole through the curtain fabric. "Weiss? You, uh, you doing okay?"
"Oh, I'm not fine. In-fact, I'm possible the angriest I've ever felt in my life," she answers but, while her words are unsurprising, she says them in the calmest tone I've heard out of her since this morning.
"You... don't sound angry. You actually sound kind of happy," he points out. His face scrunches up slightly. "Not going to lie, it's kind of creeping me out." Same here.
"I've been... absolutely livid all day. I've had a lot of things to be angry about, and I feel like I'm justified in all of them," she announces with a sigh. "But, being so infuriated for so long gets so tiring and frankly, after that... horrific reveal earlier, I decided it'd be much more fulfilling if I looked on the bright side of things."
"Great! That's really good!" He says with a smile. "...What's that then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She scoffs at our clueless expressions. "I'm going to be the leader of this ragtag bunch of misfits."
"You're joking, right?" Blake breaks her silence with a glare. "What makes you think you're going to get it?" Weiss raises an eyebrow.
"Don't you know who I am? I-"
"Weiss Schnee. You're the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the richest and prolific Dust distribution companies in the world," Blake answers. From the sounds of thing, she could recite company logistics too.
"Eren, what's a Schnee?" Jaune whispers, leaning in.
"No idea," I reply. The name rings a bell but, I can't remember where from exactly.
"Ah! You do know who I am?" The white-haired girl says with a smirk, proud of her status being recognised. Blake doesn't seem to share the sentiment.
"I know all there is to know about your company," she responds in a sharp tone.
"Well, in that case, you should know exactly why I'm going to be the leader. As the heiress to the Schnee fortune, I've been studying and training extensively for the day that I will take over my father's company. I have the knowledge, the experience and the talent for the position," she says, proudly placing a hand on her chest before squinting haughtily at us. "And it doesn't hurt my chances that my only competition for the role are you three."
"Excuse me?" Blake balks.
"You want to know why? Then I'll be happy to explain," she responds, smiling smugly before pointing a finger at her.
"You. You're anti-social, distrustful and far too closed off from everybody you talk to. Instead of consulting with us like you should have, you ran and tried to fight the Nevermore by yourself. Why on earth would they listen to someone like you?"
I hear Blake's teeth seize together, standing defiant but unable to supply a response.
She points at me.
"You. You're spineless. Always stuttering, always apologising, always asking for permission to speak your mind like a toddler. If you were given the position, you'd crumble under all the stress. Am I wrong?"
"...No. Y-you're not wrong," I admit, head dropping to the floor. I feel a comforting hand land on my shoulder. Jaune.
"H-hey Weiss, would you ease up? Nobody's picking a fight here. You don't have to-"
"And you," she interrupts dangerously, pointing at him. "You're a waste of space. Your fighting ability is dreadful: you make rookie mistakes, you have nothing to contribute to the team and by all accounts, you shouldn't even be here. I don't like these two in the slightest, but they are at the very least capable. I have absolutely no idea how you managed to be accepted when you are nothing much than a complete load."
"I-I..." He tries to speak but the words seem to fail him. Repaying him for his actions a few seconds prior, I softly put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. His sight lowers to the ground in disgrace.
"Besides," she smiles, oh-so satisfied with herself. "If a total dunce like that little girl managed to be appointed, there's no way Professor Ozpin won't make me leader."
How dare she.
"S-stop it..." I warn pitifully. What was meant to be commanding and intimidating was caught between my desire to shut her down and the fear that it would only escalate the situation.
"Stop what? I'm telling you all the facts. If you're offended, that's your problem. You should really grow a thicker skin," she belittles, barely even glancing at me as she talks.
My knuckles crack as I clench them tight, forcing all the tremoring in my muscles into it. Waste of space? Complete load? Total dunce?! Who the hell is she to criticise them? She isn't allowed to talk about them that way. I won't allow it, you conceitful bratty-
"White Knight!" A sharp voice pierces straight through us. Scowling at the four of us, Miss Goodwitch tells us, "We've called you at least three times already. It's your turn."
I unclench my fist, punching down the growing fire in my chest. It wouldn't help. It never helps. Don't bother.
"Hmph," Weiss huffs. "Today has been... disappointing. I've been saddled in an inadequate partner, an obnoxious 'loner' and a cowering wimp." She muses, ignoring the secretive and not-so-secretive glaring from myself and Blake respectively. "I don't like any of you. Frankly, I deserve far better than what I'm getting. But, it's no matter. As your leader, I will take pride in dragging you three to the top. We will take the whole of Beacon Academy by storm. Whether you like it or not."
With that, Weiss calmly walks forward, arms resting at her front like a refined young lady. Groaning audibly, Blake follows, hoping that if she stares long enough at the back of her head it'll explode. I turn around, looking at a downhearted Jaune, gazing down at the floor. This isn't right. I should say something.
"Jaune, I…"
"Don't worry about it," he starts. His head bounds up unnaturally, shining a smile too grand to be true. "I'm fine! More than fine! We're about to become Huntsmen-in-training! What do I have to be upset about?" He starts walking, persisting in his overtly merry demeanour. "Come on! Let's go! The girls will get angry if we keep them waiting."
…If that's what he thinks, I shouldn't argue. It'll only cause a fight, anyhow.
I suck in my gut. Well, this is it.
The audiences' clapping quietens as the previous team step off-stage. As we climb up into blinding lights of centre stage, myself staring at my shoes the entire time, pleading with them to not embarrass me in front of so many people, the Professor continues with his formulaic speech.
"Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee, Eren Liddell, and Blake Belladonna," he beckons. Proud of the achievement of not succumbing to the oh-so dangerous stairs, I lift my head up to the esteemed Head-master, arms gelatine as they wobble from fumbling in front to resting behind my back. A murmur from the students close to the stage referring to my 'Odd name' sends a wave of heat down my back.
Just ignore them. You're okay.
"The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Lapis." The clapping begins anew. It's almost over. He only needs to announce the leader.
It's then I notice Ruby and Yang out of the corner in my eye, the former with her hands muffling a wild squeal and the latter looking at me… oddly. What's got them so worked up about?
"Led by..."
Confused, I carefully sneak a glance at the screen above, the acronym forming for all to see clearly.
Team LABS. That's…
No.
"Eren Liddell."
Everyone in attendance bursts into applause but I find my ears deafened to their raucous cheers. All the joints in my body grind to a halt, preventing me from moving. I stare up at the screen, my senses dull.
I don't see Blake's almost slack-jawed expression.
I don't hear Weiss shrieking a horrified, "What?!"
I don't feel Jaune playfully thumping my arm in congratulations.
Staring up at my photo right above the letter 'L', listening to the rapid beating of my heart, all I feel is fear.
Unbridled fear.
A/N: Okay, judging from the team predictions I got a few chapters previously, the decision to make Eren the leader might raise a few eyebrows. I don't want to say too much about it but, I have a specific storyline in mind, both for him and his new team. Some of you may have some heavy objections to this decision, I've been wrestling with this choice myself for a fair while. Please bare with it for now, then crucify me after I completely toss it all up.
Fun fact: Team LABS and Team RPRV weren't originally the teams meant to be formed. Instead it would've been Eren, Nora, Blake, Ren -ENBR- and Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha -RWAN- LABS was originally intended to be a red herring, establishing the dynamics for all four characters in the event that I would expand on them later on. However, as I was writing these dynamics for the last three chapters, I found that I really liked the interactions the four had with each other and honestly, it fits far better for the story I'm looking to tell than if I went with ENBR. Granted, there's still a part of me that really wanted to expand on Ren and Nora's characters but, I can do that without making them teammates.
I was aiming to have both parts out by the end of October but, considering the size, yeah. I think I made the right choice splitting the chapters up. I was aiming for this part to be out the following Wednesday but, Uni decided that I was having too much fun and I had a report deadline to meet. Reality is a bugger like that.
It's a bit belated but, thank you all very much for the 100 Followers. For long-time readers, thank you for sticking with this story for so long and for readers who have just joined, welcome aboard. I hope you'll all enjoy what I have planned for the coming arcs.