Alright, so here we are with the second chapter of this RWBY fanfiction. Any question you have will have to be put in the reviews, then wait for the answer to be shown in the story itself. I know, a bit of a jerk move on my part, but I ain't about to tell ya how he knows Roman Torchwick and Neo. You will have to figure that out yourself. I mean, you already have a clue.
But without further adieu (I think it how you spell it), let us continue.
Last time, after Roman and Neo have managed to get Ash into Vale, more precisely, in the middle of the first exam in which partners and teams are decided in the well known Emerald Forest. Roman tried saying to just try the next year, but Ash had other plans and simply jumped off the ship into the Grimm infested forest.
Ash dropped down and looked below him as the canopy got closer to him. He didn't intend to slow down one bit and instead went down with his head first. Once past the canopy, he grabbed onto a branch while he was falling and managed to swing on it, allowing him to land on the branch and look around himself. He could hear some voices around him, but none were familiar. But that was not why he was here for; he wanted Ozpin.
Ash dropped down on the ground, then looked around. He had a small charge from Weiss's crystals left and knew just how to use it. He pulled out his blade and used his semblance to make it glow bright red, almost as if the blade itself was heating up. Then he used it to slash a tree, leaving an intentional swallow cut that began burning and produce smoke. "Let us see who sees this first, the headmaster of Beacon, or an average student."
On the cliff from which the students launched themselves, Ozpin, a man wearing an unzipped black suit over a dark green buttoned vest, long dark-green pants, black trouser shoes, a pair of shaded glass spectacles and a cowl with a purple, cross-shaped pin over it. He seems middle-aged due to his silver hair, but something about him just seemed off.
Next to him stood a middle-aged woman with very bright blonde hair tied in a bun with a curl hanging on the right of her face. Teal earning that match the pendant on her neck, and ovular glasses. She was wearing a white long-sleeved, pleated top with a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare at her wrist, a high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings.
Finally, she also wears a cape that is purple on the inside and black on the outside with a cut made to resemble flames and arrows at the end with a row of diamond-shaped beads at the back.
The 2 were overlooking the exam, the woman watching it on a tablet in her hands, and Ozpin watching it from the edge of the cliff. "I never get bored of seeing a new generation so eager to protect those around it." Ozpin sighed. "Don't you do as well, Glynda?"
The woman, named Glynda, looked at him then answered. "All I see is a bunch of half-cooked brats who wouldn't stand a chance in the true wilderness surrounded by Grimm." Instead of a warm, encouraging answer, she gave one that seems to criticize the students.
Ozpin gave her a slight chuckle then returned to watching the forest, but something caught his eye. "Glynda? What is that?" Ozpin pointed in the direction of the smoke he was seeing. His eyes narrowed at it as if he was being warry of anything that might happen
"It looks like...smoke?" Glynda quickly began swiping through the tablet, looking for the source of it. "That shouldn't be there. That place is way off from the path any student would've taken to reach the goal, or from any place they might've landed. It doesn't make sense."
"Do we have any cameras in that area?" Ozpin asked as he put his mug down on the ground and put his hands on his cane.
"We should. We made sure to place them in as many places in the forest as possible, so we should- There!" Finally, she had a visual of the source of the smoke and saw a tree slowly burning from a cut in its bark. "The smoke was placed. Do you think it's an attack?" Glynda asked Ozpin.
"If it was then they wouldn't have revealed themselves so easily." Ozpin pointed out. True, if they were being attacked by someone, then setting a tree ablaze and creating a large cloud of smoke into the sky would not be the best idea since it gives away the fact that the enemy is here. This was no attack, it was a lure. "Someone wants us to go to him."
"I'll keep looking-" It didn't take her long as someone appeared on the camera. He wasn't there before because he was up in the trees. "Sir, there is someone on the cameras!" Ozpin looked back at her and took the tablet from her to look at the images himself.
"A young man?" Ozpin muttered confused as he looked at one the camera was pointed on. But then he began walking underneath the camera, disappearing for a moment. "What the-" Ozpin shut his mouth as a hand grabbed the camera.
Glynda narrowed her eyes and got out her riding crop, walking towards the edge of the cliff. "I will take care of this scoundrel at once, Sir-"
"There will be no need, Glynda, I think I know what he wants " Ozpin replied as he walked to her and gave her the tablet. When the headmistress looked at the footage she immediately noticed the name written on the camera. It was Ozpin's.
"He...The smoke...Everything is to get to you?" She asked looking at Ozpin, the headmaster taking position upon one of the platforms with his cane in hand. "Wait, Sir, what if this is a trap?" She argued. True, all this is sudden and seems fishy. But Ozpin knows better than to fight a lost battle.
"Don't worry about me, Glynda. Something tells me this young man might not have enough bite to support his bark." And with that, he launched himself into the Emerald Forest, going towards the smoke that's been rising to the sky.
In the meantime, in other places of the forest, not only Ozpin and Glynda had taken note of the smoke. But also a certain bow-wearing girl took note of it along with her blonde friend. "That...seems odd." She said looking up at the smoke. Her friend then looked up as well, sharing her curiosity.
"Hmm. Not the best moment for someone to hold a barbeque, don't you think?" She said in a joking manner while looking up. But her friend didn't share her humor.
"Look, Yang? It might be serious. Someone could've set fire to the forest for example by accident, or worse, by purpose." She pointed out as she was actually the scared one. Something about that smoke looked way too familiar for her, for that is the image of the aftermath most of the time.
"Relax~. " Yang said as she put her arms behind her head and kept walking. "Besides, if it was a REAL emergency, then the headmaster would've done something wouldn't he-" At that moment as she looked up she saw Ozpin flying above them towards the smoke, which proved to have set the alarm in her head.
"Got something else to say?" She asked as it seems her worries were proven right.
"Yeah...Let's go!" Yang dashed off towards the direction of the smoke, much to her friend's dismay. "Come on, Blake! The badies aren't going to wait!"
The one named blake groaned at her friend's impulsive behavior. "Why did I do to be put with such a partner?" She muttered and began following Yang towards the smoke. But both of them were wrong. Well, Yang would've been wrong either way, but Blake was as well. This was no attack or anything like that, but an invitation. One for Ozpin.
The headmaster of Beacon flew through the air until he noticed himself getting rather close to the trees below. At that moment he grabbed his cane with both of his hands and positioned his leg to land first. As he went through the leaves, he used his cane to grab a branch and stop his falling, then he jumped down on the ground. Now there was only one question still lingering: Where is the guest?
As Ozpin walked around he stumbled upon the tree from which the smoke was coming from. The fire had been kept under check not to erupt into a forest fire and the camera was still intact, filthy, but intact. There were also other things nearby which were attracted by the smoke; howls giving off their identity. "Oh my. " Ozpin said as 2 beowolfs appeared from between the trees. But what grabbed his attention was when someone walked between them without them even caring.
"I take it that you are Ozpin, right?" Ash revealed himself standing between the beowolfs, and the Grimm were not attacking. Now, this had Ozpin captivated.
"And who might you be? Also, should I remind you that you are standing dangerously close to 2 Grimm?" The beowolfs growled at Ozpin. At least they were not broken.
"I wouldn't worry about them. I and the Grimm had always lived with a certain rule set between us." Ash said as he pulled his sword from its scabbard. Ozpin, as Ash's father said, widened his eyes seeing that katana. "I don't attack them, and-" He swung the katana down, cutting off the beowolf's head while it guard was down. "they won't attack me…" Almost as if shouting treason, the other beowolf tried to pounce at Ash and attack him, but the headmaster of Beacon threw his cane into its back, throwing it off, then Ash slashed it for the final strike.
Ozpin went to recover his cane, then looked at Ash with sharp eyes. "You are the son of Pluto Auburn." Ozpin pointed out as he caught on to Ash's father from his weapon. "I recognized the weapon wielded by your father, and I must say that I'm rather surprised to see you; I didn't know Pluto was a man who could simply settle down and make a family."
"And I must say that you look way younger than I expected. But I guess today is full of surprises." Ash said as he sheeted his sword back. "But I am not here for simple chit chatter…"
"That was made obvious with the smoke and message on the camera. You wanted to see me specifically, am I right?" Ozpin said, then Ash traced his hand to his glasses and began to slowly remove them.
"My father said that his weapon can help me get into Beacon when the time is right, and that…" He removed his glasses, and for the first time in who knows how much time, Ozpin's eyes widened with shock and a hint of fear. "you are a man who knows how to keep a secret." After that he put his glasses back, concealing his eyes.
Ozpin now had a stern look on his face, trying to decide what exactly is there to do with Ash. The Grimm ignoring him made sense now, but he was hoping it was just a semblance. This was bad, but also a chance. And Ozpin is not a man to miss one. "Your father knew me well in that regard. But how am I supposed to integrate you into Beacon?" He put on a sly smirk. "I don't know if you noticed, but we have a limited amount of space and that is in order to make building teams easier. The number of students that the school currently has can actually be divided by 4-"
"I don't want to be part of a team." Ash interrupted him. "Nor do I seek a partner."
Ozpin found himself chuckling at his words. "A lone wolf? The Beacon way of managing the students, no. The way every Academy across Remnant does this is to build trust and unity among the young generation. No one can face the entire world of Grimm alone."
"What are you saying?" Ash asked as the man in front of him gave him the chills. His father was right about Ozpin, he cannot be trusted. But this is worse than he thought.
"Oh, just figuring out what to do with you. You see, I am going to have you play a bit of a wild card role"
"Wild card?" Ash repeated. "Explain yourself!"
"Don't be impatient, ...Mind telling me your name?" Ozpin asked.
"It's Ash...Ash Auburn." Ash replied with his eyes narrowed at Ozpin from behind his glasses.
"Well then, Ash, I am sure you have your questions. But for now, know this: I will be watching you, just as we've been watched all this time."
"Wait, what?" Ash perked up. He was not at peace with letting one man know about his secret, but more? "Since when?"
"Oh, don't sweat it. They arrived around the 'Wild card' part." Ozpin said then chuckled. "Anyway, how about you two come out of the hiding and show our friend here to the finish line? I have to attend to other business." Ozpin jumped up in the canopy, disappearing before Ash could question him further.
"I told you he knows." A female voice came from the bushes as Blake, a girl looking to be the same age of Ash with long black hair wearing high-necked sleeveless crop undershirt covered by a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front, white shorts with full stockings with a color gradation from black to purple towards her black low-heeled boot, came out of hiding and pointed her yellow eyes at Ash.
"Come on, Blake, at least we found a good prey!" behind her appeared another girl wearing a low cut crop covered by a tanned jacket with golden brown pipping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that feature two golden buttons. She also wore a brown belt covered by a pleated piece of brown material that went from hip to hip behind her, underneath is a piece of asymmetrical white material reaching to her knee as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She also had brown knee-high boots with over-the-knee socks underneath them. She had long blonde hair and liliac eyes that she almost immediately set on Ash.
"That grey-haired asshole…" Ash muttered and looked at the 2.
"So…" Yang was the first to break the ice as usual and went to Ash. "It seems you're our problem now, aren'tcha pretty boy?" She said trying to tease him a bit. "Say, what's your name?"
Blake signed. "We heard his name already, Yang, his name is A-"
"SHHHHHHH!" Yang quickly turned to Blake and shushed her. "It's rude not to ask!" She said then turned her attention back to Ash, who didn't seem too amused by this. "So, care to tell us your name?"
"Ash Auburn." He answered bluntly as the blonde only got closer.
"Ash, you say? Well then, mister Ash, it seems you've been too hot for a change, had you not? Turning all those poor innocent maidens to ash." Of course, she'd try and make a pun.
"What?"
"Ignore her, she just loves to make bad puns. " Blake said as she went to them. "Anyway, my name is Blake Belladona and this here is my partner, Yang Xiao Long." The blonde waved with at him slightly. "We're students at Beacon and, currently, we are taking the partner exam."
"Partner exam? You mean the part where partners are chosen?" Ash asked.
"Yes. As you can see though, we can't decide who ends up as our partner…" Blake said with a hint of regret to which Yang caught on quickly.
"Oh, you'll come around to love me. Everyone does." The blonde replied.
"Anyway, we were told to find some kind of relic deep within the forest, grab it, then hurry back to where we came from. " Blake explained in simple terms. "And since the headmaster appointed us to guide you through it as well, I guess it can't be helped. Tell me, what weapon do you specialize in?"
"I am quite proficient with my father's sword. " Ash answered holding his late father's sword at his hip, keeping it close at all times.
"Your old man's weapon? Why didn't you go with something more...I don't know, modern?" Yang asked.
"Let's say my LATE father was not a person who could really afford to do things properly." Taking note of his words, Yang and Blake both decided to drop the jokes, especially Yang. She knows how it's like to lose a parent.
"I'm sorry about your loss…" Yang said with a solemn tone accompanied by a hint of sorrow.
"Same."
"It's ok. Now!" Ash cracked his neck and stood straight in front of them. "Let us proceed to the end." The 2 girls looked at him with strange eyes as he went in the wrong way.
"eh, dude?" Yang was the one to speak first. "I'm pretty sure that there is the wrong way."
Ash stopped in his tracks hearing her. "Mind pointing the good one then?" He asked, but the 2 didn't really know either.
"That's what we are trying to figure out ourselves. " Blake said. "The Headmaster was pretty vague about everything, so we don't really know where to go."
"...Are you kidding me?"
Despite Ash being stuck traveling with 2 girls, which would've been considered great fortune by others seeing as they were pretty nice looking, the exam was still ongoing and other people were advancing towards the goal. So staying in one place was not really recommended, especially with the Grimm roaming around. Of course, this didn't really stop people from whining, bickering, or worse, nagging.
"Come on!" A more squeaky female voice shouted behind her as her partner was behind. "You really have to work on your stamina, you know." She said as her partner caught up...And it was none other than Weiss Schnee, the same girl Ash saved not so long ago.
"Shut...up. " Weiss said breathing heavily as she finally caught up with her partner. But from her expression, you could tell she was not pleased with the person she'll be stuck with for the next 4 years. Even more so as her partner was actually 2 years younger than any other first-year at Beacon.
Her 'partner' was wearing a long-sleeved black dress with a high collar and red trims on the sleeves over which was a black waist cincher with red lacing up the front. The skirt of her dress had red trimming and linning, and she was also wearing a pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots with red laces. A lot of red on this one. And as far as her appearance went, she was rather short with pale skin and black hair reaching only to the base of her neck with red tips on it. "Oh, don't be like that!" She said trying to cheer up her partner.
Weiss couldn't do much but breath. "Look, can we just focus on the assignment at hand?" she said looking at the younger girl. But she had to admit that she had amazing stamina. "We have yet to find the ruins or the relic we're supposed to recover."
"I'm sure it's close." She said cheerfully as she walked forward. "Come on! I doubt you want to get left behind again."
"I swear, I'm going to ask for a new partner…" Weiss muttered as she followed her. The thick vegetation of the forest didn't help either to ease her walk or to keep up with her partner. The walk towards the ruins was bound to be a good jog alright.
In the meantime, back at the cliff, Ozpin just got back and picked up his mug. Glynda approached him in order to know what happened of course since the cameras didn't have any audio. "What happened? You were in a blind spot."
Ozpin looked back at her and smirked. It was really good luck that she didn't see what he see, and that was the case for a number of reasons. "The young man from earlier proved to be the son of an old acquaintance of us actually. " He said then took a sip from his mug. "I am rather surprised you didn't recognize his weapon at first."
"His...weapon?" Glynda echoed confused. "If I may Sir, how can you going to allow him in the Academy so easily?" She asked trying to do her job. But Ozpin didn't erase that smirk on his face even for a minute.
"The same way I allowed Ruby Rose into Beacon despite her age; because I can, apparently. It is only a matter of space." He replied. "And for your dismay, Glynda, his last name is Auburn."
Hearing that name made the headmistress both blush in embarrassment and get red with anger. "A-are you telling me that he is the son of that scoundrel?" She slightly snapped.
"My, I didn't know you can take such an aggressive tone. " Ozpin said reacting to her small outburst, but she was quick to fix her glasses and clear her throat, fixing her composure.
"I apologize for that, but…" She looked on the cameras trying to find him again. "is everything really alright this way? His father was not even a student here, but a student from Haven."
"Yet we knew him and he was a good Huntsman. " Ozpin said, but Glynda was not going to leave the record clean.
"Among other things such as being a total jackass, womanizer, selfish, arrogant prick. Not to mention his questionable 'friends'"
At that, she hit the nail on the head...Even if she threw some stuff in there herself. Ozpin took a deep breath before replying. "You...are not going to go easy on him, aren't you?"
"I will make him pay for each SECOND in which Pluto Auburn humiliated me." She declared firmly. Just what did Ash's father do to her?
"Brrrr." Ash felt a cold chill run down his spine as he was walking behind Yang and Blake. "What was that about?"
"Are you alright?" Blake asked looking back at him.
"Yeah. I just had a strange feeling hit me all of a sudden." He replied then resumed walking. The 3 had been walking for a good amount of time and by the looks of things they were not getting any closer to their goal. Not that Yang's occasional puns were helping, but at least she was lightening the mood.
"Must be your girlfriend thinking about how to punish you after she finds out you spend time in the company of 2 beauties such as us." Called it. As always, Yang had to make a pun. And as always, Blake simply sighed and Ash decided not to reply. "Oh, come on you two! You are killing the mood."
"There is not that much to kill since there wasn't really a mood going anyway. " Blake said.
"Oh, don't be like that!" Yang said with a smile as she looked back at the 2, walking backward a bit. "There is always a mood going, you just have to feel it."
"I don't think any of us are really feeling anything at the moment. " Blake said, much to Yang's dismay seeing as she cannot even get a small crack to form on that girl's face. Seriously, she thought Blake must've been born lacking all sense of jokes or something. But no, she was just not all that fun with her puns.
"If anything, I think we are at least getting closer to our target. " Ash said as the 3 walked. But he only said that to make Yang stop for a moment with her puns as she turned back to walk properly. To their surprise though…
"You were right! We're here!" Yang suddenly shouted, making Ash and Blake hurry as well next to her in order to see ruins standing in the middle a small clearing with several chess pieces laid on pedestals there.
"Are those the relics?" Blake asked as she walked up to the ruins and picked up a chess piece, checking it in order to make sure it was not some trap or riddle. "Heh, pretty simple." She noted as she put the piece in her pocket.
"I guess this means we are going back-" Suddenly, a loud scream was heard which made them all direct their looks towards the trees. A blonde boy came out running and screaming along with a rather taller red-headed girl dressed in some kind of bronze gladiator-like armor. "Wow, I heard about dates going wrong before, but this is just ridiculous."
"Those 2 are no couple…" Ash's stance changed as he placed his hand on the handle of his blade, knowing those 2 were running from something else. And he was right.
"Oh boy, Deathstalkers…" Yang said as 2 large scorpion-like Grimm emerged from the forest shrieking. At the same time, everyone present drew their weapons out. Except for Yang since her weapons consisted of 2gauntlets on her arms, so she simply put her first up. "Oh well, guess we're doing this now."
Blake's now moved a bit then she looked up at the sky. "Add up to that list…" She said as a giant bird-like Grimm flew over them along with a certain rich girl on top trying to get down, then a red haze followed shortly from its direction, revealing yet another guest to the party. At least she brought flowers or rather said their petals.
The girl dressed in black and red from earlier which was partnered up with Weiss stopped when she saw Yang and, ignoring 3 freaking huge Grimm, she yelled out "YANG!" and jumped for a small hug.
"Ruby!" The taller blonde returned the hug, but she was kinda smothering the smaller girl. "I'm so glad you're here!"
"Gah! Yang! Can't breathe!" She cried out and the blonde followed to let her go. "Thanks…"
"You know her?" Ash asked.
"Of course I do!" Yang answered, "She's my little sister."
"..." Ain't this a surprise. Apparently, Ozpin is turning Beacon into some kind of kindergarten. "I'll leave questions for later."
"Yang? Who's this?" Ruby asked looking at Ash, then she saw the Grimm looking at them confused about something. "And why aren't those Deathstalkers charging at us?"
"Oh, right. Ruby, this is Ash, a new student which just joined. Ash, this is Ruby, don't get ideas!" The blonde introduced them to each other.
"Hi?"
"Nice meeting you," Ash replied.
"But I do find the Deathstalker thing weird as well." Now they noticed. The reason the Grimm were not attacking was Ash. Something about him threw them off a bit.
"Less talk, more fight-" His words were cut when a certain someone dropped on him from above, making him swallow some grass. "Who the he-"
"Y-you!" And so, the savior and the saved met once again. Weiss got up immediately and Ash jumped up "What are YOU doing here?!" She asked rudely.
"Taking this blasted exam." He replied.
"What?" And she didn't believe him. "I didn't see you at the launch site, nor at the assembly. So mind explaining just how are you here?"
"Ehhh, Weiss? Do you 2 know each other?" Ruby asked.
"I only joked about the girlfriend part before" And Yang added.
Weiss inhaled sharply hearing Yang but managed to give a straight answer. "Unfortunately, I do know him. He's a homeless beggar from the woods outside the kingdom."
"Hey!" Ash shouted. "I'm not a beggar, nor was I homeless."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. " Weiss said ignoring his argument.
"You still own me some proper thanks for saving you back then as well, you know."
"Saving you?" Yang echoed. "Were you some damsel in distress, Ice Queen?"
"Of course not!"
"She was 2 steps away from kingdom come when I found her next to a trainwreck."
"Why you!"
"Guys?" Blake finally spoke up, making everyone redirect their attention to the main subjects: Grimm, the exam, the 2 runner-
"Make way!" Correction, 4 runners. Some ginger just showed up ridding an Ursa along with another guy in green clothing and black hair with a small part of his hair dyed pink. But at least the ginger redeemed herself by pulling out her weapon-A sledgehammer-and slammed the Ursa's head into the ground, making her jump into the air and land with the other group. "10 out of 10!"
"I would actually give it a 7 out of 10. Your performance could have used some more work" Her, by the looks of things, partner said as he got next to them. The other pair consisting of a blonde boy wearing a white armor on the upper part of his body with a hoody underneath it and a taller redheaded girl wearing bronze armor joined them as well.
"Is it over yet?" The blondie asked trying to catch his breath.
"There are still some Grimm here, Jaune, and we still need the relic" The redheaded girl pointed out, making Jaune groan in dismay. "Oh, come on now, it isn't as hard as it looks."
Her attempt at cheering him up didn't really work, but it at least made him take a deep breath and prepare for the real show. "Thanks, Pyrrha." He said then noticed the others. "At least we won't be alone."
"And you lot are?" Ash asked.
"Jaune Arc." The blonde one was the first to introduce himself.
"Pyrrha Nikos." Then the redhead.
"Nora Valkyrie!" And the ginger next.
"You can call Ren" Finally, someone who seemed more level headed.
"Right. Anyway, I suggest you guys hurry up and get your chess piece." Ash pulled out his father's sword and pointed it at the Grimm. "We do have some work here. But it should work out quickly."
At that, some beowolfs, the Nevermore Weiss was riding not so long ago, and an Ursa joined the party. "Had to jinx it, didn't you?" Jaune said as it seems the easy bit was not solid anymore.
At least my presence is throwing them off for the moment Ash thought as the Grimm looked at the group. As long as no one does anything reckless-
"RUN TOWARDS THE EXIT OF THE FOREST!" Ruby shouted and the group headed towards the ruins, grabbed some pieces, then ran for their survival. Ash followed them of course, cursing his luck, and his bad memory, for the fact that no one knows about his little trick.
On the cliff, Ozpin chuckled as he saw everyone head towards the edge of the forest. "That was probably the smart move. Despite bow being chased by Grimm, at least they earned themselves some extra time to plan. Even if it's on the run."
Glynda simply watched from the tablet, tracking their movement and the direction they were heading. "They are heading for the ruins next to the northern cliff" She looked at Ozpin. "That's the wrong way, again."
"No one remembers the direction they flew from, Glynda. " He once again drank from his mug. "I'm more surprised our friend didn't use his semblance yet. I am quite curious as to what Pluto's son is able to do."
"What do we do?" Nora shouted as they were running through the forest, dodging trees along the way.
Jaune looked back at the Grimm following them; 2 Deathstalkers, a couple of Beowolfs, an Ursa, and a Nevermore. One of those flies in the sky above them while the rest chase on ground-level, but at least the Deathstalkers were slowed down by the trees and their own size. But then he looked at everyone's weapons, including his own. "Everyone! What's your main style of combat? Close or ranger?"
"What?" Yang asked confused by his sudden question. "What has that anything to do with our current situation?"
"We are dealing with multiple types of Grimm, each specializing itself either on land, air, strength, speed, you name it! But for each of those exist a counter." He explained, and almost everyone caught on to his intent.
"I see." Ren was the first to elaborate. "Some of us have better close combat skills then others while the rest excel at ranged combat. You are suggesting to use diversity and-"
"Put together a counter-attack" Ash finished the sentence. "Fast! Name your forte!"
Everyone was quick to explain their styles of combat to each other, and Jaune was able to put together a good plan too. And it was just in time they did as well as they found themselves at the end of the road with a cliff and ruins in front of them and Grimm and woods behind them. Easy choice no?
"Ok, this changes things a little…" Jaune muttered. He knew he wasn't too fit for fighting, but if there is something he knew how to do that was a strategy. "Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Nora! You go within those ruins and gain some height to strike down the Nevermore! Pyrrha, Ren, and I will deal with the Beowolfs and Ursa. Blake and Ash will finish the Deathstalkers."
They wasted no time getting in position, thus beginning their first fights of the year.
The first group consisting of 4 girls headed for the ruins just as Jaune told them to do, and right he was to do so. Although the ruins were not the most stable and safe option, they were definitely the best choice when dealing with an enemy that can fly.
"Alright!" Yang exclaimed with excitement before using her weapon, Ember Celica, a pair of shotgun gauntlets, to launch herself upwards on top of a pillar. She was shooting the Nevermore from there.
"Wow…" Nora was pretty impressed with Yang's bold move, but…" Like I'd let someone outdo me!" She got out her hammer, then, with a small movement of her hand, changed it into a grenade launcher. "Here comes Nora!" She jumped up to gain height as well, joining in into the shooting.
"Ugh." Weiss, on the other hand, found their way of doing this pretty…" How barbaric. Attacking with only firepower."
"You don't need to fix what's not broken!" Ruby said as she got her own weapon out and joined in the fire.
Weiss sighed looking at the younger girl shoot the Grimm with her weapon, a high caliber sniper rifle which is also a scythe. A heavily mechanic weapon, but effective from what she's seeing. "Here we go then." She put her weapon up and launched herself forth.
On the ground level, the Ursa and Beowolfs arrived, and Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren had to hold them right there.
"Ready?" Pyrrha asked as she got her sword and shield ready, Ren putting up his guns, and Jaune holding his own sword and shield combo. Classic combination. But his stance and grip of his weapons seemed...sloppy.
"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose," Jaune said as he looked at the Grimm, praying for his life a bit.
"Ready." Ren, on the other hand, seemed more confident and calm about it.
"Let's go!" Pyrrha was the first to charge into battle followed by Ren who provided some cover fire, and Jaune who was going in with his sword first- another rookie mistake seeing as a Beowolf had him in its sight.
The redhead was the first to draw blood when a Beowolf tried to pounce at her, but she slid on the ground and turned her weapon into a shotgun which she used to kill the Grimm from below before jumping back up and blocking another hit with her shield.
Ren was quick on his feet as he shot the Grimm, then he jumped on one of them and sliced its neck using the blades on his guns. This was then followed by another leap above the Grimm while shooting them.
Jaune, despite showing some good skills in strategy, was doing a bit...awful. He was screaming and yelling, taking hits here and there that should've been easy to block with his shield, but he kept going at it with his sword. He did land one or two kills, earning himself some confidence. But then the Ursa charged at him. "WOAHHH!"
Lastly, we had the Deathstalker duo. Thanks to Jaune's strategy they only had to deal with a few, easy to kill Beowolfs. But the main course was just arriving. 2 Deathstalkers, scorpion-like creatures with bone-white armor on their bodies covering a jet-black exoskeleton. Not to mention that nasty stinger and sharp pincers of theirs. And there were 2 of them, one for each of the 2. It makes you wonder why that blondie chose them to deal with this one, but the answer was simple.
"Hope you're not afraid of bugs" Ash said as he pulled out Somnium Cavas and prepared his gauntlet. The moment he attacks them he will no longer be neutral, and the Grimm will attack him as well.
"Hope you can keep up." The girl wasted no time as the Grimm showed themselves and immediately charged in on them, using her agility to dodge its stinger and jump on its back where she began to unload her weapon into its armor.
"Touche…" Ash sighed as he followed suit with his Deathstalker. The Grimm tried catching him with its pincers, but Ash blocked him using his father's sword, then quickly used his other weapon to shoot it in the face and make it back away a bit. "This ought to be an issue…" The Deathstalker got furious…
In the meantime, over at the Ursa counter-team, Pyrrha found herself taking on the big Grimm while the other 2 kept the Beowolves off her back. Ren doing well in slaying rach coming one while Jaune was mostly relying on his aura to prevent him from dying and a big amount of luck. But as the fight dragged on, Pyrrha saw a Beowolf trying to get Jaune from behind and had no choice but to throw her own spear at the Grimm to save him.
Jaune turned around at once and saw the spear going in the Grimm's side. He looked over at Pyrrha who gave him a smile, but it was short-lived as the Ursa knocked her back, making her aura flare as it prevented the damage.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted and impulsively rushed at the Ursa, his blade forward to impale the Grimm. But his charge was too linear and the Grimm roared and tried hitting him as well the moment he got too close. But somehow, his shield came in first and managed to block the Grimm's strike, making it lose balance and allowing Jaune to slash at it.
He didn't kill it, unfortunately, but cut off its claw, adding a crippling element to it. Of course, the Grimm roared in pain as it had lost a claw, but he also struck Jaune with the other one to get him away. His aura held up, but his stamina was just about out. He was getting tired even faster than Weiss.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out his name as she got up and ran to him, but the blondie managed to put his thumb up to tell her he was ok. They had bigger things to worry about now anyway.
The Nevermore team was doing their job fantastically but could be more elegant as well. The giant bird already had to deal with Nora's grenades and had Yang shoot some direct rounds straight down its throat when it picked her once. Bad move? Definitely.
Weiss and Ruby were doing a good job as well, with Weiss using jer glyphs to further enhance Red's speed. That girl was like a haze you don't see until it hits you in the chin
The Nevermore eventually landed though, and that was the moment in which Yang launched herself at it and punched it right in the head, adding some extra damage by shooting at the same time as well. But the giant Grimm hit back with its wing, sending the blonde girl flying straight into Nora. 2 down, 2 more to go. But those were fast, too fast, faster than the Grimm could fight.
"We have to take it down!" Ruby pointed out as she was running around using her semblance.
"Don't you think we know that?" Weiss asked sarcastically as she used her glyphs to maks ice erupt at the Grimm's feet, but it managed to take to the sky just before the ice touched it. Weiss cursed as the Nevermore took to the sky once again, but this time, it changed its pattern.
The Grimm went on the offensive and charged straight for Weiss, the girl not being fast enough to dodge the strike. But Ruby was. Little Red managed to grab Weiss put of the Grimm's path, leaving the bird to get smacked by a certain pissed off blonde. Yang's eyes turned red and her hair seemingly caught ablaze, the clear signs of her semblance being active as she smacked the bird into the unstable ruins. Maybe not the smartest thing seeing as the whole place began to crumble under their feet.
"Oh, no…" She went back to normal the moment they realized the problem. "Back to the forest!" She shouted and started running with Nora not far from her and the other 2 following just behind them. They were just barely able to get away from the ruins as they crumbled down into the abyss below. "Well...that bird just got cracked like an egg"
"Really?" Weiss asked panting from the run.
"What? It's true."
Ruby sighed at yet another bad pun, but...Nora was laughing her heart out. "See? Someone gets my jokes."
"Sorry to interrupt, but-" Ren said as a Beowolf pounced at him, but he was able to hold it back. "A little help here?"
The 4 girls nodded their heads and joined the Ursa team into killing their own bunch of Grimm. Now that the Nevermore was out of the picture that meant they could switch to close combat. Ruby ran forth with her scythe swinging from side to side, but then she noticed Jaune having some issues with 3 Beowolves. The knight held up his sword above his head and his shield up for protection, a Beowolf pounced, then a bullet took it out.
"Uh?" He looked to his right and saw Ruby pointing her weapon at the Grimm. "Thanks!"
"You're welcomed"
Yang and Nora joined Pyrrha into taking out the Ursa, which proved way easier once their numbers grew. The Grimm was already with one claw minus, so its easy for Nora to make it topple with one hit of a hammer, then for Yang to jump on it and punch its chest multiple times, shooting each time. Lastly, when Yang jumped back as the Grimm tried hitting her, Pyrrha was just behind her to deliver the finishing blow. A swift blade ran across the Ursa's head, beheading it, and leaving to fade into dust.
"That's 2 down!" Nora exclaimed cheerfully as they were reaching the end of the fight.
"Don't celebrate just yet. We still have a few guests to take care of" Pyrrha pointed out as there were still some Beowolf around them.
"Oof! Party poopers" Nova scoffed reading her own weapon. "At least we won't go bored easily."
"Are you ever bored?" Ren asked as he reloaded his weapons.
Nora did the same while putting on a cheeky smile. "You know me, Ren, how can I get bored?"
"Pretty easily, actually" His answer earned the pink-eyed boy a hit in the shoulder from the ginger.
"Can you two hold off from flirting until AFTER we finish here?" Yang asked.
"We were not-"
"Ok~" Outspoken by the ginger. Great. But what can you do? Those 2 had known each other for ages from what it seems.
"Let's focus on the task at hand, alright?" Weiss said as she took a fighting stance.
"Roger that, partner" Weiss twitched hearing Ruby call her that. It was bad enough for her to be teamed up with a younger girl than her, but being called partner with others around is sure getting to her. The next 4 years will be interesting with those two.
In the meantime, the Deathstalker duo was not doing badly at all. Blake was just too agile for the Grimm to grab her with its pincers, and Ash was able to block its strikes using Somnium Cavas most of the time. But they couldn't do this forever
Both would eventually get tired or run out of Aura, and the others were busy with their own bunch of Grimm.
Ash looked around, trying to figure out a way to pierce the armor of the Grimm without getting themselves too tired out, and when he saw Blake using her a piece of material that expanded from her weapon to swing around, he got it. "Hold its tail in place!"
Blake heard him loud and clear and didn't ask why he wanted to do with that. She only watched slightly surprised as he climbed, and she at least knew he was a friend due to a certain something her gut told her. No human climbs THAT fast. So she did as told and tied the Deathstalker's tail with the ribbon tied to the hilt of her weapon, jumping behind the Grimm and tying her weapon to a tree which barely held on as the Grimm was trying to pull its tail.
Ash then quickly grabbed something from his pocket, a dust crystal, light blue in color. He went straight at his Deathstalker and began attacking it to provoke it further, which worked. But Ash was not stupid as to do that without a plan. He used his semblance and turned the crystal grey, making his blade gain a light-blue glow as cold steam emanated from it. "Light…" He swung his sword at the Grimm's eyes, covering them in thick ice which made it shriek loudly. "out!"
The Grimm began freaking out as it attacked at random, using its stinger to strike and pincers to feel around. Ash guided it to the other Deathstalker, and his plan became obvious when he gave the Grimm one last stimuli which forced it to strike its fellow Grimm in the head with its pincer.
The Grimm shrieked out, but Blake was not wasting the chance either to do this; she used the sheath of her weapon, which had a sharp edge which made it count as a clever as well, to cut the Deathstalker's pincer while it was still within its fallen comrade. She released the Grimm, got her weapon back as well, but it was not long before Ash threw the grey crystal at the ice on its eyes. And the crystal simply got stuck among the spikes.
Blake then shot it, making the crystal explode and killing the Grimm.
"Good job. " Ash commented as he sheathed his blade and looked at her through his glasses.
"You weren't bad yourself; making the Grimm kill each other was a pretty clever move. " Blake replied praising his plan.
"It was no big deal, just a little something I thought about." At the same time, the others had finished with their Grimm and joined them, seeing the death Deathstalkers fade into dust. "How were things on your sides?"
"The Ursa was...difficult. " Jaune said as he held his arm a bit. Aura could only do this much for the pain after all. "But at least we are alive."
"Course we are!" yang spoke up. "We've, like, kicked their asses to next Sunday! Who can say that we are NOT ready to be huntsman?"
"You could've taken a more calculated approach to deal with the Nevermore instead of blindly charging in. " Weiss said to counter Yang's argument, but she was not going to ruin the mood. "But, we did come out victorious."
"See?"
"We couldn't have done it without Jaune's strategy. " Ren said looking at the blondie. Jaune then shrunk a bit seeing eyes going to him and showed clear embarrassment.
"Oh, come on guys, it wasn't that big of a deal." He said trying to act modest, but it was clear that he is not used to being in the center of attention.
"Not that BIG of a deal?!" Nora yelled out. "We took out a NEVERMORE for crying out loud! That. Was. AWESOME!" Ren couldn't help but sigh at her energy. Despite all that, she was still as lively as ever.
"You have to admit that you paired us pretty well against not 1, but 3 types of Grimm. " Pyrrha pointed out. "Not everyone is that fast of a thinker."
"Not you too…" Jaune groaned under his breath as everyone shared a healthy laugh among themselves, some louder than others. But their laughter was interrupted by the sharp sound of a certain bird rising from the abyss towards the sky. Everyone turned to it in shock as they saw the Nevermore not only alive but angry as well.
"It's still alive?!" Yang shouted in surprise. "I was sure I knocked it out for good!"
"Maybe hit harder next time, sis?" Ruby suggested, then the Nevermore cried out and dived towards them, making them jump out of the way to dodge. Once everyone looked up again they were able to see the wounds on the Grimm, and Jaune knew exactly what to do. Too bad Little Red took command ahead of him.
But despite his hurt pride, he followed her command. Everyone got to work on taking down the Grimm, and even Jaune helped in one way by offering some advice to improve chances. ONce the Nevermore dived down again, that's when Blake and Nora, one using her ribbon and throwing their weapon at the Grimm's leg and the other launching themselves using their frigging grenades, got on the Nevermore's back.
Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren remained at ground level to strike its head while Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Ash prepared for the final strike. Jaune had a pretty basic idea of Ash's semblance and asked him how much it extends. And the answer was good. Weiss helped him up in the air using her glyphs, then used his last ice charge to slash at the Grimm's wing from below while Nora struck from above and Blake tied its other wing to its back, making the Grimm fall freely.
Ash landed along with Nora and Blake by using Weiss' semblance again for that, and as the Grimm fell she quickly switched. The Nevermore collapsed on the ground, then Ruby, with the glyphs under her feet making her even faster, used her semblance and launched herself at the Grimm, catching its throat with her scythe and shooting to increase her momentum as she dragged the Grimm up the side of the cliff.
Then, with one last effort, she managed to decapitate the Grimm, killing it for good this time. Everyone stood there and looked up as the dust from the creature faded, but there was someone else who showed a rare smile watching.
"This new generation is meant for greatness, indeed. " Ozpin said as he watched them take down the Grimm. At that time, he and Glynda could've jumped in to help them, but they didn't. They allowed them to fight and earn their place in his academy. Yes, he allowed them to prove they deserved to be into Beacon.
Glynda simply scoffed as she looked at Pluto Auburn's son. Prepare for a hellish 4 years, Mister Auburn. She thought as she and the headmaster headed to the Academy. They had some students to guide after all.
*Eating popcorn while watching Deadpool 2. Sees readers and hides everything* Well, I didn't think you'd stick around for so long. I mean, this is way LARGER than my usual stuff, so I thought you'd bail. But I am glad you reached this point in which I can express myself freely and explain some stuff and whatnot.
First of all, because I had Ash fight with Blake in this, it doesn't mean any ship or anything. Just who do you take me for? If you paid some attention, which I don't think would've mattered because I didn't make it obvious either, you would notice that Ash and Blake actually have something in common. Clue: Ash climbing like crazy.
Second of all, I do take criticism about the personalities of each character; I hope I got them as right as I could. But if I see any colorful language, I swear I am going to be spitting a rainbow on that person, so keep that in mind.
And by now I guess I do have to give a rundown of Ash's semblance:
He has the ability to absorb the elemental energy from dust and infuse it into his bullets and sword.
He can absorb it from any kind of dust, even raw, impure one. But crystals are more efficient for that.
And he can use it directly, but it uses more of the charge and he is not immune to the effects of the said element (Ex: Fire=SEVERE BURNS), so you won't be seeing him use his semblance without at least a knife in hand.
He can store up 3 different kinds of dust and mix them within the blade/bullet, but they all share the same space within him so he has to make sure he doesn't pick a favorite or else he will wake up with too much fire and too little water when he needs to put out a kitchen fire.
Also, I hope no one is having issues with me reworking the fight at the end of the Entrance Exam.
There is another aspect of this, but it relates to his secret and...yeah, I ain't saying anything about it yet XD
It has to do with him being seen as Neutral by the Grimm, as well as his presence around others making them confuse and causing them to hold their attacks. But as you saw, one strike or sudden move and hell break loose.
I hope you are enjoying this lil' fic thus far and please show your support for it by favoriting it, following it, and reviewing it.
Bloodfiend out.
(BTW, I guess you can guess what was between Pluto and Glynda XD)