Arc 1: Lights In The Sky
Chapter II: Alpha Meet Beta
[Emerald Forest]
As the group ran across a stretch of gravel into the towering ruins left to wither in the valley, the massive shadow of the Nethermore flew above, circling past the tower to perch itself atop the spire, releasing a scream to rattle the air around the gang, loose rock falling from its massive, black wings flapping. The group then separated as they hid behind the ruins, they all turned their heads towards the tree-line, the trees falling and breaking as the Deathstalker burst into the open field, taking them all by surprise over it persistence.
"Oh man, run!" Jaune yelled, everyone running towards the massive puzzle of ruins, the Deathstalker closing in
Just then, the Nethermore homed in for a kill, but Nora spun out her Grenade Launcher and fired off a volley of blasts, halting the Nethermore's advance. Just as the group reached the bridge, Pyrrha turned and provided covering fire for the rest, Ren quickly joined in as the Deathstalker stopped at the edge of the cliff, noting how it would be caught off guard by the sudden drop, allowing the others to cross the chasm, or atleast, until Sky's head snapped to the right side of the bridge, gulping at the misty darkness below.
They weren't going to hear him in time, so Sky ran towards Yang and Jaune, shoving the two into the rest, and throwing them across the side of the bridge with him, his side flaring under the dirt catching across his bleeding side, however, Sky's worry subsided under the state of the bridge, seeing that the two groups were only separated.
"Can I just say that my day started out with a normal Raid on Destiny, just saying, ''this', was not my idea of a good time." Sky gestured to the now broken bridge, as well as the Deathstalker
"Let's do this!" Nora cheered as Jaune just stared into the abyss, with Sky catching onto what Nora was thinking of, so he sidestepped off the section she was aiming for
"Yeah, but uh, I can't make that jump…" He replied, Sky saw that crazed look in Nora's eyes, a small reflection of someone else he knew mirroring the girl's grin
"Have a nice flight!" Sky called to Jaune, moving to hide behind a smaller arch to fiddle with his gauntlet, much to his irritation over the noise. "Follow the girl I thought. She'd keep you safe I thought!"
He ignored the world around him, pressing a button on the keypad, prompting him to read the blue screen closely.
[Welcome, and thank you for activating the EC-1101 program. Project Eclipse: Reactivated]
[User: Found]
[Combat Data: 0%]
[User Aura: Error, subject not found]
System Reboot in Progress…
"Oh, come on! Of all the times for a fucking system reboot, you choose now?" Sky cursed as he just watched the scene in front of him. "Well, might as well enjoy the show..."
When he looked, he watched in amazement as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang battled the Nethermore, the creature shrugged the attacks off and completely leveled the tower, almost crushing Sky in the process, causing the inexperienced guy to leap away from the slabs of rock that fell between him and the abyss.
Sky couldn't believe what he was seeing, all their combat abilities, their speed, strength, something he clearly lacked, to which he knew all too well. Sky was nothing more than everyone's punching bag, the odd man out, the reject of everyone he knew. He would dream about this sort of thing, amazing battles with the most imaginative abilities and traits. But sadly, all it was, was a fantasy, nothing but a sad dream he could never hope to reach, even now, he felt only like a ghost.
But then he looked up and saw the Nethermore, pinned by a crimson scythe as it was trailed up the side of the cliff, Ruby pulling it along as it strained against the weapon's might. Then, with one swift motion, Ruby leapt to the top of the cliff and twisted her scythe around, before pulling the trigger, decapitating the beast once and for all. Everyone was silent as they just processed the scene before them.
"Woah...she's...amazing." Sky breathed with wide eyes, he's seen some crazy things on the internet and fiction, but this girl...she was something else
"Sky! Look out!" Yang yelled as he turned to face the girl who stood afar, but that was only met with a black figure rising above his own
Time seemed to slow, his body wasn't quick enough to act, only watch as the massive beast before him brought its claw surging down on his left arm, sending him flying to the bridge's floor as he screamed out in pain, his senses flailing in agony as blood quickly seeped from the wounds, staining the rock in crimson.
It was a Beowolf, but it looked bigger and a hell of a lot meaner than the others. It's claws were stained with Sky's blood as it slowly crawled towards him, bones that jutted from its spine creaking under its hunter stance. Sky felt dizzy, almost blacking out as he stared at his reaper.
*Beep*
The sound interrupted his thought as he hazily looked at his right arm, the gauntlet's wires glowing a tint of blue as it seemed to resonate with his breathing.
[User: Found]
[Combat Data: 100%]
[User Aura: Error]
[System Reboot Complete]
Commence activation Y/N?
Just like before, Sky couldn't think, he just acted, so he shakily pressed 'Y', within moments, his gauntlet glimmered with a faint blue aura, the mass of light stretching to cover his body like a coat, Sky jumped a little, but paused under the feeling of warmth beginning to enclose around his body. Somehow, he felt better, he looked at his body as it was slowly coated in a black metal, then he took a closer look. His body was covered head to toe in black armour, it was sleek, its armour plates angled back as they covered his legs and arms.
Triangular pauldrons covered his shoulder, with blue lines stretching across his arms, legs, gloves, helmet, and chest core. His face plate was a smooth glass, with two, bug-like eyes widening in correlation with Sky's own. His hands raised to look at himself closely, meanwhile, everyone overlooked him with surprise or shock over his newly acquired armour, resembling a Templar with Zer0's helmet.
"What...is this thing? Project Eclipse?" Sky's thought's didn't last, upon seeing the Alpha snarl in his direction, taking that as his sign to push his fears into his actions, Sky cracked his knuckles, his eyes narrowing into sharp, blue eyes on the armour. "Alright then...ante up."
*Rooooar*
The Alpha growled in response as it charged towards Sky, The Alpha leaped into the air as it brought its claws down once more, Sky's crossed his arms in fear, but then heard a yelp. Sky's eyes shot open to see that the Grimm stumbled back from two broadswords jutting out of his gauntlets, acting as shields and blades for him, they too had two thin lines of blue streaming up the mid-section.
How pathetic, is that all you got?
Why should anyone give a damn about what happens to you?
Come on, scream, cry, I want to know how much this hurts!
"N-no…not now," Sky shook his mind at the echoes, his heart-rate spiking under their strain on his mood, even as he fell to a knee, his vision blackened like flashes of light in the dark. "L-leave me a-a-alone..."
"Come on, get up!" Jaune
"Break his legs!" Nora
"Knock him dead!" Yang
"Sky, Get up!" Ruby...
"They...don't even know me...and they're...cheering for me? Why? Who would cheer for someone they don't even know, I don't even know anything about them...?" Sky couldn't begin to comprehend the situation he was in now, how, after years of negativity, could he finally stumble into...kindness. "Damn, looks like I can't quit just yet, sorry body... but tell Death, 'sorry for the delay', would ya?" Sky joked to himself as he forced his muscles to move
Sky, finally broke from his trance as he stood up in time to block another blow from the Alpha. Just then he used his free right hand, and from his palm, a bolt of fire burned the Grimm off his arm, the creature's roars giving him the sign that it did something. Sky...just shot fire from his hand like Iron Man, that made his smile grow a little more.
"Hmm, I wonder if I can switch to anything else?" As if answering his question, another beep sounded out
[Switching to Blue Cell]
Sky then saw his palms turn blue, feeling a cold breeze run up his arm. Sky then clenched his fists as he got into the best stance he could think of. He had people who actually gave a damn about him now, and he wasn't going to let them down now.
"Let's see what this can do!" Sky cheered as he ran towards the Grimm
The Grimm brought a claw down on him, but Sky used his left arm as a shield and slid the claw away, then he spun on his heel, thrusting his right arm across the stomach of the Alpha, before ducking under another swipe, and uppercutting with his left again, sending the Alpha into a daze. Taking that opportunity, Sky steadied himself on his left leg, before striking out with his right. Much to his widening eyes, the Alpha's claws snatched it mid-kick, closing its claws around Sky's ankle.
Sky was quickly thrown towards the edge of the narrow bridge they fought on, gravel sliding over from his step. However, the Grimm clasped onto Sky's shoulders with ease, raising its jaw wide towards his helmet in an attempt to try and tear his face off.
"I wouldn't do tha - Oh no…" Sky murmured as it bit down on his neck, but released him as it held its jaw in pain, but in doing so, Sky fell, but his panicked state vanished like smoke, seeing his left blade begin to shorten, as chain manifested around his arm, connecting to the arrowhead on his palm.
[Adaption Complete]
[Grapple Hook Acquired]
The spearhead struck out from his palm, puncturing the stone bridge, throwing his body into a massive swing through the mist, and over the other-side of the bridge, his body lighter than air within the confines of the armour, much to his 'whooping'.
"Going up!" Sky chuckled innocently at the smiles of the group watching, taking the momentum into account, Sky spun his body into a helix just before he landed, so his heel swung in a blue trail of light, striking the armoured jaw of the Alpha, fracturing the plate as if it were glass to his heel, earning a resounding crack
Sky didn't waste anytime as he improvised, he swung the chain around the Alpha's neck as he pulled, tightening his grip on the Alpha as it shook in rage, but its weaker grip over the strike to the head still made it stumble. Then it grabbed the chain and pulled Sky off his feet and quickly smashed him into the bridge in front of its form, much to Sky's pain. That's when Sky heard the entire bridge cracking, chunks of rock falling into the abyss below. He felt a spark of ideas beginning to surge in his head at that, quickly rolling backwards, the foot of the Alpha struck the bridge, shaking the foundations even more violently.
"Ok, let's see, blasters, chains, blades…" Sky thought quickly as he saw the Alpha approaching, then it dawned on him. "Ice! It switched to blue cells, it must mean ice, or electricity for all I know, just for once, let me be right!"
Dashing straight for the Grimm, Sky slide directly under the Alpha, right between his legs, placing the tips of his fingers against the bridge, now a new, thin layer of ice trailed behind him, coating the walkway in a reflective, light-blue coat, whist simultaneously freezing the Alpha in place.
"Lusus naturae?" Sky called out in Latin to the Alpha, its growls of frustrating halting to glare down at Sky, who stood on a pillar just off the bridge, his right gauntlet gleaming in the light due to the blade. If it could speak, Sky was already steps ahead of its thinking to free itself faster. "Magnificentiam gloriæ sanctitatis tuae domini!"
With that, a single cry of defiance was all that remained, with Sky's cry drowning out the Alpha, and with a single, horizontal slash through the final support, the bridge's foundation wobbled and broke apart, sections falling into the mist below, and in moments, the black form of the Grimm fell with it, echoes of its cries dying among the shattered rocks below, leaving only a small section for Sky to fall upon, his exhausted body failing to move another inch under the pressure. The most he managed was a dry laugh over the others cheering, much to his embarrassment.
"Maximum Effort!" He called out as they cheered at their own victories against the Grimm. "Now then…"
He started as he looked at the small section he sat on, chunks of rock falling into the fog.
"Little help...please?"
Later that day...
Sky sat at the side of the massive stage, his left arm bandaged up along with his waist. He was brought to the school, Beacon, and given medical treatment for his injures. He was then questioned by Professor Ozpin, about how he ended up in the Emerald Forest, but they couldn't even understand why and how he appeared. What they did promise, was a place to stay until either himself or the teachers could find any clues as to how or why Sky ended up in Remnant, as this place was called, much to his baffled expression.
But he just stood and watched as the students were sorted into their teams, strangely they were all colours, and given a leader. To both Sky and Jaune's surprise, Jaune himself was the leader of Team JNPR, but Sky felt happy for him. Until Pyrrha knocked him on his ass with a pat.
"And finally, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin began, Sky watching intently from the side lines. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. However, there is someone else I must congratulate, much to most of your collective confusion on the matter. This individual showed great courage and fought together alongside these four, while not receiving a relic himself, this was not a cause to throw him away." Ozpin added as Sky looked up at him strangely
"Wait...did he-"
"I would like to congratulate, Sky Zaffre." Ozpin stated as people began to clap for him, much to his bewilderment, and vice-versa for Ruby's group
"I-what? But I…" Sky tried to say but Ozpin gestured for him to come up, which he slowly did, he then stood beside Ruby as she smiled at him with glee
"Though you did not claim a relic, you still showed bravery and spirit of a true huntsman, so, from this day forward, you will all work together as…Team RWBYS," Ozpin finished as he looked at Ruby. "Lead by, Ruby Rose," He finished, this made Weiss gape in shock, and Sky smile as he lightly punched Ruby's shoulder
"Looks like I'm stuck with you guys now, huh?" Sky joked as Yang leaped out of nowhere and latch onto Ruby, leaving Sky to question what Ozpin was up too. But questions like that lead to nothing, so Sky took it as his 'residence at Beacon' that they discussed, guess that ad included a bonus of four girls...in a room...singular room...oh no. "Oz..."
"I'm so proud of you!" She congratulated as Sky rubbed the back of his neck, a smile still etched onto his face, besides the accommodation issue
"Looks like things are shaping up to an… interesting year," Ozpin spoke calmly. Sky's gaze however, was to his new team, his...friends
"Yeah, friends…" Sky echoed in his head once more, suddenly, being stuck here didn't feel so bad, even so, it felt like something was still off about the whole ordeal, but what it could be, he really couldn't figure out, so he shrugged with a roll of his eyes. "Pedicabo eam."
To Be Continued…
I hope you enjoyed! and i hope the fight scene was decent. Also using a phone is not the most entertaining thing to write with, I digress though, seeya in the next chapter, good to see some like this!
Next Chapter: Odd Shard Out
Sky's new day at Beacon felt more like a relapse than most, until he throws himself between a heated conflict between his new leader, Ruby, and resident Ice Queen, Weiss. A week later, Ruby's problems begin to arise in the face of being younger.