A/N: Thank god exams are over. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think :D
Laws of Attraction
Keep breathing, Pyrrha. Keep breathing. Her heart was pumping nearly through her chest as she tore through the forest, her legs and arms screaming in fatigue- but her face was cool, calm, determined. Despite the sweat pouring down her forehead, she never lost her speed, years of combat training paying off as she bolted through the undergrowth.
The Death Stalker's constant hissing nipped at her heels, its claws snapping behind her, too close for comfort. The sheer weight of its body was enough to tear down tree after tree, leaving nothing but wreckage in their wake. If the creature caught her…
But it won't, she thought confidently. I can do this.
As she ran, however, the edge of the trees suddenly caught her sight. That's it! Pouring every bit of energy she could into her body, she sprinted through the tall wood and into a clearing, the creature screeching behind her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar blond head high in a tree. Before she could call out to him, though, a massive black claw swept towards her from the right. She instinctively jumped, tucking her knees to her chest just in time as the monster's claw flew under her in an aggressive swipe. Using her momentum to roll ahead, she picked herself back up and continued sprinting, never missing a beat.
The blond was dangling from a tree upside down. "Jaune!" she called, watching him flail helplessly.
He heard her cry, immediately perking up. "Pyrrha!" he yelled back, attempting to twist his body out of the branches he was stuck in.
Pyrrha focused on her breathing, taking in the scene before her. There was a circle of mossy, worn-down columns at the northern end of the large clearing she had entered, with numerous pedestals bordering it. Those must be the ruins, she groaned internally, taking note of the others standing in the clearing. She could make out the pink skirt and green jacket of the duo she had seen throughout the last few days, along with the two girls she had seen with Jaune during the entrance ceremony. Their eyes were all facing upwards, and she heard the distinct screeching of a Nevermore circling above.
There were a few others still, but she didn't have time to pay any further attention as the creature roared behind her once more.
I've got to try and get this Death Stalker away from here for just a little bit, just to get to the ruins. You can get yourself out, Jaune- I believe in you! Furrowing her brow, she tore her eyes away from all the other familiar faces and bolted across the clearing.
By the time she reached the eastern edge of the area, the monster's roars had died down lightly, although it was still hot on her tail. It's getting tired- perfect. However, none of the trees in front of her had any low enough branches she could climb onto in order to escape the creature. The ease and precision which years of combat training had lent her drove Pyrrha to throw her shield at a tree trunk in front of her like a disk. The sharp metal edge of Akoúo bit into the wood, horizontally embedded like a platform.
As they approached the trees, the creature still clawing at her, Pyrrha leapt up and landed upon the ledge Akoúo had built for her. Not batting an eye, she knelt down, tensed her legs, and used her momentum to spring up from the ledge, spinning backwards away from the tree and flying right over the Death Stalker. With a flick of her wrist, Akoúo ripped itself out of the trunk and flew into the Death Stalker's face, landing back in her hand. It screeched, disoriented from the sudden assault.
There was not time for the Grimm to cease its advances- the giant monster crashed headlong into the trees, its prey behind it. Trees collapsed under its lumbering weight, the forest animals crying out as they fled the area.
Pyrrha did not stay to watch the creature, immediately turning on her heel. However, her retreat was interrupted, as the creature's tail flew into her at full force, throwing her across the clearing towards the ruins. The pain was immediate- it spread from her back throughout her entire body, flinging her like a ragdoll across the field. Clenching her teeth, she let the damage be taken care of by her Aura, focusing instead on not crashing into the stupefied onlookers.
Skidding to a halt on her side, Pyrrha groaned, slowly standing up in front of the other students. One of the girls she had seen at the opening ceremony- a beautiful girl with flowing golden hair- commented cheerily, "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together."
"Not if I can help it," the shorter, red-caped girl murmured, unfolding a large mechanical scythe from her back. Pyrrha opened her mouth to yell at the girl- what was she thinking? She's so young! We can't let her take a Death Stalker on alone- that one is strong, too! All she could do, though, was wince as her Aura drained out of her core, knitting together a rib which the creature had definitely broken.
As the brunette yelled out a battle cry and bolted towards the Death Stalker, the blonde cried, "Ruby, wait!" Unfortunately, the brunette was not paying any attention, firing off a bullet from the top of her scythe to propel her towards the creature.
Pyrrha was distracted from the fight by her burning lungs, the fiery pain she felt stabbing into her with every breath. Her entire body felt like it was disintegrating, each second sending a pulse of pain throughout each nerve. Thankfully, her Aura was stitching everything back up- but she needed to focus. Focus.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, rushing over. Sometime during the scuffle, Jaune had gotten himself out of the tree. "Are you okay?"
"I- I'm fine!" she replied, but her voice came out weaker than she intended. Immediately, his face clouded over and he jogged to her, holding out a hand. She smiled as she took it, but the pain made her wince whenever she caught her breath.
He steadied her on her feet, looking more than a little bruised up himself. Leaves and twigs stuck to him, and both his front and back were smeared with dirt- likely from when he had landed out of the tree. "I guess even people like you could use some help."
She winced again, though not from the pain this time. "Lesson number 1, Jaune," she murmured, slowly straightening her spine back up as her Aura finished knitting her cracked ribs back together. "Trust your Aura."
"Well, a lot of help my Aura was in getting me out of that tree," the blond grumbled under his breath.
Pyrrha stretched, cracking her neck from side to side. Taking a deep breath, sweet relief flooded her system- her body was back and ready to go. But, if I take another hit like that… Her Aura might not be enough, and she knew it. There was nothing she could do other than be careful. She took a moment to look at the others still standing by her side as she felt the energy return to her.
With a calm, almost amused expression on her face, the black-haired girl with a dainty bow on her head watched the blonde girl run after the younger brunette. Beside her stood the excitable orange-haired girl, who was practically wiggling with enthusiasm as she watched the Grimm approach. Pyrrha had to bite down a small laugh when she saw the orange-haired girl's friend close his eyes in exhaustion, clearly unable to take in the action happening all around them.
Sighing, she turned her eyes back to the scene in front of them. And yet, somehow, in the few moments she had taken her eyes off the other students, it seemed the situation had changed completely. Giant feathers from the Nevermore protruded from the ground like loosed rounds, and the Death Stalker was trapped in one place, roaring. It desperately tugged, but somehow, its tail was frozen in place in a jagged flower of ice, trapping the creature.
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. The one who had summoned the ice column was most likely Weiss, who was scolding the short brunette, seemingly unaware of the giant Grimm screaming behind her. There's likely a better time to have this conversation, she thought worriedly, glancing around. Thankfully, everyone seemed alright still.
All the students regrouped in front of the ruins where Pyrrha and the others still stood. "So, everyone's alive," the blonde girl grinned. "That's a good start for now!" Raising a hand to wave at the others, she said, "I'm Yang." Motioning towards the smaller brunette, she continued, "And this eager lil' pipsqueak is my sis, Ruby."
"Yang!" Ruby cried, embarrassed.
Yang ignored her, gesturing towards the quiet girl with black hair. "That's my partner, Blake." The girl waved, but didn't add anything to the introduction.
Weiss stepped forward, all haughty pride. "I am Weiss Schnee."
"Ooh, fancy," the orange-haired girl giggled. "I'm Nora! And this is my partner, Ren. But we're not like, partners, or anything, heh heh, nothing like that," she babbled on. Ren, the boy with the green jacket, smiled wryly and calmly added, "It's nice to meet you all."
Pyrrha smiled at the group- so far, they all seemed quite kind. Even Weiss' initially cold attitude seemed to have softened, likely due to her partner's clumsiness. "My name is Pyrrha," she said. "And this is Jaune."
Everyone's eyes widened in recognition a little at her introduction, but no one commented- for that, Pyrrha was quite grateful.
"Now that we're all settled, I guess it's time to keep going," Blake said at last.
Before anyone else could speak, however, the Nevermore cawed loudly. Pyrrha brushed her bangs out of her eyes, the gusts of wind from the flying Grimm's wings blowing her hair into her face; the creature continued to let out mighty roars, slowly looping back towards the group.
"Guys? That thing's circling back! What are we gonna do?" Jaune asked nervously, pointing at the Nevermore.
Weiss shook her head condescendingly. "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." With her words, the entire group turned to face the altars in the temple.
For the first time, Pyrrha was able to get a good look at the individual altars. They stood about waist-height, chiselled of grey rock and etched with ancient runes in bands around the edges. Some of the altars were already empty- signs of other teams reaching their destination before them. The ones which still possessed their relics, however, carried large wooden chess pieces- half golden, half black.
Ruby smiled, determined. "She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs." Nodding at Weiss and smiling at her sister, she added, "There's no point in fighting these things."
Pyrrha smiled approvingly. She's reckless, but not stubborn. That's good, she thought to herself.
Jaune seemed to relax a bit as well. "Run and live – that's an idea I can get behind!"
"Would you do the honours?" Pyrrha asked, motioning towards the pieces. Jaune grinned widely, jogging over to the one of the altars, Ruby by his side. The two of them each grabbed pieces out of Pyrrha's sight, but she did see the warm, relieved smile the two of them shared. It brought a smile to her own face- after all the nervousness, it was good seeing Jaune having someone who he could rely on.
A sharp crack filled the air, along with the frustrated screams of the Death Stalker. Pyrrha, along with a few others, spun around, only to see the giant's tail slowly slipping free from the cracking ice. It was still fairly warm outside, after all- there was no way to keep the ice from melting eventually.
"Time we left!" Ren called, determinedly nodding to Nora.
"Right," Ruby agreed, waving to the entire group after tucking her chosen chess piece into her pocket. "Let's go!"
Pyrrha nodded to Jaune, smiling encouragingly. Following Ruby's enthusiastic lead, they all jogged south out of the clearing- it was time to head back with proof of their successful initiation.
They had done it- now, all they had to do was get back safe. But Pyrrha wasn't worried- looking at the others around her, and taking stock of her remaining Aura, she relaxed a bit, despite the Nevermore's cries growing closer and closer. They'd be okay.