"The last pair has been formed, sir," Glyna reported to Ozpin, watching the students' progress on her monitor, "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos."
Ozpin simply remained silent, staring at his own screen, his eyes focusing on a particular student making his way through the Emerald Forest.
"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat," Glynda continued, "And as for V, he still hasn't found a partner."
"I think you worry too much Glynda. Have a little faith in them," Ozpin responded.
"Anyway, at their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year? Professor Ozpin?"
Ozpin didn't answer as his gaze now focused on Ruby and her fairly unwilling partner, Weiss.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
V continued his trek through the trees; he was seemingly no closer to his destination with forest in every direction and no sign of a clearing besides the one he had landed in.
I'm not even entirely sure where I'm going, he thought. His walking was stopped when Griffon suddenly dive bombed through the canopy and landed in front of him.
"Well, that was quick. What news do you bring?"
"I got some good news: the ruins are about three quarters of a mile that way," Griffon indicated with his head towards V's left.
"Then I guess we keep going. But often times, good news is not without bad news..."
"It's not super bad news, but there's a small pack of a dozen Beowolves about to surround you."
V merely chuckled, "Good. At least I'm finally meeting some form of opposition."
"Okay, just remember this Shakespeare: you and I both like to exist," Griffon advised, "So get rid of these guys quick, 'cause killing them ain't my shtick!"
As Griffon finished his sentence, V looked into the tree line and found twelve pairs of red eyes staring back at him. The human stood up a little straighter, pointing the tip of his cane forward like a sword.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
(Play Crimson Cloud—Devil May Cry 5 OST)
One of the Beowolves leapt from the shadows towards V, claws outstretched and jaws open to tear into him. V simply smiled as a dark cloud burst from his cane, this one forming a large, black panther with red eyes that latched onto the Beowolf's throat with its teeth, tearing into it and tossing it back towards V who promptly stabbed through its head with his cane, quipping, "Pardon me."
As the corpse began to disintegrate, the dead Grimm's packmates stalked around, encircling the Summoner.
"Gouge 'em, Shadow," V commanded, and the panther obeyed. A large spike shot forward and implied a Beowolf mid-leap, allowing V to run up the spike and end the Grimm's life similarly to the first. Three more Beowolves charged on the ground in an attempt to to take out Shadow, but Griffon swooped in, strafing them with small lightning shots before shocking them all with a straight line of lightning strikes.
"Slice them."
V's panther ran towards the stunned Grimm before jumping into the air. Multiple spikes came out of the big cat as it spun, making something akin to a saw blade. It ripped into one Beowolf before bouncing onto each of its companions, tearing through the bone plates on their skulls and allowing V to dash forward and finish each one of with a swift stab through the head.
The remaining Beowolves, rather than individually be slaughtered, all attacked at once, pouncing towards V from every direction. Just as they would have struck, V was picked up by Griffon and flown up and to the sidelines of the fight. In the confusion of their target's disappearance, the Grimm forgot about Shadow. The panther jumped into the middle of the crowd, his tail became larger, and he swept them into the air together with it. V's bird then flew over, electricity building up within him, and released a large area blast of lightning; the trees nearby were obliterated and the Beowolves crashed to the earth.
"Toasty," V commented, finishing the job by throwing his cane towards and teleporting to each one, killing them in turn.
Only the larger Alpha Beowulf was left alive on the ground, growling in rage as it couldn't move from the damage sustained. V calmly strolled up with his familiars trailing behind him. He looked down on the Alpha and lined up his cane to its forehead with both hands.
"Rest in pieces," he muttered as he drove his weapon home, killing the creature.
(End music)
V stood up straight and brushed his hair out of his face as Griffon and Shadow once again disappeared.
"That was mildly exhilarating," the Summoner commented, "But it's time to make haste towards my goal."
V broke off into a run towards the direction of the temple that Griffon indicated. After getting a running start, he jumped up and summoned a cloud of darkness below him and continued to ride it towards the break in the trees ahead of him. As he broke through the tree line, he found a ruin in the middle of the clearing. It was fairly simple, only comprise of a large, circular stone floor with multiple large pillars in a semi circle around it, some of which were fallen or crumbling. Inside the ring around the edge, multiple podiums stood with what appeared to be chess pieces.
V stepped up into the ruins and examined the area. No other students were in sight, but a couple pieces were missing already. It seemed there were sets of two for each piece.
Probably the way they make teams. Each pair takes one and the other matching pair become their teammates.
V took a bit of time to deliberate. He had yet to find a partner, so it would be wrong to take a piece until either another person showed up or he absolutely had to leave the area.
"Hey V!" someone shouted from behind him. The teen turned around to see Yang waving at him from the other edge of the clearing on a hill; Blake was next to her. V gave a polite wave back to the pair as they came down the hill to the ruins.
"The relics are chess pieces?" Blake asked as the two arrived in the ring.
"Well, I guess we should pick one," Yang said, picking up a Knight piece, "How about a little pony?"
"Sure," smirked Blake before looking to V, "Aren't you going to pick one?"
"Not yet. I'll need to see if I find a partner first, as the rules technically dictate I require one."
Suddenly, a loud scream rang out through the forest, making V and Yang turn toward the source's direction.
That's probably something unfortunate.
"Some girl's in trouble! Blake, do you hear that?"
However, Blake was looking skyward, prompting V to glance up too. His eyes widened as he found the unexpected sight of Ruby falling from the sky shouting "HEADS UP!" as a Nevermore passed overhead.
Just when she was coming close to the ground, another student flew in from the side, crashing into her and sending them flying into a tree.
V blinked twice in surprise as Blake asked, "Did your sister just fall from the sky?"
"I—"
Before Yang could respond, crashing noises came from the tree line, and a bear-like Grimm burst forth, trying to shake something off its back that was shouting "YEEEEHAAAAAW!"
A pink blast of energy struck its back, sending it tumbling to the ground and making its rider fall off, revealing it to be an orange haired girl with a black skirt and a white sleeveless top with a heart cut out of it.
"Awww, it's broken," she complained as she dusted herself off.
"Nora, please, don't ever do that again," a second rider panted from the side, this one a boy with black hair wearing a green, diagonally buttoned tailcoat and white pants. The boy noticed his partner had suddenly disappeared and looked around, only to find Nora had already made her way to the ruins and was admiring a white Rook piece.
Nora then picked it up and began to dance, singing, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"
"NORA!"
"Coming Ren!" the bubbly girl responded with a salute, skipping over to her partner.
"Did that girl just use an Ursa as a form of transportation?" V asked, baffled by the situations occurring.
"I—" Yang tried to respond, but she was interrupted again by a screech as a large scorpion Grimm burst through the trees, chasing Pyrrha.
Ruby then jumped from the tree she was in, landing on the ground and doing a roll before standing up in front of her sister.
"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed.
"Yang!"
"NORA!" the ginger girl shouted as she appeared between them, breaking up their reunion.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker chasing her?" Blake inquired as Pyrrha continued to dodge the strikes fro the beast's pincers.
Suddenly, Yang's hair burst into flames and her eyes turned red, shouting "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN EVERYTHING JUST CALM DOWN FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?"
After two seconds ticked by, Yang's hair went out and she calmed down. V turned skyward again to check the Nevermore and found a most peculiar sight in its talons.
Is that...?
"How could you leave me up here?" Weiss called down.
"I told you to jump!" Ruby shouted back.
"She's gonna fall," Blake pointed out.
"She'll be fine."
"She's falling," deadpanned V.
The Schnee heiress fell down, but Jaune jumped out from the tree he and Ruby crashed into and caught her. However, they were still quite a ways up in the air and began to fall again.
"I'm surrounded by idiots," V groaned as he facepalmed as he summoned Griffon. The demon bird flew up and grabbed Weiss's shoulders with his talons and the back of Jaune's hoodie with his mandible-like beak. Griffon was able to safely place the alabaster girl and blonde knight on the ground without injury.
"Nice goin' Wunderkid," Griffon wisecracked to Jaune before flying back to V and perching on his arm. As the bird disappeared, the other students stared at V in surprise. Before the group could ask any questions, Pyrrha finally put enough distance between herself and the Deathstalker to jump to join the group.
"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!" Yang joked without humor.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ruby responded, full of resolve, and she charged the Deathstalker with a battle cry.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang shouted after the cloaked girl.
Ruby payed her words no heed as she fired a few shots at the Grimm. However, as soon as she attempted to strike it with her weapon when she got close, the beast swatted her away like an insect.
Ruby, though shaken, got up again, shooting the monster in the skull a few more times as she began to fall back.
"Ruby!" Yang shouted, now running to try and help her younger sister. Unfortunately, their running was interrupted as the circling Nevermore flapped it's wings and sent a rain of razor-sharp feathers down toward the girls, pinning Ruby down by her cloak and preventing Yang from reaching her.
"Ruby, get out of there!"
"I'm trying!"
The Deathstalker approached Ruby, pincers clacking and stinger raised. As it got close, it's tail lunged forward with the intent to kill.
V was about to look away when suddenly, a white blue raced past him towards the fallen girl, and as it reached the Deathstalker, a large block of ice trapped its right claw and the stinger. He looked back and found it to be...
Well, glad they're finally getting along.
Weiss has arrived in the nick of time to save her patent from an untimely demise. V couldn't make out exactly what was said between the two, but he was sure that they were making up for their previous childish attitudes. As the two returned to the group, Yang embraced Ruby.
"Guys, that things circling back," Jaune pointed out, "What are we gonna do?"
"There's no sense in remaining longer than we have to," V said calmly, finally approaching a black King piece and picking it up.
"He's right. Our objective is right in front of us," Weiss agreed.
"Our goal is to get an artifact and take it to the cliff. There's no point in fighting these things," Ruby added.
"Run and live. That's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune said, relieved. He and Ruby grabbed a relic each as well, taking the white Rook and Knight pieces respectively. As they did, a loud cracking noticed turned the groups attention to the Deathstalker; the Grimm was beginning to break the ice.
"I think it's about time we left," V commented.
"Right. Follow me!" Ruby exclaimed, moving forward as the others followed her. The group broke into a run toward the cliff in the distance as the Nevermore made chase.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
(Play Red Like Roses Part 2)
As the group approached the cliff, the Nevermore sped ahead of them. A large set of ruins appeared built up from the bottom of the gorge with multiple bridges and towers of stone rising from the fog below. As the bird Grimm landed on a tower in front of them, the teens took cover behind stone pillars in front of the nearest bridge.
"Well that's just great!" Yang snapped.
Suddenly, the Deathstalker from earlier burst into the scene from behind them.
"Oh man, run!" shouted Jaune.
"Nora, distract it!" ordered Ren. The ginger haired girl obliged, dodging feathers from the Nevermore before retailing; she grabbed a weapon stowed on her back and fired multiple grenades at the beast, each one making a pink explosion. However, Nora didn't notice the Deathstalker come up behind her; thankfully, it's attempt to attack her failed, as a bolt of lightning shot down, stunning it momentarily. Weiss dashes in and grabbed Nora, using a glyph to launch the two back to the group which was now running across the bridge.
Griffon flew back to V after the attack, following him as he, Blake, and Ren tried to catch up to the others. The Deathstalker made one last swipe at V with its pincers, but Griffon pulled him above the attack and deposited him back on the bridge. The group sprinted across the structure, not seeing the Nevermore swooping in from the side towards them. V turned to the left just in time to see it crash into the bridge. He, Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake were blasted back towards the Deathstalker they had just escaped.
"Wonderful," remarked V as the four of them got up and were forced to engage the scorpion. Griffon continued to rain small lightning blasts on its shell while Ren and Pyrrha fired from a distance using their guns. Blake attempted to fight closer up, using her weapon to slice at the monster, but it had no effect and she was pushed back. The group held their position at a distance, still unable to kill the beast yet.
Suddenly, Jaune and Nora flew across from the other side of the broken bridge. Nora's grenade launcher had changed into a large hammer which she used to smack the giant scorpion square on the head. However, the attack was ineffective, but Nora was able to launch herself away from the creature's stinger before it could attack be firing a grenade from the head of her hammer, launching her backwards. Unfortunately, her trajectory caused her to hit Blake and V, sending them flying over the edge towards the abyss.
V was immediately saved as Griffon swooped down and picked up the Summoner, dryly commenting, "You gotta stop making me work so hard boss. At this rate, my wings are gonna fall off."
V ignored the comment, instead focusing on the situation at hand. The duo landed next to Ruby, Weiss and Yang. Blake managed to use her weapon to swing from the lower sections of the stone structure up to land on the back of the Nevermore; she ran along it, slicing multiple times before jumping off and landing with the rest of the group.
"It's tougher than it looks," Blake panted.
"Then let's give it everything we've got!" Yang said with determination.
The group unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks on the approaching Nevermore. Ruby, Yang, and Blake fired shots from their weapons, Weiss launched bolts of Dust, and V used Griffon to blast the Nevermore with lightning. The creature wasn't disturbed by the attacks, dodging them or just tanking them as it continued in a beeline toward the team. It hit the tower that they were standing on, breaking apart. As they fell, the team jumped from piece to piece of falling debris, using their weapons and semblances to propel themselves upward. Of course, V just used Griffon to fly higher, swooping around falling rocks and landing safely with the others on a higher platform.
"None of this is working!" Weiss complained.
"I have a plan," Ruby said.
"And what, pray tell, is it?" V inquired.
"Here's what we're gonna do..." Ruby began.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
V flew up to the top of the tallest pillar of the structure with Griffon.
"You sure this thing is gonna work boss?" Griffon asked.
"Relax, my fine feathered friend, I'm fairly certain that Ms. Rose's plan will turn out well for us."
Begrudgingly, Griffon once again opened up on the Nevermore, doing his best to get its attention. After a direct hit to the eye, the beast screeched and turned to attack the annoyance on the pillar. Just before impact, V shouted, "Yang!"
He dodged to the side with Griffon, and Yang immediately leapt up from behind him, landing on the beast's lower beak and holding open its mouth.
"I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUNGRY!" Yang shouted, each syllable punctuated by a blast from her shotgun gauntlets. The creature couldn't steer away as Yang jumped to safety, and it crashed into the cliffside.
"Pin it to the wall," V commanded, summoning Shadow. His panther shot out multiple spikes, trapping the large bird against the cliffside by its wings. As it struggled, Blake and Yang used Blake's weapon to create a line between two pillars that Ruby pushed back, standing on her scythe. Weiss held her in position with a glyph.
"So, can you make the shot?" Ruby asked her partner.
"Hmmm...can I?" Weiss joked.
Ruby blanched for a moment, "Wait, can you—"
"Of course I can!" Weiss interrupted.
With a smirk, Ruby commanded, "Now!"
Weiss released the glyph and Ruby fires multiple shots, the improvised slingshot and recoil from her firing propelling her forward with great speed; V released Shadow's spikes as Ruby hooked the large raven by its neck with her scythe's blade. As her feet made contact with the wall, Weiss raised her sword, creating multiple glyphs leading up the cliffside.
With a loud battle cry, Ruby sprinted up the cliff; the glyphs, her semblance, and her weapon's recoil made her continue to accelerate as she went further up. When she reached the apex of the cliff, she fired one last time, sending the blade of her weapon through the raven's neck, rending its head from its body. After she landed atop the rock face, she looked down at the rest of the ruins and her friends before lifting her scythe up and letting out a triumphant cheer.
(End music)
As V watched the Reaper celebrate, he thumbed through his poetry book before finding and appropriate passage, chuckling to himself.
"What's so funny?" Blake asked the Summoner.
"Nothing, just a line of poetry I thought was appropriate," V replied, ""Quoth the raven...
Nevermore.""
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Would V please report to Professor Ozpin's office? Again, V, please report to Professor Ozpin's office, a voice rang out over the intercom as the group returned to Beacon after getting past the cliff.
"Wait, your name is actually V?" Yang asked, looking at him incredulously.
"Perhaps," V shrugged his shoulders with a small smile.
V, you will be escorted by Professor Goodwitch to Professor Ozpin's office, the intercom rang out again.
Seconds later, the black and white dressed woman appeared before the summoner.
"Mister V," she said without any emotion in her voice.
"Miss Goodwitch," V stated.
"Shall we?" she motioned to the direction in which Ozpin's office may be.
"Yes, thank you," V followed behind the woman to the Headmaster's office. The rest of the group followed the two with their eyes, completely silently.
"So what did he do?" Jaune asked worriedly.
"I don't know. He didn't do anything wrong. Maybe it's because he doesn't have a partner," Blake pointed out.
"Oh no! Is he getting kicked out?" Ruby cried out.
"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to find out at the ceremony," Weiss replied. The teens, despite their apprehension for their new friend, continued on to the theater.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
(Later)
"What do you think happened to V?" Ruby asked as she and her teammates got to their dorm room. The teams had just been announced in the theater, with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang becoming Team RWBY, and Ruby was its leader.
"I hope nothing bad happened," Blake muttered as they entered their room. She quite enjoyed the eccentric boy.
"I think you'll be glad to find that I'm doing well," a familiar voice came from the left of the door.
"V!" Team RWBY exclaimed. The boy was reclining in an extra bed to the side of the room, reading through his usual book.
"What are you doing in are room? Are you just being a creep?" Weiss demanded.
"Well, Snow Queen, I'm offended you would think so lowly of a man such as myself," V smiled at her as he closed the book, "I'm sure you'll be glad to hear the reason I'm here is because for the foreseeable future, I'm going to be your roommate."
"But why is this happening?" Blake asked.
V pursed his lips, "Apparently, there was a...last second addition to Beacon's roster," V glanced to Ruby, who immediately looked down, "As a result, I became the odd man out. Unfortunately, single students are technically not allowed to be a team by themself, so I have been added to yours for the foreseeable future."
"Yay!" Ruby shouted in excitement.
"Don't disturb my beauty sleep, we'll get along just fine," Weiss said as she walked over to claim her bed. Blake simply nodded in understanding at V's explanation while Yang gave him a fairly...suggestive look.
Is she...undressing me with her eyes?
"I'll step outside a moment to let you girls get changed," V said, hopping off his bed and heading to the door, only to be stopped by Yang grasping his shoulder.
"Oh, are you sure you don't want to join us?" she asked teasingly, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of her teammates. V tensed up at the contact, but he refused to show weakness for the blonde brawler to capitalize on.
"Yes, I'm sure. Now if you'll excuse me," he shrugged off her hand and exited the room, closing the door behind him.
I really hope I don't have to deal with this for four years... he slumped down with his back against the door, placing his face in his hands.