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Project Aegis.
Mission 4:
The Pieces In Place...
{START}
'My brother once told me that whenever you're in a fight, pride gets you killed faster than incompetence. You need to think first before you go out guns blazing, and sometimes one's pride can affect one's performance. I have yet to see someone gets killed because of their pride. But I have seen someone get their pride shattered because of how bloated it got, just ask my brother whenever I beat him in checkers'
'Or my old partner…'
Tarsus Academy - Five Years Ago….
He let out a subdued breath as he leaned on the wall, feeling a little winded.
'Shit… I think I broke a rib…'
He looked at his side to see another young man seating nearby against the wall, head hung low.
"So… Crap that hurts…" he grunted in pain, yeah, definitely a broken rib "Still with the whole 'I can do this on my own' or are you now seeing the problem…"
The young man lifted head, his red hair a bit messy while their right eye was starting to get swollen "I had it under control…" said the red-haired man, aggressively so. Resting by his was a katana, its handle being crimson red "But you had to get in my way Denton…"
JC Denton sighed once more before grunting in pain "No offense, Minos…" Asterios Minos scoffed "But going head first against Herrmann of all people isn't what I call 'under control'…"
"I said I had it under control! I had him in my sights!" Minos bellowed back as he stood up, using the scarab for support, his right eye swollen shut at this point "But you had to interfere! You are lucky I didn't slice you in half!" Minos came face to face to Denton, red eyes focused on his blue ones as he grabbed him by the shirt.
"Herrmann wanted you to hit him! Or slice him!" JC bit back as he pushed his hand away from the shirt, showing small emotions for once, which took Minos aback "I've been telling you he is not simple-minded just because Carter calls him 'tower head'… he didn't get third place in combat for anything! We are lucky that Herrmann was holding back his punches!"
"Look who's talking! Who the hell held back because someone had the smart idea to not take care of a dumb little girl!"
This entire time they were doing a simulation of some kind as part of their training, they were the last group to perform after all the others did their part, and boy did they perform…
Thrown into a hologramic background, where the user can create and recreate any place or scenario fitting for the desired course base on memories alone, the one Carter chosen was an abandoned four-story building that was once famous for a siege against Faunus revolutionaries during the conflict.
What took everyone aback was the fact that the place isn't any hologram where the user projects a couple of walls and call it a day. No, this place felt lived in, from the temperature to the can of soda that littered on the ground.
Technology knows no bounds.
The students were given a simple task in disabling a bomb, with one team guarding it while the other will try to defuse it, like a simple game of counter-terrorism.
Except they were using an actual bomb in this exercise, Carter explained it's a way for the students to feel the tension when they are in the field.
The team they were up against were Gunther Herrmann and Anna Navarre, an odd couple to make them team up considering how opposite those two are to each other…
[FIVE MINUTES REMAINING]
A robotic feminine voice echoed around the simulation, indicating the time limit.
Both boys lament for a moment before JC turned to his partner.
"Look… arguing here clearly doesn't help anyone…"
"No shit…"
"But if we don't want Carter to crucify us we need to work together… and bury your hatred against humans just for this exam…" JC almost gave up half an hour ago when Minos refuses to even listen to him "So please I am asking you…" he grunted in pain but soldiered on "Let's survive this thing with our bones still in its place…"
JC brought out his hand to Minos, wanting the Faunus to shake it, as a sign of peace, and by peace, he meant Minos's own.
Minos simply slapped it away.
'You gotta be kidding me! He hates humans that much!'
"As I said, I do not need to work with a human to get this done!"
JC felt a migraine coming, he really didn't need this now "You know what, you are right… I don't know why I even tried to-" He stopped mid-sentence, which confused the red-haired Faunus.
Before he could ask what's wrong, JC pushed him out of the way with such strength that it took the Faunus a second to register
"Move!"
*CRASH*
A giant branch of an arm came out from the walls they leaned on, nearly grabbing hold of Minos before Denton pushed him away.
Before JC could escape too, the arm moved and caught him instead, gripping his neck with their vice grip hands.
"It seems you two didn't heed my warnings" a heavily thick accent resonated in the hallway they stood on, sounding more robotic than even Denton "And I don't like repeating myself" the dust settled, revealing a giant of a man, standing close to six feet five, give it a couple more years and he could reach seven feet easily.
Minos gripped his sword handle tightly as he watched his partner try to escape the giant's grip on him but to no avail.
"But I will make an exception considering we are fellow students," Gunther Herrmann said calmly, his hand still gripping JC's throat as he stared down at the red-haired Faunus "So I ask one last time, Surrender or fall"
Minos freed his sword from the scarab instead of answering.
"So be it…" Herrmann said disappointingly, he wanted to end this exam peacefully but his opponents were not making it any easier. He tighten his grip on Denton's throat, Carter explained that the only way to complete the simulation is either by surrender or by knock out, no killing "I thought you will surrender if you see your partner in danger but it seems you don't as much as I thought" Gunther stared down Minos with a disappointed look, which further irritated the red-haired Faunus "I didn't want to do this considering we are classmates, but we are in a time crunch the sooner the-"
"Who the hell said I was in danger…" a cold voice stopped him from finishing his sentence.
"..!"
Herrmann turned sight away from Minos and into Denton who he had on his grip somehow was able to remove his hand off of him.
"Don't know if someone told you this or not Herrmann…" despite his effort, Herrmann strength seems to fail him as Denton held his hand, eyes glowed blue briefly "But you talk too much!"
JC grabbed hold of his giant arm and threw the big man a good ten feet away from with such a force it made a powerful thud upon impact on the concrete wall in the other side.
"Not bad in escaping" Minos complement him as he approached his partner "For a human that is"
Fighting off the pain of his injured ribs, Denton turned to his partner "Save me the compliments… I was lucky he was droning on like an idiot…" when Gunther was speaking to Minos, JC felt his grip loosening the further he talked, might be a psychological thing but it didn't matter, he took this as an opening.
"Not a bad move either… Never knew your Aura can strengthen you like that" Minos wondered. He had to admit, he honestly expected Denton to be knocked out by now considering his hesitation early on and his lack of weapons when he entered the simulation made him doubt the tall boy, but it seems he had some bite in him.
"It isn't Aura…" JC revealed, which confused Minos, but before he could ask some movement was made from the wall Herrmann went through "I'll explain later, we are still in the red…"
"Clearly…" Minos gripped his katana and took a stance "I can't believe I am asking this…"
"But you are gonna ask me anyway…"
"Shut up" Herrmann's bulky form came out from the wall, anger written all over his face "I was about to ask what's our next step"
[Three Minutes Remaining]
"Do you trust me?" Denton asked his partner, ignoring the speaker.
Minos's jaws tightened, after what felt like an eternity, the red-haired Faunus sighed "I trust you enough you won't insult me…"
"That's a weird way to say 'yes' but I'll take it…"
Gunther fixed his shoulders and charged, shaking the ground due to his heavy armor and size.
"So what's the plan?" Minos gripped his sword in anticipation.
Denton also took a stance as he brought a nightstick "I am still working on it"
"Wonderful"
The two charged ahead, aiming to fight back against the giant known as Gunther Herrmann.
[Two Minutes Remaining…]
{DXR}
Present time – Beacon Academy – TIME: 10:23 A.M
'It feels like we've been down here for a while now…' thought JC Denton as he walked deeper into the cave "Watch your step there…" he called his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, who was following behind him "Place's really dark…"
"Well… we are inside a cave" Pyrrha pointed out as she held a torch she lighten before entering the cave where they might find the relic "A nicely cleaned cave but a cave nonetheless"
"Let's take notes, might help the environment a bit…" JC said tonelessly but still with small humor as he took the lead.
Deciding to take the quieter route, they avoided any unnecessary fights against the Grimms if they wish to save up enough ammo and energy in case things go south. They agreed that even if they come across the other students who might be fighting the creatures, they will not interfere unless it is absolutely necessary.
After all, everyone in this exam trained hard for this very day, depriving them would be a crime to their pride as huntsmen.
"Let's hope we get things in time… don't want to fail because of a time limit…" JC lament.
"I wouldn't worry about that, the academy has already accepted us," said the red-haired girl, which caused the tall man to stop in his tracks and look back at the girl. Embarrassed at the confused look he was giving her she explained "U-U-Uhmm… I am sure you know the requirements to join, right?"
JC nodded, either get accepted normally through your papers or recommendations from an active Huntsmen or Huntress.
"Well, after the Headmaster sends you an acceptance letter to join the academy it's basically that, you are already accepted, no matter what happens today you are already accepted"
"So this exam?..."
"It's just a way for the professors to know where the students are placed, hence the team. And if you failed to complete it you'll still be placed in a team"
"Except they will be judged by their performance…"
"I… I guess?" Pyrrha said unsurely, Ozpin did say they will test the student's performance first and foremost, and not finding a simple relic can impact it "But I don't expect anyone actually not giving it their all in looking for the relics"
"Considering the Headmaster basically sent us in a Grimm filled forest looking for blood, is all the encouragement anyone would need…"
"…That's… a bit forward"
"Too much?..."
"Just a bit…" she said, unsure whether she would agree his point or not as she followed him deeper into the cave, torch in hand.
There were two reasons as to why they are traversing a dark cave. One, they were avoiding a large number of packs walking around the area, possibly looking for who or what destroyed their nest to hell. So they needed a way to avoid the creatures one way or another, which they managed to stumble upon the cave entry which made them wary at first until they saw an insignia.
'Just remembered Vale is basically Church land…' he was hesitant to enter until Pyrrha suggested it won't hurt much if they explore a bit, Grimms for some unexplained reasons were avoiding the place.
And what caught him off-guard was the lack of hostiles inside the cave… like it was abandoned.
They've already passed by numerous old temples left by the Order Church, possibly during the Grimm Wars thousands of years ago. So checking over a cave wouldn't hurt their chances.
'Let's hope Ozpin isn't crazy enough to put a relic inside a cave…' he thought cautiously. Then again, the Headmaster did send a bunch of teens to what basically was their deaths.
He wondered what this cave was for, considering there was an Order Church sign outside the cave entrance painted at the side. A pilgrim refuge? A place where Templars send their new initiates? Or a place where weird rituals were conducted. He's pushing for the last bit, anytime he sees something that goes against the Order's usual M.O it gives him a good chuckle internally.
The cave had numerous markings etched on the walls, markings of people fighting against what appears to be Grimm, possibly drawn during the early days of the War that happen thousands of years.
One of the markings that caught his interest was a single person lifting a flaming sword to fight the soulless creatures.
'The war changed with a single spark of fire… guess now we know why the Templars use a flaming sword'
After a long period of silence, Pyrrha stepped forward "Uhmm… JC?" she called "Are you sure you don't need the torch? You are ahead and it might help"
"That's alright, you'll need it more than I do…" JC assured her "Plus, I can see just fine in the dark…"
"Your… eyes are augmented?"
"I would use 'vision' but yeah…" JC turned back to his partner, tapping his head to emphasis as his eyes glowed blue behind his dark shades "I can see just about everything in the dark that isn't twenty feet away…"
He wasn't using the full extent of his augmentations, the night vision and a couple of more he was able to use because most of them don't converse his energy.
'Should have got some of those energy bars before the exam…' he regretted not doing it beforehand.
Pyrrha let out a small 'Oh!' at his explanation 'Then that's why his eyes glow every once and a while…' she realized the first time she saw his eye glow was back when she first met him last. She honestly thought at first he was a Faunus because of his eyes, but sooner she realized he was a human so she based it as his semblance just working on its own.
She read that recent development on augmentations had gone to the point where it made be possible for it to integrate technology within their body in a discreet manner, but it would impossible for JC to have such a thing considering he is mechanical augment. Plus, it has been reported its nearly impossible to find a compatible which have resulted in the person death.
'I could ask him…' her eyes focused on his augmented arms, its clean and slick appearance made it obvious that they are military grade, even his abilities are no simple technology anyone could use.
The augmented man suddenly stopped, bringing his left hand up in a stop motion. Looking ahead of them was a two-way path "Feel that?" he asked, pointing the left path.
"Wind, I am feeling a small air coming from there" Pyrrha nodded "Think's it's an exit?"
He shrugged "Or it could be a nest…" they couldn't remove the possibility "But we don't know for sure…" he didn't pick up any hostiles nearby but he had to be careful.
"Hmm…" Pyrrha thought for their next course of action, they could go the left path and leave the caves but the other path could lead them to the relics 'But there is a possibility where we could find nothing…Hmm?'
She noticed something odd coming from the other path.
JC stood in his place doing the same, but he suspected that the relics aren't here, Ozpin isn't crazy enough to make a test that's basically just a placement exam.
'He really needs to rename it… Initiation just gives people all the wrong ideas…'
"Uhh, JC?" Pyrrha called for him, turning to her to see her pointing the right path "Are you seeing something… glow?"
Following where she was pointing at, the augmented man found a small golden object floating in the dark.
'That's new…' his scans still show no hostiles in the area… so everything was in the clear 'So why am I feeling like I am being watched…'
"Thinks it's a relic?" Pyrrha asked.
"Not sure …" he was hesitant to even approach it, something wasn't right.
"Wouldn't hurt checking at least" Pyrrha jogged ahead, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Pyrrha wait-"
*CRACK*
Before he could stop his partner, JC felt he stepped on something, while has at this point stepped on a lot of things, mostly animal defecations. This one was different, this one felt recognizable, a sound he is very familiar with…
*CRACK*
Another step forward to confirm it.
The sound of crunching, bone-crunching.
He looked down to confirm his fears, staring at what seems to be the remains of a skull looking back at him with its hollowed eyes.
Other skeletal remains were littered on the ground, and it reached all the way to…
'This place…'
"Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha stopped in her place, taken aback of JC's voice calling for this loudly.
"This place is-!" his eyes widen as he stared what was behind his partner.
The glowing object became more apparent, shaking back and forth as it was floating towards them. The closer it got the more it became obvious what it was.
A giant golden stinger, and large red lines and eyes glowing from the darkness.
"Feeding grounds…" Pyrrha finished his sentence, staring dead on to the Deathstalker.
Before she could react, JC quickly covered the distance and grabbed her by the hand, dropping the torch in the process.
'Shit! Only now his sensors picking up a hostile presence as soon as the Deathstalker appeared ''Damn thing hid its presence from my sensors!' he heard that Grimms can lower their heat signature as a way to attract their preys without alerting anyone.
Running full speed in the cave, Denton used his night vision to maneuver through, heading toward the other path where they felt the gust of wind came.
The cave is starting to crumble due to the large Deathstalker chasing after them, its huge body shaking the cave.
"We can't fight it here!" said the augmented man as he dragged his partner, drawing closer to the exit. Fighting a Grimm this big and in this tight space is just plain suicidal, and he is not in the mood to be a part of a cave in "For now we try to slow it down!"
"How?!"
He had no other option.
"Cave in!" he let loose a set of grenades he carried on his belt and dropped them on the ground.
{DXR}
"Think this is it?" asked one Yang Xiao Long as she turned to her partner, Blake Belladonna. She came across to dark-haired teen by chance after beating a couple of Beowolves and seeing her mood a lot better than last night, it made things easier for Yang to befriend her.
The blond-haired girl stared at an old and decrypt stone temple in a clearing, taking a circular shape. Within it stood a number of pedestals, each of them held a small object that colored black and gold.
Blake simply shrugged, they have already passed by two other temples, none having any significance except it's clearly ancient. Remembering the books she read on the Order Church and how they build a number of temples in Vale for pilgrims to find in their journeys, some of those temples were even large enough to be called a city of its own.
And now all that's left is ruins and dust, a remnant of the Church's glory and its power.
'We had the world… but man and nature destroyed it' she cited as she followed her partner up to the circular temple, it lacks a roof, allowing the sunlight to enter the place.
She always wondered what those words meant…
"A chess piece?" Blake said upon noticing the Bishop piece on the first pedestal.
"Looks like we weren't the first ones here" Yang pointed at one of the pedestals "Some of them are already missing"
"From the looks of it, we need to pick one"
Yang approached at one of the relics, before moving into another piece, and another, and another…
Blake sighed "Yang… You don't have to be picky about it…"
"But what if one of them is a trap?" Yang asked her partner, which caused Blake to give her a look.
"You're serious?"
Nodded the blond-haired teen "Yep! Didn't you see that one movie where a dude snagged an old relic and set off those boulders! Or was it spikes? Bah! You get what I am saying" Yang exclaimed almost excitingly so "So I am gonna make sure I don't pick one where boulders might appear from somewhere! Or spikes! Or probably scissors!"
"Why scissors?"
"Because they are the enemy to all awesome hairs! Second only to a messy hair after waking up"
Blake sighed tiredly, no point of trying to even correct her assumption.
"You know what… sure let's go with that reason…"
Yang continued on studying the pieces while Blake opted to look around the area for anything interesting.
The blond searched for what felt like an eternity before deciding the chess piece "How about…" she brought her hand forward to grab the piece but backed up a bit, trying to make sure it's not a 'trap'… before abandoning it and went for the next piece "This cure little horsey!" Yang showed the Knight piece to her partner "Look! It's even colored gold like my hair!"
Blake couldn't help smile at her partner's enthusiasm, as odd as it is.
After pocketing the piece, it was now time to head back to the cliff and hand the piece over the Headmaster, ending their part in the exam.
"Woo! Mission accomplished!" cheered Xiao Long at their success, "Thought this whole initiation will be a lot harder after the Headmaster's speech but things have been going smoothly, guess they were going easy on us"
"Well… it's not like it was difficult to find a place like this"
"Kinda of a letdown though, wished they used one those bigger temples instead of this dump. Might make things exciting"
"Yang… this place has history"
"A 'dusted' history if you get my gest~" she humorlessly said but it earned her a blank stare from her partner "Get it? Place's a dusty old temple and its history" no answer from the black-haired girl "Bah! You need a bit of humor every once in a while you know"
"I have humor, it's just yours a bit…"
"Original?"
"Plain"
"Hey! Do I look like plain to you?"
The two stared at each other for a second before a burst of laughter erupted from the blonde's part, and Blake couldn't help but smile-
*BOOM*
The brief moment of laughter was interrupted to a dead halt as the sound of an explosion being set off somewhere nearby in the Forest.
"A bomb!" exclaimed Yang as she watched the birds flying high to what she believes to be where the explosion happened, judging from the smoke that was starting to form.
"That's the second one today…" Blake murmured, remembering the first explosion she heard earlier but it was much further than this one.
'Hmm? Is that…' Blake looked up after hearing something coming close.
"Someone's packing some major heat!" Yang stated in enthusiasm "Come on! It sounded close by!"
"Uhh… Yang?" Blake was still focusing her sights upward.
"Didn't you hear that?" Yang turned to her partner in question "We should check it out!" but received no answer as the black-haired continued looking upward "Blake?"
The girl in black simply opted to point up to the sky "Isn't that your sister falling?" following her direction, Yang saw the unexpected.
Her sister, Ruby, falling towards them.
"HEADS UUUUUUP!"
{DXR}
"Headmaster…"
Ozpin looked away from the dark smoke that was forming from afar, courtesy of one JC Denton.
"Yes, Glynda?"
"I will have a lengthy discussion with Mr. Denton after the exam," she said with a cold tone.
"About?"
"About the importance of public safety and his choice of weaponry in the Academy. Along with the importance in relying on the necessary information to the staff" she glared at the dark smoke "This is not Atlas, he doesn't need to walk around like he is ready for war"
"I think he is aware for such a thing"
"But yet he seems to not follow it"
"True"
"I will speak with Mr. Denton after he reaches the cliff, and a slap on the wrist will not be enough"
"Of course, Glynda" Ozpin knew better than to argue with someone as professional as Glynda Goodwitch when the woman is set on something it's near impossible to change her mind, especially when it comes to the academy rules.
Turning back to the hologram to watch the students, smiling at this new development.
'Looks like it runs in the family, Dentons and their love for fireworks'
{DXR}
'Yeah… I am definitely getting yelled at after this…'
JC dusted his clothes off from the dirt after causing the cave in, with the amount he used it should give them some time but he is sure as hell he alerted half the forest by now.
Hearing a small cough close by, he turned to see his partner dusting off some rubble of her "You're alright?" JC walked up to his partner, checking up for any wounds.
Shaking her head, Pyrrha removed a small pebble that was on her shoulder "I am fine, just a bit dizzy…"
"Sorry about that, guess I used too much"
"Please be mindful with the explosives"
"I'll try" he checked over his equipment, he still had a couple more of explosives he could use, but considering they are up against a Deathstalker they'll be needing a lot more than small grenades. Turning to his partner, JC motioned her "Come on. We need to move-"
Before he could finish, the Deathstalker exploded from the cave, sending rocks and rubble everywhere. Red eyes focused on the two in rage. The creature looked just like any other Deathstalker she read about, except this one looked like it has aged judging from the various green grass grown over its armor.
This will prove troublesome.
"JC?" Pyrrha asked her partner hesitantly, weapons drawn.
"Yeah?"
"I think you managed to upset it"
"Well… I kinda destroyed its home"
"Please be mindful with the explosives to avoid something like this"
"I will"
Both students bolted in the other direction. Running through the woods from the terrifyingly large scorpion.
JC knew that fighting that thing with just his rifle and a Zenith is plain suicidal, bullets will just bounce off from its thick armor, and a couple of explosives will probably make a dent but it won't be enough to kill it.
He needed to think of another way.
'God I wish I had a Gep Gun… thing solves all my problems by now…'
"We need to fight it in a bigger area!" shouted the red-haired girl, avoiding a deadly swing from the scorpion.
JC agreed, fighting in the middle of a dense forest will attract unwanted attention. Especially after the explosives, he blew up not a minute ago.
'Smart thinking there Denton…'
The only option was to run, if the beast wants to fight then they will give it in an open field, wherever that is.
Avoiding another strike, JC was taken aback that despite its large size the beast still manages to keep up with them.
Thinking of a way to slow it down a couple of seconds, JC slowed down a bit and gave out orders "HUD… On" his eyes glowed blue, augmentations activating as he brought out the interface for him to see through his optical view 'Guess I'll be giving the targeting systems a try' he brought out his rifle and jumped, turning his body to the raging creature.
Time slowed down, his targeting system made a lock on to the creatures face, or more specifically, its eyes. And fired.
The Grimm squealed in agony after the shot went through its one of its eyes, blinding and forcing the creature to momentarily stop chasing them.
'Bullseye' He went back running through the forest.
"We are getting close to an open area!" Pyrrha said in haste after noticing the trees were thinning in numbers the further they ran.
As they come close to what they hope to be a clearing, his sensors started to sound off 'Another hostile… but above us. High above…' he looked upward and saw what he feared, a giant avian Grimm flew overheard, and its size eclipsing even the Deathstalker.
"Nevermore overhead!" called the red-haired girl after noticing the creature.
"I see it!" he answered "We need a bigger gun and a bigger bomb if we want to beat these things"
His sensors picked up something else. Another hostile? No, his HUD was tailored to recognize a Grimm and Humanoid threat, so why is it picking up something or someone close to the Nevermore.
'Don't tell me…' he looked up once more and found what his sensors were telling him "Someone is hanging by the talons"
Looking where he was pointing at, Pyrrha's eyes widen in shock "Is that?!"
"Weiss Schnee taking a joy ride on a Nevermore" He could clearly see the white-haired heiress sticking out like a sore thumb, her white clothes actually making her stand out "If she can climb up and hit the Nevermore, it might give us a chance-"
The Schnee girl who was struggling to hold on suddenly let go of the talons.
"She is falling!"
"Idiot…" almost on instinct, JC sped ahead of his red-haired partner. Activating his leg augmentations to help him quickly, looking for any tall tree that will close enough for him to catch Weiss before climbing on one, using his arms and legs to climb quickly until reaching the top and stood on one of the tree branches.
"Mark" his HUD marked the descending heiress, waiting for the perfect moment before taking a large leap, his augmentations working to the fullest as he brought his arms forward to catch the falling heiress.
"Gotcha!" he caught the Schnee girl in a bridal position, a bit roughly so due to the speed she was falling.
"OW! DON'T BE SO ROUGH YOU IDIOT!" the white-haired girl complained haughtily, hitting the tall man with her elbow in anger.
"Sorry about that…" he didn't want to comment on the fact that she was hugging him tightly.
As they came closer to the ground, Denton activated his 'landing systems' once more as electromagnetic dome formed beneath his leg, slowing their descent and landing safely into a crouch position with the heiress still held on his arms. He was thankful that the system did not consume his energy at all.
Rising slowly, JC lowered Weiss to her feet. Who instead of giving him her thanks, she glared, face red in embarrassment.
"I should have you know that I could have landed safely!" she said haughty, glaring at the tall man who towered over her "I didn't need your help!" she stops herself, her face still red after realizing she was clutching him tightly like a frightened little girl ticked her off. Calming down, she didn't want to give him any ideas which he thankfully did not address on it.
Taking another breath to calm down, which oddly enough Denton allowed her to do so, giving her time to think things through before facing forward to him, wanting to address him more formally "Ehmm! Forgive my hasty remark, but I would like to thank your assistance Mr…." she trailed off, trying to remember "What's your name again?" she remembered he was the tall man with a dark coat from yesterday, but she couldn't have bothered to even ask for his name.
"Denton… JC Denton" he answered with a dry tone, only now realizing this was the first time he properly introduced himself if you don't count yesterday's 'explosive' entry or earlier today with Pyrrha.
"Yes… Denton…" she nodded to herself before a thought came to her mind 'Wait… I heard that name before… but… where exactly…' she stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, burying back into her mind, that wasn't important now "While I am appreciative of your assistance. It was not needed, for you see I could have…" she trailed off as her eyes lingered downward, staring at his black augmented arm.
"…!" her eyes widened "Wait?! You're?!-"
"Watch out!"
Before Weiss could say anything, Pyrrha Nikos came out from the forest, causing JC to quickly grab the heiress by the arm and pulled her close to avoid a giant handle almost hitting the unaware girl.
The Deathstalker emerged from the forest, clipping its deadly handles as it glared down on the trio, more specifically on the augmented man. Its single eyes staring in rage.
'Great… it's more pissed…'
Weiss's eyes widen in shock as she stared at the sudden appearance of the Grimm, one of its eyes bleeding profusely.
Standing ahead of her, JC blocked her view "Stand behind me…"
That ticked her off.
"You dare!" she pushed him away, shocking Pyrrha at her action while JC raised a lone eyebrow, "I said I can take care of myself! No, you stand back and let me finish this!" she strode in front of the tall man.
'Right… just remembered that she is a Schnee… pride is like their second nature…' he was about to let her do what she wants before his sensors sounded off again 'Another one? And it's a big one… shit… we definitely need a bigger gun…'
"And allow me to show you my greatness!" Weiss finished.
The trio drew out their weapons, Pyrrha and Weiss drawing their swords and rapier respectfully while JC pulled his rifles handle, looks like he has to go all out.
'Here it comes!'
"YEE-HAW!" a giant Ursa Major emerged from the forest, but instead of attacking the trio, it rammed its head right into the Deathstalker, sending the Grimm a couple of feet from the ground.
"…!"
"What on Oum?!" yelled the heiress, not believing what she was witnessing "Since when do Grimms fight each other?!"
"Maybe they are in a turf war? Older Grimms get into conflict with each other sometimes"
"That would be the case if it's not that fact we just witnessed a Grimm drive-by…" JC interrupted the girls, turning to him an explanation, he pointed at the Ursa "Look who's riding it…"
Following where he was pointing at, the girls were flabbergast at what they saw.
"Awww… it's broken…" an orange haired sat atop the Ursa, which collapsed from exhaustion. JC recognized her as the girl who entered the boys' locker rooms earlier in the morning, following that youth in green.
"Did she?..." Pyrrha mouthed off quietly
JC nodded in response, even he was unsure how to react something like this, and he has seen a lot at this point.
The sound of branch breaking got the three's attention away from the girl, expecting trouble but someone else came out. The same youth in green he met earlier.
He huffed in exhaustion, sweat dripping from all the running he had to do to catch to his companion.
Taking another breath he called his partner "Nora!"
The girl in question turned away from the exhausted Ursa to answer him "Yes Ren?"
"Never…" he huffed, sweat still dripping "Never do that again…" he said out of breath from all the running before finally noticing the trio.
"Oh! Hello there!" Nora waved at the three while Ren simply nodded in the direction. Which JC responded with a quiet nod for the second time today.
He honestly did not know what to do next.
"Well, will you look at that!" a brightly voice sang aloud behind them, turning toward where the voice called to see Yang Xiao Long approaching the trio, smiling from ear to ear as always. Trailing behind the blond girl were her sister Ruby- who looked disheveled- and Blake Belladonna "The gang's all here!" she waved at Ren and Nora – Who was trying to scold the orange haired girl of the importance of animal care for some off reason- in recognition "Not bad with the Ursa driving skills" Yang complimented.
"Thanks! I've been training all week just for this moment!" Nora said happily "And I never thought it would actually work!"
Everyone turned to Ren for an explanation, who somehow managed to bring out a bag of chips and started eating it.
"Don't ask, just accept it…" said Ren as he took another bite from his chip, looking too tired to explain his partner's training regiments
It would be a plausible thing to do.
"Anyway!" Yang continued on "Considering the gang's all here! Now we can all die together!"
'Someone's a cynic…'
Before anyone could comment on her wording. The Deathstalker recovered from the Ursa attack, its single eye caught the eye students and in anger from all the embarrassment it's been given, it charged ahead, pincers clipping rapidly.
JC looked worriedly, while everyone looks confident in fighting the scorpion, they still had the Nevermore to contend with.
And one student had the bright idea to do the opposite.
With a battle cry, if you can call it one. Ruby Rose charged at the approaching Deathstalker, swinging Crescent Rose over her head.
"Ruby!" Yang realized too late her sister went ahead and attack the Grimm.
The sound of thunder cracking resonated in the open field as Ruby activated her Semblance, JC eyes widen behind his sunglasses as Ruby became just a blur, speeding toward the Grimm ready to strike it down.
'Her powers is speed… but it's still useless against a Deathstalker…' he looked upward "Or a Nevermore…"
She circled around the scorpion Grimm, firing a couple of well-timed shots from her rifle-scythe, which was useless as the bullets bounced off its tough armor. Her weapon morphed once more, turning into its scythe form before attacking the creature. But its armor was too powerful to even make a dent by her weapon.
Annoyed at the young girls continued to attack, the creature managed to catch the girl by her cape, stopping her attack dead. And swung her with its pincers full force, knocking her to the ground.
"Ruby!" Yang screamed for her sister, running towards her.
"Don't worry!" Ruby said in a struggle, still reeling from the single attack "I am totally fine!" as she was about to get up a large shadow casted over her
"Oh… No…"
The young girl's face turned pale in fear as the scorpion raised its golden stinger high above, seeking to finish her off once and for all.
Yang felt her entire body go numb as she watched at her vulnerable sister in horror "RUBY!" she tried to run faster, trying to make it in tune but she knew she couldn't make it in time, her young sister would be crushed by the Grimm.
"NO!" Yang Xiao Long cried as the creature's golden stinger came closer to the young girl, and she couldn't do anything about it.
And she couldn't notice the two blurs racing pass her.
"Gotcha…"
Just as the gold stinger was about to come down on the helpless girl, she suddenly felt being lifted off her spot and carried away. Hesitantly opening her eyes, she saw JC Denton face looking ahead, carrying the young girl to safety.
"J-J-JC?" behind his sunglasses his eyes glowed blue for a second.
The tall man looked down on the girl blankly before giving her a small smile "Justice Call himself…" he said with a dry tone as he carried her in a bridal style.
The creature let out an inhuman scream in anger as it once again saw the tall man annoying it, it went to follow them before a wall of ice was erected beneath it, encasing it in solid ice completely and momentarily subduing it.
"You idiot!" Weiss Schnee shouted her partner as she stood close to the Deathstalker after activating her glyph, a famous Schnee family technique "Do you want to get yourself killed?!"
"Uhmm…"
"Don't answer! I am not done!"
JC gently lowered the young on her feet. Checking over his stats and energy, he wasted about ten percent of his energy for using his augmentation on his legs, pushing it far beyond he is used to 'I need to save up…' he breathed out, his body not used to this amount of energy consumption 'Then again… I am still testing it…'
"And you!" Schnee pointed at the tall man "I had things under control! Your help was not needed!"
He really fought back for a retort…
"Ruby!" thankfully, Yang rushed passed the two and hugged her sister, happy of her sister being safe and sound "You made me so worried!" cried the blond-haired girl, unknowingly pushing JC aside as she pulled Ruby into a bone-crushing hug.
"Yang!..." Ruby breathed out, arms flailing wildly as her older sibling hugged her tightly. Whether Yang noticed it or not it didn't matter, all that matter was that Ruby was safe.
The blond girl still remembered the numbness she felt not too long ago, feeling helpless to do anything after she saw her sister getting hit by the Deathstalker. And the sense of possibly losing her sister…
'Never again… not after that time…'
"Yang…" Ruby's face was starting to turn pale white as Yang's hold on her sister continued to tighten further "I… Can't… Breath… help…"
"Alright, I think we are all happy she is safe and not seriously hurt…" JC stepped in to stop the blond girl from possibly hugging her sister to death, now which would be an embarrassing end for anybody "No need to kill her for it…"
"Oops!" Yang released Ruby from her hold, allowing the younger sister to suck some air back into her system "Sorry about that Rubes!" she apologized "You just scared me to death not a minute ago!"
"That makes the two of us!" Ruby coughed as she tried to regain her breath "And I am fine Yang, don't worry about it-"
"You are so childish!" Weiss interrupted the sisters moment as she approached the trio after finishing up with the Deathstalker. Even if JC didn't rush in to save Ruby, Weiss could have been the one to do so if she acted a little quicker.
"Weiss?" Ruby eyes widen as the heiress came closer before standing in front of the young girl, arms on her hips and sporting her usual scowl.
"And dim-witted! Hyperactive fool! And unsupportive in team base communication!" Weiss continued ranting upon the young girl, which embarrassed her at each problem Schnee listed off.
"Pfft… look who's talking…" Yang whispered to JC who continued watching in silence.
"And don't get me started on your fighting style!" Weiss was now close to Ruby's face, looking down at the girl in anger "You could have been killed! And became a laughing stock for your tomfoolery!"
JC had to agree on the last… albeit hesitantly so…
"I had a speech, a good, well-thought-of and insightful speech all prepared especially just for you before tall and dark here decided to save you before I did!" JC said nothing on her comment, but he can imagine he might have wounded her pride for saving the young girl in red instead of the heiress doing it "But I suppose I can be a bit…difficult…"
Yang scoffed quietly "That's an understatement…" she whispered to the tall man.
"But… if we are to continue with this…" she hesitated before braving on "Partnership… We are going to have to do this together" said the heiress, which shocked Ruby at what she is suggesting "So if you quit being a childish fool and not showing off… I will try to be nicer" Weiss said with finality, satisfied with getting it out of her chest, she walked back to the other students who were waiting by the circular temple with a proud look.
Ruby and even Yang continued staring at the heiress dumbfounded, not expecting someone as pride filled as Weiss Schnee would actually even consider at the idea of accepting Ruby as her partner, let alone at the idea of partnership. But the most unexpected thing of them all, was Weiss actually being worried for Ruby's well-being.
"You done gawking there?" asked JC, interrupting the thought of process "Because we have to get out here…"
"Oh… Sorry" apologized the young girl before looking back at her partner "It's just that its…" she hesitated to continue, thinking of the right word to describe the situation.
"Weird?" Yang answered.
Ruby nodded "Yeah… really weird…"
"That's as weird as you gonna get from a Schnee…" JC explained as he lean down to help Ruby up "Come on, let's regroup with the others and think our next course of plan…" For now, they should be able to focus on finishing the exam and with their heads still in its place.
"Right!" Ruby smiled widely as she accepted JC's helping hand "But you have to tell me how you managed to run so fast! Is it your semblances? Oh! Do you have a semblance like mine?..." she trailed off, feeling something off with his grip as she unknowingly lowered her eyes to his… arm.
"Whoa!" Yang's eyes widen upon noticing his arm.
Ruby looked up to the tall man "JC! You are-"
"Augmented…" he confirmed. Moving his free arm and showing that yes, it's a real cybernetic prosthesis arm along with his other arm, which further shocked both girls.
He was not surprised that people would eventually find out about his arms, it was inevitable. Especially now considering he tore off his sleeves earlier.
JC Continued "I have been meaning to tell you guys about it to after the initiation but I guess its better now than later…" Ruby didn't answer as she continued staring at the hand she holds with a cat like intensity. That worried him "Uhh… Ruby?"
That got the girl out of her stupor "This…" she studied the hand once more, moving the fingers and closing his hands to check "This IS AWESOME!" She said loudly, her voice sounding almost childlike "Why didn't you tell me you were augmented! This looks so cool!" she moved his hand a couple of time "Do you shoot lasers from your arm?! Oh! How about from your eyes?!" He legitimately wondered if the last part was even possible "Is it why your eyes glow sometimes? It looks scary but awesome! But still scary… is it why you wear sunglasses even indoor?"
'I commend her for not taking a breather for even one second…' thought JC, feeling a small drop of sweat forming, but she couldn't help but smile internally at the young girl's enthusiasm.
Yang giggled as her sister continued to bombard the augmented man with question upon question and not giving him a chance to explain. She always found this side of her sister really cute too how she acts towards weapons of all kinds 'Guess you can add robot arms in the list'.
"Calm down there Rubes, no need to overwhelm our fellow augment man here" Yang patted on her sister's head for her to stop "But I do have to agree with her on this, Shades," said the blond girl as she studied his arms "It looks really rad!"
"Good to know…" he gently move his arm away from Ruby, he won't be shocked if the continued gripping it the girl might be able to tear it off "But I'll answer any of your questions you have after we settled in Beacon" JC reasoned "Right now let's just survive this thing with our heads still in its place…"
Both girls nodded in acceptance, they had time to ask but they still need to finish the initiation.
Walking back to the circular temple to the others with the rest finding out of JC's augmentations, each with their own reaction. Pyrrha was still in awe of his augmentations as well as Ruby and Nora for some odd reason. Others, however, were uncomfortable, that being Weiss, Blake and oddly enough Ren, stared at him with a cautious look.
The eight students finally had time to breathe, albeit for a moment.
His sensors picked up an approaching hostile "Nevermore's circling back" they remembered the avian Grimm was still in the area, while the Deathstalker is still frozen, they knew it was only a matter of time before it breaks free.
"Look!" Weiss pointed at the ruined temple "Our objectives is just right in front of us, no use of dillydallying around like fools"
"She's right!" Ruby nodded in agreement "Our mission is to grab the artifacts and make it back to the cliffs, so there is no point in fighting these things"
'No shit…' thought JC, this was his approach from the beginning in avoiding any unnecessary fights. He wasted enough energy, and he would waste even more if he fought a Deathstalker, let alone with a Nevermore too.
"Really?" Yang raised a single eyebrow as she asked her sister "You? Actually avoiding a fight?"
Weiss scoffed "For once you are using your head in the right way," she said haughtily, which made the young girl scratch her head in embarrassment "But it is clear as day it's a horrible idea to fight two powerful Grimms simultaneously" pointed out the heiress.
"Yeah! What she said!" Ruby smiled at her partner "So let's grab the relic and skedaddle out of here!"
Everyone has already picked up a piece of the relic by now, all that is left were JC and Ruby to pick for their respective teams. Walking in the circular temple and picked up their chess piece, Denton chose a gold rook piece randomly, while Ruby took a while to choose hers before Weiss shouted at her to hurry up and picked a knight piece.
"I really like ponies," said the young girl as her reason behind it.
"A rook piece?" Pyrrha asked curiously to her partner.
JC shrugged "They took the king piece so I settle for a castle…" he explained simply before pocketing the piece.
"Time we leave now" Lie Ren said loudly to the group, throwing the bag of chips after finishing it "Deathstalker is trying to get free"
The Deathstalker was starting to move from its incased prison, trying to fight through the solid ice with its pincers, cracking it little by little.
"Right!" Ruby waved the others to follow her "Let's go!"
Everyone followed her except for Yang, who was smiling at her sister proudly, and Blake who waited for her partner to move.
"What is it?" asked her black-haired partner.
"No...It's nothing…" Yang said simply, still smiling broadly at her sister.
It might take a while, but she knows her sister will get out from her shell and get along with the other students, she already started with Denton and now she is able to get along with the Schnee girl, managed to lead the others to follow her with just her energy and enthusiasm, and in time she'll be out of her shell completely.
"Ruby…" JC's dry voice interrupted the moment, calling the young girl's attention, she turned to look at him in question "The cliff is in the other way…" he pointed behind him, opposite to where Ruby and the others were going.
"Let's go in the other direction!" Ruby said once more but forced, trying to hide her embarrassment for going the other direction
'It might take a while...but I'll be there to help her through it…' thought the blond girl before going after her sister, not noticing her partner Blake was smiling in the background in realization to what Yang was happy about.
As the group ran for the cliff, the Nevermore managed to get them at its sight, seeing them as food like any other avian predator for it to devour.
JC thought through any scenario in case the avian Grimm managed to intercept them, and like the Deathstalker, it's persistent in seeing them dead.
And with his equipment or the lack of it, killing it won't be an easy task.
'We need to surprise it…' despite its size, Nevermores are agile creatures, so throwing a rocket launcher would be a waste if it knows its coming.
They could use the forest as cover, but that would mean meeting whatever is hiding in the forest, his sensors picked multiple hostiles nearby but remained immobile, probably waiting for one of them to slip or use the tree to hide from the avian Grimm.
"Is that a castle?" Ruby pointed out, ahead them was another abandoned structure, a tall tower still standing from one end, while a long bridge can be used to traverse to the tower's side.
A large shadow flew overhead as the Nevermore finally grew bored at watching them, the gigantic bird decided to land atop the tower, screeching loudly as a way to challenge them to cross the bridge.
Forcing the students to spread out and take cover behind some fallen stone walls which located close to the bridge. With JC, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren in one wall while Ruby, Yang, Schnee, and Blake in the other.
"Well ain't that great!" complained Yang "All that is left is the Deathstalker and things really go bad"
The sound of tree snapping drew their attention from the avian Grimm and saw what they feared, the Deathstalker. Freed from its ice confinement, the scorpion burst through the forest as it started snapping its pincers upon spotting the students, and especially at JC and Pyrrha.
Lie Ren let out a tired sigh "You just had to say it didn't you…" he gave the blond girl a look of disproval.
"Don't look at me like that!" Yang defended "Shit! Why didn't have to be me saying it…"
"Yang! Language!" Ruby scolded her sister.
"I agree with Ruby, you have such a foul mouth…" Weiss cited her.
"Yeah! Bad words are bad!" Nora commented at the side.
Blake simply opted to give her partner a disapproving look.
"Oh come on! You are doing it now! Let's survive this first then you can give me a lecture!" Yang tried to focus on the situation they are having right now "Anyway! Anybody got any ideas as to why we get out here alive!"
"And one that doesn't involve swinging our weapons without a proper plan" Weiss cited as she gave Ruby a look.
"Well?" Yang asked around "Any escape plans?"
"We fight…"
"…!"
Everyone turned to JC Denton, who was still looking at the Deathstalker.
"I thought I was clear with the 'swinging our weapons aimlessly' part" Weiss cited annoyingly.
"I am aware, but we can't exactly run away with the Grimms having us pinned from both sides" Denton pointed out, he never thought he would suggest a fight even though he has been avoiding all this time, but they have no choice "Forest is out of the question, we probably have Beowolves or whatever thing is prowling around to contend with. Plus the Nevermore would spot us the moment we go out…"
"So what do you suggest?" Pyrrha spoke up "We can't fight two Grimms simultaneously, with one them in the air while the other on the ground"
"We won't be fighting them at the same time…" said the tall man "We have to bring them apart as much as possible. One group will handle the bird while the other will handle the stalker" JC explained, his voice becoming less cold the further he spoke.
"So… who will handle them?" Yang asked.
"We have eight people here" Ren reasoned "So a four-person team?"
'Just like the rumor suggested… looks like Ozpin is getting lucky today' somewhere, a certain Headmaster coughed.
JC nodded "Yeah… if we can get each Grimm to focus on one team then each team can kill it…"
"Then we'll take care of the Nevermore!" Ruby proclaimed confidently, makes sense, considering that she is the only person with a sniper rifle in hand to use.
Weiss's eyes twitched in annoyance after Ruby said 'we', clearly dragging her along.
Yang came forward "Can't leave my baby sister on her own again! We'll help too!" said the blond girl, as her dark-haired partner nodded alongside.
"Guess I'll leave you guys with the bird…" JC nodded before fishing something from his holster and brought out two golden canisters "It's a flash bang bomb, I am sure you know what it does when you throw it…" he tossed it to the young girl, who grabbed it albeit with trouble, almost making them fall "Nevermores have a great eyesight, just throw it and the light will do the rest and give you enough time to kill it…"
Ruby stared at the flashbangs in awe before nodding at the tall man.
"That leaves the Deathstalker to us" Pyrrha commented, realizing that her, JC, Ren, and Nora are all that is left.
JC nodded "Guess we can finally pay that rent money for destroying its home…" Said the tall man dryly, which made Pyrrha smile at the memory.
"But we still have to get them to focus on one of the teams…" Ren pointed out "We can't exactly charge ahead and hope none of them will notice something. Nevermore especially"
"Well… aren't you a cynic" Yang said.
"No, he is right… Deathstalker would definitely focus on me and Pyrrha, but the Nevermore is another story. It would probably focus on us instead of you guys…"
Everyone thought of the possibility of that happening, it wasn't out of the ordinary for the Grimms to not work together.
"I have an idea!" Ruby said, smiling almost smugly that she managed to think of a plan "But it might need us to do the old reverse card!"
JC raised a lone eyebrow "I am sorry but what?"
Nora stepped forward, a little to forward, and almost got out of the cover if Ren didn't catch her in time "Oh! I think she means one of us should let the Nevermore focus on, which is us! Then when we got the big birdys attention the other group with a sniper will shoot the thing while it is focusing its attention on us! Maybe shoot it through one of its eyes!" Nora said brightly, getting closer and closer to JC the more she spoke, "And that would make it really really angry and fly toward the other team!"
"…"
If there was a time for JC to feel nervous, as in a real sweat dripping nervousness, now would be appropriate for him to feel so.
Ruby stared at the orange girl in awe "Yes! That was my plan! Though I didn't think of sending you guys there but its still a great plan!"
"Yaay! See Ren! I can think of battle tactics too!"
JC turned to Lie Ren who simply shrugged "Don't ask, just accept it"
That is not a sound reason for him to accept.
"Deathstalker is growing impatient guys" Blake pointed out as the scorpion was beginning to march towards them "And coming closer!"
"Alright… looks like everyone knows their spot" everyone nodded "We follow through with the plan and hope we get out of here alive and breathing"
"But how do we exactly gets its attention, JC?" Pyrrha asked as she began drawing her weapons.
JC reloaded his rifle before turning to his partner "Thing uses its feathers as projectile weapons right?" Pyrrha nodded "Then we need a bigger shield to help us in this"
While everyone was preparing themselves for the fight, Pyrrha noticed Denton's eyes began to glow behind his shades, much brighter than usual.
'Let's test things out… Aegis…' his eyes glowed one last time, now it was time to fight.
{END}
Codex Entry: The Order Church.
A religious group that existed long before the Grimm Wars, dedicated to the pursuit of natural balance led by the mysterious figure Her Holiness to spread the message of the old gods. They work toward personal fulfillment through non-material means and are very protective of the natural state of humankind and the environment of the world, which brought it in conflict with Atlas for their aggressive approach to technological advancement.
Primarily operating in Vale and Vacuo and some other islands in Remnant, the organization were once a powerful group to be feared, along with the Templars acting as their main military muscle the Orders reach was far.
But wars and failed crusades has shattered the once powerful group strength that rivaled a Kingdom back to a simple military group.
{EXTRA}
Next chapter you'll find out why I call this part 'Project Aegis'
I actually wanted to do the fight in the same chapter, but felt it would be too cramped and crowded. A big mistake on my part when I first wrote the story.
All in all, I am really happy with the chapter, especially with Nora and Ren's part, who I have plans to be more involved in the story.
And another important reminder, the fights are REALISTIC, I can't exactly write an over the top action really well.
EndNote.
Constructive Criticisms is Always Welcomed in these Halls