(AN: No, i didn't almost forget to upload the newest chapter, what are you talking about?)
To say that was the best summer of my life would be the understatement of the century.
Velvet and I may have gotten into a few heated argument but in the end, we always came back together stronger than ever. I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with my girlfriend and her team while mine was otherwise occupied and unfortunately couldn't make it. We paid her family another visit, and it was a genuine pleasure to see them all again. Chris decided it would be a good idea to get his dad and myself into a drinking competition between the three of us to see who was the lightweight of the group because according to his logic; 'Every group has one!' Originally, the idea was shot down immediately by his dad and me, but after lien came involved, the winner being awarded a hundred lien out of Chris' pocket, we foolishly jumped in and threw back our own choice drinks at the bar Fallow had first taken me.
This time, instead of trying to assist me when I got home hammered, Velvet threw her hands in the air and let her mom record Fallow, Chris and myself come crashing through the front door singing bad country songs at the top of our lungs. Worst hangover of my life, but at least it was a bonding experience as well.
At my parent's house, we decided to just be lazy together and watch movies with the occasional gaming marathon. In Vale, we bumped into Jaune and Pyrrha, who had to conceal her appearance because of the paparazzi. Seeing her in a blonde wig was certainly the oddest sight I've ever seen but it also gave me a little insight as to what their daughter might look like if they had one. Turns out that they had taken their relationship one step further and asked if we'd gotten past second base yet but we both comfortably answered 'no'. Our relationship was moving at the pace just as we wanted it to.
The last two weeks of our vacation were spent away from each other as Velvet had to attend her brother's acceptance ceremony into the Vacuan army.
Today was the thirtieth, which meant just one more day until I'd get to see her again. But until then, I'd have to settle for calling her daily and holding the chain around my neck with Velvet's symbol engraved on the stone.
"You miss her?" Dad asked as we moved through the mall, shopping for school supplies.
I scoffed at the question. "Do you miss mom every time you're away from her?" Dad just gave me a smile and grabbed a few binders and sheets of paper.
We acquired the last of the supplies and headed back towards the car in the heated parking lot. "So you're going to study more this year, right?" He asked, taking the driver's side.
I nodded with a sheepish half-smile. "Yeah, might be a good idea. Sixty percent isn't exactly the best mark."
"You're just lucky you got…what? Around seventy-eight percent on the combat portion?"
"Something like that, yeah." I affirmed.
We got in the car and he started it up. "You know, just because you want to follow in Cass' footsteps doesn't exactly mean you have to have his intelligence as well."
I heaved a sigh of frustration and dad chuckled as he pulled out of the parking lot, making our way back home.
That night, I found sleep continuing to elude me as my gazed constantly shifted from the necklace on my nightstand to the clock beside it. Velvet and time were the only two things on my mind but I must've tired myself out thinking about them as my eyelids eventually closed and fell into unconsciousness.
In the morning, I couldn't have moved faster as I zipped into the shower, changed into a clean dark blue t-shirt with my emblem over the heart that Velvet gifted me on my birthday during the summer and a pair of jeans before eating breakfast, telling my parents that I would be waiting at the airport for Velvet's plane and borrowed dad's car.
I parked and waited at the arrivals area for what seemed like three hours until I heard her voice and saw her running towards me clad in her usual light brown t-shirt and jeans. I grinned, opened my arms and she literally leapt into them, wrapping all appendages around me as I buried my face in the crook of her neck.
"Two weeks is way too long, baby girl." I declared.
"It did seem a lot longer without you, cuddles." She replied. Eventually we released each other and I grabbed her luggage from the carousel before heading out to the car.
"So? How did it go? Was Chris happy?" I asked, slamming the trunk closed.
She chuckled back and opened the passenger side door. "He certainly was but mom wasn't exactly excited."
I nodded with a grimace. "Ah, that's right. Overprotective mom syndrome." I said, remembering the matriarch's constant worrying over her kids as I started up the car. "So anything new with the rest of the family?"
She hummed in thought. "Well, Kay's dating this really nice guy."
"Oh yeah? What's his name?"
"Frank." She went into further details as we drove back to my parent's house where Velvet would spend the night and we'd get our new schedules at Beacon the next day.
As usual, my parents were more than happy to house my girlfriend for the night as we lay in the same bed that night and slept comfortably. I let her have the shower the next morning and had my breakfast in the meantime before changing and taking my weapons and armor with me. We boarded the airship, departed for Beacon, went to the administrative office and received our new list of classes before regrouping with our individual teams, cleaning out our dorms and placing our equipment in the lockers.
"You guys have a good summer?" I addressed the team dressed in their normal day-to-day/combat attire as we walked along the empty grounds.
Nora spoke up first. "It was awesome! Me and Renny went to the carnival, I got him a huge stuffed animal and we ate a lot of cotton candy!"
The memory apparently made Ren shudder and I raised an eyebrow. "So you had to deal with a sugar-high Nora?"
He nodded back slowly. "Never again."
Nora began to pout and he sighed. "Not that much sugar again. Carnivals I have no problem with though." Ren reiterated, bringing the smile back to his girlfriend's face.
"How about you?" Jaune inquired. "How was your summer?" I regaled him with the events Velvet and myself took part in during the vacation and he nodded back.
"So fairly uneventful?" Pyrrha summed up.
I shrugged. "Yeah, I didn't have a problem with it though." Jaune opened his mouth to say something when Professor Ozpin's familiar voice cut him off, giving a group of first-year students the same speech we heard on our first day.
Intrigued, we investigated and saw the new group of huntsmen and huntresses-in training standing on the platforms, ready to be launched into the Emerald Forest. One by one, they flew into the air and I started to snicker, the laugh eventually turning into loud guffaws as the final student was fired into the air.
The rest of the team looked at my like I was insane and upon recovering from my mirth, I wiped away a tear of laughter and looked back. "It's so much funnier to watch when it's not you." Slowly, they all began to follow my lead of laughter aside from Ren who just gave a small smirk.
Ozpin heard our laughs and turned to face us with a smile of his own. "Ah, team JNPR. How good to see you again. I trust you are looking forward to spending your second year here?"
"Absolutely sir." Jaune replied as the rest of us silently agreed with a nod. "This place is our home away from home and I don't think I'd rather be anywhere else."
"That's good to hear. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you wish. Regular classes will begin tomorrow."
"Looking forward to it, Professor." Our leader declared. Ozpin smiled back and continued to look out towards the forest with Goodwitch at his side.
I spent most of the day trying to re-familiarize myself with the school grounds while the rest of the team was off doing their own individual thing.
Just after five in the afternoon, I received a text from Velvet asking me to meet her by the cliffs. As I exited the gym after looking around, I complied with her request and was greeted by the sight of Velvet sitting on a picnic blanket with a wicker basket illuminated by half a dozen candles.
"I didn't forget anything, did I?" I asked, probing my mind for any special occasions that might've slipped my mind.
She just laughed and shook her head. "No, you didn't forget anything. I just thought this might be a nice way to start our new school year."
I heaved a relieved sigh and sat next to her as she opened the basket and produced a full meal featuring spaghetti, roasted vegetables, and a plate of homemade brownies.
I patted my stomach contently and wiped my face with a napkin. "Did you make those?"
She smirked slightly. "Your mom helped me."
Of course she did. I thought with a laugh. We then watched the sun set and the shattered moon rise, bathing us in its dull glow.
The silence was interrupted by the quiet buzz of a bullhead's engines. I looked towards the docks and sure enough, a few looked to be coming in for a landing.
"Who do you think that is?" I asked, gesturing to the aircraft.
Velvet shrugged. "Exchange students?" She offered.
"So early in the year and this late in the day?" We watched further as they closed in and the doors opened to reveal several soldiers clad in the White Fang uniform jump out, rifles in hand.
My eyes widened and I immediately yanked my scroll out of my jeans, sent the locker with my gear to my location and called Jaune before taking cover alongside Velvet while she called her team leader.
"Jaune! The White Fang is here with weapons and I don't think they want to talk peacefully. Get a hold of Ozpin, Ruby and whoever else you can and arm up." I warned as the rocket-propelled locker slammed into the soft earth beside our picnic site. Fortunately, the soldiers that leapt off the aircraft still hadn't noticed us yet but more bullheads were on their way. I retrieved my equipment and strapped it all on, the mask, gauntlets, armor and Dusk.
My scroll buzzed and Ozpin's face appeared on the display. I hit 'accept call' and the Headmaster spoke. "Attention all second, third and fourth-year students, Beacon Academy is under attack and long range communications are jammed! First year students are hereby ordered to take shelter wherever possible while we try to reach the Atlesian military. Use non-lethal means on all non-grimm combatants." He ordered sternly. I looked to Velvet with worried eyes and she nodded back with determination. Her locker landed beside mine and she grabbed her camera, ready for combat.
"Let's get to work." She declared, moving out from the small group of trees where we hid. Rage boiled in my blood as the thought of the White Fang trying to siege Beacon came to a reality.
But I wasn't going to let that happen. These criminals weren't going to take what I loved. We sprinted out from cover and rushed the five troops formed up in a plus formation, who fired on sight. I unsheathed Dusk and managed to block the shots that were meant for me while Velvet used me as a ramp and leapt from the ground, to my shoulders and towards the aggressors. She took down the one she landed on with a shoulder to the head and swept out the legs from underneath the one to his left as the other on the opposite side attempted to hit her with the butt of his weapon. She then proceeded to seize his wrist, slam her elbow down on the joint thus breaking his arm, grabbed the gun and delivering a brutal smash to the rear guard's skull, knocking him unconscious. The final one didn't stand a chance as he was torn between focusing on Velvet behind him or myself approaching with blades extended in front. In the end, Velvet simply punched him in the gut, causing him to keel forward as she slammed his face onto her knee.
My scroll went off again but I wasn't able to answer it when Ozpin's voice emanated from the device. "Teams RWBY, JNPR and CFVY are ordered to regroup in front of the amphitheatre immediately!"
As my girlfriend and I made our way to the designated area, I could hear multiple gunshots ringing out along with more than a few roars. We closed in and saw our teams fighting off both the White Fang and the creatures of grimm, both sides apparently focused on the sole objective of destroying Beacon and its affiliated personnel.
With the help of my semblance, I rushed in and assisted my teammates in the elimination of grimm while CFVY and RWBY focused on the White Fang. A beowolf tried to get the jump on Ren but I tackled the wolf-grimm mid-air, causing us both to roll a few feet away.
It got on the hind legs, roared and I was tempted to roar back as if to say; 'This is my home. These are my friends. You and your allies will die here.' Instead, I thrust Pollux's blade through its gut, raised its body in the air and with Castor, decapitated it before letting the corpse drop to the ground.
Another of its comrades attempted to chew on my stomach as the beowolf opened its maw and moved to close its jaws around my mid-section. I saw the blow coming however and delivered a downward strike to its temple with Castor before extending the blade, going straight through the skull and emerging on the opposite side. I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings however and an ursa managed to get the jump on me, pushing my back against the stone and pinning my legs to the ground with its own.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I fought for survival, the monstrous bear-grimm repeatedly gnashing at my throat at clawing for my face. I knew I wasn't going to be able to move my legs no matter how hard I fought so I resorted to focusing on the head of the creature. I couldn't extend my blades to slit the throat due to the insufficient amount of room otherwise I'd end up slashing my own arms but perhaps… yeah, that could work.
I blocked the next two bites and as the bear-grimm opened its mouth once more, grabbed the upper and lower jaw, pushing them both in opposite directions. I heard a low, continuous rumble emanate from my opponent, becoming increasingly high-pitched until with a final push, I separated the two halves of its head, causing instantaneous death while veins, tendons and blood exhibited themselves from the beast's mouth.
Feeling the pressure leave my legs and blood flow return, I shoved the corpse off my form, deactivated my semblance and stood as the rest of my friends and teammates finished off the last of the aggressors.
"Why is this happening?!" Ruby cried out as she reloaded Crescent Rose. "What are the White Fang doing here and why are the grimm helping them?!"
We all looked around helplessly for an answer, only for silence to answer while I noticed that Blake looked to be more distressed than the rest of us.
Three scroll ring tones pierced the momentary quiet and Coco, Ruby and Jaune pulled the devices out of their respective outfits and were unable to answer them as Professor Ozpin's authoritative voice echoed throughout the area.
"The three of you are the leaders of the three strongest and most versatile teams at Beacon at the moment which is why I need all of you to listen and listen well." He said quickly. I looked towards the massive clock tower where Ozpin's office was and saw the headmaster on his scroll looking down at us from his office window.
"You are to make your way to the CCT, climb the stairs to the top floor, insert any of your scrolls into the main terminal so that we may send a message to the Atlesian military requesting their assistance."
"So anyone's scroll will send the message?" Jaune asked.
"Yes. Only one of you needs to make it to that terminal to manually disable the virus jamming communications and send the request." He replied. "Myself and the other Professors must stay back to protect a valuable asset within my office."
"Understood Oz. We'll get it done." Coco declared as she hung up, her other fellow team leaders following suit.
The thirteen of us made to move for the CCT, but several bullheads dropped multiple grimm and White Fang squads in our path, forcing us to fight through them. After the engagement, Jaune sheathed his sword and shook his head as I retracted my blades after dealing with yet another Alpha beowolf.
"This isn't going to work. Some of us are going to have to stay back and hold them here while the rest of us get to the tower."
"I volunteer." A deep voice belonging to a certain human giant declared, unsheathing his greatsword. "No one will pass."
"Then I'm staying too." Coco announced. Yatsu opened his mouth, but his leader cut him off. "I'm not going to run the risk of you getting injured with no one else around."
Yatsu nodded and Fox stepped forth with a smirk. "A team stays together." Was all he said.
Velvet then looked at her team, then to me, then back to her team. I knew what she was thinking. I meant a lot to her, but she wasn't going to let her teammates fight while she ran either. She stepped in front of me, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips, the connection electrifying the air around us and lasting for what seemed like forever with an underlying question hidden inside. Please come back?
I leaned deeper into the blissful connection to answer. Count on it. We separated and tears were present in both our eyes as she cupped my cheek with a silky soft hand. I clutched it and pressed my forehead to hers before Jaune's voice cut through the silence. "Joe, we have to go now." I gave my girlfriend one last smile and walked backwards for a second before breaking away from her gaze and turning into a run alongside RWBY and my teammates.
Shortly after leaving CFVY behind however, we had to stop for yet another fight as more White Fang and grimm blocked our passage. A dozen soldiers, four beowolves, three ursai and eight creeps stood in our way. We charged with Jaune and Ruby at the lead, the little Reaper using Crescent Rose to cut down the beowolves while the rest of her team dealt with the rest of the wolf-grimm and the ursai.
Jaune and his partner formed a shield-wall, moving forward as they took bullets meant for the rest of us when Ren and Nora broke off to annihilate the lizard bipeds that threatened to flank us.
When I thought their shields were close enough to our opponents, I leapt over them and using my body weight, sent two men's heads to the concrete. The crimson-haired champion and her partner carefully fought off two other soldiers each, leaving the remaining six for me. They all stood in front of me and quickly switched from their rifles to swords and immediately began to strike.
One attempted a simple thrust to the heart and I countered by ducking followed by an uppercut to the elbow and a fist to the throat. Two more attacked at the same time, both with downward slashes but I blocked both, holding their blades a few inches above my shoulders before shoving them away and striking the man to my left. With an elbow to the cheek, he spun around in a one-eighty and I grabbed the rifle on his back, firing two shots at the man who also attempted an attack; one to the knee and the other at his stomach which were sure to knock out, but not kill. Grabbing the barrel and butt of the gun, I held it to its owner's neck, threatening to choke him out as he gasped for air and his remaining three comrades silently tried to figure out how to attack.
Fortunately, Jaune and Pyrrha had dealt with their opponents and smashed their shields into the back of two of the men's heads while I dealt with the last one by dropping the man who I'd just choked into unconsciousness and delivering a dual-fisted downward smash to his skull, knocking him to the ground.
Huffing and puffing, we looked towards RWBY who'd just dealt with the final ursa as even more bullheads closed in.
Ruby took one glance at them, then turned her gaze to Jaune and nodded. "Go." The rest of her team reloaded their respective weapons and mimicked their leader's gesture.
"See you guys when this is done." Blake declared.
"Drinks are on me." Yang added.
"Make haste." Weiss piled on.
The rest of us were already moving but Jaune was stood still, unable to move. His partner lay a hand on his shoulder and stood next to him. "They'll be okay." I heard her say. My leader heaved a reluctant sigh and gave the other team a nod before joining the rest of us.
The transmit tower was now in sight but an ursa major dropped directly in front of us, blocking our path once more.
Ren merely glanced sideways. "I'll deal with this one, get to the tower." The stoic ordered.
Nora suddenly popped in front of him and pecked him on the cheek. "Not without me!" She said cheerily.
Satisfied that the duo would be fine dealing with just one grimm, Jaune, Pyrrha and myself sprinted for the tower that loomed over the surrounding area. Upon nearing the doors, our paced simultaneously slowed.
The pair looked haggard; sweat dripping down both their faces, their breathing quick although Pyrrha was doing slightly better. Even though I wasn't doing much better, I decided to make a decision.
"I'll go up and plug in my scroll, you guys stay here."
Immediately, Jaune's face went from one of exhaustion to that of concerned. "No, no way. We go up there as a team."
"Jaune, Nora and Ren are fighting right now. All I have to do is get up there. If they need help, you'll be right here whereas if we all go up, then it could be a while before they get assistance." I objected.
Pyrrha nodded in understanding and looked to her partner. "We would also have to make sure that no one sneaks up behind Joe while he sends out the broadcast."
My leader took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. You've got ten minutes. If you're not back down here by then, we're coming up to get you."
I nodded back and gave him a quick brotherly hug before entering the building and making for the elevator, only to find the buttons smashed and the doors partially opened while sparks periodically flew outwards. My gaze shifted to the emergency staircase and I began to climb, starting to feel the air get thin as I reached the top.
I saw the other terminals completely destroyed save for the one at the main desk but my mind barely registered the lone figure that stood with their back to me as they looked out the window.
"A huntsman should know his place in this world." He spat. Surprised, I looked up and noticed the man clad in a black long-sleeved trench coat, black pants with gloves and shoes to match. Once he turned around, I could plainly see that he had red hair with two horns akin to a bull protruding from his skull with a White Fang mask decorated with red that only obscured the top half of his face.
"You are glorified mercenaries, nothing more." He declared as his left thumb that gripped the sheath of a sword similar to Dusk began to push the cross-guard outwards.
A lesson of Ren's then set off alarm bells in my head.
Never draw your sword while using this fighting style unless you're attacking.
(AN: I know, it's a cliffhanger, please don't burn my house down or whatever but I promise you guys that the next chapter will be posted on schedule or perhaps sooner if I'm able.)