Beacon Academy: Busy Little Bee.
"What favor ma'am?"
"I suppose General Ironwood briefed you on the issue."
"Yes ma'am. I was quite surprised that they would send someone considering the state of things in Atlas"
"How many cases of Red Queen have you encountered?"
"I've had the misfortune of surviving two encounters ma'am."
"Two?"
"Yes ma'am. My previous Team leader and a teacher back at the Academy"
"Female?"
"Yes ma'am both."
"Why is always female? There hasn't been one case of a male with Red Queen Symptoms. The casualty counts were quite high in both instances?"
"Excessively ma'am"
"How did you survive?"
"I was able to render my instructor unconscious during her rampage."
"And your team leader?"
"I'd prefer not to discuss it ma'am. The problem was remedied." Just thinking about it kills me inside. No one should have to do that to family.
"Your Target's name is Auburn Schnee. Since you look the appropriate age you will be her partner. I'll make arrangements for the encounter. As far as we can tell she seems to be exhibiting many of the self-destructive symptoms of Red Queen Syndrome."
"Ma'am doesn't her age and lack of experience contradict that."
"Don't mistake it Leonia, Auburn has put herself through hell to get to this school. Add on top of that the loss of her mother and a good portion of us expect she is a prime candidate for it.
"Ma'am, may I ask one question?"
"I assume you are wondering about my episode of Red Queen."
"Yes ma'am I've been studying it since my first encounter."
"I don't remember anything. Everything faded away in battle and when I woke up nothing but blood everywhere."
"Ma'am were any Grimm attacked in your episode or just Human and Faunus?"
"If you're asking I'm sure you know the answer to that already. I think we are done here please close the door on your way out."
"Ma'am General Ironwood did give me an odd message to give to you."
"And what is that?"
"She told me to tell you. 'She is combat ready.' Not sure what that means but I assume you know."
She started laughing at the message. Amazing how a simple phrase could cause her to lose all composure. Headmistress Rose has seen a lot. I really feel sorry for her. Guess I'll research this Auburn Girl and see what I can learn. I only pray I never have to deal with Red Queen again.
Currently:
Oh man I can still smell her burning skin. Yea her self-preservation is really out of whack. One of the biggest signs. This girl has no care for her own body. Hoping she doesn't try that one again for a while, I'll lose my lunch. Glad she took the protein bar I gave her at least she still has an appetite that's a good sign. I feel a little bad lying to her, but if they are right she is a serious danger. No one her age has ever had that kind of mental break before and this is the closest they've come to trying to get in front of it.
"Hey Auburn, How's the arm?"
"It's pretty good, still hurts a bit but then again trying to chop trees with my head wasn't a good Idea."
"Sorry about that, I tend to get excited."
All of the sudden off in the distance a loud explosion. The ground shakes a little.
"Guess Yin and Ruby found something to fight."
"Huh, Yin the guy from the Cafeteria? You said he was your cousin right? do we need to go that way like now?" Oh god I just know I'm blushing again. I've got about 3 years on him but damn he's cute.
"Nah, He's good if he gets into trouble he'll have Ruby to patch him up."
"You're not worried."
"No the explosion was most likely him hitting something big. He punches and things go Boom."
"Dust?"
"Nope, His semblance is destruction. Took him just two moves to pass the Signal Combat final."
"Wow that's a powerful punch."
"Yea funny thing is he has never won a fight against me or Ruby. But don't tell him I told you that." Such an innocent smile, I can't believe they have me watching her.
She seems too grounded to be as unstable as they think. Yea she pulls a bit crazy but she's just not there. The headmistress has to be wrong. I've gone over dozens of files with every aspect of Red Queen encounters and the Bio is always the same. Yea she's got the self-destructive thing down cold, but she just doesn't have... it. The mental stress, almost every instance the women involved have taken numerous lives on the battlefield. Hell seems more like I might be a candidate than she is. She's just too... Happy.
"Um... You're sure he isn't going to need help?" Now I know I'm blushing. But that was a really big boom."
"Are you worried about Wittle Yinny?" Wow I stepped into this one. Way too happy this one.
"Um... A little... He's nice." I think I want to crawl into a cave and die. Here I am crushing like a little girl and she's taking every opportunity to poke fun at me.
"OK that settles it, after this new mission! We're gonna get you a date?"
"Um... NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. I can't do that. I'm not cute enough and he'll probably hate me."
"Nop..." A loud screeching Roar interrupts her. Oh crap I recognize that roar. Those aren't supposed to be around here.
A large Bipedal Reptile like Grimm Crashed through the Trees. Bigger than I've ever seen.
"REX!" Auburn screams.
We don't have the manpower with us to take one of these guys out. We have to run.
"Run! Auburn!"
At full sprint she keeps up with me pretty good. If I could only use my semblance with her too, we would be able to outrun this hulking eating machine. Luckily the trees slow him down. I've only fought one of these before and it took two teams to bring it down. Auburn is running and fiddling with something in her pouch. I hope she's not going to try that thing I read about from her exams. I don't think it will pack enough punch and all it will do is make this thing mad.
"We're not going to out run it!" Well she states the obvious here.
"No crap you gotta plan?" Don't Say Yes. Anything but Yes!
"Yes" OH CRAP!
"How High can you Jump with the gravity thing?"
"About 30 Ft Why?"
"Good enough! When I say now go straight up!"
"What the hell are you talking about? Jumping isn't a plan!"
"Now!" Crap I trusted her. Before I could think I activated my Semblance she hit me with a launch glyph. I cleared the treetops in a blink of an eye. What the heck was she thinking. Just then I saw it. It jumped after me then crashed into ice covered ground, head first into the ice. Glyphs appeared all around the Rex as she scattered dust into the air. Then it hit, ice shards from every glyph she cast impaling the Rex from all sides. After that The dust ignited and Boom.
By the time I touched down I composed myself enough to ask one thing, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I had to get you clear cause he was gonna go boom."
"Seriously what would you have done if it didn't come after me?!"
"Actually, I had a plan for that too."
"Did you use me as bait?!" God just like her all over again.
"Not intentionally I thought there was a possibility he would go after you that's why I hit you with the launch glyph."
"That hurt a lot."
"Yea.. Sorry didn't mean to put so much into that. Almost couldn't do the ice glyphs."
"You know you're a whole bundle of crazy Auburn. No one has ever taken one of those out before single handed."
"Um... My mom did. She used the same tactic to save my Aunt Ruby."
"What? I would have heard about that." Oh crap I shouldn't have said that.
"Huh? How?"
"Well that's kind of Legendary stuff ya know?"
"Mom did a lot of things with her team that not too many people know about. I just read it in her Diary."
"Well remind me when we get back to Beacon to thank your mom for saving my buzzing butt." a quick giggle and I hope she falls for that. Although I'm definitely thanking Weiss when I get there.
Out of nowhere Yin and Ruby come charging into the charred clearing.
"We heard an explosion that wasn't Yin's fault."
"Um yea... Auburn just nuked a Rex and a big one."
"Don't say stuff like that. Rex don't hunt around here." I could see the panic in Ruby's eyes. She was genuinely scared.
"Sweet! A REX! How Big?" He acts almost like a fanboy. Wow he's bandaged up pretty bad.
"Yin... What happened?... Um... You look hurt.." This is so awkward.
"Nope.. I'm Good. You're OK right..." Is he really asking about me?
"Yin we were just tal..." Got to shut her up fast! Grab her and cover her mouth.
"Auburn's My Hero! She saved the both of us from the Big Bad Rex!" Hopefully she got the hint.
"Well four is better that two at this point. If big baddies like that are around I don't think Auburn can take them all." Ruby does have a point. I don't think we will luck out like that again. But then again I need the head mistress to explain to me how a first year can decimate a Rex like that.
All of the sudden all four of our scrolls chime in. Message from the Head Mistress:
First Year Students, Excessively powerful Grimm within the area do not engage. Find an open clearing and deploy red smoke for extraction. Exercise terminated for today.
"Well Looks Like Auburn Made us a clearing." Yin being Mr. State the obvious again.
Ruby pulls her smoke grenade from her pack just as the Beowolves break the Tree line. Dozens of them, old ones too. She pops the pin and tosses it to the ground.
"I thought they could track us with the Scrolls. Why the smoke?"
"Ruby, as long as they get us out of here I don't care if we have to paint a giant red X on the ground." Yin does look pretty haggard. I wonder what they encountered.
Auburn starts her hand in her pouch again. I don't think I can handle another of her plans today.
"Hey no fair you got the last one Aub!" Damn that's a lot of Beowolves.
Time for the Chrysalis twins to get to work. I draw both revolver daggers from their holsters. If I get moving fast enough and hit them hard enough I could stall for enough time till extraction whenever that is. These three don't have anywhere near the mission experience. I activate my semblance and one large jump and I'm air born. Gliding through the beowolves slashing and shooting. Crap one cut my leg. Got to suck it up. Reloads feel like they are taking forever. Auburn joins the fray, casting ice glyphs to keep them away from me. Yin's started felling trees to create a barricade. Ruby entered battle before I could even see slashing and shooting with those swords. These three really have their act together. More keep coming we have to withdraw to the barricade. We're getting swarmed. Then the airship fire starts in. Finally we're getting out of here. As we lift off I can see dozens of smoke plumes all red and airships all opening fire on locations. What happened? It's never been this bad.
We're all covered in blood, but were alive. What are Atlas gunships doing here. I thought I was the only asset sent to Headmistress Rose. Not complaining just hope the pilot isn't someone that knows me. Man I need some rest. Guess I'll get briefed on it when we get back. Ruby is trying to patch my leg. Can't even here what she's saying.