Chapter 6- The Comforter
"Come on, Adam. Stay with me." Blake said, holding the arm of her dying former partner.
He was bleeding fast, loosing blood after every passing second. Blake had tears running down her eyes. She didn't know what to do now since the man she cared for so long was dying right in front of her. She felt her heart ache at this and she wanted him alive and well, but not like this. Adam's feelings for her returned, remembering why they had fallen for each other in the first place and what a grave mistake he would've caused if he got his hands on that disk. Either way, this is the last time these two lovers will ever see of each other.
"Blake..." Adam said, coughing out some blood in his dying breath, "Thank you. I'll miss you Blake, I really will."
"Please don't say that." Blake said sadly, gently stroking Adam's red hair, "Please don't say that shit. Please stay with me; I don't want to lose you..."
"Blake, please..." Adam said slowly, rubbing a tear off her eye, "but we both know that there's nothing we can do to save me. Just, remember me when I'm gone." He began to choke after that, some blood pouring down his mouth and tried to form his last words to Blake. Sadly, he couldn't say them and with his last breath; he closed his eyes and never opened them again.
Blake broke down on Adam's body. Her tears streamed down his dead body as she tried to grasp what was left of the man she once loved. Adam's death dealt a serious blow on her and there was nothing she could to save him, all she could do was weep and weep and weep. If only she hadn't abandoned him on that train heist, the day that she crushed Adam's heart and made him what he was now. If only she could take back what she did that time, this never would've happened. But it's too late for that now.
The others came over to the crying Faunus, still clutching her dead partner in her arms. Marco picked up Adam's weapon and just held on to it; probably Blake would want to take it in memory of Adam. Stephen placed his hand on Blake's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Ruby also followed suit, giving her teammate a well deserved hug.
"Blake, I'm so sorry..." Stephen said sadly.
Blake didn't respond, she still continued to cry, but she felt grateful that her friends were comforting her. She still couldn't accept the fact that Adam died by her own hands and it would've been hard to grasp the fact that there was nothing that could bring him back, bring them back together, bring them back the loved they once shared. Ruby broke off from the hug and stood up, but still placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Blake," Ruby said, still sad from the events that just occurred, "let's go. Weiss still has to compete in the tournament, so let's cheer her on as her teammates." There was a slight enthusiasm in her leader's voice, which gave Blake a little bit of happiness.
Blake set down Adam's body gently on the ground and stood up. Her tears may have stopped, but her sadness was still evident inside her. She still didn't say a word to any of her friends. On their way back to the arena, the three teams and Sun still tried different ways to cheer her up but each attempt was just answered in silence by the Faunus. When they arrived back at the arena, everything was settled and ready. The audience back to the calm as a new announcer took the giant screen. During the tournament, she just sat there, trying her best to try and cheer, but she couldn't. The grief kept returning to her and made her uneasy to handle a cheery situation. All the grief did was just make her remember her past with Adam, all the moments that they shared together.
It made her remember the day they first met, when the White Fang leader assigned them together on their covert ops missions. It made her remember the day they slowly fell in love with each other until they finally confessed calmly to each other one night. It made her remember the day she abandoned him on that black cargo train, their last mission together as partners and lovers. It hurt her to abandon him on that train and Adam was hurt as well when she left him there. From that moment on, Adam became the vile, cruel monster he was now and that never would've become of him if Blake hadn't abandoned him. Blake's grief was consuming her; she just wanted to kill herself so that she can be with Adam in the afterlife. But, she made a promise to her teammates that she'd stick by them, no matter what as well as the promise that she made in order to change her life by becoming a huntress and forget the her deeds as a White Fang member. But, sadly, all she could do now was mope.
...
The tournament ended around in the evening, exhausting most of those who attended the festivities and the tournament as well. The three girls went back into their room while Blake said she'll catch up, but she really went over to the fountain near the school to mope and sob softly. It bothered her teammates a lot so Ruby decided that she'd watch over from their dorm because Blake wasn't too willing to talk to anyone right now. Ruby watched Blake from their dorm window, still concerned for her Faunus friend. Yang was busy combing her hair, checking for any split ends and such while Weiss sharpened the jagged parts of Myrtenaster's blade, damaged from her fight with The Guardian during the tournament.
"Damn Ryan," Weiss grumbled angrily, "His armor ruined my rapier. Look at all the jagged parts I have to sharpen."
"Well, Stephen didn't lie," Yang said, still brushing her long golden hair, "I mean, he did mention Ryan Rhinocross' armor was dense, dust resistant and explosive resistant."
"Good thing you told me that from the audience," Weiss said.
"On the bright side," Ruby said, "Weiss won the rest of her matches and actually won the tournament after that." She brought out Weiss' trophy, showcasing it on one of their shelves.
"Yeah," Weiss said cheerily, "Beacon's won this year's tournament which just made me a lot more enthusiastic."
"I wish the same can be said for Blake." Ruby said sadly.
Yang and Weiss stopped what they were doing and fell silent. Their teammate was hurt by an event that broke her severely and she did not want any help from either of her here friends. That thought of that made Weiss, Yang and Ruby sad and a little hurt.
"I feel so sorry for her." Yang said, concern lining her voice.
"She did loose someone she loved so deeply and now, she..." Weiss said, but paused. The words hurt to form them. "She just doesn't want any help from us. That just hurts me." Weiss continued.
Ruby decided to see if there was any way that she could help Blake. Probably paramedics might have been able to save Adam when they left so she decided to check the news if anything did happen. She pulled out her scroll and opened up the Vale News Network to see if something happened to Adam.
"Today," Lisa Lavender started, "White Fang lieutenant, Adam Taurus, was found dead on top of an Industry Corp. building this afternoon after the apparent attack during the Vytal Festival tournament a few hours ago which was staged by the White Fang."
"They got that on the news?" Weiss asked, overhearing the report.
"I just hoped that they don't mention what we did." Yang said.
"Guys," Ruby said, "I'm trying to hear if they found a way to rescue Adam, for Blake's sake." The two fell silent and continued to listen to the report.
"Witnesses say that the White Fang lieutenant was chasing some other Faunus before he was killed." Lisa continued, "It could be assumed that this rouge Faunus has killed Adam on top of the building before taking off. But, anyways, paramedics weren't able to heal Adam Taurus and his body will be buried in Vale memorial park on Wednesday." Ruby felt defeated that they weren't able to revive Adam and she was sure Blake would go to his grave on Wednesday, but Blake will just be depressed over that news.
"Damn," Yang said, also feeling the defeat, "Blake's not going to like that. I guess we should just accompany her to the funeral on Wednesday and, of course, we'll do our best to comfort her. Right, guys?" The other two nodded and continued to listen if anything else came up.
"In related news," Lisa continued, "the death of Adam Taurus has caused a big impact on the White Fang today. Many White Fang followers have quickly left the group, many of which were soldiers, council members and other followers. Due to this, the White Fang has dissolved and the terrorist group will finally cease to exist. The White Fang leader, who staged the attack today, has gone into hiding over the fact that many White Fang members have abandoned him. The White Fang members who have left the group have gotten real jobs and other occupations as stated by many civilians. Whoever killed Adam Taurus, thank you for bringing peace back to Vale." And with that statement, Ruby turned off her scroll.
"Well, everything turned out well for Sun and people who dislike the White Fang." Yang said, a little relived of the situation.
"At least the White Fang's out of my family's hair once and for all," Weiss said happily, "Now my family can get the much needed peace we really deserve."
Ruby didn't want to comment on any of the good news. The White Fang being gone might cheer up Blake, but talking to her about the White Fang might just make her remember Adam. Ruby just remained neutral on this, still showing concern on her Faunus friend.
"Ruby," Yang said, nudging her sister, snapping Ruby back to reality, "you alright, lil' sis?"
"Yeah," Ruby answered softly. She turned back to where Blake was to see that she still hasn't left her spot. "Guys," Ruby said, "why don't you go to bed while I watch over Blake."
"I'll stay up with you sis," Yang said, "She's my partner and I have to do the same."
Ruby nodded and turned to Weiss. "You okay with that Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, sure," she replied, "It'll give me a chance for a proper rest. I am very exhausted from the tournament so I could use it."
"Good night Weiss." The two sisters said in unison. Weiss curled up to her bed and began to shut her eyes as she slowly fell asleep.
"We might need some coffee," Yang said, standing up, "You want any sis?"
Ruby nodded and Yang left the dorm to get some coffee. Ruby placed her attention back to Blake, who was quietly sobbing at where she was. Ruby wanted to go out there and help her out, as would Yang, but she denied the help that went to her aid, especially her team leader, partner and occasional friend. Ruby felt a little grieved too, not being able to help Blake made her sad on the inside and she thinks Yang might've felt the same too. Suddenly, a shadow came from behind Blake. The figure turned out to be a boy wearing a black shirt. Ruby felt that that black shirt looked familiar and she quickly got an idea who was approaching Blake right now.
Stephen?, Ruby thought. Yang brought over two mugs and also looked out the window.
...
Stephen approached the sobbing Faunus a little hesitantly, looking forward to finally get her out of her depression. He just couldn't bear to see her sad like this and it just sort of hurt him to see that someone he made friends with was grieving over the lost of her past lover. But, he is sure that Blake remembers what he told her weeks ago and maybe that will come to her senses. But, there was something else he needed to get off his chest and this may be the only way to do it.
"Hey, Blake," Stephen said, standing beside her.
"I'm not in the mood right now." Blake sobbed, her tears still flowing down her eyes. Stephen ignored what she told him and sat down beside her.
"I said I'm not in the mood." She said again, a little bit irritated and a little bit sadly. Stephen silenced by gently pacing his finger on her lip.
"Care to tell me why you are like this?" he asked in a very concerning voice.
Blake hesitated for bit, but decided to tell him anyway. "I just lost someone very dear to me," she said, still sobbing, "Someone who I loved so dearly and he felt the same. Now everything's just, you know, falling apart in front of me. I know you told me to put my past behind me, but Adam was just someone who I held to for so long and I always hoped he'd come back and we'd be together again. Now he's gone and everything that I hoped for just seemed pointless to me."
Stephen wrapped his arm around Blake's neck and brought her face up gently. Blake seemed a little surprised by this and didn't know what to do.
"What was so special about him anyway?" he asked.
"He loved me, he cared for me, made feel like someone who has a purpose in life." She answered, still sadly though.
"Well, he can't do that anymore." Stephen said, "When you two parted ways, did really think that he could be that again?" Blake shook her head slowly; a few more tears began to run down. "Then, there's no point in moping on this." He said.
Blake realized now what he said and he was right. She just had to accept the fact that Adam can no longer be the one she could care about or care for. All was left in the present was... She realized now. She brought her up towards Stephen, who just looked passionately at her. Suddenly, Blake pulled Stephen into a kiss, a very passionate kiss.
Stephen was wide-eyed at first, but he realized why Blake did that he returned the kiss as well, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment. Blake pulled out, her heart aching a bit when after she kissed Stephen. Stephen realized why she just did that. He's been able to open up to the quiet Faunus ever since the first day they met. He shared her interest, he gave her caring advice, he promised to protect her because she was a Faunus. He now knows why he cared so much for Blake and now he can actually say that he loves her.
"Stephen?" Blake asked, "Are you...uncomfortable with this?"
"No, Blake." Stephen said kindly, "In fact, I know how you feel too."
Stephen planted his lips on Blake again, giving her another soothing kiss. Blake reacted well to the fact that Stephen already fell in love with her the first day they met and she was fine with that. They continued to kiss, their emotions for each other were pouring out on each other. Blake finally forgot about the love she shared with Adam and now wants to focus on the love she is sharing right now with the person who cared for her, just like Adam back then. They gently pull away from their kiss, looking at each other. Stephen smiled and rubbed his thumb across Blake's cheek, wiping away a tear.
"Don't worry, Blake," Stephen whispered, "it's alright."
Blake just hugged him as Stephen returned it. It seems that he has told her what needs to be told and now, they're finally together, just as Stephen wanted.
"Thank you Stephen..." Blake said softly.
"Of course, Blake," Stephen said, "I'll be here, don't worry." He stood up and Blake did so as well. "Let's go back; I'm sure your team must be worried about you right now."
"I bet they do." Blake said, wiping away another tear.
They began to walk back to their dorms in silence with Stephen's arm wrapped behind Blake's neck.
"Stephen," Blake asked, "are you sure you're okay falling in love with a Faunus?"
"Blake, Faunus or not," Stephen replied, gently removing her bow, exposing her cute cat ears, "I'll still love you, no matter what."
Stephen handed the bow back to his new girlfriend as they slowly walked back to their dorms.
...
Ruby and Yang just sat there, stunned at what they just saw. After seeing Blake and Stephen kiss, they hardly spoke a word or comment on what happened. They finally snapped back to their senses and tried to say something.
"Were we seeing things?" Ruby asked her sister.
"I don't think we were." Yang replied.
"No shit here," Ruby said, "looks like Blake and Stephen found love."
Yang nodded and decided to process everything they know why this happened. Stephen has been nice to Blake ever since they first met, he even promised to protect her because he didn't care if she was a Faunus and he'd do everything to protect her and Blake also returned the acts of kindness Stephen showed her. It was no joke; Stephen and Blake were in love. They heard footsteps approaching their dorm.
"Should we stay awake and tell Blake what we saw?" Ruby asked.
"I don't-" Yang said, but when the door opened, it cut her off.
Blake and Stephen looked at them, but they just remained silent.
"You guys are awfully up late." Stephen said.
"We just saw what happened and we'd just like to say we're proud of you two." Yang said. Blake and Stephen smiled at her and Yang and Ruby returned it.
"Well, then," Stephen said, pecking Blake on the cheek, "I'll see you two around. Good night, Blake."
"Good night, Stephen." Blake said. Stephen left the room silently and gently closed the door.
"You guys saw what happened?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, but anyway, we're still happy for you Blake." Yang said.
"I agree with Yang on this one." Ruby said, smiling.
Weiss stirred upon hearing the voices, but she didn't wake up. The three sighed in relief. Waking Weiss would mean having to deal with her very drowsy bitchy attitude.
"Let's get some sleep." Blake said.
The sisters nodded their heads and proceeded to their respective beds. Blake had no time to change into her pajamas, she was too exhausted to do anything. Yang and Ruby curled up in their beds and said their good nights just before drifting to sleep. Blake wasted no time and did the same. She slowly closed her eyes as her dreams began to form, dreams on what will hold for her in the future.
...
The next day, teams RWBY, JNPR, SMG and CRDL were out in a forested arena near the Emerald Forest for Grimm Combat training. The new class was Ozpin's idea, for Ozpin wanted to see how well the students would do during enclosed combat with Grimm, which they all looked forward too.
"Good Morning, everyone," Ozpin said through the microphone. He was on a balcony with a good view of the arena along with Glynda Goodwitch, who was busy on her scroll. "You four are all gathered her for one purpose," Ozpin said, "and that is to kill Grimm in an enclosed arena. This will not only prove your team work or your weapon usage, but this will train your limitations outside of your usual hunting area. You will have limited space in the arena and limited moving capabilities, so maximize whatever you can to kill whatever we throw at you." The four teams nodded in agreement. "Good," Ozpin said, "Now, the creatures of Grimm you will be facing are the recently discovered ones, the Shadow Stalker, Terror Bite, Bull Leaper and the Fate Spinner. You will all have to cooperate on this one since some of these Grimms feel new to you, but since you've been training hard, I'm sure this won't pose a problem. I will give you five minutes to prep up, so make use of it."
The four teams now started to go about their weapons and their strategies, except for CRDL, who seemed overly confident that they could face every Grimm in that arena. The other three teams didn't give a shit on what CRDL said and just focused on their own conversations. The three minutes were up, the four teams ready for the fight that is to come. Ozpin shook his head when he saw CRDL not planning awhile ago while RWBY, JNPR and SMG were.
"Alright," Ozpin said, "Our first match will be team CRDL. Please step into the arena." Ozpin gestured to the open gate and the four members of team CRDL walked inside.
The arena floor was small, only able to support a large Nevermore in it. It was also damp with wet soil dominating the arena floor. Four gates were on each side of the arena, each containing a reasonable amount of one of the new Grimm species. The four members drew their weapons. Cardin drew out his mace, Russel pulled out two machetes with jagged edges, Dove brought out a double barrel shotgun with a large bayonet attached to tip of his shotgun and Sky drew out a spear with black fluids dripping from the tip, suggesting that the tip was coated with poisons.
"I'll be damned if they manage to survive with that arsenal." Pyrrha said.
"SMG bets 30 lien if Cardin gets his ass kicked." Gavin proposed. His teammates were going to protest on this, but they just decided to do it.
"Deal!" The others said in unison. They brought some lien out of their wallets and handed it over to Gavin. It didn't bother them that they were gambling in front of the teachers, but Ozpin nor Glynda paid no mind to it. RWBY was betting that Cardin gets screwed in three minutes, JNPR was betting on their time of four minutes and SMG was betting on their time of two minutes.
Ozpin opened one of the gates with a remote control and out of the gate; a Terror Bite crawled out of the cage. It gave the four bullies an angry glare and rushed to them. Dove fired two shots on the crocodile Grimm's face, making the Grimm flinch. Sky then jabbed his spear on its back, the poison going into its body, but that didn't seem to affect it. Russel tried to slice its eyes out using his machetes, but the Grimm swings its face at Russel, launching him into the air and disarming at the same time. Cardin takes this as an opportunity to bang his mace on the Terror Bite's skull, blacking out the creature. Cardin takes a step back with him believing that he killed the Terror Bite. He yelled out in joy over the kill and the other three just applauded along with him.
"Yeah! I killed it!" Cardin cheered.
"Nice one, dude!" Dove cheered.
"You go, Cardin!" Russel cheered, hands in the air.
"You showed that bitch whose boss!" Sky cheered.
Cardin took a bow, impressing his teammates as they applauded. The other three teams, even Ozpin and Glynda gave a smirk as the blacked out Terror Bite began to stir, with neither of the bullies noticed it. The Terror Bite finally woke up, the blacking out team CRDL gave it wasn't that bad and it focused on Cardin, who was just right in front of it. The Terror Bite seized Cardin in its jaws, gashing a serious wound on both of his legs. The crocodile Grimm began to drag Cardin back into its cage, but Cardin claws himself to the ground, trying to exert enough effort in order to save himself.
"HEEEELP!" Cardin cried.
Russel, Dove and Sky can only watch in horror as their team leader was being dragged into his impending doom by a creature they thought they killed. They just watched in fear before they fled the arena, taking their weapons and leaving Cardin to die. The other three teams just watched at the events going with some of them even grinning at what the Terror Bite was going to do to the bully. But, Ozpin and Glynda decided against what will happen to will happen to Cardin.
"Ahem," Ozpin said, getting the three team's attention, "I believe that we're supposed to train living students, not dead ones. Can one of you can please help Mr. Winchester."
The others groaned and talked amongst themselves who's going to save that idiot Cardin.
"I say we let him die." Marco contributed.
"Marco, Ozpin told us to save his sorry ass." Gavin told him.
"Blake, care to do the honors?" Stephen asked.
"Why me?" Blake protested.
"Because your weapon is more precise and causes less splash damage so meaning Cardin won't get hurt." Stephen explained.
"Fine," Blake said, unsheathing Gambol Shroud and switching it to pistol form.
She took careful aim at the monster's eyes and fired off three shots. All the shots went through the creature's skull, killing it almost easily. The dead Terror Bite's jaw loosened and Cardin began to crawl away from the dead creature's corpse. The other three teams groaned again after seeing Cardin's bloody legs because they all had plans to break Cardin's legs sometime in the future. Now the plan Nora brought into their minds was complete failure, but some of them were still happy about one thing.
"We win!" Gavin cheered.
"What?" Ruby whined, "How do you even know it was two minutes?"
"Because we kept a mental clock at it." Stephen said.
"No, you're wrong." Blake said, holding up a stopwatch that she was secretly using to monitor the match, "Either you guys counted late or your mental clocks are so slow." Blake then proceeded to take all the lien from Gavin and gave it to Ruby.
"So, my own girlfriend betrays me." Stephen muttered.
"Don't worry; you'll get your chance." Blake told him.
"You let them win didn't you?" Gavin whispered to Stephen.
"A great way to start a relationship, right?" Stephen replied.
"You could at least ask for half of that lien. Some of it is ours anyway." Marco protested.
"We have plenty in the safe, bro. That's not even enough to how much we've saved." Stephen reminded him. Team SMG was not technically rich; they just had all the money that they squandered up since they were kids.
"Alright," Ozpin said through the microphone, "It seems that Team CRDL has failed to kill the Terror Bite, but thank you Miss Belladonna for making short work of it."
"Thank you, professor." Blake said then smiled at Stephen.
"Now, Team JNPR, please take the arena for your fight." Ozpin said.
"Wish us luck." Jaune said, still a little nervous
"Of course," Ruby said with a smile.
JNPR entered the arena, drawing their weapons as they stepped on the soil. Ozpin opened another gate with the remote control and out came three Bull Leapers. They hopped around their opponents and began to croak loudly, attempting to irritate their enemies.
"Do they have to croak so loud?" Nora yelled.
Suddenly, one Bull Leaper breaks away from the formation and attacks Nora with its tongue. Ren sees it coming and slices the Bull Leaper's tongue off using his StormFlowers. The Bull Leaper croaked in pain, which alerted the other two Bull Leapers and they attacked the rest of Team JNPR. The first Bull Leaper attacked Jaune with its tongue, but he blocked the attack with his shield. The second one tried to corner Nora, but she swung her hammer at it, sending the frog Grimm flying and hitting the wall near it. Ren hopped on one of the Bull Leapers and jabbed one StormFlower into the monster's head to get a firm grip on the creature as he fired the second StormFlower at the other Bull Leapers. The Bull Leaper Ren was one tried to shake him off, but his strong grip managed to keep him in place. Nora slammed her hammer onto her struggling Bull Leaper's belly, pink explosions erupting from the hammer with every hit. Pyrrha rushed towards jaune who was having some trouble with his Bull Leaper. Jaune strikes the frog Grimm throat while Pyrrha gives him support by firing at the frog's eyes. Jaune makes a swing, but the Bull Leaper dodges and pins him to the ground.
"Ahhhhh!" Jaune screamed.
"Hold on, Jaune!" Pyrrha said, running towards he frightened partner. The Bull Leaper swings its tongue at her, effectively sweeping her out of the way.
"Hurry!" Jaune screamed.
The Bull Leaper brought its tongue down at Jaune and began to lick him, tasting its prey. Ren's cover fire manages to hit the Bull Leaper's tounge, giving Jaune a chance to pick up his sword. Pyrrha comes over and jabs her weapon onto the Bull Leaper's face mask causing the Grimm to release Jaune. She transforms her spear into a rifle and fired several shots in the opening she made in the Bull Leaper's head. Jaune finally grabbed his weapon and stabbed the Bull Leaper's throat, killing it instantly. Pyrrha helped Jaune up and shook her hand to get rid of the saliva that was covering her partner.
"You okay?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah..." Jaune said, "I may need a few baths to clean up this crap."
Pyrrha giggled slightly and looked at the rest of her teammates. Nora had already beaten her Bull Leaper to death and Ren hopped off his Bull Leaper, stabbed one of his blades into the frog's head, opened the mouth and fired several rounds into the frog Grimm's throat. The Grimm croaked in pain and after a few seconds, it fell silent. JNPR looked around the battlefield, satisfied with the damage they left, except for Jaune, who was still covered in saliva. Team RWBY and SMG applauded and Ozpin grinned when they came back, alive.
"Excellent work, JNPR," Ozpin said, "Mr. Arc, you're excused for now to wipe the saliva off your body."
"That's all I ask for, sir." Jaune said. He turned and left to go back to his dorm, probably a nice long shower will really clean him off.
"Alright, students," Ozpin said, "It's team RWBY's turn to take the arena."
"Good luck, guys." Gavin said.
"Thanks, Gav," Ruby said with a smile.
The four girls entered the arena and they felt the soil sink into their footwear. Weiss felt a little disgusted at the soil, but her teammates just stayed calm and proceeded further into the arena. Ozpin opened the third gate with his remote and what came out surprised Weiss completely. It was a small group of Fate Spinners, the small ones. Seeing the spider Grimms again gave Weiss Goosebumps. It's as if luck wasn't on their side today and they were picked to face the Grimm Weiss started to fear.
All four girls drew their weapons and stood battle-ready in front of the spider Grimms. The first Fate Spinner lashed out at Ruby which Ruby was, of course, able to counter by slicing the Grimm in half. Blake used both her sword and sheath to attack three Fate Spinners that she was up against. She quickly took them down easily, the green blood splashing on her face. Man, these guys must bleed a lot , Blake thought.
Yang had two Fate Spinners grasped in her hands then smashed them together at the same time. She wasn't bothered by the green blood covering her face and her body because she's been in a lot of these situations before where the blood of a dead Grimm was splashed all over her and she just didn't care. Weiss was still shuddering at the Fate Spinners approaching her. Ever since their encounter with Fate Spinners back at the abandoned out post, she started to develop a fear of Fate Spinners. This was the first time that Weiss encountered a Grimm that she actually started to fear. Apart from the Nevermore they had already encountered before, Weiss never feared any Grimm before in her life. She was always calm when it came to facing Grimm, even the big ones, but this fear she developed with Fate Spinners was really eating her up. To Weiss, there was something about Fate Spinners that she feared, was it the appearance? Was it the near death experience she had with them last week? Or was it the acid and/or green blood you get covered in every time you kill one of them? Whatever the reason, Weiss still feared them and she'll probably never know why.
"Weiss! Snap out of it!" Yang yelled.
Weiss snapped back to reality and saw that one of the Fate Spinners shot acid at her. Weiss casts a Dust glyph to block the acid then darted forward at the spider Grimm. She stabbed the spider with her weapon then froze it. Without warning, another Fate Spinner hopped on her back and spun a web around her head.
The web blinded Weiss as soon as it over took her face. The Fate Spinner continued to wrap her up with webs, but Yang and Ruby saw what the Fate Spinner was doing and Yang brought her fist up to its face. The Fate Spinner was launched and Ruby shot it mid-air. Ruby gently laid the tip of her weapon on Weiss and sliced gently, releasing Weiss from the web. Weiss stood up and picked up Myrtenaster then looked at Ruby.
"You okay?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, never better." Weiss responded.
Blake then brought down the last Fate Spinner by shadowing up then slicing it in its midsection. Team RWBY looked around the battlefield and saw that the damp soil was coated in that disgusting looking green blood. Weiss gagged slightly at the sight of all the blood while the others just puffed.
"Well done, RWBY," Ozpin said, "You all did well, but Ms. Schnee, what happened back there?"
"Nothing, just a little...uncomfortable with all the green blood." Weiss responded.
Ozpin nodded and gestured them to return outside the arena. The others puffed and whistled after seeing what happened with Weiss back there. Weiss looked disappointed at everyone, giving everyone the same questioning look.
"Weiss, were you...afraid of those Fate Spinners?" Marco asked.
"I wasn't, you dolt!" Weiss snapped causing Marco to back away from her slightly.
"Weiss," Ruby asked calmly, "Were you really afraid of those Fate Spinners?"
Weiss nodded her head slowly. She didn't really want to tell them that she has a fear of Fate Spinners because that'd be very embarrassing for her reputation and she'll lose the credibility her friends give her, but there's no use hiding anymore.
"It's okay, Weiss," Ruby said, "Everyone is afraid of something. There's nothing wrong in it."
"I know," Weiss said, "But, it's not really good for my reputation if people found out I'm afraid of some medium sized class four spider Grimm."
"You're fine, Weiss." Ruby said, gently patting her partner on the back, "If you're afraid of something, don't be afraid to tell us and we'll understand."
Yang and Blake nodded then smiled at Weiss. Weiss was lucky that her friends were okay with her having this fear, but they respected her as well.
"Team SMG," Ozpin said, "You're the last team so; show us what you can do."
Stephen and his teammates nodded and proceeded inside the arena. Every last Grimm was dead so that left them with one last Grimm, the elusively dangerous Shadow Stalker. The trio had never encountered a Shadow Stalker before but Stephen knew a lot about Grimm and he wasn't afraid to let it show. Shadow Stalkers were just actually panther Grimms no bigger than your average Beowolf. But there is only one thing that made the Shadow Stalker very dangerous and that is its ability to camouflage completely with its surroundings. Once you see it in the dark woods, you won't see it anymore once it spots you. That's the reason people have given it the name Shadow Stalker.
The trio entered the arena, weapons in hand as Ozpin opened the last gate inside the arena. Nothing came out of the gate, filling the other teams with confusion, but SMG was no fool to say that nothing came out of the gate. Suddenly, Marco flinched and slashed something behind him. They heard an audible roar of pain from behind Marco and appearing right in front of Marco was a Shadow Stalker. Unlike most Grimm, it lacked the bony spikes and face mask and only a single eye mask covered its left eye. Its jet-black skin was the reason it could blend in so easily with the shadows and the darkness. The Grimm licked the wound Marco inflicted it with, wiping the blood out of the wound and disappearing into the shadows again.
"Keep your guard up guys," Stephen warned, "We don't know how many of them are here."
The others nod and kept their guard pose up. They heard more growls and roars coming from the arena but couldn't pin point were the Grimm were. It was really hard for them to fight a monster they couldn't see, but their hearing was the only thing that can save them from anymore surprise attacks. Gavin scanned the area and still saw no sign of the invisible Shadow Stalkers, all he could hear were the sounds of growling around him. Stephen couldn't focus on all of the growls he heard. The confusion on where the Shadow Stalkers were was getting to him and he tried to guess were one of the Shadow Stalkers was. He fired a shot from Vorpal at the wall in front of him. He heard the sound of pain from where he shot and saw a Shadow Stalker come into view, its leg bleeding from the shot Stephen gave it. Stephen rushed towards the creature and swung Crusher at its face, blood pulping from the Grimm's head as it splattered into Stephen's face. The Shadow Stalker still wasn't dead and Stephen just proceeded to hit the Grimm harder, Crusher's spikes penetrating into the Grimm's skull. The Shadow Stalker fell and Stephen took up a smug grin. He heard the sound of a roar coming from behind him and saw Marco and Gavin were fighting two Shadow Stalkers that appeared suddenly from the arena.
Marco took a swing with Edge Shadow, the thin blade slicing through the Shadow Stalker's hide. The wound on the Grimm's back was clearly visible and that persuaded Marco to go further. He slashed again, but the Grimm dodged it and swung its claws at Marco. Marco guarded the attack with Edge Shadow and slashed the panther Grimm's paw off. The Shadow may have lost a limb, but it still continued to fight, limping with its three good feet as it charged at Marco. Marco's used the teal Dust on his weapon and stabbed the ground causing a small pillar of ice to form with icy spike protruding from all sides of the pillar. He threw one heavy strike at the pillar and brought it down at the limping Shadow Stalker.
The Grimm tried to limp away from the collapsing pillar, but it wasn't fast enough and it soon met the spikes of ice with its body. The pillar collapsed and shattered on the ground and the Shadow Stalker was quickly impaled to the ground, blood streaming down its body, coating the ice red and blue. Marco looked around again and decided to help Gavin until another Shadow Stalker pounced from behind him. The Grimm pinned him to ground and doing so caused Marco to lose a grip on his weapon. The Shadow Stalker raised its paw at Marco as he desperately tried to reach his weapon. Marco suddenly heard a gunshot and splatter of flesh from behind him. He felt the Shadow Stalker's blood splash on his face and the Grimm loosened its grip on Marco. Marco got up and saw that the Shadow Stalker that pinned him had its head caved in. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Stephen, the barrel of his gun shield smoking. Marco nodded and Stephen just gave him a thumbs up.
Gavin had another Shadow Stalker pinned to the ground with the prong of his trident, brutally shocking it as the Grimm howled in pain. He managed to kill the pinned Shadow Stalker but another one lunged at him, but he brought his trident up to block the incoming attack. The Shadow Stalker taunted him with a roar and Gavin gritted his teeth. He formed Bakunawa into its rifle form and took aim at the Shadow Stalker. The Grimm disappeared again, causing Gavin to flinch. He heard the growls coming all around him and just took fire a lot of times, hitting anywhere were he thought the Grimm was hiding. He suddenly heard one of his bullets go into something and soon, the Shadow Stalker he was fighting came into view, its leg having been injured by the shot.
Gavin quickly leaped forward and slammed the stock of his rifle at the Grimm. The defenseless Grimm tried to run away but Gavin switched his weapon back into a trident and proceeded to beat the Grimm with the butt of his weapon. The Grimm howled in pain as Gavin continue to hit it with the butt of his trident. Gavin stopped and rested the tip of his weapon on one of the Shadow Stalker's open wounds and shocked it. The electricity surged throughout the Grimm's body causing it to jerk and jolt around as the electricity continued to overtake everything inside it. Gavin continued to increase the power of Bakunawa's lightning ray, making the Shadow Stalker jerk even faster. Gavin let out a devious chuckle as blood began to literally bubble from the Shadow Stalker's mouth. While Gavin was busy torturing the poor, dying Shadow Stalker, another one appeared behind Gavin and took the opportunity to attack him while his guard was down. Gavin was oblivious to the oncoming attack and just continued to shock the helpless Grimm. Suddenly, Gavin felt a bullet whir past his ears and that bullet caved the Shadow Stalker's head behind him. Gavin stopped shocking the already dead Shadow Stalker and looked up and saw Stephen with Vorpal aimed at him. The barrel was smoking and Gavin didn't need a hint to know what Stephen did awhile ago.
"I told you to keep your guard up." Stephen scolded.
"Sorry, got too caught up." Gavin responded, "Besides, you know me."
Stephen shrugged and looked around. All they heard was silence, no more sounds of growling, no more roars so they sighed in relief. They exited the arena and were greeted by the applause teams RWBY and JNPR were giving them. Ozpin applauded them as well and team SMG just smiled.
"You're hurt." Yang said, noticing the wound on Marco's back.
"Oh, that?" Marco asked, "Just give me a sec." Marco flared up his aura and the wound disappeared.
"Well done, team SMG." Ozpin said over the microphone. Suddenly, Glynda came up to him and whispered something in his ear. "Well then," Ozpin said, "It seems that I have an urgent matter to attend to, students. In the mean time, no Free Hunt slips will be given for...safety reasons. I apologize for this, but next week, we could reinstate Free Hunt. So for now, enjoy your weekend."
Everyone groaned at what Ozpin said. They won't be able to enjoy their weekend without going out into some Grimm infested environment and kill a couple or at least dozens of Grimms. Some of them got frustrated at this more especially Nora, Gavin and even Weiss were the most frustrated ones. Without any of them looking, Stephen and Blake exchanged glances and just stared at their frustrated friends. The fact that the two were dating didn't bother any of their friends, in fact they were happy for them that the two were dating and respected their relationship. With that, they could do anything they want and none of their teammates would interfere.
"No Free Hunt means we can do anything we want." Stephen whispered to Blake.
"Are you suggesting a stroll?" Blake asked.
"If we get a chance to make out at some point, yes." Stephen replied.
Blake nodded and they took off, leaving their teammates to calm down their frustrated members. Ruby looked back at them and smiled. She nudged Yang and she looked back also. Seeing the two walk off like that warmed her heart and calmed her mind. Have fun you two, Ruby thought. She then returned her attention back to a very frustrated Weiss. It somehow annoyed Ruby that Blake and Stephen just left them to do this. Oh well, no blaming those two anyway.
End of Chapter 6
a/n: Well, got that covered at least. So far, I've been writing longer chapters because that's how I roll now. Also, sorry about the very long arena scene. I just want to showcase all of the non-Ancient Grimms in this story, more notably Terror Bite and Shadow Stalker because none of you guys have seen them before, only mentioned. Lastly, I might pair up the guys with the RWBY girls (not all of them since SMG is only three people), but I haven't fully allowed myself to reach that verdict yet. Whether it might happen or not, it's my decision to make, unless you guys want to say anything about it. As always, reviews, questions, and favorites plus follows are always appreciated and, as always, no spam.