3rd Person POV
Early the next morning: Amber, Skye, Date, and Spencer stood shivering in a line facing Professor Ozpin, every one of them on edge.
"Welcome to your initiation." Ozpin said with a small smile that made them all shiver a bit harder. Spencer spoke the words they were all thinking slowly.
"Uh, that word sounds a bit. . .sinister. What exactly are we doing here?" Ozpin gestured out over the misty forest.
"Well, since you're all a bit late, you missed the other initiation. So since we already know you'll be a team, we've changed the rules a bit. The point of initiation is to make it to the ruins and back with a chess piece that will determine your team. But you'll be a team regardless, so instead of everyone getting their own piece, you'll have to work together to get one piece back here." Amber sighed, relieved.
"That doesn't sound too bad." Ozpin laughed.
"I've asked someone to help. . .administer the initiation. They'll meet you in the forest. If you succeed, then we'll discuss your team name." Skye raised a hand.
"Um, what if we fail?" Ozpin grinned, which in the pre-dawn light seemed unnecessarily creepy.
"Just make sure you succeed. And one other thing," He took a sip of coffee, pausing for dramatic effect. "The first person you make eye contact upon landing with is your partner." Everyone was completely awake now.
"Wait, upon landing?" Date sounded uneasy. "Are you dropping us off or something?" Ozpin chuckled.
"Or something." Date frowned.
"What does that me-EEEEEEEAAAAANNNNN!" His voice trailed off as he was launched skyward by the small metal square under his feet. Ozpin smiled wider.
"You'll have to formulate your landing strategies in the air, so good luck." Spencer cackled as Amber was launched squealing into the air.
"Heck yes! This is gonna be cake!" Ozpin didn't miss a beat.
"We thought it might not be enough of a challenge, so we arranged a nice little hike for you, meaning you'll have to walk or run the whole way." Spencer groaned and Ozpin chuckled. "Oh, you'll be fine. . .provided you can keep ahead of the Grimm." Skye was still laughing when they launched her.
Karissa POV
"Huh. Nothing on the radio." I muttered, depressing the call button.
"They probably fell asleep standing up again. I really wish being the best didn't mean having to deal with bullshit at four in the morning." Dolores grumbled testily. (A/N: In case you didn't read the OC list, Dolores is Gina's alter ego) I blinked away the remains of the night's sleep and paced back and forth in a futile effort to keep warm. I gritted my teeth to keep from snapping at her. It didn't ever pay to piss off Dolores, no matter who or how powerful you are. Instead, I found myself being truthful with her.
"Me too." I sighed. She stopped talking and glanced over at me, eyes wide. I ignored her and tried again. "Nyx, Ienzo, come in. Hello?" Still silence. Dolores snorted.
"Think the Grimm got 'em?" I shook my head.
"There's no way. I know they're stronger than that." I looked around uneasily. "But I also know that they'd never ignore a call from their teammates." Dolores nodded seriously and looked at me.
"Scenario Delta-Sigma?" I blanched and shuddered.
"Looks like it," I glanced up into the trees and stood back to back with Dolores. "Worst case scenario, they're dead, but I'm more inclined to think disabled. Someone or something more dangerous than Grimm is out here with us." She jogged to the tree line and peered into the misty spaces between the trees.
"Think it could be Amber or one of the other initiates?" I shook my head and checked the time on the built in scroll on my shield.
"No. They haven't landed yet." I called up my team's Aura levels and gasped, my empty stomach heaving. Dolores was immediately at my side.
"What's wrong?" She saw what I saw. "Oh. Fuck."
"I concur." I murmured, watching with growing dread as the last of Ienzo's Aura dwindled to the red level and stopped exactly where Nyx's had. Dolores clenched her fists.
"We have to help." I grabbed her arm and shook my head as she tried to take off.
"No. There's nothing we can do. Besides, whatever it is, it hasn't killed them, or even depleted their Aura completely. This thing is sentient, and it's skilled." We snapped to attention at the rustling sound that came from the leaves.
"What was that?" Dolores whispered, surprising me by actually sounding scared. I guess Gina's back. I thought, gritting my teeth. Could the timing be any worse?
"I. . .I don't know." Then I heard it. A low sound, increasing in volume by the second.
"-UUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!" Someone flew through the treetops, close by, snapping branches and shouting curses the whole way down. Once he was gone, Gina relaxed a bit. Until the rustling started again. I recalled hearing Professor Ozpin comment about Amber Drake's notable agility and how quickly she climbed her tree. Could it be?
"Amber?" I took a deep breath and shifted uneasily, listening hard. I got no response, and suddenly the air seemed colder somehow. "No. It's not her. I-I think it's here." An unfamiliar voice spoke suddenly and I jumped.
"Yes, it is. And it really doesn't appreciate being called 'it'." My gaze was drawn skyward, coming to rest on a shadowy figure cloaked in black, crouched on the branch of a nearby tree. Something was dangling from their hand and I realized that whoever they were, they were holding Nyx's obsidian long sword, Black Thorn.
Hot anger flooded my veins and crowded out the cold. My senses sharpened and my fear melted away as my body readied itself for battle.
"Gina." She didn't answer right away. "Gina."
"Yeah?" I kept an eye on the figure closely and spoke lowly.
"Attack pattern Epsilon B." She nodded and we both watched in frozen awe as the glow of crimson irises bled through the mist and gloom. I swallowed thickly and prepared for pain.
3rd Person POV
Skye squinted into the wind and tried to judge the distance to the nearest tree. Her eyes widened as a tree hurtled out of the gloom and loomed ominously close. She twisted to the side and plunged Athame deep into the bark of the tree as she passed, grunting at the pain in her shoulder as she curved around the side of the tree. She planted her feet on the rough bark and kicked off, launching herself safely onto a branch in a nearby tree.
She doubled over and braced her hands on her knees. "Well," She gasped. "That went about as well as I could have hoped." She turned and looked up into the trees, wondering if Amber had even been launched yet.
Amber spread her arms and legs out to decrease her speed as she waited for the opportune moment to employ her landing strategy. Not unlike with Skye, a tree zoomed out of the fog to greet her. She unsheathed her father's sword and cleaved through the trunk of the tree as though it were made of soft butter.
Her shoulder connected with the now severed part of the tree, and she rolled to her feet. She darted along the plummeting log to the end, placing her feet carefully and stepping lightly around branches and knotholes. She braced herself by wrapping her arms tightly around a thick branch. This was going to hurt. . .A lot.
Spencer POV
"Fucking Ozpin." I grumbled, hiking the large pack up higher on my back. "Fucking backpack. Fucking Beacon. Fucking initiation. Fucking Ursa. Fu-" I tripped over something and went sprawling on my face, the heavy backpack crushing the air from my lungs. I slipped my arms quickly from the straps and heaved it off of me, laying face up and panting at the sky, watching my breath curl up above my head in steamy clouds. "Fucking. . .roots."
"Ngh." The root groaned. I sat bolt upright and took another look. That was so not a root.
"Holy shit." I breathed, staring down at two of Beacon's supposed elite students. "They got their asses kicked." I moved closer to see if they were okay, but stopped when I felt something hard underfoot. I bent down and picked up the walkie-talkie, wondering what they were doing out here. Then I remembered something that Ozpin said that hadn't made any sense at the time.
I've asked someone to help. . .administer the initiation.
I stifled a laugh and shook my head.
"Some help. They already got trashed." Then something occurred to me. "But. . .By who?" Are they dead? The thought sobered me immediately and I kneeled down to check their pulses. Good, they're just unconscious for now. Then the walkie-talkie in my hand buzzed to life, scaring the shit out of me.
"Ienzo? Nyx?" A female voice crackled through, whispering fearfully. "Are you there? I got separated from Karissa and I don't know her status! Ienzo, come in! Don't tell me I'm the last one? Please?! Someone?! Anyone?!" She sounded so desperate that I found myself clicking the button without thinking.
"Hello? Who is this?" There was a pause, then a choking sob.
"Oh thank gods! My name is Gina, who are you?" I hesitated, then shrugged to myself. Why the heck not?
"Spencer Stone." She was silent for a minute.
"Okay, Spencer, I need you to do me a really big favor. I dropped my scroll somewhere, and I can't leave my position to look for it, so can you run and tell Professor Ozpin that something went wrong? Something. . .No, someone is here and we think they're targeting you guys. You are an initiate, right?" I nodded, then facepalmed.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am." She sighed in relief. "Good. Tell him that whoever it is probably took out the rest of the team and I think they're hunting m-" There was static, then a muffled scream, then stifling silence. I shuddered.
"That, was horror-movie creepy." I muttered to myself, pulling off my trench coat. "Well, looks like I'll get to fly after all."
Unknown POV
Gina stared up at me, her eyes wide with fear, her nostrils flaring with each panicked breath, and a sour feeling twisted in my gut.
"I'm sorry." I whispered inaudibly. She eyed the long sword in my left hand, then shifted her gaze to my other hand. Her eyes widened even farther as her eyes found the claymore I'd taken from her team leader.
"Th-that's Karissa's!" She blurted. "Wh-what did you d-do to her?" I shook my head slowly.
"She's fine, just unconscious, like your other teammates. I'm not keen on the idea of hurting anyone any more than necessary." She crawled backwards, whimpering pathetically, but I wasn't fooled. When she whipped up her arm and threw the rock, I was already tilting my head to the side and out of the way. I sighed and stepped closer. "Please don't make this any harder than it needs to be." She sneered, trying to seem less afraid than she was.
"Who the hell are you, and why are you doing this?" I lifted the claymore and pointed the tip at her chest, sending her scrambling back into a tree.
"Stand up and ready your weapon. I won't fight an unarmed foe." She stood and lifted her chin belligerently.
"And if I refuse?" I clenched my jaw.
"Then I may have to revise my moral code to encompass cowards as well. Your teammates fought admirably, but you insist on resorting to underhanded tricks and bad acting to protect yourself?" I shook my head, goading her. "Pathetic. Ozpin would be ashamed." She bared her teeth and her eyes darkened from hazel to dark brown. Be careful, it is Dolores. I nodded, replying with a thought. I know.
Dolores's lips curled into a sneer. "Like I give a rat's ass about his approval. All I care about is survival. I'm here for us, and I won't back down from a fight. Never have, never will." I twirled the claymore experimentally, testing its weight and heft.
"That's what I'm counting on."
Okay, another one down and I'm back on track. It should be noted that there have been three different people who have been shown as 'Unknown POV'. They should not be confused with each other. The Unknown in this chapter is not the one who killed Sharon, or who talked to Spectra. I'll explain it soon, I promise. X3
In the meantime, I'll start identifying them as 'The Mysterious Woman', 'The Killer', and 'The Unknown Assailant'.
C'mon guys, tell me watcha think! I want to hear from you guys. What did you like, what didn't you like, who do you want to see more of? I actually made a poll about that last one, so check that out. As you can see, I have Nyx and Karissa's weapons, but I won't introduce Ienzo's yet. Gina's is in the next chapter.
TWAD # 5: Um. . .My middle name is Lana.