In this chapter, the first-years are going to visit Forever Fall forest to get some red sap...which of course Nora likes. She would probably put it on her pancakes.
But of course, sometimes things don't go according to plan. As you're probably aware, there are Grimm in the forest. Grimm that would like to make a meal out of Ruby and her friends.
Being lower on the food chain isn't fun, huh?
Chapter 14: Falling Down
Pyrrha was looking forward to their next test. She thought that she would do well and that she would earn the respect of the teachers at Beacon Academy on account on being one of their top students.
She did admit that she already had the respect of most of the students at the academy as it was, but she figured that she should try to get along with her teachers and show them that she was a good huntress.
Of course, she was more interested in helping her teammates. They would appreciate it if they gave her a hand since she was the leader of their team.
Blake decided to see what was on TV. Maybe it was something that it didn't involve Faunus bashing. Unfortunately, there were TV shows that were like that. It felt strange being the only Faunus in a group of humans. Of course, Ren was the only male in a group of boys and Nora was the only girl (albeit the leader) of a group of boys, so maybe she could relate to them.
What she saw unnerved her.
As it turned out, there had been an attack on a crowd of Faunus yesterday night. Somebody had killed them all, including the Faunus that was speaking out to them. And to think that it was a peaceful protest too. What was the world of Remnant coming to? It seemed things had gotten rather bloody.
Blake wondered who could had done such a thing. It always made her feel rather depressed whenever the Faunus fell victim to violence...though admittedly the White Fang itself tended to resort to violence.
Though admittedly Weiss wasn't fond of Faunus herself, she found it to be disturbing as well. She wondered who could have hated Faunus so much that it drove them to violence.
Apparently, it was the work of the Black Hand...a group that Blake was rather afraid of. Rumor has it that their leader wanted to exterminate all Faunus...including her. On the other hand, most of the other members were simply fighting against White Fang aggression.
If they managed to find where the White Fang were hiding, things could get rather bloody.
She decided to turn off the TV. The idea of someone hunting Faunus like animals unnerved her...even if they were in a sense animals.
Well, it was no use thinking about that now. It was time for her to take her first-year test...she couldn't afford to be distracted.
Still, she hoped that the rest of the Faunus were going to be alright. The White Fang would keep them safe...right?
Sure enough, Team NRDS were heading to Forever Fall as well. Nora could not wait to try out the red sap. She bet that it tasted delicious...though her appetite would probably prove detrimental to her teammates.
For this test, Ms. Goodwitch was going to supervise, as they said.
"This test is going to be rather simple...much like the one that we had in Emerald Forest. However, keep in mind that the Grimm here are a bit tougher than the variety that you might find in Emerald Forest." remarked Ms. Goodwitch.
Ruby and Juane noted that they should probably be on their guard.
Likewise, Weiss and Blake acknowledged the same.
"In other words, I recommend you all to stay together..." answered Ms. Goodwitch. Strength in numbers, Professor Ozpin always said.
Everyone in the crowd nodded, except for Cardin. Yang quickly noticed this. Why exactly did Cardin not want to stick with his teammates?
"Right then...each of you get your own jars. All you need to do was fill them up with red sap and make your way back to Beacon Academy. It's a rather simple test...in fact, you don't need to walk rather far..." stated the teacher.
Sure enough, there were trees nearby that were full of red sap.
"I think you're all ready. Here are your jars." said Ms. Goodwitch.
Using her telekinesis, she handed each team various jars for containing the red sap in. On the jars were a label warning them that red sap could potentially attract Grimm and that they should keep it in an air-tight container.
Shortly afterwards, each team went into the forest to retrieve the red sap.
However, Cardin had a different idea in mind regarding the sap.
And he knew who he wanted to be his accomplice.
As Ruby and Juane went to collect the sap, Yang attempted to follow them to make sure that they stayed safe. She didn't exactly like it whenever her sister ended up in peril...especially when they went into Grimm territory as children.
But when she tried to do so, Cardin grabbed her arm.
"Hey!" exclaimed Yang.
"Psst! Yang!" whispered Cardin into her ear.
"Huh?" questioned the blonde boxer.
As it turned out, Cardin wanted Yang's help with something. Something bad.
"What do you want, Cardin? We need to stick together as a team! If we split up, we could be in danger!" exclaimed Yang. Ms. Goodwitch warned them that there were Grimm in the area.
"Relax, we're not going to be separate for long...we're just going to pull a prank on Juane and that'll be it." answered Cardin.
"What kind of prank?" questioned the blonde. Juane certainly was a bully magnet...just like Pyrrha was a people magnet. Now that she thought of it...wasn't Pyrrha's semblance magnetism? Semblances did tend to reflect the wielder's personality. For example, her semblance reflected her short-temperedness...just like Cardin's semblance reflected his desire to be strong.
"Oh, that's rather simple." nodded the bully.
Immediately, Cardin gathered some red sap into a jar.
"We're going to dump this all over Juane! It's going to be hilarious!" exclaimed Cardin.
"Why do you need my help though?" questioned Yang. It seemed like something that Cardin could do himself...though she did hear that Cardin was a slacker and would rather rely on his teammates rather than do something himself.
"Well, for some strange reason, he seems to be become aware when I'm nearby. I don't know why..." stated the bully. Perhaps he had been bullying him too much.
Sure enough, Juane seemed to be looking around in the distance.
"Cardin, where are you?" questioned Juane. He knew that he was nearby, but he wasn't quite sure where.
"See my point?" inquired Cardin. Personally he was a bit surprised that Juane was looking for him. It was as if he was looking for trouble.
"Oh..." said the blonde. Apparently, he had adapted to deal with the bullies around him.
Now that she thought of it, Ruby seemed to be looking for her too. Perhaps she should reunite with them. She wasn't used to not working with a team, even if she still had her partner at her side. Besides, Juane wasn't very good at fighting yet.
"That's why you're going to dump red sap over him and make him look like a fool!" exclaimed Cardin. He was sure that his friends on Team NRDS would be laughing about it...
"Sorry, Cardin...I can't do that." apologized Yang.
"What? Why not?" asked the bully.
"He's supposed to be our teammate...if we do that, you'll alienate him from us!" bellowed the blonde. If they didn't work together, it was only a matter of time before they started running into trouble.
Cardin sighed. Yang did have a point. He sure as heck would have liked to bully Juane though.
"Fine..." stated the bully.
"Besides, we might end up attracting Grimm...speaking of which, you should put a lid on that red sap before any of the Grimm smell it..." said the boxer.
"Yeah, right. What are the chances of that?" inquired Cardin.
At that very moment, an Ursa Major showed up. It wanted some of the delicious red sap that was growing from the trees...though technically it could simply climb up the tree and take it for itself.
Maybe those nice humans would let it have some...though it would probably have to kill them first.
Worked for it.
"Pretty good, actually." answered Yang.
Cardin's hand trembled and his eye widened. He wasn't sure how he was going to take down an Ursa that big, even if he had killed Grimm during the Emerald Forest exam. It didn't seem like a young Grimm at all...those that he were used to fighting.
For a moment, he considered running...which he ultimately decided to try. Better to live to see another day.
However, when he attempted to do so, Yang stopped him. Hunters were supposed to protect the populace from the Grimm, not join the crowd that always runs away from them. What would they think if Cardin deserted the battlefield?
"C'mon, Cardin! You can take that thing down!" exclaimed Yang. She knew how strong he was.
Reluctantly, Cardin hit the Ursa Major on the head with his mace as Yang demanded of him.
Oddly enough, this worked surprisingly well. It looked like he had managed to wound it, judging from the black blood leaking from its head.
Perhaps Yang was right after all. Maybe he should have tried fighting the Grimm before retreating. Now there was one less Grimm in the world...though it seemed likely that there were millions more out there somewhere.
Yang then finished it off with a few rounds from her Ember Celica.
"Alright!" cheered the blonde.
Now, all they needed to do was avoid attracting more Grimm and then they would be safe.
However, at that very moment, Ruby and Juane showed up. They had been searching for Yang and Cardin once they had realized that they had been separated.
"Yang!" exclaimed Ruby.
"Cardin!" bellowed Jaune.
"Is something the matter?" asked Cardin.
"We were worried about you!" bellowed the huntress.
"Don't worry, sis, you're fine..." answered Yang.
Ruby gave her older half-sister a hug.
Wait...didn't fear attract Grimm too?
Perhaps they should have stuck together as Yang suggested.
At that very moment, another Grimm showed up.
This time, it was a Woodchuck...a Grimm that resembled a beaver...a vicious beaver, that is. The older ones had a tendency to destroy dams...and cause flooding. Needless to say hunters and huntresses were responsible for keeping that from happening.
Immediately, the Woodchuck began to chew down the trees, hoping one of them would fall on top of the four.
"Look out!" exclaimed Ruby. Who would have thought that Grimm liked to chew through wood?
Fortunately, the trees did not hit anybody. Maybe the Woodchuck needed to work on its aim.
Not only that, but Jaune stabbed the Woodchuck with his sword, killing it.
"Got it!" bellowed the Arc family member.
However, they were starting to wonder if any of the other students were attracting Grimm. If so, they might be in trouble.
They decided to pay Team NRDS a visit to see if they were alright.
Currently, Russel was fighting with Nora over a jar of red sap. Russel wanted to deliver it to Beacon Academy. Nora wanted to consume it because it was so delicious.
This worried Ruby. If they dropped the jar on the floor, chances are they were going to be upset...which would attract more Grimm.
Sure enough, that ended up happening.
Nora ended up crying.
"Wahhhhh!" exclaimed Nora. This was so unfair!
Russel tried to comfort her, curiously enough. She had saved his life before.
Shortly afterward, Team NRDS noticed that the trees were starting to...move.
As it turned out, some of these trees were actually...Grimm. Nora's crying had managed to wake them up.
They were known as the Treants...and yes, they did resemble trees...dead ones.
"What the heck?!" bellowed Russel. Perhaps it would be best if they examined the trees before attempting to take red sap from them. The Grimm could be hiding anywhere.
Fortunately for Nora, her hammer could smash through their bark-like armor like it was butter.
As with all the other Grimm, the Treants burst into darkness once Nora killed them. It looked like they wouldn't be able to make paper off of them.
"I should become a lumberjack." remarked Nora.
"Maybe you should..." nodded Russel.
"Can we get the sap already?" questioned Dove.
Fortunately, Sky and Dove already had theirs. Once Russel and Nora were done, they would be free to return to Ms. Goodwitch.
Wait, where was she anyway? She never mentioned where to meet her.
As it turned out, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Ren had already managed to collect theirs.
Well, technically Pyrrha had done most of the work. Her magnetism really came in handy.
Unfortunately, this made Dove and Sky rather jealous. Why couldn't they have such a useful semblance like that?
Their envy ended up attracting more Grimm. Envy was one of the seven deadly sins...and it was certainly deadly in the world of Remnant.
In this case, it was a Death Stalker.
"Not another one of these!" remarked Dove. It was a bad idea they encountered one of these back when they were taking their Emerald Forest test.
And to make matters worse, two Boarbatusks were backing it up.
Immediately, the Death Stalker attempted to sting them with its tail.
Dove and Sky began to run, screaming all the while.
However, they forgot that screaming when there was Grimm around wasn't such a good idea. They weren't exactly deaf.
They quickly found themselves being cornered by a King Taijutu. Apparently, they didn't only live in Emerald Forest.
"We could really use some help here..." remarked Sky.
Fortunately, at that very moment, Weiss and Ren showed up.
Weiss used her dust to freeze the King Taijutu solid while Ren shot the Taijutu to death. They were getting better at this...though of course it helped that they were working as a team.
However, there was still the not-so-small matter of the Death Stalkers and the two Boarbatusks that were heading towards them as well.
Fortunately, Pyrrha and Blake decided to intervene.
Wasting no time, Pyrrha used her magnetism to send her spear into the Death Stalker's head...and then send it back to her hand.
Blake followed by using her Gambol Shroud to knock over the Boarbatusks, who began struggling to get up.
Pyrrha followed by using her spear to stab both of them in the stomach, using her magnetism to assist in that. Both Boarbatusks died.
Now, all that was left was the Death Stalker.
Unfortunately, it appeared that the Death Stalker was none too happy that the hunters and huntresses had killed its comrades, as it began to lunge towards them.
In the process, Jaune almost got stung.
"Aah!" bellowed Jaune.
Once again, Jaune screamed like a little girl. Cardin found it to be a hoot.
However, Ruby was not amused that the Death Stalker was trying to hurt her friend.
"Leave him alone!" bellowed Ruby.
Immediately, she shot the Death Stalker's stinger.
The Death Stalker panicked and attempted to flee...
...which allowed Cardin to finish it off.
"Yes!" exclaimed Cardin.
"Is that it for all the Grimm?" inquired Yang.
"I think so..." nodded Ruby.
"Let's try not to attract any more Grimm, shall we?" suggested Ren.
Blake nodded.
Suddenly, a marching band came by.
"Huh?" asked Ruby.
"What are they doing in this forest?" inquired Blake.
As it turned out, they were playing the Moonlight Sonata.
"Oh heck no..." remarked Weiss.
All of a sudden, they all started to feel rather depressed.
"This cannot be good." said Jaune.
A few seconds later, they heard the sound of screeching. It sounded similar to that of the Nevermore, yet fiercer.
The hunters and huntresses decided to look out.
They gasped in shock.
As it turned out, it was a Phoenix...a flying Grimm that could shoot fireballs. And it was a big one too. Who would have thought THAT would show up?
Already, it was raining fireballs on top of them.
"Run for it!" bellowed Ruby.
"Easy for you to say." remarked Weiss.
Frantically, they scattered about so that the Phoenix would have a harder time hitting them. They wondered who it would strike next.
As it turned out, it knew what the weakest target.
That target was Jaune.
Immediately, it picked up Jaune by the shoulders and started carrying him around.
"Aah!" screamed Jaune.
"Jaune!" bellowed Ruby.
"We'll get him down!" exclaimed Yang.
Immediately, Yang began to shoot at the Phoenix.
Unfortunately, it appeared that fire didn't do much damage to the Phoenix at all...unsurprisingly.
"Anyone else want to try?" asked Yang sheepishly.
Weiss tried attacking the Phoenix next...but unfortunately, her ice dust was melting.
"I'm done." stated Weiss.
Pyrrha hurled her spear at the Phoenix with her magnetism.
The Phoenix screeched and dropped Jaune. That was a lucky shot.
"We got him! But where is he landing?" questioned Nora.
Jaune landed on top of Ruby, causing her to blush.
"You alright, Ruby?" asked Juane as he helped himself and Ruby to their feet.
"Yeah, I think so..." nodded Ruby. She had survived worse than that before.
Unfortunately, the Phoenix was launching another attack.
However, Ruby was shooting bullets at it.
"Eat bottomless magazines!" bellowed Ruby.
"This magazine is really nice..." remarked Blake as she read through it.
The Phoenix screeched once again, and shot fireballs at Ruby.
However, she was fast enough to avoid them.
Ren started shooting the Phoenix as well.
Even so, it appeared that it was still itching for a fight.
Immediately, it flapped its wings together, creating a black tornado.
"Why is it trying to send us to the Land Of Oz? We're being taught by Professor Ozpin for crying out loud!" exclaimed Russel.
The Phoenix shrugged.
"Incoming!" warned Ruby.
Frantically, they attempted to avoid being hit by the winds.
To make matters worse, some small Nevermores had decided to join the fray. Perhaps they had noticed that there was a big bird of prey in the sky, even if it technically wasn't a Nevermore itself.
Fortunately, Ruby shot them down.
"No! I'm a bird murderer! Again!" exclaimed Ruby.
"Did you forget your hunting license?" asked Jaune.
"Oh, that's right. I do have a hunting license..." remarked the huntress. She wouldn't be a hunter without one.
Angry at Ruby for being a thorn in its side, the Phoenix launched fireballs at Ruby.
However, Jaune blocked them with his shield.
"Maybe you should try defending..." suggested Ruby.
Jaune nodded. It was a good thing that his shield could resist fire.
Once again, the Phoenix decided to charge towards the hunters and huntresses.
However, it ended up hitting one of Blake's clones. Specifically, an Earth Clone.
It ended up collapsing on the ground.
"Once again the birds have fallen victims to the cats." remarked Blake.
She then started slashing into the Phoenix with her Gambol Shroud, wounding the Phoenix.
She then finished it off by slicing off its head.
"I feel a strange sense of deja vu..." remarked Ruby.
However, as the Phoenix burst into ashes, it left behind an egg.
"Huh?" asked the huntress.
Suddenly, the egg began to hatch.
As it turned out, it had hatched into a baby Phoenix.
Immediately, it lunged towards Blake.
"What?!" exclaimed Blake.
However, it was suddenly hit by Ms. Goodwitch's telekinetic powers, who slammed it into a nearby tree, killing the Phoenix once and for all.
"I was not expecting a Grimm of that caliber to show up..." remarked Ms. Goodwitch. Phoenixes were more dangerous than the comparatively plain Nevermores, that was for certain.
Fortunately, it took years for a Phoenix to gain the ability to lay eggs that would hatch into more Grimm (such as when it perished), so it looked like they were safe for the time being.
"I wonder how we attracted so many Grimm...it seemed like a snowball going downhill..." remarked Weiss.
"Unfortunately, that's how Grimm outbreaks tend to worsen..." noted Ms. Goodwitch. The more the Grimm attacked, the more people got depressed and the more powerful and more numerous the Grimm became.
"At least they appear to be all gone now..." noted Pyrrha.
"Yeah...we probably won't have to worry about them for a while..." nodded Blake.
"Yes...I think you've all done well during the test...consider yourself all passed." answered the teacher.
"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" exclaimed Ruby.
"I had a feeling we could do it." smiled Ren.
"Yay! We did it!" cheered Nora.
"All in a day's work." stated Pyrrha. Apparently, it was destiny.
Now that they were done for the test, the students decided to return to Beacon Academy.
They all felt more experienced after that encounter with the Grimm. Hopefully they could put it to good use in the future...even if they weren't as experienced as the second-years.
It appeared that the more they ventured outside Beacon Academy, the more varieties of Grimm that they encountered.
Fortunately, it appeared that as long as they worked together, they could take them on.
But of course, they would be facing more than just Grimm in the near future.
Meanwhile...
"Status report." stated Adam Taurus.
"There's been a hit on a crowd of Faunus...there were no survivors..." answered a member of the White Fang.
"Damn it!" exclaimed the leader of the White Fang. It must have been the work of the Black Hand. Perhaps Blake did make a point about trying to solve problems peacefully...now they had to deal with the Black Hand who wanted to counteract their efforts.
Immediately, he pulled out his scroll. He was going to let the Black Hand know that he was NOT going to stand for this.
He decided to give a comrade of his a scroll call. He would be interested in the task that he was giving him.
At that very moment, Adam Taurus's enforcer showed up...Greyclaw. As one might expect from a Faunus of that name, he somewhat resembled a wolf. Specifically, he had grey hair, wolf ears, and fangs in his mouth. Also, he had a grey tail and had black eyes. He was also dressed in a gray White Fang outfit...hence the name.
"You rang?" asked Greyclaw.
"Why don't you go and pay our friends "The Black Hand" a visit, will you? They've got hell to pay..." remarked Adam Taurus. Apparently, they thought that they could simply kill innocent Faunus and get away with it.
Greyclaw nodded. He just loved inflicting violence on humans...and the Black Hand were no exception. Personally he thought that they were the worst humans of all.
Immediately, he went to hunt down the Black Hand and teach them a lesson about respecting other races.
"If only Blake was here to see this..." remarked Adam Taurus. He and his group had really been flourishing ever since they had allied with Cinder...though he wasn't too fond of humans after all the mistreatment he and the Faunus had suffered at their hands.
Of course, she had stated that violence was not the answer and that they should resort to peaceful solutions instead. Well, that was what the crowd that had been murdered had tried...it hadn't turned out too well. They should not have attracted the Black Hand's attention.
Maybe if he managed to take down the Black Hand, maybe then people would treat him with respect. It was just a theory.
That was an exciting chapter, wasn't it? It was like dominoes falling down after one another. It was a good thing Ms. Goodwitch showed up when she did. Sometimes Grimm outbreaks can really get out of control. It's a good thing we have Beacon Academy.
The next chapter is going to be based on RWBY Chibi.