Well, I'm really pushing out chapters... Love it when my writer self comes out and takes over. Enjoy the second quarter initiation!

Chapter Eight

Initiation. I assumed that the Beacon initiation would be something simple, with trained Grim and an area designated for this. Either that, or a repeat of the Emerald Forest initiation at the beginning of the year, from what I've heard from other students.

But…

That island floating past the cliff not too far above at a tricycle pace is a little farfetched, don't you think?

"This," Headmaster Ozpin explained to the crowd of students, "is the Errantes Island, also known as the Lost City."

I stared up at the large island above us in awe, in the same manner as everyone else standing around me. The skies were cloudy, but still light enough to almost make me enthusiastic… Not really.

The buoyant island was much smaller than the Emerald Forest below it, but it was still considerably large- Large enough to contain a small village with several extra acres full of tropical forest and vegetation. A heavy mist blurred the island, leaving only ominous green to be seen.

It was a beautiful island, otherwise. Its base was rocky, with some patches of soft soil to be seen. Green vines and other foliage dotted the base, only hanging onto the island through their little, but strong roots. The hanging foliage needed one to squint before seeing its beauty through the mist that came from the waterfalls that fell beyond the point where the island's edge met the air, where the falling water dispersed into mist below into the Emerald Forest. Upstream of the waterfalls, nothing could be seen through the dense forest.

"You may have been informed that the initiation will take place in the Emerald Forest for the second term initiation this year, but it is changed. To have the Errantes Island pass over you is a once in a lifetime event. Of course, we will take this opportunity to use the island for the initiation-" Several startled whispers exploded throughout the group.

"What, really?"

"Wow!"

"I thought the island was uncharted though."

"What's so great about this?"

I remained silent, settling for just gazing at the island. How were we supposed to get from here, the cliff, to the island though? Is there some sort of shuttle to deliver us?

"Afterall, the island does have a revolution cycle of 50 years or so around Remnant." Professor Goodwitch continued. "You have an objective to complete on the island. You must retrieve an artifact from the ruins of the ancient city hall that lies in the center of the island. That is, after you form a partnership with someone else."

"To determine the partnership, the first person you lay your eyes on after landing is your partner." Ozpin added. Several disturbed whispers echoed each other.

"Once you have completed the objective, you must return to the cliff by your own strategy."

I have an unnaturally bad feeling about this.

"You may or may not encounter oversized Grimm, but be prepared anyways."

Thanks for the heads up. I was looking forward to dealing with a King Taijitu.

"Any questions?" Professor Ozpin asked.

I quickly raise my hand, "Uh-"

"None?"

Please look over here- Oh great, ignoring me now? I try to speak, "Excuse me, Professor-"

"Then line up next to each other. Each of you need to stand on a platform."

"Professor Ozpin-" I was suddenly dragged to a platform by a student in a familiar brown leather jacket, blue tunic, and white jeans. I objected, "Hey-"

"Hello, Shige." It was that damn greedy bishounen again- I mean, uh, Amy. I stared at her blankly when she let go of my arm once we reached her destination (a pair of empty platforms).

A few seconds later, I finally greeted glumly, "Hi, Amy."

"How was your first night at Beacon?" She asked.

Terrible. Absolutely terrible.

Instead, I responded with a forced smile, "It was fine."

"Oh, that's nice. I would've figured that the boys dormitory was hell, but okay." Amy shrugged as she stepped onto her platform. To imitate her, I cautiously stepped onto my platform.

"So, do you have any idea how we're supposed to get from here to the island?" I asked, deciding that it'd be better to ask another student than to ask Ozpin.

Amy stared at me for a long moment before smirking. "No one told you?"

"No. I'm kept in the dark all the time." I replied, immediately suspicious of that smirk of hers.

The smirk turned into a grin. Not a good sign.

"Well, it looks like you'll be kept in the dark for awhile. Just have a good landing strategy in mind." She winked at me, lowering herself as if preparing to leap.

"Wait, wh- AHHHH!" I soon found myself hurtling through the air, the platform disappearing beneath me- No, I was propelled upward and forwards by the platform. Well, this explained a lot. All of us were careening towards the island, a few others grinning like mad, and others focused and intent. Amy just happened to be one of the few whooping.

Soon, very soon, everyone else was flying through the air far ahead of me, further inland of the island. Instead, I was losing distance fast and decreasing altitude even quicker.

SHIT! There was no way I could reach the island. I was falling too fast to even land on the very edge of the island.

I cursed loudly, looking up at the island above me as the others disappeared over its shadow- Probably landing properly and not falling to their death LIKE ME.

As I flailed in the air- Yes, fight back against an enemy which is gravity and the forest below, Shige, fight back even though it's no fucking use- my hands latched onto a strong rope-like object, and I caught myself.

And I hung in the air, clutching onto a vine with my dear life.

THANK YOU ANCESTORS! I'm alive! ALIVE!

I'll have to remind myself to go to the Eternal Moon shrine to burn some incense when I get the time off school-

I felt myself fall a short distance when the soil the vine clung onto gave away slightly.

Okay, so my continued life isn't certain then.

I felt some dirt and dust land on me when the vine's hold on the island weakened even more.

Crap, crap, crap… What should I do, what should I do… I leapt from the vine to another, stronger looking one, just in time. The vine I held onto previously fell to the green abyss of the Emerald Forest below.

I let out the breath I was holding. Okay, I nearly died right there… Ozpin was serious about 'sending us back to our families.' Jeez, sending back our bodies is more like it.

I look upwards, finding that the vine I held onto was overhanging the edge of the island. Less work then.

And so, I began climbing.

I didn't know how long I climbed, but it was a long process, a continuous, repeating movement that gained a foot a two upwards. I was beginning to feel tired, but the edge above me was still a while ahead. I was beginning to doubt that I was going to complete the initiation.

Maybe I'm truly not worth it. Maybe I should just find my family again, instead of going this stupid path of a Hunter. I can just live my live as a member of the Eternal Moon, and exploit Vytal to the best I can.

It was just that moment that I found it. A tunnel in the base leading upwards, sunlight filtering through it and making itself known to me.

Great. I don't need to climb the rest of the vine after all.

I quickly hopped from the vine to the tunnel opening, grasping onto one of the many rocks jutting from its walls. I continued climbing, this time at an angle with less strain on my muscles. It didn't take long to find solid steps to pull climb upwards towards the sunlight ahead, in which the trip was shorter. Lucky me.

Soon, I reached the end of the tunnel. I sighed in relief, pulling myself out of the tunnel, and finally sitting on solid ground.

The clouds above had parted slightly, brightening the day as morning progressed. The forest around me was filled with noise of many chirping insects and animals- And perhaps even small Grimm.

On second thought, there are small Grimm.

A small clan of tiny black, winged serpentine animals flew gracefully past me, a few of them curiously glancing at me with their glowing red eyes and others blatantly ignoring me.

Quezacotl. My favorite Grimm, in terms of interest. Unlike many other Grimm, they are relatively calm reptilian Grimm. They don't bother you, that is, if you don't bother them. Nothing like the King Taijitu.

It totally has nothing to do with them being snakes like me. Afterall, I don't like the King Taijitu.

I rest there for several more moments. I really don't want to leave this place. It was calm, and I could fall asleep to the rhythmic hum of the forest around me.

Though the island was cool and slightly humid, the sunlight makes up for it. This is an ideal place to sunbathe…

I wonder if this island could be bought. I wouldn't mind buying it if I become a billionaire. Actually, I will work on becoming a billionaire after I graduate Beacon. And buy this island right away.

At least, after I can eradicate the more dangerous Grimm.

It was then I paused. I'm more an idiot than I realized. This island, the Errantes Island, is tropical. None of the Grimm you would see in the deciduous forests of Vale would exist here, not without evolving into something else through adaptation.

I should have realized it when I saw the Quetzalcoatl. Damn it, this means new, unknown grounds- Although I have fought Grimm less than what you can count on one hand in my entire life, it is still some more experience. I actually kind of wish the initiation was in the Emerald Forest like that first initiation a few months before I came here. I do wonder how the first teams got through the first initiation though…

I finally stand, swiftly unsheathing one of my sai from its sheath and holster within my boots. The other, I simply reached and took the hilt in my left hand. I slid my thumb downwards until it reached an indentation and pressed down. I felt my sai mechashift into my good ol' magnum pistol and pull it out as well. Hey, better prepared than sorry. I'd rather have some long range weapon at hand and a shorter one in the other.

I begin my trek through the thick tropical woods, with no other thought than, It's going to be a long day…

Okay, maybe not so much of a long day. I mean, the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Who would want something like this to be terrible? It's a great day.

Even though the sky is light grey with clouds promising rain, the sun's rays still shine through. The pale but bright sunlight shines through the leaves, leaving a green shade to embrace the forest floor. A multitude of colorful foliage grew all around, ranging from bright blue lilies to deep red roses. The perfume of the flowers plus rainwater from the previous rainfall invaded my senses. I couldn't help but slow down my steps through the tropical terrain, enjoying the view. Are those gardenias? Oh, and banana flowers too-

No, stop it. Stop your fangirling Shige. It's fucking ridiculous. Especially when it's during initiation where your life is endangered and you need to be serious. I need to be serious about this. Stop sniffing flowers like some ten year old girl.

It was a great day though, if I left out the fact that I nearly fell to my death. But hey, I'm more than able to push it out of my mind. Forgive and forget. Not.

There was no way I was going to let whatever happened slip. Sure as hell, I'm going to make Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch feel guilty about it. But maybe I should have asked Ozpin for the details when I had the chance yesterday. Great job, Shige. Another stupidity point for you!

I facepalmed.

I hate it when I make mistakes and catch them awhile later, when it's too late.

But otherwise, it's a good day. There's a beautiful scenery, I'm on some floating island that you'd see in those sci-fi fantasy novels, the weather's somewhat nice, the foliage are great to look at, and guess what?

I haven't even encountered troublesome Grimm yet!

I love that feeling of triumph over nature-

Snap.

I froze in my tracks, immediately preparing for defense. The chirping of insects and the soft hisses of passing Quetzacoatl abruptly stopped that moment.

...This didn't sound good. Definitely not good.

Soon, I felt a rhythmic, but chaotic thrum through the forest floor. Footsteps. Many footsteps.

I ran in the direction of my intended path earlier. Whatever it was, it was somewhere behind me. Whatever it was, it was an aggressive, extremely dangerous Grimm. There was no way a typical Grimm could induce that kind of reaction in such nonchalant Grimm like Quetzacoatl.

The footsteps grew louder. It was getting closer. I pushed myself further in a fast sprint, leaping over obstacles of vine threatening to trip me. I refused to look back, an overwhelming dread overtaking me.

A series of soft hisses were to be heard. The hisses grew louder as I ran. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Run faster, FASTER! I pumped my legs even harder, putting a little more distance between me and the danger.

My legs burned, the strain of my muscles becoming even more evident the longer the chase ran. I ignored the burn, and tried to focus on picking up speed. No matter what I did, the distance between my chaser and I shortened bit by bit. My lungs began to burn. I guess that is a drawback from this island; the high elevation from its floating standpoint left less oxygen concentration.

The chaser wasn't that far behind me now. Don't look back, don't look back, don't-

I looked back.

My breath caught in my throat. The Grimm- They were not anything I have seen in books before. They were truly frightening. I couldn't see all the details, but what was most noticeable about their features were long, slender arms with large clawed hands, legs of a goat, and what looked like a long lizard tail trailing behind them.

I turned my head back to fight my way ahead, but my foot caught on something. I let out a startled yell, when I found myself pitching forward, to the ground. My shoulder roughly hits the forest floor, and I felt an explosion of pain from the impact. I cursed loudly then.

I felt myself falling again. This time, I was rolling down a slope.

No, no, no! I'm going to die, aren't I? My body is going to be sent back to my family- Or even just be buried. Grandfather, my uncle… They wouldn't know if I died. I would be either forgotten- Or pushed away because I didn't have a chance to explain to my uncle why I didn't come back. Yet, I mean. They would probably think that I pulled away from them to pursue a life outside of the Eternal Moon, a life without them. A life working against them.

I rolled to a stop at the bottom of the slope. I stare up at the sky peeking through the trees for less than a second, dazed. I barely noticed the cuts, scratches, and bruises all over me as I quickly sat up, and pushed myself to my feet. The usually sharp pain was dull, and only slightly sore. The cuts only felt ticklish, from the exposure to air.

I reach down, mecha-shifting my sai to firearms. I would think I had a better chance with them anyways.

I take in my new surroundings quickly. A fairly large waterhole was near me. It seemed like I was in a large clearing…

A screech came my left. I quickly cock both of my guns, spinning to its direction.

It was the same kind of Grimm, but it stood even closer. I bristled.

Of all fucking Grimm, it had to be Lamia. Lamia are one of the more dangerous Grimm, but they are by far less dangerous than a Nevermore. They were certainly tougher to defeat than a Beowolf- At least, that's what the books say.

The singleton was about 7 to 8 feet tall, and covered in black scales, save for the short, course black fur of their two goat-like legs. The torso resembled a woman for the most part- Excluding the scales of course. The arms somewhat resemble a Beowolf's, but bony. Very bony. It would be painful to be elbowed by that. It's painful to even think about it.

The Lamia hissed at me, its lizard tail waving agitatedly back and forth. Its large clawed hands clenched and unclenched as it began to circle me. My grip on my gun tightens.

It lunged, but before it could even come near me, I blasted it back several meters with a heavy Dust cartridge. The Lamia let out an earsplitting squeal as it was severely injured.

I grimaced at the sound, fighting the urge to put my hands to my ears to block it.

It was then that the pack chasing me just 30 seconds ago slid down the hill in their continued chase.

Damn it. More Grimm.

I begin to run again, but not without a few of the Lamia lunging at me while swinging their claws for a killing blow. I blasted them back as well, gritting my teeth. They just keep coming-!

My left gun was sent flying from my hands when an unsuspecting Lamia attacked me from behind, knocking it away.

"Shit!" I cursed as I was yanked to the ground, the back of my head and my shoulders splashing into where the shore of the waterhole and the clear water met. The Lamia pressed me to the ground, its hands restraining my arms. I couldn't even use my other gun to shoot it!

I struggled underneath its weight, but to no avail. I coughed, a deathly stink from its gaping mouth beneath its terrifying mask wafting towards me. I gagged, struggling even more.

A long, black tongue dripping with sticky, thick Grimm saliva slid out from underneath its mask. The disgusting saliva dripped onto the skin of my neck, the cold stickiness sliding down my neck. Oh my god, oh my fucking god… This is horrible. It's so disgusting!

A pleased growl came from it, its cold tongue tracing my throat. I gulped in fear as I heard teeth grinding- No way. I can't die like this! It's going to rip out my throat!

I see its razor sharp teeth glint above me. Fuck, oh fuck, I'm never going to have a family, or any form of future, because I'm going to die a painful death right here!

As it hisses, ready to lunge for my throat with its knife-like teeth, I stare up stiffly in horror.

A black cloaked figure entered the corner of my vision, rushing at the Lamia and I with a large, black scythe.

A god of death.

END

How is the first part of the second quarter initiation? I had fun with creating creepy Grimm... And writing creepy, disgusting scenes... I actually felt bad for doing this to Shige, since it even made me shudder is horror, but hey, more detail to practice. I love reviews, and chatting, so review!

Upcoming: Second Quarter Initiation Part Two (It's a longer chapter too, so something to look forward to!)