Outsider Chronicles: A New Arc
Dieing and ending up in another world is one thing. That world being one infested with monsters is quite another. This is gonna be fun...
Hello and welcome back. Nothing to say here, so lets dive right in. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
"Well well, it has been a while, hasn't it Mr Arc?" said Igor as I opened my eyes to the Velvet Room.
"Well I haven't exactly had much call to visit," I said, "I don't have any Persona to fuse and I haven't really made any new bonds lately."
"No, but now you have two new ones," said Igor as Rose placed the new cards on the table.
The 'Copy Bunny' and the 'Lonely Shadow' were the titles this time, making me snort.
"Copy Bunny?" I muttered, "Christ, what the hell is my subconscious doing?"
I glanced up at Igor.
"So, is that everything? Its just, I've got a field trip tomorrow and I need to get some sleep…"
"One more thing," said Igor, "You asked me before how you gain new Persona. Well, tomorrow you will have the chance to find out."
I narrowed my eyes.
"This isn't going to be something along the lines of chatting to downed Shadows, is it?" I asked.
Igor just smirked and snapped his fingers. I jolted awake as my alarm went off.
"Son of a bitch!" I muttered, "I am gonna smack that old man one of these days."
"What old man?" asked Ren.
"Never mind, its nothing," I said, "Don't forget to pack extra ammo today. Forever Fall is usually crawling with Grimm."
"I know, I got the notification to," said Ren, "Ursi grade ammo, right?"
I nodded as I pulled out my gun, already loaded with a blank. Before I could pull the trigger, Milo shot past my head and embedded itself in the wall behind me.
"Don't even think about it," growled Pyrrha as she glared sleepily at me.
I just snickered and put the weapon away.
"Man, air travel really does not agree with you," said Yang.
I glared at the blond over the vomit bag I was holding onto tight. I think it lost something though considering I was currently a very unhealthy shade of green.
"I suggest that you see the nurse for some stronger medication Mr Arc," said Goodwitch as she got to her feet, "For now however, we have arrived."
She opened the door and was nearly knocked off her feet as I sprinted past her.
"Oh sweet merciful lord, solid ground!" I groaned as I flopped down into the red leaves that covered the ground.
My Nora and team RWBY snickered at my antics while Ren just rolled his eyes and Pyrrha offered me a hand up. Goodwitch cleared her throat and gave me a flat look.
"Sorry," I muttered as I joined the rest of the class unpacking the Bullhead of our gear.
Once we had it all, Goodwitch led us through the trees, moving slowly, although I'm not sure whether that was to keep an eye out for Grimm or to let us take in the beauty of the Forest. Either one was fine by me as the forest truly was gorgeous. Most of the class was taking in the beuty of the forest, but I noticed that Blake appeared more melancholy than in awe.
"Yes class, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but you are not here to sightsee," said Goodwitch before I could ask her what was wrong, "Professor Peach has asked you all to gather sap from the trees deep inside this forest and I am here to make sure that none of you die while doing so. Each of you is to gather one jars worth of red sap, however this forest is crawling with the Creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will meet back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun."
With that, she waved her crop and made a chair appear out of nowhere as the class scattered into the trees.
Fortunately, I hadn't inherited Jaunes allergy to the sap, although that didn't make collecting the stuff any easier. The stuff was incredibly sticky and got EVERYWHERE, not helped in the slightest by Nora's constant attempts to drink the stuff.
"Nora, if you don't stop drinking the sap, I will freeze you to a tree," I growled as I snatched the jar I'd just put down from the orange haired girl as she went to take a gulp.
"Aww, but Jaune…" she wined.
"Nora, over here," said Ren, holding up a bottle of maple syrup.
I blinked and Nora was somehow over by Ren, happily slurping down the sweet stuff.
"What the...how did…?" I started, before deciding not to ask and take advantage of the lack of Nora to get the last of the sap we needed.
"Right, thats everything," I said once we were all back together, "Now, lets head back to…"
I was cut off by a jar of sap slamming into my head from behind. Fortunately, my Aura prevented the impact or the broken glass from hurting me, but that didn't stop the sap inside from spilling all over me and Yang, who was stood next to me.
"Oh gross!" yelped Yang as she jumped back and stared down at her ruined clothes, "Who threw that?!"
We all turned in the direction that the jar had come from, just in time to see Cardin open up a box and release a cloud of green and blue insects with massive stingers.
"Rapier wasps!" gasped Pyrrha, "Is he mad?!"
I had to agree. Picture, if you will, a wasp the size of a your hand with a stinger the length of your little finger and enough venom that one sting can be enough to land a small child in the hospital. Add in a temperament worse than an Ursa with a sore head and a love for sweets that rivals that of Nora and you have a pretty good idea of exactly what a Rapier Wasp is. They were one of the most dangerous non-Grimm creatures on the face of the world.
"Apparently so," I said, "Yang lets…"
The blond shot past me, running far faster than I'd ever seen her go before. As she past me however, I saw something that I never thought I'd see on the brawlers face. Fear. However, I didn't have time to really consider what that meant considering they'd be gunning for me as well, so I took off after her.
"Jaune, you can't let them get Yang!" shouted Ruby as she ran up beside me, "She's allergic to bees, she'll die in seconds if one stings her!"
"Oh hell, thats all I need," I growled as the swarm started splitting up through the trees.
Did I mention that Rapier Wasps are at least as smart as wolves? Yeah, they're capable of hunting as a pack in order to trap and take down their prey. Those monsters really are the Devils creation. I grabbed my sword and pressed the button to spin the tumbler. Unfortunately, the sap had gummed up the works, meaning that all of Caliburn's special features were currently locked up.
"God damn it," I growled, glancing over my shoulder at the rapidly approaching wasps, "Looks like I have no choice."
There was a flash of Aura as my mask appeared and then vanished, causing Huntsman to appear behind me.
"Agi!" I shouted, throwing my arm back.
The Persona drew its sword and pointed at the swarm, causing a fireball to appear in the middle of them, incinerating more than a few and causing the rest to scatter. With that done, I turned to keep running, only to nearly trip of Yang who was curled up in a ball on the floor, whimpering in fear.
"Oh great, now shes gone catatonic," I muttered, "Could this day get any worse?!"
Aaaaand as if to prove exactly why you shouldn't tempt Murphy, the underbrush exploded and three, massive Ursa Majors.
"Me and my big mouth," I muttered.
The three Grimm sniffed the air, before they let out a roar and dissolved into black and red goo and reformed into a Pixie, a Silky and a Mandrake around us.
"Ah crap, thats all I need," I growled, "Alright Huntsman, lets go! Ag…"
Before I could finish, the Silky moved. The air around me went cold and shards of ice formed, before shattering. It didn't hurt me physically, but my Aura lit up like a christmas tree, forcing me to my knees from the sheer agony the spell caused. Welp, I think I just found out what Huntsman was weak to! Fuck me, that hurt. I looked up as the three Shadows advanced on Yang and I, their forms flickering between Shadow and Grimm in my eyes. I gritted my teeth. I had no idea how this stupid thing actually worked, but the damage taken from that attack had completely drained my strength. I could already feel it returning, but the Shadow's would have killed us before I could move again. And this time there was no chance of some great increase of power at the last minute.
"GOD DAMN IT!" I shouted.
Third Person POV, Pyrrha
Pyrrha ran through the woods, searching desperately for her leader and friend. The others were all searching as well, she was more frantic than the others. Despite the strong, confident mask she showed to the world, she knew she was nowhere near as strong as she appeared. While most people assumed that the reason she kept people at arms length was because of her fame, either because she was placed on a pedestal or to avoid people taking advantage of that fame, the truth was that it had very little to do with that.
The reason, along with the reason that she trained so hard to begin with, was because she didn't want to risk losing anyone else. Not after what had happened to her family. She still had nightmares about it, the snarls and growls of the monsters, the screams of her parents as they were torn apart and above all else, the feeling of helplessness as she hid in the wardrobe, shivering and praying that the monsters wouldn't find her. She never wanted to feel like that again! At first she had been resistant to making new bonds, but she had soon realized that living like that was a very lonely life. Unfortunately, by the time she had realized that living a life without friends wasn't the most healthy of lives, she had already become a celebrity and created an image of an unapproachable goddess, making making real friends and almost impossible task.
Then, she had come to Beacon and met Jaune Arc. At first, she hadn't been to impressed, having seen his reaction to air travel, but she had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. After that, he had managed to impress her time and again, first by treating her the exact same as everyone else, despite knowing who she was, and then again in the forest with his impressive skills with a blade, not to mention his leadership skills and his impressive Semblance. Their time together on Team JNPR had only served to impress her more and more as he proved more than able to match her in sparring matches and as a person. Yes, it was safe to say that the two of them had become good friends over the past few weeks. As such, the very idea of losing him filled Pyrrha's heart with terror.
She knew how dangerous Rapier Wasps could be when provoked and Cardin had released a whole swarm of them. To make matters worse, Ursai were known for having a taste for the sap from this forest, which was part of the reason why they were so prevalent here. If Jaune and Yang weren't careful, they could easily end up running headlong into a pack of Ursai or worse, and Ursa Major. Considering the state Yang was likely to be in and the fact that the sap had likely got into the workings of Jaune's Caliburn, they'd be in trouble if they did run into any sort of Grimm.
Pyrrha skidded to a stop as she broke through the undergrowth and spotted her quarry in the distance. Her stomach dropped as she saw that her worst fears had apparently come true as Jaune and Yang were surrounded by three Ursa Major. Yang was curled up, apparently still scared out of her mind, and Jaune was on his knees, although he looked unharmed. Not that that mattered though as his sword was clearly stuck and the Grimm were advancing on the two Hunters in training, their intent clear in their gate.
"NO!" shouted Pyrrha, taking off running towards the stand off.
However, even as she ran, she knew she'd be to late, once again forced to watch as her friends died in front of her. Even after all these years, she still wasn't strong enough! She was to weak!
"AH!"
Pyrrha suddenly stumbled as her head throbbed.
"Weak? Oh no my dear, you are not weak."
"W-whos there?" gasped Pyrrha as she struggled to remain standing, despite the incredible pain in her head
"You believe that you hide yourself behind a mask of strength to hide your weakness, but in truth, the only mask you wear hides your true strength from yourself," said the voice, "The strength you hold could topple kingdoms and yet you only desire to hold your loved ones close. A worthy goal and one I would be glad to aid in. Now come Pyrrha, let us create our Contract and unleash the fires you hold within. The night may be dark, but we shall light it together."
Pyrrha screamed as her head felt like it had been split open with an axe, her hands moving to grip the mask that felt like it had been burnt onto her face, wrenching it off in a shower of blood and a blast of aura that quickly formed into a figure behind her. It was a woman with crimson hair that appeared to be shedding glowing cinders, clad in a shining dress the colour of ashes with rubies that glowed like the cinders in her hair forming patterns on the fabric. Her shoes were made of black glass with heels sharpened to a deadly point and in her hand she held a black iron poker with a glowing tip.
"I am Thou,
Thou art I
I am Cinderella."
And there we go, I'll end this chapter here. So, figure out what the theme for the Persona in this story will be yet?
To be completely honest, I'm not entirely happy with using Cinderella as Pyrrha's Persona, but it was the best I could come up with considering the theme I'm going with. Besides, its kinda ironic that her Persona takes the form of the character that inspired Cinder. Oh, and for those who take issue with the design, just wait till you see what I have in mind for Yang's Persona. And yes, she will be getting one, all will the rest of Teams RWBY and JNPR.
Rapier Wasps are the spawn of the devil, everything that a Wasp is on steroids. Naturally, since they don't actually appear in the show, I had to come up with a design myself, but I think I did a good job.
Yangs allergy to bees and the fact shes scared shitless of them is actually something I based off an old friend of mine. I'm not entirely sure why it came to mind as I was writing this, but it did. Plus, I needed a way to forge a bond with Yang and I think saving her neck works nicely.
I may have gone a bit overboard with Pyrrha's backstory. Thats all I'm saying about that.
Anyway, since I'm done, I'm gonna sign off. Please leave a review!