Author's Note: Hello people of the internet! I am glad to present chapter three of Spectre B2F. I don't want to keep you too long this time, but I just want to say thanks for sticking with me (and Spectre of course)! Also I'd like to know if you would like me to release chapters more regularly (where I can). Once again thank you and enjoy!
Chapter III: Initiation
'Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path…'
There was a soft breeze in the air. The few trees around us and the thick forest below rustled accordingly. There were thirteen of us, stood in a line, facing the cliff edge with only the sky above, a steel tablet below, and two adults ahead. There was nothing behind us – no reason to turn back. I was the first, placed on the far left of the line with two of Cardin's goons to my right. That wasn't an issue though; we were all focused on the task ahead.
"For years we have trained to become warriors," Professor Ozpin began, "and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Many of you have heard rumours of assigning teams," Miss Good-Witch put in, "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates – today."
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is your best interest to be paired with whom you work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing, will be your partner for the next four years."
There was some commotion from other students further down the line. Nevertheless, he continued:
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way; do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die."
A few nervous looks were exchanged among us.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as you are standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
My end of the line was silent, but at the far end someone started to ask something I couldn't quite make out.
"Good," Ozpin said cutting him off, "now, take your positions."
Like everyone else, I braced, my stance low, knees bent to propel me as far into the air as possible. Being first along the line, I was the first to enter the forest. With a faint click, the springboard threw me up into the sky, the others only seconds behind me. I swept the rushing ground below for a clearing, so I could actually see where I was landing. I spotted one, and Void-Jumped into the green.
I was glad that the clearing was as big as it was. Jumping from high speeds made it hard to predict exactly where you would land; emerging in the ground or inside a tree trunk didn't really appeal to me at the time. I landed just off from the centre of the almost perfectly circular clearing, emerging into a roll. Holding my kneeling stance, my left hand in the grass and my right on Doom's grip, I listened to my surroundings. The leaves rustled gently in the wind.
"It's too quiet…" I thought.
The ominous silence was suddenly broken by the discharging of dust weapons and whooping of a girl flying above me.
"Yang…"
Then I heard a twig brake to my left. I snapped my head to face the noise, but didn't see anything in the dense vegetation. The only part of my body that moved was my head. I scanned the area to my front and side, moving very slowly. The wind still whistled around me. The leaves still waved like a sea of green.
The rustling was much louder now, and there was a snuffling noise that couldn't have less than a few metres behind me. It crept ever closer, its hooves trudging in the grass. Yet I still didn't move. I didn't want to advertise the fact that I knew of its presence. As it got closer I started to draw Doom from its sheath. Runes were now visible along the blade. They began to glow the same faint green as the gems in my gauntlets and pommels. The snuffling turned to an angry squeal, and the Boarbatusk charged.
I Void-Jumped, emerging in mid-air directly above the Grimm. I then dropped down and plunged Doom directly between its bone armour plates, shattering the spine. The beast made one final squeal in pain, then fell silent as smoke started to rise from its fallen body. Not a moment later, four more Boarbatusks barged though the foliage from all sides, spinning like wheels of death. They circled me, trying to lure me into confusion. This was natural herd behaviour for them, something that I had seen a few times before. I Jumped once again, this time perching in a tree. As the Boarbatusks noticed my disappearance, they slowed to a stop, sniffing at the ground where I had just been. This was the opening I needed. I pointed each of my swords at a Boarbatusk and fired. The dust rounds hit one in its eyes, shattering the skull, and the another though the spine. As the other two tried to figure out what was going on, I pressed the attack, dropping down from the safety of my branch and charging them. As they turned, I managed to use my swords to flip one on its back, stabbing into the soft underbelly. Before I could recover however, the final Boarbatusk grappled Doom and threw it across the clearing. It then rammed me, knocking me on my back. It turned as I made it to my knees, ready for the killing blow. I stood, ready to counter as it began its charge. Then at the last possible moment, when it was closest, I lunged forward with Fall and shot off an explosive round. The front half of the creature's body exploded into red mist, the odd chunk of flesh and bone littering the clearing. I quickly dived to the right as the remainder of the Boarbatusk still skidded towards its target.
"Bad piggy," I said standing from my roll.
Recovering my weapons in a manner that Ruby would be proud of, I quickly discovered that I had lost my bearings and had no idea where to go. With height being the only viable form of navigation, I cut through the forest, finding a large tree. Once I Jumped to the top, I found that this, besides the cliff we had started from, was the highest point for a few miles at least. Scanning the horizon for anything even slightly resembling a temple, I found a curious stone structure poking just above the treeline. It was easily a couple of miles away, ground that I felt I needed to cover quickly.
Seeing no other option, I Void-Jumped high into the air, sky diving down to the structure below. The air rushed around me like a hurricane, my arms locked outwards to control my descent. From above it was clear that my hunch was right; I had indeed found the abandoned temple.
All I had to do was get there alive. "Simple," I thought.
Suddenly something black and pointed flashed past my face. I snapped to where it came from, but saw nothing but the sky's seamless blue. Then a larger force whooshed overhead, and the familiar shape of a Nevermore came into view. Things got a little less simple from then, as the bird swung around for another attack. It hurled a flurry of black feathers in my direction.
"Oh hell…" I cursed, spinning my body to avoid the oncoming storm. My vision was darkened by the shear mass of projectiles sent towards me, and I felt a short, sharp pain in my right shoulder. A quick glance proved that I had been hit, a feather the size of my arm had sunk into my flesh. Before the pain started to sink in, I tried to spot the Nevermore. It lingered higher up in the sky, its prey clipped and falling to its grave.
"Not today, birdie." I focused my aura and Jumped just above the Nevermore, crashing on top of it. Shrieking in panic, the bird tried to shake me off, but my swords were plunged firmly into its wing. With one pull of the triggers, I detonated two explosive rounds, shearing the wing from its body and blowing me clear. The beast kept shrieking, but now it was in pain. Regaining my composure, I Jumped once more to the ever closing ground, landing in a kneel, head down, swords pointed behind me in an underhand grip. A few painful seconds later, the ruined carcass of the Nevermore slammed to the ground behind me.
Releasing a breath of relief, my attention then turned to the feather sticking out of my shoulder, which was growing to be painful the longer I left it there. I reached back and snapped off everything above the stalk, then proceeded to pull out the remainder from the wound. The harder I pulled the more it hurt, and everything around me started to go blurry. After one final effort, and a grunt in pain, I tore the dart from the wound, almost falling to my knees from the force I applied. "Just a flesh wound," I thought.
Recovering myself, I looked back to inspect the lump of flesh that was trying to kill me a minute ago. It was fairly mediocre as Nevermores go, not giant, but not tiny either. Perhaps a bit bigger than an Ursa Major, but still very dangerous. I landed not too far from the temple; I could see the stone structures through the trees. "I wonder if anyone else has made it there yet," I thought to myself as I ploughed my way through the ever thinning undergrowth.
The temple was a crumbling, rounded structure with no roof. Five stone pillars held up the walls, while the other three had fallen. Within the ruins, amongst the moss and rubble, where twenty four pedestals each holding a chess piece. The black bishop pieces were the only two missing. I approached the centre of the circle, scanning the area around me for Grimm before turning my attention to the relics. I was uncertain as to which one to choose, or even if I was allowed to choose. "Each pair must choose one…" I thought.
"Hey Spectre!"
I followed my ears and found Yang entering the ruins, with Blake not far behind. I gave a short wave. "Oh, hey guys."
"Where's your partner?"
"Besides you two, I haven't found actually found anyone to be paired with yet."
"Oh, that's a shame… So, how long have you been here?"
"Not long, I've only just got here."
Blake lingered around the black queen piece. "Chess pieces?" she questioned.
"Some of them are missing," Yang said, "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."
"Well, I guess we should pick one…"
"Agreed," I nodded, "I'll keep watch."
"Ok," Yang replied happily. I stepped to the edge of the circle scanning the trees around me. Nothing. It didn't take long for a decision to be made. Yang held up the white knight piece. "How about a cute little pony?" she said triumphantly.
"Sure," Blake responded, not too phased by the idea. They met in the centre.
"That wasn't too hard."
"Well, it's not like this place is difficult to find."
Yang then spoke to me. "Now it's your turn to choose one Spectre."
I hesitated, the same thought springing into my head from before. Pair.
"Spectre?" For some odd reason I saw Shadow. She wasn't standing, she was… floating. Her face was paler than I thought was even possible. But her message was clear. The white bishop.
"Spectre!" My head returned to realism, and Yang was staring deep into my visor, her hand gripping my arm tightly. Her face was the very picture of concern. "Are you OK? I thought we lost you there."
I placed my free hand on my head. "Yeah, yeah… I'm fine." Where my hand had been, I felt the spiked vents across my scalp. My helmet had been switched to combat mode without me noticing.
"Are you sure?" Yang pressed.
I switched out of combat mode. "I'm sure."
She hesitated before letting me go. It was a damn tight grip she had too. I turned to the relics, picking out Blake as I did so. She had a look of worry on her face; a worry of whom however, I could not say.
"The white bishop…" I muttered to myself.
Suddenly a scream echoed around the forest. Our heads spun to the source.
"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang said, "Guys, did you hear that? What should we do?"
More screaming could be heard, this time from above. Blake and I glanced upwards to see Ruby falling from the sky. Without a moment's notice, I Void-Jumped to a position to catch her. Then, to my surprise, a blonde haired boy in plain white armour collided with her, sending them both into a tree.
"Really?" I thought aloud.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang.
"I…"
Suddenly an Ursa's groan emanated from the treeline. It then emerged, flailing its claws wildly, and toppling the trees in its path. A flash of pink quickly followed behind the beast, accompanied by a 'Ye-ha!' The Ursa then flopped to the floor, a girl rolling off of it.
"Aw," the girl in pink said, "It's broken…"
Her friend, the boy in green, appeared from behind the Grimm shortly afterwards. "Nora... Please... Don't ever do that again."
Then before I knew it, the girl was already mesmerised by one of the chess pieces, the white rook. She then began to sing 'I'm queen of the castle', before she was cut off by her friend.
"NORA!"
She giggled. "Coming Renn!"
The three of us gawked at her in shock.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.
"I…"
Then an animalistic shriek resonated in the air. An instant later, red haired girl sprinted out of the treeline, a giant Deathstalker hot on her heels.
"Jaune!" she shouted.
"Pyrrha!" came a voice from the tree Ruby had crashed in. Not a moment later, Ruby jumped down to join us.
"Ruby!" Yang said.
"Yang!" Ruby replied, attempting to hug her. Then out of nowhere, the girl in pink appeared once more. "Nora!" she said, completely ruining the moment.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?"
All this commotion was pretty intense, but it hit Yang the most. Her eyes turned red and her hair blazed. "I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!?"
That certainly got everyone to shut up.
"Um, Yang?" Ruby asked pointing upwards. We all looked up to see Weiss riding a Nevermore, holding on for dear life. "How could you leave me?" she shouted down to us.
"I said jump!" Ruby replied.
"She's gonna fall…" Blake pointed out.
"She'll be fine."
"She's falling…" Renn stated. Without a moment's notice, I Void-Jumped to a position to catch her… but I didn't catch her. I caught Jaune instead. We stared at each other for an awkwardly long moment.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"My hero…?" he replied. A split second later, Weiss crashed down on top of us both, landing comfortably on the throne that was Jaune and I.
"My heroes…" she said sarcastically.
"My back…"
"Your back?" I replied near the point of outrage. That was the second time he had screwed me over in the last few minutes, so I wasn't exactly happy with him.
"Great, the gang's all here," Yang said, "Now we can die together."
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby challenged, sprinting off towards the Deathstalker.
"Ruby, wait!"
She sped towards the beast, but her blow was easily batted away by its claws. She was on the floor now, slowly rising to her feet. "Don't worry! Totally fine!" Her next shot against the Deathstalker bounced harmlessly off of its armour. With no other option open to her, she withdrew back towards us, the Deathstalker not far behind. Yang started running to help her, but even with both of them, they'd be mincemeat soon. I pushed Jaune off of me and Jumped parallel to Yang, sprinting alongside her with Doom and Fall in hand. The Nevermore Ruby and Weiss had commandeered loomed overhead, shrieking at its new found pray. This one was a good size bigger than the one I fought, making it a lot more dangerous. It hurled a rain of deadly feathers towards us, catching Ruby's cloak and pinning Yang where she was. I glanced in her direction just in case, but she was fine.
"It's up to me now…" I thought.
"Ruby get out of there!"
"I'm trying!"
The Deathstalker raised its stinger to jab. In a last ditch, I Jumped in front of Ruby, crossing my swords in a defensive stance. I knew that it wouldn't be enough, but I saw no other way…