"Now, can anyone tell me the difference between a beowolf's attack habits, and an Ursa's?" Professor Port turned from the white board to call on a student for the answer. It was one of the few times that Port was not indulging the students on a tirade of former glory, but actually teaching. Just before Weiss could get her hand up, however, a loud noise blared around them, causing most of the students to jump in fear. As the alert came again, Professor Port ordered everyone to stay calm and pulled out his scroll. Team RWBY looked at each other, wondering what was going on
Port looked back up from his scroll, addressing the classroom again. "We're under attack by a very large Grimm invasion. We don't have much time, so listen carefully. I need all students to meet in the auditorium. You are not to leave, unless given explicit instructions by the staff. Understood?" Once Port believed everyone understood, he continued, "Well then, some of you get to be lucky enough to see me do real battle against grimm. Let's move out!"
Professor Port made his way to where the fighting was, while the rest of the classroom made their way to the auditorium, rocket lockers finding their destinations for students to grab their weapons so they wouldn't be defenseless. They made sure to avoid as much of the fighting as possible, even though some wanted to get right into the fray. All of team RWBY made sure to stay in eye sight of each other, but that proved difficult with the conditions of the sky. It was only mid-day out, but a heavy smoke filled the air, causing a dreary darkness over the school.
Passing by grimm after grimm, hunter after hunter, and seeing the school nearly being torn to pieces made many of the students rethink their stance on fighting. There were hundreds of grimm surrounding the school, many of them bigger than any the first years had ever seen. They continued their route to the auditorium, blasting a grimm or two back every few steps.
Yang moved alongside Ruby to comfort and protect her little sister, but the young leader kept a face of determination. "Why is this happening, Yang, how did they get here, why are they attacking?"
Ruby continued to focus towards the auditorium, making it hard for her sister to know how she was feeling, but knew she was anxious of the chaos around her. "I don't know, Ruby, but we can make it out of this. We're a team after all, we've faced worse than this."
The redhead kept her head down, "Have we?"
Before Yang could continue to comfort her sister, a Death Stalker came around, blocking their path. One of the first years in front, once he was close enough to it, started a leaping strike with his sword, firing a blast from their hilt to get more momentum. The attack was countered, though, as the Death Stalker reached a claw out and grabbed the student midair. Flailing for a moment in fear, the screams of agony were cut short as their body was cut in half by the giant claws, their lower half falling to the ground. The rest was cast aside as the Death Stalker started to charge, freezing the pack of students.
Ruby appeared in front of her classmates in a flurry of rose pedals "Listen to me, my team and I will draw this Death Stalker away. Get to the auditorium as it's distracted!" Without another word, Weiss, Blake, and Yang took up their position besides their leader, an unspoken plan agreed upon as they stood before the charging grimm.
Ruby and Yang drew their weapons and fired a few shots at the Death Stalker while Weiss and Blake ran off to the side, firing projectiles at the nearly impenetrable armor. Once they believed the grimm was aggravated enough, Ruby and Yang followed their partners in hopes of distracting the charging Death Stalker. Ruby turned her body after using Crescent Rose to propel herself forward, to see if her plan had worked. What she saw was gruesome.
The Death Stalker didn't change direction, but instead, continued the attack into the pack of students still in front of it. Many of the students were able to get out of the way. Some didn't have that luxury. The Death Stalker lunged at one student with its claw, grabbing them and another student with its other claw. It then spun around, knocking another few students away with its stinger. Finally, closing its grip on the two students, slicing them in half, the Death Stalker cried out a ferocious noise, causing the blood of team RWBY to freeze.
"Team, come on! We gotta go back!" Ruby dug the point of Crescent Rose into the ground, stopping her momentum before swinging her weapon behind her and firing to propel her back towards the Death Stalker, her team following close behind.
When they arrived, the situation had turned worse. Many of the students that had managed to dodge the initial attack had begun their retaliation, while others were taking care of the students hit by the grimm's whirling stinger. The counter-attack was uncoordinated, however, with many hunters and huntresses in training running into each other, leaving them as easy targets for the Death Stalker's claws to rip them apart. Team JNPR was the only ones that seemed coordinated enough to launch a counter-attack, but a few stray strikes of other hunters kept them from being able to land a significant hit.
When team RWBY entered the fray, there were less than half of the students from the class still able to hold their weapons, let alone fight. Ruby knew this couldn't continue, losing too many students as it was. Thinking quickly, she once again commanded the attention of the class, "Retreat! You have to run away! Get to the auditorium and leave the Death Stalker to us!"
One of the hunters treating a wounded companion turned to Ruby and shouted, "Some plan, since it worked so well last time! Every team for themselves!" He stumbled away from the grimm, with his teammate in tow, making a beeline for the auditorium. He didn't make it far, as a Nevermore swooped down, grabbing them both, and returning to the skies.
Many of the students saw this interaction and became terrified, following Ruby's command and running for their lives towards the only safe place they knew of, team JNPR escorting them. Once everyone had cleared, team RWBY stood poised for a second chance to accomplish their mission. The Death Stalker turned to the only remaining fighters left and lunged at them.
Team RWBY scattered, the claw smashing into the ground. "Checkmate!" Blake was the first to attack, using Gambol in its katana form, running at the Death Stalker from its left. The grimm swung it's claw at the incoming faunus, but only hit a shadow, the real Blake struck at an opening in the armor at a joint, swinging both the katana and cleaver sheath, causing the claw to fall off completely.
Weiss started her attack after that, coming in from the right, the Death Stalker attacking with its other claw. Weiss acrobatically dodged in, the remaining glyph she left behind froze the claw in place, immobilizing the Death Stalker. "Freezer burn, from up top!" Weiss than made another glyph above the Death Stalker's head where a sharp stalactite formed.
A blast sent Yang into the air, causing a loud scream from her as she came down for the final blow. The Death Stalker, however, brought its last weapon up to stop Yang from delivering its death. Another shot sent Ruby flying past the Death Stalker's body, straight to the stinger headed for Yang. Ruby hooked Crescent Rose around the tail, causing it to be sliced clean through, falling to the ground behind it. Yang made contact with the stalactite, driving it straight through the Death Stalker's armor, pinning in to the ground, finally finished.
AN: Now you see what this story will really be like. It's not gonna stop here, however, for we still have our villains to introduce.
Again, this is set without the Vytal Tournament, seeing as the story developed easier without the myriad of other characters that would have to play a part. So while you might not see some of your favorites, the whole point was to take what Rooster Teeth made and carry through with that. I focused on the story when planning this, so I hope you take that into consideration.
That being said, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter, and please review, follow, and favorite. It would be much appreciated.
-MM