After many years, humanity finally managed to push the Grimm back enough to build civilization, coming together and forming massive armies to oppose the monsters. Three of the great beasts fell in combat, destroyed with massive and overwhelming attacks that not even their own dark powers could resist. The fourth and final beast vanished with the defeat of his brothers, leaving humanity in the most powerful position they had been in for years. Of course there was still to be strife. The people who dug in the deepest mines to find the most powerful Dust had transformed into humans with animal like features, who came to be known as Faunus. With the absence of a greater foe humanity and Faunus warred with each other, until reaching a shaky peace.
But as with all things, peace can never be held, the world is a thing of constant flux and change. And so the story, as it always shall, continues.
"This isn't good," Goodwitch said under her breath as she looked over the footage on her scroll, watching as the unknown Grimm tossed the students around like they were nothing more than stuffed dolls. "We don't have that beast collared, we should…"
"No," Ozpin said, cutting his second in command off. "I think that things will turn out to be fine, and we need everyone here on campus."
Despite her faith in the headmaster, Glynda still raised an eyebrow at that. "But the students…"
"Knew exactly what they were getting into when they signed up to be Hunters," he said, his voice cold. At times Ozpin could be kind, almost like a father to those under him. But at other times, one could see where he earned his nickname 'The Cold Hearted Wizard'.
"Understood," she turned away from him. "Do you think she has anything to do with this?"
The headmaster didn't bother looking back toward Glynda. "There isn't a doubt in my mind."
Glynda continued walking, planning on putting the other teachers at full alert. If she was involved in this then it was best to be ready for an all-out war on campus. That was her style after all.
Though many students didn't know of it until after the fact, the initiation test was actually filled by the multiple camera's that kept track of their process. The view of these cameras were opened up for public view to those who were interested, giving the people a good idea of the students that would be attending for the first year. Many gambling places used these exams to bring in the crowds to place bets on the people who would make it through, and those that would drop out.
The Nightshade was one such establishment that was known quite well for not only its drinks but for the best quality video and the best odds for the event. It was located under a building and had a bit of an old world vibe to it. Except for the multiple video screens that is.
"Man these losers are dropping like flies," one patron said, raising his mug. "Hey bartender, what are the odds now?"
"Well there appear to be only twenty students left, and they are all either away from the location of the artifacts or only just now arriving," the man behind the bar answered, pointing at the screen which showed the remaining students.
"Knew I should have put money on that Torchwick kid, probably just paid for the best stuff," the same patron moaned to himself, resting his head against the table. This was of course a common reaction for the past hour or so, as each person seemed to fall further and further into despair as the would be students were knocked out by the massive Grimm standing guard of the artifacts.
The bartender moved toward the end of the bar, where a regular was sitting on the stool, taking his time drinking from a large mug of the Nightshade's signature ale. The man wore a large cloak that covered his entire body, with a hood that was brought up around his head and even went so far as to hide his face. The bartender knew why the man wanted his privacy, so he didn't find it too odd. "You seem in high spirits today friend."
"I am always in high spirits to steal money from you," the man lifted his glass and took another drink.
"So you say," he turned toward the screen. "You only made one bet, and she has been doing quite well. Is there something I should know about her before any late bets arrive?"
"Just this," he tilted the drink back and lowered the empty mug to the bar. "I never bet on something that isn't a sure thing, and she, she is a sure thing," the man stood up and placed some Lien on the table. "Just put my winnings into my tab, I have somewhere I need to be."
The bartender nodded, picking up the empty mug. "Before you go, that new Grimm, that's supposed to be there right?"
The man paused for a moment before nodding. "Of course, after all do you really think that Ozpin would make that kind of lapse in judgment?"
With a laugh the bartender nodded his head. "Right, sorry. Just seemed a bit too powerful. But maybe that's just how things are outside of the cities."
The hooded figure laughed and made his way toward the bar's exit. I don't know what you are doing Ozpin, but you had better not let anything happen to her. If so, we will have words.
"Man, this is boring," Ruby said as she moved her hands as if controlling an invisible puppet. "I mean honestly, it's like they are hardly even trying."
Yang laughed a bit and moved the magazine she was reading down. "Well you are using an S class Grimm sis. I mean come on, it's not like a bunch of newbies that are still wet behind the ears would even know where to start fighting something like that, yah know?"
Before Ruby could respond a sudden coughing fit ran through her, causing her entire body to visibly shake. When it finally stopped a thin line of black ooze ran down her mouth and dripped off her chin. "Damn it," Ruby moved her hand to her face, cleaning away the liquid. "What is taking them so long?"
Yang's phone went off in her pocket, and after placing the magazine she was reading down on her stomach, she answered it. "Yang speaking."
"How much longer before we can begin the attack?" Blake asked from the other end of the phone. "Remaining idle so close to Beacon is dangerous for any amount of time, and I don't want to risk more of my people than I have to in this attack."
"Calm down," Yang said with a smile. "There is no way they will be willing to risk to lives of every one of the new students," she said this with confidence, but in the back of her mind, scenarios where they did ran amuck. It was still possible to use that to their advantage, discrediting Ozpin and maybe forcing him to retire, making someone less prepared step up and attacking during the chaos of the power transfer. But that was better left for later. "Just wait a bit longer."
"I don't take orders from humans," Blake said in a dangerous tone.
"And I don't give orders, just suggestions, and I suggest you stick to the plan," Yang hung up and sighed, understanding Blake's frustration but not being able to actually go beyond that and sympathize with the Faunus leader. All that mattered to Yang was fighting and her sister, everything else was a moot point.
Quite suddenly Ruby flinched and stood up. "Oh… this should be fun."
Yang looked over toward her sister. "What's up?"
"Something fun," Ruby smiled and stopped talking, focusing on what was happening on the other end of her control.
Cinder gathered up a ball of fire above her hand and stepped out of the protection of the forest, throwing it directly at the monsters face and watching as it exploded harmlessly against its massive form. Her efforts seemed to draw the Grimm's attention to her, all four red eyes glaring directly at the young Huntress to be.
Before he could think to hard on his decision, Roman also came out of the forest, raising his cane and firing off a number of shots from it. The shots hit, as it was hard to miss a target that was easily the size of the broad side of a barn, but none of them seemed to do much damage. "So, I am starting to think we may have made a horrible decision," Roman said, voice dripping with snark.
"If you want to run away, now would be the time," Cinder brought her hands together and focused her energy, forming two small balls of flame in her hands.
"No, just… commenting," Roman took a deep breath and connected his Aura to Cinder's, forming a balanced connection quickly.
The massive Grimm Ape leaped forward and slammed its fists into the area where the two had been standing, forcing them apart in order to dodge out of the way. But even after dodging the main hit, the aftershock from the creatures blow made the ground shake for a few moments, almost throwing them off balance.
The beast took this momentary distraction in order to launch a fresh attack on Cinder, moving forward and attempting to impale her on one of the blade-like bones on its arms. Before the hit could be made, Cinder moved her arm out and turned the ball into a small jet of flame, propelling her out of danger and throwing the other orb at the monster. It exploded against its side, but like all of the other attacks it didn't seem to do anything.
"Watch out!" Roman said, reaching under his coat and pulling out his secret weapon. It was a small round orb with a button at the very top. While tinkering with a few new ideas for explosives, he had come across a potent mixture that could pack the explosive force of a missile while retaining the size and shape of a baseball.
He pressed the detonator and tossed it toward the Grimm. Its attack on Cinder had managed to draw it away from the various unconscious students on the ground, which allowed him to safely use the weapon. As soon as the explosive hit the Grimm, it blew up in a massive show of fire and electricity as the Dust within it activated. "Woo-hoo!" he said to himself, throwing his hand up in the air. "Torchwick Incorporated 1, Grimm 0."
Cinder gulped and looked at the storm of dust and dirt that had been thrown up from the explosion. It seemed any celebration was too soon, for the Grimm stepped out of the cloud as untouched as before, except maybe looking a bit more angry. The beast turned its attention toward Roman and made a full sprint toward him. With amazing speed, it cleared any gap between itself and the young man and struck.
Before the blow could land though, a figure darted out of the woods and blocked it with a kick. "You know, dodging would probably be a better idea than standing still and letting the monster hit you," Mercury smirked at Roman and pooled his Aura around his foot, pushing forward and forcing the creature back a step.
Before it regained its balance, Emerald leapt from a nearby tree onto its back, both her guns at the ready with the blades on them already unleashed. She delivered a number of slashes along the creature's back before jumping off its head and landing next to Roman. "Stuck the landing!" she said with a smirk.
Cinder quickly made her way around the beast and moved over toward Emerald. "Looks like you found a partner, and it's an attractive guy. Shocker," she said with a smile, feeling much more confident with her friend around.
"Oh yeah, well you found," Emerald looked at Roman and recognized the description she had been given of the jerk from earlier that day. "A… guy."
"That is indeed an accurate description," Cinder said.
"Ladies, the gossip should probably wait until we aren't looking down the blade arms of a massive Grimm that knocked out just about every would be Beacon student," Roman said with an irritated tone.
"You are just mad because they think I am more attractive," Mercury said with a smile, feeling much more light hearted with Emerald around. It was just like the old days with him and his old partner, and for once, he actually felt balanced.
"So not the point," Roman said, though a bit of his tone proved his annoyance on that matter.
"Right, we are going to need to strike effectively as a unit on this. Roman?" Cinder turned her head toward the heir. "How well can you conduct three people at once?"
He smiled and tapped his cane on the ground, extending tendrils of his Aura and invisibly connecting the three of them to himself. "Easy as pie."
"Okay then, let's go," Cinder sent a volley of fireballs at the Grimm in order to cover the others movements. Emerald and Mercury took the front and attacked the Grimm's body while Roman and Cinder covered them from behind. But despite their best efforts, the creature didn't actually seem to be taking damage, rather it just shrugged off their attacks and kept moving at the same speed.
"It's like this thing has a force field," Emerald moaned as she slashed at its legs, only for her blades to not cut through the creature's body.
Roman scoffed and pulled out a vial of Burn dust, adding the sand-like substance into his cane. "Impossible, Grimm don't have Souls in order to produce an Aura, and only A+ class and above Grimm can create a shadow force shield around them."
It was known to most that Grimm of higher levels were able to create fields around them produced by their pure and concentrated malice, known as shadow force shields. They were invisible to the naked eye and could absorb enough damage to allow them to charge straight into a highly defended area without taking even a scratch.
"Well I don't see many other alternatives to it," Mercury brought up his hands and focused his Aura in front of him as the beast swung its arm at him, knocking him back a few feet.
The Grimm raised its head in the air and let forth a massive roar once more, except unlike its previous roars of anger, this one sounded different. To the ears of a skilled Hunter the call was quite obvious, the Grimm was calling in backup.
Within moments, the area was suddenly filled with Beowolves and Ursa, minor D level versions of them, but enough to swarm toward the four young hunters and cause them to have to divert their attention away from the main threat.
"Great, more of them," Cinder summoned a number of flaming pillars in order to divert the Grimm from attacking any of the downed humans, forcing her to take attention away from the massive Pitch Affree, or Mega Ozero.
"I don't think…" Roman brought up his cane to block the strike of a Beowolf, forcing it back and cracking it right on the neck with his cane. "That we can survive this much longer."
Emerald dodged out of the way of another hit from the massive Grimm, only to be smacked forward by an Ursa into the massive creatures grasp. "Crap…" she attempted to struggle free but found the beast's grip too tight. With a roar the creature lifted its arm up and threw Emerald toward the trees.
Before she could hit though, another person jumped from the treetops and saved her, landing with both feet on the ground. "Are you okay?" the calm voice of Lie Ren asked as he looked down toward Emerald.
"Being saved by a cute guy?" she gave a thumbs up. "I am doing just fine. That being said," she rolled out of his arms and fired at an incoming Beowolf. "I kind of hope you brought back up."
As if to answer her, three other people burst clear of the forest. Nora jumped forth and began to strike down various Grimm while laughing like a school girl. Pyrrha provided covering fire and landed a few kills where she could. And Jaune moved over toward Cinder, attacking when he could but mostly just dodging the blows. "So uh… this doesn't look like much fun."
"I believe you have deduced the obvious," Cinder said with a small smile. "I see you found some new friends."
"Looks like you did the same," he said, trying to keep his cool and doing a surprisingly good job under the circumstances. Unlike the others, he wasn't formally trained in fighting back these monsters, but he wasn't about to wet his pants and run away. He had seen those who had fallen, and knew that leaving also meant letting them die.
"Indeed, but time for catching up will be available to us later," Cinder looked toward Roman. "Connect them!"
Roman dodged out of the way of two Beowolves and tossed a grenade between them, watching as it exploded and turned the two Grimm to Dust. "Give me a second, will you?!" he said with an irritated tone. Three was easy for him, but connecting seven people together was reaching his limit, especially in this situation. Despite this though, he managed to accomplish it, connecting all seven of them and holding the connection.
As soon as the connection was made, all eight Hunters in training managed to fight as a single unit, doing a much better job against the hordes of Grimm that were attacking them.
"Wait a minute…" Jaune moved out of the main fray and allowed the information coming from the others to set in his mind. Being connected allowed him at least a brief glimpse into what they were seeing, and as that information went through his mind he realized something. The Grimm were fighting with a strategy. Not a complicated one by any means, but a strategy all the same.
As he did with many things, Jaune fell back on years of gaming in order to come up with a solution to the problem. He stopped imagining the Grimm as Grimm, but more like simple AI. All they could do was attack and occasionally surround an enemy, but the only real coordination happened when they were near the big creature. So if they could separate the two forces, the battle would become much easier.
"Cinder!" Jaune called out, trying to talk to her over the chaos.
"Hey you idiot, just talk through the mind link, its not like I am holding this connection with you plebeians for fun," Roman voice rang loud in Jaune's mind before he fired of a shot and turned toward him. "I set up an open connection, just think what you have to say and they will hear it."
Jaune nodded and moved back from the fighting. "Okay everyone, listen up. The Grimm seem to work best when they are around the big guy, so here is what we have to do. Cinder and Pyrrha, focus on keeping the big one busy and create some room. Once we have that, the rest of the monsters should be a lot easier to take on."
Everyone nodded to the plan and began a fresh attack. Cinder created a circle of pillars around the massive Grimm and flared them up, causing the smaller ones to back up. At the same time, Pyrrha put her hand to the ground and began to focus her Semblance. After a few moments focus, she was able to magnetically lift the various fallen weapons around the battlefield and form them into a massive wave of metal and destruction, slamming it against the Grimm and forcing it back a few feet.
With the massive Grimm distracted, the rest went to work attacking the minor Grimm.
Nora slammed a Grimm away into the tree lining and Emerald appeared next to her to provide covering fire and watch her back. "Hey there, names Nora," she said with a smile, swinging her hammer behind her and knocking a Grimm charging toward Emerald to the side.
"Emerald, thanks for the assist," the tan skinned girl continued fighting alongside Nora. "So you are cute guy number two's are partner?"
"His name is Ren," Nora said, a very, very slight hint of annoyance in her voice at him being referred to as a cute guy by another girl. Not that she was jealous. No not at all. Her and Ren were just friends. Just friends. No one should question that. "And yeah, you and Mercury are on a team, right?"
"Yep, he is pretty neat," she paused for a moment. "So guessing you two have history? You said his name was a bit weird."
Nora took a pause in her actions, seeing the Grimm around them were either dead or retreating toward the forest. "No, its just… he is a really nice guy but he has some stuff… just be careful with him, okay?" she said, dropping her usual cute act and smiling a bit sadly.
Emerald nodded, seeing the seriousness on her face. "Yeah, he is my partner after all."
Ren moved through the Grimm around him like a hot knife through butter, using the blades on his guns to slash at the creatures, reinforcing his weapon with his Aura in order to make the reach longer and the bite of it more dangerous. He was forced to block a massive Ursa who took a swing at him, but before the beast could continue the assault, Mercury jumped up and landed a shot in its neck.
"You," Ren said, glaring at the other Aura fighter.
"Yeah, yeah, we don't like each other. Can we save that until after the big fight?" Mercury asked, returning the glare to Ren.
Ren didn't bother to answer, instead lifting his gun and firing a volley of shots behind Mercury to divert a Beowolf away.
"Taking that as a yes." The two Aura fighter went back to back and knocked away the various Grimm that came at them, eventually scattering them and causing them to either flee of fall before them.
All that was left was the massive Grimm now, which despite Pyrrha and Cinder's best efforts, didn't seem to be any worse than before.
"This is growing comical," Roman said with a sneer. "How the hell are we supposed to kill something we can't even scratch?"
Cinder moved back toward Roman and put her hand on his shoulder, connecting her Aura more fully to Roman's in order to speak to everyone. "I need everyone to buy me ten minutes, if you can do that then I might have something that could end this with one blow." Using Roman's ability, she placed an X on the ground with her mind, showing everyone the spot she wanted the Grimm to be on. "Hold the creature in that spot, and once I am finished leave it to me."
Despite their doubt, everyone nodded and stepped in front of Cinder, forming a line to defend her. As they did, Cinder clapped her hands together and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and began to draw energy into herself from the world around her.
The massive Grimm charged forward and the rest of the Hunters to be rushed toward it. The name of the game was distraction, and each of them threw themselves behind that with gusto. Ren slammed the beast with multiple Aura charged fists, striking hard against the invisible armor that surrounded it. Nora fired her weapon in its gun form, launching explosives that left behind clouds to block the monster's vision.
"Mercury now!" Emerald called out.
Mercury nodded and called out, "Missile mode!" He raised his leg and launched out a number of kicks, firing out a small burst of Dust rounds with each move. The attacks were completely focused on the beast's head.
As he did this, Emerald quickly circled the creature and jumped on its back, grabbing on to the fur and leaping her way up it. Once she reached its neck, she made a massive leap over it and launched down two shots with her guns, striking the area above where Mercury's shots were hitting. With the combined force of the two hits, her Dust rounds made it through and shot out two of the massive creatures eyes.
The Grimm let out a roar of pain and arched its head up toward the sky. As it did, a black ball of energy began to form above its mouth.
"Oh shit," Roman began to back away, knowing exactly what that was. The Grimm was summoning the dark energy from within its core and converting it into a devastating blast. Only Grimm of S class could do that, and for one of the few times in his life, the young man felt real terror.
The Grimm straightened its head and launched a massive burst of energy straight toward Cinder, containing enough destructive force to level a mountain. If it hit, she would be erased in an instant.
"No!" Jaune leaped in front of Cinder and raised his shield, not knowing if he could do any good but also not willing to sit back and let someone die.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, losing focus on her attack and being forced to block one of the massive Grimm's blades.
Jaune closed his eyes, knowing that this was probably it for him. As the blast struck his shield a sudden burning feeling went through his body, and a voice in his head screamed at him in a way he couldn't describe. The boy opened his eyes and felt a sudden power rushing through him, and with it he pushed back against the beam. Those around him saw Jaune seemingly radiating pure white energy, not only forcing the beam back, but eventually knocking it to the side with a massive flash of light.
The Grimm roared in pure agony at the light and used two massive hands to cover its face, which seemed to drip black liquid down it.
Ruby screamed in agony and fell to her knee's, clutching her own face and shuddering. She ripped the ring off her finger and threw it to the other side of the airship, a thin wisp of smoke rising off it. She did the same with the crown.
Yang jumped up and put a hand on her. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern easy to hear in her voice.
Ruby couldn't answer through, she only howled in agony and pain.
"Damn it," Yang looked forward. "Take us back to base, the mission is off and we need a medic now!"
The pilot nodded and opened up the radio channel. "This is Chameleon 1, the mission is off and we are returning to base."
Yang wrapped her sister in her arms, hoping that whatever had happened didn't destroy her sister completely.
Blake tossed her phone against the wall of the ship and began to toss out curses. "The mission is over," she said between her curses. "Return us to Black Fang headquarters now!"
The pilot nodded, moving the Black Fang ships away from the position they had been waiting to launch an attack from.
"You better have a damn good reason for this Ruby," Blake said, sitting down and grinding her teeth. "Or else I don't care about alliances, I will kill you."
With the Grimm now weaken, the Hunters fought with renewed vigor, pushing the blind creature into the spot Cinder had marked on their shared Aura vision. It still swung around violently, but didn't fight with the same grace that it had before.
Cinder finally opened her eyes, both of which glowed like two massive golden fireballs. "Now!" under the feet of the Grimm, she formed a massive circle of energy. "Taiyō no hi!" a massive pillar of golden flames erupted and engulfed the massive beast, producing a heat that could be felt even by those far away from it.
The beast gave a new roar of pain and began to try and move out of it, almost making it before suddenly falling back into the flames, almost as if struck by something. Cinder brought her hands together and collapsed the pillar into a single ball of flames, before making it vanish all together. The Grimm stood in the same spot, body charred by the attack. Within moments it began to break apart, its body becoming ashes and blowing away in the wind.
"We… did… it," Roman said with a smirk.
"Yeah…" Cinder said before falling forward out of pure exhaustion. The others moved to help her, but suddenly felt all of the pressure from the battle fall on them and passed out as well.
Ozpin smiled and closed his Scroll, pulling out a small radio. "Send the second year students in to retrieve all those who are fallen and send them to the infirmary. Any of them that still want to be Hunters after that are more than welcome in my school," he turned away from the forest and walked back toward the school, knowing he would have a speech to prepare for later that night.
The figure in the robe and the mask raised up his massive rifle and put it back along his back with a small chuckle. "This… will be interesting," with another laugh the man disappeared into a spiral of black pedals.
After a few hours resting in the infirmary, the students were let out, with most of those who entered into the forest being allowed to make a choice between staying and leaving. Of course a few people were scared by the incident and decided that the life of a Hunter wasn't for them, leaving the school on an airship after they were fully healed.
But as for Cinder, Emerald, Roman, Mercury, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, they had decided to stay the course, knowing they had seen what the world had to offer and being more than willing to fight through it.
They waited as the two last teams of four in line. After they had decided to stay, their team assignments had been given to them. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora in one, and Cinder, Roman, Mercury, and Emerald in another.
Jaune and his group went up first, and had their names each called out. "From here on you will be known as team Juniper, led by Jaune Arc," Nora hugged Ren and Pyrrha gave a playful punch to her partner, knocking him over by accident and looking mildly embarrassed by it.
Before long however, the group left and Cinder and her group were called up. "Cinder Fall, Roman Torchwick, Mercury Black, and Emerald Almas, the four of you along with team JNPR managed to defeat the massive Grimm guarding the treasures at the end of the trial. For this, both you and they deserve special honors," the crowd cheered. "Together the four of you will be known as team CREM, or rather Cremation, the fire that brings about change. Your leader, Cinder Fall," the crowd cheered. "Congradulations," Ozpin said, more to Cinder than for the sake of the crowd.
Roman looked at Cinder with a look of bemusement on his face, and Emerald moved over and hugged Cinder tightly, before pulling the whole group into a hug.
"This will certainly be an interesting year," Ozpin said with a smile.
Blake stormed into the meeting room with a look of pure anger on her face. "What happened?!" she yelled, glaring around the room. Sitting at the usual meeting table were Yang and Weiss, but Ruby wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Why was the attack called off?"
Before anyone could explain, Ruby entered the room, looking more calm and confident than she had in months. The usual air of minor pain that usually hung around her was gone. "The plan was interrupted and events happened that we didn't plan for."
"I have had enough, the Black Fang is pulling out of this alliance," Blake said simply, no anger in her tone. "I am done with this."
"Now wait a minute," Yang stood up and began to move at Blake, but Ruby lifted her hand to motion for the blonde to stop.
"You are free to go," Ruby said calmly, sitting down in her own chair. "If you think the Black Fang can do better without us, then you are welcome to leave, no strings attached."
Weiss looked toward Ruby with cold fascination, and Yang simply stood awe shocked.
Blake didn't seem to trust her words much, but still turned around and began to leave. "If I see any of you again, I promise it won't be as friends. Don't get in our way," she left without another word.
"Interesting choice," Weiss said, looking at her fingernails. "With those dramatics out of the way, I will also take my leave, I have winnings to collect. I put my money on us losing, and many people bet against the students near the end," she got up and made her way out of the room.
Yang turned toward Ruby and began to speak, but Ruby shook her head. "Not now, please… go."
The murderous woman clenched her hands into fists, but did as she was told and walked away, leaving confused and angry.
"You can come out now," Ruby said, speaking to what appeared to be an empty room.
From the shadows stepped out the masked figure from the forest, giving a small bow to the scythe wielding killer. "Ruby Rose, as beautiful as ever."
"Cut the crap," Ruby said, glaring at the bird masked figure. "What the hell happened back there, the ring and the crown cut connection and then I was in more pain than I've felt in my life."
"And how do you feel now?" The figure questioned.
Ruby paused and put a hand over her heart. "I feel better than I have in months."
"I thought so," the figure crossed his arms. "The light from that boys Aura is special, a healer's ability, a warriors strength, and a child's innocence, a powerful combination of elements. It stuck against the negative energy used by the rings and followed the connection back to you. If I had to guess, I would say the power cleared away some of the damaged parts of your soul."
"So, what does that mean?" she asked, sitting her chin on top of her hands.
"The infection from the crown and ring is slowed and you will have more time. I estimate you have five months with minor use of the artifacts and regular Dust treatments," the figure shrugged. "But that is more of a guess."
"I see," Ruby stood up and nodded. "Five months then, that is more than enough time." She looked over to the figure. "Oh, and Shade?"
"Yes?" he asked, looking toward Ruby.
Ruby pulled out her weapon and flashed herself in front of him, the front of it pressing hard into his stomach. "Bye," she pulled the trigger and the man's body shot back, leaving a blood splatter against the wall. Within seconds the cloak and mask disappeared into smoke. After about a minute her phone rang and Ruby pulled it out. "Yes?"
"That was rude. But don't worry, I am far too interested in what happens next to be mad," the voice of Shade laughed over the phone and the call ended.
"This… will be an interesting year," Ruby said to herself, dropping the phone and smashing it under her foot.
Ozpin entered his office only to find someone already sitting in his chair. The person wore a cloak that covered their entire body, with a hood over the person's face. "Hello Qrow," Ozpin said, greeting his old friend. "I apologize, if I had known you would be here I would have had some whiskey ready for you."
"Don't play coy," Qrow stood up and lowered his head, revealing his face. He had long white chair that came down to the back of his neck, a scar over his left eye, and piercing green eyes that glared straight into Ozpin's. "Was that beast's placement your decision?"
The headmaster shook his head. "No, that was the work of that woman."
Qrow nodded and sat on Ozpin's desk. "So she is after the sword, we knew she would be once the crown disappeared."
"We won't let it fall into her hands, no matter what," Ozpin said, his voice full of conviction.
"Of course, oh, but one more thing," Qrow leapt from the table and grabbed Ozpin by the collar. "If you ever put my daughter in that situation again I swear to everything holy, I will make sure you don't live to regret it."
Ozpin starred down his old friend. "She made this choice to be a Huntress."
"That doesn't mean I want to see her life thrown away facing something that she isn't ready for," he said.
"I understand, I would never willingly sacrifice one of my students," he replied.
Qrow held his spot for a few moments before letting him go and moving to the window. "I am sure that comforts Anomina in her tomb," with that said, Qrow leapt out the open window and into the night.
Ozpin sighed and went to his chair, slumping down in it and pulling out a photo. In it, a younger version of himself, Qrow, Glynda, and another woman with black hair and golden eyes smiled into a camera. "Things change," he said to himself placing the photo down. "Things always change."
The moon that night was full, granting light upon the world. And for that night, things retained peace.
A Light in the Dark Opening 1: Brightdown fandub. Song used: /mKQSKePps7Y
Music begins to play
Cinder walks along the streets of Vale, people in the background are all grey silhouettes with darkness slowly eating away at the scene.
As my fingers trace the scar of this frozen bond
Cinder continues walking, her steps obviously labored as she stumbles quite a bit, the darkness begins to consume the grey silhouetted people.
Deep within the crevice tearing my broken heart
Cinder falls to her knees as the darkness encloses around her, leaving only a small circle where she sits on her knees, face looking down.
My body is wandering on...
A single tear falls from her face as the words are spoken.
All my thoughts evaporate into shapeless dark
The darkness breaks to reveal armies of Grimm standing in place of the people. Creatures ranging from Beowolves to Nevermores.
Faded like the past decays in a memory
Camera moves toward a building in front of Cinder, where a number of people wearing armored suits with either red or blue coloring guard it. Above them stands a man wearing a black robe and wearing a bird mask.
Now I search for an illusion...
At the top of the building Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake stand. Ruby is in the middle and looks down on Cinder, offering out a hand with a dark smile.
"I will try to wield power over destiny..."
Cinder's hands turn into fists and she looked up toward Ruby with anger in her eyes.
In the world that shined for me
The area around her explodes into a pillar of light as she is suddenly surrounded by her friends and allies. Roman, Emerald, and Mercury stand to her left. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora stand to her right. Behind her all of the students and staff of Beacon, Qrow, Sun Wukong, and various other people stand behind her.
My memories live on
Roman and Jaune both offer her a hand to held her up with smiles.
Forgotten dreams call out
Cinder takes their hands and stands on her feet, giving Ruby and confident look and getting ready to fight. Ruby directs her forces to attack with a gesture.
To stars that I once wished upon
The two forces begin to clash, and Cinder and her team make their way toward the building. Supported along the way by everyone else.
And now I see the scenery
Cinder and her team run up the building at team RWBY as the run down at them.
Distilled inside my mind
The two teams clash. Mercury against Yang, Weiss against Emerald, Roman against Blake.
That never-ending night
Ruby pulls out her scythe and Cinder creates one of pure flames, clashing against each other.
And days that stretch forever
Ruby is knocked back a bit and Cinder continues the attack.
Though we're far apart
You are still in my heart
And no mere separation
The various fights continue until Ruby summons a ball of dark energy in her hand. Cinder creates one of pure flames.
Will stop this light from reaching you
Both launch an attack at each other and explode in a show of color and light.
A miracle will finally come true
The camera pans up to show a picture of the moon going from its most broken state to full, and as the music begins to play again a shadowy raven symbol appears on it with glowing red eyes. As the music crackles and distorts so does the screen, fading out to the words A Light in the Dark, a RWBY fanfiction.
Peter Port Lesson of the Day: Grimm Ranking System
Hello Young Hunters and Huntresses of the future, it is none other than I, the legendary Peter Port here to hand down some of my knowledge to the next generation. I had thought that maybe I could tell you about the time I took down a Nevermore with nothing more than my wits and a truck filled with butter, but my dear friend Ozpin requested a do a brief introduction to the Grimm Ranking system, so by his request here we go!
The lowest ranked Grimm are classified as E-class Grimm. Monsters under this class are usually newly spawned and are without the hardened darkness and bone mask and blades that are normally seen on older Grimm. E-class Grimm will hunt together in large, leaderless packs in order to take down prey. They will turn on each other once they come of age in order to absorb the strength of the weaker members, thus ensuring that the strong will remain so, and that no weak creatures will be left.
Next are the D and C ranked Grimm. These creatures have grown past the E-class with age and developed their hardened bodies and bone like masks and other various accessories. These creatures are known to still stay in packs, but are also just as likely to travel alone and wreak havoc. Which reminds me of a fun story from my… I am being told to move on so I will save that for another lecture.
B ranks are next, these creatures are higher class versions of their D and C ranked counterparts. Take for instance an Ursa-Major and compare it to its C ranked counterpart. The Ursa-Major absorbed more mass when it grew from E ranking, making it bigger and more deadly. Despite their size, these creatures are still quite swift. You see the size of a Grimm is quite irreverent, as the creatures most vital area is its core, the small round object that acts as the core of the Grimm's existence. Once a large enough wound has been opened, the natural Dust that travels through the air of the world will quickly corrode the core and destroy the beast. Most large Grimm are actually quite hollow inside.
Now then, A ranking creatures are the largest and most deadly of the normal class of Grimm, and should only be fought in groups or by experienced Hunters. These beasts spawn at E rank but rather than traveling in packs and growing by devouring others, they instead take longer to raise but come out at full power. Creatures such as the massive Nevermore and Death Stalker are two such examples.
They have natural defenses such as the razor sharp feathers of the Nevermore, or the spear like stinger of the Death Stalker.
S ranked beasts are creatures of legend, normally unique and very hard to find. These creatures range from massive to the size of a normal human. Because of their rarity, very little is known about these beasts, but after having fought one myself back in the day here is my knowledge. These creatures are built of a different breed than the others, its core contains more malice and dark energy than should be held by one being. Using this power, it can create an invisible shield that is near impossible to pierce, requiring many powerful hits in order to create a crack. They can also draw their dark energy from within themselves and utilize it to create devastating attacks.
The SS ranked Grimm were said to have served the four SSS-class Grimm in the days of legend, and are as much a mystery as those four are. It is said that none ever fell in combat, and that they simply wait in rest for one of them to return in order to awaken them to attack this world and bring humanity to an end.
And finally, as previously mentioned, the SSS-class Grimm. These are creatures of pure darkness and malice, said to have the intelligence of humans but the darkness of demons. It was said that each one could destroy an army without a thought. Three were recorded in the records of old as having been defeated, with the fourth disappearing when his brothers fell. The records are as followed:
The first was lead into a Dust mine by a number of brave souls who detonated the entire mine when the creature followed them in. The mine burned for ten years before finally going out, and when it was finally explored, only a single spot on the ground was not burned.
The second was confronted by the four greatest Hunters of legend and was battled against for ten days and nights without rest. Three of the four fell in battle, but the beast was finally laid to rest by the final member, who ripped the Grimm apart and burned even the dust left behind by the body.
The third was surrounded by an army and attacked for days on end, being hit with more Dust and attacks than could be counted. It took five days for the attack to finally end, and when it did, the creature was felled. A palace was built on the beast's resting place, the bottom lined with pure Dust as a way to keep even the creatures memory trapped under humanities strength.
The fourth Grimm was their king, and with its generals destroyed, it faded away into darkness, never to be seen or heard from again.
And that finishes our lesson of the day. Now then perhaps you might be interested to hear…
Recording ended.
In the next chapter: The dreams of those who wished to enter Beacon have finally been achieved, but will the dream become a nightmare for Team CREM without proper teamwork? Jealousy and mistrust run high on the next chapter of A Light In The Dark-Ignition Spark
So if you read down this far I want to say thank you to everyone who has read and supported this series so far. You are all great and I can't wait to continue delivering awesome content. Leave a review if you have anything to say, and once again thank you for reading.