The next morning came quickly for teams RWBY and ENDD. After a soft awakening for team RWBY by a phone call from professor Goodwitch and a rather rude awakening for team ENDD thanks to the shock collars they were still forced to wear the teams were wide awake for the mission. They loaded onto the airship and were dropped off at their assigned locations.
"Students. It is time to begin your hunt." Professor Goodwitch instructed through the earsets each individual member was wearing.
"Don't forget what we discussed. Show no hesitation. Be at your designated gate by 6 o'clock. Good luck." With that final nod of encouragement the 4 pairings walked off into the forest ready to begin the slaughter. Zade and Weiss moved swiftly through the forest eliminating all the grimm they came across. Zade kicked a beowolf, which had tried to tackle him, into the air when Weiss impaled it with her rapier. The stab killed the beowolf which was the last of the third grimm pack they already had fought today. Zade walked over to Weiss as she resheathed Myseranter.
"Well, that was exciting." Zade commented.
"Yes rather. It's hard to imagine doing this all day though." Weiss answered.
"Well you are huntress in training after all. Learning how to deal with high stamina missions seems rather appropriate." Zade stated. Weiss caught on to his wording quickly.
"Hey, you're also a hunter in training to so this really is necessary for both of us." Weiss declared.
Zade laughed before muttering to himself.
"Much less necessary than you might think." Zade and Weiss began to make their way through the forest in search of more pray.
"So Yang seems to have really attached herself to Allister hasn't she?" Zade asked.
"Yes, it appears she has. I can't say I truly condone it though. I apologize but we've barely known you longer than a week that is definitely not enough time to trust someone so much." Weiss answered.
"Allister does sometimes have that effect on people. What about you though Weiss. Your heart can't be all ice. Are you sure there isn't someone you hold a special warm spot for in you heart." Zade
teased. Weiss knew where Zade was trying to go with this and attempted to evade the subject.
"Well, I really admire my sister, Winter, and would never."
"Really?" Zade interrupted. "You know what I'm talking about. Is there anyone at Beacon or such who has piqued the interest of the heiress's heart which wanders such like that of a hart in search of that which makes lt dart through the air on the wings of love." Zade's sudden shift into an old fashioned poem caused Weiss to nearly fall on the ground laughing.
"Focus please." Came Professor Goodwitch through their headsets. Weiss finally managed to calm herself down as they continued walking.
"To answer your question though. There is somebody. I highly doubt they would ever take notice of someone like me though." Weiss explained. Zade smiled knowingly to himself as he continued to lead through the forest.
"Oh I don't know who knows maybe he could already know you like him and his just waiting for his
chance to teach his snow angel to fly." Zade said in a sort of obvious tone. Zade could feel Weiss sending him a evil look.
"Really. Snow angel do you know how many time people have used that line on me." she complained. Zade turned and bowed to her.
"Well I am so sorry I have disappointed you your highness the Ice Queen. "
"Ugh you dolt!" Weiss insulted as she stormed on ahead to hide the rapidly forming bush on her face. Zade smirked as he turned himself on his heel and was about to follow when he heard Weiss let out a scream. Zade rushed forward and through the bushes before seeing Weiss being carried off by a nevermore.
"Not this crap again!" Weiss yelled as the grimm kept ascending. Zade just looked up at her and laughed.
"Do not laugh at me this is serious!" Weiss scolded. Zade smirked as he ran to the nearest tree and started to climb it.
"Zade what the hell is going on!" Professor Goodwitch yelled through the earpiece.
"Not much Weiss just got a little fresh air is all. I'll have her down shortly."Zade answered.
"You'd better." Professor Goodwitch warned before going quiet. Zade began jumping from the highest
branch of one tree to the highest branch of the next in pursuit of the nevermore. Weiss drew her rapier and attempted a few swings at the beast. The swings caused the animal to slow down just enough that Zade could run up next to it. Zade drew one of the throwing knives from his belt. He aimed it quickly and tossed the knife at the giant bird. The blade spun through the air with incredible speed until it lodged itself in the eye of the nevermore. The giant bird tried to use the claws on its wings to remove the object from its eye. Unfortunately, The nevermore lost track of what it was supposed to be doing, flying. The nevermore crashed into the trees splintering them as it landed on the ground with a loud thud. Zade rushed over to the bird which was now attempting to right itself. Zade arrived at the site just in time to watch it stand back up on its feet. The nevermore tried to take off. Suddenly the bird stopped and came crashing back to earth causing Zade to dive out of
the way to prevent from being crushed, Zade looked around confused and saw that Weiss had managed to use the ice dust in Myseranter to pin the Grimm to the ground. Zade took the opportunity and jumped on the wing of the nevermore. Zade crawled his way up the wing as the nevermore thrashed violently in a futile attempt to shake Zade off. Zade climbed onto the back of the nevermore and moved up to its head. Zade drew one of his daggers and plunged it deep within the
remaining good eye. The nevermore let out a roar of pain as it thrashed ever more violently. Zade managed to hold on throughout the entire ordeal. Zade reached down and proceeded to jam his entire arm into the eye, grabbing the dagger and forcing it all the way into the brain of the beast. The beast let out one final death cry as it toppled forward to the ground and began dissipating. Zade stood up and walked over to pick up the knife he had thrown earlier.
"Well that was rather eye opening wasn't it." Zade remarked looking back at Weiss. Weiss groaned.
"Please tell me you're not following down the dark path that is the humor of puns which has
already devoured our friends Yang and Allister." Weiss seemed to be begging. Zade strolled over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Of course not Ice Queen(hey!) I usually leave that stuff to them but I just couldn't resist. Let's keep moving." Zade answered while motioning to the path in front of them. Weiss fell into step with him moving on of her hands to rest on top of the one on her shoulder, trapping it there. Zade glanced down at Weiss with a smile as they continued on into the wilderness ready to kill some more grimm. Darron and Blake wove seamlessly throughout the trees in perfect sync. They would take turns popping out of the treeline and kill a grimm pack member before disappearing back into the trees as the other one would take their turn. After the pack had finally been dwindled down Blake and Darron rolled out of the trees and charged the Alpha king taijitu of the pack. The large snake sensed Darron first and sent both heads after him. Darron jumped over the charging white head and spun bringing his blades down slashing at the side of the attacking black head. Darron kept moving up the body until the whitehead returned for a second attack. Darron crossed his swords in an x pattern and used them to block the tip of the snake's nose. The move prevented the snake's mouth from reaching Darron but pushed him of the body and continued to push him across the ground. The black head reared around and moved to strike Darron from the side. Just as it pulled back to strike it was interrupted by multiple bullets fired from Gambol shroud. The head turned around and let out a hiss before lashing out at Blake. Blake jumped using her semblance to propel herself higher in the air. As the black head crashed into the clone it dissipated. The black head stopped and looked around confused as to where its prey could have gone. Blake answered its question as she landed her back on its back and slid down its body. Blake's joy ride came to a swift end as she approached the white head which was still battling Darron for dominance. Blake reverted Gambol shroud to it's katana form and brought it down on the white head. The sudden pain caused the white head to momentarily lose focus on its competition with Darron. Darron seized the opportunity by sliding his blades to open the jaws of the taijitu. Darron skipped into its mouth and brought his swords in a set of slashes splitting the white head in
half horizontally. The white head tried to fight back not realizing it couldn't because all of it's jaw muscles were severed. Darron stepped out of the mouth of the white head and nodded to Blake. Blake nodded back and both of them rushed after the black head. Blake took the lead as the remaining head struck at her. Using her semblance, Blake dashed backwards avoiding the blow as Darron rushed forward unleashing a fury of slashes on the Taijitu's face. The head quickly moved low and
headbutted Darron straight in the stomach. Darron flew through the air before eventually landing and slamming his head against the rock. Darron rolled limply to one side.
"Darron!" Blake called to her childhood friend before returning to the fight in front of her. Blake managed to avoid the taijitu's strikes by using her semblance and managed to place a few strikes here and there but overall she was losing, badly. Blake fired gambol shroud and the attached ribbon over to a nearby tree with the intent of swinging away to buy herself some time to regroup. Somehow, the taijitu caught on and altered it's assault to destroy the tree. Blake retracted Gambol shroud seeing she lost her escape route. The Taijitu circled around Blake, still draggin the barely alive white head behind it. As the snake advanced on her she tried to walk backwards away from it. Blake stumbled and found herself sitting squarely on the ground at the mercy of her predator. The taijitu flicked its tongue as though it were already tasting it's prey. Blake shut her eyes and turned her head as the Taijitu finally lunged. Blake opened her eyes to find that she had not been turned into snake food. She slowly turned her head to see a sight very familiar to her. Darron had jumped in front of her and shoved his
blades straight through the roof of the taijitu's mouth. Blake found herself flashing back to the time they had met. Blake could remember walking with her father. Shehad just turned five and she was with her father to buy a dress for the White Fang gathering that her parents were hosting. Her father was one of the chief executives of the White Fang so this party was rather important to him. Blake wore a beanie to gently cover up her cat ears while her father simply wrapped his golden retriever
tail around his leg. (Cats and Dogs living together holy shit). While her father was looking for something for Blake to wear the following evening, Blake decided to entertain herself as she would pretend to be a ninja darting silently through the clothing racks. Everytime she would move between racks her father would quickly turn around and catch her in the act. Her father would give Blake a warm smile causing her to giggle before trying again. The game went on the entire time Blake's
father was searching. Eventually they decided on a knee length purplish black standard dress. After Blake's father paid for the dress the two of them left the store and made their way down the streets. After a few blocks it began raining. blake danced around in the rain until her father opened the umbrella he had brought just in case. The two continued to walk through the rain. Blake was too young to notice but eventually four men dressed in long black trench coats and hats started following
them. Once Blake and her father he reached the corner Blake's father stopped her and turned around, moving her behind him.
"May I help you gentlemen?" Blake's father asked the men.
"Daddy?" Blake asked confused and a little worried.
"It's alright Blake just do what I say ok." Blake's father responded. Blake nodded as one of the men decided to speak up.
"Mr. Belladonna. We know who you are. Do you know who we are." The man asked.
"Yes." Blake's father answered. The men started to get large rather disturbing grins on their faces.
"The accept your fate you faunus scum." The man said as he and his three companions pulled pistols from their coats.
"RUN BLAKE!" Her father yelled as he drew his own pistol that he always had for a time like this. Blake didn't even hesitate to obey her father as she sprinted down the street away from the fighting. The sounds of multiple guns all firing in unison Blake quickly looked back. The only thing she saw was her father's bloodied arm fall from around the corner into her field of view. The arm bounced limply on the ground and released the gun which skidded away. Blake ran even harder as tears began
to run down her face camouflaged by the rain. Blake couldn't remember how long she ran for, 15 minutes, an hour, she had no way of knowing. Blake ran and ran until her feet gave way under her on the wet ground and she fell face first hard on the ground. Blake curled into a little ball and and cried even harder. The owner of the store came outside to see what happened. He had a concerned face until he noticed Blake's cat ears since her beanie had come of when she fell. His face contorted into one of disgust as he raised the broom he had happened to be carrying at the time and swung the bristles down on Blake.
"Get out of here you faunus scum!" He yelled. "I don't need your disgusting kind tainting the reputation of this shop. Now LEAVE!" Blake cried even harder as she continued to be hit by the man.
Blake wanted nothing more than to just be left alone crying in her little ball but knew that that would never be a reality. Blake eventually picked herself up and sulked away as the shop owner continued to spew insults and even throw a can at her. Blake walked for hours until the rain had stopped and she found a playground with a fence around it. Blake climbed the fence to the playground. At the top her footing slipped and Blake fell to the ground. Upon impact Blake sprained her ankle badly.
Fortune would have it though at least one that day as she found herself on the inside of the fence. Blake managed to crawl herself under the tarp of one of the structures where she curled up again and began to cry.
"Daddy? Where are you?" She kept whispering to herself until she finally fell asleep. The next morning was another trip to hell. Blake was awakened as a group of boys who were much bigger than her and looked to be about 9 began to kick dirt at her.
"Stop." Blake asked meekly ready to break back into tears.
"Awe, look I think the trash has had it's feeling hurt." The boy who looked to be the leader mocked which caused his two friends to snicker. Blake just tried to curl up into a tighter ball, She was scared, alone, and couldn't understand why people were being as mean as they were. Blake's attempt however was futile as the two lackey grabbed her by her ankle. causing her to scream in pain, and dragged her over to the fence. They threw her against the fence as she started to cry again. The leader of the group stood above her.
"Well I think we should have some fun with our trash before we throw it away." He said his
lackeys agreeing immediately. The leader reared a fist back to punch Blake. Blake closed her eyes and covered her ears expecting the impact which never came. Blake slowly opened her eyes to see a boy only a year younger than the group yet still the tallest one there holding the leader's hand back. Blake could sense a large amount of anger and sadness, more than she had ever witnessed in anybody, in this new arrival.
"What are you doing?" The leader demanded.
"Let. her. go." was the
angry response of the new boy.
"Why should we she's just trash ." The leader never got to finish his sentence as the new boy slammed his fist directly into the leader's face. Blake could here the nose snap at the impact. The new boy then grabbed the leaders leg and picked him up throwing him at least 10 feet before he
landed. The two lackey slowly raised their fists but a threatening growl from the new boy sent them scrambling to their leader. As the mean boys were standing up their leader the nice boy took a few deep breaths. Blake could sense the anger dissipating but not the immense sadness. Once the mean boys were gone the nice boy turned to face Blake.
"You're hurt. Let me help you." He said as he took a step forward. Blake responded by pulling her knees to her face, further aggravating her sprained ankle, and tried to hide her head. The boy's expression softened and he sat down across from Blake. Slowly but surely Blake raised her head to look at the boy.
"Y-y-you will help me, not be mean like those others." Blake managed in a dry raspy voice trembling on the verge of tears again.
"No I won't hurt you. I promise I will help you." The boy answered softly.
"O-ok." Blake said. The boy stood up and smiled reaching down to Blake.
"I'm Darron." He introduced. Blake looked up at Darron and couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Blake." She said as she gently placed her hand in his. Darron reached down and picked Blake up holding her close to his chest. Blake instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face into his shoulder. Darron looked warmly down at Blake as he noticed the cat ears on her head.
"C'mon kitten let's get you home." Darron whispered as he carried Blake off.
"Fuck!" Darron's exclamation of pain snapped Blake out of her flashback, Blake saw Darron sitting on the ground. The king taijitu had long since disintegrated but it's two large front fangs remained embedded in Darron's biceps. Blake quickly rushed over to him.
"Darron are you ok?" She asked.
"Yeah I'll be fine. Stings like a bitch though. " Darron calmly answered as he tried to control his
breathing stopping him from contracting his biceps and aggravating the issue. Blake immediately got on her headset.
"Professor Goodwitch I need a medical evac to this location immediately!" Blake called. "What's the situation?" Goodwitch asked sounding slightly concerned.
"Darron has two alpha king taijitu fangs stuck in his biceps. They are in deep and I don't think they can be removed without him bleeding out to quickly. His breathing has remained steady so I'm assuming he was fortunate enough to not be injected with poison." Blake responded. Blake looked over and saw a bite mark just above the place where the tooth had punctured.
"Confirmed. No Poison. Darron sucked all of it out." Blake added.
"A medical airship is enroute to your position. it will arrive in 10 minutes lockdown an LZ." Goodwitch instructed Blake. Blake dragged Darron over to a nearby tree and propped him against it. Blake quickly ran around the immediate forest to ensure that there was no grimm pack nearby. Once she was satisfied she swiftly returned to Darron's side. Darron was beginning to struggle with keeping his eyes open. Blake looked down and finally grasped how much blood he had really lost. His entire shirt and Jacket were stained with the red liquid. Even Blake's hands were red from when she dragged him. Darron's head lolled forward until Blake grabbed it righting it and slightly smacking his face.
"C'mon stay awake the ship is almost here. You're gonna be ok. I know it." Blake's voice slowly became more frantic at the thought of losing her greatest friend barely a week later she had finally gotten him back.
"You're my greatest friend Darron. I can't let you die. Not after I finally got you back." She said to him tears threatening to fall. Darron's expression fell, although that went unnoticed by Blake, at the mention of the word friend. Nonetheless he flashed a smirk at Blake.
"Don't cry Blake. I've always hated seeing you cry. Don't worry I'll do my best." Darron managed to get out. Darron saw a medical team approaching him rapidly with a stretcher as he finally fell into the blackness.
Allister and Yang were rather preoccupied with their current predicament to notice the airship returning to the city with Darron onboard. Yang punched a creeper on top of it's head firing one of her shotgun rounds and killing it. Yang placed her hands on her knees panting. Her break was short lived, however, as a beowolf came flying through the trees and literally went splat against a tree. Yang started running towards where the beowolf had been ejected from. Yang pushed her way through
the underbrush and saw Allister, lance drawn, in the middle of three advancing beowolf's. Allister twirled his lance over his head before gripping the lance and spinning around. As Allister was spinning Yang could have sworn she saw a white light twinkle in his eye for a second. Suddenly Allister completed the spin swinging the lance so fast the blade cleaved through all of the beowolves in one stroke. The shockwave was even strong enough to cut through the nearby trees. Yang found
herself unable to move as she was still in shock at Allister's display of raw power. Allister picked Yang up and began running trying to avoid the trees that had began crashing down behind him. Once they were in the clear Allister placed Yang back down on the ground.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to how strong you can be." Yang said slightly laughing.
"Well you better, cause the gun show is in town and you have first row seats." Allister boasted. Yang blushed as she scoffed.
"Thanks, I'll pass but thanks for the invite." Yang teased with a wink.
"Oh yeah," Allister played along leaning in close to Yang's face. "You're the only one invited." Yang spun around and began to walk away hiding how red her face was becoming.
"Let's look over there why don't we." She suggested as Allister followed her laughing. The two
of them walked for a couple of minutes before Yang noticed a cave inside a nearby cliff face. Yang's face donned a sly smirk before glancing back at Allister. She ran up and grabbed his arm.
"C'mon I have an idea." Yang began dragging a rather confused yet interested Allister over to where the cave was. Allister smirked as his mind ran through a number of different scenarios this might lead to, some of which he liked very much. Once they reached the edge of the cave Yang contacted.
"Professor Goodwitch Allister and I are going to inspect a rather large cave for any grimm packs. It looks deep so we may lose radio contact." Yang informed the professor.
"Very well, just report on whatever you find." Came Goodwitch's answer. Yang smiled as she pulled off both Allister's and her own headsets and tossed them to the side. Yang pulled Allister into the cave far enough that they could still see each other but wouldn't be noticed by any random passerby outside. Yang pushed Allister's chest hard sending him back into the wall of the cave. Yang gave Allister no reprieve as she immediately jumped into his arms and crashed her lips into his own. Allister easily caught her and held her up to his height as her kissed her back with the same fervor. The two kissed passionately in place for a moment. Eventually they ran out of air and had to pull away. Allister took the opportunity and began to kiss and suck at Yang's neck. Yang let out a soft moan as she felt
Allister suck on her pulse point. Allister walked forward and pressed Yang up against the opposite wall before returning to her lips for another intense kiss. Yang brought her hands up and began to run them through Allister hair. Their impromptu makeout session continued until Yang reached down and tried to remove Allister's jacket. Suddenly Allister broke off the kiss dropped Yang and stepped back. Yang landed on the floor with a thud.
"Hey! what gives Al?" Yang asked. Yang looked up and saw Allister looking...was that nervous? Allister's expression softened as he took a seat against the wall right next where Yang was. Allister reached out and pulled Yang in close to his side. Yang hugged him back immediately hoping it would make him feel better.
"Yang, can I talk to you for a minute?" Allister asked tenderly.
"Anything, you know that." Yang responded just as cautiously.
"What are we?" Allister asked.
"I-I don't know what you mean Allister." Yang answered.
"I mean what are we in relation to each other. Ever since I got here you've been the greatest thing that has happened. Then there was that incident 2 days ago and you've been all over me, not that I necessarily mind, but I just want to know whether or not you are doing this for real or just treating this like some dalliance that can just be cut off."
"I I don't understand." Yang responded sounding as nervous as she felt.
"I'm asking if you really have feeling for me or are just using me as a piece of meat. Every day it was little tease there, or a whisper there. Answer me straight. Is this something or nothing." Allister was answered as Yang pulled moved herself into his lap and kissed him deeply. After she pulled away she finally spoke.
"Well honestly at first I wasn't quite sure either. I mean you just showed up one day andyou are so hot and so funny I didn't know what to do. I wasn't until you rescued me the other day that I finally realized what you had become to me so quickly. I want to be more than just friends Allister. Do you?... baby." Allister chuckled at the immediate yet hesitant pet name.
"Absolutely little dragon." Allister answered. The two smiled at each other for a moment reveling in the happiness of their newly founded relationship. Yang slowly leaned forward. Allister puckered his lips expecting another kiss but was rather disappointed when Yang just kissed his nose, giggled, and started running towards the start of the cave. Allister just sat there for a second until he heard Yang.
"C'mon big guy we've already been down here long enough. Professor Goodwitch might start getting suspicious." Allister's face broke into a grin as he stood up and started chasing Yang to the mouth of the cave. Yang had almost reached the entrance when she looked in front of her and stopped
abruptly. Allister caught up not far behind.
"Hey Yang what's... up." Allister's voice trailed off as he also notice the unusually large deathstalker standing right outside the mouth of the cave staring at them.
"Ok then. Let's kill it." Allister said. His voice brought Yang back to reality as she nodded and cocked back her ember celica.
"Hell yeah." Yang agreed and the two of them rushed the beast. Allister was the first one out of the cave and the deathstalker gave out what sounded like a battle cry as it tried to slam one of its claws down on Allister. Allister stopped run and put up both hands. The claw came crashing down on Allister with force incredible enough to kick up the surrounding dirt.
"AL!" Yang exclaimed as she rolled behind a swipe from the other claw and jumped over a stab from the deathstalker's tail. Yang glanced over to see the dirt settling. Within the remains of the dirt cloud Allister stood blocking the massive claw above his head. Allister pushed up throwing off the claw and lifting the legs of the deathstalker on that side into the air. Alliter extended his lance and cocked it back aiming it at the beast. Allister threw the lance forward with such force Yang could hear the the sonic boom as it flew through the air. The lance penetrated the joint of each of the deathstalkers legs,severing them, as each respective leg hit the ground. The sudden lack of stability caused the deathstalker to fall to one side. Yang took the opportunity to run at the deathstalker's head. As Yang ran she failed to notice the claw that was racing to cut her in half. By the time Yang did notice, however it was to late and the deathstalker's claw was preparing to snap her in half. Yang tried to jump out of the claws way but didn't quite get high enough. The claw may not have cut her in half but it did catch her ankle. With a mighty throw the deathstalker sent Yang flying into the air. The deathstalker pulled back it's tail to try and impale her. The deathstalker soon found that an attack was futile since Allister was standing behind the beast holding its tail in place. With a intense yell Allister managed to snap the tail of the deathstalker in half. The beast let out a pained roar at its newest injury. Allister ran around the side of the deathstalker that still had the damaged legs. Allister jumped in the air and used the deathstalker's amputated tail to jam it through one of the claws, pinning it to the ground. Allister then jumped on the unrestrained claw and used it's thrashing to to propel himself in the air. On his way up he saw Yang descending to the ground. Allister reached out a hand which Yang eagerly accepted. Allister pulled Yang up and whipped her down towards the deathstalker. Yang righted herself in the air and pulled a fist back as she rapidly approached the deathstalker, and
a cone of air formed around her. Yang brought her fist down on the head of the deathstalker as hard as she could. Yang's strength combined with her speed caused the body of the deathstalker to, literally, explode. Yang was thrown back by the sheer force of her own blow. Yang skidded and rolled along the ground before finally coming to a stop. Yang sat up just in time to witness Allister land. Allister walked over to Yang and she just threw her head back laughing. Allister cocked an eyebrow
in curiosity until she explained.
"That was so cool! How do you manage to not go flying after punching something as hard as you do?" Allister just shrugged.
"Lots of practice." He answered. Allister reached down and Yang accepted it pulling herself to her feet.
"I don't know anything that could top that today." Yang stated.
"Me neither but before we find out why don't you go grab the headsets so Goodwitch doesn't maul us to death. Then we can go find my lance." Allister replied motioning to the line of trees that all had neat little holes in them from where Allister's supersonic lance throw had pierced them. Yang stared at the holes for few moments incomplete silence. Then started laughing even harder as she made her way over to where she had dropped the headsets earlier. Yang tossed Allister his as she began
walking after the trees to search for Allister's weapon. Allister fell into step next to her and quietly slid his hand into Yang's. Yang's smile stuck to her face for the remainder of the mission.
Max and Ruby walked through the forest happily and mercilessly slaying any grimm packs that were unfortunate enough to have crossed their paths. They were currently dispatching a small group of creepers that they had stumbled upon. One of the creepers had tried to lunge at Max. Max turned his
axe blade sideways and shoved it into the mouth of the creeper. The blade locked against the creature's teeth and the two began a game of tug of war. Unfortunately
for the creeper the contest was merely a diversion as Ruby used her semblance to dash by decapitating the creeper, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake, Ruby
continued to move forward and aimed herself at another creeper when she was headbutted in the side by a lucky creeper. Ruby let out a quick gasp of pain as she rolled on the ground. The creeper was about to pounce at Ruby when Max swooped in from behind and planted his axe deep in the head the beast.
"Thanks." Ruby said as Max helped her up.
"No problem." Max answered already turning to fight the remaining monsters. Ruby converted Crescent Rose into it's sniper mode and Max drew his magnum. Max dropped to one knee and aimed his pistol, while Ruby used his shoulder as a support for her sniper. The two of them opened fire on the advancing grimm. By the time both of them had emptied their clips 4 more creepers had disintegrated. Ruby placed her foot on Max's other shoulder and pushed herself into the air. Ruby returned Crescent Rose to its scythe mode and brought it down slicing another creeping in half. In the wake of Ruby's attack Max rolled forward and brought his axe around slicing the jaw off of another creeper. Max and Ruby turned to see the final creeper of the group standing before them.
"Whoa that's a big creeper." Ruby commented. "
Yep, It's must be the alpha." Max added.
"It's so cool." Ruby folded up Crescent Rose and put it away before turning to Max
with a smile.
"This is so awesome!" Ruby exclaimed. "It's like being a real huntress." Max just smiled back.
"Don't get too worked up though it can only get harder from here." he cautioned.
"Yeah I know." Ruby responded sounding slightly disappointed. "But hey though, On a different note that pack probably put us over 100 confirmed kills for the day." Max added. Ruby's face brightened up.
"Oh yeah that's probably right. Oh man, the others are gonna be so jealous we killed so many
grimm." Ruby squealed. Max laughed.
"I don't think you need to kill grimm to make people jealous." Ruby blushed slightly at the unexpected compliment.
"Be careful if you're going to talk that way. Yang might hear you and that probably won't very well." Ruby cautioned, still blushing. "
To speak the truth about you. I don't mind a little Yang." Max responded. Ruby blushed again
"Comeonletgomaybethere'ssomethingoverthere."Ruby scrambled as she dashed off into the forest.
"Really Ruby. I can't make you that nervous. Can I?" Max called after her as he stepped into the bushed following the small trail of roses she left in her wake. Max followed the roses through the forest for a short while before they stopped completely. Max looked around confusedly. Suddenly he smirked as he heard a ruffle from the trees above him. Ruby dropped down and onto his back. Max managed to hold himself upright despite the sudden addition of weight.
"Awe you're no fun." Ruby complained.
"Sorry, that's just not the way the cookie crumbled today." Max responded. Suddenly Ruby's brightened.
"Oh my God. Did you bring cookies, Seriously. I love cookies." Ruby started cheering. Max just started laughing again.
"What?" Ruby asked staring at Max.
"I never said I had cookies, I just made a simple cookie analogy." Max explained.
"Oh," Ruby squeaked as she sunk to the ground and frowned at the lack of cookies.
"On the other hand I did bring a box of cookies that I managed to buy before we left this morning that I would be more than happy to share if the right person asked nicely." Max mentioned. Ruby's face instantly brightened as Max revealed a small box of cookies. Ruby suddenly jumped on Max scrambling for the box. Max raised the box just out of Ruby's reach.
"C'mon Max this is not fun. I really want those cookies." Ruby complained still trying to reach for the box that was just out of the reach of her fingertips.
"I did say they'd have to ask nicely." Max clarified with a wink. Ruby's face flushed in embarrassment as she lowered herself off of Max and lowered her head for a moment. When Ruby raised her head she gave Max the cutest, most persuasive puppy eyes she could muster.
"Pleeeeeease." She asked in the most adorable tone she could conceive. Max caved tossing her the box.
"Damn was that cute." Max muttered to himself in defeat.
"You're awesome." Ruby said barely understandable due to the cookies she had already shoved in her mouth. Max laughed as he ran over to where Ruby was greedily eating every cookie she could find. Once Ruby had finished the box.(30 seconds) she wrapped Max in a hug sending a small blush through his cheeks.
"You're the best friend ever." she stated.
"I don't know about that." Max answered.
"There's Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune. You have plenty friends who could be better than me." "Nonsense." Ruby stated
"None of them ever bring me cookies. Furthermore nobody likes weapons and building stuff like I do. You are probably the only person here who actually understands me."
"Thank you." Max answered unsure of how to proceed with such knowledge.
"Hey why don't we hang out more after this mission k?" Ruby asked.
"Absolutely." Max answered flashing Ruby a smile. Their moment was cut short as the ground began to tremble beneath their feet. Suddenly a goliath came bursting through the tree line.
"A goliath!" Ruby yelled in surprise unfurling Crescent Rose.
"Don't worry about it. It's too small to be an adult. An adolescent if I had to guess." Max reassured Ruby as he unhooked his axe. Max and Ruby were being stared down by the Goliath before it let out a massive roar and charged. Ruby and Max dodged to the sides.
"Ruby get its legs I'll keep it distracted." Max commanded as he ran back out in front of the beast. Max expertly weaved around the tusks of the Goliath as it tried to impale him. Ruby used her semblance to dash under the Goliath slowly whittling away at its legs with her scythe. Max eventually miscalculated and was one of the tusks grabbed the back of his jacket. suddenly Max found
himself being swung through the air over and over and the Goliath struggled to remove him. Ruby, not noticing Max's new situation, continued cutting until one of the legs was severed. the Goliath lost its balance and came tumbling to the ground bringing Max with it. Max let out a grunt of pain as his entire body was slammed into the ground. Ruby ran over as Max was peeling himself off the ground.
"You ok?" She asked.
"Perfectly fine, but a little annoyed." Max answered. The two of them turned to the Goliath that was struggling to get back to it's feet. Max nodded at Ruby. Ruby dashed forward and sliced a deep cut running all the way down the young Goliath's body causing it to disintegrate. Ruby bounded back over to Max.
"Yeah another kill." She cheered.
"Yep nice work but we better head back it's almost time for us to get picked up. " Max answered as the two of them began to make their way to their assigned gate. Just as Max and Ruby arrived at the gate the airship assigned to pick them up landed. Max and Ruby boarded to see Allister and Yang, Holding hands, talking animatedly with Weiss and Zade, while professor Goodwitch stood close by.
"What's up guys?" Max greeted.
"Not much sup with you?" Allister answered.
"A lot."Ruby answered. "We killed hundreds of grimm. Even a baby goliath. It was so cool."
"Wow, looks like we really missed out on something fun." Yang continued. Ruby nodded emphatically. Once Max and Ruby had taken their seats and the airship had lifted off did professor Goodwitch speak up.
"Teams, I have some news." The 6 settled down to pay attention to their instructor.
"Today's
mission went smoothly and perfectly. The city was able to complete so much needed reconstruction with practically no grimm intervention. Good work." Everyone nodded in acknowledgement of the professor's praise. Something didn't feel right though.
"Hey, Where is Darron and Blake?" Ruby asked. Professor Goodwitch mood darkened.
"At 3:45 this afternoon Blake called for medical attention. Darron had been impaled in his arms by two large king taijitu fangs and had lost large amounts of blood. Darron lost consciousness as the medical team arrived. He was air shipped to the hospital where he underwent immediate surgery for his injuries. As far as I'm aware he is still asleep. Blake is unharmed but refuses to leave his side." Goodwitch explained. The reactions from the two teams could not have been more opposite. Team RWBY jumped up in shock and worry.
"Is he ok?. What exactly happened. How is Blake taking this!" The all yelled at once, worried about their friend. Team ENDD stayed calm.
"Cool." Was the only thing Allister said. Weiss immediately spun around.
"How can you guys be so calm. Your leader is apparently in a state of near death and you guys are acting like you don't care at all!" She demanded.
"We do care." Zade answered.
"We know Darron better than anyone. I've seen him in far worse conditions than this. The three of us have the utmost confidence that he will be fine."
"Exactly." Max continued.
"There was a time where we were the four of us were running through the city we lived outside of endurance exercise. We were maybe 13 at the time. We were jogging along as usual when suddenly some drunk idiot fell out of a bar and crashed into Darron. And of course altercation occurred and Darron got pulled inside the bar by a hoard of the man's friends. Imagine what 12 adults vs one 13 year old boy. Darron actually managed to defeat 8 of them before we could dispatch of the other 4. Darron didn't get out unscathed though. He had swollen eye, a cut lip, at least 13 broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, a few shallow stab wounds from a guy who had bared a switchblade at some point
during the fight, and shards of glass littered in his skin from multiple bottles that had been shattered during the conflict. Darron was back to perfect condition 2 days later. If that doesn't justify our trust in our leader than I don't know what does." Max finished his story and watched as team RWBY tried to comprehend what they had just been told.
"Wow." Was all Ruby could say.
"We should still check in on him once we land though." Yang added. The rest of the teams nodded in agreement as the airship continued its course. Once the ship landed Professor Goodwitch immediately led teams RWBY and ENDD to the hospital where Darron was staying. Goodwitch opened the door and gasped. The two teams rushed forward to see what caused the sudden outburst. Two nurses had pulled a white sheet over Darron's body and were cleaning up the machine's that they assumed were supposed to be vital monitors. Blake was curled up in a corner of the room crying her eyes out. The
two teams stared in shock as the nurses left the room.
"We did everything we could." One of the nurse said as she walked past. The two teams and Professor
Goodwitch slowly walked up to Darron's bed.
"No way." Ruby whispered as she started to cry. Yang and Weiss soon followed suit. The remaining members of team ENDD just stared at the body of their leader with stoic faces.
"FUCK!" Allister suddenly roared as he brought a fist down on Darron's chest. Darron's body bounced on the bed limply a few times before resettling. Professor Goodwitch walked over to comfort the crying Blake.
"How? How could he have just died? How could he just leave me?" Blake asked as she buried her face into Professor Goodwitch's chest.
"There there child. There's nothing you could've have done. C'mon let's go get some tea, calm down, and you could explain to us exactly how this happened." Blake nodded and allowed professor Goodwitch to lead her out of the room, Followed by the rest of the team who were still to in shock to say anything.
"Go with them Zade make sure they are ok." Allister ordered. Zade nodded before making his way to the door and following team RWBY.
"Max, Darron gave you a mission last night right? GO get it done. I'd just like to have a moment alone with him." Max could hear the sadness creeping into Allister's voice and left on his assignment. Once Allister was the only one left in the room he closed and locked the door before turning back to his friend.
"You can wake up now. They are gone." Allister said. Suddenly the sheet was thrown up in the air and Darron started taking really deep breaths.
"Shit, Do you know how hard it is to hold your breath and control your heartbeat for that long?" Darron asked. Allister just laughed.
"You know Goodwitch is going to remove one of your balls for this little prank right." Darron sat himself up against the headboard with a nod. "Yeah but I think I can manage it." He answered jokingly. Allister's expression suddenly darkened as he moved to sit on the counter directly across from Darron.
"Cut the crap boss, What the fuck is going?" Allister asked.
"What are you talking about?" Darron countered.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. What happened. Ever since we got here you've been so unusually happy for who you usually are. I mean, yeah you're always ready to make a joke or a quick verbal smack at Zade or Max when they're being a little bitch but this. It's been nothing but smiles and sunshine, plus we had the Pyrrha fiasco and now this. Something's off. Especially in the fact that you're apparently so fucking happy but won't tell Blake shit about how you love her. What the fuck?" By now Darron's demeanor was just as serious as Allister's.
"The reason I won't tell Blake is because I'm so happy all the time." Allister raised an eyebrow.
"I don't follow." Allister said.
"Look, The reason I won't tell Blake is because I need the pain to keep my semblance active. Ever since it's been suppressed by these cuffs, The voices have disappeared and I don't know what will happen if I become so void of negative feelings." Darron answered.
"Wait wait wait. The voices are gone?" Allister asked incredulously. Darron nodded. "Holy shit these cuffs really have cut off all ties to our semblance haven't they. But, no I understand. However, you can't keep fucking beating around the bush. You are going to need to tell her or you might lose her."
Allister stated
"That does seem to be the dilemma isn't it. All I know for sure now is that the voices have disappeared and I'm happy." Darron responded.
"Bullshit. You've never given a fuck about how happy you were. All you ever cared about was making the pain of others less. What has happened." Allister started to yell.
"Al, This shit is not about me being happy. This is me enjoying the time I have to be happy before I know i need to deal with the voices again." Darron shuddered at the thought before continuing. "I just want to do me for this time and if I need to postpone telling Blake anything until then, then so be it." Allister nodded understandingly. Allister quickly disappeared from the room and appeared a few seconds later with a body bag, presumably stolen from the morgue. Darron and Allister smiled mischievously to one another as Darron started to lay himself in the bag.
"Let's do this shit." Darron stated. Darron and Allister high fived as Allister finished zipping Darron inside the bag, threw the bag over his shoulder and walked out of the hospital. Zade was in team RWBY's room trying his best to keep everything calm. He held Weiss close to his chest as he stroked her hair reassuring her. Ruby and Yang held onto each other in their mourning, and Blake leaned
against Zade's back. The four girls continued to mourn the loss of their new friend when they heard a knock at the hotel room door. Zade slowly removed himself from Blake and Weiss as he went to go see who was knocking. The four girls gathered behind them just as curious. Zade opened the door to reveal Allister with a full body bag slung over his shoulder. Zade stepped aside and Allister walked into the room, flashing Zade an unnoticeable wink. Allister placed the body bag on one of the beds and unzipped it. Darron's body laid still on the mattress. Each of the girls placed a hand on him and said something though brief was somewhat sentimental.
"Goodbye Darron. You were… so… cool" Ruby rasped that last part out as she started to cry again.
"Fuck man. Sucks you had to die so soon." Yang added in her own special tender way as Alastair walked behind her and wrapped her in a hug from behind.
"Well, I suppose I must thank you for at least being one source of normalcy in helping us deal with the rest of these hooligans." Weiss added making everyone laugh slightly. Blake stepped forward. Her voice choked with tears.
"Darron… I I I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you, my favorite person in this world. I'll miss you." Blake then bent down to place a kiss on Darron's forehead. Just as she was about to connect the fingers in Darron's left hand twitched. Blake shot up straight.
"Did you see that!" She yelled. The fingers on Darron's hand continued to twitch with increasing intensity. Suddenly Darron's entire body began to convulse. The girls screamed as they stepped around the body. Allister and Zade moved to the bottom of the bed, inconspicuously fistbumping each other. The Girls continued to stare unsure of what to do as Darron's spasm grew even more
violent. Suddenly everything stopped. Darron fell still and everyone just stood staring.
"D-Darron?" Blake asked cautiously. Darron's eyes snapped open and he lunged off the bed at Blake. The girls screamed and jumped back. Blake jumped over the other bed in the room as Darron rolled off the bed and scrambled up the other one trying to chase her. Yang grabbed Darron's ankle and threw him to the other side of the room. Darron hit the wall and bounced to the ground before
standing up and racing towards the girls. Allister and Zade had retreated to a corner of the room so that the would be out of Darron's way, trying hard as possible not to laugh.
"Zombie!" Ruby yelled as she unfurled Crescent Rose. Ruby took a swing at Darron, who managed to dodge the swing and move around the outside of the weapon. Ruby ran backwards tripping into Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Team RWBY fell in a jumbled mass just in front of the door. Darron seemed to shudder a he stood still for a moment. Darron jumped at the girls with a mix of a roar and a groan. The girls screamed and closed their eyes.
"Fuck!" The girls open their eyes to see
Darron pushed back towards the other side of the room holding his nose as he kneeled. They looked up to see professor Goodwitch standing at the door. Team RWBY stood up as did Darron.
"What is the meaning of this?" Goodwitch demanded.
"Nothing, nothing. just a little joke." Darron answered. Team RWBY stared at him, their
faces slowly growing angrier.
"You let us think you were dead. You made us feel so bad for a joke?" Yang asked obviously dumbstruck. Darron pretended to think about it for a minute.
"Yep that sounds about right." He answered.
"And you guys were in on it?" Weiss directed toward Allister and Zade, who merely replied with
thumbs up's.
"You ASSHOLES!" Blake screamed as All of team RWBY brandished their weapons and advanced on the three. Darron, Allister, and Zade started to slowly back away.
"C'mon now. Let's not do anything rash." Darron tried to diffuse the situation.
"Oh it's far too late for that." Ruby responded. Darron threw an amused look at Goodwitch, who just shrugged and left.
"We fucked up." Zade inputted. "
No! thank you. I hadn't noticed." Allister responded sarcastically.
"Shit." was
the last thing Darron said before team RWBY attacked. Max strolled through the village streets until he had come across the hunting management office. It was an old western styled establishment that not only kept the hunting records but sold much of the equipment needed. Max entered and walked up to the man who appeared to be running the place.
"Hello may I help you?" The man asked politely.
"Yes, I am one of the hunters here for the mission and I was wondering if you could tell me if
there has been an increase in Alpha grimm hunting. It's for a school project?" Max answered."Sure just one second." The man replied. He ducked into the back room behind his desk and reappeared a few moments later.
"Here we are. Yeah there has been an increase in alpha killings. It started 5 weeks ago and even skyrocketed the week later… that's odd." Max noticed the quick add on of the man.
"What's odd?" He asked.
"Oh nothing. I just think it's a coincidence that this coincides with the
arrival of Griven tech industries who just opened up an office here about these times." The man explained. Max flipped through the records quickly.
"Would you mind if I borrowed these for a little while?" Max asked.
"No problem." The man replied. "Just make sure you have it back here before you leave ok."
"No problem and thank you." Max said as he grabbed the file and made his way out the door and back to the hotel. Behind one of the many shelves a nearly invisible man dressed head to toe in black placed a call on his scroll.
"The targets have been confirmed spotted in Sirak." He spoke in a low whisper.
"Excellent. Follow them. Now that we've found them we can proceed to phase 2. Don't lose them." A obviously distorted voice ordered before hanging up the phone. The man in black put away his scroll before following Max out of the store.