all was silent in the solitary confines of the Emerald Forest, where at the moment a black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek and Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.
" Birdie, no!Ruby then proceedes in fireing off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace.
Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below.
Ren descends ,with Nora Valkyrie briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed. and spins in the air, eventually using StormFlower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...Yang fly by shouting in excitment.
"Woo-hooo! Yeah! Ally-oop! she then could be seen soaring right over the treetops,and is using her gauntlets and their combined fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.
" totally Nailed it! yang then runs off with excitment ready to get into some , her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard and jaune yells from far away greatful for the save pyrrah provided for him
"Thank you!Pyrrha looks in jaunes direction while waving to show where she is and that shes apologizng.
" I'm sorry! grim was the last one to land and grinned as he watched everyone elses landings.
" it seems my fellow classmates are having fun already hmm seems todays going to be eventful, now then i think i should follow ruby i know the others can handle themselves but ruby has a knack for trouble so thats what ill do. as grim landed, he used his sembelance to scan the area and his eyes widened as he suddenly came face to face in his vision with a grim which was human like and it stared at his mind with crimson eyes before it sniffed the air and opened its mouth as its raspy ghost like voice spoke.
" humans in the forest and our masters bloodline i smell and see it there is a reaper here- roaaaaaaaaar. grims shadow vision then cut off as dozens of roars of different pitch echoed in chorus to the humanoid grims call. grims eyes then widened as he felt dozens of grimms coming out of their homes to track down grim and the others causing grim to cuss as he took off in rubys direction determined to protect his first friend.
" i have to get to her before that creature finds her. In the middle of the forest meanwhile, Ruby lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.
thinking Gotta find Yang, Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find. ruby then seeing the forest all around her begins shouting.
"Yang! Yaaaang! internally, she is now seeing herself partnered with various people before shaking her head in dread and looking around again.
" Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Ugh! ruby then shakes her head of daydreams and calms herself.
" Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, grim, how could i forget grim,he could be a great choice, hes heroic, nice,funny, and freindly not llllike...Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pregnant pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other shakes her head at this and groans internally before following after weiss slightly.
"Wait! Where are you going?! seeing weiss walking still frustrates ruby which makes her stop and kick the ground dejectedly before speaking in a dull tone.
"We're supposed to be teammates... a few minutes later, and Weiss is seen struggling through the forest, giving an occasional grunt or "Ow!" as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above is seen in the same situation. stuck to the tree by milo which was the same way he entered the forest , only now he was patheticaly squirming around apparently struggling to free himself but failing miserabley.
" Come on, come on! Stupid...!Weiss looks up as she hears his struggle and sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from and Jaune groans in says nothing for a few minutes as she passes Ruby and pulls on her hood before finally speaking.
" By no means does this make us friends. Ruby is overjoyed as she's dragged away into the bushes and proclaims her happiness.
"You came back!Jaune being as high up as he is has no trouble seeing the scene and waving his arms in panic.
" Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!Pyrrha chuckles under her breath as she looks up from below jaune and speaks.
"Jaune Do you... have any spots left on your team?Jaune frowns a bit at this crossing his arms in defeat and mutters.
"Very funny... he eventually looks down at her and gives a smile, which she returns as she looks at him with amusement in her eyes. back to the rose and schnee duo, they can be seen trudging through the forest, weiss struggling ahead with Ruby back a ways behind seeing how fast weiss is going coughs and speaks up.
"What's the hurry?Weiss scoffs at this and a scowl covers her face as she walks before speaking.
" I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your. weiss is suddenly shocked as a smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her making her eyes widen in shock.
" What the...?Ruby smirked at weiss with pride.
"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!Weiss still stunned is looking back and forth slightly amazed.
"When did...?Ruby smiled at this before speaking.
"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters! ruby then gets an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders before speaking again with joy.
" You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like,
"Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool. and I wanna be her friend! Ruby then disappears in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around rolls her eyes and begins calling out to Ruby.
" You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!silence anwsers weiss save more noises making her eyes widen and her hand to go down to her weapon before shakily speaking.
" Ruby? the forest darkens, in response forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her as she speaks again.
" Ruby...? suddenley, eyes began apearing all around Weiss, as multiple pairs of red stare at her from the bushes and a deep growl is heard. She turns around until she spots a large, jagged Beowolf emerging from a bush and approaching her. making her shout out for her partner for backup and for the fear of what may have happned to her.
" Ruby!The Beowolf then roars as it charges toward weiss with its claws ready to strike.
meanwhile a fair distance away from wiess's location. Yang is walking and looking around.
" Helloooooooo? as yang did this, she missed seeing a shadow quickly pass by as she quickley looked around and called out again.
" Is anyone out there? Helloooo? yang then stops and raises her arms in impatience.
I'm getting bored here! however as yang does this she hears a rustling in the bushes behind her and turns.
" Is someone there? yang gets no response but the rustling continues as Yang comes over and peaks inside.
"Ruby,is that you?A low, inhuman growl is heard, and Yang's head rises up as she stares at the creature.
" Nope !Yang then quickly rolls to the side as an Ursa charges out of the green. She gets up and activates her Ember Celica, staring at the monster before another Ursa runs out behind her. She leaps over it, and its companion runs at her again, only to get knocked back by a fiery punch. The other Ursa and Yang charge at each other, and Yang manages to get under it and deliver several punches and a kick to send the creature back. before mocking them by asking them about ruby.
"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you. the ursas growl at this and swipe at her only for her to dodge and mock them with amusement.
" You could just say no. The bigger of the Ursai stands on its legs and swipes at her twice, Yang barely dodging the begins laughing and looks at them with excitment.
" Geeeez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a ba...Before she can complete her insult, a single strand of her golden hair falls in front of her face and lands on the forest looks at her strand of hair with shock before closing her eyes and speaking .
"You... yang then opens her eyes to reveal the now red color, making the Ursai look at each other confusedly before Yang screams in rage.
" You monsters!An inferno surrounds Yang for a moment, and she rockets forward, unleashing a devastating combo of flaming hits and blows on the offending Ursa, making it fly through several burning trees. The other monster runs over, but stops short at Yang's gaze while a tree falls to the ground behind growls like an animal at the ursa and shouts as she brings her gauntlents together resulting in a loud blasting noise.
"What! You want some, too?!The Ursa rears up and prepares to strike... right when a whirling noise is heard and the monster makes a befuddled noise, falling down a second later to reveal Blake Belladonna with her Gambol Shroud in the beast's pants in exhaustion while Blake recalls the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and smiling to the side. Yang, now purple-eyed again, looks to her new partner over the smoking remains of the monster and smiles as she puts a hand on her hip.
" I could've taken him. blake smiles at this and nods and the two begin walking together into the forest.
meanwhile in Weiss Schnee's predicament, as she is deflecting the swipe from the Beowolf that attackated her with her Myrtenaster and getting pushed back into the middle of the beastly circle. She holds out her sword as she goes through her dueling motions and practices. Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward — not that forward! — slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and... wiess then brings her rapier up, the revolver spinning. Now!Weiss then dashes forward with her loaded weapon at the Beowolf in front of her, just when Ruby suddenly appears between the two in a blur of rose petals and a swipe of her Crescent Rose scythe, landing a hit on the grimm making ruby smirk at landing the hit and gloats.
" ha Gotcha! Weiss widens her eyes and screams as she quickly has to stop, swinging the sword in a random direction and creating a line of fire that sets a nearby tree ablaze, followed quickly by the rest of the forest around them , ruby ,distracted by Weiss' mess-up, is barely defended when the same Beowolf scratches at her weapon, knocking the younger girl into the heiress. Ruby glared a bit as she glanced back at weiss.
" Hey, watch it! Weiss scoffed at this and put her hands on her hips.
"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you! Ruby scoffed this time and crossed her arms.
" You'll have to try a lot harder than that...The duo wield their arms as the pack of Beowolves whine and growl around them. Ruby reloads her scythe just as a flaming tree falls near them. however before it could land, grim apearead and destroyed the trees with his scythe sending them towards some of the beowolves and crushing some of them.
" hello girls i suggest you run now ill hold them off. weiss and ruby both opened their mouth to protest but grim stopped them as he turned around.
" i promise ill meet up with you later now go damnit i wont ask again and dont make me transport you.
Weiss grabs Ruby's arm in response and fantically looks at her.
" come on you heard him We have to go!She leads Ruby out of the blaze as it engulfs the grass and sets the rest of Grimm to running back the way they came or suffering in the fire. however they didnt see the grimm humanoid walk through the fire as if it was nothing as it headed towards grim.
" ah my masters grand grand son a pleasure to meet you, if you would come with me we can bring your grand grand father back. grim scowled at this and growled as he put his hands together and pulled his scythe out of the shadows.
" i know who he is and what he was supposed to do and ill be damned if he comes back. the grimms face turned to one of rage before grinning a wide face splitting grin as it got out a bone knife.
" ah so you do remember the night you and your mother were kidnapped. grim growled as he twirled his scythe around and turned it into his mini gun causing the double blades to wrap around the barrel as the scythes handle compressed and made the gun.
" go to hell. grim then began firing only for the grimm to run in a circle and dodge the shots and then ran towards grim and kicked the gun out of his hands and tried to slash his gut. but grim saw this coming as he leaned back and avoided the slash. grim then kicked the grimm in the face and went for his weapon and transformed it again taking off one blade to make a sickle and holding a scythe in his other hand.
" no more games im going to end you. the grimm smirked at this as it put its knife away and got out a bone sword.
" good luck reaper. grim roared in response and charged at the creature with rage and attacked him without hesitation causing the grimms eyes to widen as he began to barley dodge or block grims strikes until, grim finally did land a hit on the grimm.
" agh how is this possible you shouldnt have full acess to your powers yet. grim grinned evilly as they both looked at each other before stalking towards the grimm.
" looks like i do sucks to be you dont it. the grimm said nothing in responese as it jumped into the shadows to hide. as grim saw this he laughed mockingley as he found the creature in the dark.
" do you really think thats going to help you. grim once again got no response to this as instead the grimm dove out of the shadows and with both knife and sword he attacked. grim however was ready and pushed his scythe forward to move the grimms sword away into a tree, and at the same time brought his sickle up hard into the grimms knife enough to where his sickles blade went into the creatures shoulder. grim then wrenched his sickle free and kicked the grimm towards the tree.
" you are a pathetic creature.
said grimm didnt respond as it clutched its arm and pulled its sword out of the tree.
" dont get cocky boy im not done yet. grim grinned at this as he began to spin with his scythe causing a deadly bladed tornado which headed towards the grimm. however the grimm was able to roll out of the way as grim demolished where he was standing. as the grimm stood up however grim made sure to disable him as he chopped the creatrues arms off and disarmed him causing him to fall on his knees. grim then set his weapons on the grimms neck and looked down at him with a smirk.
" the darkness will never win grimm. the creature grinned at this and spat black ooze at grims feet.
" oh you poor naive boy we already have you to capture humanity will die my death means nothing. grim said nothing at this instead he chose to glare before cutting the grimms head off causing the forest to go silent as grim looked around himself to find darkness and ash.
" mhm that wasnt very paragon of me, oh well i need evidence so ill take your head enjoy being a trophy . Grim then put his sycthe back together before taking the head and followed after the direction he saw ruby and weiss go. meanwhile Ruby and Weiss had stopped a safe ways from the smoke and flames. Weiss learns over and pants as Ruby looks behind her.
"What was that?! That should've been easy and we left grim behind he could be hurt. Weiss glared at ruby and looked at her with anger.
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire and grim wouldnt be back there. Ruby scoffs at this and looks at weiss with suspicion.
" What's that supposed to mean?Weiss rolled her eyes at this and kept ranting.
" I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter! Ruby rolled her own eyes at this and looked at weiss with anger.
"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own! Weiss growled at this and shook her head.
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!Weiss then begins to walk off on her partner yet again. Ruby,with an agitated shriek, unfolds Crescent Rose, slices a tree down to the stump, refolds it back, and follows her partner as the tree crashes behind her. Neither notice the large dark feather floating onto the fallen trunk behind them but grim who comes a short while later does and cusses under his breathe before following them.
Meanwhile across the Forest, Pyrrha Nikos, armed with Miló and Akoúo̱, and Jaune Arc are making their way through the bushes. Jaune hears a noise far away and turns his head
" Did you hear that?Pyrrha nodded and looked in the same direction.
"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy.
They keep moving forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction as Pyrrha raises a branch to pass by and accidentally releases it right at Jaune's face, flooring him face then turn to a look of shock as she turned around looking back behind her to see jaune.
" Jaune! I'm sorry! Jaune laughs, lowering his hand from his cheek to reveal a gash from the wooden recoil.
"It's okay. Just a scratch! jaune then gets back up when Pyrrha approaches him and however looked at him with curiosity.
"Why didn't you activate your Aura?Jaune looked confused at this and tilted his head.
"Huh?Pyrrha looked at him qeustioningly and tilted her head.
"Your Aura. Jaune smiled at this in response and said,
" bless you. Pyrrha smiled at this and looked at Jaune knowingly.
"jaune, do you... know what Aura is?Jaune waves the question off, avoiding eye contact since he really dosent.
" Psch! Of course I do! Do you know what Aura is?Pyrrha smiles at him and gets ready to explain as Lie Ren's trek through the forest's tall grass begins
." Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?
Jaune nods at this a bit creeped out.
" Uh... yeah. while their talking Ren stops and narrows his eyes, looking around him while a huge black Grimm serpent rises up from the grass behind him and quickly surrounds him with its large, hissing body. Ren adopts a sighting stance as the snake coils together in front of him and attacks with its long fangs.
back with pyrrha , she has begun walking around Jaune while explaing.
" With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even looked surprised and curious about this.
" What about monsters?Pyrrha shook her head and continued.
" No. switching back to Ren as he leaps out of the way, the snake's mouth hitting the ground and instantly coming up again to hit a jumping Ren back with its snout. back to pyrrahs explanation.
" The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. back with Ren as he lands in a crouch when the serpent encircles him again, and he unleashes his StormFlower before jumping up and firing at the creature.
" They are the darkness, and we are the light. jaune nodded at this while at the same time Ren kicks the snake's snout and slashes at its head.
"Right, that's why we fight them! Pyrrha shakes her head no and gives jaune the anwser.
"It's not about why; it's about knowing. With ren ,the snake flows around Ren and tries to bite him again, but he flips over it and drives his weapons into its head, pausing a moment without sensing serpent's white head behind him.
"Understanding dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of turns and looks up at the white head as it launches itself at him, dodging it and landing just in time to see the head slither towards him. As it gets closer, he runs at it and leaps onto the black head, sliding over its body and blasting the other head while pyrrha continues her ralk.
" By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting. Back with Ren who, was unprepared for the white half to hit him with its head, knocking him off as he drops his weapons, and leaving him to merely raise his arms and distantly cry "No!" to the mouth of the black head. Jaune opens his eyes with the revelation and gets excited.
"It's like a force field! Pyrrha smiles at this with amusement and nods
"Yes, if you want to look at it that way.
Ren is now holding the front fangs of the colossal snake in his hands, glowing a faint, pulsating pink as he grips the teeth and yanks them from the monster's mouth, causing it to flail away. It attempts to bite him again, but Ren spins to the side and stabs a fang into its eye, rotating his arm to deliver a final blow that drives the makeshift weapon into its skull, which ripples, expands, and blows apart in a dark mess as its headless body falls over its fellow creature. Wasting no time, Ren runs right at the white begins by walking up to Jaune and touching the side of his head before speaking.
" Now, close your eyes and concentrate. Jaune looks a bit confused but this dosent stop him from complying.
"Uhh... Pyrrha smiles and closes her own eyes, opening them as her skin glows and her irises shrink before shutting them again. The two stand there, now with Pyrrha glowing a faint red and Jaune a bright white. pyrrha then begins speaking mentally as she unlocks jaunes arua .
" For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee. Pyrrha stops glowing red and hunches over in tiredness as she finished unlocking jaunes sat there for a moment still glowing and amazed, until he looked down concerned at pyrrhas condition.
"Pyrrha?Pyrrha shakes her head and begins getting back up slowly.
"It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own. pyrrha then grins as she watches the scratch close up and vanish.
" looks like You have a lot of aura. Jaune then begins smiling and looking at his hands as the glow stops.
" Wow...At the same time, Ren stands atop of the body of his enemy, sliding the weapons into his sleeves and brushing them off before a strange, animal-like noise is heard above him twice. He looks up and meets the upside-down eyes of Nora. Ren chuckles seeing nora and although he dosent show it hes happy to see her.
"I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds response, Nora gives her friend a "Boop!" on the nose, causing him to smile as they looked into the forest.