Proving Grounds
Cpl. Adrian Shepherd
Status: (Vital Monitor Updated) Alive
Location: Unknown
The trooper casually dusted himself as he walked out of the crater he had made. It was pretty big, so he really had to lift his leg up to his waist. It took him some time to notice the dumbfounded looks on the people that had witnessed his rather explosive entrance. He helped himself to a chortle.
"What?" Shepherd asked light-heartedly. "Never seen a guy fall out of the sky before?"
"Not exactly in the way you did it..." Blake muttered as she watched the newcomer approach.
"Well... okay, touché," Shepherd relented with his hands up. Walking over to the group, he turned to Ruby and Weiss. "'Sup ladies. Looks like ya made it all the way."
Quickly recovering from her stupor, Weiss shot an indignant glare at the trooper. "No thanks to you , you fiend."
"Hey Snowflake, I tried to help."
"Okay, first of all, you literally pulled me off a Nevermore hundreds of feet off the air and made me skydive the rest of the way down! How was that helping?!"
"You could take it."
"What made you think that?! And second of all, don't call me Snowflake. Somehow that's even worse than Ice Queen."
Adrian suppressed a snort at that. "Hey buddy, term of endearment, aight, nothing to get your panties bunched up over."
Weiss made a face. "What was that?"
"I said nothin'," Adrian quickly added, his cheeks reddening at the accidentally slip-of-the-tongue.
She glared. "I'm pretty sure I heard-"
"I SAID NOTHIN."
Clearing his throat and regaining his composure, he yelped in surprise as Ruby suddenly bounded forward and caught the trooper in a hug.
"Adrian, you made it!" Ruby happily shouted as she did so.
Adrian chuckled and playfully ruffled her hair. "Of course I did, Rubes. Wouldn't have wanted to miss the party."
Ruby pulled back slightly as she gently tapped Adrian's PCV. "You okay though? The fall was pretty high up," she said, noting how the vest felt a little less stiffer as she pressed her finger against it.
"Yeah, uh, maybe hitting the ground from that high up and that fast wasn't such a good idea after all," the trooper replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his helmet.
"Didn't think that one through?"
"May I ask the same about your plan to hitchhike the Nevermore?"
"You agreed to it," Ruby retorted.
"I- yeah, good point," he admitted after a moment.
The trooper held Ruby at arm's length, scrutinizing her appearance. "What about you Rubes? Made it down alright?"
"Is 'alright' how you define slamming into someone midair and smashing into a tree?" Ruby deadpanned while looking at Jaune. ("My bad," the blonde in question quickly bleated out in embarrassment.)
"Then that means you're fine then," Adrian sang out while patting her on the shoulder. He looked past her and towards the group behind her. "They say three's a crowd, but I beg to differ. The name's Adrian. Adrian Shepherd. Nice to meet y'all."
The others introduce themselves to Shepherd one by one, with Shepherd noting each and every one of them.
"Blake," the bowtie wearing Faunus-in-disguise is the first to greet him. She was reserved and monosyllabic in demeanor, but didn't seem to the point of apathy. And did the bow just twitch? "Woman of few words, huh? I can roll with that."
A carrot-haired girl in pink suddenly rushed forward and nearly rammed into the trooper. "Hey there! Name's Nora, and this is Ren!" She eagerly chirruped as she roughly shook his hand, then pointing to a guy in apparel that echoed Chinese clothing. The overall vibe reminded him of a lotus flower. He simply nodded. Adrian replied in kind.
The blonde guy with the sword approached him next. "Hey, name's Jaune. Uh, cool mask by the way." Adrian raised his eyebrow in amusement. "Rocking that sweater too, my guy. Dig it." The two shared a fist bump, surprising Jaune, but he acquiesced anyway. Aight, I can vibe with this guy, he's cool, Shepherd thought to himself.
A redhead wearing what looks like a stylized version of Greek hoplite armor politely greeted him next. "Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice to meet you." Adrian tipped his helmet to her. "Likewise, madame Nikos."
Finally, he turned to the other blonde, trying his best not to look at the very noticeable pair of basketballs for boobs. For the sake of his dignity, he will maintain his line of sight at her bright lavender eyes. "And you," Adrian addressed her, "must be Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister."
Yang shot a smug grin while putting her hands on her hips. "Guilty as charged. Did your homework?"
Adrian gulped. Oh. She's one of those people. Not that it was a bad thing, really. The thing is that he gets kind of nervous around girls like Yang. "Actually, Ruby did it for me. So, half sister or adopted?"
"Half sis. Same dad, different moms." Yang leaned in closer. Yang towered over him by a good five inches, not at all helping with Adrian's nervousness. "So, Adrian's the name, hmm? You must be Ruby's new friend." The tone in her voice, and the smug look she threw Ruby's way, were all dead giveaways to what she might be thinking.
"Yeah, I am, and before you ask, no, I'm not her boyfriend, we only just met," Adrian clarified to make sure she didn't get any ideas.
Ruby sputtered in outrage. "W-what the- Yaaaang! I only just met him, I don't even-"
Adrian suddenly put a finger on her mouth. A manic grin formed under the mask. "Buuuuuuuuut, I do now know who to turn to if I ever want to take her out on a date, so thank you very much for the clarification."
The effect was almost instantaneous. Ruby's face went from pale white to crimson in milliseconds, steam pouring out of her ears. Her expression went through all five stages of grief then settled for shock as she stared at Shepherd in disbelief. "W-what?..." she stuttered out quietly, eyes wide with an expression he couldn't quite place.
Adrian burst out in raucous laughter at the sight of bamboozled Ruby. "Kidding, kidding, I'm kidding Ruby, jeez! Heheh."
"No you're not," Sparky the Shock Roach spoke through their mental connection.
"Fine, half and half."
"See, there you go."
Yang's grin widened further as she took in the sight of Adrian's attempt at flirting. "Nice going, lady-killer," she purred, nudging Adrian with her elbow.
"Hey, what can I say, I got my charms," Adrian admitted with a shrug. "But, in all seriousness, I think it's about time we addressed some more urgent matters."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Like?"
"Well, for starters," Adrian raised a hand a stuck his thumb out to point behind him. "What do we do about him?"
Out on the clearing, the Giant Deathstalker screeched out in outrage from being ignored, the creature's pedipalps clicking and clacking as it crawled towards the group. Its serrated feet impale the ground as it began to gain speed.
As the group turned towards the incoming Grimm, Yang calmly looks around her. "Welp, guess the gang's all here. Now we can die together!"
Ruby shook out of her flustered daze and allowed a confident smile cross her features. "Not if I can help it," she declared as she gave her friends a side glance. She puts on a burst of speed and charges headlong at the Deathstalker.
Yang's eyes widen as she sees her run towards it. "Ruby wait!" She shouts after her.
Adrian sucks in some air. "Shit, that can't be good. Ruby!" Pulling a PCV Battery Unit from his backpack, he sticks it through the vest's charging port, and his HUD display shows the PCV power jump from 0% to 35%. He feels his uniform stiffen as power surges through the nanofibres woven into the cloth. Throwing the battery to the side, he sprints after her. "Ruby! Ruby don't! Get back here! Scorpions have armor, remember?!"
Ruby unfurls her scythe and fires off a round to boost herself forward. She aims to swing at the Stalker, but the creature swings its left claw forward, deflecting the blow and knocking her backwards.
"Ruby!" Adrian shouted, running faster. Far behind him, Yang followed after him, having seen her sister get blown back by the Grimm.
The reaper shakily gets up, leaning on her scythe for support. "D-don't worry, eheh," she groaned, getting to her feet. "Totally fine..."
She turned around and saw the Deathstalker preparing to strike, its pincers snapping threateningly. "Uh oh."
"Ruby, run for it!" Yang yelled from afar, her pace quickening in panic.
Ruby fires off a round at the beast's head, succeeding only in further angering it and pushing her back, causing her to turn tail and run, with the Stalker screeching again and giving chase. She ran towards Yang and Adrian, her boots kicking up dirt as she tries to put some distance between her and it.
A booming caw pierces the air.
"Adrian, up above!" Yang yells to the trooper as the Nevermore glides into view, its shadow looming over the field.
Adrian looked up at the incoming bird. "What's it going to-"
Suddenly, it let our another ear piercing caw and stops midair, swinging its wide wingspan back, then forward, sending a hail of giant feathers flying towards the ground.
"THEY CAN DO THAT?!" Adrian shrieked in indignation at the action.
"Trademark move of theirs!" Yang responded.
The large black feathers whistled through the air, embedding into the dirt in a deadly rain of death. One feather scores a hit on Ruby's cape, pinning her to the ground tightly.
"No!" Adrian cried out. Feathers continued to rain down, and they were heading in his direction. One looked to hit him, but the trooper angrily swatted the projectile aside. Yang on the other hand stopped just in time for the feather storm to stop just at her feet. She watched Adrian charge forward. "Adrian what are you doing?!"
"Piece of shit!" Plucking a feather off the ground, he ran a hand through the shaft, starting at the calamus all the way to the rachis, uprooting the tufts off except for the vane. He rolled his right sleeve down, right to the globe, then flipped the feather and held it like a javelin, looking up to the sky.
Sparky, boost me, he ordered the Shock Roach.
Consider it done Corporal. Immediately, the alien insect sent a jolt of electricity flowing into the PCV, the current flowing from the vest, to his shoulder, and into his right arm. The nanofibres stiffen considerably, his arm chafing at the added pressure of the tightening sleeve. His HUD went nuts, the power meter going haywire, but that was nothing new.
Adrian looked towards the Nevermore, his eyes gleaming with anger. "Return to sender, motherfucker!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, before running forward and throwing the feather with all his might. His upper body strength was impressive, but the added strength of the Shock Roach routing additional power into his arm made the projectile even more dangerous. It soared through the air, towards the Nevermore. Before it could react, the quill pierced the monster's right eye, straight though and burying itself in the socket. It shrieked in agony, flying away as it tried to claw out the weaponised feather from its eye.
Yang forged onwards through the maze of feathers left behind by the beast, passing by Adrian. "Nice throw," she remarked. As she turned her head towards Ruby, her eyes widened. "Ruby! Get out of there!"
"I'm trying!" Ruby pulled on her cape, trying to rip it off from the feather stuck through it. The clicking of pincers suddenly filled her ears, dread running down her spine. She looked up... and saw the Deathstalker, raising its tail, the stinger dripping with venom. It swung it forward, the stinger bearing down on her body.
Yang and Adrian were too far from her, and Adrian had his assault rifle out, but knew he wouldn't be able to be quick enough to fire off a shot. "Ruby!" They shouted in unison, reaching towards her, Adrian aiming his rifle in a futile attempt to stop it. But then, something zoomed past them. A blur of white.
Ruby shielded herself with her hands, closing her eyes... but she heard the crackling of ice instead of the rending of flesh.
A voice spoke up. A haughty one. "You are so childish."
Ruby opened her eyes, widening at the sight of the stinger barely a few inches away from her, frozen in a block of ice. Behind it, Weiss was on a knee, her rapier embedded into the dirt. A glyph had formed underneath Ruby.
Ruby looked at the heiress in surprise. "Weiss?"
"And dimwitted," she added as she got up and pulled her sword from the ground, turning around to face Ruby. "And hyperactive, and don't even get started on your fighting style."
Weiss saw her about to speak up, so she supplemented with, "And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult." The sentence threw the reaper off guard, making her pay more attention to Weiss.
She leaned closer, using Myrtenaster as a brace. "But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together," she says, putting emphasis on 'together'.
She continued on. "So if you, quit trying to show off, I'll be... well, nicer."
"I'm not trying to show off," Ruby retorted as she yanked her cape free. "I'm just trying to show you I can do this."
"You're fine," she assured, albeit in a condescending tone, before getting up and walking past her.
Ruby sighed, rubbing her hands together. "Normal knees..." she whispered under her breath.
Getting up, she walked to look behind the ice block. "Whoa!"
The Deathstalker was trying to pull its stinger out of the ice, chittering in outrage as it struggled and yanked its tail. Behind her, Yang and Adrian ran over, knocking over giant feathers as they skidded to a halt next to her. The blonde squeezed her in a bear hug. "Oh, I'm so happy you're alright!"
Adrian walked over and gently flicked Ruby on the forehead. "Please warn us next time before you decide to charge headfirst at a damn giant scorpion. And here I thought the Nevermore plan was a bad idea."
Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "My bad..."
The two teams plus Adrian regrouped to the temple. Jaune pointed towards the sky. "Guys, I think that thing's circling back," he announced to the others as he looked skyward.
Adrian walked past him and unslung his M40A1, looking down the scope. He spotted the Nevermore circling around the forest, its distant cries echoing for miles.
He quickly slung the rifle back. "He's right," Adrian confirmed as he turned to the others. "It's gonna make another pass soon. With it blind in one eye, it's going to be extra pissed at us now."
"Then what are we going to do?" Jaune asked, a little apprehensive. Adrian laid a hand on his shoulder. "Relax Jaune. We'll be fine."
Weiss stepped forward. "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." She nodded towards the relics.
"She's right," Ruby was the next to speak up. "Our mission is to grab an artifact, and make it back to the cliffs."
Weiss allowed herself a smile, offering the reaper a nod of acknowledgement. Ruby nodded back, then added "There's no point in fighting these things."
"Run and live," Jaune summarized. "That is an idea I can get behind."
"Then I suppose we're all in agreement then?" Adrian asked. No one objected. "Good. Jaune, Ruby, grab a piece and let's get the hell outta dodge."
Walking over to the artifacts, Ruby and Jaune selected a knight and a castle respectfully. They looked at each other, and shared a brief smile. Ruby then turned to Adrian, looking at the pillars.
"Hey Adrian. Picked one yet?" Ruby asked.
"Hmm..." Adrian noted the absence of multiple pieces. The black bishops, and a golden pawn. Noting how two of each piece is usually absent, possibly hinting at the formation of a team, seeing how Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang had the two white knights and Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora had the two white castle pieces. So, he decides on the other white pawn piece, plucking it off the pedestal. He looks at it. "Huh. I got a good feeling about this one, for some reason. Eh." He let it roll down his sleeve and flung it into the air. Inside his backpack, Frogman covertly opened the zipper to let the piece fall inside, then closed it up. Good job little buddy.
Meanwhile, the Deathstalker yanked even harder on its tail. The more it pulled, the more the ice cracked.
"About time we left," Ren said as the three made it back.
Ruby nodded. "Right. Let's go."
Adrian unslung his M16 Assault Rifle. "Alright guys, let's get a move on! Double time, go go go!"
He waved his left arm in a sweeping motion, letting the others run past him and over the hill. He held out his arm before Jaune could pass. "Jaune, wait."
Shepherd quickly unholstered his Berretta, flipped it so that he held it on the barrel, and pressed it against his chestplate. "It's good to have options."
Jaune looked at the gun, then at Shepherd, then at the gun again. "Uh... okay then?" He took the gun. Shepherd unstrapped his holster from his leg and handed it to the blonde. "Tie this around your leg." Jaune fastened the holster around his right leg, then pushed the pistol in, He turned to look at the trooper. "T-thanks..."
Adrian chuckled. "Don't mention it. Now run along. Those things are on the way." With that, Jaune continued along, while Adrian crouched and aimed towards the sky, vigilantly watching the Nevermore to cover their retreat.
Ruby ran up the hill next to Adrian, stopping for a moment to look at the trooper. He looked up at her, and gave her a thumbs up. "I'm fine. Go."
Ruby made to continue on, but paused for a moment. "Adrian?" she spoke as she turned around again.
"Yeah?"
Ruby gave him a smile. "Thanks for helping out earlier."
"Hey," the trooper nodded. "It's what I do. Now lemme see those legs kicking, go!"
Below the hill, Yang smirked as she saw the brief exchange between the two.
"What is it?" Blake had caught up to her, following her line of sight.
Yang shook her head. "Nothing." She continued running, Blake close by.
Shepherd was the last to leave the hill. He watched as the Nevermore began to fly back towards them.
"Now it's on." He slung his rifle and turned to catch up with the others.
A/N: ...sorry. It's been wild. But I'm back now. Laugh, signing off.