"I": speaking
'I': thinking
i: past events
Beacon Academy, Ozpin's Office.
72 hours after the mission at Solitas was ended.
How?
Just how exactly did it happen? How does an entire squadron of trainee Huntsmen and Huntresses, forget their own leader? How did no one else see him or his whereabouts when he was supposedly in the vicinity of his team the entire time? None of this made any sense whatsoever, and hours later, he was still without any answers.
He sipped his coffee slowly as he stared at the feeds and footage from the Bullheads, he must've watched the videos dozens of times since it was brought to his attention. His eyes cycled from the videos to the written report of the entire event, looking for any discrepancy or missed detail possible, to no avail.
The report read as follows:
As of seventy two hours ago, five teams were sent into the tundras of Solitas for various joint-inclement weather training scenarios. Teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, with added assistance from Shade Academy's BRNZ, NDGO and a dozen singular students were dropped at the LZ at approximately 0800 hours. Two hours into the exercise, team RWBY engaged was what was assumed to be a small pack of Beowulves across the nearby clearing. Contact was made and by 1200 hours, a full scale battle was taking place.
Four casualties happened within the fight, including a notice of Missing in Action for one Jaune Arc. CRDL team leader, Cardin Winchester reported seeing his fellow leader being overcome by a group of Ursa Majors, unfortunately he was unable to reach him in time for a rescue.
AT THIS TIME, ALL REQUESTS FOR A SEARCH AND RESCUE ARE DENIED UNDER LACK OF NECESSARY RESOURCES AND MANPOWER NEEDED TO INITIATE A PROPER SEARCH.
Ozpin was not in a good mood.
He'd lost yet another student that had a world of potential within them, a blank slate if you will. Capable of becoming anything with the right guidance and direction, now that hope is dashed to the four winds with the official notice from the Council.
Jaune Arc was to be signed off as MIA/KIA, effective immediately.
Oh, he understood why the Council was so insistent on the matter. They never felt the need to send a search party of any kind to begin with. In the words of one particular member, 'To waste time and valuable resources to find one man is simply ridiculous. He would've been jailed for fraud if you hadn't been shielding him anyway and you are already on very thin ice as it is...'
We are at war for the sake of the world, every able-bodied fighter has value. 'How can they not understand something so simple,' he wondered.
The news of Beacons fraud being missing in action had left a blemish of confusion and frustration within the Academy, the students had to deal with what was to be for some of them, their first taste of the harshness of being a Huntsman. While many of them may have thought themselves untouchable, this should serve as a wake up call. Sometimes, not everyone makes it back home.
Knock knock*
a soft but clear tapping could be heard behind him.
Someone was at the window of his office, no doubt one of his teachers and professors needed his assistance for the curriculum. "Ozpin, it's Glynda."
Ah, his second in command, "Of course, do come in."
The office doors quietly slid open, and a solemn looking Glynda Goodwitch softy strode into the room. "I've finished questioning most of the students involved in the Solitas reconnaissance mission, a few of them were understandably shaken by the news." She let go of the breath she was holding in before continuing, "I don't think any of them really thought that something like this was still a possibility while being a trainee. It being... Mr. Arc of all people, I expected more of an unemotional sentiment than this."
With a heavy sigh of his own, he matched her, "Indeed, with the way they were acting prior to this you would've thought that they were out for his blood."
"Well, there are a fair amount of students who felt that this was all inevitable. A horrendously untrained student having been given a team to lead, how could it have ended in any way but disaster..?"
Ozpin had caught that, did she blame him for these mishaps as well now? More importantly, was she wrong to do so? He found himself wondering if he'd made the right decision by allowing the boy the enroll. If he'd known that this would be the end result, would he have moved differently.
"Has his... 'family' been informed of his status as of now?" He knew the answer already but he had to have the expletives.
Clearing her throat, Glynda began her own report; "Yes... and as expected, Julius wants Crocea Mors retrieved but I have already explained to him that it just isn't possible at this point. He seems to care nothing at all for his own son however, even going so far as to say that he'd already prepared himself for his sons foolish decisions becoming the end of him quite some time ago." There certainly was something to be said about men who are staunch in upholding tradition. Julius is just such a man, a man that cares so deeply for the old ways that anything and anyone could and would be sacrificed in order to maintain it.
"What of his own and his sister team? What are their thoughts regarding what happened?"
Glynda sighed heavily, the stress of the last three days was weighing on her. "For starters, Ms. Rose has been in a severely depressed state since her return, she blames herself for not being able to save him despite feeling that she was the fastest and most capable of rescuing him than the rest of her team. Admittedly, they are far more controlled in their grief. With the exception of Ms. Schnee, they all have some level of self-placed guilt on themselves"
She scanned over her written report for a moment before continuing, "Ms. Xiao Long has been trying and failing to ease her sisters grieving process, though it would seem that she too is at odds with the loss of Jaune Arc. She even openly admitted to trashing a bar in downtown Vale. In truth, we already knew about the incident but her punishment is still pending, I assume?"
"...For the time being, yes. Considering who owned that bar, I'd say we chose the lesser of two evils. Continue." He urged Glynda to pick up from where she started.
"Of course. Ms. Schnee seems to be the least affected of the group and considering her feelings regarding Mr. Arc, it's no surprise."
She sighed quietly before finishing up, "Finally, Ms. Belladonna seems to have more or less gotten over the event. Again, considering her background as a former White Fang operative, it's not hard to imagine her being steeled against seeing people die and the like. She is however, withdrawing from her teammates more so than usual lately."
"I see...," the Headmaster hoped that this wouldn't break the young Rose spirit. Too often did traumatic events such as this stunt the growth of Huntsmen or Huntresses. He did not want that fate for his students.
"And what of his own team...?"
[O]
Beacon Academy, training room
Present day.
The metallic clanking of robotic feet could be heard at every angle of the arena. From one side to the other, a dozen training bots surged out from several hidden compartments, each one converging on the center of the room. The foremost droid took off into the air with a powerful leap, it's right arm reeled back and ready to slam all of it's force into some unprepared huntsmen youth before its brethren could finish them off.
Too bad for them, they weren't facing run-of-the-mill students.
The midair, engaging droid had no chance whatsoever as it was quickly bisected and left to the floor. A shield, golden with shimmering hints of bronze, spun through the space between the now downed bot and splashed into the head of another like a heatseeking missile. The Shield, now wedged in the machine mans head, heaved hard before shooting out, yanked away only to return to it's owners hand.
A slender and delicate hand, one that most certainly belonged to a woman.
That woman, being none other than The Champion herself... Pyrrha Nikos.
She launched her shield into the crowd again, only for it slowly hover above the bot gang. "Nora, now!" Her voice rang out through the battlegrounds before she spotted the silhouette of something pink on the other side of her position. "On it!" As if on cue, the silhouette sprung into the air, revealing itself to the be ginger-haired grenadier in question, Nora Valkyrie.
As she made her highest point, she drew her explosives-throwing, grenade launcher/hammer, Magnhild. Primed and ready for destruction.
Without much of her usual flare and antics, she aimed and unleashed a hellish volley of pink, incendiary power into the mecha crowd below. The end result was nothing short of horrific as bits and pieces of robotic arms and limbs were splayed and spread across the floor. Loose wires and diodes littered the air as she descended down and onto the battlefield.
Her landing zone was quickly cleared by barrage of bullets, peppering many the remaining bots long enough for the Champion to pierce through and destroy the stragglers with quick and decisive force. The grenadier gracefully fell into a roll and speedily regained her footing. She turned to acknowledge the assisting team leader with a thumbs up and a smile, but her expression was a far-cry from her usual joy and bubbly personality.
Ever since 'his' disappearance, she's changed quite a bit, she'd become a bit more... mature.
Lie Ren, the resident ninja of their team, was at a loss as he kept his eyes on her. His childhood friend was changing right in front of him and he knew it was because of old wounds.
He still remembers it clearly.
His last interaction with their lead- former leader, Jaune Arc.
Even Ren couldn't deny how the quickly the conversation went south. He never imagined himself succumbing to rage, but after learning the truth about his so-called leader... he snapped.
He, the one person who should've had more self-control than anyone, flipped and struck out. Quite literally, considering how viciously he hooked him. His aura had no time to activate and protect him before Ren's fist connected, causing a nasty sounding crunch to echo. Of course, even with a broken nose and busted lip, Jaune tried to defend himself. It didn't do him any good though, as Ren continued with a few more shots to his torso and face before he threw Jaune out of the dorm.
"All this time, you could've put us all in danger, you could've put Nora in danger... I can't have that. Don't come back here, ever."
He could still see the look of pure anguish and pain on his former friends face in his mind.
Looking back on it, he knew he was out of line for attacking him so suddenly. Nothing could excuse that, but he just couldn't let go of it, not when he'd seen people like Jaune before. Not when he knew how fools like him were dooming themselves, with their false confidence and bravado. Especially not when people he cared for could be put in danger because of it. He had to protect her, for his own sake as well as hers.
Granted, this time it meant cutting ties with one friend to save another.
Suddenly, the buzzing bell signaling the end of the session rang and gained their immediate attention. A monotone, machine-like voice chimed in and filled the space with sound once more.
"New Record Time! Four minutes, thirty two seconds! Congratulations, Team PNR!"
PNR... Pioneer... their new configuration.
It was odd to say the least, and with Pyrrha being the new leader of a three-man team things were bound to be different.
Pyrrha, for all of her battle prowess and skill, had a very rough time trying to be a leader. Fighting, that was in her nature but leading others was simply not something she had the aptitude for in the beginning. Taking the position was definitely not something she was looking forward to, but after everything that happened, none of them wanted a new team member for their own reasons.
That Day...
The three of them were in shock when they realized that Jaune wasn't aboard the Bullhead. Nora was having what basically amounted to a meltdown and Ren was on high alert. His head was on a constant swivel, scanning every inch of the Bullhead for his hapless leader, it was no use sadly. Pyrrha couldn't stop her own tears if she wanted to. Of course, even in her own disbelief Ruby was quick to try and ease the tense situation.
She sat by Nora and quietly helped Ren calm her down, but what they heard next was simply too much for them.
Marching to the front, Cardin Winchester made the claim that he had witnessed the fall of Jaune Arc personally.
In hindsight, Pyrrha thought it was odd that Cardin of all people, tried to reassure everyone of how he'd seen Jaune fall to his demise, but her immediate sadness upon hearing that the man she had a severe crush on had fallen in battle, gave way to more pressing matters. Nora, who had been somewhat calmed, suddenly charged Cardin with a rage only a few minus Ren had ever seen.
"What did you do? What did you do to Fearless Leader!?" She shouted angrily, yet not knowing how right she was to accuse him of foul play.
"I swear, I couldn't reach him in time! I swear it," he uttered helplessly as he dangled in the air from her grip.
"Liar!" Nora just wasn't going hear his reasons at this point, but before it could go any further, Yang tackled Nora to the floor of the Bullhead. "Nora, I know you're upset but you've gotta chill out! We still aren't out of the woods yet!"
Who knew Yang could be a voice of reason, but considering the state her younger sister and leader is also in after hearing the bad news didn't give her much of a choice. "Yang's right, we all need to calm down so we can better assess the situation," Blake chimed in from her seat next to Weiss who also nodded in agreement.
Begrudgingly, Nora got up, dusted herself and made her way back to her seat. Nothing and no one could stop her from venomously glaring at the now flinching Winchester boy, however. Watching the scene unfold was very eye-opening for Pyrrha, she could tell that Nora was going to be a handful for both Ren and herself in the near future.
Fast forward two weeks and they were already in Ozpins office being informed of a possible new addition to their team.
"Sir, the three us have agreed to not having a new partner. We've become closer during these last few weeks and... we just want to stay as we are Headmaster."
Which was true, in the time since the incident, the trio had grown closer through mourning over the loss of their friend.
Friend... The word felt hollow now, considering how he was treated up until the very end. The three of them took it pretty hard, each of them feeling a their personal brand of guilt over everything that had transpired. Though, through all the pain, they gained an understanding and care for each-other that they would never have known otherwise.
"...Very well, Miss Nikos. From today onward, you will be the leader of the newly formed Team PNR. Though, I wish such accolades could be given at a better time..."
Present time
The day she volunteered to be the team leader and voted against filling the gap that Jaune left behind, was when she knew she had to step up. Something that was made ever the more clear when the Headmaster informed of the truth about the Maidens.
She was to become the next Fall Maiden. The Champion could see her destiny before her now, the next Maiden... the next hero of Remnant.
She could no longer be indecisive or unsure of her stance, her obligations to her teammates and the world were now her top priority.
"Good work you two, we should definitely be ready for the Vytal Festival now." She congratulated the two of them for their roles, knowing how bumpy the road has been to get to this point.
"Yea, we're definitely gonna kick ass," Nora tooted her own horn as she exclaimed their victory.
"Butt, Nora. We're gonna kick butt." Ren quietly but curtly corrected her inappropriate language, much to her annoyance. "Ok Vulgar Police, we get it...," she drawled on, dragging out the words for extra emphasis. Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle at their antics, they always had moments like this but they became less frequent as time went by. She was glad Nora was relaxing around them again, she'd become far too serious since those days.
Though, after the laughter died down and the room was silent, Nora's mind couldn't help but drift.
"I'm sure we'll have our work cut out for ourselves considering that we'll be outnumbered." Ren's voice filled the silence of the arena easily. "I'm sure we'll manage just fine, Ren," Pyrrha insisted as she didn't want them to lose their confidence
Silence again. To which Nora said something that took them both by surprise.
"I wish Jaune were here to compete with us... as a team again..."
Oh. That one cut deep.
Ren and Pyrrha both felt their mouths dry upon hearing her statement. They where too shocked to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing.
Every time she heard his name, she became like this... quiet and downtrodden. Of course, the Champion was more than capable of keeping her composure for appearances sake, but once she was alone, those walls would crumble as if they were made of confetti. Then, she would feel it... that inescapable emotional pull that ripped and tore at her heart.
Shame.
She was ashamed of herself, for not being there when her partner needed her most. Ashamed of herself for telling him to give up his dream upon the revealing of his false transcripts.
Regardless of everything, she was his partner. She was supposed to be by his side whenever and wherever but once his transcripts came into light, she had lost her faith in him long before the public knew. Even going so far as begrudgingly avoiding him and agreeing with Ren's decision to kick Jaune out of the dorm. She even considered going straight to Opzin herself and pleading to have him removed from the school for his own safety. Even when she'd lost faith, she still cared for him enough to want him out of harms way.
Not like any of it mattered now, he was gone and she would have to live with her shame and guilt forever.
Ren, however was conflicted. Did he feel guilt, of course he did, but he knew a part of him still felt just the same as he did the day they fought.
Even if he were here, alive and well, would things be any better? He'd still be mocked and shunned regardless and they couldn't have that. Ren highly doubted that Jaune would ever agree to being in the same vicinity with him anymore, so returning to the dorm was out. Pyrrha was just as certain that she had broken his heart just as hers had been broken that night, he wouldn't want to see her now.
Teamwork aside, there's also the matter of his... performance issues. He'd have to be severely trained from the ground up due to his terrible combative skill. Add that with the constant missions and assignments, and honestly it wasn't painting a pretty picture.
"Guys...?" Nora softly questioned. She didn't like the awkwardness of the situation or the looks they were sporting.
Ren had to stop thinking about the situation like that, as if he was just... good for his abilities...
Was that really how he saw him at the end of it all?
Did his feelings mean nothing at all to them?
The two shared a glance at each-other, confirming the shared thoughts between them. "Come on, lets head back to the dorm. We've got plans with team RWBY later." Ren quickly chimed in to derail the conversation before it got ugly, Pyrrha nodded a silent thank you at him before they made their out of the arena.
Only Nora was left lagging behind, her statement left hanging as well. She couldn't help but wonder if they ever really looked at him as a friend to begin with.
"His own family shunned him... if we just follow their example, what good does that make us? We were a team and he was our leader, our fearless leader... doesn't that mean anything to them now?"
She exhaled softly before leaving the training room, shutting off the lights behind her.
[O]
Titan, current time
"So what exactly is the mission?" Azure asked from the desk of the quaint weapons shop, to which Moon responded with a soft chuckle, "Just need you to come with me to the castle for a... search and seizure of sorts." She moved around the desk with a liquid smoothness and ease as she continued to speak.
"Basically, there's something in that castle I need. Badly. The only problem was that the weather was too insane to make the trek until recently when the seasons started shifting." That piqued the his interest, was it some kind of treasure? She picked up on his curiosity and quickly threw her hands up in front of him. "It's just a rare artifact, nothing over the top."
"How is that not over the top?" Azure wondered with no shortage of confusion.
"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure? I'll even help you train with your new kit too..."
Well, it wasn't a bad deal considering everything he was just given, and he wasn't one to not pay back a favor. So, with a long sigh and a smile, he shook her hand. "Ok, I'm game."
Moon was beaming, her eagerness was absolutely palpable as she started pulling certain items off the shelf behind her. "Awesome! You're awesome!~," she cheered as she jumped over the counter to wrap the boy up in a large hug.
As it turns out, her hugs are of the bone-breaking variety as well.
"Ok, no problem... please let go now..!" He struggled to regain his breath and was holding back from failing and squirming in her grasp. "Oh! My bad..." she giggled awkwardly.
"Tomorrow at noon should be a perfect time for us to head out, in the meantime we've got to get you a room... and a change of clothes too. No offense, but nothing you have on matches you, at all," she said as she finished scanning him up and down. "I'm sure wherever you found those clothes, they aren't being missed."
"The coat stays." Azure firmly stated, the overcoat had become the substitute for his long gone Pumpkin Pete hoodie and he wasn't in any hurry to lose it.
"Sure, sure. I've got plenty of spare huntsmen threads laying around here, I'm sure something will work." She smiled as she finished and gestured for him to follow her to the hall.
With that settled, Azure was ready to get some rest so he let Moon led him out of the armory and upstairs to a quaint, little room next to a back door entrance. After a shared goodnight from the both of them, he turned to observe his living space. An adequately sized bed, covered in thick sheets and cushions sat in the corner by the window. A small desk rested underneath the window and next to the head of the bed.
After almost a year in the wild frozen lands of Solitas, the constant battles and struggles he had to endure just to make it through the day, he couldn't help but feel a bit out of sorts as he looked at all the amenities of civilization. His emotions were everywhere and he honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to cry tears of joy or just scream and sigh in relief.
Sensing his somewhat trembling state, she gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "I'll leave you to it, ok? I'm sure you'd wanna to get some real sleep anyway." With a quiet and curt nod from Azure, she left him to return to her daily duties.
Needing to calm down a bit, he took several deep breaths before he entered.
Stepping into the room, he took notice of the double doors on the other side of the room. Making his way in front of them, he grabbed the knob handles and pulled both doors open.
To his surprise, this was by far the nicest closet he'd ever seen, long but quite wide with a soft blue color to the walls. Two racks, each adorned as side of the space, were filled with entire outfits and ensembles of different colors and designs. Built in upper shelves had plenty of accessories for anybody to enjoy, it made Azure wonder if all customers were given the same treatment. Probably not, considering he is doing her a favor as well.
Further inside, his eyes locked onto the inner section of the closet to reveal a small bathroom deeper within, a nice little nook hidden away but in open view whenever the closet doors are open. He took note of it, and went back to exploring his newfound options of clothing.
After a half an hour of getting somewhat lost in all the fabrics, he managed to find a blue outfit that caught his eye. The piece had a militaristic look that he thought was just too cool to ignore.
Consisting of a dark blue, upper wrist-sleeved, top that came down to his lower stomach, three down straps connected the middle of the top. A skin-tight, black shirt with black leather, ribbed and fingerless gloves and matching arm bands came with the top to finish off the upper half. The lower half of his outfit was started with a matching pair of slightly baggy dark blue pants with a set of side straps near the belt loops and a short sash down to his lower hips in the front and back of the pants. A shiny metallic pair of almost knee-high boots with shin guards struck his fancy and matched well with the outfits overall look.
Finally, the badass commando finishing pieces he thought looked good amounted to a pair of gold framed, dark blue-lensed sunglasses, a white hair tie and a winter camouflage-themed beret with hints of blue, white, black and grey. He couldn't help but remember some girl from Beacon looking very similar to himself when he tried it all on with his overcoat.
He never used to be much of a hat guy before, but with the climate here being what it was, being warm meant so much more to him now.
That being said, he had an epiphany in the moment of accessorizing. He used to want to look like the knights in shining armor from the boyhood stories of his former families tales of heroism, but the more he looked back on his life, he realized he was the farthest thing from being knightly. He felt as if he could no longer be that shining example of righteous. So he elected to change himself fundamentally and from the ground up, he would create his own example of greatness.
All of that would have to wait however, because the former Arc was dog tired. After eight months of sleeping outside and in caves, the bed looked like a long-lost lover, waiting with open arms for his embrace.
He quickly sprinted to the bathroom to take a shower first and foremost. He needed to get the grime of the wild off of his skin, he needed a real soak and he was intent on getting it. Once he figure out how the shower worked, he was swiftly inside the steaming hot streams, luxuriating in the heated water running over his skin. The bottle of shampoo and soap let in the shower was well used by the time he exited.
Not even wasting time by putting on any other clothes, he all but flew into the bed. The feeling of soft, cushy linen and fabric was downright therapeutic, and by the time he'd landed on the soft linen, sleep had already taken him.
~
The morning came in a flash and before Azure had even awoken, nine hours past him by as he slept. The frigid lands morning sun was already beaming into his room, it's warm rays resting softly on his face from the window.
With a soft sigh, Azure began to stir and rise. Upon entering the waking world again, he noticed a digital clock on his desk stand, Ten o'clock exactly. 'Wow,' he marveled to himself, he couldn't remember the last time he could actually tell the time with any real sense of accuracy.
After taking a moment to stretch the morning kinks and cramps out, he yawned and arose from the bed and headed straight to bathroom.
He was in and out of the bathroom in a relatively good time, not wanting to be late even though a specific time wasn't set between the two of them. His new outfit was in the front of the rack where he left the night before, he slipped it on and examined himself in the mirror before ok-ing the look.
It was then that he paid serious attention to his now adequately lengthy hair. With a loud huff, he snatched the hair tie from the desk and tied up his hair in tight, close ponytail. He still had bangs but they were an agreeable length for him to deal with. Once that was finished, on went the beret and overcoat and he was out of the door in a flash.
On his way down a nearby flight of stairs, he made sure to remember the way he made it downstairs for future reference. As soon as he made it to the last step of the stairs leading to the main lobby, he caught sight of Moon by the desk with a large case beside her. The case was covered with ornate artwork and symbols he couldn't place.
Even more interesting was that she had her left eye completely uncovered as she scanned what looked to be jet-black sheet of paper. The iris was a shimmering iridescent shade, never quite settling on one color. The glittering glint of her eye drew in most of his immediate attention.
Before his feet hit the hard-wood floor of the lobby she was already en route to meet him where he was, her eye covered once more.
"Hey Azure, you look like you're ready for the day." She cheerfully commented, seemingly noticing his change in attire through the blindfolds.
"As I'll ever be. Thanks again, for all of this Cyan."
She sighed, only a little annoyed with the circumstances "Don't start that up again, I told you it's fine. I wanted you to have that stuff anyway." She was adamant on the end of the 'thank you' complements, clearly.
"Right, my bad..," Azure quickly corrected himself as he scratched the back of his head. Nodding in acceptance, she opened the doors and ushered him outside with her, "Let's get a move on, we've got a pretty big day ahead of us."
With a nod of his own they were off, granted the way she showed him to the back gates was far faster then how he'd arrived at her inn prior. After they passed the gates, they were back to the wilds he'd become so accustomed to. As they trekked deeper into the woodland trails Azure relaxed a bit more, stretching his arms and back. Moon took note of his noticeable relaxation increase since re-entering the wild, "Feeling at home?"
Taken aback, he looked surprised at the comment. Admittedly, he did find easy to unwind himself as he walked through the woods. "Yea, I guess so...," he responded more-so to himself.
Azure hadn't realized just how close to the wild he still was, after all, he'd just rediscovered civilization. It couldn't be helped that his readjusting to society would certainly be a bit bumpy at first.
The walk to the castle was pretty uneventful minus the errant Beowulf that sprung out of the woods on occasion. Moon took advantage of those sporadic events as means to give Azure an impromptu training chance to take shots at them with his new rings. To his immediate surprise, it wasn't hard for him to use them. In no time at all, he was smacking the demon hounds with a myriad of aura-powered, elemental bolts.
A stray near the treeline? A fire bolt to the face.
A pair sneaking up behind Moon? Hole-punched with high-pressure water beams.
An enraged Beowulf in midair? Sliced to bits by wind bullets.
"Hey! Azure, try the Kukri! We've got plenty of pups here to work with!" She shouted over the growls and howls on the forest floor, cleaving through multiple darks wolves in the process with a large Battle Axe. 'So that's what the case was for...,' he mused mentally before rejoining Moon in the mauling.
His new blade was drawn in a flash, it's lighter weight made it insanely easy for him to make more accurate cuts and slashes to his foes. He quickly dismembered a nearby Ursa, freeing its arms from the rest of its body and decapitated it soon after. An overly large Beowulf took notice of Azure and bounded over to him in a fit of rage, only for its right-armed swing to be completely dodged. The blonde fighter made quick work it of it via the high-vibration frequency coursing through the blade itself
One clean slice went through not only the Beowulf, but the handful of trees behind it as well.
"Woah...," Azure marveled. To think that this little blade had such destructive potential, he was awestruck. Moon giggled in response as she landed beside him, "Yea, it's a high-powered scalpel essentially."
Minutes turned to moments as they walked further into the woods near the base of the mountains. Grimm were in good supply as they seemed that the closer they made it to the mountains, the more Grimm attacked and with more variety. Neither of the two were overly concerned as Azure was becoming deathly efficient with his new weapon, each cut leaving gaping gashes in not only his enemies but the immediate environment as well.
He hadn't even considered activating his semblance yet, he had a good stride going and didn't really need to overextend himself. Granted, he was definitely considering if he was capable of achieving more precision and damage with it active.
From his right, he could hear Moon's sing-song like voice calling out to him, "Hey, we're almost coming up to the halfway point. It'll be easier traveling from there." Her movements were like watching rushing river water, shifting and swaying from Grimm to Grimm as she hacked them all into two's and four's. The way she swung her insanely-sized axe, made him very happy that she wasn't a bandit. Otherwise, he'd have definitely given her a wide berth.
About an hour of hiking and a little bit of climbing, they came upon cliffside with a lift and cable support system. The operator for it was inside the lift and outside via a stand with a panel attached. The cables stretched all the way up to the castle into what looked like a canopy strictly for the lift.
"All Aboard!" Moon shouted gleefully, she was enjoying herself immensely as she walked. "How long has this been here?" Azure wondered aloud, curiosity getting the better off him.
"Believe or not, this was a recent install. Two years ago, we'd be walking the path up the mountains... too long for us." She mentioned before pointing to another trail one hundred and fifty yards to the left of them.
It looked like a one-way trip to Hell. Steep crags, tall cliffs, sharp, jagged rocks and boulders and tons of climbing needed to reach certain places.
Azure took one wide-eyed, fearful gaze at the heinous looking trail before he was nodding in agreement, this was definitely more convenient.
Words from the Author
Chapter three!!
Hey Peeps, another chapter down! Next time, I'll go a bit more in depth with team RWBY, Ruby in particular.
Next Release on the menu is Full Bloom, then DIOB! Finallyfinding more time to write and I'm hyped for more.
Comments/responses
TiredofBetrayals: I understand your issues regarding this kind of sub genre of Rwby fanfics. Ultimately, while I do try to address the issues I think are important, if I don't address everyone of them, it's because for the sake of the story I don't really need to.
I addressed and am still addressing Jaune and Pyrrhas transcript conversation being first, granted I could have done a bit better at making it clear, I'll take that one. Blakes WF issues will come later but not now and I really don't need to go into Weiss feelings too deeply on the matter simply because she wont really have that much of a role in the story to begin with.
Btw, I noticed that you guys leave big, essay sided, comments behind. I do read them, but tbh I don't plan on commenting on them all, it would just annoy the hell out of me and I don't want that lol.
Ok thanks buh bye!