His footsteps echoed in the destroyed room. Clenched in the grasp of ten long years of complete darkness, the throne room lost its original shape and shine, leaving room for almost total desolation and corruption.
Each step was heavy. The wounds were still deep, and his energy hadn't returned at all. But still, the man pushed himself forward. Step after step, until the throne was before him.
"This…this is where we used to be…" He muttered, not hiding the sadness and pain in his voice. With one hand placed over the armrest, he sobbed a little before he suppressed it. "I'm finally home… I walked tall… And though it took me a while, I'm finally ready"
Closing his eyes, or to be fair, his eyelids were so heavy he couldn't properly keep them open, he slowly sat down on the throne. With his head propped against his hand, he looked at the entrance of the throne room where a figure cloaked in the dark was staring at him, only a pair of amber eyes were visible.
"The helpless and hapless prince. Will he be ready to claim his crown?" The figure spoke, the voice impossible to recognize neither the gender nor the tone, walking towards the man. "Don't let us down, Noct…"
Noct…
Noct…
Noct…
Noct…
"Noct!" This time Ignis shouted right inside the prince's ear, which of course woke him up as he jumped for the shock and surprise, cursing all the possible Astrals.
"For Titan's Foot—" Noctis put a hand on his chest, checking the abnormal velocity of his heart beat before he glared at a smirking Ignis, which held a cup of Ebony. "What the hell man?! You could've killed me!"
Volume 1 — Chapter 5: Piccoli Primi Passi (Tiny First Steps) [Initiation Part 1]
"But it seems you are still here with us, so I did not lose my job" Ignis retorted with amusement.
Yawning, Noctis just flapped one hand at Ignis for not replying to him. "Could you at least use the alarm?"
"I've tried it" Ignis stated, gaining the prince's attention. "And several times too, if I have to be honest with Your Highness"
"...You're joking, right?" Noctis asked.
"Unfortunately I cannot lie, or sugarcoat it as you say" Then, Ignis gestured with one hand around. "Look and see"
As Ignis suggested, Noctis looked around and noticed that, compared to last night, there were many less students in the dance room. Not only that, but even a lot sleeping bags were missing. This means only one thing…. "Am I late?"
"Indeed" Ignis took a sip of Ebony as he replied. "Almost one hour, to be precise"
"Great…" Noctis groaned. It wasn't a good way to reassure him. "There's something to eat at least?"
"Gladio kept your portion of breakfast for when you would wake up, while Prompto went ahead in the locker room to give the final adjustments on Mechonis" Ignis reassured the prince, who nodded as he began to walk away. "And Noct" Ignis called the prince, who turned his head to him.
"What's up Iggy?"
"..." Ignis adjusted his glasses with one hand, remaining silent as the lenses darkened the eyes, preventing a proper eye contact. "...Nothing"
"Ookay?" Noctis shrugged before he waved to Ignis and left. "See you later Iggy!"
In silence, Ignis took a last sip of the coffee. Although he didn't say what he wanted to say, he was already contemplating it. 'Why were you saying Bahamut in your sleep?'
"Relax, Prompto. You just need a steady hand…" Prompto repeated these words to himself like it was a mantra. His right hand was holding a pair of tweezers with a small purple orb. Laying over the desk used by gunslinger was an enormous black machine very steampunk, with a lot of the internals exposed, especially some kind of hatch in the upper section of the machine. "Steeeaady haaaand…" The boy muttered once again, bringing the purple orb to the hatch when two of the more colorful characters among his future classmates entered the locker room. One was a dark-haired boy wearing a green tunic reminiscent of the traditional fashion of Mistral, the other an orange-haired girl in a pink mini dress covered in heart motifs.
"Right. What was I thinking?" The girl mumbled through the pancake that was dangling from her mouth. Whatever their conversation had been about before they had entered was lost on Prompto. "But still, I hope we end up on the same team together." She slurped up the pancake and swallowed it in one big gulp. "Oh! We should come up with some sort of a plan to make sure."
The boy opened his locker and took out two pistols.
"What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He owns, like, the whole school." She held her chin lost in thought. "I know! We'll have a signal, like a distress call, so we can find each other in the forest." She poked the boy's cheek. "Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora," The boy said in a flat tone, making her stand to attention.
"Yes, Ren?"
The boy, Ren, held up his pistols, which disappeared in his sleeves. "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together."
Ren closed his locker. "Come on Nora, let's go."
"But not 'together' together," She said with a giggle as she followed him outside.
For the first time, Prompto could feel a headache coming. Don't take it wrong, he is usually just like her, but for this job? He prefers a bit of inner peace, y'know. Plus, he had the suspicion that prolonged exposure to Nora would be more likely to end in murder charges than a huntsman's license. "Right, what I was saying?" Prompto muttered to himself— "oh right, the orb!"
Just as he was about to return his attention to the machine, Prompto spotted another pair of students entering the locker room. Ruby was back in what Prompto knew was her signature red cape and Yang, well, she was difficult to miss, to say the least.
Between the skimpy suede skirt and jacket combo and the highlights in bright yellow and orange peeking out to complement it, Yang was hardly dressed appropriately for any kind of serious field work, but the gunslinger couldn't find it in herself to fault her for it. And it was definitely not because he had caught himself staring or anything!
As the sisters's reached their destination and Ruby started keying her locker code into the electronic lock, Prompto noticed the yellow-tinted aviator glasses dangling from Yang's cleavage. His brows furrowed. Unless she had been lying the night before, Yang must have been to her locker already, but there were no immediately obvious signs of a weapon to be found…but if she has access to the Power of Kings like they all have— Wait no, it doesn't make sense at all, otherwise Ruby would already used it now instead of the locker, no?
"Whatcha doing Prompto?"
"Woah!" Prompto jumped a little, losing the grasp over the tweezers which led to the orb falling towards the ground, and if Prompto's shocked face means something, then it wasn't going to be a good thing. Fortunately, a familiar big hand catched the orb in time with a smug over his face.
"Caught you in surprise?" Gladio said as Prompto grabbed the orb from his hand.
"Oh give me a break tough guy" Prompto said before he resumed putting the orb inside the machine.
"You're still working on that piece of junk?"
"Hey, it's my piece of junk! And yes, I'm still working over it" Prompto retorted before putting the orb inside the hatch, closing it at job done. "Aaand it's done!"
"That's so cool!" Between the gunslinger and his creation, Ruby was kneeling over the machine with stars instead of pupils. "Did you made it, Prompto?"
"GYAH!" Prompto jumped away for yet another scare, this time by Ruby, as he tried to be grabbed by Gladio, the latter who didn't catched him on purpose and let him fall over the ground with a painful groan.
"Will he be okay?" Having followed her little sister, Yang arrived when Prompto met the ground, so the only thing she could do was point at him and ask Gladio, who shrugged.
"Don't mind him. And you two must be Ruby and Yang? Sorry for yesterday if I ran without greeting you" Gladio scratched the back of his head. "I'm Gladio"
"I'm Yang and she's Ruby, but it seems you know it" The older sister of the Xiao Long-Rose duo spoke, since the younger was more interested in the machine built by Prompto than a proper human and social interaction. "You're Noct's friend too right?"
"Thanks for helping me huh?" Prompto groaned, before being helped by Gladio.
"Alright, you have a point" The shield said as he helped Prompto before pointing at himself. "And yeah I'm one hell of a friend. I'm his Shield"
"Noct's shield?" With the mention of the prince, the girl with silver eyes glanced at the heir of the Amicitia.
"Basically his bodyguard" Prompto said with a whisper to the two sisters, although it was useless since it was almost screamed.
"You know I can still hear you?" Gladio said, crossing his arms. "But that's correct. All the Heirs of the Amicitia household are tasked since birth to become the Shield of the current Ruler of the Kingdom of Lucis. My father Clarus is King Regis's Shield, and I'm Noct's one"
"I never heard about that before. Guess there's still things we still have to know about Lucis" Yang commented with a smile before glancing around. "About Noct, where is he?"
"He'll still be sleeping, knowing him" Prompto jokes, making everyone giggle a little.
"Although strange, actually he was still in the cafeteria when I left to come here" Gladio revealed. "I think he'll be here in a matter of minutes"
"Oh I was forgetting—" Ruby interrupted. "Hey Prompto! What is that weapon?"
"Oh, this? It's a weapon I've created using junk parts from Nifs' remnants and Atlesian's weapons parts that I salvaged during the simulations between our armies. It can even use dust and elemancy!" Prompto explained as he was wielding the crafted weapon with both hands, proving its weight isn't to be underestimated. "I've called it Mechonis"
"Wait, so it's a hybrid machine with two sources of energy?" Ruby asked, no chance in hell she couldn't suppress her dork side about weapons.
"It's awesome, right?!"
"Wonder what they were so worked up about. It just seems like a mere weapon to me" Gladio said, observing the two talking about Prompto's weapon.
"Oh, who knows. I mean, I can understand a little bit why Ruby is excited about that weapon" Yang brushed off, although she showed a bit of interest in Prompto's creation. "I've heard that Elemancy and Dust cannot co-exist at all"
"I don't know it, if I have to be honest" Gladio revealed to Yang, surprising her. "Putting on simple words, I'm the tank of this group. I prefer my muscles and sword over Dust and Elemancy"
"Thought you were going to say that, tough guy" Prompto said with a smirk, raising one finger as he put Mechonis in the Armiger, much to Ruby's displease. "On paper, that's absolutely true. Instead of assuming a solid composition which is capable of containing its power like the Dust, Elemancy is especially an ethereal composition. It is the purest and natural energy usable to mankind"
"Then how can it use both of them at the same time?" Ruby asked, curious about the weapon's nature. "It's like a paradosh—"
"Paradox" Both Gladio and Yang corrected.
"That thing"
"Well yeah, it seems like a paradox…" Prompto smirked a bit until he pulled out a small metal orb from the Armiger, the alloy worked with the typical Lucian style. "If only you didn't mixed both Elemancy and Dust together in the flask"
"Shouldn't be…like, a danger?" The shield stated, a bit worried for such a hazard.
"Yuuuup, that's why only I am using it" Prompto said, sending the flask back in the Armiger. "I made it only to work with Mechonis. The Nifs alloy act as a stabilizer for the energy sources"
"You said that before, what is 'Nifs'?" Yang asked, receiving the reply not from the boys from Insomnia, but from behind.
"Nifs are how we call the Niflheim Empire in Lucis" The voice of a certain retainer surprised the others who turned their heads to Noctis and Ignis. With everyone's attention on the Prince and his Retainer, the latter continued to speak. "After the Day of Arrival, several imperial units still remained inside the territories of Accordo and Tenebrae after they joined our territories inside the Wall. Together with the first generation of Kingsglaives, Accordo's army and Tenebrae's knights, we managed to defeat and capture all of them. Something that never happened when we were on Eos, and something that will never be forget by our history in eons"
"No pun intended" Prompto muttered between fake coughs, resembling a certain mercenary capable of break the fourth wall.
"But the remains of units such aircrafts, engines and so on are still findable for everyone" Noctis concluded. "It's a pain for Dad to receive updates about their whereabouts every day"
"Iggy, Noct! / Noct, Iggy!" The boys from Insomnia and the two sisters greeted the duo at the same time. For the latters, Ignis was the one who always kept an eye on them when they used the "secret passage" to go in the city, so the Heir of the Scientia household was another friend of the childhood days gone.
"It's passed quite the time, Yang, Ruby" The retainer smiled to the two sisters. "I hope this time you will not sneak out from the Academy"
"Yeeeaaah…" Yang chuckled nervously. "How can I say…"
"She means no promises" Ruby translated to the glasses-wearing young man who shaked his head.
"Oh boy, these will be four long years" The retainer commented, letting the others burst into laughter.
"Y'know, you seem awfully chipper this morning Rubes" After the laugh, Noctis said to Ruby, who showed a bright smile.
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or getting-to-know-you stuff." Ruby took a large lump of red-and-black metal from her back and cradled it in her arms like a baby. "Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking."
"Just remember that you're not the only one going through initiation," Yang said, now sounding surprisingly mature and serious. "If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn how to work together."
Ruby groaned. "You sound like Dad!" She put her weapon back into her locker and faced her sister. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up." Ruby stood tall with her arms crossed. "I drink milk!"
Everyone's eyes twitched and fought the urge to smack their foreheads. There seemed to be an unwritten law with the sisters about following up every sensible comment with something childish and unreasonable.
"Riiiight…but what about when we form teams?" Gladio asked.
Ruby averted her eyes. "I don't know, I'll just be on your team or something?"
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Prompto proposed, although he received a moral smack from Gladio.
"Said the one who wants the same thing as her" The shield commented.
"My dearest friends" She said in a sweet tone that grew more sinister with every word, "are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
"What?" Everyone stammered, with a roll of sweat rolling down through their foreheads each second Ruby's tone became sinister.
"Of course, we do!" Yang explained. "I just thought, I don't know, maybe it would help you break out of your shell?"
"What the—?" Ruby shrieked and stormed off. "I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely ridiculous!"
«Attention, all students: The Initiation will begin in 10 minutes. I repeat. The Initiation will begin in 10 minutes»
"Seems we have to worry about the Teams on the field, fellas" Gladio expressed his internal thoughts before he smirked, slamming his right fist against the palm of his left hand. "Can't deny I'm a bit fired up, honestly. The Grimms of last time didn't put up much of a fight"
"Yeah, I can see it" Noctis put a hand over his hip, glancing at his friends. "Alright, let's roll with this!"
Gladiolus's gaze swept over the rolling green hills reaching from horizon to horizon in front of him. It was the first time that he had seen the Emerald Forest, which already amazed him just from the photos. But looking down at it from Beacon's cliff side gave him a new perspective on its massive scale.
Like in most corners of Remnant, the ratio between civilization and untamed wilderness, even just a stone's throw away from one of the biggest cities in the world, was severely skewed toward the latter, which suited the Shield just fine, given his passion for exploration since his childhood days. He took a peek at his compatriots which had taken their places on the stone squares next to his.
The Prince he swore to protect seemed to be back to the chaotic but at the same time funny bundle of energy Gladio was used to, which went a long way toward alleviating his worries. He knows Noctis's abilities, hell he trained Noct by himself in all he knew about, from swords to shields. This should be a piece of cake for the Prince, but still Gladio will try to watch his back. It is his role after all, both as the shield and as his friend.
Just like Noctis, Prompto was sharing the same funny and chaotic mood. He swears, that boy is the heart of their group, and honestly the Prince needed someone like him at his side. Unfortunately, the gunslinger has no proper experience outside the Lucian Wall, and their fight against the Grimm the other day was the first clash he had with them. He couldn't hide the pride to see that Prompto went through that with no harm at all though, but his liking of firearms above all the other weapons could be a problem in the future probably, but eventually he will find another way for that.
And then there is Ignis. Compared to him, Ignis is the complete opposite of Gladio, from his seriousness in everyday life to even how he is related to Noctis. If sometimes the Retainer of course argued with the Shield regarding Noct's raising, Gladio couldn't deny his abilities in battle. Among all the Crownsguard, Ignis was the youngest member capable of mastering the Elemancy Daggers, the first type of weapons which aimed to be equal to the Huntsmen's hybrid weapons by adding the ethereal natural energy of Elemancy instead of relying on Dust. His ability with the polearm should not be underestimated too, having been trained by the master of said weapon among the Kingsglaive: Auburn Browning. Her experience with lances and polearms, combined with the Royal Magic, made her one of the deadliest Kingsglaive of the Kingdom, making her famous not only as the deputy commander of the Kingglaives, but it also allowed her to form her own Team within the Glaives, said to be blessed by Bahamut himself: the Dragoons of Lucis.
Another quick peek a few meters away, and Gladio spotted a familiar black haired girl. Shaking his head, the Shield didn't need to think about Blake's abilities. He knew them too well for no doubt that she will have no problem passing the Initiation.
Professor Goodwitch, who had been standing next to the headmaster in front of the waiting students, finally looked up from her tablet. "We're ready, sir."
The headmaster's gaze wandered up and down the lineup of students before taking a slurp from his cup of coffee. He wore the same stuffy suit he had the day before, which seemed to be about half a century out of style. It almost managed to make him look like a cliché school headmaster if it hadn't been for his unkempt hair or the button-sized shades riding low on his nose. The bored look in his eyes and the out of place coffee cup didn't help instill confidence in him either.
If anything, it made the students wonder how much of his job description was handled by his assistant instead.
He cleared his throat, silencing the last few hushed whispers among the students. "For years now, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Professor Goodwitch took over. "Many of you have heard rumors about how teams will be assigned. Allow us to put an end to your speculations. Today, you will be split into pairs. Your partner will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. Furthermore, based on your initiation, you will be grouped into teams of four which will be presented tomorrow."
"It would be in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well together," the headmaster continued. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Uh-oh.
This made all the students frown and look at each other. They hadn't been given the time or the chance to get to know their classmates. Now, they couldn't even look at each other without ending up chained together? They might as well just roll the dice or pick numbers and save themselves the trouble.
"After you've partnered up, make your way toward the northern edge of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way and are advised not to hesitate. Destroy everything in your path or you will die."
Jaune's nervous chuckle made Gladio shake his head, but it was Ruby's state that caught his attention. She looked like a broken puppet. Her eyes were half closed and lifeless, her arms were hanging down dejectedly, and her entire body was swaying in place ready to fall over at the smallest breeze. Then Noct put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and tried to encourage her with a smile. The small gesture brought her back to the world of the living, but her worries were still written all over her face.
God damn Noct can't complain if they tease him about Ruby all the time. Ain't helping yourself, pal.
"You will be monitored for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene."
'Do or die, basically' It was everyone's thought.
"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff before the end of the day. We will regard that item as well as your performance and grade you accordingly." The headmaster took another sip of coffee. "Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, uh, sir?" Jaune raised a hand only to be ignored.
"Good. Take your positions."
The students got ready. Gladio cracked his knuckles. Blake fixed her bow a bit. Ignis put away his glasses in the Armiger. Weiss checked her Dust reserves for Myrtenaster. Prompto breathed slowly before he twirled his gun's cylinder. Yang put on her aviators. Noctis closed his eyes, letting the energy flow within him, his mind locked to his trusty Engine Blade. Ruby put her hand over Crescent Rose on her back, a finger over the switch for the Scythe mode.
"Uh, sir? I've got a question."
The headmaster finally acknowledged Jaune with a nod.
"So, this landing strategy thing, what would that be exactly?" He asked with a shaking voice. "You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
"No, you will be falling."
"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
"No, you will be using your own landing strategy."
"Uh-huh, yeah…"
Professor Goodwitch raised her tablet. Her finger was hovering over the screen, ready to send the students off. Anticipation was mounting, and Jaune was standing between Yang and an exhilarating fall. If he kept it up, his health would be in serious danger before he even left the cliff.
"So, uh, what exactly is a landing strategYYYYYYYYYYY—" His question turned into a high-pitched scream as the platforms to their feet launched them into the air. Ozpin took another sip of coffee before glancing at his Scroll.
"Good luck to all of you, students"
"I'm starting to believe you're like do that, do you?" Glynda rolled her eyes when she received Ozpin's reply with him just smirking a little.
"Wooooohoooooooooooo!" A shout of amusement echoed in the skies as the Prince let his body follow the wind. This is one of the most awesome things he did so far: His hair was blown by the wind. The wind sang through his ears. The breeze touched his skin. Truly a helluva moment for Noctis, who could but smile.
Then, like all things must end, even this moment of joy's end was nigh. The Prince widened his eyes as the trees under him were slowly approaching him. "Damnit—" Noctis gritted his teeth as he began to descend.
Although he is not aerodynamic and clearly bound to gravity, the Prince managed to slowly gather the magical energy to open the access to the Armiger. In the shining blue light, the Engine Blade appeared in all of its might before the Prince threw it away. His body began to glow blue after a few seconds, a clear signal that the sword had been thrusted inside something.
Trusting his luck, Noctis closed his eyes as his body lost the physical grip on reality, turning into ether particles and letting darkness envelop his vision. Only when his eyes were opened again, the Prince could've felt his body being reassembled atom by atom…and that he is hanging against a tree, his right hand holding the Engine Blade's hilt in a grasp. "This is…not how it was supposed to go" He harshly commented as he looked down to see how high he was from the ground. A groan came from the Prince. "Great…"
Fortunately for the Prince, gentle footsteps came from the opposite direction he was until someone spoke. "Seems I can't look around without worrying about my Prince for just a few seconds, innit?"
Looking down at who spoke, Noctis chuckled a bit. "Seems so—"
Ruby had hardly had any time to enjoy her flight. The stupid platform had barely pushed her over the edge while Yang had disappeared into the sky.
She drew Crescent Rose from her back and let it unfold in front of her. The recoil of several rounds fired from her large-caliber rifle slowed her down before she broke through the canopy.
She snagged a large branch with the scythe's head hoping to use it to break her fall. After two rotations around the branch, it was cut clean in half by the razor-sharp blades.
Dirt and grass were whirled up as Ruby landed with a heavy thud. Not her best landing ever, but, aside from a bit of dirt on her clothes, she had made it through without a hitch.
There was no time to waste, though. Ruby darted off tapping her semblance for some extra speed. Her mind was consumed by a single thought repeated like a mantra: gotta find Yang or Noct!
"Soooomeoooooone heeeeeeeeeeeelp!" Prompto couldn't repent the tears from his face as he continued to skydive towards the ground. Who knew that, if you stand in the upper half of the platform, you'll be shot away so far?
As the ground continued to be so much closer each second it passed, Prompto had to call Mechonis in his hands. The weight of the weapon didn't help for the descent, but at least it will save Prompto from a bad landing.
Pointing the machine to the ground now closer than before, the gunslinger pressed the trigger of the weapon. Purple light gathered over the barrel before it released a burst of wind that pushed Prompto up a few meters.
"WOHOOOOOH!" The blonde haired shouted as he resumed the skydiving, blowing another shot of Mechonis's gravity blast to add more speed. Looking down as he prepared another shot, Prompto spotted a circle of ruins in the middle of the forest.
"Is that…?" Before he could change direction with his weapon, Prompto glanced ahead only to see— "Oh Astrals!" He shouted before he painfully slammed his body against a rock formation. His body glewed, a signal of the Aura absorbing the damage, before he fell, smashing against more formations.
"Ouch!"
"Gh!"
"Ah!"
"Alley-oop!"
Finally, he hit the ground with a last painful groan. His eyes took the form of spirals as he looked at the sky covered by leafs and trees' branches. "Thoo mani ciocobhos…"
"You can't be serious…."
Yang was completely lost in her excitement. The forest canopy was rushing past her in a green blur as she rolled sideways, backward, or forwards with every boost of speed. Ember Celica was built for its massive recoil, which she used liberally while fighting, but she had never tried to chain it together in order to fly, before.
Unfortunately, the ride wouldn't last. She was too close to the trees to have any chance of reloading without crashing, but that didn't mean that she would stop before she ran out of shells.
The forest had other ideas. She had just turned on her back, enjoying the sensation of flying blind mere feet above the canopy, when one particularly tall tree fished her out of the air. She was sent into a tumble of green and brown swirls as she smashed through the foliage like a cannonball.
After leaving a trail of destruction through several of the pesky tree's neighbors, she emerged in a small clearing.
Her speed had dropped considerably, and she managed to stabilize her wild tumble just in time to avoid smashing, face first, into a massive tree trunk. She pushed herself off of it with her foot and bounced from tree to tree on her way down until she landed in a forward roll with a cocky grin. "Nailed it!"
The adrenaline was still rushing through her system and her heart was racing fast when she came to a halt. One thought dominated her entire being: again!
A few deep breaths later, she had started to come down from her high and took inventory of her surroundings. She had ended up in a moderately large clearing roughly to the north of the cliffs. Aside from that, she was entirely lost. She didn't know how far she had come or if she had drifted off course. For all she knew, she could walk right past the ruins and wander the forest for days without seeing another soul or finding her destination.
That was when it hit her: She had paid no attention, at all, to her classmates.
She smacked herself in the forehead. There she had been at the top of the cliff all cocky and challenging towards Blake in order to catch her eye, only to completely lose track of the girl at the first chance she got.
Some leaves rained from her head as shook it in frustration. She brushed her long, golden mane over her shoulder and sighed. She had turned into a shrubbery. Things were just getting better and better. She picked out the biggest branches stuck in her hair and brushed off the leaves clinging to the outside, but there was no way she was going to get it all out of her wild mane without some serious grooming.
She took a peek back the way she had come. A large hole was cut through the foliage in a straight line. The blue sky was shining through the hole in the otherwise almost opaque forest roof. At least, the tree's were in worse shape than her.
Standing around inspecting the damage she had caused wasn't going to get her anywhere, though. She held Ember Celica up and slid back the heavy, metal plates covering the ammunition feed. There was one unspent shell left in each bracer.
She sighed again. That stupid tree couldn't have let her have just one more burst before bringing her down…
The unloading mechanism activated. The shell casings, which had been safely locked in a ring just above her wrists, exploded outwards in all directions. Yang picked up the two unspent shells and stuffed them in the leather satchel worn on her belt. No point in wasting perfectly good ammunition—by throwing it away, anyways. She pulled out two new ammo belts and locked them into place. The protective sleds moved back with a satisfying double click.
Reloaded and ready for a fight, it was time to figure out where to go. She hadn't noticed anyone else in the air this far out, which made it a safe bet that she had turned into the vanguard of their expedition. She could head backward to look for people, but she had no idea where to start.
Well, no point in worrying about spilt milk. Ember Celica folded back into its bracelet form before Yang put her hands together behind her head and strolled off towards the north. Something interesting was bound to come up sooner or later, and if anyone could find her in this giant, green haystack it was the mysterious spy girl.
With his eyes closed, Ignis enjoyed the breeze touching his skin. This was just like his first training as a Crownsguard, with the recruits facing all kinds of adversity during the drop on the zone.
This time he didn't have to endure the colonel's shouts and orders, at least.
When the breeze began to change, Ignis opened his eyes once again as he saw the forest was closer than before. He began to lose speed as the gravity pulled him to the ground once more.
'If my calculations are correct—' Holding his hand before himself, Ignis summoned his lucian polearm before taking a quick aiming stance, although he was holding the weapon with both hands."30 degrees…!" Ignis muttered before the weapon's blade slammed against a trunk, gritting his teeth as the lungs lost all the air they had.
His slight myopia didn't help at all for the landing strategy.
Desummoning the polearm, Ignis landed on his feet and began to clean his clothes with one hand. "Alright, at least I'm one piece" He said before looking around.
No students.
No sounds of battle.
No Noctis.
Only trees.
"And the signal is suppressed for not cheating the Initiation too, figure" Ignis clicked his tongue as he gave a quick glance to his Scroll. Of course, the Initiation gives the chance to use the Scrolls to see the current state of one's Aura, but all the comms were shut off for the sake of team forming. "I suppose I can only walk for now"
It just needed a few minutes of walking for Ignis to meet someone hanging over a tree. With a shake of the head, the retainer sighed. That wasn't such a glorious situation for a prince. "Seems I can't look around without worrying about my Prince for just a few seconds, innit?"
Looking up at his prince, Ignis saw Noctis chuckling a bit. "Seems so—hey, can you help me to get down?"
"Don't worry" Ignis opened his right hand, calling his polearm before he threw it a few meters under Noctis, who dropped from the trunk before holding onto the polearm and dropping once more, landing kneeled.
"Thanks Iggy, you saved me" Noctis cleaned his clothes from dust and dirt with a hand as Ignis nodded.
"My royal duty after all" Ignis said with a small smile until he saw Noctis walking to the east. "Where are you going, Noct?"
"The sun's almost high noon" As he walked, Noctis turned his head to Ignis and pointed at the sky. "Based on the shadows produced by the sun, our location is west of the ruins so right there" Then, he pointed his right index in the same direction.
"I see" Ignis smiled proudly after the prince explained. "I must say I'm surprised"
"Huh?" Noctis raised an eyebrow, confused for Ignis' take. "Come again?"
"The excursions made with Gladio all that time. They were useful after all, no?" Ignis began to walk towards the direction pinpointed by Noctis.
Crossing his arms, Noctis nodded a few times.
"If only His Highness never tried to sneak away to go to the arcade with Prompto the excursions would've be peacefuls at least" Ignis suddenly added up as he began to walk faster. At first, Noctis continued to nod until his brain connected.
"Wha—" The prince comically said, stepping back once for the surprise. "What do you mean with that, Iggy?!" The Retainer's laughs just echoed as an answer. "Iggy! Come back here!"
The wind was rushing past Blake's face as she soared through the sky.
Any other day, she might have revealed in the feeling of freedom it instilled in her, but, with the headmaster's scheme looming over her, she barely took notice. She was about to be bound to the first person she would make eye contact with. Choice and strategy had gone out of the window to be replaced by the luck of the draw.
If only the pool contained a few more winning tickets.
Wishful thinking wasn't going to change anything, though. She had to play the hand she had been dealt, which wasn't quite as bad as it had appeared at first. It took two people to make eye contact, and, no matter what someone might think, Blake had confidence in her ability to fade from sight.
Avoiding the wrong partner wouldn't be a problem.
Finding the right partner in time was a different matter, entirely.
Blake turned around mid-flight to assess her situation. She should have known better than to hope for an easy way out of her dilemma. The students had been spread out over a large area. Some had barely gotten more than a push off the cliff while others, like herself, had been thrown far out into the Emerald Forest.
A bright-red piece of cloth fluttering in the wind caught her eye. Ruby was one of the unlucky ones already about to dive into the sea of green covering the ground. She had been thrown short and was stuck at the other end of the field.
Blake should be disappointed or worried about it.
Ruby was clearly the sane and sensible choice. She was dedicated, if a bit naive, and they shared a common interest. Her younger age might also play in Blake's favor. She should go after Ruby.
A pair of cocky lilac eyes flashed in front of her mind's eye.
It was a bad idea. No matter what temporary hold the blond might have over her, no matter what interest Blake's twisted mind might have in her, she would only make her life more complicated and dangerous….
She should not go after Yang.
A beautiful white snowflake formed out of thin air. It shifted to meet a pair of expensive white boots at the perfect angle to lighten the impact. Its duty not yet fulfilled, it moved in unison with its mistress, providing a springboard towards its brethren.
Two seconds—ups, I mean, glyphs later (no pun intended), Weiss landed in perfect form, not a hair out of place. Even being flung from a cliff into the wilderness could not deter her from displaying the grace and elegance expected of an heiress to the Schnee family name.
She brushed off her sleeves and made sure that her light jacket sat perfectly before she took account of her surroundings.
They were very… green. Large trees, bushes, grass. Weiss prided herself on many things. Being an outdoors person was clearly not one of them. She was not prepared for this.
Going on a nature hike was not the start to her time at an elite hunter academy she had expected. Neither was spending her nights in a drafty room sleeping in the school's ratty old sleeping bags.
They should have handed out brochures telling people what to expect, or, at the very least, they should have told her to bring her own sleeping bag.
Far worse than her accommodations was the company she had been forced to keep. The little girl and her brute of a sister seemed to be ubiquitous and hell-bent on making her life more difficult. There was that scraggly blond loser who had gotten it into his head that he had a chance with her. He had even interfered with her attempt to convince Pyrrha to join her team. Then, there is Ignis Stupeo Scientia
In the end, the biggest hurdle Weiss had to face was the headmaster himself. Partners by eye contact. Insanity, but there was nothing she could do to change the situation she had been thrust into. Weiss had to find Pyrrha before anyone else could. If only she knew how to go about it. She had no idea where Pyrrha had ended up or how to find her way around a forest.
Ruins to the north. That was a start. Everybody had to go there eventually. And north was… judging by the position of the sun… and the time of the day… and the mossy side of the trees… just about—
Ruby was running through the Emerald Forest in what most people would consider a dead sprint. Thanks to her semblance, it was the equivalent of a light jog.
"Yang! Noct!"
Ruby knew that Yang had been trying to push her away in order to stand on her own two feet, and Noctis was of the same idea—and come on, that's a silly idea! She could perfectly well do that and be with her sister and her best friend at the same time.
"Yaaaang! Noooct!"
She hadn't missed that someone else had caught Yang's eye, but she wasn't just going to give up her sister to anyone without a fight. At the same time, she knew that Noctis would try to stay with the other guys from Insomnia too but still…! The rules were clear and the game was still on. Nobody could complain if she found her first.
After all, what alternatives were there?
A partner she could work well with, and Yang or Noctis are a perfect fit.
They had grown up together.
They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and their styles mashed. Strength and speed; an almost unbeatable combination.
No one else at Beacon came even close to her sister and her childhood friend. Even if they did, how would she know? They had only just arrived a day before and she hadn't had the chance to get to know anyone yet.
Well, aside from Jaune. He was nice and funny but also kind of clumsy and insecure. He probably wouldn't be any good in a fight.
Ignis was another idea too. He always followed them when the two sisters went to Insomnia each time in the past, she knows that he is a formidable warrior for how Noct says about him.
Prompto? No matter how she tries to think about it, Ruby believes that he and Jaune are more of the same.
Gladio? He's just like her sister but man…no, one Yang is enough, heh.
Oh!
There was Blake. So mysterious, so calm. Plus, she liked books….buuuuuut, she might not be able to hold a conversation with her about anything besides books.
There wasn't anyone else, was there? She had run into a couple of people, but she hadn't managed to strike up a single conversation that hadn't ended with her being insulted or looked down upon.
No, there was Yang, Noct, Ignis, Jaune, Prompto, Blake, Gladio and—
Gladio has never been the skydiving type of guy. He loved hiking— hell he lost count of how many times, thanks to the arrival in Remnant, he managed to climb the mountains near the capital— but if comparing hiking with this? Hell nah, he will always pick hiking.
At least he didn't have to destroy a few trees with his shield to break his fall. When the lucian alloy met the last tree, the momentum finally and painfully ended when his back met the ground, stealing his breath from the lungs.
"Ouch….great Gladio, what a way to steal the show" Muttering to himself, the Shield finally rose up, cleaning his clothes from dirt and shards before he checked his Aura on the Scroll, noticing that it was still there although he has a 70-ish % of remained Aura.
"Wonderful…there's no need to be honest but I guess it's better to use it now. Who knows what kind of Grimm lives here after all" Putting away his Scroll, Gladio stretched his arms a bit before hWe held his left hand. Blueish particles of magical energy hovered before taking the form of a cyan triangular shaped flask. Twirling it with a finger like it was a basketball, Gladio then smashed it, releasing a blue wave of energy around his body before it disappeared like assimilated by the young man's Aura. Checking his Scroll again, Gladio saw his Aura once again at its maximum point.
"Astrals bless Ethers Flasks, truly" The heir of the Amicitia House commented.
Ether, Potions, Panaceas and so on.
All of these useful items have the power to heal from illness, cure the body and strengthen it. Indeed, they are truly magical miracles, however they were originally able to restore the body only thanks to the Royal Family's powers.
With the arrival in Remnant everything changed. Keves, a company within Lucis that searches for ways to combine Magic and Technology, eventually found a way to mass produce and sell to its citizens and the other Kingdoms like common medicine for colds.
Putting away his Scroll, Gladio looked around. "Now, where are the other fellas?" He asked himself, while his glance rose up to the sky to see the position of the sun.
Until he saw a purple spark in the sky flying to the east.
"...Oh no don't tell me" Gladio said, trailing the purple light's direction. Passing through the forest while following the light, the young man began to hear a familiar voice clearly in pain.
"Alley-oop!"
He already found one of them.
With a last step, Gladio shook his head while facepalming at the sight of a KO Prompto with spiral eyes and chocobos replacing stars. "Thoo mani ciocobhos…"
"You can't be serious…." Gladio said as he looked at Prompto with zero positive emotions. Approaching his friend, he hit Prompto's right foot with his own. "Com'on, get up"
"Ouch!" Prompto released a painful noise until he shook his head and looked above to see Gladio. With his eyes sparkling, Prompto rose up with his arms wide open. "GLADDY! Ahahah! The old friends are now in a duo! High five for the Chocoshield— OUCH!"
Aaand Gladio hit Prompto with a smack on the back of his head. "First, never call me Gladdy- Only Iris can call me that-" Gladio spoke as Prompto rubbed the back of his head, commenting with a quick and muttering 'Siscon…' "—and second you know what this means?" Gladio's smirk became wider as he put his hands on Prompto's shoulders.
"Huuuuh…that you have full control on the Switch?" Prompto chuckled nervously.
"That I rule the duo for now~" Gladio stated, fully knowing the photographer of the Chocobros and his next words.
"What?!" Shocked, Prompto said. "Ozpin never said that!"
"Are you sure you were listening? Or maybe…you were looking at the sister of a certain rose~?" The Shield of the King retorted, and that's where Prompto fell into his trap. His face made an 'OxO' expression as he chuckled.
"W-Well, I- Ahaha! You wanna hear a joke?" Prompto said, trying to hide his embarrassment and flush of red on his face. "It's about two fishes swimming in a river—"
"Maybe next time" Gladio patted Prompto's shoulder as he walked past him. "We have to reach the ruins and reunite with Noct and Specs" Then he gave a worried look on Prompto. "You're good by the way? Check your Aura levels"
"I'm fine though guy, don't worry about me" Prompto flapped a hand as he walked towards Gladio, smiling at him. "After all, I was finally recognized to stand by Noct, and I worked hard for this. A forest or two will not stop me"
"...Heh, alright I like the spirit, keep it up and you'll surely do this" Gladio shakes his head and follows Prompto. Unspoken words were kept for himself though…
You already did it Prompto
This could not be happening!
A figure clad in red and black had come to a grinding halt right in front of Weiss.
She absolutely would not accept this!
The little interloper, who had hounded her ever since she had set foot on Beacon, was staring at her, frozen in place. Neither of them was willing to move a muscle.
It had to be a bad dream. She would wake up any moment now, wrapped in that flea infested blanket the school had handed out.
The little girl broke their standoff. Her surprised expression turned into an uneasy smile before she tried to take a step towards Weiss.
No!
Absolutely not!
She was supposed to be with someone that could be considered her equal. Someone like Pyrrha! Or even someone like Ignis!
Just someone who has a mature personality! Not because in just 5 minutes of chat the young man already wiped out her supposion of 'typical Lucian'...nope, nooope.
She would not spend the next four years of her life looking after some useless little brat!
Weiss turned on her heels and walked away.
"Wait! Where are you going? We're supposed to be teammates…" Not over her dead body! This was all the headmaster's fault, anyways. What kind of mad scheme was choosing your partner by eye contact?
He and his staff should have evaluated their applications, their entrance exams, and their résumés. They should have made an informed decision, which, undoubtedly, would have led them to the only possible conclusion: The most suitable partners for Weiss Schnee were Pyrrha Nikos or Ignis Stupeo Scientia.
At least, the little girl had the good sense to not follow her. They were far away from prying eyes and it was her word against the girl's. She could deny ever having met her and, as soon as she found one of those two, all would be fine. Not just Pyrrha or Ignis, anyone else had to be a better choice than that girl.
The path Weiss had taken led to a dead end. She was surrounded by bushes and greenery, and her only way out would lead her right back to the last person on Remnant she wanted to see. With little choice left, she pushed through and moved on.
Her attempt of traversing the underbrush turned out far less graceful than her landing. Her skirt and jacket kept getting snagged on branches, and, more than once, she almost stumbled into one of the thorn-covered abominations dotted throughout the area.
She emerged from the underbrush with a sigh of relief. Green stains and small tears covered her dress and jacket. There was no saving them, but that was to be expected. Her field outfit might have been made from breathable high-tech fabrics and designed to be acceptable daywear in an urban setting, but, in the end, it was nothing but an easily replaced and expendable piece of equipment, no different from dust or ammunition.
"Come on, come on! Stupid…"
Barely audible rambling drew her attention upwards. Weiss froze for the second time that day. She had been wrong. Things could get worse. There, high up in a tree, hung what had to be the only person she was less keen on running into than the little brat: that scraggly nobody with a crush on her.
The moment he spotted her, he smiled, waved, and laughed in embarrassment. It was too much for Weiss. Two people could claim to have run into her before she could find Pyrrha. Two people could claim to be her partner.
She turned on her heels and walked back the way she had come. Plausible deniability was slipping out of her grasp and, if she had to be stuck with one of them, the girl would turn out to be the lesser evil. She was young, malleable, and must have some talent to be allowed into Beacon at her age.
…It might take time, but Weiss could mold her into something usable.
She heard the brat groan in dejection as she disappeared into the bushes. The little girl—Ruby was it?—was still standing at the very same spot with her head hanging low. Weiss was not sure what to make of her, but she could worry about that later.
For now, they had to move.
She had already failed the first half of her mission, and she was not about to perform poorly on the second by dilly-dallying. Walking past Ruby, she grabbed her hood and dragged her along.
"You came back!"
"By no means does this make us friends"
Yang was strolling through the forest like she was out for a walk in the park. No sense of urgency or recognition of the danger she was in.
"Hello?" she shouted with her hands forming a makeshift megaphone. "Is anyone out there? Helloooo?" Yang waited for an answer, but none came. "I'm getting bored here! Ruby?"
There was no answer.
"Blake?"
No answers….
"Rubes?"
….
"Noct?"
…..
"...Prompto?"
The sound of rustling leaves stopped her in her tracks.
"Is that you hot stuff?"
Yang had almost reached the bushes hoping to meet at least the blondie from Insomnia. Yet wasn't another student that was about to take her partner from her, it was a mound of black fur and white spikes. It was too big for a Beowulf, and its armor of bone plates and spikes was barely developed. A common Ursa by the looks of it.
A second ball of black fur and white spikes lay unmoving a couple of yards further back. They must have been sleeping, which was hard to believe given all the noise the blond had made.
The shrubbery was too high for Yang to peek over. She was walking right into an ambush. Ursi were dangerous, but they came in small numbers and were easy to deal with for those who knew what they were doing. After all the attitude the blond had shown, she would better be able to back it up. If not…
Yang had reached the bushes. Without a sense of worry in the world, she stuck her head right into the waiting grimm's face.
"Alright hot stuff, is that you right?"
A bestial snarl answered her.
Yang took a small hop backward to evade the attack which was followed immediately by a swipe from the other side. The claws came within an inch of disemboweling her as she flipped back.
She landed, her legs wide apart, her fists on her hips, and her head drawn back, laughing. "Geez, you two couldn't hit the broadside of a ba—"
Blake perked up as Yang's taunt died in her throat. Something had gone wrong. The entire situation had been a disaster waiting to happen and what had she done? She had sat in a tree while the blond got herself killed.
She ran her eyes over Yang's body. There was no blood. No injuries. What had—
Something was floating down towards the ground. Something that had Yang's full attention. Blake could barely make it out from the distance. It looked like… a strand of blond hair?
"You…"
Anger had replaced the playful tone in Yang's voice. Her eyes were closed, her facial expression had become hard, and her entire body had gone rigid. Even the ursi seemed caught by surprise at the sudden shift in tone and missed a perfect chance to strike.
Nothing had prepared Blake for what she saw when Yang opened her eyes again. The gentle lilac was gone. In its place, burning scarlet faced the glowing red orbs of the grimm.
Yang brought her arms up above her head, her hands balled into fists shaking in rage.
"You monsters!"
She exploded in a plume of flame as her arms came down in force. A burning-hot shock wave spread out, singing grass and leaves alike. An angry war cry was followed by explosions and the sound of breaking bones and rending flesh. The blond's already insane strength must have increased considerably, if the sound of the impacts was anything to go by.
If there was someone else peeking around the tree, they would see one of the ursi tumbling helplessly through the air.
And Yang wasn't done.
Hell if she wasn't done with them yet.
She was leaning forward like a runner at a standing start with her arms held backward. Flames sprung from the soles of her shoes and the tips of her fists as she launched herself at the airborne ursa. A brutal flurry of blows, each punctuated by another explosion, was unleashed and the already defenseless grimm thrown even farther.
There was no doubt that it was finished, but Yang wasn't. She launched herself at her opponent, again, and unleashed another vicious flurry. Her weapon, no, her entire lower arm flared up in golden flames as she threw her final blow.
The ursa was turned into a burning projectile, the size of a car, that cut a swath of destruction through the forest. Massive tree trunks had exploded into splinters, their crowns were coming down to feed the fires left behind, and, somewhere far off at the end, lay a dissolving ursa buried under a pile of crackling firewood.
Yang was strong.
Far stronger than she had any right to be, if she was nothing but an overeager combat school graduate.
No, it went further than that.
The raw and unadulterated power on display was unreal. The second ursa came barreling towards Yang who had been inspecting her handiwork. She turned around. Glowing red met burning scarlet and the ursa stopped dead in its tracks.
A loud creak announced the demise of the Ursa and for yet another tree caught in the carnage. The fight was over, and if it had any sense of self-preservation it was running fast.
The destruction in front of her was senseless, and yet, she was proud of it. Four years at Signal, filled with rigorous training and countless fights, had left their mark despite the restrictions she had been plagued with. The thought of what four years at Beacon would achieve made her smile.
Heavy footsteps tore her away from an image of her adult self unleashing burning carnage and destruction on everything in her path. She turned to find the second ursa charging at her, but whatever courage it had worked up was lost the moment their eyes met.
"What? You want some too?"
The fun was over and she was ready to bring the fight to a close by caving its skull in, unceremoniously.
Being confronted shook the bear out of its stupor. It rose up on its hind legs and growled at her, but the promised attack never came. A shiver ran through the beast, its frame stiffened, and it fell over like a tree trunk.
Yang watched with her head cocked to the side as the massive, black-and-white frame revealed a much smaller, similarly-colored figure.
She pushed the anger out of her mind and met Blake with gentle lilac eyes. It was the first chance she had gotten to take a good look at Blake's mission outfit, close up.
White shorts and shirt were covered by a low cut, black vest that was hugging her slim waist perfectly. Long slender legs were covered by a pair black tights. A big insignia of what looked like a flower of wispy flames was stamped in white on her thighs. Her arms were wrapped in black ribbons while a very familiar looking black scarf hid her neck.
For someone intent on not being noticed, she sure knew how to dress to ruin the effort. Not that it would make much of a difference. Those slanted amber eyes framed by waves of silky, raven locks would stand out no matter what she wore.
The seemingly omnipresent purple bow on top of her head completed the picture. Yang had gotten herself a present—as striking as it was mysterious—waiting to be unwrapped.
Blake stood over the fallen bear with a stern expression. A flick of her wrist dislodged the sickle at the end of one of her ribbons from the dissolving remains and launched it back into her hand.
She lowered her head and looked up at Yang from the corner of her eyes, which were partially hidden by her long bangs. For a moment, she reminded Yang of a shy little girl, the kind that would dive behind cover at something as harmless as a wink, but the smirk on her lips spoke a different language.
"I could've taken him."
Blake rolled her eyes as she unfolded her blade and put it back into its sheath.
Cheeky, stealthy, and deadly.
Luck had been on Yang's side and her intuition had been spot on. She still felt slightly guilty about Ruby or Noct, but there was no way she would have given up on Blake, even for her sister.
The next four years were bound to be fun.
A Fantasy based on Reality…