The abandoned temple, as the name would suggest, looked absolutely nothing like a temple by most people's reckoning. It was a large stone rotunda nearly thirty meters in diameter with only a small section of ruined wall on one side and five pillars that held up what might have once been part of a roof. Just inside the perimeter of the stone floor were eighteen pedestals atop which were chess pieces of black and gold and currently examining those pieces were two long-haired young women who also happened to be of black and gold.
"Chess pieces?" The black-haired girl asked as she looked around in confusion.
"Some of them are missing. Guess we weren't the first ones here." Yang Xiao Long replied, sounding impressed.
"That's means we should take them."
"Well, which one should we pick?" Yang hummed thoughtfully as she examined a few of them before picking up the gold knight. "How about a cute little pony?"
"Sure." The black-haired girl said with an amused smirk before walking towards her partner.
"That wasn't too hard!"
"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to-" A loud rustling from one end of the clearing made both girls ready their weapons only to drop their guards in confusion as red and white blurs burst out of the tree line.
"Oh, hey! We made it! And we didn't get eaten!" Ruby said as she skidded to a stop, Weiss not half a step behind her. Weiss was about to reply when Yang spoke up.
"Ruby?" She asked as she started walking towards them.
"Yang!" Ruby was off again as she quickly squeezes her older sister. "It was awful! We were almost eaten by a giant Nevermore!"
"Oh, quit exaggerating," Weiss said as she slowly made her way towards them. "It wasn't that bad. That Nevermore didn't get anywhere close to us."
"So, you got partnered up with Weiss, huh?" Yang asked as she gave the other girl an appraising look.
"Yeah, and she's super cool! We killed ten Beowolves really fast! She was all 'Hoooo waaaaaah' and stabbity-stab with her rapier while I sliced 'em up with my baby! Then I lined up the last few and Weiss zapped with lightning like 'VOOOOM' and then it hit a tree and 'BOOM', it exploded! I didn't even know trees could explode!"
Yang smiled fondly at her little sister's usual wild storytelling even as Weiss rolled her eyes in exasperation. She had been a little worried, truth be told, about who Ruby would be partnered up with and Weiss certainly hadn't been on the top of her preferred list but it was clear that there was nothing to worry about. Even if they ended up on different teams, her precious little sister would be just fine.
"Come on, Ruby, let's grab a relic and go. I think I've had enough of this forest for one day," Weiss said, calling out from the podium.
"Oh! Yeah! The test! Right! Hey, who's that? Is that your partner, Yang?" Ruby moved to step around her sister only to stop when she caught sight of the black-haired girl standing a bit away. Ruby couldn't help but notice her striking yellow eyes and cute black bow.
"You bet! Ruby, this is Blake Belladonna! Blake, this is my little sister, Ruby Rose!"
"It's a pleasure," Blake said as she approached the other three and extended her hand.
"Likewise!" Ruby said before moving into the temple after shaking Blake's hand. She quickly grabbed the first relic that caught her attention, the second golden knight, before returning to the others.
A high-pitched scream pierced the relative silence of the forest. The quartet turned in the direction it came from and watched as, not a moment later, Jaune Arc came flying out of the forest and into a nearby tree.
"Did that guy just come flying out of the forest?" Blake asked no one in particular.
"Jaune, are you—" Ruby started to make her way over to the dazed blond only to stop when a loud cry came from another part of the forest. The group watched as an Ursa came bursting out of the tree line, swiping and thrashing like mad, before a blast of pink energy hit it in the back and made it crash to the ground. The most surprising part was the orange-haired girl, who Ruby vaguely recognized, that came rolling off of it, having apparently been riding the beast.
"Awwwww… It's broken," She said with expression that perfectly conveyed of utter heartbreak. As she started examining it, a boy with long black hair came running up to her, panting heavily.
"Nora!" Ren call out as he leaned on the slowly vanishing corpse. "Please… don't ever do that again."
Unfortunately for him, Nora had already run off and was now in the temple, a gold rook resting on her head.
"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora sang while dancing about.
"Nora!" At Ren's shout, Nora immediately stopped and saluted her friend.
"Coming, Ren!" She said cheerfully as she skipped off to join him, relic in hand as if nothing happened.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked no one in particular as the others stared on, dumbfounded.
"I think those two are-" Ruby was interrupted once more by a screech coming from the same direction Jaune had flown in from. Everyone turned to see none other than Pyrrha Nikos running for her life from the giant scorpion-like creature chasing after her.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she saw her partner dangling from a tree.
"Pyrrha!"
"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked again while Yang just rub one of her temples.
"I swear, if anything else crazy happens, I'm going to blow my stack." Yang growled in frustration as Blake's eyes narrowed, faintly heard something in the distance. She looked up into the sky for a moment before asking one more question.
"Is that a giant Nevermore headed this way?"
"It followed us!?" Ruby and Weiss exclaimed in unison. Yang threw her arms up and screamed in frustration as she gave up.
"You know, we should probably help her." Blake pointed at as she gestured to Pyrrha who just barely managed to avoid one of the Death Stalker's claws. Everyone stare for a second, ignoring Jaune's cry for help.
"On it!" Ruby finally said as she readied Crescent Rose. Yang and Weiss called out for her to wait but both were too late as Ruby took off in a flurry of rose petals.
Pyrrha leaped forward and barely dodged another claw swipe but was too slow and too off balance to dodge the second claw. As she was launched away, Ruby rushed forward with a war cry, Crescent Rose at the ready. The Death Stalker move to strike her with its claws so Ruby countered with a spinning slash into the side of the attacking claw. Much to Ruby's shock, Crescent Rose failed to puncture the Grimm's tough shell and the attack that should have been stopped was merely redirected.
The claw clipped Ruby's shoulder and sent her spinning towards the stinger that was coming down at her. Unable to dodge, Ruby altered her rotation enough to bring up Crescent Rose and intercept the stinger with its shaft. The forced of the impact launched Ruby backward and into the ground, making her bound off of it once before she managed to get her feet back under her and dig them and her right hand into the ground as she brought Crescent Rose's gun form up and opened fire.
"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang said as Ruby's shots did little more than piss the Grimm off. Conceding that fighting this thing alone was a bad idea, Ruby holstered her weapon and turned to run back to the group only to be stopped by a line of feathers fired by the Nevermore, one of which pierced her cloak and pinned her in place.
"Ruby!" Yang cried out as the Death Stalker lashed out with its stinger. Unable to free herself and unable to draw her weapon in time, Ruby could only watch helplessly as the stinger seemed to close in on her in slow motion. While her Aura would certainly soften the blow, that thing hit like a truck and she wasn't entirely certain it could completely absorb the blow given the damage she had already taken.
Yang set off at a dead sprint, praying for speed she never really had so she could reach her baby sister in time. She barely took three steps before a white blur, moving at speeds approaching Ruby's level, shot by her. Weiss skated forward as fast as she could, Myrtenaster readied with white Dust to save her partner, but she could never be fast enough to beat the giant hammer that seemed to appear from nowhere to destroy the beast's stinger from its tail.
Surprised, the group looked to where the Nora had jump back beside Ren who follow up to retrieve Ruby from the Grimm. When Weiss regained her awareness and finished her action, stabbing her rapier into a pale blue glyph on the ground and encasing part of the Grimm in ice.
"Jeez, I can't believe you did that." Weiss said as Ren take Ruby beside them, safe and sound. "Wanting to save people is good and all but make sure you don't die in the process."
"I know." Ruby seemed to shrink into herself in embarrassment as she turned to face her partner. "But thanks for saving me, guys. I'm glad to know you've got my back."
"Don't thank me." Weiss huffed as she crossed her arms and looked away, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "Those two are the one who saved you."
"Heyyyyy everyone, Is everyone okay?" Nora called out as she looked around the group, his bow back in its sword form and sheathed.
"Just fine!" Yang called out as she thrust her fist into the air.
"That was a great job, Nora. Your timing was impeccable," Jaune commented.
"Hehehe, I just got lucky!" Nora blush as she hears compliment from around her. "It was tha-"
"Uh, guys?" Jaune cut Nora, noticing that there is something else around them and the situation is not just as safe as they though. "That thing's circling back around! What are we going to do?"
"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss said, gesturing to the temple.
"She's right," Ruby said, nodding to Weiss. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."
"Run and live; that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune said as both her and Pyrrha made their way to the ruins. Jaune ask Pyrrha what they would choose and grabbed the second gold rook afterward.
"It's time to leave!" Ren said as he noticed the ice pinning the Death Stalker starting to crack.
"Right. Let's go!" Ruby said as she beckoned everyone onwards. Ruby pulls ahead of the group and leap on to a boulder, motioning them ever onward.
She is hyperactive, a bit unfocused and perhaps undisciplined but Ruby Rose had an undeniable charisma that drew people in and would undoubtedly push them onward, just like her mother. She tackled life with an unshakable belief in herself and her cause and with a boundless enthusiasm that was easy to get caught up in. How can they be so similar? Without a doubt, Ruby Rose will be an important player in fighting against Salem but is it really worth it?
The group of eight tore through the forest as fast as they could go without pulling ahead of the others. They were reaching the edge of the forest now and were coming upon a ruined road that led to a ruined tower suspended over a great chasm. If they could get on top of the tower, they could easily reach the top of the cliffs and make their way back to Beacon Cliff. The only wrinkle in their plan was the giant Nevermore that swooped by above them and perched itself on the tower they had been running towards.
The second it passed overhead, the group scattered and took cover behind the ruined archways as the Nevermore cawed.
"Well, that's great!" Yang said in annoyance as she as she peered around her cover. Jaune, meanwhile, looked back in time to see the Death Stalker burst out of the tree line and charge towards them.
"Ah, man, run!" Just as Jaune started screaming, Ruby stepped out from behind her cover and readied her rifle form scythe. She pulled the trigger and the bullet tore through the air like a meteor before hitting home in the Nevermore's chest, but before it could land, the giant nevermore dodges the bullet. Realizing the threat, the Nevermore took to the skies.
While Ruby takes another aim in case the nevermore, choose to show up again, Blake and Ren intercepting death stalker that have been closing by with a cross-slash. Weiss was then by her side and grabbing ahold of her arm, a glyph already forming under them. The two jumped away as the Death Stalker turned its attention to the now fleeing Blake and Ren.
"Go, go!" Pyrrha called out as she skidded to a stop and shifted Milo into its rifle form before firing away at the Death Stalker, Ren quickly reaching her side and lending his own shots. When the Death Stalker about to swipe at them, only then did they stop firing and turn to run.
The group ran across the bridge at top speed, their destination almost within reach, when three giants Nevermore came out of nowhere and used its wings to destroy the center of the bridge. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, and Jaune make it to the tower while Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake are left behind. Understanding there is no other way beside to fight to save their friend, they act.
"There are three Nevermore!?" Nora exclaimed.
"We need to take those things out!" Ruby said, while assessing the situation around her.
"Then let's hit it with everything we've got!" Yang suggested. The five of them readied their weapons as the Nevermore came back around for another pass. As one, they assaulted it with a barrage of gunfire, fire, and ice shards but nothing they used had any effect as it destroyed the platform they were standing on with their wings. The quintet quickly jumped from debris to debris before coming to land on a higher section of the bridge nearer the cliffs.
"None of this is working!" Weiss said. Ruby watched as Blake used Gambol Shroud to whip to a higher area and Yang fired futilely at it with Ember Celica.
"I have a plan! Cover me!" Ruby yelled as she launched herself towards Blake. Weiss readied Myrtenaster and charged in without hesitation. Back on the lower section of the bridge; Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren were battling the Death Stalker.
"We gotta move!" Jaune said as they ran forward. Jaune and Pyrrha blocked the Grimm's claws with their shields while Nora opened fire on its exposed head with her grenade launcher and Ren charged forward, firing his guns.
Jaune and Pyrrha were quickly forced away by the creature's brute strength as Nora stopped to reload. Ren flipped over its attempt to grab him with both of its claws and launched into a series of spinning slashes as he sailed over its back. Just as he was about to touch the ground on the other side, its tail came down and slammed him hard into the ground before batting him away and into a nearby wall. Ren groaned in pain as he pried himself from the wall and Jaune watched in amazement as the other boy was enveloped by a faint green aura.
"Ren's glowing! Why is Ren glowing!?" Jaune asked as he ducked under another claw swipe.
"Soul Surge!" Pyrrha answered as she batted away the creature's other claw with Milo. "It's another attribute of one's Aura that I forgot to mention! It's a really powerful attack that can only be used under certain conditions!"
"Can it kill it?"
"Probably!"
"Ren, what do you need?"
"Get it in the air!" Ren replied as he entered into a low stance and began concentrating his Aura.
"On it! Nora, get ready! Pyrrha, with me! Trip it!" Jaune and Pyrrha rushed forward crossing in front of each other in a serpentine pattern before slashing at the Death Stalker's outside legs and knocked them out from under it.
"Pop up!" Nora fired off a grenade at the underside of the scorpion-like Grimm, the explosion lifting it only its back legs. "Lift!" Jaune and Pyrrha quickly moved underneath it and used their shields to hold up the creature, lifting its front end slightly higher. "Launch!" Nora's laughter was slightly maniacal as she twirled her hammer and slammed it into the underside of the Grimm, the resulting explosion launching it into the air. "Now, Ren!"
Ren surged forward a speed greater than was usual for him, a trail of afterimages left in his wake. He leapt high into the air, bounding off the back of the still rising Death Stalker to get above before flipping upside down, his arms extended above him and crossed at the wrists.
"Succession Art:" Green wind coalesced around as he began to spin rapidly and endlessly fire StormFlower, "Spiraling Lotus!" Ren's surging power broke and he was launched downwards at incredible speed, punching through the Death Stalker's thick armor like it was made of wet tissue paper.
Ren landed in a deep crouch in front of the others as the corpse of the Death Stalker fell into the ravine. They all turned to look up with concern at the battle raging on above.
Blake stood atop a pillar, weapons at the ready, and watched as the three Nevermore circled around. Blake opened fire to draw the creature towards them. With perfect timing, she took to the air and she landed on one of the giant bird's back and slammed Gambol Shroud into its temples before using it as a reign to steer the beast around.
Before the other nevermore can help their friend, Blake removed Gambol Shroud and threw one end down to Yang, who had jumped into the air using Weiss' Glyphs. With the help of Blake and the combined recoil of their weapons, Yang looped above the Nevermore before being slammed down, fist first, into its skull. The force of the impact shattered the ice, sending razor-sharp shards down its gullet, and caused it to black out and start plummeting.
The Grimm crashed into the bridge near where Ruby was waiting, the bridge shattering under the strain. Ruby's hair, cloak, and skirt began to flutter in a mysterious updraft as rose petals materialized around her. She brought her attention to a razor focus on her target and held her breath as she counted her heartbeats, waiting in agonizing patience for everything to be perfectly aligned. When she finally surged forward, she moved with speed of a raging hurricane, Crescent Rose a blur as she bounced from falling stone to falling stone, crossing the Nevermore's path every which way.
With one last spinning slash, Ruby launched herself downwards, Crescent Rose tearing down the Nevermore's stomach, and towards where Weiss waited, lightning glyph and lightning arrow at the ready. The Nevermore regained consciousness and instinctually spread its wings in an attempt to stop its fall only for the prepared attacks to be released, their aim true as they sundered the Nevermore's wings from its body.
Ruby loaded a special cartridge of high-velocity rounds into Crescent Rose and prepared herself where she stood on one of Weiss' Glyphs. The instant the attacks were launched, a series of Glyphs appeared in front of her forming a ramp aimed straight at the Nevermore's mouth as it cried out in pain and anger. But before she could land the finishing move, the other two Nevermore intercept her, making her leap backward. The injured Nevermore that to the sky with its friend. It may be injured but it is in no way that it will stop hunt its pray. Especially after they had hurt it.
The three Nevermore roar in the sky, ready to finish this. Then without missing a beat, the three Grimm dive into the group of eight. They were tired and in no shape to fight anymore. Fear could be seen in their eyes mixed with despair.
"Sir!" I could hear Glynda scream from beside me. I guess this is it huh? Before Ozpin or Glynda could do anything, instantly the three Nevermore who were diving into the group exploded from the inside. A giant black spike appears from their guts and tore them apart.
Surprised by what just happen, the group of eight look at each other, searching for an answer. I could hear Glynda gasp from behind me, just as surprised as the kids as I take a sip of my fourth cup of cocoa.
"They pass." I said to Ozpin, who doesn't even move this whole time, just enjoying his cocoa.