I'm posting late...again. But I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless. Feel free to ask questions regarding anything related to the story or characters. I try and include the answers to those in the next chapter. But until next time!
Note: I do not own either RWBY or Fairy Tail. Those are owned by Rooster Teeth and Hiro Mashima ( and FUNimation). Please support the official release.
Note two: Bolded text indicates telepathic dialogue between Mavis and Zeref, usually. Italic text indicates a flashback.
To put it simply, Ren was nervous–not that Nora, nor anyone else could see that. He rested his hands on Storm Flower, his weapon. The ninja squeezed the gun's handles steadying his breathing.
Glancing to his left, Ren's eyes flickered to his fellow students. Nora, his oldest friend, looked uncomfortable standing on the small metal pedestal. Her hands were wrapped around her hammer more tightly than usual.
"You okay?" Ren quietly asked.
"Me?" Nora jumped at his question. "Yeah, I'm completely fine! Nothing wrong here."
He raised his eyebrows. The trigger-happy huntress-in-training was rarely honest with her feelings. "Really?"
"Alright fine," She pouted. "I just wanna get out there and start smashing something!"
"Well Miss Valkyrie," A voice answered from behind them. Turning around, Ren came face to face with Beacon's Headmaster, the white-haired man's cat-like eyes gave a piercing stare. "As soon as Ms. Goodwitch explains your initiation, you will get your chance."
"Oh, right," Nora gave an embarrassed smile.
"Nora," Ren sighed. "Let's try to be more patient?"
"You got it!" The girl gave a small salute. Despite his apathetic exterior, Ren's heart skipped a beat at her smile.
cleared her throat, quieting the students. She began to speak. "I know many of you have heard rumors about team assignments. Let me put an end to the confusion.
When you enter the Emerald Forest, the first person you make eye contact with will become your partner for the rest of your time at this academy."
"I guess we should keep our eyes closed until we can find each other," Nora whispered to him.
"How are we supposed to find each other if we can't see?" Ren asked with a straight face. The berserker blinked in confusion. "Never mind."
"Your task is to locate the ancient ruins of a temple hidden within the Emerald Forest, and retrieve the relics placed there." That didn't sound terribly difficult, Ren mused. Unless of course, there was a catch. He could hear the whispers of some of his classmates. Many had come to the same conclusion that he did.
Ozpin stepped forward. "But you may not grab a relic until you have found your partner. You will be graded on your performance today. Despite that, your instructors and I will not intervene. Do not hesitate, for if you do, you will die." That statement effectively killed the easygoing atmosphere. Even Nora frowned and shrunk back.
There was the catch. Ren turned to face his friend. He hoped they would find each other quickly.
"How many relics are there?" A short blonde girl raised her hand. Strangely enough, she seemed completely relaxed, bored even. Ren tried to remember what her name was–Mavis?
"You'll find out soon enough," Ozpin answered. "Now prepare your landing strategies." Ren looked down at his feet. Oh. He stepped off the metal plate, before using his foot to push it down, confirming the device's launching mechanism.
"This. Is. So. Cool!" Nora jumped up and down, causing the plate to creak slightly.
"Uh, what did you mean by launching strategy?" Jaune (Ren overheard his name in the locker room) asked timidly.
"Get ready Mr. Ren," Goodwitch instructed.
Ren moved back onto the platform. He closed his eyes. He muttered "See you on the other side Nora," before getting catapulted into the air.
was troubled by a number of things. And unfortunately for her, they almost all centered around her boss–Headmaster Ozpin.
First, he allowed a former terrorist into the school. Now granted, was willing to let that one slide, given Blake's very young age. But then he allowed Juane Arc into Beacon. She swiped back onto the drone tracking Juane, only to find him pinned to a tree by Pyrrha Nikos's spear.
"Are you sure Mr. Arc can keep up?" She inquired. "From what I've seen, he lacks the skills needed to survive, despite what his transcripts suggest."
"The boy has potential," was all he responded with. It still didn't sit well with her. "He will not be another Gretchen."
"That–" she shook her head. "Wasn't what I was referring to. Not that it was your fault either. Now would you like to help me evaluate our pupils, or will you stand there and that abomination that pretends to be coffee?"
"It isn't half-bad," he murmured, before stepping next to her. "Have any of our pairs been formed?"
"Well, Mavis and Zeref found each other fast enough," she muttered. "Though, I have a suspicion that you planned for that."
"Well, I've known them since before…you know," he responded. "And splitting them up could prove hazardous."
"Well, aside from that, our latest pairing is Ruby Rose…and Weiss Schnee," sighed. "I am beginning to have doubts about the effectiveness of this pairing method. If Mavis and Zeref are correct, these two are going to have a rough start to the year, if they make it through at all."
"Patience Glynda," Ozpin cautioned. "Strangers, especially children, can and will surprise us in many ways."
"I do hope you are right," she glanced back at her tablet. Ruby and Weiss had engaged a small pack of Beowolves. visibly winced when Weiss had to disengage her thrust midway, to avoid Ruby, who had pinned a Beowolf into the ground with her massive scythe.
"They will need to learn to coordinate," he noted.
"Unfortunately for them," she navigated to a spreadsheet. "Their grades will not be curved for that. Now–I believe our next pairs have been formed."
"Blake Belladonna with Yang Xiao Long–" Ozpin sounded amused.
"And Pyrrha Nikos with Juane Arc," Beacon's Headmistress finished. "The latter of which are already heading in the wrong direction."
"Blake and Yang should make for an interesting combination," he observed. "The fighting styles are remarkably compatible–as well as covering each other's weaknesses."
"Teammates cannot compensate for everything," reminded him. "The last of our pairs are trickling in…Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie."
"And it seems our first pair has made it to the temple," Ozpin waited for her to give her confirmation before taking the tablet. "Now let's see if they can find their piece."
"Are you truly sure having a two-person team is in their–and the students–best interest?"
"They are here to watch over a select few students–and learn a thing or two about hunting Grimm. I'm sure they'll do just fine."
Mavis skipped through the Emerald Forest, feet expertly avoiding the stray branches and rocks that dotted the ground. Zeref trailed after her, unable to keep a grin off his face. The two, after many years of residing within the trees, felt almost at peace.
"If there only was a massive tree," Mavis daydreamed. "It would be just–"
"Like Tenrou," Zeref smiled. "I know. But magic at that scale would–"
"Drain too much magic from the air and attract too much attention," Fairy Tail's first master huffed. "But what if I just used the Lumen Histoire–"
"Don't tempt me again Mavis," Zeref groaned. "The last time we tried using it, they had to re-renovate Atlas Academy."
"The last time," she corrected. "We were really drunk. Besides, I'm sure Oz could cover it up somehow."
He just shook his head. "How far are we from the temple?"
"Geez Zeref," Mavis pouted. "I thought you were a better hunter than I was. So why don't you tell me?"
"I, as you so put it, was 'drunk'," Zeref chuckled darkly. "I could never surpass you, my queen." The comment had the desired effect: causing Mavis to blush and shut her mouth, ending the conversation.
"You can't keep doing that," Mavis complained in a small voice. "The temple should be right below this cliff." The two stared down the temple 20 meters below them.
"So it's okay if I do this?" The Black Wizard hooked an arm around Mavis's waist, pulling her close to his side. "Let's go." He jumped, pulling the Fairy Tactician along with him.
"Woah!" Mavis squeaked out as they rushed toward the ground. She angled her left palm downward, creating a jet of energy to try and slow their fall. Next to her, Zeref's eyes knit in concentration, calculating the position of his next shield, in order to catch them. The white barrier flickered to life beneath them, causing the two to slide, rather than fall, into the grass and dirt.
Both of their clothes were now covered in dust and stray pieces of grass. Mavis was the first to recover from the crash, pulling her other half up to his feet.
"We're getting this piece, and then we're getting out of here," she grumbled to him.
Zeref just shrugged. The peace was definitely ruined. "Which piece do we take? There aren't enough relics for us to just grab."
"Maybe Oz hid the last one for us specifically," Mavis studied the time-worn stones on the ground. She absentmindedly traced the path with her fingers. "Isn't this–"
"A summoning circle," Zeref confirmed. "There's writing all over it too. 'The cold, unstoppable march of time'."
"'The flighty and fleeting nature of fate'," she read. "'The the blinding power of hope'–"
"'And the fire and fury of rebellion'," he finished. "Ice, wind, lightning, and fire."
"Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall," Mavis's eyes widened. "To get our relic, we need to summon and maintain all four elements."
Zeref pulled out one of his knives–Damnation. He rotated the dust charges hidden within the hilt of the blade, selecting Ice Dust. Adjusting to a reverse grip, he stabbed the blade into the ground, right on top of the rune representing ice. The rune and surrounding stone were now covered in a white sheet of ice.
"Could you do light and…fire?" He unsheathed his other knife–Repentance, selecting Wind Dust.
"Yeah," Mavis tried to alleviate the sadness she could feel in his voice. Making sure she had the right element selected, she pulled back on her bow–Redemption. A thunderbolt struck the corresponding rune, causing the literal ground to spark.
Then she hovered her finger on the Fire Dust. "I've already forgiven you."
"But he," Zeref ignited the Wind Dust on his blade, causing a strong gust to blow the stray dust on the ground away. "Won't ever forgive me!" He slammed the blade into the stone, causing the stray leaves to begin levitating off the ground.
Turning away sadly, Mavis let her next shot fly. The stones began to glow a bright red. Then the magic circle itself activated, causing another pedestal to rise from the ground. Even before the whole pillar emerged from the earth, Zeref swiped the chess piece on top, taking deep breaths.
"Hey," Mavis hugged him from behind. "I don't think Natsu could ever not forgive anyone, including you." A deep melancholy washed over both of them, the ground below them decaying into gray dust.
"Ozpin wasn't subtle with his messaging," Zeref let out a dry laugh. The chess piece was painted half black and half white, with a gray area in between. "Take a look."
Mavis spent more time with the chess piece, inspecting its base. "It says 'death'. I'm sure that doesn't mean anything."
"Let's go," Zeref took her hand. "I…I don't want to hurt anyone else who might get here–"
"You think this is…oh," a new voice came from above them. "Hey, Zeref!" Sunlight caused Yang's golden hair to glow like fire.
The both of them only had one thought: Fuck.
Weiss was at the end of her rope. How did she, pride of the Schnee name, get paired with this, this child? Ruby Rose was simply the most infuriating, temperamental, and unbearable person Weiss had ever met. And Weiss had met Whitley.
Said scythe wielder was currently throwing a temper tantrum behind her, kicking the ground beneath her. And she dared to call her arrogant?
Weiss knew she could still improve in so many ways–when compared to her sister. Turning around, Weiss was ready to put an end to the madness. "Could you please stop acting so immature? We're going to have to work together, so the faster you accept that the faster we can find our relic."
"Then could you admit you have no idea where we're going?" Ruby had a fire in her silver eyes. "Teamwork is a two-way street, Weiss."
"You are an insufferable little…" The heiress felt something land on her shoulder. She picked up the stray black feather. Ruby glanced up.
"Nevermore!" Ruby tried to reach for her weapon but was interrupted when the demonic bird snagged her hood with one of its claws. But by then, Weiss had unsheathed Myrmaster–her rapier. She focused, and wrote one an ice glyph, before puncturing the Nevermore's skin. The lower half of the Grimm became encased in ice.
"What were you saying?" Weiss smirked at her new teammate. Behind her, the ice cracked, as the Nevermore freed its other claw, wrapping it around Weiss's left arm. "Kiyah!" The white-haired girl yelped.
Taking flight, the Nevermore past the treeline, allowing Weiss to catch a glimpse of the temple ruins. She could barely make out four people near there before two of them took off back under the cover of the forest.
"Weiss!" Ruby had somehow grabbed her weapon, Crescent Rose, in its sniper form. "Get ready to jump!"
The wind blowing her ears was loud enough to block out what Ruby had said. "What?" But the black-haired girl ignored Weiss's pleas and aimed the rifle at Nevermore's chest. What was she going to do–shoot the Grimm while they were both still in the air?
While the Heiress couldn't hear what her new teammate had said, Weiss definitely heard the gunshot that punctured the Nevermore's insides.
The bird squawked in pain, releasing the two girls into freefall.
"Weiss!" Ruby grabbed the girl's hand. Weiss had so many things to say to Ruby–most of them not good. But that wouldn't stop them from becoming corpses.
"Hold on Ruby!" Weiss aimed Myrmaster down, casting a gravity glyph beneath them. They landed on the glyph hard, blowing the air out of Weiss's lungs.
"You have a plan?" She managed to get out, coughing and sheathed her weapon.
Ruby expanded Crescent Rose into its scythe form. "Hold onto me!" Seeing that the only other choice was death, Weiss complied, wrapping her arms around Ruby's neck. When the dust was mere milliseconds from disintegrating into the wind, the silver-eyed girl dived off, weapon first, all the while Weiss clung to her for dear life.
Crescent Rose let out a shot, kicking the two upwards momentarily. Then another, and another, until the clip was empty. Unfortunately for them, Weiss and Ruby were still hundreds of meters above the treeline.
"I'm sorry Weiss!" Ruby warned.
"Sorry for what?" Weiss tried to ask. But instead of receiving a reply, rose petals began to swirl around them, dancing faster than the wind was blowing. In mere seconds, the two teenagers slammed against a tree branch. When Weiss opened her eyes again, she could see Ruby hanging on for dear life to the tree branch.
Unfortunately, that same tree branch was already cracking at its base. As Weiss and Ruby clung to the fragile tree branch, the cracking sound grew louder, and it was clear that their current perch wouldn't hold much longer. Panic surged through Weiss, but before she could react, she heard a voice from below.
"Move!" The strange girl, with long blonde hair, had her bow aimed up toward the sky. Without hesitation, Ruby let go, sending the both of them sprawling to the ground. At least, that was until a white barrier caught them mere feet from the tree branch.
A large shadow appeared over them. Apparently, the Nevermore hadn't given up on its prey. Despite being exhausted, Weiss stood up, already beginning to write another ice glyph. Then, an almost void-like javelin contacted the bird's wing. But rather than simply piercing the Grimm, the giant raven began to shrink, disintegrating–no, collapsing–into the arrow, until it vanished. For a moment, everything seemed peaceful. Not a single sound could've been heard.
Then the white barrier extended around both Weiss and Ruby. The sky turned black, with a dark shockwave blasting outward. The whole top of the forest was turned to an ashy gray, if not completely desolated. The barrier Weiss and Ruby were protected under dimmed, but ultimately held.
Mavis let out a long-held breath. She could feel the aching pressure in her head dissolving away. "That was too close," Mavis decided.
"You're telling me," Zeref retorted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to–"
"No," She felt a pang of guilt in her heart. "I shouldn't have brought Natsu up."
"Look at this bow!" Ruby, at some point, jumped down to the ground, eyes twinkling. "A rotating dust loader…flexible legs for extra power…did you make this Mavis?"
"What?" The green-eyed wizard blinked. "Uh, yeah."
"That's. So. Cool!" Ruby swung her overly massive scythe in the hair, missing Mavis's face by inches. "I made Crescent Rose myself too. It can switch between this form–" the weapons shrunk down into a bolt-action sniper rifle. "–And its melee form. What more–"
"Ruby, can't you see she's uncomfortable?" Weiss had also made her way down, shaking her head disappointedly. "It won't make it any easier for us to ask where we can find the relics."
"Right," Ruby let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Mavis. I'll geek out about your bow later. But uh, could you…?"
"The temple is back that way," Zeref quietly noted. He pointed to the trampled plants and decaying leaves behind Mavis. "It'd be best if you two were to hurry up."
"Thank you Zeref," Weiss gave him a polite bow. "We will be sure to repay you in the future." Mavis raised her eyebrows. Where was this sudden politeness and respect coming from?
"She was raised to be a socialite," Zeref clarified. "She's…I guess you could call royalty. And, I technically did save her that one time." Mavis decided to just accept that explanation.
Before the two teenage girls moved, the ground rumbled. The scuttling noise…Death Stalkers! Mavis unslung her bow, loading an ice dust arrow, and aimed it at the direction of the noise.
"Death Stalker incoming!" Blake and Yang barreled toward them, both out of breath. The brawler's shotgun gauntlets were steaming with overuse, the metal glowing an unhealthy red. Blake had her weapon in gun form, its clip nearly spent.
"Yang!" Ruby, completely ignoring her older sister's warning, launched herself at the tall blonde.
"Not now Ruby," she deftly caught Ruby and pushed her away. "We need to get out of here."
"Yang's right," Blake added. "Neither of us have been able to land any solid hits on the thing. Unless any four of you have an idea, we need to move."
"But we haven't retrieved our relic yet," Weiss interjected. "It doesn't matter if Ruby and I survive the Death Stalker if we don't achieve our mission."
"We can take it," Zeref announced. All the girls turned to him. "Mavis?"
"This is going to go better than the last time I tried this," Mavis told herself. The emerald-eyed girl sighed. "Weiss, I'm going to need you to stay on the ground. Get ready to slow the Death Stalker with your ice dust. While it's trying to get out of the ice, Blake, I need you to use your whip to hold the scorpion's tail in place, so Ruby can cut it off. Once the Death Stalker's broken free of the ice, I need Yang on standby to keep the thing occupied. Zeref and I will support where we can." Mavis held up her hands, making a picture frame. "And to be honest, you four would make a really good team, on paper."
"Get into position," Zeref ordered. "Ruby, Blake, in the trees. Let's go Mavis. We can…reminisce later."
"Right," The Fairy Tactician shook her head to clear it. The scuttling was becoming much, much louder, shaking the smaller saplings and bushes leaves. Weiss unsheathed her rapier, taking a fencing pose. Behind her, Yang released the steam built up in her gauntlets, reliving the weapons of their stored heat.
The massive Death Stalker trampled all the small, ground plants as it charged toward, pincers open wide to grab unsuspecting victims.
"Slow it down!" Weiss continued to create her glyph on the ground in front of her.
Yang punched her gauntlets together. "Say no more!" Her feet dug into the ground, arms faced behind her. The brawler was shot forward by the kickback from the gauntlet's shotgun. As she flew through the air, Yang reared her right arm back.
There was a sickening crunch when Yang's fist cracked off one of the Death Stalker's pincers. The Grimm screeched in pain, batting Yang into a nearby tree.
"Take this!" Finishing her glyph, Weiss flicked her weapon upwards, summoning a mountain of ice to encase the Death Stalker. The monster immediately tried to wriggle free of its blue cage.
Mavis knocked an ice arrow, filling in the ice the Grimm managed to break. "Now Blake!" A black whip swung from one of the nearby trees, wrapping around the stinger with a sharp snap. Ruby subsequently dived from the leaves, Crescent Rose's blade gleamed in the sunlight. In one swift motion, the huntress cut through the scorpion's tail, and landed on the ground just before the stinger flopped to the floor.
"Now Zeref!" Mavis yelled. A black and blue blur rushed past her left side, blowing the dead leaves on the ground to the side. Just as the Death Stalker burst from its icy tomb, Zeref plunged his extended katana and wakizashi into the two largest eyes of the beast.
As the Grimm tried to retaliate using its claws to crush Zeref in half, Blake landed on the Death Stalker, pinning the pincers with her sword. The Black Wizard backflipped onto the scorpion's back, taking his swords with him.
Ruby swung her scythe back around, finally felling the beast with a single strike. It's black flesh began to turn into dust, floating away in the wind.
"That was fun," Ruby said between short pants. "Yang, you good?"
The blonde got up from the group, mostly unscathed. However, she was holding her right arm by the forearm. "Mostly. Think I bruised an arm. Freaking Death Stalker hit through my aura."
"I think all of our auras are pretty low," Blake deduced. "We should get back now."
"You two head back first," Weiss decided. "Ruby and I shouldn't take very long to get our relic."
"We should get going too," Mavis informed Zeref. As the other four teenagers talked, Zeref quietly retracted the blades, hopping off the still-decaying body of the Death Stalker. Fairy Tail's First Master cast an illusion, hiding both herself and Zeref to slink off into the forest.
"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark," Ozpin stood once again on the auditorium stage. "You four retrieved the Black Bishops. From now on, you are Team CRDL, lead by Cardin Winchester."
The four boys had smug grins on their faces as they exited off the stage. Beacon's headmaster didn't have high expectations for them–but they'd serve as a good way to evaluate both Team JNPR and RWBY's moral character. The next four hunters and huntresses step forward.
"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren," Oz smiled more warmly. "You four retrieved the White Rook Pieces. You will now be known as Team JNPR, led by Juane Arc."
"Wait, me?" The blue-eyed boy flinched in surprise.
"Nice job Juane," Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You'll make a great leader!" Nora agreed. Ren just gave Jaune a small smile. Oz had high hopes for that team, just like the next team that soon took their place.
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin turned to face them. You four retrieved the White Knights. From now on, you will be Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang tackle-hugged Ruby. "You're gonna make a great team lead."
"Thanks," The black-haired girl got out. "Please stop crushing me." The four girls got off the stage. Oz noted a flicker of irritation fly across Weiss's face. He'd have to remember to ask Zeref to talk to her.
He waited for the crowd to settle down before continuing. "Now, you may be wondering why teams at all four hunting academies are made up of four people. You may think you have the capacity to thrive on your own. But I have found working with others will bring out something new in each of you. And that is why, for the first time, two of your classmates have proven themselves mature and capable enough to act as your student advisors."
"Student advisors?" Oz overheard one of the murmurs.
"Who do you think it is? I haven't seen anyone missing yet."
Two teenagers walked onto the stage, faces sculpted into an unmoving mask.
"Isn't that girl a little young to be going here?"
"They let Ruby into this school–I don't think the headmaster cares about age."
"I'm sorry?" Ozpin's sudden statement silenced everyone again. He waited for someone to "Mavis Vermillion and Zeref Dragneel, you retrieved the black and white king piece. From now on, you are team MZ (Maze)." The two teens gave a small bow, before walking offstage. They quickly moved to the back of the crowd, stonewalling any attempt by the other students to strike up a conversation with a simple smile before moving on. "Headmistress Goodwitch will take it from here. I wish you all the best of luck for the upcoming school year." With that, Beacon's headmaster took his leave.
An old man stepped out of the desert cave he was resting in. The moonlight shined on his face.
It was time to go home, August decided. The Vacuo sand shifted with the wind. He'd spent enough time in this desert-like hell.
It reminded him too much of Alverez anyway.