Chapter 5
"Hello?" Yang called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. She had been wandering the Emerald Forest for a few minutes, and hadn't seen any sign of the other students, not even any monsters or Grimm. "Is anyone out there? I'm getting really bored here!" She heard rustling coming from a nearby bush. "Is someone there?" she asked, turning to look at the source of the noise. The rustling continued, so Yang approached the bush, opening it up to peek inside. "Ruby? Cloud? Is that you?" she asked, only to see a black mass in front of her. She slowly looked up, her gaze meeting the glowing eyes of a growling Ursa. "…Nope."
The Ursa lunged at Yang, but she flipped backwards to dodge it. She expanded her gauntlets as another Ursa charged from the bushes and swiped its claws at her, forcing her to roll out of the way. The first Ursa charged at her, but Yang knocked it back with a blast from Ember Celica. The second one charged again, and Yang knocked it away with an uppercut and kick.
"You guys wouldn't have happened to see a girl in a red hood or a guy carrying a big sword walking around, would you?" she asked. The Ursai let out enraged roars, and one of them charged at her. "You could have just said no!" The Ursa swung its claws at her again, and she backflipped away.
"Geez, you guys couldn't hit the broad side of a ba—" she said, before a single strand of blonde hair gently falling to the ground caught her attention. Her eyes shifted from purple to red.
"You…" she growled. "YOU MONSTERS!" She activated her Semblance, her hair igniting as she fired her gauntlets into the ground to launch herself forward. She launched one of the Ursai into the air with a powerful uppercut, and delivered a flurry of punches that sent it flying through a group of trees, leaving behind a trail of fire. She heard the second Ursa growl behind her and turned to see it charging at her.
"What, you want some, too?!" she yelled. The Ursa reared up on its hind legs, but then Yang heard a loud squelching sound, and the Ursa came to a sudden stop. The Grimm fell forward, revealing a giant four-pointed shuriken lodged in its back. "What the…"
In a puff of smoke, Yuffie suddenly appeared on top of the dead Ursa. "Wooh, got ya!" the fox Faunus cheered. "Take that ya bone-faced jerk!" She laughed triumphantly to herself, and then looked down from atop the dead Grimm and noticed the blonde brawler. "Oh, hi Yang."
"Uh, hey Yuffie. You know I could have taken him, right?"
"I figured, but you got to take out one of them, so I decided to take out the other one. Fair's fair after all," Yuffie said. She pulled her shuriken out from the Ursa's back and leaped down in front of Yang. "So, I guess we're partners now."
"Looks like it," Yang said. "But I figured you'd want to be partners with Blake."
"Well, I was looking for her when I heard you yelling about how bored you were, so I figured we could be bored together."
Yang chuckled. "All right. Now we just have to find the temple and get those relics."
"Already got that covered, I was in the trees before I heard you," Yuffie said. She pointed to her left. "We just have to head in that direction."
"You sure?"
"Yep, now come on." Yuffie turned to start walking in the direction she had indicated, putting her shuriken on her back.
"You know, I always thought shurikens were supposed to be small and easy to carry," Yang said.
"Oh, I've got those, too, but Juij's my favorite," Yuffie said, patting the weapon proudly. "It's a reminder from home."
"Anima?" Yang asked.
"Nope, Wutai."
"Oh, cool," Yang said. "I heard it's a nice place. My dad's thought about taking me and Ruby there on vacation, but it was a little too pricey."
Yuffie looked at the ground for a second. "Yeah, it… it's a nice place, but I decided that I didn't want to spend my entire life in a village. So I decided to head out on my own and see the world. Eventually, I ran into Blake, and we've been together ever since."
"How long have you and Blake been together?" Yang asked.
"A while. I can't really remember any day me and Blake weren't together actually."
"Yeah, I'm the same with Ruby," Yang said. "Can't imagine my life without her in it."
"Having a sister is the best, isn't it?" Yuffie asked, smiling brightly.
Yang smiled back. "It sure is, Yuffie."
Reno hit the last Wrath Hound of the pack with his electrified baton before delivering a devastating kick to its skull that made it collapse to the ground. It stopped moving, and Reno put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
"Man… You guys are relentless," he said between pants. He put his baton back in its holster, and sat down on a nearby rock.
Ok, maybe this initiation isn't as easy as I thought it was gonna be, he thought. I'm actually working up a sweat, here. I was just lucky I didn't run into a pack of Ursai or a Zolom. Still, it'll all be worth it, once I make it through Beacon. I'll finally be somebody, not just another face in the crowd. But before all that, I gotta find a partner. Now where would—
His thoughts were interrupted by a twig snapping behind him. He slowly turned around to see a large bird that resembled a cassowary, but with claws instead of wings, looking straight into his eyes.
It was an Epiolnis.
"Aw crap."
The Epiolnis kicked Reno in the chest, knocking him to the ground, before leaping on top of him to try and peck at him. Reno dodged the bird's beak and kicked it off of him. He reached for his baton, only to discover that it was no longer in its holster. He desperately looked around for it and found it laying on the ground several feet away. It must have fallen out when he got kicked.
He turned his attention back to the Epiolnis and saw it charging at him again. He raised his arms to shield his face and braced for the incoming attack, but a gunshot rang out and everything went silent. Reno peeked out from behind his arms to see the monster laying dead at his feet, with a smoking bullet hole in the side of its head.
"Huh?" He looked around and eventually spotted a girl loading a ne magazine into her pistol. She had long black hair with a black bow on top, and wore black and white clothing with a pair of purple stockings. "Yo, nice shooting."
"Thanks," the girl said. Reno got up off the ground and walked over to get his baton.
"So, partner, got a name?" Reno asked.
"Blake. You?"
"Reno. Thanks for saving my skin, Blake. I'm way too handsome to end up as some oversized chicken's dinner."
Blake rolled her eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't rest in the middle of a Grimm- and monster-infested forest," she said.
"Yo, cut me some slack," Reno said. "Everyone needs rest at some point, I just got caught off-guard."
Blake just slightly shook her head in exasperation before sheathing her weapon on her back. "In any case, we should start moving towards the temple."
"Right, let's get a move on, yo."
Blake had to admit, her first full day at Beacon had been a little disappointing so far. She had of course hoped to get paired up with Yuffie, and if not, Ruby or Yang since they seemed like good company, but instead she had to react when she heard someone being attacked by a monster. Now she was partnered up with some guy she didn't even know, who seemed to have a bit of an inflated opinion of himself.
She hoped her first impression of him was wrong, or this was going to be a long four years.
Blake and her new partner had been walking through the forest for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence. Blake wasn't really sure how to break the ice. Small talk was always Yuffie's specialty. Thankfully (or not, she hadn't decided yet), her partner didn't seem to have that problem.
"Well, since we got some time, might as well get to know each other," Reno said, his hands resting nonchalantly behind his head. "So, where ya from, Blake?"
"…Mistral," Blake said carefully.
"Yo, my cousin's from Mistral," Reno said. "Who knew the world was so small, huh?"
"Well, there are only five Kingdoms, so 1-in-5 chance," Blake said, deflating the boy a little bit. "You know, Reno, you don't really act or dress like someone trying to be a Huntsman."
"Yep, I'm one of a kind, yo," he said with a stupid grin. "Though to be honest, I'm not training to be a Huntsman. I'm training to be a… bodyguard."
"Bodyguard?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow at his rather odd answer. Huntsmen were hired as bodyguards all the time in addition to their usual duties, but that was the only part he cared about? "If you don't mind me asking, why?"
"Well, you see, I grew up in Midgar below the plate," Reno said. Blake vaguely remembered being told about the layout of the City of Midgar. It was comprised of two layers: the Upper City, which resided on a plate of metal suspended hundreds of feet in the air, where all the rich people and Shinra employees lived; and the Slums, located underneath the plate, where all the poorer residents were relegated to. It was actually the inspiration for the people of Atlas deciding to lift themselves into the air above their own poor city, Mantle, but the Atlesians decided to outdo Midgar by using Gravity Dust to make the entire city float off the ground. "It wasn't bad or anything," Reno continued, "had friends and the best parents a kid could ask for. But every time I looked up at the upper levels, I couldn't help but think that I deserved better, and my folks definitely deserved better. So, I made myself a promise that I would do everything I could to get to the top. And when I graduate from Beacon, people won't see a kid from the Slums. They'll see Reno Sinclair and my folks are gonna live like royalty for the rest of their lives."
"Wow, that's not what I was expecting," Blake said. "I figured you'd just want to be famous like most Huntsmen."
"Well, being a little famous wouldn't suck," Reno said with a chuckle. "What about you, Blake? Why'd you come to Beacon?"
"I… want to make a difference in the world."
"Hm, a little cliched, but hey, who am I to judge? Everyone has their reasons, even people in our line of work."
He gave Blake a friendly smile, which she returned. Suddenly, she heard an odd noise coming from deeper in the forest. It sounded like a pained howl from an animal.
"So, what's your favorite col—" Reno started to say, evidently having not heard the noise.
"Shh, do you hear that?" Blake asked, stopping to listen intently.
"Hear wha-?" Reno started to ask, before another howl was heard. "Ok, I heard that one. Sounds like some animal is in trouble."
"It's coming from this way, come on," Blake said, before bolting in the direction the noise was coming from.
"Hey, wait for me!" Reno shouted, trying to catch up to her.
A few minutes later, Blake finally came across a peaceful-looking marsh, seeing a dog-like creature with red fur and a flame at the end of its tail laying on a mound in the center of the wetland. Its leg was clearly broken, and was bent in the wrong direction. Despite her…dislike… for dogs, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature. She heard Reno finally catch up to her.
"You know, for a girl in heels, you run pretty fast," he said, trying to catch his breath.
"Shh, look," she said, pointing to the injured creature.
"What the hell is that thing? Some kind of monster?" Reno asked.
"I'm not sure. I haven't seen anything like it before. But look, it's hurt."
"Well, what should we do?" Reno asked. Instead of answering him, Blake just sat down on a nearby log and began removing her boots and socks. "Uh, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to help that creature," she said. "Do you have any Healing Materia?"
"Uh, yeah," he said, pulling the green orb in question out of his pocket. "But Blake, you think that's a good idea? For all you know, whatever hurt that… thing could still be nearby, and I'm betting it wouldn't mind two extra snacks.
"I've made up my mind, Reno," Blake said. "I'm not leaving that creature to die here."
Reno sighed. "Alright, I'll stay here and keep an eye out in case something's still lurking around here. Just be careful, ok?"
"Ok," she said. Reno handed her the Materia, and she began her trudge through the marsh. The water was cold against her feet, but nothing too unbearable even for a cat Faunus.
As she approached the mound, the creature noticed her and started growling. Blake put her hands up to show that she wasn't a threat.
"Easy, I'm not here to hurt you," she said, though she doubted it could understand her. "I just want to help." He growled at her for a few more seconds, but then seemed to realize that she really was there to help, and stopped. Or he decided that he had nothing else to lose. She slowly approached the creature and knelt down next to him. "Ok, this might hurt a bit." She carefully grabbed the broken leg, and used her Aura to activate the Materia. "Heal."
A green light surrounded and enveloped the creature, and gradually, Blake could see the bones in its leg move back into place. The glow faded, and Blake slowly set the creature's leg down before letting go.
"There. It might be a little sore, but at least it's not broken," Blake said. The creature slowly got up to its feet. It stumbled a bit, but was otherwise fine. "I have to go now. You might want to leave as well in case whatever hurt you comes back."
She turned to go back through the marsh to return to Reno, but heard a noise behind her. She looked back, and saw the creature standing behind her and staring at her. She was confused for a second, but shook it off and continued walking. She took one step into the water before hearing the noise again. She once again looked back and saw the creature still behind her.
"Uh, go on. Run off," she said. The creature didn't move, instead just continuing to stare at her. "Shoo." It still didn't move, and Blake came to the realization that it likely wasn't going to leave her any time soon.
"Oh, great."
When she made it back to shore, Blake saw that Reno was holding her boots and socks, waiting patiently for her to return, though he looked rather confused when he saw that the creature was following her. Regardless, he handed Blake her things once she was out of the marsh.
"Your footwear, madame," he said.
"Thanks, Reno," Blake said, giving Reno back his Materia before taking her boots and socks back and sitting back down on the log to put them back on. Reno turned his attention to the red-furred animal.
"So, Blake, mind filling me in on your new friend and why it's following you?" he asked.
"I think it just likes me cause I fixed its leg," she said.
"Well, it's as good a way as any to get on someone's good side," Reno said. "Welp, if this thing's gonna be with us for a while, might as well give it a name."
"A name?" Blake asked. She finished putting her boots on and walked back over to Reno and the creature. "Reno, it's not a pet. It's some kind of animal that won't leave me alone."
"Yeah, a pet," he said, as if it was obvious. "Plus, maybe it can help us find our way back to where we were, and maybe even help us find the relics."
"Reno, we can't take this animal with us."
"Alright, but do you have any ideas how to get rid of it?"
"…Well, maybe we could—How about we—or we could—" she finally sighed, accepting that she had no idea how to get the animal to go away. "Fine, it can come with us."
"Sweet," he said, before turning to look to at the animal. "Welcome to the team, buddy." He went to pet the creature, but it growled at him. "Okay, no petting. Got it. Now, all you need is a name. Oh, how about Cat-Dog?"
"…What?" Blake asked.
"Well, it kind of looks like a cat and dog mixed together, so Cat-Dog."
"That's the dumbest name I've ever heard."
"Well, I bet it likes the name." The animal smacked Reno in the thigh with the end of its tail. "Ow, Mother-!"
Blake snorted in amusement. "I don't think it likes that name, Reno."
"Alright, you come up with a name, then," he said, crossing his arms indignantly. "Let's see if you like getting hit with its tail."
Blake rolled her eyes and approached the animal. She knelt down in front of it to inspect its features a little more closely. She noticed that the number XIII was tattooed on its leg. "Thirteen?"
"Huh, maybe it is someone's pet," Reno said, prompting the animal to growl at him again. "Or not, definitely not." The animal stopped growling.
"How about… Red XIII?" Blake asked.
"Red XIII? I like it, but what does it think?" Reno asked. Red XIII nuzzled Blake's hand, prompting her to smile.
"I think it likes it," Blake said.
"Yo, Red, do you think you could lead us back to our original pathway?" Reno asked. Red sniffed Blake for a moment, before pointing off to the right. "Alright, lead the way, Red." Red started following the scent, with Blake and Reno following behind it. "See, I told you it could help us."
"Okay, you were right," Blake said. "Let's just hope we don't run into any more distractions."
Little did the trio know as they walked away from the marsh, a giant snake-like figure slowly rose out of the water, casting a long shadow onto the dry land and furiously shaking the rattle at the end of its tail.
Pyrrha led the charge through the forest, using her shield to brush the foliage out of the way. Jaune was trailing behind her, but both of them stopped when they heard a faint ratatatat in the distance.
"Did you hear that?" Jaune asked.
"Gunfire," Pyrrha said. "It sounds like some of our comrades have encountered the enemy."
"I hope they're alright."
"Have faith in them, Jaune. They've trained for this just as much as you and I have."
"Uh, yeah, o-of course," Jaune said nervously. "I just thought it'd be… polite to lend them a hand, ya know?"
"That's very kind of you," Pyrrha said. "But, if we stopped to assist in every fight, we'd be unable to claim the relics."
"I guess you're right," he said.
Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at Jaune. He really was a very kind and selfless person. She continued on, pushing a tree branch out of her way with her shield. Jaune, however, seemed to not be paying attention, as when she released it, it swung back and hit him in the face so hard that it knocked him off his feet.
"Ow!"
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, running to his side as he got up. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a scratch, see?" He pointed to his cheek, where Pyrrha could see a small red line the branch had left when it hit him. Pyrrha was relieved, but then she noticed that that scratch was still there and hadn't been healed by Jaune's Aura.
"Why haven't you activated your Aura yet?" she asked.
"M-my Aura? Well, like I said, it's just a scratch, no need to waste any energy on it, right?" he said, chuckling nervously. Pyrrha wasn't buying it for a second.
"Jaune, do you not have your Aura unlocked?"
"W-What?! O-of course I do. I-I just don't feel like—"
"Jaune…" Pyrrha said sternly. Jaune sighed.
"Y-Yeah, I…I don't have Aura."
"Why didn't you ask someone to unlock it before initiation?" she asked.
"I didn't want to get made fun of by everyone, and I doubt anyone would unlock the Aura of a complete stranger," he said, looking dejected.
"Then allow me to unlock it," Pyrrha said.
"What? But shouldn't we focus on getting the relics first?"
"This will only take a moment," she said. "Besides, finding the relics will go much more smoothly if you have your Aura unlocked."
"But what if—"
"Jaune, trust me," Pyrrha said, interrupting him before he could think of some other excuse to not have this done.
He sighed. "Okay, I trust you, Pyrrha."
She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. "Good, now close your eyes and concentrate."
Jaune looked confused and a little embarrassed, but still agreed. "Uh, okay," he said, and they both closed their eyes. After a second, Pyrrha's eyes shot open, and they were both enveloped by a bright glow.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," she recited. "Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." She put her remaining hand on Jaune's chest. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." The glow faded, and Pyrrha put her hands to her knees to catch her breath, much to Jaune's concern.
"Pyrrha, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she said. "I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you is your own." The scratch on Jaune's cheek vanished before her eyes. "And you have a lot of it."
"Wow. Thanks, Pyrrha."
"You're welcome, Jaune. Now, let's complete our objective." The two of them continued their trek through the forest, being much more careful to avoid any future mishaps like with the branch.
"While we do that, do you mind if I ask you a couple questions about Aura?" Jaune asked.
"Of course. But first, do you know what Aura is?" Pyrrha asked.
"Uh, it's like a forcefield, right?"
"In a way it is, but it's a little more complicated than that. It is the manifestation of our soul. It bears out burdens and shields our hearts. Everyone has it, including animals," Pyrrha explained.
"What about monsters and Grimm?"
"The Grimm are unable to produce Aura, since they lack a soul. Monsters, on the other hand, are capable of producing Aura. Most of the time, it happens over time as the monster gets older and stronger. The ones that do usually become the Alphas of their packs. However, a monster's Aura can also be unlocked when it's in great distress."
"You mean when it's fighting?" Jaune asked.
"Not quite. Have you heard of Hy-Grimms, Jaune?"
"Hy-Grimms? Uh, they're just another type of Grimm, right?" he asked, clearly just guessing but not wanting to look ignorant.
"Sort of. A Hy-Grimm is created when a monster like a Wrath Hound consumes the flesh of a Grimm. This causes the Wrath Houns to mutate and grow the characteristics of a Grimm, though only partially. This mutation not only makes monsters stronger and able to sense negative emotions, but it also unlocks their Aura if it wasn't unlocked already."
"Wait, I thought you said Grimm can't have Aura?" Jaune asked.
"Hy-Grimms are different. The creatures that have consumed the flesh of Grimm have not lost their soul, they've just been infected with a virus. Their Aura unlocks to try and cure the infection and stop it from destroying their bodies, like anti-bodies trying to fight a disease. Does that make sense?"
"Uh, kind of," Jaune said. "Still a little confusing, though. But one thing is for sure, I hope I never see a Hy-Grimm as long as I live. They sound terrifying."
"Understandable. Do you have any more questions, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yeah, but I think they can wait."
"Very well. Then let's go find those relics."
Ren stood victorious atop the body of the King Taijitu he had just slain. He put his weapons back in his sleeves and dusted himself off.
"Qrrraw!" Suddenly, he heard something coming from above him. He turned around and saw Nora hanging upside down from a tree.
Ren chuckled. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like," he said. Nora leaned over and poked Ren's nose.
"Boop." She flipped downwards from the tree, landing next to Ren atop the now-dissipating King Taijitu. "Alright, first objective: Become partners. Check." The two of them began climbing down the dead snake. "Second objective: get to the temple while annihilating any monster or Grimm that gets in our way!"
"You make it sound like it's going to be easy," Ren said.
"Duh, because it is," Nora said. "I mean, you took out this big snake all by yourself. So just imagine what the two of us can do together. Well, not together-together." She gasped excitedly. "Maybe we can get to the relics faster if we rode an Ursa or Wrath Hounds to the temple."
"Please don't do that, Nora," Ren said.
"We'll see~" she said in a singsong voice. "Now, let's get those—"
She was interrupted when they heard rustling coming from a nearby bush. They turned towards the source and realized that something was heading towards them.
"Nora, get your weapon ready," Ren said, the two of them drew their weapons and got into a defensive stance.
"Let's break its legs," Nora said. The rustling got louder as whatever was causing it got closer. Ren and Nora tensed up as the unknown threat steadily approached. Finally, a small squirrel-like creature leaped out of the bushes and stood before the two Hunters. Ren relaxed when he saw that the creature was far less threatening than he had feared, and pulled his weapons back into his sleeves.
"Aww, it's a squirrel," Nora said.
"Actually, it's a Mu," Ren corrected.
"Eh, potato pot-ah-to," Nora said before gasping excitedly again. "I should go over and take a picture to show Marlene. It would make her so happy!"
"Nora, no. That is a dangerous crea—"
Nora completely ignored her friend's protest, and approached the Mu while putting Magnhild away. Ren just sighed as he watched Nora approach the creature and crouch down in front of it, pulling out her Scroll.
"Hi there little guy, you won't mind if I take your picture for an adorable little girl would you?" The Mu just tilted its head and twitched its nose. "I'll take that as a yes. Now hold still." She held her Scroll up and pointed it towards the small creature, The Mu must have taken it as a threat, since it let out an angry hiss before launching itself at Nora, and began biting and clawing at her head. Nora was thrown into a panic as she desperately tried to get rid of the angry creature. "It's gonna store acorns in my head for winter!"
Ren sighed and walked over to assist her.
"Hold still, Nora."
Ozpin stood atop Beacon Cliff close to its edge, his attention firmly fixed on the camera feed from his Scroll. He was mostly focusing on two feeds in particular: Miss Rose and Mister Strife. Miss Rose's admission into Beacon, while hasty, was for the best considering her rare gift, and he jumped at the chance to admit Zack's pupil into his school. He had a vested interest in how their training progressed over the next four years.
"Hello," a voice said, prompting Ozpin, Glynda, and Barret to turn around and see a very familiar teenage girl in a pink dress.
"Oh, Aerith, I'm surprised to see you out here," Ozpin greeted. "I thought you'd be too occupied with our new guest."
"Well, I wanted to see how the new applicants were doing, so I left Marlene and Betty in my room to play." She giggled. "Betty was teaching Marlene her dance."
Ozpin chuckled in kind. "I suspected those two would get along. But, Aerith, you'd better hope they don't go exploring Beacon while you're out here."
"Don't worry, they're perfect little angels, like I was," Aerith said.
"Of course Betty's an angel!" Barret said proudly. "She's MY daughter after all!" he started laughing boisterously, and Aerith and Ozpin both rolled their eyes, knowing that Betty took after Glynda far more than Barret.
"So, Aunt Glynda, has everyone found a partner yet?" Aerith asked.
"Our last pair has just formed, actually," Glynda said. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."
"Oh, the ones that brought Marlene with them?" Aerith asked. Glynda nodded. "Lucky for them they managed to get partnered up."
"Yes, it is," Glynda said. "Though, I can't imagine how those two get along."
"Yeah, guy's gonna need a pair of headphones to get through a day with her," Barret said.
"Don't be quick to judge, Uncle Barret," Aerith scolded. "After all, opposites attract. You two are a prime example of that."
Glynda and Barret quickly glanced at one another.
"Damn, Aerith's got us there, sweetie," Barret said.
"I supposed she does, honey," Glynda said before clearing her throat. Ozpin didn't think that the two of them were really all that different. "But still, Mister Ren is likely far better off than Miss Nikos."
"Hmm," Ozpin hummed in acknowledgement.
"I don't care what his transcripts say. Mister Arc is not ready for this level of combat," Glynda said.
"Yeah, somethin's awfully fishy about Blondie," Barret said.
"Hey, cut Jaune some slack. He's probably just nervous," Aerith said. "I'm betting you were the same when you first came to Beacon, Aunt Glynda."
"Not like this. But, I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Glynda turned off her scroll, as Ozpin went back to watching the feed. "At their current pace, they should reach the temple in just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use for relics this year?"
"Yeah, is it playing cards again? Or chess pieces?" Barret asked.
Ozpin said nothing, continuing to watch the camera feed.
"…Professor Ozpin?" Glynda asked.
"Yo, Oz," Barret said.
Ozpin simply continued watching Mister Strife lean against a tree as Miss Schnee debated with herself about which way to go.
"…Hmmm."
"It's definitely this way," Weiss said, walking in one direction, before turning and walking in the other. "I mean, it's definitely this way." She stopped walking with an annoyed huff. "Alright, it's official. We passed it."
"Why don't you just admit that we're lost?" Cloud asked.
"Cause we're not. I know exactly where we're going." Cloud looked at her expectantly. "We're going to the temple." Cloud sighed. "Hey, you don't know where we're going, either."
"Well, maybe if you'd let me, I could figure out which way to go," Cloud said.
"Oh, so you think you can get us to the temple quicker?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms indignantly. It baffled Cloud that Weiss truly couldn't seem to grasp that someone else might know more than her.
"No, but I can point us in the right direction."
"Alright, by all means, which direction is the temple in, Cloud?"
Cloud stepped away from the tree he had been leaning on, and looked around the immediate area. He quickly spotted another tree, one that was colored green on one side. He approached the tree and saw that moss had grown on the side of its trunk.
"Look, moss," he said. "Moss always grows on the north side of a tree, meaning that the temple is in that direction."
Weiss chuckled as if he had said something ridiculous. "You really think that foliage is gonna lead us to the temple?"
"I'm sorry, but have you been trained to survive in the wilderness?" Cloud asked.
Weiss looked away, her face red. "…No."
"Well, I have. So as much as it must pain you to accept that someone might know something you don't, you're gonna have to trust my judgement on this," Cloud said. Weiss looked angry, but really had no way to refute his words, so she wisely kept her mouth shut. "Now come on. If we hurry, we can still claim a relic."
Cloud and Weiss continued their trek through the forest in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Weiss had no intention of breaking it. She didn't much feel like talking to someone who has been nothing but rude to her.
He didn't know her. He didn't know anything about what she went through to get here. How dare he judge her?
"So, since we got some time, mind if I ask you something?" Cloud asked, finally breaking the silence.
"You may," Weiss said.
"What's your problem with Ruby?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Well for one, she's my friend and I'm not the biggest fan of people who bad-mouth her. So spill."
Weiss sighed in frustration at the thought of that insufferable brat. "…If you must know, she's an incompetent, immature child," she said. "It boggles my mind how someone like her could get into Beacon, two years early no less."
"Well, she was able to stop a robbery all by herself."
"Oh, please, a Huntress younger than Ruby could've easily done the same thing."
"I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you. I can tell that she's gonna be one hell of a Huntress."
"Oh, and how would you know that, are you some sort of fighting expert?" Weiss asked.
"No. But I've had my fair share of fights. Even won some tournaments," Cloud said.
"And let me guess, you also fought Pyrrha Nikos," Weiss said sarcastically. If this boy was going to continue prattling on about how much better he thought he was than Weiss, then she would just have to put him in his place.
"Yeah, and I beat her," Cloud said, stopping Weiss in her tracks.
"You most certainly did not!" she screeched.
"What? You do know she lost her last tournament, right?"
"Of course I do, but I know for a fact that you're not the who beat her. And I can prove it." She dug into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. She opened up a search engine and began looking for information about the last Mistral Regional Tournament. "See, right here it says 'Pyrrha Nikos was defeated by one Cloud… Strife?" she said, the wind completely knocked out of her sails at realizing that the one that defeated Pyrrha had the same first name as her partner. Okay, no big deal. It's just a coincidence. Then her jaw dropped when she saw a picture that went along with the article, and recognized the head of blond hair. She quickly looked back and forth between the photo and the boy, hoping against hope that her eyes were deceiving her. "You're… Cloud Strife," she said, finally accepting the truth.
"Yeah. Wait, did you seriously not recognize me?" he asked.
"Well, no, not really."
He chuckled. "That's a first. I can't to the store without someone asking me for an autograph lately."
"B-But how can you be acquainted with someone like Ruby?" she asked, completely dumbfounded.
"It's not that difficult to understand. Ruby and I grew up on the same island, so we became very close friends. And it might be a stretch, but you could be her friend, too. All you have to do is try and not see her as just a child, but as a Huntress." Weiss couldn't think of anything to say, and just stood there in complete embarrassment. She couldn't believe she hadn't realized who Cloud was earlier. He was strong enough to defeat THE Pyrrha Nikos. And while it was great that she had partnered with someone that strong, Weiss had to admit that her bad attitude had likely firmly planted her on Cloud's bad side.
She and her big mouth.
"Now, let's get back on track before…" he said, trailing off to look at something.
"Cloud, why'd you—"
"Shh, look," he said, pointing up ahead. She followed where he was pointing, and spotted a large bird with yellow feathers eating some grass.
"Is that a chocobo?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm surprised it hasn't run off yet with all the commotion going on today," Cloud said.
"Me as well. Though I have to ask, why did we stop to watch it graze? Are you planning on fighting it?" Weiss carefully considered what Cloud's response would be, hoping he wasn't just some brute who'd actually harm such a majestic creature.
"Actually, I have a better idea," he said to Weiss's relief. He reached into his pocket and pulled out… vegetables? "Just enough," he said, before also pulling out a purple Materia orb.
"Cloud, what are you doing?" Weiss asked.
"Getting us to the temple," he said. He used his Aura to activate the Materia, which immediately got the chocobo's attention. Weiss had no idea how Materia worked, as she wouldn't be caught dead using the product produced by Shinra, but she assumed was a chocobo lure of some sort. Cloud gently walked towards the chocobo and outstretched the hand holding the vegetables.
"Hey there, big guy," he said very calmly. "Want some Greens?" The chocobo tilted its head in confusion before slowly approaching Cloud. "That's it, I'm not gonna hurt you. Me and Weiss just need a ride." He was planning on riding that bird to the temple?! Cloud got close enough for the chocobo to sniff the Greens in hands, before eating them. The large bird let out an unbelievably adorable happy sound before sitting on the ground, allowing Cloud to gently pet it. "You're welcome," he said, before turning back to look at Weiss. "Come on, Weiss, I got ourselves a ride to the temple."
"W-What?!" Weiss asked. "We can't ride a wild animal!"
"Of course you can. They do it all the time in Anima and Gaia," Cloud said. "All you need to do is offer a chocobo some Greens and they'll take you where you need to go. Now come on. Don't you wanna be a Huntress?"
"But, but," Weiss said, trying to think of some sort of excuse to not get on the large bird, but came up short. "…Fine, I'll get on the chocobo. But if it even looks at me wrong, you and I will have words, Strife."
Cloud climbed onto the chocobo's back, while Weiss sat behind him side-saddle style.
"You might want to hold onto me. Riding a chocobo can get pretty bumpy," Cloud said. Weiss wrapped her arms around Cloud's stomach, and felt the firm definition of a six-pack underneath his shirt. She instantly felt her cheeks light up. "You good back there, Weiss?" he asked.
"Y-yes," Weiss managed to say.
"Alright," he said, before clicking his tongue. The chocobo stood up and began running towards the temple.
Weiss had to admit…
This was kind of exhilarating.
AN: And with that, all of the partnerships have formed. Each member of the original Team RWBY has been partnered with a Final Fantasy VII character. Just to recap: Ruby is with Tifa, Yang is with Yuffie, Weiss is with Cloud, and Blake is with Reno, in addition to meeting and befriending Red XIII.
And just to clarify because of the source material, Betty is Glynda and Barret's daughter, even though Marlene is Barret's daughter originally. Instead, Ren and Nora have been taking care of Marlene, and brought her with them to Beacon. For those of you know don't know, Betty was a little girl introduced in Final Fantasy VII Remake, and she's Marlene's best friend.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!