F3: Welcome to chapter 17 of my RWBY fic. Weiss and them finally arrived at Wind Path and made contact with Adam's informant. Time to see what else is in store. RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth. OC characters that appear will be credited to the author(s). Let's Dive In.
Volume 5-17: Crossing Paths and Stars.
It was days later after Star and company had left Kuchinashi behind and making their way toward Mistral though it wasn't exactly easy for them either. They had their fair share of grimm coming after them but they were quickly defeated with all their combined effort. Though the trip was starting to take its toll on them. The were running low on dust and it was still a two day walk two Mistral.
Worse was that night was coming so they have to find a shelter for them to camp out for the night.
"May. Are their any caves nearby we can use?" Star asked.
May used her prosthetic eye to look ahead to spot any caves the were close by and luckily their was something nearby they could use.
"Their's a cave about five hundred meters away. We can use that for the night." May said.
"Good cause we need to rest." Cardin replied as the group headed toward the cave.
It didn't take them long as they arrived at the cave. Cardin and Velvet made sure that there wasn't any unwanted guest in the cave. Once the cave was clear the group of four settled into the cave as night was starting to fall upon them.
Velvet and May grabbed some sticks and some straw so that it would be easier to start a fire. Cardin was in charge of seeing how much food was left while Star check on hers and Mays weapon to make they had enough ammunition to last them till they get to Mistral.
"Well I got some good news we got enough food for about another week before we need to start saving." Cardin replied.
"At least that's something." Velvet said as she got the fire going for the food and to also keep warm.
"Yeah but we got some bad news too." Star said getting their attention.
"May and I are running low on ammunition so that going to be a major issue if we run into a lot of grimm. We're going to need a plan to avoid any grimm that are in the area." Star mentioned.
"Me and Cardin could take point when we encounter grimm. I mainly use my semblance and Cardin is a tank so we should be alright going forward." Velvet said.
"Okay. That could work. May can also use her semblance to confuse the grimm if need be." Star added.
"Alright so we got a plan for tomorrow. Let's eat then get some sleep. I'll take first watch tonight." Cardin said as they all agreed and prepared their meal.
Once everyone got a full belly Cardin took first watch as everyone else went to sleep but made sure everyone rotated for guard duty.
The hours went on and so did guard duty as now Star was on watch cause she had better eye sight with it being nighttime. She was in front of the cave making sure to alert anyone incase any grimm came at them. Though it was also a good opportunity to practice her maiden powers. Making sure no grimm were around she concentrated on the energy deep with in her eyes closed allowing the power to well up inside.
She opened her eyes and they were engulfed in blue flames. She held up her hands and concentrated on a nearby dead tree and fired a shard of ice at it hitting dead center. She went further firing multiple ice shards at the tree. She got more confident and more creative as she created an icey bow and arrow as she drew the string back and fired at the tree this time freezing the tree solid.
She then hold up her hand and formed an iceball in her hand and then launched it at said tree but this time causing the tree to shatter on impact. Star relaxed allowing her power to fade. Suddenly her ears perked up as she heard something coming toward them and it sounded big.
Unfortuncantly she was right as a large Ursa walked out of the woods and it roared loudly.
"URSA!" Star shouted getting everyone that was inside the cave to wake up. They all rushed out to see the large grimm that was in front of them.
"That's not just any Ursa. It's an Alpha!" Velvet shouted quickly summoning a copy of Crescent Rose.
"We got to get rid of it before it attracts more grimm." Cardin suggested.
"Alright. Aim for the legs. If we can get it on its back than we should be able to kill it easily." Star said.
"Cardin, Velvet that'll be your job. Aim low but fast. Once the belly is exposed May and I can finish it off." Star instructed.
"Alright go!" Cardin replied both he and Velvet charged at the grimm. The Ursa saw this as it reared on its back legs and roared loudly before taking a swipe at Cardin. He narrowly dodged the swipe while Velvet jumped off his shoulder getting above the grimm and then came down hard on the grimm slashing it multiple times but its armor was too thick to deal any considerable damage.
"This is going to harder than we thought." Velvet said dodging a pounding attack from the grimm before it could hit her.
She dispered Crescent Rose and enabled Ember Celica as the gaunlets appeared on her wrists.
"You go high I'll go low." Cardin said as Velvet nodded in response. The two charged the grimm again. This the grimm was ready as it pound the ground with all its might launching medium sized rumble right at the two stopping them in their tracks. The impact from the rumble knocked them back taking a good chunk of their aura.
"Okay didn't know it can do that." Velvet stated.
"Got any better ideas." Cardin said. The four of them were staring down the grimm as it roared preparing to charge at them.
=SPIR=
Meanwhile at the same time Ruby and company had just finished laying out their campsite for the night as Raven and Yang were preparing dinner while Nora, and Jaune were setting up a perimeter incase any grimm came by. Neo was helping Ruby set up everyone camping gear for the night.
"Alright it's going to be cold tonight so we are definately going to need to keep warm." Ruby said. Neo brought out a fire dust crystal and made a cutting motion toward it.
"Good idea. Chip off a piece of fire dust and use it to warm up the sleeping bags. Good call." Ruby added as Neo smiled at the praise. So Ruby carefully chipped off a piece of fire dust for each of the sleeping bags making sure not to chip off too much.
Ruby examined the small crystal and smiled "Perfect." Ruby said.
Nora and Jaune came walking back setting their weapons down "Perimeters clear. No grimm around for miles thankfully." Nora said.
"Great dinners just about ready. It's not much but it'll be enough." Raven added as the four of them sat around the fire.
"So what's the plan exactly when we get to Haven?" Jaune asked.
"First is to talk with the headmaster of the academy which will be Leo Lionheart. He and I go back when I worked for Ozpin. He'll listen to what I have to say." Raven replied.
"How much further is it to Haven?" Yang asked.
That is when Ruby's scroll buzzed which means Penny just woke up again.
"Estimation from current location...a day and a half." Penny answered.
"Great at this rate we should be their in no time. Now eat up and get some sleep." Raven replied as they did just that.
Night fell and eventually everyone was asleep but Raven was on watch as she stood guard vigilantly. Three hours into her guard shift she felt a hand tap her shoulder. She looked and noticed that it was Ruby with Thorn Gear in hand.
"My turn." Ruby said. Raven nodded but just as they were about to swap the birds nearby suddenly flew away after hearing a loud shot. Raven instantly had a hand on Omen and Ruby with her weapon ready.
"Okay... what was that?" Raven asked as she looked around trying to find the source of the shot.
The shot rung out again but this time Ruby heard it fully "Wait a minute. That's a shotgun blast like Yangs. I recognize the sound." Ruby replied.
This time a very loud shot rang out "Okay that sounds like a sniper rifle. Penny how far did that sound come from." Ruby said bring out her scroll.
"The sound came from one thousand meters away south east of here." Penny stated.
"Ruby wake everyone up I'll go on ahead." Raven said as she turned into a her bird form and flew on ahead.
=SPIR=
Meanwhile it has been several minutes as Star and company were still dealing with the Alpha Ursa but they were also getting tired from fighting it while the grimm didn't look like it was breaking a swet against them and they were running out of options of how they deal with it.
"Anyone got a new plan? Anything we throw at this thing doesn't seem to effect it at all." May replied obviously tired from the fighting.
"Going for the legs isn't working. It's learning how we fight. Worse is we can't escape it even if we wanted to." Cardin added.
"Then we better come up with something otherwise we're going to be grimm food." Star stated.
The grimm charged at them making the four separate but Velvet took a shot at him firing Crescent Rose at the grimm but not even doing any damage as it bounced off the skin of the grimm.
The grimm pivoted its hips at swung its paws at May landing a direct blow sending her flying toward the cave hitting hard her aura flickering but stayed strong.
"May!" Star shouted which really ticked her off allowing her semblance to trigger allowing her tails to split into three which gave her a boost of strength as she charged at the grimm. She swung with her gunbreakers on the grimms sides trying to deal damage with Cardin going to check on May and Velvet quickly joining Star to fight off the grimm. Velvet made a clone of Gambol Shroud and threw the blade at the grimm embedding the blade into it's arm. Velvet gave a yank making sure it wasn't going to go anywhere allowing Star to attack it.
The grimm however pulled causing Velvet to fly toward the grimm as its other paw impacted her stomach shattering her aura. She was sent flying toward the entrance of the cave holding where the grimm hit her.
Now the grimm turned its attention toward Star as it roared still raring for a fight. Star got into a fighting stance when suddenly a raven swooped in at the grimm and attacked it. The grimm tried to swipe at the bird but it was too quick. The bird flew up high above but when it got high enough the bird suddenly morphed into a person Star already knew.
Raven dived at the grimm with a war cry and slashed at the top of the head causing it to crack from the hit. She jumped away quickly and stood right next to Star.
"Raven? What are you doing here?" Star asked.
"You're welcome by the way. Didn't expect to be fighting an Alpha Ursa." Raven replied.
"We were camping for the night and this thing showed up while we were asleep. Hope you brought some backup with you." Star replied.
"Oh they should be getting here any moment now." She said and just like what she said a yellow blur came flying in at the grimm delievering a solid punch to the grimms jaw knocking it off balance. Then a red and pink blur came right behind slashing and hammering the grimm knocking it away.
Once Star noticed who the people were she was more than happy to see them.
"Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Neo. You're all here." Star said.
"Yeah we were in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop in on yah. Though can't say anything about the guest you guys got." Yang joked gesturing toward the grimm who only roared in anger.
Jaune immediately went to check on Velvet "Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked as she shook her head.
"I think my aura took most of the blow before shattering. Though going to be sore for a while." Velvet said.
"Alright. And May?" Jaune asked.
"She's knocked out but fine." Cardin replied.
"Let's deal with this first and then get out of here." Star said.
"Jaune you tend to those two. Everyone else let's take care of this thing." Raven ordered as everyone formed up with the Alpha Ursa roared and charged at them.
"Burnout!" Ruby ordered. Yang and Nora sprung into action as Yang punched the air firing bullets into the air at the beast while Nora charged at the grimm with her hammer hitting it on the side of its head knocking the grimm back.
Cardin, and Star burst forward taking the opportunity to aim for the back of its legs this time able to knock the grimm on its back.
"Now!" Raven shouted as she and Ruby jumped on the down grimm. Ruby shifted Thorn Gear to its gun mode and fired directly under the jaw while Raven stabbed the grimm straight in the mouth. The grimm riddled in pain but eventually went limp before dissolving into dust.
With the grimm now defeated Raven sheathed her weapon and went over to Star.
"Anyone else injuried?" She asked.
Star shook her head "Nope. We were just caught off guard by the grimm. What you all doing out this way though?" She asked.
"We're heading to Mistral. Their's someone in Haven that could help us. I'm guessing that's your destination too." Raven answered as Star nodded.
"Yeah. We figured that would be the best course of action for us. Didn't think we'd run into you guys." Star replied.
"It's still very late why don't we make camp here then set off in the morning." Ruby said.
"Yeah. Probably for the best. Cardin keep an eye on May then we'll head for Mistral." Star added as the others settled into the cave so that they could sleep. However Raven couldn't help but be curious about Star more important she felt something within herself reacting to Star.
Something she would have to talk to her later when they get to Mistral.
=SPIR=
Morning came quickly with the group recovered from the fight yesterday against the grimm and May had recovered as well with the group now getting their things ready to head out toward Mistral.
"We shouldn't be far. Another day and we'll be their. Is everyone ready?" Raven asked.
"Yeah we should be ready to go." Star said as Neo stood close by to her girlfriend. Star was lucky that Ruby had extra ammunition for both her and May's weapon that way they'll be able to fight off any more grimm that come at them. Plus with how big their group is now it would be rather easy.
"Alright. Here's how this'll work. Yang, Nora, and I will take the lead. Jaune and Cardin you two cover the sides. May and Ruby you two got the center since you two can cover a wider range. Velvet, Star, Neo you three got the rear incase we're being tailed. Everyone understand." Raven said.
Everyone nodded at this "Okay. Let's move out." Raven said as the ten of them now moved out heading straight for Mistral.
A few hours into their walk they were keeping themselves busy by striking up a conversation with each other as Ruby and May were chatting it up.
"Wow. So you helped take back a village that the White Fang took over and not only that find the mole in Shade Academy." Ruby said.
"Yep but that's not all." May said digging into her pockets and brought out the medalion she kept on her.
"Whoa that's so cool. What is it?" Ruby asked.
"Well from what Vanessa told me that this is a key to the vault within Shade Academy. The Summers Medalion she called it." May mentioned.
This made Ruby think a moment as she remembered Raven mentioned something like that before.
"Hold on. But wouldn't they need the Summer Maiden to open it to?" Ruby questioned and May nodded again.
"Yeah something about the artifacts being connected to the vaults but they won't open without having both." May said.
"Well that's one way keep them out." Ruby added as they both laughed.
"So what about you guys? What happened?" May asked.
Ruby went silent a moment as she thought back to the events at Beacon and what she was told.
"Everything's gone. Beacon and Vale both are gone. Ozpins dead, so is Pyrrha and Ren." Ruby said looking at Jaune and then to Nora.
"Nora's... taking it rather hard about Ren. The two were almost inseperable and well Jaune... I know he doesn't show it but I can tell that he's rather torn up about Pyrrha too." Ruby said.
"Well at least Jaune and Nora still have each other. Cardin and Velvet though... Cardin lost his whole team from the attack on Beacon and Velvet... her team was responsible for the attack and tried to kill her." May added.
"What about your team? Are they okay?" Ruby asked.
May looked away a moment "My team... I'm the only one left out of them. I ended up in Corquina trying to regroup and recover from the whole thing." May said which brought the mood down a little.
"What about your team? I know Yangs here but where Blake and Weiss?" May asked.
"Last I heard Blake had gone back home to Menagerie. Weiss... I have no idea but if I know Weiss she's okay. She's a tough one." Ruby stated.
"Hey that's good to know." May said.
That's when Ruby remembered something "Oh yeah. Their's someone else I want to introduce to you as well." Ruby said as she brought out her scroll.
"Penny." Ruby said and immediately Penny's face appeared on her scroll.
"Do you require something from me Ruby?" Penny asked which made May jump.
"Whoa! What in the world?" May said but then she remembered something.
"Hold on. Wasn't Penny the name of that girl that was in the finals?" May asked.
"Yep. Emerald and Mercury recovered her body and brought her to Patch. I couldn't fix her body but managed to download her AI to my scroll. Now she's helping us out. Penny this is May Zedong." Ruby introduced.
"Pleasure Miss Zedong." Penny introduced herself.
"Nice to you meet you too. I'm guessing her body is still back on Patch." May said.
"Yeah. Her body is mostly Atlas tech which is something we know nothing about so for now she's traveling with me." Ruby added as she stored her scroll away.
"That's a nice. Plus she seems very helpful in situations." May said.
"Yeah. How'd you think we found you guys? We tracked the sound a shot that came this direction." Ruby answered.
"Nice trick. Hopefully Penny will be more help in the future." May added as the group of ten marched onward.
Neo walked closer to Star as she was very glad to see her girlfriend again in which Star noticed.
"Yeah I know you missed me. You would not believe the time I had in Vacuo and what I found out." Star said which made Neo interested as Star began to go into detail of the events that transpired from her point of view in Vacuo.
Velvet helped to back up some of Stars story which impressed Neo. Though Star kept out the last bit of her being a Schnee.
"So that's all that happened and here we are." Star finished her explaination.
Neo was amazed about what they all had been through.
"Still didn't think the White Fang would be operating in Vacuo." Neo signed.
"Yeah but we got a name of someone that could very well be the leader. Ilia Amitola. I bet they have another cell in Mistral somewhere. We just haven't found it." Star replied.
"It's kinda scary to know that they have more than one cell. They could have one on Menagerie too." Velvet added.
"True. Which is why we need to get to Mistral as fast as we can." Star said as the group of ten marched onward toward and hopefull they can make it their in time before the White Fang start another attack that could bring down Haven Academy. Plus Star was also worried if Iona and Pepper were okay but she would have to wait and see.
F3: And that ends chapter 17 of this story. Star and Rubys group finally meet and are now on their way toward Mistral. Looks like things are going well for them but what about the others. Please don't forget to leave a comment and also follow and/or favorite too it you please. With that said this is Fireuser3 and I'm Out.