Hunters in the Emerald Forest
(Vale, Hunter's Rest: Team RWBY's Room)(Next Day, Morning)
Weiss awoke before her alarm, as per usual and made sure to disable it to not disturb the others. Sitting up, she moved out of bed and immediately started to gather her clothes and take a shower. As she did so, she thought about her new team.
Ruby Rose, her...partner was not exactly what she expected. Being not only two years younger than her, but also one of the top graduate's of Beacon was not something shown by her personality. She was easily shy at first, but the moment they got into the room, she showed her more energetic tendencies by bouncing around everywhere while giggling excitedly. Granted, she calmed down not long after and soon went into a rambleming mess until her sister got her to calm down. Overall, she didn't know what to make of her and that annoyed her ever more.
Next was Blake Belladonna, member of the White Fang and daughter to Ghira Belladonna, the former leader. Despite the history between Faunus and Atlas as a whole, she could admit that so far it had been neutral with the Cat Faunus. Granted, she still remembered getting a few stares from the girl and a few others due to her family name. But she said nothing so far and she was fine with keeping her at an arm's distance if she could help it.
Then there was Yang Xaio Long, quite literally the most annoying woman she had ever met. Ruby may have been energetic, but she would take that over the joking nature of Yang. Her puns were downright awful at times and she was certainly the least to act like a proper woman out of them! Honestly, she should have known better than to flash her teammates with those...those melons! Thankfully Ruby stopped her, earning her some favor in the process.
Yet she calmed herself down all the same. 'I promised myself that I would see this through and if there can be any merit found at all while working with this...project.' Her time in Atlas Academy had exposed to all kinds of characters, each with their own quirks and fighting styles. She learned within time to work with people outside of her preference, she just wanted to work with respectable people that would take their duty seriously as Huntsmen of Remnant. 'I suppose we'll see today in our first assignment.'
Still ever so sleepy, she never noticed that only Ruby and Blake were in their beds. She opened the bathroom door and stepped in only to freeze. There drying herself off was Yang, pretty much exposed to the Heiress as the day as she was born.
All the while her right arm, which Weiss was absolutely sure was firmly attached to the blond's body yesterday, was completely gone.
"Oh, hi there!" Yang said, cheerfully while waving. This caused her to drop her towel and while Weiss couldn't see thanks to the steam in the room, she couldn't help, but to let out a loud screech that echoed throughout the Bar's Building.
(Vale, Hunter's Rest: Main Lobby)(Later)
Rukido hummed to himself as he finished setting up the last table before opening up. He wouldn't be here due to the mission, which left it up to Ivan and the other bots to hold things down while he was away.
"That should do it." Rukido said, satisfied, before looking down at his gauntlet. The Pip-Boy 3000, a classic sold within the nation of New Vegas and ever so great. From playing radio signals, to watching his health and taking messages, there was much the little device could do. Upon seeing the message, he couldn't help, but to mutter. "Emerald Forest Eradication huh?"
"Ohh we're heading to the Emerald Forest!" Rukido turned his head to see Ruby looking up at him. Him and his Pip-Boy judging by the curious gleam. "Me and Yang had our entrance exam there."
"Well good morning to you too, Ruby." Rukido said, lowering his arm. "I take it you're ready to start with the mission?"
"Armed and ready." Ruby declared proudly with Crescent Rose held behind her back. "I can't wait to get started!"
"Speaking of getting started, what got Weiss riled up earlier? She woke the whole building with that scream." Rukido said, getting a weak chuckle out of Ruby.
"It's probably because Yang didn't tell everyone about her arm being a prosthetic and it kinda shocked Weiss." Ruby wasn't gonna out Weiss when it came to Yang flashing her, no matter how much it confused her on why she was embarrassed.
"Huh. Figured there was a size difference in arms." Rukido muttered, but didn't say much more on the matter. "Regardless, it looks like we're just thinning the herd growing in the forest. Professor Ozpin doesn't want to risk new students getting overwhelmed by the large numbers."
"So about three teams of four recently graduated Huntsmen against a forest of Grimm that have been coming in and taking over the area?" Both Rukido and Ruby turned to see Jaune stepping from downstairs. He had a weary smile on his face as he approached. "Not my favorite odds to be honest."
"We can handle it." Ruby said determinedly.
"It may take a day at best." Rukido admitted, his smile never fading.
"Well, good to see you two are taking this leadership role pretty well. At least compared to me." Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head.
"You didn't expect to get picked, did you?" Rukido asked, getting a nod in return. "He really should have told people sooner rather than later."
"You're not mad about being picked are youz?" Ruby asked.
"What? No, No! Nothing like that! It's just, I didn't think I would compare to the others in terms of leadership really." Jaune admitted, making sure he didn't sound ungrateful. Still the thought had him get a bit down. "Still, maybe I should talk to Ozpin? Make sure he didn't make a mistake about it."
"Well it isn't a mistake. At least not yet." Ruby said.
"Eh?" Jaune questioned.
"I mean, Ozpin has made plenty of mistakes from what he told me, but not before seeing them through to see what they become." Ruby said, suddenly looking bashful. "That's what he said to me at least when I thought I wasn't good enough to be in Beacon during my first year. He's said he's made a lot of mistakes, but he never thought sponsoring me to join Beacon was one of them. It was what I would do with that opportunity that would make him believe if it was a mistake or not."
"Well from my point of view, it looks like it worked out for you, Little-Red." Rukido said, earning a wide grin from her. Meanwhile Jaune thought about it for a second before a soft smile came upon his face.
"Yeah, that's one way to look at it...there is a lot of pressure behind those words though." Jaune admitted, but with a bit more of a determined spark in his eye. "But I'm not gonna feel sorry for myself. I already promised I'd beat Pyrrha in the future, I think I can add being the best leader to the list."
"Oh, you fought her? I heard she's really strong. Is she?" Ruby asked.
"Painfully so, but I wouldn't have gotten this far without her help." Jaune admitted freely, but happily. "But we should really talk more about that mission, Professor Ozpin wants done. It shouldn't be too hard...right?"
"Not with teams like ours!" Ruby declared, ever so excited. Rukido could only chuckle in response, finding her excitement endearing.
"Very so, yet we should discuss a plan. If only to thin out the numbers faster." Rukido commented, catching their attention. While they talked, by the stairs was Pyrrha, who was listening in. A bright smile was on her face after hearing Jaune's new found determination, happy that her friend was doing better with the news.
Perhaps she should thank Ruby at some point.
(Emerald Forest, Clear Field)(Almost Noon)
Thankfully the trip to the Emerald Forest was somewhat okay, outside of a few Beowolves getting in their way. Simple at best, part of their attack on them either way. Now they were currently standing in the center field where new students would collect relics in order to pass their exam. Each team was currently looking into an opposite direction, facing away from each other and awaiting to start.
The Plan was rather simple. Separate into pairs of two and spread out through the forest to take out as many Grimm they came across. If there was anything extremely dangerous, they would be exterminated upon contact. They would meet back in the field before sundown if they could help it.
"You sure you don't wanna team up with me, Weissy?" Yang asked, a smirk on her face. She changed out of her jacket in favor of a vest, just to make sure her prosthetic was clear for everyone to see. It was simple enough, coated in black and yellow paint while having a shotgun barrel apart of it matching her other Gauntlet. The Schnee grumbled upon looking away, making the Blonde shrug before turning to Blake. "Looks like you're stuck with me."
"Oh the horror." Blake said sarcastically. She may have seen Yang as loud, but not annoying. Least not so far.
"Let's see if we can clear out more than the other teams!" Ruby declared, very happily before turning to Weiss. "And don't worry, I'll make sure not to run off or anything like that."
"You best not." Weiss said, giving her a pointed stare which made the red head back up a bit. She sighed while taking out Myrtenaster. "But I'll trust you to keep up with me."
"Thanks...I think?" Ruby said, wondering if it was a compliment or an insult.
"Nora, please don't run off when we get started." Ren said, making sure to keep a grip on Nora's shoulder.
"Oh come on Ren! I'm not that bad." Nora defended herself, receiving a deadpan stare in return. "...What?"
"You tried running off five separate times when we arrived here alone. Please, just stay calm until then." Ren said, earning a pout from her in return. "And if you stay calm, I'll make you another serving of pancakes when we get home."
"Consider me your good girl then!" Nora declared out loud with a wide grin. Ren nearly choked upon the words, not missing the stares sent their way. He even received some thumbs up from some of the other teams.
"Nora, don't phrase it like that. Ever again." Ren said, trying to keep his embarrassment hidden. His friend merely snickered in response.
"You plan to avoid your Semblance usage?" Jaune asked Pyrrha, not sounding concerned. His friend was extremely good in a fight after all.
"If only to improve myself. I know the Grimm here aren't meant to be too strong, but I am curious if they act differently in groups in Vale compared to Mistral." Pyrrha explained. "What about yourself? This is a good time to continue training with your Semblance."
"I was thinking the same thing. Though I probably shouldn't go overboard with it." Jaune said, glancing down briefly. His Semblance involved powering up other people's Aura and their Semblance. He could do the same with himself as well, though it was oddly harder. "Maybe I should save it if we run into any Alphas. They're on the tricky side after all."
"Far too true." Pyrrha said, a bright smile on her face.
"We'll be heading out soon. Any last minute questions?" Rukido asked, glancing at his team. They were all equipped with a few selections to continue their work with.
Galva was carrying around an Standard Atlas Assault Rifle with a bayonet along with a standard handgun as well. Ebon was wielding a heavy pair of black metal gauntlets while strapped on his back was a rotary barrel grenade launcher. Finally, Anno was carrying a longbow that seemed to have a Weapon Shift with a variety of Dust Tipped arrows awaiting in her quiver.
"Not really. Can we just get started?" Ebon asked, trying to hide his impatience.
"As much as I would like to know more about the area, I doubt it'll be too helpful in this assignment." Galva commented thoughtfully before shaking his head. "I suppose if we can link up our scrolls to communicate to one another should any of us require assistance."
"That may be for the best. I already did it for Ruby and Jaune, just in case they needed anything." Rukido said, holding out his Pip-Boy. Galva perked up with interest, taking out his scroll with Ebon scoffing, but doing the same. Yet Anno seemed a bit more hesitant, catching his attention. "Is something wrong?"
"...I-I don't own a scroll." Anno admitted, sounding low. She expected some sort of backlash, but instead she found a scroll held up to her instead. "Eh?"
"You can take this one. I carry around a spare every now and then, so it's fine with me." Galva said, a smile on his face. Anno looked at him confused, but had taken the device nonetheless and thanked him. "So, can we get started? The longer we wait, the more of a chance of us having to hang out here tonight."
"Hmmm. Maybe I should take my time then." Ebon muttered, getting a side stare from Galva in return.
"Might as well get started. Are you ready?" Rukido asked Anno, who nodded. "Then let's not lollygag and get moving."
With that they separated, with Rukido and Anno traveling in one pair while Galva and Ebon as another. The other teams noticed and soon separated as well. Nora and Ren followed up by Pyrrha and Jaune while Ruby and Weiss along with Blake and Yang went off in their own directions. The mission had officially started.
(With Ruby and Weiss)(Later)
Weiss halted in her position, Myrtenaster ready to strike as a Beowolf as it stood clear over her. It's claw was raised fully as it let out a roar and swung down at her. Yet she simply shifted around it before jabbing her rapier directly in the Grimm's neck as fire built around it. It shot clean through, allowing the Grimm to fall over dead while she merely stepped past it's disappearing body.
Several more were ahead of her, growling and snarling. Yet they never had the chance to attack as a flurry of roses shot past Weiss and pretty much swarmed the area. Most found themselves decapitated within the roses while those that remained found themselves cut down by Weiss. It wasn't long until Ruby appeared from the roses and stood next to Weiss with a bright smile.
"Another pack gone." Ruby said proudly while they walked past the fallen Grimm. "How was that?"
"I have to admit, you're...doing quite adequate." Weiss managed to get out. "Though you are showing off a bit."
"I just wanted to show I wouldn't slow you down, that's all." Ruby stated with a small pout as they came through.
'Believe me, I can see that much.' Weiss thought. Ruby's speed semblance was unique to say the least, not that of pure speed, but something more versatile to work with. That working with her deadly Scythe, Crescent Rose made her a force to not simply underestimate.
"But to be fair, I was trained by my uncle and he's one of the biggest show offs I know." Ruby admitted with a giggle. "I think I picked it off of him."
"You're Uncle?" Weiss questioned before shaking her head. "Still, you've proven to be a good partner thus far."
"Same to you! Your weapon is amazing to see in action and it works perfectly with your semblance!" Ruby praised brightly. This earned a small smile from Weiss in return, taking in the praise before faking a cough.
"Thank you. Let's proceed from here, I would like to avoid spending the night out here if possible." Weiss said, taking a few steps ahead. Ruby followed after her, more than happy that things were going okay for them.
(With Blake and Yang)
"WOO-HOO!" Yang cheered while standing in the center of several downed Grimm. A Beowolf came rushing in at her from behind as she turned around to face it, but Blake came from above and slashed clean through it's neck while landing next to Yang. "Well, look who found me."
"You're not too hard to find." Blake commented while putting Gambol Shroud away. She then took note of the mess around the area. It wasn't exactly the worst, but Yang certainly didn't hold anything back. "Still, I would like to get used to working together if we're going to be a team."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda have a habit of just going in and I just get into the zone." Yang apologized with a playful smile. "But you kept up with me so no hard feelings."
Blake merely hummed, her eyes glancing down at Yang's robotic arm. She couldn't really tell what had caused it, but otherwise it wasn't a clean cut judging by some of the scarring around her shoulder.
"Curious about the arm?" Yang asked suddenly, getting Blake to curse.
"Sorry. I know it's rude." Blake apologized weakly, knowing how bad it sounded. Yet the Blonde didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
"Please, I get asked nearly every other week about this thing." Yang said before explaining. "Long story short, I got into a bit of a hassle with a bunch of Grimm when I was younger and out in the woods. I was a bit of a pipsqueak and didn't even have my Aura unlocked. A Grimm pretty much chewed it off because of that."
"I...I see. I'm sorry that happened to you." Blake grimaced at the imagery. A small blonde girl getting mangled by Grimm wasn't ever a pretty sight. Yet it didn't seem to bother Yang, who had told the story more than enough times. Yet she couldn't help to feel like there was more to it than just a girl lost in the woods.
"But my Uncle Qrow saved the day like he normally does. I still haven't been able to pay him back for that." Yang muttered, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Things probably could have been a lot worse than it was if only I didn't mess up that day. Man, I was stupid back then."
"Mistakes are a part of us, especially when we're younger. You shouldn't insult yourself for that." Blake said, hoping she didn't cross anything. Last thing they needed was any quarrel.
Thankfully, Yang didn't react negatively and actually threw her a smirk. "Don't worry, Kitty-Cat. I'm not too depressed over it. Besides." Yang suddenly turned around and slammed the robotic fist into an incoming Beowolf, it's insides blasting out it's back. "I can't say I don't love what I'm packing nowadays."
Blake could only nod, finding herself more at ease around the Blonde. Yet she was more than curious about the full story...if there was one.
(With Jaune and Pyrrha)
A Boarbatusk slammed back first into the ground before a sword implanted itself clean into it's gut. It squealed in pain before going silent as Jaune pulled his sword clean from it. He glanced at it briefly before taking a deep breath. Another Boarbatusk growled at him from behind, jumping up and curling up before spinning in place.
'Just need to get it right.' Jaune thought, turning to face the Grimm. He closed his eyes for a moment before his aura appeared around him, reopening his blue eyes to show them shining intensely. The Boarbatusk then spin-dashed right at him as Jaune pulled his sword up to and slashed forward...just as his Semblance deactivated. "Oh crap!"
The Boarbatusk slammed into the blade, trying to break through, but Jaune used his aura to keep himself steady. Pushing forward, he managed to force the Grimm backwards. Pulling out his Shield, he rushed at the Grimm before it had the chance to recover. He bashed his Shield clean into it's head and forced it to flip backwards before impaling it with his blade. Letting out a breath of relief as he pulled out his weapon.
"That was too close." Jaune muttered, feeling disappointed. His Semblance: Aura Amp allowed himself to empower not only his own aura, but the aura of others as well, making them stronger by a large percentage. However while it was easier to do it for other people, it proved to be a challenge when it came to himself. "So much for practice."
"There's no reason to stop now." Jaune turned around to see Pyrrha watching calmly from behind. Her weapon, Miló, was currently in rifle mode however, meaning she was going to interfere if it got messy. "You're doing fine, Jaune. You just need to find your Focus when it comes to your Semblance."
"I know, I know, but I unlocked it about a...year ago now. I figured I would get the hang of it to at least work for myself by now." Jaune said, unable to hide his annoyance. Pyrrha was about to say something, but Jaune cut her off. "And I know that every Semblance is different for everyone and it takes time. I'm just venting."
"I suppose that's fair." Pyrrha said before suddenly frowning. Without uttering a word, she pointed her rifle over her shoulder and fired, as a body was flung off it's feet. Turning around, she was greeted with the sight of a humanoid, but disturbing upon the sight alone.
Their skin was dark, almost completely black with their body seemingly malnourished. It's face alone seemed like it was disfigured, more so now with the bullet hole clean in it's head and was balding. There was also a pair of fangs that could be seen in it's mouth. It's hands and feet had sharp claws upon them, though not perfectly as most of them were broken. It's clothes were fading into it's body, making it impossible to really tell what gender it was.
"Grimmifed? Out here?" Jaune asked, feeling a little sick upon looking at the corpse. They may have been transforming, but it being extremely close to a Human still messes with his head sometimes. They didn't even disappear like normal Grimm, they just remained.
"When there's one, there's ten more." Pyrrha said, loading back her rifle. More Grimmifed started coming from the woods, growls escaping from them as they neared the pair. "...Let's put them out of their misery."
"...Of course." Jaune said, not long after. They both then charged at the horde ahead, as bullet casing and bodies could be heard falling on the ground.
(With Ren and Nora)
Ren could be seen jumping from tree branch to tree branch with a large snake-like Grimm right after him. The King Taijitu was slithering aggressively passing the trees, keeping up with Ren's movements. Yet the Huntsman didn't stop for a moment, staying completely focused on his path.
The King Taijitu slithered up a tree and lunged after Ren. it chomped on nothing, but air as it looked around for it's prey. Ren had disappeared from sight, his Semblance: Tranquility, allowed his emotion to stay hidden from that of Grimm. Because they had naturally fed off those emotions, they could only sense it when they were active.
Ren peered at the Snake-Grimm from above, his twin submachine guns ready with its daggers pointed down at the Grimm. Without hesitation, he lunged down while deactivating his Semblance. The King Taijitu looked up just in time only to have its eyes pierced by Ren's weapons. It wailed around, trying to sling Ren off with all it's might. However the Huntsman unloaded his rounds into it's head, piercing through easily. It let out one final cry before it began to plummet to the ground.
Ren jumped off and landed on a branch while watching the Grimm drop down dead. He let out a sigh of relief before stopping himself short. Hearing a familiar hissing, he jumped forward and avoided a lung from another King Taijitu, this time white coated. Ren grabbed onto another tree branch and swung himself around and managed to kick the Grimm straight in it's teeth as it attacked. Ren landed on the bark of the tree before running straight up with the Grimm hot on his tail.
He was soon forced to jump off, flying down past the Snake Grimm while shooting upon it's body. It roared and swung it's tail around to try and strike Ren only to miss completely. Ren landed on another Branch and turned around, ready to fire upon the approaching King Taijitu. Yet as it lunged at him, Nora came barreling out the forest with her hammer reeled back with pink lightning coursing around and a wide smile on her face.
Within a mere second, the King Taijitu was taken out in a single blow. It's body exploded on impact as it's insides were scattered across the tree lines.
"WOO! That makes 10! I won!" Nora declared happily while landing on the ground. Ren sighed upon seeing Nora as she turned up to him. "And I made sure to stay close like I promised! I better get my pancakes mister!"
"Of course, Nora. Of course." Ren said with a smile.
(With Rukido and Anno)
Anno watched carefully from behind as Rukido aimed a pistol at an incoming Grimmifed head, before firing. It was a quick and painless kill, but each time always made her flinch both physically and spiritually in some way.
"May you find peace wherever you end up." Rukido muttered to himself, putting the pistol away. He then turned back to Anno with a soft frown. "See? These Shamblers don't require an explosive arrow or anything like that."
Anno couldn't help, but feel a little embarrassed. One of them had jumped her from a bush and she reacted rather...violently when she saw the rest coming at her.
"Sorry..." Anno muttered while Rukido shook his head. Regardless of how she acted, she was completely focused the entire time completely aware of their surroundings and the Grimm that attacked.
"Nothing to apologize for. Just tone down the fireworks and we'll be good." Rukido said before he started walking again. Anno was right behind him, far more alert than before. "Still, you have a mighty impressive weapon. One of those arrows of yours could level a group of Grimm if aimed right."
"T-thank you, I'm...adjusting to it. Mostly because I'm new with it." Anno said before her eyes widened and explained. "T-to an Weapon Shift I added in! I'm used to both weapons, but it's weight still feels off to me."
"Weapon Shift huh? Never could get into those no matter how hard I tried." Rukido said with a slight hum.
"...Is that why you carry so many weapons?" Anno asked, not missing his arsenal.
Besides the 9mm Pistol he carried, he was also wielding the large black revolver from the other night. Strapped on his back was a Trail Carbine, a rifle, while just below that was a really long machete strapped below his lower back. Finally, there was a simple Combat Knife by his side and three Frag Grenades on his side. Other than that, it was whatever he carried around in that sack he called a bag.
"Ranger Academy taught me it was better to have an extra weapon on hand if you ever find yourself knocked out of your hand." Rukido said, a laugh coming out as he said so.
"I wasn't aware you were a Ranger." Anno said.
"Well Vegas doesn't have Huntsmen technically, just it's own forces, The Rangers." Rukido explained. They didn't have an actual Huntsmen Academy, only an option to join the Rangers and work under Mr. House. That much Anno remembered. "Regardless, I needed to get away from there for a little while, so that's how I ended up in Vale. Next thing I know, Ozpin is knocking at my door."
"He's...appeared that way for me as well." Anno muttered before coming to a stop. Her ears twitched before she whirled around, her Bow breaking apart into two blades as she struck. A Beowolf lunged at them from behind, but lightning appeared around her weapons as she attacked, forcing it to fly back dead.
"Huh...not bad." Rukido commented, getting a small blush in return.
"I-it's nothing special. J-just following my training." Anno said, feeling a little flustered.
"In my personal opinion, you're doing just fine." Rukido complimnated with a smile before walking ahead. "Come along now. We still have a lot of ground to cover."
"...Right." Anno said, silently following after him.
(With Ebon and Galva)
"..."
"..."
"...So, what's your Semblance?" Galva asked.
"Really? That's what you ask after we've been fighting Grimm for the past few hours?" Ebon asked, sounding a little annoyed. It was true, it was all they had been doing since they got started and had no time to actually speak.
"Well excuse me, but I'm not exactly a conversationalist." Galva said with a huff.
"Alright, how about you take a gander as to what my Semblance is then?" Ebon said, figuring that it would take him a while.
"...It's an Aura Control base Semblance. Allowing you to recover your Aura faster and to keep fighting while also adding more strength to your strikes.." Galva said suddenly, making his partner stop short.
"...How did you-"
"Your main fight style is that of a brawler, one that doesn't mind taking a hit. You've molded your body for such an occasion and the power behind your attacks proves that much. Not to mention, you have no issue getting back up after an attack despite it taking a hit towards your Aura. Finally your Aura activates when you use your Semblance, which has been the entire time we've been fighting these Grimm."
"..."
"...Atlas' Program prefers us to know who we are working with and what we're fighting against. Meaning they made us learn how to examine Semblances upon first contact." Galva explained.
"Hmhp. Good, you're not one of those dumbasses who think we only have to worry about Grimm." Ebon said, somewhat impressed. To a minor degree.
"I like to call it, "Common Sense" if that helps." Galva snarked. In his opinion, while the Grimm were certainly a threat, they didn't compare to other groups like the Assembly or the Black Talon. Those extremists were something worse.
"HA! And I thought that was a rarity nowadays." Ebon laughed before swinging his arm around. Galva ducked under, but the Grimmified sneaking up on him had it's head explode on impact.
"You know, I was about to do something about that." Galva commented, wiping some of the aged blood off of him. Ebon merely shrugged and went on his way, making Galva sigh before he smiled. 'All well. At least he doesn't hate me. I think? Better make sure of that when we're out of here.'
"Hurry up. I'm not looking for your ass if you get lost!" Ebon yelled from ahead.
"Then don't walk on ahead !" Galva yelled, while going after him.
Yeah, this could work.
(With Ruby and Weiss)(Later)
The sun was starting to set, it's orange glow piercing through the wide and vast trees of the Emerald Forest. Weiss could feel herself beginning to tire, but dared not show it. Less and less Grimm were being found, meaning that they had either managed to scare them off or they were dwindling greatly thanks to their work.
Weiss sighed as walked through the forest, wondering if now would be a good time to head back. Beowolves at this caliber were weak enough to be left alone at this point and they very well couldn't kill them all. Ruby seemed to share her thoughts as she settled for her rifle mode for Crescent Rose.
"We should head back now. The last thing we wanna do is worry the others." Ruby said, a yawn coming out not long after.
"You're right." Weiss agreed, already walking away.
"Where are you going?" Ruby asked, getting her to stop.
"Back to the field, obviously." Weiss said, giving her a pointed glare.
"But we have to head this way to get there." Ruby said, pointing in the complete opposite direction.
"I think I know my own back, Ruby and it's this way." Weiss said, knowing she wasn't wrong. They were both going back and both, their bickering turning into arguing. Such emotions would attract Grimm, yet it was bringing something far worse.
A loud screeching noise had finally got the girls to stop bickering and look up. Flying down at them was a Nevermore, it's bird-like appearance coated in bones and dried blood upon it's claws and beak. It screeched as it dove down head first to attack. Weiss prepared her weapon, only to find herself caught in Ruby's Rose petals. She moved them out of the way as the Grimm tore through a large section of the forest.
"What are you doing!" Weiss demanded as they appeared far behind the Grimm.
"Saving you, duh! That's an Alpha!" Ruby said, checking her ammo before frowning. "I don't have anything that can pierce it's armor."
"It's not alone either." Weiss commented with a hiss. More Beowolves were coming out of the woods, no doubt following the Alpha Nevermore. It turned to them with a glare. "We can't fight it with all those other Grimm here."
"Then we get away." Ruby said. Without letting Weiss get in another word, she caught her in Semblance before speeding off. The Nevermore let out another screech before flying off with the Beowolves failing to keep up.
(With Jaune and Pyrrha)
"Jaune, do you wish to keep going? I don't think there's much else near us." Pyrrha asked. They were walking throughout the forest one last time before heading back to regroup with their group.
"As much as I would like to, I don't think it'll do the Academy any favor if we took care of every Grimm around here." Jaune admitted. He wasn't gonna over do it either and risk getting tired before they were out the forest. "It'll be better if we just caught up with the others and get going."
"You're right." Pyrrha agreed, knowing it was for the best. Yet as they were walking, they suddenly found themselves walking over a rather hard surface that wasn't natural ground. Eyes going wide, she caught on quickly. 'This is!'
"Huh? This ground feels weird to you-YIPE" Jaune squealed upon getting yanked off the ground by Pyrrha. At that exact moment, a large stinger the size of a tree erupted from the ground and stabbed where they just were.
Both of them instantly brought their weapons up as a Death Stalker climbed from the ground, having been far larger in mass than it should have been. It set it's sight upon them before swinging it's claws at them. They jumped back as they tore clean through a tree, allowing it to fall.
"It was a matter of time before we had to fight a Grimm this big." Pyrrha said, wondering how long this Grimm had been out here.
"It's pretty armored too." Jaune said, pulling his helmet back down. A blue glow could be seen from within it's visor as he held up his shield while preparing to thrust his sword. "This'll require some effort."
"Alphas always do." Pyrrha agreed, her own weapons prepared. The Death Stalker hissed at them before it aggressively charged at them.
Naturally they did the same.
(With Rukido and Anno)
"..."
"..."
"...So how long do you wanna ignore our stalker?" Rukido asked, before they turned around. Anno had her blades out while Rukido settled for his rifle as a large figure came out of the Forest.
An Ursa to be exact, one that was easily twice the size of an average on. It's body was offly firm in comparison to its brethren, but the real concern was going to be it's thick bone armor.
"An Alpha huh? Knew, I should have brought something a little bigger." Rukido said, aiming down his sights upon the Grimm. It growled at him angrily, standing up tall before letting out a roar that echoed through the forest. "You wanna take the lead on this one?" Anno didn't even hesitate as she charged forward, completely focused. "Guess that's a yes."
It would be fun at least.
(Emerald Forest, Canyon)
"So this is where you and Ruby camped out?" Blake asked, looking around the area. It was a Canyon that had the remains of a castle sticking in between it. It looked surprisingly stable despite it's clear age.
"We may have gone a little overboard when it came to the test and tired out" Yang admitted, while leading the way. She was still filled with energy, not surprisingly Blake at this point and had wanted to go after another Horde of Grimm.
Also not surprising.
"I'm going to guess you also don't know what this place was back then either." Blake said, getting a smile back in return. "I suppose I was hoping for a little too much. I suppose I'll see if Vale's Library."
They were just approaching the main bridge to the ruin until a flurry of rose petals came from above, fading a tired Ruby and a peeved Weiss.
"RUBY!" Yang instantly went by her side, worry clear in her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, just needed to get away from that Horde." Ruby said while standing up.
"Are you alive?" Blake asked Weiss, who was getting her bearings together.
"Barely." Weiss said, giving her a small glare as she stood up straight. She barely had time to dust herself off before hearing the Nevermore's screech. "We were attacked by a Nevermore, an Alpha one." She explained quickly as it came into view. The Grimm landed above the ruined structure and glared down at them, making them all go on guard. "We managed to lose the Grimm with it, but it'll keep following us if we leave it alone."
"Then we take it down." Ruby declared, switching into scythe mode. Yang's shotgun gauntlets were already ready while Blake held out her sword and it's sheath. Weiss quickly made sure her rapider was fully loaded with dust before joining them. All of them stood together with Ruby smiling. "Team RWBY on the move!"
The Nevermore gave a war cry before flying upwards from it's spot. However it fired a barrage of it's own feathers, acting as a volley of arrows. While the others were preparing to dodge or attack them, Weiss stepped forward and stabbed into the ground. A glyph appeared for a split second before a wall of Ice just as the feathers struck. It held on strong, easily protecting them from the attack. Yet the Nevermore suddenly broke clean through and knocked Weiss off her feet.
"SKIIIIIII!" The Nevermore screeched before lunging at her. Yet before Weiss could react, Yang suddenly shoved her out of the way just as it slammed into her instead.
"YANG!" They all screamed as the Nevermore was rising off the ground. Yang could be seen holding it's beak up to prevent it from crunching on her, but couldn't do anything to stop it from flying. Blake however was quick to jump onto it's tail as it took off from the ground.
"You better try harder than that!" Yang yelled, managing to hold it's beak wide open with a single hand. With her free hand, she started firing shots into it's mouth as it wailed in pain. "I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUNGRY!"
On it's back, Blake was stabbing at it's unarmored parts and ripped them back out. It wasn't much, but it'll definitely hurt it regardless. The Nevermore seemed to notice it getting attacked by two people and started to spin itself around. While Blake was able to keep a keep, Yang found herself flying off and beginning to fall.
Seeing her, Blake leapt off the Grimm and dove at Yang with the Nevermore right on her tail. She caught up to the Blonde easily and grabbed her as the Grimm neared closer with it's beak wide open. However it was suddenly shot in it's eye, making it scramble past them while crashing down into the ruin. Blake took control at that point and recombined her weapon then fired a grappling hook out.
"WOO!" Yang yelled as Blake swung them on top of a Pillar. The Nevermore rose from the crumbling ruins and set it's gaze back onto them and let out a screech.
It soared over at the duo as they got ready to attack until Ruby came flying past them. She waited until she got right in front of the Grimm before firing a Gravity Round, blasting them both back. Ruby back next to Blake and Yang while the Nevermore slammed back into the ruin. It tried to move, only to notice Weiss next to it at the last second as she stabbed the ground before it. Once more a wall of ice came up, this time holding it in place as it struggled to break free.
"Ruby! Any time now!" Weiss yelled, uncharacteristically from how she normally spoke. Ruby however was already in movement, disappearing in a flurry of petals and rushing at the Nevermore.
The Grimm itself had managed to get it's head free and began to break free, only for Ruby to pull it's head to the wall with the bladed end pressed up against it's neck. Seeing her in position, Weiss summoned a glyph under Ruby's feet to give her a speed boost. Ruby herself saw it and immediately started running up the wall while shooting Crescent Rose. The Nevermore cried out in resistance, trying to prevent it's decapitation. Yet Ruby forced herself all the same and managed to cleave Crescent Rose through it's neck.
It's head flew off while Ruby managed to land back with her team. The ruin they were on began to crumble apart as they quickly scattered back towards the ground. Yang blasting herself forward with her weapon, Blake occasionally jumping and using her weapon's grappling hook, Weiss using her Glyphs to run alone and Ruby using her Semblance to occasionally burst herself forward. They made it to the other side just as the ruin collapsed completely, the Nevermore's corpse going down with it.
"Well...that was easy." Yang snorted. Instantly all the girls gave her a small stare before they all collectively walked away. "H-hey! Don't just walk off!"
(With Jaune and Pyrrha)
Jaune blocked the claw of the Death Stalker before quickly jumping back to avoid it's tail. He was then forced to raise his Shield to stop the strike of a Beowolf from his side.
Ever since they had started fighting the Death Stalker, Beowolves came along with it to aid it's brethren. It was pretty much the only reason why they were still fighting it. The Beowolves themselves were extra aggressive thanks to the amount of fallen Grimm by their hands. It wasn't easy, but they managed to hold them off thus far. Yet it wouldn't be that way for long.
Pyrrha herself managed to jump off one of the incoming Grimm towards the Death Stalker. Her weapon shifted it's spear form as she dove down and stabbed it in it's back, almost piercing clean through. Yet she couldn't do anything else upon seeing several Grimm climb on top and before jumping off herself.
The Death Stalker hissed in pain, yet focused on Jaune while aggressively thrusting it's claws forward at the man. Forced to use his Shield, he managed to hold off the attack for as long as he could. However a Beowolf suddenly struck from behind and bit into his shoulder plating. While it didn't pierce through, the Grimm yanked him off his feet and threw him into a tree. His Shield and Sword fell out of his hands as he fell down the tree.
Back onto his own two feet, he quickly held up his hands just in time as a Beowolf. He winced upon grabbing it's jaw, it's fangs attempting to tear into his skin as he held it back. The Death Stalker hissed as it approached, it's stinger raised up over the Beowolf's head to finally attack his prey.
'N-not good!' Jaune thought upon seeing the Stinger thrust down at him.
"HAVE NO FEAR!" A voice echoed out. Nora came flying out of the bushes, lighting crackling around her mallet. "NORA IS HERE!" With that, she smashed into the Death Stalker and sent it flying back through some trees. "AND SHE'S THE QUEEN OF THIS FOREST!"
Jaune finally managed to force the Beowolf off him, quickly going for his sword and taking it down. Letting out a sigh of relief he picked up his Shield as Nora stood next to him.
"Thanks, Nora. You really saved me." Jaune said.
"Any time, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora said, offering him a wide smile. A familiar hissing caught their attention as they saw the Death Stalker stand right back up and started charging at them. They met it head on.
Pyrrha in the meantime was managing to deal with the small horde of Grimm easily enough. As her spear stabbed clean through one's head, ripping it out to attack another. Yet a series of bullets of above dealt with the weak Grimm around her as Ren landed in front of her. He didn't say a word as he started unloading on the Beowolves around them while Pyrrha smiled before turning back to deal with the Grimm in front of her.
The Death Stalker hissed as it tried to smash both Jaune and Nora down to no avail. Nora was quite literally smacking away it's claws and stinger while Jaune was blocking all it's attacks. It smashed the ground and forced them back, but Jaune got right back into action. His aura blazed around him as his blue eyes shined through his helmet. A bright glow appeared around his sword as he jumped over a claw. With a single swing, he cut clean through the stinger as it attacked.
"Here comes the Nora special!" Nora declared, having humped after Jaune not long after. Her hammer raised up high as Nora struck down on it's back, caving it in it's armor and blowing out its guts. The Death Stalker has one last cry before going completely while Nora held up her hammer with a wide grin. "HA HA! I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!"
"Nora! A little help." Ren said, noticing that more Beowolves were coming. Nora's grin never faded as her hammer collapsed and shifted into a Rotary Grenade Launcher. Seeing this, Ren quickly pulled Pyrrha away just as she launched several grenades at the group of Grimm.
Parts of Grimm could be seen exploding far up into the sky after that, followed up with maniacal laughter right after.
(With Galva and Ebon)
Galva could only groan upon walking, having not found any Grimm for the past half hour. His partner seemed annoyed as well, but mostly because it had been a waste of time. He couldn't blame him, he preferred being proactive when out and about. At least it meant they had dealt with most of the Grimm around them.
"We might as well head back, there's nothing else out here." Galva said, getting an annoyed huff from Ebon. He ignored it in favor of checking his scroll. "Besides, we should have started heading back to the field by now."
"Whatever." Ebon said, turning around and pushing past Galva. He just gave him a 'really?' look, but didn't say anything. However he did notice the incoming tree from behind them and shot forward at Ebon, who was just turning around. "The hell is that-"
He didn't get to finish as he found himself falling downwards once Galva pushed him. But not towards the ground, into a black portal seemingly with stars in it that caused him to freeze up. It didn't last for long as he found himself landing back on the ground, the tree flying over and crashing into the ground. Galva landed next to him, his assault rifle pointed forward before he started walking.
Seeing how Galva was expecting him to follow, he got off his ass and followed shortly after. They arrived at a newly formed clearing where both Rukido and Anno were facing an Alpha Ursa. Anno was using her dual blades coated in fire dust, settling for parrying and attacking it's armored legs and for arms when she had the opportunity. Surprisingly, Rukido was the one it was most active against, yet the Ranger was circling around and jumping over attacks. All the while shooting into it's unarmored sides with the 9mm whenever he had the opportunity.
"Guess we're still in this. Let's move out." Galva said seriously while charging forward. Ebon could only huff as he followed suit.
The Ursa roared as it aggressively tried to slam Rukido into paste, but found itself hitting nothing, but air as Rukido rolled back. As he did so, he took out the Trail Carbine and fired it clean into it's eye, getting a loud roar. He jumped back as Anno flew right over him spinning her blades across it's shoulder. Yet it powered through and smashed her into the ground and pinned her down. Seeing this, Rukido ran forward while shooting only for Ebon to jump clean over him and deck it clean in the snout. The Ursa flew back while Ebon landed next to Anno, but ran towards it.
"Hey! Are you both alive?" Galva questioned, rushing over to Anno. Surprisingly she was fine, yet Galva leaned down to heal her aura. "Seems like you guys had all the fun."
"Thank you." Anno said gratefully. Galva nodded before setting his gaze over at Ebon.
The Ursa and Ebon were currently glaring at one another before charging forward. The Grimm struck first, striking the ground as Ebon rolled under. He swung both his fist up and uppercutted the Ursa back a bit. He then started swinging across it's form, making sure to strike the noticeable damaged bone armor it had. Yet the Ursa forced itself to tackle the Hunter and sent him flying back.
Yet as he did, a portal appeared behind him as he fell back while another appeared over the Ursa. It looked up as Ebon fell out and smashed his boots directly in it's face. It roared out defiance while he kicked it while Galva came falling from the portal above. He unloaded his entire clip upon the Ursa as it raised its arm to defend itself. Landing on his feet, he started running around the Grimm while shooting and Ebon along with Anno jumped back into the action.
Ebon jumped high and bright both his fist down over it's head while Anno ducked under it's claw and attacked it's side chest. The Ursa stepped back, a large gash on it's side only for something to find another flurry of bullets straight from behind. It tried making it's way somewhere safe only for Rukido to close in on it with his machete drawn and slashed at it's eye once more. Naturally it roared out and attacked, but the Ranger jumped back. His Black Revolver drew as he fired it clean through it's eyes and out the back of it's head.
Surprisingly it was still moving, wobbling around and clearly struggling to stand, but enraged all the same. It tried to limp only for a portal to appear right above it as a boulder fell through, and crushed it's head into paste. Galva came out and landed on the boulder, looking down at the Grimm a bit surprised.
"...I didn't think that would kill it to be honest." Galva admitted.
"It was just an Ursa, nothing serious." Ebon scoffed.
"An Alpha Ursa!"
"Your point?"
"I think we're done for the day." Rukido said, with Anno nodding in agreement.
(Vale, Hunter's Rest)(Nighttime)
"CHEERS!" The Hunters said, clinking glasses together before drinking. All the teams were all back at the Cafe now and we're celebrating their first successful mission. The drinks themselves were either straight alcohol or just regular juice, either way it fit the current good mood.
"Fought a Nevermore did you? Not bad, better than a Ursa." Ebon admitted before getting side elbowed by Yang.
"Well we are the coolest team around. Least compared to you." Yang teased. Ebon scoffed and downed his drink, much to her surprise yet glee. "Ho! Ho! A drinker huh? Think you can last as long as me?"
"As if you could keep up, Blonde." Ebon said, unintentionally setting the challenge.
"You're on, Broody!" Yang yelled, accepting it.
"Eh?"
"Morons." Weiss muttered, taking a small sip of wine. She was pleasantly surprised by the quality here, comparing it to brands her family had owned. 'Perhaps things won't be too bad here.' She couldn't help, but to think of her team as she thought this. '...'
"First Weiss froze it shut and then I decapitated it!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, telling the story.
"Sounds like you guys had a harder time than the rest of us." Jaune said, laughing a little nervously. He had no idea how he would be able to face that thing.
"That sounds awesome! I wish we would have fought it!" Nora said, her smile never fading since they left the forest.
"It must have been quite difficult. I would have loved to see how you've handled it." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Thanks! I'll give a good show to you next time." Ruby said, beaming with praise. The Warrior Woman could only giggled at her excitement, not going unnoticed by the others.
'And she thinks she'll have a hard time making real friends?' Jaune thought, looking at Pyrrha with a soft smile as he saw both her and Ruby interact, with Nora chiming in every now and then.
"Quite rowdy aren't they?" Ren asked, pouring tea inside his cup. He was quite surprised by the variety the cafe held, though he did see that it could use some more. He'd be sure to make a note of it when he spoke to Rukido again.
"Rowdy, but not the worst." Blake admitted, a small smile on her face as Ren poured her some tea. "Thank you."
"Of course." Ren said.
"So here's what I was thinking to add to your arsenal." Galva said, placing a notebook in front of himself and Anno. He had wanted to help expand her arsenal outside of Dust if only to start up a conversation of sorts. "Flashbang based arrows are great for crowd control, but you may need to wear something for yourself due to how sensitive your eyes and ears are. There's also smoke based as well, not too fancy, but with the right kind of powder you can ruin a Grimm's day. Oh! I also have something with a bit more explosive kick if you're interested."
Anno could only nod blankly, not sure if she could keep up with his rambling or not.
All the while, Rukido watched on from the second level, sitting next to an open window with an empty flask in hand. He was smiling before he turned to look outside and looked out into the night sky. "Looks like you were right. This was a nice change in pace...suppose I'll go down and join them."
Maybe he could start up a game of Carvan.
(Chapter End)
A/N: So I'm really late this time. Outside of it being work related, I've taken my own little bit of down time through games and reading. It's not an excuse, just the truth, so I'm really sorry. It didn't help that this chapter was much longer than I had intended.
But I'll keep it brief, there really isn't too much to say here. I only changed up a few things for the RWBY fight and made slight changes to the JNRP Fight. As for the RASE one, I decided to not make it into anything over the top(mostly to not have this go on for an unnecessarily long period of time. Plus, an Ursa still has it's limits. Also to happily point out, this all happens after they've been clearing out Grimm for hours, so naturally most of them are gonna be tired with the exception of a few.
I also made sure to keep any kinds of aggression towards each other bare minimum. They are older, graduated and on a mission. They are allowed to have the common sense to just not fight at the moment. Least in some cases.
That is literally it and with this along with the reviews, makes it up to just over 10,000 Words. So I hope you enjoyed today's chapter,that you'll hopefully return for more and that you have a kind and good day. Until next we meet!
Ushindi: Wow, this new version of your previous story looks even better! The first chapter went of with a great start and I love the designs of all the new character design for the Hunters. This story is going to be amazing, I just know it!
1. Weiss is definitely going to be pain with her problem of Ruby being a leader and Blake from White Fang. Is there going to be a lot of tension between those girls?
2. So when will Arkos set sail * looking at Pyrrha and Jaune* cause they are a great match.
3. It's great idea for them to go each of our own Academies and graduate into become a Hunter plus with them being older this time, they are ready to beat Grimm and any other dangerous people. But are they ready to face a certain Grimm Queen?
Answer: Glad you find it better, sorry for the delay once more.
1: Tension is all this show normally knows, but it'll be reasonable. For the most part.
2: You'll have to see when it comes to pairings. I've tweaked them a bit from the normal.
3: You'll have to stay tuned and see.
Thanks as usual.
Wolf: Have to say that this new version of the previous one seems pretty interesting having the main characters be more older than when they originally meet is a good one as with all the RWBY crossovers I seen I keep coming back to Fallout because it kinda makes sense to me the most as it could be the earth a millennia or two after the Great War humanity becoming tribal once again as the Faunus and Grimm are mutated creatures and humans from the radiation as I hope that you have a good evening and see you around.
Answer: Fallout does seem to be the most fitting crossover for RWBY in general. Maybe it's due to the comparison of creatures and weapon usage in the world. That and the characters from both Crossovers could easily be implanted in each others franchise with ease.
hyperiumon: nice first chapter diverses from cannon and is a great read can't wait till there's more chapters, It'd be funny if six was rukkido dad or knew him leading to a funny scene where he unintentionally meets six while visiting his pops or something
hyperiumon: before I even go into it I will say i hope you make 6 and pals the mysterious vegas defender/loyalists that are basically ghosts and legends like your original fic maybe a brief paragraph here or there detailing what they do after something major on mr. new vegas radio. certainly would be cool to hype them up and also when you show one of them youll be able to realistically spin them off as badass mofo you don't wanna mess with imo
Answers: Lol, you'll have to wait and see if Six is even here. Spoilers. But Mr. New Vegas will always be here. As for the other stuff, you'll have to wait for it. Sorry if this seems lack luster after waiting for so long, I just don't wanna give away too much.
slayer25o1:this sounds very promising and first
Answer: Thank you, hope we can get this going a lot faster.