Daiki and Capri broke from the treeline and stared at the ruined columns and roof ahead of them. "This must be it." Daiki said, an easy smile danced on his face before he suddenly disappeared and was on top of the structure. While they had been walking through the forest he would do this occasionally to 'scout' though she was sure he was doing it to show off his Semblance to her. "Big chess pieces over here!" He called out from his position, waving to Capri.
Capri giggled and walked to the circle of pedestals, checking which piece she should take. "How's about... the gold bishop?" She said walking over and picking it up, the piece was huge, several inches in height and width, the chess board that it must have been made for would be just as massive.
Daiki appeared beside her, a slight flicker could be seen right before he appeared. "Why not?"
Shortly after they decided on their piece they turned to leave but were shocked to see another pair come out of the woods. Capri raised her hand and waved at them. "Hey Ruby, Yang!" Smiling brightly, they were friends, well, as close as friends could be after knowing one another for about a day anyway, she liked them and hoped to be friends going forward.
"I told you it was over here!" Ruby whined at Yang, clearly they had some issues navigating to the ruins.
"Yeah yeah, Rubes. We found it, and look Capri's here... with a cute boy." Yang wiggled her eye brows down at Ruby as they walked towards the pair already at the Ruins.
Ruby punched her sister in the arm as she made a face before turning back to Capri and Daiki. "You guys have any problems getting here?"
Capri opened her mouth and froze, not sure if she should bring up the guys that she had heard looking for her right after landing. Daiki spoke up first, smoothly covering for her. "Not at all," he replied, his voice casual and nonchalant. "Just a leisurely stroll through the woods, taking in the sights and sounds of nature. You know, the usual."
Yang laughed, her amusement evident as she glanced at Daiki's disheveled appearance, old dried blood still spotted parts of his face. "Oh yeah, just a picturesque walk with a pretty girl, right?"
Daiki's grin widened, a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes as he returned Yang's teasing. "Of course, what else could it be? A simple stroll with a pretty girl, nothing more a guy could ask for... unless?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively, his playful demeanor causing Yang to blush furiously before bursting into laughter.
"You... flirt!"
"Yang! Yuck!"
"You'll find a boy you like when you are older Rubes... but... maybe not this one." The mischievous smile was mirrored between Daiki and Yang's faces. Two of a pair, they got on like oil and fire, a little too well.
Ruby walked forwards and picked up one of the chess pieces, her's was a golden horse. "Let's take this one Yang!"
"Sure Ruby."
"What are you doing?!" Weiss screamed as Adam climbed further up the Nevermore's back, his face set in a look of determination.
Adam reached the shoulder of the Nevermore, gripping tightly with his left hand he pulled out Blossom. "Prepare to jump!"
"What? Are you insane?!"
"Would you rather get eaten?!" His voice sharp and clear against the rush of the wind. "I'm going to stab this thing, it should let you go, when it does aim at that stone building over there!"
Weiss looked down and noticed they were indeed flying over a clearing with a stone structure in the center. "What about you?!"
Adam shook his head, he had a job to do as he flipped the blade around in his hand and drove it point first into the muscles at the shoulder of the Nevermore's right wing. It squawked in protest at the sudden pain and its talons holding Weiss opened, releasing the young heiress to free fall.
"Um... you guys see that too?" Yang asked pointing at the sky as a Nevermore that was flying past began to jerk erratically. Then a white figure began to fall from it. "Is that a person?"
Daiki paused and pointed back towards the forest that Yang and Ruby had come from recently. "Umm... what's that?"
"YEEEE-HAAAAW!" A massive Ursa came barreling through the trees, roaring in anger and protest. It walked just a few steps beyond the trees before it fell down. To everyone's surprise a young woman had been riding on it's back. "Awwww... It's broken." She seemed disappointed, as if she had just broken a new toy given to a child.
"What the hell?" Daiki muttered staring at this new situation.
Shortly after a young Mistral boy in green came through the treeline where the Ursa rider had appeared from, he seemed out of breath. "Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again." As he leaned down to catch his breath the girl, Nora, sprinted up to the pedestals to pick their relic.
"Oooooh..." Taking her just a moment she ran over and picked up one of the golden rooks. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" During the chant she balanced the chess piece on top of her head while giggling.
"NORA!" The boy called out, frustration in his voice now evident to the crowd.
"Coming, Ren!" Tilting her head she dropped the rook down her back and caught it deftly.
"She was riding an Alpha Ursa..." Daiki stated dumbfounded.
"HEEEEEELP!" A cry from above pulled everyone's attention.
"What...?"
They looked up just in time to see two figures collide roughly in the air and crash into a nearby tree. Yang's face began to betray some mild frustration at their situation's degredation.
Not long after the two crashed into a tree, before the crowd could even go investigate who just arrived a new figure came running out of the woods. It was Pyrrha Nikos, they all recognized her face... and the massive Grimm that followed behind. A Death Stalker.
A moment later Aries and Blake came from the woods nearby, their faces a look of disbelief at the madness going on around them. Above a screaming Nevermore seemed to be fighting someone on its back, there were two figures tangled in a tree, and another girl was running from a giant scorpion. "What the..."
At this point Yang exploded, literally, flames seemed to burst from her body as she began to scream in frustration. "I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"
Funnily enough, everything seemed to remain constant before there was another squawk from above and a new figure was falling from the sky. Not the Nevermore but a figure in black and gold this time instead of the near pure white from before. "Yang..." Ruby pointed at the figure who was approaching rapidly.
Yang sighed heavily and turned towards Capri. "Did your brother really ride a Nevermore all the way here?"
Capri gave a sheepish smile and shrugged. "Looks like it..."
Adam landed on the ground with a forward roll, his Aura flashing as it took on the force of the fall, he didn't have any way to reduce his velocity. Yang looked around at everything that was happening again and let out a small laugh as she pumped her fist into the sky. "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" The sarcasm lost on half of the assembled party. "Tough crowd."
Adam looked around before spotting Weiss still tangled up with Jaune, anger flashing through his face he strode over to them. Daiki who was in between them decided it was best to disappear, so he Blinked away, getting out of Adam's warpath. In just a few seconds Adam stood over Jaune and Weiss and he roughly grabbed Jaune by the hood of his jacket and yanked him away, tossing him roughly away from Weiss. "On your feet Arc, your partner is in trouble." An assumption that the red haired girl was his partner was easy enough to assume as everyone else was paired up.
"W-what's happening?" Jaune asked, confused, dazed, and clearly not going to be of any help in the current situation.
Adam ignored him and crouched down, putting a hand under Weiss' arm and helped her stand up. "Come on, let's get our relic and leave."
"As much as I hate to say it, he's right, we have out objective right here, let's take them and go." Weiss said, while she wanted to sound offended at agreeing with Adam.
Yang's eyes darted to her shoes, momentarily causing a smirk to appear on the blonde's face before she spoke up. "Leave? What about... all this?" Yang asked, having followed him from the ruins.
Weiss became flustered and shouted. "It isn't what it looks like!" The outburst was mostly ignored, though a few smirks broke out across the group, Yang, Daiki, and even Adam for just a moment before returning to a neutral expression.
"The objective is these relics right? Not to slay Grimm, grab your Relic and flee if you don't think you can win. Or kill it and go back. Either way the objective remains the same. Get a relic and go back to the cliffs." Adam said, his voice taking on the tone of an old hand at command, his time as one of the highest field commanders of the White Fang. Weiss was on her feet but she looked a bit shaken by what had happened, the fall was even less controlled than when they had been launched, she hadn't even had a chance to utilize her glyphs before Jaune had slammed into her at full force.
Walking to the relics he grabbed the nearest one and stuffed it into his cargo pocket without really thinking about it. "Weiss... do we need to repeat what happened before?" While calmly stated this question caught the ear of several members of the crowd, who were now interested in what happened with Adam and Weiss. The gossip they hoped for was less juicy than they would have guessed, he was just asking if he needed to carry her... Though that alone was also pretty good gossip for teenagers.
Weiss shook her head and walked up to him, it was then that people realized he wasn't wearing any shoes and that Weiss was wearing black and gold boots that clearly did not belong to her. Had it not been a terrible time Daiki and Yang likely would have begun teasing her. Instead everyone without one snatched up a relic for their, and someone stuffed a relic into Jaune's hand.
"We need to help her." Ruby cut in, indicating Pyrrha as she was still being chased by the Death Stalker, clearly her strong endurance was being worn down, and to make matters worse the Nevermore above seemed to have decided to continue to circle the area instead of fleeing.
Weiss looked at Adam as if she had wanted to say something about it but clicked her mouth shut, her partner wouldn't care about someone else. He barely tolerated her because they were stuck on the same team. Capri nodded in agreement with Ruby's assessment of the need for help. "Adam, we can't leave her like this... Maybe if we all work together we can kill the Death Stalker?"
"Fine, let's go." He put his left hand on the guard of Eclipse, waiting for a perfect moment he fired Blossom, deflecting an attack from the Death Stalker's claw that came close to Pyrrha's back. With a speed that would have been shocking anywhere else besides a Huntsmen Academy like Beacon he dashed and caught the spinning blade before it could clatter to the ground and slashed the blade into the other claw as a backhanded swing, the blade biting into the chitin but not too deeply.
The others began to attack with their own weapons, Ruby began firing her sniper rifle from a distance, Weiss was firing shining glyphs that seemingly just bounced off the shell, Nora surprised Adam by suddenly pulling out a massive hammer and began to attack the legs. Jaune... he stayed back, all the better, he would just get in the way. Aries following Nora's lead began to attack the legs, but on the opposite side, attempting to cripple the Death Stalker completely.
Capri's pistol began to bark and splatterings of dust bullets began to appear around the Death Stalker's eyes, an excellent tactical decision, if they could blind it the fight would be easier.
Daiki flashed and suddenly was standing on top of the Death Stalker's back near its eyes and pointed the head on his wrist at them, some sort of hidden mechanism must have been activated because a gout of flame poured forth, singing several of the eyes before he was force to retreat as the tail came slamming towards him. Another burst of light and he was gone, back to the back line by Capri.
Ren stepped up beside Adam and began to bash the left claw wide while Adam continued to drive back the one on the right, exposing the 'face' of the scorpion to the teammates firing at it from a distance. There was a roar as Yang appeared between them, rushing forwards she began to punch the scorpion driving it back. This seemed to cause some damage as thick green fluid could be seen coming from some cracks. However she had moved it out of position and its claws came snapping in at her, Adam dashed in to cover her back but was too slow, both him and Yang got slammed back by a swinging claw.
"Yang!"
"I'm fine Ruby!" Her aura flickered slightly at the damage it had absorbed but didn't appear like it would break anytime soon.
As they regrouped suddenly the assault was interrupted, the Nevermore had enough of being ignored and fired razor sharp feathers down amongst the battlefield. Several of them took minor hits while they attempted to dodge out of the way. The feathers bounced harmlessly off of the Death Stalker that rushed forwards, knocking down Ren, Aries, and Nora in its sudden scuttle. It determined that Capri and Ruby needed to go as they were shooting at its eyes. The Grimm showed an intelligence beyond what it should possibly possess.
"Ruby!" Yang cried out in horror, while Capri danced away from the attack Ruby was pinned in place by one of the feathers, it had caught her cloak and she hadn't noticed until she tried to run and was choked.
Two figures blurred forwards, black and white, moving together and at impossible speeds to block the stinger as it descended. Adam stood at the front, Blossom half drawn from Eclipse, and directly behind him was Weiss, her sword stabbed into the ground glowing blue as a massive block of ice caught the stinger, which barely tapped Adam's sword.
From her position Blake saw the pose and was frozen in place, it was an intimately familiar pose, and only one person she knew fought like that. The sword 'throw' at the beginning was unexpected but not impossible, and yet as the battle dragged on the similarities piled up. It wasn't possible, what are the odds two people with no connection fought in a way it was like looking at a mirror, or a recording.
The stinger was caught for now, but Adam didn't gain any momentum from it as Weiss had stopped most of the attack with her ice. Turning back he slashed through Ruby's cloak. "Let's get out of here!" Adam called out. The terrain didn't favor them, even with six for each of the Grimm they couldn't do anything if the Nevermore simply remained in the sky shooting down at them.
Ruby was tackled by Yang who quickly pulled her little sister to escape the battlefield. Aries and Capri nodded together and began to retreat as well, their partners falling back with them. Nora and Ren were already gone by time Adam went to look for them, while Pyrrha was pushing Jaune to get him going, his daze wearing off at this point.
"And what about us?" Weiss asked, her tone showing annoyance at how quickly they had been abandoned by everyone else.
Adam grunted and gave her a smirk. "What, you afraid of being left alone?" He motioned at the Death Stalker, still trapped by ice and the Nevermore flying over head. "Let's get going." Blossom shnicked back into Eclipse as he dropped his position and took off running.
"Hey!"
This wasn't good, their group hadn't been able to abandon the Nevermore or the Death Stalker, they seemed fixed on trying to kill the lot of them. Ahead of them was another ruin at the base of the cliffs.
"Nora distract them!" Ren called out as the group attempted to file across the bridge.
The redhead obliged with a grin, her hammer collapsing into a grenade launcher, firing several large projectiles at both the Death Stalker and the Nevermore. They exploded into a cloud of pink smoke that sparked with electricity against and around the two targets, causing them both to halt. One blast struck the stinger of the Death Stalker and a chunk of chitin was blown away while most fired at the Nevermore avoided the clouds of Dust in the sky.
Buying enough time for everyone to reach the center tower of the ruins, connected by dozens of bridges to other towers everyone stopped to catch their breath.
"We need a plan." Daiki groaned as he leaned against the wall. "All this running is... not fun."
Ruby stepped up, her silver eyes glittering. "Yeah! Uhh... I actually have an idea..."
Everyone sat or stood in a circle, listening to Ruby's plan, it was actually rather simple but required teamwork between everyone. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Aries, Blake, Daiki, and Capri would battle the Nevermore, the shields being used to counter its barrage of feathers, the others firing on the Nevermore with their ranged weapons. At the same time Ruby, Yang, Adam and Weiss would attempt to pin down the Death Stalker and shatter its armor, while Nora's hammer would be useful for this it was also very useful against the Nevermore as she could narrow the field in which it could fly, maybe even force it down where the others can intercept it with their close combat weaponry.
Ruby looked at the group, her face showing resolve and yet her eyes revealed a worry deep within that they would dismiss her plan. Some faces showed a lack of confidence in the plan but Adam nodded. "We can hold the Death Stalker for a while, it'll be up to the Nevermore team to get the kill before we are overwhelmed though."
An eternity seemed to pass before Ruby deflated, shoulders drooping. "It isn't a good plan huh?"
Capri shook her head and rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It'll work... Adam's just saying things will be more difficult for your team since you'll have fewer members." A quick glance towards Adam indicated that he should agree.
The groups divided based on Ruby's plan, Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Adam took off back across the bridge to meet the Death Stalker. Yang took the lead, her physical strength was to be used to push it back, under a flurry of blows the team took a beachhead to spread out. Adam went left to handle the claw on that side, Yang cut right, intercepting the other claw. Ruby dashed in, Crescent Rose fully extended into a scythe that she slashed left and right as she jumped onto the Death Stalker's back. Weiss meanwhile shot Dust infused glyphs at damaged parts of the chitin in an attempt to weaken it further. Under their onslaught the giant scorpion retreated several steps, but they did their best to keep close, not wanting to repeat what had happened at the Relic ruins.
Ruby let out a triumphant cry suddenly drawing attention to herself as she dove at the stinger, now hanging loosely, damaged by Nora's grenades, Weiss's glyphs, and now Ruby's scythe, but not enough to fully dislodge the appendage. Or so they thought, the Death Stalker in a rage lashed out with its wounded tail, the barb of the stringer tearing off with a meaty sound. While aimed at Yang the dislodged tail flew free, catching Weiss off guard and knocking her back towards the cliff around the ruined towers. "Weiss!" Ruby and Yang yelled out together, causing just a momentary lapse in attention that was detrimental to their battle. Ruby found herself being smacked with the now stingerless tail, flying onto the crumbling bridge.
"Ru-!" Yang was smacked bf the claw she was intercepting, crashing into Adam's back throwing off his attempt at a counter, both of them were smashed by the claw, eerily similar to how they had been before. The team quickly recovered their feet, except for Weiss who was hanging from the cliff, she had been knocked further back by the blast that caught Adam and Yang.
"Schnee!" This time Adam called out, the concern seeped into his voice unbidden, turning back to face the Death Stalker. "Get Schnee, I'll hold it back." Yang hesitated before turning back to the cliff and discharging Ember Celica to give herself a burst of speed. However dangerous the situation a small part of her brain made a note of what had just happened.
Adam walked calmly towards the Death Stalker, unconsciously he reached down and pulled the Grimm Mask from where it hung. The familiar weight of the mask settled over his face and he felt something in the back of his mind call out to him to turn and take his revenge, Yang had her back turned, Weiss was struggling to pull herself up, and Ruby was too far to stop him. Driving these thoughts from his head he took an Iai stance, crouching slightly while leaning forwards. A claw came to strike out at him but suddenly stopped, its forward momentum absorbed into Blossom, half drawn from Eclipse. Adam laughed a bit, it had been a long while since he used his Semblance against such a large enemy, the amount of energy he could feel building up was electrifying. His Aura ignited, dancing like red and black flames over his hair and back. The second claw came down to try and smash him into the ground as the first claw retracted. Again the silver-gold blade caught it, the flames exploding out from his shoulders now and danced along Blossom's edge.
A soft click as he sheathed the sword and leapt back. "Stay behind me!" Power coursed and exploded outwards as he drew in a vertical slash, due to the position he doubted a horizontal would work well against the Death Stalker. A massive blade of energy shot out from his sword, for a moment it was as if the world would drown in red and black before suddenly colors returned. A deep furrow was dug into the ground, and the Death Stalker was critically wounded, one claw and half of its legs were severed. Somehow it had attempted to dodge the attack and found some success considering it was still alive.
"Wow! Why didn't you start with that?!" Yang called out.
Adam grunted, the Death Stalker was still alive and he could feel his fingers shaking. At this point he couldn't finish it, it would be enough if he didn't get in their way. "Still need to kill it."
Their team stared at the wounded Grimm before Ruby spoke up… "Hey Yang!"
"Yeah?" "How good are you at throwing?"
"What?"
Ruby explained a plan that the rest of them couldn't help but shake their head at. It sounded crazy but it should work considering the Death Stalker's crippled state.
Yang and Adam lifted the severed part of the stinger, even powered by their Auras and enhanced strength they struggled to get it in place. Suddenly dozens of floating Glyphs appeared before them, luckily the target was stationary, or mostly at least, it could barely move.
Weiss grunted out. "I swear if this doesn't work…"
"It'll work!" Ruby reassured but then cut her own enthusiasm down. "Probably."
"Ready!" Yang yelled, arms, back and legs struggling under the weight.
"Ready!" Weiss called back.
"Fire!" Ruby cried as Adam and Yang threw the stinger with all their might, and it wouldn't have gone far if not for it catching in the Glyphs. They accelerated the stinger's speed to incredible levels, the tip crashing through the unprotected side of the Death Stalker and the yellow barbed tip stuck out from between the legs on the far side. "Is it dead?" Yang asked with a huff. Moments later they had their answer, the body began to break apart.
They heard the cry of the Nevermore at that point, it was clinging to a tower with one wing, the other conspicuously missing. A moment later Pyrrha was launched into the air with the help of their team, at the peak of her jump she rotated so she was facing the ground. Daiki appeared above her, holding Jaune's shield pointed towards her feet and she kicked off, sending Daiki flying back but reorienting her dive, spear leading the way. She connected solidly with the armored head of the Nevermore, her spear going through until her hand struck the hardened plates. The Nevermore shook several times before it released the tower and began to plummet into the canyon. Pyrrha pulled her spear free and leapt to the safety of a nearby tower, the other seven cheering.
The journey to the top of the cliff was boring, everyone walked, well almost everyone. Daiki took Capri to the top in just a second, laughing while simultaneously evading an angry Aries who had begun to threaten him, but he was gone. Their figures waving down from the top of the cliff.
"Think he's coming back for everyone?" Yang asked, putting her hands on her hips.
The boy in white and crimson turned and walked away after waving a few times. "Guess not."
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." The monitor in the auditorium showed the faces of the four boys as their names were called by Professor Ozpin. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"
Theo four students made their way to the stage and waved to the crowd before filing off the opposite side of the stage. The crowd clapped, some cheered, others quietly abstained.
"Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos. Daiki Hongyan. Capri Szarvak. The four of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JDSN (Jadestone)." Capri standing beside Adam and Aries blushed a bit, they all knew she was infatuated with Daiki. Rushing to meet with everyone their team approached the stage center. "Led by, Jaune Arc." The crowd and even most of the team looked shocked.
"H-huh? Led by…"
Ozpin gave a knowing smile and nod. "It was your plan that defeated the Nevermore. Congratulations, young man."
Pyrrha seemed happy for him, giving him a gentle bump that knocked the stunned Jaune to the ground, causing a ripple of laughter from the crowd. Pyrrha and Capri helped him to his feet and Team JDSN exited the stage.
"Blake Belladonna. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Aries Szarvak. The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team BLNA (Belladonna)." They filed up onto the stage, Nora hugging Ren while people clapped. "Led by Blake Belladonna." For a moment the clapping took on a confused sound. Her team name and family name matched, was it truly coincidence? The team exited the stage to a smattering of applause as students gossiped.
"And our final team; Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long. Adam Szarvak. Weiss Schnee. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWAY (Ray)." The four ascended the stage, causing even more whispers than the previous team. Adam Szarvak and Weiss Schnee were known to be hostile towards one another and yet here they were, assigned to the same team. Adam's face a mask of indifference, he wasn't pleased, and yet he wouldn't be able to claim he was unhappy with his team. "Led by, Ruby Rose."
Yang let out an excited sound and wrapped her arms around Ruby, squeezing her in a tight hug. "Oh! I'm so proud of you!"
Weiss looked shocked and in disbelief, she believed she was more qualified to lead. Or even Adam, his personal strength dwarfed theirs if he could regularly use an attack like the one that crippled the Death Stalker. But Ruby? She was the youngest on the team, what right did she have to give them orders? As they exited the stage Weiss stomped once in frustration, the sound much quieter than she expected. A new wave of whispers broke out among the crowd.
The teams scattered, each team leader being given a map so they could take their teams to their respective rooms. Team RWAY followed behind Ruby who seemed lost, Weiss grumbling about not being able to read a simple map with directions and a room number on it. Ruby however seemed more interested in talking about the fight they had with the Death Stalker earlier that day. "Yang was like 'oh noooo- bleh!' And Weiss was 'save me!' but then the scorpion went 'wham!' but Adam was like 'wi-chaaaa!' Blocking it! Then he did it again! It was so cool! How did you do that?!"
Adam felt all three sets of eyes piercing him. "It is my Semblance…" 'Lunar Retribution' his mind whispered to him. "Lunar Retribution, I can capture any type of energy and feed it back into my body or weapons. When I get enough I can do what you are talking about."
"And the flames?! Yang does that too… but she has to get beat up first."
"Ruby!"
"What?! It's true!"
"When I capture enough energy it begins to leak out of my body in those 'flames', however while I have those flames active I'm faster and stronger. If I don't use the captured energy it will dissipate on its own."
"Do you have to block it to gather the energy?"
"Yes… I think."
"You think?"
"I haven't exactly thought to try and catch an attack with my face, it isn't very smart." Adam said a bit annoyed to be the center of attention. "So, Captain Ruby, how do you feel about being in charge?" Turn to attention to a different target, sorry kid, life isn't fair.
Caught off guard Ruby stopped walking and began to think about how she felt about it, it seemed to be settling in on her. "Oh… uh… like being team leader? It's… different I guess? Exciting! Yeah, exciting!" Ruby seemed to grapple with the thought of being in charge of Team RWAY.
Weiss, ever the critic, chimed in with a skeptical tone. "Yes, well, some of us might need more figuring out than others."
Yang nudged Weiss playfully. "Come on, Ice Queen, don't be too hard on our fearless leader. She's got potential."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Potential is one thing. Competence is another."
Adam observed the exchange with a mixture of amusement and detachment. "Leadership isn't about knowing everything, or being the best at everything; it's about making decisions and guiding the team. Ruby has spirit at least."
Ruby beamed at Adam's vote of confidence, grateful for the support. "Thanks, Adam. I'll do my best." Adam began to regret speaking up, he drew attention back to himself again.
Yang grinned, throwing an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "That's the spirit! Together, we'll be unstoppable."
Weiss huffed, still unconvinced by the choice of leader made by Professor Ozpin. "Well, let's hope so. Otherwise, we might as well surrender to the Grimm now."
Adam chuckled, the tension easing among the group. "Let's focus on finding our dorm first. Then we can conquer the world, one step at a time. Though, I guess the Schnee has beat us to that, Atlas in their pocket and all."
"That's not fair!" Weiss protested, feeling attacked from multiple angles.
"HERE!" Ruby cried out suddenly stopping in the middle of the hallway, Yang bumping into her back because she was looking over her shoulder at Adam and Weiss bickering. Opening the door they found four beds in a row, a pair of desks, and other furniture in the room meant for four. "Seems... kind of small."
Yang couldn't resist a mischievous grin as she glanced at Weiss. "So, Weiss, which side of the room are you planning to decorate with your collection of Winter Schnee memorabilia? Left or right?"
Weiss shot her a glare, her annoyance thinly veiled. "Very funny, Yang. I don't have any memorabilia."
Adam's voice cut through the banter, his tone tinged with a hint of cynicism. "Ah yes, the humble Schnee, devoid of any attachment to her family's legacy."
Weiss bristled at the jab, her pride wounded. "It's not like that, Adam. You know nothing about my situation."
Adam raised an eyebrow, his expression challenging. "Oh, but I do. Born into privilege, sheltered from the harsh realities faced by the Faunus under the thumb of the SDC and Atlas. An easy enough story to know... Or am I wrong?"
Weiss's eyes flashed with indignation. "And what would you know about hardship, Adam? You may wear your struggles like a badge of honor, but don't pretend to understand what it's like to carry the weight of my family's expectations."
Adam's jaw clenched, his patience wearing thin. "Your family's expectations? Try living under the constant oppression of the SDC, Weiss. Try having your very existence dictated by those who see you as nothing more than an animal to be controlled. Do not think our lives are the same Schnee."
Weiss's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh, forgive me for not shedding tears over your tragic backstory, Adam. Clearly you've lived the life of a great martyr." Weiss's voice hardened, her eyes narrowing with determination. "But let's not forget about the White Fang, a group I'm certain you are familiar with. Your precious 'freedom fighters' have made attempts on my family's lives since I was a child. So don't you dare lecture me about hardship."
Adam's expression darkened, a storm brewing in his eyes. "The White Fang is not representative of all Faunus, Weiss. Don't paint us all with the same brush just because of your family's unfortunate encounters." Despite his denial, he had once led the White Fang, sections and in its entirety in his previous life. Though it was true, most Faunus had nothing to do with the White Fang, his new siblings seemed to have varying thoughts on the actions of the White Fang.
Yang attempted to diffuse the situation with a forced chuckle. "Well, isn't this a lovely family reunion? Can we save the drama for another time, please? We have a room to settle into, after all." Throwing her arm around Ruby's shoulder she moved forwards and took the two beds on the left side of the room. "Me and Ruby will take these two." The sun had set quite some time ago and everyone was tired, not to mention the Initiation's exertion built up.
Adam and Weiss were shocked she made the decision to put them beside one another. However Yang looked over her shoulder at them and gave a wink, her mouth forming words neither could read.
"What?"
"Give me my boots back."
Wingman Yang... making things awkward. Now that life and death are no longer on the line Adam is back at taking shots at Weiss who is throwing her own blows back.
I swear this wasn't planned to be Frostbite... just turning out that way, or maybe they'll end up just friends. Dunno yet... maybe... maybe...
Also this chapter was longer than I expected to make it, generally I will probably be hitting between 3-5k words, simply because it feels like it is a good ending point. This one I just felt I needed to get through the whole rest of the day.