Author's Note:Sooo...been a while huh? I had promised some of you that I'd release the chapter by the end of May but here we are. I have no excuses save for the fact that my friend introduced me to Honkai Star Rail. I was this close to having Ren use a Dust Spear after seeing one of the characters in the game. For those of you who play it too, you'll probably understand why.
Putting that aside, anyone remember the poll I put up to decide who will be the Vice Headmaster/Headmistress and Combat Instructor for Beacon? If not then guess you'll find out why at the end. ;)
Anyways, here's an extra long chapter to make up for it. I'll blabber more at the end. Enjoy.
After trekking away from the deathstalker's cave, Jaune and Pyrrha continued making their way through the Emerald Forest until they arrived at a large open clearing. They immediately saw some ruins in said clearing and headed towards it, hoping that it held the relics they were looking for. As they approached the ruins, they were greeted by a pair of very familiar girls who were standing by the ruins.
"Yo! Jaune!" Yang waved as he and Pyrrha jogged up to her and Blake, "Glad to see you made it here in one piece…and I see someone else became your partner instead of Ruby."
"Hey Yang. And yeah, this is my partner, Pyrrha." Jaune said before turning to Pyrrha and gesturing to the two girls, "Pyrrha, this is Yang and Blake."
"Hello." Pyrrha greeted, waving her hand amicably and received a wave in return from Yang and a nod from Blake.
"Speaking of Ruby. I'm guessing neither of you have seen her?" Jaune asked.
"Nope, it's just been me and Blake. Isn't that right, partner?" Yang said to Blake who didn't answer her, "Umm, Blake? Don't leave me Yanging here." Jaune snorted at the pun, eliciting a grin from Yang though Blake didn't react to her pun. "Come on, Blake. No reaction?"
"Umm…isn't that your cousin?" Blake asked while pointing a finger up into the sky.
"Heads up!" Ruby's voice cried. Everyone looked up just in time to see Ruby just before she crashed, kicking up some dust. "Ooooh…look at the pretty stars." she slurred deliriously as she sat herself up.
"Ruby, you okay?" Yang asked as she checked up on Ruby.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why didn't you catch me?" Ruby complained while shaking the stars out of her eyes. "Well, at least something softened my fall."
"Glad…I could help…" Jaune groaned out as Ruby sat directly on his back. "Mind getting off me now? My back hurts."
"Jaune!" both Ruby and Pyrrha exclaimed, the former jumping up while the latter knelt down to check on him.
"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked worried as she gently helped Jaune up, "Easy now. You took quite the hit just now."
"Thanks, Pyrrha. Just a little sore, but I'm fine. I've been hit with way worse and came out alright." Jaune assured though his partner still fretted over him.
"Jaune. I'm so sorry!" Ruby said as she bowed her head apologetically to him.
"Ruby, relax. I'm fine." Jaune reassured, his voice now more steady before changing the subject. "By the way, why were you falling from the sky?"
"Oh, that's cause I jumped down from the giant nevermore I was riding on." Ruby answered while casually pointing her finger up into the sky where there was indeed a giant nevermore, a bird like grimm circling overhead.
'I know Hunters are an eccentric lot but this takes the cake.' Ozma commented.
"Wait a sec…" Yang said as she peered closer at the nevermore and spotted somehow clinging onto the tip of one of the nevermore's claws, "Is that Weiss? Why is she up there?"
"Oh…she's my partner. She's with me." Ruby answered as if it was the most obvious answer.
"How could you leave me!" Weiss screeched..
"I told you to jump!" Ruby yelled back.
"She's gonna fall." Blake commented dryly when the Nevermore started flying erratically.
"She'll be fine." Ruby said dismissively just before Weiss screamed when she suddenly lost her grip. "Or not…"
"We need to help." Pyrrha stated.
"Do we have to? I fell pretty far and I'm fine." Ruby pointed out and winced when she received a side eyed glance from Jaune.
"It's still the right thing to do." Jaune said before he stepped forward and looked up at Weiss' falling figure.
Having learned his lesson from the airbus incident, he took a moment to properly judge the distance between him and Weiss before he bent his knees and launched himself into the air with an aura enhanced leap. He kept his eyes locked on Weiss's falling figure as he got closer to her. He soon reached the peak of his jump, a couple of feet below Weiss and held out his arms just as she fell into them gently.
"Hold on tight!" Jaune called out and felt Weiss wrap her arms around him. If they weren't falling, he'd be grinning from ear to ear at this but Ozma clearing his throat told him that he was. He quickly schooled his expression and focused on the situation at hand.
He looked down at the fast approaching ground and reinforced his body, especially his legs and spine before he crashed feet first and bent his knees to soften the impact. Even then, he still felt a jolt run up through his body but thanks to his aura, he was fine.
'Hmm, a little rough but overall, a decent first landing strategy.' Ozma chimed in. Jaune rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Weiss who was still clinging onto him.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked and watched as Weiss opened her eyes and saw that they were back on the ground though her mouth curled down into a frown instead of a smile like he had been hoping for.
"Put me down! I can stand on my own." Weiss demanded as she squirmed in his arms, prompting him to lower her down on her own two feet before letting go. She dusted herself off and smoothed the creases on her dress before turning to him. "But I'm fine. Thank you, John."
"Actually, it's…nevermind." Jaune sighed. He then watched Weiss walk away though he quirked a brow when her soft footsteps turned into angry stomps as she made a beeline towards Ruby. He grew concerned when he saw the upset look on her face and winced when she suddenly started yelling at Ruby.
"I can't believe how irresponsible you were! Do you have any idea how dangerous that stunt of yours was?" Weiss yelled. "That crazy plan of yours could have gotten both of us killed."
"Hey, you agreed to do it, didn't you?" Ruby retorted and immediately regretting it when Weiss narrowed her eyes at her in return. "I'm sorry!" she cried while cowering from the heiress.
Jaune and everyone else stood by awkwardly as Weiss verbally tore into Ruby, including Yang who looked surprisingly calm about this. He walked up to his fellow blonde and cleared his throat to get her attention, "Aren't you going to do something about that?"
"Eh, they're partners now. My mom told me that when partners get into fights, it's better to let them go at it and get it out of their system instead of letting it grow over time. Besides, Ruby needs to learn how to deal with stuff like this on her own. It'll work out-" Yang winced when Weiss' voice grew louder, "-probably."
"If you say so." Jaune said though remained unconvinced but decided to not interfere unless things became physical.
'Jaune, how about you go retrieve the relic while everyone else is busy?' Ozma suggested.
'Oh right. Almost forgot about that.' Jaune was about call out to Pyrrha when he heard the loud creaking snaps of several trees being felled followed by what sounded like a chittering shriek.
Weiss stopped yelling as she and everyone else turned their heads towards the noise and were shocked when a gigantic scorpion-like grimm which was covered in scars and bits of moss, came smashing through the trees. However, what surprised them even more were the two figures on said grimm.
"Yeehaw!" a familiar red head cheered as she rode on the back of the giant deathstalker that tried to shake the girl off its back.
"Noraaa!" a second voice screamed and everyone looked up at the deathstalker's tail where a green clad boy was desperately clinging onto the grimm's golden stinger to prevent it from striking the girl.
'It appears that someone else had found the cave after we left it.' Ozma noted.
'Nevermind that! They need help!" Jaune shouted out loud as he unsheathed Crocea Mors.
"What's the plan, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as she stood beside him with her own weapon out.
'Remember, what I thought you. Even if it is bigger, it is still a deathstalker so go for its eyes and its blind spots. If everyone here works together, you will be able to overcome this challenge.' Ozma advised.
Jaune nodded and was about to relay Ozma's words to everyone when Ruby suddenly took out her scythe and declared, "Don't worry. I got this!"
"Ruby! Wait!" Jaune called out to stop her but she didn't listen as she fired her weapon and launched herself towards the deathstalker. Jaune growled in frustration as he moved to go after her but was stopped when Yang grabbed him by the shoulder, "Yang, what are you doing? We need to stop Ruby. She can't take that thing on her own!"
"Relax Jump Man, Ruby's got this." Yang assured him, "Just sit back and enjoy the light show."
"What are you talking about?" Jaune questioned. Yang just smiled and put on her aviators for some reason. He looked back to Ruby who soon came to a stop in front of the giant deathstalker which immediately swung one of its claws at her. He opened his mouth to tell Ruby to dodge only to suddenly be blinded by a bright flash of light.
"Ugh! What was that light?" Weiss complained before she let out a gasp.
Jaune rubbed the spots out of his eyes before he looked back and his jaw dropped. The giant deathstalker had somehow been turned to stone. The claw that it had swung at Ruby had been frozen mid-swing.
"Told ya she had it handled." Yang said before she waved at Ruby who waved back, "Way to go Rubes!"
"Whoa…" was all Jaune could say as he stared at the petrified grimm in complete and utter disbelief as did everyone else, save for Yang. 'Ozma, I know you told me that Silver Eyed Warriors were experts at killing grimm but you didn't tell me that she could do that!'
'Now you see how important Ruby is.' Ozma said. 'Still, I am amazed that she's managed to manifest her powers at such a young age though given that her mother also has Silver Eyes I'm not surprised.'
'Well, at least it only affects grimm.' Jaune noted as he looked at the pair that had been riding the deathstalker.
"Awww! It broke." the girl whined as she stood up and stomped her foot down on the deathstalker though the petrified grimm didn't react. She shrugged before waving at Ruby, "Hiya! I'm Nora!" she greeted cheerfully before the boy in green suddenly fell from the stinger and dropped into the girl's arms, "And this is Ren! Say hi Ren!"
"Nora...Please, don't ever do that again." Ren groaned out tiredly.
"Okiedokie! No more riding giant deathstalkers!" Nora promised much to the boy's relief, "We'll ride an ursa next time!" The poor boy moaned in exasperation as he went limp in Nora's arm. "Aww, is it nap time already?"
"Did…did she just turn that grimm to stone? And that light…" Weiss said before her eyes widened in realization, "Wait a minute! Is she related to Summer Rose?"
"Yep, she's Ruby's mom and my aunt!" Yang grinned, "You know her or something?"
"Of course I know!" Weiss exclaimed indignantly, "Anyone training to become a huntsman knows about Summer Rose of Team STRQ. Only an ignorant moron wouldn't know about one of the most greatest huntsmen team of the generation!"
Jaune quickly lowered his arm to hide his ignorance from Weiss and continued to listen.
"Team STRQ are credited with the extermination of three grimm hordes as well as several minor incursions across the Kingdoms, ensuring the safety of many frontier settlements as well as my company's Dust mines there. Even my father respects them!" she exclaimed as if it was an incredible accomplishment.
Jaune was amazed at hearing Team STRQ's feats and imagined what it might have been like to see them in action. Meanwhile, Ozma was happy to learn that humanity has grown strong in his absence.
"It is reported that they accomplish this with Summer Rose's semblance that petrifies grimm through a silver light just like Ruby did just now which reminded me of Team STRQ and-" Weiss' excited expression fell as she buried her face into the palms of her hands, "And I've been mocking one of their children all this time! Oh no… father would be displeased if he hears about this."
"Relax, princess. Ruby isn't the type to hold a grudge so as long as you play nice, she'll forgive and forget." Yang assured her.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked hesitantly while wringing her hands together worriedly, "I will admit that I was rather harsh in the way I spoke to her…and to you as well."
"Eh, it's fine. Like I said, just play nice with us and it'll be all good." Yang replied confidently.
"If you say so, I'll do my best to make it up to her." Weiss promised.
"Umm, I hate to ruin the moment but…" Blake trailed off as she pointed towards the sky where the nevermore was diving towards the deathstalker.
It stalled briefly in the air with its wings pulled back before it flapped them forward. This created a powerful gust of wind that also launched a volley of feathers the size of giant ballista bolts towards the trio who had just noticed the nevermore.
"Ruby!" Yang cried out as she sprinted towards her cousin, prompting Jaune to do the same as he pumped aura into his legs to speed up though a white blur suddenly flashed by them both and to Jaune's surprise and relief, a thick wall of ice suddenly appeared and blocked the feathers, protecting everyone behind it.
"Is everyone alright?" Weiss asked and received a nod of confirmation from Ren and a thumbs up from Nora. She then turned to Ruby who hadn't responded, "Ruby, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Thanks…and sorry about before. I just wanted to prove that I can be a good partner." Ruby said shyly.
"You're fine…just warn me first before you try anything crazy again. I am your partner after all." Weiss said encouragingly while looking at the petrified deathstalker. "Though I can't imagine you topping this."
"I actually hope you can." Jaune interrupted as he and Yang came up to them before pointing up at the nevermore, "Cause that thing is circling back. Think you can turn that nevermore to stone too?"
"Sorry. It was the first time I ever used it on something this big and it took a lot out of me." Ruby said before bringing her weapon out, "I can still fight but I don't think I'll be turning a giant grimm to stone anytime soon."
"We don't have to." Weiss spoke up and pointed at the ruins, "Our objective is right in front of us."
"She's right." Ruby added, "Our mission is to retrieve a relic and make it back to the cliffs to finish Initiation. There's no point in staying here to fight."
"Do we even know where the cliffs are?" Ren spoke up.
Ruby nodded, "Yup! I saw it when we were riding the nevermore. I can lead us there when we're ready."
"Sounds like a plan I can get behind. Let's go grab the relics and get out of here." Jaune said as he headed back to the others and told them Ruby's plan. Everyone quickly agreed and entered the ruins to get their relics.
Inside, they saw a number of pedestals inside. Some were empty, indicating that other pairs have already collected their relic and left, reinforcing that Ruby's plan was a sound one. Fortunately, there were still enough relics left for all of them though Jaune did raise a brow at the large chess pieces on the pedestals.
'Hmm, interesting choice for the relics.' Ozma commented. He recognized the novelty sized chess pieces. They belong to a set that Oswald had bought as a joke when his eyesight started deteriorating in his old age. Oswald had left it to Beacon Academy in his will as a farewell gift to him to retrieve in the future. The last time he saw it was when he and Oswald played a game against their protege.
They had never been more proud to lose that day.
'What's so interesting about them?' Jaune asked as he went over to one of the pedestals that held a gold rook chess piece. The pedestal next to it had a gold knight chess piece on it.
'Nothing really, just thinking to myself so pay it no mind.' Ozma said as he put the memory aside. There will be time to reminisce after Initiation.
Jaune shrugged and picked up the rook piece and saw that Ruby had picked the knight. They smiled and nodded at each other before they turned around to the sight of Nora dancing around with her relic, also a rook piece, in her possession while singing "I'm Queen of the Castle!" repeatedly.
'Seems you're going to have an interesting time at Beacon.' Ozma said knowingly though before Jaune could ask for an explanation, the nevermore screeched as it flew down towards them.
"It's time we left." Ren stated before turning to his partner, "Nora."
"Coming Ren!" Nora said as she skipped over to Ren's side.
"Right, follow me everyone!" Ruby said and ran ahead with everyone following close behind.
"There! I see the cliffs!" Ruby called out as they ran out from the treeline and into a larger set of ruins which appeared to have once been a once grand roadway that led to a stone bridge spanning across a deep canyon covered by a dense layer fog. There, a series of ruined towers and long dried aqueducts were built along the cliff face on the other side. If they weren't busy trying to run from the nevermore, Ozma would have liked to tell Jaune about the history of the ruins.
"Take cover!" Yang called out just as the nevermore soared overhead.
Everyone quickly split up into pairs and hid by the stone pillars to the sides of the ruins, ready to run in case the nevermore decided to strafe them with its feathers. Fortunately, it simply flew past them without incident. Unfortunately, it had circled around and perched itself on top of the tallest tower across the canyon, giving it a wide view of the ruins. It raised its wings, ready to fire more feathers and let out a screech, as if daring them to come out and face it.
"Well that's just great!" Yang complained.
"We need to work together and cover each other to make our way across!" Ruby shouted as she shifted her weapon into its rifle configuration. "Those closer will cover for the ones in the rear. Go on my mark!"
"Got it!" Jaune shouted back and the others answered the same before turning to Pyrrha, "Ready?"
Pyrrha put her shield on her back and shifted her javelin into its rifle configuration, "Ready."
Though just as Ruby shouted "Go!" they heard shrieking from behind them and looked back to see a giant deathstalker plowing through the trees. They quickly realized that it was the same one from before as parts of its body were covered in stone and moss that flaked off its carapace as it charged towards them.
Being the ones closest to the giant grimm, Jaune knew that it was futile to fight it head on so he did the next best thing he could think of, "Plan B, run for it!" and made a mad dash towards the bridge. Ruby was the first to join his side as everyone else followed his lead.
"Ruby! What's going on? I thought you turned that deathstalker to stone." Jaune shouted.
"I don't know! They usually just disintegrate after they turn to stone!" Ruby yelled back.
'Perhaps it being an older grimm might have made it resistant to her power.' Ozma theorized. Jaune stowed that question for later as he focused on running.
Everyone then heard the nevermore screech as it lifted itself into the air and was about to launch its feathers at them only for a pink explosion to go off in its face. He looked back to see Nora firing her grenade launcher as she ran. The air around the nevermore was covered with explosions which drove it away and clearing their way across the bridge.
As they ran onto the bridge, Jaune looked back and was relieved to see everyone had made it. The deathstalker was too big to get on the bridge and with the nevermore nowhere in sight, all they had to do was get up the cliff and they'd be home free!
Unfortunately, he had celebrated too soon as the nevermore suddenly blindsided them when it came in and rammed its bone plated head into the bridge, destroying it and knocking everyone into the air. Jaune landed safely on the other side and saw Ruby firing at the retreating nevermore. He then heard gunfire further away and turned to see Pyrrha, Ren and Blake were fighting the deathstalker on the other side of the broken bridge.
'Their weapons aren't enough to break through the deathstalker's shell.' Ozma said as Blake was knocked back by the scorpion grimm's claws when she tried to engage it in melee.
"We gotta get over there. They need help!" Jaune said as he reinforced his legs with more aura to leap across the gap.
"Let's do this!" Nora said as she came up beside him.
"Need a lift?" Jaune asked, offering his hand, ready to carry the girl across.
"I got my own way across." Nora answered with a wide grin as she shifted her weapon into a warhammer. Jaune nodded and made a running jump into the air, across the gap.
'Now how do I get pass that armor?' Jaune wondered as he fell down towards the other side. Then he heard an explosion behind him before Nora flew past him.
She had her foot on her warhammer which she flipped over behind her back and with a cry of "Nora Smash!" swung it down onto the deathstalker's face, visibly cracking the grimm's bone carapace.
'That works.' Jaune noted as he landed on the other side.
Nora then set off an explosion from her hammer that launched her back in time to dodge the deathstalker's stinger. Unfortunately, the force of the explosion had sent her flying into Blake and accidentally knocked her off the bridge.
"Blake!" Jaune shouted as he scrambled to the edge with his hand stretched out only to grab air. Fortunately, he saw Blake swinging away on a black ribbon hooked to one of the ruined structures in the distance.
'She'll be fine. Focus on the battle!' Ozma told him. Jaune listened as he got back up and turned to see Nora sighing in relief at the sight of Blake making it to the other side. They nodded to each other before turning to face the deathstalker. Ren and Pyrrha were firing on the giant deathstalker's eyes since they knew its shell was too thick for their weapons. The deathstalker seemed to know this too as it swung its claws protectively in front of its face.
"We need to get at its face!" Jaune said as he his sword at the deathstalker.
"On it!" Nora grinned as she shifted her hammer back into a grenade launcher and fired at the deathstalker. The grenades somehow flew between the gaps between its claws and detonated themselves. The resulting explosions knocked the claws aside and exposed its face.
Pyrrha and Ren immediately took the opportunity to fire on its eyes and managed to take out some of the smaller eyes at the front. The deathstalker shrieked in pain before it lashed out with its stinger and struck the bridge, embedding it into the bridge. They were confused by its action until it pulled its stinger back and the bridge started shaking.
"We gotta move!" Jaune ordered as they rushed towards the deathstalker which swung its right claw at them. He narrowed his eyes before he reinforced his legs and dashed forward to intercept the claw head on with his shield. He grunted at the tremendous force force behind the blow as he felt his aura drop noticeably but ignored it as he forced the claw to the side before he swung his sword at it as hard as he could. Crocea Mors' sharp edge couldn't cut through its thick shell but that wasn't the goal as the force of his attack knocked the claw away.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted as she rushed to his side and saw her deflecting the deathstalker's second claw that had been aimed at his back to the side with her own shield, leaving its face unprotected once more.
"The eyes!" he shouted as he and Pyrrha both swung their swords at the deathstalker's face. The scorpion grimm skittered its legs back to avoid their attacks but it hadn't expected for a shockwave of aura to fly from one of the blades as Jaune had hastily focused his aura into Crocea Mors when he saw the deathstalker retreating.
The condensed wave of aura cut through the air as it chased after the deathstalker and struck it in the face. Despite the unspoken 'Air Slash' not being fully powered, the attack still destroyed a number of eyes on one side of its face while also leaving a visible mark on its shell.
Jaune didn't get the chance to admire his handiwork when the deathstalker angrily slammed its claws down on them in retaliation. They managed to raise their shields in time to block the attack but the force of the blow had sent them skidding back onto the unsteady bridge. He gritted his teeth and was about to prepare another 'Air Slash' when Ren suddenly ran past them.
"Nora!" Ren called out as he peppered the deathstalker with rapid fire bursts from his twin machine pistols as he ran towards the giant grimm. It tried to block the attacks with its claws only for them to be blown aside by the grenades Nora had fired on Ren's signal. This gave him the opening to get close to the deathstalker which raised its stinger to attack.
Jaune was about to shout a warning when the color of Ren's entire body suddenly became muted as if the color was drained out of him. He became more confused when the deathstalker lowered its stinger as if it had lost track of Ren even though he was in plain sight. This allowed Ren to get right up in its face, after which the color returned to his body, alerting the deathstalker as it let out a surprised shriek.
Then, to Jaune's further surprise, Ren suddenly put away his weapons as they retracted into his sleeves before he went into an unarmed combat stance and delivered a double palm strike to the deathstalker's face. At first, the deathstalker didn't seem to be affected by the attack as it raised its claws to crush Ren. This prompted him and Pyrrha to move but before they even took a single step, the deathstalker suddenly stopped and let out a pained screech.
The cracks left by Nora's explosive hammer blow expanded across its face, cracking its shell even further. The cracks then pulsed and rippled before they suddenly and violently exploded out in a spray of bone and black blood. The giant grimm convulsed for a few moments before collapsing onto the ground in a heavy thud.
'Impressive...' Ozma complimented. He was reminded of a long forgotten sect of warrior monks he had encountered in a previous incarnation long ago. The monks fought with primarily aura based techniques that were similar to the one Ren just used. He wondered if the boy was a descendant of one of the sect's students or learned from one.
Jaune stared in disbelief at the elder deathstalker's defeat as Nora whooped and cheered at Ren's action. As they approached the deathstalker, he saw Ren hunched over in apparent exhaustion as he was panting heavily. He assumed that whatever he did to defeat the deathstalker must have taken a lot of energy.
"Here." Jaune said as he offered his canteen to Ren who nodded tiredly as he accepted the canteen and drank from it greedily. He then heard the now familiar roaring snaps of Ruby's weapon and looked back just in time to see Ruby decapitate the nevermore before standing triumphantly on top of the cliff. "Wow…"
'Indeed. Now all that's left is to get up the cliffs and meet up with the professors to finish Initiation.' Ozma reminded.
"Wait. How are we supposed to get to the cliffs with the bridge out?" Jaune exclaimed out loud. He might be able make the jump but he wasn't certain if Ren or Pyrrha were able to do the same. Or if he could carry them over if they couldn't.
"Think we can jump back across the gap?" Nora suggested only for the bridge to finally collapse as into pieces that fell into the canyon below. "Nevermind."
"Maybe there's a-Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted before she suddenly tackled him to the ground.
"Pyrrha what are you-" he froze when he saw the deathstalker's claws swing over where he had been standing a moment ago. He turned his head and saw the deathstalker was definitely still alive, "Was that thing playing dead?" he said in disbelief as Pyrrha helped him up where he saw Ren doing the same with Nora.
'It would explain how it survived being hunted so long ago. It must truly be old if it knows to do something like that.' Ozma said warily. 'Regardless, even though it has lost its eyes, it is best not to underestimate it.' just as Ozma said, the deathstalker was moving around erratically as it swung its claws wildly everywhere.
"Get ready." Jaune said as he raised his weapon and the others did the same with their own. He considered surrounding the grimm and wear it down from a distance but realized that most of their attacks won't work against its thick shell. Only Nora's explosive hammer blow could get through but given how wildly the blind deathstalker was swinging its claws, he doubted they'd be able to get close to pull off that manuever. Nor would they be able to get at the giant weakspot that had been its face as the grimm was moving too erratically to get at it.
Which only left his 'Air Slash'. He figured that if it could leave a mark on its shell at a partial charge then a fully powered 'Air Slash' augmented with 'Reinforcement' ought to get through. And if that didn't work then they could blow up the cliff with Nora's grenades and send it falling into the canyon as a last resort. However, just as he was about to share his plan, a literal fireball came out of nowhere and struck the deathstalker's side, attracting its attention..
"Get back!" a voice called out and everyone looked to the side to see a woman wielding a staff running towards the deathstalker. She twirled her staff which started glowing white on one end as it summoned a vortex of wind that she used to launch herself up into the air.
Everyone watched the woman soon reached the peak of her jump and saw her staff glowing again just before she swung it down in a sweeping motion towards the deathstalker. This unleashed a massive shockwave of wind that cut through the air as it flew down and slammed into the deathstalker's back as it was getting back up.
The attack struck with so much force that it cratered the ground when the deathstalker was knocked back down to the ground. The remaining burst of wind kicked up a cloud of dust that swept over the area, forcing everyone to shield their faces .
When the dust finally settled, Jaune looked back and was shocked to see the state the deathstalker was in. The scorpion grimm's shell, which had previously brushed off most of their attacks with barely a scratch, was now shattered into pieces as black blood and smoke oozed through the numerous cracks on its carapace.
'I don't think I can use 'Air Slash' as an attack name anymore…' Jaune said despondently as he felt inadequate after witnessing the destructive power of an actual wind powered 'Air Slash' that had dwarfed his own by several magnitudes.
'To be fair, she seems to have used Dust. If you had some, you might be able to do something similar.' Ozma pointed out in an attempt to make Jaune feel better.
'Do you really think so?' Jaune asked, feeling hopeful.
'I do. Plus, you could use different types of dust to give your attacks different effects.' Ozma answered before regretting it when Jaune's imagination ran wild with thoughts of firing an actual 'Air Slash' like he had just witnessed. Then it switched to a 'Flame Slash' followed by other elemental variants. The second hand embarrassment was unbearable but he couldn't bring himself to ruin the boy's fun.
Still, he was intrigued by how powerful the mystery huntress' attack was. He knew that Dust allowed its users to perform incredible feats of power, especially when paired with complementary semblances which seemed to be the case here with the huntress. And yet, he couldn't help but feel something was off.
However, before either of them could continue their respective trains of thoughts, the deathstalker, to their combined shock, was somehow still alive as it started to lift its broken body up from the ground.
"Oh, you got to be kidding me!" Jaune complained as he raised his shield. Pyrrha did the same as they stood guard in front of Ren and Nora just in case.
"Stay behind me!" the huntress called out when she dropped down between them and the deathstalker. She then twirled her staff around and pointed the other end at it which had a red Dust crystal on it. The red crystal glowed before a large stream of fire erupted from it and towards the deathstalker.
The heat was so intense that the even the air around them grew as hot as a furnace. Jaune was sure that if they didn't have aura then they'd probably be suffering burns from the heat if not worse. Just like the deathstalker which let out a horrible sound as it was literally cooked alive by the relentless flames until it eventually collapsed and finally went still.
This time, it was finally dead as its thoroughly charred body dissipated into dust.
The huntress stopped her fire and took out a blue Dust crystal which glowed as she used it to summon a torrent of water to put out the fire before it could spread to the nearby trees. The flames hissed as the water doused it and turned into smoke and steam that the huntress swept away with wind from her staff.
After the fire was extinguished, the huntress turned to face them with a concerned look on her face. "Are you kids alright?"
"Yeah…" Jaune said as he looked to the others briefly to assess their condition and aside from the exhausted look on Ren's face, they seemed alright. "…we're fine. Thanks for the save."
"Good." the huntress stated before her expression became serious, "Now care to tell me why you kids are wandering out here in the Emerald Forest?" she demanded.
Jaune blinked his eyes dumbly at the huntress, before he answered, "Umm, taking part in Initiation?"
The huntress' stern expression turned to one of visible confusion. She blinked her eyes blankly, mimicking what he had done just now as she processed his words before they widened in sudden realization.
"Wait…that's today!?" the huntress exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, why?" Jaune asked.
"Uh…no reason. Excuse me for a minute." the huntress replied as she hurriedly reached into her pockets and took out a scroll and sped dialed a number, "Come on! Pick up, I know you're watching."
Jaune turned to Pyrrha who shrugged in mutual confusion at the woman's odd behavior. Nora was busy tending to Ren who had plopped himself to the ground to rest. He then cleared his throat before he asked, "Umm, excuse me. We are grateful for the help but could you tell us who you are?"
"Amber Autumn…or Professor Autumn to you if I can help it." the huntress replied absentmindedly while waiting for someone to answer her scroll before her eyes went wide, "Wait, did I say that last part out loud?"
"Professor? Wait, does that mean you're a teacher at Beacon?" Jaune asked before he recalled Professor Goodwitch's warning if an instructor had to intervene, "Does…does this mean that we…" he trailed off as he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"We failed!" Nora cried before erupting into wails of overly dramatic despair as she hugged Ren tight, "What are we going to do Ren?! We spent everything we had to get here!"
"Nora. We traveled to Vale on foot and Beacon covered our air fare. We didn't spend anything to get here." Ren told her between tired groans, prompting Nora to immediately stop crying and blink her tears away.
"Oh yeah, I forgot…nevermind!" Nora said sheepishly before going back to quietly tending to Ren who simply sighed as he let Nora do her thing.
"You're not failing Initiation, not if I can help it." Amber assured them.
"But didn't you intervene when you stopped that giant grimm?" Pyrrha asked for clarification.
"Technically yes, but I'm not part of Initiation." Amber answered.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"Well, I was out on a long mission outside the Kingdom and just got back so I'm technically not part of the staff taking part in Initiation." Amber explained.
"But aren't you still a teacher here?" Pyrrha pointed out.
"Look, I made a mistake and I'm trying to fix it by making sure you don't fail Initiation, okay?" Amber retorted irritably, prompting Pyrrha to look away in embarrassment. "Anymore questions?" No one spoke up, "Good, now just sit tight and-"
"Hello?" a voice on her scroll called out.
"About time, Peach! What took you so long to answer?" Amber whispered harshly to the voice on the other end. Given how close he was, he couldn't help but overhear the following conversation.
"We were busy." Professor Goodwitch's voice clearly and evenly replied through the scroll's speakers.
"Headmistress Goodwitch! My apologies!" Amber hastily replied. "About why I called…"
"We know." Professor Goodwitch interrupted. "We saw everything on the cameras."
Jaune suddenly grew paranoid as he looked around his immediate vicinity to look for said cameras though he didn't see any sign of one. He hoped that his botched landing strategy hadn't been recorded on the cameras. The last thing he needed was to earn a nickname like Splat Man.
"Then you know why I'm calling?" Amber guessed.
"I have a good guess on what it is." Professor Goodwitch replied before a sigh could be heard over the scroll. "This is highly irregular but I suppose we can go over the footage first and go from there. However, this will take a while so please tell the students to wait until I've made my decision."
"Understood, Headmistress." Amber said before ending the call before she had noticed the others had gotten closer, Ren being carried over by Nora, to eavesdrop on her call, "Well, you heard her. Just sit tight and relax. I'll keep an eye out for grimm." she then walked off to stand guard.
"Easier said than done." Jaune muttered but tried to do so all the same as though he only grew more anxious the longer he waited, 'Ozma, do you think we'll be okay?'
'Hard to say though the fact that the Headmistress is going through the trouble of checking is a good sign.' Ozma answered.
'That's…that's actually good to know. Thank's Ozma.' Jaune said as he calmed down a little.
'You're welcome.' Ozma had also considered the possibility that the Headmistress might have already made their decision and were simply letting his host and the other students sweat a little before sharing it.
Granted, it was something he would have, and had done before in some of his previous incarnations. Then again, he didn't know the Headmistress that well so he could be wrong. Regardless, he didn't share his thoughts with Jaune so as not to add to the boy's worries.
"Argh! The wait is killing me!" Nora suddenly shouted, startling everyone as she stood up and started pacing around. "What's taking them so long?"
"Nora, it's barely been a minute." Ren pointed out. "I understand how you feel but it's going to take a while. So please, calm down."
"Okay…sorry." Nora mumbled and sat back down next to her partner to sulk in silence which only made everyone more anxious.
They were suddenly startled when they heard loud music. They turned their attention to where the music had came from and saw Amber raising her scroll. This prompted the four teenagers to crowd around Amber who just rolled her eyes at them before answering the call.
"Hello Headmistress." Amber greeted.
"Apologies for the delay. It took a while to review the footage and after some discussion, it does appear that the students with you could have handled the giant deathstalker on their own had you not intervened." Professor Goodwitch concluded.
Jaune grinned widely at the praise but that changed when he heard the headmistress continue.
"Still, under normal circumstances, the students would still be considered to have failed Initiation and sent home immediately."
Nora started sniffling as tears welled up in her eyes and Ren did his best to soothe her. Jaune frowned but felt comforted when Pyrrha placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it.
'Jaune, did you even listen to what she said? There's more.' Ozma pointed out.
"Huh?" Jaune vocalized in confusion.
Ozma mentally sighed in frustration. Honestly, teenagers could be so overdramatic sometimes.
"However, the circumstances here are far from normal. No student should have been expected to fight a giant grimm, let alone two. The fact that they survived and would have prevailed on their own speaks well of their capabilities. As such, I will make an exception for these students and allow them to continue their Initiation." Professor Goodwitch stated.
"Woohoo! You hear that Ren! We didn't fail!" Nora cheered, her tears forgotten as she hugged Ren even tighter than before. The boy simply took it in stride as he patted on the her head affectionately.
"Seeing as you four have been listening in, I trust that you will keep what happened here a secret. I do not want rumors of favoritism to start in my school. Is that clear?" Professor Goodwitch asked sharply.
"Yes, ma'am!" Jaune immediately answered on the others' behalf as they were too sheepish at being caught eavesdropping to answer.
"Good. Also. Professor Autumn, so as to avoid any further accidental interference, a bullhead has been sent out to pick you up. It will be at your location shortly." Professor Goodwitch said curtly.
"T-thank you, Headmistress." Amber said before Goodwitch ended the call from her end. She put her scroll away and then turned to the students, "Well, kids. You didn't fail Initiation."
At those words, Jaune heaved a deep sigh of relief before he let himself fall on his back to the ground, much to Pyrrha's shock as she rushed to his side. As his partner fretted over him, he let out a weary laugh as he felt the tension in his body wash away. He then noticed a bullhead flying towards them.
"Looks like my ride is here." Amber said as the bullhead made a landing on the spot where the deathstalker had been incinerated earlier. As she approached the bullhead, Jaune got back up and followed after her, prompting the others to do the same. Amber stopped when she saw this, "Umm, why are you following me?"
"I thought we were going with you?" Jaune asked back quizzically.
Amber snorted at this and shook her head, "Sorry kids. No can do."
"Why not? There's plenty of room inside." Nora whined, vocalizing everyone's thoughts.
"You're still in the middle of Initiation." Amber reminded, "If you already got your relics then you still need to make it back to the cliffs by yourselves."
"But the bridge is out." Jaune said while pointing at the last part of the bridge that hadn't collapsed into the canyon.
"And it's up to you to figure how to get across yourselves." Amber retorted, "Besides, if I gave you a ride back then it'd be considered interfering and you'll fail Initiation, for real this time."
After the close call they had just now, nobody felt like arguing for a ride back anymore as they stepped away from the bullhead.
Amber nodded in approval before she boarded the bullhead and turned around, "I hope to see you all in my class when the semester starts." she said encouragingly before the doors slid shut. The airship's engines roared as it lifted itself back into the sky before flying off back to Beacon.
"So, what now?" Ren spoke up and Jaune turned to see everyone looking at him expectantly.
'I recall there being another bridge to the east of your position.' Ozma offered, 'However, I do not know if it's still intact after all these years.'
'At least we have a direction.' Jaune said before he nodded to Ren, "Come on, I think I saw another bridge over there when I jumped across. Let's check it out." he said as he headed east along the cliff with the others following close behind.
On top of the cliffs, Professor Goodwitch nodded in approval as she watched the group of students heading eastwards where another bridge would get them across the canyon and onto a footpath that led up to the cliffs. As long as nothing else crazy happened, she'll be welcoming another team of promising students to Beacon Academy.
Speaking of which…the headmistress turned her head to the four girls that were standing awkwardly to the side.
"I trust that you four will keep what happened here a secret as well?" she asked sternly. Not wanting to earn the headmistress' ire, the four girls nodded their heads hurriedly. Then she saw Ruby Rose raise her hand. "Yes, Miss Rose? What is it?"
"I want to say thank you…for not failing those students." Ruby said as she bowed her head at Goodwitch, "So, thank you!"
"I was merely carrying out my duties as headmistress but you are welcome all the same, Miss Rose." Professor Goodwitch could tell that Ruby had meant one student in particular but said nothing of it. She's not one to meddle with personal matters. "Now if there's nothing else, please make your way back to the auditorium."
The girls nodded and turned to leave though they paused when they saw someone approaching. It was a tall and broad shouldered man who wore an overcoat that was burned in places and stained with dirt and ash which gave the man an intimidating appearance that made the girls step back apprehensively.
"Hazel, you're back!" Professor Peach greeted enthusiastically before she remembered that there were students present and cleared her throat and spoke more professionally, "Welcome back, Vice Headmaster Rainart. How was your trip?"
The man's identity shocked the girls as they had not expected this fearsome mountain of a man to be a professor at Beacon, let alone its Vice Headmaster. They were further shocked when the man chuckled and waved to Peach in a friendly manner.
"As well as can be, Professor Peach." Hazel Rainart greeted warmly. "How about you? I hope you didn't encounter any problems while carrying out my duties while I was away?"
"Nothing I couldn't handle." Peach assured before she finally took notice of Hazel's appearance, "What happened to you? You look like you were in a fire."
"As a matter of fact, I was. Professor Autumn and I encountered a large forest fire in the Emerald Forest while we were flying back and went to put it before it could spread any further." Hazel explained.
Ruby and Weiss went stiff at this and tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible by standing behind Yang and Blake respectively in an attempt to hide themselves.
"We did receive a report of a fire though it was put out by the time the response team arrived. I suppose I have you and Professor Autumn to thank for that." Goodwitch said.
"Indeed though Professor Autumn did most of the heavy lifting with her semblance. I searched the fire for anyone that might have gotten caught in it. Fortunately I found no one though when we left, Professor Autumn said she wanted to take the scenic route and told me to fly back ahead of her."
"That explains why she was doing down there." Goodwitch said before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"I'm guessing that my partner has caused you some trouble?" Hazel queried and received a nod from both Goodwitch and Peach. "I see. I apologize for what she has done."
"It's fine. The matter has already been settled though I'd like to have a private word with you if you don't mind." Goodwitch said and turned to Peach, "In the meantime, Professor Peach, please escort these students to the auditorium while I speak with Professor Rainart."
"Of course Headmistress. Alright girls, come along now." Peach said as she led the four girls away.
Once Peach and the girls were out of sight, Goodwitch turned to looked out towards the Emerald Forest before clearing her throat. "Considering that you and Amber came back alone, I'm guessing that your mission wasn't successful?"
"Unfortunately so ma'am. The lead had appeared promising at first but our target wasn't there." Hazel answered stoically.
"At least this crosses off another one from the list." Goodwitch said as she sighed in mild frustration.
"My partner and I could prepare and go look up the next lead immediately." Hazel offered though the headmistress shook her head.
"No. The new school semester is starting soon and it won't do for both Beacon's Vice-Headmaster and Combat Instructor to be absent." Goodwitch stated before her expression softened. "Besides, you and your partner must be exhausted from your mission. Go and take some time off to relax."
"Understood ma'am and thank you. Gret…I mean, Amber will appreciate it." Hazel quickly corrected himself. "Apologies, Headmistress. I must be more tired than I thought."
"It's fine. It happens to the best of us" Goodwitch assured, "Why don't you head back first?"
"What about you ma'am? Would you like me to keep you company until Peach returns?" Hazel offered.
"Thank you, but there's no need. I'm expecting the last batch of students to finish their Initiation. They should be here shortly so you can go and get some rest…and maybe a change of clothes. No offense, Hazel but you smell like Peter's Vacuon cigars right now." she added.
Hazel snorted at the joke before he quietly bowed his head respectfully to Goodwitch before walking off, leaving the headmistress alone on the cliffs.
Though it didn't stay that way for very long when Goodwitch spotted the students in question reaching the top of the cliffs. Glynda Goodwitch smiled wryly when she saw the shocked expression on the students' faces when they saw her standing there.
"Mr Arc. Considering you and your group have made it here without any further incidents, I believe congratulations are in order. You have all officially finished your Initiation." Professor Goodwitch said to them. "Welcome to Beacon Academy."
Author's Note: So yeah, Ruby has unlocked her Silver Eyes powers early since Summer stuck around to teach her but as you can see, it has its limitations but it does have its uses. As for what they are, I'm not telling.
Putting that aside, as you can tell from Weiss' exposition, I made Team STRQ into a famous huntsman team renowned for defeating hordes of grimm out in the frontiers! How have Salem's agents not taken Summer out after all this time? The way I see it, in canon, she went in alone...or at the very least with Raven who has had a history of running away but here, Team STRQ never broke up so they cover each other like a team should. Plus, with Raven's semblance, Team STRQ always evades Salems' agents, albeit unknowingly since they're just rushing back to their children.
As for the Deathstalker fight, while watching the episode, I noticed that no one's attack got through it's shell with only it's stinger capable of doing so and even then, it was still moving. In short, the deathstalker was one tough bastard. So thus came the scene with Ren with his martial arts that was only used ONCE throughout the whole series as far as I could tell so I thought I'd have him use it more.
Now for the elephant in the room. Hazel and Amber...
I was caught off guard when the poll came out as a tie between Hazel and Amber(Ozpin got no love XD). I had intended to let the poll run longer for a tie breaker but then an idea popped in my head and this is the result. As for the idea of making Amber and Hazel related, I will admit it's not mine. I vaguely recalled a fan theory where it stated that Amber was Gretchen Rainart who had faked her death and change her identity at Ozpin's insistence so she can go into hiding when she became the Fall Maiden so I ran with it.
Here's a summary of their backstory since I find it difficult to bring it up in the story without being exposition heavy:
In this timeline, Goodwitch never told Gretchen to fake her death upon learning she became the Fall Maiden but had offered her a place at Beacon so she could train her powers in secret and do good as a Maiden. However, Gretchen knew that if anyone found out about her being a Maiden then her family would be put into danger so she changed her identity into Amber Autumn and severed all ties to her family to protect them.
This didn't work out very well as her brother, Hazel Rainart, had come to investigate after losing contact with his sister and saw her upon arriving at Beacon without warning so Goodwitch couldn't prepare. After explaining herself and asking her brother to leave for his own safety, he refused and instead joined Goodwitch so as to protect his sister in person.
So Hazel got hired on to Beacon as a teacher and eventually worked his way up to Vice-Headmaster. (I'll admit I did base it slightly on Coeur's Forged Destiny where that Hazel was an official.)
So, what are your thoughts? Feel free to share them with me.
Edit:Just some minor corrections with spelling errors.