Forever Falling: Part 1
"So… Did you two sleep last night?" Pyrrha said, watching Weiss sleep on her arms.
"What do you think?" Blake said, barely managing to hold her head in her hand as she ate with her other arm.
"What did you two do last night? You've both been drowsy all day," Ruby said, inspecting her teammates' expressions from across the table.
"Studying," is all Blake said in response, dropping her spoon and yawning.
Blake heard the voice of Cardin Winchester from behind her. She turned around, her half-closed eyes scanning the room and focused on Winchester's team. She scowled at Team CRDL as they messed with a rabbit Faunus before turning back to the others.
"Jerks shouldn't be in Beacon," she mumbled, before eating again.
"Hey, he's not that bad," Jaune said, trying to sound calm. "He's just joking around, y'know?"
Yang raised an eyebrow as she looked at Jaune, saying, "If he is joking around, someone's gotta tell him his jokes suck."
Pyrrha nodded. "Jaune, the pranks he pulls on you are way past jokes. Didn't he rocket you across the city?"
Jaune laughed sheepishly, his attempt failing. "Hey, it was only an hour long walk back to campus. He's just playing some… harmless pranks."
All the non-slumbering students at their table looked at him with their eyebrows raised.
"Y-y'know what, I've got other stuff to do. Y'know, catching up on studies and all. I'll see y'all later!" Jaune said, before quickly scurrying out of the room.
Nora sipped some orange juice from a glass and placed it down on the table. "Super sus," she said before Ren slapped her arm. "What? We were all thinking it."
"Psst, Weiss. Weiss? Weiss, you there?" Ruby said, leaning into the snow princess' ear. "We're in the middle of class," she said. Weiss jerked her head back upright, eyes rapidly blinking as she looked at the board. "Try not to fall asleep, again," Ruby said, her eyes having a look of concern stamped onto them.
Weiss rolled her eyes and slumped in her chair with her eyes half-closed. She turned to Blake as she expanded on Pyrrha's answer. "I thought you'd be more tired after last night," Weiss said.
"I've had practice," Blake responded.
Weiss turned back to Professor Oobleck, who was speaking about the Faunus War. She heard Blake say something beside her. "Should we continue tonight?" she asked.
"Not for too long," Weiss replied, idly twirling strands of her snow-white hair. "I'd rather get some good sleep," she said, listening to Jaune and Cardin getting called out by the professor.
"Learned there's more of them," Blake whispered.
"Tell me more after class," Weiss said, falling asleep once more. Blake stifled a snort as she saw her comically collapse onto the desk.
"I think I know why they didn't sleep last night," Yang said, a sly grin forming on her face. Ruby looked at her with a confused expression on her face. Yang patted her sister's head and said, "You'll get it when you're older, don't worry."
Frounus walked with Glynda through the Emerald Forest, the rest of the party following close behind. "What will take us to the Forever Fall?" Frounus asked, turning to the headmistress.
"The machine we will be using would be… difficult, to explain in words alone. I suggest that you see for yourself," Glynda responded, still looking dead ahead.
"Why did Ozpin send you instead of going here himself?" Frounus asked, eyes still locked onto the professor's head.
"He had other things to do," Glynda replied swiftly, not daring to look at the wizard behind them.
Aichmire munched on an apple he found earlier, sword held aloft in his right hand. "So, about that machine," he said to Glynda, "does it run on magic too?"
Glynda stiffened slightly. "No, it does not function with magic," she said, approaching Beacon Cliff. She used her telekinesis to ride a nearby log upward as Stavros flew up with Aichmire in tow. "Do your friend's wings work on magic?" she asked.
"I think so, you could ask the wizard down there for details," Aichmire responded as Stavros brought Arcusan up to the cliff.
Glynda sighed and turned to walk back to Beacon. She heard the sounds of a spear striking into rock and the flapping wings of Stavros' gear. Without delay, the Order party followed her on the trail to the Academy.
"Since you have already broken your cover to protect the students," Glynda started, "You no longer have to hide from them, even though it would be ideal if you did." The party behind her nodded, not that she could see it. "Just, don't talk about magic in the students' vicinity," she said.
Ekrixir spoke, "If it would be alright with you, can I ask why can't we speak of magecraft?"
Glynda's eyes narrowed slightly. "The students… the students are unprepared to learn about the subject. First years," she said, technically not lying.
"Understood," was all she heard in response.
Entering the gates of Beacon, the party walked through the vast campus. "Students are in that place?" Arcusan asked, pointing to the main school building.
Glynda nodded at the archer, inspecting his weapon. 'No obvious dust reserves on either the bow or arrow,' she thought. She pulled out her scroll and scanned the team behind her for their Aura. No Aura detected. 'I should've expected that,' she thought, considering their very not Human or Faunus look.
"It's a combat academy, right?" Stavros asked from the skies.
Glynda nodded, saying, "They are trained to kill the monsters you found in the Emerald Forest. The beasts are called Grimm, by the way."
Aichmire chuckled faintly. "Fitting name," he said. He looked ahead to where they were walking to, seeing a bullhead in the distance. "Is that what we're riding?" Aichmire asked, his eyes squinting at the machine.
"Indeed," she replied, slipping her scroll back in her pocket.
"How's that gonna take us into the skies?" Stavros asked, inspecting it from afar.
"You'll see."
The crossbowman's jaw went slack as he looked through the windows of the bullhead. The massive structures constructed across the land glowed brilliant shades of blue and white, more humans walking around on the ground. "This is way cooler than Inamorta," he said.
Arcusan patted his back. "You can say that again."
Near the back of the bullhead, their Meric and Huntress conversed. "Glynda, was it? I'm Elena," she said, outstretching her hand for a handshake.
Glynda accepted the offer, quietly analyzing the staff Elena held. 'Nothing but a metal pole and a gemstone at the tip,' she thought. "Good to meet you, Elena. May I ask what your role is in this…" Glynda looked to her side, seeing Aichmire and Frounus sparring. "… crew?"
Elena followed her gaze and stifled a laugh, bringing her hand to her mouth. "I heal these fellows whenever they get hurt."
Frounus stabbed Aichmire through the chest.
"You may guess that that happens often."
Glynda gave a slight nod, still looking at the stickmen spar. "Army?" she asked.
Elena nodded, healing Aichmire from a distance. Glynda studied the glow of her staff; no Semblance she's ever seen, and Dust can't just regenerate lost tissue on its own.
"How do you use your magic?" she asked, pointing to Elena's staff.
"Oh, that? Nothing really, just a basic healing spell. Don't even need an incantation for it," she replied.
Glynda nodded slowly, arms crossing in response. "What about the wizard over there?" she asked, gesturing to the mage sleeping on one of the chairs.
"His spells are aimed at dealing damage, but the complexity of the spells are just above mine. A simple incantation is all that's added," Elena said, glancing at Aichmire to heal him again. "Do you have magic?" she asked.
Glynda flinched in response, stepping back slightly. "Something close to it," was all she said. A thoughtful hum radiated from the Meric as she stared blankly into space.
"Landing soon, Headmistress. Sit tight." Glynda shifted her gaze to the bullhead's windows; amber and red leaves in the distance. Aichmire and Frounus stopped their spar, sitting down to be healed by Elena. The bullhead started to descend, each passenger reaching for a handle bar. Landing in a convenient clearing in the lush forest, the doors slid open and let in the fresh forest wind.
"Smells like home, weird," Aichmire said.
"You all can set up camp now, there shouldn't be any disruptions here," Glynda said, looking through her calendar on her scroll. The stick immediately got to work; Aichmire and Frounus went out to look for wood to be carved, and Arcusan and Frounus were sent out to create watchtowers on the tall trees of the forest.
Ekrixir stayed to light a fire near their landing area. "Fulminate!" he said, blasting a pile of kindling ablaze.
Glynda was slightly taken aback by the sudden flame, but recomposed herself quickly. "Diligent, aren't they?" Glynda said, her hand up to her chin as she surveyed the sticks as they worked.
Elena nodded, saying, "Of all of our nation's flaws, laziness is not on the list."
Glynda absentmindedly said "Mhm," looking back down at her scroll as it beeped. 'Professor Peach?' she thought, tapping on the text from her. Her eyes widened slightly. "I'm sorry, I just have to make a call," Glynda said, walking into the forest alone.
'Make a call?' Elena thought.
Glynda brought the scroll to her ear. "Professor, are you sure that they need to go to the Forever Fall?"
Peach said something from the other side of the call.
"Yes, I know the sap is needed for their curriculum, but do we really need the students to gather it themselves?" Glynda said, speaking to Peach in a quiet yet stern voice. She listened closely, bringing the scroll closer to her ear.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, saying, "Fine, you may bring them in." She closed the scroll and looked behind the tree she was hiding behind. The tree that they were turning into a watchtower was naturally the tallest one in the immediate vicinity, making it quite noticeable from a distance.
Looking back at the ground, she saw the magical fire that their wizard had created. It burned brighter than a conventional campfire, enough to act as a flare even in the day. Her features tensed slightly, seeing how sharply the camp contrasted with the surrounding area, red leaves being replaced with platforms on trees. She shook her head, thinking, 'I'll just keep them away from this area, not too hard.'
Taking a step forward, her scroll started buzzing. Sliding it open, she saw a text from Ozpin. "get over here" it read.
"Why?" Glynda typed back.
"meeting with james" Ozpin replied, sending over a selfie of him and James, the general visibly displeased. Ozpin seemed unbothered.
"I'm on my way." Glynda sent, closing her scroll and walking back to the bullhead. "Hey, all of you." The sticks present perked their heads up. "I'll be leaving now, don't cause a disturbance," she said, entering the bullhead. "Back to Beacon, pilot."
The pilot nodded, starting the bullhead's engines. As the vehicle was raised above the ground, Glynda took the time to recount what she had learned from her task.
For one, the creatures used no Dust whatsoever. The flaming projectiles she saw on the recordings were thus magic, unless she somehow missed Dust being applied to each arrow and bolt.
They also had no Aura; she knew her scroll didn't malfunction. Their weapons were primitive in design, but exemplary in quality. A gemstone like that would go for a stupid amount of Lien, no doubt. Their magic was also powerful, an apparently "simple" spell being able to regenerate flesh and bone at will.
'If the rest of them are as powerful as the mages, Salem would kill to have that team,' she thought. She gazed at the rest of Vale through the windows.. 'At least they're easy to conceal, the public would go mad if they knew we were harboring creatures so dangerous.'
She knew James would.
"Ozpin, I don't mean to offend, but having such beasts anywhere near Beacon or the cities is borderline insane!" James said sternly, his hand lightly hitting the desk.
Ozpin calmly sipped from his hot cocoa cup. "Calm yourself, James, they're just…" Ozpin pondered for a moment. "I don't actually know what to call them," he said.
"That's the issue, Ozpin. We know barely anything about these creatures, and what we do now is quite alarming," Ironwood said, replaying the sticks' conversation in the Emerald Forest. "Ozpin, they had to have gotten magic form somewhere, and Salem is the only source on Remnant besides you."
Ozpin raised his hand, signaling to Ironwood to pause the clip. "Yes, James, I'm well aware. But, I'm sure that whatever she could have planned for these beings, we could handle it. Besides, we still don't know for sure where they got their magic," the headmaster said.
"Ozpin, even if they got their magic from a third party," James said, "The last things we need during the Vytal Festival are magical creatures at the city's doorstep!"
Glynda raised her hand, interrupting their squabble. "Three student teams are headed near their location tomorrow. We can analyze the creatures during the students' assignment."
Ironwood sighed and said, "Ozpin, is it really a good idea to let students near those things?" Ozpin gave a simple nod, his face showing the trust he had in his pupils. James conceded. "I'll be keeping close watch on those things. I do hope that you keep them contained for the Vytal Festival." He promptly left the room.
A moment of silence passed. "He's confrontational, isn't he?" Glynda said.
"A fresh perspective compared to mine," Ozpin replied, sipping some hot cocoa. "We should really have a name for those creatures," he said, replaying the footage to study them. He studied their looks carefully, capturing all he could in his mind.
"They look like three-dimensional stickmen." Glynda walked over and looked over his shoulder.
Ozpin nodded. "They do, don't they?"
"Stickmen it is, then."
I'm tired. Leave a review if you find something that doesn't make sense, I'd really appreciate it.
Patch Notes - 9/5/2024
Swapped out some dialogue tags for clarity.