White Knight Errant
A RWBY fanfic by Andrew Joshua Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.
Elsewhere, on the Valean Frontier...
Qrow checked over Harbinger one last time, ensuring the mechashift mechanisms were well-oiled and functional, as the bullhead flew through the air towards their target drop zone. He sighed as he finished his checks, finding everything in working order... Then checked again.
"Glad you pay attention to details," commented Isabel from the cockpit.
"Well, I'd look like an idiot if my weapon froze between forms in battle," Qrow commented. He looked up, catching a shadow of Isabel changing her clothing. Her form was-
No. No. He wasn't doing that. He puts his eyes back on his weapon.
"As opposed to how you usually look?" Isabel teased.
"Your jokes certainly haven't improved," Qrow grunted.
"I was once considered the funniest girl in Beacon, you know."
"Yeah, because everyone was too scared to not laugh."
"Hmph...!"
A moment later, she entered the cargo area. She stood in front of him, a slightly nervous expression on her face.
"So... Uh... How do I look?" She asked.
Well, if she was inviting him to ogle her, that was different. He leaned back and looked her up and down.
She had the classic Arc Family white plate armor for her top, though it was shaped so that there was no question as to her gender. It was a sleek, modern, tear-resistant mesh with armor plating over vital areas shaped like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. She wore gauntlets of the same design around her wrists. Underneath this armor, she wore a stretchy green turtleneck, nice, comfortable, and warm.
Her pants were regular military fatigues, the shade a darker green than her turtleneck, with white armored knee pads and similarly armored military boots. Her belt was covered in pouches filled with medical gear, and she wore a small backpack with even more supplies attached to the back of her armor. The twin yellow crescents, the sigil of her family, decorated her chestplate and gauntlets.
She wore her hair in a tight, short ponytail, but had ditched the glasses.
"You always dressed like you weren't gorgeous," he observed.
Isabel snorted.
"Nick always said I was gorgeous in anything," she said, a hint of red staining her cheeks. Qrow grinned.
"He was right."
There was a beep from the cockpit. Isabel checked her scroll and looked at the navigation app that linked it to her ship's systems.
"We're over the coordinates," she said, "My bullhead will orbit in low fuel consumption mode. We can call upon it for fire support if needed."
She collapsed her scroll and tucked it into an armored pocket on her belt. She took a few deep breaths, her eyes closed. Qrow stood up, and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"You're gonna do fine," he said softly, "There's no one I'd rather have at my back than you."
Isabel nodded.
"Right..."
"I mean, you do own a luxury bullhead with heavy weaponry," Qrow said, grinning craftily, "Bet you win at every medical association meeting you ever go to."
"They don't have awards for things like that," Isabel chuckled softly.
"Shame."
The rear hatch opened. She made to head out, but Qrow held her back. She looked back at him in curiosity. He rummaged around in his belt pouches and pulled out a set of black leather gloves.
"They have Fire Dust woven into them," he said, handing them to her, "As I recall, you were pretty good with that element back in the day."
She flushed and then smiled as she gratefully pulled on the gloves.
"Yeah... Guess I was," she said. "Thank you."
"I'll go first, clear out the landing zone," he said, "You follow after I land."
"Roger."
Qrow dashed out of the hatch into blinding sunlight. He dove down, the wind rushing around him as he plunged for Remnant below. His keen eyes soon adjusted. Their target was a village that was recently overrun by Grimm. The villagers had all evacuated, and the casualties were minimal, but the reports were the strange part.
Even now as he fell for earth, he could make out multiple kinds of Grimm, all congregated in the village proper... Not fighting one another.
That might make things complicated.
He shifted Harbinger to gun mode and opened fire, the heavy rifle rounds breaking the still morning air. Several Grimm went down in moments, his precise fire blowing right through their heads and sending them to oblivion soon after. Others panicked, running like scared animals. He landed in a graceful crouch, using his Aura to disperse his momentum into the ground without shattering it.
Qrow stood up, shifting Harbinger back to sword mode as he glared at the surrounding Grimm. After the initial panic of his entrance, they were regrouping. The smaller ones fled behind a large building-A grain storehouse, he thought.
The ground rumbled... And a truly gigantic black form smashed through the grain storehouse doors, roaring and thumping its chest. It snarled in challenge, as Qrow sized up his opponent casually.
"Huh... A Kong Beringel this far north?" He commented, "That's unusual."
The Kong Beringel, a bit taller than a two-storey building, roared again before it thumped the ground with its mighty armored fists. Qrow still held his ground, and waited.
He heard a familiar sound, a whistle and the crackle of Aura energy. He looked up. The Kong Beringel looked up too...
"YAAAAHHHH!"
Just in time for Isabel's fist to meet its face.
The Kong Beringel folded in half as Isabel drove its massive armored head right into the ground with an earthshattering boom! Debris was kicked up as though a bomb had hit, and Qrow deflected a few stray flying rocks with Harbinger. The dust and smoke slowly cleared, revealing a panting Isabel standing up in a crater. The Kong Beringel's head was paste, squashed flat into said crater.
Isabel strode up out of the crater as the body of the massive Grimm began to dissolve behind her. She turned as numerous other Grimm stared at her as though in shock.
It only took a moment though, before they charged in rage and hunger. Qrow stood alongside her. He looked over at her.
She was sweaty, and still a bit unsure... But a familiar grin was growing on her face.
"All warmed up?" Qrow asked.
She slammed her fist into her palm. It sounded like thunder.
"Absolutely," she replied.
"Then let's get to work!"
Back in Forever Fall…
"You gonna finish that?"
Coco slapped Fox's hand away as he reached for her sandwich. "I'm still eating."
"No, you're spectating. All you've done is hold that sandwich in your hand for the past ten minutes while you stare at Velvet on her date." Fox retorted. "If you're not eating, then you're letting Velvet's food go to waste."
"For which we'll need to oust you from your position as leader of Team CFVY, as that is a crime that cannot stand." Yatsuhashi said in assertion to his teammate's comment. "We would happily go to war for Velvet's cooking."
Coco rolled her eyes and took a large bite of her sandwich, making an overdramatic show of chewing and swallowing before turning back to stare at where Velvet and Cardin were sitting. "I just need to be ready for my moment."
"What moment?"
"For when Winchester shows his true colors and Velvet needs me to rescue her from that jerk." Coco replied, earning sighs from both boys.
"You're still on about this?" Fox groaned. "You're not Velvet's mom, Coco. Just let her enjoy her picnic date in peace."
"While I'll admit his first impression left something to be desired, we are all prone to being fools when blinded by passion." Yatsuhashi said. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that Cardin's feelings for Velvet are genuine? Why default to suspicion?"
"Because Velvet's… well, Velvet!" Coco insisted, earning unimpressed looks from her male teammates. "Look, you guys didn't know her before, but she was a bundle of shyness and insecurity before I cracked that shell. I worked hard on that girl to make her the kickass bombshell she is today! I just don't want her to have a bad experience!"
"You cannot protect her from everything. Let her have both good and bad experiences on her own." Yatsuhashi advised.
While it was sensible advice on paper, Coco wasn't having it. "I'm not just gonna sit back and let some jerk like Winchester trick her into-"
"Hey, that's our leader you're talking about there."
Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi all jolted when a new voice suddenly made an interjection into their conversation, and the trio turned to find another trio crouched in the bushes next to the tree they were eating underneath.
"You are the other members of Team CRDL, yes?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"That's us." Russel answered before shooting a glare in Coco's direction, with Dove and Sky adopting similar harsh expressions toward Team CFVY's leader. "And we're not gonna let you mess this up for Cardin!"
"Jaune got the ball rolling on this whole thing and we're gonna help our leader get a hot bunny girlfriend!"
"And that means being good wingmen and NOT letting a helicopter teammate ruin his date!"
"Helicopter teammate?!" Coco gasped, offended by the accusation while Yatsuhashi and Fox shared a smile and an understanding nod behind her back. "I'm not…! Look, I'm just being a good friend and looking out for my girl! And I don't think your leader is good enough for her!"
"Cardin is plenty good enough for her!" Dove objected.
"Yeah! He'd be a great boyfriend for your teammate! Cardin's pretty solid when you need a solid guy." Sky added firmly.
"Plus he's super loyal. Once he and Velvet go official you can bet he'd move mountains for his girlfriend." Russel finished.
"You all seem to have rather high opinions of your leader." Yatsuhashi spoke up before Coco could make her retort to the trio's words.
"I've known the guy since we were kids." Russel continued at the larger teen's prompting. "He can be harsh to strangers, but he'll go the distance for his friends. I guess he looks harsh to some people, but that's because he's been raised in a family with expectations for him."
"Winchester…" Yatsuhashi mused. "I thought I recognized the name. That's a very old family name, tied to the founding and establishment of Vale itself."
"There's a Winchester on the Vale Council too." Fox pointed out. "So Cardin's from that old family, eh?"
"A family that's known to view the faunus none too well." Coco said, finally edging some words in.
"I mean, I know Cardin's grandparents used to describe the faunus pretty harshly before they passed, but I never heard Cardin's parents talk negatively about any faunus except those in the White Fang." Russel said defensively.
"Thanks for the trivia about Winchester's family life, but I've got a question for you, mohawk. if you've been Winchester's chum for most of his life, what's he trying to pull with Velvet?" Coco asked with a glare. "Because I'm gonna be honest with you, when I think about your leader tugging on Velvet's ears and laughing about it I'm inclined to believe that he molded his attitude to be more like grandpappy and grandmommy and is just leading Vel on so he can put her down later…"
"Yeah, honestly, we kinda thought that too. Cardin did kinda get rough and talk down to some faunus in the past. We thought at first he was just moving onto the rabbit after he and Jaune hashed things out." Dove muttered.
"...But thinking about it, weren't most of those faunus he messed with before women?" Sky asked his two teammates. "Remember that one girl who got injured while running track back in prep school? She was a rabbit faunus too, and when she got hurt he told her in front of the whole class to stop wasting her time running and do something more suited to what she was."
"So Velvet's not the first rabbit girl he's messed with." Coco said decisively, more sure about her assumptions of Cardin than ever before.
"Yeah, I mean, calling her out like that in front of everything seemed bad… but didn't she actually wind up taking his words to heart and went on to become an ace on the pole vaulting team after that?" Dove mused. "Before graduation I heard she was in talks with agents to get in on the actual sports circuit."
Team CFVY exchanged looks at that odd piece of information.
"...I mean, it's a bit of a stretch to say that Cardin's responsible for that girl's growth." Yatsuhashi allowed when Coco gave him an expectant look. "Do you have any other examples of Cardin's interactions with the faunus race?"
"Well, there was that dog faunus he beat up in our last year of prep school." Russel remembered.
"Ah ha! So he IS a racist bully!" Coco cheered, feeling validated.
"...But that guy wound up being a White Fang sympathizer and had actually been trying to coerce other faunus students to join up with the White Fang after graduation." Russel continued. "A lot of faunus students were actually really happy Cardin took him out, especially after teachers apparently found evidence of him extorting students in some notebooks that were confiscated."
"...I mean, you can't really praise someone for assaulting someone randomly even if that someone turned out to be a criminal by coincidence." Fox shrugged, following Yatsuhashi's lead in trying to placate their leader and support her position.
"Hey guys, didn't that girl Cardin confessed to in our first year way back when… wasn't she a faunus?" Sky asked.
"I don't think so. It was Cardin's first and only confession to another girl so I think we'd have noticed if she had animal parts." Russel muttered uncertainly.
"No, she was a faunus." Dove said firmly. "She was a rhino faunus, her bangs just hid her horn. Later on Cardin told me he only asked her out on a dare and didn't know she was a faunus… but seeing him with Velvet now, maybe back then he was just covering up his embarrassment?"
"We sure he actually tried confessing and he wasn't just messing with her?"
"I dunno. It happened so long ago…"
Coco scoffed as Team CRDL got lost in their discussion. "I mean, from what's been said… it can be said that Cardin has issues with faunus-"
"But an alternative perspective is that he's had positive interactions with faunus to a degree." Yatsuhashi argued.
"Or he just sucks at being a racist." Fox suggested.
Yatsuhashi nodded. "Or that."
"Whatever. I'm still not convinced Winchester really likes Velvet." Coco insisted. "He could just be making-"
A roar from the left suddenly cut her off, and upon turning toward the source of the sound her eyes widened when a group of Ursa Grimm suddenly tore out of the foliage and started rampaging around the area she and the other teams had chosen to settle down and eat at.
The shock wore off quickly enough, as even if no one present aside from Glynda were licensed Hunters, everyone knew how to react when a Grimm suddenly attacked. People were already dodging out of the way and those who had been smart enough to keep their weapons close at hand were already pulling them out, with Coco herself reaching across her team's picnic blanket and grabbing her handbag minigun.
Coco cursed when she saw an Ursa barreling toward Velvet and Cardin. Velvet was scrambling across the blanket while Cardin had shot to his feet. The leader of Team CRDL didn't appear to have his weapon on him and Velvet didn't have time to get her own out, which left them defenseless. And even as her finger pressed the trigger of her minigun, the startup time to fire meant that the Ursa would be upon those two before she could-
Coco's sunglasses nearly slipped off her face when, to the shock of everyone looking, Cardin suddenly stepped up and slammed a haymaker punch directly into the charging Ursa's face. With Cardin's heavy armor and aura combined, the Ursa staggered and face planted into the ground from Cardin's blow. While clearly disoriented, the punch was far from a killing blow as the Ursa growled and pushed itself back up as it prepared to charge once more.
But before it could kick off again, Coco's bullets tore into its body and reduced it to black ash after a few seconds of concentrated fire.
"EVERYONE, HIT THE DECK!" Coco screamed and swept across the picnic area with her gun.
Students dropped to the ground and her bullets tore into the bulky Ursa, as even when she wasn't aiming their bodies were large enough that her sweeping motions still punched them full of dust bullets. Injured, the remaining Ursa lost their momentum and growled as they lumbered around the grounds as they swept their claws at nearby students or hobbled toward the trees in an effort to retreat.
Coco wasn't about to let that happen.
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE UP! LET THESE GRIZZLIES HAVE IT!"
Her second command prompted everyone in possession of a weapon to jump up from where'd they'd huddled down and immediately descend on the weakened Grimm. There'd only been a half a dozen Grimm, and with four times that number of huntsman-in-training in the clearing they'd all been relaxing at, the remaining Ursa were reduced to black dust in a matter of seconds. Her teammates as well as Cardin's own helped see to that.
"Nice show of leadership there, first-year. Maybe you should fly over to Atlas once you graduate. You could make for a good general."
Coco glanced up to see Ragora floating above them, sitting atop her familiar and looking like a queen observing her people from her throne. Coco scoffed and planted a hand on her hip as she glared up at the senior student over her sunglasses.
"And what, you were just floating up there watching the whole time?" Coco asked.
"Actually I was busy helping my team fight off another group of Grimm trying to flank this group from the other side." Ragora quipped with a coy smile. "Finished up just seconds ago. Now I'm acting as a lookout, and there's suddenly quite a commotion in this forest. I sense shenanigans."
Coco opened her mouth to reply but the rest of Team SLVR emerged from the other side of the clearing, with Simin calling out instructions to everyone present.
"Everyone, please proceed southwest back to the bullheads! We've got a sizable horde of Grimm that have popped up and we're erring on the side of caution here. We're gonna leave and head back to Beacon instead of fighting the Grimm off as an additional job!" Simin announced. "No arguments! And there won't be any extra credit for anyone trying to play hero or racking up a kill count for the Grimm! Get packed and get moving!"
"You heard the boss!" Ragora called out. "Pack up, kids! Stay together and don't leave anything or anyone behind. That includes the sap you've gathered."
"Shouldn't we leave it behind?" Dove asked. "Is the sap really that important?"
"Not to us, but it IS still our job to gather it up and it's a hunter's job to see jobs through to the end as best they can. So long as it doesn't pose significant risk to themselves, of course." Ragora smiled.
"And while the Grimm attacking in these numbers is unexpected, it's not so much that the dozens of teams present here can't evacuate and complete the job that we've been given at the same time." Simin finished for his teammate. "Ragora, stay high and keep looking out for any Grimm. Vella, I want you on the treetops and take out any stray Grimm or impede any groups of them coming our way. Ragora, you're also gonna be her spotter from up there."
"I'm on it!" Vella said, snapping a salute and springing up into the treetops.
"My eyeballs are at your disposal." Ragora drawled as she lazed atop her skull, but even if her tone was lazy and her body looked slack, her eyes were sharp as she scanned their surroundings from up high.
Simin nodded at the girls before he turned towards his last teammate. "Lye, you're gonna lead the pack. Make sure everyone here gets to the bullhead landing and be ready to receive anyone else who's not in this group.
"Seriously, boss? More babysitting?" Lycan whined, holding up a hand as Simin opened his mouth to reprimand him "But yeah, I hear ya. I'll get everyone to the bullheads safely. Goodwitch better give us extra credit for this…"
Lycan waves his arms and corralled all the teams together before he started leading the way back to the landing zone. Teams quickly packed up their lunches and belongings while dividing duties to carry the jars of sap they'd gathered.
"Coco, right?" Simin asked, eyes on Team CFVY's leader as he approached their group.
"That's me." Coco nodded.
"You think you and your team could form up a rearguard with me? Lycan's gonna lead, but I could use some help making sure our backline isn't rushed by Grimm."
"Team CFVY's gotcha covered." Coco confirmed, giving the upperclassman a thumbs up.
"Good. Though… where's your fourth?"
"Over here."
The group turned and all blinked when they came across the sight of Cardin carrying Velvet bridal style in his arms. The rabbit faunus's face was bright red while the armored teen looked extremely put out by his own actions.
"This one twisted her ankle." Cardin informed them all, gesturing down to the girl in his arms. "Because she was too busy panicking when the Grimm showed up."
"I-I wasn't panicking!" Velvet protested in Cardin's arms. "I-I was just surprised! And I was afraid my photos were gonna get ruined and I tried to put them away, but lost my footing and fell down wrong so-"
"Photographs or your life, remind me which is more important?" Cardin growled, causing Velvet to duck her head in embarrassment. He glanced over at Velvet's largest teammate. "You wanna take her off my hands?"
"I suppose I-" Yatsuhashi started before Russel stepped in front of him.
"Nah, you can take care of her Cardin! Me, Dove and Sky will help cover your backs!"
"Yeah, you can get Velvet to the bullheads safely! We'll help out Team CFVY in her place!" Dove said, giving their leader a thumbs up.
"I got your breastplate too!" Sky added, hefting up the piece of armor Cardin had removed earlier. "Leave watching your backs to us!"
Cardin just gave his teammates a flabbergasted look. "What are you guys on about? What does it matter if I-"
"You better get going, man!" Russel said, speaking over Cardin. "Aura's great an all, but it can't heal breaks and sprains like it can cuts and bruises! The sooner we get back to Beacon is the sooner we can get Velvet to the nurse!"
"…He's not wrong." Simin said with a small nod. "Would you mind carrying Velvet back to the bullheads."
Carding gapped at the group, looking from the teams that were staring at him and back down to the girl he was carrying, who wrung her hands together nervously as he held her in his arms.
"I-I mean, you don't need to carry me…" Velvet mumbled quietly. "Yats can do it…"
"…I'm fine with carrying her back." Cardin announced to the group, turning his head away from them as he made his decision. "It's the least I can do after she let me eat a good meal."
Cardin ignored the encouraging grins his teammates were giving him. They OBVIOUSLY still had the wrong idea from before. What he was doing right now didn't mean anything! He was just returning the favor Velvet did for him. It was thanks to her that he didn't go hungry during this outing!
Keeping his eyes ahead of him and not looking back at his team or looking down at the girl he was carrying, Cardin jogged off to follow the groups of teams Lycan was leading back toward the bullhead landing.
As the armored team retreated away from them, another leader suddenly had a revelation as she watched him.
"I get it now." Coco whispered as she saw Cardin carry Velvet off.
"Get what?" Fox asked.
"What that guy's deal is."
"...Don't tell me you're still gonna go on about-"
"That guy is in tsunderes with Vel!"
Both Yatsuhashi and Fox whipped their heads around to look at their leader.
"What."
Coco ignored the bewildered looks Fox and Yatsuhashi were giving her as she threw her head back and laughed. The gruff demeanor, the rude comments, the embarrassment he was so desperate to hide… if Coco hadn't seen it for herself she would've still been on the Winchester hate train, but it looked like her fears had been for nothing! That first interaction with the ear pulling really HAD been a front! Thinking about it, if the guy really was a faunus hater he would've just rejected Velvet's lunch invitation instead of dragging it out, or just insulted her outright from the get go. He also would have just ran off and left Velvet to fend for herself when the Grimm attacked since he'd been without a weapon.
Instead, he'd gone and punched out an Ursa to protect her!
"Big macho man has a crush on our little bunny but is too deep into his tough guy persona to show some real affection." Coco chuckled to herself. "Hoo boy, if I had a dollar for every guy I met with an attitude like that. Always gotta try being the strong man instead of letting any vulnerability show. I'd call it juvenile chauvinism, but I can see the chivalry hidden under the sour attitude. It's cute how bad he is at hiding his feelings, but it'll never get anywhere if someone doesn't get him the push he needs. And Vel certainly ain't gonna be the one to step up."
Giving another bark of laughter, Coco strode over to Cardin's teammates.
"Boys, walk with me. Talk with me." Coco smirked as she threw her arms around Dove and Russel's shoulders and shot a playful wink at Sky. "And let us plot about how we can make your leader a little more honest with himself so he can make my favorite bunny happy."
Yatsuhashi and Fox stared after Coco as she and other members of Team CRDL began discussing the blooming romance Cardin and Velvet had going on. Fox rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
"All that fuss she made about Winchester before and now she suddenly decides to flip her opinion about him…?" Fox sighed.
"You know our leader. Her moods are as unpredictable as the fashion brands she religiously tracks." Yatsuhashi chuckled as he pulled out his greatsword.
"True enough." Fox acknowledged as he pulled out his own weapons. "Let's follow along then back to Beacon."
"Right behind you."
Simin watched the two last members of Team CFVY follow the crowd, and after glancing around the clearing to make sure there were no stragglers left behind, made to follow after.
"You could learn a thing or two from them, boss." Ragora called down from her perch. "Those first years are already way farther along than you and-"
"Eyes on the forest, not on the drama brewing among the other students." Simin interrupted her with a roll of his eyes. "Goodwitch should locate the rest of the students not in our group and get them to the bullhead. Keep focused and give a shout if you notice any groups of Grimm headed our way."
"Will do, will do." Ragora sighed. "Seriously though, you could really-"
"Drop it, Ragora."
"Fine." Ragora pouted. "I'll just remind Lye to pick it up for me later. You really need all the help you can get."
Simin held back the urge to jump up and knock his teammate out of the sky for her commentary.
Ren's call made Jaune's blood go ice cold. He looked to Blake: She was already up and had Gambol Shroud out, having set the sap bottles down on the amber grass.
"Ren, this is Jaune, we're on our way!" He shouted back.
"I've turned on the tracker app on my scroll so you can reinforce us," Ren replied, still as calm as ever despite the loud sounds of gunfire and explosions in the background, "Please hurry."
"On it!"
They ran down the logging path, Jaune pointing his scroll in the direction the tracking app indicated.
"Should I go on ahead to reinforce them?" Blake asked.
Jaune shook his head.
"No, we want to get as many people there at once as possible-You're stealthy, but even you can't outstealth a whole stampede of Grimm. Better for us to arrive in groups to join up."
Blake nodded, showing no visible effort as she sprinted. Jaune gritted his teeth: It wasn't like he was out of shape, but heavy armor and lack of training meant Blake could hold a higher speed than him quite easily. He focused, his Aura flaring, and he sped up. Blake kept pace quite easily, even as Jaune's Aura continued to flare through his muscles.
"What are you doing?" Blake asked.
"Boosting my speed with my Aura," Jaune said, "I know I'm slow, so I'll try to push myself as fast as possible."
"Be careful about that," Blake warned, "You don't want to run out of Aura before we fight."
"I will be, don't worry," Jaune said with a wave. He hit the communications app, and selected Miss Goodwitch.
All the team leaders had gotten her contact info, after all. Nothing weird about that.
"Miss Goodwitch!" He called, "Members of my team are being attacked by a Grimm stampede! We need reinforcements, about…"
He checked the app map.
"Two and a half miles from the landing area, southwest! Around the Lazy River!"
"We're getting some Grimm attacks here as well, Mister Arc," Glynda reported, as calm as she would be doing attendance, "Once we've dealt with them I'll dispatch reinforcements. Hold out as best you can. Run and hide if necessary. Don't be heroes-Your objective is to survive!"
"Understood," Jaune said. He hit Ruby and Yang's numbers next.
"Ruby! Yang! We've got problems!"
Jaune's call sent a surge of fire through Ruby's veins. She, Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha were running in the same direction, having heard the shots over the quiet forest.
"Nora and Ren can hold out," Pyrrha said, "Depending on how many Grimm there are. But if we're all being attacked…"
"We'll just rendezvous with them, and then do a fighting retreat!" Ruby said with a grin.
"That's rather sensible," Weiss said with a nod.
"Well yeah! Not like this sap is worth our lives!" Ruby insisted, "No matter how tasty it is!"
"We'd be saps to believe that it was," Yang laughed. Weiss bit back a groan.
"I'll go ahead and reinforce them!" Ruby said, "I'm a lot faster than you all!"
"Just be careful, Little Sis," Yang said, suddenly serious, "We get together, then a fighting retreat, all right?"
"Come on, Yang, it's my plan!" Ruby laughed, throwing her short hair back with a dramatic flourish, "See you guys soon!"
She accelerated in a burst of rose petals, the Forever Fall Forest turning into a blur of red, white, and amber as she shot through gaps between tree branches and around trunks. She passed by Jaune and Blake: Blake was jumping through the trees while Jaune kept pace as best he could on the ground underneath her.
Ruby left them in the dust, and the trees thinned in front of her. She came to a landing in the upper canopy of a very tall tree, and scanned the river plain beneath her.
The entire area was swarming with Grimm, all streaming out of the forest on the other side of the river. Nora and Ren were targeting Grimm as they entered the river, trying to stack them up using the natural obstacle, but many were getting through and trying to surround the pair. They used some of the boulders for cover as they tried to pull back, but more and more Grimm began to circle behind them.
Her silver eyes widened in shock. Ruby's first inclination had been to just dive in and start slashing away… But so many Grimm? She'd cut herself off.
No, better to play sniper here, and support her friends as they pulled back to the trees.
She converted Crescent Rose to gun mode, and peered through the scope. A particularly menacing-looking Ursa barrelled through Ren's gunfire to get at him, throwing up cascades of water as it forded the river.
She pulled the trigger, and with a loud boom, the Ursa's head evaporated. She took out another, and another, and another, focusing on those stuck in the river to try and help stack them up even more.
It was starting to work. Nora and Ren were clearing the Grimm trying to cut them off, and moving for cover. That's when she heard gunfire.
Gunfire that was not Nora and Ren's. Something further away.
She saw some Grimm shake and roar near the far side of the river like they'd been hit by something. Ruby pulled her eye from the scope and swept her gaze over the battlefield.
She caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off glass, and she turned her scope to focus on the source. She zoomed in on a tree across the river. Her eyes widened.
She saw a person, also wielding a sniper rifle. A person in camouflage fatigues and a mask of some kind.
Ruby held up her Scroll to the side of her face, and called everyone without looking away from the opposing shooter. She had arranged her own interface, after all.
"Teams, there's a sniper-I don't recognize them-!"
The unknown sniper shifted their barrel towards her, and Ruby instinctively pulled the trigger… Just as Crescent Rose's scope exploded in her face.
"AUGGH!" She cried, trying to shield her face from the blast. She lost her balance and tumbled out of the tree. She hit a branch, then another, and another. Her Aura protected her, but the shock and pain of the blast to her face meant she could only hold up her arms as she tumbled down, down to the ground.
She heard familiar voices screaming her name from her Scroll as it tumbled away. She felt branches break under her as she kept falling and falling…
Ruby hit the grassy ground hard, and everything went black.
In a clearing some distance away, Simin Megister swung his Fire Dust blade through the head of an Ursa, dispatching it in an instant. His earpiece buzzed, and he tapped it.
"Megister, go."
"Mister Megister," Glynda Goodwitch said, "I have retrieved all the remaining teams except for two: RWBY and JNPR. Proceed to the Lazy River, they gave us the initial warning and have been instructed to get out. I haven't heard from them in some time…"
He could imagine her face-Holding back her worry. She'd seen a lot of students die in her time at Beacon, and while she was a cold, hard woman… He and his team knew better than anyone how hard she took it when she lost a student.
"We're on it, Professor," Simin said, calm and confident, "We'll find them." He tapped his earpiece again, looking around at his team. Vella had finished off a pair of rapidly leaping fox-like Reynard Grimm with one arrow, hitting them both when they tried to flank her and blowing them away.
Lycan slashed through a Boarbatusk, leaving it in pieces. And Ragora had just used Cormo to blow away a few Beowulves who had been trying to rush them all.
"Come on team, RWBY and JNPR need us," he ordered, "Vella! Take care of any stragglers as we get through this."
Vella beamed, her warm smile making his heart skip a beat.
"Roger than, Simin! Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes on you at all times!"
A pause, then, flustered she added:
"I-I mean, on all of us! The whole team! Y-You know that, right?"
Ragora mimed eating popcorn, while Lycan let loose his bark-like laugh. Simin's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Stay focused and professional. Kill them later, Simin thought to himself.
"Of course. Now, there's a lot of Grimm between us and them, so let's get started!"
"On it, Boss!"
Ruby awoke with a groan. Pain was coursing through her body like fire, and she felt weird... Things crawling around and on top of her...
She opened her eyes. She felt a sense of relief she could see through both of them.
Boy, am I glad I got the extra strong scope for Crescent-
"EEEEYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
She shrieked as she saw large Grimm rats crawling all over her. In an instant, she activated her Semblance, vanishing in a cloud of flower petals away from them... And coming out of it scant seconds and meters later, slamming against a tree. She shuddered as she looked over her shoulder at the glowing red eyes of those horrible little things.
"Gah...! Horrible... Evil... Gross...!" She muttered, trying to stand upright. Pain shot through her ankle and she felt tired.
Grimm venom... Poison bite... Right, Vermin do that, Ruby thought. And think of the devil, the little monsters were advancing on her. Behind them, illuminated by the sunlight through the trees, came canid-like Beowulves and Reynards slinking through the brush. And behind them were Ursas and Boarbatusks and who knew what else?
All being driven towards them. Towards Ruby.
She could still hear Nora's grenade and Ren's sub-machine gun fire in the distance, so they were still alive... But her?
Gritting her teeth, she spotted her Crescent Rose lying on the ground. She hobbled towards it... Then fell onto her hands and knees.
"Damnit...!"
She was sure Yang and Uncle Qrow would forgive her swearing, given the situation.
Ruby pushed herself, that feeling of weakness getting worse and worse. She heard the Vermin squeaking, and the Reynards and Beowulves snarling. She dragged herself, inch by inch until her scrabbling hands finally got back around her beloved Crescent Rose.
It took so much effort-She felt like she was lifting a car-But she swung around, and pointed her rifle at the approaching horde. She leaned her back up against a tree, and pulled the trigger.
The shot sounded like a bomb going off, as a Beowulf evaporated from the passage of the round. But the smaller Grimm all evaded. They were scattered, but soon came back into their packs and began to advance once more.
"Damnit!"
Ruby fired again, and again, and again. Her right wrist was burning in pain, but still she managed to aim. She felt herself drooping. Her Aura was getting weaker, and weaker...!
One of the Reynards jumped just as she pulled the trigger, avoiding getting splattered like two of its packmembers, and landed right next to her. It lashed out, and Ruby held up her arm out of instinct. She screamed as its jaws clamped down on her wrist. She felt her blood pool and ooze through her skin and clothing, saw the Grimm tighten its jaws, saw the others all advancing on her...
She was angry. She was furious. She was in so much pain...! Her eyes were burning...!
"GET AWAY!" She screamed.
She felt something erupt from her eyes, like an invisible wave. It washed over the Reynard, over the Grimm Vermin, over the Beowulves stalking behind and the gang of Ursas following them. In an instant, they all turned to stone... And shattered into dust.
Ruby gaped in disbelief as dozens of Grimm literally fell apart.
Wha... What in the...?
For the second time that day, darkness took Ruby Rose and she passed out.
"Ruby?! RUBY! RUBY!"
Jaune grit his teeth as Yang shouted over the Scroll. He checked his tracker app again, as he and Blake dashed through the thick forest.
"Yang! Yang, Blake and I are close to Ruby! You guys go help Nora and Ren!"
"But Ruby-!"
"We'll get Ruby! Don't worry!" Jaune insisted.
"All right... You're right... Just-"
"We'll bring her back. I promise," Jaune insisted.
"I can smell her," Blake announced calmly. Jaune nodded. "Along with a lot of Grimm."
"Shit," Jaune muttered. "Yang, we'll get her. Go save Nora and Ren."
"On it. See you soon, Crybaby!" Yang shouted back, a bit of her typical cockiness coming through. It masked her fear, though not completely.
"Don't you get hurt either, Jaune," Pyrrha insisted.
"We won't, and don't you either! Grab them and run!" Jaune ordered. He turned off the scroll as they started seeing daylight ahead.
Blake leaped from tree to tree, twisting and turning through the branches. It was honestly breathtaking to watch, and Jaune would have appreciated it any other time. Like when he couldn't hear the howling of Grimm. Or Ruby wasn't...
"There!"
Blake raced ahead of him towards a small, red cloaked form lying near some trees. A few Reynards were stalking towards her, cautiously. Blake immediately went to work, letting loose precise pistol rounds into the heads of the Grimm. Two were slain instantly, but the third dodged and leaped back with a snarl.
"Cover us!" Jaune shouted, as he finally got to Ruby and landed on his knees next to her. He immediately checked her pulse, and opened his scroll to synch with her aura. She was so still, so pale... It just didn't seem right for her to be so motionless... She was breathing, faintly, but her pulse...?
Come on, come on...!
Jaune felt her heartbeat. And her aura synched with his scroll-Well into the red, but still there. He let out a soft sigh of relief, as Blake went to work behind them.
"She's alive!" Jaune shouted.
"Good!" Blake shouted back, before firing several rounds from Gambol Shroud. While she was distracted, Jaune continued his check up as quickly as possible. He saw the blood covering her right arm and tore her sleeve right off. He quickly yanked out antiseptic, bandages and antibiotics from his messenger bag and applied them. He noticed other, smaller bite marks, and tilted Ruby's chin up.
"She got bit by Vermin, gonna give her an antitoxin-!"
"Jaune, hurry!" Blake insisted.
Jaune glanced over his shoulder. More Reynards and Beowulves were closing in on them, along with very large Ursas. Blake was a very competent and skilled fighter, but the Reynards and Beowulves were striking in teams-Two hitting her from one side, two waiting to strike while she was distracted.
They're coordinating between species...?!
"Almost done!" He poured the antitoxin down Ruby's throat, and helped her swallow. He pulled it back, bottled it up, and stuck it into his bag. He yanked Ruby up into his arms and turned around-
"JAUNE LOOK OUT!"
Just in time to get his shield up against a Beowulf. It slammed him and Ruby up against the tree, and it snarled viciously as its jaws snapped.
Godsdamnit... No sword... Can't use the shield... So...!
Jaune grit his teeth and slammed his head down against its jaws, his Aura-enhanced skin and strength knocking it back. A pistol round from Blake went right through its head, and the monster fell back, turning into smoke.
Turning from the fallen foe, he nearly tripped over something metallic-Crescent Rose, he spotted. He yanked it up off the ground, only a little shocked when it shrank and compressed into a much smaller form. He stuffed it into his messenger bag.
"Blake, call the others, tell them we got Ruby!" Jaune shouted. He began to run, and Blake easily kept pace with him as the Grimm chased after them all. "LET'S GO!"
Outnumbered, out of ammo, and surrounded. Not how Lie Ren had hoped he would go out.
Though he knew it was a distinct possibility. He knew what Grimm could do-His and Nora's ruined village was a potent testament to the fearsome power of the Grimm. The many memorials to those taken by them made clear the price you might pay as a defender of humanity.
He had just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon.
He and Nora had done plenty to make the enemy struggle though. They'd slain many of their enemies and those that they couldn't kill had fled around them. Some of the Grimm were acting cautious, afraid.
It was not much of a tribute... But there was a satisfaction to be had in making the enemy pay dearly. In making them fear you.
"HYAAHHH!"
Nora dashed out from behind their cover again, swinging her hammer and bringing it down on the edge of the river bank. She again sent a pulse of electricity out through the water, outright killing many small Grimm and hurting the larger ones, but the swifter predators struck out at her and she had to retreat. She leaped backwards, landing next to Ren, as they stood back to back. A Reynard lunged for them, but Ren swung Stormflower out again and sliced through the Grimm as it passed. Another Reynard lunged behind, as a third feinted at Nora. Nora grunted as one slashed its bone blades across her forearms, adding to the large collection of cuts and bruises across her body. Ren, despite his skills, was not much better.
Both Grimm were dispatched, falling to the ground to join the bones of their fellows, but like all the other attacks, it had done its job-Worn Ren and Nora down. Both were panting heavily-Even Nora's prodigious stamina was running low.
"Strange, isn't it?" Ren commented, "How they've been... Coordinating like this..."
"Yeah... Like someone's in control of them," Nora murmured back, "How does that work?"
"No idea," Ren observed. "I should have liked to know the answer."
He twitched his hands towards his belt-But of course, there was no ammo left.
"Nora," Ren began softly.
"Yes Renny?"
"If it is to be our end... I would like to say something," he said.
Nora tilted her head, looking expectantly back at her best friend, her partner, her everything. As she was to him.
"Yes?"
"... I do not know what a sloth actually sounds like," he admitted.
Nora drooped a little.
"Oh."
Ren sucked in a deep breath and tapped into his Semblance as much as he dared. His Aura was so low, but... He needed its fortitude to speak.
"Also... I... I love-"
An Ursa charged them, as Beowulves attacked from behind. Ren gritted his teeth, his emotional calm deteriorating-
Nora swung Magnhild to uppercut the Ursa, then in the same motion, grabbed it by the neck and judo threw it right over Ren's head to slam it into the Beowulves.
Ren blinked.
"SO RUDE!" Nora growled. She turned to Ren with a bright smile. "You were saying, Renny?"
"I-"
Rifle fire erupted out of the trees, blowing apart multiple Grimm's heads in an instant. A moment later, shimmering Glyphs appeared, and exploded with ice and fire, driving back any Grimm that wasn't frozen or burned.
From the treeline, Yang waved at them, as Weiss and Pyrrha unleashed their weapons and powers upon the Grimm cutting them off.
"RUN YOU BITCHES!" Yang screamed.
Ren was, quite frankly, exhausted, but he still found it in himself to run as fast as he could for their friends. Nora ran alongside, grinning at him.
"So Renny, what were you gonna say?" She asked, as they ran past Pyrrha, Weiss and Yang. The three other girls joined them, and they all sprinted through the trees.
"I-"
"What was he saying?" Yang asked.
"Well, it started with 'Also', and included 'I', and then there was another 'I', then he said 'love', and after that-!"
"We can talk about it later," Ren said quickly.
Nora pouted heavily, despite how tired and injured she was.
"But I wanna knooow!"
He felt three sets of inquiring, female eyes on his back. Ren tapped into his Semblance harder.
"Later. When we're not in mortal peril."
"I'll hold you to that, Renny!" Nora giggled.
"Yes, we'll help," Yang grinned with an evil glint in her eyes. Weiss looked... Intrigued. Even Pyrrha was blushing.
Ren scowled.
Damnit... That's what he got for losing hope.
Some additions to the Grimm Bestiary:
GRIMM: VERMIN
The Vermin (Or Ratatosk in older literature) is a species of Grimm that has taken the form of a very large rodent, similar to the Muridae family of mammals. Ranging from 15 to 25 centimeters in height, and up to a meter in length, these Grimm seem to fulfill the role of a scavenger in Grimm ecosystems, consuming smaller scraps and remains left behind by larger predators. Unusual for Grimm, they are omnivorous and can devour virtually anything. While small and weak, easily dispatched even without the use of Dust or Aura, they possess three features that can make them very dangerous.
One, they possess a poison bite. This can hamper Aura regeneration in Hunters and also acts as a damaging venom to the human body as a whole. One or two bites on adult humans will have little effect, but multiple bites will begin to affect the victim's ability to channel Aura and move, making them weaker and weaker until they are overcome.
Two, the Vermin's nature as a scavenger means they come into contact with numerous pathogens. Through some method of Grimm biology, these pathogens are mutated and become far more virulent. The Fall of Mavro, the great city of the Ancient Vacuoans, to the Grimm was attributed to the various plagues brought about by Vermin infestations that weakened the city's defenses. Their small size means they can get through multiple defenses meant to stop larger Grimm.
Three, they reproduce rapidly and in very large numbers.
Modern hygiene, medicine and pest control efforts have done much to reduce the threat the Vermin Grimm pose to civilization, but the constant evolution of pathogens and the Grimm themselves means that it is foolhardy to underestimate them-Especially if they appear in large numbers.
GRIMM: REYNARD
The Reynard is another canid-like species of Grimm, but this one appears to be modeled on the Vulpini tribe of canids, better known as foxes. Much less robustly built than their Beowulf cousins (at about half the size and weight, on average), the Reynards have traded brute strength for speed and intelligence. Unlike real foxes, the Reynards operate in small packs, though lone individuals and duos have also been observed in the wild.
Their ability to coordinate and communicate is rare among Grimm, and the Reynard vocal abilities are very sophisticated-Researchers have argued that they have a rudimentary language, and they can imitate sounds made by humans. They will ambush prey and strike from multiple angles, using sophisticated tactics to wear down their prey. They will send in lone 'scouts' to attract attention, and lure humans into traps by using a member of the pack as bait or imitating human speech to feign being an ally or someone in trouble. In addition to their strong bites, they have excellent night vision, a fantastic sense of smell, and razor sharp bone spikes they can use to slash their prey.
Tests on captive individuals confirm their surprising intelligence. They can learn to open doors, to solve simple puzzles, and distinguish between different humans based on sound, size, threat poential, and smell. These Grimm can be found all over Remnant, and strangely enough, have an aversion to attacking humans unless directly threatened or are attracted by powerful negative emotions. They plan and coordinate to preserve themselves. As a result, older specimens of Reynards can be especially dangerous to the unwary.