Chapter 7: Initiation
Somewhere within the Emerald Forest…
Nathan normally loved forested areas.
They were beautiful to walk through, fun to explore, and if used well, were perfect places to lay ambushes for any hostile beings.
That was until Nathan heard a snapping twig behind him.
Igniting his lightsaber, Nathan asked: "Someone there?"
All he got back was a loud feral growl. "Of course." Nathan groaned as a Beowolf came charging out of the vegetation towards him. Raising his lightsaber, Nathan brought it down in a diagonal slash that cut through the Beowolf like putty. Sensing danger behind him, Nathan spun his lightsaber into a reverse grip, and stabbed what was behind him.
Turning around and enmeshing himself in the Force, Nathan looked around to see if there were any immediate threats to him.
Thankfully there weren't, but that didn't last long, as an Ursa came thundering through the trees and swiped at him.
Rolling under the bear-like beast's attempt to claw him, Nathan spun around and slashed a deep gouge into the Ursa's flank, eliciting a roar of pain from the Ursa.
Nathan went to press his attack, but was sent flying back when the Ursa smacked him with a hard backhand. The breath exploded from Nathan's lungs, and he barely had a chance to evade the Ursa's charge before bringing his lightsaber down hard on the beast, beheading it.
As the now headless Ursa disintergrated, Nathan checked himself over for damage. Finding there was none, Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Force for aura, he thought to himself.
Looking around, and seeing no further Grimm were moving in to attack him, Nathan switched off his lightsaber. Now where was I? He thought to himself, briefly reminding himself of his plan: Oh yeah. Find Pyrrha and team up with her. Then grab that fucking relic.
Reaching out with the Force, Nathan sensed Pyrrha not too far away. Nodding to himself, Nathan set off in that direction. Hopefully she hadn't obtained a partner, yet. If she had, well; there was always Weiss, Yang, Ruby or any of his friends.
A random clearing in the Emerald Forest…
What would Pyrrha be doing in the middle of a cave? Nathan wondered as he came to a stop a few hundred metres away from the mouth of said cave.
It looked like every stereotypical scary cave one would find in the middle of a forest, likely home to at least one extremely dangerous creature that could and more than likely would rip anything that came within its domain to shreds.
Could be that Pyrrha hopes to find a shortcut, Nathan thought optimistically. And the markings there are just the work of some mad hermit hiding his secret stash or some shit.
A less optimistic side of him thought: Or maybe she knows you're trying to net her as a partner and is hiding in the cave from your lookalike ass.
Nathan shook the thought from mind, and decided he was going to enter, pulling his lightsaber from his belt and preparing to enter.
His intentions changed the moment he heard a very girlish scream escape the cave, echoing around the area.
Igniting his lightsaber, Nathan readied himself, although a random thought came to mind: That didn't sound like Pyrrha.
It wound up not mattering, as the woman herself emerged from the cave in a full sprint, a worried look on her face.
Deciding that facing something that Pyrrha Nikos was running from was not an idea conducive to his health, he backed away, joining her at her position, just as the cave exploded open, revealing a massive Deathstalker.
Nathan scowled. The scorpion-like creature of Grimm made for a dangerous adversary. However, the screams emanating from it didn't sound like one.
The fiery haired Jedi then had the idea to look up, groaning.
Jaune was clinging onto the Deathstalker's tail, screaming in terror.
"Pyrrha! This is not the relic! It's not!" Jaune was wailing.
"No shit, Vomit Boy!" Nathan spat as he adopted a combat ready stance.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha's voice said, calm and collected as ever. "Whatever you do, don't let-"
Her voice was drowned out as Jaune was flung away by the Deathstalker, screaming in terror as he went flying through the air.
"Go…" Pyrrha said as she watched her teammate flying away.
"We kinda got bigger problems right now, Pyrrha." Nathan said as he gestured towards the Deathstalker, who hissed at them.
Pyrrha turned, and her eyes met Nathan, saying: I'm not really up for fighting a Deathstalker right now.
Nathan nodded and said: "You're not wrong. Run!" At that, the two fiery haired warriors turned on their heel and ran, the Deathstalker in close pursuit.
Catching up to Pyrrha, Nathan asked: "Was Jaune your partner?"
"Yes." Pyrrha replied blankly.
"Think he's dead?" Nathan further inquired.
"He has a lot of aura, so I doubt it." Pyrrha said.
"FUCK!" Nathan spat. "I'm still looking for a partner!"
"How about we partner up for now, and once we've ascertained whether or not he lives, we'll figure something out from there." Pyrrha said. "Does that sound agreeable?"
"Sounds good to me." Nathan replied. "But for now, let's just focus on not dying."
"Agreed." Pyrrha said as they continued running, the Deathstalker still snapping at their heels.
Much later…
Not dying, it occurred to Nathan at that moment, was much harder to do then it sounded at the time he had suggested it to Pyrrha.
Yet it was because of that suggestion that he and Pyrrha were now flying through the air, much like Jaune had when the Deathstalker flung him away. They still hadn't found him.
They both hit the ground hard, at which Nathan heard a familiar voice say:
"Great. The gang's all here. Now we can die together."
"Never took you for a pessimist, Yang." Nathan said as he slowly rose to his feet, just in time for Ruby to suddenly charge the Deathstalker all by herself.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang said worriedly.
Igniting his lightsaber, Nathan rushed after Ruby, watching as she used Crescent Rose to propel herself forward and attack.
The Deathstalker shrugged her attack off like it was nothing, and sent Ruby back with a flick of one of its pincers.
Standing up, Ruby called out: "D-don't worry! Totally fine!" Just as she turned to see the Deathstalker stood there, preparing to attack.
She snapped off one shot before deciding it'd be a better idea for her to fall back, and so she did.
Nathan heard Yang call out to her little sister somewhere behind him, and quickened his pace, tightening his grip on his lightsaber.
A loud cry drew his attention, and he looked up to see a giant Nevermore swoop into view behind Ruby. Well, this just keeps getting better, Nathan thought, just as the Nevermore stopped to hover, before hurling a barrage of feathers towards Ruby.
They stopped Nathan in his tracks, but not before he saw one of them catch Ruby on the cloak, pinning her there as the Deathstalker moved dangerously close to her. Spinning his lightsaber, Nathan started cutting and slashing his way through the feathers embedded in the floor, trying his hardest to get to Ruby. He heard a terrified Yang calling Ruby's name once more as the Deathstalker prepared to sting Ruby, but before he could reach her, a flash of white streaked past Nathan, stopping near Ruby and freezing the Deathstalker's tail in a wall of ice.
Deactivating his lightsaber, Nathan recognised Weiss as she talked to Ruby, realising they must be partners. Awkward… Nathan thought to himself as he walked back to the others, seeing Yang run past, flashing him an appreciative smile.
As he caught up to the others, Nathan spotted the black-haired girl he'd seen several times beforehand, walking over. "Hey." He said gently, catching her attention.
"Oh, um… hey." The girl replied.
"We've always skirted around each other but never really been formally introduced." Nathan said. "Name's Nathan Phoenix."
"Blake." The dark-haired woman replied. "Blake Belladonna."
The two shook hands, and Nathan said: "So; who's your partner?"
"Yang." Blake replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm still searching for one." Nathan said, disappointment filling him as he spotted Jaune joining them. He was happy to see Jaune alive and well, but it meant he was now without a teammate. Again.
Noticing the others converging on Ruby's position, Nathan and Blake headed over. "But hey, at least for now, I can enjoy a few more hours of freedom from a team." He joked as he jogged over.
His eyes met Weiss' as he joined them, and they shared a smile when Jaune said:
"Guys? That thing's circling back. What are we going to do?"
"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying." Weiss said, stepping forward. "Our objective is right in front of us."
""She's right." Ruby stated. "Our mission is to grab an artefact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."
"Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind." Jaune remarked.
"Pretty sure you'd like getting behind Weiss, too." Nathan joked. "Wouldn't recommend it though. She'll probably kick you in the balls so hard; they'll wind up becoming your new eyeballs."
The rest of the group laughed, even Weiss, who gave Nathan an appreciative nod.
Nathan smiled back, joining Ruby and Jaune in looking for a relic to take back to the cliffs with him. Despite failing to find a partner, Nathan felt confident that Ozpin would still give him extra brownie points for achieving his aims on his own.
He saw Ruby and Jaune each retrieve a separate piece: Ruby a white knight, Jaune a white rook.
The relics are chess pieces? Nathan thought. Weird relics, but ok.
He looked around for a chess piece that suited his preferences, but to his distaste, he didn't find one.
Until his eyes caught something black behind an empty pedestal. Walking over, he reached out with the Force and called it to his hand. He looked down at it, recognising it as a black rook piece. "Favourite piece in chess." Nathan said to himself. "Sounds good to me."
At that, he rejoined the others, smirking confidently as he took in their faces, seeing the young man and woman he had overheard earlier in the day talking about teams among them.
A loud screech drew everyone's attention, and they all looked to see the Deathstalker whose tail Weiss had frozen in place starting to break free.
"Time we left." The young man said.
"Right." Ruby replied. "Let's go."
At that she led the others off towards the cliffs.
Nathan looked back to see Yang watching, a proud smile on her face. Nathan saw Blake with her, and their eyes met. He smiled himself and saluted before continuing to run.
It wasn't long before he found himself next to Pyrrha, matching her pace.
"Sorry that I can't be your partner." Pyrrha said guiltily.
"It's not a problem." Nathan replied. "I'm sure Professor Ozpin will find some way of ensuring you keep seeing me around."
Pyrrha smiled. "I certainly hope so. You're a good person, Nathan. If a little coarse when it comes to language."
"What can I say?" Nathan replied. "I like to say what's on my mind, regardless of its consequences." Glancing back towards the young man and woman with the group, Nathan asked: "You caught their names, yet?"
"I believe the young woman is called Nora and her friend is called Ren." Pyrrha replied.
"Nora and Ren. Got it." Nathan said, quickening his pace to rejoin Weiss. "I told you you'd wind up having to work alongside Ruby someday." He said. "Never expected it to be this soon though."
"Indeed you did." Weiss agreed. "And I will say; she may be somewhat reckless, but Ruby knows what she's doing in a fight. How she learned to wield her weapon with such skill I will never know."
"I don't know either. Practice?" Nathan suggested.
Weiss giggled. "Let's go with that." She accepted. "For now… let's focus on getting out of here."
Nathan nodded agreement. Their objective was complete. Now to leave.
Later, some ruins beneath the cliff…
The Nevermore was starting to annoy Nathan.
It hounded them like a Corellian Kath Hound, clearly searching for an ideal place to strike at them.
Looking ahead, Nathan imagined the Nevermore would find its ideal place to attack:
It was a bunch of ruins, possibly another temple similar to the ruins in which him and his group had recovered their relics.
However, unlike that temple, this one was situated in the middle of a giant crevasse, with stone bridges leading up to it.
Nathan looked around at his group, and could sense them all thinking the same as him: They needed to take down that Nevermore.
Taking his lightsaber from his belt but not igniting it, Nathan took cover behind a pillar alongside Jaune and Pyrrha. He eyed the people with him and they all shared a smile. They could do this.
Nathan turned as he heard the Nevermore perching on something stone, probably part of the ruins, and letting out a loud screech, as if challenging everyone to step out and fight it.
"Well that's great." Yang remarked, just as a loud crash in front of them drew their attention:
The Deathstalker from earlier emerged from the forest violently, sending splintered trees and all manner of debris in various directions.
"Well, that's not good." Nathan muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, man; run!" Jaune shouted as he and Pyrrha dashed off.
Igniting his lightsaber, Nathan dashed towards the bridge, hearing Ren command Nora to distract the Nevermore.
A loud series of concussive shots rang out, and Nathan saw pink streaks flying through the air towards the Nevermore, more than one hitting its target in a series of explosions. Is it just me, or does Nora have a grenade launcher? Nathan wondered as the Nevermore, merely angered by these attacks, took off.
Nathan looked behind him to see Nora still firing at the Nevermore, blissfully unaware of the Deathstalker surging towards her like a shark to blood in the water. Grinding to a halt, Nathan rushed back towards Nora, just in time to see Blake and Ren attack the arachnid creature of Grimm, distracting it while Weiss got Nora to safety.
Leaping into action, Nathan swung his lightsaber down towards the Deathstalker, cutting deeply into the scorpion Grimm's facial armour. A quick application of the Force stopped the Deathstalker from stinging him in retaliation, allowing Nathan to rush away, joining Ren and Blake in running away from the creature of Grimm.
Nathan spotted Pyrrha on the bridge, her sword/spear now resembling a rifle as she fired on the Deathstalker. "Go! Go!" She called out.
Ren reached her first, spinning around and drawing his weapons, something akin to pistols with blades on them, joining Pyrrha in laying down suppressive fire for Nathan and Blake, who leapt onto the bridge at the same time.
Looking towards Blake, Nathan shared a nod with her as they started running towards the central portion of the ruins, across the bridge.
Which promptly vanished beneath them as the Nevermore smashed through it, cutting people off.
Enmeshing himself within the Force, Nathan flipped backwards, turning to find himself facing off with the Deathstalker along with Blake, Ren and Pyrrha.
Spinning his lightsaber, he and Blake once more engaged the large Grimm, driving it back slightly as their combined attacks became more than it could handle.
Until its left claw smashed into both him and Blake, causing them both to go flying backwards and fall to the floor.
"Ow…" Nathan groaned, looking towards Blake. "You okay there?"
Blake nodded as they both got up to rejoin the fight.
But before they could engage, Nathan heard a familiar voice cry out:
"SMASH!"
Nora rapidly entered Nathan's field of vision, slamming her hammer down hard onto the Deathstalker's head, flipping backwards to avoid an attempt to sting her.
The Deathstalker seemed to lack a desire to give up, though; and struck again, forcing Nora to once again leap back to avoid getting stung.
Nathan jumped aside to avoid getting hit, but saw Blake falling down into the crevasse. He nearly jumped after her, but relaxed as he saw her fire her weapon into the ruins, and use them to swing around. As it happened, Blake's weapon also had a grappling hook feature.
Nathan nodded, but returned his attention to the Deathstalker as he, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha faced it down.
Its stinger was still lodged where it had tried stinging Nora, and Nathan considered rushing in right then and there for a final blow.
But before he could come to a decision, it was made for him, when the Deathstalker dislodged its stinger, causing the platform he and the others were stood on to start wobbling, a telltale sign it was soon to collapse.
"We gotta move." Jaune said, as he and the others rushed forwards.
Igniting his lightsaber, Nathan, joined them in charging the Deathstalker. He watched as Pyrrha and Jaune both staved off the arachnid Grimm with their respective shields, allowing Ren to fire on the Deathstalker, dodging an attempt by the creature to sting him, and grabbing onto the tail itself, beginning to fire into the joint itself.
Good call, take out one of its biggest weapons and stop it from using it to create distance, Nathan thought, as he joined Jaune and Pyrrha in staving off attacks from the pincers.
Which themselves came under fire as Nora fired more grenades towards them.
The Deathstalker covered its face with said pincers, giving Nathan, Jaune and Pyrrha a chance to fall back.
Nathan saw the Deathstalker open up just a bit, and before he could point the opening out, Nathan saw Pyrrha hurl her spear towards it, watching as it struck home, catching the Deathstalker in one of its eyes.
"Nice one, Pyrrha!" Nathan said to Pyrrha, who smiled at him in return.
Their smiles faded as they saw Ren get flung into a nearby wall, watching him hit the floor.
"Nathan! Pyrrha!"
Nathan looked to see Jaune gesturing towards the Deathstalker's tail, which now hung limply. A precise cut would be enough to amputate the limb completely, and cause it to crash down into the top of the Deathstalker's head.
"Done!" Pyrrha said as she hurled her shield towards the beast.
Taking his lightsaber, Nathan did the same, watching as his and Pyrrha's weapons sliced through the appendage like putty, pumping a fist as it fell down into the top of the Deathstalker's head as planned. Calling his lightsaber back to his hand, Nathan heard Jaune bark out more orders:
"Nora, nail it!"
"Heads up!" Nora called out to Pyrrha, who took a knee, holding up her shield as Nora leapt up onto said shield, using her built in grenade launcher to propel her further upwards.
Nathan watched as Nora hammered down onto the Deathstalker's head, driving the stinger deeper into its skull, clearly killing it.
This had the added effect of propelling him, Pyrrha and Jaune towards the land.
Using the Force, Nathan hurled his lightsaber down towards the falling Deathstalker, watching as the blue blade sliced the thing in half.
As he descended towards the floor, Nathan called the weapon back to his hand, just in time to land, using his momentum to carry him forward into a roll, coming up to his feet to see how everyone else had landed:
Jaune had landed hard on his back, and was groaning in pain, Nora had landed flat on her butt, grinning cheerfully as if there was never any risk of her or anyone else dying, and Pyrrha had landed as if she were a superhero.
Not gonna lie, but Pyrrha's pretty badass, if I do say so myself. Nathan thought.
Nathan then watched as Ren rejoined them, only to collapse forwards and fall flat on his face.
Nathan chuckled as he switched off his lightsaber, joining Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren as they watched Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang face the Nevermore.
Turning to Pyrrha, Nathan asked: "Think that spear of yours can hit the Nevermore and give our buddies a hand?"
The four time Mistral Regional champion shook her head. "Doubtful. And even if I were able to, I would say that those four have this well in hand."
Pyrrha's assessment proved to be astute, as within a few minutes, they had anchored the Nevermore to part of the ruins, courtesy of some ice conjured up by Weiss, and with the use of Blake's grappling hook, created a catapult for Ruby to be sent flying towards the Nevermore.
Ruby used her scythe almost like a hangman's noose, pinning the Nevermore to the cliff-face.
Weiss' glyph symbols appeared, creating a path for Ruby to travel while staying anchored to said cliff-face.
Firing her rifle to propel herself upwards, Ruby rushed up the cliff face, and upon reaching the top, added a bit more force.
This had the effect of brutally beheading the Nevermore. The headless corpse promptly fell down the crevasse, disappearing into dust as it did.
"Wow." Jaune remarked, finding words for the first time since they had taken down the Deathstalker.
Placing his lightsaber on his belt, Nathan eyed those around him. "Guess that Nevermore head it coming." He joked.
At that, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren all looked at him with deadpan expressions. Which vanished as the four of them burst out laughing.
Once their laughter had subsided, Nora asked:
"So, what now?"
Jaune looked at everyone and shrugged. "I say we head back up the cliff and see what happens." He replied.
"Couldn't agree more." Nathan added. "Lead on, Jaune."
Jaune nodded and together, the five of them set off to find a way up the cliff.
Nathan looked at everyone and smiled. They made for a pretty good team.
Much later, back at Beacon, 17:15 pm…
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark." Professor Ozpin called out as the four aforementioned young men stepped forward. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team CRDL, led by… Cardin Winchester."
Nathan folded his arms as he listened in. Despite finding neither a partner or having someone else retrieve a black rook piece like he did, Nathan had been told to line up with the others.
He watched as Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren made their way to the podium. As they did, he caught Pyrrha's eye, and the pair shared a small smile.
"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, and Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin stated. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces."
Nathan raised an eyebrow, and thought back to his choice: A black rook. Interesting, Nathan thought. He listened as Ozpin christened the team of Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren as Team JNPR.
"Led by… Jaune Arc!" Ozpin announced.
Nathan blinked in surprise at that. Given Jaune's performance, Nathan would have imagined that Jaune would not have been selected as leader. Then again, he did figure out a plan to take out that Deathstalker, Nathan thought. That must have been it. Jaune's ability to figure out a plan on the fly earmarked him as a good leader.
Ozpin's voice once again drew him from his thoughts:
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long."
Nathan watched as the four ladies took their positions in front of Professor Ozpin.
"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team RWBY."
Nice, Nathan thought to himself.
"Led by: Ruby Rose!" Ozpin declared.
Nathan's jaw dropped as he watched Yang congratulate her sister, while Weiss looked on, looking slightly displeased. Likely because of being passed over as leader for Ruby.
He gave Weiss an encouraging smile, one she returned upon meeting Nathan's gaze.
He looked to where the newly christened Team JNPR stood, all smiling and happy as well.
Pyrrha once again caught Nathan's eye, and they shared a smile.
Nathan's smile faded when he heard Ozpin's voice say:
"Nathan Phoenix! Please step forward."
Nathan took a deep breath, and stepped towards the headmaster of Beacon Academy, who regarded him with a neutral expression.
"As evidenced by your being alone on this podium, it is clear you found neither a teammate, nor a group of people independent from those already sorted into teams." Ozpin said. "However, you were able to retrieve a relic, which at the end of the day, was part of your Initiation."
Nathan folded his arms, half expecting Ozpin's next words to be to the effect of apologising, and throwing him to the curb.
He did not expect what Ozpin would say next:
"Therefore, I have come to the decision to bend the rules a little bit." The headmaster declared. "I will allow you to join one of the already assembled teams stood before you as their unprecedented fifth member."
A collective gasp arose from the crowd watching the ceremony. Clearly, this had not been done before.
Nathan looked towards the three teams stood before him: Teams RWBY, JNPR, and Team CRDL.
"Your decision will be marked by whichever team you walk over to." Ozpin said.
Nathan looked at first to Team CRDL, who were eyeing him with almost predatory expressions. Scoffing, Nathan shook his head, turning instead to the two teams on which he had already established friends:
Team RWBY, who were eyeing him with bright smiles on their faces, save for Blake, whose facial expression indicated she was unsure about him joining them, despite their friendliness towards each other earlier.
It also did not escape Nathan's notice that Team RWBY was an all-girls' team. Having the one boy on the team would be awkward for them as well as him.
His gaze finally settled on Team JNPR. There were Ren and Nora, the latter of whom was nodding very enthusiastically, while Ren was watching him with an inviting smile. Jaune had the appearance of trying to look heroic but failing miserably, something that amused Nathan.
But then his eyes met Pyrrha's. He recalled the words he had said to her earlier that day, immediately following their retrieval of the relics:
"The professor bent the rules so I could attend Beacon, so I'm sure he'll find some way of ensuring you keep seeing me around."
Perhaps this was Ozpin's way of doing so. Pyrrha had been nothing but friendly towards him ever since they had met, as had Jaune. He also recalled that Pyrrha had said he was a good person, and he could tell Pyrrha was a good judge of character. In a way, his choice was clear:
He started forward, and stood with Team JNPR.
The satisfied smile on Ozpin's face was clear as he declared: "Then it is settled. From this day forward, you will work with your team as: Team JNNPR."
Nathan smiled as Nora suddenly hugged him. Hugging her back, Nathan stared back at Ozpin, who added:
"You have been given a good opportunity, young man. I hope you are ready to take advantage of it."
Nathan nodded, and looked around him. It was Ozpin that said things best at that exact moment:
"It looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year."
Indeed they are.
Also; I hope you don't hate me for the pun Nathan makes after Ruby takes down the Nevermore. It was too good not to pass up.
But enough rambles, it's review time!
Believer218: I assume you're referring to Nathan crotching himself on the tree branch? Because I think any man would feel that.
Gamelover41592: Thank you for the praise, my friend. Glad you enjoyed the humour.
54godamora: He'll prevent one dumpster fire, that's for sure.
keybladelight: There are things that will always be canon, and one is Pyrrha finding Jaune before Nathan finds her. As for Weiss witnessing Nathan having a nightmare, that was an idea I had later on when planning this rewrite. I wanted to show Nathan is still affected by Order 66, and the events of that night. As for adding Nathan into Ice Queendom, I heavily considered it, but realised that Teams RWBY and JNPR facing a Nightmare Nathan would not be fun for any of them, as besides maybe Pyrrha, none of them are skilled enough in combat to actually fight Nathan.
Sharnorasian Empire: Blake will take much more of a backseat now that she is no longer Nathan's love interest. However, I have a certain... scene planned for later on that may serve as a little balm for those of you who shipped Nathan and Blake. With two other people involved too. As for Jacques... he'll find Nathan is not an enemy he can just buy. Especially when it comes to people Nathan cares for.
With all that said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story. If you liked it; y'all know what to do.
I shall see you next weekend with Chapter 8, which sees Team JNNPR getting to know each other.
T-Rock14