As he sailed head-over-heels through the air, soaring up high enough that he burst up out of the forest canopy, Adam folded his arms across his chest. This was the second time he had been launched into the skies above the Emerald Forest today, and frankly, he had not enjoyed the first occurrence. If he squinted his eyes, he could make out the distant forms of Headmaster Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch standing atop the far-off cliffs overlooking the misty forest below him. The bull Faunus briefly wondered if they recognized him as well, before focusing back on the matter at hand: coming up with another impromptu landing strategy. Adam grit his teeth as he began to loose altitude, descending back down towards the forest floor below him. At his current rate, it looked like he was going to land in the middle of a large clearing, where a large stone structure stood in solitude. Actually, now that he was a little closer, he could see a couple figures standing in the center of the platform. Was that Blake and Yang? Before he could get a better look, a large shadow suddenly passed by over head, causing him to turn his attention back towards the clouds above, in time to see someone small and loud rocketing towards him, their red cape blowing in the breeze.
"Heads uuuuuuuup!" Ruby screamed as she plummeted out of the sky, her arms flailing in panic, silver eyes wide with fright. There was not much the bull Faunus could do other than try to twist his body so that he slammed into her with his stomach instead of his back, wrapping his arms around her. Then the two of them were spiraling downwards together, zooming past the stone structure to crash land on the low bough of a nearby tree, both of their Auras rippling over their bodies."Oohhhh... What was that?" Ruby groaned. She shook her head, alleviating her dizziness, then noticed who exactly had slammed into her. "Adam? Where did you come from?"
"I'm not exactly sure," Adam grunted, still recuperating from his catapulting experience. "I could ask you the same thing."
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" he heard Blake ask, as the two girls below looked up at the tree in bewilderment.
"I..." the blonde trailed off, unsure of how to respond to this current development. Before she could think of anything else to say, rustling noises emanated from the forest, and then an Ursa emerged, standing on its hind legs as it flailed its front paws. A large, pink explosion suddenly burst out from behind the bear Grimm, causing it to collapse and sending the ginger-haired girl who had been riding on its back tumbling to the ground.
"Yeeee-Haaaaw!" she whooped, standing up to inspect her motionless mount, which quickly crumbled away into ash. "Awwww... It's broken," the ginger whined.
"Nora!" the pink-eyed boy shouted as he emerged from the forest, coming to a stop right next to the girl he had given Adam the name for, before doubling over, gasping for breath. "Please... Don't ever do that again." He looked up to make sure she was listening to him, but the girl was already gone. Currently, Nora was in front of the temple, eyeing a golden rook chess piece eagerly.
"Oooohh..." she cooed, before snapping the chess piece up, doing a victory dance while the rook rested atop her head. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora sang jubilantly.
"Nora!" the pink-eyed brother called to her. The girl stopped dancing, then snapped herself into a salute, causing the rook to fall into her hand.
"Coming, Ren!" she smiled, skipping back towards her partner, and finally giving the bull Faunus the other name to their bizarre dynamic duo.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked, her amber eyes wide with surprise.
"I..." Yang was interrupted a second time as an ominous screech echoed out of the forest, before Pyrrha Nikos emerged, running for her life as a giant Death Stalker knocked a few trees down in pursuit of her. The redhead leapt away from a pincer attempting to snatch her up, and continuing running, spying Adam climbing down out of a tree in front of her.
"Adam!" she cried, her tone desperate.
"Pyrrha?" the bull Faunus grunted, surprised she had managed to catch up to him so quickly, and disappointed that she had brought the scorpion Grimm with her. Ruby stood on to her feet, her dizziness fully gone, only to lose her balance.
"Whoa!" She squeaked, plummeting out of the tree.
"Ruby..." Adam sighed, shaking his head. The silver-eyed girl landed in a roll, then slowly stood back up.
"Ruby!" Yang called, concerned for her younger sister's safety.
"Yang!" Ruby called back excitedly, running towards her older sister, arms out in front of her. Before the two siblings could reunite in a heartwarming embrace, though, Nora leaped in between the two, arms outstretched, posing dramatically.
"Nora!" the ginger announced, completely oblivious to Pyrrha running away from the giant monster, which was happening right in front of her. Blake was watching this, though, scarcely believing her amber eyes.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" she asked Yang. The blonde girl snapped. Her eyes turned red and fire erupted over her body, as she thrusted her balled fists down in frustration.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" she shouted. "CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!" For exactly two seconds, everyone was quiet, allowing Yang to calm down, a panting Ren to join her, Blake, Nora, and Ruby in front of the temple, and for the bull Faunus to finish for climbing out of the tree. Only then did her little sister notice something occurring above them, causing the silver-eyed girl to tug at her sleeve.
"Umm... Yang?" Ruby whimpered, pointing up at the sky. They all looked up to see a giant Nevermore soaring high above their heads, Weiss Schnee dangling from one of the raven Grimm's talons, which was as large as the heiress herself.
"How could you leave me?!" the pale girl called down to her partner, furious.
"I said 'jump!'" Ruby called back up at her defensively.
"She's gonna fall," Blake stated matter-of-factly.
"She'll be fine," the silver-eyed girl said, not sounding entirely convinced herself.
"She's falling," Ren noted. Indeed, Weiss was spiraling downwards, her mouth open in a panicked scream.
"Oh no!" Ruby gasped. She frantically looked around the clearing surrounding the temple, searching for any way to help the heiress. She finally spotted Adam walking out from under the tree he had landed in, close to where Weiss was going to hit. "Adam!Adam!" the silver-eyed girl called, waving to him. When the bull Faunus turned towards her, Ruby pointed up at Weiss. "Catch her!" Adam looked up, then folded his arms across his chest indignantly.
"Why?" he asked coldly.
"You're closest!" Yang pointed out.
"And?"
"She could die from that height," Ren pointed out.
"Oh well."
"Come on, dude! Don't you care what happens to that poor girl?" Nora demanded.
"Not really."
"Adam..." Blake groaned, her voice full of exasperation. At the sound of her tone, the bull Faunus paused, then grunted.
"Fine." He stepped underneath Weiss, and caught the heiress in his arms, just before she could hit the ground. Her light blue Aura flashed around her torso, but otherwise, she was unharmed. "I don't recall there being snow in the forecast this morning," Adam commented drily, causing the pale girl to roll her eyes.
"My hero," she mumbled. The bull Faunus set her down, and the two made their way over to the rest of the group. They were quickly joined by Pyrrha, who took a running leap away from the Death Stalker, sailing through the air and landing on her side with a heavy thump.
"Great! The gang's all here!" Yang declared, clapping her hands. "Now we can die together!"
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby declared, raising her scythe up overhead. She let out a battlecry and began to charge towards the giant scorpion Grimm, only to be pulled backwards when Adam grabbed ahold of her cape.
"And just where do you think you're going?" the bull Faunus demanded. "There's no way you're going to kill that Death Stalker all on your own. None of us could," he added, looking around at the little group congregated in front of the forest temple.
"I agree with Adam," Weiss stated, before smacking her lips. "That felt strange to say. But he is still right. Your recklessness is going to get yourself, if not the rest of us, killed. And I amnotdying out in this misty, miserable forest."
"What's the matter? Can't stand being outside, Schnee?" Adam taunted, causing the heiress to turn and give the bull Faunus a withering glare. This spike of negativity was also enough to attract the attention of the Nevermore circling above them, causing the raven Grimm to let out a loud caw, and flap its wings particularly hard at them, sending a volley of giant feathers careening towards the group, sharpened quills first. Weiss clicked her tongue in annoyance, then summoned a Glyph in front of everyone, a wall of ice stopping the projectile attack before anyone could so much as duck for cover.
"Could you guys maybe try to take the negativity down a notch?" Yang suggested, before turning towards her sister, giving her a stern look. "And really, Ruby? Don't you remember any of Dad or Uncle Qrow's lectures about showing off?" The silver-eyed girl lowered her head, looking away sheepishly.
"I'm not trying to show off," she mumbled. "I want you to know I can do this..." She was speaking towards Yang, but her eyes were looking at Weiss, causing the heiress to sigh.
"If Ozpin let you into Beacon, then he clearly believes you are capable," she conceded. "But if we are going to be partners, then we are going to have to work together. So if you promise to stop being so... difficult, then I will try to be... nicer." Ruby looked at her partner in shock, then smiled brightly.
"It's a deal!"
"Great! I'm glad to see we're all friends, here!" Yang declared, wrapping her arms around the two girls' shoulders, causing her little sister to let out a squeak of protest. "Now let's get out of here, shall we? I think that big birdie up there is gunning for another go at us..." Sure enough, the Nevermore let out a squawk as it slowly circled back around to look down upon the group again, and now the Death Stalker was starting to scuttle towards them as well.
"Well,there's no sense in hanging around here," Pyrrha spoke up. "Our objective is right in front of us." She gestured back to the chess pieces behind them.
"She's right," Ruby said with a nod. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the 's no point in fighting these things."
"Smart choice," Adam told her, already making his way towards the chess pieces, picking up the other golden rook. The silver-eyed girl was quick to follow suit, snatching up the other golden knight, before giving the bull Faunus a nod. They turned back towards the others in time to see the scorpion Grimm smash through the wall of ice Weiss had conjured up moments before.
"Time we left!" Ren stated, as the Death Stalker snapped its pincers at them.
"Right!" Ruby announced, before beckoning the others forward. The silver-eyed girl led the others away from the temple, running as fast as their feet could carry them.
As the giant Nevermore swooped overhead again, letting out a deafening caw, Adam grit his teeth. The raven Grimm was proving to be annoyingly persistent. Judging from Yang's reaction, he was not the only one that thought so.
"Well, that's great!" the blonde huffed, as the group ran over to more long-abandoned stone structures that lined the canyon behind the temple. The bull Faunus figured the idea was everyone would just hide amongst them until the Nevermore got bored and left. It probably would have worked, too, had the Death Stalker not taken that as its cue to burst into the scene, hissing and waving its mandibles.
"Stubborn beast!" Adam grumbled, as the scorpion Grimm scuttled towards them. Everyone was forced to run out from behind the large fallen bricks and pillar they had been crouched behind, which unfortunately drew the raven Grimm's attention, causing it to let out a caw and swoop towards them.
"Back off, birdie!" Nora shouted at the Nevermore, whipping out what appeared to be a rotary-type grenade launcher and launching a couple shells from it. Upon impact with the raven Grimm's head, they erupted into large, pink explosions, causing it to squawk and flap away, but not without unleashing another volley of feathers. Most of those slammed harmlessly into the ancient buildings surrounding them, but three of them were hurtling towards Nora dead-on, forcing the bull Faunus to leap over her and unsheathe Wilt, slicing them in half with a flaming blade. "Whew! Thanks, buddy!" she gasped, giving him a grateful grin, which was answered with a nod, which was followed by a grimace. Nora tilted her head, confused by his hostile expression, until she realized he was looking at something behind her. Gasping, she dove forwards, just narrowly rolling out of the way as the Death Stalker's tail slammed down into the ground behind and Ren were quick to leap atop of the scorpion Grimm, striking it with Gambol Shroud and what looked to be a pair of bladed, green guns in retaliation, but it did little good.
"It's no use!" Pyrrha told them, before pointing to a long, stone bridge spanning the length of the canyon. "Just keep moving!" The eight initiates began to run for the structure, as the Death Stalker shrieked and waved its claws, and began to scuttle after them. In doing so, however, they were exposed to the Nevermore, who let out a piercing cry as it swooped down upon them, its giant talons extended to snatch them up. Fortunately, everyone was able to dodge out of the way, leaving the raven Grimm's giant feet to clamp around nothing but a portion of the stone bridge. Unfortunately, the Nevermore took said portion of the bridge with it as it flew off again, leaving Adam, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stranded next to more pillars and buildings that seemed to have been the central part of the ruins, while Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren were trapped back on the other side of the canyon they had come from, with the scorpion Grimm closing in on them. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and fired off some shots at the retreating Nevermore, but the bullets barely penetrated its thick, black body. On the other side of the canyon, Blake leapt forward and struck at the Death Stalker's face, only to be swatted backwards by one of its giant claws.
"Blake!" Adam called out, cringing as he watched the girl tumble backwards from the scorpion Grimm's blow. He ran towards the edge of the broken bridge. "They need help," he realized. "We need to get over there, somehow!" Instantly, Nora was standing at the bull Faunus's side.
"Let's do this!" she grinned, her grenade launcher shifting into a giant hammer. Adam looked at the diabolical smile on her face and the crazed look in her eye, then sighed in resignation.
"Do what you must," the bull Faunus told her, taking several steps back. Laughing maniacally, Nora swung her hammer downwards, smashing it into the edge of the bridge, breaking off another section of the structure as it flipped upwards. Adam flew through the air, drawing Wilt and striking the Death Stalker's tail as it rushed towards Pyrrha, knocking the appendage away. Nora was right behind him, swinging her hammer down upon the scorpion Grimm's plated back. An explosion blasted out from her weapon's head, staggering the Death Stalker while simultaneously allowing her to backflip off the beast and land on her feet a good distance away, unintentionally bumping Blake off the edge of the canyon. The bull Faunus would have yelled at Nora, but he knew his former partner would be okay, and besides, they had a bigger problem to deal with at the moment.
"Come on!" Adam barked at Pyrrha and Ren, as he charged towards the scorpion Grimm. The Invincible Girl was quick to follow after him, attracting the attention of the Death Stalker, which brought up a claw to swing down upon her in an attempt to crush her. Pyrrha quickly dropped into a slide and brought up her shield to block the attack, before springing up into a sideways strike from her short sword, striking the creature across the face. The scorpion Grimm hissed and thrusted its other pincer towards her, but the bull Faunus quickly stepped in front of her, blocking the attack with his own sword, allowing the Invincible Girl to back up. The Death Stalker's tail coiled up, ready to strike, but just as it prepared to drive it down upon the bull Faunus, Ren arrived on the scene, distracting the scorpion Grimm with gunfire. The Death Stalker thrusted its barbed tail towards him instead, which Ren used to his advantage, cartwheeling out of the way of the attack, before throwing himself around the appendage, allowing the tail to pull him up into the air as it retracted. Ren began to fire one of his pistols into the spacing between the tail's barb and the chitinous plating, causing the scorpion Grimm to shriek in pain. Simultaneously, Nora fired a couple of grenade rounds at the creature's face, giving Adam a chance to get away from the creature, before Pyrrha hurled her weapon, now in its javelin form, into one of the Death Stalker's larger eyes. With a pained screech, the scorpion Grimm flailed its pincers and tail, hurling Ren off its appendage and into the side of a distant building off to their right, where he landed in a heap as his pink Aura rippled around his body. Seizing its chance, the Death Stalker began to scuttle towards him.
"Ren!" Nora cried out in concern.
"He's fine!" the bull Faunus assured her, as Pyrrha stretched out a hand, which caused her javelin to pry itself out of the scorpion Grimm's eye and return to her, bringing the creature's attention back towards her. As it rushed towards him, Adam noticed that the Death Stalker's barb dangling limply from its segmented tail, which he immediately pointed to. "Pyrrha!"
"Done!" the Invincible Girl declared, before hurling her shield at the thin strip of innards keeping the Death Stalker's barb and tail connected, severing them and causing the yellow stinger to plummet towards the ground. The bull Faunus sprang into the air to meet it, taking it in both hands and driving it down onto the center the scorpion Grimm's plated back. The Death Stalker shrieked and writhed in pain, trying to dislodge its own body part from its back.
"Nora, nail it!" Adam called to the ginger, who grinned cheekily.
"Oh, goodie!" she cheered, before grinning at Pyrrha. "Mind giving me a boost?" The Invincible Girl nodded, and locked her hands together, giving Nora a platform to spring off of, flying through the air as she shifted her grenade launcher into a hammer again. She brought her weapon up overhead and brought it down upon the stinger, driving it deep into the scorpion Grimm's back. The Death Stalker screeched and snapped at her with one of its pincers, but its movements were now much slower and weaker than they had been before.
"Perfect," the bull Faunus grinned, before grabbing the scorpion Grimm's barbless tail, Aura glowing around his arms as he flooded them with strength. "Down you go!" Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren watched in awe as Adam used the Death Stalker's tail as a lever to pull the creature up off the ground, hurling it into the air. Even as it spun head over heels, the bull Faunus jumped up after it, hands flying to his hips, his hair and red markings on his clothes glowing crimson before he unsheathed his sword. There was a flash of brilliant red light, and then the scorpion Grimm split in half, crumbling into rose petals that blew away in the breeze before they even reached the ground. Adam landed and sheathed his sword, smiling in satisfaction as the rose petals blustered around them, before turning towards the other three initiates to see them staring at him in shock. "What?"
"A-Adam..." Pyrrha said, her voice a mixture of amazement and fear. "That was-"
"THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!" Nora screamed, throwing her arms up as her eyes sparkled in awe. "You totallydestroyedthat thing! Was that your Semblance? How does it work?!"
"It's a long story," the bull Faunus said. "One we don't have time for now, with that Nevermore is still around..."
"I don't think we have to worry about that," Ren announced, pointing over to the opposite of the canyon. The four watched as the Nevermore launched another volley of feathers at Ruby and Blake, who took cover inside one of the stone towers along the ledge of the cliff. Then Weiss summoned a glyph above the raven Grimm's head, striking it with a bolt of lightning that stunned the beast, giving Ruby time to start slicing through the supports of the structure she was hiding in with Crescent Rose, increasing the power behind the blows with her Semblance. In the meantime, Yang had managed to somehow get up onto the Nevermore's back, and was repeatedly punching in the back of the head, earning a pained squawk with every blow. Finally, the Blonde Brawler leapt off the beast, grabbing onto the cord of Gambol Shroud, which Blake had thrown to her. An instant later, Ruby had sliced through the last of the tower's pillars, causing the structure to pitch forward, directly upon the raven Grimm. The Nevermore let out a screech as the tower slammed into it, sending it plummeting down into the mist of the canyon below, no longer a problem, at least for now.
"Well, that was a thing!" Yang declared with a cheeky smile, loud enough that Adam and the others could hear her even on their side of the canyon.
Later that day, the audience inside the amphitheater applauded as the previous group of newly-formed teammates stepped down from the stage, allowing four boys to take their place.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark," Ozpin addressed the four, putting their images up on the large screen above the stage. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL -Cardinal- led by... Cardin Winchester!" The audience applauded again, as the three boys slapped their new leader on the back, as he nodded respectfully to the Headmaster. The four departed, allowing Ozpin to call the next group of students up. "Adam Taurus, Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces." He looked at the four students, eyes lingering on Adam for a moment. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team ALPN- Alpine. Led by... Adam Taurus!" The bull Faunus's calm expression was replaced by a look of surprise, as Nora squealed with excitement, crushing Ren in a hug.
"Me?" he mouthed towards Ozpin, who gave him a wink.
"Congratulations, young man." Adam was in shock, but at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, he snapped out of it to see Pyrrha beaming at him. The bull Faunus nodded at her, then led the three human students off the stage, allowing the last group of students to replace them.
"And finally, Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long," the Headmaster addressed the girls as they stood before him."The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!" The bull Faunus could not help but smirk at Weiss's look of surprise at this declaration, as well as Ruby turning white as a sheet, before she was squeezed to the breaking point in Yang's embrace.
"I'm so proud of you!" the Blonde Brawler squealed. Ozpin chuckled as he looked out over the new and returning students that were in his care, his eyes filled with a mixture of nostalgia and pride.
" It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year," he said to himself.
"Would you mind explaining exactly what you were thinking with your choice of leadership, Headmaster?" Ms. Goodwitch demanded later that night, leaning on Ozpin's desk as she glared sharply at the Headmaster, who met her gaze with a calm smile.
"If you are referring to placing Mr. Taurus in charge of Team ALPN, my dear Ms. Goodwitch, rest assured that I had it all thought out before I made my decision." His blonde colleague opened her mouth, but Ozpin held up a hand to cut her off. "There are two reasons for my decision. Firstly, Mr. Ren is too quiet to be team leader, and Miss Valkyrie too hyperactive. I considered Miss Nikos, but I believe she would simply resent the role of team leader, believing to have been chosen simply for her reputation. That really left me one other choice. And secondly, Adam Taurus is the only Faunus on a team full of humans. By putting him in charge of ensuring their safety, I believe that he will come to care about them. In so doing, he will come to see the good side of humanity, and let go of his hatred of the many for the crimes of the few." And with that, the Headmaster fell silent, still smiling as he watched Ms. Goodwitch process everything he said.
"Headmaster, I really do not have a problem with you making Mr. Taurus the leader of his team," she said finally. "He is the one with the most experience leading, and I agree, putting him in charge of humans will almost certainly help him overcome his prejudices." The woman pursed her lips, and folded her arms across her chest. "But how can you possibly justify making Ms. Rose a team leader? She is much too young!" At this, Ozpin flinched, and his smile faded into a frown. Leave it to Ms. Goodwitch to ask the one question he had not prepared an answer for...