Outsider Chronicles: Red Huntsmen
Dieing and ending up in another world is one thing. That world being one infested with monsters is quite another. Add in stubborn parents and a grouchy mental roommate and you've got a recipe of a massive headache
And we're back. Nothing to add, so lets get started. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
It was safe to say that that dream last night had shaken me far more than it had any right to, to the point that I didn't even notice that I already had my sword attached to my belt when I went looking for it. I was so out of it, it took walking straight into someone to snap me out of it. I blinked and looked down and was surprised to see that I had walked into Pyrrha.
"Sorry about that," I said, holding out my hand to help her up.
"Its fine," said Pyrrha, accepting my hand and letting me pull her to her feet.
"HEY, what do you think you're doing?!" yelled Weiss.
"Um, helping up someone I just knocked over," I said.
"I can see that you Dunce," snapped the white queen, "Do you even know who this is?!"
"I do," I said, "Pyrrha Nikos, correct?"
Pyrrha twitched slightly, but nodded.
"Again, its nice to meet you," I said, stepping around Weiss to offer Pyrrha my hand again, "I'm Jaune Arc, I hope we can get along."
Pyrrha looked surprised, but shook it anyway.
"Um, likewise Jaune," she said, blushing slightly.
Weiss looked between the two of us in utter confusion.
"Bu...wha...she…"
"Breath Princess, don't pass out before we even get to the initiation," I said with a smirk.
That seemed to snap Weiss out of it.
"HOW CAN YOU TREAT HER SO CASUALLY?!" she spluttered, "SHES A CELEBRITY!"
"So?" I said, "So's my sister. And besides, past achievements mean very little here."
Whatever Weiss was going to say was cut off by Goodwitch's voice over the PA requesting that we all meet at the cliff edge.
"Well, time to go," I said, attaching my sword to my belt, "Come on Pyrrha, Princess."
"Stop calling me that!" snapped Weiss.
"Then stop acting like it."
"GAH!"
She flounced off. I snickered as I followed her with a slightly smiling Pyrrha at my side.
We arrived at the cliffs and were directed to stand on the launch pads at the very edge.
"For years, you have been training to become warriors," began Ozpin, drawing all attention to him, "Today, the skills you have gained will be tested in the Emerald Forest."
"I'm sure that many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams," said Goodwitch, "Let me put your minds at ease. We will be assigning you into teams. Today."
"What?" whimpered Ruby.
"Your teammate will be with you for the duration of your time at Beacon," said Ozpin, "So its in your best interest to be paired with someone you work well with."
I noticed Ruby clenching her fists nervously.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with once you land will be your teammate for the next four years."
I could practically hear Ruby shattering at that.
"WHAT?!" she yelled.
"See, I told you…!" hissed Nora to Ren.
"Once you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," continued Ozpin, ignoring the whispering, "There you will find a ruin containing several relics. You will meet opposition along the way, so do not hesitate to kill anything in your path or you will die. Once you return with your relic, we will guard it and your standing and grade you appropriately. Our teachers will be watching your progress, but they will not intervene, so I suggest you be careful. Now, are there any questions?"
There was not.
"Good, take your positions," said Ozpin.
Thirty seconds later, the launch pad activated and I was catapulted into the air. I smirked as I quickly drew my sword and shield as I flew through the air and, taking a leaf out of Pyrrha's book, aimed myself at some thin trees to slow my fall, before I dug deep and activated my Semblance. My Grandpa had activated my Aura shortly after he had taken me under his wing and I'd discovered my Semblance shortly after. Basically, I had the ability to temporarily boost a single aspect of my abilities. In a moment of supreme geekiness, I had named my ability Promotion and the boosts granted after chess pieces. Yes, just like the Evil Pieces from DXD.
"Promotion to Knight," I muttered under my breath.
My aura flared in a red glow for a moment and my muscles tensed, my senses sharpened and everything around me seemed to slow down. With my newly enhanced reflexes, I easily rammed my sword into the trunk of a passing tree and used it to descend to the ground in seconds where I released the boost with a sigh of relief. Promotion was an incredibly adaptable ability, but it could be rough on my body.
I heard a rustling sound at the edge of the forest and turned, catching sight of a glimpse of white as I did. I smirked. Looks like Weiss decided that she really didn't want to work with me. I turned and started walking in the other direction, sheathing my sword as I did.
As I walked through the trees, I paused as I heard a twig snap behind me. I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes as the source of said snapping stepped out, growling from between bared teeth, even as its packmates slipped out of the trees around me. It was a pack of Beowolves. This was my first time seeing the Creatures of Grimm in person and up close and I have to say that it was...disconcerting. The Grimm simply did not look natural and every part of me was screaming at me to destroy them.
I narrowed my eyes and lowered my stance, readying myself for battle. The first Beowolf pounced at me from behind, trying to catch me off guard. He lost his head for his trouble. That was the signal for the rest of the Pack as they charged, howling and snarling as they did. I smirked and turned on my heel, avoiding the first swipe as my sword flashed and the Grimms arm went flying, followed swiftly by its head. The next Monster charged, but its claws sparked off my shield, right before a flick of my wrist sliced of its hand, followed by a swipe that took its head off.
I turned on my heel, just in time to see the last Beowolfs claw flying towards my head to fast to respond with my shield.
"Promotion to Rook," I muttered and felt my Aura twist into a tight armour around me, strengthening my muscles in the process.
The claw hit and sent me sprawling, my sword spinning from my grip. The Beowolf stalked forwards, ready to finish me off, only to take a fist to the gut that bent it in half, crushed its ribcage and sent it flying.
"That hurt jackass," I growled.
I got to my feet and retrieved my sword, returning it and my shield to my belt.
"I wouldn't have turned down some help though."
"I wanted to see how skilled you were," said Pyrrha as she stepped out from behind a nearby tree, "That was very impressive Jaune."
I grinned.
"Thanks. So, I guess this means we're partners?"
Pyrrha smiled and nodded.
"We are," she said.
"Great. Shall we?"
We headed off into the forest together, leaving the Beowolves decay on their own.
"So, do you have any idea where we are?" I asked after we had been walking for a few minutes.
"Ummm."
"I thought so," I said, "Hang on, I think I've got...aha!"
I pulled a compass out of my pocket.
"Why do you have a compass?" asked Pyrrha.
"Always be prepared as my Grandpa would say," I said, "Now lets go."
Now that we had a direction, we started heading north, keeping our eyes peeled for the Temple as we went. As we made our way through the trees, we passed a certain cave that, had I been less prepared, we might have stumbled into. Fortunately, we wouldn't have to deal with the Deathstalker.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Pyrrha paused.
"Hey Jaune, did you hear that?" she asked.
I stopped to and cocked my head on one side. For a moment, I didn't hear anything. Then…
"Sounds like something scuttling," I muttered, before my eyes widened, "Oh fu…"
CRASH!
Pyrrha and I spun around as the rock wall behind us erupted and the Deathstalker came surging out at us. As it did, it swung its claw and, as I wasn't prepared in the slightest, slammed it into my gut and sent me flying.
"..CK YOU MURPHY!" I roared.
CRASH!
My flight was abruptly cut off as I slammed into something small, soft and warm that was moving just as fast as me downwards, resulting in both of us being sent tumbling.
"Ow," I groaned as I reached for my sword to cut myself loose from the branches that had broken my fall, "Son of a bitch, that hurt! What the hell attracted that oversized bugs attention?"
I cut myself free and flipped over so I landed on my feet on the branch below me next to Ruby, who I had slammed into.
"Sorry about that Ruby," I said, "Blame the Deathstalker."
"No worries Jaune," she said.
"RUBY!" shouted Yang.
"JAUNE!" shouted Pyrrha as she came running into the area with the Deathstalker still chasing her.
"Pyrrha!" I called back.
"Yang!" shouted Ruby, jumping to greet her sister.
"NORA!"
"Did she just run all of the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" asked Blake.
"GAH, THATS IT, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!" shouted Yang as her Aura exploded around her, "CAN WE JUST WAIT 2 SECONDS BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE CRAZY HAPPENS?!"
I could practically hear the timer ticking down as Ruby tugged on Yangs sleeve.
"Um, Yang..?"
The blond slumped down as she realized that, no, the world wasn't going to give her a break.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT ME!" shouted Weiss from the back of the Nevermore.
"I said jump!" called back Ruby.
"Shes gonna fall," said Yang.
"She'll be fine."
"Shes falling."
I rolled my eyes and jumped off the branch, catching Weiss on the way down. I landed lightly and set the heiress on her feet.
"Um, thank you?" she said, looking a tad ruffled.
"Don't mention it," I said as Pyrrha was smacked by the Deathstalker and landed in front of us, "You OK Pyrrha?"
I bent down and helped my partner to her feet.
"Great, now everyones here!" said Yang with false cheer, "Now we can die together!"
"Not if I can help it!" said Ruby and ran off before I could stop her.
"Oh for…" I growled.
One touching scene between Weiss and Ruby later and we were running for our lives with our chosen chess pieces.
"What do we do?" shouted Pyrrha as we reached the ruins that spanned the canyon.
I glanced back at the Deathclaw that was still on our tail and then up at the Nevermore that was doing its damndest to skewer is with its feathers.
"We need to split them up, deal with them one at a time," I said, "Nora, distract the Nevermore so we can get through!"
"Got it!" said the energetic girl and started bombarding the flying Grimm with grenades.
"The rest of you, come on! We can split them up at the canyon!"
"Do we really have to fight them?" asked Ren as we ran for the crumbling bridge.
"They won't let us get away without a fight," I called, "Might as well chose our battlefield!"
I skidded to a stop as we reached the bridge.
"Pyrrha, Ren, you two are with me, Ruby, you take Weiss, Blake and Yang and deal with the Nevermore," I said as I drew my sword and shield.
The three of us charged, Pyrrha and I leading the way with our shields while Ren opened fire with his guns. Pyrrha and I skidded to a stop, deflecting the oversized bugs pincers with our shields as Ren vaulted over it, peppering it with more shots as Nora jumped over it from the other side and slammed her hammer down on its head. I spun, my sword flashing out and scoring a deep cut in the monsters black flesh. The reaction was immediate as the Deathstalker recoiled, screeching in pain as steam wafted up from the cut. I paused.
"Huh, looks like to old man wasn't just blowing smoke," I muttered, "Thats nice."
I shook myself off and dove back into the fray, joining my teammates in wearing the monster down. Our individual attacks didn't do much, but together we were wearing it down, bit by bit. Then, one of us made a mistake.
Ren was in the middle of vaulting over its claw, peppering its face with bullets as he did, when the Deathstalkers tail struck, slamming into the Martial Artest leg with incredible force. I heard the crack it made as it snapped, even with his Aura's protection, not to mention his cry of pain as the impact sent him spinning into a nearby wall, causing it to collapse.
"REN!" shouted Nora.
The orange haired girl growled and turned a frightening scowl on the Deathstalker.
"You'll pay for that!" she roared and charged it.
"No, Nora don't!" shouted Pyrrha, but it was too late.
Blinded by rage as she was, the Hammer wielder was blindsided by a claw that slammed into her chin, sending her spinning away to land near Ren, knocked unconscious by the impact. Aura can protect from a lot, but there will always be some force that gets through, especially as emotion can cause ones Aura to fluctuate. The Deathstalker chittered in triumph as it skittered towards my downed teammates, stinger ready to strike.
"NO!" shouted Pyrrha as she jumped in front of the attack, only to get sent flying back into a wall by the impact.
"Why do I get the feeling this is gonna end up being a typical Shonen power boost moment?" I muttered, "Knight."
I shot forwards and skidded to a stop in front of my team.
"Rook."
CRUNCH!
"MEEP!"
I swallowed as I stared at the tip of the Deathstalkers stinger smashed straight through my shield, the tip ending up inches from my eye. I had just enough time to register how close I had come to death (again), before the Deathstalker let out a screech of rage and shoved its tail forwards, shattering my shield and sending me flying back to join my team splayed out on the ground. The only reason I was unharmed was thanks to my defencive powers. I gritted my teeth as I got to my feet, stumbling slightly as the impact had winded me.
The Deathstalker made a chattering sound as it scuttled forwards, waving its claws and flexing its tail in a way that could only be called exited. The damn monster was looking forwards to killing us! I scowled. I did not come this far to be killed by an oversized bug damn it!
"Well said Brat!"
"Huh?"
I jerked in surprise at the unexpected voice and looked down at the source...my own left hand.
"What the...whats going on?"
"You don't need me to tell you that, do you?" asked the welsh accented voice, "No matter, the explanations can wait. For now, you need to take my power and squash that trumped up insect. You are the representative of my power and I will NOT suffer the humiliation of having you get crushed by an overgrown scorpion!"
"Wha...AH!"
My left hand throbbed as a green glow began to shine from the back of my hand.
DRAGON BOOSTER!
My eyes widened at the announcement as the light cleared, revealing a red, scaled gauntlet with a green gem in the back of the hand, clawed fingers and yellow spikes emerging out the back. My eyes widened even further and my jaw dropped in utter disbelief.
"W-what the hell?!" I spluttered, "Is this...Boosted Gear?"
BOOST!
I jerked as my power spiked.
"Yep, definitely Boosted Gear," I said, "But did you really have to wait until now to speak up Ddraig?"
BOOST!
"I've been asleep," grumbled the Welsh Dragon, "Now quit stalling and squash that bug before it shakes off the fear and kills you!"
I blinked and looked up. Sure enough, the Deathstalker had backed up and was now eyeing me warily, although it looked like it was still itching to attack. I smirked.
"Fine, lets do this," I said.
BOOST!
"Promotion to Queen!"
I grinned as I felt my Aura surge, granting me the incredible power of the Queen, helped along by my rapidly increasing power. I pushed off and shot at the Grimm like a rocket, gripping my sword with both hands.
BOOST! EXPLOSION!
"YAHHH!"
With one last Boost, my power spiked and I drove my sword into the Deathstalkers face, straight through its carapace and into its brain.
"And lets follow it up with this," I said, holding up the Boosted Gear as a small, red orb appeared over it, "Dragon Shot!"
KAZAP!
SPLAT!
BOOM!
"Oh…"
I blinked in surprise at the utter devastation that attack had caused. It had carved a massive swath of destruction through the trees leading all the way back to the cave where we'd first encountered the Grimm, even going so far as to disintegrate a good portion of the cliff face said cave had been located in.
RESET!
"Hmm, I should probably hold back a tad next time I use that," I muttered.
Third Person POV, Ozpin
Ozpin sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers in thought as he watched the recording of the newly minted Team JNPR battling the Deathstalker. It had been a few hours since the test had ended and the team announcements were done, so now Ozpin had plenty of time to consider the ramifications of Mr Arcs power, combined with the hidden nature of his sword.
"So, a Silver Eyed Warrior, a candidate to become the Fall Maiden and the Red Dragon Emperor at my school," he muttered, "Sounds like the start of a bad joke... Still, I suppose I can't complain. At least now we actually have a chance at besting Salem without the Maidens or having to resort to...drastic measures. Still, I should probably keep it, just in case."
He ran his thumb over the head of his cane where a pattern was carved into the silver head. For a brief moment, the pattern glowed faintly with purple light, revealing a circle with two snakes twisted into an infinity symbol, biting one another's tail.
And done. A nice long chapter here with plenty going on. Like revealing that Jaune has the Boosted Gear for example!
Yes, Jaune does indeed possess the power of the Red Dragon Emperor. Now, to be perfectly clear, while he won't be the only one to possess a Sacred Gear, this is set in a completely different world than DXD, so any characters that appear have no connection to their counterparts...with two exceptions, but I don't even know if Red will be appearing in this and Ophis is the Infinity Dragon.
Speaking of Ophis, why is her symbol on Ozpins cane? What possible connection could the Headmaster have with the most powerful Dragon in existence? Just how does the old man know of the existence of the Boosted Gear? Am I gonna stop asking questions and end this AN?
Yes, I am. Don't forget to review!