Ruins
Yang, Jaune, and Link crested a hill where they could see what looked like the ruins down below.
"Think this is it?" Yang asked.
"There are ornamental chess pieces arranged on pedestals which don't look like they belong." Link nodded. "I'd say it's a safe bet."
They proceeded on down, getting a better look at the place.
"Good thing we arrived when we did because I'm seeing quite a few empty pedestals." Jaune noted.
Before the pair or Link could choose their respective pieces, heavy rustling drew their attention to the nearby forest. Cardin, Russel, Ren, Nora, and the bear all burst out into the clearing surrounding the temple.
At that moment, the bear collapsed which saw Nora patting it on the head. "Aw, he's broken."
She then shrugged before trotting off to the ruins, after Cardin and Russel, with Ren in exasperated pursuit. Upon reaching the ruins, Nora's attention was immediately drawn to a golden rook, and she nabbed it happily.
"I'm queen of the castle~. I'm queen of the castle~." Nora sang, putting the rook on her head.
"Nora!" Ren called out.
Nora saluted as the rook fell into her hand. "Coming Ren!"
"How did she ride in on a bear?" Jaune questioned.
"It takes some practice." Link replied, having learned from Wild, drawing his fellow blondes' eyes.
As that was going on, Russel had gone to grab a relic only for Cardin to push him out of the way and select the one he preferred, being the black bishop. Then, there were more sounds from another direction which was Weiss and Blake being chased by the Nevermore.
"A lot of stuff is happening all at once." Link noted.
Despite getting into it with the heiress, he wasn't one to risk lives. Link drew his hand rifle and fired at the Nevermore, nailing it several times. It dealt no damage; however, still achieved the desired result of making it fly away for the moment.
"Perhaps I should see if someone can upgrade this to fire a stronger round." Link noted, looking at his weapon.
He didn't think he'd be able to get a gun like this up to snuff enough to kill a Grimm that size, but something that could at least stun a Grimm that size, if for even a few seconds, would certainly do. It also wouldn't hurt to have it for your average Grimm either.
"What kind of Grimm was that!?" Jaune questioned, stunned.
"Gah, I can't take it anymore!" Yang yelled; the absurdity of these last few minutes having gotten to her. "Can everyone just chill out for a few seconds before something crazy happens!?"
This saw everyone else go silent and stare at Yang, who was calming down from the sudden, concentrated burst of chaos. That was as far as peace went since Ruby and Pyrrha broke out from a different direction with the Deathstalker hot on their heels.
"Pyrrha, draw its attention but ensure you're not held back!" Ruby called out.
"Got it!" Pyrrha called back.
She whirled around while changing her weapon to rifle mode and firing on the Grimm. It swiped its claws at the irritation, who jumped back to avoid it, freeing up Ruby to deploy Cresent Rose in scythe mode and slash a tree at the edge of the clearing to pin the Deathstalker down.
While this would momentarily disable the Grimm, it could still lash out and ended up striking both girls with its massive claws. The final pair, which would arrive at this time, landed in heaps at everyone's feet. Yang helped her sister while Link helped Pyrrha, getting to her before Weiss.
"Hey, the Nevermore is circling." Jaune pointed out.
The Grimm pinned under the tree would free itself soon.
"That Deathstalker will be coming." Ren noted.
"There is little point in dillydallying." Given the situation, Weiss would refrain from any negative emotions aimed at those she disliked to focus on the matter at hand. "Our objective is right in front of us."
"Run and live." Jaune sighed in relief. "That's an idea I can get behind."
Those who didn't have a piece sent one of their partners, in Link's case he went to grab one for the partner he presumed to still be out there, inside to get a piece. Ruby and Weiss ended up nabbing golden knights, Jaune took the remaining rook, and Link grabbed a black king.
Link then looked at his scroll as they left the ruins. "Troubling news if you haven't seen it." He nodded past the Grimm. "According to this, the evac sight is back that way."
Just then, the remaining half of the King Taijitu slithered out of the forest.
Cardin shrugged. "We can just rush past."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "If you want to die, be my guest."
Ruby kept her eyes trained on the approaching monsters, rocking on her feet as she attempted to come up with a plan. Link's gaze was on the other ten people, attempting to piece together how they could do this. Jaune looked more freely around the environment before spotting something.
"I see ruins not far from here." Jaune spoke quickly, waving for everyone to follow. "If we lure all these Grimm there, the eleven of us should have a better chance circumnavigating the monsters and making for the evac site."
While some nodded, Cardin turned to Russel. "How's the path over there?"
Russel nodded and tossed one of his daggers high into the sky, a burst of air escaping the weapon's hilt.
The boy closed his eyes, focusing for a moment before saying, "No monsters. It'll be an uphill run, but there's plenty of cover." He caught his dagger as it came down, only opening his eyes once it was in hand. "We might be able to use the ravine somehow."
Blake shrugged. "Better than anything I've got."
Ren nodded. "It's time we leave."
No one else had a counterplan, and with the Grimm looking ready to attack, it was mutually decided to book it.
Emerald Forest
As they ran, Ruby, Jaune, and Link kept track of everyone else. Eventually, the forest gave way to a clearing with stone debris littered throughout. As the Nevermore swooped ahead of them, the group of eleven pressed themselves against the stone.
"You, green hair." Weiss pointed to Russel. "Use your dagger trick to find the other Grimm."
He raised an eyebrow at her, confused.
"Weiss, we know they're behind us." Ruby countered. "We need to set up a defensive line."
She looked across the clearing where she spotted Jaune, Yang, Link, Ren, and Cardin. She waved at them, getting their attention before pointing to the tree line they came from frantically.
Link nodded, looking back that way. "Ruby wants us to watch our backs."
Jaune glanced around the pillar. "We can take that bridge into the tower and climb into the ravine."
"As long as birdie doesn't attack." Yang added, pointing up at the Nevermore.
Ruby followed her sister's finger, nodding to herself, as she looked to her group consisting of Pyrrha, Blake, Weiss, Nora, and Russel. "Does anyone have a way to distract the Nevermore?"
"I can do it!" Nora replied, hefting her grenade launcher. "Just tell me when."
"Ok, good." Weiss cut in. "While it's distracted, we can find the other Grimm."
She gave a pointed look at Russel, who sighed and readied a dagger.
"We know what they're going to do, Weiss." Ruby interrupted. "The Death Stalker will chase us, and…"
She was cut off by the crashing of trees. Said scorpion Grimm emerged from the forest with a screech, turning towards the other group. Jaune and Link readied their weapons, stepping up to engage the Grimm as the Nevermore stirred from its perch and primed to fire feathers.
"Nora, cover them." Ruby instructed before running into the clearing in a low crouch and readying Crescent Rose.
The ginger hopped after her, blasting away a barrage of feathers with pink grenades released from her weapon. The feathers were averted from the melee with the Death Stalker.
"Find the snake!" Weiss ordered Russel before taking off.
With a nervous gulp, Russel stepped out under an open sky. Tossing his dagger up, he closed his eyes to activate his Semblance. This power let him transfer one of his senses to any object he threw, but that sense then him for as long as the object was in the air.
He saw himself, the Grimm, the other students fleeing, and the whole forest from a bird's eye view. This let him track the motion of the trees where the King Taijitu was slithering, heading right for him. Russel let out a cry, trying to run with his out-of-body sight.
He tripped, falling between Link and the Death Stalker. He saw his own body pounded by the creature's claw, the distraction allowing Jaune and Link to disengage the beast. Russel's senses returned with a sharp flash, his Aura faltering around him.
He could now see the Grimm attempting to bring its stinger down, but he never felt it due to a shadow that swooped in to rescue him. It formed into that girl with the bow. Blake hauled the green-haired boy over to his partner, shoving the kid into his arms.
Before either could say another word, her image vanished in a shimmer of black. For his part, Cardin had been preparing to strike the Death Stalker, but having his winded partner shoved in his way prevented that. Luckily for them, the Grimm pursued Jaune and Link.
Yang fired off shotgun blasts at the base of the tail, cracking the bone armor. This allowed Blake and Ren to fire their pistols and shatter the armor there to reveal black chitin. The beast screeched as it tried to overrun the group.
Jaune and Link stepped in front of it, tanking its flailing claws with their shields. The latter managed to hold his ground while the former was thrown across the bridge with the remainder of the group.
"This isn't going to plan!" Weiss shouted.
"No kidding." Jaune slowly rose to his feet, glancing over the edge. "There's a way off this thing, right?"
"Not this way." Ruby replied, having returned. "The stairs go down one level, but I couldn't see anything past that because of the fog."
"Alright, we jump then?" Jaune offered, stepping up to the edge and looking down at the mist.
The girls turned toward him, baffled.
"Can you see the bottom?" Weiss shot his idea down. "Even with full Auras, which I don't think any of here have, we'd likely break something."
"At least he's trying." Pyrrha countered.
"Incoming!" Nora shouted, pointing at the massive form of the Nevermore.
It swooped down from the sky, seeing the students leaping in either direction as the bird hit the bridge. With its size, the Grimm decimated the section they had been standing on prior. Pyrrha recovered first, firing her rifle. Ruby and Weiss joined her soon after in firing on the Nevermore.
With Cardin & Russel
"You good?" Cardin question, giving Russel a shake.
The two of them had been left alone by the Grimm, allowing Cardin to pull his near catatonic partner into the ruins.
"S-sn-" Russel faltered, his eyes watering.
"Speak up, man!" Cardin shouted.
"SNAKE!" Russel cried, pointing behind his ally.
Cardin lifted his mace and blindly swung it behind himself, connecting with the King Taijitu's upper maw. Flicking a switch on his mace's handle, the deep red crystal nested under the head let off an explosion, sending the snake's face craning away.
"Stand back." Cardin muttered through gritted teeth, tossing Russel away and readying his weapon. "I've got this."
With Jaune, & Nora
Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss continued firing on the Nevermore while Jaune ran to the edge. On the other section of the bridge, Link, Yang, Ren, and Blake were doing their best to fight off the Death Stalker. In the distance, Cardin fought the King Taijitu with Russel behind him.
"We got to get over there!" Jaune pointed across the gap. "They need help!"
Nora stepped up beside him. "Let's do this!"
"Yeah." Jaune looked down into the ravine. "But, I can't make that jump."
Nora smiled wickedly as her weapon shifted into a hammer. She then swung it around, hitting Jaune back, before lifting the maul high above herself. Nora jumped and turned back to slam her hammer into the bridge before releasing a blast of pink on impact.
A large section of stone under them gave way, catapulting Jaune over the chasm to land amongst the other students. Nora quickly planted her feet on her hammer's head and shot another grenade out of it, sending herself flying over as well.
She came in over Ren, hefting her weapon again to land a hit on the Grimm. Another blast from her maul distracted the creature while sending her skidding back to his side. As she slid into position, she unknowingly bumped into Blake who lost her balance and fell into the ravine.
With Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake, & Weiss
As she fell, Blake readied her sickle and launched it at the bottom of the remaining bridge while firing a shot to increase its speed. The ribbon became taught as the blade struck, biting deep into the structure. Blake swung under the bridge as the Nevermore swooped in front of her.
With a small tug, her weapon fired and released itself from the stone, allowing Blake to shift off a shadow clone of herself at the apex of her swing. She came up by the Nevermore's beak, slashing with her cleaver to propel herself onto its back.
The bird flew up as she ran across its feathers, slashing with her sheath while drawing her other weapon in along her ribbon. With the extra height, she leapt from the Grimm's back down to the tower's highest landing, joining up with Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha.
"We've got to keep it distracted." Ruby instructed. "None of us can deal with more than one Grimm at a time."
"That'll be hard." Blake stated. "It's tougher than it looks."
"Perhaps if we all fire as one, we can do something." Pyrrha voiced, pointing her rifle.
Ruby followed suit, unfolding her scythe and planting the blade in the rubble. Weiss held her rapier out, her other hand holding up two fingers to create more glyphs in the air around her. As the Nevermore swooped back toward them, it was met with a barrage of attacks.
Blake's pistol shots, Ruby's high-impact rounds, Pyrrha's riffle bullets, and Weiss' dust-infused strikes that streaked from the glyphs she created, all aimed at the charging bird. It took every hit, becoming disoriented moments before crashing through their portion of the tower.
The future Huntresses were thrown away from the structure in a rain of stone. Pyrrha jumped between falling rocks and lept to allow her rifle to push herself around falling debris. Blake spun as she fell, using her Semblance to leap to a lower pillar.
She raced up it as far as she could before throwing her gun to the top, the blade sticking into a stable section of stone. Weiss danced through the air, gracefully bouncing off glyphs she summoned while avoiding falling debris.
Ruby landed on a lower section of the tower, meeting a pillar with her feet before shooting back up in a flurry of red petals as she fired Crescent Rose. She met Weiss atop the landing and noticed Pyrrha landing on a distant section.
With Cardin & Russel
The King Taijitu coiled itself to try overwhelming Cardin with its size, but the Grimm would have better luck learning to fly. The creature struck, only to be smacked aside by Cardin's mace again. It reeled, hissing before diving in to bash the boy with its snout.
He sidestepped the attack, hefting his mace with two hands before slamming it down on the snake's head. A blast from the Dust Crystal within it shattered the thing's skull, and it crashed to the ground before beginning to dissolve.
Cardin spun his weapon in one hand and smirked at his partner. "That is how you kill a Grimm."
Russel returned a limp thumbs up.
With Jaune, Yang, Link, Ren, & Nora
"The Death Stalker is coming!" Nora called out.
"Everyone, stay together!" Link shouted.
"Right." Ren nodded. "If we work together, we can win."
The Death Stalker slammed its stinger into the bridge, destabilizing it.
"We got to move!" Jaune called out, seeing the five of them surging forward together.
The Grimm reared back its left stinger, but Link was there to block with his shield before then swinging his sword into it. The creature swung its right claw, but Jaune was there to block with his shield. Link lept over him, slashing that claw away and opening its guard.
With a clear shot to the Grimm's face, Yang rushed in and pummeled it with the added boost afforded by her Ember Celica's shotgun blasts. The Death Stalker attempted to slam its stinger into her, but Nora was there swinging her hammer to deflected it and weakened its integrity.
Ren took full advantage of this as he lept atop the stinger before the Grimm could lift it, seeing him lifted as well. With some well-placed slices, the stinger fell and impaled the Grimm before lept off. This alone was not enough to bring the Grimm down.
"Yang and Ren with me, we're running distraction!" Jaune called out. "Link, get Nora some air and let's end this!"
Jaune used his shield while Yang slammed her fist into its claws, leaving a wide window for Ren to lay down suppressive fire. This gave Link time to set up, holding his shield optimally as Nora lept atop it. When she fired, he lept with all his might in an attempt to afford the most distance.
Nora sailed into the air with a huge grin. Just after reaching her apex, she fired herself down and spun with her hammer to maximize the impact. The force of the blow sent the stinger all the way through the Grimm's head, sending it crashing down and dissolving.
Jaune released a relieved breath, Ren and Link gave small smiles, Yang grinned while giving a thumbs up, and Nora was swinging her hammer about with reckless abandon. With Link being the closest to her distance wise, as well as currently off guard, he was smashed away.
"GAAAAAHHH!" Link cried out, his Aura flickering around him. "Okay, never…let my guard down…around her."
"Oops." Nora voiced, genuinely remorseful.
The other three could only look on in shock as the blond in green was launched clear across the broken bridge.
With Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake, Weiss, & Link
"None of this is working." Weiss voiced.
Ruby glanced at Blake's weapon, the ribbon whipping in the wind as the girl fired her pistol up at the Grimm. She examined the broken pillars before her and Weiss, noting two taller ones closer to the giant cliff face behind the tower.
She looked back to Weiss. "I've got a plan!"
At this exact moment, Link rolled into his impromptu flight and somehow managed to keep it going as he hit the ground. The blond in green came to a couched stopped next the pair, Pyrrha and Blake still firing on the Nevermore.
"Nice of you to join us." Weiss commented.
"Not exactly by choice, but I'm here now." Link responded, slowly standing.
"Since you're here, ready to do some butt kicking?" Ruby asked.
"Let's destroy this thing." Link stated. "What do you need?"
"Got anything that can see that Nevermore crashing into that cliff over there?" Ruby asked.
"I got something, though that is one large Grimm to hit, and nearly all my Aura has been spent with no time to recover." Link informed. "I'll only have one in me, so you got to distract that Grimm. Take its attention absolutely."
"Right." Ruby nodded before yelling out, "Everyone, hit that Grimm with and keep its attention on use while getting into position." She and Weiss began moving, all four girls taking differing directions. "We're taking this Grimm down."
The girls began offloading their ammo into the Nevermore while Link reared back his blade, which began to glow green as he put all his reaming Aura into it. This was something Wild had informed him of, and Link worked out how to do with Aura Manifestation.
It was his variation of a Sword Beam, which typically the spirit of the hero could only utilize by being in good health. Link had something over on them in the form of his Aura. In short, this was his Aura Sword Beam. While it didn't take too long to use, he only had one shot here.
Link took his time aiming, tracking the Nevermore as it was bombarded from all four directions. Finally, he swung his blade sending a large crescent of green Aura flying through the air as it shattered around him. The sword beam hit true where the right wing connected to the body.
Link had contemplated just striking the body or neck, but he didn't want to risk the Nevermore staving it off. Instead, what he aimed for was easier to cleave though and cleave through his Aura did. The wing was severed, sending the Grimm crashing into the nearby cliff.
While it would no longer be flying, the Nevermore could still move as it were. To prevent this, Weiss glided past him and lept before stabbing her sword into the cliff as the Grimm started to recover. A shelf of ice grew from her blade and snatched the Grimm by a portion of its tail.
Weiss then lept down and moved back to the to others. Pyrrha climbed to the top of a broken pillar while Blake did the same to the one across from it and hurled her weapon towards the red head who caught it. She wrapped the ribbon around the structure to stretch it across the gap.
Ruby leapt into the air, catching the band with the top of Crescent Rose and riding her weapon like a pogo stick. Weiss slid into position, summoning a black glyph to catch Ruby and hold the ribbon taught like a slingshot.
She stood to Ruby's side, adjusting her sword and hands to properly aim. "Of course, someone as reckless as you would come up an idea like this idea."
"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked, reloading her weapons.
Weiss huffed proudly. "Can I?"
Ruby looked at her confused. "Can…"
"Of course I can!" Weiss snapped.
Ruby looked back to the trapped bird, smirking confidently while ratcheting her scythe. Weiss spun her sword's Dust Cylinder with two sparkling fingers, extracting fire dust from the weapon. The black glyph quickly turned a bright red.
With her sword flourishing, the glyph exploded and slung Ruby. Firing Crescent Rose to gain speed, Ruby brought the blade of her weapon up to meet the Nevermore's neck. Another shot shoved the creature back into the cliff face, the force ripping its tail feathers from the ice as it hit.
Ruby planted her feet on the rock, finding a glyph summoned by Weiss beneath her. More glyphs trailed upward, the Semblance providing stability as she began sprinting towards the top of the plateau and dragging the Grimm with her.
Rock tumbled behind Ruby as the Nevermore was pulled upward, its body being battered against the cliff. Drawing out a yell, Ruby fired Crescent Rose and ended upward above the Grimm. With her scythe to its neck, she gave the last shot and cleanly decapitated the creature.
A burst of rose petals showered over the cliff as the Grimm's body fell, disintegrating into black mist. Ruby posed with her scythe draped over her back, cape billowing in the wind. She turned back to look over the cliff, spotting the remainder of the students looking up at her in awe.
Atop a higher cliff stood Shion, looking down at the entire group. "It seems they've already found its hiding place."
Link felt his scroll buzzing, drawing his attention from the cliff as he pulled it out to find a message from Ozpin.
"We need to talk about your initiation. Head to the evac site with everyone. Glynda will be waiting at Beacon to direct the pairs where they need to be before bringing you to my office."
Link slipped his scroll back where it'd been. "Guess my time at Beacon came to an end before it ever really began."
It's been less than 2 days since he arrived at Beacon. He's stayed at other places longer than that and never minded hitting the road when the time came. Despite that, despite the limited time he's been here, he couldn't deny he'd have liked a little more time.
Back to Beacon
Link hadn't really thought of what he'd do if Beacon didn't pan out. At this stage, he knew wandering Remnant wasn't advisable. He's done that all his life, even before Wild revealed everything to him, and he could only foresee it making him so strong in the long run.
He needed a new plan, which saw him not really telling the others the whole truth of the matter…as he saw it. Link simply told them he'd received a message about his initiation which left him with options he had to consider on the ride back.
Of course, there was a lot to consider, but the only real path forward he could see was finding out who the strongest Hunters on Remnant were, attempting to find them, and getting one to let him apprentice under them. He could still find his prior life's stuff, but nothing has changed.
He still had no idea where to look for these things and would end up wandering Remnant all the same, still an unviable recourse. Regardless of that, he still had his meeting with Ozpin. After being left with Glynda, she walked him to the tower and directed him to the elevator.
Ozpin's Office: Evening…
Ozpin's Office was a circular room in grey-green tones. The chair, table, walls and ceiling all featured intricate clockwork mechanisms. Ozpin himself sat behind a desk, which Link came to stand in front of after stepping out of the elevator.
"I suppose you're wondering why I've called you here?" Ozpin questioned.
"I'd say it's because I'm being kicked out." Link responded.
"No." Ozpin shook his head. "You've only just started."
Link hadn't considered this, even with the deal they'd worked out. Ozpin had made it sound like that was conditional on him making it into Beacon. If that deal, or the fact this man wanted him here were the reason he could continue on regardless…such a thing didn't sit right with him.
"Whenever I accept people into Beacon, I go over our quota to ensure every first-year team will have four members." Ozpin informed. "Those who are unlucky enough to fail initiation are kicked out; however, the way you've performed in the Emerald Forest presented an opportunity."
"If you're doing this to keep me around for our deal, I won't accept it." Link voiced firmly.
"I won't deny I want you here; however, I wouldn't create a position to make it happen." Ozpin smiled. "Rest assured, you've earned what I'm about to offer. It's something I've thought about long before meeting you. Said offer is that you will function as a member of your own team."
"Care to elaborate?" Link asked.
"You were able to work well with eight of those ten people at the ruins." Ozpin informed. "More importantly, you displayed qualities of a leader and gave hope which contributed to victory. As such, you would have two roles. At times, you'd be second in command.
If the leaders cannot decide what to do, you step in. As the curriculum is set for a team of four or less, when it is needed, you'd have the ability to take any three members from across the two teams and lead them on your own team. What do you think?"
"It's a lot of responsibility." Link noted.
"I'm fairly certain responsibility is part of being a Hunter, is it not?" Ozpin asked.
"I have heard stories from various Hunters which include them having to work with whoever was around in a bad situation." Link remembered. "I guess a role like this isn't really all that out there." He looked at the man with a raised eye brow. "This isn't just because you want me here?"
"I've already said, I won't deny the fact I want you here." Ozpin responded. "That said, you have my word this is a position you earned. If you think yourself unworthy, I'd advise you not turn this role down. Rather, work every day to be worthy of it."
Link still wasn't sold on this being something this man has thought of prior to this point. At the end of the day, he supposed doubts were one way someone could push themselves to be better at anything. Hey, trust between the two of them had to start somewhere.
Link nodded. "I'll take the position."
Despite any misgivings, Link resolved right there to work to deserve such a role. Beyond that, Link couldn't deny it felt good to have the chance to stay at Beacon.
"Glad to hear it." Ozpin smiled. "It'll be made official at tonight's team assignment ceremony, though there are words I've like to say now. With your position, the next four years you spend here will be tough. Even for one with the spirit of the hero, there will be a struggle ahead.
For those around your position, you will be the light in their darkness. Something you should not forget. Be a friend, not just a teammate. Now, unless you have anything further for discussion, we should get going to the amphitheater."
"No, not at this time." Link answered.
So, they left the office together. While Link hadn't really meant what he ended up telling the others, it technically did work out to be true in the end. There was a discussion about initiation, a problem. Now, that had been resolved.
Amphitheater: Night…
The initiates all stood in the amphitheater as Professor Ozpin announced the formation of the first-year teams.
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester," Professor Ozpin announced as a crowd of Beacon students lazily clapped. "Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark."
The four boys stood at attention before the headmaster on the stage. Above them, a projector screen displayed their faces and names.
"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces." Ozpin continued. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team Cardinal(CRDL), led by Cardin Winchester."
Though most of them kept a calm composure as the crowd clapped, Cardin's face brightened with a smug smile as he was named leader. They stepped off stage as Ozpin dismissed them with a wave.
"For the next two teams, I'd like them to stand behind me after their formed into a team." Ozpin informed, getting to it. "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Yang Xiao Long, and Nora Valkyrie." Their portraits appeared on the screen. "The four of you retrieved the gold rook pieces, so from this day forward, you will work together as Team Jazlyn(JLYN), led by Jaune Arc."
Jaune put a hand to his chest, his mouth gaping. "Lead by?"
Ozpin nodded. "Congratulations young man."
Nora and Yang each gave their new leader a congratulatory slap on the back while Ren merely put a hand on his shoulder. Jaune returned their gestures with a nervous grin. The team soon moved behind Ozpin, standing in a line as the man continued.
"Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladona, and Weiss Schnee." The headmaster voiced, seeing the girls stepping onto the stage. "The four of you retrieved the gold knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Raspberry(RSPB), led by Ruby Rose."
Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, Pyrrha put a proud hand on her shoulder, Blake's eyebrows perked, and Weiss stared in horrified disbelief as she turned to her new 'leader.' Eventually, they moved to stand beside JLYN.
"Link Sherwood." Ozpin voiced, leaving it at that and making everyone wonder what was going on as said student took to the stage. "To preface this next team, as well as explain why these last two teams were kept on stage, we have kept teams to the same standard for quite some time.
Though, there are people who believe in better ways, and I am one such person. In light of this young man's performance in initiation, he shall serve as second in command to the leaders of Teams JLYN and RSPB."
Such news had everyone within the audience talking while the eight on stage were generally fine. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and Nora's were on board, Ren and Blake were indifferent, and Weiss was once again horrified.
"Beyond that role, Beacon's curriculum is set for a team. As such, Link Sherwood will serve as leader of his own team, its remaining members able to be rotated from amongst any of these eight students as he deems for any situation.
In essence, it'll be two teams collaborating closely with this young man responsible for facilitating it. The intention behind this experiment is to have Hunters ready for anything. Link Sherwood's team will be Team Hyrule. With that, this stands to be an…interesting year."
One of Roman's Hideout
Roman stood before a map of Vale hung on a wall. It was marked with places he'd already hit, places he wanted to hit, and other locations of interest. At present, he was glancing over it while muttering through various plans.
Considering all the variables, the conclusions he tended to reach weren't favorable…to say the least. "None of these plans have yet to even factor in how quickly the cops seem to be closing in on my operations. We need something that'll throw them off our trail."
Roman sighed as he picked up the latest news article and began thumbing through it, bypassing articles on global financing and the Vytal Festival to be held nearly at the end of the year. He soon stopped upon seeing an article on the White Fang.
His face broke out into a conniving smile. "Matching black, red, and white outfits…"
To be transparent, this chapter was done. I'd written out every event from them being launched to the final Roman scene and split into two chapters. I will say I wanted to mix up the team even further than I did; however, I decided from the beginning to utilize Ice Queendom within this story. I think the events within that play out better with Weiss on the same team as Ruby and Blake. With Link's role, it does lend itself to the potential for more mix ups down the line.
Monster King: I'll keep it in mind.
the mysterious Mr-E: I can't tell if you're going to like what I decided to do or not, but it was just the best route I could take.
HunterPrimeAW5M3: Yuri Lowenthal, to me, is quite the voice actor to the point I think he could pull it off. Another person I could see doing a Link like this well would be Jonny Yong Bosh.