"The last pair has been formed, sir," Ms. Goodwitch reported, looking up from her tablet, which was showing live video footage of the students in the forest, to address Ozpin, who was standing at the edge of the Beacon Cliffs, watching the students in his Scroll. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," she continued, before shaking her head. "Poor boy. I cannot possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he is probably better off than Miss Nikos."
"Mmmm..." the Headmaster hummed absently. The blonde woman sighed.
"Forgive me, sir. I know you have your reasons, but I still cannot accept the fact you allowed a known terrorist and murderer into our academy!" Ms. Goodwitch huffed. "You know as well as I do Mr. Taurus is much stronger than any other student at Beacon. Even if Ms. Nikos is the 'Invincible Girl' Argus hyped her up to be, she would struggle against him. If he so desired, he could easily kill a great number of our students, before we managed to stop him." At her words, Ozpin finally looked up from his own tablet, where he had been watching Ruby and Weiss bicker. He turned towards his colleague, and gave her a gentle smile.
"Have a little faith in him, Glynda," he told her. "Not five minutes ago, he came face to face with Ms. Schnee herself, and let her just wander off without so much as raising a hand towards her."
"But he could have just as easily chosen not to," Ms. Goodwitch pointed out. "I am certain that if you had not made it abundantly clear we would be keeping a close eye on the initiation, it would be a different story." It was only then she noticed the way the Headmaster was looking at her. "What?"
"It warms my heart to see how much you care about our students," he told her. Caught off-guard, the blonde woman spluttered, her cheeks tinged pink. "Try to keep an open mind, my dear Ms. Goodwitch. Mr. Taurus was obviously disillusioned with the White Fang choosing to side with our mysterious false maiden, or he would not have handed himself over to police custody. I would like to assume that means he is not as fanatical as some of the other higher-ups in the organization."
"Yes, sir," Ms. Goodwitch mumbled, before clearing her throat, doing her best to get back on track. She looked back down at her tablet. "In any case, Mr. Taurus and Ms. Nikos should reach the temple within just a few minutes, at their current pace." She looked over at Ozpin, the faintest trace of amusement on her face. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" There was no response. "Headmaster Ozpin?" The Headmaster was not listening, instead absorbed in his own tablet again, watching Ruby and Weiss continue to argue and insult each other. The blonde woman sighed. Right now, whether or not an entitled heiress and silver-eyed youth that was two years younger than her peers could get along were the least of her worries.
As Adam and Pyrrha made their way through the forest, the bull Faunus stopped, tilting his head. Pyrrha noticed this, and headed towards him to make sure he was okay. Then she realized he was listening for something. The red-haired girl brought up her sword and shield, preparing for trouble.
"Did you hear that?" Adam asked her. Stopping, Pyrrha closed her eyes, and listened as well.
"Gunfire," she realized. "It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." She turned to the bull Faunus, awaiting his next move. Adam turned to look at the path ahead, finding it to be overgrown with branches and shrubs.
"We should keep moving," he decided. The bull Faunus unsheathed his crimson blade, and began to hack his way through the forest, Pyrrha following behind him. A comfortable silence settled in as he slowly cut a path for the two of them. Or at least, it was comfortable for Adam. Pyrrha, however, had something that she had wanted to ask him about ever since she had seen it happen earlier that morning. Seeing how their journey had slowed to a near crawl, she felt there was no time like the present.
"Um, Adam, earlier today, in the locker room..." The bull Faunus stopped, his head turning back towards her just enough for her to see his eye. "You were kind of hard on Weiss, weren't you?" Another moment of silence passed.
"Perhaps," Adam grunted finally, turning his attention back in front of him to continue slicing through low-hanging branches and tall shrubs in front of him. "Honestly, though, I don't see what the big deal is. The Schnee is a big girl, surely she can handle someone not worshiping the very ground she walks on."
"Well, yes, of course she can!" Pyrrha stated, only to be met with a snort. "Or, at least she should be able to," she corrected herself. "But still, even if you personally don't like her, you should at least try to be respectful towards her, don't you think? You twoaregoing to be classmates for the next four years..."
"Please, don't remind me about that," the bull Faunus grumbled. "I'm surprised she even came down to Beacon in the first place. Atlas Academy would be much closer to home for her."
"Well, Beacon is said to be the greatest of the four academies. I'd imagine someone of her prestige would strive for the absolute best."
"Yes, yes. How typical of her family to want the best," Adam said, disgust evident in his voice. "Still, the less I see of that bleached bitch, the better."
"Adam!" Pyrrha was surprised with how spiteful the bull Faunus was being. She had managed to glean that he did not like Weiss or her family very much, based off of what she had seen in the locker rooms that morning, but still, from the way he was acting, it was as though the Schnees had killed his father, or something. "Have you even met her before Beacon?" she asked him, trying to find another angle to work with. Adam shook his head.
"No. But I don't really see what that has to do with anything."
"Then maybe she's nicer than you've heard!" Pyrrha suggested. "You'll never know if you don't give her a chance, right?"
"After what her company has done to m-the Faunus, forgive me for finding that hard to believe," the bull Faunus muttered. His tone made it clear that he had no interest in continuing their conversation, so she let it drop, and continued to follow behind him. Something about what he had just said was still eating at Pyrrha, though. It had almost sounded like he had been about to say "After what her company has done tome," before realizing his slip-up and changing it to "the Faunus" instead. Had something happened to him that he blamed the SDC, and by extension Weiss's family for? She was quickly broken out of her musings, though, when Adam abruptly stopped in front of her, holding up a hand. "We're not alone," he told her.
"More students?"
"No," the bull Faunus said curtly, shoulders tensing. Then he suddenly pivoted to his left, bringing Wilt up to prevent a pair of serrated, scythe-like blades from hacking into his shoulders. A large, insectoid head leaned out of the fog, clicking its mandibles furiously as it pushed its bulky forelimbs downward, trying to force Adam down to one knee.
"Get off him!" Pyrrha shouted, bringing up her shield and hurling it at the creature, nailing it right between its bulbous red eyes. The insectoid Grimm shrieked and stepped backward, giving her partner room to breathe as her shield returned to her hand.
"Thanks," the bull Faunus said with a nod towards her, before pulling Blush off his belt. "Now get down!" Pyrrha ducked as Adam fired two shots from his scabbard at a second insectoid Grimm that had been creeping up behind her, forcing it to back away. The creature clicked its mandibles in irritation, before spreading its serrated forelimbs, shaking its head and forth, trying to make itself look even larger.
"What kind of Grimm is that?" Pyrrha asked, looking it up and down as she held her shield out in front of herself, studying the insectoid Grimm. It looked very similar to a praying mantis, albeit with white chitinous plating baring the typical red markings, and easily standing half-again as tall as both her and her partner.
"Preying Reaper," the bull Faunus stated, busy staring down his own attacking Grimm. "They must have been attracted by our earlier conversation. Well, that suits me just fine!" Pyrrha did not need to see his face to know he was smiling. Truth be told, their discussion had been making her feel a little tense. This would be a good way to get that out of her system.
The Preying Reaper let out a hiss, then lashed out at her, swiping at her chest with each of its serrated forelimbs. Pyrrha blocked the first attack with her shield, then the second with her short sword, before reversing the grip on her weapon to slash at the mantis Grimm's thorax. Once again, the Reaper protected itself with its front legs, then spread its wings, beginning to lift off the ground and back away from her. Pyrrha bent her legs, preparing for the charge she knew was coming. The mantis Grimm put about twenty feet between itself and her, before clicking its mandibles and bursting forward. Pyrrha held her ground, then as the Reaper drew close, raising its forelimbs to slash down upon her, she dove forward, rolling under the beast. As the mantis Grimm flew over her, she hit the special switch on her short sword, causing its grip to lengthen into a longer shaft, becoming more akin to a javelin. She raised her transformed weapon over her head, and as the Reaper turned to face her, hurled the javelin at its face, watching as it pierced through and burst out the back of its head. The mantis Grimm shrieked and flailed its front limbs, before crashing to the ground, where it began to melt into a viscous, black ooze. Pyrrha smiled, and stretched out a hand, causing her javelin to pry itself free from the dirt it had embedded itself in, and fly back into her hand. She turned to check on Adam, only to watch as he was slowly forced backwards by his own Reaper, only raising his sword to block its quick, brutal strikes.
"Need some help?" she called to the bull Faunus.
"Nah, I'm good," he said. "Just conserving some energy for later." Case in point as the mantis Grimm raised both its serrated forelimbs overhead to bring down upon him, Adam quickly slid his sword back into its sheath, only to bring it blasting back out with a burst of fire a second later, the blade crackling with flames as it tore through the Reaper's thorax. The mantis Grimm screeched as its top half was separated from its lower half, collapsing flat on its face at the bull Faunus's feet. Feebly, it attempted to stare up on him with its bulbous eyes, only for Adam to lift a foot and stamp down on its head, causing to burst apart in a goopy mess.
"Well struck," Pyrrha complimented.
"Thanks." The bull Faunus gave her a nod. "Shall we continue?"
"After you."
Yang Xiao Long was more similar to Adam than Blake first thought. Both of them had fiery tempers, and both had Semblances that were based off of damage absorption and redirection. Unlike her former mentor, though, the blonde girl was actually a very upbeat and friendly individual, and while her puns were atrocious, that seemed to be the extent of her crimes against humanity. Yes, the raven-haired girl could see their partnership working out just fine, in the long run. They seemed to have made pretty good time together, too, seeing how not long after they had met, they had stumbled into a clearing free from fog and trees, where a large stone structure stood in a decrepit state.
"Think this is it?" Yang asked her, as the two girls cautiously approached the ancient architecture. As they stepped onto the structure, they found a number of short stone pillars sporting small gold and black objects that looked very familiar.
"Chess pieces?" Blake murmered, looking upon them with interest.
"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here," her partner commented, looking around. Indeed, while there were not enough stone pillars to sport the entire set of chess pieces, it looked like there were just enough for there to be a pair of each color of pawns, knights, bishops, and rooks, as well as the king and queen. But like Yang had said, some of them were gone.
"Well, I guess we should pick one," the raven-haired girl stated," looking around at the pieces that remained. Her golden-haired partner approached one of the golden knights, leaning forward to study it more closely. "Hmmmm..." she hummed thoughtfully, before plucking the chess piece up, and holding it up. "How about a cute little pony?" she suggested. Blake smirked.
"Sure," she conceded, as she walked over to Yang, who grinned cheekily.
"That wasn't too hard!" she declared. Despite her more reserved nature, Blake found herself smiling too.
"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find," she pointed out.
Adam and Pyrrha stood outside the entrance to a dark cave, staring into it. The rocky walls around its gaping maw were decorated with paintings of humanoids armed with bows and spears battling against what looked to be a giant scorpion. It did not have the vibes of a traditional temple, but it still seemed sacred. The bull Faunus turned towards his partner, giving her an uncertain look.
"Think this is it?" he asked her. Seeing her shrug, he unsheathed his sword, and slowly stepped into the entrance. "Guess there's only one way to find out," he determined. Together, the two of them began to descend into the dark, damp cave. Fortunately, Adam's sword gave off a dim, red glow, so Pyrrha was able to see where she was going, at least a little. As they moved deeper underground, though, she noticed something about her partner. The bull Faunus's shoulders were tense, his breathing -although quiet- sounded shaky, and his other hand was clutched tightly around his scabbard. In fact, it almost appeared to be shaking. Frowning, Pyrrha looked back up at Adam.
"I'm not sure this is it," she announced, causing the bull Faunus to stop cold.
"Was I that obvious?" he asked with a resigned sigh, turning to face her. Pyrrha held up her hands, doing her best to play it off.
"N-No, no! That's not it at all!" she yelped, sounding way less sincere than she would have liked. Adam stared at her silently, unimpressed. "Well, think about it," Pyrrha told him, beginning to process it herself. "This cave doesn't really fit the description of a temple, first of all. And secondly, this place is super dark, to the point we needed a light source just to see where we were going. Or at least I did, anyway," she clarified, remembering who she was talking to. "it's just... Don't you think this is all a lot more needlessly complicated than it needs to be?" The bull Faunus lifted his head towards the ceiling, processing all she had said.
"That actually makes sense," he admitted, and it warmed her heart to see relief briefly wash over his face. "Well then, let's head back." He took a step forward, planning to get around behind her to lead the way again, but before he could do so, another light -this one bright yellow, and coming from a somewhat spherical shape about ten feet in front of them- began to glow from behind him. The two redheads stared at the light cautiously.
"What... is that?" Pyrrha wondered aloud. The glowing sphere began to lower itself, almost as though it was leaning down to greet them. Now that they could get a better look at it, they could see that it was shaped more like a teardrop, with a large, spherical bulb that tapered off into a pointed barb, and seemed to be connected to something long and pale.
"I don't think that's the Relic," Adam said finally, taking a cautious step backwards. Pyrrha turned towards her partner.
"Adam...?" she asked worriedly. The light moved closer still, getting almost close enough to brush against the bull Faunus, as well as revealing the giant scorpion Grimm it was attached to. The giant Death Stalker clicked its mandibles together as it arched its barbed tail backwards, snapping its pincers together in anticipation. Adam and Pyrrha shared a dismayed look.
"Run," the bull Faunus stated, to which his partner nodded in agreement.
The two of them immediately turned heels and run, sprinting back up the sloping passage as fast as they could. The giant scorpion Grimm was quick to give chase, the sound of its long, segmented legs skittering across the rocky ground echoing throughout the tunnel. Pyrrha pulled out her short sword and made it transform again, this time into a rifle that she aimed behind her, firing several shots at the pursuing Death Stalker. It did little good, her bullets simply bouncing off its thick, chitinous armor. Fortunately, the mouth of the cave was now visible, the sunlight shining bright and reassuring. They pushed themselves, running faster and faster, before diving out of the cave, back outside. The two stopped to catch their breaths, Pyrrha knelt down and braced herself up with her rifle, letting out a shaky sigh, while Adam doubled over, resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"I think I figured out what those paintings were for," the bull Faunus said, turning to look back at the illustrations etched around the entrance to the dark tunnel. "They were a warning. I think that Death Stalker was in that cave because it was too strong for whoever made those images to kill, so they just sealed it away, or something."
"You're probably right," Pyrrha said with a nod, before looking at the mouth of the cave again. It was much to small for a creature the size of the scorpion Grimm to squeeze through. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about it following us out here!" she added, right before the Death Stalker smashed its way through the tunnel and out into the open, tossing large chunks of rock and dirt into the air all around it. The scorpion Grimm lifted its pincers and snapped them together, letting out a hideous hiss as its tail coiled back, ready to strike.
"Spoke too soon!" Adam said with a wince, drawing the Death Stalker's attention with a couple shots from Blush, causing it to jam its tail down upon him. The bull Faunus managed to block the attack by crossing his sword and scabbard together over his head, then wrapped his arms around the glowing barb, attempting to pin it to the ground. The scorpion Grimm hissed again, and began to pull its tail back upwards, threatening to yank Adam off the ground. "Pyrrha, I don't think I can hold this thing for much longer!" he warned her. Pyrrha took aim with her rifle, aiming for a potential weak spot, but any area she could think of was covered by bony white chitin. Noticing that the Death Stalker was holding off on attacking her partner, likely to avoid potentially harming itself, she called out to him.
"Adam!Whatever you do, don't let-"The Death Stalker's tail suddenly pulled back, forceful enough to tug the bull Faunus up off the ground along with it. Determined to dislodge the nuisance bothering it, the scorpion Grimm thrusted its barb forward agin, catapulting Adam into the air with a startled yelp and sending him flying far off into the Emerald Forest, as his partner watched in dismay. "Go..." Pyrrha turned her attention back towards the Death Stalker, who took a single step forward, continuing to click its mandibles and snap its pincers. The red-haired girl smiled, embarrassed, then turned and fled back into the woods, kicking up leaves and dirt. The scorpion Grimm let out as screech, and began to scramble after the red-haired girl, intent on making a meal out of her.