Back on the cliff, Ozpin watches as the other students continue their initiation. Glynda, approaching behind him, lifts up her tablet sized Scroll
"Our last pair has been formed sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren...poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better of than Miss Nikos." Glynda changes the camera view on her tablet from Ren and Nora to the gladiator student Pyrrha Nikos and her partner Jaune. Along with Crimson and his partner following them
"Hmm..." Ozpin only hums in acknowledgement
"I don't care what those transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat! And I'd rather not get myself started with Mr. Vernados and Mr. Strife, those two boys only just met and they already can't stand each other. As for Mr. Kurozaki and Mr. Calavera, it would seem they've teamed up with Miss Rose and Miss Schnee and they're near their objective. Time will only tell for the others though, at their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes"
Shutting down her tablet, Glynda walks away from the cliff until she stops to look at Ozpin
"Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" Glynda asks, but gets no answer. "...Professor Ozpin?"
But Ozpin continues looking at Ruby and Weiss through his own tablet Scroll, wondering in thought. Meanwhile, Fenrir and Jotaro continue leading girls to the temple. The girls in question are still not getting along with one another.
"Calling me an 'Ice Queen', well what does he know?! At least he got whatever he wanted! Calavera shouldn't be so rude with someone he only JUST met!" Weiss mumbles
"Uh, how much farther to the temple?!" Ruby asks, an uncomfortable tone in her voice.
"We're not gonna get any closer if you keep asking, Ruby." Jotaro lectures
"But we've been walking for hours!" Ruby complains, hunching over in exhaustion
"It's only been thirty minutes, and your impatience isn't making things easier!" Weiss scolds
"Oh, here we go again..." Fenrir facepalms
"I'm not making things easier?! You're the one who set that forest on fire!!" Ruby snaps
"And who's fault do you think THAT is?!" Weiss retorts. "You attacked out of turn and disrupted any rational thought I had!"
"Maybe I wouldn't have if you stopped criticizing me!"
"Girls, please, arguing like this isn't going to—," Jotaro starts but the girls don't listen.
"Perhaps if you were more coordinated, I wouldn't judge how you fight at all!!" Weiss argues
"You didn't really think they were going to stop and listen, did you?" Fenrir chuckles.
"No, but it was worth a try..." Jotaro replies, disappointed.
"Well YOU shouldn't be so BOSSY!" Ruby shouts
"I'm not bossy! Don't say things like that!"
"Stop treating me like a kid!"
"Stop acting like a kid!"
"Well, stop acting like you're perfect!"
"I'm. Not. Perfect! Not yet... But I'm still leagues better than you." Weiss says, picking up the pace, passing Jotaro and Fenrir
"You don't even know me..." Ruby mumbles dejectedly
The boys look at Ruby then at Weiss
"We haven't even formed a real team yet and it's already falling apart!" Fenrir jokes
"This is bad." Jotaro sighs. "If those two can't get along, how are we going to survive our initiation?"
"Maybe we...should help them find common ground." Fenrir suggests. "Help them see who they're meant to be to each other and not...how they see them."
"Good idea, I'll talk to Weiss." Jotaro nods.
"That's best, I'll talk to Ruby." Fenrir smirks, patting Jotaro's shoulder. "Don't stray too far, partner!"
"You too." Jotaro nods
The boys part ways, ready to speak with their honorary partners. Fenrir approaches Ruby who sits on a rock, staring at the ground, a dejected look still present on her face.
"You keep staring at the ground and you're gonna bore a hole through." Fenrir jokes, letting out a chuckle.
Ruby only gives Fenrir a quick glance then goes back to staring at the ground. Fenrir sighs
"Look, don't take what the Ice Queen said too personally." Fenrir assures, sitting on the rock next to her. "She may be a skilled fighter, but so are you. You girls just have...different opinions of each other."
"I just...I don't like it when people underestimate me." Ruby sighs. "I may be fifteen, but I know how to handle Grimm on my own. Heck, I got into Beacon just from beating up a few crooks robbing a Dust shop! Weiss didn't see that! She doesn't know what I'm capable of!"
"And that's normal, but if you let her get to you, it will only make things worse for yourself." Fenrir lectures. "I may not like the Ice Queen, nor do I know much about her, but I'm pretty sure she didn't start that fire on her own."
Ruby only whines in sorrow, Fenrir pretty much knows how that happened, or at least, he has a good enough idea.
"If you wanna prove you're capable, then wait for the right moment, don't ever let their criticism get into your head." Fenrir says, poking his head for emphasis. "You'll end up getting yourself or others hurt if you do. I would know...I've made those mistakes myself...all you gotta do is keep a cool head. Do that, and she'll see you belong in this Academy."
Ruby glances at Fenrir then back to the floor, taking Fenrir's words to mind. How will she know when to prove Weiss she's capable enough to be in Beacon? And how? The last time she tried only made things worse.
With Jotaro, he's able to catch up with Weiss, who stops to rest near a tree, taking in the sights of the forest. Weiss glances behind her, knowing Jotaro is there.
"I'm really not in the mood for another lecture." Weiss sighs.
"You're gonna have to sit through one more." Jotaro says, standing next to Weiss
Neither of them speak up, they continue gazing at the trees and open sky from upon the small hill they stand on.
"What do you want me to say, Jotaro? That I'm wrong? That she's not as childish as she seems? You didn't see how she behaved in combat, it's like she lives in her own world where no one else exists!" Weiss complains
"Hm, that almost sounds familiar..." Jotaro smirks
"Don't turn this around on me!" Weiss snaps, glaring at Jotaro. "Ruby may not be my preferred choice of partners, but I would've adjusted fine if she stopped acting like a showoff!"
"Have you ever stopped to consider WHY she shows off around you?" Jotaro asks, earning a confused head tilt from Weiss. "Think back, the first time you two met, she tripped on your luggage of Dust, you called her brain dead, shook around a broken vial of Fire Dust which made Ruby sneeze and explode. Even after all that, she merely wanted to start over and be your friend, stop and think for a moment how she feels about that. Yes, she's childish and can be known to act without thinking, but if you continue these harsh criticisms, there's no way she'll improve and neither of you will ever get along."
"So this is all MY fault, is that what you're saying?" Weiss scoffs.
"Not specifically, I'm saying you're both at fault." Jotaro clarifies. Weiss rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Just give her a chance...set aside your differences for one moment and you'll finally treat each other like real partners."
"How...how did you and Fenrir get along so well?" Weiss asks.
"Simple, we made eye contact, understood our positions and worked together to reach our goal." Jotaro explains. "We never criticized our fight patterns, or our differences. We just accepted who we are to each other...partners."
Weiss sighs to herself, glancing away from Jotaro to take in and understand his words.
"Hey! Hope we're not interrupting anything!"
Weiss and Jotaro look behind to see Fenrir and Ruby approaching.
"No, I just finished up on my end." Jotaro answers.
"Will it be enough?" Fenrir glances at Ruby, then to Weiss.
"It'll have to be, if we ever hope to complete our initiation." Jotaro crosses his arms.
"Let's get a move on then, the temple should be just past the next hiiiAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Fenrir screams as he and Jotaro fall down a covered sinkhole they unsuspectedly stepped on.
"Guys!" Ruby cries in worry.
The girls run to the open sinkhole, looking down to see if they're ok.
"Jotaro! Fenrir! Are you ok?!" Weiss shouts, hoping for an answer.
"...It feels like I broke my pelvis..." Fenrir groans, earning a sigh of relief from the girls.
"Well, can you see anything down there?! Maybe you could try climbing back up?!" Ruby suggests.
"We can't see anything! It's too dark down here!" Jotaro replies, squinting his eyes in the hopes they'll adjust to the dark.
"Nothing but a bunch of skeletons, almost set up like a nest." Fenrir mutters, earning a confused blink from Jotaro.
"Hold on! We'll climb down to help!" Ruby says, crouching down.
"No! Don't risk it! We don't know what could be down here! Keep heading north! You'll find the temple eventually!" Jotaro orders.
"You want us to just leave you?!" Weiss asks shockingly
"We'll be fine! Just trust in each other and you'll get through this!" Jotaro assures. "Fenrir and I will catch up when we can!"
"Um, ok! Which way is north?!" Ruby asks.
"Just look to your right, and move forward, it shouldn't be hard to miss!" Jotaro instructs. Ruby looks to her left.
"Your other right, Rubes!" Fenrir corrects. Ruby looks to her right and starts walking. Weiss looks down the sinkhole one more time and follows after Ruby. "We do have a way out of this, right?"
"It'll be difficult without a light source." Jotaro sighs. "Just press your hand against the wall and eventually we'll...wait, does something smell off to you?"
"Sorry, I think that steak from this morning is catching up to me." Fenrir chuckles.
"Ew, no, not that! Focus..." Jotaro says, sniffing the air.
"Yeah...I smell it too..." Fenrir sniffs, taking a moment to figure out what it is. "It almost smells like...venom?"
Fenrir and Jotaro glance at each other in concern, not noticing a pair of multiple red glowing reptilian eyes appearing behind them. Both of them could feel it's presence as they widen their eyes
"Fenrir...you mentioned this was a nest earlier...correct?" Jotaro asks
"...Crap..." Is all Fenrir says as a response.
Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha are traveling the woods with Crimson and his partner who still neglects giving a name.
"So uh...these woods are pretty scary!" Jaune chuckles nervously
"Mhm." Crimson's partner nods nonchalantly
"You could be having a normal hike and...out of nowhere a Beowulf attacks you!" Jaune says, motioning his hands like a monster for emphasis.
"Hm..." Crimson's partner hums in response
"You uh...don't talk much, do you?" Jaune chuckles again
Crimson's partner glances at Jaune, then looks ahead, making Jaune sigh. Crimson and Pyrrha follow Jaune and the unnamed partner.
"Don't bother blondie, I've tried multiple times to get him to talk and so far, he's still on mute!" Crimson says
"Did you...ask for his name, at least?" Pyrrha asks Crimson
"It's River..." They hear Crimson's partner speak up, surprising the three of them. "My name is River Strife..."
"So you CAN talk! How come you never said anything to me before?!" Crimson asks
"Talking felt unnecessary at the time..." River answers
"Unnecessary? Why would you think that?" Pyrrha asks
"I don't like talking...a waste of time." River answers
"...Yep, I'm paired with a weird one." Crimson sighs
Jaune, Pyrrha, Crimson and River stop at the mouth of a dark cave, where drawings are seen to the side involving armed men against giant beasts.
"Think this is it?" Jaune asks
"Only one way to find out!" Crimson says picking up a broken stick nearby and hands it to Jaune. "Here, see if you can make a torch. River, you watch our backs and-,"
Crimson turns to River who he noticed just stepped away after getting a glance of the drawings.
"I'm not going in there." River says.
"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asks.
"As sure as being a Huntsman."
"Why? What's wrong with this place?!" Crimson asks
"I just don't want to..." River replies
"Dude, that's weak..." Crimson sighs as Jaune successfully lights the torch behind him.
"You're not the least bit curious? The temple could be inside..." Pyrrha attempts to convince River
"No, it's not." River says
"And how do you know that?" Crimson asks, slightly annoyed
"...I...I don't know." River stutters, scratching his arm.
"Fine..." Crimson sighs. "I'll go into the dark spooky cave with this really attractive girl while you wait here in a forest full of deadly Grimm!"
"Uh, I'm coming along too!" Jaune raises his hand, making himself known.
"Yeah, why not, we need someone to hold the torch." Crimson mutters.
Both Pyrrha and Jaune picked up Crimson's muttering and neither liked it. The three enter the cave while River remains where he is. He hears Grimm howling in the distance and a few twigs snapping, making River a little jumpy.
Inside the cave, the trio continue their way further with Jaune taking the lead, Pyrrha and Crimson following closely behind.
"I'm starting to think River's right, this doesn't feel like a temple..." Pyrrha says, scanning the area with her eyes.
"Or maybe blondie got us lost with his sense of direction!" Crimson jokes.
"Pyrrha, Crimson, I made the torch. Could you two humor me for, like, five more feet?" Jaune says only to trip on the ground.
The torch flies into a small puddle, extinguishing the flame so the three are cast in darkness with only their eyes visible.
"Oh, way to go you klutz!" Crimson groans, then glances to Pyrrha. "I can hold you if you're scared, beautiful."
"Actually, I'd prefer you keep your hands to yourself." Pyrrha says with a cheerful, yet forceful, tone. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt if...Wait...Do you feel that?"
"Soul-crushing regret?" Jaune asks.
"I wasn't touching your hips, I swear." Crimson quickly excuses.
"No, it's... warm. I think it's time we left." Pyrrha says
"Good idea...uh...which way was out?" Jaune asks, looking around
"Well, we made it this far into the rabbit hole, maybe the exit goes both ways. Come on." Crimson says, taking the lead
The three continue onward through the cave until they see a large glowing point of gold right in front of them, illuminating Jaune's excitement.
"That's the relic!" Jaune slowly reaches out to grab it, but it moves away from his swipe. "Hey! Bad... relic!" He tries to get it again, then jumps forward and hangs onto it as the object raises him above the ground.
"Jaune...?" Pyrrha asks worriedly
"That's not a relic..." Crimson says, equally worried.
"Huh? What do ya mean?" Jaune asks, he looks at his catch as it lowers itself to see he's dangling right in front of the now-glowing red lines and eyes of a Death Stalker.
At the cave entrance, River is sitting on a rock nearby, tinkering with his weapon until he hears a high pitched scream from inside the cave. River knows that's not Pyrrha screaming so...who else is in the cave?
"River! We have incoming!" Pyrrha rushes out with Crimson next to her.
The monster crashes through the hole, roaring and waving its grass-encrusted claws as Jaune hangs from the stinger, calling from help and continuing to scream. River quickly puts on his headphones and aims his gunblade
"Help! Whoa-ah-ah-ah-ah! Why?! Pyrrha! Crimson! He-e-e-elp! Pyrrha, this is not the relic! It's not!" Jaune cries.
"No, shit, dumbass!" Crimson shouts, his weapons at the ready.
"Some Grimm are known to nest in dark damp places like caves, those drawings from earlier were meant to be a warning." River calmly explains, shooting his gunblade at the Death Stalker
"Then why didn't you explain that to begin with?!" Crimson shouts at River
"Thought the drawings were clear enough..." River shrugs.
"Guys! Do something!" Jaune cries out again
"Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-," Before Pyrrha could finish, the Grimm hurls its tail back and launches a still-screaming Jaune across the forest as the others watch. " ... Go".
They turn back to the Death Stalker as it continues to snap its claws at her.
"Alright, we can beat this thing, all we have to do is rely on our strengths, our wits, most importantly, we rely on each other-," When Crimson turns around, he notices River making a break for it. "What the-GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!!!!"
Crimson chases after River, leaving Pyrrha with the Death Stalker. She smiles embarrassedly before turning and running with the boys in a burst of green leaves.
With Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose, they're currently hanging on to something very feathery and very fast, as evidenced by the loud wind and the two being blown sideways.
"Ruby!" Weiss shouts, the name's owner opens her eyes a bit to look at Weiss. "I told you this was a terrible idea!"
"We're fine! Fenrir said the temple's north which is where this thing's heading! Stop worrying!" Ruby shouts
"I am so far beyond worrying!"
"In a good way?" Ruby asks, smiling
"In a bad way! In a very bad way!"
"Well, why don't we just jump?"
"What are you? Insane?!" Weiss asks only to notice Ruby has already disappeared.
"Oh, you insufferable little red-!"
Down on the ground in the Abandoned Temple, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long arrived a few minutes to go but heard the distant commotion of screaming and gunfire.
"Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asks, noticing her partner's pointing up. Yang complies to see Ruby falling from the sky.
"Heads uuuuuuuup!" Ruby screams as she's about to hit the ground, Jaune Arc comes flying through the air and crashes into Ruby, knocking her off course and sending them both into a tree to the left of where Blake and Yang are standing.
"Oohhhh... What was that?" Ruby asks, slightly dazed until she shakes it off
"Eh-hem!" Ruby looks up to see Jaune hanging upside-down in a tree branch above her. "Hey, Ruby..."
Back on ground level, both Blake and Yang look at the tree Ruby and Jaune crashed into.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asks
"I..." Before Yang could answer, several crashing noises are heard in the forest ahead of them, and an Ursa comes out, claws swiping, just as a pink blast of energy hits it in the back and it crashes to the ground, depositing its rider.
"YEEEE-HAAAAW!" The girl, Nora Valkyrie, rolls off of the creature's back, then gets up. "Awwww... It's broken."
Nora dashes onto the Ursa's neck and observes the carcass as Lie Ren comes up behind her
"Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again." Ren pants, he looks up and notices that Nora has run off again, and looks around frantically.
Ren spots Nora in the temple, staring at the golden rook relic.
"Oooohh..." Nora grabs the relic, dances and sings with the chess piece. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"
"Nora!" Ren calls out. Nora stops dancing with the rook remaining on her head
"Coming, Ren!" Nora salutes, dropping the relic into her hand and skips off to her friend.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asks
"I..." Yang is interrupted again by a King Taijitu crashing from underground with Jotaro and Fenrir on its head.
"What part of boring through the surface on a King TaIjitu was EVER a good idea?!" Jotaro asks, panicking.
"Sometimes the best approach is the more direct!" Fenrir laughs
The Taijitu swings and jerks its head around, trying to shake Fenrir and Jotaro off it. They noticed its second head going in for the kill so the boys jump off its head just as the second one sank its teeth into the first head. Both Jotaro and Fenrir hit the ground in front of Blake and Yang, both surprised by their not-so-graceful fall.
"Ha ha...daylight...finally..." Fenrir chuckles
"Did Jotaro and his partner just bore underground with a King Taijitu?" Blake asks
"I..." Yang is interrupted once more as a screech is heard from their right, Crimson Vernados, River Strife and Pyrrha Nikos run out from the woods as the Death Stalker uproots entire trees in its chase after them.
"Pyrrha! Watch out!" Crimson shouts
Crimson pushes Pyrrha out of its giant claws, River jumps between the Death Stalker in an attempt to slow it down, only to get knocked the wind out of him by its other claw. River crashes into Crimson, causing them both to crash into the temple. Pyrrha looks back in worry but keeps on running.
"Guys!" Pyrrha calls out to Crimson, River and Jaune in worry.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune calls back, still dangling from the tree
"Whoa!" Ruby stands up, gazing at the Death Stalker and King Taijitu. Ruby jumps off the branch and lands in a roll
"Ruby!" Jaune whines.
Ruby recovers from her roll, as Jotaro and Fenrir stand up
"Ruby!" Yang calls, happily and slightly surprised.
"Yang!" Ruby says in glee, raising her arms to embrace her sister.
"Nora!" Nora excitedly exclaims, coming between the two sisters and knocking them off-balance in surprise.
"Yeah, we're ok too! No need for anyone to ask!" Fenrir groans, hand on his hip. The Death Stalker continues to follow Pyrrha as she runs.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asks while Nora continues to crush Fenrir with her hug. Both River and Crimson approach the group, recovering from their crash.
"And I would've killed it, were it not for the roadblock next to me." River says, pointing at Crimson
"Kill it with what?! That little peashooter you call a weapon?!" Crimson scoffs
"Glad to see you decided to join the fun, Crimson." Jotaro chuckles, straightening himself.
But, the stress of everything that's happening at once was proving too much for Yang as she erupts in a small burst of flames, her eyes glowing red
"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!" By her request, two seconds of nothing happens as Jotaro, Crimson and Fenrir were recovering from their recent bruises while River casually checks his watch to time the two seconds
Both Blake and Ruby look up to notice something else circling in the sky.
"Umm... Yang?" Ruby tugs on her sister's sleeve and points up
In the sky, Weiss is revealed to be hanging on a talon the size of her entire body that belongs to a gigantic Nevermore.
"How could you leave me?!" Weiss shouts from above, distressed.
"I said 'jump!'" Ruby shouts back
"Is that Weiss up there?! We gotta get her down before she falls!" Jotaro says, concerned
"Don't worry, she's not gonna fall!" Ruby assures Jotaro.
"She's falling." River points out.
Jaune is finally out of the tree, panting until he looks up and grins at the sight of Weiss falling through the air, giving him the opportunity to jump off the branch with arms outstretched and catch her in midair.
"Just... dropping in?" Jaune smiles heroically
Weiss is speechless... and Jaune realizes why when they both look down.
"Oh, Gods!" They hang on to each other wide-eyed as their moment of suspension ends, their weapons flying behind them. "Oh, noooooooo- Oomph!"
Jaune faceplants into the dirt, limbs splayed out, and serves as the perfect landing spot for Weiss as she falls into a seated position on his body.
"My hero." Weiss says mockingly.
"My back..." Jaune groans.
"Weiss!" Jotaro runs to Weiss in concern. The heiress stands up and approaches Jotaro who checks on her to see if anything's broken. "Are you alright?! You're not too badly hurt, are you?!"
"I'm fine, Jotaro, nothing you need to worry about. It turns out Jaune isn't completely useless after all..." Weiss smirks. Jaune continues to groan painfully as a response.
With the Death Stalker still chasing her, Pyrrha manages to land on her side at the feet of the heroes.
"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang says, passive aggressively
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby smirks and rushes towards the Grimm.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang calls out in worry.
"What does she think she's doing? Getting herself killed?!" Crimson asks, a bit surprised.
Ruby, still screaming, fires Crescent Rose and charges at the oncoming Death Stalker. When the two meet, the Grimm swipes Ruby away and she's knocked back.
"Rubes!" Fenrir calls in worry.
"D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby assures, standing up.
Ruby turns back to the monster and shoots it in the skull, running away from it and sheathing her scythe as the Death Stalker now goes after her.
"Ruby!" Yang shouts, running after her. Fenrir runs with Yang as worried as she is.
Ruby rushes towards Yang and Fenrir, but the Nevermore caws above them, flapping its wings and releasing lines of sharpened feathers. Fenrir looks up, noticing the feathers.
"Yang! Watch out!" Fenrir grabs Yang's arm and pulls her back, causing them both to fall just as the feathers' tips catch on Ruby's cape and prevent Yang from reaching her.
"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang shouts to Ruby who's still struggling with her cloak.
"I'm trying!"
"I got her!!" Fenrir throws his scythe near Ruby, cutting her cape and setting her free.
Fenrir sprints past the feathers as The Death Stalker approaches, raising its golden stinger above a scared Ruby. Fenrir slides next to Ruby and shields her with his whole body as the stinger heads down for an attack.
"Ruby!" Yang reaches out in vain
A white blur races past Yang and reaches the stinger just as it's about to pierce Fenrir's back, he closes his eyes, hugging Ruby as he braces for one painful hit.
"You are so childish!"
Ruby and Fenrir open their eyes to notice nothing's happened. Fenrir looks behind to see the stinger encased in ice and Fenrir frees Ruby from his protective embrace to stare at their savior.
"Weiss...?" Ruby asks, surprised
"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And what YOU did, Fenrir Calavera, was reckless and irresponsible! And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, Ruby Rose, I'll be... nicer."
"I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this."
"You're fine." Weiss walks away after saying her peace.
"Ha...I guess the Ice Queen isn't so bad after all.." Fenrir chuckles, then looks to Ruby. "You ok?"
"You...you tried to save me." Ruby says in surprise.
"Comes with the job." Fenrir shrugs with a smirk.
"You could've died..." Ruby expresses worry
"...Also comes with the job..." Fenrir's smirk falters.
"But, weren't you at least a little scared?"
"The only thing that scares me more than dying..." Fenrir begins as he stands up and offers Ruby a hand. "Is knowing I could've done something to save anyone...and I didn't."
"...Thank you." Ruby smiles gratefully, accepting Fenrir's help. "I guess you were right about making mistakes..."
"We all make mistakes...but we learn...eventually." Fenrir recalls his scythe, smiling at Ruby, who couldn't help but smile back. It's still a shock to her...no one besides Yang has ever thrown their life away to save her. Yet...what Weiss and Fenrir both did...it felt...nice.
They both hear the Death Stalker's cries. When they look, they see it struggling to escape with its tail trapped in the ice. They look behind to spot Yang rushing up to Ruby and giving her a hug which Ruby grunts at upon receiving.
"So happy you're okay!" Yang says, hugging her sister again, then glances at Fenrir. "And I want to thank you, if it wasn't for you and Weiss, I don't know what would've happened to Ruby!"
"Don't worry about it, Weiss did most of the work anyway." Fenrir waves relaxedly.
"Maybe, but not many would just use their own body as a shield like that. That takes real heart." Yang crosses her arms, walking up to Fenrir. "And you know what? You're alright, Calavera!"
Yang lightly punches Fenrir's shoulder with a laugh, then look up at the Nevermore still flying overhead and roaring. Back with the group, they look up at the Nevermore while the Taijitu circles around the trapped Death Stalker.
"Guys? That thing's circling back! What are we gonna do?" Jaune asks, pointing up
"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss says, gesturing to the chess pieces.
"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs." Ruby says, earning a smiling nod from Weiss. "There's no point in fighting these things."
"Run and live - that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune says
"Let's grab a piece, one for each individual and their partner" Jotaro advises, grabbing the Black Queen piece and tossing it to Fenrir who catches it
Ruby goes over and grabs a gold knight, River takes the gold king and Jaune takes hold of a gold rook, Jaune and Ruby smile at each other while River glances between the two, confused as to why they're smiling. The Death Stalker continues to fight its bonds, cracking the ice a little in the process. The Taijitu aids the Stalker by attempting to bite the ice off with its fangs
"Hey, I don't mean to rush, but can we get a move on?!" Those Grimm aint gonna leave us alone forever!" Crimson says, noticing the Death Stalker about to be set free
"Right. Let's go!" Ruby waves to the others and takes the lead forward with everyone following except for a smiling Yang and Blake as the latter approaches her partner
"What is it?" Blake asks. Yang continues to stare proudly at Ruby who leaps on a boulder and motions the group onward
"Nothing..." Yang simply says and follows the group. Blake smiles for a moment, realizing what Yang was so proud about.
The group heads out of the forest and into another abandoned series of structures as the Nevermore follows them from the air. The King Taijitu attempts to attack the group but they quickly dive to ground. The Taijitu misses but recovers inside the structure, slithering in, out and around it like a labyrinth. The group spreads out when the Nevermore passes above, concealing themselves behind some of the stone blocks with their allies as it perches on a high column and caws.
"Well, that's great!" Yang says, annoyed
"Looks like we'll have to fight those things after all." Jotaro sighs, equally annoyed
Jaune looks behind at the Death Stalker bursting onto the scene.
"Ah, man, run!" Jaune screams.
The group emerges from their hiding spots, causing the Nevermore to rise up into the air.
"Nora, distract it!" Ren orders
Nora obliges, running out from her block and jumping through the feather projectiles before reaching behind her and launching several heart-topped shells from her grenade launcher, bursting into pink electricity when they hit the Nevermore and causing it to retreat. She is unaware of the Death Stalker rushing up behind her
"Nora, behind you!" Fenrir warns Nora
Blake and Jotaro perform a cross-slash with their weapons against its shell. Weiss lands next to Nora so she can create a jumping platform beneath them and leap to safety while Blake and Jotaro are now being chased.
"Go, go!" Pyrrha shouts, stops running beside Jaune and gets out her weapon, firing red shots alongside Ren's green blasts for a second until it reaches them and tries to swipe, prompting the group to run again
"Everyone, through the bridge! Hurry!" Jotaro orders while he, Fenrir, Crimson and River stay behind to suppress the Death Stalker
The eight race over the ancient stone bridge, not noticing the King Taijitu closing in on them until it slams through the bridge shattering the path right in the middle which Fenrir and the boys were standing on, the boys fall further down the split canyon of structures. The others, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, and Jaune made it closer to the central collection of columns but left Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha on the other side with the Death Stalker. Ruby looks down the broken bridge in worry
"Fenrir! Guys!!" Ruby calls in worry. She sees the boys landed on another bridge further down the canyon
"We're ok, Ruby!!" Fenrir waves up, he and the boys recovering from their fall.
"Ow...landed right on my ass!" Crimson stands up, rubbing his rear in pain.
"As Fenrir said, we're fine!" Jotaro assures, putting a hand on Crimson's shoulder for emphasis
"Not for long..." River points past the boys who look behind to see the Taijitu coming in for the kill, it's mouth opened wide.
"Crap, run! Now!" Fenrir orders, the four run into the tower the bridge is connected to just as the Taijitu breaks the second bridge they landed on with its head
With Ruby, she decides to focus on her current situating firing her weapon at the retreating Nevermore while Blake is beaten back by the Death Stalker.
"Man, we gotta get over there! They need help!" Jaune says, running to the edge of the broken bridge
"Let's do this!" Nora cheers, running up beside Jaune
"Yeah, but, uh... I can't make that jump." Jaune says, looking down at the King Taijitu chasing after Fenrir and the boys
Nora smiles diabolically at him, laughing as she knocks him back, turns her weapon to its full-length hammer form, and jumps to the edge of the bridge.
"Oh, wait!" Jaune tries to dissuade Nora but it's too late, she slams the hammer into the bridge and throws Jaune to the other side, making him scream in fear
Nora places one foot on the hammer and fires it off the collapsing section of bridge, launching her to slam its face right in the center of the Death Stalker's skull. She fires it just as the stinger comes down to get her, and blasts back again to avoid its reach, accidentally knocking into Blake and making her fall from the edge. Blake sees the Nevermore above her and launches her whip so the gun's blade sinks into the edge of the bridge, circling around and leaping onto the aerial Grimm's back. In the lower canyon, the boys run up the tower inside until the Taijitu breaks it with its head, hissing.
"You guys keep running, I'll distract it!" Fenrir says, jumping off the broken tower and landing on the Taijitu.
"Fenrir, wait!" Jotaro tries to stop Fenrir but fails.
Fenrir runs up the Taijitu, swinging his scythe left and right wildly until he jumps up, ready to seal the final blow against its head, until the Taijitu's second head rams Fenrir into another tower below. As Fenrir recovers, he sees the Taijitu ready to eat him while until it's hit with an explosive shot from River's gunblade. As the Taijitu's dazed, Crimson jumps and slams its head with one hard punch. Fenrir takes the opportunity to escape, jumping from the tower to a series of rusted flagpoles until he spots the next bridge a little higher up. Fenrir was able to parkour his way to the bridge and looks to his left, seeing Jotaro and River running to him
"How'd you guys get here?!" Fenrir asks, a little surprised
"They're all connected." River simply says, confusing Fenrir.
"He means the towers, they're connected to series of steps and bridges like a floating labyrinth!" Jotaro clarifies
"Guys?!! Could use a hand here!!!" Crimson shouts, in the jaws of the Taijitu, trying not to be swallowed whole.
Crimson pushes its jaws apart with his weapons and his feet, able to jump off but the moment he does, the second head slithers in and catches Crimson by the arm, making him scream in pain. Fighting the pain, Crimson activates his weapon inside the Taijitu's mouth which fires Ice Dust, causing the Taijitu to scream in pain, its head incased in ice.
"Hey, that's good!" Fenrir shouts. "Hold it like that!!"
Fenrir jumps another series of flagpoles until he gets close enough to shatter the Taijitu's frozen head, using his Howl Semblance. Crimson briefly falls until he catches the ledge of a tower's window and quickly climbs inside. Fenrir makes his way back to the bridge where Crimson also arrived. The boys catch their breath, but they still have one more head to deal with
With Blake, she dashes all over the Nevermore's body, slashing the entire time, before jumping off and landing on the ruined platform at the top of the columns next to Ruby, then going over to Yang and Weiss.
"It's tougher than it looks!" Blake says, standing up
"Then let's hit it with everything we got!" Yang says, readying her weapons
The Nevermore approaching, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang set their weapons to fire a barrage of blasts at the bird, which it either dodges or takes harmlessly until it crashes through the columns and platform. The girls leap from one section of falling stone to the next until they reach the higher bridge on top, just below the cliffs.
"None of this is working!" Weiss says, frustratingly
Ruby watches Blake whip over to another section of the area and Yang firing round after flaming round at the Nevermore, then looks to Weiss.
"I have a plan! Cover me!" Ruby blasts away as Weiss raises her blade and heads into the fray.
Back with the boys, they spot the Taijitu coming around for another attack so they quickly run in the nearby tower to avoid its ram attack
"We gotta get back up there and help the others!" Crimson pants.
"We should worry about ourselves at the moment. We destroyed the Grimm's first head but now its second is on the warpath until we're destroyed." Jotaro says
"Jotaro's right, we ain't gonna be much help if that thing keeps coming at us." Fenrir nods, standing up from his recovering position.
"So how do we stop it? You have any good ideas?" River asks, leaning against the wall
"...I've got a bad one." Fenrir nervously smiles, making the others glance at one another in concern
On ground level, the Death Stalker is still battling Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha.
"We gotta move!" Jaune shouts, taking lead in the charge
The Death Stalker aims a claw at Pyrrha, but she deflects it with her shield and slashes it with her blade. The Stalker recoils and swipes at her with its other claw, but Jaune is there to deflect it with his shield, knocking it back so Pyrrha can leap over and attack its face. Ren runs up firing and gets on the stinger when it tries to hit him, shooting at the base between it and the tail while Nora fires more grenades at the attacking claws. Pyrrha hurls her javelin straight into one of the monster's ten eyes, making it throw Ren to the side.
"Ren!" Nora calls out.
Ren hits the side of a stone block hard and falls to the ground, not getting back up. Jaune, though, manages to stand and notice the stinger is hanging limply.
"Pyrrha!"
"Done!" Pyrrha nods, raising her shield and hurls it like a discus, slicing the stinger off and causing it to fall into the Death Stalker's head as Pyrrha retrieves her rebounding shield
"Nora, nail it!" Jaune orders with a smirk
"Heads up!" Nora jumps on Pyrrha's shield, who leaps as Nora aims her blast down to give herself a maximum lift, and she smiles the entire way up before twirling down until her hammer slams its head into the stinger, driving the point through the Death Stalker's head and crushing the bridge beneath it
Jaune and Pyrrha bound over the monster to the land behind it, and Nora fires up and away behind them as the monster falls to its doom. Jaune hits the ground on his back, Nora lands on her bottom, Pyrrha manages a crouched pose, and Ren simply walks over to them, panting and groaning until he just collapses. The other three get up and watch as the Nevermore is peppered with firepower.
In the misty abyss, the King Taijitu scans around the towers and bridges, looking for its prey.
"Hey! Over here you scaly creep!!" Fenrir shouts, taunting the Taijitu
The Taijitu turns toward Fenrir's voice to see him in the middle of the bridge. The Taijitu charges at Fenrir, sees him quickly running inside the nearby tower so it gives chase. Slithering inside the tower and up after Fenrir as he quickly climbs the stairs, Fenrir reaches the top and runs to the second story bridge. As the Taijitu slithers out and ready to attack Fenrir, it gets shot by a round of Fire Dust from its left. The Taijitu turns to the direction of his attacker to see River, aiming his gunblade. The Taijitu hisses at River who flips the bird in response. It charges at the second tower River is hiding in, making it his cue to start running.
River jumps down the stairs as the Taijitu crashes through the window. River reaches the lower bridge where the Taijitu slithers out, as it prepares another attack, River spins and swings his weapon up diagonally, unleashing a fiery slash and setting the Taijitu back. River jumps off the bridge as he reaches the next tower, parkouring down a series of flagpoles and jumping to the next tower through an open window with the Taijitu behind his rear. As the Taijitu reaches the bridge the other tower's connected to, it attempts to slither in only to get slashed by Jotaro's rapier, the owner waiting for the Taijitu to appear.
The Taijitu attempts to eat Jotaro but he ducks from its lunge and slices below it's neck, hurting it more until he stabs it in the nose and uses Electric Dust to shock it, thus angering the Taijitu more. Jotaro sprints up the stairs as the Taijitu gives chase, Jotaro jumps out the nearest window and climbs up to the tower's roof, using the poles. On the roof was Crimson who was waiting for his turn, Jotaro arrives up the roof and runs past Crimson who he tags in and jumps off the roof.
The Taijitu crashes through the roof from inside, making Crimson smirk. The Taijitu lunges at Crimson with its fangs wide open, giving him the opportunity to shoot his weapons and break the Taijitu's fangs, causing it to hiss in pain, shaking its head everywhere. River jumps from the rooftop of another tower above them and fires a Fire Dust at the lower part of a tower above the Taijitu, the falling rocks hit the Taijitu in the head, disorienting it. Jotaro comes back and slices his weapon upwards while River swings downwards in midair, both hitting each of the Taijitu's eyes, completely blinding it. From the broken tower above them, Fenrir jumps down from it, clicking the button which turns his scythe into a two handed axe, spinning vertically downwards and slamming the axe's blade into the Taijitu's head with enough force to properly kill it...which it did as the body dissolves.
Up above, Yang is still burning through her ammo on the beast, landing a blow at its face and causing it to head right towards her, but she leaps for its open maw and forces the beak wide as she attacks.
"I! Hope! You're! Hung-! ...-gry!" Yang looks behind her and jumps back from its mouth onto a ruin, causing the creature to crash into the cliffs
Despite Yang's attempts, the Nevermore recovers quickly, and Yang smiles as she spots Ruby and Blake on the broken columns with Weiss rushing to the battle. Yang passes her while the Nevermore starts to fly back up, but Weiss hops over to the ruin it's lifting off of and freezes the tip of its feathery tail to the ground, leaving it stuck in the same spot despite its flapping. Weiss back-flips into a snowflake-circle jump and lands on the other side, running to the group.
Blake fires the pistol portion of Gambol Shroud over to Yang, and the two tighten it between the columns so Ruby can jump on the center with Crescent Rose and bend it back into Weiss' black sigil, right next to the caster.
"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss scoffs.
"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asks, eyes trained on the Nevermore
"Hmm! Can I!" Weiss smirks confidently, confusing the young girl
"Can't?" Ruby asks, turning to Weiss
"Of course I can!" Weiss snaps offendedly
Ruby looks forward and pumps Crescent Rose as Weiss turns the circle from black to red and releases Ruby at such a speed that the ground behind her launch cracks, rose petals flying from her ascent. With each new shot, she gets closer and closer to the trapped Grimm until her scythe catches the Nevermore's neck in its blade and causes them both to fall to the cliff wall. Weiss raises her sword and creates a series of white circles up the wall, which Ruby dashes through by firing the entire way up.
Yang, Blake, and an exhausted Weiss watch her climb up with the bird in her grasp until, both warrior and monster crying out, Ruby reaches the top of the cliff, circles up, fires one last shot, and rends the Nevermore's head from its shoulders in a shower of petals.
She lands beside the severed head as the body of the giant Nevermore falls lifeless to the ruins and crevice below while the girls and, farther away, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and from below, Fenrir, Jotaro, Crimson and River watch in amazement.
"Wow..." Jaune says
"So...did we win?" Crimson jokes, panting. Fenrir chuckles at Crimson's question
Ruby, her cape and petals flowing with the wind, looks down to her friends as they peer up.
"Well... That was a thing!" Yang says, smiling
Ruby continues to smile as everyone else smiles at her from the amazing display she just pulled.
Some time passes, and the initiation has reached its end with all of the first year students standing up on stage in the amphitheater to receive the team they've been assigned by Ozpin
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will be working together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by...Cardin Winchester" Ozpin announces
Cardin and his team step off of the stage as Jaune and his group step up
"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, from this day forward you will be working together as Team JNPR (Juniper), led by...Jaune Arc"
At the sudden place of position, Jaune was almost at a loss for words
"Huh?! L-led by...?" Jaune points to himself in shock.
Congratulations, young man" Ozpin smiles
Pyrrha gives Jaune a punch to the shoulder in congrats but accidentally knocks him off his feet. As they step off the stage, Ruby and her group step onto it next for their next team name
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces, from this day forward you will be working as Team RWBY (Ruby), led by...Ruby Rose"
As the cheers are heard from the crowd, Yang hugs her young sister happily
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaims in glee.
The four of them step off, leaving Fenrir and his group to be the last ones on stage
"And finally, Fenrir Calavera, Crimson Vernados, Jotaro Kurozaki, and River Strife, the four of you retrieved the King and Queen pieces. From this day forward, you will be working together as Team CJVR (Silver) led by...Fenrir Calavera
The sudden sound of his name and position was what caught Fenrir off guard, almost baffled
"Wait, led by me?!!" Fenrir exclaims in surprise
The rest of his team look at him, both with understanding looks but one with a doubtful expression
"Really? He's our leader?" River asks, eyebrow raised.
"It makes sense, nobody else would think of a crazy idea to kill the King Taijitu!" Crimson says, patting Fenrir's shoulder. "How about you Jotaro? You think this guy here is leader material?"
"It shouldn't matter who's fit to be a leader as long as they have the courage to stand up among others." Jotaro says, then turns to River. "What about you, do you agree with this decision?"
"Eh, I don't really care." River shrugs
As CJVR step off the stage, Ozpin looks upon the new potential that the students will surely unlock
"looks like things are shaping up to be an...interesting year" Ozpin says, smirking
Then...below the shattered moon laid an abandoned warehouse. Inside, a lonely criminal named Roman Torchwick listening to his employer through his Scroll while standing in front of a map showing the Kingdom Of Vale. Ending the call, Roman drops his Scroll on the table in front of him and lights a cigar
"Hmm...still having trouble with your 'boss'?" Roman hears someone speaking, the voice disguised to make it anyone.
"Maybe, she's YOUR boss too! Why don't you go ask her?" Roman sighs.
"Because I don't answer to her...you only answer to both of us." The shadowed figure answers
As Roman still has his back turned, the figure talking to him stands under a shadow behind the criminal. The figure is wearing a mask with orange glowing eyes.
"Anyway, the White Fang has arrived with more cargo..." The figure turns away
"...Bring them in."
The figure snaps their fingers as a member of the White Fang brings in a cargo full of Dust, the figure opens it up to see so much Dust Crystals inside
"Perfect...things are going rather smoothly." The figure smirks under their mask.
"But it's still not enough...not with the crew we're running with right now.." Roman turns around and picks up one of the crystals as the figure places their hands on their hips, waiting for what else the criminal has to say
"We're gonna need more men..."
"I shall make a few calls. See if we can't get anymore hired help..." The figure says, pulling out their scroll.
And within this very warehouse...lies a challenge that the Huntsmen and Huntresses must be ready to face...
End of Chapter 4