Panicked voices, the roar of the Death Stalker, the crash of falling trees and flying dirt—with every step, it all grew louder and more palpable. For a second, Egrer and Illmond were covered by a shadow as an enormous Nevermore flew over them.
They got so close they could easily examine the Death Stalker's rear, its eight thin legs, and the tail with a stinger bent over its head. But because of this proximity, they had to dodge falling trees and massive splinters. The Grimm was tearing through the forest like a bulldozer through reeds, constantly screaming, roaring, and shrieking. It was in an absolute blind rage.
If it weren't for Magenta, they wouldn't have run into this mess for all the money in the world. Though, if we were talking about, say, half a million Lien, Egrer might have considered it.
"Twin Gods, is there even anything we can do against this monster? You can't even hide in a tree from that thing." The reflexes beaten into him since early childhood screamed at him to run, but he held his ground. "Ill, what do you think of it?"
"Old, but inexperienced. Seasoned Death Stalkers don't act like this. Judging by the moss, it got stuck somewhere for years and just grew to this size there." Until he pointed it out, Egrer hadn't even noticed the green patches on the Grimm's armor. He really was observant—too bad he spends days staring at his scroll.
For a guy suffering from claustrophobia, agoraphobia, arachnophobia, and about ten other phobias, Illmond held up surprisingly well and wasn't terrified by the prospect of soon clashing with a Death Stalker. Apparently, his prep school had drilled this 'on the job' behavior into him. Because what good is a Huntsman who can't keep his shit together on a mission?
"I'll run ahead and ask what their plan is." No longer holding back, Egrer bolted as fast as he could. Jumping over a falling tree and ducking under the Death Stalker's pincer, he found himself among the fleeing students. One, two, three... there weren't six of them here, but eight!
"Good afternoon!" Feeling the ground tremble behind him, seeing the flying splinters, and hearing the furious roars of a massive, deadly Grimm, Egrer lost control of his tongue. A terrified, nervous smile twisted his face. "Oh, hey, Jaune!"
"Good afternoon to you too! How's it going?" He was having similar problems, judging by his terrified look. Actually, Pyrrha was the only one here who seemed somewhat calm.
"It sucks! Running from a giant monster! Have you guys seen Madge? Where is she?"
"I don't know, we haven't crossed paths!"
How the hell?! The burnt path led straight to the temple! She couldn't have just randomly turned the other way, right? But since she's not here, the target of the rescue mission is now Jaune. Although I need to clarify something...
"Are you paired up with someone already?"
"Yeah, that's just how it worked out. Sorry." Perfect. Not only is Magenta missing, but Jaune is taken too.
"Umm... Egrer, right?" spoke up the girl who always tagged along after Yang. Her name was Ruby, he thought. Judging by her steady, though panicked voice, she wasn't out of breath at all, even though she was running the fastest. "You run really fast. Is that a Semblance?"
"You decided now is the time to socialize?!" Yang yelled, not necessarily judging, but definitely surprised.
"I'm stressed out and terrified! I don't know what I'm saying!"
"You're Ruby, right? The one with the little Beowolves on her pajamas?" A contagious chuckle rippled through their small crowd, making Ruby blush. "You're not bad yourself."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you try to hit on my little sister!" Yang slowed down slightly to run between them.
"Obviously, I was talking about her running. Real recognize real." He gave Ruby a thumbs up, and she returned the gesture.
"This is all very cute, but could you please stop chatting?!" blurted out Schnee, who was clearly at her limit. She was running purely on stubbornness. "You're distracting us!"
"Awesome!" Egrer replied. "Does that mean you're in charge of the plan? Got any rough drafts?"
"No, we're just running!"
"Run and live? That's my motto."
"That's exactly what I said!" Jaune rejoiced at their shared mindset.
"But we still have to do something! Grimm don't get tired, I've already learned that the hard way." Egrer never thought he would say these next words. "We have to fight it. With this many of us, we can take it down!"
"Are you crazy!?" Jaune was horrified. "It threw me across the entire forest with a single hit!"
"No, he's right," Pyrrha said. "There's a clearing ahead. If we keep running, we'll leave the forest, and then the trees won't get in its way! Sooner or later, we'll have to face it anyway." She cast a quick glance at Weiss, who was trailing behind. "It's better to make a stand here with the strength we have left. Plus, the Nevermore won't be able to target us here."
There she was—the four-time champion of the Mistral regional tournament, holder of the "Skullcrusher" cup, and the best graduate in Sanctum's entire history!
"Perfect!" Yang slammed her fists together, activating her shotgun gauntlets. "I never liked running anyway; I'm more into martial arts."
"Oh, crap, you guys are insane..." Jaune was still scared, but found the strength to agree. "Alright! Nora, can you lay down some cover smoke? We need to surround it."
"Can do!" The ginger girl with the glamorous hammer offered a playful salute. She pushed off the ground and flipped backward. In a second, her weapon transformed into a grenade launcher, firing several rounds in quick succession.
The explosions didn't do much damage to the Death Stalker, but the pink smoke blinded it for a bit.
Pink smoke... a giant hammer with hearts on it... a flighty personality... It might be too early to jump to conclusions, but the resemblance to Magenta was obvious. And that resemblance was terrifying; under no circumstances could they be allowed to meet. Beacon wouldn't survive it!
They all scattered, each taking up a position based on their fighting style and weapon. When the Grimm charged out of the smoke, a storm of gunfire rained down on it; anything that could shoot, did. But its armor was too thick.
"Anyone know the weak spots on a Death Stalker?!" Egrer shouted, dodging the stinger.
"The underbelly!" yelled Illmond, having just caught up with them. Electrical sparks danced between his fingers; he was already preparing to trace a glyph in the air.
"That means we have to flip it over!" Nora cheered up, her grenade launcher shifting back into a massive hammer. With a loud 'Hiyah!', she struck the Death Stalker from below on its side, but the beast merely swayed slightly. "Uh-oh..."
She didn't manage to dodge the pincer strike and crashed through a couple of trees.
"I'm okay! Just gonna lay here for a sec..."
"She really is okay," noted the Mistralian boy, whom Egrer hadn't even noticed until now. Or rather, he had seen him but only just paid attention. "Worse things have happened to her."
So flipping the Death Stalker was a no-go; it was too massive. And continuing to bash its armor wasn't an option either. The other obvious weak spots were its eyes and the joints on its legs and pincers, but hitting those was easier said than done.
"We need to immobilize it!" Ruby shouted, standing on a tree branch with her sniper scythe. She was trying to shoot, but couldn't land a hit on the wildly thrashing Grimm, despite its huge size. "It's just not letting anyone get close!"
"Weiss, can you freeze it again?" Jaune asked, trying to deal at least some damage to the Death Stalker alongside Pyrrha. Their swords just bounced off its armor like plastic, and they couldn't reach its weak spots.
"I'm out of Ice Dust. But I can do this instead!" A few orange glyphs appeared next to her, shooting out bursts of fire. They singed the Grimm a bit, but only managed to piss it off more rather than wound it. "Okay, that looked better in my head."
"We'll handle this!" Egrer shouted. "Ill, whip up the strongest rope in the world!"
"Give me thirty seconds," he replied, starting to weave thin little threads into something much sturdier. The mechanisms on his gloves skittered like thousands of tiny spider legs.
"You heard him? In the meantime, we need to poke out a couple of this ugly bastard's eyes."
"We'll distract it!" Yang replied, rushing into the attack. Jaune and Pyrrha raised their shields, ready to cover her at any moment.
The Death Stalker was frantically scurrying its legs, spinning like a top from side to side, trying to attack everyone at once. Trying to flank it was useless, and there was nowhere to jump onto it from, since it had knocked down all the surrounding trees. So, when the Grimm attacked Yang with its stinger, Egrer grabbed onto it.
"Be careful!" yelled Jaune, taking the hit on his shield. "It has a really strong stinger, it used it to launch me through the air across the forest!"
"Will do!" He had no intention of lingering on it anyway. Once he was hovering over the dozen red, faceted eyes, Egrer activated his Needlestick, dove down, and plunged it in as deep as he could. But he couldn't pull it back out; the weapon was stuck.
"I'm fu—"
He didn't get to finish; the Grimm started thrashing harder than before, and even the combat-ready Yang backed off. The Death Stalker spun in place, waving its pincers, and with one lucky strike sent Pyrrha and Jaune flying.
A lump formed in Egrer's throat; he felt like he was going to throw up. The world was changing way too fast: the colored blurs of his friends flew by, the ground and sky blended together. Holding on any longer was impossible. But letting go of his weapon wasn't an option either; without it, he'd be useless.
Fumbling for the right button, he managed to fire the stuck needle and, at that exact moment, flew off into the sky somewhere. Or not the sky. Or maybe he didn't fly. His vestibular system crashed and couldn't help him orient himself. Egrer fell somewhere, and it probably wasn't a cloud, although the lingering sensation of flight suggested otherwise. And there was no actual impact; he just kinda stopped and laid down. Right into that "somewhere".
Lifting his head slightly, Egrer saw a fading black rune, the color of Gravity Dust. Weiss had probably cast it, but his scrambled brain operated on the firmly established association: "Gravity Dust equals Illmond".
"You okay?" Ruby's voice asked.
"Thanks, Ill," he answered sluggishly. "I owe you a doujinshi. If only I knew what you were into... actually, it's better I don't know..."
"Who are you saying goodbye to? Are you dying?! I'm coming!" Suddenly, four Rubys jumped down from somewhere above. Apparently, Egrer had crashed into her tree.
"Nah, just dizzy." He tried to sit up, but it was useless; his body kept swaying from side to side even while lying down. "I'm gonna puke. Roll me on my stomach!"
Ruby silently helped him empty his stomach, then sat him down beneath the tree.
"Thanks, I'll just sit here for a bit." She nodded and silently returned to her sniper position. Egrer's head was still spinning, the feeling of falling hadn't vanished, and he was still swaying. Looking at the battlefield, he saw three Death Stalkers fighting fifteen, sixteen, or maybe even twenty students. All at once.
"Ropes!" yelled the Illmonds. They threw the other ends to the girls with bows and, with amazing synchronization, tied the left legs of all the Death Stalkers. Nora had returned to the fight, and she wasn't alone; she was accompanied by a bunch of her own clones.
Egrer simply closed his eyes and massaged his eyelids, hoping his vision would finally stop tripling. When he opened them again, two Nevermores were dive-bombing them.
"Nevermores!" One of them was probably just an illusion, but it was better to play it safe.
Pyrrha left the Death Stalker to the others and transformed her sword into a rifle, dropping to one knee. Deafening gunshots rang out overhead; Ruby had decided to shoot at the less armored target. The Nevermore took a few hits, but didn't stop its approach.
"We need to fall back deeper into the forest! Take cover!" Jaune yelled. Someone grabbed Egrer by the scruff of the neck and hauled him over their shoulder. The sudden shift in perspective brought the lump back to his throat, but he had nothing left to throw up.
"I recognize those mini-shorts," he mumbled.
"Keep staring, and I'll drop you right here," Yang snapped, running after the rest.
"I feel like shit, I'm not up for that." A nervous smile spread across Egrer's face; he definitely didn't feel that bad. But imagining how he looked from the outside with his idiotic grin, he completely lost control of his facial muscles.
Fortunately or not, they reached an intact part of the forest pretty quickly. Right at the moment when the Nevermore flapped its wings and sent dozens of three-meter-long, razor-sharp feathers raining down. The Death Stalker, meanwhile, was struggling to break free of its ropes, but it had lost its former agility. Three of its legs were broken, and it was missing several eyes.
Jaune peeked out from behind a fallen tree and assessed the enemy's condition.
"It's not catching us now. I think we can keep running."
"And what are we going to do about the Nevermore?" Weiss asked, spinning the cylinder in the hilt of her rapier. She had burned through almost all her Dust in this fight. "It won't let us climb the cliff to the teachers in peace. We definitely need to get rid of it!"
"Nevermores are cowardly if they don't have the numbers advantage," Illmond shared his knowledge, already weaving a new rope.
"Yes," Pyrrha agreed. "It looks old enough to understand the threat we pose. If we wound it badly enough, it'll just fly away."
"Leave that to me!" Ruby exclaimed enthusiastically, stroking her sniper rifle, which was a good time and a half taller than she was... Egrer only now noticed and compared their sizes up close. At first, he thought his vision was acting up again, but no—he had already recovered from that hellish rodeo. "But if the Nevermore starts dive-bombing again, I won't be able to scare it off alone; I can't shoot that fast without losing accuracy."
"I'll help!" Nora shouted, and Pyrrha nodded right after. The champion gestured towards the screaming Death Stalker, which had almost freed itself from the ropes.
"It's badly wounded, it doesn't need all of us. It'll be more effective if we split up."
"Give me some Dust and I'll turn that overgrown chicken into an ice cube! Or fry it!" Weiss seemed like she was about to go berserk.
"Third-stage refinement." Illmond handed her two vials of Fire Dust.
"You don't have anything better?"
"Nope."
"Fine, thanks." She practically forced the 'thanks' out. Weiss was probably used to using only the absolute best Dust in the world. Suddenly she caught herself, and became more polite. "You're a Dust mage, don't you need it yourself?"
"Fire isn't good for weaving threads, it's too unstable. And for spells, I prefer electricity or gravity."
With a triumphant roar, the Death Stalker broke free of its bonds and instantly charged at them. Soon, it would knock down all the trees here too, clearing the airspace for the Nevermore. They had to act fast.
Pyrrha reloaded her rifle and turned around.
"Good luck, guys. Illmond," he flinched, "keep an eye on them."
"Okay."
"W-what?" Egrer managed to squeeze out. "You two know each other?!"
"Not now." Illmond tossed one end of the rope to him, and the other to the brunette with the bow. "I'll provide fire support."
"Blake," the girl introduced herself tersely, since they were stuck with the same task. That was the first word she had spoken this entire time.
"Egrer." They would have shaken hands, but the situation wasn't exactly conducive to introductions. Suddenly, a tickle started in his nose. "Achoo!"
"Get ready!" Jaune yelled, raising his shield. Egrer had no choice but to shove his shock aside and grip the rope tighter. He looked sadly at his Needlestick, which was missing one of its needles—now it was more like an épée.
"I'll try to cut off its stinger." The Mistralian boy appeared out of nowhere in the tree.
"And I'm just gonna punch the shit out of it." Yang crouched, ready to launch into battle at any second.
This time, no one fired; they all knew they couldn't pierce its armor and that it would just be a waste of Dust. Plus, the biggest guns had stepped back, targeting the Nevermore in the air.
The Death Stalker easily snapped the trees in its way with its pincers, but it wasn't charging blindly anymore. It was being cautious.
"Let it get closer," Illmond said. "The deeper into the forest we lure it, the better."
The Grimm took its time, never taking its eyes off them. Tossing aside tree after tree, it kept inching closer, until it finally decided to go on the offensive. But that was exactly what they were waiting for.
"Now!" Jaune deflected a stinger strike with his shield and tried to counterattack. But unlike with his shield, he really didn't know how to use his sword. Instead, Yang delivered a staggering blow.
Following right behind her, Illmond struck. A flash of light, a second of deafening thunder, and the Death Stalker, taking a lightning bolt straight to the face, flailed its pincers chaotically in all directions. Blake and Egrer ran in to tie up the Grimm while it was disoriented. The guy dove under its belly and started tying up every leg on the right side, while his partner did the same, but from the outside.
"Pull!" Egrer yelled, running out from under the Death Stalker's tail. The Grimm roared and toppled onto its side. It tried to strike them with a pincer, but couldn't reach all the way to its rear. Then it tried to stab them with its tail, but it was missing one crucial component—the stinger.
Jaune and Yang came from the other side and slammed the Grimm somewhere in the stomach. It roared, twitched its free legs, and threw them off.
"Ill, blast it with something before it figures out it needs to hug the ground!"
"Already on it!"
Flash, thunder, and a lightning bolt tore into the Death Stalker's battered belly. The smell of ozone, burnt wood, and roasting meat filled the air. The Grimm went limp and relaxed; a second later, its armor began to crumble, and the black flesh melted into the air.
"Victory!" It wasn't clear who yelled it—maybe everyone at once—but an incredible wave of relief washed over them all.
"Phew." Egrer's hands were shaking from the adrenaline dump, but he only noticed it now. "You really can take down anyone if you Zerg rush them; you just need the right tactics!"
"You said it." Jaune looked beat up; his pristine chest piece had acquired its first couple of scratches. "But don't celebrate just yet, we need to help the girls."
The Nevermore's furious screech was abruptly cut short by the sound of severing flesh.
"Nah, we don't," Yang said smugly, putting her hands behind her head. "I know that sound. My little sister is having fun."
For a second, it was completely quiet. No one was fighting, no one was shooting, no one was screaming or talking. Blissful silence. They had all missed it, and everyone drank in this brief moment of peace. But it was still worth checking on the others.
"That was mega-awesome!" Nora's joyful voice carried over as they approached. "Ruby went *bam-bam*, and then I went *BOOM*! And she flew up and her scythe went *swooosh*!"
"Keep it down, you're too loud," Weiss requested, catching a falling Ruby with a series of gravity glyphs. The decapitated Nevermore crashed down next to them, causing a minor earthquake.
"Renny, you should have seen it!" Nora hopped right up to Egrer, but a bit to the left. Turns out that Mistralian guy had been walking next to him this whole time. How do you even lose sight of someone so bright? He was wearing a traditional green Mistralian tailcoat! Or maybe he blends in with the foliage? That would explain a lot. "I was blasting it with everything I had; the sky turned pink! Then I blew up a barrel of Fire Dust right under myself and flew up to bash it personally!"
"What? What are you talking about?" Weiss was outraged. "There was no barrel, where would it even come from?!"
Nora ignored her completely.
"I told him, 'Your time has come, monster!' and he replied, 'No, spare me, I have kids, little Nevermore-chicks!' But I didn't hold back and slammed him right in the beak, he folded up like an accordion!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Weiss couldn't calm down. "It didn't happen like that at all!"
"And then I put Ruby on another Dust barrel and she flew all the way to space, where she slaughtered all the space-Nevermores! It was raining heads that day..."
Weiss threw her hands up and just walked away, refusing to listen to this nonsense. You couldn't blame her; Egrer had started slowly backing away, too.
"Nora," the Mistralian boy said calmly. The redhead instantly quieted down and leaned forward slightly.
"Yeah, Renny?"
"Good job." She practically glowed at the praise, but soon turned her attention to Egrer. Her gaze terrified him, and he picked up his pace. She was exactly like Magenta, just hyperactive. "It really is him! Ren, it's him!"
"Am I famous?" The redhead suddenly pinned him against a tree. "S-step back, please, you're scaring me."
"You're the guy who climbed onto the ship using a rope, right?" she breathed right in his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Egrer tried to play dumb, but his nervous smile gave him away completely.
"She means," Ren started to explain, watching them impassively, "that we saw you and three others on the landing skid of one of the airships. One of you was dangling on a rope with a TV strapped to his back."
"Gods... You guys were the only ones who saw that?"
"No, our whole ship did," the Mistralian boy replied with a hint of sympathy.
"Holy Twin Gods..."
"And we also saw you hook onto a Bullhead and howl at the whole forest!" Nora yelled so loudly that everyone heard. "That was mega-awesome. Admit it, that was some kind of signal, right? You howled just like a wolf!"
"Yeah, it was a signal." Egrer rubbed his temples. He was so fucking tired.
"Renny and I also~"
"Nora, he needs to rest. Let me tell you how we beat the Death Stalker instead."
Egrer gave him a grateful nod and stepped further away. Just looking at the energetic Nora gave him a headache. Too many memories.
He sat down on a piece of driftwood and tried to make himself presentable, but his jacket was hopelessly smeared in dirt and green stains. His pants were torn in two places; they were only good for rags now. Everyone looked pretty much the same: beaten up, exhausted, but happy.
It was finally over. All that was left was to head back to the cliff, listen to the congratulatory speech, and start studying. Assuming some old, crazy Grimm didn't jump them again. They wouldn't survive another fight like that.
"Illmond!" Egrer heard out of the corner of his ear. It was Pyrrha, who had found the hikikomori hiding behind a tree, staring blankly into space. "I didn't know you decided to enroll at Beacon."
"Pyrrha?" He pretended not to recognize her. He wasn't very convincing. "Hey."
Egrer was suddenly filled with the energy to stand up and quickly walk over to them. He had to know for sure if they knew each other and how well. Maybe Pyrrha could help figure out Illmond's problem? Who knows how much she knows about him?
"You guys know each other?" he shamelessly barged into the conversation.
"We were in the same class at Sanctum," Pyrrha said with a smile. "We were the only ones in our year to graduate two whole years early."
Why didn't Ill ever mention he went to school with Pyrrha fucking Nikos?! And then it hit Egrer. He couldn't be the best at Sanctum... and he couldn't because she was his main rival. Damn it, it's so obvious, why didn't I realize this sooner?! I think I messed up by starting this conversation, curse my curiosity!
"You had a lot of potential; you shouldn't have quit." The champion turned back to Illmond. "Your perfectionism would have driven your skills to absolute mastery."
Oh, really? Egrer mentally argued. His perfectionism drove him to a suicide attempt.
"Being a Huntsman is boring." Illmond shrugged, still refusing to even look at her. Just like before, he kept staring into the void.
"That's exactly what you told me back then. But why are you here now? I thought you wanted to be an artist?"
"Ran into some issues with that." He didn't answer her first question. He hadn't told anyone about that, he'd only recently told Egrer.
"You haven't changed a bit; difficulties still draw you in. Otherwise, you would have quit after a day."
"You guys seem like good friends." Jaune joined them.
"We were the strongest in the school, so we were often paired up for sparring. We learned a lot from each other and would sometimes just chat about this and that."
"Yeah," Illmond replied flatly. "You couldn't call us friends. Barely even acquaintances."
Pyrrha's smile faded slightly.
"I'm glad to see you."
"Me too." No, he wasn't, and the only person who didn't get that was a dense log like Jaune. An uncomfortable, oppressive silence hung in the air. Egrer felt obligated to steer the conversation in a different direction, since he was the one who provoked this mess.
"Jaune, shake my hand."
"Uh, okay. Why?"
"No reason. Usually, handshakes hurt you." Egrer laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. Jaune didn't even flinch, but he looked like he'd been caught doing something shameful. "Fess up, where did you score some extra Aura?"
"A-a-ah... You see, um..."
Egrer's smile slowly slipped from his face. Why the sudden reaction? He was just joking, trying to lighten the mood. Pyrrha put a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. It's okay." Her entire demeanor showed she was ready to back him up. Illmond took the opportunity to slip away while they were distracted by each other.
"No, he can know."
"What are you guys even talking about?" Gods, he just wanted to change the subject. Did Egrer manage to step on a landmine?
"You see... I didn't score any extra Aura anywhere," Jaune looked around and blurted out in one breath, "I just... didn't have any before this."
"What?" Egrer stared at him in confusion. "You didn't have what?"
"Aura."
"Hold up, hold up! Are you telling me you went this whole time without—?!"
"Keep it down!" Jaune pleaded, and Egrer lowered his voice.
"How did you even survive the landing?"
"I caught him," Pyrrha said. "Even before Initiation, I started suspecting something was wrong with Jaune. The scratches and calluses on his hands gave him away; Aura heals minor wounds like that instantly."
"W... you unlocked his Aura?" Egrer almost shouted, but figured that was taking it too far. He felt like Pyrrha wouldn't appreciate that kind of reaction.
"Yes."
"So that means you two are on the same team. I'm not mad," he managed to add quickly. "Actually, I'm glad this idiot is going to be watched over by someone like you. Siiigh... Jaune, let's step aside for a sec."
"Okay." Pyrrha looked like she was going to insist on coming along, but Jaune stopped her. "It's fine, Eg is my friend."
They walked a good distance away from everyone else.
"You could have died, you idiot. Going to a Huntsman academy without Aura... What the fuck were you thinking, you moron? If you had died, and if Pyrrha hadn't helped you, you would have died, I'd never forgive myself for that. I might have even gotten lifelong psychological trauma."
"Sorry..."
"'Sorry, sorry'." Egrer mocked him. "Tell me, what exactly were you planning to do at a Huntsman academy without Aura? It's... it's... I don't even have words to describe the sheer scale of your idiocy!"
"I thought Huntsmen just... figured it out themselves. I hadn't even heard of this Aura thing."
"How the hell is a normal human supposed to 'figure it out' against THAT?!" Egrer pointed at the melting remains of the Nevermore. "How do you expect to kill ten tons of pure hatred for humanity without Aura? Maybe you didn't know this either, but Grimm are perfect killing machines, by the way."
"I knew..."
"So you knew that!" Egrer took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Sorry for snapping. It's just... you would have died, Jaune, and I would have blamed myself entirely, because I'm the one who helped you sneak into Beacon. How did I not realize you didn't even have Aura..."
"Sorry."
"You're forgiven." Egrer waved his hand tiredly. "Let's just head back to the cliff and get this over with. I'm exhausted, and I'm starving. Haven't eaten since last night..."
I wonder how Magenta is doing. Who did she find? Did she even find anyone? It would suck if she failed Initiation. Even if they ended up on different teams, they could still see each other.
***
"Odds that picking up this piece means I'll be on the same team as Egrer?" Silence again. Panicking, Yort snatched another piece off the floor. "Odds that picking up this piece means I WON'T be on the same team as Egrer?"
Silence again. This silence was freaking him out; it wasn't supposed to happen! It meant either an absolute yes or an absolute no.
"How is this happening?!"
"What's wrong?" Magenta asked, stepping closer.
"Nothing," he had already made peace with the fact that he'd be on her team, but he had zero intention of being on a team with Egrer, "just trying to figure out which piece to take."
"You really don't like that one?" She pointed at the white queen in his hand. "It has a crown. She's the ruler and can do whatever she wants."
"Gotta calculate all the options."
"You think they're going to split us into teams based on the chess pieces?"
"I'm not sure anymore. My Semblance is silent, which means these pieces don't mean anything. Or we're getting expelled." Yort clutched his temples and tried to think of a different question.
Odds that I'll get enrolled in Beacon?
Silence. This wasn't funny anymore. Was there no element of probability because everything was already decided for him? Did the Headmaster already assign them all to teams? Sometimes Yort really hated his Semblance...
"What are we gonna do about that?" Magenta poked a finger toward the burning forest. The flames were devouring the trees around the temple, but couldn't advance across the clearing surrounding them. Yort winced at the acrid smell of smoke.
"Initiation lasts until sunset. We'll wait for the fire to die down and then move out."
By the end of the day, the Emerald Forest was a forest in name only...
***
"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark." Their portraits shuffled chaotically across the screen, but locked into place as each name was called. Beneath each, the first letter of their name appeared, spelling out "CRDL". "Having demonstrated incredible speed, you four retrieved the black bishop pieces. Your team will be known as CRDL—Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."
The hall applauded, while Egrer pondered. Based on the stats, the people who picked the same pieces ended up forming a team. But the black king didn't have a pair; he stands alone on the board...
"Madge, what did you grab?" he whispered to his left.
"The white queen." That piece didn't have a pair either. How were they going to be split into teams, then?
The Headmaster handed the medieval thug his leader badge and sent the newly minted team down to the floor. The entirety of Beacon was here: teachers, upperclassmen—absolutely everyone had shown up to welcome the fresh blood.
Those who hadn't been assigned yet sat by the wall, waiting for Ozpin to call them to the stage. The thoughtful Beacon administration had even left a water cooler here, but it was already mostly empty. Initially, a minor brawl had almost broken out over the right to take the first sip of life-giving hydration, but a single stern glare from Miss Goodwitch was enough to stop it.
"And finally, the last three teams. Many of you witnessed their spectacular battle with the Nevermore and Death Stalker." The hall erupted into even louder applause, whistles, and cheers of praise. "Let us begin their assignments. Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. Having demonstrated determination and willpower, you retrieved the white rooks. From this day forward, you shall be known as team JNPR—Juniper." Waiting out the ovation, the Headmaster continued. "Led by... Jaune Arc."
"M-me?" The blond looked utterly bewildered, staring blankly at his teammates, the audience, and the Headmaster.
"Yes, you. Congratulations, young man."
Pyrrha clapped Jaune on the shoulder, but since he could barely stand on his feet as it was, he just fell over. The audience laughed, and the champion offered an awkward smile.
She's offended, Egrer thought. Obviously, she's much better suited for the leadership role, simply based on power and experience. Why did the Headmaster decide this?
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long." They left the waiting area for unassigned students, leaving only four people behind them. Egrer met Yort's eyes and gave an apologetic smile, and Yort flipped him the bird in return. "Through intellect and strength, you defeated dangerous foes, retrieving the white knights. From now on, your team will be known as RWBY—Ruby, led by Ruby Rose."
Schnee is offended too; look at how her hands are itching to hit something. Will she strike or not? She definitely wanted to pull the exact same stunt Pyrrha did, but held back. She stood at attention and went stone-faced, as if nothing had happened. Egrer wondered what offended her more: not being the leader, or having her letter omitted from the team name?
Egrer had been trying for a while to come up with a decent name for his pack, but to no avail. The only two adequate options were EJIM (Egoism) and EMIJ (Emerald), but even then, they'd have to kick Yort out—there was nowhere to stick his "J". Actually, there was a variation of EMIJ: if you pretended the first letter was pronounced like "I", you could make "Image", and then nobody would be left feeling insulted.
"And finally: Magenta Toti, Yort Alnen, Egrer Peleni, Illmond Kitse." So they really were going to be on the same team! As if there was ever any doubt, honestly. Had Egrer wasted all this time trying to socialize Illmond, befriend Yort, and understand Magenta for nothing? As if, after all his efforts, fate would just up and scatter his pack across all of Beacon. Yeah, right.
The hall clapped. The leader couldn't resist tipping an imaginary hat to them and giving a slight bow. It was his father's favorite gesture, only his father actually wore a real hat.
"You walked toward each other despite all obstacles, demonstrating what true bonds of friendship look like. You retrieved the white queen and the black king, which, like Romeo and Juliet, are also drawn to each other." That weird analogy was definitely made up on the spot, just to somehow justify grouping them together. "Your team will be named MJEI, or Majesty, led by Magenta Toti."
"WHAT!?!" exclaimed three-quarters of the newly formed team, but their shock was drowned out by the thunderous applause.
Yort scratched the back of his head dumbly, Illmond tried to say something, and Egrer's jaw literally dropped. After finishing their non-verbal communication with each other, they all looked at the Headmaster. He smiled back at them. He clearly didn't fully comprehend what he had just done; otherwise, there was no way to explain his relaxed, cheerful demeanor.
"Yaaaaay! I'm the leader! Or the leader-ess?" Magenta mused, accepting the badge from Ozpin.
"Headmaster, admit it, you made her the leader because you couldn't come up with a normal name using my letter, didn't you?" Ozpin turned to the audience, pretending he hadn't heard him.
"By all accounts, this year promises to be quite entertaining."
"Headmaster!" Egrer took a step forward.
"Please, greet your new classmates properly." The hall erupted into overwhelming applause, whistles, and a cacophony of noise. Ozpin retreated from the stage, and Magenta intercepted Egrer as he ran after him.
"I'm the leader-ess, can you believe it, I'm the leader-ess! Are you happy for me?" She hugged him so tightly and looked at him with such puppy-dog eyes that he simply didn't have the strength to tell her the truth. A goofy smile plastered itself across his face.
"Yeah, I'm really happy. Congratulations..."
"Are you guys happy?" She turned to the others, but Yort had already walked away, and Illmond was muttering something while hugging himself...