章 447: 3
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Jaune grunted, rolling haphazardly under one of the Grimm and scrabbling across the grass to escape the snarling jaw and swinging claws. Slashing his sword clumsily at it in an effort to ward it away, he spared a glance at Pyrrha.
The woman also rolled under an attack, her roll elegant where his had been clumsy. She came up hurling her shield into the closest creature, smacking its head aside and then thrusting her spear into its throat, yanking it back along with the shield that latched onto her arm almost automatically.
He turned back to the creature, raising his shield on instinct to block a blow that lifted him into the air, the beast's claws grating against the metal and throwing him back a few feet. Two more flanked him, corralling him away from his partner and isolating him, and he could sense the intent behind it, that same sense of guidance echoing in them as before.
He shakily stood, the main Grimm approaching him slowly again while the other two circle to the right and left, watching him closely. It plunged in again, stabbing forward with its claws, and Jaune grits his teeth, bracing. Its claws grated across his shield again, flowing into slamming its shoulder against him hard enough to knock the air from his lungs and his feet from the ground. The other two lunge in then, each grabbing an arm and hauling him upright, dragging him away towards some trees.
Pyrrha, yanking her sword-formed weapon from her last foe, turned and shouted his name, weapon shifting again into a rifle which she fired at the duo. The former lead turned back to her, engaging her in melee combat warily and forcing her attention onto it, and the duo continue running into the woods in spite of Jaune's struggles.
They made it about fifteen yards before a Bullhead roared over them, four black security droids slamming into the dirt and staggering upright. One of the Grimm released him, turning and leaping onto one of the mechs ripping its arms off savagely. The other three opened up on it, rounds ripping into bone armor and flesh alike, sending chunks of both flying. The last continued trying to drag him away by his sword arm, so he took a note from Pyrrha by slamming his shield into its claw four times before it released him with a hiss, lunging in and lifting him by his throat with a snarl.
A series of cracks tossed it to the side, two mechs stepping over it and unloading another burst into it before it began fading into black, whispy smoke. Jaune stood there panting for several seconds before the droids dispersed slightly and the Bullhead circled back, hovering over them, and Professor Goodwitch dropped to the ground, giving him a hard look, "Mister Arc, are you injured?" "Perhaps I misjudged him..."
"N-No, ma'am, just some bruises," he grunts standing up straighter and ignoring the scratches along his neck while they healed, "I'm okay… So did I fail then? I mean, you had to save me..."
"Fail? No. You and your partner shouldn't have been fighting these…" "Alpha Lupinus... Incredibly rare and crafty, and she uses them herself quite often. But why throw them away here?" she paused to look over the dissipating creatures, "Grimm. They are above your expected level, enough so that the Headmaster dispatched me to retrieve you. You both eliminated one and held your own, so for now, you are being given a pass. You will be assigned a team once we-"
"Jaune!" The blonde turned to see Pyrrha rush through a bush, shield on her back and rifle ready- shouldered and finger on the trigger before she relaxes in relief, "Ah, you're unharmed. I feared for you when those creatures took you… Professor?" "Damn it all, the staff had to intervene… A black mark to be sure, worst case a failure of Initiation."
"Yes, Miss Nikos. We took note of several higher tier Grimm than any are expected to be in Initiation, and dispatched aid. As such, you both are being pulled from the testing and evaluated for your performance thus far," she saw Pyrrha stiffen nervously and smiled ever-so-slightly, "Peace, Miss Nikos. You slew multiple of them, you needn't worry." "Ozpin is too curious about the boy to reject either of you, in any event."
"I see. Very well then, what are we to do now?" The Spartan asked quietly, collapsing her weapon and resting it on her back with her shield, "Are we to be escorted back?" "And what of the others in the test? Surely they may yet be at risk as well.…"
"W-What about everyone else? Won't these Grimm be too much for them too?" he asked anxiously, ignoring Pyrrha's emerald eyes locking onto his own pointedly and turning enough to avoid the brunt of her thoughts. "We can't just… leave them, right?"
Glynda appraised him for several moments, lips pursed and eyes searching, "I assure you, they are quite safe. Enough so as not to be of concern to you, so come along." "They targeted no one else, avoiding all but you…." The Bullhead hovering above them let down seven ropes, one for each of them plus all the deployed droids, including the destroyed one, "We can discuss it in detail at Beacon." "Ozpin will have words, I'm sure. Hopefully that pain of a man can come up with an apt explanation."
Jaune opened his mouth to protest, but felt a hand on his shoulder, "Come along, Jaune. It is best we make our way back now. If this is what is commanded of us, we must accept our leaders' wisdom and return." "Perhaps we can glean more there. No matter, Jaune is too weak to fight in any event, and my Aura is almost drained." "You did splendidly, don't look so down."
"I was too weak to defend myself… You killed four on your own, and the most I did was make you angry." Jaune ignored another surprised blinking of eyes, turning back to the professor who was watching the droids patrol rather irritatedly, "I, uh, I don't know how to-"
"You grab the handles and press the red button on the end when you have a reasonable grip. The winch will pull you up automatically and deposit you in the Bullhead's cargo container." "Obviously." She sighed, walking over and grabbing one herself, demonstrating it for him, "Like so."
He watched her ascend, wisely avoiding any inappropriate views, before walking forward and mirroring the actions, Pyrrha ascending next to him. The machines followed soon after, mechanically standing nearer to the pilot's bay, rifles in their hands and resting barrel-up against their shoulders. Jaune slid to the floor, resting his head on his knees to avoid the motion sickness as much as he could.
"Jaune? Are you well? Is it your-"
"No! Well, yes, in a way. Motion sickness gets me on these things sometimes," He smiled up at her and she relaxed slightly, though he looked away quickly enough to avoid any thoughts getting through to him. "Sorry, again… for not being able to do what you asked."
"Nonsense." Glynda snapped harshly, standing across from them and glaring down at him, "Those were Lupinus Alphas, a very rare and evolved Beowolf class. I have personally seen a pack of them wipe out veteran Huntsmen, and you are novices." "They seemed to wish to capture you, but even preventing that is an accomplishment."
"What she means, I believe, is that I asked you to do what even others of our class are unable to do." Pyrrha added quietly, looking at the older woman for confirmation before sitting next to him, "It would be quite untoward to expect you to do what our betters can not." "Fighting Alphas is always hard, even to those of my skill. You had no business surviving against such a foe, and yet you did. Impressive enough."
"Uh… thanks, Pyrrha, I, er, appreciate it." He smiled shakily at her and she smiled back before they both went back to just resting, Jaune's head on his knees and Pyrrha's eyes closed entirely. "Hey Pyrrha?"
"Hm?" She responded to his muffled words, raising an eyebrow and turning her head slightly, but not opening her eyes, "Yes, Jaune?"
"Tomorrow, could you… train me a bit? I need a sparring partner to get better, I don't want to be a burden again." He asked quietly, and across from him Glynda radiated an approving feeling he could feel even staring down and talking to someone else.
"Of course, Jaune. I would love to help you improve, if you wish it. I could explain some theory to you while we fly, if you feel it would help your sickness?" "He may be a novice, but… he wants to improve. That's honorable, respectable even, of him." He rolled his head to peek at her, the young woman smiling brightly at him, and then he nodded. "Very well. First of all, you need to better you shield positioning. It's not a brick, yet you treat it like it is, and that slows you down."
Jaune listened to her drone quietly, soaking up what she said and what she meant in equal measure, on their return trip. She might not be quite the best at explaining what she meant, but he understood all the same. A perk of his newfound ability, and one he enjoyed very much.
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"Yes, Mistress, I have relayed the information to Roman as you asked. I will go send it to Adam Taurus as well as soon as I am able." Cinder said meekly, eyes downcast towards the floor nervously to avoid Salem's irritated visage on her screen, "If I may ask… What is so important about the boy?"
"If you truly must know, he seemed to read the intent of one of my Ursai. I had them keeping their eyes out for potential Maiden replacements in this year's crop, as you failed to leech all of her power. They were spread out, and it was waiting on its pack." She sighed, working her lips for a moment before continuing, "He… Guessed the entire reasoning for its actions, even though it acted entirely normal. Intimidating, angry and bestial as always."
"Yet he knew its intent…" Cinder filled in on her own, eyes narrowing suspiciously, "A Semblance, perhaps? Unless he is incredibly studious on Ursai, enough to read its actions."
"Impossible. I merely guided its actions, it acted entirely on its own." Salem dismissed easily, sighing quietly under her breath, "It acted on instinct, yet the boy knew its intent and goal. That should not be possible, not from knowledge on typical habits alone, at the very least."
"A Semblance then… I'll have Mercury and Emerald do some digging when we infiltrate Beacon. Roman will dig up information I can use for leverage, if we need or desire to use it. Assuming you don't simply wish for me to-"
"No, I want him alive. I have a few ideas on what his abilities may be. I've… dealt with people in the past who acted this way, and they're always useful if I can turn them to my side," Salem smiled coolly on the other end of the screen, and Cinder looked up to her nervously, "For now, I want you to get yourself and your tools close to him. Find me something."
"And the Fall Maiden?" Cinder asked cautiously, lowering her eyes again nervously, "Should I prioritize him, or her?"
"Her, obviously. He's a very tertiary goal, second to all others. If need be, he can be ignored or killed, after all. There's also the very real instance it was just a guess, after all." Salem said dismissively, waving a hand at the screen, "He is merely a curiosity."
"If you think it's so likely to have been a guess, why harbor the concern at all?" Cinder asked quietly, immediately regretting it when Slame glared at her.
"Because I wish you to do so, Cinder. If he is what I hope, he could be more useful a pawn than any other in my arsenal. Including you." She leaned close to the screen, dark eyes boring holes into Cinder's own, "Do not think on my orders, child. Merely obey."
"Y-Yes, Mistress. Forgive me." Cinder answered meekly, to which Salem merely huffed and ended the call, leaving the woman alone with her thoughts. And her orders.
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General James Ironwood walked the halls of his flagship, watching the men, women, and droids go about whatever tasks they had been assigned for the day, and thinking quietly to himself. Ozpin was being obtuse as always, refusing to explain why he wished for him to come visit him in Vale and only insisting it was related to 'private matters best left as spoken word only' which was code mainly for dealings regarding the Maidens.
He had, of course, informed him that their little 'project' had not yet been completed, but Ozpin had insisted he come all the same. And, after some wiggling and arguing with the rest of the Atlesian Council, he'd been granted clearance to take a very small fleet to Vale, ostensibly to see to problems Beacon was having with their droids.
He had neglected to mention how close they were to replacing them altogether, of course.
"General Ironwood, sir." He stopped and turned, looking down slightly at Winter Schnee saluting him with a folder tucked under her arm, and returned it automatically, "A report, sir. On our conflicts thus far with Grimm aerial species as well as observations of aquatic ones below, as ordered."
"We've detected a lot of Sea Dragons… And Nevermores as well, it seems." James mused quietly, perusing the report after she handed it to him, before grunting and handing it back, "I want a copy on my desk and forwarded to our scientists at Atlas. Order one of our ships to start dropping charges on concentrated aquatic Grimm, and dispatch extra fighters to intercept the Nevermores and anything else in the sky."
"Yes, sir." She said quietly, pausing uncertainly and opening her mouth to speak.
"You can speak if you wish to ask me for something, Winter." James said, chuckling lowly and turning to continue his walk, "Join me, I'm on my way to the bridge. Speak as we walk, and I will order you to be more candid if I must."
"I… Yes, sir. I was wondering if I could request a day off when we reach Beacon," Winter asked meekly, walking beside him with her eyes staring ahead levelly, "My sister is attending Beacon, and I wish to see her so that I may make sure she is settling into Vale properly. I don't want her to-"
"Winter, calm down. You ask for time to see your sister, and you will have it. You ask for one day and you will have three." He chuckled audibly this time, if lowly enough for most not to hear, "It is good to remember what we fight for, after all."
"I…. Thank you, General. I appreciate it greatly." She paused for several long seconds, thinking over her next words carefully before speaking, "Weiss is… very important to me, sir. I often worry over her."
"I understand. Family can be like that, sometimes. They take up an inordinate amount of brainpower and thinking time, more often than not." He gave her a steady look, smiling lightly at her, "It is a strength to be proud of, Winter. Have no shame for it."
"Yes, General. I… I can't help but agree." She smiled slightly, eyeing him from the corner of her gaze cautiously for a moment before speaking, "You speak with experience on the matter. Do you… do you have family?"
"I did, yes." She noticed his gloved hand, the synthetic one, tighten its grip; and could tell she had overstepped her bounds, immediately turning her eyes to the floor instead of the man as they walked in silence to the bridge. "Dismissed, Specialist. See to my previous orders immediately."
"Yes, General." She muttered quietly, snapping a salute before turning on her heel and returning the way they'd come from, avoiding the Atlesian general's eyes all the while.
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