#cmpn

Mandy slung her bag over her shoulder and exited her school. Only a few more days and she’d be done here and be able to transfer to Beacon Academy. Looking back at the building, the setting sun burning a deep red sky around it, Mandy was thankful she was getting out. The last few weeks were pretty torturous to say the least, but she opted to to reflect and instead look to the future.

Heading her usual route into town on the walk home, things seemed different. Sudden movements between the spaces of shops, the posted student from her class leaning against a shop she knew he didn’t frequent; everything seemed off. Her gut told her so.

And then she saw him get up from his table outside a cafe and it all made sense.

Mandy was suddenly aware of the four people slowly closing in on her. She froze in her tracks, her eyes darting around to each of her classmates who advanced on her. And then she darted into the alleyway. In an instant, all four teenagers bolted after her. Mandy leaped over trash cans and boxes as she whipped around another corner, mentally mapping what shops led to what streets. She rounded a right corner and saw one of the boys had cut her off. She backtracked, barely missing the other three pursuers as she opted for the left path. Turning one last corner, she reached a dead end.

Mandy slowly turned around and faced her pursuers. Three boys and one girl, all from her class slowly advanced on her. Their smiles were twisted and hands clasped together as they each reached into their school bags and dug out their own crafted weapons. The boy in the front’s eyes burned with hatred as he slowly unveiled his weapon: a lance that extended to almost the size of of his body.

“You’re gonna really pay for what you did,” he seethed with rage. He jabbed his jousting weapon in Mandy’s direction, which opened up a large gun barrel beneath the tip. He pressed a button on the handle, igniting a fiery blast that rocketed straight for Mandy. She moved quick to shield herself with her bag, but the blast seemed to have landed its mark as the boy sneered in victory.

“Too easy, man! Too easy,” the boy in the far back cackled, but when the smoke cleared Mandy had appeared safe. Protecting her were two separate weapons forming a round shield that blocked the blast. The leader scowled as Mandy pulled apart her shield into two fans.

“Whoa, man. I don’t know about this,” a boy with dark blue hair whimpered.

“Yeah, we thought we’d have the advantage if she didn’t have her weapons,” the girl informed. “She’s the best at hand-to-hand fighter in our class -- we thought it’d be better to gang up on her if she didn’t-”

“Shut up!” the leader shouted, turning to his teammates. “I don’t care if she’s a three time Yveltal festival champion, we’re going to make her pay, now!”

With that he charged, firing off two more blasts before making sure his lance was back into its piercing form. Mandy leapt over the two shots, causing them to blow a hole in the wall behind her. When the leader reached her, he thrust. Mandy swiveled under his weapon and moved in close. Folding in her two fans -- Kagura and Temari -- she struck precise points all over his body with immense speed. Two strikes to the thighs and the leader went down to his knees; three strikes to the chest and neck sent him to the floor. Mandy stepped over him to face her other three challengers.

The rest of the bullies seemed shaken to say the least, but something told them to keep trying. Mandy thought that maybe they were afraid of their leader more than her. The boy who laughed in the beginning charged first, his two blades that connected at the wrist directed right at Mandy’s chest. The huntress-in-training easily side stepped his attacks as he continued to swing and stab. Mandy grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled down; his face now even to hers. She looked into his eyes and gave a weak smile before driving her knee cap up and into his chin. He stumbled backwards in a daze. Mandy leaped high into the air and somehow gracefully landed in a flamingo stance on the boy’s shoulder. The boy tensed as he tried to hold her weight, only to be met with a kick to the face as she back flipped off of him.

The remaining enemies had their jaws on the floor as Mandy spun on her heels towards them. The last two bullies Mandy recognized as the twins in her combat class: Polly and Caster. They were constantly in sync with their techniques when they would have tag-team sparring. Today, however, they were both simultaneously pissing themselves over Mandy’s take-down of their two comrades.

Polly brandished her weapon which resembled a pickax; Caster withdrew a pair of what seemed like two taser guns. Polly pressed the top switch on her grip which split the weapon into the end of what looked like and old fashioned grappling hook. Flicking a second switch launched the tip of her weapon into the air and onto the nearest rooftop -- a long cable connecting the two ends. She grabbed Caster’s hand and launched them into the air with the retraction of the weapon’s cord.

Caster fired his tasers, the metal prongs narrowly missing Mandy as she rolled out of the way. The twins put their synergy into motion: Polly would grapple from one rooftop to the next with Caster in tow while he would send blast after blast of electrical rip cords that seemed to retract back to him and unreasonable speeds. Mandy only had the brief intervals between shots to get some distance between the two. When Polly tries to close the distance, Mandy unleashed a blast of wind with a wave from her fans, sending her opponents veering off course.

Mandy adjusted the trajectory of her weapons and waved them again, this time sending pressurized blades of air to cut the grappling cable from the roof. Polly and Caster slammed into the ground, giving the huntress-in-training enough time to charge forward.

Caster was the first on his feet and simultaneously sent two taser blasts. With a slight flick of her fan, Mandy redirected the prongs back at Caster, giving himself a jolt of electricity with his own weapon. Mandy took the opportunity to dash behind him and deliver a swift kick to the back. Polly retracted her weapon back into its pickax form and met Mandy at close range. The two girls parried blows and dodged strikes before Mandy was able to hook a folded fan in the curve of Polly’s ax. Two kicks to the torso and one elbow to the jaw later and Polly was sent rolling towards her beaten brother.

The boy with the bladed arms gathered his bearings and charged once more. He swung once and Mandy ducked under his blade. She spun upward with her fan, creating small vortex that caught her opponent and sent him careening overhead where he landed next to his teammates.

“You...will...pay.”

Mandy turned to their leader as he rose to his feet, bruises and welts from Mandy’s strikes forming all over his body. He readied his lance at her.

“How can you live with yourself? What you did...you should be punished!” he screamed in rage. His aura began to glow an intense orange as he activated his semblance. Crouching towards the ground, he leapt with an immense shock wave high into the air. From the sky rained down three more of his firework-like weapon blasts. Mandy sprinted in a serpentine like formation to avoid the rain of fire. Her enemy landed on the roof, and with another surge of energy hurtled towards Mandy with incredible force.

Mandy swiftly activated her weapon’s shield form as the boy’s legs connected with her. Mandy’s feet skid across the pavement from the sheer power of his semblance. With another charge, he jumped off her shield, the shock wave sending Mandy tumbling back to where she first stood.

She rose to her feet. Separating her weapon, she locked eyes with the enemy. Tears welled in his eyes as he seethed with a shaking anger. Mandy could only return his gaze with a somber expression. She didn’t blame him -- in fact -- she thought he was right. But she had to escape, she had to leave this town behind.

He shot two more rounds at Mandy and immediately followed it up with another super jump. Mandy thrust her fans, the wind causing the balls of fire to collide into the cement. The resulting explosion knocks the gang leader off course and crashing into the ground. He rolls and tumbles to a complete stop. Slamming his fists into the ground in frustration, he screams.

He rises to his feet and continues to scream and beat on his chest. Mandy frowns as the anguish forms in the veins that protrude from his neck and the tightness of his clenched jaw. His teammates cower behind him, but steadily stand on their feet as well.

Mandy knew she had to end this.

Mandy combined her two weapons once more, but this time they take on the shape of a single, wide fan. The enemy charges but it’s too late. With one intense swing of her new weapon, Mandy blasts a concussive tunnel of wind that tosses the gang of bullies into the air as if they were mere balloons. Their bodies flip and twirl as their screams are drowned out by the chaotic sound of rushing wind. By the end of it they are all piled up at the opposite end of the alleyway.

Mandy retracts her weapons and sticks them behind her belt. She backs towards the man-made hole in the wall before somberly looking back towards the group once more. They moan and groan in pain, but their leader makes eye contact with her one last time, tears silently streaming down his face.

He could imagine it, but he couldn’t be sure.

Cody watched his father spar all the time. Whether it be with one of his friends or alone in the training hall they had in their house, Cody knew his father’s moves forwards and backwards. He’d watch him unclasp Thorn Piercer from his belt, and with three flicks of his wrist, behead seven sparring dummies. He memorized how his father would roll in close and deliver pinpointed strikes with the weapon’s spike. He had analyzed the dynamic leaps and spins he’d take in the air to get that perfect shot in between the target’s fake eyes.

He knew all the techniques, but could not imagine how those techniques could have failed his father in the field.

He walked out to the terrace, looking once more at the calendar on the nightstand. Tomorrow he started Beacon. Grasping the rails of the balcony he looked out to the woods that connected to the backyard. That’s where it happened; it happened so close to home. He closed his eyes and simulated it in his head for the sixth time that week.

He saw his father face to face with a deathstalker. The vicious scorpion Grimm were known for their relentlessness, but often travelled alone. He can see his father using his semblance to dodge the creatures swift attacks. A claw would seemingly clasp around him, but when it squeezed, the huntsman’s body was switched with a nearby log. The giant scorpion’s tail would strike downward, only to find his target was now a loose boulder rather than flesh. Over and over again, his father rolled, dodged, leaped, switched, struck, and repeated.

Cody envisioned the sharp noises Thorn Pierce would make against the creatures hard skin as his father took every opportunity to whip, shoot, and pierce at the monster’s body. And then he was as out of breath as his father. He played out the final scene in his head.

But now it was him, his father’s weapon in hand. He flipped away from the Grimm’s claw, swinging his weapon in a wide arc. The cable grappled around the tip of the scorpion’s tail; the deathstalker instinctively pulled back, Cody pulled along with it. He landed on the monster’s back and summoned the power he was always told his semblance was capable of. Roots and twisted wood sprouted from the ground at incredible speeds -- as if the world was aging hundreds of years before the very eye. The creature was bound in a prison of flora.

Cody faced the Grimm and raised his arms, the earth kneaded to his whim and lifted the deathstalker high into the air. With his desired and completely fictional strength, he slammed the scorpion into the ground. And again. And again. Until the monster moved no more.

That’s how it should have gone. It shouldn’t have happened the other way. He shouldn’t be nine years old in his dining room, watching his mom bolt out the back door in a panic. His father shouldn’t have been limping from the woods with his hands pressing hard against his side. Blood and poison shouldn’t have been gushing from a fatal wound. His father should not have collapsed in his mother’s garden. And no one should ever sob while a loved one died in their arms.

But that’s how it happened. Cody’s eyes were open and wet with tears. He shook as he remembered the cries of his mother, who was only a business woman, and could not have saved her warrior husband. He wiped his face and walked back towards his bedroom.

X-ing out another day passed in his calendar, he clasped his father’s dear Thorn Piercer around his waist like a belt. Grabbing his bag, he left a note for his mother detailing his choices. He was no longer that little boy who watched his father die, though God did he still feel like it. He was the same age dad was when he left for combat academy.

There is nothing like reflecting on what scares one the most than walking through a forest lurking with Grimm. At least that’s what the young huntsman in-training thought to himself as he stealthily tip-toed through the Emerald Forest. Cody Sylvan clutched his hand crafted weapon so tight in his hands his knuckles were pale. His spine shook and his neck whipped around every three seconds like clockwork. He thought about how the forest was his home turf, it was where he thrived -- but he was more acquainted with his mother’s quiet garden rather than an infested woodland of soulless monsters.

After being launched into the air and into a freefall down to the woods below -- landing by the skin of his teeth -- all he could think about was how he might not have been tossed around enough in his life. No pain tolerance. Zero. Never even sprained an ankle. His eyes were welded shut during the catapulting. When he blindly let his whip grapple to a nearby tree he had prayed to God he’d slide into the soil without so much as a pair of green shins. He took a tumble, but the adrenaline minimized the pain. He tried to pin-point what exactly frightened him about injury, all he knew was that it went deeper than bodily harm. He had a strong aura, and he figured the staff would step in if it looked like he had no hope of making it out alive. So it begged the question of, what scared him?

He didn’t have time to ponder it when a pair of red eyes in the distance caught him off guard.

He froze. He poised his weapon --Thorn Piercer -- in front of him and slowly backed away. He couldn’t specify which kind of Grimm it was yet, but didn’t want to stick around and find out. Thorn Piercer allowed him to vault into the trees with ease, so he readied himself for an escape, until two more pairs of eyes opened amongst the branches overhead. And then four more. He dared to crane his head to catch a glimpse of movement behind him. No doubt he was surrounded from all angles.

Thorn Piecer granted him a range of fighting for all distances: The bottom of the hilt extended into a spike for close combat, the tip -- that formed into a bulb resembling a flower not yet in bloom -- stretched into a studded whip as far as his aura would allow for mid range, and finally there was the small pistol built into the handle to keep foes at a long distance. If only he was as adept as the weapon built for him, Cody thought to himself.

The first Grimm came into view. Its knuckles dragged across the dirt while it’s tail swayed behind it’s bipedal limbs. One by one the others’ skeletal masks materialized beyond the brush and encircled the student. He could take a few out and make a run for it. Hopefully after wandering the woods for hours he was close to the game pieces and could ditch this death trap. He suddenly missed his cushy, over protective life. The main thing that worried him was he was unaware of these kinds of Grimm, but he knew they resembled monkeys. He could flee into trees, but who knows how far he’d make it.

Clicking the top button on the handle of Thorn Piercer, the tip fell limp onto the ground, revealing the long cable that attached the two pieces. He swore he saw movement from the corner of his eye and spastically jumped into action. He made a wide arc with his hand, the whip swiftly encircling him and reaching out to keep the Grimm at bay. They screeched in protest of the threat as Cody lunged forward, striking down the first monster in his path by lashing the weapon’s bulbous tip into its abdomen. Leaping over the dissolving carcass, he sensed the two closest to its fallen comrade lunge at him. In three sharp swings, his weapon had both knocked the two predators away, and also embedded itself into the branch above. Cody retracted his whip, ascending himself into the treetops to initiate his escape.

Just as he figured, the Grimm were just as nimble in the trees as they were on the ground. He soon realized leaping and swinging tree to tree was only going to get him surrounded again. In between strides he’d flick and swing his whip backwards, attempting to lower their numbers while in pursuit, but only mortally wounding one. It wasn’t working.

He retracted his cable as he landed on another limb. He crouched just in time to let a Grimm soar over his head. In one swift motion, Cody inserted a clip of dust ammo into the handle of Thorn Piercer, flicked the handle upwards that revealed the barrel of a pistol and then opened fire to the first three Grimm he could locate. Two went down in an instant, evaporating as they fell feet below into the brush. His third shot only grazed the last target, earning him a Grimm that became too close for comfort.

It swiped at him, its claws missing him by an inch as he jumped backwards. But the Grimm that had soared over him before had regained its footing. Cody felt its claws dig into his shoulders and back as his aura tried to repel the foul essence of the creature. A strong aura can protect you from bodily harm most humans would end up mortally wounded by, but it still doesn’t numb the pain. He cried out in agony, but his instincts told him that with a literal monkey on his back, that an attack to the neck was next. Extending his weapon into its spike form, Cody struck upwards, piercing the Grimm through it’s neck as its jaw hung open. The relief of knowing he had avoided the most pain he’d have ever gone through came too soon as the Grimm who missed him just before had pounced.

Using what remained of the slowly dissolving body of the Grimm he just slayed as a shield, the monster’s attack only knocked him off his feet and into the forest below. His body slammed into branches on the way down, before finally hitting solid ground with a unnerving thud. The Grimm scrambled and desperately bit into Cody’s free forearm. With haste and a cream of intense pain, he quickly impaled the Grimm. He clutched his arm gravely as the burning sensation of torn flesh flooded through him. He hissed as he tried to focus his aura to tend to the wound, but it was too much. It was then he realized why the fear of too much pain plagued him. It was because he was afraid to suffer.  It seemed as though it was too late. Gazing up he saw the remaining half dozen of Grimm descend upon him. Wincing as he reached for his weapon, he could only hope that this was when the teachers would step in. He was half right.

By the time he had his pistol raised to the raining Grimm, it would have been too late. Luckily, a blur of gold rushed passed him; bits of particles flying into his eyes blinded him. When he regained his vision a moment later, the predators that were so close to dog-piling him from above were now yards away to his left. They seemed just as befuddled as he was as they struggled to regain their footing in what seemed to be a loose, fine mound of dirt. Snapping his his head to the right is when he saw her.

Her two blades, long and thing were poised in a stance that signified the end of her attack. Her head hung low, midnight hair covering her face until she stood up straight. Cody didn’t have much time to study her afterwards as she immediately dashed back into battle. He watched her figure leap over him and into the fray of Grimm. Her blades suddenly howled like the sound of engines, and watched as she danced through the still confused Grimm, lopping off limb after limb. The remaining two attempted an attack, but her momentum of offense was too great, and she easily cut both into four equal pieces. She was then in a whirl of disintegrating Grimm pieces as her blades’ roar started to slow to a stop.

His intuition told him to raise his weapon in defense, but then he remembered the headmaster’s words before they were catapulted into the forest: The first person you meet eyes with in the forest will be your partner for the remainder of your time at Beacon. He slowly rose to his feet, locking eyes with his savior before him.

Partners?

-

Mandy had enough. She spent hours creeping through the forest, jumping behind every bush and tree in order to avoid Grimm, but that gets old after two and a half hours. She was now locked in a full sprint after hearing a commotion to the north. To hell with tip-toeing over every branch and leaf, someone was blowing up the whole forest and she had to see what that was all about. The only thing she had spotted since the beginning of the test was a pair of her classmates strolling together through the brush. She opted to team up with them, but decided she didn’t want to be the odd woman out should they run into another pair.

Bounding and leaping over every bush and log that crossed her path, the booming became closer. Birds were clearing the skies as the twigs below broke around her skirt. If someone was frantically fighting, it was safe to assume they needed a partner and some help. And at this point, Mandy’s boredom tolerance had been reached. Something exciting needed to happen.

The booming was now close enough for Mandy to feel in her chest. The vibrations shook the trees around her as her excitement boiled -- knowing she’s seconds away from what must be a colossal battle. As the calamity reached its loudest, it went silent. Mandy paused in her tracks. She couldn't have missed it. She was so close. She broke back out into a sprint. Moments later she burst into a clearing.

A radius of maybe a hundred feet was cut out of the forest around her. Crumbling trees and lumber littered the ground as plumes of Grimm vapor seeped out from between the piles. In the middle of the clearing was a girl who propped herself up on a large weapon. Two small, white ears perked up through her raven hair as she swayed back and forth. Mandy cautiously inched forward, her wedges snapped a pair of twigs -- startling the tired faunus ahead. The girl’s ears twitched, and faster than Mandy had ever seen anyone move, she twisted around -- a second rifle pointed directly at her.

Mandy raised her hands instinctively; she saw the exhausted look in the faunus’ eyes as her hand twitched against the trigger. The rifle shook as she struggled to focus; ultimately, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. Mandy rushed to the girl’s aid. Up close she could see the fatigue that plagued her beautiful new partner (technically, they had made eye contact before the girl knocked out). Mandy figured she was now obliged to help. She was about to argue with herself if that was the only reason she was going to assist the her new partner, but then she remembered she had an unconscious person below her -- possibly dying.

“I know we just met, and all, but…” Mandy whispered to no one in particular as she awkwardly lowered herself. She gently tilted the girl’s head upward, allowing her lips to part. Taking in a deep breath, Mandy softly connected her lips perpendicular to the girl before her, and exhaled.

Mandy’s aura illuminated her own body; the light then traveling from her to the incapacitated huntress. Tendrils of light spread through the faunus’ being as Mandy continued to resuscitate. With one more deep breath, Mandy pulled away. The wounded girl’s eyes flickered open and focused on her savior above.

“I don’t typically kiss strangers without saying hi first -- well at least not ones in the middle of the forest...well actually there was this one time-” Mandy ceased babbling when the girl rose to an upright position.

“You...kissed me?” She croaked, her voice weak from exhaustion. Mandy’s face went hot.

“Well I guess that isn’t the first thing I should say to someone coming out of a coma,” Mandy forced an awkward laugh. “I should explain. My semblance allows me to repair any kind of damage or wear on someone if I, uhm, breathe...on...them?”  Mandy smiled painfully as she explained her ability with the articulation of a seven year old.

The faunus furrowed her eyebrow in a mix of confusion and probably some understandable fear. “So, you’re my partner,” she said flatly.

Mandy gulped. “Yup, that’s me,” she extended her hand, “Mandy Carmine.”

“Piper Khione,” the girl replied, delicately shaking Mandy’s hand. Mandy hoped the dainty handshake was out of politeness and not because she was completely freaked out. Piper wordlessly rose to her feet. Mandy hung her head in shame as Piper walked passed her. She always did that: word vomit. Mandy could behead thirteen Grimm in nine seconds flat, but sometimes found it even more difficult to talk to a pretty girl. She repeated a couple mantras to herself. The usual ones: Keep it Cool, or You’ve Got This, or her favorite, You’re a Goddess and Everyone Knows It. Come on, she thought to herself, just explain yourself.

“Breathe into you! Yeah! That’s what I meant! Like CPR!” Mandy shouted, but when she looked around, Piper was already yards away. Smooth one. Mandy rose, berating herself as she slowly followed the gorgeous huntress.

“This is what I was protecting,” Piper pointed ahead. Mandy looked up and saw several large podiums, two of which had each set up a metallic looking playing card. Scanning the area again, Mandy noticed how many Grimm must have been here for Piper to do this much damage. She also had to wonder to herself, why go to such great lengths to protect two flimsy old playing cards?

“These are what will determine the teams for our stay here at Beacon,” Piper continued, “Each partnership gets one. And the other set of partners to get the matching card will form a team with them.” Many approached the altar, pulling the card out of its slot that was designated as the queen of hearts.

“I don’t remember Ozpin explaining that stipulation,” Mandy replied. Piper leaned against one of the empty podiums, propping up her rifles against her knees.

“My brother was a huntsman here. He gave me the low-down on all things Beacon, but if you repeat that information to anyone, I’ll shoot you,” Piper smiled. Typically that was a sentence Mandy would take as a red flag, but for some reason Piper’s small smile and round eyes made it...endearing? Who can make a threat endearing?

“These are the last two cards, which means all the other teams are making their way towards the cliffs,” Piper explained, shaking Mandy from her daydreaming. “When I got here, two full teams were battling it out with Grimm. I jumped in the fray, but once they had their artifacts and their teammates, they bailed. I was left behind.” The two small white ears perched on Piper’s head lowered to match the sadness in her voice. Mandy already knew why she was left out; Faunus tend to be treated as second-class citizens. Mandy recalled what her classmates looked like on the day of arrival -- and now that she thinks about it -- Piper might be the only one of her kind in her class. Mandy empathetically grabbed Piper’s arm.

“Well, we should wait for the last two to show up. I want to introduce them to the head badass on our team,” Mandy smiled, which made Piper relax into her touch.

Mandy was already loving her team.

-

Cody mutely followed behind his new partner, Natalie. She marched forward with confidence, one hand on one of her katanas, the other moving the brush around her with her vale of sand. She didn’t directly state it -- since she’d hardly said two sentences to Cody since saving him -- but Cody figured it was her semblance.  All he knew was her name, that they were partners, that she carried around a marker which she would mark her blade with for every Grimm killed, and that she had saved his life today. He now knew the teachers really wouldn’t intervene. Oh, and that he really liked her cool jean jacket.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Cody inquired. Natalie seemed to veer to different paths and take unusual precautions when crossing certain areas.

“I’ve known where the artifacts were for about an hour. Decided I’d do some hunting before deciding to make nice with the others. Until I had to save your sorry ass,” she emphasised that last part, which Cody had to admit hurt his feelings.

“You didn’t have to save me,” Cody softly murmured, crossing his arms. Natalie shrugged.

“I’ve seen too many people die from Grimm. Not a fan,” she said nonchalantly. Cody’s eyes widened. He definitely realized this girl had to be his total opposite. Blunt, probably a rough past, and total badass. Cody? Non-confrontational, privileged, and decent at best.

Cody was going to give his apologies when Natalie lifted her hand up in a halting position. It was then he noticed how many marks were on her blade: about half of one side. How had she killed that many already? Cody didn’t see his first Grimm until he was twelve at a touring circus. Today was the first he’d ever come into actual contact with one. How many had he killed so far? Natalie didn’t give him time to count.

“There are two of us at the altar, we must be the last ones to arrive,” she explained. Last? That didn’t bode well for Cody’s confidence. She signaled ahead to the clearing, where Cody spotted two young huntresses casually leaning against empty podiums.

“Well, should we go say hi?” Cody innocently wondered. Natalie sighed in disappointment, before silently signaling to a spot behind them. Cody focused his vision, and then his jaw dropped.

Unbeknownst to the conversating girls, behind them in the brush lurked six very large red eyes. Cody could vaguely make out the shape of the creature, and its shear size shook the huntsman to his core. He didn’t know what possessed him to do it, but he dashed into the clearing.  He heard Natalie protest loudly behind him, but he ignored her. He screamed and waved his hands frantically.

The two girls immediately spotted him and curiously watched on as they tried to make out what he was saying.

“Behind you! Behind you!” Cody bellowed. He grabbed his weapon from around his waist where it was kept like a belt and continued to charge and scream.

The blonde haired girl in pink must have heard him first because she instantly turned herself around, but it was too late.

-

Piper didn’t notice the strong webbing pooled at her feet until they were yanked out from under her -- slamming her into the podium she was leaning against. When she realized what was happening, she was already being dragged across the forest ground at breakneck speeds. Her senses overwhelmed with pain, dizziness, and shouting from Mandy behind her. She reached for her rifles, which unfortunately were left behind.

Piper dug her hands into the ground to slow the abduction, but the pull was too strong. Flipping onto her back she could see the monster she was being reeled into: a spider-like Grimm the size of a small house. Her instincts kicked in and she focused her aura. Her legs and arms began to freeze over to extreme temperatures. The webs binding her hardened, and with a strike from a ice covered palm, was able to shatter her restraints.

Piper tumbled when she was freed. Regaining her footing she gazed up at the predator before her. The large arachnid struck, one of its pincers narrowly missing Piper as she rolled out of harm’s way. It pounced, but again the young faunus evaded another fatal blow as the abdomen of the creature slammed into the ground. Piper was analyzing her options in a fight without her weapon when she saw Mandy sprinting with the most intense vigor she had ever seen.

Mandy removed her skirt, which normally would seem odd -- especially in a life or death situation -- except that the skirt split into two large folding fans that Mandy swung with ferocity. Piper focused back to the monster before her, prepared for her next move. Suddenly, the monster writhed in pain as small cuts and abrasions tore open all over the Grimm’s mask and body. It briefly withdrew as Mandy reached Piper, posed in a fighting stance in front of the faunus. The Grimm focused on its new target when two slashes from a whip caused it to withdraw further. Piper turned to see the young huntsmen who tried to warn them prior arrive to their aide. She looked him up and down, and honestly didn’t expect much. He seemed like a work in progress.

The three students studied the Grimm as they prepared their next move. And then another scream broke through the woods.

“Babies! Its babies!” a dark skinned girl with a headband yelled from the altar, running while carrying Piper’s two weapons, which she did by skewering them through their triggers like kabobs with her two katanas.

Babies? Piper wondered. When she turned back to the spider, its fangs were twitching at blurring speeds. From beyond the woods, dozens upon dozens of smaller groups of red eyes illuminated in response. And then their shapes scurried into the clearing. Squadrons of dog-sized spider Grimm suddenly had the students surrounded.

Oh, the spider's babies.

The approaching huntress tossed Piper’s rifles into the air, which the latter leaped and caught. The former propelled a jump off one of the spider-ling’s back and flipped in the circle.

“Circle up!” she demanded. Piper pointed her weapons and felt her back press up against three others.  “Do as I say and we’ll make it out alright,” she calmly said before all the noise was drowned out by the revving of her weapons.

-

Natalie was more pissed than anything. Sure, she was about to rack up a bunch of Grimm kills, but that was only satisfactory if her teammates made it out alive.

“Faunus, I want cover fire. Blondie, keep the babies away from faunus,” Natalie commanded. The faunus seemed irritated, but she continued to reload her weapon anyway. “Cody, watch my back. And don’t die.” Cody gulped.

She charged. Natalie used her semblance to create a local sandstorm, effectively throwing four of the spiderlings out of her way as she headed for the mom. Cody followed close behind, arcing his whip at two Grimm that got too close. Natalie locked eyes with the giant Grimm before her and revved her chainsaw blades: The Scorpions . The spider fire concussive blasts of webbing. Natalie, unsure if her blades would cut through such material, opted for an evasive aproach. She ducked, weaved, and rolled out of the line of fire. A loud grunt behind her caught her attention. Stealing a peek to her rear, she saw one of Cody’s arms pinned to the ground by a clot of webbing.

Natalie narrowly dodged one more blast targeted at her face before leaping onto the creature’s back. She hacked away. The creature screamed in pain with every strike Natalie delivered, it attempted to throw her off, but Natalie drove one of her blades deep into the monster's back to hold herself steady, earning another screech from the beast. Looking to her teammates, Natalie saw how efficiently the faunus girl blasted the spiderlings away from herself. The girl with dirty blonde hair used some sort of wind dust incorporated into her fans that kept the other babies away from Cody; slicing the young Grimm up with pressurized blades of wind. Cody switched his weapon to its pistol form, picking off Grimm as best he could.

The spider beneath Natalie jerked hard, almost tossing her off. She gripped her weapon's handle tight and focused her semblance once more. The earth around the Grimm began to sink in on itself; Natalie could feel the earth grind and crush itself to her will. Once she felt the earth become fine enough, she unleashed her strength. The dirt below erupted and swirled around the spider, encasing it in a cyclone of sand and debris. She closed her eyes and raised her hand. Concentrating, she condensed the airborne sand into three long, thin spikes, and positioned them over the Grimm’s head. She sent the spikes downward, but at the last second, the spider bucked Natalie off its back. The huntress landed with a loud thud on her back, the wind briefly knocked out of her. When she looked up, her sand storm has ceased and only one of her spikes had hit its mark.

The spider, however, was now on top of her. Two of its legs pinning Natalie’s arms into the ground; its fangs ready to pierce. Natalie panicked, and summoned the most strength she could for one final sand-based attack, hoping it would be enough. The Grimm lurched forward and quickly stopped its attack as soon as it began. Natalie froze, the battle field suddenly silent. The grimm slowly began to disintegrate from front to back. Its legs slowly evaporating around Natalie’s arms allowing her the freedom to crawl backwards. It was then she could see what killed the beast: a column of wood, spiked at the tip protruded from the ground and had impaled the Grimm’s abdomen.

The remaining spiderlings scurried and fled back into the forest as the remains of its mother faded into nothingness. Behind the fading carcass, Cody was kneeled down, his hand pressed flat to the ground’s soil. He looked up at Natalie, his eyes glowing green and his mouth hanging open as he panted heavily before collapsing.

-

Replenished.

That was Cody’s first sensation after waking up. His vision faded into focus and saw the blonde huntress hovering over him. In fact, she was so close her hair was tickling his cheeks and nose. And then he realized her mouth was on his.

So naturally his first reaction was to scream.

His sudden reaction caused Mandy to jump off of him, her screams of terror matching his.

“Wow, that must be a universal reaction to your semblance, Mandy,” the faunus laughed. Cody sat up straight, trying to piece together how long he had been out. The sun still shined brightly above, so probably no longer than an hour. “Make fun of me all you want, but that’s now TWO people this cute mouth of mine has saved today,” Mandy argued, emphasising the amount by flashing two digits. Cody tested his body, moving a limb or two before gauging that he was really okay. He had never put that much strain into using his semblance before. He remembers the feeling of almost being split in two before seeing his attack succeed.  Now, however, he felt even better than before being launched into the forest.

He looked Mandy up and down as she went back and forth with the faunus. He saw her in action and knew she could fight, but her semblance in itself was in a whole other league of its own. Most healing abilities have pretty strict limits. Most either require a large amount of aura, or are only self regenerative. Mandy’s ability not only recharged his aura to full, but when Cody ran his fingers over his exposed shoulder, his Grimm wound from earlier was gone. Which made him remember Natalie.

Standing up with a new wave of energy, Cody spotted Natalie leaning against one of the stone podiums from earlier, casually flipping the artifact between her fingers.

“Well, we made it. And I didn’t die, as promised,” Cody jested, noticing Thorn Piercer lying on one of the empty altars. Natalie managed a small smirk. When Cody reached for his weapon, she quickly snatched it off the pedestal.

“You are full of surprises my friend,” Natalie said, a hint of approval in her voice as she twirled Cody’s weapon around her finger with ease. “I’ve never met someone in my life with such a purely element based semblance. I was beginning to think I was the only one.” There was almost a sound of relief in her voice as she handed Thorn Piercer over.

Cody blushed. “Well, don't be too impressed, I haven’t exactly refined it,” he stuttered, nervously tapping his fingers on the grip of his weapon.

“On my team, you will, don’t you worry,” Natalie reassured. She gripped his shoulder tightly before handing over the artifact. Cody flipped the card around and ran his thumb over the queen of hearts design. “Let’s get out of this hell hole. To the cliffs.”

-

“And now, the team who gathered the Ace of Spades. Consisting of Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi. You will now operate together as team Coffee.”

Professor Ozpin’s voice continued to boom over the loudspeaker as a another team gathered center stage. Natalie whirled around to see the the vast collection of students and faculty that amassed around the amphitheater to watch the incoming class take their place as first years. The newly formed team’s photos aligned over the monitors and highlighted their new team designation: CFVY. Their leadership being appointed to Coco.

Natalie and her team progressed further in line as team CFVY exited the stage. The next group consisted of three, rowdy boys and one timid looking girl, who seemed to make herself smaller, as her teammates jeered and high fived one another. Natalie looked back to her teammates, Cody with an almost bashful expression on his face, while Mandy eagerly held onto Piper’s arm in anticipation.

“Next, the team who took the Joker cards, consisting of: Pompeius Grey, Addison Pearl, Oliver Emerson, and Spears Violetta. You four will hereby work together as team SOAP. Leading you, is Spears,” Ozpin explained. Two of the boys, who must have been Oliver and Pompeius, jumped and climbed all over Spears in congrats while Addison sheepishly smiled and applauded.  The boys nearly leaped off stage as Addison followed slowly behind them.

Natalie took a deep breath. She knew she’d be honored to lead the team, but she surmised from Piper’s skill level that she was also a strong candidate. Natalie had other motives than being a team leader, anyway.

“And last, but certainly not least, the team that retrieved the the Queen of Hearts: Natalie Fawn, Piper Khione, Mandy Carmine, and Cody Sylvan,” Ozpin announced with an ominous gaze that targeted them one by one.  “Together you will move on as Team Champagne, with Cody as your leader.”

Well, that one caught Natalie off guard.

She stole a glance at her teammate -- a dumbfounded look strewn upon his face. Piper rested a hand on his shoulder and whispered a congratulations. If Cody heard it, he didn’t express it. Mandy, however, bubbly rocked back and forth on her heels -- not looking at Cody, but a grin on her face nonetheless.

Did Cody exhibit some sort of skill or quality that Natalie failed to notice? She was sure herself or Piper had secured that position -- even Mandy would have been a more reasonable choice. Natalie watched as the letters CMPN transitioned over the auditoriums screens and underneath their photos.

“And that concludes the welcoming ceremony of our first year teams,” Ozpin's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, eliciting a jeering applause from the attendants. The handler off stage directed CMPN towards the side of the platform, joining them with the other first years. Crammed into the holding area, Natalie was shoulder to shoulder with Cody and Addison, from SOAP. Her wild, wavy red hair fell onto Natalie’s arm, which Addison shyly pulled away; her hands began to fidget with the hem of her soft pink dress. Natalie wondered if she fought in that outfit as it looked more like something one would wear to sunday brunch.

“Students, you will exit here and receive the location of your new dorms, which you will share with all of your teammates. Furthermore, you will also leave here as official students of Beacon,” Ozpin continued. “You will all begin an amazing journey of teamwork, friendship, compassion, hard work, and dedication to keeping the color alive in our world. You are an exceptionally talented class, but talent is only a natural gift. Only you can decide how far you will grow into your potential. Class begins tomorrow; I look forward to seeing your first steps in this new chapter on your path to becoming huntsmen and huntresses.” Once Ozpin finished, the look he gave through his round spectacles seemed to have an overwhelming effect on the entire crowd. Natalie looked over to Addison whose mouth was slightly ajar and her large, doe eyes unmoving; Cody to her left gulped audibly.

Once the incoming class was dismissed, the teenagers were filtered into a connecting hallway lined with tables. Each table was manned by one of the upperclassmen, with stacks of uniforms and clipboards present to designate the new students into their respective dorms. Piper and Mandy chatted idly as they neared the front of the line, but Cody -- despite the good news -- was silent. Natalie debated picking apart his brain, but she decided against it. She liked her teammates, but she had to remember the purpose of her objective here at Beacon. She had to remember never to lose sight of her goal, as hard as that might be.

Team CMPN gathered their new handheld scrolls and uniforms and began heading for their new living space. Natalie wasn’t thrilled at all for her new everyday wear -- skirts and button downs were far from her style -- and even less thrilled at the prospect of sharing a room with three others. As they neared the hall, Cody grabbed her arm. Her immediate reflex caused her to snatch it away from him. He looked at her shocked and apologized.

“Can I ask you a favor?” he inquired, finding it hard to make eye contact.

“Uh, sure. What’s up?” Natalie casually asked, adjusting her new school supplies piled in her arms.

“I - uhm, I don’t exactly want to be our team’s leader,” he mumbled. Natalie raised a brow and let him continue.

“At least not yet, I don’t think I’m ready. You guys are all so...prepared and ready for this new journey. And I’m just not,” Cody said, sounding almost defeated. “I want you to take over as temporary leader.” Natalie raised both brows.

“O-oh, I -uh,” Natalie didn’t quite have an answer for that. Sure, she thought she’d get it, but once she didn’t she was relieved. She had other plans, and didn’t need another responsibility to juggle.

“The way you commanded in the field, you knew what you were doing. I have a feeling you’re more experienced than any of us. Which is why it should be you -- at least maybe until I’m ready,” the young huntsman rambled, shyly scratching the back of his head. She watched him closely as he spoke and realized that this may be one of his unique qualities Ozpin had picked up on. He seemed like a truly honest, sincere person. Natalie sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, okay. If that’s what you want,” she accepted. The look of relief that washed over Cody warmed her heart a little bit. And then he unexpectedly dropped his things and hugged her. After that she wasn’t sure she was so warmed.

“Thank you, so much,” he said in her ear, his words feeling genuinely thankful. Natalie pulled away.

“Just don't feel like you owe me, okay? I don’t like feeling indebted to people,” she said sharply, readjusting her school supplies a second time. He nervously nodded his head in agreement. In the distance, Mandy called out to them to catch up. Natalie signaled she heard and looked back to Cody. “We’ll tell Ozpin in the morning.” With that she walked back towards the dorms, leaving Cody to gather his things and scurry behind her.

She wasn’t particularly sure why she did what she did. Was she too nice to him after the Grimm battle? Did she have a soft spot for him? Maybe it’s because she knew she’d be good at the job. Maybe because it felt like the right thing to do. Something really seemed to bother her teammate about the position, whereas others would be jumping at the chance. Whatever the result, she figured it wouldn’t mess with her plans anyhow. She assumed she wouldn’t have to do much of anything outside of combat as a team leader.

With a final look out into the distance, she could see the tops the cliffs that her and her teammates overcame. But she knew what lied within that forest. Something far more dangerous than an entrance exam, something far more terrifying than a test to examine skills. She knew she’d find what she came here to look for.