The Ashes of The Chosen (RWBY x OC) (Arc 3)

A Break In The Action (Volume 7 Chapter 9)

Clover: Bring back that metal scrap and head back to the academy. General Ironwood and the Ace Ops will wait for you there. A Manta is ready to take you girls back to the summit. Great work, Team RWBY.

Clover closes the earpiece, which causes the members of Team RWBY to glance at each other. Whatever this gadget was, it seemed to be of utmost importance.

So, without saying another word, the girls headed down the mountain and returned back to the academy.

---------------

Seen by a frozen tundra, Grimm's of varying kinds chase down a hooded figure. Their breaths were ragged from the cold, fatigue settling in from the battle, but they continued to flee, their hood flailing around from the cold wind.

Running up a cliff, the hooded figure turns around as they reach the edge, still with Grimm chasing them down. They ready themselves, as a scythe conjures in their hand from dark purple and blue particles. They start to slash through the horde, cutting off the head of a Razorwing, slashing through two Sabyr's in one motion, and jumping up to kick a Beowolf's head to the ground.

But it was clear that the numbers were too much for them, as he was tackled to the ground by a Teryx. The winged Grimm screeched as it spun to slash the figure with its wings, but the figure disappeared in a puff of shadows and reappeared above it, slashing its wings off and kicking it down the cliff. 

The hood then drops down to reveal Jake as the hooded figure. His eyes are wide, pumped with adrenaline, as he darts around in a zigzag motion to the backline of the horde. Stabbing his scythe through a Centinel, he quickly grabs it back and throws it at an Ursa, the blade sinking through the Grimm. The scythe disappears and reappears in Jake's hands, and within the same motion, he jumps, spins, and lands between two Boarbatusks, both Grimm suddenly disintegrating into particles.

But, as he tried to regain an attacking stance, he couldn't move in time to dodge a Cenitaur's slash. Evidently, he was now exhausted, that last sequence having taken all his energy. The Cenitaur then picks Jake up by its blades, and as the boy struggles to break free, the Cenituar charges up an acid blast from its mouth.

But before it could fire, Jake disappeared in a puff of shadows and reappeared above the Grimm. It raised its blades, but Jake hooked his scythe around its blades and used that momentum to kick the Grimm down the cliff. He landed and turned around, but his eyes widened at the massive horde of Grimm that still remained present.

So, with a sigh, he takes a deep breath and speaks.

"End Simulation."

Within a split second from his command, the frozen tundra, the cliff he stood on, and the Grimm horde, disappear all around him, showing that he is inside a cubicle surrounded with light gray glass. He takes half a minute to recover his energy, taking deep breaths to stabilize his heart rate. 

Once he finishes recovering his energy, he opens the cubicle door and walks over to the control panel next to it. The control panel shows that Jake has the maximum difficulty on all the settings he selected: the amount of Grimm, the difficulty of the Grimm, the weather, and the terrain.

Which... would explain Jake's struggles during the simulation.

Closing the control panel and shutting off the simulation settings, he walks towards the door leading to the training room's main heart. The training room was a giant empty square room with a light blue grid of Hard-Light Dust on the floor. A few columns and pillars were raised in the room from the previous students who had trained before Jake.