Beacon
7:30 AM
263 Days to the Fall
Y/n Pov
Three hours of sleep.... This is going to be interesting. I barely slept to begin with but seeing that I'm only just getting up from my injuries and I'm sore after last nights events, the initiation is going to be hell. Not only that, I had gotten up for five so I could get on the first bullhead out. Needed to pick up some things.
Everything from basic toiletries to items that I'll need moving forward. The first of the stops was a outdoorsman store so I could get some survival equipment. If I cant use my everyday equipment, then I needed a backup. After getting everything I would need, I got something I wanted. With everything that's happened, and in so short of a time, I needed cigarettes'. I'm sure there's going to be some kind of problem that'll come up later about me having them but I'll deal with it then.
The next stop after my survival gear was the toiletries. I had some in my dorm room, but I'm not using anything that is coming from Ozpin. Call me petty, but I don't trust him enough. I can think of several reasons not to use any of it just off the top of my head, anyway. Ozpin is sneaky, so I half expect that there's something tampered. I wanted things that I know are clean.
Last but certainly not least, I went back to my warehouse. The only reason why I went is because of my bike. I put a lot of work into it and I'll be damned if I don't get it back. I doubt it's still there, considering the warehouse is technically a crime scene, but there's no harm in checking. Arriving there, I saw that I was wrong.
It was still there, like most of everything else. If I believed in miracles, I'd be saying this was one. More than likely was that someone pulled some strings to keep it untouched. It was damaged from the explosion, unfortunately so I'd have to come back and get it later. For now, I needed to get back to Beacon and prepare.
That brings me to now. I was wearing a wearing casual clothes that didn't restrict my movements and equipped with one of my pistols and my combat knife. Very light loadout but as I said before, I couldn't do this armed to the teeth unless I wanted to out myself. I didn't even have my grapple gun.
To make up for that, I had a normal rope that I put a hook on. Should help me to climb should I need it but other than that, I don't know what else to use it for. Hopefully it wont be for strangling a Grimm. If I'm at that point then I'm in some serious shit....
I also got a small first-aid kit. I needed to avoid using my semblance or the lazarus energy. Finally, I had pipe bombs. Crude but it would do the job. All in all, I was dreadfully under equipped for what I was about to do. The chances of me walking out without injury was nil to slim at best but this was the hand I was dealt and sometimes you got to play a losing hand....
I was sitting alone at the Beacon cliffs overlooking the Emerald forest. Since this was where everyone else had their initiation, I figured that it was a safe assumption that this is where I needed to be. Especially since there were these odd metal platforms on the ground. I was about to start investigating them but Ozpin and Goodwitch arrived, cutting me short.
Ozpin: Ah, your early Mister Rose. An admirable quality befitting a Huntsman.
Y/n: Call me a Huntsman again and we're going to have a problem.
Goodwitch: Y/n-
Y/n: Glynda.
Goodwitch was about to rip into me when Ozpin interfered.
Ozpin: ....Why don't we skip to a explanation as to why I want you to do the initiation.
Y/n: ....Please do.
Ozpin: Put simply, I want to get a grasp of what your capable of.
Y/n: Are you serious? There's who knows how much camera footage of what I can do and I'm sure you've read not only the police reports but taken a look at my rap sheet as well.
Ozpin: Of course, but there's no footage of you fighting the creatures of Grimm. We know very well what you are capable of doing to another person....
I can't dispute that. I try my best not to end up in fights with Grimm. The primary reason being that they are extremely dangerous. A good comparison would be if some random guy off the street decided to get in a boxing ring with a heavyweight champion. The chances of you walking away were low to say the least. That's obviously not to say that I wasn't capable of fighting them, so much as I'd rather not.
Goodwitch: Do you have questions regarding the initiation?
Y/n: No, but I do have to ask....
I pointed at the strange platform on the ground.
Y/n: What's that for?
Ozpin simply chuckled while Goodwitch tried and failed to keep a smug smile off of her face.
Goodwitch: Don't worry about it. The headmaster and I have already decided that we wont be using it this time....
....Why does that sound ominous?
Weiss Pov
It was eight in the morning and the entire student population was gathered in the cafeteria to watch Y/n's initiation. None of us were worried about how he would do until we saw him on the camera. He was barely armed. We were all baffled to say the least.
Yang: What is he doing!? Where's all his gear!?
Ruby: How is he planning to fight if he doesn't have anything?
Blake: It's not surprising that he doesn't have anything.
Yang: What do you mean?
Blake: Think about it. There's so much information regarding him. If he went up there dressed like he normally is then it wouldn't be hard for people to realize who he is.
I didn't think of that. None of us did. Looking back at the screen, he was going through his equipment. I assume he's making sure that he has everything and that it's in working order. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't concerned. Everyone at Beacon was using a weapon that gave us a advantage when fighting Grimm.
Ruby had her war scythe, Blake had her katana that was capable of enhancing her mobility, and I had Myrtenaster which enabled me to infuse the blade with elemental Dust. He was going into a Grimm infested forest with a single high-powered handgun, a knife and homemade bombs to protect himself with. He was entirely ill prepared for the initiation. What was he thinking?
Team JNPR walked over to us, seemingly excited.
Nora: HEY GUYS!
Ren: You don't have to shout, Nora.
Nora: Sorry, I'm just excited!
Jaune: Your always excited....
Nora: Well I'm extra excited today.
Weiss: Is it because we're getting a new student?
Pyrrha: Partially. We haven't seen Y/n in a few weeks and now he's coming to Beacon. It's a welcome surprise.
We all looked at the other team. We didn't know that they knew Y/n. Actually, now that I think about it, they would all go out on the weekends. I always thought that it was team outings that they were going on.
Ruby: How do you know Y/n?
Nora: *Gasp* YOU KNOW HIM TOO!?
Ruby: Yeah, he's-
Yang: We're friends.
Yang saved Ruby from giving Y/n away. There's very few that know that Ruby and Yang have a brother and those that do know what happened ten years ago. If Ruby had let it slip, there would have been issues. Ruby glanced apologetically at Yang before looking back to team JNPR.
Jaune: Cool! We've known him for weeks now. Mister Todd even helps train me!
Pyrrha: He said just to call him by his first name.
Jaune: I know, but he's still older than us and we don't know all that much about him.
Ren: That... Is true. He's been vague when he talks of himself.
We all descended into silence. We didn't want to say anything compromising of Y/n and team JNPR were all pondering Y/n. It would stand to reason that he would keep to himself as much as possible but its surprising that he even made friends with them given how much he dislikes Huntsmen.
I glanced at Yang and Ruby who started to look uncomfortable after Jaune said Y/ns' fake last name. Come to think of it, Yang told us that she never uses her actual last name instead opting for her mothers name Branwen. They must have understood some meaning behind him changing his last name. He said it was because he couldn't come back yet here he is. Besides, everyone still refers to him as Y/n Rose in private anyway. I don't see where it's that big of a deal. Then again, I didn't go through what they did so I wouldn't know.
Our attention was brought back to the screen. Y/n was done with his checks but something seemed off. He was bypassing the launch pads? We all caught a glimpse at Miss Goodwitch before she was off camera again....
I was suddenly ten times more worried since the look on her face could only be described as terrifying....
Y/n Pov
As I finished my checks, I felt a chill run down my spine. Something was very wrong but I cant put my finger on what it was. I started searching my mind for any information that pertained to the initiation. If I knew something, I couldn't remember it and with the instinctual feeling of something wrong only growing, I couldn't focus on finding anything. I instead turned my attention to the forest. I remembered exactly where the temple was so finding it wouldn't be a problem.
All in all, I had my hopes up that this wouldn't be as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. That hope was quickly dashed as I was encompassed by a purple bubble.
Y/n: Wha- Hey! What the fuck!?
Ozpin: Now that it's time, let me explain how the initiation normally works. You must enter the forest and retrieve one of the artifacts that were placed there and return with it to complete the initiation. We typically launch students one by one via the launch pads that you asked about earlier...
....They wouldn't....
Ozpin: But for your initiation, Glynda wanted to do something different.
OH NO....
Y/n: Uh, w-wait a second! Let's talk about this!
Goodwitch: We decided that for you, instead of launching you with the launch pad, I would get to throw you into the forest.
I was actually getting scared now.
Y/n: WHY WOULD YOU AGREE TO THIS, OLD MAN!?
Ozpin: Several reasons but first and foremost....
The bubble started to shrink a little while moving. Goodwitch was in a position like she was about to throw something....
Ozpin: We thought it would be amusing to get a little, as you young folk would say "Payback" for all the trouble you've caused when you woke up.
Y/n: ....You know what....
Ozpin, still looking amused, cocked his eyebrow up. If I'm about to get thrown, I'm going to enjoy it too!
Y/n: DO IT!!!
I couldn't see Goodwitch's face but I assumed that she was enjoying this. Ozpin chuckled and gave the order....
Ozpin: Very well. Glynda, if you would.
Goodwitch: It would be my pleasure.
And with that, the purple ball was sent catapulting through the air and dissipated shortly thereafter. I was left in a free fall over the forest. I didn't have a clue how the hell I was going to stop the fall but I was too busy having fun to worry about that right now. I took the time to make sure that the temple was were I thought it was. After confirming that, I went into a dive.
I got my rope from off my hip and got ready. Once I was level with the trees, I was going to hook it to a branch and use the momentum to swing. That should help to stop the decent. If that failed, then my only choice after that would be petal bursting. It was funny. I didn't think that either of them had it in them to have a sense of humor. It was fucked up but mine was too so who am I to judge?
My fun came to a end as I was approaching the tree tops. I readied myself and at the last possible second, threw the rope as hard as I could outward. The hook at the end caught a branch as intended and the rope went taut. Kicking my legs out as I swung forward, I looped the branch three times before my momentum was slow enough to let go.
I went flying towards the ground and landed, rolling with the momentum. Standing up, couldn't help but laugh my ass off. I was going to get them back for this but I actually enjoyed that. I wonder if that's what it's like to ride a roller coaster? Getting back on track, I climbed the tree and retrieved my rope. Who knows if I'll need it again today.
Dropping from the tree and putting the rope back on my hip, I started towards the temple. So far, it was quiet and not the bad kind of quiet. As long as I could hear the wild life, I knew that I was safe from the Grimm. Best to cover as much ground as possible before they decide to come. The emerald forest was a strange place. It was a hotspot for Grimm but also had areas that they wouldn't go to in the forest.
I wasn't familiar to the reasoning why but I had bigger things to worry about. Walking for what felt like a hour, I noticed that now it was the bad kind of quiet. I pulled my pistol and drew my combat knife. Slowing my pace, I scanned for any movement as I walked. If I was going to get jumped, it would most likely be by Beowulfs.
As if on que, a sharp rustling sound erupted behind me as a lone Beowulf pounced at my back. I spun around and landed a heel kick to its snout, knocking it away. It quickly stood up and howled. Suddenly the forest was alive with the sounds rapid movements, growls, and howls. I put two bullets into the Beowulfs head and started to sprint away.
I needed a place where I wasn't going to be surrounded. I didn't want to chance one jumping on my back while I was focused on another. As I ran, I heard the stomping of the Grimm behind me. Taking a quick look back, I saw that there was four of them. They'd be easy enough to deal with.
Emerging from the treeline, I found the temple I was after. I turned around and opened fire as I walked back. I killed a Beowulf before the rest reached me. The leader lunged at me and I went to a knee, bringing up my knife. It landed on my knife as it tried to bite me. The other two were starting to circle me. I brought up my pistol and fired two into its gut before pushing it off of my knife and shooting it in the head.
The other two, seeing that their leader was dead both pounced at the same time. I jumped to the left, letting them run into each other before I took a page from Noras' book. I jumped on top of one of the Beowulfs and started to stab it repeatedly in its head and neck. The other Beowulf recovered and jumped on me, knocking me off of the mounted Grimm.
My weapons were knocked from my hands as the Beowulf relentlessly bit and clawed at me. It wasn't long before it managed to get a clean cut on my chest with its claw. I positioned my feet against the Beowulf and kicked him away. Scrambling for my weapons, I grabbed my pistol and fired at the Beowulf as it lunged back at me. The Grimm landed heavily on me, dead.
I pushed the Grimm corpse off of me as it dissipated. That left one more, and it wasn't looking good. It was stumbling and staggering around as black smoke leaked from its head and neck. I approached it as it toppled over, whining in pain. I dropped to a knee and put my knife into where it's heart should have been. It whined one more time before falling limp and beginning to dissipate.
The fight was over but I could still hear the telltale sounds of Grimm. I got up and moved to the temple grounds. Before bothering to look at the artifacts that were lined along the alters in the ruined temple, I checked my chest wound. The cut was very shallow, just enough to cause a bleed. That was good, I didn't need to waste time patching myself up.
I turned my attention to the artifacts. For Ruby's initiation, the artifacts were chess pieces. Call me crazy, but I don't think these are chess pieces. On the alters sat bullets, all of them conveniently chambered in 5.7. There was a silver bullet, bronze bullet, a gold, a blank, and a spent casing.
I felt a tinge of annoyance towards Ozpin. I understood what he was indirectly asking. Was I bronze, just another tin man at his disposal. Was I gold, I looked and talked pretty but couldn't follow through. Or was I a blank, outright useless. The spent casing was the only one that I couldn't figure what he was referencing.
I looked up at the camera and had to stop myself from flipping him off. I could wait until I saw him in person. I grabbed the silver bullet, the only one that I found any positive meaning in, given the stories of silver bullets. Now that I had what I was after, I could leave. I started to run back into the forest when I heard a hiss. I barely had time to jump back as a giant snake Grimm burst through the trees.
Of everything that I could have encountered, It had to be a fucking King Taijitu. I retreated back towards the temple while firing. All I was doing was pissing it off. I only had one spare magazine and I had lost count on how many bullets I've fired already. The King Taijitu shot forward and caught me by the leg, tripping me. The teeth missed my leg but I was still getting dragged closer to the other mouth.
I grabbed a pipe bomb and lit the fuse. The overgrown snake tossed me up in the air and I threw the pipe bomb into the mouth that was waiting to eat me. The snake recoiled and choked. I hit the head of the snake and bounced off, landing hard on the ground. The bomb detonated and the King Taijitu screeched and hissed. It was obviously hurt but it wasn't dead yet.
I stood up and fired a round only for the pistol to lock the slide back. I released the magazine, not even bothering to keep it and slammed in my only spare. I started to run, I wasn't equipped to fight this thing and with all the cameras on me, I couldn't use my semblance or the lazarus energy. I ran down the same path that Ruby and the others took during their initiation. I don't know if I would rather the Nevermore or the King Taijitu at this point.
The King Taijitu was starting to gain on me. I holstered my pistol and grabbed the rope. I started across the destroyed bridge before throwing the rope as far as I could. I didn't have the time to see if it actually hooked on anything before I jumped. I started to fall with the rope coming down with me. A second later, the hook caught something and I started to swing. Climbing as fast as I could, I made it to the ledge of the bridge and pulled myself up.
I thought that would be the end of that when I looked back at the King Taijitu rushed and somehow leaped. I dove out of the way of the Grimm as it landed. The bridge started to crumble as I retreated. The King Taijitu wasn't going to just let me go. I pulled the pistol and started to fire, aiming for the eyes. Keeping count of how many bullets I had left, I stopped when I finally caught one of its eyes.
The snake started to trash around further destroying the bridge. It started to advance while I backed up. I was running out of options. I lost the rope, Only had one pipe bomb, thirteen bullets, and a knife. This was starting to look bad. I could jump down into the ravine below but I don't know how deep it is, nor do I think I could survive the fall.
I decided that I'd try and get another pipe bomb down its throat. I got a little closer to it, trying to bait out a lunge. I got what I wanted as one head came at me. I leaped up and landed on its head as I lit the fuse. The other head came for me as I threw the pipe bomb. Once again, the pipe bomb went down its throat and detonated. The King Taijitu buckled and thrashed, knocking me off of the head I was standing on. The first explosion must have taken a good bit of the flesh from the inside because now it's organs were exposed.
I caught a quick glimpse of its heart as it thrashed around. I pulled out my pistol and started to fire at it's heart. The King Taijitu must have recognized what I was trying to do because it started to protect its exposed chest cavity. The task of killing it was only getting harder since the bridge was starting to completely give way.
The King Taijitu was still advancing on me as I tried to carefully aim. The bridge started to shake and crumble causing me to miss my last shot. Now having to worry about falling too, I turned and ran, hoping that the overgrown snake would fall. I could hear the King Taijitu getting closer as I ran for solid ground. The bridge fully gave way and I leaped, barely catching the ledge. The King Taijitu coiled and leaped as well and made it.
I climbed up and started to back away from the King Taijitu. I only had a knife and I wasn't about to try and stab the damn thing. I backed away as the Grimm slowly advanced on me. I started to think about how I could get out of this. Jumping was still a option but I would rather not if I could help it. I couldn't climb the cliff face, the King Taijitu would get me before I even made it five feet.
Then I remembered the silver bullet. It was the only other option. I dropped the magazine and loaded in the artifact. The King Taijitu lunged at me with both heads as I slammed the magazine back in and hit the slide release. I barely had a second to aim before I fired. The sound of the gunshot seemed louder then the rest.
The heads reached me but instead of eating me, they ran right into me knocking me over. The Snake squirmed and writhed as it screeched. Dark smoke being jettisoned from where the bullet had pierced its heart. The King Taijitu stood up one more time before falling back down and exploding into a cloud of dark smoke. I sat there stunned that I was still alive. I tried to stand up but found that my legs were weak.
I instead laid flat on my back taking in that I had survived yet again. I should have ben happy that I did but I wasn't. I laid there for five minutes before I stood up. As I was standing up, I saw the casing to the silver bullet. Well, it's still a silver bullet meaning its still a artifact. If Ozpin doesn't like it, he can kiss my ass. Though I don't see why he wouldn't, I still accomplished what he asked of me. It just wont be in the way he envisioned I'm sure.
I looked up at the cliff face and exhaled. This wasn't over yet. I needed to make it back. I just need to avoid any Grimm along the way. I started to slowly climb the cliff side. This was going to take a while....
Weiss Pov
The cafeteria was stunned to silence. The general consensus among the other students was that he wasn't going to make it. Even we thought that he was going to die towards the end. But instead he defied all our expectations and managed to kill one of the most dangerous Grimm in the area with barely anything.
The entire time, I was terrified for him. They should never have allowed him to go out there like that. Ruby and Yang were on a emotional roller coaster, going from scared to ecstatic on a dime. Blake was impressed and Team JNPR was the only once not to be completely stunned and cheered for Y/n. After the shock wore off, everyone in the cafeteria erupted into cheers and adorations at Y/ns achievement.
I couldn't help but join in with the cheering. It was something I never would have done before I met Y/n. The rest of the team stared at me for a moment before joining in. They knew that this was a monumental moment. If nothing else, he has the respect of the student body behind him now. That's a much different tone then when it started. Instead of taking bets on whether he would survive or not, everyone was now cheering for the new student.
Now all that he needed to do was get back. Hopefully Ozpin takes the artifact. It was a bullet and still is a bullet. Technically, Y/n did what was asked of him. We could only hope that Ozpin sees it that way too....