Go Teams

The road led to a small clearing, with a large, mossy ruin in the center. It probably once was an impressive stone rotunda, with tall, intricately carved pillars and a large star-shaped pattern on the ground. Alas, the years hadn't been kind with the structure, and half of the wall and several columns had succumbed to the wrath of time and of the elements. Several pedestals were positioned in a circle along the edge, somewhat more recent than the structure itself, but still weathered. "Think this is it?" Yang asked.

"Probably," Atrament replied, walking to the ruin. "It does look like an abandoned temple, and seems to house... relics." He picked up one of the 'relics', a black king chess piece. All the relics were, in fact, various chess pieces, either black or golden. Atrament dropped the king back on its pedestal. "I'm underwhelmed."

"Some of them are missing," Yang noted. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

Atrament shrugged. "Maybe not. Still, it's not a competition, seeing as there are more than enough pieces for every duo. So, which one piqued your fancy?"

"Hmmm..." Yang walked up to a pedestal and picked the piece standing on it, a golden knight. "How about a cute little pony?"

Atrament smirked. "Pony it is." He and Yang both walked to the center of the temple.

"That wasn't too hard!"

"Well, you just jinxed us." As if to confirm Atrament's worries, a large shadow briefly blotted the sun. In fact, it seemed like something was falling. "Hey, isn't that Ruby?"

"Are you seeing her face in the clouds?" Yang teased. "You know, maybe I need to give you the shovel talk after..."

"Heads uuuuuuuup!" It was Ruby Atrament had seen falling. Her landing strategy did not seem to be up to par, considering it seemed to consist mainly on flailing helplessly and crashing on her sister.

"You know what? Upon reflection, I think it was a cloud," Atrament deadpanned.

Several gunshots echoed from above as another woman followed Ruby, this one having a much more controlled dive. She used her rifle to break her fall, before landing on top of the temple. Atrament wasn't aware that the Pyrrha Nikos had decided to go to Beacon. And she seemed to have partnered up with Ruby. Good for her. Although that didn't explain their fall from the sky.

"Ruby," Pyrrha chided her young partner with a tinge of exasperation. "I would appreciate a little more warning than 'I think I see the temple, let's jump' next time."

Ruby pulled herself up, still dizzy from the fall. "Oooh... Sorry, Pyrrha."

Atrament turned to Yang, who was sprawled on the ground. "Are you alright?"

Yang sat up. "I..."

They were interrupted by a loud explosion coming from the forest, knocking down several trees. An Ursa got out of the woods, started to charge towards the temple, then was hit by another explosion of pink electricity and fell to the ground as a girl dressed in pink jumped over it with a loud "YEEEE-HAAAAW!" She rolled on the ground and got up with a dejected "Aww, it's broken."

Another girl, this one dressed in teal green, dismounted the dead Grimm, panting. "Nora... please... don't ever do that again."

But the pink girl was already gone, having gone to the temple in a frankly impressive display of speed. In fact, Atrament hadn't even seen her move, and he was staring at the scene the whole time. Maybe her Semblance was a teleporting one.

"Oooh..." The pink girl (apparently named Nora) was starting at a golden rook. She swiftly grabbed the chess piece and started to dance with it. "♪I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!♪"

"Nora!" The abandoned green girl yelled.

Nora stopped her dance and saluted with a chuckle. "Coming, Ren."

"I... have no idea how to describe what just happened," Atrament commented as he helped Yang up. "I feel like I was just hit by a hurricane, and I didn't even interact with that girl."

Yang dusted herself off. "I..."

She is interrupted as Weiss and Black-and-white burst from the forest, followed by...

Atrament might have killed its little brother.

The Alpha Boarbatusk was as large as a small house, and most of its body was covered in bone plates, leaving only its underbelly exposed. The eye marking on the center of its mask had opened to reveal a fifth eye, and its tusks were now barbed. A few scorch marks and chips were visible on its plates where the two girls had attacked it, but it didn't seem to have been actually wounded. Worryingly, both Weiss and Black-and-white seemed almost more concerned with arguing than running.

"If you had just followed my instructions..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess, who woke up the Grimm again?"

"Oh, don't you start-"

Atrament exchanged a glance with Yang. "They're going to die if we don't intervene."

"Yeah, no kidding." Yang's gauntlets ignited with a pair of sharp clicks. "You got a plan?"

"You distract it, I get below it and stab where there's no armor."

Yang nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She rocketed forward on a blast of shotgun recoil with a loud yell, then shot the Alpha Grimm around the leftmost eyes, although she didn't hit the eyes themselves. But the point wasn't to hurt the monster, it was to catch its attention, which it did. The Boarbatusk stopped its charge and stared at the blonde girl.

Yang completely abandoned the plan and decided to attack the Grimm directly, charging at it while haphazardly shooting in its general direction. It only snorted contemptuously and swung its head as soon as she was close enough, its tusk slamming into her and sending her flying away. Her Aura didn't break, but Atrament didn't like the flickering he saw. He needed to get its attention away from her. He started to run towards the monster, mechashifting Fine Print in its rifle form, and waited until it opened its mouth to shoot a Fire Dust round inside.

The Boarbatusk turned its head towards the Huntsman-in-training and stared, its red gaze concentrating on him. Atrament let out a scream of pure fury and charged even quicker. This beast thought it could hurt his partner? Atrament would show it what he did to these monsters who reveled in murdering innocent civilians and brave Hunters who fought to protect civilization from their claws. He pointed Fine Print towards the Alpha Grimm and shot round after round at it, not intending to stop until it die die die die died. Most shots splattered harmlessly on its mask.

One lucky bullet, however, found its way to the Boarbatusk's fifth eye, making it explode and cancelling its bloodlust-inducing effect.

Atrament stumbled, suddenly dizzy. All the intense rage he was feeling suddenly dissipated as the Grimm howled in pain. Behind him, Weiss and Black-and-white stopped their dispute and focused on the actual threat. Yang got back up, shaking her head and pulling herself together. The Alpha Boarbatusk narrowed its remaining eyes and lowered its head, its gaze full of malice.

Shit!

The monster jumped in the air and started to spin on itself, turning into a wheel of sharp bone plates and spikes. Before Atrament could do anything to dodge, it slammed into him, sending him flying and crashing through the temple wall. His Aura tanked the hit, but Atrament could feel it was worryingly low. He hadn't recovered everything he had expanded to unlock Jaune's Aura, and another strike from the creature would assuredly kill him. He looked around him to see where the other girls were, but didn't see them. There was, however, a row of Giant Nevermore feathers stabbed in the ground, which told him where Ruby and Pyrrha dropped from, but also that the girls were otherwise occupied, and wouldn't be able to help him on this.

Atrament stood back up and looked at the Alpha Boarbatusk through the crumbled wall of the temple. The Grimm snarled, lowered its head, and started to charge. Atrament lowered his center of gravity and mechashifted Fine Print back in its spear form. If he could dodge enough of the creature's charges, maybe he could maneuver himself under its belly and kill it before it crushed him to death...

The Boarbatusk was suddenly enveloped in ice spikes as a ribbon flew towards its face, the blade at the end finding its way to the Grimm's rightmost eye. Weiss and Black-and-white had finally came to their senses and joined the fray. The Grimm bellowed in pain and rage at losing another eye and started to struggle against its icy prison, identifying the Schnee heiress as the most imminent problem. The young Boarbatusk he had killed earlier had charged blindly; this Alpha recognized threats and prioritized them. Atrament didn't know how old the Grimm was, but it was clearly old enough to be capable of strategizing. Weiss formed a Glyph under her feet as the ice started to crack, propelling herself high in the air as the Alpha Boarbatusk broke free and stomped on where she was standing a second before.

The Grimm momentarily stumbled, and before it could catch itself, was further destabilized by familiar explosive gunshots. Yang had rejoined the fight. Black-and-white tried to capitalize on the monster's weak point being exposed by sending her ribbon scythe in its belly, but the Boarbatusk started to spin before she could do more than scratch it, rolling towards Black-and-white. She propelled herself backwards, leaving behind a blurry afterimage and the Grimm bounced on a giant Glyph that shattered on impact, allowing it to land on its feet.

Yang stood her ground before the beast, her gauntlets smoking as she shot its leg to catch its attention. "Come on, you overgrown bacon strip," she taunted. "Mama wants some pork for dinner!" Despite her bravado, the strain in Yang's voice was unmistakable.

The Boarbatusk snorted, pawing the ground, then jumped, starting to spin once again in the air. It dove at lightspeed, ready to use its weight to crush its prey. Unfortunately for the girls, that prey was not Yang. Weiss didn't expect it to attack her and was unprepared. Black-and-white's ribbon scythe curled up around her waist and pulled her out of the way, but the Grimm clipped her, sending her flying wildly.

The Alpha Boarbatusk faced the three sapients, snorting contemptuously. They were all finally aligned in its field of view. No more tricks, no more surprises. Furthermore, with how weakened they were all, it was only a matter of time before one of them fell, and, once their united front was broken, they would be as good as dead. Then, he could hunt down the one that burst its central eye. Even now, it could feel the delicious aroma of their fear, rage and pain. All those emotions only made it want to kill them even more, to bask in their suffering as their lives left their broken bodies. The Grimm lowered its head, bent its knees, and...

The Boarbatusk roared in pain as it felt a cold, pointed metal rod pierce its underbelly. It knew instinctively that the wound was a deadly one. It tried to charge, to take at least one of the sapients with it, but its legs were no longer responding. The Grimm crumbled on its own weight and let out a final squeal of pure, undiluted hatred for everything feeling. Then, it was no more.

Atrament rolled out from below the monster as it fell. Sneaking under the beast while it was distracted by the three Huntresses-in-training had been a gamble, but a calculated one. He knew its attention hadn't been on him and he probably could have dodged it if it realized he was there before he was in position to attack. Admittedly, the immediate aftermath would have been... problematic, but he had to act before the Alpha Boarbatusk could get its bearings. He had already been starting to adapt to the girls' tactics and its attacks were brutal enough that the Hunters' margin of error was slim to say the least. In the end, the hardest part for Atrament had been to keep a tight lid on his emotions to avoid the Grimm feeling his negativity.

"Nice," Yang said, walking up to him. Her lilac eyes traced over him with an appraisal that was half-concern, half-admiration. "You okay? Pork chops over here sent you flying pretty hard."

"My Aura held up," Atrament replied. It had absorbed the damages and only left him momentarily dazed upon the impact. "How about you? I wasn't the only one taking a hit from that thing."

"My Aura held up," Yang parroted with a confident smile. "I probably wouldn't want to go another round with bacon butt, but I'm not out of the fight yet."

Weiss and Black-and-white approached as well. "That was really risky," the Schnee heiress hissed. "You could have informed us that you were going to go under the Grimm, coordinated with us. But... I suppose breaking its mental influence was crucial in our victory. Well done on shooting its eye."

"A lucky shot," Atrament explained. "I wasn't in a condition to aim properly. As for the coordination issue, I would normally agree with you, but in these circumstances, I estimated the surprise factor to be more important."

"I suppose it did pay off," she nodded. "I should introduce myself, properly this time." She briefly glared at Black-and-white, who maintained eye contact with a level expression. She turned back to Atrament and held out her hand. "I am Weiß Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss Schnee was petite and thin, with the delicate build of a dancer, though Atrament knew better than to believe she was not a competent warrior. She was pale and had sharp ice-blue eyes, the left one marred by a thin scar. Her long white hair was swept into a long, elegant ponytail secured by a small silver tiara. She was wearing a strapless dress that went from pure white to misty blue, with a small piece of black lace in front of the neckline, cinched at the waist by a white sash and flaring into a short skirt that ended in frosted lace. Over that, she had a short vest with wide, bell-shaped sleeves and a similar coloring, though its interior was lined with red.

Atrament shook her hand. "Atrament Vellum. It's a pleasure to meet you properly, Weiss." Time would tell if that last part would hold true, but she seemed to have more to her that the spoiled and arrogant behavior she had previously displayed.

"And I'm Blake," Black-and-white added. "Blake Belladonna." She was slender, with a lean frame that suggested agility and precision rather than brute force. Her midnight black hair fell in long, soft waves, only held by a large black bow sitting perched atop her head. Her amber eyes were sharp and assessing. She wore a sleeveless white crop top over her sizable breasts, covered by a black vers with coattails and a jagged trim. She also wore very tight white shorts, as well as black leggings that were lightening to purple towards her ankles.

"A pleasure as well, Blake." Atrament shook Blake's hand as well. Her last name was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place the context in which he heard it before. Oh well, he could always figure it out later.

"Oh hey, you're done with the Boarbatusk?" Ruby appeared in a blur of rose petals. "We came back to see if you needed help, but..." She gestured at the smoking corpse of the Alpha Grimm.

"We?" Atrament asked. "It seems you left your comrades behind."

"That was on purpose this time," Ruby protested. The key part of her sentence was the this time, but he was not going to point it. "We decided that if you had trouble with it, I should get to you as quickly as possible."

That made more sense. "A sensible strategic decision. Still, we did manage. How about you? I noticed the feathers."

"Oh yeah, the Giant Nevermore. Yeah, he was all Skreee, but then Nora was like Boom, and then I pulled Crescent Rose and was all Bang Bang Bang, and Pyrrha..."

Atrament was bemused at Ruby's vibrant description of the fight, enhanced by numerous onomatopoeias and karate chops in the air. Blake seemed to feel like him, while Yang had a fond but slightly embarrassed expression. Weiss, however, seemed to have nothing but contempt for the young girl. Fortunately, before she could say something that would sour the atmosphere, Ruby's tale was interrupted by her companions' arrival.

Pyrrha Nikos emerged from the tree line, which had the merit of distracting Weiss.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby chirped, bouncing over to her partner with renewed energy. "I was just telling them about the Nevermore!"

"I gathered," Pyrrha said in a warm voice. She turned to Atrament and the others, offering a formal nod. "It's a pleasure to meet you all properly. Πύρρα Νίκος." She was tall and statuesque, with defined musculature and long, shapely limbs, yet her frame retained a generous curvature. Her crimson red hair was a long cascade swept up in a ponytail, and she was wearing an elaborate bronze circlet. Her bright green eyes were large and expressive, framed with a subtle green eyeshadow. Her combat regalia consisted of a brown corset with bronze trimmings, with long brown opera gloves and a red sash around the waist that served as a miniskirt. She was also wearing thigh-high armored bronze boots and a bronze gorget around the throat.

"Atrament Vellum," he replied with a nod of his own. He wasn't sure whether pointing out he knew who she was would be rude or not, but they were still in a combat zone and he didn't think it was a good time for that. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Pyrrha."

Yang and Blake introduced themselves as well, but not Weiss. Since she didn't seem paralyzed by the prospect of meeting a celebrity, it was more likely that she had already introduced herself to Pyrrha prior to this moment. Before Atrament could ponder further on the question, a blur of pink and orange cannoned into the center of the group, halting with a skid that kicked up dust. "Aww, is the piggy already dead? I missed all the fun." She was compact and athletic, with a sprightly frame that nonetheless carried a surprising fullness in the bust, emphasized by the heart-shaped cutout of her white sleeveless blouse. Her hair was a vivid shade of orange, short and slightly tousled, framing her face with an almost boyish practicality that contrasted with her feminine curves. Her eyes were a bright, lively turquoise that seemed to sparkle with irrepressible energy and mischief. She wore a black sleeveless vest over her blouse, with a blue and red central section, cinched at the waist with a strange silver armor piece that wrapped all over her body, which didn't appear to serve any practical purpose. The outfit was completed by a short pink skirt and pink fingerless gloves.

"Based on what Ruby was telling us, you did have your own share of fun," Atrament pointed out.

"Hey, you're right," Nora cheered up. "I got to blow up a bird. That's way better."

"That's a matter of perspective, I suppose." Atrament held out his hand. "My name is Atrament Vellum. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nora Valkyrie!" Nora did her level best to tear his arm out of its socket with how enthusiastically she shook it. "And that's Ren." She gestured to the green-clad girl that had just come out of the woods. "And that's Ren! We're together. Well, not together-together, that would just be weird, but she's my best friend and we're partners."

"琳•蓮," the girl said simply, offering a shallow bow. "I am glad to make your acquaintance." Unlike Yang, this girl was clearly of far Mistrali origin. She was short and thin, built more to slip in shadows and deliver precise strikes than to dish out violent and devastating attacks. She had long black hair, with a single magenta pink streak that matched her eyes. Her face had delicate, almost ethereal features and she was wearing black lipstick. She was wearing a long dark teal green qipao, with pale pink embroideries of lotus flowers (likely her emblem) and gold trimmings. She also had a black sash around the waist and long white opera gloves with a black trimming.

Atrament looked at... actually, what was her first name? Some regions of Mistral put the last name before the first, and Nora had referred to Lin Ren as simply Ren. "The pleasure is all mine. Do you go by Lin or Ren?"

"I usually prefer Ren," she replied. "That's my last name, if you're wondering."

Atrament nodded. "Well, my name is..."

"Oooh, I'll take care of the introductions," Nora interrupted. "You already know Ruby, she's tiny and she has a scythe, and Pyrrha, she's famous and she has a spear. That's Atrament, he's fancy and he has no weapon, Weiss, she's scary and she has a sword, Blake, she's quiet and she has a ribbon, and Yang, she's loud and she has fists."

Well, that was certainly an... efficient way for introductions. Ren smiled fondly at her partner's antics. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Quite," Atrament replied. "Though I should point out that I do have a weapon. It's just... stuck." He pointed at the dead Boarbatusk, which had barely started to dissolve. "And I fear that it will be quite a while before I will be able to retrieve it."

"Which means we're stuck here until then," Weiss sighed. "Marvelous. Well, I suppose it will give those of us who hadn't have time to pick a relic the opportunity to do so."

"Indeed. Although I'm afraid that I might have knocked a few of those relics off their pedestals." Behind Atrament, the wall he went through collapsed. "I suppose Professor Ozpin will have to use a new location for next year's initiation."

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The four of them were standing on the stage under the applauses of the Beacon students as the screens displayed their portraits as well as their team names, and Atrament could only think one thing: ugh! Both Cardin and Sky were Pharos alumni, and Atrament could only describe them as the worst candidates to become Huntsmen he had ever met. Cardin was an arrogant, racist bully, son of a Vale councilman and last scion of the formerly noble Winchester family, before the Last King abolished the monarchy and with it the nobility, although the Winchesters kept their riches and much of their influence. Still, at least Cardin was a competent fighter and had no hesitation facing his foes, whether fellow students who offended him or ferocious Creatures of Grimm. Sky, on the other hand, was a cowardly lickspittle who only went as far as he did by following Cardin. Atrament didn't know the other two and would reserve their judgement, but even if they were righteous and competent fighters, he doubted that they would be able to compensate Cardin.

Ozpin continued his announcement of the teams. "Ruby Rose. 琳•蓮. Πύρρα Νίκος. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RNRP." Team Raindrop. A bit of a stretch, but Atrament supposed that Ozpin was working with what he had.

"Led by... Ruby Rose!" Said girl was obviously in shock, but the other members of Team RNRP were nothing but congratulatory, with a grinning Pyrrha giving her a friendly punch to the shoulder, which seemed to awake her. Ruby didn't seem overly phased by the shoulder punch, but Atrament supposed that with Yang as a sister, she was used to that sort of physical display of affection.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Atrament Vellum. Weiß Schnee. 陽•小龍." Ah, it was their turn. Atrament and his new teammates walked on the stage, up to Ozpin. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team ABYS." Now, that was a good name. "Led by... Atrament Vellum."

Huh. Atrament wasn't sure how to feel about this announcement. Next to him, Weiss seemed vexed at being denied the position of Team leader, while Blake and Yang didn't seem to have an issue with it. Well, it was certainly a large responsibility, but Atrament would not falter.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year," Ozpin mused almost to himself. Atrament certainly agreed with the feeling.