Chapter 24

Looking around and seeing the coast was clear, Pyrrha relaxed for a brief moment before...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She looked up to see Jaune tumbling from the sky, wildly flailing his arms. Immediately Pyrrha's body moved into action, almost before her mind had given the command. Transforming her rifle into a spear, she raised her right thumb as an indicator. As she moved to throw her weapon, a chain shot from beneath the cover of trees towards the helpless student. Pyrrha watched as Jaune desperately grabbed onto the chain before swinging out of sight under the dense forest.

"Well..." Pyrrha owlishly blinked "That works too I suppose."

Tucking away her spear, she did an agile flip off of her branch before making her way towards Jaune, and the unknown student who saved him. Pyrrha moved carefully, but quickly. Who knew when a creature of grimm might try to take her by surprise. She wasn't here for a picnic after all. Though try as she might, Pyrrha found it hard to focus with a particular question on her mind.

'How did Aero know about the exam we were all going to undertake?'

This knowledge was always confidentially kept by the staff. It would be one thing if Aero gave vague and general predictions that covered most topics like the Barnum effect. However...

*"Unfortunately...we don't get to pick our teams so that's a moot point."*

*"The staff are just gonna chuck the students into some danger zone."*

*"Whoever you see first is on your team."*

*"You take your team and grab a 'relic' at the end of the area to pass."*

*"That is correct. Though, I used the word 'chucked' instead of placed for a reason."*

What Aero said seemed to be specifically tailored to EXACTLY what would happen. There was no mistake about it, this wasn't some lucky guess. "Could it be that there really is such a thing as psychics? Would it be alright if I asked him about it? Aero didn't seem to mind telling me and Weiss about-"

"MMMM! MHMMM!"

"What?"

Pyrrha immediately put herself on guard, drawing her weapon and turning her head to the sound of the disturbance...only to find a peculiar sight. Someone just ahead of her seemed to be planted head-first into the ground. Wearing a short black skirt with matching thick black boots, her legs wildly flailed about trying to dislodge herself.

"Um..." Pyrrha put away her weapon and approached the unusual girl. "Do you need a hand?"

"HMMMM? HM HM HM!"

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Wrapping her arms around the girl's thighs, she started pulling. With a pop, the girl was plucked from the ground, gasping for air.

"Haaaah...hahhhhh..." The girl had short rounded purple hair in a bob cut, and a thick pair of glasses on her face, which she nervously adjusted. "Thanks. I t-thought I was gonna die. I-I'm Jacey by the way."

Pyrrha smiled, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jacey, looks like we'll be on the same team, my name is-"

"Oh! I know who you are!" Jacey said excitedly. "You're PYRRHA!"

Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "Yes...you know me?"

"O-of course I do! I bet over half the school knows you! I mean, you're practically a celebrity."

"Well, I suppose a little..."

"A little?! Y-you won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row! With you on our team, we're practically GUARANTEED to win the next-"

"Jacey." Pyrrha quietly interrupted.

"Y-yes?"

"We should get moving."

"Oh! R-right, you're right, s-sorry." She was about to start walking when she stopped. "Oh! I almost forgot." Jacey stooped down and poked a finger into the dirt leaving a small hole in the ground. "There, that ought to help us out if we're ever in a pinch." Pyrrha quirked a brow at the unusual action but otherwise said nothing. "So uh..." Jacey started. "Any idea where we should start looking for the abandoned temple?"

"I'm afraid not. As helpful as it might've been to use our fall as a vantage point to scout, I was too focused on my landing strategy rather than scoping the area."

"Yeah, me too. Even then, I wasn't doing a great job on the whole surviving part."

Pyrrha suddenly stopped, her eyes alert. "Be quiet."

"Sorry...I know I talk too much..."

Pyrrha's hand darted over her teammate's mouth and pulled her low behind a bush. There was a low growl behind the two of them as a large shadow loomed over them. It stayed in place for a moment and with a snort turned around and disappeared. Slowly rising up, the students saw a pack of five beowolves prowling around, unaware of their presence.

"How do you want to proceed?" Pyrrha whispered. "I can draw them to your location for a trap, or we can directly attack them."

"Why don't we just leave them alone?"

"Jacey. This is not the time to be scared."

"N-no, I'm not afraid to fight...well, maybe a little nervous...but think about it. Grimm are attracted to not just negative emotions but loud noises as well. If we fight those grimm over there, there is a small chance more will come. I mean..." she paused. "Aren't we here to just get a relic and make a team? Will facing more grimm make it easier for us?"

"I guess not." The two of them watched the wolf-like beasts lumber away. "It feels weird to just let them go, almost wrong even..."

"Yeah, but it does mean we got past this problem without lifting a finger. All because we didn't make a-"

"GOTCHA YOU FILTHY GRIMM MUTTS!"

"...Sound."

Pyrrha and Jacey looked up in surprised as two girls dropped down from above the canopy of trees. One of the girls with vibrant green hair and blazing orange eyes landed on one of the confused Beowolf, sinking a bladed tonfa into its neck. Pulling a trigger on the handle, a gunshot rang out, the force yanking the weapon to the side and tearing the grimm's head off. Before her victim had even dissipated, the dynamic girl had already made her way to two other grimm. Her companion, a girl with short muted grayish-brown hair stepped forward. Raising and crossing her arms, she threw two bladed discs, both of them hummed through the air, each striking a grimm who had planned on sneak attacking her partner before returning to the girl.

GRRRRR...

GRRROOWWWWWW...

The two grimm rushed over to the chakram girl, swiping at her. She flipped backward, placing her hand on the ground and using the momentum to land back on her feet to dodge the first grimm. She revealed a shocked expression seeing the other grimm sent a pair of claws tearing towards her while she had been distracted.

TING!

She opened her eyes to see Pyrrha right in front of her, having fended off the attack with her shield.

"It's alright, we'll cover you!"

The girl widened her eyes in surprise as Jacey ran past the two, and pulling out an oddly curved short sword and making quick work of the trapped grimm. The last remaining grimm took a hesitant step back before raising its head and letting out a loud howl, only for a tonfa to pierce its neck.

"Shut up..." the green-haired energetic girl muttered before a gunshot tore its head off. The beowolf collapsed onto its stomach before dissipating.

"Well fancy that." she said, twirling her weapons before putting them at her side with a grin. "Didn't expect to find our last two teammates so soon. She looked over Jacey and her teammate and nodded. When her eyes settled on Pyrrha, a small amount of disdain appearing on the girl's face. "Anyway, I'm Sophie, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Jacey by the way."

"Pyrrha." Pyrrha said politely, inclining her head.

Sophie's eyes flickered over to the red-haired student. "We all know who YOU are..." she muttered.