2

Chapter 2 – The Jaunening

"Eh." The blonde girl shrugged. "I could have taken them."

Blake levelled her own sardonic smirk on the blonde, pleased with her choice of partner. The blonde woman was certainly skilled enough, even in the midst of a berserker rage – and it was definitely a plus that she was partnered with another woman. Years with Adam had desensitised her to plenty of things, but Adam had also been an incredibly disciplined person. She wasn't sure any of the teenage boys here would have that same self-control.

Then again… if their interaction the previous night was anything to go by, then this girl was also incredibly loud and boisterous. Not exactly something Blake enjoyed all that much.

In the end though it was a case of better the devil you know. Sure, she could have looked for a different partner and thrown to proverbial dice on what kind of person they were… but she knew a little about this Yang girl – even if it was that she could be loud and annoying.

"Whoah, this is weird."

She steadfastly ignored the transparent hand pushed through her partner's head, even as spectral fingers wiggled left and right.

It's just a guilt-induced hallucination. She thought to herself. You're beating yourself up over not being able to save him.

"You alright there, partner?" Yang said as she waved one hand as though to snap her out of it. Blake nodded, making sure to keep her yellow eyes locked on purple and not on what her hallucination was doing to Yang's breasts.

That the blonde woman couldn't feel the arm transfixing her left breast simply proved how unreal it was.

"Aw man… is this the closest I'm going to get to second base?"

"I'm fine." Blake said, putting her weapon away and offering a hand to the woman. The blonde didn't shake it, instead pushing it aside and sweeping her up in a tight hug. Blake suffered it in silence, wondering if it was already too late to pretend they hadn't made eye contact.

"Awesome. Well I'm Yang, and you're Blake, right?" Blake nodded in response.

"And I'm Jaune. Well... was, I guess? It's complicated."

"I guess we should get to the ruins and grab our relic?" The blonde continued, apparently unable to hear the words of the figment of Blake's imagination.

"Let's go then." Blake nodded. The sooner she got this all done and was able to get some sleep the better. Come the morning this would all just be a memory, and she would be able to move on with life without weird fever-dreams haunting her.

"Guess I might as well tag along."

Please don't…

"How did you manage to piss off a giant Nevermore?" Yang shouted as the seven teens plus one vivid hallucination fled through the forest, relics in hand.

"Funny story actually… heh." Ruby said nervously, scratching the back of her head as she easily kept ahead of the pack. Blake shook her head dismally, wondering just what sort of deity she had wronged to be lumped with these people.

"You'd really think that being right next to oh, you know - a hunter school, would mean Grimm didn't get this big." The see-through apparition floating in front of her commented, idly levitating backwards with one leg crossed over the other. Despite her promise not to interact with what was obviously a figment of her imagination, she snorted at the words.

Fair point, what the hell were the people at Beacon doing?

"As for me," The redheaded woman – Pyrrha Nikos – if Blake recognised her correctly, commented, "it was a mistake but I was looking for someone and thought they might have entered a cave for safety. There happened to be a Giant Deathstsalker in there and… well, the rest is history as they say."

Rest is history my ass! Blake grumbled as she ducked behind a stone pillar. The group came across a new set of ruins, perhaps they were an extension of the first, or maybe all of the Emerald Forest was the remains of a lost civilisation. But for now they provided a more immediate benefit. Cover.

She wasn't sure what they could do against the two larger-than-average Grimm. Surely the seven of them would prove more than a match for them one at a time, but facing them together? That seemed a terrible idea – especially given the Nevermore's command of the sky.

Their best bet was to keep running and separate the Grimm. Draw the Nevermore away from the Deathstalker, so that they could take them on one at a time. It seemed the others agreed, as they made their way across the bridge.

"Uhh… Blake?" The ghostly voice said, she ignored it. "Blake!? Can you hear me?" She increased her pace, as if to outrun him as much as their enemy. "Damn it, I guess you can't hear me - and I was going to warn you about the Nevermore about to hit you too."

Wait, what?

The Grimm struck the bridge with the force of an avalanche. Immediately destroying a portion of it and knocking her forwards from the force of the blast. She bounced and rolled, slamming off concrete and stone before managing to get herself under control and pushing herself into a forward flip – landing on two feet elegantly. Weapon in hand.

"You're honestly pretending you meant to do that aren't you?"

A cursory glance showed her that only two others had made it to the other side with her. Pyrrha Nikos, and the as-of-yet unknown male in green. The two of them readied their weapons, even as the Deathstalker appeared before them.

How on Remnant did this thing actually beat us here!?

Gambol Shroud broke into two blades, coiled ribbon unwinding as she flung her weapon in wide arcs, striking towards the beast's eyes wherever she could. The two fighters with her chipped in with their own attacks, bullets and dust rounds raining towards the creature as it tried to keep up with her agility. It couldn't last however, and after a few moments of her weapon uselessly bouncing off the Grimm's chitin armour, it managed to catch her with one claw – knocking her further down the bridge.

"Ouch... that looked like it hurt." The voice offered uselessly.

No shit…

"Incoming!" A feminine voice cried, an orange haired girl having somehow cleared the gap in one mighty bound, slamming her hammer down onto the creature's head. Whether it was through pure destructive force, or some kind of semblance, the creature reared back in pain.

Finally, some proper reinforcements. Blake pushed herself to her feet, ready to come to the other girl's aid. Just in time to catch said `ally` directly to the face, knocking her from the bridge entirely.

That pretty much summed up the day, honestly...

"Oh hey, I've been here." The spectre said, falling alongside her. "Trust me, the landing sucks – you might want to do something about that."

"I'm trying!" Blake hissed, eyes scanning the area frantically as her free fall continued. A flash of black caught her eye, the Nevermore flying nearby, between the stone pillars holding up the bridge. It was a stupid idea, ridiculous even…

But exploding on impact with the ground felt stupider…

Gambol Shroud flew true, striking into a nearby pillar. Her shoulder muscles screamed in agony as her descent was instantly halted, only her aura preventing her arm from being bodily torn from her body. With a wince of pain she watched as she was propelled towards the vicious Grimm.

Okay… stage two of this plan… ugh... I really wish there was a stage two.

The Nevermore swerved at the last moment, resulting in her arch bringing her directly in front of its face – and more worryingly, its razor-sharp beak. Frantically she slashed at the deadly Grimm's face, deflecting the beak with each strike.

Bouncing in front of a Giant Nevermore's beak, suspended over a chasm that promised instant death – with the dead spirit of a random ass-hat following her around offering commentary. Blake didn't know exactly who she had pissed off, but she was going to find and kill them.

With a mighty squawk the Grimm made one sudden lunge, narrowly missing her as she stumbled atop its head. Momentum, along with a generous sense of self-perseverance, prompted her to run down the back of the creature – swinging her weapon wildly as she did. So long as it was away from the beak, and preferably away from the Nevermore as well, then it would be an improvement.

She soon spied her opportunity. Right as she reached the end of the Grimm's body they passed over some ruins, allowing her to leap from its back, landing atop a stone pillar after a brief drop. Continuing onward she bounced from one stone pillar to another until she reached her teammate Yang, nodding to her politely - as though Nevermore was her chief method of transportation.

"That's a landing strategy?" The floating young man seemed to choke out, hands held out as if uncertain what he was looking at. "How the fuck was I supposed to do that!?"

"Nice." Yang grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"Don't encourage her. This is such bullshit!"

"What's the situation?" Blake said, ignoring the voice in favour of the more immediate problem before them.

"Bird. Us. Conflict of interest." The blonde said casually, firing a quick shot from her gauntlets. "Negotiations didn't go well."

"Shame." Blake said, nodding another greeting to the young Ruby, and the Schnee as they landed beside her, the four of them arranged in a line on the remains of a ruined tower. "Plan?"

"Shoot it down!" The small girl in red ordered, suiting action to words as she discharged her weapon towards the flying monstrosity. Blake joined in, and soon the other two were firing as well. A rainbow of dust shots and explosions peppering the Grimm, the majority of shots finding their target even from such a distance.

"This is colourful and all…" The man standing beside her cut in, actually stepping in front of her so that her shots passed through him before hitting the Grimm. Coincidentally it also made aiming pretty difficult. "But I can't help but think it's not actually doing anything."

"No one likes a back-seat fighter." Blake snarled quietly, taking a step to the side to clear her vision.

"You say something partner?" Yang shouted over the cacophony of gunshots, before shrugging when Blake shook her head.

"Wait, you can hear me?"

No. Definitely not. She thought to herself, internally cursing at breaking her own rule and actually talking to the hallucination. That way lay madness, and no matter how big the sinking feeling in her stomach was growing, she would stick to her initial hypothesis.

This was not… could not be… an actual ghost. That was impossible, and also stupid.

"You can!"

Ignore it, and it will go away.

A shame the same logic didn't apply to the Nevermore however, which had broken through their gunfire and was now diving towards them. She realised with a startled glance around that the others had already abandoned the area, and that the only reason she had not was because she'd been distracted by the not-ghost and not heard their warning.

She made sure to convey her hate in the glare she gave him, right as the building she was stood on was levelled.

"...led by Miss Ruby Rose." The Headmaster announced, to the general applause of those watching. The small girl in red looked surprised but still pleased with the decision, grinning up towards her sister – who ruffled her hair affectionately. Blake offered a polite smile towards her new leader as well, trying to convey her silent support.

She couldn't help but think the image was a little ruined due to her frayed and damaged clothing, which was heavily stained from dust and soot. Not to mention how messed up her hair was, and the bruises just beginning to fade from her arms.

"In my defence… you're the one who got distracted."

And of course… the fifth member of their team, though to her horror she seemed to be the only one cursed enough to actually see and hear the bastard. Her eyes slid to the side, levelling a heated stare at him that she was pleased to see made him step back nervously.

"Or you know, maybe it was my fault?"

All my hate…

"Next up we have Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie – who due to extenuating circumstances will perform as a 3-man team." The older man continued, drawing the three confused teenagers up onto the stage. "Led by Mr Lie Ren, the team will henceforth be known as Team LVN, or Lavender."

Again there was polite applause to the announcement, though it was a little louder than their own – likely due to the celebrity status of the redheaded woman. Idly Blake felt her yellow eyes turning to regard her unwelcome companion, who she suspected was the cause of such extenuating circumstances. So this could have been his team?

"Before we adjourn for the evening," Ozpin said with a tired sigh, "I must ask each of you for a brief moment of silence." Predictably this had the opposite effect, as muted whispers spread around the hall. Blake simply sighed, knowing what was to come. "For during this initiation there was a tragedy which cost an aspiring hunter his life."

Ruby gasped, hands covering her mouth as she seemed to suddenly realise who had been missing from the team assignments. There were similar sounds of shock from many in the audience. She wondered how many of them had honestly considered that they could have died out there.

"It is with great regret that I must inform you that Jaune Arc was killed during initiation." The man announced, no doubt wishing to get it over with quickly. Blake's own partner Yang shook her head sorrowfully, as she reached over and pulled Ruby into her arms. "Mr Arc's fate was one that all Hunters must be aware of, and I ask you all to respect his memory."

"This is awkward. Should I be silent too? Is that narcissistic?"

"This is my fault…" Ruby sobbed, small hands clutching at Yang's clothing as she cried. Even the Schnee seemed effected, stepping a little closer in what was likely the only obvious support she would be willing to give.

"It's not her fault." The dead boy said, watching Ruby sadly. "You can hear me right?" He turned to look at Blake. "Tell her it wasn't her fault, please."

"It wasn't your fault Ruby." Blake said, willing to do this one small favour for the departed. Perhaps this would be enough to settle whatever regrets were keeping him tethered to Remnant. Help him move on a little. At the very least, Ruby deserved to hear those words.

"It was…" The girl sobbed. "I could have gotten to him in time, but I didn't because I thought he looked useless in a fight."

"Ouch…"

"I thought the same." Blake admitted, ignoring the "Oh, come on!" From behind her. "But in the end I decided to see if he was okay. There was nothing more you could have done."

"Tell her she was my first friend, and that I really did care for her."

She relayed the message, getting some small sniffles from the girl, but she turned to regard Blake with her silver eyes – rimmed with tears.

"How do you know?" The devastated girl asked, making Blake pause. Good question...

"I told you before I died." He prompted.

"He told me before he died. He asked me to pass that message on."

"Really?" Ruby asked, eyes glistening.

"I promise he told me." Blake said, twisting the words a little so that they were still ultimately honest. Ruby smiled. It was a sickly little thing, brittle and weak – but it held promise. Yang offered Blake a stronger one from atop Ruby's hair, mouthing the words thank you to the black-haired faunus.

Their team was hurting, but despite it all, Blake couldn't help but feel pleased with their small group. Even the Schnee, as difficult and awkward as that might be to admit.

Things were finally starting to look up.

"By the way, you pretty much just admitted you can see and hear me."

Except for that…