6

Chapter 5- The Emerald Forest

Ozpin chuckled in amusement as he saw the young Wolf Faunus fly off. On a broomstick no less! He was very amused when he checked his scroll and saw the dumbfounded looks the young man was receiving. He had a feeling that this man would do great things.

Ozpin looked at Goodwitch and grinned. "I must say, that was impressive. Is Mr. Potter a member of your family, Glynda?" he asked shrewdly. "You know, since you're descended from a family of witches and all?"

Glynda looked at him irritably. "I've told you several times before, my family is NOT descended from witches. They were expert Aura users that performed several amazing feats that SEEMED like magic," she snapped.

"Of course, of course," Ozpin said laughingly. "Although I seem to remember that you used to try to fly on a broomstick when we were younger. What chan…"

Glynda slapped his cheek with her riding crop. "Ow," he mumbled.

"I thought we agreed never to bring that up," she glared with a slight blush on her cheeks.

He apologized and looked back at the students. He took a sip of his coffee and said, "Well, either way, it looks like this year will be very interesting."

Above the Emerald Forest

Ruby was flying through the air, plummeting towards the forest below. Ruby loved it. She loved the wind hitting her face. The speed of her descent. It was euphoric. Invigorating.

"Birdie no!" she shouted as hit a small black bird. Quickly orienting herself, she grabbed Crescent Rose and shot a few rounds towards the ground, slowing her descent. She fully unfurled Crescent Rose into its scythe form and held it high. The blade caught a branch, and Ruby spun around it casually jumped to the ground safely.

Ren, several yards away, directed himself straight at a tree. As he neared the trunk, he lashed out with his weapons, Storm Flower, and used his guns' blade attachments to slide down the tree. He hit the ground with a slight thud and smirked.

Weiss waved her hand in an intricate pattern and pointed down at her feet. A white glyph appeared under her feet, she leapt calmly as more glyphs appeared to slow her descent. She looked around and saw Harry doing several aerial moves, shouting joyfully. She rolled her eyes. He was such a child at times!

Pyrrha had her shield, Akoύo, out as she plummeted towards the forest canopy. She rammed into several branches before rolling onto one large enough to support her weight, her gun, Milό, ready. She looked through the scope and saw Jaune spiraling out of control as he fell. She was about to switch Milό into its spear form and help him out, but what she saw next impressed her.

Jaune was screaming as he fell. He really should've thought coming to Beacon through! Then maybe he would've known about landing strategies! Or at the very least, he should've studied up on how he would fit-in in combat instead of trying to improve his flirting skills!

As he neared the canopy, Harry's advice came to him: "When you start your descent, avoid the trees." For Jaune, it was terrible advice. He didn't have a fancy magic broom or some awesome weapon that would let him grapple down to the forest floor! But…

He started twisting in midair in an effort to minimize his speed. It didn't slow him much, but it allowed him to see where he was going. He saw a branch to his left, and twirling around, grabbed it. He spun around it and jumped to another branch, using it as a spring board. He launched himself down towards another branch. He grabbed it and threw himself at a lower branch. Landing in a crouch, he swung off and landed on the ground with a thud.

He blinked. He looked down at the ground, then up to the sky. He grinned widely and exclaimed, "Ha! Who knew all those gymnastics would come in handy!"

"Impressive," Pyrrha complemented from her perch. When she saw him, she knew instantly he was from the Arc family. At first, she didn't really peg him as a warrior. Now though, it seemed he had some moves, if anything.

She just had to see if he was really worthy of the Arc family or just a lucky son of a gun.

Harry was still in the air, happy as a lark. He didn't really care if people looked at him funny, he missed this! He only got to do it at the Schnee family's country home! It was crime, in his opinion. He hated Bullheads and other flying machines. They weren't as free as riding a broomstick.

Not to mention they were slower than Christmas.

He did a few tricks in the air and finally decided to land. He spun around quickly and shot towards the canopy. He broke through and dodged a few branches here and there. He was about to pull up when he heard a shout and someone grab him from behind, laughing loudly. He swerved towards a tree trunk, but thankfully, his flying skills and senses that he honed from four years of Qudditch saved him, and he quickly spun away from the tree and pulled up just inches away from the ground. He exhaled loudly. That was close.

His passenger laughed again. "That was fun! Go again?!"

He looked behind him and saw his passenger was none other than Lily Nightingale, who was currently throwing a smirk his way. He scowled. "You could've gotten us both seriously hurt," he said.

"Yeah, but you seem like a pretty skilled guy. I knew you could handle it," Lily shrugged. She laughed as he scowled further. "Come on, wolf boy! We got a relic to get!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, suddenly amused. "You know, we ain't a team yet."

Lily rolled her eyes and jumped off the broom. She dragged Harry off and said, "There! Now we're legit! Let's go partner!" Harry laughed at her, but just before he could agree, he heard whispering.

He stopped, turning his head around to try and find where it was coming from. The whispering was coming from all directions, meshing up together, making it impossible to identify what they were saying.

"Uhhh…hey. Harry? Potter? Wolfe wolf wolf?" Lily asked in concern. "What's got ya in a titsy?"

"I hear something," he muttered.

"Huh? I don't hear anything…Is this some sort of Faunus super hearing thing?" Lily pushed, growing irritated.

"It's…I don't know," he said to himself. "But whatever it is," he started walking through the woods, his Firebolt still in his hands, "it's familiar. Too familiar."

"Huh? Hey! Harry, wait!" Lily shouted after him.

Adam didn't bother with fancy moves. He simply shot towards the ground like a rocket and, upon landing, fell into a front roll. He rolled three times before he rolled into a crouch, hand on Wilt and ready for danger.

His heightened hearing picked up rustling of some bushes behind him, and turns towards it. Isabella calmly walks out of the foliage with her hands raised. "Don't kill me," she said flatly.

Adam eased up. "Not planning on it," he said tersely. "But one can never be too careful."

"True," Isabella conceited. "So, I guess we're partners, right?"

"I guess so," Adam shrugged. He went to say something else, but both of them caught some branches being snapped a little ways off from them. They tensed, ready to fight if needed. Adam made several hand motions at Isabella, silently telling her to cover him. She nodded and took her position. Adam cautiously led her through the brush towards the sounds, but upon getting closer to them, they could discern voices.

"Are you gonna tell me where we're headin'?" a feminine voice called out. Lily, Adam remembered.

"I would," another voice, only male, responded. Harry. "But you see…I don't know where we're going. I'm just following the voices."

"…You're mad."

"I do aim to please."

The newly formed team nodded to each other and stood. They walked a bit further and saw Harry and Lily making their way through the underbrush. The two mentioned teens looked to them.

"Oh, it's you two," Lily said. "Don't mind us. We're just following the imaginary voices inside Harry's head."

"Imaginary voices?" Isabella asked tilting her head.

"They're not made up," Harry insisted quietly.

"Well, how come the rest of us can't hear them?" Lily countered.

"I can hear them," Adam said. Now that he was actually listening, he DID hear some loud whisperings.

Harry looked at Adam. "You can hear 'em, too?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah. Can't make out what their saying, but I can definitely make out voices."

"Are you sure?" Isabella asked. She tilted her head from side to side and said, "I don't hear anything."

Harry stiffened, like something in his mind finally clicked. "You've seen death before," he said to Adam.

Adam was confused by the statement, but nodded anyway. Lily's irritation grew. "What in the Dust mines are you going on about?!" she demanded.

"I knew this seemed familiar," Harry mumbled, mostly to himself. "This is just like back in the Veil Room. I'm not sure where the whispering is coming from, but there must've been a lot of death there for there to be so many voices."

Lily grew concerned about her partner's mental health. "Uh, Harry? What are you talking about?"

Harry paid her no attention as he shook his head and announced, "We need to get out of here. Now."

"Well, NOW you're making sense!" Lily said, exasperated. "Why the sudden change?"

"'Cuz I don't wanna find out why there are enough dead voices here to actually be heard by the living," Harry explained. "Let's get out of here-"

He had taken a step forward when the ground beneath the four gave way. They all screamed as they fell into a black void.

Top of the Cliff

"Hmm?" Ozpin looked at his scroll and frowned.

"What is it, Ozpin?" Glynda asked.

"It appears that Harry Potter, Lily Nightingale, Adam Taurus, and Isabella Vulpes have vanished from our monitors," Ozpin announced.

"Are they okay?" Glynda asked in concern.

"Yes. Their scrolls are broadcasting their vitals to us. They're okay, but none of the instructors can locate them."

"Well, we always knew there were places in the Emerald Forest that our scanners never worked. Maybe they fell there?"

"Possibly, but I can't shake the feeling that something down there is horribly wrong."

Emerald Forest

Ruby hit the ground with a thud, before shooting off at an extremely fast rate thanks to Semblance. 'Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang,' was the only thought running through her head.

"Yang!" she shouted to the silent forest. "Yang!"

'Oh, where is she?!' she thought frantically. 'What if she already has a partner?! What if I'm too late?!' Her thoughts turned thoughtful. 'Well, there is Jaune. He's cute…but I don't think he'll be very helpful in a fight.' A mental image of a chibi Jaune being attacked entered her mind. 'Maybe Lily! She's awesome! Plus, she seems to like weapons too! Or, maybe Blake. So cool, so mysterious, though I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with her. Adam? He seems cool. And he seems to be a fighter! What about Harry?' She blushed a brilliant red. 'Harry. He seems like he knows what he's doing. He's smart, kind, funny, and awesome! Not to mention…'

Her inner dialogue was broken as she saw Weiss in front of her. She skidded to a stop, stopping just in front of the Schnee heiress. The two girls stared at each other blankly. Ruby offered Weiss a small, unsure smile.

Weiss continued to stare at her. Finally, she sighed. "Well, I guess we're partners."

"YEAH!" Ruby yelled. She looked at Weiss sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. Kinda nervous. I've been killing myself wondering who my partner would be."

"Nerves can kill a person," Weiss said nodding. "Harry said that to me once."

"Yeah, I can attest to that statement," Ruby nodded. "Soooo…which way do we go?"

Weiss balked. That was a good question. "Uhhh…"

Further away

Lie Ren was calmly walking into a clearing when he sensed something was off. He paid it no mind and continued on, knowing Nora would find him eventually. Unless, of course, she was out trying to find that Potter guy. Then he'd never see her.

Ren chuckled at the poor guy's misfortune of obtaining Nora's attention. Not many people could understand Nora and why she acted so randomly, but Ren was one of the few that could. But, even then, he didn't understand her fascination with the wolf Faunus.

Maybe it was the eyes. Nora ranted on and on about Potter's eyes last night. Perhaps that was it.

Suddenly, Ren heard a loud hissing behind him. He readied himself as a King Taijitu coiled around him. He took a calming breath and settled into a stance. He flicked his wrists, and his twin guns, Storm Flower, sprang into his hands. He jumped into the air and began to spin, shooting at the giant snake. Landing on the large beast, Ren slid around it, still shooting at the head. The snake shot forward fangs bared, but Ren jumped and kicked it away.

On the ground, Ren ran at the Taijitu's head. The Taijitu snapped at him, but Ren dodged and slashed at its head. He slashed twice more, but suddenly, the other head of the King Taijitu decided to make an appearance and rammed into Ren.

The magenta eyed hunter grunted as he was sent flying backwards, Storm Flower falling out of his hands. Ren quickly righted himself and stared at the dual white and black heads of the King Taijitu. The white head flashed forward, but Ren was prepared for it. He ducked under it and struck it with a hard hit. The black head butted Ren and knocked him into the ground.

Ren recovered, but the black head was already on him, mouth open wide. "No!" Ren shouted as he flooded his hands with his Aura and caught the snake's fangs with his palms. The black Taijitu pushed hard, but Ren stood strong. Ren gritted his teeth. He concentrated as he grabbed the fangs and pulled. The fangs broke off, which caused the Taijitu to hiss in pain. Ren twirled sent the broken fangs into the Grimm's head.

The Grimm hissed loudly, but Ren wasn't done. He slammed his palm into one of the fangs and sent a pulse of Aura through it. The head exploded. Ren turned to the white head and ran towards it. Grabbing Storm Flower, Ren brought them up and cut off the Taijitu's fangs. As the snake was distracted, Ren leapt onto its head and shot multiple rounds into its brain. The final half of the snake Grimm fell dead.

Ren sighed as he placed Storm Flower back into its holsters. He dusted himself off as a voice rang out from the trees. "Carrrrrrahhhhh! Caarrrrrrrrrraaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Ren turned slightly to see Nora hanging from a branch just beside him with her legs. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like," he told her with a smile.

Nora smiled back at him and reached out touched his nose. "Boop!"

Atop the cliff

"Well, it appears that our last team has been formed: Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," Glynda announced. "That poor boy. I can't imagine those two getting along."

Ozpin had to hold back a snort of derision. It was obvious those two had better teamwork than any of the others. After all, there had been two King Taijitus in Lie Ren's vicinity.

"But still," Glynda sighed, "they're better off than Miss Nikos. I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this kind of combat."

Ozpin did smirk at that. Of course he knew that. He would have to have been an idiot not to see that Mr. Arc's transcripts were fake, but he also knew there was more to Jaune than what Glynda could see. It was the main reason he allowed Jaune to stay.

"Well, apart from Misters Potter and Taurus and Misses Nightingale and Vulpes, the other teams should be reaching the temple in just a few moments. By the way, have we any luck on those four?"

"Nothing so far," Ozpin replied with a frown. It made no since. Yes, there were places in the Emerald Forest that were complete dead zones, but they wouldn't even be able to access a person's scroll in those places! It made no since. "Apart from a high heart rate, I assume from running, they're fine, but no video feed as of yet."

"Hopefully, they show back up soon," Glynda said as she turned her attention back to her scroll. "Hmm?"

"What is it?"

"Another scroll signal has just appeared," Glynda said. "In the same area as our four missing students."

Ozpin looked at his own scroll and frowned. "Curious. It's even giving us the vitals for the person." Ozpin watched as his scroll worked to identify the person. His eyes widened as the name popped up. "Impossible!"

Glynda was also in shock. "How can this be?!"

"Either the dead are starting to rise…or we have a very serious problem," Ozpin said, a million possibilities running through his head.

And none of them ended very well.