Chapter 8: Setting the Board Part 2

Chapter 8: Setting the Board Part 2

Taylor

Wind whistled along my cheeks as I soared through the air, arcing toward my inevitable landing. Aura protected my eyes when my fortified glasses proved they weren't enough protection from the intense wind.

Trees stabbed into the sky just below me, getting closer every second.

They had really launched us.

The boy in front of me hit the treetops, spun around a few branches with whatever weapon he was holding, then landed in a roll.

Others dragged their weapons along the trees to bleed their momentum, some had Dust to slow them, but many used the recoil from the guns.

The amount of force a gun needed to slow someone down was ludicrous, not to mention the strength and durability required to not have their limbs torn off from using one.

None of which would help stop me from becoming a body in a crater when I hit the ground.

My flight path headed directly toward a large tree. So, I would be red paste on bark instead of a red mess on the ground. A small consolation.

I had a split second to react to my imminent collision.

My understanding of how Dust rounds worked proved lacking as I fired three ice rounds into the approaching tree.

I thought the Ice Dust bullets would sink into the target and explode out with ice, chopping off the top of the tree in my path.

Instead, ice spread along the surface of the tree, creating a giant tree popsicle.

Well, the red smear I left would be more noticeable against the ice than the bark.

I arced my back to let the wind resistance flip me enough to crash feet first instead of head first. My Aura flared around me.

Instead of crashing through the tree, the frozen section snapped off when I made contact, like breaking off an icicle hanging from a roof. My feet skidded across it, not finding purchase. My butt slammed against it painfully, and I ended up straddling the tree-cicle in the air.

I flew toward the ground on the frozen missile I rode, swears leaked out in hissed mutters from my mouth.

Branches filled my vision, the crunch of wood all around me.

I braced my arm against the tree so that I wouldn't whip my head straight into my impromptu frozen sled when it slammed onto the ground.

A thud that felt like thunder rang through my body as the tree hit and skidded across the grass.

The world flew by as I clung on for dear life, before coming to a slow stop in front of another tree. The floor of the forest was torn bare all along my path.

I slid off the tree with wobbly legs and tried to comprehend what just happened.

The frozen tree shifted and cracked into a pile of jagged pieces as soon as I was off it.

Holy shit.

It had been a miracle that I hadn't crashed into any other trees; I must have slid a hundred yards.

I tried to get my bearings with my bugs only to freeze as I felt the red-headed Amazon raise her weapon to throw from a high branch. The bugs under her vambrace lined up with the ones falling with Jaune's screaming descent.

Was she was going to attack Jaune during the test?! Right off the bat?!

My swarm soared toward her, but it was too late.

A crack of gunfire propelled the javelin through the air at Jaune.

I stood, helpless. My bugs coordinated to strike at the bully so that she would fall into another swarm. She wouldn't get away.

The spear caught Jaune's hoodie, pinning him to a tree right at the edge of my range. The grouped bugs caught him yell out, "Thank you."

I recalled my ambush.

Jaune's launch had been a tumbling mess through the air, my bugs struggling to hold on as he flipped and spun. His Aura should have protected him from the fall. Or at least he should have been prepared in some way to land if he was allowed into Beacon, right? Every other student seemed comfortable with it.

I recovered from gunshot wounds to the head because of Aura, recovered from a Dust explosion in days, and watched Aura tank several bullets and lethal hits with ease.

My escapade with the frozen tree made me confident Jaune would have survived the fall.

Did the Amazon save Jaune as a precaution? To get him in her debt? Or was she not committed to the bully role? If I had been misconstruing her character, then all the better.

Ruby sped toward—shit. The hooded girl had sprinted right into the white-haired girl. That was some bad luck.

The Amazon leaped from tree to tree toward Jaune, and I kept them in my range long enough to observe her helping him down.

Just as I started moving, a group of odd spiders came under my influence.

They were large, around the size of my fist. Their web sacs were abnormally large and a single thread held their weight. They were similar to orb-weaver spiders, but with curved chelicerae for biting.

One ran up its web, and I found a large bird, the size of a hawk, spun in a cocoon.

I had found my web spinners.

Jaune and the Amazon were talking, another pair of partners formed. I wasn't sure about them either, but there was nothing I could do now. I needed to move.

I sprinted through the forest, Aura pushing me faster and faster. My bugs mapped out the area, and I avoided both Grimm and students.

The dense terrain was easy to navigate through; the forest was infested with bugs. I headed deeper into the woods, away from the cliffs.

I would kill some Grimm later, in case it was necessary for the test. First, I needed to get to the temple before the unique relic was lost to me.

Glynda

The girl was a bullet through the forest, but one that refused to hit anything. A quick turn east and she avoided an Ursa. Another diversion north had her miss a thicket of thorns.

No sign of how.

I glanced over to Ozpin. His feed showed Weiss Schnee pacing around Ruby Rose. "So, Miss Rose has formed a pair with Miss Schnee."

"Indeed, I believe the pair will be good for each other," Ozpin said. His expression shifted into a frown as the two girls appeared to start arguing. "Though, not all beginnings are easy."

Hopefully, Ruby will learn a bit of composure from the Schnee heiress.

"It seems your evaluation of Miss Hebert was correct, she has shown no intention of looking for a partner. Her progress is rather staggering, as well."

"How so?" Ozpin turned to me, mildly curious.

"At her pace, she will reach the temple far ahead of the other students. I'm unsure how, but she is changing directions at odd intervals. When I checked the cameras, there were Grimm, other students, or thick brush she would have encountered had she not diverted course."

"Perhaps her Semblance at work? Though, for her to be able to use it after having Aura unlocked for a little over two weeks without any formal training… It would be a rare case of luck or potential. Perhaps she is using it subconsciously?"

"That could be the case. I haven't seen any visible indication of her Semblance, if there is any. Some form of wide-ranged perception? Surely, she would have noticed her new abilities and asked about them though. A young girl waking up in the hospital without knowing anything… I would hope that she would be wise enough to inquire with others on the things that were happening."

The girl was too put together for an amnesiac that had awakened from a hospital after being shot in the head. From my time with her, Taylor Hebert had seemed professional and reticent, yet troubled. The only emotion she showed was when she criticized herself.

"Do you think she would have shared her abilities if she did learn of them?" Ozpin asked in that way that said he already knew my answer; a common occurrence.

"No. She hasn't asked for help beyond the items she received from her first night here and the Lien for some basic supplies." Which frustrated me. We were here to help. "Nothing about tracking down who she was, about things to learn, or anything. It would be admirable if it wasn't so concerning."

Ozpin hummed in mild agreement.

"I can see how you predicted she would not seek a partner if she was given the chance, but why give her the opportunity at all? Not to mention setting up some form of puzzle beyond what the others would have to do to get this 'special' relic."

"The path alone is always the hardest. Not the hardest to choose, but the hardest to take. More so when your efforts are in vain," Ozpin stated.

"In vain?" Had Ozpin set Miss Hebert up to fail in some way?

"One's struggle may not always lead to the result we desire. It is a sad truth of the world, one we all must face."

"I see." I didn't see, but knowing Ozpin, it was some form of lesson or trial. A hobby of his that was irritating, at times, but it produced results. I trusted he knew what he was doing.

I switched my camera feed to Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos just as they entered a cave that was obviously a lair for Grimm.

A sigh left my lips.

Ozpin would call the new teams interesting, but I could already see the trouble they'd cause.

Taylor

The Emerald forest was aptly named. No leaf was anything but the crispest summer green, despite it being early fall by Remnant's calendar.

I hoped Earth Bet's dates didn't line up with Remnant's. It would mean that I had somehow lost two or more months of time.

The trees never ended, and I hadn't found any clue as to where the temple was. Twenty minutes of running, the other students long since out of my range, and nothing to show for it.

Bugs crawled along until they found more old footprints, hopefully from earlier initiations. Many went in random directions as students hunted for the relics, but all of the trails headed back toward the cliffs came from one direction. Those were the paths I followed.

I stopped twice when there was a blind spot in the cameras hidden in the trees and bushes. Chances to gather more bugs under my armor.

Werewolf-like Grimm, Beowolves, prowled nearby. A gigantic snake Grimm, a King Taijitu, had burrowed in a coil under a pile of rocks farther ahead.

I took a wide berth away from both before returning to my tracking, which led me to a small open plain with a stone structure in the middle of it.

No one else was in the vicinity, but there were too many cameras to scout completely with my bugs.

The temple was more of a ruin. Half of the stone walls had long since collapsed around the circular structure. Round pillars held up the remains of a large open circle of stone that had once circled the outline of the ceiling of the open temple. A pointed flower-like design was carved into the floor. At its edge, twenty-five pedestals remained fully intact despite the temple's state, each holding tiny figurines.

The 'relics' were chess pieces, one for each pedestal. Half were a dull gold, the other a matte black. Chess, another similarity.

There were twenty-four pieces in total, two of each color for each type of piece respectively.

One pedestal was empty.

None of the other pieces were missing, unless there were three of one piece for some reason.

That meant the unique relic might have already been taken.

My hands tightened into fists, my heart's rapid rhythm reverberating in my ears.

Stop. Focus. Ozpin had said the relic was hidden, and the temple looked undisturbed.

I hadn't lost any time searching for a partner or killing Grimm, and I hadn't noticed any other students ahead of me with my bugs.

Is this a puzzle of some kind?

My bugs washed over the temple like a wave, searching for clues or compartments.

I didn't find anything. There were only the pedestals and the chess pieces...

Unease scratched in the back of my mind.

Ozpin had stated that if you couldn't find a partner, then you needed the special relic. However, the special relic wouldn't be available if too many of the other relics were taken first…

If I had taken the time to search but found out there weren't any more partners, then too many relics would have been taken already.

Ozpin either expected someone to fail, or he knew that whoever went for the special relic wouldn't have looked for a partner to begin with.

This was set up for me.

It seemed so obvious now. I had jumped on the chance to not be on a team after my little panic attack, not even thinking of who or why that chance had come.

Was I so transparent that Ozpin predicted I would react this way? Or was this another test to see what kind of person the mysterious gunshot victim was?

I hadn't even known I wasn't ready for a team until he'd said it!

Had I been manipulated into not having a partner or team? Did he want a lone agent? Had I not been careful enough with my powers that he'd been able to find out what I could do?

"Fuck… Fuck!" I paced around the front of the pedestals.

I didn't like playing the pawn in someone's game. Being pulled by strings to serve some unknown purpose.

Wait.

Pawn?

The chess pieces were separated by color, the empty pedestal was by the black kings.

If too many pieces were taken, the unique relic would be impossible to recover. Then I needed the pieces for the puzzle.

I grabbed one of the golden pawns and walked over to the empty pedestal.

When a pawn reached the opponent's side of the board, it could be promoted to another piece.

I set the pawn down.

There was a click, and a small seamless compartment opened in the stone.

Inside was a red queen chess piece, my prize. I tucked it into my pouch.

I should have been happy I had succeeded; instead, I fought back a scowl.

Ozpin must have been skeptical about my 'amnesia'. This test had been for me, and an amnesiac remembering something abstract like chess rules… It wasn't impossible, but it was doubtful. Now he had evidence to say I 'remembered' more than I was letting on.

Not to mention that it was a pawn promotion to a queen. A subtle message? Was I to be a pawn that would become a more important piece?

Or I was just paranoid.

"Fuck." Again, I was playing his game, and I didn't know the rules.

My contemplation was interrupted as a group of students leisurely jogged into my swarm's perimeter, making a straight line to the temple.

The first was a pretty blonde who wore—I huffed a sigh—a blue and white dress, a small scepter at her side. The boy I assumed was her partner glided along the grass beside her in a lazy posture, feet inches from the ground.

A levitation 'Semblance'?

A sly grin was spread across his face, and a long cat tail peeked out of his pink striped purple tunic, swishing lazily through the air.

Another taller, more muscular girl, covered in black and red armor, had a heavy cleaver that resembled a guillotine blade more than a sword at her side.

Next to her was a lithe girl dressed in cloudy white that matched her platinum hair.

The blonde that led them chatted with the boy, a curious expression on her face. The boy's grin only deepened as he replied.

I still needed to kill some Grimm, in case we were graded on that.

This group would be nearby. If I got over my head, I could head toward them for help.

"Chesh, would it be so difficult for you to hurry?"

"Haste makes waste."

"That—oh! Looks like we weren't the first ones here. I see you're alone, did you already grab the special relic?" The blonde girl's expression never changed from inquisitive.

I patted my pouch in response and nodded, more in acknowledgment than greeting.

"This is the temple then?" I nodded, and she smiled. "Quickly now, we don't want to be late."

"Didn't I just say that I rarely hurry?" the boy said.

I could have talked more, possibly traveled back to the cliffs with them, but I didn't want to fight the Grimm as a group, not yet.

Grimm were the monsters of this world, the enemy I'd be facing. Huntsmen commonly faced droves of them alone.

While they were in my range, the other students had fought some, showing a level of martial skill that I was surprised by.

I needed to see where I stacked up. If I couldn't handle a single Grimm, then there was no point in enrolling at Beacon, not when everyone else had years of combat school or equivalent experience. I'd be deadweight.

"Should we not offer help to her?" the girl dressed in white asked.

"Best everyone mind their own business if she doesn't want to talk," the blonde replied.

I looked back to see the pairs claim the black and gold queen pieces respectively.

I entered the treeline and went in the direction of a pair of tracks too deep and large for people.

An Ursa wandered along, without a partner that I could sense, despite their habit of staying in pairs. It was a young Grimm, smaller and less armored than older ones. The one I had killed outside the walls of Vale was easily twice as big and covered in spikes and bone.

I moved in a wide arc around it until I found enough cover to lay my trap. I crouched in a bush, long enough for the large spiders I had found to crawl from under my armor into the leaves, out of the nearby cameras' sight.

They spun their triplines, and I drew my gun and lined up the shot. I knew exactly where the bugs on the Ursa's hide were relative to me. It helped with accuracy.

I fired, and the sound echoed through the woods. A violent growl answered.

Now, come into my parlour.

I fired another two rounds at the ground in front of my trap, the recoil registering before the sound reached my ears, and the grass froze over.

The cracks and heavy stomps of the beast thundered toward me as it bulled through any obstacle between us.

The Grimm appeared, its shoulder shrouded in ice, but it didn't stop.

It hit the ice and slid, claws digging into the ground for purchase, but not before it went tumbling from my tripline.

With a dull thud that shook the trees, the Ursa landed in a heap. I emptied my magazine into its limbs.

In an instant, its limbs were locked in miniature glaciers. Snarls accompanied the sound of cracking ice.

I rushed toward it, sword drawn and Aura flaring, and stabbed into its neck with as much force as my new strength could provide. The sensation of sliding steel into flesh was slightly sickening, but I pushed until the blade peeked from the other side.

The beast struggled, growls hoarse from the wound, but went silent as I gave the sword a sharp twist.

There was no gore or innards, just pure red flesh that shined like its eyes. Black smog sprayed out like steam, and then the Ursa dissipated.

In a few seconds, the body was gone, and I was alone.

The hairs on my neck had been up the moment the Grimm had come close. Just being near it felt wrong.

I sheathed my sword and reloaded my gun.

That had been easier than expected.

The Grimm weren't especially self-preserving or intelligent enough to care for traps. Though, this one was on the weak end, and I had used up my entire cache of Ice Dust.

Just one Grimm wasn't enough. Each student who had fought Grimm in my range had killed at least three.

I didn't have to wait long until I sensed a group of three Beowolves in the distance. They were taller than me but had little bone armor.

They prowled amongst the trees, their digitigrade legs launching them forward at unnatural speeds. Bugs latched onto their joints.

I set up another tripline but doubted it would work. Beowolves jumped and bounded around too much when rushing their prey; they'd avoid or leap over my trap.

Hunched in a bush, bugs on my target and gun perfectly lined up my shot, I fired.

Four cracks split the silence. One Beowolf howled in pain, and they all turned toward me.

I moved back into a section of woods with no brush around some large trees. Cover to stop them from building speeds and charging but enough room to dodge.

My mistake became apparent immediately as one of the Grimm sprung up a tree, claws biting into the wood, before it jumped to the next one. The trees only gave them something to pinball off of and gain higher ground.

I fired whenever I had a clear shot at the Beowolf I had already hit until the gun clicked empty.

It grunted and staggered with the last few shots, smog wisping from the bullet holes, and it tumbled to the ground.

The other two closed the gap between us, one from up high while the other weaved around obstacles.

I dropped my gun—no time to holster it—and grabbed my sword.

The one on the ground barreled into view, eyes bloody crimson and teeth bared. Its partner landed on the side of a tree behind me, the sound of bark crunching under the impact like the cocking of a gun.

The front Grimm lunged, teeth gnashing, and I dove into a roll; both to dodge and to put a tree between me and the other Grimm.

Air swept from a wild claw brushed my face, and I ended my maneuver in a crouch, just as the other Beowolf landed on the side of a tree in front of me.

Pinned and off-balance, I braced myself as the Beowolf springboarded off the tree and slammed into me.

Both my shoulders creaked as the Grimm's claws crushed them into the dirt. My gasp of pain was cut off from the air being knocked from my lungs.

Its jaws snapped toward me, and I wrenched my head to the side, jagged fangs tearing into the earth beside my ear.

The Beowolf reared back its head again, my arm against the beast's throat barely slowing it.

I bent my legs and planted my feet onto its stomach.

My vision filled with its black maw. My Aura raged, and its teeth clamped down a hair away from my face as I pushed it back with all my might.

The Grimm flew off, and I sprung back up, only for the other Grimm to whirl around to lunge at me again.

Trees blocked any chance to dodge to the side, forwards would just get me killed quicker, and I couldn't get out of range going backward.

So, I followed after the Grimm I had thrown up.

The lunging Grimm sailed under me, a stray swipe raking across my leg as it passed, but I ignored the pain as my Aura burned from the impact.

The Grimm floundered in the air, just out of reach to bounce around the tree like before, as it started to fall—right into my outstretched blade.

We collided and fell in a jumble of struggling attacks. It fought to either claw or push me off, while I sawed the blade through the wound.

I crashed to the ground enveloped by the dying smoke of the Grimm.

The remaining Beowolf roared and stood to its full height.

Despite the loss of the other Grimm, it showed no caution or change in tactics.

It lunged, claws first and mouth open, while I rolled out of the way. With every pass, I danced away, back in the direction I had lured them from.

Aura-enhanced speed kept me out of reach, and the beast grew wilder, more savage with every charge.

It took wild swings that left it off-balance or stumbling as it landed. It didn't care about itself or stability, it just wanted to get me.

I hopped away, positioning myself. The trap was laid.

The moment the Grimm touched the ground it barreled toward me, its prey in sight, unaware or uncaring of the surroundings.

It fell over the tripline I had set up before.

I smiled and dodged to the side as it hurtled by and smashed face-first into a tree.

It staggered, the crack of its skull against wood still in my ears, and I swung my blade down.

The Grimm's body slumped as its head rolled away.

I teetered back, hand against a tree for support, and caught my breath.

My shoulders ached and my legs stung from where I was hit, but my Aura held. Each impact and cut had felt muted, like it was through thick layers of cloth, but the pain was blunted instead of cushioned.

The headless Grimm didn't fade as quickly as the others. I watched it slowly dissolve in clumps.

There may have been a reason for the varying times they took to disappear, but I hadn't read about it yet.

It wasn't size, as the second Grimm I killed was a few inches taller, with a much broader jaw. Nothing to do with the size of the wound either, unless larger wounds meant they disintegrated more slowly, against logical sense.

With a final burst, the black smoke petered into nothing.

It reminded me of Brian. Smoke, once a comfort, now only signified the presence of monsters.

I hoped he was doing well, living happily with Cozen.

The image of them twitched something in my mind that I didn't recognize. I didn't explore the feeling; it wasn't the time, and I didn't really want to know.

My heart was still hammering. Fighting something like a rabid animal was very different from fighting a person. Primal, in a way. Motivations and goals didn't matter, since the Grimm didn't have any.

Biting back the fight's leftover adrenaline, I retrieved my gun and frowned as I loaded it with my last magazine—the Lightning Dust.

The caliber and damage the gun could do were at least twice that of what I normally used. I had thought that was a good degree of firepower for battling Grimm, but it was trivial next to the guns the other student had. I still couldn't believe they had used the recoil to halt or change their momentum in the air.

The amount of ammo I had brought wasn't nearly enough either, another mistake resulting from my inexperience with how battles on Remnant played out.

I headed back toward the temple, in hopes that a group was there to travel back with.

My Aura had taken a hit, I was down to one magazine of ammo, my swordplay was mediocre at best, and I couldn't use my bugs. I had seen the level of skill required to fight the Grimm, and I was lacking.

Then again, I could avoid Grimm less suspiciously and easily on my own… but if I hadn't met whatever standard Beacon expected of the students then it would be pointless.

With a group, I could witness firsthand what tactics and skills they had and hopefully learn from them.

With a group, there were more opportunities to satisfy that requirement with help.

Two individuals sauntered into my range, making their way across the small plains toward the temple. Yang and Blake, judging from their voices, outfits, and hair.

Yang had seemed like she had a more bombastic personality, while Blake had been much more subdued. These pairings weren't promising so far in terms of personality meshing.

I wasn't sure if I would get stuck with a partner if I met the eyes of a lone student, even after I had gotten the unique relic. Best to stick with a pair, especially one that I had met before.

A girl's high-pitched scream pierced through the forest, too far away to help based on the echo. I hoped someone was nearby just in case.

An Ursa stomped toward the temple, but its movements were weird, labored, and stilted.

...There were two people riding on its back!

The hammer of the orange-haired girl, I recognized. The other I wasn't sure; any bugs I had left on him had either been crushed to death from a stray blow or had fallen off. Their Ursa slumped over as they exited the tree-line.

Why anyone would think it was a good idea to be on top of the monsters whose existence revolved around killing people was beyond me.

A shrill cry pierced the air from in the distance, but it sounded like it had come from the sky.

My bugs found a strong enough perch on a nearby tree, and I scaled it, leaping from branch to branch until I reached a branch near the top.

Once upon a time, moving and leaping like that would have been fun and amazing. I wondered when that stopped being the case.

I peeked through the canopy of leaves and spotted a massive shadow zooming over the treetops.

It was massive, larger than all the Grimm I had killed multiplied many times over.

Unlike most Grimm, the only bone armor on the Nevermore was its mask, its talons, and the claws that jutted out of its wings. The rest of the giant bird was pitch black feathers that radiated the black smoke that all Grimm did.

A spot of red and white could be seen on its back between wing beats. Ruby and her partner had, somehow and for whatever reason, decided to ride the monster that would probably kill us all.

My impression of the pair's decision-making skills dropped significantly.

I didn't care what Aura made possible, there was no way they could get into a position to hurt or kill the Nevermore at that speed. All they would do was fall, and probably get eaten before they hit the ground.

Something big stampeded toward the temple. Bugs were crushed by falling trees and errant, stabbing stomps.

The Nevermore passed over the temple, and I watched as Ruby was suddenly plummeting toward the ground.

I jumped down; the anxiety of falling from the top of the tree screamed at me, despite landing easily into a roll, totally unharmed thanks to Aura.

Something collided with Ruby mid-fall and both landed in a tree—Jaune, based off the bugs under his back armor.

Trees whizzed by me as I sprinted toward everyone, my swarm gathering secretly just in case.

I hit the treeline and saw a giant scorpion Grimm, a Deathstalker, struggling to free itself from a glacier of ice.

The thing was frightening to see in person; the pictures had done it no justice.

Moss and dirt-stained the stark white armor that covered its main body and enormous pincers, marking its age. A long tail ending in a curved, bright golden stinger wiggled and pulled inside the ice. Red lines curled symmetrically across the bone plating, intertwining around the Grimm's ten orange-red eyes.

And Ruby and her partner were wasting time talking in front of it instead of coordinating an attack. None of the other three pairs were either.

I stifled my disbelief and focused on the Grimm.

It didn't register to my powers at all, but that didn't surprise me.

Grimm didn't eat, sleep, or breathe. They were horrid imitations of the animals they were based on with no resemblance beyond appearances.

Cracks started forming in the Deathstalker's prison. It would break free at any moment, the opportunity to attack missed.

Ruby and Weiss seemed to realize that as well, and they rejoined everyone at the temple. Ruby and Jaune dipped in and grabbed a relic for themselves, and I jogged into view.

The only person I hadn't met yet was a boy with long black hair tied in a ponytail, highlighted by a single pink streak that matched the color of his eyes.

He wore a green diagonally-buttoned tail-coat with black and gold trimmings and pink cuffs that seemed to have a Chinese influence.

The diversity in cultures on Remnant was weird. I had expected alien customs and attires, but most of what I had seen was something from Earth Bet, or an amalgamation of many outfits or trends.

All these coincidences popping up were concerning.

The Nevermore cawed in the distance. It had flown off in a wide arc but was sure to come back for us.

"Taylor! You made it," Yang called over with a wave.

"Do you need to grab a relic?" Blake asked, collected despite everything.

Ruby and Jaune both walked back to the group, relics in hand.

"I already grabbed mine," I said.

"Oooooo, you're alone, so does that mean you got the special one?" the orange-haired girl asked, like an excited child about to be shown a magic trick.

"I did."

"Can-I-see-it? Why-is-it-special? What-does-it-look-like?" Her body vibrated with feverish energy as she spoke, getting closer with each word.

"Nora," the ponytail boy and most likely her partner said, a mild rebuke.

"Got it, Ren!" She retreated back beside Ren.

Guess that was a common occurrence for Nora.

"Taylor, we're heading back. Our mission is to bring back the relics so we aren't going to waste our time fighting these things," Ruby stated, an uncharacteristic determination on her face, or maybe it was just a side of her I hadn't seen.

There was a chance we could get far enough away from the Deathstalker that it wouldn't chase us before it broke free.

As for the Nevermore, with the trees as cover, we could force it to hover while it searched for us—close enough to reach it from the trees. If we damaged its wings and grounded it, then whittled it down with ranged fire, we could kill it.

But that would give the Deathstalker enough time to catch up, and the battle would be on two fronts.

No, they were right. We didn't have to fight them.

I didn't like the idea of leaving a Grimm this strong alone to grow smarter and stronger, and my uneasiness about how well my combat skills had been graded so far buzzed in my mind.

No, all fighting them would do was put everyone in danger.

Besides, I wasn't sure we would win even if we tried.

"Let's go before that thing breaks free then."

Ruby smiled and moved ahead to lead the group. "Come on everyone!"

Time to see this trial of yours through, Ozpin.

Chapter 8 End

Praise be to Juff, Breakingamber, Chris C, Majigah, and Sigravig for their help going over this!

Author Notes:

There, some nice, shoehorned Alice in Wonderland references. Better than the half-assed Annie and pokemon references from before.

I also changed up the combat from the original. Taylor wasn't supposed to be as combat effective as she was, but I didn't realize it until the edit. In terms of combat skill, Taylor would lose to… almost everyone except Jaune, really. Aura fighting is just too fundamentally different from normal fighting.

Hopefully, this will shine through better in the edit so Taylor has to out-tactic her opponents to win.

Taylor's training was nowhere near the level of a standard Aura user. She's done a fair amount of hand-to-hand, but Aura allows for maneuvers, speed, and power that make a lot of what she's learned useless or ineffective.

Also, the differences in power/skill between students is staggering. Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL made it into the Vytal tournament, even though the competition doesn't have a cap on what year a student can enter (as far as we know, so I'm assuming there isn't one). So, those teams are technically better than almost all of their upperclassmen (So Team CRDL is probably the fourth strongest team in the whole school).

Pyrrha beat all of Team CRDL at once, even though Team CRDL made it into the tournament. She may be one of the strongest students, if not the strongest student at Beacon.