Chapter 6: Tactical Evaluation

XxX

Jaune

Jaune turned back to the others as the Grimm started towards them. Threats approaching. 150 feet . They'd be overwhelmed if they stayed together and fought as a single unit, so- "The Grimm will be on us in a few seconds. Heavy-hitters-Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha- you're with me. We'll hit the Deathstalker. The rest take the Nevermore. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, think you can handle it? You're the more mobile and airborne of the group.. "

Ruby nodded. "Right. See you on the other side." Her group charged away, blurring into the forest.

Threat stilled. 70 feet. Jaune turned back to the others. "My Semblance is a relatively precise danger sense. I'll take point with Pyrrha. Ren, Nora, wait for the right moment, then finish the Grimm."

Nora grinned, eyes lighting up. "Aye-aye, captain! Don't die!" She gave him an enthusiastic salute before diving into the forest foliage with Ren.

Jaune turned back to Pyrrha. "The deathstalker seems to be hanging back for now, so we have a little time to plan-" Threats rapidly approaching from above. Maximum distance 30 feet. Minimum distance 40 feet.

Jaune's eyes widened. What was that-oh. Oh. "NEVERMIND!" His head whipped back and forth, surveying the tree-line. "Nevermore feathers, we're sitting ducks here!"

Pyrrha snatched Jaune's wrist and dashed for the trees as the world became a black hailstorm of feathered death. Jaune's shield arm moved almost of its own accord, deflecting feathers just enough to leave him a path forward. He charged into the gap, losing sight of Pyrrha when she released his wrist. He didn't have time to worry, his mind focused on the feathers in front of him, the shield in his hand, and the Semblance warnings in his mind. Danger, upper right front, 3 feet. Danger, center front, 2 feet. Danger, upper left back, 1 foot- Jaune's armor and shield whirled without his input, his shield dragging his arm behind it to smack one final feather out of the air. He finished the turn on his own, then leapt into the trees. Pyrrha was already there, surveying the battlefield before them.

"Thanks for the save. That was you, right?"

Pyrrha smiled. "It was." She raised her spear, scanning the forest for the Deathstalker. Jaune closed his eyes, focusing. Threat holding steady at 50 feet. Direction variable. Wait, variable? That meant-

"It's circling us. We're going to need to attack it or draw it in."

Pyrrha nodded. "I'll charge forward. Cover my back."

"You have range, and I have the danger sense. I should take point."

"I've been fighting for years. I can handle myself alone."

"It's not about whether you can handle yourself alone, it's about what makes tactical sense-"

"No, Jaune." Pyrrha cut him off angrily. "It's not about what makes tactical sense. It's about the fact that if you take a hit from this thing you might get seriously injured! You couldn't block all the feathers from the Nevermore even with your danger sense. You're advantaged, not invincible. Please, let me take point." But the way she phrased it didn't sound like a request.

Jaune gulped before steadying himself. "Got it. Go."

She lowered her spear and sped off into the trees. Jaune waited a few moments before jogging after her, sword and shield raised. She was right. He wasn't good enough to take on the Grimm head on. He'd only been training for six months, who did he think he was kidding? A semblance didn't make you invincible, especially not one like his.

Jaune heard a sharp crack in the woods behind him and whirled. Danger has ceased circumferential motion. Danger approaching rapidly. Right. Grimm were smart, when they got this old. They didn't go for fortified areas, instead preferring...defenseless prey. Well. That explained things. Jaune focused, raised his shield, and yelled.

"Deathstalker hitting my position!"

He didn't get time to listen for a response before the Deathstalker was on him. Danger within 1 foot. His shield flicked up to deflect the first blow of its claw. Another blow went off his sword before the tail caught him full in the chest. He flew backwards. Try again. The next attempt saw him smashed with a claw to the side. The next with a bare evasion of the mandibles followed by another tail smash.

Jaune picked himself back up off the tree that had halted his last flight, looking back up at the Deathstalker. Something that large had to have some weaknesses, people killed these every few weeks. There had to be something, some hole he hadn't seen yet. Pyrrha ran out of the forest.

"Jaune, I saw that hit. Are you alright?"

Jaune closed his eyes, focusing. Danger 20 feet away. Distance constant. He needed to get around the claws and tail somehow. And-just like that, he saw it.

"Yeah, I am. Get Nora and Ren. I know what I'm doing. Trust me. Please."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to reply before nodding and turning away. Jaune inhaled, staring the Deathstalker in the eyes before charging forward straight to the center of the claws. The Grimm scorpion raised its arms. Danger above. Jaune grinned, raising his shield to catch the double blow of claws, pushing himself forward. A sword swing knocked away the ensuing tail strike. Jaune dove into the opening, rolling into a standing position inside its guard. He grinned, staring it in the eyes, jumping out of the way of the occasional awkward reverse claw strike.

"Not so tough up close, are you? Not with your forelimbs bent like that, at least."

Jaune ducked to the left, swinging his sword at the exposed skin of a limb. The blade bounced off. "This might be a little harder than I thought."

He whirled into another set of attacks, blade slashing again and again into the limb, shield deflecting the weak tail and mandible attacks. Barely any result. This wasn't working. He raised his sword to slash again before a detonation sounded off next to him, knocking the Grimm off balance for long enough that Nora could rush in besides him.

"Jaune! You look like you could use the help of some heavy hitters!" Her eyes glittered with anticipation as she took in the Deathstalker. Nora whistled. "I never thought about fighting one of these this close up before!"

Jaune grinned, lowering his shield.

"A lot easier this way, I'd imagine. Ren and Pyrrha are at range?"

Nora nodded, smiling as dust bullets peppered the Grimm's eyes. Jaune grinned.

"Let's take this sucker down. Go for the legs. I don't have the force to cut through to the core, but you should."

Her smile turned wicked.

"Gladly."

They darted to the side, Jaune's shield deflecting the claw upwards as Nora exploded forwards, slamming her hammer into the joint. The girl's battle cry was a youthful, ecstatic cheer. The pommel of Crocea Mors locked against the ground, blade turned into the joint of the scorpion's forelimb.

"Now!"

Nora saluted, vaulting over the limb before firing a grenade in midair, hammer locked against the claw as she exploded downwards. The limb sheared off against Jaune's sword, spraying ichor everywhere that dissipated even as it landed. Jaune grinned.

"That's one."

They turned to the other claw, but the scorpion was already retreating backwards. It probably wouldn't return until it was healed to attack another unsuspecting huntsman. Jaune couldn't let that happen. He looked back towards Ren and Pyrrha.

"We need to stop it from getting back into the forest!"

"On it!" Pyrrha replied, spear reshaping into a javelin. She cocked her arm back and released, weapon seeming to blur in midair-no, it was actually spinning like a drill as it pierced the tail of the Deathstalker, pinning it to a tree behind it. Ren and Pyrrha stepped out of the trees, weapons raised. Nora grinned, casually planting her hammer in the mandibles of the disabled Grimm.

"So, who gets the honors? Not that any one person deserves it more than anyone else-this was a group effort after all-Jaune, maybe. But, you know, whatever you guys want."

"Nora, you clearly want it."

She smiled widely.

"Thanks, Jauney!"

Her hammer exploded downwards, smashing through the Grimm's skull plating, killing it instantly. Safe. No danger nearby. Jaune relaxed.

"Let's get back to Beacon."

XxX

Ruby

Ruby blurred to the left, dodging around yet another set of feathers. This had to be, like, the tenth set or something ridiculous. The Nevermore didn't even look patchy! Where was it keeping all of these! Whatever. This wasn't going to work. The others were unharmed, but they weren't getting anywhere like this. She took shelter in the trunk of one of the trees before turning to the others.

"You guys have any ideas? We can't keep doing this."

Yang smirked. "Speak for yourself, Rubes. I can do this all day. If you're tiring out, though, I suppose we could leave this Grimm with egg on its face."

Ruby sighed. "Okay. Weiss, you and I knock it down. Blake, keep it busy on the ground. Yang, finish the job."

Weiss hmphed. "You know, a real leader gives more detailed instructions than 'keep it busy' and 'finish the job'." But a white glyph materialized beneath Weiss's feet as another swirled into existence under Ruby's. Ruby inhaled, unfolding Crescent Rose. "Fine, I'll come from above, you come from below. Let's clip this bird's wings. Better? Sheesh. On my mark." She paused, waiting for the Nevermore to lower a little more before... There.

"Now!"

Ruby and Weiss shot up into the air, Blake and Yang following on the ground. Ruby closed her eyes, letting her Aura and the sounds of wingbeats steer her towards the Grimm. She opened them a few seconds later, silver irises gleaming as she sliced out at the Nevermore and-missed. Her eyes widened as its wings folded and it dropped from the sky like a stone before snapping its wings out and matching her speed. Before she could react, it flipped in midair, gripped her cloak in its claws and whipped her into the ground. Ruby smashed into the rocks below, Aura flaring into roses, taking the brunt of the impact away. That had hurt. She staggered to her feet to see the Nevermore hovering above her, pivoting to point its black wings at her. Ruby closed her eyes, desperately trying to muster up her semblance fast enough to avoid being skewered by dozens of feathers, knowing the whole time that she'd never make it. A thunderous noise filled her ears. Her only regret was that she'd never proven herself as a hero. And that she would get killed by this stupid excuse for an attack. And that Weiss would stand uncorrected. Okay, she had several regrets. She had always thought that if she died young, it'd at least be from something cool, like a black hole of gravity dust or something. Whatever. No use crying over spilled Ruby.

After a few seconds, Ruby opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by blue ice and very, very much alive. As in, she was very not skewered by Grimm feathers. Was this what the afterlife was like? Really cold, if so. She should probably complain to whoever was running it. Maybe-a hand landed on her shoulder. Ruby turned to see Weiss standing there, rapier planted in the ice, panting with effort.

"Weiss, you're here too? How'd the Nevermore get you? And, wait, why are you in my afterlife! Is this your afterlife? That would explain all the ice."

Weiss's eyes flashed angrily.

"Afterlife-I saved you, you dolt! You'd be dead if not for me."

Ruby smiled.

"Oh! Really? Thanks for that! Looks like that Nevermore still has us beat for aerial mobility."

Weiss rolled her eyes before twitching as the ice structure shuddered, one wall shattering to reveal a red-eyed Yang, Blake following cautiously behind her. The wall reformed behind them, accompanied by another grunt of effort from Weiss.

"Where. Is. My. Sister."

Ruby waved. "I'm fine, Yang! Weiss got to me before the feathers did. See?" She motioned up and down her body. "All parts are present and accounted for. So are the Nevermore's parts, though. The first plan didn't work at all."

Yang laughed, tension leaving her frame. "I could tell. Was that harder than Qrow hit you?"

Ruby winced. "Pretty close. It didn't break my Aura in one shot, though. Regardless, I don't want to get hit like that again. We need some way to knock it out of the sky-"

"And then what?" Weiss interjected. "We'll knock it down and it'll fly up again, unless we can stop it from flying altogether."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Got it. Yang, if we get you to the Grimm, can you knock it out of the sky?"

Yang grinned, loading a fresh belt of shells.

"I can damn well try. You have a plan?"

Ruby smiled back. "Not quite, but it's coming together. Blake, can you hook one of it's wings if I get you close enough?"

Blake nodded.

"Weiss, how quickly can you make one of these ice constructs strong enough to hold that Nevermore?"

Weiss's eyes widened as a smile grew on her face.

"Quick enough."

Ruby's smile sharpened.

"Good. Split off, then weaken the center of the ceiling of the construct. When it comes for me, you'll know what to do."

The others nodded.

"Go."

Weiss motioned with her rapier, widening a door into the dome of ice. The three sped through it as the ceiling of the dome thinned, becoming almost clear. The Nevermore soared above the dome before slowing to a hover, positioning itself carefully. Ruby stared it down. When the first barrage of feathers came, crashing through the ceiling, she was ready, dodging easily around them. Same with the second. If it wanted to get her, it was going to need to attack her head on. And, judging by the way it was now diving for the dome, it had realized that. Wait for the right moment, wait, wait wait wait wait - Now - Ruby fired below her, launching herself through the hole weakened ceiling as the Grimm reached it, scythe spinning and hooking against the hardened ice of the dome's side, trapping the wing of the Nevermore and holding it too close to Ruby to bite or claw her. Not enough to hold it for more than a second or two, though. Which was why she had the rest.

"Yang! Now!"

Her sister exploded out of the forest like the wrath of the gods, hair burning gold and eyes shining red as she chambered her right arm. She slammed into the head of the Nevermore like a meteor, smashing the body of the Grimm crow backwards over its wing. The Grimm hit the ground with a thud, barely managing to pick itself up, wing bent against its side. It crouched, legs tensing to jump again. Ruby shook her head. Not going to be that easy this time, Grimm.

"Blake! Right wing!"

The girl blurred forward from the trees, her sheath and blade tied together. As the Grimm extended its wings to take off, Blake threw the blade, embedding it in the right wing before wrapping the sheath around a tree. The Grimm launched before twisting awkwardly in midair, wing overextending and then crumpling. Ruby turned to Weiss only to find her already jumping from glyph to glyph before planting her rapier next to the Grimm, ice collar forming and holding the massive crow's head down. Ruby walked next to it, placing her scythe blade at its throat. She fired once, decapitating the beast.

"Good fight."

The rest nodded.

"Good fight."

XxX

Ozpin

"...Our next team, holders of the white rooks, is Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. This team will be called JNPR and led by Jaune Arc."

Ozpin stepped back from the microphone for a moment as the audience politely applauded and Jaune's eyes widened. That plan had borne fruition quite well, judging by JNPR's performance against the Grimm. The world could use another Oracle. Especially one with such a Champion behind him. Now for the last team...

"Our final team this year, holders of the white knights," Ozpin paused, stifling a smile. They really had taken the white knights, hadn't they. That was quite the coincidence. "Is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. This team will be called RWBY and led by Ruby Rose!"

He stepped back from the mic again, allowing himself a small smile at the stunned expression of the Schnee heiress. And Qrow's niece's desperate squirms in the arms of her sister. Sometimes this job had it's perks. He stepped back up to the microphone.

"Classes begin tomorrow morning promptly at 9 am. You will find your schedules on your scrolls. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives."

He turned away from the stage as the students split into smaller conversations, eyes raised to the heavens. His students had a few months left to be children, he'd let them enjoy their time of peace before the flames. Flames he himself had sparked, all those years ago. Even the gods would not forgive his crimes.

A/N: First, logistics: I might miss next week's update due to driving to RTX, as mentioned in the last A/N. I'll try my best to write the next chapter, though.

Second, story: I went with canon teams in the end for synergy and team chemistry reasons (from a watsonian perspective) and to provide people with another anchor with which to understand in-universe changes(from a doylist perspective). I hope y'all aren't disappointed, rest assured things will be proceeding somewhat differently, this shan't be a Stations of the Canon story(I hope).

First major fight scenes: they were fun to write, but I'm not sure I succeeded at getting across the overall goal of team synergy beating out individual power. How'd I do?

Ozpin's section: ...yep, it's all mysterious foreshadowing with him. All of it :p

Next chapters: 'team drama' incoming, competent!weiss dealing with Ruby as leader, stuff with CRDL responding to a competent Jaune, and, further on, the White fang. Act 1 of arc 1 is complete.

Please review!