Team RGLA

A sea of black and red fell upon the camp, and it became a slaughter. Everybody, teachers included, broke formation and ran. There was no attempt to fight back, because it would be pointless. They all ran, as fast as they could, back to the path to Beacon, needing to escape the hunt that was taking place behind them. Anybody who fell behind was taken, YUNO by their refusal to leave their leader, torn to shreds in seconds and likely inside a grimm by now. ALVA and AGLA were also dead, feet taken from under them by a nevermore. Also likely dead.

The feelings of utter despair and terror that filled them, attracting even more grimm, helped little. The trees on their left started to disappear. Not fall, just disappear out of existence. The group redoubled their speed, hoping to outrun whatever was removing the trees from the world. They just barely managed to escape it. A pitch black wall of shadow passed just behind them, wiping one of the members of GHUL from Remnant. Just a second he was removed, the other members could see something in the shadow. It was almost impossible to tell its shape, but everything within took a different form. Spider, humanoid, cthulhu-oid. They were all in the wall, and they hid back in the shadow as soon as the GHUL was pulled in.

A thick, almost visible layer of fear emanated from the wall, filling the minds of the shattered group of students with the same emotion. At least the grimm seemed to have stopped at the wall, although it seemed the intention of it wasn't to save them, at the very last. The wall disappeared all at once, the grimm gone along with it, though the reason for that was certainly unknown to all but the grimm themselves.

They managed to make it back to Beacon fairly uneventfully, save for the hushed whispers of the teams. RGLA were the only first years to make it back. But what was it that had drawn those grimm to the camp? Did it have something to do with the armour? Either way it had certainly been a night.

Rusty looked to his side as they walked. Garnet was carrying Lapis, her legs having given out while running. Azure was in a much worse condition though. Her arms were wrapped around herself and she was shaking, head bowed and tears streaking down her face. Rusty said nothing, and put his arm around her, pulling her close as they made their way back to the academy.

It was morning by the time they had made it back, and a light drizzle filled the air, adding to the miserable mood. Was there nothing they could have done? That was a thought that would fill all of their minds. Would the armour have helped? It was another question, but one that would only fill Rusty's head. Azure couldn't cry anymore, even though she wanted to, now carried in Rusty's arms much like Garnet held Lapis. The gates of Beacon creaked open loudly as they always did, alerting the courtyard to their presence. Whatever lessons were taking place at the time were stopped immediately in favour of assisting the mentally and physically destroyed party get inside.

By the time they were inside, most of the second years gave up and just let themselves faint, and were taken away on medical beds. RGLA themselves headed to the med room, hoping at least for some rest and healing. Garnet and Rusty put Lapis and Azure into beds next to their own, hoping at least to give them some feeling of safety while they slept.

Rusty woke in the room, the clean white giving him a sickly feeling. He had never liked hospitals, too sterile, too perfect. One of the beds was empty, Garnet's. Did she go out to train? Think? Wander? He sat up, sliding off the medical bed and putting on his clothes, before heading outside, to the cliffs where they were launched into the Emerald forest for the first time. Before he even reached it he could see Garnet, swinging her lance and practicing thrusts. She wasn't well enough for this.

"Garnet..." Rusty placed his hand on the redhead's shoulder, stopping her arm mid-swing. She said nothing, just slumping her shoulders in place and letting her weapon embed itself in the ground. "What's the point?" Garnet locked eyes with Rusty as she turned around, and neither of them looked as they did when the first met. Her eyes weren't filled with vigour and excitement like when her and Lapis jumped them in the forest, now they were just sad, eyes filled with nothing but despair. Rusty's eyes were once vibrant and powerful, but now they were just dull and dead. "I've always been the one to cheer others up. When I went to Signal, if there was a fight, I helped them make friends after. After a break up, I cheered the dumped person up. Now, it doesn't feel like there is a point. Then, there was always a way to rebound, to beat the situation. Not now. How are we supposed to beat something like that?!" Her head bowed again, the rain wetting her hair over her eyes.

Rusty spoke. "I don't believe that. We're alive, aren't we? And every year, huntresses and hunters get stronger. Look at Port. He's one of the oldest here, and probably weaker than us. After we are trained to the second year, first years will be even more powerful than most of the teachers. We are getting better, and we can beat them, even if it takes the whole first year to do it." He patted her on the shoulder, trying to give her some reassurance.

She didn't say anything in reply, but smiled, very lightly, to the point it was barely visible. They headed back to the medical room, to sleep and to check on Lapis and Azure. Lapis still slept, seemingly knocked cold by the whole thing. Azure was awake but curled up in a ball, barely moving and hugging Rusty's pillow. She didn't say anything as they walked in. Whatever she had to say, it was for Rusty only.

He didn't sit on his bed, instead sitting on Azure's. He thought she would need the company. Azure shuffled closer to him, dropping the pillow and propping herself up on him as he placed his arm around her. No words were shared between them, they didn't need to be. Her eyes said everything. Garnet was sad. Azure just felt pure guilt, and it was visible. Garnet had already turned over in her bed, attempting to sleep and let the pair talk. The moment snoring began to rise from her bed, Azure spoke up.

"We should have done something. We should have tried to stop the grimm." Her eyes were still blank. Tears danced along the edges of her vision, but they didn't escape. It was still obvious how she felt though. Rusty pulled her closer to him, there were no words of support that he thought he could give, and he didn't want to try and end up making things worse. "Maybe we should have. Maybe we could have beaten them. But I doubt it. Did you see how they tore through the others? We would have stood no chance." Still, it was Azure, and he had to make an attempt to snap her out of her guilt.

The two sat still for a while, not saying anything, Azure lightly sobbing into Rusty's chest. Their injuries seemed to have mostly healed though, which was a relief. They could began training again. Another sound of snoring joined Garnet's, and as Rusty looked down he could see Azure's red face, streaked with tears, asleep against him. He placed her down on her bed, pulling the covers over the pair of them. Even if he would only be a few feet away in his own bed, he didn't want to leave her on her own for the night.

By the time they woke up, Lapis was already tossing in her bed. At least her coma had only lasted a day, but Rusty could only imagine what that did to her to leave her in a worse state than the rest of the team. Azure still hadn't fully recovered either. She had already rolled out of the medical bed, putting her clothes and armour on instantly. Rusty attempted to rack his brain for something to cheer her up, but he still didn't know her that well. Maybe it would be best to let her be, not rush in and be a white knight for her. Garnet woke up not long after, her cheery façade already masking how she felt, her armour and clothes slipped on almost as quickly as Azure.

"Well, look. Here's what we'll do today. We have that reward money from Glynda for finding that den, so I say we go into town. Lounge around, have fun, eat. It's something to do, and hopefully it will take our mind off of things for today. Sound good?" Rusty sat himself up on his bed, slipping his clothes and armour on as well. Azure silently nodded her head in agreement, and Garnet moved to wake up Lapis for the trip. The small girl bolted upright, her face inches from Garnet's, able to feel the hot breath coming from her mouth. She said nothing as Garnet told her of the plans for the day, putting her clothes and armour on with the others. "Mind you, we should probably shower first. Wouldn't do to go out covered in sweat and dirt, would it?" Azure chuckled a little, seeming to get some of her old self back.

Like the rooms, the showers were coed as well. RGLA left their clothes in the lockers outside the showers before heading in, the water running down each of their bodies. They didn't spend long in the showers, wanting to make the most of their day in the town, and spent enough time in there simply to wash.

The walk down to the town was a long one, but the team's rather high level of fitness managed to get them to the town without running out of breath, and without any of their muscles burning. The first thing they did was head to the weapon shop, where Rusty left his sword to be upgraded, which would allow him to have more than one dust rod in at a time. The owner would also upgrade the gun completely, transforming it to a bolt-action rifle. Although, attaching it to his arm would no longer be an option.

Their next stop was Rusty following the girls around town as they shopped, turning Azure into the leader and him the pack-mule for the moment, although he managed to get some new clothes too. Each of the girls had got two sets, while Rusty got one, although they hadn't bothered to change into them yet. They'd save that for another day. While they were heading through the streets, a very flustered Yang and a very apathetic Weiss approached the team. "Have you seen Blake? She's been gone all weekend." Yang didn't waste time in telling them why she was in such a mood, though Weiss' nonchalance seemed rather suspect. "No, I haven't. Tell me when you do find her though." Yang didn't answer, just running off again in search of her teammate.

By the time they had finished with their shopping, it was already dark. The pubs and high end restaurants had opened, and most of the shops had closed. The owner of that weapon shop seemed to work fast, as Rusty's upgrades had already been finished. He slung the sword, inside the rifle, across the back of his waist, similar to how Ruby wore her weapon. They still had an amount of money left from the sizeable reward, and decided to spend it in a place that was perhaps not wise.

Rusty pushed open the doors of the Erebutie, a nice looking pub in the middle of the town. Each of them sat around the bar, resting their bags around their stools. The bartender, a beautiful woman with striking blue hair, approached them and asked for their orders. Champagne for Azure, wine for Rusty, beer for Lapis and whiskey for Garnet. Had Garnet been drinking before? Rusty doubted that she could hold whiskey when it was her first time having it.

Lapis' beer hit her like a ton of bricks, and her words were already slurred by the end of the first glass. Apparently being short means that you get drunk faster, because Azure was drunk not long after. Maybe this would be a lesson on how much they should drink. Rusty and Garnet stood up, pulling the two girls onto their backs, arms wrapped around their necks. Lapis was sound asleep the moment her head hit Garnet's shoulder, but Azure seemed to enjoy being so high up for once. The pair grabbed their bags of shopping and headed back up the path to Beacon, under the cover of dark. They would be dead if Glynda caught them.

They managed to make it back to the dorm undiscovered, the lax security making it easy to slip by. Garnet quickly headed up the ladder of the beds and dropped Lapis into the covers, pulling them over her as she went to her own bed. Azure was another issue. "Rrrrustyyyyyy." Her words were slurred to hell and back, and she was totally hammered, leaning against Rusty, her head on his chest. "Let me stay with you toni-" Her sentence was interrupted by a hiccup, before she pushed Rusty onto his bed. "Pleeeease?" Rusty sighed, not answering with words, but pulling her into his bed all the same. Azure muttered in her drunken sleep, next to Rusty. It didn't take long for him and Garnet to fall asleep either.

Nothing happened the next day, thankfully. Lapis and Azure were practically dying from their first hang-over. The day after however, was an important one. Rusty's training with his armour. There were a few whole classes in the arena area, all watching as Rusty fought students and learnt the limits of the armour, as well as its abilities.

The first opponents were an average team that Rusty hadn't even bothered to learn the name of. He spared no time with taunting, just pulling his blade out, inserting the rod, and channeling his aura into it. A wall of wind surrounded him, before the Amaterasu appeared behind him again, enveloping him in his armour. This transformation was much faster than before.

The team rushed towards him the moment the transformation stopped, their weapons at the ready. Sword, spear, daggers and axes. Nothing flashy. He dodged the first swipe, appearing only as a blur as he swung for the attacker, sending him reeling across the dust of the ground, aura already depleted to red. Two more swung their weapons to him, but he blocked them both and jumped into the air, swinging his foot in a line and taking out both of them. The last one, the dagger wielder, came at him swinging, but Rusty dodged the swipes and grabbed his wrists, his knee sending him across the room.

Another two teams rushed out, eight hunters and huntresses rushing at him. 3 of them converged on him at the same time. As they swung, Rusty summoned a longsword, without decoration but still clearly functional. It swung across with Rusty's arm, deflecting each hit and returning its own, sending each attacker flying. As the rest of the group came at him, he summoned an even larger sword, larger than him, and swing it in a circle, kicking up dust and sending the hunters and huntresses away with the force of the buildup, crashing them against the wall.

The next team to enter the arena were JNPR. They had already been defeated by the rest of his team, so it would be no surprise if he won. Jaune and Pyrrha came at him first, shields raised above their heads. Rusty's greatsword met their shields, pushing them backwards slightly, although they still held their ground. As soon as the stopped moving, Nora came sailing over them, swinging her hammer directly towards him. He quickly broke away as Magnhild blew up the ground where he was. Both blades disappeared, breaking away into purple dust. The lack of weapons would speed him up. He himself disappeared in a blur as he hit the sand behind Ren, kicking into him. His knee met his hand as Ren's powerful aura held him in place, before the barrier broke and he was sent into the ground.

Jaune swung for him before his foot even touched the ground, the blade clanging against the black armour. Ineffective. Rusty kicked again, knocking Jaune's shield from his hand, before sending him rolling along the floor.

The fight was called. The armour had depleted Rusty's aura into the red. He released it, sending it away in black fire. At least he had an idea of how long he could keep the armour active, and how powerful it was. By the time he had left the arena and changing room, his team were already waiting for him. "Nice one! Two and a half teams in a single use. Powerful, isn't it?" Garnet was hopping on the spot, clearly excited at the power of the armour. It was almost as if she had forgotten entirely about the trip.

The team had been given the rest of the day to rest because of Rusty's use of his aura and the fact that it would be unfair if it was just him. There wasn't anything to really do though. Rusty was gorging himself on food to replenish his aura, but that was it.

Azure jumped up from her bed, seemingly having an idea for what to do, and grabbed a box of holotapes from under her bed. Rusty remembered now. Azure was going to show him why she was excited about his armour, and Garnet likely wanted to show what she watched too. They put what seemed to be the first tape in and watched. They spent the rest of the semester watching Garnet and Azure's shows.