RWBY Silver Eyed Warrior Chapter 21: Initiation Final (Patreon)

“Chess pieces?” Yang said as they stepped onto a circular platform of old stone just beyond the dense forest they’d fought their way through. It was just the start of what looked like ancient ruins, a tower ascending out of the foggy ravine just ahead, and a crumbling stone bridge no one should put their trust in connecting it to the platform. “I guess these are the artifacts we’re supposed to grab. Think we’re the first one’s here?”

“I don’t believe so.” Pyrrha said, joining Yang in front of a pedestal with a black rook shaped piece on it. Other pedestals were spread out in a circular pattern, a few already missing chess pieces. “But we are among the first.”

“Any preferences or can I just grab which ever one I like?”

Pyrrha hummed, looking away from the pedestal and back towards the forest.

Meeting up with the others had been her plan but one too many encounters with Grimm and whatever time limitation they might’ve been working with did away with that. Were they alright? Had they been among the first to arrive or were they still somewhere in the forest? Who made eye contact with who?

More importantly, would she and Corvo still be able to end up on the same team?

“Worried about Corvo?” Yang asked, shoulder pressed to hers for a brief moment. “I wouldn’t be. He’s a handful in a fight. Nothing we came across in this place is going to be any trouble for him.”

Knowing him, Yang was right. She’d yet to see him fight with more than his fists but she imagined his unshakable persistence would make him a problem with any weapon. “I’m curious, has Corvo always been so passionate when it comes to fighting?”

“Oh, yeah. I remember when our mom first started teaching me some things, he kept begging me to fight with him. You’d think pushing around an eight year old with no aura would be easy.” Yang said shaking her head. “He was so damn annoying I ended up using my semblance for the first time against him. Broke his nose by a mistake.”

“I may have nearly done something similar.” Pyrrha admitted.

Yang snickered. “Yeah, he might be a little taller but he’s still the same kid he’s always been.” Yang looked her way, wiggling her brow. “But I guess you wouldn’t call him a kid, huh?” Embarrassment rose up, Pyrrha still unsure of what to say to any of that. Yang had been asking about them since they partnered up, just as many innuendos as innocent questions thrown out, managing to dig more information out of her than she intended on sharing with anyone. “You won’t hear me getting on your case, but two weeks is kind of a short time to be going so far, don’t you think? You don’t seem like the type to be so casual about dating.”

“That is true.” Pyrrha admitted. She toiled when it at first too but regret, something her fame made her quite familiar with had yet to crop up, every moment she spent with Corvo just as fulfilling as the last. “But I suppose I’m the kind of person to believe in fate as childish as it may sound.”

“Awww, running into him was love at first sight, huh?” Yang teased, elbowing her side.

From her deciding on Beacon as her academy of choice. Corvo being accepted into the same place two years early. The both of them just happening to bump into each other on a crowded street full of countless others. To him, despite every odd being stacked against her, not recognizing her at all.

Others might brush it off as nothing more than coincidence and luck, but she’d never been able to believe there wasn’t something at work when things like that happened.

“How do you think he’s doing?” Pyrrha asked.

“Right now, he’s either with Ruby and they’re both chopping their way through Grimm or he’s awkwardly trying to get along with whoever he ended up partnered with.”

“You really aren’t worried he’s in trouble?”

“Come on, this is Corvo we’re talking about. If anything, if any big Grimm does get the drop on him, he’s going to be having fun fighting.” The bushes far ahead rustled and a dark mass emerged. For a moment they prepared themselves to face a Grimm, but it collapsed, a redhead whose hair veered more on the orange side of the spectrum cheering about riding an Ursa as a dark haired boy tiredly emerged behind her. “See? He’s probably enjoying himself just like that girl.”

XOXO

“Can’t you run any faster!?” Corvo yelled, pace slowed to match Weiss’, Ruby and Blake just ahead of them. The ground shook, more trees knocked down as the King Tajitu behind them barreled through the forest. It wasn’t along, a deathstalker moving alongside, its armored scorpion like form moving along side and toppling just as many trees.

“Quiet you! This is all your fault in the first place!” Weiss shouted back.

“Weiss, seriously-“

“If you dolts hadn’t led that deathstalker to me I would’ve handled the overgrown snake and-

“Weiss!”

“But no, I just had to be surrounded by-“

Ignoring the girl’s complaints, Corvo shifted, tackling her. At the same time one of the King Taijitu’s heads surged forward, mouth snapping down where the slowing Weiss had been. He immediately rolled into a run, Weiss in his arms.

“How dare you-“

“Please shut up for two seconds.” Corvo said with more force than he intended, his annoyance at all time high. He could be enjoying a fight right now but instead he was stuck listening to her complain and complain. “That weapon of yours, it has a revolving chamber, right? Can you fire back at the Grimm?”

By the feel of it only the king taijitu had followed them, the deathstalker still chasing Ruby and Blake. He thought they could’ve taken both on at the same, but the others had been against the idea. With them split up like this though, they shouldn’t have any complaints.

Weiss huffed but she shifted in his arms, an arm wrapping around his shoulders as she aimed that rapier behind them. “Just make sure to hold me steady. And don’t go putting your hands anywhere they shouldn’t be.”

As if he would bother doing something that to someone so mean. He’d rather be in a position like this with Neo or Pyrrha and-

Corvo forced those thoughts away, focusing on avoiding roots and rocks as he rushed forward, the spin of the revolver on Weiss’s rapier filling his ears. More sounds followed, some kind of color beams, leaving her weapon.

“Move left!” He followed her order and a head slammed into the ground he’d been standing on.

“Right!” Another order followed moments later, another lunge dodged.

“Up!” He followed the odd order without question, jumping. A black symbol appeared at the end of his jump, acting as solid ground as he landed on it, a few more following. He followed the path, rising above the forest while she kept firing.

He could feel the grimm getting closer, the both of them nearing the end of the reach its long body offered it. Without anything in the way, this was the perfect time to finish this up so he could get back to Ruby.

“The World!” The shout left him as he tossed Weiss into the air. Her rise and shocked shout slowed, distorted by his semblance. He turned, axe pulled from his waist and turned to a shotgun as he came face to face with the frozen body of a king taijitu.

One.

He fired a series of shots, the projectiles freezing once they left the barrel of his gun.

Two.

After firing the first half at the head closest, he took aim at the other, repeating the quick firing of shots.

Three.

As he returned his weapon to his waist and jumped up, time resumed, Weiss caught in his arms and all the fired shots surging forth, the sound of them ripping through the Grimm’s flesh filling the air. A loud thud filled the air as he stopped on the last black symbol, turning back around.

The king taijitu laid across the forest ground, dual colored body already beginning to fade away.

“What was that?” Weiss asked, looking down. “And how did you kill that thing so quickly?”

“My semblance lets me stop time around me.” He explained.

“Stop time?” Weiss looked back to him in clear disbelief but quickly gathered herself back together, clearing her throat. And that attitude was about to make a return, wasn’t it? “Ahem, good work then.”

Huh. That was a surprise.

Ignoring it for now, he jumped off the weird platform and took off running in the direction Ruby and Blake should’ve gone.

“You can set me down now.”

“You’re too slow.”

“Tsk, too slow.” She repeated. “I was clearly conserving my energy you dolt. We have no idea how far we have to go.”

He didn’t waste any time questioning that claim, focused on moving as quickly as possible. It wasn’t hard to spot them when they did close in, Ruby and Blake having stopped to face the deathstalker together. A few of its eyes were already shot and cut out, Ruby bursting away into roses to avoid attacks while Blake left odd shadowy replicas of herself in place whenever it looked like she did get hit.

“I’ll stop it from moving.” Weiss said, shifting. He loosened his hold on her and she kicked off of him, rapier’s cylinder sent spinning before she stabbed it in the ground as she landed. Frost raced ahead of his sprint before hardening and shooting upward, expanding out in a prison of ice that stopped most of the deathstalker’s movements. Ruby and Blake took advantage, the rest of its eyes destroyed while he leaped up, axe drawn.

With one heavy downward slash, its golden stinger was separated from its curled tail. As the ice shattered, Corvo jumping off its hard shell and landing beside the still kneeling Weiss, the deathstalker flared for a moment but collapsed into a dissipating dead heap.

“Alright, teamwork for the win!” Ruby cheered as she and Blake came over.

“Not so loud.” Weiss chided as she stood up, dusting off her clothes and straightening up. “We don’t need to attract anymore Grimm like that before we’re out of here.”

Ruby gasped, shooting in front of her. “Then you’re coming with us?”

“Unfortunately. At the very least you all seem competent in a fight and- h-hey, do you know what personal space is?” While Ruby got to annoying Weiss, Blake gave Corvo a nod as he took the chance to reload his shotgun.

At this point Pyrrha was probably already done with this test or waiting where they’d been directed for those artifacts. It was time they did the same.

XOXO

(A/N: I probably could've been more creative with these titles but eh, it is what it is. Anyways, if it isn't obvious, teams aren't going to be exactly the same as canon. Thought about making it something you all vote on but I had a few of my own ideas I did want to hit so I held off on that.

See you all in the next one!)