We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum, Viz Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.
Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the Hedgehog, and Traines, as well as Kima Whitehawk Jordan on Facebook. And a very special shoutout and thank you to 501awezome and Mega Ghost on Fanfiction.Net for all your support.
Tiger King and Dragon Queen
Volume 1 Chapter 20: Duos of Destiny Part 2
The forest rang with the sound of gunfire, roars of pain and explosions galore. Were anyone to see it from above, they would see a fiery martial arts goddess and a sleek, blinding fast shinobi tearing through Grimm like a reaper's scythe. Yang unleashed barrages of Fire Dust coated blows into any Creeps that got close to her while Blake carved a path through them with her blades as she leapt around through them like a jungle cat darting in and out of the forest. Jumping and flipping through the air, Blake turned her sword into its gun form and shot a hail of bullets down onto a creep as she made her leap. Landing back down on the ground, she turned it into its kusarigama form and swung it with the ribbon to scythe a path through some more Creeps while using its gun function to change the direction of the blade.
Meanwhile, Yang hit a Creep with a flaming punch in the mouth that blew a hole straight through its skull. Grabbing one by the tail, she used it as a blunt weapon to slam down on top of another, killing them both. Hopping from foot to foot with a smile on her face, she did a back walking shuffle to dodge away from a Creep's pounce before kicking it up and punching a flaming hole through its chest with a fiery right hook. Rushing in, she unleashed a barrage of fiery punches into multiple Creeps, punching holes right through them and killing them instantly. Twisting around a pounce from another Creep, she brought a flaming fist down onto its skull, blowing its head to pieces.
Rolling her shoulders, Yang grinned proudly as she looked around at their handiwork. However, she let her guard down as an injured but still alive Creep got back to its feet. Trying to leap at the blonde martial artist in a pounce, this left it open to a sneak attack from the monochromatic ninja girl. Said bow wearing girl swung her weapon in its kusarigama form at the Grimm's stomach, digging into its hide before pulling on the ribbon. The tug caused the blade to gut the Creep as it collapsed to the ground with a thud just behind Yang, alerting her to its presence as Blake pulled her weapon back to her and turned it back into sword form to sheath it.
"Can you save the cockiness for after we finish initiation? You almost lost your leg because you weren't paying attention." Blake asked, a hint of annoyance and exasperation leaking from her voice.
"I could've handled it, but I see your point. Probably a good idea to keep my guard up from now on." Yang told her partner with a smile.
"Let's get moving. Wouldn't want your boyfriend to see you hopping in on one leg." Blake said as she began the trek to the ruins again.
Yang blushed a bit at the teasing taunt from her partner. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" She called out as she rushed after her partner.
Meanwhile: With Azura and Zhan
"You know, why can't these things be more like a teddy bear!" Zhan yelled as he rolled out of the way of a swipe from an Ursa's paw.
"Less talking, more slashing!" Azura replied as he sliced the arm off another Ursa, then leapt up and sliced off its head before bringing his blade down to slash another one from shoulder to hip.
"I prefer the term chopping!" Zhan yelled back before bringing his ax to bear.
"Just fight!" Azura called back as he slashed an Ursa's legs out from under it to stab it through the skull.
Ripping his blade out, Azura looked at the remaining Grimm, all Ursa Majors, surrounding them. "Back-to-back!" Azura called out to his partner.
With that the two turned and backed against each other, the two staring down their foes. The Grimm in kind began to circle them like sharks, a full half dozen bearing down upon them. One of the Grimm even licked its thin black lips at them.
"Oh no…" Azura said, having finished the head count.
"What's the 'oh no'?" Zhan asked.
"Six Ursa Majors to the two of us." Azura replied, gripping his blade with both hands.
"So not good odds?" Zhan asked.
"Indeed." Azura replied, loading a cartridge of Dust into the hilt of his blade.
"Low chance of survival?" Zhan asked again.
"Most likely." Azura shot back, regripping his blade and raising it at the ready.
Zhan, with a flip of the trigger on his weapon, caused the back blade of the ax to flip forward, making a great sword-type weapon. "Bring it on."
"Wanna see who can kill more of them faster?" Azura asked with a small, nervous smirk.
"Let's just not get ourselves eaten." Zhan answered simply.
"You're no fun." Azura replied as the Ursa Majors charged.
Lighting his blade up with Lightning Dust, Azura unleashed a large projected lightning slash that cut deep into the beast, making it roar in pain. Spinning to the side, he lopped an arm off another one as Zhan swung his blade down on the one Azura injured to cut its head in half. Adjusting his blade, Azura swung it down to carve deep into the chest of the one-armed bear Grimm as Zhan spun back and stabbed into the cut, piercing through its chest and killing it as Azura lopped the head off an incoming Ursa Major as it charged at his partner from behind. More cautiously, the remaining two Ursa Major, visibly larger and older than their counterparts, circled around the two in an attempt to find an opening.
Believing that they had seen their window, the two Ursa Major rushed in at the two Huntsmen-in-Training. Looking back at each other, the two nodded and began their counterattack. Leaping into the air above the two Grimm, they caused the two bear Grimm to collide into each other. Seeing an opening in the dazed beasts' defenses, Zhan brought his blade downward in a stab through his Ursa Major's back as it roared in pain while the second recovered and tried to wrap its claws around him. However, Azura kicked his legs out to stop its arms dead as Zhan ripped his blade out and swung across with all his might, slicing the bear Grimm in half horizontally. Finally, as Zhan's Ursa tried to recover and attack him from behind, Zhan positioned his blade for his partner to use as a platform. Kicking off the flat of the blade, Azura dove at the Ursa Major and swung with his own sword, lopping off its head as he flipped in midair and landed in a crouch.
"Six alpha Grimm less in the world. I'd call that a win for the day." Zhan said with a small smile.
Azura took a deep, shaky breath to calm himself, then smiled as he got up and turned to his partner. "Agreed. You fight well, Zhan. I am impressed." He replied, putting his hand up and out for a friendship grip that Zhan quickly returned.
"You as well, partner. Shame that the Grimm fade away, I'd love to have some bearskin rugs for the floor of my forge." Zhan said, bemused at what will never come true as he released the grip.
"That would look rather nice. But we should get moving before more show up." The azure samurai replied as he held his blade at his side as he kept moving towards the ruins.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Zhan said as he followed behind him.
With Ruby and Weiss
"You are the unluckiest person I've ever heard of Ruby!" Weiss yelled as the reptilian monster craned its head at them.
"But you have heard of me!" Ruby yelled back, readying her scythe.
"Don't get cute with me!" Weiss yelled in an annoyed tone.
"Then who am I supposed to get cute with? Yang and Azura aren't around…" Ruby said, before the Grimm let out a blood curdling screech.
"Focus, Ruby! Here it comes!" Weiss called out as she swiftly loaded her blade with more Dust.
Digging its claws into the moistened sod, the twin legs of the abominable leviathan surged forward. Despite its size and ungainly appearance, it propelled itself faster than most Grimm smaller than it. Ruby and Weiss barely had the time to dodge its gaping maw, its jaw unhinging at the back to nearly open a hundred degrees like a snake. As its long jaws snapped shut, they got a look at the row of serrated daggers its mouth was armed with. Activating her Semblance, Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground as she produced two white Glyphs that resembled clock faces with a pale-yellow ring inside each one, first one for herself and then one for Ruby.
"What kind of Glyph is that?" Ruby asked in surprise.
"Time Dilation! We'll be moving a lot faster now so that we can keep up with it!" Weiss called out in response as Ruby grinned.
"Hello home field advantage!" Ruby called out as she readied Crescent Rose.
Using her Semblance, Ruby disappeared in a blur of rose petals as she ran around the monstrous Grimm. This created a small cyclone of rose petals around it as she darted in and out of the tornado, slashing away at the Charybdis with each pass. The Grimm screeched in fury as it began firing spike shots from its tail into the tornado only to miss each time. Making multiple Glyphs to use as platforms around the red cyclone, Weiss began using her time dilation-enhanced speed to begin diving through the tornado like a living arrow, stabbing through the Grimm at each pass.
Picking up speed, Ruby began moving faster and faster, pushing her Semblance to its limits to increase the wind speed inside the tornado. This caused the wind to begin lifting the Charybdis off the ground as grass began lifting off the ground and mud covered its eyes and sensory organs to obstruct its ability to track them. Moving faster herself, Weiss began darting faster and faster in and out of the cyclone, stabbing and thrusting into the Grimm with each pass to attack its joints. Finally, Ruby kicked off the ground to jump high into the air, bringing the cyclone to an end. Firing a round from Crescent Rose to shoot herself back down, Ruby swung her scythe with all her might and cleaved off the abomination's head as Weiss landed on the ground in front of them in a crouch as the effect of the Time Dilation Glyphs wore off.
"WE DID IT!!" Ruby yelled happily.
Weiss gave a small smile at their victory. "Indeed, we did. That was a rather impressive move, by the way. Using your Time Dilation-enhanced speed to make a cyclone around it to obstruct its vision and lift it off the ground? Surprisingly clever." The heiress praised her partner.
"Thank you." Ruby said with a big smile.
"You're welcome. Now then… let's keep moving." Weiss replied, keeping Myrtenaster ready.
"Agreed. Let's get out of this swamp before this ruins my socks." Ruby said as she looked for a way to go.
The two then climbed up onto a hill, avoiding their footwears swampy fate, and began to look around. From a distance, the forest looked beautiful and peaceful. Such an illusion, however, did not hold sway over the two. Especially as Ruby noticed a black dot in the distance.
"What's that Weiss?" Ruby asked, pointing off into the distance.
"Whatever it is… I have a bad feeling about it." Weiss replied, squinting to try to catch sight of it.
With Ren and Nora
"Nora… Stay close to me." Ren said, a bead of sweat going down his side as he slowly reached for his weapons.
"Don't worry, Ren. They're Beowolves. How tough can they be?" Nora asked with a smile.
As if on cue, they heard a louder, yet deeper toned howl in the distance. That sent a small jolt of tense nervousness through Ren's spine.
"That's not a normal Beowolf… That's an Alpha." Ren said, steadying himself.
"I'm a' ride it!" Nora called out excitedly, readying Magnhild.
"What? No. No! Nora don't do something that dangerous! You'll get yourself killed!" Ren said, his normal stony demeanor cracking as clear worry and panic leaked through.
With the howl ringing in all their ears, it functioned as a war horn for the Beowolf pack. Each of them charged forward with as much power their limbs could produce. Readying their weapons, the two Huntsmen-hopefuls leapt into the fray. Nora swung with her hammer, smashing through Beowolves and crushing them into the ground. Ren swung with the blades of his weapons before firing a hail of Dust rounds into them, peppering them with bullets that shot small holes in them. Standing back-to-back, the two looked around as the pack began to surround them.
The Beowolves began to leap in at them as Ren slashed one's throat while Nora smashed down on one that tried to attack him from behind. The green glad lad then fired a barrage of shots into one that tried to attack Nora from behind before spin kicking its head to break its neck. Ren then ducked under a swing from Magnhild as Nora ballpark smashed one that tried to leap into him from his unprotected side. Seeing one try to leap at Nora from behind, Ren stabbed the blade of one of his weapons into the side of its skull before it could reach her, killing it instantly as the two childhood friends shared a smile at each other. The moment between them was interrupted by a ferocious howl in the tree line as stomping footsteps could be heard.
"Here it comes. Get ready Nora… Nora?" Ren said, before looking to see Nora isn't where he thought she was.
Looking forward, he saw her charging in as the Alpha Beowolf walked into the clearing. "You will be my steed!" She called out excitedly.
"Why do I even try…?" Ren sighed out.
Raising Magnhild, the young Valkyrie smashed it into its side to disorient it. Howling in pain before snarling in anger, it tried to slash at her only for a hail of Dust rounds to hit its face, forcing it to cover itself. Swinging Magnhild up, Nora smashed the head of her hammer up into the Alpha Beowolf's jaw to launch it into the air. As it came back down, Nora slammed her hammer into the side of its head, sending the beast tumbling into the dirt. As it dazedly tried to get up, Nora mounted it on its back and used the long haft of her hammer as a makeshift rein.
"Onward, Fluffystein the first! Onward to victory!" Nora yelled, kicking the Grimm's back hard to make it move.
Howling, the Alpha Beowolf charged into the forest towards the ruins. Meanwhile, Ren sighed in frustration before giving him a small smile.
"She is so lucky I love her." He replied before running behind his childhood friend and her monstrous mount.
With Jaune and Pyrrha
"Are we there yet?" Jaune groaned as they walked through the forest.
"No, Jaune. But we should be going the right way if you are right." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"I was afraid of that…" Jaune muttered as they began to enter a marshier area. "I thought this place was a forest?"
"Forests can have many different ecosystems inside them, Jaune. A healthy forest is not always homogeneous." Pyrrha replied, informing her partner.
"Sounds like this place needs a good burning then." Jaune grumbled, his fouling mood however making him not pay attention to his surroundings.
Pyrrha stopped and reached out to grab Jaune's shoulder forcing him to stop as well. The dark, black water began to churn and move. The two turned to look like the moaning, shambling forms of fishmen rose from the water. Their near soulless eyes and drooling fishy maws gave them an even more horrid appearance than another Grimm. Jaune fumbled at getting his sword out of his sheath as Pyrrha quickly got herself ready for a fight.
"Vodyanoy Grimm! Be ready, Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, drawing her blade as she readied her shield.
"G-Got it, Pyrrha!" Jaune nervously answered, getting himself ready by drawing his blade and turning his sheath into its shield form.
The Vodyanoy then shambled out and swung their arms to launch droplets of water at the two like bullets. Raising their shields, the water bullets pinged off their armaments as they made their way closer. The Vodyanoy let out hissing roars as they sloshed out of the water and rushed in. Raising their clawed hands, they swung at the two as Jaune and Pyrrha pushed them back and slashed at them. Hacking and slashing, the two tried to carve a path towards the school of Vodyanoy Grimm as the monstrosities began herding them into deeper waters.
Meanwhile, in a deeper part of the black colored lake, a pair of glowing red eyes peeked out from above the surface. The eyes zeroed in on the two human combatants near the shore before narrowing in hunger at the sight of Jaune, the visibly weaker combatant. The eyes then dove into the water as a long, sleek, slimy body followed behind them before the tip of a paddle-like tail flicked just above the surface for a brief moment.
Meanwhile, back in the waters near the shore, Jaune and Pyrrha continued fighting off the fishy abominations. They were making progress. Bit by bit, they began cutting a path through them to try to get back to shore. However, as Pyrrha looked away from Jaune, the surface of the water behind him began to gurgle and bubble as something began to surface quickly. Turning back to look, Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock.
"JAUNE, WATCH OUT!" Pyrrha called out to her partner, alerting him to the danger.
"Wha…" Was all Jaune was able to say as he felt a broad band of needles grab hold of him.
Using its paddle-like tail and powerful muscles, the ten-foot Grimm leapt from the water like a gunshot. Its wide jaws bit down onto Jaunes' hip, and with a single powerful motion turned with Jaune in tow back into the water. As soon as it appeared, it disappeared into the black water, as if it melted away.
"JAUNE!" Pyrrha called out in concern before having to block a claw swipe from a Vodyanoy Grimm.
Meanwhile, in the murky depths, Jaune tried to bludgeon the beast that held him with his shield and stabbed it with his blade with all his strength. However, the water resistance weakened his blows, leaving him unable to pierce or damage its sleek, slimy hide. Trying not to panic, Jaune gripped his blade with all his might and dug down as deep as he could for strength he did not know he had. Unbeknownst to him, electric whitish green sparks began dancing off his blade before he stabbed it into the beast with all the power he could muster. Penetrating the beast's hide, Jaune was in disbelief when he saw it get lit up with a massive whitish green burst of lightning that electrocuted it.
The shock ran straight through the beast's hide and lit up the water like a Christmas tree, zapping anything in the vicinity while leaving Jaune strangely unharmed. Falling limp, the beast released Jaune as its body slowly began to disappear. Confused but unable to think about it due to limited oxygen, Jaune turned his shield back into its sheath form, returned it to his hip, and sheathed his blade before trying to swim back to the surface.
Jaune was not a stranger to swimming. However, what he had not factored in was the weight of his equipment. His breastplate, shield, and sword weighed him down, and the cold, thick water did not help either. It slowly sapped his strength as he worked against his weight. Muscles began to ache, and his lungs slowly burned. Pain and cold spread throughout his body, his eyes barely keeping focus on what he thought was up. Finally, as his vision began to go black, he simply could not keep going and began to sink into the murky depths.
However, as his vision went black, he saw a strange shape dive into the water, heading straight towards him. Between the long, flowing hair and beautiful appearance he could barely make out, Jaune's fading consciousness almost mistook the figure for a mermaid. The figure held its hand out as Jaune felt his body being pulled towards it. Once it had him, the figure turned and began back upwards as Jaune blacked out.
Pyrrha, as soon as she had dispatched the assailing Grimm, leapt in after him once the water stopped sparking. It took precious seconds to find him in the dark water, but once she did, as swiftly as she could, she activated her Semblance. She found that he was not the lightest thing she had ever lifted, and being waterlogged did not help either. With much effort, she was able to grab hold of him and swim him to the shore. Coughing as she breathed in fresh air, she grabbed him by the breastplate and pulled him full onto land.
It was at that point she realized what she had to do and blushed a bit. But that did not stop her. She got on her knees in front of him, and swiftly planted her own lips onto his, beginning to try and resuscitate him. Mercifully, it did not take long as Jaune began breathing on his own. As soon as she felt him breath she broke the kiss, blushing as red as her hair, as the blonde water weight began to cough up water.
"What… The… Fuck… Was that?" Jaune asked through several horrid sounding coughs.
"A… Chiguti… An amphibious water Grimm that acts as an ambush predator… Are you okay, Jaune…?" Pyrrha panted out a bit, starting to try to wring out her hair.
"I'm fine, thanks to you… Are you okay? Your face is all red." Jaune asked with concern in his voice, getting a sheepish and nervous look out of Pyrrha.
"I… h-had to give you mouth-to-mouth to get you breathing again…" Pyrrha admitted, her blush spreading across her entire face.
"So… wait… we kissed?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha nodded, unable to speak from embarrassment.
"Sorry, it's just… I've never kissed a girl before… I couldn't have imagined you'd be my first." Jaune admitted sheepishly, blushing as well now.
"S… same here…" Pyrrha admitted surprisingly shyly.
"A good-looking girl like you has never been kissed?" Jaune asked, shocked to hear that.
"I… focused too much on training growing up. Between that and people putting me up on a pedestal…" Pyrrha started to admit.
"Well… I guess we both can now say we kissed the opposite sex." Jaune said to try and break the tension.
Pyrrha giggled nervously as the two got up and started to get moving.
With Rena and Ember
"Rena… does it feel like we are being watched?" Ember asked, looking around the dark depths of the Emerald Forest, keeping a keen eye out for danger.
Rena nodded and looked around. "It certainly does. Be on your guard, soldier." Rena replied, readying her spear.
Such words did not do much to comfort the soft-hearted farm girl. Being from Vacuo, dark forests were not something she was used to. And with how this one was shaping up, with its near darkness during the height of the day, and the gothic, eerie atmosphere. She hated nighttime enough already, why anyone would want to enter that during the day was beyond her. Yet here she was, chasing her dreams in the realm of waking nightmares. She nearly jumped when she stepped on a stick, causing Rena to roll her eyes.
A second stick breaking noise could be heard. Rena turned on her heels to scold her teammate for making so much noise but quickly saw that it was not her. Immediately on guard, she began to see shadows moving. Moving all around them, which did not go unnoticed by Ember. In a sudden cacophony of noise and broken foliage, a Creep rushed out at them, the horn ready to impale one of them. Rena pushed Ember out of the way as she herself leapt and rolled over the charge Grimm to land on her feet behind it.
"Get ready, soldier! We're surrounded!" Rena called out to her diminutive partner.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Ember said back to her, getting to her feet and reading her weapon.
Slashing with the head of her spear, Rena cut the Creep's legs out from under it as Ember brought her weapon down on it to cave in its skull. Turning to face the other Grimm surrounded them, the two looked at each other and nodded before forming up back-to-back. It was better to have your back guarded when surrounded, after all. The two readied themselves as the Creeps charged in.
Slashing with her bladed spear, Rena slashed one's head in half as Ember smashed one in the head to cave in its skull. Spinning her spear, Rena brought it down to stab the head of a Creep trying to attack Ember's unprotected side. Returning the favor, Ember swung with all her strength to ballpark smash one that was charging Rena to send it barreling into its compatriots, knocking them over. Giving her partner an approving nod of acknowledgement, the Atlesian soldier girl lit her spear ablaze with Fire Dust as she slashed with it, burning a wave of Creeps. Turning her weapon into its long-distance form, Ember hefted the now bazooka weapon and fired on multiple downed Creeps, blowing them into pieces.
Transforming her weapon back into its club form, Ember swung it like a golf club to send a Creep flying into one that tried to pounce on Rena. Thrusting her spear over her partner's shoulder, Rena impaled one that tried to leap at Ember from behind. Slashing outwards with it, she cut through the impaled Creep before cleaving through another one. Swinging her club overhead, Ember smashed down on the head of another approaching Creep as it tried to lunge at Rena, killing it.
"We make a good team…" Ember said, looking around for more Grimm, only to see Rena walking away.
"Nice work, soldier. Now let's move." Rena replied, a hint of an impressed tone in her voice.
Ember smiled a bit as she followed her partner. "I think she's warming up to me…" She remarked shyly.
The two slowly make their way into a more open area. As they stopped to check for anything, the area strangely became dark again. Confused, the two looked up. To their horror, they saw something massive flying at them on wings as big as trees.
"Tactical withdrawal!" Rena ordered as the two turned to book it.
"Just say run away!" Ember yelled as the two tried to make it to the trees.
Meanwhile: A Clearing in the Forest
"We are lost." The distinct voice of Sapphire said from the forest.
"We aren't lost. I have a perfect sense of direction." Sylver's voice answered as more trudging could be heard.
"You couldn't find a fresh cinnamon roll that was staring you straight in the face, you dense oaf." Sapphire snapped, slapping her brother in the back of the head.
"Listening to these two argue is so boring. I kinda wish something interesting would happen." Mido yawned out, seemingly itching for some action.
"Have you ever heard of 'tempting fate,' Mido?" Oren asked, looking at their surroundings for any signs of Grimm.
"U-um… does anyone else think that this has been… a little too easy so far…?" Wysteria nervously asked, looking around for any signs of trouble like Oren.
"Says the girl who was sleeping on Wolf Boy's back when we met up." Fuchsia teased with a grin.
"Don't tease her, Fuchsia." Lance told his partner.
"Silence, pervert." Fuchsia replied.
"Are we there yet?" Torrent asked, bored.
"NO!" The rest of them snapped.
"For the last time, Torrent! We'll get there when we get there!" One of the newcomers to the group snapped at the water skating boy.
The girl who spoke wore a red dress with matching boots and, strangely, with no weapon. Long black hair went down her back as she pointed at the boy with white gloved hands. Brown eyes stared at him practically boring into his soul.
"So, please, have some damn patience. It's the last thing we need right now in a forest full of Grimm." She snapped.
"Sorry, Honey. I'm just bored." Torrent replied with a sigh.
"You men and being bored. The only thing that rustles jimmies any more is the literal concept of death by claws, jaws, and whatever else. I swear…" She complained.
"Look alive, people. We got human company up ahead." Mido said.
"That's my line." Sylver growled.
"Bite me, fleabag." Mido shot back.
"Try me, Tons of Fun." Sylver said through gritted teeth.
"Now, now, you two. You can kill each other later. We need to focus." Another girl told them, getting between the two boys.
The two turned to see a pale-skinned, wild messy brown-haired girl in black, drab clothes staring back at them. A beanie covering her hair reaching the base of her neck, skin fitting short black top and black khaki shorts. Covering her hands was a set of gloves, each with three fingers. This lackluster appearance, however, did not fill the two hotheads with any form of incentive to back down.
"Can it Emi, you goth bank robber!" The two boys said in shocking unison.
"I got this." Sapphire sighed and walked up to the two.
Without another word, Sapphire got between the two and grabbed them by the earlobe. Then she gave a hard yank and pulled the two along.
"Ow, ow! Sis cut it out!" Sylver yelped in pain.
"If you two are going to act like blubbering children, then you're getting treated like children!" Sapphire said in utter annoyance, leaving the rest of them behind as they made their way into the clearing.
"I am not going to tolerate this!" Mido growled in pain.
"Then shut that stupid face of yours up and act your age, Mido." Sapphire growled, shutting the green clad boy up.
As the rest of the group followed Sapphire's decisive, if unconventional, lead, they finally arrived at the temple. It was old, older than anyone could ever imagine. The roof it likely had was now gone, half the walls were gone, leaving it in a concave fashion. Old candle holders ringed it, the last remnant of its purpose now sunning itself in the open. Two chess boards were set up in a holder inside this structure. To the group's surprise, two people, one male and one female, were standing there debating on which piece they should pick.
The woman had on what would best be described as a cowgirl outfit, complete with the boots, hat, and ponytail. The only part that differed was a brown pilot's jacket. Her fair skin remained unblemished by the beating sun as her emerald-green eyes did not notice their new company. The boy standing opposite her, meanwhile, had long red spiked hair, pointing back in a strange mix of dreadlocks and spikes. He was relatively short and compact for a young man, his features worn and hardened from exposure to the elements. Long baggy pants and well-worn boots of Vacuan origin were contrasted by an open, black and red jacket with a striking white fur collar. The two were quite an odd sight. If any of them were at liberty to say something like that.
"Dahlia Davis, just pick one already! I'm hungry! Hunter Greene craving a double bacon cheeseburger with a side of grapes!" The short but muscular boy, named Hunter, snapped at his partner.
"But do yah think we'd get a better chance at a good team with the Black or the Gold King, Sugah?" Dahlia asked.
"At this point, just take all of them! I! Want! To! Go! Eat!" Hunter emphasized in annoyance.
"That's not in the rules, deary. Besides, yah should have ate breakfast." Dahlia said, waving his concern aside.
"What are you, my mom or something?" Hunter snapped back in annoyance.
"If yah not careful, Ah'm gonna start." She answered, before seeing the large group that appeared behind them. "Shape up, dear. We got company."
"Stupid… procrastinating… southern Vale blonde bimbo…" Hunter grumbled.
"Glad to see I'm not the only one that is dealing with dumb men." Sapphire sighed in relief.
"I only partially resemble that statement!" Sylver yelled, only to get a hard yank on his ear from his sister.
"I am being the reasonable one here! This woman is taking forever to pick a piece of plastic!" Hunter snapped in hungry annoyance.
"That kinda attitude, hon, is why Vacuo can't crawl itself outta the Stone Age. Yah simply don't understand the finer points ah life." Dahlia said, putting a finger on his lips to shut him up.
"Just pick one so we can go! Please…!" Hunter groaned in annoyance while trying to be more polite.
At that, they heard a small hiss behind them. Turning around, what they saw was anything but small. Towering over them at well over twelve feet, the distinctive form of a Charybdis stood before them. Without words, they grabbed some relics and immediately made a break for it. The ones itching for a fight even now found themselves with that urge snuffed out. With that they made a break for it, the monstrous reptilian Grimm roaring and giving chase, having to sidestep the temple to prevent itself tripping.
"What did I tell you, Dahl!? Grab and go! You got the two of us into this mess!" Hunter snapped at his partner.
"Shut yer mouth or I'll make yah its first bite!" Dahlia snapped back in fear.
"Everyone, break up into groups! It can't catch us all that way!" Sylver yelled out.
"First good thing you said all day!" Mido yelled out in a snarky tone.
With that, the large group of twelve broke into three groups of four. Unfortunately for Honey, Oren, Mido, and Emi, the behemoth homed in on them and kept up the chase. This got a chuckle out of Sylver at seeing Mido's misfortune. Sapphire, on the other side of the converging hills, looked worried for the boy.
"Not so tough now are you, Mido?! Maybe you should do squats, Green Bean!" Sylver teasingly called out.
"Sylver! Our friend is in trouble! Not the time to be a dick!" Sapphire snapped back from the other side of the hills.
"Making a lot of assumptions right now!" Sylver called back.
At that, Sylver was forced into a rolling dodge as the massive jaws of a giant Lobo. Resuming his run, Hunter, Dahlia, and Wysteria soon found themselves assailed by the tide of a large pack of Lobos. This sudden appearance shocked all except Hunter.
"All right, everyone! It's four against many! We play it smart; we can win this!" Hunter replied as a thud was heard behind them, causing them to look and see that Wysteria had fainted while the short and muscular boy sighed. "Make that three against many…"
"I got her!" Sylver yelled as he dropped back, rolling and jumping through the Lobo's to reach her.
As he picked her up, kicking a Lobo in the jaw before making a run for it.
'Please whatever god, demon, or other all-powerful being somewhere… Please don't make me in charge of these three idiots…' Sylver thought in frustration.
"Karma strikes the silver wonder again." Sapphire muttered.
"I heard that!" Sylver called out.
"How!?" Sapphire asked in disbelief.
"You know how!" Sylver's voice called back.
"That dumbass brother of mine, I swear to the Wolf God…" Sapphire grumbled.
"Um… Saph…?" Fuchsia called out nervously.
"We got company of our own!" Lance yelled out.
Sapphire turned to see the charging form of a large leoine formed Grimm the size of a heavy truck chasing after them. While its bulk and armored body was imposing, it left it to be a bit sluggish in speed for a lion, but relentless.
"An Armored Leo! Well, that's just prime!" Sapphire called out in annoyance.
"Can we lure it to water!?" Oren asked.
"We can try! It might be the only chance we have!" Sapphire yelled as they followed the other two groups into the ruins ahead. Hoping that somehow, they would be their salvation.
To Be Continued…