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 on Fanfiction.Net, as well as Kima Whitehawk Jordan on Facebook. And an incredibly 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 17: I Got A Test?
"Come on, Ruby. You've only done one hundred pushups. One hundred more to go until a break." Taiyang said, pressing his foot on her back to add difficulty.
Ruby groaned under pressure. Every fiber in her arms, shoulders and chest was burning. Sweat ran down her face and began getting into her eyes, forcing her to keep them shut. Her lungs ached as they clawed in air and shakily let it go with each breath. The sun bore down on her as it climbed up towards midday. Everything was against her, each push up was slow and torturous, and it seemingly had no end in sight.
"C'mon, Rubes! Push it! Push it!" Yang called out, encouraging her little sis.
"Work through the pain, Ruby! Feel the burn!" Azura called out alongside her.
Ruby groaned extremely loudly and yelled, "WILL YOU IDIOTS SHUT UP!? MY BODY CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH!''
Yang stared at her sister in shock. Tai slowly took his boot off and reached out his hand to his youngest to help her, but she just swatted it away while breathing extremely hard. "My… my lungs…feel-" Ruby had to stop talking just to focus only on breathing.
Azura flinched. "Maybe we should take a break…" He offered sympathetically.
"That's actually a great idea. We can't have Ruby working herself too hard. She won't pass her tests then." Tai said sagely.
Ruby was holding her chest, cheeks flustered, her heart beating in her ears. Yang put her hand on her sister's back and just rubbed it gently.
"Hey sis, it's okay. You'll be in Beacon in no time." Yang told her, trying to sound optimistic. "We'll just try again in a few hours. Okay?"
Ruby then turned to her sister with a tired look on her face and just gave her a thumbs up as she got up from her knees and walked back to the house.
Yang turned to her father and asked, "What the hell was that about?''
"Beacon only accepts the best of the best. We have to make sure she's ready." Taiyang answered simply.
"Yeah, I get that dad. But she didn't have to have an attitude about the pushups. When I was younger than her, I made it to a hundred and thirty." Yang replied worriedly.
"To be fair, you have much better stamina and endurance than Ruby. She's built more for shorter bursts of energy. Not to mention that she's also doing this without Aura." Azura replied, trying to see the other side of things.
Yang put her head back, looking at the sky, the sun mildly blinding her eyes. She breathed deeply and said, "I guess you're right, Azura. She's also always been someone to get to the point of the fight quickly and clean, while I'm someone that can keep going within a fight. Ughhhh." Yang then postured herself and cracked her neck. "I'll check on her in a bit. Do you or dad want to spar for a bit?"
Azura smiled and shook his head. "I think we should relax, too. We've been stressing out too much on preparing Ruby."
"Why don't you go check on her, Yang? Make sure she's okay." Tai offered.
"Why? She's fine. She probably just needs a nap or coffee anyway." Yang responded, sounding a bit annoyed while her arms were crossed.
"She may be fine physically, but not mentally. Ruby's never this snappy. So go check on her please." Taiyang said, showing that it was not up for debate.
Yang wanted to groan, but she knew better than to do so when her father was in sergeant mode. "Alright, dad. I'll check on her." She then ran towards the house, opened the door, and called, "Ruby!?"
She looked in the kitchen, nothing. Walked in the living room, "Ruby!" Nothing again. "What the hell?"
Yang then went upstairs and opened Ruby's door to see her sister drinking her second sports drink as there were beads of sweat going down her forehead and her gulping ever so loudly. Ruby then opened her eyes, then saw her sister giving her a mortified look and she almost dropped her drink, fumbling it in her hands until she caught it, smiling as she rubbed her head.
"Ruby, are you okay?" Yang asked as she walked in her room.
Ruby looked down at her feet then sat down, "I wanna be the best of the best of the best. I am really, really, really, reeeeeaaally grateful, but my body can only handle so much. I'm faster than I am strong, and it only gets me so far. I wish I was more like you or dad. Maybe I'm not ready."
"Ruby, you're two years behind me. You've still got growing to do. And, if there's anyone that I know that can improve at a breakneck pace, it's you. You've taken everything dad, Qrow, Signal, and Azura have thrown at you and kept on going, getting better than any of them ever expected. Just because you are short doesn't mean you should sell yourself short." Yang answered, putting a loving hand on her shoulder.
Ruby then gave her sister a good punch to the ribs, making her wheeze.
"Ow… Okay, maybe I should have used a different joke…" Yang grunted.
Ruby then burst out a coyote laugh and said while trying not to die, "Yup… thanks, sis. I'll-I'll be down in five minutes." Holding her gut.
"See you then, sis. Just don't choke on the Enerade." Yang said as she left to go downstairs.
Meanwhile, with Tai and Azura
While Yang and Ruby had their heart-to-heart, Azura sighed as he looked up at the sky. "Lord Xiao Long…?" He asked in concern.
"Yes?" Taiyang asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you think we've been… working Ruby too hard?" The azure samurai asked.
"Nothing is an exact science, kid. Maybe we did? We can't change it now. Besides, being a Huntsman, you have to be able to push yourself to get things done." Tai answered.
Azura shrugged and nodded. "Fair enough. Maybe I am just worrying too much."
"Keep your head on straight, kid. Yang's coming back." Taiyang said.
As soon as Azura heard that, without even thinking, he straightened up his back and made sure his clothes were straightened out. When they saw Yang make it back, the blue shōgun gave her a small smile. "Hello, Yang. How is Ruby doing?" He asked, a bit concerned but trying to be hopeful.
"She's just chugging Enerade and catching her breath. She'll be fine. Let's just take it a bit easier going forward." Yang explained.
Azura nodded in response. "Sounds good. Maybe some meditation will help her relax." He offered.
"Isn't that just an excuse for a nap?" Yang asked, confused.
"Oh, Yang. Yang, Yang, Yang… Yang. Have you learned nothing from training with me? Meditation is an exercise in sharpening, centering, and calming the mind. It is not an excuse to sleep." Azura replied playfully.
"Sure, tiger boy. Tell me that after eating a big lunch of yours." Yang said, walking over to get herself some water.
Azura chuckled a bit and smiled. "What can I say? Like any tool that runs on energy, the body needs fuel to recharge itself and keep going." He shot back with a smile as he went to get his own water.
"He does have a point there. How about, after meditation, we move onto preparing Ruby for the written test?" Tai offered, trying to make the most of letting Ruby relax physically while still getting work done in preparing her.
"Good, finally I can take a break." Yang said with a sigh.
"Come on, Yang. Sparring with Ruby wasn't that hard, was it?" Tai asked, a bit surprised.
"Hey, tests aren't my strong suit." Yang shot back.
Azura smiled a bit playfully. "You give yourself too little credit, Yang. You may be reckless and impulsive, but I know for a fact there is a sharp mind in that pretty blonde head of yours." He replied to a bit teasingly.
"Oh, and who put a tiger in your tank today, Azu? Or are you just that happy to see me?" Yang asked playfully back.
Azura blushed a bit, realizing that he had been flirting a bit with Yang. "U-Um… I… Oh, look! Ruby's back! Time to meditate!" Azura replied nervously as Ruby showed back up, happy for an excuse not to confront his own feelings.
At that, the three of them turned to look to see Ruby. She was still somewhat breathing heavily, but it was clear she used the break to calm herself enough. With a heavy sigh, she then addressed them.
"Right, what's next?" Ruby asked.
Clearing his throat, Azura turned to address the young Rose. "Meditation, then studying for the material on the written test." He explained.
"Sweet. I could use a nap." Ruby said with a happy sigh.
Azura groaned. "Why does everyone say that? It is not napping! It is an exercise for sharpening, honing, and calming the mind!" He complained.
"Anyone ever say that you're cute when you're frustrated?" Yang asked with a sweet smile.
Azura blushed red at that. "Y-Y-Yang…!" He stammered out nervously.
"You two, cut the hormonal teenage crap and let's get training." Tai said with a frustrated sigh.
With that, Ruby and Azura sat down to start meditation. It was a struggle getting Ruby to stay awake during it, but they managed. Somehow. Though, even as Ruby tried to calm her mind, there was a nagging worry in the back of her mind about the evaluations.
One Week Later: Beacon Landing Platform
As the group left the landing platform, they finally got to see the great Huntsman academy of Beacon. Standing defiant against the darkness of the modern world, its large, vaulting gothic architecture stood firm and stolid. Even Azura, accustomed to plenty of pomp and ceremony, admired the great structure of Grimm slaying education.
"It's so much bigger than in the pictures…" Ruby said in awe.
Yang, a bit in awe of the place herself, whistled. "Wow. So, this is where we'll be going to school for four years…" She noted.
"Focus, girls. Admiring the pretty stones isn't going to get Ruby to pass the test." Tai warned, his stern presence correcting the girls' focus.
"Yes, dad." Ruby said, stiffening up.
Yang placed a gentle hand on her little sister's shoulder. "Relax, Ruby. You'll do great. We've spent the last month getting you ready for this." She replied encouragingly.
"Thanks, Yang." Ruby said, swiftly hugging her big sister.
Yang smiled and hugged her back. It was then that they made their way to register Ruby for the evaluations. Walking into the school and up to the front desk, a secretary met them.
"Can I help you?" The secretary, a man in his late fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, asked.
"We are here for the entry exam for Ruby Rose." Tai said and swiftly the man recognized him.
"Ah, Taiyang. It's been a while since you've been here. I take it Miss Ruby Rose is one of your children?" He replied, looking into the database for his desktop for Ruby's name among the evaluatees for the day.
"She is. And yes, it has been a while. But life keeps you busy with having a family." Tai answered.
The secretary nodded. "Yes, right here. Sign here and then follow me to the amphitheater." He replied, handing Ruby a clipboard with a sign-in sheet.
Ruby quickly put her signature on there and handed it back. Then they were led through the tall, vaulted hallways to finally arrive in the amphitheater. A large stadium seating surrounding concave to the central presenting floor. Its sheer size was daunting, though for Ruby, not as daunting as the test that would decide her future. Several other students were there as well, like others to get in early. However, two stood out to her over the rest.
The first she noticed was Sapphire, who was looking around with a confident smile on her face. However, the young man next to her was the one who made Ruby freeze up. He was tall, standing a bit taller than Azura and built more for strength than speed. A silver-furred wolf's tail poked out from the pants of his black jeans.
He had a metallic silver hoodie on that contrasted with the jeans, the hood up to hide his head and leaving only his face visible. Strapped on his back was a silver claymore with Dust mechanisms in the hilt and a bow with a quiver of arrows on his back. On his hands, he had sky blue gauntlets that protected his fingers and hands while allowing for extra hitting power with sky blue greave boots on his feet. But the most striking part of his features were his eyes. A beautiful silver color, just like Ruby's own, but with an exciting spark in them.
'Oh gods, why is he here? Let's just hope they don't notice me…' Ruby thought, though her hopes were dashed.
When the young man locked eyes with Ruby, his eyes widened in surprise. Quickly, the two looked away from each other, trying to remain calm. Sapphire, having noticed this, looked at where the boy next to her had been looking. Catching sight of Ruby, the busty blue-haired Faunus frowned a bit before looking away to focus on the evaluations as Ozpin walked up to the stage of the amphitheater.
"Thank you all for being so punctual. Since you are all so early, then we can begin in earnest." Ozpin said with a pleased smile.
Ruby took a deep breath to calm herself. 'Okay, Ruby. Focus. You can do this. You've spent the last month preparing.' She thought to herself, trying to relax.
"You will be evaluated in the following methodologies. Weapon Maintenance, physical fitness, written, psychological, and finally combat. Any questions?" Ozpin said simply.
Ruby raised her hand at that. Ozpin, looking at her, nodded. "Go ahead, Miss Rose." Ozpin said, giving her a slight nod.
"When you say 'psychological,' what do you mean?" Ruby asked, trying not to sound stupid.
"It's a basic examination of the level of psychological traits you have that are required to be a Huntsman." Ozpin answered simply.
Ruby nodded in understanding. "I thought so. Just making sure." She replied, lowering her hand.
"Very well. Now then, if that is all the questions, we shall begin. Glynda, lead them to the weapon maintenance test for me." Ozpin said as Glynda bowed her head dutifully before waving them off.
For Ruby after that, everything was a blur. She was able to strip down, examine, and put together Crescent Rose so fast that Glynda had to check the cameras to make sure she did not cheat. This, once confirmed of no trickery afoot, got her top marks. Physical fitness equally gave her top marks as she was able to even beat Sapphire in the test by easily making her way through an obstacle course and pushed the boy next to Sapphire to his limit. This caught the two Zodiacs completely off guard and left Sapphire fuming through the rest of the tests.
Things were not quite as smooth sailing for Ruby in the written test. Though she passed, she showed the professors just why her record did not look stellar from Signal. Ruby never did evaluate well, but she was thankful for the fact that she passed. Mentally thanking her dad, sister, and Azura for helping her study, she mentally prepared herself for the next test. The psychological evaluation.
Sat across from her was a strange looking man with a simple white shirt and black pants. Ruby could not see his eyes behind his thick bottle glasses. She figured it was so she could not game the test by evaluating his emotions. As he wrote down her answers with breakneck speed on a clipboard, multiple times he had to stop to resharpen his pencil with a small blow torch due to breaking it. His upright, messy green hair flowed like an unkempt lawn from a small metal fan blowing cool air on him while Ruby got to sit on the warmer side next to a large candle.
"Is the candle really necessary?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, absolutely. It is Vacuan-scented wax. You are lucky, I used to use incense in earlier examinations, until a student nearly choked to death. I swear Huntsmen these days are getting too soft." The strange professor answered.
Ruby blinked for a moment, trying to process that. "Um… right. Anyway, where were we?" She replied, trying to get back on track.
"Oh yes, so tell me about your mother." The professor asked, completely ignoring Ruby's immediate flinch from the question.
"Well… I don't actually remember her. She went on a mission when I was too young to remember her and never came back. She was presumed K.I.A, so all I have to go on is what Yang, dad, and Uncle Qrow have told me about her." The red reaper explained.
"Do you believe them? Or do you believe they are lying to you?" The green haired man asked, after jotting down her previous answer.
The young rose shook her head, frowning a bit. "No way. They wouldn't lie to me about something like that. I'm not sure if mom is actually dead, but I do know that, based on what they've told me, she wouldn't just leave and not come back without a good reason." She replied earnestly.
The professor nodded and jotted down her answer. "Do you have any regrets in your life?"
Ruby flinched again at this. "A few. Nothing too bad though…" She explained a bit.
"What is your greatest regret?" He asked.
"I have more than one. It's kind of a tie between the two of them…" The young Rose replied.
"And those are?" The man asked, raising an unkempt eyebrow.
The red reaper sighed a bit. "I… regret the fact that I can't remember my mother and don't have any really coherent memories of her. All I have is this… warm, comforting feeling when I think of her." She explained.
"And your other regret?" He asked simply.
Ruby flinched again but took a deep breath. "I… unintentionally really hurt someone I really care about. Someone I thought the world of and now, I'm afraid to face him and his family. His sister is still mad at me and I just… wish I'd handled the situation better." She told the… eccentric teacher.
"Thank you for your honesty, Miss Rose. I understand this is a hard evaluation for most to handle. However, nothing that you told me stops me from giving you top marks. Well done, my dear." The man said, giving her a smile.
The red reaper managed to smile at that. "Thank you, Dr. Oobleck." She replied with a bit of joy.
"You're welcome. You can head off to prepare for the combat test, and please send the next evaluatee in." Oobleck answered with a cheery smile.
Ruby got up and opened the door, only to see the silver-haired boy she was referring to standing in the doorway. Both stood a bit shocked, unsure what to do.
"Oh… Hi, Sylver… How have you been…?" Ruby nervously asked.
To everyone's surprise, the boy in a frozen expression walked into the room without a word. This gesture surprised everyone, even Dr. Oobleck was a hint surprised and wrote a quick note. The only one that was not surprised was Ruby, who gave him a look of understanding. Silently she walked off to wait for the combat test.
Taking a deep breath, Ruby started looking over Crescent Rose as she headed for the final test. After double checking her maintenance to calm her nerves, she looked over her ammunition clips to make sure she had enough for the test. Satisfied with her preparations, she smiled and headed right for the testing grounds out in the Emerald Forest. There, the others had grouped up as well.
Ozpin walked out from the trees with Glynda, Oobleck, and a strange fat man with a mustache in tow. "Glad you all could be so punctual. Due to the number of you present, we are able to group you up into teams of four. You will be then pitted against a Grimm, and it is your task to take it down while working as a team. Staff, please form them up into teams based upon our drawings." Ozpin explained.
"Gladly." The fat man with a mustache said and started barking out teams.
To Ruby's horror, she was formed up with both Sylver and Sapphire. Hopes dashed of moving on without getting awkward, she went over to them and their fourth member. Vaguely she remembered that he had a pair of fire swords crossed over his back in an x and his name was Pat. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sylver was also quite nervous about this.
'At least I'm not the only one nervous about this situation.' Ruby thought.
'Don't look down at her butt. Don't look down at her butt. Do not look down at her butt… Fuck, I looked at her butt.' Sylver thought, failing in his task.
Ruby noticed the line of sight of Sylver's gaze and blushed, pulling her skirt further down to cover her butt. Annoyed, Sapphire seemed like she had finally had enough. Before either of them could react, she smacked them both upside the head.
"Ow! Sapphire, what was that for!?" Ruby demanded, rubbing the back of her head with a pout.
"The fuck, sis?" Sylver commented, rubbing his head while plotting revenge against his twin.
"This has gone on long enough! Both of you, before our test starts, talk! Things! Out! Or I'll lock you both in a closet after this is over until you do and beat you like a piñata if you still won't talk about it!" The sassy blue wolf girl all but shouted at the two.
"Talk about what?" The silver wolf boy asked, genuinely confused at his sister's random burst of anger. 'Could it be her time of the month? Do I need a stuffed animal again?'
Ruby looked concerned. "But Sapphire-" She started only to be cut off.
"No buts except yours sitting down and talking to my brother, Ruby! Or else!" The blue wolf girl replied, manifesting a baseball bat made of Aura out of thin air.
"Um… what's going on?" Pat asked, completely lost.
Sapphire sighed, knowing that she had to explain. "These two used to date. Things got awkward between them after they broke up because Ruby didn't know Sylver wanted to try the long-distance thing and broke things off when we had to move after my idiot brother got kicked out of Signal for picking too many fights." The sassy wolf girl explained.
"Hey, I told those idiots not to mess with my tail!" Sylver remarked unapologetically.
"Wait… Sylver, you wanted to try long distance dating? So, I broke up with you for nothing…?" The red rose reaper asked in disbelief, feeling like a complete and total dolt in that moment.
"Did you ask, short stuff?" The silver wolf boy replied.
Ruby pouted. "I'm not that short! I'm average height for a girl my age! It's not my fault that you, Sapphire, and Yang are giants!" She replied childishly.
Sapphire sighed in relief. "Okay, good. This is better. Why didn't you two do this before?" She remarked.
"I was waiting for him/them to call me first so it wouldn't be weird for me!" Ruby and Sylver replied at the same time, Sylver clearly talking about both sisters.
The sassy wolf girl sighed. "So, in other words, you're both idiots. Great." She commented in exasperation.
"All right. You four are up. Do not delay." Glynda said, looking quite bored at observing this nonsense in front of her.
"Do not Fuck this up, you two…!" Sapphire growled.
"Only if you can keep up with me in my element, sis." Sylver confidently remarked, walking backwards into the testing grounds.
"I meant you and Ruby, you half-brained, devil-occasionally-cares moron. You two cut your crap so we can get through this. Because, if one of us fails, we all fail this test. Sylver, do you really want to go down in history as the one dumbass to fail because you were an awkward idiot for a year?" Sapphire sassily asked.
"As I said, as long as you two and… um… Cat can keep up with me here, then this will be fun" Sylver remarked.
Pat frowned at that. "It's Pat." He corrected the silver wolf boy.
"Yeah, not important right now, Mat." The wolf boy brushed him off.
"It's… oh, forget it…!" Pat groaned in frustration.
"Sylver, be nice please." Ruby said sternly.
With that, Sylver gave a wolfish grin as he dashed down to the field. Sighing with a smile, Ruby ran down after him. With a sigh and a smile, Sapphire chuckled. "That's a lot better now." She replied, rushing after the two.
Pat sighed and headed off after his temporary team.
"Your test begins in Three. Two. One. Go!" The fat, mustachioed man yelled, before flipping a switch, and a cage opened.
The cage door opened not with the soft mechanical whirring but violently flung off its hinges as a two-legged Grimm thundered out. Stopped on two hoofed feet, it held itself in a posture putting it at the hip a full eight feet. Its pillar-like legs held up a black, barrel-chested armless body and a short but stout neck. All to hold up a white, bone-plated boxy skull, nostrils flaring out black smoke, and volcanic red beady eyes poking out from under its enormous bone-plated skull. Flared spikes adorned the back of its head almost in mockery of a crown. Finally, along its back were extensive bony armored plates, with towering spikes as tall as Ruby at its shoulders, and progressively smaller to its hip. A similar arrangement of flattened spikes went from its shoulders to its hip, and down its tail, almost making it a spiked baseball bat. Letting out a rumbling roar, it revealed to not so much have teeth, but thick, wide bony plates that clamped together like thunder.
"That's… a weird looking Creep…" Pat remarked.
"That's no Creep. It's a close relative called a Bonecrakka." Ruby said with gulp, brandishing Crescent Rose while Sylver put up his dukes and Sapphire manifested a round shield in one hand and a one-handed sword broadsword in the other.
"A Bone-what now-" Pat started only to be cut off as the beast made its move.
Putting all its power into its legs, the Grimm kicked off from the ground and shot forward like a rocket. Before the fire sword wielder could even react, he found it slamming into him with a vicious headbutt that knocked him backwards. Tumbling across the ground, he quickly got to his feet and drew his blades.
Roaring, the Bonecrakka charged at the other three, trying to snap them up in its jaws. Dodging to the side, they failed to see it swing its tail like a saw-bladed whip. "Incoming!" Sapphire called out as she blocked it with her shield to protect herself.
Sapphire was flung to the side by the force of the swing, though her shield did hold up against the attack. "Sapphire!" Ruby called out in concern as Sylver drew his claymore in time for both to block the swing coming in their direction.
The force of the blow sent them both flying back as they righted themselves in midair. Roaring, the beast charged right at Ruby. Using her Semblance's great speed, she dove out of the way in a shower of rose petals as the Bonecrakka used its tail to turn and change direction, heading right towards Sylver. "Sylver, watch out!" The red rose reaper called out in concern.
Bringing the flat of his blade up to use as a makeshift shield, Sylver barely managed to block it, the force of the impact throwing off his hood revealing a grayish silver beanie underneath covering the top of his head. Digging in his heels as it pushed him back. The wolf tailed boy grit his teeth as he tried to desperately hold the beast back, unable to believe how strong it was. Finally managing to slow it to a stop, he barely managed to dive out of the way of a vicious bite from its jaws that tore a chunk of earth up out of the ground.
The beast raised its head and shook its head a bit. However, it soon bit down on the large chunk of rock, pulverizing it into mere pebbles. Its eyes glowing crimson with rage, the Bonecrakka roared as it began circling the team of four like a shark.
"Back-to-back!" Sylver called out as the four of them grouped up, keeping their backs to each other so that at least one of them always had it in their sights.
"And we can get rammed by it!" Ruby yelled as she flipped her weapon to its scythe form.
"We need a plan, you guys!" Sapphire called out, her sword and shield at the ready.
"It can't turn at high speed! Force it to charge into the trees! We can trap it!" Ruby yelled out.
Looking at each other for a moment, the others nodded. "You heard the lady! Move, people!" Sylver called out as they broke to put themselves between the Grimm and the forest around them.
Loading an ammunition clip into her weapon, Ruby fired at the Bonecrakka, her shots glancing off its armor before digging into flesh. Roaring in fury, the beast pawed the ground before charging at them at top speed, shaking the ground like a living bulldozer. As it got closer and closer, Sylver kept a close eye on the distance.
"Wait for it…" He called out to his team quietly.
The beast kept charging, getting closer and closer as our heroes began getting nervous. As the ground shook increasingly violently while the beast continued its approach, they tried to prepare themselves. It was within twenty-five feet of them.
"Wait for it…" The silver wolf boy called out again, preparing himself to move.
The beast howled with bloodthirsty fury as it continued its swift approach. Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten. Five…
"NOW!" Sylver yelled out, signaling for them to get out of the way.
The four teens rolled out of the way as the beast barreled past them. The beast roared as it tried to slow its momentum. However, it had been going too fast. It could not stop.
Finally, the Bonecrakka crashed through and into the trees. Howling in fury, the beast tried to get loose as it got the trees fell on top of it, tangling it up in the branches. Squirming, roaring, and flailing, the Grimm tried desperately to free itself.
"Get it now!" Ruby yelled and rushed it.
With a roar, the others went on the attack as Sylver drew his sword. Meanwhile, Sapphire dispersed her weapons in favor of a spear and Matt readied his fire swords. Slashing with his swords, Matt launched crescent waves of flames at the trees burying the creature. The heat made it roar in pain as it was burned while Sapphire stabbed into it with her spear.
Sylver swung with his claymore, slashing down into its neck as he tried to weaken it. However, its neck and hide were too thick. He could not completely cut through it. Retreating, our heroes assessed the situation while trying to produce a new plan.
"It's too tough! We can't kill it this way!" Sapphire called out.
"Rat, go for the legs! I have a plan to finish it off when it gets free! Take out its legs before then while we set up!" Sylver called out to their fourth team member.
"It's…! Fine, but I hope you know what you're doing!" Pat called out, rushing in to go for its legs and take them out.
Sylver looked at Sapphire and Ruby with a smirk. "Rise and Shine?" He asked the two girls.
Sapphire smirked back. "Rise and Shine!" She replied with a nod.
"But we've never gotten that maneuver right in a battle!" Ruby pointed out.
"No time like the present!" Sapphire replied, backing up as Ruby sighed while Sylver grabbed her.
Meanwhile, Pat used his flaming swords to hack and slash the beast's legs. While he was not doing much damage, it was piling up. Finally, the Grimm roared with fury as it finally got free. Standing up, it quickly collapsed to one knee from the damage done to its legs. This gave Pat the opening he needed. Leaping over it and getting behind it, he slashed at its legs with all his strength, cutting them off at the weakened knee joints.
The beast howled with pain and rage as it tried to get up. However, what happened next was something neither it nor Pat expected. Sapphire used her Semblance to manifest a giant slingshot of all things, which she then planted deep into the ground while holding onto the giant rubber band. Pulling back, she pulled back the rubber band as Sylver's eyes began to glow. Then, in an instant, Sylver's eyes flashed a blinding silverish white, blinding Pat for a moment as the Bonecrakka roared in agony, blinded and stunned.
"NOW!" Ruby called out, running towards the giant Aura rubber band held back by Sapphire at top speed while Sylver held onto her.
When they hit the rubber band, they pulled it back further with Sapphire trying to hold tight to it while Sylver held onto Ruby. Planting her feet with all her strength, Sapphire stopped them and held them in place while she tried to line up her shot. Finally having the beast in her sight, she released the band, practically catapulting the two silver-eyed future Huntsmen into the creature. As the Grimm slowly shook itself to recover, Sylver's eyes began to glow again.
"Oh, no you don't!" He roared out as another flash of light erupted from his eyes, stunning the beast once more as he closed his eyes and readied his sword while Ruby readied Crescent Rose.
When they got in close, Ruby and Sylver slashed with all their might. The twin blows cut clean through the Bonecrakka, cleaving it into three pieces. Ruby used her scythe to latch onto a tree to help her stop herself while Sylver tried to open his eyes, trying to grope around for anything to catch to stop himself as if he could not see. Crashing through the branches of a tree, the silver wolf boy's hand finally found purchase as he latched onto a particularly strong and thick one, using his momentum to swing himself up onto it.
As the group of four panted from the exertion of the fight, they heard a small clap. Turning, they saw Ozpin, standing on the edge of the forest. To their shock, he had a noticeable smile on his face.
"Well done, you four. I hadn't expected you to handle such a potent Grimm like that. Very unexpected indeed." He explained, walking up to them with Glynda in tow.
"Th-thank you, Headmaster Ozpin…" Ruby nervously answered, unsure how she would be evaluated.
"With your evaluation over, you are all free to leave. You will all receive the evaluation report alongside your potential acceptance letter within one to three days at the latest." Ozpin said, before taking a bit of a sip of coffee from a thermos.
With that, the four bowed to the headmaster and made their separate ways. Ruby was an unusually silent soul on the airship ferry home to Patch. Using her semblance, she rushed home before darkness fell. She opened the door, however, to be tackled by Zwei to the ground, and her friends and family rushed up to see her.
"Easy, boy! Easy! I haven't had a shower yet!" Ruby said, trying to get the corgi off her.
"Welcome back, Ruby. So how did it go?" Azura replied with a smile, confident that he knew the answer.
"She passed, of course! Like we knew she would!" Yang said with a grin, picking Ruby and Zwei up in a hug.
"Well, they said the evaluation would take one to three days to come out at the latest. And honestly… I don't know. Everyone said I did well, but…" Ruby said, her voice trailing off in worry.
"Don't worry about it, kiddo. I'm sure you did great." Qrow said with a smirk.
"Qrow's right, Ruby. Knowing you, I'm sure you passed." Taiyang added confidently.
"But Sylver carried the combat test, I argued with him, Sapphire had to yell at my dumb butt to get through to me, I…" Ruby said, the stress coming back to her in a way as she was cut off.
"Whoa, easy Rubes. Deep breaths." Yang told her baby sister.
"I don't know if I succeeded in the combat test or not…" Ruby said after that deep breath, noticeable worry and regret in her voice.
"I am sure you did fine, Ruby. You may not test well, but you are much more capable than you think you are." Azura reassured her.
"Alright…" Ruby sighs out. "What's for dinner? I'm starving."
"I made a pot of Oden for everyone. It only took two hours, since I made a big pot." Azura told her with a smile.
"Hey, I helped!" Yang replied with a proud smirk.
"Thank you for boiling the water, Sun Dragon. I could not have done it without your fiery disposition." Azura answered cheekily.
"I can't tell if you're complimenting me or flirting with me." Yang answered.
"Call it being playful, my darling Delilah." Azura chuckled.
The others rolled their eyes as Tai and Qrow carefully brought out the hot pot of Oden together and set it on the table, opening it.
"YAY!" Ruby yelled, rushing to the table.
"Never skips a beat, does she Tai?" Qrow asked, turning to the former Huntsmen.
Tai chuckled at that. "No, she does not." He replied with a smile.
Tai and Qrow lifted the pot onto a large coaster as Azura then began to serve Ruby her bowl. However, as soon as Ruby said her thanks and picked up her chopsticks to munch, she got a ring on her scroll. She sighed and reached into her pocket to see what was up. What she saw made her eyes widen greatly.
"Is something wrong, Ruby?" Azura asked, plating up the others starting with Yang.
"I…" Ruby said, but stopped as she did not trust her words.
She turned the scroll in her hand and held it out for everyone to see. The results of her tests were in. She was accepted into the Beacon Academy.
To Be Continued…