Team RGLA

Well considering what happened in the last arc, I've figured out that the time they spend in the forest will run over the whole of Jaunedice and actually PAST the finish of volume 1. Then we'll start with the whole volume 2 part.

Rusty and Azure moved along the ground, dodging trees and roots sticking from the earth below them. A small pack of beowolves, maybe 20, were following behind them and they didn't want to take risks. The skidded to a stop and switched their weapons to their ranged modes, standing in the center of a small clearing. Just as the beowolves entered the clearing, Nix and Orr leapt from the trees, tearing a line through the back of the pack. Rusty and Azure opened fire on the front of the pack, obliterating the group in seconds. This was good practice.

They had already picked up a good amount of food, enough to last the camp the night at least, and fighting with the members of team YUNO was good practice in teamwork. Orr's axe cleaved through a beowolf that had leapt towards Rusty's back, and Rusty took care of one behind Azure. The two were a good team, and fought together flawlessly, covering eachothers weaknesses and keeping an eye on eachother in battle. As the last beowolf fell to the ground, the group sheathed their weapons.

"Well, we've got enough food and we've cleared the immediate area of any grimm. Do you three want to head back now?" Rusty turned to the three around him. "Actually, didn't Glynda or Port say that Amaterasu dragons normally stay around their nests? I wouldn't mind seeing if we could find it and come back with the others to clear it out." Azure piped up, putting a fairly good idea on the table. It would be helpful to find the nest and rid the area of the powerful grimm. Although if that Amaterasu they thought earlier was just a young one..."Do you really think we could take the nest? I mean, I heard Port say that the one you guys fought was just a baby. Imagine what the mother or father would be like." Nix also raised a good point, Rusty doubted that even with CFVY and Port that they could take the nest.

"Here's what we do. We find the nest, tell Port where it is, then when we get back to the academy, I'm sure Glynda will set up an extermination mission with some teachers and teams." Azure could be surprisingly reasonable in a serious situation, despite appearing so ditzy any other time. It was a good thing for Rusty's apparent main partner to be more reasonable than him. "Lets get moving then. I'd like to find it before dark." Rusty, Azure, Orr and Nix headed off. Thankfully, there were apparent tracks that they could follow. It was too bad that Lapis wasn't here, she could find it easily.

By the time they found the nest, it was already dark and they were tired, having been ambushed by the nocturnal grimm. It was a good thing the Amaterasu dragons weren't nocturnal, because the nest was actually a mountain, seemingly hollowed by all of the holes along the cliff face. They could swarm them like ants on any attacker, it was no surprise that they hadn't been exterminated yet if all their nests were like this.

They headed back, reaching the camp much faster thanks to actually knowing it's location. Nix and Orr decided to scout ahead, having taken less of a beating than Rusty and Azure. It also let them have some time to themselves, to talk about things. Almost instinctively once the pair from YUNO were gone, their hands reached for eachother.

"Surprisingly nice night for all of the danger in this place, eh?" Rusty spoke up after a few moments of silence. It was, as he said, surprisingly nice. The stars in the night sky could be seen through the tree canopy, white against the black backdrop, and the moon was clearly visible. Azure pulled herself closer to his arm, wrapping herself around it and walking alongside him. Though whether pulling herself closer was out of fear from having lost so much aura, being tired, adoration, or any combination of the above was unknown to Rusty. He half-hoped it was adoration.

"Yeah, it is. Good for a walk. Romantic, too..." Azure's voice trailed off on the end of each sentence, making it clear that she was tired of the walking and fighting. She just wanted to sleep, like usual. Rusty stopped as she slipped against his arm, almost falling asleep then and there. He hoisted her onto his back, arms around his neck and head on his shoulder. He hoped they wouldn't be attacked. Just before she fell asleep, she planted a kiss on his cheek.

Garnet, Lapis, Yuno and Uryu had already made it back long before them, although they hadn't been searching for grimm nests or carrying tired girls. Nix and Orr had made it back too, having taken the food with them. Apparently making campfires was something at least one person knew how to do, as they were all sat around it, eating the food that CFVY had brought back the night before. Rusty took Azure back to the tent first, taking her armour and clothes, and replacing them with her night gown. She was surprisingly easy to dress while she was asleep, although that could have been because of how small and light she was.

Rusty exited the tent, having placed Azure into her sleeping bag, and sat down with the rest of RGLA, who had apparently managed to bond somewhat with team YUNO. Garnet seemed to be a fan of Yuno and Uryu's hair colours. Rusty was sure Azure would like Uryu's, the colour being purple, and Lapis was, rather surprisingly, sharing food with Nix and Orr, although she showed Rusty a very apparent glare. She must have thought Rusty and Azure had got up to something in the forest.

Rusty sat on a log in front of the large campfire, weapons all stuck in the ground around it and meat cooking on sticks over the fire. He was practically interviewed as soon as the others noticed it. "Is something wrong with Azure?" "Did you two do anything in the forest?" "Why were you two back so late?" Rusty answered every question thrown at him, almost as lethargic and tired as Azure was before she fell asleep. He could barely eat, in fact, his aura drained as it was. The night would still go on for a good while yet, and Rusty was determined not to miss a part of it, even if it was a possibility he would fall asleep on the log. By the time the campfire had finished it was midnight, and RGL returned to the tent quickly. Rusty especially wanted to sleep, leaning on Garnet's shoulder as they entered the dark of the tent.

Rusty woke once in the night. Nothing woke him, but he did so anyway. Azure seemed to have instinctively grabbed him, as when he woke up, her arms were wrapped around him and she was still asleep. He returned quickly, happy to have her so close to him.

Rusty and Azure slept long, not waking until after mid-day. They both woke almost at the same time, and got dressed quickly, armour included. Just as they had finished, Garnet poked her head in the tent. "Hey guys, good to see you're awake. Glynda just finished her lesson, so she's going to be helping out!" The camp seemed surprisingly lively, and it didn't sound like anyone was out on patrol from the number of voices. Rusty and Azure slipped out of the tent with Garnet, and they were right. All of the teams were there, as well as another second year team. Did Glynda bring more teams? Were they out on patrol? The deep-sleeping pair waited for Glynda to finish talking to Port, his booming voice could be heard anywhere across the camp, in great contrast to Glynda's fairly calm but stern voice.

As soon as she finished talking, RGLA pulled her away. "I'm sure you know that Amaterasu dragons are never on their own, and have a nest. We found it. But obviously those of us that are here can't deal with it. We wanted you or Ozpin to make an extermination mission." Rusty didn't spare any time in telling her the situation. "Well, I must say I appreciate your initiative, and I see that Port has taught you well. Did you record the location on your scroll? It would certainly help." Glynda pushed up her glasses, seemingly interested in the situation. That was a first. "Yes, I did. Here." Rusty pulled out his scroll and unlocked it, before opening the co-ordinates and handing it to Glynda.

"Which of you was it who found the area? This certainly deserves a reward." Rusty knew that it was just him, Azure, Nix and Orr, but he was a good liar. He didn't want to leave his team out, but he couldn't leave YUNO out either. "It was RGLA and YUNO who found it. We were the ones on patrol yesterday, and Azure mentioned wanting to check it out before we headed back. Who would be going on the mission?" Glynda tapped a few times on her scroll, seemingly listing the names of YUNO and RGLA. "We'll see about your reward when we get back, same for YUNO. We will likely be sending a large group of teachers, as well as some second years, and some of the stronger first years such as you, GHUL and RWBY. Anyway, I should get back to Ozpin about this. Here is your scroll." Glynda handed Rusty back his scroll, and strutted off to a uninhabited part of the clearing to call Ozpin about the situation.

Port called out to RGLA from across the clearing, near the Amaterasu corpse. The team trotted over to him, stopping a few feet away. "Ah good, you are here! I'm sure you youngsters will be happy to know that, in this glorious specimen of a beast, we have found a second fire organ! Since you killed it, I wanted to let you decide amongst yourselves who would have the honour of using it. Of course, Rusty could also use it, though I'm unsure what kind of power he would gain from it, or how powerful the boost would be. It is up to you to decide however, brave RGLA! This will indeed be a story to tell your children in the future, ahaha!" Rusty and Azure both jumped at the last words, rather surprised. Did he know? "Oh look at you two lovebirds. He's not talking about you, you dolts." Garnet leaned forward, looking past Azure, a dumb grin spread across her face. Rusty rubbed his forehead. He was surprised he hadn't got a headache at some point over the week. "Well, its down to you. Im not gonna just say I get it. Decide within yourselves." Rusty turned to his team as he spoke. The three walked away for a moment and spoke for a good five minutes before returning.

"We've decided you should have it. It might make you stronger, and you'll need it!" Garnet stuck her tongue out at the last part, clearly enjoying the joking around. Rusty didn't even bother replying to that with more than an exasperated sigh as he unsheathed his weapon and walked over to Port. The teacher gestured to the organ within the creature. He switched to the black dust rod, enveloping the sword in its black fire, before stabbing the blade into the second source of the Amaterasu's power. A river of thick black blood washed over the sword, boosting the size and heat of the flames. As he removed the sword from the organ, it shined a bright light before disappearing into a black shine, and enveloping Rusty in the same.

The corpse of the Amaterasu moved! It appeared behind Rusty, roaring a loud scream that made the others bend to their knees in pain. Chains seemed to fly from Rusty's body, binding the creature in place before making it buckle forward and shrink down to the same size as Rusty, the black shine still covering his body. The same shine began to appear around the creature as it roared and screamed in agony, the chains pulling it closer to Rusty, beginning to make it disappear into the same black light as the sword. A dark wind began to build up around Rusty, sending the others skidding back as the started to stand up now that the screaming had stopped.

A bright, hot explosion enveloped the immediate area around Rusty, sending the others reeling backwards, and even the teams in the forest on patrol could feel the rush of wind and hot air. As the light cleared and everybody regained their vision, they could make out a large black scorch mark on the ground where Rusty had been, and indeed where Rusty was, a black figure kneeled on the floor.

Instead of Rusty, there was now a man of similar size covered in sleek, black and purple armour. The helmet was shaped the same as a large V, the mouth grill separated from the large crest by a visor that was the same colour that was a blood red, the same colour as the eyes of a grimm. The pauldrons were shaped similarly to horizontal S's, the 'top' of the S going behind Rusty's head and the bottom gripping the front of his shoulders. The chest plate was simple, black plate, emblazoned with Rusty's insignia. The gauntlets were shaped like large rectangular boxes, extending past his elbows, with small plate covering part of his upper arms. The legs were simple like the chest plate, simple black armour with pointed boots. Under the armour was a dark purple skintight suit.

The figure seemed to be in fact Rusty. Was this the armour that Port had mentioned? To Rusty it didn't seem a ton more powerful than how he was normally, but there was still a noticeable increase in his abilities. 'Wielding' this armour seemed almost natural to him, and he almost immediately just...knew how to use it. It was like the information was fed directly to his brain. He could also feel his aura draining quickly. The armour may make him stronger, but it certainly didn't come without a price it seemed.

Rusty looked around. Almost everybody was standing up after being knocked down by the wind and explosion, or struggling to stand up. That transformation was powerful. Would it be like that every time? It would hardly be a help if it was. Glynda had already made her way to him, apparently not caring for her own safety. She brazenly knocked on the armour, which returned a hollow ringing to her ears. At least that was normal. "Do you know how to use this armour? Or does it feel new to you?" She questioned him on it almost immediately. Just like Glynda.

"Yeah, it feels natural. Like I've worn it before." He looked at his hand as he stretched it and turned it, the armour a perfect fit for his body. Before Glynda could ask any questions, Azure had already sprinted up to him. She couldn't seem to decide whether she was excited or worried about him. "Are you ok? That looked like it hurt, with the chains and the Amaterasu. It kinda reminds me of..." She trailed off at the end like she was thinking of something. "Oh I'll show you later. Anyway, you should practice with it! Get used to whatever abilities it has." Rusty liked her idea, but that would have to wait. His aura was getting low. He clenched his fist to remove the armour. It was briefly enveloped in black flames before disappearing, making his sword re-appear. And giving him a new rod of dust. Looked like that was how he was meant to activate the armour then.

The others were all still stunned at the sudden transformation. They were certainly not expecting something of this magnitude today. Glynda decided to speak up again. "Are there any limitations on the armour? Locks in place perhaps? Was it as powerful as the legends say?" Rusty couldn't help but feel exasperated at the sudden interview that he has taken part in, although something like what he did was certain to attract it. "It drained my aura very quickly, and it certainly didn't seem quite as powerful." It was puzzling. This was supposed to be some legendary armour, yet it was scarcely more powerful than he was, so was he supposed to power it up? Kill more Amaterasu? He would likely find out in future, anyway. For now, it was best to just train with it, he thought.

"Well for now, I think everybody should rest. My aura feels drained just from being around that, and I'm sure the rest of you feel similarly, if your aura isn't entirely gone at all. The lake you have been bathing at has strange properties, one of which being the ability to regenerate aura. I think it best if you go down there, in your teams of course." Glynda clapped her hands and pointed to GHUL, signalling them as the first to go. Today had been eventful, Rusty thought.

By the time it had reached RGLA's turn in the lake, their aura had mostly regenerated, but Glynda sent them down anyway. They needed the rest, she thought, and it didn't take RGLA long to reach the lake or strip, although Lapis followed her routine of running ahead of the others. Rusty sat in the lake, the warm water reaching to his chest and steam rising from his body. Lapis sat over on a side away from the others, face half covered with water, as usual. It was a bit of a surprise that Azure hasn't tried flirting yet, although Garnet was taking the opportunity to eye her up, and she certainly liked what she saw at least.

Although nothing had happened to cause it, they could all feel some tension in the air. Was it because of the armour? Azure felt slightly jealous, but Garnet and Lapis couldn't care less. For Lapis, it was Azure's growing closeness to their leader, but that wasn't enough to cause this amount of it between them all. They could all feel it, and none of them could place its origin. Rusty could at least attempt to calm the air.

"Why did you all become huntresses?" Rusty spoke it to them without even raising his head from its apparent sleeping position. It was a pointed, armour-piercing question, but a good one nonetheless. Garnet was the first to speak up. "I like helping people. I'm a simple girl, and making others feel better makes me feel good in turn, and I like that feeling. I'm just here to give others a better life and kill grimm." She chuckled lightly at the last part. It clearly wasn't meant as a joke, but she laughed anyway. Lapis answered next. "My parents were killed by the White Fang, and I was taken in as an orphan at Signal. I needed to turn my anger somewhere, and becoming a huntress would be the best chance to fight them and let it all out against the grimm while helping people. Even if it wasn't by choice, I probably would have become a huntress anyway." Lapis shuffled about uncomfortably, what she had just said clearly wasn't an easy thing to admit. The others could do nothing but dip their heads lower, in respect and sadness. "What about you, Rusty?" His head jerked up after the silence of several minutes, the question asked by Garnet. "I don't know. I've never wanted to be a nobody, and being a hunter is a good choice to be remembered as a hero. It's what I've always wanted, to not be forgotten." Rusty's answer was probably the most self serving of them all, not doing it to help others, just for others to know who he was. He hated himself for it, but it was his reason and he wouldn't lie about it. The rest of his team couldn't think of anything to say in reply. Azure never gave her reason.

By the time they had returned to the camp, everybody else was in their tents, but none slept, the thick sheet of tension still hung over the area, like something was waiting, and none could sleep. Everybody was waiting. This wasn't something caused by any arguments or feelings, this was just a chilling feeling of absolute, unrelenting malevolence, permeating every part of every body and creating a rising tenseness over everybody. Absolute silence filled the clearing, not even the sounds of owls, insects or rodents could be heard. Nothing moved.

The silence was broken by the solitary screaming of a girl, deep within the forest, piercing the ears of everybody in the camp. They all swiftly moved their heads up, jerking them towards the direction of the sound. A few hushed whispers sounded between the tents before another scream was heard, one close and one far.

The first came from a tent, not two down from RGLA. It was short, and was finished by a soft sobbing and muttering. It sounded like one of the members of YUNO. The second was deep in the forest, from the opposite direction of the first scream, and this time it was male. What was happening?!

Others rushed out of their tents to YUNO's tent, grabbing Yuno and pulling her out. Of course it was the leader. She muttered over and over, a mad mantra that unsettled everyone. "The grimm are coming the grimm are coming the grimm are coming." Everybody around, teachers and second years included, grabbed their weapons and readied themselves, the second years, Glynda and Port taking point around the other students. More screams sounded simultaneously from within the forest, but none seemed to come from the same point, and some students seemed to be looking in different directions from others, or shaking their heads. By now, seven screams in total had sounded out. Were they from the second year teams in the forest? How could they stand against anything that had killed second years so easily?

A line in the trees broke, and a second year, bloody and face etched with terror, sprinted from the break. His armour was ripped, and he seemed unable to move his face in any way. ALVA moved up to him, on his hands and knees to try and help him. Blood dripped from his body and tears streamed down his face, but no sound could be heard from him, not even breathing.

Upon closer examination, his throat was cut in a thick, jagged line, though no blood dripped from it, as if he had already been drained and kept alive through fear and adrenaline. He turned over onto his back, hand pointing to the trees where he had came from.

Said trees were pushed apart, large black paws crushing the bark, powerful especially for the size, not much larger than an alpha beowolf, and sharing the build. Except this one had no plates, just pure black smooth fur. Within one of its hands it held the mangled body of another second year, limbs bent into positions they shouldn't and flesh rended through, clothes ripped to the point they were barely there and blood now only seeping from her mangled corpse. Now it was clear why the one who had just barely survived was crying for his life. The morale of some of the students broke, their bodies shaking in terror, but thankfully they all held their ground, standing by their training and idealism of the legendary hunters and huntresses.

More grimm emerged from the forest behind it and all around, surrounding the clearing where the camp was, changing the brown and green of the trees to the red and black of the grimm, but not white. None of these grimm had any armour at all, beowolves, ursa, nevermore. The only ones who did were the boarbatusk and the deathstalkers. Why did these not have armour? Were they in enough fights to the point they had lost it? Were these grimm from before they had even developed armour? If they had survived that long, fighting them was a terrifying thought, but nobody would run.

The leader of the pack howled, raising its head into the air and letting out a murderous roar. The ancient pack surged forward, climbing over eachother to get a meal, not caring for the health of their partners. The students and teachers prepared for the fight, ready to either kill or die to these grimm of ancient times.