//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Emerald Forest: part 2 Team B.L.I.T // Story: R.O.S.E // by Madforce Entertainment //------------------------------// Flying through the air, Blake looked straight ahead at the trees as she pulled out her weapon. She then threw her Kusarigama Pistol to perform her landing. She quickly landed in the top branches of a tree, before she looked around to find her way north. Back in the air, Lemon Zest glided towards the ground. She wore dark purple high-heeled boots, sparkling dark purple leggings, a lilac-coloured skirt with a yellow overskirt, a sparkly light pink top, and purple wristbands. She also had a first aid pouch on her hip. As she descended, she looked up and saw a bird flying in her direction. “Aww, a cute little bird,” She said with a smile. As it got closer, the bird got bigger and bigger, much bigger than a normal bird. “OK, not so cute and not a real bird.” She repositioned herself, and a blade shot out from her sleeve. Once the Grimm got close enough, with a quick swing, she cut its wing clean off. She then grabbed the wing, before putting her weapon away and using the Grimm’s wing like a parachute. Once her feet touched the ground, she let the wing go. “Alright, yeah, nailed it! Now, time to find me some relics!” She said excitedly, before heading off into the forest. Up in the air, Indigo Zap looked around for a landing spot. “Hmm, there’s one,” She said as she saw a lake of water. She performed her landing by crashing into the water. She then swam to the edge and pulled herself out of the lake. She wore a purple two-piece divers outfit and goggles. With a rifle on her back and several pockets on her legs, and also a belt with magazines in pouches. On her feet was a pair of custom boots for land and sea. On her back was a purple cloud with blue lighting shooting out of the bottom. After she got out of the water, and back onto dry ground, she started to make her way north. Also flying through the air, Twilight Sparkle was scanning the Forest with her computer glasses. Her computer calculated the best odds for her landing. She found the perfect landing zone and teleported to the ground. She wore dark blue boots, navy blue leggings, and a maroon top with a skirt, and left her arms bared, which had six-pointed stars around the skirt. She then scanned the area to see if there were Grimm or anyone else nearby. “Hmm, good, nothing else here. Now all I have to do is head north,” She said as she set off for the ruins. Blake, staying hidden, made her way through the trees, using them to her advantage. She kept her distance from the Grimm, and some of the other students. Salem’s instructions were clear, the first person she makes eye contact with will be her partner for the semester. She continued moving along the trees, on the constant lookout for her friend. “Eclipse, where are you?” She asked herself. She had to find her friend fast. Just before she could resume her search for Eclipse, the tree she was in violently shakes. Blake looked down and saw 3 Boarbatusk crashing into the tree. “Did they see me?” She pulled out her weapons and jumped down to face the Boarbatusk. The 3 Boarbatusk turned to face Blake, growling viciously. She was not intimidated though, as she readied herself for battle. From out of nowhere, a fourth Boarbatusk rolled out of the bushes and crashed into Blake in her back. Blake was tossed to the ground, as the other 3 Boarbatusk charged at her. At that moment, a girl with lime and lemon-coloured hair came jumping from the trees. She extended her arm, and using two machine guns, started shooting at the Boarbatusks. Her bullets bounced off their armor and one of them rolled up into a ball and charged at the girl at high speed. She pulled back her leg, and once the Boarbatusk got close, she kicked it with incredible force, sending the Boarbatusk high into the air. Once she recovered, Blake got back on her feet, raised her weapons and she started to shoot at the Boarbatusk. And together, the two of them worked to kill the Boarbatusk. “Alright, that was awesome!” The other girl said with hype. “Yeah, thanks for saving me back there,” Blake said, straightening her back. “How’s your back? That Boarbatusk hit you hard there,” She said as she walked up to Blake. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Blake replied dismissively. “Well, I guess from this point we’ll be partners. The name’s Lemon Zest! And you are?” Lemon asked with a grin. “Blake Belladonna,” she replied simply. “Nice to meet ya. Now, which way is north?” Asked Lemon. “This way,” Blake replied, pointing in the direction and starting to walk. “H-hey, wait for me!” Lemon called as she caught up with Blake. As Indigo walks through the forest, she keeps a sharp look out for the ruins. Just then, she can hear the sound of running water. “That might be it,” she said to herself. She ran up to where the sound came from and found a beautiful river. She crouched down by the edge of the river to take a closer look at the glistening water. “Well, I could use a drink,” She said, as she scooped up some of the water with her hands and carefully drank it. “Wow, sure tastes better than salt water,” She said with a smile before she stood up and dived into the water before she began to swim down the river. Twilight, using her glasses to find the ruins, soon found the river and scanned it.  “Hmm, good, it’s clean,” She said, before kneeling to have a drink herself. Hidden in the bushes, an Insect Grimm approached Twilight slowly and quietly. However, Before it could attack, Indigo rose from the river and shot the Grimm 3 times with her rifle, killing the Grimm and saving Twilight. Indigo, still in the water, looked at Twilight and waved. “Hi, how’s it going?” She asked. “Fine,” Twilight replied bluntly. Indigo climbed out of the water and walked up to Twilight. “So, I guess this means you now owe me,” She said with a cheeky grin. “So what’s your name?” She asked. Instead of answering her, Twilight suddenly pointed her arm at Indigo, and it unfolded into an automatic crossbow. Indigo ducked as she shot several arrows at her,  all missing her. “What the hell!?” Indigo screamed in annoyance. At that moment, another insect Grimm fell from the trees behind her. “Deathstingers always hunt in pairs. And the name is Twilight,” Twilight said as her arm went back to normal. Indigo moved away from the dead Grimm. “I’m Indigo. I’m gonna be your partner for the year,” she said.  “Then let's keep moving,” Said Twilight. The two girls then resumed their search for the ruins. Meanwhile, Blake and Lemon continued their search for the ruins. “Are you sure we’re heading the right way?” Asked Lemon. “Yes, I have a good sense of direction,” Replied Blake. Lemon looked over at Blake and noticed she was not walking straight. “How’s your back?” She asked, concerned about her companion. “Yes, I’m fine,” Blakereplied, trying to make it look like she was ok. They come to a revenue. “Okay, I’ll go first,” Lemon insisted. Blake just let her go first, as she then jumped down into the revenue. Blake then jumped down to join Lemon, but when she landed, Blake suddenly yelped in pain. “Oh gods, I knew your back was bad,” Lemon said, quickly looking for her first aid kit. She pulled out a small red pouch, then she got a syringe with the Shinra logo on it. “What’s that?” asked Blake, eyeing the syringe warily.  “Painkiller shot, it'll help you with your back,” Lemon explained before she crouched down next to Blake. “Brace yourself, this will sting,” She warned Blake before she carefully stabbed her with the needle in her back. “Ahh, that hurts!” Blake yelped. “You'll be fine in a second,” Lemon reassured Blake.  “How long will it take?” Blake asked through gritted teeth. “Not long,” Lemon said as she put the syringe away. “So, tell me about yourself,” she said conversationally. “What?” Blake said in confusion, “Why would you ask me that?” “Well, you know, just to talk to each other and take your mind off the pain,” Lemon said casually. “So, come on, let’s hear it.” “Look,” Blake said, giving the green-haired girl an odd look, “It’s nothing personal, but I’ve only just met you.”  “OK, sure, I can respect that,” Lemon said with a shrug. “Anyway, where to begin?” She continued, “Well, I was born in Atlas, believe it or not.” “Oh no,” Blake thought to herself with an internal grimace, “An Atlas elitist.” “And, when I was 3, my parents died,” Lemon went on, making Blake look up at her in shock. “Wow, she’s just putting that straight out there, isn't she?” She thought with wide eyes. “Not long after that, I was put in an orphanage in Vacuo of all places,” Lemon continued, oblivious to the look on Blake’s face. “Don’t know why I wasn’t put in an Orphanage in Atlas, but I didn’t care at the time. You know, due to the fact I was grieving over the loss of my parents and all.” “Er, OK,” Blake said with an uneasy nod. “And then, when I was 5,” Lemon continued, “I was adopted by a Faunus family.” At this, Blake looked up at her in shock, before she concluded her story by saying,“So, they raised me as their own kid, and when I was older, I decided to become a Huntress, and that’s what led to me coming here. So, that’s pretty much my back story, or summary of it.”  “Uhh,” Blake said, staring at Lemon strangely, “Why are you telling me all this? You only just met me today. Why are you being so open with a complete stranger?” “Well, you're not a complete stranger,” Lemon said with an easy going smile, “I do know your name, which is Blake, and since we made eye contact, we’re partners. So, we may as well get to know each other now, so we don’t have any problems with each other later.” This brings a little smile to Blake's face. It actually slightly warmed her heart that this girl who was raised by Faunus and that she would be so open about it. By now, Blake can feel her back getting better. “Wow, you know what, that injection did help, thanks,” she said as she got back to her feet. “You're welcome,” Lemon said with a smile, “but take it easy, OK. Just because you can’t feel the pain, doesn’t mean you can’t still do some damage to your back,” she explained. “I will, thank you again,” Blake said gratefully. Just then, she realised this is one of the few times that she actually thanked a human. With all that said and done, the girls then headed off to continue their search for the ruins. Meanwhile, Indigo and Twilight continued walking through the Forest. “Hey, are you sure we’re heading north?” Asked Indigo. “Yes, I am quite certain. My glasses have built in computers that can scan the surrounding environment, help with navigation, and also have a Night Vision mode, infrared, et cetera,” Twilight explained.  “Wow, where did you get that?” Indigo asked with an intrigued look on her face. “I made them myself,” Replied Twilight, sounding quite proud of her invention.     “Can you play music on them?” Indigo asked. “Yes,” Twilight said.  “Can they stream movies and satellite tv?” Indigo asked again with great interest. “Yes,” Twilight said again. “I want a pair,” Indigo said with envy. “Even if I did give you a pair, which I can’t, you wouldn’t be able to use them anyway,” Twilight responded. “Aw, why not?,” Indigo complained. “They are not waterproof,” Twilight stated. “Touche,” Indigo said with a nod, as she placed her hand under her chin. “Well, anyway, which kingdom are you from?” She asked. “Atlas. Why are you asking so many questions?” Twilight asked. “Just curious,” Indigo replied with a shrug, “I’m from Mistral, by the way.” “Just to let you know,” Twilight went on, “that we should be close to the ruins soon.” “Oh great,” Indigo said with a grin, before she continued to bombard Twilight with questions as they made their way toward the ruins.  Eventually, the four girls finally found the ruins. “Lucky us we got here without running into anymore Grimm, huh?” Lemon said to Blake with a Smirk. “Yeah, lucky. But just to be safe, keep your guard up,” Blake suggested. Just then, Indigo noticed Blake and Lemon. “Hey, did your glasses see these two as we approached?” she asked Twilight. Twilight looked at the two girls and scanned them with her high tech glasses. The results showed Lemon was human, and Blake was a Cat Faunus. This made her hum in suspicion. “Is everything okay?” Asked Indigo. “Oh yeah, just scanning for Grimm,” Twilight replied, keeping her suspicions to herself for now. After that, the four girls headed into the Ruins, seeing the objects on the pedestals.  “What are those?” Asked Lemon with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe The Relics,” Stated Twilight. “Hey, shouldn’t we introduce ourselves to each other?” Said Indigo. “Yeah, I think she's right,” Agreed Blake,“I’m Blake Belladonna.” This got Twilight’s attention. “The name’s Lemon Zest,” Lemon said with a smile. “Indigo Zap’s the name,” Indigo said with a smile of her own. “And I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, finishing off the introductions. They then all looked at the relics. “So, we just need one relic piece per pair?” asked Lemon. “Yep, that’s what Salem told us,” Indigo replied as she threw the selection.“Let's take... this one,” she said slowly, before picking up the Lamp. “You want the Lamp?” Asked Twilight. “Yeah Lamps are cool.” Indigo answered, with a smile. Lemon then stepped forward and took the other Lamp. “So you chose the Lamp too,” asked Blake. “Well, yeah,” Lemon said with smirk, “like Indigo said,  Lamps are cool.” “That’s your only excuse, isn't it?” Blake asked with a deadpan look. “Pretty much,” Lemon replied with another smirk. “Of course,” Blake sighed, rolling her eyes. She then suddenly grimaced, before she collapsed forward and grabbed the pedestal to support herself.   “Whoa, you ok?” Asked Lemon in a worried tone. “I think that pain killer you gave me wore off just this second,” Blake said with a slight hiss. “Hold on, I’ll give you a top up,” Lemon said as she pulled out the first aid pouch, opened it, and pulled out another syringe. “Same as before, brace yourself for the sting,” she said. Blake squinted with one eye, as she kept the other on Lemon, as the green haired put the needle in her back. Job done, she then put the used needle back in the pouch. “There, that should hold for a little while,” she finished reassuringly. “Thanks,” Blake said gratefully and with a relieved smile as she felt the pain begin to slowly ebb away again.  As this was happening, Twilight then scanned Blake with her glasses again, seeing the damage done to her back, and she figured out what was causing her the most pain. “We need to get her back to Beacon as quickly as possible,” She said to the others. “Why?” Asked Lemon.    “I’m afraid that there is a fracture in her spinal cord,” Twilight explained seriously, “If we don’t get her some proper medical attention soon, she could run the risk of permanent paralysis.” “Wait, what?!” Lemon said in shock. “Oh my gods! You serious?!” Indigo exclaimed, just as shocked as Lemon.   Blake just turned to look at Twilight, and locked her eyes with her own. “How long do I have?” She asked calmly. “I would estimate that you only have two hours at the most,” Twilight said just as calmly. “Well, what are we waiting for?” Lemon said with determination. “We’ve already got what we came for, so let’s just concentrate on getting Blake back to Beacon. Don’t stop for anything.” She then walked up to Blake and took her arm, placing it over her shoulders. “Can’t put strain on that injury, so you better lean on me on the way back.”      “Thanks,” Blake said with a small smile. “Look at this,” she thought, “this human girl, who was raised by Faunus, is going out of her way to help me, even willingly carry me to safety. How would Adam react if he ever met her? Would she be able to change his feelings towards humans? Probably not, but she does give me hope, and maybe that's all that matters.”      With those thoughts, the girls headed away from the ruins to make their way back to Beacon, with Twilight and Indigo taking point, so they could keep an out for any Grimm, and fight them off if necessary.  What they didn’t know was that hidden from sight was a King Taijitu, watching them intently, and slithering towards them.  As the girls walked on, Twilight was constantly scanning for any sign of a threat. Just then, she received an alert, and through the trees, she spotted the first head of the giant serpent. She instantly knew what it was, and knew what was about to happen. Just as the serpent pulled back its black head in order to strike, she quickly used her semblance, teleporting over to Lemon and Blake, grabbing them by the arms and teleporting them away, disappearing just a split second before the snakes jaws snapped shut on the spot they were standing a moment before. The three girls reappeared next to Indigo, with her and the other two girls very startled. “Hey, what’s the deal,” Lemon asked.   “Look!” Twilight shouted, drawing their attention to the giant twin headed snake. “That’s a King Taijitu! It always attacks the weakest member of a group first, and that’s you!” She finished, pointing at Blake. “Whoa, are you saying we almost became that thing’s lunch?!” Lemon shouted wide eyes. “Don’t these things have two heads?” asked Indigo. “Where’s the second head?”  As if on cue, the white head of the King Taijitu rose up right behind Twilight, Lemon and Blake, eyeing them as it hissed angrily at the one that had stolen away its next meal.  Just as it was about to attack the three girls, Indigo, seeing what was about to happen, ran forward and lept up toward it, changing her weapon into its Trident mode, and shoving the three prongs into its skull, as it screamed in pain and fury. She then activated her semblance, sending a jolt of electricity into its head, causing it to hit the ground with a great thud.  “Twilight, take care of the first head!” Blake ordered. “Lemon, you're with me! Indigo, keep doing what you’re doing!”   “As if I have a choice!” Indigo yelled back, as the second head began to shake, trying to shake her off as she continued to give it an electric shock right into its skull.  As this was happening, Twilight teleported over to the first head, transformed her claws into crossbow mode, and began firing a barrage of arrows at it. As she shot arrow after arrow, she would teleport after every shot, keeping the giant serpent disoriented so it couldn’t strike back at her.  “Ok, so, what's the plan?” Lemon asked. Blake then pulled her Gambol Shroud from her back and gave a fiercely determined look. “We’re going to kill that Grimm,” she said seriously… before she suddenly let out a yell of pain, as her body went limp. Her aura had finally been depleted, and the pain from her injury had returned tenfold.  Lemon quickly caught her before she could hit the ground. “If you keep this up your’re gonna kill yourself,” she said warningly. “I will not just stand by and watch as others fight my battles,” Blake stated firmly in determination. “As long as I can hold a sword, I will fight.” Seeing that Blake would not be convinced, Lemon decided that she would have to make a desperate decision. “Alright, looks I have no choice,” she said with a heavy sigh, before racing into her first aid pouch once more, and pulling out another syringe. “I’m gonna have to give you this.” “Another pain killer?” Blake asked. “No,” Lemon said seriously, “This is no pain killer. This is what’s known as an Aura Booster, recently created by the Shinra Company. It will temporarily increase your Aura tenfold. But, fair warning, they are dangerous.” “How dangerous?” Blake asked warily. “Well…” Lemon said slowly, “The last time I had heard of a guy using one of these… he suffered and died from major organ failure.” “What?!” Blake shouted in shock. “Look, no kidding here,” Lemon said seriously again, “This is the only way, you’re gonna be able to fight that Grimm. Still want to go through with it?”  At that moment, Indigo was thrown off the serpent's head. Seeing this, Blake looked up at Lemon and nodded. “Do it,” she said simply. “Alright,” Lemon said as she got behind her. “Ready for the sting?” “Just get on with it,” Blake said, before feeling the now familiar prick of the needle in her back. She felt the effect immediately, as she felt her strength return. She now felt like she could take on 10 King Tijitu’s single handed. “Whoa, I feel amazing,” she said with awe as she straightened up. “Yeah, Shinra usually brings out the best stuff,” Lemon said with a smirk, “Better than those clowns from Atlas Medical.” Blake smirked back. “Then, let's do this,” she said. With that, the two girls dashed into battle. “I got a plan!” Blake shouted to the other girls, “Lemon, help Twilight, and I’ll go and help Indigo!”  “Alright, you have 10 minutes. Make them count,” Lemon said, before she ran off to help Twilight, multiplying herself into three copies as she went. Blake then separated her weapon and tied her ribbon around the cleaver’s handle. She then ran towards the white head, before she jumped on its body. The serpent saw her, and lunged itself at her. Blake then created a shadow clone, and then dodged the attack by jumping over it. She then threw her cleaver into the head of the Grimm in the same place that Indigo impaled it with her trident. The snake hissed from both pain and anger, as Blake flew past the head, and ran around the body to tie it up in the ribbon. “MOVE AWAY FROM THE HEAD!” She yelled to her teammates. Hearing this, Lemon and Twilight moved out of the way. Blake then shoots at the Black head to get its attention. The snake hissed and charged at her. Once again, Blake used a Shadow clone to avoid the attack, and the black snake bit into the neck of the white snake. The white snake screamed in pain and anger, before biting the head of the black snake in revenge. Blake then wrapped both heads together with her ribbon, before throwing her pistol to Indigo. “SHOCK HIM!” Blake yelled to Indigo. Catching the pistol, and grabbing some lightning dust crystals from her pocket, Indigo threw them into her mouth, and bites down, unleashing a power load of electricity throughout her body. She sends the electrictricity through the ribbon, towards the King Taijitu, creating an electrical loop, which shocks the serpent’s entire body from end to end. After Indigo depleted her electricity, the King Taijitu was now completely stunned. “Come on, let's finish him off!” Lemon said to Twilight. Twilight nodded, and the two of them quickly ran forwards towards the heads of the King Taijitu. Lemon extended both of her swords, and made a clone to throw herself forwards towards it faster. With an almighty swing of her blades, Lemon cut off the giant serpents Black head. Twilight then teleports over to the White head, and, using her claws, she cut off the second head. After both heads were cut off, the Grimm disintegrated into dust. With the grimm finally defeated, the girls took a moment to catch their breaths, before they celebrated their victory over the King Taijitu. “HELL YEAH!” Yelled Indigo in triumph, and with a mouth full of broken teeth. The other three girls stopped and stared at Indigo's mouth in concern. “What?” Indigo asked them in confusion. “Are you okay?” Asked Blake with a raised eyebrow. “Fear not,” Twilight then answered, walking over to stand next to Indigo, “Indigo is a Shark Faunus, related to the Great White, I believe.” She explained. “Yeah,” this kinda thing happens all the time. Besides, I needed a new set anyway,” Indigo said with a casula shrug, before reaching into her mouth and pulling out the broken set of teeth like they were denchers, and immediately growing a new set of teeth. “Ahh, that’s better,” She said, licking her new teeth. “Okay,” Lemon said, processing what she just saw. “How did you know she was a Faunus?” Blake asked Twilight with a slight tone of suspicion. “My glasses scanned her and informed me on her biology,” Twilight explained. Blake's eyes widened from Twilight’s answer, knowing that Twilight would certainly know she was a Faunus as well. Unfortunately, before she could say or do anything about the matter, the pain from her back suddenly returned with a vengeance. “AHH!” She yelped, as she completely lost the strength in her legs. “Oh no, Blake!” Lemon cried, catching Blake from hitting the ground. Twilight then gave another scan. “It’s spread. At the present rate of deterioration, she won’t make it back in time,” She explained grimmly, choosing not to sugarcoat the situation. However, they all looked up, as they heard the whining of engines, and saw a Bullhead flying over them, before hovering down next to them. A woman with pink hair and in a nurse’s uniform opened the door. “Bring her here!” She called urgently. Not wanting to waste time, Twilight took Blake from Lemon and teleported the two straight into the Bullhead. Lemon and Indigo then ran over and jumped onto the Bullhead as well. They quickly got seated and the Bullhead took to the sky again, speeding towards Beacon. Inside the craft, the nurse looked over Blake carefully. “Don’t worry, you're in good hands,” she said reassuringly. As the Bullhead flew back to Beacon, Salam was watching everything on her scroll. “I’m glad that she made it in time. It would be such a shame if this team of knights lost their leader,” she said to herself with a smile.  To Be Continued...