Chapter 4: Initiation pt 2

Drake

"Oh, you're the guy from the, uh, airship, right?" I asked, moving my visor to reveal my face.

"Yup. Also noticed you were hungry before we jumped. You're welcome by the way." he said, stepping out of the shrubbery.

"Ah! You were the mystery jerky deliverer! Thanks. By the way, name's Drake Alcander" I said, extending my hand.

He takes my hand, shaking it firmly. "Kurt Kage". The dark-haired faunus releases my hand, and gives a nervous smile. "Soooo… Do you know which way to go?" he asked, gesturing toward the crimson canopy.

"It should be straight that way." I replied, pointing toward the Beowolves former den. "Say, while you were back there, did you see anything… odd?" I asked, closing my faceplate.

"Odd? Besides all the Beowolves finding me as soon as I landed? No."

"Hmmm, alright then." I replied, locating and saving some images Alex took of the strange Beowolf.

"Oh yeah before we go out, don't freak out." he said, getting down on all fours.

"About…?" I asked, placing Wrath where it belonged. His body starts to morph and soon a giant wolf is standing where my new partner was. "Um...interesting semblance" I said, not quite sure what else to say. "Can you… can you still understand me?" I asked the large black and Red wolf, who just cocked it's head in response.

"Of course I can. Why wouldn't I?"

"Uhm, because I'm currently talking to a wolf?"

"It's my semblance. I can still talk and understand while like this. Are you saying when you use your semblance you don't understand people?"

"One: how would I know that the wolf I'm talking to can understand me. Surely you've had that asked before. And two, I don't have a problem understanding people when I use my semblance, partially because I don't have a semblance."

"Ohh… And to answer your first point, I don't show this to many people but since we are in a rush I'm using it."

"Fair enough. Well, let's get going, partner" I said, winking at the wolf.

"Try and keep up." he said, taking off into the forest. I cast one last troubled glance upon the bloodstained grass, then take off after my partner.

We advanced rapidly through the forest, the tower growing closer, and the foliage getting closer and darker. We both leapt over a fallen tree, and I feel something snag my forearm. "Hold up" I called to Kurt. Looking down at my forearm, I saw a thick silvery cord connecting to both my forearm and a splintered branch. The forest around us started rustling ferociously. "Aw crap. Kurt, Arachne! Don't touch the webs" I said, tearing the cord off my arm, and using the branch to break some of the webbing coming off of the tree we just jumped.

"A- what?" he asked, turning back towards me.

"Arachne. Spider Grimm. Very rare. Strong webs, communicate via vibrations on them." I said, tossing the branch aside and drawing Wrath. The rustling drew closer, and I could see the leaves in the trees and the bushes around us shaking. Suddenly, the rustling stopped, replaced by furious scuttling and chirping. A brief silence fell over the clearing. A sound akin to a wet cough came from across the clearing, and as I turned towards its source, a fist sized missile shot by my head. I spy the glowing red eyes in the treetops, given away by the bone white armor around them. "In the trees" I said, rolling aside as two more projectiles shot by. I stood, aimed Wrath, and fired, sending a shot lancing through the treetops, obliterating the Grimm.

"Down here too!" I heard Kurt say. I avoided some more shots, and glanced towards him, seeing him tearing into the back of an Arachne with his knives. I moved to help him, but have to dodge away as more web missiles shot out of the trees. I spin to avoid some more, and have to duck to avoid one of the grounded Arachne's sharp, bone armored leg tip as it shot towards my head. We continue this dance for a couple of minutes, dodging most of the Arachne's attacks. "Argh! They're covering each other! I can't do anything to them!" Kurt said from somewhere behind me, frustrated.

"Your weapon, it works as a gun, right?" I asked him, a webshot hitting my forearm as I slapped away bone-clad legs.

"Nooooo, the bullets and gun shape are for show." he said sarcastically.

"Come here, I have an idea." I replied, kicking my Arachne in the head, sending it skidding to the edge of the glade.

"Alright, what's the pl-" Kurt said, behind me.

Quick as a whip, I swung Wrath around, slipping it under his feet, said "Allie-oop", and flung him skyward.

"-AAAANN?!" Kurt cried,

"Get the ones in the trees" I said, pointing. A hail of bullets swiftly obliterated the Arachne in the trees, cut down several trees, and even one of the two earthbound Arachne.

He thuds down next to me, glaring. "A little warning next time!"

"Hey, it worked right? Besides, you're fine." I said, shrugging. A wet slurping sound brought our attention back to the remaining Arachne, which had just vomited up a torrent of webbing onto the ground.

It rolled into a ball, then began rolling around in the webbing. The end result resembled a spindle, the bone covered legs coming out of either side of the web coated center. The ball began to spin, gathering debris as the shell hardened. "Huh. That can't be good" I said, storing a picture. Kurt glances at me, nods, and the Arachne shot towards us, almost as fast as a Boarbatusk. Kurt and I stepped to either side of it, and watch as it hit a tree, rolled up and off of it, and shot back towards us.

"I've got this" Kurt said, stepping forward and firing three rounds. One hit the spindle dead center and exploded, failing to even slow the Arachne, and the other two deflected off, one skyward and the other adding a new patch to the clearing rather explosively, sending syrup and wood spiraling through the air. "Ooooor not." Kurt said, rolling aside. It passed by us, and I fired a burst from Wrath, also to no effect. The Arachne rebounded off another tree and came back towards us.

We leaped aside, and my legs got clipped as it passed, spinning me across the glade. As it turned, Kurt dashed at it, slid underneath the legs , and sliced through at the group of joints.

"Screeeeee!" wailed the wicked spindle, but the Arachne continued on as if nothing had changed. I rose, drawing on extra power from the Crystal. It felt like fire in my veins, and ice on my skin. The Arachne came around again, I focused on the center of the ball, and threw a punch. My arm shot forward like a piston, striking the spindle dead center. It stopped instantly, the fire faded from my veins. The area around my fist cracked and spiderwebbed, the opposite side exploded outward in chunks of web and red flesh. I staggered backwards, then fell to my knees.

"You OK?" Kurt asked,and I drew a bit of aura, then told him I was. The drawing extra energy was something new, and I made a mental note of it.

"Shall we continue on then?" I asked him, getting to my feet. He nodded, and we resumed through the crimson wood, more cautiously than before, avoiding Arachne webbing.

Jay

"So this place actually exists, right?" I say to Adam, spinning my axe in circles to keep myself entertained.

"I hope so." He laughs, glancing up at the sky.

We were walking through what looked like the exact same patch of woods that we had walked through before, trying to find whatever it was we were looking for.

"We should probably take a break though, we've been walking for at least an hour." Adam didn't wait for a response before letting his equipment drop and sitting on a nearby log.

Before I had a chance to follow suit I heard one of Alpha's cries race through the air, instinctively holding my arm out as the sound of flapping wings grew closer.

Seconds later the hawk landed on my arm, ruffling his feathers as he stared at me.

"Friend of yours?" Adam laughed, admiring Alpha.

"Yeah, something like that." I laugh back. "So, find anything interesting?" I say to the bird.

He ruffles his feathers again before turning around on my arm and letting out a cry to our right, flapping his wings as he looked in that direction.

"Alright, calm yourself." I scratch the back of his head before turning to Adam. "We've got a lead."

"So…" I look at the massive tower in awe.

"I guess this is it?" Adam says, taking a few more steps forward and placing a hand on the tower. "The stone is almost perfectly smooth…"

"Whoever made this must have spent an entire lifetime on it." I say, looking into the pitch black entrance.

Before either of us could do anything else the entire tower rumbled gently, knocking pieces of dust off the aged stones.

"We have to go in there." I say, hoping that maybe Adam will disagree.

"Yup." He says, sounding more excited than I am.

Meanwhile with Kurt and Drake (Kurt's POV)

"Are you sure we're still headed the right direction?" I asked, ducking under a tree branch coated in webbing.

"Last we saw, the tower was in this direction. That said..." Drake trailed off.

"That was before we started avoiding webs." I finished, pointing at the wall of webs we had just bypassed. "You want me to go and check that we're going the right way?" I asked, gesturing toward a tree.

"Sure, go for it." Drake said, drawing his scythe and looking around before boosting me up with it towards the scarlet canopy. I land on a high branch and climb higher. I pop my head out of the leaves and see the tower to my left, encircled by web riddled trees.

"Huh." I say to myself and climb back down, stopping at the lowest branch.

"So what did you see?" Drake asks, craning his head to look at me in the tree's boughs, opening his faceplate.

"Well good news, bad news, and worst news. Which do you want first?"

"Worst first, then work our way up"

"So the worst news is there is no going around the webs."

"How far out do they go? Is it much further?"

"That's the thing. It looks as if it goes all the way around the tower. Now as for the bad news. It looks as if we are a bit of a ways off."

"Guess we'll have to try and pick up the pace, eh?" Drake said, grinning cheekily. "So what's the good bit".

"I found the tower." I say with a devilish grin.

"Still off that ways?" Drake asks, pointing slightly to the right of where the tower stood.

"A little bit more to the right but yeah." I jump down from the tree and turn into my wolf form. "Better get moving."

We walk for quite a while until we reach the wall of webs. "Alright I have an idea. Since you're hovering right now, does that mean you can fly with those fancy boots of yours?"

"What, this?" Drake asked, briefly hovering. I nod, and he chuckles, rubbing his right arm. "Several explosions, ruined trees and a lost pint of blood says no, flight is not in my repertoire. This- " he says, hovering again briefly, "isn't really hovering, it just makes movement smoother and faster. It's more of a floating, really. I can hover, but only for a few seconds at a time. Much longer puts too much strain on Alex, and he's liable to lock up."

"Awww. Well, looks like we do this the hard way." I take up a stance and get ready to sprint. I listen for anything ahead and hear nothing. "GO!" I jump forward as fast as I can and swipe at the wall of webbing, cutting it apart. I start sprinting through the forest after. "Don't stop for anything!" I yell to Drake. We keep going and I hear a mob of Arachne behind us. "Don't look behind us either!"

"Hmm, I wonder what's behind us?" Drake yells back sarcastically.

"Just trust me. There's more than you think." I see the tower in front of us along with two other people just outside. "Incoming!" I yell. The figures turn around, drawing weapons upon seeing our followers. Drake and I turned and I transform back into my human self, drawing my weapons as I do. Drake follows suit, but just as they reach usm a shrill scream rang out. The Arachne screeched to a halt, seemed to consider us, then took off back towards the web circle. "Oooookay then." I say confused.

"We probably don't have long though. Should probably get the relic and get out quick, before they come back." Drake said, lowering his scythe and extending his hand towards our new companions. "Drake Alcander".

"Not to be a dick but we can do introductions later. Right now time is not on our side." I look at the temple. "Right now. We just have to get the relics."

Sup people! So here's the real fourth chapter. Also WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I DONE GOOFED ON THE CHAPTERS?! I just realized it went from chapter six to chapter three and it's too late to fix. I'm angry at myself. It was a rookie mistake and I made it. sigh. so does anyone else want to say anything?

AHSora: Sorry it took so long.

Stack96: Yeah. But shit has happened to all of us somehow. well mostly me and one other writer. I started up college which is really tough. and another author that writes with us quit due to his girlfriend dying of cancer. I can understand him and hope he can move past it sooner or later. Loss is hard.

Roland127: Hope everyone's doing well.

Stack96: We also have our new guy here to replace Thelastguardian. His name is Walkman355 and he will be writing for Adam.

Walkman355: I'm glad to be here and working with others for a change. I hope to have some of my own stories updated really soon.

Stack96: Well till next time. Stack, Roland, Sora, and Walkman out.