Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.
I'm also exceedingly rarely chilling in JaxWolf4's (Author of Nah, I'd Adapt and Zenin Days) Discord Server. It's a chaotic lobotomy mess. Not for the faint of heart.
Here's the link:
Disc: HrPrTeam
HOLY MOLY KOKUSEN!?
-Story Start-
The debacle seemed to be over.
And even when Alex's deeply ingrained follow-the-herd sheep instincts were activated as he listlessly went along with his teammates and the stretcher that held the injured Jaune...
The confusion had yet to wear off as he stood within Beacon's infirmary. His amber eyes were casually looking through the glass to lightly appraise the collective members of JRNY & Ruby in there, minus Pyrrha and Weiss and, of course, himself.
They seemed to be stuck in a tearful hug, as Yang's weeping had calmed into hiccups, and Ruby had taken up the torch of weeping in her stead alongside Nora. Ren's eyes glistened; they appeared watery even. Nevertheless, the introvert of their party was also an avid participant in that strange group hug.
The redhead standing alongside him answered his bafflement with a wry smile. "They say that a fight is the most intimate conversation."
Alex cocked an eyebrow, "The most intimate conversation is a conversation." He retorted.
Weiss, who had been leaning on the nearby wall, nodded in agreement, as her eyes met with Alex's own, "I agree, I didn't really understand it either... but I think it helped?" Her lips lifted to form an awkward, uncertain smile as she turned to look at JRNY & Ruby.
Alex's head turned to look once more into the mirror, noting Jaune's delirious state as he wasn't in really much of a state to participate in conversation, so he only warmly looked at the... result of his actions.
"Did it? He didn't even get to be in on the group hug after all he went through." Alex murmured with a tilted head, a soft flicker of pity left his lips.
Pyrrha barked a laugh, waving her hand in dismissal. "I don't think that's what he was aiming for..."
"I'm not that stupid, I know he wasn't looking for a group hug." Alex deadpanned.
She genuinely praised with a wave of a hand, "I know, I know, but whether it settles things in their team or not, you can't help but respect his resolve, right?"
"Their 'team', acting like it's not one bad, sour apple." Alex shook his head.
"You would know, wouldn't you?" Weiss bit back with a snicker.
"I'm trying." Alex shrugged, his expression the paragon of innocence.
Weiss shook her head, returning to the topic at hand, voicing her opinion. Her tone was a mixture of conflicted disdain. "Well, in any case, I think Jaune's effort was adequate... however, my opinion is starting to shift in my father's favor, much to my dismay."
Pyrrha inquired, "Regarding what?"
Weiss huffed, her arms folded, "That Huntsmen are a barbaric bunch. As noble a profession as it is, what's so hard about settling things with words?" She gestured at the room filled with sobbing people and an injured Arc.
Alex nodded not once, but twice. "On that, we agree." For what appeared once in a blue moon, they found something they could agree on.
Stroking his chin, Alex mumbled his last puzzlement, "Ballsy as it was, why try and get her to come to her senses now?"
Weiss answered with a matter-of-fact tone, "She's an Exam away from being expelled."
"Okay." Yang's lack of attendance in classes wasn't anything new as of late for Alex, following the Mountain Glenn Tragedy.
A tick mark formed on her forehead as she pinched her brows. "Tomorrow's the Grimm Studies Exam." Her glare seeped venom and bitter disappointment.
Blinking, Alex hummed indifferently, "Ah, that was tomorrow?"
Pyrrha chuckled, turning to look at Weiss with a pacifying smile, "You know how he is-" she turned to Alex with a more sober expression, "Besides, you were busy with more important things today, so we shouldn't blame you for letting that test slip your mind. How did the visit go?"
A thin line formed on Alex's lips, "I would have forgotten about the Exam in any case." He honestly stated, as his stoic expression had a hint of reluctant resolve, "As for the visits, one of them threw me out, so there's no helping it. The last one, a single mother, tried to kill herself." He surgically listed out the day's events.
The air sobered up quickly as both Weiss's and Pyrrha's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "You... stopped her, right?" Weiss inquired with a visible grimace.
"Yeah, for now."
"For now?" Pyrrha repeated.
"If she really wanted to die, she'd do it already, and there's no stopping it..." His next words came with a determined frown, "But I told her I'll take responsibility, if she wants to, she can call me and I'll kill her myself."
"...That would be murder, Alex. That could lead you to prison."
"I don't care." He shrugged indifferently.
That had made both Weiss and Pyrrha pause for a second. A moment later, as they comprehended the weight behind his word, they exchanged tense looks.
Their mind drifted to the possibility that... Alex was abusing the great power he wielded.
After all... who could truly stop him? Who could truly... imprison him except for the by-product of his mind?
Those speculations died a swift, quiet death in their minds as Alex nonchalantly mentioned with a simple nod, "I wouldn't mind going to prison."
Weiss and Pyrrha exchanged looks once more, the latter chuckling good-naturedly whilst the former face-palmed, the impact of her hand on her forehead let loose a weak echo. Turning to Alex, Weiss expressed her bemusement, "You're unbelievable. How could you not figure out what Jaune was doing? You share in his pointless idiocy. Meaninglessly doing what can be avoided."
"Sure." Alex gave her a thumbs-up, his dull amber eyes practically screaming he didn't understand what Weiss had meant, but just agreed with her so she could leave him alone.
Pyrrha voiced her own opinion, "I'm not too sure about them being similar, but I think that something 'pointless' or 'meaningless' is subjective, isn't it?" She turned to look at Alex with an understanding and respectful nod, "We might not get it... at all. But it means something to you, doesn't it?"
"Yes." Alex nodded, confirming her words.
Weiss's loud protestful groan left her lips as easily as always, "Look." She approached practically rudely, pointing her fingers at his chest, "If you get that 'Call' to... End that woman, you tell us as soon as possible, okay?"
Alex blinked, misunderstanding the goal, but he rolled with it. "Okay." He nodded.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Weiss stepped a foot closer. "You're not getting it." She lifted her head as she was but a few inches away from Alex's own face, their eyes locking in a one-sided conflict, "We are not about to let you pass your 'sentence' or anything as grotesque on your own. We pass the sentence together, at the very least."
"What?"
"It was ourmess that you had cleaned. Whether you should have been there before or not, whether we should have listened to you back then or not, it doesn't matter right now. What's happened has happened, and some people need to accept that sooner rather than later." Her tone was cruel, yet her eyes were contrastingly warm as she momentarily let her gaze wander towards the huddled group of JRNY and Ruby.
She exhaled a calming breath, her lips lifting to grace Alex with a small smile. "If it really comes to it, although I still find it a foolhardy and idiotic endeavour... if it really comes to it, we'll swing the axe together, I'm sure Ruby and Pyrrha agree with me here. We'll swing it together, the four of us. Alright?"
From the edge of Alex's vision, given that Weiss was all he could see since she was all in his face, Pyrrha's mirrored nod and smile had indicated her agreement.
"Thanks? I think you're blowing this thing out of proportion. It's a selfish thing, it shouldn't involve any of you-" Today was a day of a plethora of confounding things for Alex.
Weiss growled, an accusing finger digging into Alex's chest as she cut him off. "No, no, youuuuu are blowing this thing out of proportion. Really? Killing her yourself? If the wailing mother of a filthyterroristdog wants to die, she should do it in a pathetic, dirty, cold, and dark alley where she bothers no one."
"Weiss..." Pyrrha's chastisement fell on deaf ears.
"So don't embarrass yourself with your stupid accusations directed at me... if you're going to do something 'meaningfully' foolish, we'll do it together. Got that? Or do you want me to make sure you don't find the bags of your favorite coffee blend-"
"Alright, relax." Alex adhered to his quick surrender philosophy, raising his hands in a gesture of resignation, though he truly wasn't fully convinced - but he hadn't suppressed the tiny conflicted smile on his face.
Sure, he appreciated it, but this really was blown out of proportion. It wasn't like it was something he couldn't do alone, but that blunder was his own.
[However, some things must be done alone. Rather, some things that only you can do, and no one else. Don't you think?]
Ignorance is bliss, or so Alex believed when it came to ignoring the vermin in this moment.
[Alexander, as unamusing as it is for you to ignore your own good... this mayhaps could be your last chance to not experience severe pain for two hours. Not to mention, helping a friend in trouble who had sunk to her lowest.]
Certainly, ignorance was pure bliss.
[You are an irredeemable fool.]
'As I had said to Weiss earlier, and I know you were listening, you're always listening. You underestimate people. They have themselves... and they have others, not justme.'
[That is not a fit-all response, Alexander. In the future, are you confident you could say the same?]
He answered the vermin honestly, his hand subconsciously grasping Excalibur's hilt, 'Hell if I know. Now screw off.'
-----------------------------
A big exam was approaching. Well, not exactly 'big'. For everyone in RAWP minus Alex, there was one rather worrying condition regarding not getting expelled immediately following the Mountain Glenn Tragedy.
Any failure or misbehavior leads to inarguable expulsion.
As for the potential expulsion of Yang due to misbehaving and 'injuring' Jaune.
The text message following Alex's inquiry regarding her possibility was met with Ozpin's surprising disclosure:
[Mister Arc had already informed me of his intentions. Miss Xiao Long will not face any repercussions... unless she fails or misses your Exam tomorrow, I pray you have studied as well, Mister Andrite.]
Given Jaune's duel with Yang had occurred on the night before one such test that may prove to expel them all, Team RAWP were, simply put... in the thick of it.
4:00 AM, still dark outside.
Team RAWP's dorm room smelled like expensive exotic coffee, as per usual. No, not quite as per usual. It practically reeked of it.
It seemed, given the situation, Alex was kind enough to share samples out of his guarded treasure trove.
"Pyrrha! The second-to-last classification of Grimm! Title plus age-range plus one example plus methods of countering! Go!" Ruby lay on the edge of her lower-bunk bed, a notebook in hand, as she donned her pajamas and a mighty headband with the writing of 'KNOWLEDGE! IS! POWER!'
Overall, despite the bags under her eyes, Ruby seemed to be in genuinely greater spirits as she pointed sharply at Pyrrha with her pen, who similarly lay in her own bed with a notebook.
Before Pyrrha could answer, as she processed the question, Alex lay on his upper bunk, his back hugging the wall, and Excalibur lying at his side. In his right hand, he held his trusty remote as he changed programs on the quieter-than-usual television.
Not letting his gaze leave the television as if he were a brainwashed zombie, he casually warned, "Brace yourselves, in the next five minutes I might start screaming in agony... I think. If it's as bad as rumors say, I'll try and leave and do it outside; it should be over in two hours."
His warning fell on deaf ears, as his team seemed to be in some kind of "study zone", Pyrrha answering easily enough.
"Ancient Grimm! Estimated to be between five hundred and a thousand years old and are known to require a large party or even an entire force of Huntsmen to vanquish them! Goliath Major! Methods of countering include aiming at soft spots underneath the bone, a standard procedure against heavily armored Grimm. Given the Goliath Major's size, it is recommended to lure it into rough or narrow terrain to limit its movement or trip it up! Once it has fallen, it's much easier to take out!"
Ruby pointed her pen with approval, "Ding ding ding! Correct~!" She then burst into motion, hopping out of her bed to peek above her own bunk to look at Alex with an expectant look, "Alex! Last classification of Grimm! Title plus age-range plus one example of dealing with it! Go!"
Without detaching his gaze from his mind-numbing watch of a corn-farming documentary, which was being showcased on Television to show the importance of farmers in Remnant's survival, or so he justified to himself, he fiddled with Ruby's question for a moment.
Arriving at an answer just a moment later.
It was a swift, surgical, casual, and rather simple answer:
"Super Ancient Grimm, only one discovered. Over a thousand years old and beyond. Ghoramu. Obliterate him with Excalibur."
A thumbs-down followed by vocal booing from Ruby reverberated in the room, "Boo! Wrong! The answer is to study his path and avoid him at all costs!"
"Both work." Alex shrugged as he continued to watch the enticing and engaging corn-farming documentary.
The question regarding 'how' he was planning on obliterating such a Grimm with Excalibur flew over their heads in favor of studying, of course.
...
And it was a couple of minutes later that the dreadful timing came:
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[PING!]
[Sub Quest - "A Certain Blonde's Rebirth!" Failed!]
[Processing...]
[Issuing Punishment...]
Alex braced himself for agonizing pain, hoping it wasn't as bad as he had heard it was. He could take it, he believed, at least enough to maintain the dignity of not screeching in agony.
However...
It never came.
[Avalon The Everdistant Utopia has nullified body tampering of the host by foreign 'Fifth Dimensional' authority!]
...
"Well, how about that?" Alex couldn't, hadn't tried to, suppress the small lifting of his lips into a grateful and gleeful smile.
'This...was a big discovery. Merlin's words truly had substance behind them.'
[...]
To Be Continued!
-Author Note Start-
Hello hello!
HOLY YAP CHAPTER THO!
Anyway, time to accelerate and escalate!
Two big things will be happening real soon, and we're done with this little mini arc that wasn't related completely to Alex, though it served a few of the functionalities it was meant for.
AVALOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Ahem!
One of the big things coming is Blake's funeral and the arrival of her parents, and the other... well, you'll have to see.
Not including the upcoming Vytal Festival and the exchange students of course.
Not to be obvious or anything, but Cindy windy little inflirtation plan isn't happening here. Her pals got arrested and she ain't going alone.
Why haven't we seen her? Well you'll be seeing her pretty soon.
I think I've showcased most? of what I wanted to showcase this arc.
Expect the coming arc to still be rather chill as things brew into a boil once again. YAY!
Love ya! Bu Bye!
I'll admit I've churned this chapter out a bit too quickly without glancing, so I hope it is up to snuff in quality and such - but I'm a well-oiled machine right now and I am churning these chapters out at rocket speed!
Next chapter within 24-48 hours.