Team GRAY/Story

==Beginnings==
Annie, Roger, and Yara were all together when their airship arrived at the landing pad. Stepping onto real ground, the trio of friends viewed Beacon Academy for the first time.
"Well, this is a view that I could get used to!" said Roger. After a few seconds passed, Roger said, "Yep. I'm used to it."
Yara rolled her eyes while Annie chuckled a bit. "How could you get bored already with this level of engineering?!" asked Yara.
"What? It's just a bunch of stone and brick."
"You obviously don't know the effort that went into this."
"We have Dust nowadays."
"Dust has nothing to do with design!"
Annie was about to stop the argument when an explosion occured a few meters away from them. As the friends turned around in surprise, Roger said: "An explosion now? Well, this year is looking good already."
Yara sighed in exasperation. "If you ask me, it's going to look bad for this whole school..."
Annie chuckled again. "True, Yara. Explosions are a sign that something isn't good... Or just another argument taking place." Annie sighed while the other two took a double take at the two charred girls bickering inside the smoke, one wearing a red outfit and the other donning an elaborate white skirt.
"Wait a second..." murmured Yara. "That's Weiss Schnee."
"The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?" questioned Roger. "Gah, it really is her!"
"Now don't do anything risky, Roger..." warned Yara.
"... Especially when your target's the daughter of one of the richest people in the world!" finished Annie. As they held Roger back, another figure, cloaked in green, passed by.
Grayson had made some friends already, but they didn't really make him feel special or welcome, for some reason. He had heard rumors of teams, and it wasn't likely that any of his current buddies would end up on the same team as him. As he talked, he wondered: Hmm, I wonder who I'll be teamed up with, if there are teams at all. Of course, everyone else is thinking this as well. Grayson sighed inwardly. Well, I'll just have to wait and see...
"Try not to pull something like that off again, Roger. You're quite stronger than the two of us combined," said Yara.
"Goddamnit, that bitch needs to know what her parent's company is doing to their workers! I'm not going to just stand around while she goes all over the school acting like she's queen!" ranted Roger. The trio had seen Weiss' scolding to the unfortunate girl in red, lecturing her about Dust.
"Even so, you shouldn't get kicked out of Beacon early. Your guardians would be disappointed in you," Yara reprimanded.
"That doesn't solve my situation back home."
"What matters right now is that you get through Beacon in one piece."
"Come on, you two. We're going to be late for the orientation," said Annie. They headed down the stone pathway to the colossal oaken doors that opened up to a crowd of people. As the Signal graduates took their places, Professor Ozpin approached the microphone.
"Now who's that geezer with the cane?" wondered Roger.
Yara facepalmed, then jabbed him in the ribs. "That's Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of this school! You should have known that a long time ago."
Annie shushed the two as the headmaster began his speech. After it was done, Glynda gave the crowd of future Hunters their destination for the night.
==Nighttime Thinking==
"Hey, Roger?" asked Yara.
"Hmm?"
"How exactly do you plan to free your guardians from their poverty?"
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure about that. I guess I plan to rise to fame as a Huntsman and raise enough money to save my folks."
Yara sighed. "Roger, try not to count your chickens before they hatch."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Try not to predict everything and expect it to go your way. There are other variables-"
"Don't bother me with your science mumbo-jumbo."
"Roger, please. This is for your guardians' sake."
Annie joined in. "We're your friends, Roger. We truly care about you. And that includes your business as well."
Roger sighed. "I guess you're right."
The trio of friends had already prepared for the night and now were talking with each other about their lives, as well as their futures, as they waited for sleep to take over.
Or maybe not.
"Hey, isn't that the girl who exploded?" said Roger, looking at the raven-haired girl from the argument from before. She appeared to be talking to a blonde-haired girl.
"Oh, her? That's Ruby Rose. And the blonde laying down next to her is Yang Xiao Long," informed Yara.
"Yara... " Annie said in exasperation.
"What? You know me. I like to be informed!" Yara exclaimed.
Annie just shook her head and fiddled with her flute.
"Oh yeah, those two girls are also sisters," continued Yara.
"Well, I'm getting an eyeful already of the blondie." Roger licked his lips.
"Oh, Roger." Yara laughed.
Suddenly, a candle was lighted as a black-haired girl took out a book and started to read.
"Hmm, that's the girl who stopped Weiss from going too far, isn't it?" Annie asked.
"Yep. Her name's Blake Belladonna. For some strange reason, I couldn't pull anything on her." said Yara.
"Weird. You usually know almost everything."
"This particular girl is actually quite slippery."
Annie was about to continue on when her eyes started to grow heavy. "I think it would be a good idea to sleep now. Night."
Roger and Yara were about to say the same thing when a scuffle started between Ruby and Yang, who were trying to converse with Blake. Weiss came over to try to stop the noise, only to start yet another argument.
Yara rolled her eyes. "I'm too tired to stop this squabble."
Roger yawned. "For once, I concur."
The trio closed their eyes as sleep overtook them.
A while later, Annie woke up. All the others were asleep, oblivious to her shuffling as she relieved herself. When she went back to her sleeping bag, she suddenly thought she could hear a sweet tune playing outside. Now who would be playing at this time? When people are sleeping?
Careful not to disturb the others, Annie made her way to the balcony, where she could see a cloaked figure playing a violin. The music was sad and melodious, yet it spoke of hope at the same time. Annie unconciously joined in with the flute. She never felt herself raise her flute to her lips until the notes actually played.
The person cloaked in green started and almost dropped his instrument, removing his hood in the process.
"Holy- Try not to sneak up on me, please. Especially when I'm performing in private," said the figure.
"I'm so sorry about that. I don't know what got over me. But your music is beautiful, better than most professional instrumentalists I'd ever heard. Why don't you spread it to the public, ...?"
"Grayson. I don't feel that the world is ready for me."
"Oh, this world needs music such as yours. I could feel the emotion coming from that melody. I'm Annie, by the way."
Grayson sighed. "I just play with my soul, and the music comes out. I just never imagined that I could make beautiful music to match the quality of other professionals today." She has no idea...
"Stop beating yourself down. You are great. I could have started crying right there behind you!"
Grayson put on a ghost of a smile. "The flattery is nice, but I just don't know..."
Annie put a hand on Grayson's shoulder. "I do have confidence in your music, Grayson. You can shock the world with it. It's getting quite late now. You should go to sleep."
As Annie left, Grayson realized something.
This was the first time he hadn't put Hope Primordial away right after playing.
==Initiation==
As Annie retrieved Lumos Halo from her locker, she couldn't help but think of what happened last night.
"You seem distracted today, Annie," said Roger. "Anything wrong?"
"No, no. Well, yes, actually. I guess I'm just nervous about the initiation."
"Hmm, true. We know almost nothing about it," Roger said as he amused himself with Soul Singe.
Yara came to the duo. "Well, I just talked to some other people. I heard the rumors that we're going to be split into teams comprised of 4 members each. We just don't know the selection process yet."
As Yara checked the ammunition on Whisper Stream, Roger and Annie observed a blonde guy trying to hit up on Weiss Schnee and...
"Hey, that's Pyrrha Nikos!" Roger exclaimed.
"Who?" Yara questioned.
"She's graduated Sanctum Academy at the top of her class!"
"Uhhh..."
"Pyrrha set a new record for winning the Mistral Regional Championships 4 times in a row!"
"Not ringing a bell."
"She's on the front of every frickin' Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!"
"Oh, that's her?"
"You seriously haven't done any research on her whatsoever?!"
"Hey, I can't gather intel on every person at this academy."
"Even so, she's famous across Mistral!"
Well, at least Roger isn't focused on Weiss at the moment, thought Annie.
While this argument was going on, Grayson was inspecting Hope Primordial with the utmost precision, careful not to miss a single nick. He was thinking about what happened last night. Maybe I should perform in front of an audience someday. Then again, do I want to expose my story emotionally through music? Grayson was seriously pondering for the first time in a while.
Annie had just sorted out the argument when Pyrrha threw a spear at the poor guy, causing Annie to gasp in alarm. However, the blonde was okay, the spear just piercing his hoodie.
"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Annie asked.
"Well, the important thing is he's okay," Yara reassured.
The announcement came for the new recruits to report to Beacon Cliffs. As they left for their destination, Yara said, "Poor Jaune."
"Is that the blonde's name?" Roger asked as he watched Ruby carry him off.
"Yes. Interesting, because Jaune is-"
"Poor guy. He doesn't know how to hit up on girls."
Yara rolled her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about these days?"
Roger grinned widely. "You betcha."
The launchpads were full with students when the trio and Grayson arrived. The friends were forced to spread out among the line. As Professor Ozpin began to give an introduction to the intiation, each of them were having their own thoughts.
Well, Grayson thought, this is the beginning of my career as a Huntsman. He took out the piece of uncut white Dust he always carried with him. Mother, if you could see me now, you would be proud. I just wish that you were here today. As Grayson was launched, he extended Hope Primordial to its full length, remembering the good people that fell to the creatures of Grim, those lifeless, torn corpses on the ground. Time to get to work...
Roger was quite excited at the danger the forest possessed. Here's some excitement. Not the explosions I like, but a good replacement. But I need to think of the people I have back home. I need to think about how I'm going to help them in the future. As Roger was catapulted, he unraveled Soul Singe to its 3 meter length. Whatever. I'll think of something...
As Annie listened to the intro, she worried about her folks at home. Why did I leave them to that corrupt church, blind to the deceit behind that horrible pastor? I became a Huntress for this very purpose: to seek out and purge corruption. But no matter where I go, my morals don't seem to apply. As Annie went flying through the air, she snapped Lumos Halo into its bow form. Let's hope I get past this...
My parents were shamed, and I was forced to watch those dreams burn down. Yara recalled the failure of Aeriver Industries as she listened to Professor Ozpin. Being a Huntress is certainly exciting, but I do plan on reviving my family's business and redesign it to the point where it shall never fall again. However, I must start small... Yara planned her future as she was thrusted up by the launchpad, taking out Whisper Stream in the process. I know I shouldn't count my chickens, but I do want to make my parents proud of me...
The disappointments of the past was fresh on their minds as they landed in the Emerald Forest...
==Impact==
As Grayson neared the trees, he twirled Hope Primordial and launched the shotgun rounds, leveling his fast but shallow descent. When he hit the ground, he rolled once and immediately stood up.
The first thing he saw was a pair of silver eyes looking right at him.
"Well, this is quite a coincidence. Hello again," said Grayson as he greeted Annie.
Annie nodded back. "Indeed. We should move fast now. I thought I saw some black fur on my way down."
"Black fur? That's not a good sign," said Grayson as he started walking with Annie. "Grim are in this forest. And that means unpredictability."
"So what your weapon? I haven't gotten a chance to see it," Annie said as she tried to change the subject.
Grayson took out Hope Primordial again, extending it to axe form. "I call this Hope Primordial. I made it when I was a kid. It's stayed with me for 7 years now."
"What a pretty name for a weapon. Mine's Lumos Halo," Annie said as she took out her bow. "I forged it in Signal Academy. Speaking of Signal, I haven't seen you at all in Signal. Were you in Sanctum or something?"
"Actually, I was accepted directly into Beacon. I haven't been to an academy until now."
"That's quite rare, being accepted without any official prior training. How did you get their attention?"
"I worked as a village guardsman before being enrolled into Beacon Academy. They saw my skill by pure chance when a Hunter was passing by the village."
"So do you have folks back at the village?"
Grayson was about to answer when growls sounded around the duo. A Beowolf with bony protrusions emerged from the bushes and roared. Grayson took out Hope Primordial and twirled it a few times, while Annie snapped Lumos Halo into position and prepared an arrow. They positioned themselves back to back.
"They shouldn't have found us this quickly!" exclaimed Annie.
"Nevertheless, we need to prepare for a fight." Grayson took a fighting stance as the Beowolf charged.
---
The SDCC released a branch as Roger landed with a thump on the ground. Dusting himself off, he retracted Soul Singe to its ball form and started walking. Danger, right. I don't see anything around here that seems dangerous. I guess I can go on.
Shifting bushes out of the way, he eventually saw a familiar blue figure in the distance.
"Yara! Over here!" shouted Roger.
Yara turned in surprise at her friend's sudden appearance. "Shh!"
Roger paused in confusion. "What are you-"
Yara gestured Roger to be silent. Roger then noticed the hisses around them as black snakes rose up around the two.
"Well, shit," said Roger as he looked at the new arrivals. "Gonna need some luck if we're going to get out of this." Roger released Soul Singe as Yara unsheathed Whisper Stream.
"What are these things?" Roger asked.
"Grim."
==First Contact==
Grayson ducked under the Beowolf's swipe and performed a slash that went through its midriff. Noticing two other Beowolves rushing him, he executed a series of quick but lethal strikes against one Beowolf while launching a shotgun shell in the direction of the other creature, launching himself towards another Beowolf in the process. Annie, meanwhile, was picking off beasts left and right around her. Arrows were flying everywhere.
Soon, only the Alpha was left.
Grayson launched himself at the leader, only to be deflected back by a swipe. Annie tried launching a few arrows at it, but the Alpha was surprisingly quick at movement, dodging the small projectiles.
"We'll need to work together on this one. Charge it at the same time as me." commanded Grayson.
Annie nodded. "Okay. 1..."
"2..."
"3!"
They charged.
---
A while later, Annie was picking up fallen arrows, while Grayson was cleaning his axe of blood. Noticing a few scratches on her arm, Grayson said, "Why didn't you activate your aura?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"You never heard of aura before?"
"This is the first time I've heard of it. What exactly is aura?"
"Well, it's a manifestation of the soul. If you practice enough with it, aura can become a shield. Here, let me help you."
Grayson glowed green as he activated Annie's aura. The wounds on her arm instantly closed.
Grayson slumped as his body went back to normal.
"Grayson? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said as he stood up again. "Your aura is now active."
Annie then noticed a battered Beowolf, blood oozing out of its wounds. It was whining in pain, and for the slightest moment, Annie felt pity for it.
Then a shot rang out.
The barrel of Hope Primordial was smoking, now in sniper form. A hole was present in the now-dead body where the bullet pierced.
Annie was shocked by this cruel act. "Don't you think that was a little bit cold, Grayson?! It didn't need to die so quickly!"
Grayson put Hope Primordial away and turned to Annie.
"If you think the Grimm are no threat to humanity, think again. These things have no souls, and therefore unable to use Aura. They only exist to kill. I lost my livelihood because of the darkness."
"What? What do you mean?"
Grayson remembered as he told his memories.
~
A bright light shone through his closed eyes as Grayson opened them up in confusion, then surprise. Standing there, before him, was...
His own mother, still standing and fighting.
Grayson was too shocked to speak. He clearly saw his mother fall to snakes. Then, how was she still fighting? He didn't know how to react until the final creature was blasted away. His mother fell to the ground then.
Grayson rushed over to his mother's side and sat down. Her hems were torn and bloody from battle. Snake bites were clearly visible on parts of her dress. Grayson looked up as she began to talk.
"My son.... I will not last long in this world. Those serpents poisoned me to the point where I cannot heal myself."
Grayson began to glow green as he tried to heal his remaining parent.
"No... don't try to use your aura on me. You'll only exhaust yourself."
The boy reluctantly let his body return to normal.
"Still just as kind as ever. Just what I wanted to see in you in the first place. I'm proud of you. I'll always be." She smiled. 
"You are our legacy now. Carry it on."
As they lay together for a while, she said her last words:
"Grayson... can you promise me... that... when you can... try to be human, okay? It's the least you can do."
Fresh tears grew in his eyes as her body grew limp. The only sound left in the village was soft crying and the wind blowing through the trees.
~
Annie couldn't say anything for a while. They walked for a few minutes. Finally, she began to talk.
"I think... I understand why you were fighting so viciously against those creatures. It seemed like you had a history with them, but I didn't know until now. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It happened a long time ago."
They continued to travel north in silence.
---
Roger pulled out Soul Singe from the thin corpse of a snake. "That was surprisingly easy to do."
Yara scoffed. "If you hadn't charged in the first place, we would've gotten done much quicker than that."
"Well, what matters is that they're dead, we're alive, and we can move on."
She sighed. "We'll have to move quick, then. Most likely, other Grim are on their way to the other students right now."
As the duo made their way up north, they didn't see a shadow blocking the sun for a second.
The thing was, this shadow dwarfed Yara and Roger in size.
==Stalemate==
Grayson and Annie continued to walk on until they arrived at a clearing surrounded by ancient stone brick. Pedestals ringed the clearing, and on each one stood a relic.
"Looks like we're the first ones here," said Grayson.
"What are these?" Annie asked in confusion.
"These are chess pieces. I used to play chess with my guardians before they died as well. It was such fun."
"Hmm. In that case, which one should we take?"
"Probably the King, since it's the most important piece in the game."
Grayson took the White King and started to head out. When he heard the absence of footsteps behind him, he turned and saw Annie staring at the Black King piece.
"What is it? Are you remembering something from your past?"
Annie was surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"
"People would say I had a strange look on my face whenever I was reminiscing about something." Grayson smiled at her, but he still wore the look of sadness. "It's always good to remember the past, but look to the future for hope, for fate is one thing you can change."
Annie looked up at Grayson. "You told me your story, so it's only fair that I tell mine..."
~
"What are we studying next, Friar Solomon?" asked a young Annie.
"Patience, little one. All good things will come in time."
The pair were in the church garden, filled with rich plant life and ripe fruit. The building itself was made of polished white marble, with some cracks riddling the foundation. Birds were singing in the air, and the sun was shining radiantly.
"Now, this next lesson will be a bit hard to get. Imagine this in your mind: A runaway train is about to kill five people on the tracks unless you pull the switch."
"That's not hard-"
"I'm not finished, young one. If you do pull the switch, the train will pull onto another track that will kill another person on the tracks."
Annie was dismayed. "I don't want to do this lesson."
"Then you let five people die?"
"..."
"Or you sacrifice the life of one person for five lives? Young one, when you go on in life, hard decisions will come to you like this one. Don't you forget that."
"Even if it means letting another person die?"
"There are other sacrifices than a person's life, like your freedom, or your ideals."
"Why are there hard decisions in life, Friar?"
"Well, young one, that's a hard question to answer, but a good one, nonetheless."
Just then, a priest came running in the hallways surrounding the garden. Friar Solomon stopped the rushing man and asked, "What makes you runneth so, good friend?"
The priest looked at him with anguished eyes. "Our pastor has passed away!"
~
"I see..." said Grayson.
"This Black King reminds me of the corruptness of the church now. It isn't what it used to be in my childhood days."
The duo had gotten going while they were talking, and were a good deal ahead of the others.
"The Friar was a good friend of yours, wasn't he?"
"He was one of the greatest teachers I had. He taught me not only the basic education, but also life lessons and morals."
Suddenly, a shrill scream could be heard throughout the forest. Grayson and Annie turned in surprise.
"Where did that come from?" asked Grayson.
"Somewhere northeast of us." That voice sounded familiar...
Annie started in the direction of the scream. Grayson followed confusedly, asking "Where are we going?"
"I believe that one of my friends may be in danger!"
---
Yara was unprepared for the scorpion-like Grimm that was waiting in ambush. Yara and Roger had retrieved the Black King piece and were heading back to the cliff as well. The scorpion had Yara in its claws and was slowly crushing her while calling other scorpions to the area.
"Hang on for a minute, Yara!" said Roger.
"Do you have any idea how long a minute is?!" Why wasn't I prepared for this? Is it because I'd assumed that we'd take care of any Grimm, not considering the reinforcements? How foolish of me.
Yara reprimanded herself while Roger was ripping through the other scorpions. Oh, Annie, I need you now, of all times...
==Checkmate==
Annie broke through the bushes at breakneck speed, followed closely by a panting Grayson. They bore witness to Yara and Roger surrounded by a horde of scorpions. Yara, now free from the Death Stalker's grasp, was back-to-back with Roger.
"Friends of yours?" asked Grayson.
"Yep."
Howls sounded all around them as Grayson, Annie, Yara, and Roger all fought their way towards each other.
Grayson put on a concerned look. "That sounds like Beowolves. A whole lot of them."
Roger looked over at Grayson. "Your partner, Annie?"
Annie kept her eyes on the foe. "The time for introductions is not now, Roger."
He gave a sheepish grin. "Right."
"At least 100 Beowolves are headed this way!" warned Yara.
"On top of that, we have to worry about the Death Stalkers," surmised Grayson. "We need to bust through this crowd! We're at a positional disdvantage here. Focus all your efforts on one point in the crowd."
"Your boyfriend's smart," remarked Yara as she went to work.
"Not my boyfriend. Just partners." Annie replied bluntly.
They demolished a Death Stalker and rushed through the gap. A few Beowolves appeared before them.
"Go through! Our objective is to get back to the cliffs now, not demolish everything in this forest!" reminded Grayson. Even though I detest these monsters with all my hatred...
They broke into an open clearing right next to the cliffs. An open cave yawned in the side of the cliff. Eight eyes shone from the darkness as an enormous armored spider emerged from the cave, as well as a colossal bat. Behind the four emerged Beowolves and Death Stalkers, hissing and howling.
"We're in deep shit now," said Roger sullenly as he stared at the gigantic crowd of Grimm.
"Not if we work together. We have Aura, Dust, and our weapons. All they have is claws, fangs, and wings. The one thing that they do not have is souls. For that is what makes us different from them." said Grayson.
Grayson closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, his eyes were glowing a brilliant emerald.
"They're charging!" Annie warned as the beasts made their advance.
The quartet quickly held up their weapons and struck.
Flashes of Aura bursts from guns and the slicing of flesh filled the air as the four repelled the forces of darkness. Despite the superior fighting styles, they were being pushed back towards elaborate ruins where two other teams were fighting a giant bird and a humongous Death Stalker.
"Well, they have it easy. Quite easy," Roger said. He somersaulted while spinning his SDCC in a deadly, fiery sphere, leaving the space around him full of dead Grimm.
"It's not like we want to wish this situation on other people. Besides, the more Grimm we kill, the better the world is," stated Grayson.
Pretty soon, only the spider and the bat were left. Beowolves and Death Stalkers lay dead everywhere. However, the team were driven back to a bridge on the ruins.
The four fired at the spider, to no avail. The bony armor of the Grimm was enough to repel the rounds fired.
The bat charged at the team, who quickly moved aside.
"We can't fight them both at the same time! Yara, can you summon winds to distract the bat while we deal with the spider?" asked Grayson.
"I'll try to keep it off you. Don't expect much, though." Mustering her strength, Yara summoned a vortex of wind to deal with the aerial assault for a while.
Now free of the bat, the team turned to the spider, which gave out a loud hiss and started across the bridge.
"Target the joints!" Grayson ordered.
Yara and Roger swung their weapons towards the joints of the spider's legs, while Annie was blinding it with accurate shots from her bow. Dazed and blind, the spider had no response to their teamwork. It fell to the ground, unable to dodge the final strike from Annie.
Nocking an arrow, Annie charged it with light to create a dazzling display, capable of hitting any target with maximum impact.
She released.
The spider's corpse was completely obliterated: no corpse, no smell, no sign that it was there in the first place.
Roger sighed. "Well, that's done."
"Not quite. You already forgot that thing, Roger?" asked Yara in surprise.
"What thi- Oh. That." Roger turned around to face the bat, now free of the tornado. It let out a loud screech and flapped its wings hard to create gusts that nearly blew them off their feet.
"Using my own strategy against us? How rude," said Yara.
"We'll have to ride the wind in order to escape this," Grayson stated.
"I don't have flight capabilities. Neither does the other two." Yara gestured to Annie and Roger.
"In that case..." Grayson fired a shotgun shell away from the bat, with the wind behind him. He then launched himself high into the air above the winds, then fired multiple rounds to propel himself towards the bat. It noticed this and evaded Grayson's charge, then attempted to tackle him itself. Grayson put up a platform made of Dust and launched himself higher yet into the air, dodging the charge in the process. He then increased his velocity drastically, dazing the creature with quick, successive strokes, finally ending the combo high above it. The bat charged upwards as he came down, Hope Primordial ready to strike. Eyes glowing green, he swung down with his axe.
You, who took many innocent lives without reason, without souls, without remorse, shall face my wrath.
The body of the flying Grimm was sliced in half at the same time that Ruby beheaded the Nevermore. Grayson landed on the ground with a thump, the remains falling behind him.
He looked up and saw the other three, eyes wide open, clearly amazed.
Grayson remembered something then.
"Forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Grayson Terra."
---
"Annie Celeste, Grayson Terra, Roger Pyreheart, and Yara Aeriver. The four of you have retrieved the White King pieces. From now on, you will be known as Team GRAY, led by Grayson Terra."
As they left the podium, Yara noticed that "We somehow managed to stay together, even with less than a 10% chance with this selection process."
"Well, what matters is that we're together, with one new addition." Annie looked at Grayson.
Grayson acknowledged the comment. "It's going to be good working with you. By the way, you all don't happen to play an instrument, do you?"
"Yara doesn't, but she has a singing talent. As for me, I play some guitar, but I might be out of practice," said Roger. He was already informed of Annie and Grayson's first encounter.
"That's quite the coincidence, then." He smiled, then turned his attention to the podium as Team SOUL, Team CRDL, Team JNPR and Team RWBY were introduced.
I have a feeling that that Ruby is going to be somewhat special someday. As for me, I'll do my best. An interesting year, indeed... Wait a second. That silver-haired girl in Team SOUL seemed familiar, for some reason. Grayson frowned. Where have I seen her before?...
==School Days==
Grayson and Roger were wandering the halls together, discussing the possibility of starting a band. Annie and Yara were following them closely. They were all in school uniform, with Grayson keeping his green cloak.
"Problem is, none of us knows how to play the drums. It's an integral part of a band. I've heard the drums play, and it provides a base for the music above it." Grayson frowned.
"Hmm. If you're suggesting those pieces then, I suggest finding a piano player as well. Although not my cup of tea, the piano lays down a base, just like the drums do."
"You need some drums, right?"
Team GRAY turned around as a familiar face came running down the smooth floor.
"I play the drums! I could be in your band and play for you!" said a smiling Oakley.
Another voice came floating down the hall. "Oakley, come back here at once!" The light brown-haired girl from the initiation ceremony was briskly striding towards the youngster.
"Oh? I think I've seen you before. Your name?" asked Roger.
"Umiko Wirbel," she said in a haughty tone. "You don't seem to be well versed in your manners."
Roger took offense at that. "I'm a man. I can do what I want. This is a free country."
Before the dispute could escalate, Sam came leisurely walking down the hall with the silver-haired girl from before. "Now what seems to be the matter, Umiko?"
"Just an idiot with his words getting mixed up. There are certain ways to say words without looking like a retard."
Yara bristled. "Roger didn't look like a idiot, even if he says dumb things sometimes! Who do you think you are, talking as if someone was lower than you?"
"Umiko..." Sam warned.
Umiko ignored Sam, despite his protests. "I'm the second-top graduating student at Sanctum. Just under Pyrrha," she said smugly.
Now Annie joined in. "Your academic position doesn't matter! No one cares about grades, even though they may elevate your reputation."
"Oh, grades don't matter. Let's just skip all our classes and go on with life! 'Cause everyone knows how friends make you feel better."
"That's not what I meant!"
Suddenly, a pale hand set itself on Umiko's shoulder. Turning around, she saw the calm face of the silver-haired girl.
"Umiko, yamenasai. Onegai," she said in a quiet tone.
Umiko gave a glare at the trio of friends, then stepped back.
Sam took the conversation again. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce her. This is Lydia Kukihana. She's usually this quiet around people, for some reason. We could never discern why. In addition, she can speak a different dialect than the regular English."
Lydia gave a bow. "Yoroshiku. Nice to meet you."
Grayson responded. "Nihongo wa hanashimasuka? Totemo igai da nee."
Lydia and the others looked at Grayson in surprise. Only Yara looked unsurprised. "You speak the same language as her? " asked Annie.
Grayson looked down. "Yes. My mother was Japanese, so she taught it to me. I grew up with half Japanese and half English dialects in my ears."
"Funny. I also had a Japanese mother and an English father," said Lydia quietly.
Grayson looked up again. "I'm Grayson. This is Annie Celeste, over here is Yara Aeriver, and here is Roger Pyreheart."
Oakley visibly froze and stopped smiling at the mention of Roger's name. "Wait... Roger, yes?"
"Umm, yes. Anything about that?" asked Roger.
Oakley came up to him and examined him closely for a straight 5 minutes. Finally, he stood back up, smiling once more, and said the following:
"I'd never thought I'd see you again, brother."
For a moment, there was shocked silence.
Then Roger spoke.
"I... think... I'm starting to remember now."
"Well, today's just full of surprises, isn't it?" said Sam. "We should get to lunch now. Wanna sit with us?"
Grayson accepted the offer. "Thank you, we would." Grayson gave a passing glance to Umiko. "So long as she behaves herself."
Sam laughed. "Don't worry, we'll keep her on a leash," he said as Umiko gave a huff. They walked off to the dining hall together, Oakley sticking noticeably close to Roger, who was still shocked.
---
"So my parents said I was just gone one day? When I was 5?" asked Roger.
"Apparently so. They looked everywhere for you. It sounded like you were a really good kid," Oakley answered.
"I think I might've gotten lost, then." Roger gave an embarassed smile.
"Anyway, it's good to finally see you again. I never stopped thinking about having a big brother. It was lonely without you."
"I'm sorry if I've caused you any pain. I'll try to be a bit more considerate in the future."
In the dining room, the two teams were just finishing up the food. Yara stood up and said "Gochisosama" unconciously. She covered her mouth too late.
Grayson sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point. You know Nihongo, even though you don't look like a Japanese."
Yara scratched her nose sheepishly. "My parents enrolled me in a Japanese language school, you see. Being me, of course, I managed to pass with top grades. It's become a bit of a habit, speaking random bits of it at various times."
"First, Grayson speaks Japanese, then we find out Oakley is Roger's brother, and now Yara speaks it as well? I have no fucking clue what the hell's going on around here," Umiko ranted. Lydia just kept silent this time, quietly finishing her meal.
"Try watching your language a bit, Umiko. Now, onto the subject you were on in the first place. You mentioned you wanted to start a band?" asked Sam.
"Yes, but we ran into a few problems," Annie said with concern. "First off, we need a drummer and a pianist, as well as a bass guitarist. None of us play those instruments."
Sam chuckled. "As you may have already heard, Oakley does play the drums, and Lydia is a pianist. Besides, Umiko is also a prodigy when it comes to music. Oh, yes, and I'm also a guitarist, even though I also play the bass."
Umiko perked up at the mention of a band. "Wait, a band? Can I join?"
Annie looked at Umiko suspiciously, then gave a sigh. "As long as your quarrels don't get in the way of our playing."
Umiko snorted. "If there's one thing I respect, it's music."
"I think the whole of Team SOUL is interested in joining you. I'm personally curious as to what pieces we're going to play, though," Sam said.
Grayson joined in. "I was thinking of playing this one first. It requires only four people, but it'll make a good first impression on the audience."
Sam saw the title of the piece and smiled. "That one?"
Grayson returned a slight grin. "That one."
Sam rubbed his hands together. "This should be fun."
==Memories==
~
I was 9 at the time. I was so happy. My brother, or Aniki, had unusual green eyes, and was born at the same time as me, who had just as strange a mutation, silver hair. The people treated us fairly and equally, and although we may have been different from the others, we never felt discriminated.
"Lydia! Let's go to the forest now, shall we?" asked a smiling Aniki.
"Hai (okay) !" said Lydia, and grinned back.
Before we could get there, though...
"What are those red eyes doing in the forest?" Aniki wondered.
"Maybe it's lonely," said Lydia. A growl sounded. "See?"
I didn't know at the time what those things were...
A large black dog hopped out of the bushes, featuring bony potrusions on its head and limbs. Whenever it moved, it loped with surprising speed. 
"Umm, Lydia? I don't think it wants to be friends," said Aniki.
The Grimm charged. Aniki and Lydia cowered beneath the shadow of the huge beast.
It jumped right over them and chomped on another friend who was secretly following them.
That was my first time, seeing someone's death. A friend who was close to me.
Lydia and Aniki stared at the child for only a second. He looked back.
Then the mauling began.
Blood was everywhere.
Tears were shed.
"NOOOOOO!" exclaimed Aniki. Lydia was still shocked, eyes wide open. Aniki forced himself to look away and run away, carrying Lydia with him.
The village was just as bad.
"Nani kore?... (what is this?)" said a devastated Aniki.
All the buildings were now home to a hundred flickering flames, devouring everything in its path. We agreed to split up, me looking for my father, and Aniki looking for our mother.
Lydia saw a familiar pitchfork wielded by a aged figure...
"Papa! We need to run!" said Lydia.
He looked at his daughter, then looked around at the horde of Grimm. 
My father then made a hard decision. I don't know if I should hate him for it, or thanking him now. I could do both. Although, if I was in his position, I would have done the same.
"Nigeru (run), Lydia."
"You're coming, too, right Papa?" said a hopeful Lydia.
He looked sadly down at his daughter. "Papa has some business he needs to do here. I'll be following you shortly."
Lydia smiled. "Hai, matteru yo! (I'll be waiting!)" She ran with a lighter heart.
Then she heard a crunch right behind her. She turned around.
On a boar's tusk was the body of my father, the bone penetrating his heart.
Lydia's eyes were wide. "Papa...."
With the last of his strength, he said: "Nigeru..."
Then he slumped over.
Shedding tears once more, Lydia took heed of her father's words and turned around.
She ran past all the death, all the corpses, far from what used to be her home, until she could no longer hear the flames.
I was all alone. Everyone I knew was dead. That was my first death. I don't know why I ran away from that. I should have saved him somehow. I didn't know what happened to Aniki and my mother after that attack. I cried for 2 straight days afterwards and moped for another 5 days. Little did I know that another tragedy was about to fall on me.
~
Lydia was reminiscing while sitting through one of Professor Port's rambunctious speeches. She personally didn't like the bragging, but he did hold important information as to how to fight these monsters. Grimm aren't the only monsters we have to fight, though...
~
It happened when I was 16 this time. At my guardians' mansion... I had established a new life there, and was on my last year of training from what I now called Father. He was the kindest man I have ever seen. He was a master of the Japanese war fan, and trained me so in the art.
Then tragedy struck again.
"I regret to inform you that your husband has a brain tumor," said the doctor. "It's in a late stage now, so it's almost impossible to ge rid of this. Why didn't you come in as soon as possible?"
"Well, it began to immediately affect his brain 6 months ago. He said he wouldn't come. He's being extremely stubborn lately," said his wife. Lydia was sitting next to her new mother. Her stepfather was sitting defensively on a chair apart from Lydia and her stepmother.
"We'll be giving injections to him regularly," said the doctor, to which Lydia's stepfather took visible offense. "I am perfectly fine, Doctor."
"No, you are not. At least take these medications weekly. They'll help slow the metastasis of the cancer.
Lydia's stepfather took the prescriptions with a huff and stomped off, Lydia and her stepmother trailing behind him.
After that, my father started to yell at my mother regularly, and it got worse as time went on. One day, he finally snapped. A shot rang through the house.
Lydia froze.
Then she ran to the living room as fast as she could.
Her mother had a hole through her head. Her father was laughing maniacally. There was fire crawling everywhere.
Lydia took it all in with shocked eyes.
"Oh, Lydia. Care to join her?" said her mad stepfather.
"Father... You're not yourself right now."
His expression returned to normal for a second. "I..." Then his face turned back. "What makes you think so, sweetie?"
"Father, please. Come back to me."
"Which way, sweetheart?" My way or your way? Because I'd prefer it if you go my way. Enough of this bullshit." He took shaky steps forward towards Lydia. 
Then he lunged with a knife.
Before Lydia knew it, she had Kazeyama out, and her stepfather lay on the ground in two pieces.
The only thing that was different this time was that I shed no tears for the corpse that used to be my stepfather. I had ran out of tears after my village burned down. I died a second time deep down in my heart. ~
"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Professor Port cleared his throat when he saw Yang snickering yet again. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Lydia saw Weiss raise her hand and accepting the challenge. A true challenge is to not break down in the face of tragedy. Honor doesn't win the war in this world. You must be ruthless, not honorable, in order to survive. I learned that long ago. She sat up as the Grimm in the cage was released.
Category:Fan Fiction
Category:Fan Series