"Training Day starts now!" The Blonde yelled out as Jae, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren all got prepped as a few Lancers; Hornet Grimm that were the size of a small car buzzed towards them angrily.
"Alrighty, let's see how they handle this!" Nora grinned as she fired grenades at the Lancers, watching as some shots missed but others seemed to catch them either dead on or on the wings, leaving Ren able to pick them off as they fell.
"Any suggestions, Jae?" Pyrrha asked as she followed Ren's example but using her rifle to clip the Lancer's wings to make them drop into Ren's range. "Because from what I can see; most of your weapons are close range and even though the rest of us have guns, they can either miss or not do much damage with that armoured shell."
"Lancers are basically Hornets so what we're doing now works, but stay on your toes! They can fire their stingers and try to hook you…Luckily I've got something recently to handle crowd control." Jae mentioned with a confident smirk as he snapped his fingers; Summoning up that same Guitar that he used at the dance and began to tune it, though this earned a confused look from the Blonde and suspicious look on the other three.
"Jae…Are you seriously going to be using a musical instrument to take on Grimm?" Nora asked in confusion as she fell back after firing off another grenade. "Because you were using that in the Dance and I don't think that counts as a weapon."
"Kid, if you've got a plan in mind then use it!" The Blonde urged them as she sat back and monitored their performance.
"Trust me Nora, I got this…Just keep a guard in case one of them gets close." Jae assured her as he then looked to the growing swarm; "Because Beleth should be enough to get some shots off." Jae said before strumming the thin strings and made a bolt of black-purple lightning shoot off of the head of the guitar, shooting forward and zapping the closest Lancer and made it collapse in a falling heap of black smoke.
"That…."
"Is…"
"Awesome!"
Jae grinned at the praise but continued to strum the guitar and made more frequent bolts of lightning shoot the Lancers to start either knocking them down or disintegrating them, making a powerful melody in the process.
"He's kept them calm in the face of a looming threat even when they kind of doubted him…Though I'm not seeing the Demon side yet…" The Blonde thought to herself as she scribbled down some notes.
"They're thinning out!" Nora mentioned as she saw them starting to become less frequent.
"Don't pull back yet! We might be winning but Grimm aren't always quick to give up." Ren pointed out as he shot another Lancer out of the air when a deeper, more angry buzzing was heard from the trees. "What…is that?"
"It sounds like a bigger one…." Pyrrha mentioned as she kept a spear and her shield on hand in case something popped out.
"You four seem to be forgetting one particular thing when it comes to Grimm like that when they hunt~" The Blonde teased them as she clued them in.
Jae however was about to mention it clearly; "Since they act as a swarm, the Lancers all have to have one primary link to control them…One larger entity to ensure that each attack is coordinated, even for a Grimm."
Pyrrha was the one to piece it together; "A Queen Lancer…But those things are the size of an airship, can we really take it on ourselves?"
"Not by ourselves…" Jae mentioned as he then heard the branches break as their enemy got closer; "But if we catch it off guard, then we can stand more of a chance." He mentioned before coming up with a plan and started to discuss it with the others.
The Blonde smirked as she watched this unfold; Probably for the first time since she accepted Ozpin's request to get Beacon trainees assigned out to their town, this group seemed to know what they were doing and were taking it seriously.
—Later—
The Queen Lancer followed the trail of smoke as it recognised something encroaching on it's territory; releasing a fevered buzz as it reached a clearing with an open area for it to fully spread it's wings. "MOVE!" Jae yelled out as he finished using Behelith in "Gunslinger" Mode to shred up enough charge on the guitar to release a powerful bolt of electricity to the face and knock it for a stunned daze.
Pyrrha followed up with sniping at the sweet spots that she could from her nook in the deep trees to make it angrier.
"Ren, You're up!" Nora yelled as she dashed out from the undergrowth and fired the grenades at its underbelly while avoiding its reflexive jabs with its stinger.
"Just hold on tight!" Ren thought to himself as he was thrown from his perch on Jae's arm and braced as the nimblest of the team turned into a buzzsaw and used Stormflower to make himself into a spinning top of blades to cut off the wings. "Now! Take it down!"
Jae was charging up a shot with his Hand-Cannon and rushed forward as the Queen Lancer fell to the ground in a screeching heap. "UNCOUTH! VICIOUS! UNWORTHY CREATURES THAT DARE TO LAY A HAND ON SOMEONe AS REGAL AS I!" The Queen Lancer shrieked in that same undecipherable language that only Jae could understand before turning it's snapping mandibles to the rushing Cielo; "YOU! THE ONE WITH THE SMELL OF OUR KIN! RESCIND YOURSELF NOW AND I SHALL GRANT YOU MY BLESSING!" It tried to bargain but found itself stopped when Morgan pointed a fuming gunbarrel at it's head, this time the charge on the gun was red rather then black.
"Sorry Sweetheart, but I'm not really up for dealing with your screeches." Jae quipped before pulling the trigger on the gun as the Queen lancer's upper body exploded in a pretty big puff of red and black smoke, though it wasn't without it's drawbacks as Jae ended up getting knocked back a little and clutching his arm; "Man…Using this shot has a kick like a mule…" Jae muttered as he tried to load another round but growled a little when the less then inspiring clicking could be heard. "Jammed...Just my luck..."
"That…Was something else." The Blonde mentioned as she walked over to help Jae up; "I'll give you this much; you four really know how to kick ass in a short timeframe." She complimented them as she watched the Queen Lancer and the still dissipating drones. "I know that Ozpin said they were talented but damn…."
"So…How was that for a test?" Jae asked as he got his breath back and felt his body reinvigorate as the Queen Lancer dropped it's essence into him; Making him shiver as his body readjusted to the new introduction by having him summon up a pair of what looked like a pair of short hunting knives.
These small daggers seemed to be serrated on one side and the pommels of the knives resembled the Lancers' heads, the handles were patterned with dark brown leather and the blades were white on everywhere but the edge of the blades with thin red streaks along the flat sides like they were veins.
"Whohohohoa, Jae….These look metal!" Nora grinned as she then noticed that the bottom of the handles had a cable connected into them and the other end of those cables fed into black bracelets that were strapped to Jae's wrists.
"I think I found my range besides the guitar." Jae remarked as he started to practice with his new daggers; twirling them and jabbing with a mix of quick slashes, the daggers then lashed outwards on the cables and swung around like whips as he got more into it.
"Well, I had intended on seeing your snap judgements when it came to dealing with a swarm of Lancers and move on but the way you handled the Queen when it made its move? Making that decision without me having to tell you what to do and what not to do showed me that you guys are already off to a good start." The Blonde remarked; "Not to mention the fact that you seem to have some interesting team-ups to go with it."
The group blushed a little at the fact that this gorgeous blonde was complimenting them so easily but quickly focused when they saw her walk off to speak with Jae on his own.
"So….You wanna tell me about all THAT earlier? With the Grimm smoke shooting into you and that guitar?" She asked him curiously and then rested her hands on her hips.
"Well, It's a part of my Semblance really, I can absorb the essence of Alpha Grimm and turn them into special weapons or stuff like that." Jae explained; "Truthfully, that guitar is the only actual firearm I have besides the gun I carry…and it's starting to kinda…"
"You might wanna be careful…Using Aura mixed with your Demon genes can disrupt equipment if you don't focus it." The Blonde knowingly mentioned; "Trust me, I've seen plenty of people with…abilities like us try to overdo it and end up either shooting blanks or outright blowing up the gun in their hands."
"So you're this other Demon that Ozpin told me about?" Jae asked curiously; Quickly suspecting that there was more to her than he and the others initially thought.
"Mhm, I'll be pulling you to the side later to discuss our…Special Training." The Blonde mentioned as she then took him back to the others in order to carry on.
—Later at the Town—
"So, this is it…Onigarashi." The Blonde introduced as the dour dark haired girl and the brunette showed up to meet the new team under their watch. "My name is Trish, I run the town as their Mayor and also as their head….Well, I guess technically you could call me a Huntress but I'm more of a Sheriff." Trish introduced herself before walking over to the others; "This little ray of sunshine helps us with security and is my Number two when it comes to outside Hunting work." She said with a playful lilt but earned a grumpy huff in response; "Her name's Mary….But you can call her Lady."
"You call me anything other than that and I'll break your legs." Lady growled as she cracked her knuckles, earning an excited gasp from Nora.
"I love her!" The pancake loving redhead squeed at Lady's threat.
"And to round us off; this is our resident mechanic/gearhead, Nicolette Goldstein." Trish mentioned as she pat the brunette's back. "She's a literal wizard when it comes to weapons and tech design."
"Y'all can just call me Nico, I can help with any gear issues or if you need somethin' made then I'm your girl." Nico cheerfully welcomed them as Trish decided to opt for Nora, Ren and Pyrrha to go explore the town and get a grasp of things.
"Now that we have it as just us…We can put all our cards on the table." Trish mentioned as she shut the door and had Jae sit down.
"I didn't…do anything wrong, did I?" Jae asked curiously, wondering if being at the forefront to take out the Queen was a bad idea.
"No, No! You did great on the test like your team did but I figured that while your friends look around, you might feel a little more comfortable discussing some of your…."Other Talents" with us." Trish assured him as Lady and Nico went to join her.
"Look kid, I'm pretty sure that you're aware just what exactly you've been offered a place here for…But we're not gonna make you say anything that you don't wanna." Lady pointed out as she tapped her cheek with her finger; "Just to give you a quick rundown of the other side of your training, Demon to Demon and all that."
Nico then offered her piece; "So what the plan is that during the standard day/patrols, you and your team will be out with us to help and assist where we need it."
"And then when it's all done for the day, you'll come to us for individual lessons to help you get used to your changing body." Trish said; "Because as far as I can see; You don't really need any training for better leadership or team management and neither does your team. so we can just use the extra help with maintaining the patrols and showing you how to properly organise yourself when a Grimm is on it's way."
"I'll help with the body training." Lady listed off; "Trish can help you with any other abilities that you might have while Nico can help get you hooked up with some new equipment that can better handle your souped up Aura."
"We'll start with the gear tonight since Trish filled me in on that little piece of iron you have on your waist." Nico offered as she then had a smirk; "And if you're up for it, a little proposition that can benefit the both of u-" She started but was cut off by a slap to the back of the head by Trish and Lady.
"What did I tell you?! We're not going to send him in there!"
"What…exactly is THERE?" Jae asked when he saw how concerned the normally cool-headed Trish was.
"I'll let Nico explain but for now, if she offers you any kind of deal…Turn it down, I'm gonna go catch up with your teammates and make sure they're okay." Trish mumbled as she watched Jae getting escorted to the smithing shop.
As the two walked Jae towards Nico's workshop, Lady decided to chime in; "You're gonna wanna know what we can do, right?"
Jae looked confused for a second but then nodded; "You mean like a Semblance or something?"
Nico pushed the doors open and walked them downstairs to a giant open space used for weapons testing; "Not just that, but Demon abilities." She mentioned with a little more excitement in her voice. "Trish has a Semblance that allows her to expel electricity from her body but her actual Demon ability is that her body is a few times stronger and more durable than an actual human so she ends up being pretty tanky~"
Lady then placed her rocket launcher down as she joined them; "Mine allows me a super flexible body; I can move in a more fluid way that a Human can and in conjunction with my Semblance: Scope….I can make a sniper spot out of anywhere." Lady explained before demonstrating by twisting her body into a pretzel and shooting her pistol upwards to hit a rusted blade that was hanging.
"Whoa…Demons are amazing." Jae mumbled as this was all new for him; "Wait, so back there…If we couldn't have handled that Grimm…."
"You bet that Trish could handle it barehanded!" Nico confirmed it as she then started hunting around for something in one of her many boxes.
"So…What about you? If you're the mechanic then does that mean you have something on your own?" Jae asked curiously as he watched Nico zip around the room.
"Nah, I'm not one for fighting…But compared to Lady and Trish, I'm technically more Human than anyone." Nico admitted with a small level of embarrassment.
"You shouldn't get down over that, you've still got something that makes you….Well, you." Lady said to try reassuring her.
"I guess…But my folks were old school Demon Hunters, Once I realised that Grammy Goldstein had a touch of Devil in her, I got out of there as quickly as I could…But buildin' stuff is more fun anyway….With Investment as my Semblance and my Demon abilities to better trace the flow of Demon energy in someone or something, I can make some kickass Demon friendly gear…With the help of this!" Nico said and placed a thick and heavy rock on the table in front of them; "THIS is what's got Trish's leather pants in a twist."
"Wow…it's a rock." Jae mentioned in a rather unintentional display of fake surprise, earning him the smallest of chuckles from Lady.
"Not just any rock though, it's Ore." Lady mentioned; "Oz probably told you that we run this town as a way to keep metalworks and things like that running for Vale, right?"
Nico grinned widely as she found her tangent; "Y'see, Dust deposits form in rock and such but this mountain that we live under has some real good ores and such but I found this a few months ago while searching to resupply." Nico explained as she held up the Ore; it looked like a typical chunk of steel ore but this one had faint swirls and flecks of reds, blues and yellows mixed in. "Turns out, this place has a peculiar cocktail of Dust and Steel ore that we've fished out."
Lady nodded and carried on; "Normally, we implement the Dust after we make the ore into metal but since this stuff has been so interwoven together…Nico managed to get the idea to try and make a new type of metal out of this." She explained; "Something tha-"
"That can channel both Dust and Aura into shots without having to use individual Dust Cartridges or Rounds." Nico cut her off as she got her groove; "Though this stuff is fairly weak and barely registers any Dust effects on it, I can guess that the deeper into the mountain that we go, the purer and more potent the mixture can get…Though the problem with the mountain itself is that.."
"The problem is that the Mountain is a labyrinth of tunnels and giant caves, making it a literal nest for Grimm of all kinds; Centinels being the biggest pests for hanging around the entrance." Lady objected and pointed out the problem; "Trish has her own things to deal with such as the town and she can't afford to let anyone go deeper into the mountains without someone who can protect themselves from what COULD be down there."
"So what if someone did decide to go into the mines to try and take out the Grimm that are hiding out there?" Jae asked theoretically; "I mean, if it means I can help then mabe it could be some good training fo-"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Lady barked sharply at him and at Nico who was about to accept; "We don't know what's down there to begin with and on top of that, you're still a student so we can't afford to put you or anyone at risk if we can't be sure of what'll happen."
"I…guess that makes sense, but won't it work out better if you can get that high grade stuff?" Jae asked curiously but the stern look on Lady's face stopped that conversation right then and there. "You…Think you can take a look at my gun for me? It's taken a few hits and I'm not sure how to fix it myself." He asked Nico as he placed his gun Rebuttal on the table.
"Sure thing hon, but I'd like to scope out each of those special Grimm weapons first. Trish filled me in about while I was looking for the Ore." Nico mentioned as she pressed a button on a wall to make a set of training dummies; "Alrighty kid, 10 reps with each weapons on the dummies and show me whatcha got!"
Jae nodded eagerly and then began to showcase each of his weapons and started to practice each one while Lady watched him, Nico took notes and spectated as well while she grabbed her tools to fix his gun.