The Great War of Remnant (Book 1)

Fall

John POV

Me, my team, and other students walk through the forest of red trees. Well, technically the trees aren't red, it's the leaves, but who cares? This place is beautiful.

Glynda: Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sight see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees in this forest. And I'm here to ensure that none of you die doing so.

We stop at an opening in the forest.

Glynda: Each of you is to collect at least one jar of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous here at 4:00. Have fun.

Jaune starts to walk in one direction, but is stopped by Cardin, who drags Jaune with him. I gather my team and we follow them, since I told them Jaune's predicament and my plan to help him. The plan is that Jaune is going to stand up to Cardin, and we'll be secretly helping him. If things get out of hand, like a Grimm poping out of nowhere, we'll signal Pyrrha and come out of our hiding places.

We follow them onto a ridge where Cardin told Jaune to collect the sap while they hung out there. While we're waiting, we decide to collect our sap. We collect all four samples, then wait for about ten minutes. Then Jaune comes back and collapses on the ground. When he does, he drops six jars of sap. What's odd is that there's only five of them.

Arthur: I'll bet you whatever's in that box is an animal that's attracted to this sap. Like, some sort of bee or wasp.

He could be right. Jaune has been carrying a box around the entire time. Knowing Cardin, Arthur's guess sounds about right. We ready our guns to help out.

Cardin shoves a jar of sap into Jaune's hands and points at Pyrrha. I'm guessing he wants Jaune to throw the sap at Pyrrha and release whatever is in that box. Jaune ready's himself to throw the jar at Pyrrha. But then he does the most unexpected thing. He throws it at Cardin. To which Cardin responded by kicking the crap out of Jaune. The lads and I get ready to fire our weapons to help out, but then Carding punches Jaune in the face, which emits a bright light that knocks me and my team to the ground. When we get back up, Cardin grabs Jaune by the collar of his shirt... then a huge Ursa appears. The biggest I've ever seen.

The rest of Cardin's team runs off.

Ruby POV

I collect another jar of sap when we hear a roar in the distance.

Me: Did you guys hear that?

Suddenly, team CRDL comes running out of the bushes. Well, most of them. Cardin isn't with them. One of them bumps into Yang.

Yang: What's going on?!
Russel: Ursa! I-it's got Cardin!

Wait, weren't there five of them? Russel, Sky, Dove, Cardin, and...

Pyrrha: Jaune!
Me: Yang! You and Blake go get Professor Goodwitch!

Pyrrha looks at Ren and Nora.

Pyrrha: You two go with them! There could be more!

John POV

Dick: My shotgun doesn't do jack!
Arthur: No shit!

Bullets aren't any good against this thing. What about explosives?

Me: Does anyone have any grenades?!

This theory never gets tested, unfortunately, as the giant Ursa back-paws us into the air. Thankfully when we land, we land at the feet of help. Which takes the form of Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha.

Dick: Oh, hey guys.

The Ursa swings it's claws at Cardin, only to be stopped by Jaune's shield. Ruby and Weiss get ready to rush in and help, but I gesture for them to stop. It's possible that Jaune may not need our help after all.

He parries the attack, then jumps over another. The Ursa manages to get him in mid air, sending him flying. He charges at it one last time. But given his current stance, the Ursa would hit him again.

That's when I see Pyrrha's arm extend beside me. I look back at Jaune, and notice that his shield is emitting a black aura. It moves slightly, so that the ursa's claws slide off of it. Then Jaune swings his sword and decapitates it.

Ruby: Uh, what?
Weiss: How did you-
Pyrrha: Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs... my semblance is polarity.
Ruby: Woah, you can control poles.
Dick: Magnetism.
Ruby: Magnets are cool, too.

Pyrrhaturns and starts to walk off.

Weiss: Wait, where are you going?
Ruby: Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened.
Me: We could...

They all turn their attention to me.

Me: Or we could make this our little secret.

I give Pyrrha a small wink, then head on my way.

Time skip

I stand on the balcony with a lit cigarette in between my fingers. Suddenly I hear voices coming from the roof. Jaune and Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: No Cardin tonight? I thought you two were best buds.
Jaune: Pyrrha, I'm sorry. I was a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and I... I had all this stupid, macho stuff in my head, and-
Pyrrha: Jaune... it's okay. Your team really misses their leader, you know. You should come down. Ren made pancakes. No syrup, though, you can thank Nora for that.
Jaune: Wait! I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me? To help me become a better fighter?

There's a moment of silence, then I Here a thud.

Jaune: Hey!
Pyrrha: Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground. Let's try that again.

I only chuckle as they go through stance training above me.

Me: God bless the broken road.