RWBY 3: Fall

Part 5 - The Missed Beat

"John!" Oxygen's voice pierced the young faunus's ears. 

John's eyes slowly opened. Clouds moved lazily overhead. The familiar sounds of the city buzzed around the young cat. The familiar smells of Mistral filled the air.

"Dude! I was sleeping!" the young cat yawned and begun to close his eyes again-

"STOP CAT-NAPPING!" Nitrogen's voice screeched the cat awake. "Come on!" she kicked the black cat, prompting a moan of pain from John and a roar of laughter from Ox.

The three children raced through the streets. Today was a special day. Today the Vtyal festival was being held - here in Mistral! Professional hunters and students from academies around the world gathered. The city was livelier than normal, the streets lined with stalls offering delicious food and celebrating the diverse cultures of the kingdoms.

"Dude... I'm so hungry..." John's mouth watered at the fresh fish. The smell was overpowering - the fish had been sat in the sun for hours... but to John it was the best smell ever-

"Hey John!" a red haired cat faunus girl ruffled the young John's hair from behind-

"ROW!" the black cat batted her hand away. "Can we get some food!?"

John's sister, Row, was three years older than him - she was 13 at this point. Their parent had died five years ago, leaving the young red cat to care for herself and her brother. She had to grow up fast.

She sighed as she watched kids her own age run around carefree, playing and enjoying the festival. Suddenly something caught her eye - a huntress! She had long flowing blonde hair and a beautiful spear.

Row smiled. Hunters were so lucky... free to go wherever they wanted, do whatever they wanted... they were never alone.

"I've decided..." she muttered "I'm gonna become a huntress!"

"Oooh! That looked painful!" Peter laughed as he watched the two girls writhe in pain. He glanced at the monitor - by some miracle Nerisa still had some aura left.

The bunny laid on the floor panting for a moment.

She paused.

...

No siren...

"H-Hey..." she slowly stood up, leaning on her spear. "My aura's out... why hasn't-" a sharp pain interrupted her as Nitro's daggers slashed wildly.

Nerisa screamed. She started to panic. "JOHN!"

No response.

"HELP!"

She started to back away, desperately trying to block the attacks with her spear-

*thud*

Her back hit the wall of the ruin behind her.

She shook in fear. "W-Wait!".

Nitro smiled. "You can't fool me... no siren means you can still fight...".

John's mind raced through his memories.

"Dude!" the blue cat smiled "We did it!"

The pair had just graduated from a fighting academy in Mistral, they could now apply to Haven itself. The two cats had been unstoppable - the perfect team. They fought hard, they studied hard and they played hard - always making sure they had time to mess around and joke.