They had won. The fight was over with, at least for now. As this dawned on Kuhaku, his eyes widened and a wide smile parted his lips. Standing at 'head' of the mangled body of the fallen machine, a trembling joy grew within his breast. Releasing his Great Axe, its large head thudded heavily against the ground and buried itself. Then, his mirth came bursting from his lungs as he fell back onto his rear, laughing musically. His voice echoing throughout the tunnel as he took in large gulps of air in between his laughs to fuel his gaiety. Arms wrapped around his sides as if to keep his body from rattling apart, tears had welled up at the corners of his eyes. As a few snorts interrupted his merrymaking, his laughter eventually subsided and he lay spread-eagle on the ground. Staring at the ceiling, he reached up with a gloved hand to wipe away at the corners of his eyes. Face flushed red from his rejoicing, he chuckled once more and grinned. A relieved sigh escaped his tired lungs.

"Ah...we did it. We finally did it. We beat the boss." he quietly murmured to himself.

Looking up to where Bridgett was seated, he rolled over onto his stomach to stare at her for a moment. It seems as those she suffered injuries from either this battle or a prior one. Either way, she looked tired and hurt. Jumping to his feet, he briskly jogged over to her. Gren was rummaging through the mech's body parts for some odd reason or another behind him. As he neared her, lights suddenly turned on. Glancing over his shoulder at Gren, he figured that must've been what he was doing earlier.

Turning to face Bridgett, he squatted down to her eye level and flashed her a bright smile.
"Hi, there. I'm Kuhaku. Kuhaku Shiro. Gren's partner. It's nice to meet you. Are you hurt anywhere?" he spoke softly with a gentle expression on his face.

Though ironically, he was probably in no shape to speak. He was rather battered and beaten, himself. Evident by all of his sweat, dirt, scratches and scrapes. Reaching for her with a gloved hand, he almost took her hand but stopped before he did. Figuring that she probably wouldn't appreciate being grabbed and touched by a nearly complete stranger, he merely kept his hand hovering in front of her. Smiling as black stripes appeared on his ears and swaying tail, he spoke again.

"If you don't mind, could you possibly look me in the eyes? This won't hurt at all. he promised her.
The hazel color in his eyes faded away. Changing into a bright, glowing blue instead as his Semblance took hold of Bridgett's senses. Gradually, the pain in her body would fade away becoming numb. [NOCICEPTION MANIPULATION]

Keeping his hand hovering in front of her, he imparted some of his Aura stores to her. With his hand glowing sky-blue from his Aura, he healed whatever wounds he could, save for any possible broken bones. He wouldn't want those healed incorrectly, so he left them be and focused on any other wounds her body may have sustained. As he squatted there, a thought quietly passed through his mind. Abel seemed to accept him well enough but, how would she? Did she harbor anything against the Faunus? Shaking his head slightly and frowning at the passing thought, he refocused on numbing her pain and healing her in silence.

Looking over his shoulder, his ears twitched curiously as Gren walked up to them carrying large box, setting it down where they could all see. Apparently, the mech was carrying it and guarding it all this time. Kuhaku had nearly forgotten it.
"Well then... The moment of truth. Let's see what's inside." Gren said as he began to pry open the container.
Looking back at Bridgett, he gave her another smile and halted his healing. Having done all he could, he jogged over to Gren's side.
"Hold up there, big guy. We should all open this together. I mean, we all earned this equally, right?"
Looking back at Bridgett with his glowing eyes, he motioned for her to come. Turning to where Abel was, he yelled for him.
"Hey, Abel! Get over here!"
Taking a few steps towards the box, he placed a gloved hand on it.

It was with muted pride that Abel watched Gren chamber his chainsaw and yank the box from the ruined wreck of the mecha. He flexed his shoulders and arms slightly in an attempt to easy some of the strain put upon him by hoisted and tossing the machine's arm. With the battle done, the adrenaline rush fueling his feats of strength died away too, leaving him sore and tired but pleased. Of course, he didn't waste any effort smiling about it.

As the orc fiddled with the box, trying to find the best grip to pull it open, Abel glanced over his teammates. If Gren was any worse for wear, he weathered it extremely well. The guardian couldn't spot a scratch on his heavy armor anywhere. Bridgett, meanwhile, looked terrible; her slender frame seemed suffused with exhaustion and dulled pain. Though Abel knew her aura would sustain her until proper first-aid could be given. Finally, Kuhaku -though battered or bruised- appeared to be in better shape. At the moment he was talking to Bridgett, and as Abel watched, he held his hands near her body and shared a serene, sky-blue glow with her. He looked away, leaning against the Ampere and thinking. Most kids' first-day surprises were pop quizzes, but Abel and co. had been lucky enough to get a giant killer robot. He sighed deeply, wondering if all exercises at Beacon would be this deadly.

Just then, the aforementioned tiger faunus called him over. Abel sauntered over leisurely, crouched by the others, and illuminated up the Ampere's crystal to provide a little light. He joined his might to the others, helping pull open the metal lockbox. A pop, followed by a hiss, declared that the seal had given way. Each hand plunged into the dark container in turn, returning with a small rectangle At first Abel guessed they were notecards of some sort, but when his azure sheen fell upon them the right way, they were revealed to be playing cards: an ace, a king, a queen, and a jack, all of clubs. Abel stared at his jack card, squinting to make out details on the little caricature's face. "...Neat." he commented in a wry tone after a moment of appraisal.

"I'm alright," Robert said, answering Priscilla's question. As he listened to Priscilla mentioning her past being not very nice, Greyson and Tai walked in. The ship became silent, the only noise was Greyson sharpening his weapon. Robert wasn't sure if the lack of communication was from a lack of trust or something else, but he decided the best way to have everyone trust each other was if they shared who they were. Since everyone mostly dodged the question before though, Robert decided that if he was going to get everyone to talk, he should set the example. "Well, since we don't have any monsters to kill or a relic of a long lost time to find, we might as well talk about ourselves," he began. "Back when I was around eight or so... I, uh, lost my family to some... well... I should start from the beginning." He proceeded to recount all of the details of that night.

Robert's past:
Eight year old Robert sat in front of the television, playing with his toy cars and action figures. Behind him, Robert's dad sat in a reclining armchair, half reading the newspaper in his hands and half listening to the TV. "John, could you help Merry with her dinner," Robert's mother called from the kitchen. "Yes, Marian," Robert's dad answered, walking towards the small toddler that was Robert's sister. Robert looked up from his toys to see the news channel that was on show the words "Breaking News". The anchorwoman then read the new news, "A warning to all human families living in neighborhoods with large majorities of Faunuses, the organization known as the White Fang, previously known for its peaceful protests, has been attacking humans in the before-mentioned neighborhoods. This recent aggression is suspected to be a result from-" Robert's dad turned the TV off. "You don't need to listen to that garbage, son," he said. He then walked back to the dinner table where Merry was playing with her food. Robert went back to playing with his toys. Unbeknownst to the Fallson Family though, a small crowd gathered outside.

Six Faunuses stood, looking at the happy family inside. "Burn it down," said the leader. The other five threw Molotov Cocktails at the two story house, the fire quickly spread throughout the bottom story and the roof. No one inside knew what was going on, all they knew was that the house had spontaneously burst into flames. Robert's mother screamed, Robert's sister cried, Robert's father yelled orders, and Robert continued sitting there confused, trying to understand what was going on. His father grabbed Merry, his mother grabbed a family photo album, and they both sprinted towards the staircase. As they reached it, his dad stopped and turned around, "Come on, Robert!" he cried. Outside, the leader of the attack turned and grabbed a baseball bat that was strapped to his back. It suddenly transformed into a grenade launcher, and one shot was fired. The single grenade incinerated the wall it struck, as well as the three humans standing next to it. In a flash, Robert's family was gone. A single, burning photo floated into Robert's lap. He stood there dumbstruck at what just happened. The creaking of the roof brought him back to reality though, as a large burning beam fell from the roof. He tried to dodge, but was too slow. It fell right on his back, pinning him to the ground and burning his flesh. He was able to quickly wiggle out from under it though, and jumped out of the hole in the wall that the grenade had made earlier. He laid on the lawn of his house, clutching the photograph from earlier. He saw the six Faunuses slowly approaching him, ready to finish the job. The sounds of sirens around the corner stopped them in their tracks though, and they escaped. Robert continued lying there, unable to move, sobbing. One of the officers picked him up and carried him to a patrol car. After sitting in the passenger seat for several hours, one of the firemen walked up and gave him the only other thing that survived the fire, his father's visor and bracers which were in the basement during the fire. Afterwards, the officers and firemen left Robert alone. Bad choice. He rose from the seat and walked off into the night, passing a street sign that read "Loxley St." Robert's eight year old mind thought of nothing but wanting to be alone.

For the next several years, Robert would live on the streets. Stealing food and other necessities only when he had no other choice, and only from people who could still live without those necessities. Witnesses would often report to the police that the only thing they saw before their things were stolen was a figure with a green hoodie.

Back to the present:

"Eventually I outgrew the old green hoodie, stopped wearing it. My dad tried and failed to become a hunter back when he was my age now, that's why he had these," pointing to the bracers and visor. "I guess that's part of why I'm here. To do what my dad couldn't and finish it. I'll admit, part of me wants to go after the guys who killed my family, but... well... y'know... what am I supposed to do against the White Fang. Before you jump to any conclusions though, I have absolutely no resentment towards Faunuses. I lived in a neighborhood filled with them for the early parts of my life, remember? I know not all of them are like the White Fang. So, uh, any questions?"

Priscilla looked at Greyson, smiling at him seeing that he was feeling a bit better and Tai was here as well. All together as a team. It was quiet an adventure that they had back there in Forever Falls. But now, the hard part. It was time for eachother to speak about themselves. And Robert was the first. She felt so bad because basically his family died from the hands of the White Fang, but herself and Robert did share a similarity... He had to steal just like she did. Without saying anything to Robert, due to him being closer to her, she leaned forward and hugged him tightly, feeling extremely bad about his past, she pulled back smiling at him as she held his left hand. "It's gonna be okay. Just make your father proud...!" Priscilla nodded letting go of his hand now as she sighed looking at her team members. Her turn.

"Well..." Clears her throat. "I don't have the perfect life...not now nor in the past. Yeah being in the academy is cool and all, but I feel empty. Like im alone or something...but ofcourse I have you guys and stuff.. But anyways. When I was young, my father died, and there was only myself, little brother and my mother. We lived in a homeless house...as in, people barely used the house. I used to steal...food and stuff for my mother and brother, since I couldn't get a job at my age at that time... As I was growing up, I kept stealing and stealing and stealing.... But thats when my mother told me to stop. Yes, I have been caught before, but I have managed to get away.... My mother told me to live my dreams into becoming a Huntress. My uncle, he is rich, my mother's brother. Decided to help my mother through out all the years, NOW he wants to help. I told her to accept his offer, which she didn't want too but she had to. For the sake of herself and my brother. And he got my this cute badass outfit." Cute hairflips. "Which. At first. I didn't accept it but I had too." She sighs taking a breathe and continuing. "And thats how I got here. I manage to graduate and get a real job out there or something to help my family! But theres that.... Its fine if you guys dont want to talk to me. I may be girlish and happy a lot... But inside i feel ashamed..and sometimes like if.. I dont belong here." Priscilla said bittin her bottom lips as she raised a leg ontop of the other looking at her team members, waiting to see what they were gonna say.

Groaning as he finally reached the Datura's back, Auriel managed to stand hunched over and drive his drill blade further into the monster, the vines and branches and thorns whipping him and cutting into his skin. He gritted his teeth through each blow and each time he felt himself get cut. He found it was usually easier to heal more serious wounds with his aura rather than outright block every single attack that came at him. The minor welts he was getting weren't quite life-threatening. His hands and arms and legs were sore, and he had to balance on the non-uniform surface that was the Datura's entire body.

As the plants shifted, Auriel found himself ensnared by a rather large vine. Looking down, he panicked as he felt himself being pulled down. Deactivating his sword, he yanked his foot back and tried to hack at the vine, but to no avail. Groaning, he attacked the vine more roughly, protecting himself with his Aura. When he finally managed to cut the vine, he pushed himself to the side and grabbed the Datura, crushing a small branch in his hand. Tossing the broken branch backwards, he let out a feral roar and stabbed his sword down a few more times before sheathing the blade and climbing further up. His goal: the head. He'd seen drawings and pictures of Datura before, and the one thing that always stood out was their faces.

So he was going to cut off the damn Grimm's face. Not its head, its face. So he climbed higher, crushing and tearing at everything he could with his hands. The hunter in him was waking up, and now that he had prey worth felling, he wasn't going to give up. So when he got hit by a tree trunk the Datura had shifted directly into his chest, he held on. His grip was tentative and weakening, and he was probably only alive because he'd seen it coming and because of the pieces of armor on his outfit. After a moment, his mind refocused, and he managed to pull himself up a bit more before unsheathing his sword again and plunging it into what would be the Datura's neck. His breath was heavy, he was in pain, but he wasn't going to give up. Not now that he was so close to his first real achievement as a Huntsman-in-training.

Besides, someone had to take care of Emlyn, right?

Emlyn resigned to himself that someone was going to have to distract it, and little-miss-useless up there wasn't about to move. Her loss. He watched Auriel begin a treacherous climb up to its head, which was a bit disheartening. Emlyn wouldn't stand a chance against the brutish force the thing was dishing out on Auriel if he were to climb up to grab the card. It pained him to admit it, -even though it also relieved him a bit- but he may have to leave the actual grabbing of the card to Auriel.

He diverted his course from circling the Datura to moving in front of it. Distraction? He could do that. Attention-getting was his forte, his calling so to speak. He sprinted ahead until he was a good enough distance in front of the massive beast, and then let out a sharp whistle. Why? He didn't know, it wasn't like the thing would hear him. So following that, he leapt, torqued his body around, and launched Mirror up at the beast. The chakram flew at a curve, and skimmed across the beast's chest, slicing into the roots and vines, before returning at a B-line to Emlyn. He caught it with another spin to carry the momentum seamlessly into another toss, this one traveling upwards on its chest, skimming into its neck before returning. Hopefully that would get its attention a bit for it to lay off of Auriel.

"Grab the card!" he shouted, hoping his partner would hear him. He could feel the cooldown on his Semblance creeping away, and it wouldn't be too long now until he could Covet Auriel again. If the thing got too close, that'd be helpful for sure.

His sprint did not slow, and his attacks gained speed. A liar he was, but it seemed he'd been telling the truth about his handling of the weapon. The chakram dug deeper as the throws came faster and faster, slicing through roots and even digging through trunks here and there. He checked up again, once at the girl, and then back to Auriel to make sure he was still alive, before returning his attention to the Datura.

GRIMM. Ineko replied, "WE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT. THE CAVES THEY'RE GOING INTO IS OUT OF THE WAY AND ITS WELL DEFENDED."
The map flickered off and Ineko spoke to the drones. Two darted towards the entrance of the caves, three flew up to provide sight from above, and the last hovered around Bruce. "HE WILL BE YOUR GUIDE WHEN WE REACH THE CAVES. I'LL DO SOME FIELD MODIFICATIONS WHEN WE REACH THE CAVES." Ineko explained, he began to move towards the cave entrance, expecting Bruce to follow.

After a short walk, they arrived at the cave entrance. The two forward scout drones were close to the ground, examining the tracks left by the grimm. One drone flew into the cave for a second, then came out. A stream of data poured out. Ineko turned to Bruce, "THE LIGHT LEVELS IN THE CAVE ARE LOWER THAN 0.389 LUX." As if on cue, the drone that was following Bruce hovered forwards and then flipped upside down. A small panel opened up on its underside and Ineko somehow produced a small case of tools. He tinkered with the circuitry for about a minute and then stowed his tools and the drone righted itself, closing the panel. It tested the new field modifications, its holographic projector now became a makeshift flashlight. Bright enough to provide sight in the caves, but not bright enough to disrupt the night vision built into Ineko's helmet too much.

Ineko docked his drones, save for the one with the flashlight modification, and walked into the cave entrance. He switched on his night vision, everything turning shades of green. After about 5 minutes of travelling downhill, he entered a massive cavern and was met with a cliff. Ineko looked down the cliff and scratched his head, it was a pretty long drop, but no longer than the cliff that they ziplined down during the beginning of the test. He scratched his head and thought of a way to get down there.

Greyson listened and nodded hearing the stories, Greyson could understand how Robert felt but he was glad that it didn't make Robert hate faunas because of his bad experience then Pricilla started talking about her story about her being a thief for a time and her thinking that they would hate her for being a thief at one time and Greyson leaned over to Pricilla and patted her shoulder "don't ever think that, your our team mate and your our friend. I think I speak for all of us when I say that were with you now and when you go to beacon your past is your past. right now look with us to the future, honestly stealing isn't all that bad if you took what you needed" Greyson said giving her shoulder another pat before he went back to sharpening his sword and then Greyson thought it was time to put his words to truth and tell them why he hated to be burden. "since were all being honest I think its about time I told you guys why I hate being a burden to others, I know it was a few years ago but I think you guys know about the Ortega trial.....that....was my father" Greyson said as he sharpened his sword and the loud ting as he started to talk.....

Flashback:
Greyson was outside in his wheelchair looking out at the sky, Greyson was diagnosed with a disease that made his spine degenerate at a quick pace and soon their would no hope for Greyson to walk and be really happy. Greyson would hide behind his fake smiles and laughs to hide his real pain of not being able to run and have fun with the other kids. Greyson would always read stories about the hunters and huntresses while he loved what his dad did it wasn't Greyson's dream to be a surgeon. Greyson sat in his chair outside looking at the sky reaching his hand out towards the sun wishing he could reach the sky but in reality was stuck in a chair. Soon Greyson's mother came outside and asked "sweetie do you want anything?" Greyson put on a fake smile and shook his head "no thanks mom I just want to watch the clouds" Greyson said softly as she went inside and started to talk to Greyson's father Markus Ortega "Markus our son cant live like this, I cant stand seeing him like this." Greyson's mother Maria said softly and Markus nodded " I know love but we cant do anything for him at the hospital their aren't any treatments for what he has to simply go away." Markus look at your son you need to do something about this because it breaks my heart just seeing him the way he is now, he tries so hard to be happy for our sakes" Maria said sadly before leaving to the kitchen to make dinner.
Markus got up and looked outside to see me and Markus told Maria he would be gone for a while. What we didn't know was that he going to do something insane that would jeopardize his career. Markus went to the hospital and went to the morgue where all the recent dead bodies were stored until they would be transported to the cemetery and Markus turned the security camera away as my father did the unspeakable and found a recently deceased dead body that had my blood type as was meant to be cremated instead of going to the cemetery which in retrospect was a good plan so he used his tools and carefully extracted the spine of the old fauna that died their and he started to carefully put it away and hide it for a while as he went back home and it was late so I was reading a book in my bed about to fall asleep and my father came in "son, if you could walk what would you do" Greyson the naïve boy at 13 smiled and said " I want to be a huntsman like in these books and save everyone from all the evil grim that tried to hurt them." Markus nodded and said "son im going to give you a surgery tomorrow and see if we cant get you to walk again" he said and instantly Greyson's heart leaped for joy as he hugged his father, giving tears of joy and the first real smile his father ever saw....

to the present:
As you can see the surgery was a complete success but in the end because my father did something unethical and illegal he got stripped of his title as a surgeon and was ostracized by just about everyone in the city. My father gave his career away for me to walk, being able to walk and run is a blessing to me and I don't let anyone talk bad about my father because he saved me from a life of being the wheelchair. Now ill become a huntsman and prove that my dad was in the right giving me the chance to help everyone." Greyson said softly as he kept sharpening his sword glad he moved away from his home town cause he was considered proof that my father did something unethical and was justly punished for it....

It fell quiet, but Tai enjoyed the silence. It let him think, and relax, since people became less of a priority and he could clear his head, focus his mind and energy on what he would have to do next. Admittedly, next at this point was waiting for the other teams to arrive so they could leave, but still, it let him relax and wind down from the fights, and walking.

Then the talking started again as Robert spoke up, giving them his backstory, then Priscilla spoke up, giving them her backstory, and then Greyson spoke, giving them his backstory. Tai listened alertly, even if he didn't show it, though he still refused to call them his teammates when it wasn't set in stone that they were going to be a team yet. He wasn't about to make assumptions like that when they might be wrong. Sure, that's what the facts would indicate, but there was still a significant possibility that that was not what would happen.

Still, he got the distinct feeling once more that he had a monopoly on good luck with this group, seeing as they all had this tragedy, bad luck, and all around not good lives before coming here, whereas he was pretty much ordinary, as ordinary as anyone coming to Beacon could be, really. he shook his head once people had finished, to indicate he didn't have any questions, but otherwise kept silent. It wasn't like they were pushing for him to spill his lifes story, and until he was sure they'd be a team he didn't want to become overly attached. So he sat, and watched, and waited.

As Emlyn began attacking the monstrous Grimm, Auriel breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his sword from its body, looking around for their primary objective. He was still hellbent on taking at least a piece of the Datura's mask as yet another trophy, but Auriel AND Emlyn needed that card. As such, the card had to come first. Sheathing his sword and getting a better grip on the Datura, he narrowed his eyes and focused hard, looking for the card. He saw it, protruding from the monster's head. Well...that was something. Wait. Wait. There....there was a card on its back, too. Dammit.

Mentally slapping himself, Auriel decided to ignore his folly and instead continue on towards the Datura's head and the other card it held. Groaning with each time he pulled his body over all of the vegetation, Auriel noticed the card move a bit. Not much, only a few inches, but it was enough to be noticeable. Well, if the damn thing could move its innards around like weapons, why wouldn't the card be able to move along with the peace of plant that it was stuck into? Of course, anything else would just be easy. Reaching desperately for the card, he just managed to grab it as the massive plant-based Grimm brought it back into its body, likely as a simple coincidence. He doubted that the creature considered him and Emlyn to be any more than a minor annoyance, almost like a gnat.

As the Datura's body slowly started to draw his arm into itself, Auriel grunted angrily and pulled back as hard as he could, to little avail. He'd used his sword arm to grab the card, and his shield was still on his other arm, making it quite difficult to get his sword and use it. Finding himself devoid of any other options, Auriel decided that his only chance of not having his arm crushed or his entire body absorbed was to utilize his Aura. He always avoided unnecessary use of that valuable energy, but right now, it was rather necessary.

So, focusing energy into his arms, Auriel smirked when the pressure around it lessened, if only a little. Digging his foot into the Grimm and lifting his shield arm, Auriel rained down an astoundingly powerful blow, blasting bits of tree, vines, and other foliage all around. If he was breathing heavily before, he was almost gasping for breath now. His strength was still there, but he'd need a moment or two to recuperate, and hanging precariously on a monster you just blew a chunk out of was not the place. Making sure he had the car secured, he carefully but quickly lowered himself on the Datura, hoping that he could at least find a better position before taking a breather.

As Robert finished talking, Priscilla suddenly grabbed him. No not grabbed, hugged. He wasn't expecting that, he didn't know what to do. As her hand moved down to hold his, Robert continued staying still, not moving a muscle. He had no idea how to react. After some encouraging words, she let go of his hand and told everyone her past. The part where she mentioned her having to steal to survive sounded all too familiar to Robert. When she said that she didn't feel like she belonged though, Robert was almost ready to jump to his feet. He was about to correct her, maybe give some kind of big, inspiring speech, but Greyson beat him to it. Robert wanted to show his appreciation of the affection she had shown him only minutes before, but again was paralized. In his head he thought, "Should I give her a hug, too? No, that's what she did. It would be like copying. Maybe put my arm around her shoulder? No, to close to hugging. She already held my hand, so that's also out of the picture. Think, think." Greyson began talking though, breaking Robert's train of thought.

When Greyson mentioned that everyone might of heard about his dad, Robert thought back, trying to think back if he had ever overheard people talking about it or maybe a news headline he might of ignored when trying to find some shelter. His memory seemed to fail him though, and a part of Robert was glad that Greyson told them what happened anyway.

Then it was Tai's turn. As Robert looked at him, he remained silent though. Did he still not trust them? Maybe his life story wasn't as tragic as everyone else's and he didn't feel like trying to compare his life to their's. Robert thought all of this, but remained as silent as Tai. No need to push, he would say what he wanted to when he wanted to. Robert tried to break the awkward silence, "I wonder how all the other teams are doing." He leaned towards the door, as if he thought he might see the other teams starting to approach. As he looked back towards his teammates, he couldn't help but wonder how the wind was so strong, specifically on that mountain in the disatance. It had to be the the wind of course, what else could cause all those trees to move so much.

Emlyn ceased his actions when he saw Auriel land a veritably explosive punch on the Datura's back.For a moment his breath caught in his throat and he just stood there, waiting. Had his partner just killed himself? Had the Datura consumed him whole? He wasn't sure he was ready to see death so early into the day. Normal death, people death.

"Auriel!" He shouted up, voice dying down in relief when he saw his partner still hanging on.

Moving in, he rounded the creature until he was able to get a grip on its leg and, slowly, began to climb his way up. In the back of his mind he felt he should have been a little more terrified or cautious about it, but really now they were too close and the stakes were too high. He'd seen the cards, and that Auriel had gone to snatch one, they were home free as long as they survived.

The climb was made slower by the writhing of the vines and the snagging roots. He had to stop several times to cut himself free, and much to his dismay he felt his outfit taking tears here and there. Nothing he couldn't patch up, but he'd probably shelve this one for a while; he had other, better ones for showing off. When at last he reached Auriel, his partner had descended a bit.

"We need to get off this thing," he said, looking the other boy over to check for any major wounds. "We've won, dying without a relic would be humiliating but I am absolutely not going to die now that we have one. By default that means you aren't allowed to die either."

He looked down, spotting what was doubtlessly the other playing card. He thought about snatching it, but really what would be the point? They got what they wanted, that card would belong to someone else -more than likely the useless girl from before. Resigning to ignore it for now, Emlyn turned back to Auriel, awaiting their next move.

Kuhaku reached into the opened box with gloved hand and selected the other card within. Bringing it to his face, he blinked curiously at it a few times. His head slightly tilted and ears perked. Smiling, he lifted it up into what little light there was and carefully admired it. Lowering it, he continued to quietly examine the face and back of the card. This was it? All that for these little cards? The cards didn't seem very special but, if that what was required for them to obtain then they had done so. Exhausted and just glad that their fight was over with, he shrugged and pocketed the card. Walking past the group, he headed towards his Great Axe. Its head still buried in the ground where he had left it prior.

Reaching for its hilt, he stopped and frowned. The hidden trigger was still present, indicating that there was a loaded chamber.
"That can't be right, I expended all of its ammunition..." he raised a brow at his Axe.

Grabbing the handle with his right hand, he peered into the hollow chamber where he loaded his Dust Ammunition and inspected it with his glowing blue eyes. Reaching in with the index and pointer fingers of his left hand, he checked to see if there was perhaps a blockage. It was then that his Axe reacted and loudly clicked. Jerking his fingers out of the chamber of his weapon and releasing it, he backed away. Cautiously waiting to see what exactly would happen next. With a metallic groaning, his Axe clicked a few more times before falling silent. With bated breath, Kuhaku stood firmly rooted to where he stood. A small trickle of sweat rolling down the side of his forehead.

"...PING!"
With a sudden and violent jerk, the Axe ejected four expended Dust cartridges into the air.

Startled, Kuhaku brought his arms up defensively and lost his bearing. Falling backwards inelegantly onto his rear. As the cartridges clattered loudly against the ground, rolling in random directions, Kuhaku peered through his arms and realized what had happened. When he assaulted the Mech's head and fired at it, he remembered that none of the four rounds he fired had ejected from his Axe. But, how? Sighing, relieved that his Axe wasn't going to catastrophically explode on him, he looked back at his teammates with a feeble smirk and nervously chuckled. Getting back on his feet, he dusted off his backside and briskly walked up to his Axe to remove it from the ground. Kicking aside the scattered dust ammunition as he did.

With a flourish, he tossed his Axe into the air as it reverted back to its Sword & Shield mode. Catching them, he slung his weapons onto his back and cleared his throat into his fist. Recovering from his earlier embarrassment, he turned to face his teammates and gestured towards them.

Placing his hands on his hips, he spoke "Well then. Now that that's all said and done with, what's next? Shall we return to the drop site and move on?"
Moving past his team, he walked towards the direction of where Abel and the female had come from earlier, figuring that to lead to the exit out of the tunnels. With a slight bounce in his step, he whistled a tune and placed his hands behind his head as he walked. Making no mention or note of the queer phenomena that occurred with his Axe.

Bridgett let out a groan of relief as she felt the multitude of smaller wounds seal themselves up, and a general lessening of her overall pain. She noticed that she still couldn't mover her arm however, and so knew she had to be extra careful because it would be much easier to cause herself further damage if she wasn't. Reaching up with her good hand she hauled herself up and staggered over to the wreckage that had so recently threatened her new team. Peering over Abel's shoulder she saw the four cards in the box, "Some relic..." she mused quietly, "Of course, I'll take the queen, it only fits." Reaching in, she picked it out, turning it over a few times in her hands before sliding into her pocket, it was then she noticed how much oil, grease, dirt, and even some blood had gotten all over her outfit. "Oh man... this is going to take forever to clean out, I am really not having a good first day."

To make matters worse, it was then that her new faunus team mate's weapon had its malfunction, causing her to flinch and instinctively reach for Rakurai before she realized that it was nothing major. "Yes, I have a great need to be quit of this place, Anyone know an easy way back up to the ship?"

"I'm going to need to disassemble Kladenets & Perun and do some maintenance on them when I get back...I wonder what prevented the shell casings from ejecting correctly but still allowed Sunder Horizon to fire..." Kuhaku wondered as he got some distance past the others. Stopping in his tracks, he remembered something. "Ah! That's right!" spinning on his heels, he ran back to where the wreckage of the Mech lay.

With a swift hop, he landed on the torso of the Mech and looked around at entire scene. Searching for something, he jumped down into the Mech's shredded torso and began to rummage through its parts. Loud sounds of clinking and clanging were heard as Kuhaku tossed part after part out of the Mech's body. A loud BANG! was heard, the sounds and flying internals momentarily stopping. "Oww!" Kuhaku had hit his head on something. The flying parts and sounds continued shortly after. "Aha! Here it is!" Having finally found what he was looking for, Kuhaku leaped out of the Mech's torso and stood holding a section of the linked ammunition he had cut earlier in the fight. Jumping off of the Mech's body, he slowly walked back towards the group. Rubbing the back of his head painfully.

As he walked, he worked the links of the Mech's ammunition belt with his gloved fingers and broke a single round free. Stopping, he held the round up to examine it. Rotating it in his fingers, he stared at it in silence. "I'm gonna have a few questions to ask Headmaster Ozpin. Whether or not he'll listen to me, I'll at least have a memento." Kuhaku thought to himself. Frowning slightly, he pocketed the single round and tossed the rest of the ammunition belt over his shoulder with a loud clatter. Taking a few steps, he rejoined with the group. Deciding it'd probably be best if they all moved together, instead of Kuhaku just waltzing off on his own.

"Yes, I have great need to be quit of this place, Anyone know an easy way back to the ship?" asked the blue-haired female.
Kuhaku was slightly miffed that she had yet to introduce herself to him, but he pushed the thought out of his mind.
Pointing in the direction of where her and Abel had come from, "I'm guessing we just head out the same way you two came in. Once we're back in the forests of Forever Falls, we can re-orient ourselves from there and make our way back to the dropship." Kuhaku said with a smile, his eyes glowing brightly still.

As the group opened the box, they began to distribute the artifacts. Four cards of clubs: an ace, a king, a queen, and a jack. Abel took the Jack, Bridget took a queen. Gren reached in after Kuhaku and looked at his card. "King." What did this mean? Was he going to be the leader? Should he trade cards with Kuhaku, who showed to be a better leader than him? But Gren held his card steady. No one seemed to object with which card they received, and Gren took his card last anyways. If they had wanted to be King, they had their chance. The card fell into his hands, and he was going to take responsibility for it. For better or for worse.

Putting the card away into a pocket he looked as the others were getting ready to leave. Kuhaku seemed to have some malfunctions with his weapon which made Gren do a double check on his own. Nothing wrong of note aside from it being dirty, though he would make sure to dismantle it and do a thorough examination later. Bridget seemed to be in bad shape and Gren was hesitant to go through Forever Fall with her in her current state. He felt the need to protect her, even if it meant keeping here in the cave until she recovered. But he also didn't want them to be late to get picked up. He was trying to figure out what to do when he heard Kuhaku doing something. He appeared to be salvaging the mech for parts, which in turn inspired Gren to do the same. "I'll be right back."

Gren left the group for a short while before coming back to them towing a few robots that he and Kuhaku fought before. He didn't explain why he brought them, he simply began to break them apart right than and there, using The God Eater as some multi-tool. Taking parts from the various robots, including the mech they had just fought, Gren managed to rig up a sort of motorized wagon using the treads of the robots with an engine made from the mech's power source. And in the event they still needed an extra boost of speed, Gren had rigged up a mount where he could attach the God Eater, so that he may use it's recoil to give the buggy a boost. It would be a bit of a tight squeeze, but there was room for everyone. "Let's be on our way. With any luck, this little thing ought to take us to the rendezvous point before it gives out."

Unsure of what to do and with no other ideas, Abel contented himself with watching Kuhaku. The ensuing near-death experience managed to be both slightly amusing and fairly horrifying to him. No sooner had the greataxe reverted to sword and shield than had the guardian's palm audibly smacked into his forehead. As the Faunus salvaged, Abel rubbed the fatigue from his eyebrows. Bridgett's words didn't register with him until she mentioned leaving, to which he nodded his assent. In the wake of the grand battle, the darkness seemed oppressive and dangerous, as if some other terrible foe were waiting in the shadows to take down the tired team.

Naturally, Gren chimed in to this group sentiment by immediately leaving, departing with only a vague “I'll be back.” After a minute Abel realized that he could do nothing but wait in the darkness -that everyone wanted to flee- for Gren to return. Abel seated himself against the bulky, angular left leg of the destroyed mech. While not comfortable, it at least allowed him to recline and give his feet a rest. Once settled, he began rubbing the settled dust and flakes out of his hair and off his clothes and armor.

Before long, Gren mercifully returned. Abel greeted him with raised eyebrows; just what was this guy planning to do with all that scrap metal? The guardian watched silently as Gren displayed an impressive mechanical skill (not to mention dexterity given his hulking armor) by cobbling together a primitive, ugly vehicle. Abel blinked incredulously, totally unconvinced that the contraption would work. The thing was a collaboration of limbs and plates, held together very loosely for lack of welding or bolts, and ran on treads. Well, he thought, rising from his stony seat, let's give it a try.

He jogged over and hopped in. For the first few seconds, the thing held. While of course Abel hoped it would work just for the ludicrousness of the thing, he didn't really care. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he had to walk out of this place the same way he came in.

Kuhaku turned to face Gren as he returned carrying a large assortment of parts. With a curious expression on his face, he watched as Gren worked to fashion a mode of transport for the group. Expression brightening with a large smile as he watched, he grew excited to learn that Gren was also mechanically/electronically inclined as he was. When he finished, Kuhaku came up to inspect the monster that Gren had created. Curiously examining the contraption with his glowing eyes and investigative gloved fingers, his tail swaying back and forth restlessly behind him.

"Oh, I see! He used the treads from the excavators from before with an engine of sorts from the large Mech. But..." Scratching his head, he turned to ask Gren a question.

At that moment, Abel had jogged up and hopped into the carriage of the transport. Creaking under his larger team mate's weight, it seemed to hold together just fine. But would it hold their combined weight and still be able to move quickly enough? Too excited to really question it any further, Kuhaku swiftly hopped into the transport and sat next to Abel. His excitement visibly painted on his face as he bounced in his seat, shaking his balled fists as he grinned. Turning to Gren and the female, he motioned for them to join them on the hodge-podge machine.

"Come on you two! Gren! Let's get this bucket of bolts moving!"
Looking at the female, he smiled and offered his gloved hand to her.
"Miss, do you need any assistance getting on or can you do it yourself?" referring to her injuries.
In the mean time, he would just resort to calling the human female 'Miss' or 'Lady' until he learned her proper name.

Guess Who said
As Robert finished talking, Priscilla suddenly grabbed him. No not grabbed, hugged. He wasn't expecting that, he didn't know what to do. As her hand moved down to hold his, Robert continued staying still, not moving a muscle. He had no idea how to react. After some encouraging words, she let go of his hand and told everyone her past. The part where she mentioned her having to steal to survive sounded all too familiar to Robert. When she said that she didn't feel like she belonged though, Robert was almost ready to jump to his feet. He was about to correct her, maybe give some kind of big, inspiring speech, but Greyson beat him to it. Robert wanted to show his appreciation of the affection she had shown him only minutes before, but again was paralized. In his head he thought, "Should I give her a hug, too? No, that's what she did. It would be like copying. Maybe put my arm around her shoulder? No, to close to hugging. She already held my hand, so that's also out of the picture. Think, think." Greyson began talking though, breaking Robert's train of thought.When Greyson mentioned that everyone might of heard about his dad, Robert thought back, trying to think back if he had ever overheard people talking about it or maybe a news headline he might of ignored when trying to find some shelter. His memory seemed to fail him though, and a part of Robert was glad that Greyson told them what happened anyway.Then it was Tai's turn. As Robert looked at him, he remained silent though. Did he still not trust them? Maybe his life story wasn't as tragic as everyone else's and he didn't feel like trying to compare his life to their's. Robert thought all of this, but remained as silent as Tai. No need to push, he would say what he wanted to when he wanted to. Robert tried to break the awkward silence, "I wonder how all the other teams are doing." He leaned towards the door, as if he thought he might see the other teams starting to approach. As he looked back towards his teammates, he couldn't help but wonder how the wind was so strong, specifically on that mountain in the disatance. It had to be the the wind of course, what else could cause all those trees to move so much.

Priscilla bit her bottom lips, now hoping that they were going to accept her because of who she was and it was such an amazing feeling to tell them the truth and not to be some kind of liar, lying about her past life. She trusted them and thankgod she told them. As soon as she finished, she noticed Robert being a little still, not moving or anything. "Are you okay?" She said raising an eyebrow as she would look back towards Greyson as he was now telling his story. Aww his story was so sad and she felt bad for Greyson but so thankful that his father helped him walk again. "Greyson... Im sorry. I didn't know. You should've told me all of this before all that fighting was going to happen. I wouldn't want you to be running a lot." And she was being honest, he was her first partner and because of him she is here sitting down with two others. So of course she would be worried about him, and the same to the others. Her head turned to Robert as she gave him a smile and turned back to Tai, seeing if he was going to tell them about his past, but he didn't. Which its understandable and she was not going to push him to do something that he didn't want to do. "So, what now...?"

Priscilla you don't get it. I didn't tell you for that exact reason, I don't want to be a handicap for what happened ice done ask the therapy and all that. What I did during the fight was all me so don't think of me as a person with spine surgery I'm simply Greyson. Same way that your Priscilla your not a thief to me your only you. " Greyson said softly still sharpening his blade then he thought out loud saying "maybe the other teams are having more trouble then we did with our monster" Greyson offered thinking it was as good excuse as any