The Leader of Team AMBR

[Amber Veritz]

Amber woke up with a big a smile on her face. Today was going to be her team’s first day on a mission without guidance from a teacher at Beacon. That meant this was their first serious mission, and she definitely wasn’t going to let anything mess it up.

The youth climbed out of bed and stretched her arms over her head, yawning quietly as her teammates slept. The orange light of the early morning sun crept through the single window in the room. It was slightly cool since the season of Autumn was just beginning. The team members of Team AMBR slept peacefully as their leader awoke.

There was Murasaki, who was sleeping on the floor. He was always a weirdo, but since the room was smaller than the team expected, he gave up his bed and allowed the girls their beds so all their stuff could fit in neatly. He slept on his back with only a pillow behind his head near the far wall. He didn’t even have his blanket over him, he was just laid on it. He believed it was smarter with the hardwood floor. Murasaki was a quiet guy, and he didn’t complain about living with three girls even though they forced him into the closet or hallway while they dressed.

Bianca slept in the middle bed. Amber didn’t like her to begin with, but she had grown on her. The two were actually quite close now, compared to how Bianca never wanted to be part of a team in the first place. She believed she was too good for anyone, until she was nearly overwhelmed by Grimm and her teammates saved her life. Ever since then, everyone had gotten along really well. Bianca was a lot taller than Amber, and honestly, much more attractive. Even Amber admitted to it, and she was bit jealous of Bianca’s golden hair.

The last member of Team AMBR was Rose, who, for the name, she wasn’t quite that feminine; rather short hair and dressed more similarly to how a guy would. Just like Murasaki, Rose was quiet, but she had never been afraid to voice her opinions, and just like Bianca, she was confident in her skill, but Rose never boasted. Her marksmanship was her most notable skill. Using her sniper, Rose could pinpoint targets from distances Amber couldn’t hope to reach with Razorback. Rose fell flat when it came to hand-to-hand combat though, so Amber would always keep her out of their opponents’ range.

The team’s leader looked around the room to confirm her teammates were still sleeping. She knew sometimes Murasaki would lie awake with his eyes closed and didn’t want to take the chance of him catching her half-naked. She walked slowly over to him, mostly because she was still half asleep, and nudged his shoulder with her foot. “Yo, Murasaki,” she whispered, “are you awake?” He didn’t move, or open his eyes, but still replied. “Yeah, what’s up?” Phew, she was glad she checked. “I need to get changed. Would you mind facing the wall while I get dressed?” Without saying a word, he rolled over on his right shoulder and faced the wall. To make her feel a little more at ease, he pulled his pillow over his head. “Thanks,” she whispered quietly as she turned to the closet to get her regular attire. Amber grabbed her hoodie from the closet and a skirt from the dresser to the side of the closet. She pulled her shorts down to her ankles and kicked them off her feet, replacing them with the skirt and threw on her hoodie. Her tail slipped through the small slit made in the back of the skirt for such a purpose.

Razorback laid against the wall at the foot of Amber’s bed. Seeing her sword there was conjuring imaginary scenes in her head of how today’s battle would unfold. Beowolves falling to their swords, and rifles, returning to Beacon without a scratch to be seen. Amber had high expectations for her team. They all wanted to be as well known as Team RWBY. Those four girls made an excellent team. Despite any minor or major bumps they started with, the four worked as one of the best teams in Beacon’s first year class. Amber aspired to become a great leader, just like Ruby is with her team. If she was a great leader, then maybe Faunus would get a little more respect from humans. Amber was never affiliated with the White Fang, but before they turned violent, she agreed with their cause. That was obvious for a Faunus to think, but she became a huntress to show humans that the faunus are just as much people as they are.

Bianca stretched and slowly sat up. Her hair in a mess was the only thing on her mind, until she noticed Amber just standing by her bed, staring off into space. “Hunh? Hey, Amber?” She called out to her, but she was unchanged. “Amber!” This time she fell to her side in reaction to the sudden voice Bianca projected. “Jeez! You nearly gave me a heart attack Bianca!”

“Well, you were just standing there and wouldn’t answer me the first time. You’re a handful sometimes, you know that?” Their conversation had woken up Rose. She slumped up off her stomach and up on her knees into a stretch. “Could you guys talk any louder please?” She yawned loudly before she realized she was in her underwear and covered up quickly. “Is he in the room?” She asked referring to Murasaki.

“Yep.” His muffled voice came out from under his pillow. “Don’t worry, he can’t see anything.” Amber tried to reassure her, but she wouldn’t tolerate it. “No, hallway. I can’t get changed if he’s in the room. It’s weird.”

“Yeah, Amber. I don’t understand why you do, what if he’s staring at you the whole time?” Bianca said, agreeing with Rose. They weren’t as well acquainted with Murasaki as she was. “Because I watch him. He does not peek; he does not care.” She tried once more to reassure both of them this time. “Well, I do care,” Bianca emphasized to Amber, “hallway.” Murasaki stood quietly and walked to the door as Amber tried to defend him again. She stopped when she saw him stand, but she couldn’t believe he would let them call him a pervert when he didn't do anything of the sort. To Amber, it seemed like Murasaki had no interest in a relationship then. Meaning he had no interest in seeing half-naked women without their permission.

The other two girls got dressed then allowed Murasaki to return to the room. He returned to his bed area and laid back down. Amber picked up Razorback and slung it over her shoulder. “Alright guys,” she announced to her team, “today is a special day for us. We have our own independent mission. I don’t want to slip this up, and I’m sure you guys don’t either. We’re going to assassinate some Beowolves just outside of Vale, so it should be a cakewalk. However, we should still discuss some strategy before-hand.”

“Right.” Said Bianca while she gathered her rapier. “Even the strong need a good plan.” Amber sat on her bed as she continued. “Rose, as always, keep your distance. If you need assistance, yell for us. Bianca, Murasaki and I will take the front line.”

“Leave the assisting to me.” Said Bianca. “I’m better at making follow-up attacks rather than taking an opponent head on.”

“I’ll make sure to create an opening for you, Bianca.” Murasaki mumbled quietly. His pistol and sword laid next to his bed area.

“Then leave their pack leader to me. I’ll be able to overpower it.”

“No,” Rose protested, “let’s take the pack, then we can all focus on the pack leader. We’ll fight more effectively as a group against a strong opponent.”

“But, the pack leader isn’t going to sit around and watch us kill its pack off. I’ll need to at least distract it.” Amber said.

Rose sighed and leaned against the wall behind her. “You’re right. Just don’t do anything stupid or rash. Keep it distracted, don’t take risks.” Amber smiled in response. “You know it isn’t like me to lie.”

The four rose and gathered their essentials. Food, water, extra ammunition, then headed out of their room and down the hall. The room of Team RWBY was a few rooms down from Team AMBR’s room. The room stood vacant now because Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had all disappeared. They told no one of their whereabouts, not even anyone in Team JNPR. Amber was always suspicious of where they may have vanished to, but it couldn’t be helped. The effort it would take to find the team would be too much for Team AMBR since they were more of an elimination team than a recon team and since there weren’t many clues as to how the team disappeared or what happened to them, it was nigh impossible to gather enough information to begin searching. They wouldn’t have any idea where to start looking.

Amber was quite upset when she heard that Ruby had gone missing. She never knew Ruby personally, but she did admire her. They were both leaders of a team, and she knew Ruby was a much better leader than her. The things they had done in just one year at Beacon would never amount to the stuff Team AMBR could accomplish in their entire hunter, or huntress, lifetime.

The team passed by Team RWBY’s room and headed to get their breakfast, today was going to be a long day. They had to locate and exterminate the Beowolves just outside of Vale. They walked into the cafeteria and sat down in their usual spots after they got their food.

The team was mostly quiet while they ate their food. The atmosphere around their table was uneasy. Someone finally broke the silence, and not who they were expecting. “I have a very bad feeling about today,” said Murasaki. The other three turned their heads to look at him. “Wh-What?” Amber asked, unsure of why he would be feeling this way. It wasn’t like Murasaki to say things like that. “What do you mean, Murasaki?” Asked Bianca, confused. One moment she’s being told this day will be great and then she’s being told the exact opposite. “We’re well trained, ‘Saki. We can handle whatever the beowolves throw at us.”

“That may be so, but we will be on a battlefield.” The sound of silence swept over the table. “We are thinking in a straight line here. Don’t you three dare expect anything we do to be easy. Overconfidence will lead to termination.”

“He’s right guys. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, be prepared for anything.” Amber said with a smile. “Right!” The other two said in sync.

After finally finishing their meal the team departed for the helipad. There awaited the hovercraft that would take them to Vale, where they would then walk to their destination. They stopped at the edge of town. Amber took a deep breath and looked to each of her teammates. “Alright guys, we can handle this no sweat, but be cautious of the surroundings. Our fight might attract other Grimm.” The three nodded to her with serious expressions on their faces; they were ready for the battle to come.

A field laid just outside the edge of Vale, where tall grass stood well above the normal height. A dirt road grew smaller as they got further from Vale. It was just wide enough for the four to walk side-by-side without any of them having to walk in the grass. Silence swept through the air, other than the sound of the wind. It was too quiet, and Amber knew it. The report claimed that Beowolves were attacking anyone who walked outside the limits of Vale. If that were true, why weren’t they getting attacked? Was it because the four were visibly armed and looked more than just civilians? No. Beowolves were on the bottom of the food chain when it came to the Grimm; highest in number, but they lack the brains to make a strategized attack. Everyone was focused. Their eyes watched the grass with unbroken attention.

They came to a halt as the grass shifted. Merely the wind? The speed of the wind was too slow to cause the grass to shift so suddenly. That only left one explanation. “Ambush!” Yelled out Amber, and without a second of reaction time, the black beasts leaped from the tall grass. At least ten of them pounced towards the group. Rose retreated quickly with Bianca, where they met even more Grimm. The team was surrounded now.

Claws lashed for the blood of the teenagers. Murasaki and Amber slashed their way through anything dumb enough to charge the two head on. As for Rose and Bianca, the two worked well together, but under the current circumstances, Rose was at a disadvantage. It was too close range for a scope. The best she could do is remove the scope and hope the shots would come through quickly enough to take down her opponents. Bianca protected Rose as she shot down their enemies. For the condition of the ambush, Team AMBR was operating exactly as planned. The only problem was the pack leader; it wasn’t there. “Where is it?” Amber asked herself. “Murasaki, you were right,” she said, shrugging off attacks from the Beowolves, “something is seriously wrong here.” Murasaki nodded to her and scanned the line of Grimm that surrounded them. He knew it was waiting for the moment to strike, the moment one of them let down their guard.

Amber was loosened up now. The Grimm were a cakewalk to experienced Hunters-In-Training. Amber had begun to have fun now, that is, until it came. The Grimm that was the pack leader, and it wasn’t a Beowolf. In fact, it wasn’t anything like any of the Grimm they had learned about in class. It had stayed back to get the leader of the team out before the others, Amber. The beast was rather small, and looked somewhat like a Beowolf. Its claws came down over the unaware girl’s head, but landed in the arms of Murasaki. He had jumped out between Amber and the Grimm’s attack. The razor sharp claws sunk deep into his forearm and blood began to pour out, and he screamed in pain. “Murasaki!” She yelled, turning back and slashing the unknown Grimm, forcing it to retreat.

“Murasaki, are you alright?!” She asked with a worried tone. He was bleeding badly. The claws of the demon had pierced right through his aura. If Amber had taken that hit, she most assuredly would have been killed. “Y-Yeah, I’ve been injured worse.” Amber’s grip on Razorback tightened. The intent of killing this Grimm was in her eyes, anger soared through her veins. “No one hurts my friends! I’m going to kill you!” She rushed in at the beast with her sword raised. “Amber don’t!” Her teammates called out to her, they knew that wouldn’t end well.

The monster saw this as a challenge and roared out to her as she charged. Amber returned this with her own roar. Razorback’s blade came over the beast’s head, but it was nimbly dodged. The pack leader swung its arm, slamming its elbow into Amber’s chest. She fell back on her tail-end. “Ow-” Another roar came from the beast, but this time a green smog was released from the beast’s mouth. “Argh! What is-” Amber’s head grew heavy as she breathed the smoke in. Next thing she knew, she was on her back, listening to her teammates call her name as her consciousness faded.

When she awoke, she was greeted by Omni. Her first impression was a dream: That this was all fake, nothing more than an illusion conjured by her unconscious mind. There was something different though. Amber felt widely awake, and her sense were way too acute for this to be a dream. No, this was real. She struggled to move when she realized this, but her body felt paralyzed. Now she tried to speak. No dice on that either. All she could do was listen, and think.

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

What? Rules? Maybe this was a prank, but why would this prank occur at this moment? They were just battling beowolves and someone makes a giant blow-up doll in a pitch black room pretending to send her to a different universe? No that couldn’t even be possible.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.”

Reborn? He’s going to make me live through this forever? I’m stuck here for the rest of my life? Will I even age? What kind of twisted bullshit is this?! And, others? He has dragged in more people than me? Maybe Murasaki or Bianca or Rose is here somewhere too.

“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.”

He gave her a small glowing ball, it lit up with various, luminescent colours that faded in and out every few seconds. ‘I can summon anything I desire with this glowing orb? Is power by Dust or something?’ Confused on how the mechanics of such an item worked, she turned her attention back to him. He explained finally that he was releasing her into his “Omniverse” and wherever it was, it had to be a lot better than this gloomy place.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

Waiting for what you big white bastard?! This makes no sense!

In front of the Fountain of Infinity, a weird red cloud began to form. Any on-going Prime could see this cloud forming. Closer inspection showed that this cloud was in fact Dust, the materials used in Remnant to create the effect of magic. The Dust began to form together, and became much denser until it formed the appearance of a female body. Finally, the Dust stopped, then fell. I slid down slowly over Amber’s body, showing her head and hair down to her torso and on. Once her body was released from the Dust, she could move again. The Dust dissipated into the air. Amber inspected her surroundings. “This is most definitely NOT Remnant.” She said to herself. Razorback was gone and she could tell immediately; it’s hard to shrug off losing ten pounds in an instant without realizing it. Her Scroll was missing too, which is what she needed the most right now.

“Damn, unarmed and I can’t call for a rescue, or back-up. What do I do?” Omni’s words crossed her mind once more.

Anything you desire can be yours.

The Omnilium orb was in her pocket now, she felt as she searched her person. The orb was still glowing, but it didn’t seem as bright before, probably because this place was all white. “Let’s see if that giant white bastard was telling the truth.” The orb was clutched tightly in her hand. She closed her eyes and thought about how her Scroll looked and could feel something. What she felt was like a kind of warmth inside her, and when she opened her eyes, she could see the Scroll forming in front of her. “Looks like it takes a bit longer than I thought it would.” The Scroll formed slowly in front of her, and fell into Amber’s hand. “There we are! This is actually kind of cool. Although, I don’t know exactly why I am here. I miss my team already.” She stood in silence, watching other Primes parade around the Nexus from the fountain. “I’m gonna summon Razorback, then try and call Murasaki or Bianca. See if I can get ahold of them for some back up. The people here look dangerous.” Again, she gripped her Omnilium in her hand. Razorback formed in front of her, looked as If it was going to take even longer than the Scroll. After about five minutes, Razorback formed in full on the ground. She gripped it by its sheath and slung it over her shoulder, buckling the straps that went around her waist and shoulder together to hold up Razorback. “Ah, that’s much better, a huntress feels naked when deprived of her six foot long, ten pound sword-rifle.”

Her attention turned to her Scroll, where she tried to navigate to make a call to Bianca. The Scroll wasn’t working correctly though, it was connected to something called the “Dataverse” and Amber couldn’t figure out how to maneuver away from the site. “What the hell is this?” The anger projected outwards in her voice, she didn’t care if the other people stared at her. “I can’t call Bianca, Rose or Murasaki. How the hell am I supposed to leave this place, what do I even do?” Staring at the Scroll some more she became curious. Maybe this ‘Dataverse’ could provide some useful information on the Omniverse. Her finger rubbed across the screen of her scroll, scanning the boards and everything else.

Her heart may have skipped a beat when she saw this; ”RWBY - Please Reply.” It mentioned Scrolls and Team RWBY, that couldn’t just be a lucky coincidence. “Y” states their contact info being their full names. “What was Yang’s full name again? Yang Shao...No..Jao, no dammit...Lao- Now I’m just making shit up. Wait! Xiao! Yang Xiao Long! And Ruby is Ruby Rose. It looks like Blake is with Yang, and Weiss with Ruby, so I’ll just message Ruby and Yang.” She looked at her Scroll confused again. “Um...Contacts?” The scroll automatically maneuvered to her contacts. “Oh! Voice automated. Add Contacts, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.” The Scroll blinked, confirming the addition of the contacts. “Now to send my message.”