RWBYKnights: Volume 1 - MisterManner - 明日方舟 (2024)

Chapter 1: Death of a Patriot

Chapter Text

The sounds of metal and stone shattering filled the empty streets of Chernobog, what was once a flourishing city under the great empire of Ursus, now used as a weapon to incite war. As the ground cracked and rumbled beneath, skyscrapers toppled above, burying all who were under it. Yet as the chaos happening continued, a single man felt peace within all of it.

"Watch out for the spear Blaze!" The sound of a radio buzzing alerted a muscle toned cat woman as she barely was able to dodge a spear aimed directly at her. As she took a step back, she swung her arms, revealing a large chainsaw now thrusting directly forward, only to be stopped by a shield far larger than herself, who was already considered big by her peers.

"Doktah! Where are the rest? I could probably handle this guy for at least 8 more seconds!" She shouted onto the radio, backing off once more as she stared at the shield marching towards her. The shield itself was nothing to be admired about, as it was nothing more than just a large wall with a strange orange symbol engraved onto the top half of it, with signs of wear and tear scattered everywhere as cracks formed.

"Amiya is still being treated by Kalt'sit," The voice explained, only to be cut off by another more commanding voice, "70 seconds, give or take. Rosmontis is closing in on your location, give her another 25 seconds!"

"25 seconds?! I said I have 8 sec-" Without any warning, the spear cuts through the air, with the woman barely having any time to react as she shielded herself with her chainsaw. Her weapon shatters in an instant, the force enough to blow the woman straight through a wall, crashing onto some office lockers on the second floor.

"M-make that 0 seconds..."She muttered before lolling her head backwards, unconscious.

"Blaze! Dammit!" On the radio, the voices blurred as the shield pushed forward, past the woman and towards another group of people fighting.

"Doktah, the enemy known as Patriot is advancing, he will arrive in a matter of seconds." A tan braided haired man said as he blocked an attack from a masked demon, countering by splashing acid onto its face and stabbing it right into the gut.

"Laevatain!" Suddenly, bursts of magma surged from under the streets as a molten golem climbed upwards, separating the man and the other combatants from the walking shield. To the side of the golem was a woman in red, wielding a massive greatsword that vaporized the air around its edges.

"Tch... Die!" The hot-tempered woman shouted as the golem swung its blade, yet the shield was only raised as the spear thrust behind it, obliterating the golem into multiple molten chunks of slag and making the woman fall to the ground, the shield itself cut in half due to the attack, revealing the figure behind it all.

The man, was large, too large to be comparable to any who stood before him, with his spear on one hand, he threw away the damaged shield as all gazed upon him. Draped on his back was a tattered cape that once shrouded him in darkness and covered the heavy armour and machinery that decorated the figure, yet the most striking thing about him was his head. His head was akin to an elk's skull, with horns raising his overall figure even larger, whether it was a helmet or his head was both unknown and unclear to all.

"Doktah, the operator Surtr has fallen..." The straight-faced man said on his comms as two red eyes stared down at him. The man, or creature, was seemingly unfazed by the golem's attack as he readied a sweeping attack with his spear. The area of attack was just as massive as the figure himself, catching the tanned swordsman by surprise and blowing him away and onto a nearby car, his body ungraciously crumpling the car roof. The impact broke the man's ribs at the very least, with spurts of blood escaping from his mouth, the man falls unconscious as he drops his poison enhanced blade.

"Dammit!" At the far end of the street, a hooded man slammed a makeshift operating table as he looked in terror, yet was calmed down as a woman with a white coat rested a hand on his shoulder, "We can't retreat now, there's about a 5-hour gap from Chernobog to Lungmen. I'll give you the last 6 seconds to wake her up, we cannot fail this close on stopping Reunion's actions from creating another world war!"

Grabbing hold of medical vials from her hand, the hooded man nodded as he looked down onto the operating table. It was a young girl, barely in her young adults, she slept on the stone table, her face covered in pain as dark veins grew from her fingers and eyes. She had overexerted herself to buy some time for everyone to retreat to a safe distance from the figure currently marching towards them, her attacks having barely damaged the shield of the creature.

"Come on Amiya, fight it out..." The man muttered as he began medications. Behind him, the Lynx woman began walking away as she raised her own radio and looked up into the sky, trying to find something across the abandoned city skylines.

"Rosmontis, where are you?" The woman asks as she continued her scan across the skyline, only to stop her search as a the voice of a young, but gloomy child piped in.

"Here Ms Kal'tsit..." The voice muttered, barely enough for the Lynx to hear it with all the destruction happening as a small army stood between her and the large figure, though such army stood no chance for the legendary might of the man, the sight resembling a massive avalanche hurtling towards a group of unsuspecting hikers.

"Focus your arts manipulation onto the target, use all your tactical equipment if you have to! Give me time to prepare." There was a small pause as the lynx woman waited, looking at the situation, she could see members of her own squad, elite and well trained, fall towards the behemoth that kept marching, unyielding to any that stood in its way.

"It's starting Ms Kalt'sit..." The quiet voice echoed out, and as immediate as she heard the voice, she noticed her squad backing off, some even looking back at the lynx for orders.

"Everyone fall back!" She shouted at the radio. Her words were steel, her commands solid enough for everyone to understand what was going on, and what was about to happen. The combatants immediate began to back away quickly, with others dragging the fallen soldiers away, everyone forming a circle around the figure. The figure, on the other hand, stopped his march as he analyzed his current situation, only for his gaze to fall onto the Lynx woman, having noticed her stern eyes. He understood that such army was preparing something for him, though what was did he not understand-

Suddenly, massive blocks of steel smashed through the ground, the entity only taking a second to realize the sudden situation as he skillfully begins to cut apart more of the steel blocks raining onto him, his vision now focused onto the sky, finding that the sky was now blotted by several pieces of steel I-beams torn apart from the skeleton structures of the buildings around him. Yet even in this landslide, such sudden attack that would have pulverized any ordinary man, did the figure remain composed, his swift strikes splitting the steel before it can even graze him.

"Hngggg! He's... too strong..." The young voice cried out in pain as the lynx nodded.

"Thank you Rosmontis... You did great today..." She muttered as she pocketed her radio, now focusing on something else, her hand raised forward, directing her mind towards the figure still busy cutting apart incoming steel pillars, crystals began to clump around her hand and back as air blew away from herself. As the rain of steel continued to hail onto the figure, crystal clouds began to form around her, becoming larger, until it was the size of the figure, it began to form a more detailed body, until a fearsome crystal beast floated in front of the lynx, attaching its tail onto the woman's back.

A roar erupted from the beast at the lynx pointed towards the figure still busy against the rain of steel, and without a warning, the beast savagely approached its target, still under the heavy rain, the figure grasped the blade-like claws of the beast with his mechanical gauntlets, the two fought. Each tearing each other out, the beast proved to be strong enough as it swiftly dodge the spear strikes of the figure, yet its own claws were unable to penetrate the figure's heavy armour.

"You may fall back Rosmontis..." Pain surged into the woman as she fell to her knees. For an arts user, it was near-deadly to overexert yourself, and for an infected, it was doubled that. Yet as she witnessed the battle, she knew the steel rain hadn't even damaged the figure, as while some steel beams successfully brought themselves onto the figure, yet upon impact, nothing had happened, as the figure kept up with the crystalline beast. Trading blow after blow, each blow affecting the lynx to a degree, she was helped up by the nearby operators, but the pain still kept on coming, until even she herself was unable to resist the pain.

With one final attempt, the lynx muttered a single word, the operators around her unable to hear what she had said, yet to the beast it heard it loud and clear. With one final roar, the beast wrapped itself around the figure's body, and without a warning, each crystal that composed the beast began to compress, and a second later, exploded in a green flash, shaking the streets once more, the green fireball erupting higher and higher until it reached the skies, burning the streets and buildings around.

"Ms Kal'tsit!" The man holding the lynx shouted in panic as the woman fell silent, unconscious, they all looked at the aftermath of the explosion as dust and toxic gas from the city's underground began to leak out, the molten road unable for them to cross over. The city fell into silence as all held their breaths... Yet, despair fell upon them, as the familiar sound of marching was heard, and a shadow formed from the clouds of the explosion.

"Im-impossible!" The hooded man at the far back muttered as the figure burst out of the cloud of dust and gas, sweeping the streets once more with its weapon, more and more men retreated from the battle as it itself laid untouched by the point-blank explosion. No, it was far faster than before, even more destructive as the figure roared under its terrible helm. With his cloak and the rest of the fabric having been vaporized, all that was left was parts of ancient armor, plates of steel dented by bullets adorning his hulking body. Just by the mere sight of such damaged armour, one would think that the figure was invincible, like demigods in mythologies.

"Come on Amiya... Only you can take him down. We need you!" The man said, with all the vials now inside the body of the young girl, the man tried shaking her, trying his hardest to wake her up. Yet, as the figure began to close the distance, the man suddenly realized what he had to do.

"I'm sorry..." The man apologizes as he took a deep breath, brushing away the young girl's hair covering parts of her face, his tone shifts as the sound of the figure marching became louder and louder. "Operator Amiya, Chimeraprotocol."

In an instant, the young girl opened her eyes as the black veins grew, now covering her arms and reaching the back of her ears, her eyes itself seemed to have darkened as she raised herself from the table. On queue, a large unknown sigil formed behind her with dark lightning radiating from it as she now stood in front of the incoming giant.

The power emanating from the child was enough to cease the movement of the massive figure as cracks began to form on the young rabbit's feet. Wasting no time and realizing the threat of the girl in front of him, the figure arced his arm as he threw his spear, the sound the weapon made was loud enough to shatter what remaining glass was left in the urban battlefield, its pointed tips marked squarely onto the girl's torso.

"Amiya!" The hooded man shouted as the spear impacted the girl, releasing another cloud of smoke, yet... The figure knew she took no damage, as what was left of the spear flew back towards the figure, the bladed head of it now dragging across the ground until it stopped just in front of the figure.

The figure began to move once more, as the cloud of dust was blasted away, revealing the young girl raising her hand in front of him, dark orbs began to form on her palms and shooting it at the figure. Each orb blew back the giant, with each orb did the figure feel, it was far more devastating than the crystal monster that blew up in front of him, or the heavy rain of steel that slowed him down. No, each orb seemingly went through all his armour, but still, he persisted, each hit knocking him back only a few inches away, he always regained his ground, as he will never yield to any.

But, it was only a matter of time as his body could keep up, his movement began to slow. Yet he still persisted.

"How is he so persistent?!" The hooded man muttered as the gap between the young girl and the figure tightened.

"Every fight is to the death. Life on the line in every fight, for life will return to the blood, and live forever in another body..." Suddenly, the hooded man found the Linx being shouldered by one of their comrades, her exhausted stature barely enough to see what was happening.

"Buldrokkas'tee, there are many Sarkaz who would not see a wendigo like you sacrificed for nothing!" The women tried to reason with the giant, finally within arms reach of the child. His armour was now severely damaged, the mechanical parts have stopped moving long ago.

Feeling the end of the battle, the young girl stopped, the sigil behind her back fading away as she dropped to the ground, trying to stand up once more. Yet, as the figure finally stopped his march, as he finally arrived at his destination, he stood still, like a statue.

"No. How can. I, be sacrificed?" Suddenly, a broken voice erupted from the figure.

"I can. Still. Move. I. can still kill. You. My. Body still. Hears. My command. I have. Not. Felt, the pain." The voice paused as the speaker that echoed out the voice blared static for a few seconds.

"Misery, and regret. Is it. Enough? Could. It ever. Be enough?" As if two beams of steel slid against each other, the Wendigo raised his massive claws, his gauntlets falling apart, revealing a completely crystallized hand, with machinery engraved into the crystal arms, it rattled as it barely held up to the man's command of his body.

"Mr Buldrokkas'tee... please, stop... Stop this! Fighting more will only bring you more suffe-" He cut off the young child's reasoning, his arm now almost closing the gap to her.

"Warrior. A warrior, carry, all of the dead. I carry, pain. Their hate, Their. Silence. If... I stop... They die fo-r nothing. Suffering? You should. Suffer. You. Cannot, defeat. Me." The broken voice box echoed as he came for the killing blow, yet, suddenly, the warrior found himself not in a battlefield, not facing a young child, not even in a city, but somewhere familiar.

"Sigh, you're stubborn as a stone, have I ever convinced you of anything? You'll keep fighting, won't you? Promise me, promise me you won't die in battle. My only hope is that you won't suffer any more. Just think, you'll still have our family, our little Gro.

He's so cute when he is sleeping, with his two little red horns, that still haven't hardened... This is life, it's the continuation of our lives. A child is the continuation of all the life in our world. I know you won't eat me. I know how much you hate Wendigo traditions." A familiar voice was heard, as the man found himself in a nursery, a young child rested on his unarmoured arms, he could feel, the heat of the child. He looked at himself at the mirror. He was no monster, he wore no armour nor was covered in a dark crystal that ceased all his feelings. He was a husband.

"Grrovae'zeeal, you were innocent. So innocent." He muttered, suddenly finding himself in another battlefield, he looked down to see a teenager rested on the bloody ground, his eyes, still open, yet he did not breath. Under his head, blood pooled down the gutter, his head split open as he had fallen directly onto the pavement.

"My son... Father killed you. Father let you, die for nothing..." Yet again did his vision shift, now was he huddled in a fur blanket out in a raging blizzard, with a campfire barely lit up, he came face to face with a small child similar to the brown-haired rabbit girl, the child was pale white, hair, ears, even her eyes reflected a cold dead white.

"Family? You mean my brothers and sisters, and me, and you, we are all a family? Even my brother who isn't here? Then... you're everyone's daddy! Then I'll learn from you, and avenge grandma! I will kill all the bad people who bully us! Wait... I can't say that? Why?! You kill the bad guys every day!

...

What do you mean you don't want me to become like you? Aren't you a good guy?

If I can't be like you, can I go to the city? Can we really go to the city? The candy you talked about, are they really good?

It does not matter, I can be a good guy or a bad guy, as long as I can be with you, and my brothers and sisters... forever. You're my family. My closest family..." The man remembered a conversation he had with the child, how she grew up to become a fine woman, and how she fell to the very same people that stood in front of him now...

"I can't hold him... any longer..." Meanwhile, in reality, the young rabbit girl held onto the man's hand, closing her eyes, she saw the memories of the warrior, the pain, the suffering. In an attempt to stop him, her final weapon was himself, his memories, as the man froze, he was under the control of the girl's arts. Yet, somehow, he returned.

"Cautus girl. You are. Leader. What. Is special? About. You?Show me your worth. You want. to stop. Reunion. But you. Cannot, defeat me?" Suddenly, as if he was resistant to arts, he began to move. Yet, before he could do any harm to the rabbit girl, as he swung his other hand in order to grab her, a loud shout was heard as a girl with traits of a tabby cat flew down from the skies, standing on one of the same steel pillars that once rained down of him.

"Don't touch Amiya!" In an instant, a final steel pillar collided with the man, shattering what remaining armour he had left, and reaching the other side of his chest. Sparks appeared as blood dripped from the wound. He was still mortal, even with his body covered in dark crystals, and the machines that allowed him to move. Yet, he did not falter, he does not even flinch. He may have been pushed back, yet he can still march onwards.

"Heh. You can, pierce my armour. This suit. Finally, at its limits." The voice box barely held on, no, the voice came within the suit, the true voice of the man speaking, the speakers having been flooded by his blood. The tabby cat threw two more steel pillars at the man, only for it to be caught on both hands, pushing him back even further, though not as much as the first time.

"Feline, you are strong. A threat. to me. Ten more... steps. No need towait." Throwing away the pillars on his hands, he began to move once more, yet his movement were even slower now, but still could he move.

"You are at your limits! I know. I have seen it all, in my arts... Your memories, your strife, your fears, why you are called Patriot... It's enough. Please... it is enough..." The rabbit cried out, her voice being the last she can do, it seemed to have been enough, as finally. The man stopped.

"What... is... this? I... I can't, move, anymore..." The sound of screeching metal came to a halt as he was mere steps away from his target.

"His wounds are finally catching up to him. Buldrokkas'tee..." The lynx said as the rabbit girl approached the frozen giant. Seemingly, it looked like he was still conversing with the rabbit, yet to the hooded man and the other three, they could not hear a thing.

"You won. Dame. Take this." Using the last of his energy, what remained of his gauntlets opened up to reveal a hidden compartment for the Lynx to get a hold of.

"The key to stopping... Chernobog, the key to stopping... Her... plans..." It was an ID card, allowing them to reach the source of all this mess. Knowing he could not move anymore, the hooded man walked nearer.

"Why... why did you take it this far? Were you testing us?" The man asked, helping the rabbit as she was on the verge of collapsing, all he got was a sound the giant made, he was laughing.

"I did... intend to kill you. I did it, because I don't trust you... I only trust... war. My daughter... was naive. She was soft, she assumed, an outcome... I don't wait for results... And this... is the best... rest. My men, were surprised, and did not... use their strength... They live... Only I, die. A worthy. Death..." The red eyes that once covered the four in despair now began to fade, as the voice that once spread terror softened...

"Dame."

"I'm listening..." The Linx quickly replied, taking a step forward.

"The Wendigos, lost everything. But still. We carry, Sarkaz traditions. Bear witness to it..." He asked, the light on his eyes now looking at the lynx. Yet she shook her head.

"I don't know if I am qualified..." She said, now straightening herself.

"You are the best, choice..." The man assured her, and with his acceptance, the woman took a deep breath, as her tone changed.

"'I witness a Sarkaz. Buldrokkas'tee, Wendigo of Kazdel, betrayed neither flesh or blood, disgraced not his tribe. He leaves his body, with his life, under the light... And his soul returns to the warm blood of the Wendigos...'" She said as the man's eyes finally faded to grey, the red light, gone forever...

"This is a curse..." She commented.

"It is not... to me. Thank you, Dame... Tell my men to stand behind you, you... you're now the commander of my squad..." His breath was heavy as he embraced death. He could finally feel once more, warmth, he could see his wife, his son, his daughter... he was finally, going to return home...

"No...

-No.

Hallucinations." He said, alerting the four as Amiya collapsed to the ground, the most surprised. They all saw the giant beginning to move once more as his eyes shined its brightest, his renewed vigor directed towards the four with a glare that simply carried death to all that he laid his vision on.

"I don't need visions! I don't need consolation! Who?!" The man roared as he was awoken from his near-death.

"How... did he break out?" Amiya muttered under her breath, yet it was caught on byBuldrokkas'tee as he now took a step forward, forcing the four to move back.

"Now I see. You, Cautus. It is you!" He pointed his crystal hand onto the rabbit girl, a claw the size of Amiya's forearm directed towards her heart.

"He lied... The king... had a successor! You. You are the Lord of Fiends!" He roared once more.

"To think that I would not escape my fate!" He said as the young tabby cat tried to block him again with her steel pillars, the titan merely swatted it away as it tore through a building.

"They would give visions to their champions, visions of comfort, of their love ones! For you to-"

"I don't want you to suffer anymore!" Amiya finally shouted, ceasing his rampage, Kal'tsit stepped forward.

"Don't believe the prophecies Buldrokkas'tee! Amiya!" She shouted, yet, it was the man whose voice was the loudest, as he roared one final time, for all to hear.

"I see cities, devastated.
I see Originium, blanketing the land.
I see you, black crown on your head, melting millions of lives, into nothing but memories.
I see the, King of Sarkaz, enslaving all peoples, everywhere."

He then turned his head towards the young girl as he gave everything he had left to stretch his hand out.

The Cautus girl does not flinch. The shadow of death sweeps upon her smoke-blackened face. She does not move. She does not scream. She only stares directly into her own murderer's eyes. As if staring directly into his soul. At the same time, heavy black blades and shimmering beams of ominous energy pierce swiftly into the giant's immortal body. Still, he remains unshaken. Yet... Just as he was about to finish her off...

.

.

Nothing...

.

.

His hand, his body, he stopped in place. His eyes, they no longer shined the bright red that terrorized all he gazed up, and brought hope to others. His hand, inches away from crushing the young girl, it itself had stopped, not moving.

Minutes passed as the girl waited for her fate, yet, it took a little bit longer until realization dawned on them all. The monster that was before them, the patriot of those who he fought for, the aegis of the infected was dead. Having never taken a single step backward, unwavering for even a single second, in the end, death put a stop to the Patriot's lifelong advance...

~~~

"Brother? Have you felt that?" A man shrouded in violet asked, in front of him, another man, shrouded in bright light.

"Indeed. Something has happened, but it is not the relics calling for us." The man shrouded in light explained, with the other man shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, it felt like I hit my head again on a moon... I guess this is a first for you?" He joked as the two looked down. Below them, a world, waiting to be explored...

Chapter 2: A World Unknown

Chapter Text

The forest was still, with deers grazing upon the wet grass, the sound of crickets echoed out as the night skies twinkled with countless stars. Yet, as life in the forest began to settle down for the night, their rest was interrupted by the ground beneath letting out a faint, but evident, shudder.

At that very moment, the creatures of the forest sprang to their feet as their instincts commanded them to run. There was a predator nearby, though a predator they could not fathom. There was no scent of a panther or a wolf, nor was the ever-present aura of fear a Grimm could make noticeable. By now, they would have heard the footsteps of a hunter, no matter how cautiously such humans could have acted, by now they would have been dead, mauled by this unforeseen creature.

No, even for their nature to quickly discern such threats immediately, a gift of Darwinism, it had taken them a while to notice what entity was causing such a silent disturbance in the night.

In a small open patch devoid of trees and shrubbery, a massive shadow grows from the ground. Antler-like horns rose above the main form, with the cloak shrouding the figure and outlining the heavy armour underneath.

"Huh?" Looking around, the man known as Patriot scouted his surroundings. He knew for sure he was still in the moving city of Chernobog, having discovered an entity destine to bring the world into ruins. He knew he also was not dreaming, or drunk, as he could feel his body, his feet planted firmly on the wet grass, his hand, holding a tree, and crushing it within seconds, feeling the wood shatter and hearing the tree falling. Wait... feeling?

"What happened to me?" Due to Oripathy, a fatal infection that would crystallize a being's body, he had not felt anything in his skin for a long time, yet now, he could feel the cold night, the rough bark of the tree, his armour. Looking at his bare hand, he saw it normal again, no more was it encased in a dark crystal that always tried to take his life every second of the day for the past century... No, he felt as if he was in his younger days, back before he got infected...

It was only then that he looked up did he find out where he was, or where he wasn't. The moon was shattered into many pieces, with it forming an eternal crescent moon, he knew he wasn't on Terra, his world. Yet, as he still looked up into the sky, something shiny caught his attention at the edge of his sight, and walking up to it, he soon found two things he immediately recognizes. One was a red halberd, his halberd, and the other one was a shield, his shield. Yet as puzzling it was for him to be reunited with his weapons, they were brand new, as if he had just received them from a weaponsmith.

"The insignia of Ursus..." He muttered, looking at his shield, it had a sign engraved on it. It was really his, the same two pieces of equipment that he carried for a century's worth of fighting, it truly was. Now equipped with two weapons he was familiar with, he began wandering around the forest, noticing that even with his knowledge of wildlife, the animals here weren't the same as the ecosystem of what he was familiar with, but he was thankful, as it was not as dangerous, as the lands of where he roamed were too dangerous for even he to walk about late at night, from the insane cold to the unknown dangers...

It was a rather pleasant walk by his standards, as a Wendigo like him was able to walk for days on end, without even realizing it, he had already walked a good 6 hours until he found something of note. During that 6 hours, he hunted a deer and started a fire to satiate his hunger, confirming that even if he was in a different world, his general knowledge of survival and the properties of the world are the same. The deer itself tasted the same, no, it was far more delicious, with his tastebuds returning as well, so delicious in fact that he decided to hunt a second deer. Just to be sure.

Back to the present, he soon found himself overseeing a village from a cliff, bright lights contrasting the darkened sky.

'What idiot leaves the lights open at night?' Were his first thoughts. Having spent his years in the hostile wastes of the north, he had grown accustomed to the guarded nature of the villages there. From the boarded-up windows of the peasantry to the small army of soldiers decorating an Ursus noble. One way or another, there was some form of protection. Surely would there be such a trait in this very village?

His focus then turned to the lights themselves. Leaving such electrical need open throughout the entire night would require a stable source of electricity, and for a barren village such as the one Patriot gazes onto right now, it would have been impossible. Had it been in his world. For such an establishment to have a stable output of electricity would be on the ranks of a major city. Kazimierz, Lungmen, and even Chernobog came to his mind. Nevertheless, he marched onwards, throwing away his concerns as he made his way towards civilization, eventually finding a proper road to walk on...

His pace quickened on the road, now unobstructed by trees and hidden roots underneath, it would only take him another 30 or so minutes to reach the village. Seemingly abandoned, he wondered where the guards are, or if everyone was just asleep, without a care in the world at all if there was someone or a creature about to wreak havoc on themselves.

Wandering around, he noted the place once more as it was rather small, with his height, he was able to look at the second floors or roofs of some of these houses. Yet, it wouldn't take a while until he encountered a person to talk to, as suddenly, a man drinking from an alcohol bottle barged out of a tavern, only freezing as his eyes met Patriot's own red eyes.

As the man froze, Patriot noticed the rather lack of any animalistic details such as a tail or fur, instead, it was a plain man. Pushing that irregularity aside, he pondered what language to use for conversation, as it was another world, the language would have to be different.

'Ursus? Sarkaz? Lungmen? Columbia? Hmmm,' He thought, as those were the only languages he knew of, well, discounting ancient Wendigo that was, but nobody apart from his kind knew of it so he brushed that aside.

His thoughts were immediately dashed away as the man charged towards him, drawing out some form of knuckle dusters from his belt which had caught the old soldier's attention. More intrigued by the shape the man's weapons formed instead of the upcoming attack, the Wendigo planted his spear onto the hard concrete, using his free hand to simply catch the man by the throat.

Even as the man began to thrash, doing just about anything he could to break away from Patriot's grip, they were nothing more than small pecks against the unbreakable armour of the wendigo, with the giant simply carrying the man until both were now looking at each other evenly. It was only then that the man stopped his attempts, not clutching his hands around the claws of the giant, as he stared deeply into the red glare of his captor.

"Что это за место?" Patriot spoke in Ursine, more accustomed to it than any other language he knew of. The man, realizing the creature in front of him was talking, let out a groan, taking all his strength to even speak.

"L-Let. Go!" Immediately did the Wendigo acknowledged the man's command as he dropped the man to the ground. The aggressor landed on his back before scurrying to his feet, as if ready for a second round. Instead, he took a step backwards, taking a position that was anything besides that of a brawler.

"What is this place?" Patriot repeated his words, now speaking in the best Columbian he could muster. Though instead of an answer, all he received was a stern glare,

"White Fang!" The man shouted as his knuckle dusters suddenly began to morph, the Wendigo's eyes widening in surprise as a group of similarly armed men soon came out of the tavern, their weapons morphing from a variety of melee, then turning to some kind of gun he couldn't even comprehend.

'Sankta?' His thoughts were quickly answered as a stream of tiny explosions detonated on his armour, each blast being a singular bullet shattering on impact, still unable to pierce his armour.

'No. If these were Sankta, I would have been dead by the first shot.' Even with his armour did the Wendigo pull out his shield, each bullet doing even less damage now against the denser material his shield was crafted with.

It took a moment for the group to stop firing, whether because they had spent their ammo, or realized the futility of their actions. All that was left was a pool of shattered bullets on the ground, with nothing more than smoke on the unscathed shield.

"Impossible!" One of the men, presumably their leader, roared out, their eyes widening in surprise and dread as Patriot lowered his shield, unscathed by the volley of bullets. Yet he did not boast in his invincibility, nor did he seem prideful about it all, instead, he was far more confused than ever before.

These weren't Originium-fed bullets that he had been hit by, or blessed by a Sankta's arts. These are mass-produced bullets given to normal people, with guns that can change into melee at the flick of a button or command. Such technological sightings were not of Columbian descent, or even the ridiculously flashy steam power of Victoria.

"What kind of village welcomes a wanderer with guns and bullets?" Patriot's commanding voice spoke out, rather keen to wonder about such sudden hostility instead of advancing for slaughter. Has the world he had arrived in lost its common sense? Even the brutal Ursus guardsmen often resorted to talking before shooting an infected civilian right through their eyes.

"We don't talk to yer' kind around here!" Another old man shouted out, waving his gun like a toy.

'A Sankta would faint by how they are treating such guns-' The Wendigo's thoughts were cut off by the man's words.

"My kind?"

"You stupid or what? I'm talking about you Faunus monsters! Even worse with that White Fang mask you got there."

"What-"

BOOM

A sudden explosion cuts off Patriot's confusion, only followed by a rushing cold pushing even the group of attackers a step backwards.

Turning to face the sudden commotion, he was greeted by a wall of ice growing out of a nearby warehouse, and out of the icy fog walked out a singular white Cautus girl, pale as the snow, the

"Father. It's good to see you." The girl approaching him was Yelena, his adoptive daughter, and the commander of the yeti squad, codename: Frostnova.

"Yelena?" He asked. He thought she was dead, then again, he too was also supposedly dead but was transferred here instead. Without a word, the young woman came to hug the man, who rested his hand on her shoulder. Behind her, a fat woman came chasing after her.

"Damn bitch froze the cages with her semblance! Get them!" The reunion was cut short as Patriot shielded his daughter from a second barrage of bullets, the attack just as ineffective as the last.

"Cage? What happened here?" He asked, releasing his daughter from the hug.

"I will explain everything later father, but now... these men are evil, I found myself in a cage alongside other people."

SCHWING!

Her words were quickly followed by her father's halberd sweeping the entire street, Patriot understanding in an instant with what she had said. His singular attack tore through the men like butter, spraying the street with blood and gore, the town returning back to the night's silence.

"Slavers..." He muttered as he lifted his daughter like a child, walking towards the frozen warehouse where Yelena had just come out, past the woman, who had already been turned to ice by the Cautus the second her father slaughtered the men.

"At least I have you once more..."

"Yes, indeed father..."

Chapter 3: Winter's End

Chapter Text

"Frostnova?" A hooded man muttered, around him, a massive room was covered in ice as the woman at fault lay dying on his hands.

"Go... ahead..." A weak voice escaped her frozen breath. No matter if the man's skin was currently being turned to ice due to her condition, he still carried her, resting her head on his arms.

"I think, your father really loves you. Just like you remember everything your actual parents have done to save you... You can remember everything he has done for you..." The man said softly, with the white rabbit chuckling...

"It's a shame he was fated to outlive me... I wonder had I not met him... would he suffer the same way I brought him?" The hooded man shook his head.

"It is because of his suffering that he cherishes you even more..." Upon hearing the man's answer, the bunny smiled.

"Hehehe...Doctor. I can call you that, can't I? Doctor of Rhodes Island, choices just might be meaningless, in this world. Even so, even if the outcome makes no difference... I do want to choose for myself. I made my choice. With my own hands... To take the fruits of the seeds I have sown." The woman rested her hand on the hooded man's face.

"Your fingers... They are warm..." The man commented as he held onto the woman's hand.

"Strange... Why... is your face, cold? Is my body temperature not low?" She asked, surprised herself.

"Yes. Your symptoms, they are gone..." The man assured her, and with another weak chuckle, the woman caressed him even more.

"Ironic... I feel so... Alive, before..." Her words quieted as she nodded.

"I... would like to join Rhodes Island... I accept your invitation... Doctor..." She continued, her breathing was heavy as she gazed upon the hooded man's eyes.

"Thank you..." He said, trying not to tear up, the bunny shook her head.

"The original Reunion... was the same. Just the same. Your eyes, and that boy's, really do look the same. Only, you're not as determined as he was. You're so much... So much gentler. Let me go. My brothers and sisters are waiting for me." The white rabbit paused, her eyes weakly turning to the ceiling.

"...Father... I've been such a fool..."

"Forgive me..."

With that, the winter maiden closed her eyes for a final time, as silence covered the frozen, wartorn area...

~~~

Yelena slowly opened her eyes, the first thing to greet her was a group of people huddled together in dirtied blankets, some leaning against each other, while others simply sitting still, the angle of her body unable to see what they were sleeping on.

Closest to her was a young feline man with grey ears, his slumped position summarizing the entire mood of those around him, with his tail lazily flicking from right to left as if bidding his time.

She was supposed to be dead, she understood that she had gone passed her limits, she had irreparably damaged her body to the point of no return. She remembered the man's gentle hands as he carried her failing body, the man they called the Doctor watching as the embers of her body faded away.

And yet she was here.

Maybe her body did betray her, tricked her into believing she had actually died, yet did not. Maybe she was currently onboard the Rhodes Island Landship? Their main base of operation. Maybe she did in fact join Rhodes Island, to fight a truly righteous war against those who sinned against the infected.

No?

Whatever the case was now, she needed to get her bearings and to stop assuming. Returning her focus back to her current predicament, she understood that she was resting on something hard, she must be on the floor, and the searing pain of her backside concluded that she had been asleep for at least a good few hours, if not more.

Once again returning her sights to the group, she assumed that these people were part of Reunion, the very revolutionary group she fought under, a group consisting of the infected, those cursed with an incurable disease of Oripathy. She assumed that, just like her, these people were captured by Rhodes Island during the battle that 'cost' her her life.

Turning her sight away from the group, her eyes were quickly met by a set of metallic bars caging her in, like a cage. Ignoring the oddity of being inside a cell for a second, she scanned the outside area, understanding then that she was inside some warehouse, with other cages housing other people of different variety, with guards patrolling the place with guns and other weapons.

Strange, Rhodes Island was supposedly a Pharmaceutical company that sought to cure the incurable disease, even a military prowess somewhat rivalling a small nation. So why were a bunch of infected individuals such as herself imprisoned in a manner like this? Granted she was still an enemy in the eyes of the rest of Rhodes Island, but she had also heard how such a group treated the infected as infected. There were no enemies or allies, just infected in their eyes.

"Oh hey, you, you're finally awake..." The man perked his cat ears, having noticed Yelena staring outwardly.

"You must have been caught near the town huh? Same with all of us here, as well as that thief over there." The man added as he motioned his head towards a sleeping wolfman by the corner of the cage.

"Где я?" Seeing as her act of sleeping was finally uncovered, Yelena slowly rose, speaking in Ursus, her mother language. Yet, instead of an answer to her question, she was met with a confused look,

"What? Can you repeat that again?" The man raised a brow, confused by her dialect. She herself also understood the language barrier, pausing for a second to remember her Columbian.

"Where am I? Why am I in a cage?" She repeated, further questioning her location, yet, she was only met by the feline shaking his head in disappointment.

"Geez, where've you been? Living under a rock? They hate us Faunus, and we're probably going to get sold off in a few days." The grey-eared feline explained, though it still made as little sense to the rabbit as her initial question. Though, 'Faunus' struck her with some vague familiarity.

She had been called many things before, infected, witch, terrorist... though she had never heard of the word 'Faunus' before.

"Faunus?"

"You really did live under a rock. See this?" The man sighed as he pointed towards his cat ears, with Yelena nodding confusingly, "Do you see any of our features to those guys outside?"

"What-" Yelena squinted as she eyed the nearest guard from head to toe, over and over again. There were no unique traits that told of the man's supposed race. The guard was not Cautus or Feline, Iberian or Liberi. He did not have the demon horns of a Sarkaz or the wings of light of a Sankta. He was just... plain. Just a human, not anything, but a human.

She has never seen a 'just a Human'. Nor had she heard of any from anyone, and she knew people who had ventured through a multitude of places and countries in Terra. From her father with his endless years of warfare to the Gargoyle Sarkaz captain Mudrock who roamed the lands of Leithanian, and even the strongman Big Bob, a mercenary captain who fought in the south near the deserts of Sargon. They've all told their stories countless times before, but none spoke of "just a human".

"Exactly. Human them, Faunus us. Those humans think we are just animals to serve them, and we all are currently waiting to be sold off somewhere. What world do you live in to not understand such a simple thing?"

"What... world?" Yelena repeated the feline's words to herself, as if it was a key to her understanding of her situation-

Wait.

'What. Is. This.' Yelena could not believe it. The conclusion she had landed upon after everything she had heard felt so fantastical, a child's fairytale. She was in another world, somewhere not in Terra, where seemingly basic logic has been flipped over, and new logic has taken shape.

And yet, it was also a nightmare as well. She had died fighting for the infected, for those that were unjustly repressed, and now it was happening again. Of all the worlds that she had to be transported into, fate has cruelly played its cards down, sending her to a world just like the old, where she was to be dehumanized once again and become one with the people that the rest wanted dead.

She was to relive her old life over again, without her family and comrades, in a completely alien world, while suffering from Oripathy-

"I don't have... Oripathy?" A third realization hits Yelena like a truck as she eyes her arms, her pale skin completely flawless, she finds no hint of the ailment. There was no discomfort within her internal organs, nor was the eternal numbness that always reminded her of her curse. She was completely free of Oripathy.

Besides the high infectivity of the disease, what made Oripathy so deadly was the slow death of its host as living tissue is converted into a volatile, and rather poisonous, material known as Origium. Such effects are similar to someone ingesting coal, their bodies unable to live with something so inorganic growing inside them, as the affected region of their body petrifies into stone.

It was this that made the disease impossible to cure, as none understood how such stones could convert living matter to more of itself, and it was also this slow death that made the infected outcasts to society. The non-infected feared for their lives as they actively pushed away those that were infected, even going so far as to cull entire masses 'for society's sake'.

And yet... she was cured.

She, who had fought and suffered through the effects of Oripathy throughout her entire life, has been cured, and

Such revelation drastically changed her new perception of such an alien world. It may have its similarities with her old world, such repression can only lead to the death of this world, but-

'Maybe it is time to start a new life?'

Crack

The steel bars that imprisoned the group began to freeze over as she tightened her grip around it, hope flooding her as she felt her heart beat faster and faster. She had indeed lost her life, and this was her second life, a chance to leave her sufferings behind...

BANG BANG BANG

"The hell happening outside?" The sound of gunfire seemingly startled the Faunus from their rest as the guards quickly turned to face the entrance to the warehouse, with only Yelena, who was still digesting her situation, and the grey Feline, too jaded to react to such sounds, keeping up their positions.

"They're already gonna enslave us, the least they can do is give these poor souls some rest dammit." The Feline sighed as he lowered his back onto the cage beside Yelena, only to jump up in shock as the surface of the cage was unbearably cold.

"What the hell-" Had it not been for the gunfire outside, the man would've been reprimanded by the guards for causing a stir, but instead, the guards were too busy to notice what was happening. And in their moment of distraction, Yelena had already frozen over her side of the steel cage, each bar exploding outwards and shredding through the nearby slaver.

It was only after this did the Feline fell to the ground, his eyes widened as Yelena herself rose from the ground, smiling back towards the man who briefed her in the situation.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here."

~~~

As the morning sun rose, a bullhead soared across the skies, speeding passed the trees below. Besides the pilot, there was but one passenger on board, a young woman in her early 20s, she had pink pixie-cut hair, a leather jacket over a grey blouse, and denim pants with combat boots.

"Huntress Kandi Floss reporting in..." The woman held her breath as she communicated through a headpiece, her hand gripping the handrail tightly as she nervously looked downwards, through the exposed Bullhead door and onto the sea of trees that flashed right past her.

"Early as usual, you read the files from yesterday?" A voice echoes from the headpiece, eliciting a wince from the huntress.

"Of course I did, who do you think I am?" She was a huntsman, a person most skilled and distinguished in the world, one who can be called a 'hero' by the regular people. To be questioned of her competence was to harm her pride-

"A dumbass that accidentally harmed civilians and had lost her license in the process? Kandi, I have your files. The only reason why you're even in this company is that we accept disgraced huntsmen." The operator coughed as Kandi sighed. All that he said was true, she and her partner fumbled their first job as huntsmen, and this was the result... Well, that was years ago, and she had grown up as a person, and her dreams of being a competent huntsman were still shining brightly for her.

"Whatever, I just gotta scout this village for possible Faunus slave trade. No biggie right? An in and out adventure, reckon it'll only take 20 minutes." Kandi chuckled as the Bullhead came to a stop, with the village in question just barely visible in the distance.

"Hence why you're only getting 3 grand from this mission, or unless you're gonna play hero and screw it all up?" The operator smirked from behind the monitor, watching her vitals and location in an office stall.

"Whatever," Kandi sighed as she dropped down and immediately made her way through the forest, "As long as I'm getting paid-" She suddenly stopped as something caught her attention, something that wasn't supposed to be in a lush green forest.

"What's all this ice-" Kandi walk instantly turned into a mad dash as a thought crossed her mind, her agility and endurance enabling her to reach the village in about 5 minutes. The closer she got towards her destination, the more evidence of an attack against the village was shown as piles of ice formed around the ground.

"White Fang?" The operator guessed as the huntsman stopped by the outskirts of the village, quickly noticing a mountain of ice that rose above any other building at the very centre, with smaller ice shards all around the place.

"Maybe," Kandi simply muttered as she took a deep breath before entering the place. The first thing that she noticed was frozen bodies littering the place, all standing, all firmly planted onto the ground. The ice itself was unnaturally clear, so much so that the huntsman was able to stare directly onto a victim's terror-stricken face.

Yet there was something else in the air. A musky scent just barely noticeable enough for Kandi to understand. Blood.

There was a pause as the young woman soon found the source of the abhorrent smell, her eyes-

The girl quickly dropped to her back as she held back a scream. Death was the closest with a huntress, but even then, she had never seen such brutality before, with bodies torn to shreds, their organs exposed and a source of flies.

She felt nauseous, her insides screaming to just run and not turn back, the disgustingly hypnotic sound of a thousand flies feasting on the dead burning through her ears.

"The hell-" Kandi could hear the operator gag for a second, only to mute himself and to leave her to listen to the flies. It should have been a simple scouting mission, not- this...

Her heart raced as her breath became inconsistent, her eyes unable to look away, like a moth to a fire, such a scene was too much to be looked at with a single glance.

"You are a huntsman. This is nothing."

"Run, the monster is nearby."

Her thoughts conflicted with each other, like a massive dispute inside a debate room... It may have felt like an eternity for Kandi, but in reality, it took no more than a minute for her to 'somewhat' stabilize as she immediately covered her face with a mask, the stench unbearable.

Stomaching the utter disgust and terror sewn into her mind, Kandi returned her gaze to the splatter of gore and innards. The blood had dried on the road, leaving behind a permanent red stain that she had already been standing on well before her realization. She then turned her attention to the locations of the bodies, taking a good mental image of what happened before such a mess had happened.

Whatever slaughtered all these men, it did so in a singular, clean strike.

And the weapons, shattered and thrown across the streets, all detailed the jobs of the corpses. They were either mercenaries or huntsmen themselves, either occupations hinting that this village 'was' supposedly a heavily fortified space.

"This can't be from the White Fang..." Too bloody, too destructive. Kandi recalled the numerous tactics of the organization that fought against those who sinned against the Faunus, but there was nothing that said anything about such unnecessary violence. In fact, the organization would have acted the opposite way. There would have been a slaughter still, but the aftermath wouldn't have been like this.

"This could only leave the Grimm..." The Operator finally unmuted, his voice raspy, a sign that he did, in fact, could not stomach such a sight. After all, he was just an operator, not a huntsman with experience.

"But that does not answer all the ice around here..." She mumbled, changing her sights to the rooftops, trying to find a specific object to help her.

"I'm requesting the bullhead to retrieve you this instance. This just became a problem for aprofessionalhuntsman, not the likes of you." The operator suddenly explained as Kandi simply pressed forward, soon finding a camera perfectly looking down towards her.

"Nope, I'll be looking for some evidence, see if I can find what our 'monster' looked like." She explained.

"What?! Did you not hear what I said- oh forget it." The operator sighed as he realized that there was nothing he could do at the moment to force Kandi back, her duty as a Huntsman overriding whatever order she had just heard.

"Whatever, get your 'evidence' and get the hell out. This agency ain't liable for any active operator's death. I am. You got that!" The operator explained in a 'stern' voice, though the pink-haired girl could tell that he was still recovering from the display of such slaughter, masking it only through the static radio of her headpiece.

"Yeah yeah... I'll be fine." Kandi simply shrugged off the man's words as she continued onwards, braving the morbid display of frozen bodies and puddles of gore as she traced the wire that was linked to the camera into the frozen warehouse, where she discovered piles of shattered cages, equally sized to fit large crowds of people.

"I'm guessing my original goal here is done." The huntress chuckled, trying her hardest to lighten the mood as she walked passed more and more frozen corpses, with a few bludgeons to death from disposed metal pipes and some even torn to bits by metal shavings. While she couldn't exactly be called a 'professional' huntsman, Kandi was able to piece in the events that happened.

From the explosions of ice, she discerned that there was a Faunus who was held captive, likely an undercovered agent, who obviously had an ice semblance that broke the cages holding the other Faunus captive. This Faunus would've been extremely powerful if they were able to do such feats, though, that left the brutal massacre outside, a stark contrast with the frozen bodies.

Kandi quickly concluded that there was a second person behind the attack, one who relied more on raw strength than some form of semblance, or was it their semblance that gave themselves such absurd amounts of power? Whatever the case was, she was close to finding her answer, as she-

"Obviously, they would cover up their tracks..." The operator sighed as Kandi stood inside a frozen monitor room, with the security guard that was stationed inside literally melded together with the control panel with ice. Thankfully, however, whoever had done so must have forgotten that there was an external alternative to retrieving data, with Kandi simply smashing open the frozen monitor and plugging her scroll into the mainframe.

"I got the data, you seeing what I'm seeing?" Kandi answered back with a hum as she began to play back the cameras, the light on the ground darkening as the turned to night,

"Stop." The Operator's quick reaction caused the huntress to freeze the cameras in the exact moment of the scene, both their eyes widening as terror froze the two. Staring right back at them, a giant figure towered over a group of huntsmen, the camera flickering with each shot of a gun, yet it was painfully obvious that even an entire firing squad made no damage to this creature.

Then, darkness.

In a split second, the group was obliterated, exploding into a violent cloud of red and organs, with the creature now resting some kind of halberd onto the ground, light reflecting off the blood coated on the weapon.

"Geez-" The operator covered his mouth in horror as a cold shudder ran through Kandi's back. There was a difference between seeing such gruesome action behind a monitor compared to actually witnessing the aftermath personally, and Kandi understood that such a creature was far out of her league. For all she knew, this figure was still inside the village, lurking inside the lifeless structures, ready to pounce on anyone left alive.

"Wait... who's that besides the monster?"

Chapter 4: A New Life

Chapter Text

"So even your Oripathy's gone now..." Yelena repeated her father's words as they huddled around a hastily built campfire to protect against the cold of the night. It had been a day since they had left the destroyed village and had dropped off the captured Faunus in the town next door. With the Grey-eared feline then suggested the two to leave, as the chances of the two being captured for their actions would increase had they entered the spotlight.

"What now?" Yelena turned to face her father, with nowhere to go, a new life to live, an infinite choice of options to choose from... There was an irony of indecisiveness.

"We're not in Terra anymore. There are still innumerable amount of people suffering from Oripathy, but there is nothing else we can do about it. Such actions also prove present here in this new world, but that would mean-"

"There could already be a Reunion of this world, to fight for the Faunus and such," Yelena explained. Waking up in a slaver's den wasn't exactly a good first impression of a new world.

"But would you really want to do this all over again? Spend our life fighting against the entire world? To die and be labelled as the villain once more?" Her father asked. It was understandably a selfish choice, but it was a choice that even Yelena could relate to.

"I could have stopped them, but instead, I left the future in their hands. Maybe-" He turned to the unknown stars in the sky, similarly alien to the unchanging sky he once looked up to in the lonely nights of Terra, "There is another Rhodes Island here?"

"Very well then. A new life." Yelena nodded with a smile, letting the two rest for a moment, only for her father to open up another conversation.

"You were using your Arts without Originium." Patriot suddenly explained as she widened her eyes, having not realized such an important detail.

"What?" Yelena, understandably surprised, asked, hoping that she had just misheard her father.

"We do not have Oripathy anymore, and yet you can still use your Arts. There is something supernatural at play here." Patriot explained even further.

"When you say it like that... It's as if we still have, and do not have, Oripathy. A paradox." Yelena chuckled as the revelation of a third miracle befalls her. Three impossible tasks, being transported into a new world, being cured of Oripathy, and the use of arts without Originium... She may have just used all her luck.

There was a pause as the two digested the information gathered, only to burst out laughing.

"Then maybe whatever gods exist do look down on us..." Patriot nodded as they rested for the day. They may have been transported into a world similar to their old one, but a miracle is a miracle, and they'll take every advantage of it.

They continued their path forward the next day, their silent march calm and still, with nothing to look back against, nothing to worry about. Soon finding themselves in a village, Patriot stopped as he beckoned Yelena to him.

"The villagers might react harshly if I enter like this," Patriot explained as he handed his daughter a bag of Lien, money they had stolen after they had ransacked the slaver village.

"Very well then."

~~~

Kandi sighed as she took a bite out of her sandwich, walking through the dirt road. She had been requested by the higher-ups of her agency to investigate the figure from the camera footage she had submitted for questioning, as she was the closest to the site, she was also the closest to the target.

"And this is what you get for playing the good Samaritan..." The operator on her earpiece chuckled as he evidently was sipping on some cup noodles, a ploy to tease the poor girl with her actions.

"Shut it already, they promised me a raise if I could find these two..." She waved off the operator's advances as she took a peak on her map, crumpled up as she was also holding onto her meal. She had caught up with the runaway Faunus just a town ago, 'persuading' some to tell her where the two had left, and was now hot on the tail of the two instigators.

"There should be a village nearby-" Her words were immediately cut off as she detected someone talking in the shrubberies.

"The villagers might react harshly if I enter like this," The deep voice brought the huntsman to a small opening just to the side of the village's entrance, her eyes widening as she found her two targets. Seeing the two without the static of the security cameras proved to be a much different experience than what she had expected, her jaw dropping as she gazed upon the towering Patriot.

"Holy-" Kandi immediately muted the operator on her earpiece as she huddled behind the nearest bush she could find. She needed her utmost focus, especially against two figures who were capable of decimating an entire village filled with huntsmen.

The pink-haired girl watched as the white rabbit left the wendigo for the village, a silent sigh of relief that she didn't need to deal with the two at the same time. Yet, even with just one left to deal with, she had this uncertainty that she could win. Well, dealing with a purely physical attacker is a lot easier than a semblance user-

"What hunter takes their time watching over a prey without aiming?" The wendigo let out a low growl as he turned his neck towards Kandi's hiding spot, his red glare focused directly onto her as if he was clearly looking at her very soul. In an instant, Kandi suddenly stood from her position, her legs locking from the shock.

Even his voice felt commanding, his words capable of shaking soldiers to their very being. Yet Kandi was no soldier under his command, but an uncertain enemy of his, and she needed to pose as a competent huntsman to stand on even ground, and not to just crumple with just words alone.

"Did you destroy Petal village two days ago?" She steeled herself with a question, obviously that her target was right in front of her, but it was still better for diplomacy than anything else.

"The only village I have destroyed was a village full of slavers." He answered back, unsure of the intentions of the girl. Sizing her up, she was by no means suited for combat, and with a slingshot, a toy used by children, as her only visible weapon, she looked more like a lost child to him. Then again, he was promptly reminded of the very two girls that he lost his life to, the rabbit in brown, and the tabby feline. The world is constantly changing, and there is always something to take note of, such as the surprising ways a younger generation could play the same game.

"Then I'll have to take you in for questioning." The pink-haired girl explained, trying her hardest to maintain eye contact with the giant.

"And if I do not comply?" The wendigo narrowed his gaze as Kandi simply sighed, pulling out her slingshot in the process.

"Then I'll have to take you and your partner by force." She did not want this, especially to fight such a force of nature, but it was her duty as a huntsman to fight.

"So be it." Patriot thumps the dirt ground beneath him with the butt of his halberd, readying his posture as Kandi readies her's. In an instant, the giant charged towards her, immediately covering the distance between the two.

'Too fast!' Kandi widened her eyes as she rolled to the side, barely dodging a slash from his blade. She had never seen someone so fast while holding something so heavy. Returning to her feet, her jaw nearly dropped as the trees behind her were perfectly cut with that singular first strike. Without giving her opponent a second chance, she aims her slingshot, brandishing a vial filled with red dust, aiming directly towards the man's face.

'A ridiculous weapon.' Patriot thought as he eyed the slingshot. Yet his interest suddenly changed as his attention fell onto the woman's ammunition. They seemed to be glass vials, with more on her waist, each with varying colours.

BANG

The moment Kandi released her grip from the sling, the vial's velocity immediately sped up, instantly covering the distance between the two and pausing the giant's charge.

The force of the impact was then accompanied by a miniature explosion, enough to send even the mighty Patriot a few inches backwards, his shield smoking in the aftermath, the dirt road he stood darkening from the residue. It took him by surprise, the combination of the explosion, unnatural speed of the vial, and the impact, such effect could only be by the help of whatever Arts the woman had. Or in his thoughts, some kind of magic not from Terra.

It was Kandi's semblance, Velocity. She's able to control the velocity of anything she fires, from increasing its speeds, or even slowing it down. She had unlocked it just a few years ago after she had lost her license, and it proved a useful tool for someone like her caliber.

But it proved ineffective against Patriot, who immediately recovered from the attack and once again charged forward, smoke trailing behind him.

Kandi was quick in her moves as she pulled out a light blue vial from her sache, taking a step backwards and aiming towards the ground the Wendigo was moving towards. With her aim true, the vial explodes into a powdery cloud of blue dust, freezing the area as Patriot was taking his next step, her goal being to throw off his balance-

CRACK

The man instinctively tipped his heel forward as he smashed it to the ground, generating enough force to break through three inches of ice, and giving him footing to continue onwards.

'He smashed the ice with his step?!' Her eyes widened as she barely dodged another swing of his blade. The Wendigo had experienced fighting in the frozen wastes of Northern Ursus for years, a land so cold that in some seasons, snow plains had been replaced by ice, with the creatures there evolving to deal with such inconvenience. In his time in the Ursus military, he had evolved to deal with this as well, using his sheer strength and weight, he would shatter the ice with each step, literally carving a path for his men to push on forward.

There was nothing that could stop a Wendigo's march.

Kandi suddenly found herself backed up against a tree, and throwing her back to the right, she watched as the tree exploded with the impact of the man's strike. It was a strike powerful enough to split entire cars in two, and that strike was meant for her, a fragile human girl.

'Fight back Kandi.'

[Life or death. Kill or be killed.] It was a huntsman's duty to risk their life for the safety of others, a real-life hero per se. It was also her dream to become one, and this battle was also of her doing. She could run away, but what then would be the point?

Her thoughts steeled herself as she rolled, once again dodging his strike and returning her footing. Once more aiming her slingshot, she pulled out a similar blue vial onto her hand, but instead of aiming it towards the ground, she aimed it right onto his head, firing once more.

The giant, having grown used to her abilities, simply deflected such a bullet, the light blue powder only leaving behind a frozen cover on his shield, but not penetrating through it. His equipment was forged to deal with the chilling cold of the north, and such actions as instant freeze proved nothing against his shield.

'How is he so resilient?' Kandi's thoughts were burning inside her mind as the fight progressed. She may not have been an A-list huntsman famed and well-known, but she understood that each one of her shots was more than enough to take down even an Alpha Beowolf, and the man in front of her was taking it as it they were nothing.

No, it wasn't him that was taking it, but his shield. His invincible, impenetrable shield covered almost his entire body. No, she needed to get much closer, directly firing a shot powerful enough to defeat a man of his calibre.

Kandi chose to finish the fight, pulling out four of the explosive vials, she narrowly dodged one last attack as she threw herself to the right of the giant, past his shield and confronting him directly. Literally staring up towards the Wendigo, his jet-black armour, his deathly stare, and even his skull mask were just inches in front of her. Without giving him a second, she fires her four explosive vials directly onto his chest, her aim just as accurate as before.

BOOM

Kandi was launched away from the explosion as the deafening sound echoed across the village, leaving the Huntsman in a daze as ringing replaced any sort of sound she could hear. For seconds she stood, frozen by the shock and the anticipation of her decisive strike freezing her in place. She waited for the clouds to dissipate, to show her the fallen body of the man she was hunting. And yet, she failed to realise that the giant was still standing, and speaking to her deafened state.

"Bold of you to fire from such a close range." Patriot's words were then accompanied by a powerful swing of his halberd, cleaving the cloud of dust in two and finally landing a strike onto Kandi's lower abdomen.

SCHING

Kandi gasped as she felt her aura shatter by the singular strike, her entire body crumpling around the wendigo's spear as she was launched right into a tree, the impact powerful enough to snap it in two. And yet, as she clasped onto her fading conscience, all she could hear was confusion on the victor's words.

"You're body should be in half right now. What magic do you have?" Patriot narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at his halberd. There was not a speck of blood on the blade, nor was there that familiar gore on the ground with his every cut.

He clearly felt it, something pushing against his blade like an invisible spirit weakening the power of his strike the moment it got close to the girl's body. He then turned to face the still-writhing girl, her clothes undamaged, and the only pain evident was the impact. For his many years in combat, he had never seen such an invisible barrier before, and an effective barrier to halt his powerful strikes. Such Arts would revolutionize warfare as he knew it.

"Y-you-..." Kandi gasped for air as she held a grip on her waist. She could feel her body numb in pain as she lost her control, the light dimming in her eyes as she fought her conscience to stay awake. To fall unconscious in front of such an enemy was a death sentence, and yet there was also this futility of staying conscious.

The more she eyed the approaching being, the more she found herself helpless against him. Her last attack dealt nothing to him besides the remaining smoke trailing behind him and a few shreds of evidence of his singed outer clothes revealing more of his armour. If her most powerful attack was nothing more than the sting of an insect, what else could she do besides declare him as the winner?

It was this last thought that finally wore her out, with darkness embracing her in the process.

~~~

Kandi awoke with her hands tied onto a bedpost, in front of her was her slingshot and a few of her vials. She was inside a motel room, good for two people, with her occupying the bed farthest away from the door. Turning to scan the other side of the room, she nearly yelps as she was suddenly greeted by the enormous stature of the wendigo, with the white rabbit standing in front of him.

"[They call these things Dust. It seems to power everything,]" Yelena explained as she held up a handful of the light blue powder, carefully extracted from one of Kandi's vials. The two spoke in Ursus, both more comfortable than their haphazardly learned Columbian, or what the locals of this world named it, English.

"[So it's like Originium. Then that would mean that there is Oripathy in this world.]" Patriot took up the entire second bed space as he sat, having changed to a grey coat, courtesy of Yelena buying themselves some clothes to 'blend in'. Though her pale white skin and his massive frame proved to be no use.

"[No, there is no Oripathy in this world. Dust is just Dust, nothing more.]" Yelena corrected him as she lowered the dust onto the table she leaned on, alongside other disassembled vials of varying colours. She was wearing a simple white long-sleeve blouse, a far cry from her combat outfit neatly folded alongside the Wendigo's armour on the floor.

"[Very well then, now that we've confirmed no Oripathy in this world, we can truly start a new life...]"

"[Then what do we do with this child?]" Kandi held her breath as she heard Yelena speak, then accompanied by a sudden crushing feeling as Patriot rested his gaze on her. They had known that she had awakened.

"Whoa whoa, I don't want trouble." Kandi nervously chuckled as her eyes followed Yelena, the white rabbit moving to face her.

"Then why do you fight us?" Yelena narrowed her eyes as she produced an ice blade in her hand, gently lowering it beside the helpless Kandi. A clear repeat of what Patriot had told her right before their fight.

"Because you two killed a lot of folks, left a mess and stuff," Kandi repeated as well. But instead of a tough voice that carried a sense of power of a Huntsman, she had deflated, understanding that there was nothing else she could do at that current moment, under the mercy of the two monstrous beings in front of her.

Even if this was her first time seeing Yelena's arts, or semblance, she understood that she had found the person responsible for freezing half the entire village, and creating such constructs like a blade was as difficult as breathing to the white rabbit.

"Does everyone in this land treat these, 'faunus', like animals?" Yelena sighed in disappointment, turning to face her father-

"No! It's not like that! I was actually investigating that place for Faunus trafficking. It's just- It was a heavily fortified village with well over a hundred men guarding the place. And the cameras showed you two destroying it with ease and freeing the prisoners." Kandi stammered as she felt the cold edges of the rabbit's sword rest on her skin, so cold in fact was the blade that the girl was already freezing just by being in close proximity to it, "If people found out that it only took two to destroy an entire town, they would start panicking."

"Plausible." The wendigo simply nodded as Yelena dissipated the blade, leaving behind the chilling air around the Huntsman.

"I also wanted to verify that you two aren't from the White Fang?" Kandi additionally mumbled out, a death sentence had the two been actually from such a terrorist organization, but a question she simply couldn't leave unanswered. Instead, she was met with a weird look from the two of them, or just Yelena, as Patriot's skull mask and red glare remained a constant.

"What?" Yelena tilted her head, "What is this White Fang?"

It was Kandi's turn to look confused as she paused for a second, before asking.

"Wait, you guys have never heard of the White Fang?"

"I did hear of this White Fang when those slavers were shooting at me. But I never gave it much thought." Patriot added, rubbing his chin at the thought with Yelena shooting a glare like he was supposed to tell her. Kandi on the other hand was a fair bit more surprised by some faunus that have never heard of the notorious White Fang. Then again, the world's pretty big for that to happen...

"So you guys have never heard of them? Terrorist organization? Faunus activist group gone rogue? Guys in black hoods and Grimm masks?"

"No, we have not," Yelena once again shook her head, batting away the new terminology of a 'Grimm' for a second. Though with the way Kandi was explaining in detail, it did remind her of Reunion.

"At least you know we aren't part of that group," Yelena assured as she froze the rope tying Kandi onto the bedpost, shattering it with a squeeze and freeing the bound huntsman.

"We just want to have a normal life." Kandi could tell that there was something behind the faces of the two as if they had fought for their entire life just to survive, to have walked through hell over and over again. And all she can do is nod at Yelena's comment.

"Then why not visit Vale? With your Semblance and your skills, you can probably take a Huntsman License." Kandi smiled as she brushed away her previous battle against the wendigo, instead offering her support for the two that had saved a crowd of Faunus.

"Huntsman... license?" The two then turned to face each other, with Kandi sighing once more.

"Oh boy... we got a lot to talk about..."

~~~

"Sir, we've received news of the whereabouts of the two attackers." In a dark room only lightened by sunlight flooding in from the windows, a blonde woman approaches a man behind a desk, with numerous gears churning below the glass floor and above a glass ceiling.

"They're coming here, to Vale." The man explained, simply replaying camera footage of a group of huntsmen being slaughtered with a single strike as a towering figure stood in the background.

"Ah, so our informant had also spoken to you directly." The woman sighs, "What was the point of her informing me when she can just speak to you?"

"Just an educated guess, she has no access to privately speaking to me after all." The man simply chuckled as the woman nodded.

"They are also not working for the White Fang, nor do they even know simple basic features of this world." The woman proceeded, with the man nodding as he stood up, the video pausing at the moment a second figure entered the frame.

"That is... for the best." The man nods, reaching for his coffee mug by the side of the table and turning around, looking out to a bustling city in the distance.

.

.

.

An awkward minute of silence fills the room as the woman moves to stand beside the man, only for her gaze to fall upon the still image of the camera.

"I can't help but notice that man bearing that Warmonger's insignia... Ursus..." She comments, "Is that why you are so keen to meet them?"

"Precisely. Another to carry the mark of Ursus has appeared in Remnant... If we don't act quickly, then history may repeat itself." The man nods once more as he turns to face the woman, "We might have ourselves another Burning of Vacuo... but instead, it will be Vale that burns.

We must understand whether this creature of war stands before the Emperor of Ursus as their royal blade, or not."

Chapter 5: Vale; Day-Time

Chapter Text

Vale was an important trade center between the other three kingdoms. Situated right in the middle of the four other continents, its airports and seaports were always in a bustle, with travellers and trade deals happening ever so often, it was hard to catch the eyes of the people that frequent the place.

And yet, on this very day, there was a commotion that caught the attention of everyone nearby. Two figures had just exited one of the landing pads leading towards the main lobby, with the first being a giant almost twice the size of any adult nearby, with horns and a skull mask adorning his face, and two great weapons by his side. Beside him was a pale rabbit faunus, a chilling aura catching the attention of anyone specifically looking at her.

It was none other than Patriot and Yelena, with Kandi in front having used her company's Bullhead to bring the two directly to Vale, her decision saving the two about a week's worth of travels.

"Who exactly are we meeting?" Yelena asked as they bade farewell to Kandi on the main platform, the huntress being called back to her company for inspection.

"Just some really important dude, really big deal here, wanted to thank you for what you did back at the village."

"So... what exactly do we do?"

"Please, you're in the capital of trade heaven! There's a lot of stuff to do in a city this big!" Kandi explained with a fake laugh, somewhat relating to their rather lost status as she lacked the money to do anything.

"And how with this 'guy' find us?" Yelena asked as Kandi began walking away.

"Don't worry, he'll find you!" The huntress's words were then followed by a crowd of people obscuring the two's vision, with Kandi disappearing only moments after.

"Trust the girl I guess?" Patriot muttered as they both looked at each other, each one going off to a different route after planning for some time...

~~~

Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the largest dust company of all of Remnant, the Schnee Dust Corp, quite possibly THE richest girl in the world, and a gifted fighter deserving a spot in Beacon Academy...

Had just landed on the Vale airport. She had come a long way from Atlas, her home city, as a means to prove that she could stay independent outside the influence of her controlling father. But first, she needed to check her bank account.

recognizing that wealth was just as much a power as her combat prowess, it was a must that she needed to double-check the money she had saved for the past year, or even just her account in general. In the case that her father was pissed enough to cancel her account using one of his connections.

The closer she got towards the front of the bank, the more her eyes scanned for any nearby Faunus, from their current activities to even their body language, she knew well that she was outside the comfort zone of Atlas, and that meant standing on the same grounds as the White Fang.

She knew well what the organization of Faunus were to society, just a bunch of crooks and thieves under the guise of Faunus equality, and she also knew of the varying crimes happening in Vale because of them. So much so that it was laughable that such things were happening within the capital of one of the four kingdoms.

She wasn't exactly scared of being robbed by such criminals, after all, she had already proven herself in entering Beacon Academy, but it would have been such a hassle if she was to make a scene on her first day here. From having to explain such a scene to her father, to probably even getting the news involved, 'Heiress of the SDC, involved in a robbery'. Hence she kept her attention on the Faunus around her... after all, any Faunus could be working for the White Fang. If she lessened her activities with any Faunus, the better.

Three, two, one. She stopped as a flush of cool air enveloped herself, with a set of sliding glass doors opening her way into the bank. She had finally arrived. The worries of any Faunus targetting her left her thoughts as she now instead stared towards the crowded booths and the lines upon lines that trailed towards the only two ATM machines...

With a sigh, she made her way forward, understanding that there was no way else besides waiting for her turn in the ATM machine-

A faunus was in front of her.

'Keep it together Weiss...' Weiss sighed as she sized up the girl in front of her, noting how similar she was to the faunus just in front of her. From the snow-white hair that trailed down to their backs, to even the pale skin exposed from their clothes, the young student huntress would've thought of the girl in front of her as a doppelganger, had it not been for the white rabbit ears poking out of her hair and a much plainer blouse compared to the heiress's branded clothes.

'A diamond in the rough...' Weiss's fashion senses couldn't help but remark as she made one last scan of the girl, making a few (thousand) mental notes of where the girl could perfect her looks, from a better dress, hairstyle, to even the way she stood.

Whatever the case was, the young heiress seemingly found a way to amuse herself while she waited for her turn at the ATM machine, and judging by how fast the line was moving, even if it was a long line, it would only take about 5 more minutes-

~~~15 minutes later~~~

Weiss let out a sigh as she stood right in front of the ATM, with the rabbit girl still stuck on the interface.

'That's the 20th time she got declined... what's happening-'

BEEP

"What the heck are you doing?!" Weiss let out an annoyed glare as the Faunus in front of her turned, her patience lost as the people behind began to mumble in annoyance as well. Having seen the Faunus upfront get declined for the 21st time had finally gotten on her nerves.

"Ah, apologize, I don't seem to understand what I am supposed to do to get a bank account..."

"What?" Weiss recoiled as she couldn't believe the words of the girl in front of her, "What do you mean 'get a bank account'? you are in front of an ATM. You're supposed to-"

Weiss paused as she clenched her fists, burying any form of anger upon a layer of other thoughts. She did not want to cause a scene here, and it might have been reasonable that such a Faunus had come from the countryside. Instead, she opted for a more passive approach.

"You know what, I've got some time, so why not you let me use the ATM for a second, and I'll go help you with setting up your bank account?"

"Sure." The faunus answered back, simply moving herself away as Weiss quickly began interacting with the machine. A simple glance was all it took to brighten her mood, as all her money remained intact. The second she was off the ATM, the two girls then went to the front of the bank, quickly finding a free counter to speak to.

"Miss Lady Teller, would you mind helping this young girl make an account for herself?" Weiss let out a coy smile as she flashed the recognizable symbol of the SDC to elevate her status.

"Ah yes, Miss Schnee, right this way." The bank teller quickly fixed herself as she stood up, graced by such an important figure, this would have surely be reflected on her monthly review. Only, Weiss was not having it, instead

"No no, just help this poor girl get her own account. I'm absolutely appalled that nobody came to check in on ATM 2 being clogged up for 15 minutes straight..." Weiss puffed her chest as the staffer panickedly nodded.

"Very well then!" She exclaimed as she quickly turned to beckon the rabbit faunus to her direction, while also walking out of her desk to assist her.

"Then and there. You should be able to get your account now." Weiss sighs as the faunus nods.

"Thank you." There was not a hint of excitement, nor was there even a hint of recognition in her voice, Weiss had noticed. While the staffer had instantly recognized the status of the girl in white, the Faunus proved the opposite. It was a good sign for Weiss, assuring her that not everyone would know who she was.

'Whatever happens next, it's not my problem.' Weiss nodded as she quickly left the bank, the last thing she heard was the Faunus telling the teller her name: "Yelena-"

~~~

It was a mandatory practice for anyone entering the city to have their weapons registered on any of the branching Vale armouries dotted across the city. A simple reason was to prevent any theft and misuse of a weapon.

"Stupid... rules..." A young girl wearing a dark gothic dress pouted as she waited for her turn on the public benches, having taken one of those tickets that marked her position in the imaginary line of people. The young girl was Ruby Rose, 16 years of age, holding nothing more besides a bright red rifle that was her weapon, Crescent Rose.

Ever since news of her sister being accepted into Beacon Academy, the young girl couldn't wait but dream of her first time here in Vale, having never left her home town of Patches. Truth be told, she was supposed to be with her sister at this moment, as her sister was meant to babysit the young girl while Ruby was using the semestrial break of her combat school to take a vacation here in the capital.

"Eh, you're old enough." Ruby's sister chuckled as she ran off somewhere, with Ruby accepting her sudden independence by visiting the nearest bakery she could find- only to promptly get arrested and transported to the armoury, bearing no registration on Crescent Rose.

As the minutes ticked by, Ruby's sighs got louder and louder, bored out of her mind while she fidgeted with her weapon. 'Course with the school year close by, student huntsmen from all across the world was also in that specific armour, waiting for their turn to register their own weapons. Only being that- there were others that needed to register their own weapons.

CREAK!

The girl nearly jumped out of her seat as the metal bench she was on let out a shuddering creak, with her own seat lowering a few inches. She hadn't noticed it in her boredom, but a figure came to sit right next to her, only separated by a spare seat.

Ruby gawked as she sized up the man sitting right next to her, from the sharp horns adorning his skull face mask, the cloaked darkness that partially masked his evidently used armour, to his two weapons resting in front of him. She wondered what it would have taken to match the man in combat, or even how she could possibly stand against such a man if the two were to clash... She shook her head as the repetitive buzzer called for the one next in line.

"Ah, mister! You've got a really cool-looking spear and shield." Nevertheless, Ruby simply broke past the menacing aura of the gigantic Faunus beside her, her enthusiasm/borderline obsession for weapons getting the best of her. She couldn't help it as her thoughts of the man's weapons spiralled out of control.

'How heavy is his shield?'; 'What material did he use?'; 'How does he fight with it'... Her mind was like a clash of storms, so much so that she simply needed to ask.

And yet, it only took a second for her thoughts to run away as the man moved his gaze onto her, his red glare overpowering whatever the young girl had in mind, as the sight of such a demonic mask returned her to reality.

"I-" Ruby hiccuped as she tried to speak, 'think Ruby Rose think. You've gotten this far already!'

"What do you do for a living-" 'Stupid Ruby. Of course he's a huntsman. Just one glance and you can tell he's been fighting the Grimm for ages-'

"Mercenary." The man's voice was deep, extremely deep. Every syllable that passed through his mouth had this certain sharpness to it, like an invisible whip that grabs a listener with as much force as imaginarily possible. Enough to even silence the self-deprecating thoughts of Ruby.

"What would a young girl like you be doing in such an establishment?" The giant, seeing as how it would be awkward to leave such a conversation as they waited for their turn, simply followed up with his own question, his turn to size up the small girl beside him.

Ruby, on the other hand, was slightly shocked by such a comment. Not that she was insulted by someone calling her young, presumably due to her size, as such thought never came to her mind in the first place, but the fact that such a comment was almost similar to 'Why is the sea water salty?'. It was a question to an already cemented state of the world.

"Because... I want to become a huntress. Like my parents." Ruby simply explained, her answer, always.

"A huntress..." The giant repeated as he paused for a second, "You are willing to risk your own life for others?" The man asked as the young girl simply nodded.

"My father always told me and my sister to help others, without the need of personal gain- no offence." Ruby winced as she apologized. There was a stark contrast between a huntsman and a mercenary. While the former focused primarily on the safety of others, the latter focused on their own personal gains, no matter the price, no matter the cost. Selfless and selfish.

"You have a bright ambition, but are you sure you can handle such responsibilities?" The giant simply ignored the apology as he continued onwards. Hearing a girl not even a fraction of his lifespan speak that way triggered a memory with the old veteran, with Ruby quieting for a second as she once again eyed the shield and halberd of the man.

It was by no means beautiful or showy like any weapon she had seen in her combat school of Signal. It was not like a newly crafted weapon like her peers, or a recently bought weapon from an arms dealer, but a relic of the past. She could see every individual cut and gash on the shield, only minimized through a dedicated amount of repairs and polishing, and she could also see the rather dirtied look of the halberd, possibly dried blood too stuck to be cleaned out.

"I'm ready, that's all I know. I've only got 2 years left in my combat school, and then I'm immediately off to Beacon Academy." Ruby explained, somewhat in a boastful manner, somewhat of a confirmation to the mercenary that she, in fact, was going to be a Huntress.

"Beacon Academy... My daughter was recommended to that institute. I heard it's one of the best in the world..." The giant commented as he rubbed his chin under the skull mask.

"Certainly is! My sister's also going there this year!"Ruby gleamed in excitement as a sudden thought came to her head.

"If I may... Mister-" The girl suddenly slowed her voice as she realized the two hadn't even exchanged names yet.

"Patriot. My peers call me Patriot." She nearly gasped as the man sounded even more professional, believing such a nickname was due to it being a military call sign.

"I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose! Anyways, may I ask for your daughter's name? Maybe she and my sister could become friends! If your daughter ever enters..."

"If ever my daughter enters..." There was a brief pause as a thought surfaced in the giant's mind, "Yelena. Your sister mind find my daughter a good ally if she is in need."

"Ye-"

KRING!

The two froze as they turned to face the monitor displaying the current number, with the young girl's eyes widening as she turned to face her tag. It was her turn.

"Well, it was a fun talk, but I gotta go now! Mr. Patriot." Ruby chuckled as the man beside nodded.

"Hmm... An interesting child... Her future looks bright." The Wendigo, Buldrokkas'tee, simply chuckled, watching as the child tripped over a nearby mop bucket, only to quickly reorganize herself and scramble towards her destination.

~~~

In a nearby restaurant, a young man sits nervously on the outside seats, with a plain sword slung onto the cheap metal backrest of the chair, and a shield accompanying him by the other vacant seat. A casual look of him would suggest that he was some huntsman of sorts, the much simpler variant of 'swing sword at Grimm' type, or that he was a knight, a strapping young gentleman who roamed the world for justice and adventure.

No. He was no huntsman or knight, he wasn't even a student of a huntsman academy. He was simply... Jaune. Seemingly mediocre in most combat scenarios, he had run away from home in an attempt to find something notable, to prove his worth, like applying for the Vale's huntsman academy.

He aspired to be a great Huntsman like his grandfather, and yet, after going through all the trouble of getting a transcript to enter Beacon Academy... He couldn't help but feel nervous. This was his one and only shot at becoming a true Huntsman, not the discount ones accepted by mercenary companies, but one of the big shots.

Jaune sighed as he clutched his fingers together, his focus on a flier advertising the very academy he was going to, with a familiar red-haired girl about his age holding a bronze spear and shield. 'Join the cause! For glory!' was spelt out in big words, with a name tag of the model at the very bottom.

"Pyrrha Nykos. 4-time champion of theMistral Region Tournaments."

Jaune had seen the girl many times before, the supposed 'untouchable' girl of Mistral, she was undoubtedly the best student huntress in all of her respective kingdom, or the most gifted. And yet, he pondered, she was publicized to join Beacon Academy, the huntsman academy of Vale, and not Haven, the academy of the kingdom of Mistral. For a celebrity as great as her, she was going to a region where nobody knew her too well.

"For two." His focus suddenly shifted as a commanding voice froze him in place, such words that were meant for someone else, instead wrapping around his heart like an arm dominating over him.

"Y-yes sir. Right here-" Then, a second shock, as a shadow suddenly covers the boy, prompting Jaune to turn his head.

"Wha-" Jaune froze as his vision landed on a giant nearly twice his size, taking a second to digest the situation at hand as the boy silently watched as the figure moved to take a seat just beside him, only separated by a walking path. The giant looked like a spectre of death as a cloak of black partially covered his armour, with the simple act of sitting right beside him activating Jaune's fight or flight mode.

Yet what was the most noticeable detail was that he wore a massive elk skull, with jagged edges adorning the very tips like daggers, as well as a set of horns about a foot tall as well, Jaune couldn't help but wonder in what world such a man would have to live through to wear it in public. He quickly turned his reasoning to cultural reasoning, as the man may have come from Mistral, with most of the 'death-themed' subjects coming out from that side of the world. Hell, even the White Fang, an organization primarily based in Mistral, began adopting Grimm masks as they turned to a more 'radical' leaf.

The boy could feel his entire form quiver as his thoughts fought to not turn his head, though the gigantic size of whoever was standing right beside him was literally casting a shadow onto him, with the window to the restaurant reflecting whoever the figure was. Visually, he was sitting beside two of the same man.

"Here you are..." A second voice enters Jaune's senses as his thoughts finally give in, with the boy turning to notice a white rabbit faunus now standing between him and the giant.

~~~

"So, our bank accounts?" Patriot asked as Yelena moved to sit in front of her father. The two began speaking in English as a way to develop the tongue of the natives living here, with the additional reason that English was the most predominately used dialect of this world.

"Enough to maybe cover our rent and welfare for the next few months. The money we stole from the village proved plentiful." Yelena explained, stopping only to order, "It is a surprise that Kandi never found out we got the village's funds."

'Wait- stolen money from a village?' Jaune winced as a mug of french vanilla was served on his table.

"A business dealing with the lives of people is always a lucrative business. We were just lucky with the money. And also, she was more focused on who slaughtered 40 of those 'huntsmen'..."

'Wha-' Jaune nearly spat out his drink as his eyes drifted towards the duo.

"Anyways, what happened to your weapons? I was gone for 30 minutes..." Yelena raised her brow as she eyed her father's lack of armaments. For all her life had she seen her father lug around his iconic shield and halberd, wherever they went and whatever they did, his weapons were always at an arm's length of him. So seeing him without his two weapons was as similar as a person lacking limbs.

"I dropped them off at the nearby armoury. It even came with this cute tag." Patriot explained as he raised a transparent tag that showed the numbers 7-18 on it, with a little cartoon dog barking at the edge of the tag.

"I even met a young girl close to your age."

"What-" Yelena raised her brow as a bowl of spaghetti was served in front of her, "What is a child doing in an armoury?"

"She wanted to become a Huntress. She even has a sister that's entering this academy Kandi recommended you to go to."

'Huntress? Academy? Recommendation?' Jaune thought as he once more glanced towards Yelena. There was only one academy in the capital, and that was Beacon Academy. For the boy to be sitting beside someone worthy enough to be recommended to Vale was like a mouse sitting beside a lion. It proved to be an even greater pressure on Jaune now that he was graced by the presence of a 'professional huntsman' and his daughter.

"Ah- It's beginning to rain."

~~~

"C'mon Ren! We're so close to greatness I can't even wait anymore!" An orange-haired girl excitedly skipped across the street, uncaring of the nearby passersby looking at her weirdly.

"Nora... Beacon opens in about a week, give it a rest already, we can always look around Vale with this extra time."

"But that's what we're doing now! I'm so excited I can probably take down anyone you point towards!" Nora jumped as her partner simply hummed, before gluing his eyes onto a particular figure amongst the crowd.

"Then... how about that big guy over there?" Ren slowly shifted his fingers towards a nearby cafe, with Nora greedily shooting her gaze to wherever he was suggesting. Only, she was unable to find whoever he was speaking of.

"Huh? Where? All I see are just a bunch of guys in suits, a dude shaking in his boots, and beside him a- Ooooh, I see..." Nora widened her eyes as she digested the sight of the giant wearing a skull mask,

"Well... He does look like a huntsman, so a maybe." She simply snickered as they continued onwards, with Nora taking a second glimpse of the giant, only turning her focus towards the cowering man in white armour at the next seat-

Bump

Nora suddenly crashed into someone else, falling to the ground ungracefully.

"Hey! Watch-" Just before the orange-haired girl was even capable of making out a sentence, her entire body froze and she looked up to see who she had just crashed into. It was a girl a tad bit taller than her, with long flowing red hair that rested on her shoulders, the girl wore a grey long sleeve and baggy pants, as if to hide her identity, though, a fruitless act as Nora recognized the girl immediately.

"Sorry, didn't see you there..." The red-haired girl apologized as she helped up Nora,

"Hold up- Mistral celebrity superstar Pyrrha Nykos?!" Nora's eyes flashed as she suddenly gripped the girl on both her shoulders,

"Hehe... that's me... but please keep quiet, I'm just here waiting for Beacon to open..." Pyrrha quietly explained as Ren raised a brow, only to turn to see Nora covering her mouth with both hands.

"You know her?"

"Of course I do! Fashion model for the Sunrise, Sunset and Evening, she is also a top model in Flint. Lock. Wood. Co.-"

"The arms company?" Ren cut off Nora's excitement as he raised a brow. He wasn't well versed in reading magazines as much as her, and questioned what would an arms company need a teenage model for.

"Exactly! She's even in the front of those Pumpkin Pete's cereal boxes." Nora finished, though with not as much energy and pride as the other examples she had cited.

"The ones that tasted like crunchy cardboard?" Ren raised his other brow, with Pyrrha simply chuckling at the comment.

"Well, it wasn't my best career choice I've got to say..."

"Whatever! She's a model, and we're going to be batchmates withHER."

"Wait... you two are-"

"Entering Beacon as well! Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren! Unprofessional Huntsmen at your service!" Nora smiled as she extended her hand, with Pyrrha rather surprised by the situation at hand. However, she was more focused by the terminology the energetic girl had used.

'Unprofessional Huntsmen' was a derogatory term used to describe mercenaries or academic dropouts who still accept the role of a Huntsman. The term was also a playful compliment that described anyone accepted by a Huntsman academy without ever going to a combat school. Whether it was through people proving their mettle in the battlefield, gaining the interest of a well-known figure, or even a simple submission of all the deeds that they have done to earn them the right to enter.

"Wow... You two must have had a fun time in the wilderness..." Pyrrha smiled as she gripped her hand, a hint of jealousy lingering in her words, with only Ren taking note of it.

"Well, it was mostly finding enough money to feed Nora over here..." Ren downplayed their achievements as a droplet of water splashed onto the oranged-hair girl's head, with the skies above now a light drizzle.

"Shoot. It's raining... Now what am I going to do now?" Pyrrha sighed as the trio quickly moved towards the shade of the building beside them.

"Well, you can always come with us, I know ALL the places here in Vale!" Nora winked as she quickly turned to face Ren, "Hey Ren, where was the arcade again?"

"Very well then, lead the way!" Pyrrha simply chuckled as Nora excitedly held her, and Ren's hand.

~~~

Having finished their meal quickly, the two decided to rent a room for the moment. As Yelena freshened up in the bathroom, Patriot began removing plates of his armour, exposing the many wounds that even his regenerative ability wouldn't repair.

Yelena herself stood silent at the entrance to the bathroom, in front of her was a tub, unknowing of what to do. Experimenting with the different switches, she dipped her hand into the tub, checking the temperature. For all her life she always felt cold, and, apart from the few seconds she had with the hooded man, as well as her new life here in Remnant, she had never felt hot at all. Heck, she hadn't directly felt such heat just yet, as most of the time on their way to Beacon, it was a nice sunny breeze.

"Is this... hot?" She thought as she turned the red valve all the way, seeing steam coming out of the water she dipped her hand in it, and immediately liked the sensation of heat. She cooled it with her arts to a more hospitable temperature before dipping in, but, it was still hot, her first time.

Outside, Patriot looked at his body, with only his pants on him, he examined his body much more detailed this time. Everything that he lost to the infection was back, his skin, his touch, his feelings. He was overjoyed with the revelation that he would never have to suffer from it ever again, yet... He felt empty.

Thinking back to it now... He closed his eyes as he sat on the floor, leaning on the bed frame.

"Grrovae'zzeal... Do I now have to live with this?" He thought to himself more and more about it, about why and how had he been transported, and could those that he had lost been transported as well? Could all the dead he has slaughtered, evil or innocent, be with him in this new world he happened upon? What would his wife, his son, be thinking about him now?

He let his mind drift as he soon fell into a slumber, the giant now a statue, unmoving...

Finishing up, Yelena looked at herself in the mirror. For most of her life, she lived in the wilds of the icy wastes and taking a bath while marching with her father's guerrilla strike force was rather uncommon. Oftentimes, rivers or lakes were too inhospitable for anyone but her to wash in, and she did not want to stop them from their eternal march. But now...

Her mind drifted off but was snapped out of the trance as she heard a knock on the door. Immediately getting her clothes on, she made a dash towards the entrance to their room, noticing her father deep in slumber. With the door slightly open, Yelena peaked her head outwards, only to be greeted by a blonde-haired woman.

"Miss Yelena I presume?"

Chapter 6: Vale; Night-Time

Chapter Text

Yelena simply followed the blonde woman from behind as the two made their way down the hotel and onto a nearby police station. The silence between the two only elevated Yelena's curiosity as she noticed the police

"Who exactly am I meeting?" The faunus asked as they weaved through the many corridors of the multi-floored police station, each time passing by a shocked officer only elevating the girl's curiosity even further. It took a few more minutes before Glynda finally spoke, her words spoken in only through whispers.

"You are meeting Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." She explained, eyeing an incoming officer in the process, who promptly saluted the woman as they passed by.

"Headmaster? Beacon Academy?" Yelena's eyes widened as the thought of meeting someone so esteemed had never crossed her mind. She knew Kandi had her connections, though she had initially thought it would have been just some CEO from her agency looking to hire the two, an easy 'no' was expected, never this.

"It is already bad enough that regular civilians have seen me escorting you toward a private holding cell solely reserved for huntsmen, news of a Headmaster even going outside their Academy would lead to an uncontrollable amount of annoyance for me to deal with." Glynda sighed as the young girl 'somewhat' understood what she was saying. Back in her world, if news of an Ursus Royal Guard roaming the borders between nations were to get out, it would've started a war immediately.

"I apologize for my vagueness, Miss Yelena. While a meeting between you and the Headmaster is important, he has other tasks at hand that do not require the interference of the news. Just a new school year by itself had already done so much trouble..."

"Does this have to do with leaving my father in the hotel room to rest?" Yelena quickened her pace as she matched Glynda eye to eye, raising her brow with the question.

"Partially so, the Professor and I would need to have a much longer, separate chat with your father that does not run the risks of being publicly spotted..." Glynda finished as the two stopped in front of a metal door. With a gentle and rhythmic knock on the door, the woman opens the door, revealing a singular man sitting behind a metal table.

The man was simple. White hair covered the top of his face as crooked glasses covered a set of light brown eyes. He wore a cotton black coat over a green undershirt, with a light green scarf wrapped around his neck. What was by far the most interesting feature was his cane resting on the wall behind him, with many gears rotating aimlessly inside, it was both mechanically complex, and simplistic as well.

"You must be Miss Yelena." The white-haired man smiled as he raised his hand for a shake, with Yelena reciprocating as they sat down.

"You have a particularly cold hand..." He chuckles as he turns his attention to Glynda, seemingly expecting someone else to have come by.

"My father is a little bit tired, must've been tired after the long flight." Yelena suddenly answered, realizing that the Headmaster was expecting the two, and not just Yelena.

"Very well then, we can schedule a meeting with your father at a later date." Ozpin simply nods as he produces a file out of a briefcase, resting it on his lap as Yelena notices her name spelt out of the folder holding the papers inside.

"Having planned your attack on Petal Village by being captured yourself, you are looking at 45 accounts of 1st-degree murder, misuse of semblance, domestic terrorism, multiple counts of destruction of government property, and many more. Of course, the death of unlicensed huntsmen by itself is already a feat of its own that could instil public fear, so much so the death of 44 more."

"I saw 45 slavers. Does this imply that you would rather charge me for criminal activity than to have condoned those 45?" Yelena simply fired back, her calm attitude rivalling that of the headmaster.

"Well, no. They are already dead to press charges, and you have done the right thing, albeit in a destructive manner. Miss Kandi was already on the case when you attacked, and you two have shown no signs of association with the White Fang, even with your father's face mask."

"Well then, is that it? Are you here to congratulate me as a Headmaster of a Huntsman Academy?"

"No, if that were only the case, then I would have simply sent you a letter of gratitude." Ozpin paused, before flipping the sheet on the top of Yelena's file to reveal images of the village she had frozen over.

"You aren't from this world, are you?" The headmaster asked, with Yelena raising her brow. It was only a matter of time before their secret would've been uncovered, though she did not expect it to be so soon.

"What gave that away?" Understanding that there was no reason to hold back now that she had been exposed, the rabbit faunus simply nodded.

"Miss Kandi had reported on your rather lack of knowledge over certain important details of Remnant such a Huntsman or a Faunus, even when you clearly are one. She had also commented on the distinct 'language' that you conversed in with your father. Which becomes evident with the unique accent on your words."

"I supposed my rather lack of your world's knowledge was too much of a clue to miss out on..."

"Additionally, the display of ice on Petal village was by far more potent than any registered Ice semblance user, if not, the most destructive semblance we have seen by anyone in the world, somewhat akin to a walking force of nature or any of the four Maidens of old folk tales.

Besides you, your father displays a vastly different physiology to any known Faunus trait. Gigantism, elk horns, the strength to shatter one's aura with a single blow, extreme resilience, and more... These are not of human descent, or to be more specific, Remnant descent. With no other option besides the impossibility of you two being folk tales turned real life, that would leave otherworldly answers."

Ozpin concluded with Yelena's file closing, returning his gaze to the girl and handing the file to Glynda, who promptly placed it inside a briefcase.

"So, with all that said, what now? Now that you've exposed me and my father as someone from another world, what would a Headmaster like you-" A thought suddenly shot through the Cautus girl's mind as she silently repeated the very words she had spoken.

"Would you like to enrol at Beacon Academy?" Ozpin simply asked as he let out a barely noticeable smile, confirming that random thought of Yelena as she widened her eyes. She heard how much people sought after a spot in the prestigious academy, and also what could become of her when she graduated. But that was the problem, she did not want to become a Huntress.

For all her life, she had spent roaming the wilderness, protecting the infected folks that they had rescued from slavery and death, including those that would eventually attempt a coup against her or her father. She had spent that time fighting so much to the point where a 'normal life' felt like an immovable wall she could not get through. Becoming a Huntress would return her to that old life, albeit without Oripathy, but it was still her old life.

"I am honoured to hear such an invitation from the headmaster himself, but I would not want that." She wanted an ordinary life, a life her father once told her about, a life he himself tried to escape towards, twice, but failed in both times.

"It may sound selfish of me to say such a thing even after what I have displayed, but that is a result of having lived that life to the end. While I may not know how I or my father arrived here, I died back in my world, using these Arts to fight an unjust war. I just want a normal life, with this second chance of mine..." While she may have not realized it, a single tear dripped down the side of the Cautus's cheek, remembering the endless suffering she had seen during her years in Terra.

The headmaster simply nods as he takes note on Yelena's words, taking a brief insight into what could have happened in her previous world. While he was indeed one of the most influential people in all of Vale, serving as a Headmaster to guide others towards the path of a huntsman, he could not simply force anyone to join his academy.

Yet, he had an answer to her question.

"You will be granted the best this kingdom has to offer, and while I do trust your skills in combat already, as provided in Petal Village, you lack the knowledge of this world, and I offer my services to grant you that."

"Would that not also include my father? Would my father also-" Yelena suddenly recoiled at the thought. Her, sitting down in class, and beside her, her father-

"No, no. Your father would get his information through other means necessary, I just figured, you're 18, so why not give you the life of an 18-year-old? In our world's version of an 18-year-old that is, I do not have the knowledge of your world to understand, and such a discussion would be saved for a later date." Ozpin explained, with Yelena taking a moment to digest his words.

It took a while, but she did recall hearing her father speak of bringing her to a school for a proper education, just the same as his son back when he...

"If that is the case... then I would have to ask my father first. Even if you are handing me this for free, I cannot just leave my father without his word." Ozpin once again nods as he raises his hand, the meeting between the two finishing as each party stands, with Yelena being escorted out of the room by Glynda.

"One last question before you leave, Miss Yelena." Ozpin suddenly asked, stopping the white rabbit midway through and opening the door handle.

"Yes?"

"Do you know of an Emperor's Blade?"

BANG

In an instant, even before the Headmaster was capable of blinking, the door exploded into a million frozen pieces, with parts of the wall, floor and ceiling also frozen from Yelena's Arts. While it took a second for the headmaster to notice after the sudden commotion, he felt the temperature around him suddenly drop, enough to where he could see his own breath.

"What?"

~~~

'Stupid Ruby, you didn't even ask what she looks like!' Ruby banged her head on the latest magazine covering various sets of weaponry as the sudden thought finally sank in. It had been a long day for her, spending most of her lien on registering Crescent Rose, getting stuck under the rain, and now in a search for her sister for more Lien. Her only comfort now was, supposedly, in a dust shop, which was stacked with magazines weeks in advance to those she could find in Patches.

Well, that was until she remembered that she had forgotten to ask the old mercenary aboutwhathis daughter looked like.

'Come on, think Ruby think. She'd probably be a 6-foot-tall warrior with a battle-axe-' Ruby winced again as she reorganized her thoughts, angrily flipping through a weapon page all about a newspaper and asking to wait for 45 seconds, 'Too racist, she's probably a lovely girl about sis's age, with dragon horns or a cool looking tail!'

Mistaking a Wendigo as a Dragon, the girl simply loosens her grip on the magazine, aimlessly flipping the page once more as it lands it depicts a bird advertisem*nt Snow Leopard faunus holding a falcon stylistically by his cane, inviting all to watch some kind of bird show in Atlas.

Just outside, a group of suspicious-looking men made their way through the streets, each one dressed in a dark coat, with a man wearing a white long coat and a bowler hat over orange hair leading them into the shop. Civilians watched as the dark-coat men began unsheathing blades hidden underneath their coats, and entering the unsuspecting dust shop.

"Alright people, you know the drill, hands up in the air, but this time, keep the wallets," The man with the bowler hat smiled as the shop patrons looked at each other, confused, "And get out." He added, with a sterner voice than before.

"And you ol' man, get on with it. You do know who I am?"

"A-ah yes! Roman Torchwick- here's all my lien-" The old man whimpered as he produced a small pile of cash, setting it in front of the criminal.

"No no, not your cash, your dust." Roman swats the merchant's money away, simply pressing his finger onto the glass display to motion at the crystals stored inside. With a snap of his fingers, his men moved towards ransacking the dust dispensers stationed on the walls, each one producing a container to store the volatile materials.

Yet as most were preoccupied with extracting the dust, there were others that chose to roam the store, with one finding Ruby just on the corner, huddled up on a magazine stand with her headphones on. With a light tap of the dull edge of his blade, Ruby turned to face him, the music playing in her ears was loud enough for even the criminal to make an educated guess as to what she was listening to.

Ignoring her taste of music, the man motioned his hand onto Ruby's ear, to which she complied by pulling her headset onto her neck, only then noticing the man's weapon pointed at her.

"Is this a robbery?"

"Yep."

BANG

The man goes flying as the sound of a gunshot is heard, right through the criminal and smashing directly onto the glass display window. Roman himself watched as something else flew right past him, some kind of orb of red that sped through him like a bullet.

"Well then..." Roman sighs as he makes his way outside, accompanied by a few of his men, where he spots Ruby now standing outside, holding out Crescent Rose with both hands.

"What the hell are you?" The criminal simply raised his brow as a snap of his fingers commanded his goons to engage her.

"A huntress," Ruby answered as her gun quickly began to transform, with a handlebar sprouting from the butt stock, the handle separates to reveal a collapsible blade, shooting out as well to form a massive scythe on her hands.

Without warning, Ruby dashed forward as she cleaved the first two goons with her newly formed scythe, the strike planting the tip of her blade onto the asphalt road and using the momentum to literally leverage her body in another direction. Throwing herself and dislodging Crescent Rose from the ground by changing the shape of the weapon to a halberd form, Ruby strikes another wave of goons, dealing the finishing blow to the criminal's men by switching back to her rifle mode and shooting the rest.

"Whoa jeez-" Roman winced as the last of his men fell unconscious just beside him,

"Now then, hands in the air." Ruby couldn't help but smile as she levelled her weapon onto the criminal, with this being the first time she had thwarted a robbery if not the first time she had ever fought outside of her combat school or the nearby Grimm of her home island of Patch. The sense of adrenaline coursing through her veins was enough to leave her a bit shaky.

"Little Red, did you forget where you are aiming at?" The criminal simply snickered as he slowly turned his head towards the dust shop, then back to Ruby.

"And?" Ruby raised a brow in confusion as she scanned the surrounding area, thinking there was something she was missing.

"You could accidentally shoot the very volatile dust and kill off the poor merchant still inside~" Roman slightly changed his accent to sound caring as the young girl raised her brow even higher.

"N-no? I've got a perfect mark on my accuracy exam in Signal... I don't think I could miss a target only a few feet in front of me." Ruby explained as she lowered her rifle for a second, momentarily confused by the criminal's words.

"Damn you and your combat school training... Whatever..." Roman sighed as he raised his cane onto her, firing a flare-

BOOM

A massive explosion lit up the entire street as Ruby was knocked back in a dazed and surprised state. She was sure of it, there was a second- no, two more grenades that suddenly appeared alongside Roman's flare. Even the explosive aftermath was unreasonably large for one singular flare, the shockwave enough to shatter the glass of the nearby window, while exposing the underground gas pipes underneath the asphalt road, leading to a massive inferno engulfing the crater.

"As serious as usual huh? Business is business after all!" Torchwick suddenly laughed as Ruby's senses went on overdrive. Scanning the buildings briskly, her sights were a blur of fire and the darkness of the night, the shock of the blast instilling a sense of danger as the girl realized that there was something else on the streets, someoneelse-

STEP

STEP

STEP

Ruby suddenly froze as the sound of boots walking on the destroyed street echoed throughout the neighbourhood, seemingly calm amidst the massive fireball in the middle of the road. The almost hypnotic tempo of the steps broke through the crackling of fire and melting asphalt, each click of a boot felt like a dagger thrown towards her throat.

"Ah, if it isn't my employer's favourite guard dog. Go on now,Gravestone~ Play fetch!" Torchwick's voice echoed past the fire, the inferno providing Ruby a bright sight of the criminal looking at someone behind her, who then turned to face her second opponent.

A singular hooded figure stood before her, with two heavy cannons accompanying them on their sides, their black cloak partially covered the other assortment of ammunition, grenades, and tactical gear on their vest. Their face was covered by a gas mask, leaving behind a lifeless pair of black lenses simply staring back at Ruby.

Suddenly, the figure stopped a good 10 feet before the young girl, with Ruby noticing a faint pillar of smoke escaping the muzzle of the figure's cannons.

"If we weren't going to fight now, I would have asked for your autograph..." Ruby sighed as she readied her stance, with the figure silently placing their grenade launchers on their backs, only for a set of two blades to shoot out of their wrists, each one painted in a dark colour similar to their cloak, with a hook attached to the ends of their blades.

"Whoa-" Ruby was promptly silenced as she instantly defended a charging strike from the figure, using the shaft of Crescent Rose to block the dual wrist blades aimed directly at her face. The enemy's strikes were powerful, enough for the girl to take a step back, much closer to the wall of fire now.

"What are you? Some Mercenary? You're pretty full of yourself causing this amount of chaos in Vale!" Ruby attempted an 'arrogant' voice, trying her hardest to get the figure to talk. She knew she was completely out of the figure's league in terms of strength, but there was nothing else she could do besides negotiate.

Only, there was no need for negotiation, instead, the figure was suddenly thrown close to the fireball as a second figure, a blonde woman, showed up, holding a wand pointed towards the aggressor, this second figure wore a simple long-sleeve and a pencil skirt over black leggings.

Ruby's jaw dropped as she digested the sight of the blonde woman beside her. It was none other than Glynda Goodwitch, one of the best Professional Huntresses in all of Vale. If one were to think of a huntsman of Vale, she would always be the first thought. Her feats could be summed up in a mountain of thick books, her strength was respected in all of the four kingdoms, and her vast intellect brought her to be a head professor of the illustrious Beacon Academy, the right-hand woman of Headmaster Ozpin.

To put it simply, if it's a one-on-one, always bet on Glynda Goodwitch, Vale's 'Brilliant Sorceress'.

"Watch out!" Glynda shouted as she glared at the figure, who was a bit dazed by her sudden intervention, getting their footing back as they gazed upon the professional huntress.

"Stand down criminal!" The woman let out a low growl as the stone and loose asphalt around her began to hover just inches above the ground, yet, the figure remained undisturbed, instead chucking a grenade onto the floor, and then jumping backwards into the raging inferno.

PING

A flash of light engulfs the both of them, momentarily disorienting them in the process.

As they regained their senses, the two noticed that the two criminals had already fled the scene, leaving them amongst the destroyed streets, alongside the fallen goons of Roman Torchwick.

"So... um-" The young girl suddenly started, turning to the professional huntress as she tried to break the awkward silence, "Can I have your autograph?"

Chapter 7: Yellow

Chapter Text

A yellow motorcycle sped across the dimly lit roads of the outskirts of Vale, on it was a singularwoman.

The figure stopped her bike as she reached her destination, turning to face a large neon sign on a building's face: 'Three Bears club'. With a nod, she removes her yellow bike helm, revealing a beautiful girl with long golden blonde hair that reaches her backside. The girl was Yang Xiao Long, 17 years of age, with nothing on her besides a wallet and her scroll on her pockets.

The blonde girl wore a tan jacket that exposed her midriff, with the jacket itself partially unzipped, exposing a yellow crop top that had an emblem marked on it. Below, she wore black shorts wrapped around an incomplete brown skirt, all tucked together by a tight leather belt.

The girl swiftly made her way into the bar, paying the bouncer extra to skip the line, and entering through a set of sliding walls that welcomed her in. The club itself was massive, with holographic trees that mimicked Autumn as intangible leaves drifted onto the floor, settling for a few seconds before reappearing at the top of the bar in a cycle. The patrons themselves wore rich clothes that screamed of their wealth, with some clearly flashing weapons shamelessly.

Yet she did not care.

The girl moved with grace across the dance floor, nearly interrupting a few of the patrons as she made her way towards the bar counter, producing a stack of cash and pushing it towards the other side of the countertop.

"Here for a drink?" The bartender asks, eyeing the stack of money that was worth more than just one drink.

"And information." Yang smiled.

"What of?"

"Know of this fine woman?" Yang answered back as she held up an image produced out of her scroll, with the bartender taking a second to look at her scroll.

"Sorry, never seen that face here." The bartender shook his head as he pushed back Yang's stack of money. The image showed a woman in a red dress, seemingly looking like a carbon copy of Yang, albeit with black hair, she wielded a massive greatsword by her waist and struck a pose.

"C'mon, you sure?" Yang smiled once more as she pushed the stack of money back onto the bartender's side, who promptly pushed it back.

"Pretty please?" The girl once again pushes the stack back towards the bartender. This exchange quickly caught the nearby patrons' attention as a large man finally intervened, wearing a black vest over white sleeves, he covered the stack of cash with his gloved hands as Yang turned to meet his gaze with a smile.

"Young girl, aren't 'cha a bit too young to be going out to these places?" The man asked, looking down at her due to his towering height.

"Well, aren't you a bit too big to be called 'Junior'?" The girl simply smiled as she turned her eyes onto the sudden appearance of men surrounding her, all holding various types of weapons with threatening intent.

"Bold of you to be this brazen even when you know me." The man, Junior, simply chuckled, bringing his hand to the countertop.

"'Course I know you, you're the manager of this, esteemed, place." Yang blankly waved her arm to note the entire club, uncaring of the men glaring at her threateningly.

"And I know you also entertain some of Vale's underground figures. Hence why I am here." Yang then turned to face Junior, returning a smile when she suddenly gripped the man by his crotch, with enough force to stun him indefinitely so long as she still had a grip on him.

"Now tell me, where is she?" Her tone suddenly shifts to a low growl, raising her scroll as Junior begins to stutter, trying to balance his pain and speaking.

"I-I don't know- She- never came- here-" Junior winced as Yang brought her face closer to his, not believing him.

"You've got cahoots with some other criminals, and you're telling me you don't know-"

"Oi Bartender~" A voice suddenly breaks through the tension, with Yang turning to meet this newcomer. It was a boy relatively similar to her age, with flowing silver hair that rested on his shoulders, he had an almost identical black coat to the armed men around her, albeit with a lighter grey undershirt separating them. He was flat-out drunk, stumbling forward, rather uncaring of the sight as his drunken gaze sizes up the blonde brawler, then to the manager still frozen in place by Yang's 'grapple'.

"One shot ofSnakebitefor the two of us." He nearly crashes onto the seat beside Yang as the girl finally lets go of Junior's crotch, with a scared bartender quickly serving a shot glass before the duo as Junior himself takes a step backwards.

"Well, aren't you the courageous type..." The blonde snickered as she moved to face the counter, taking her own seat beside the boy, who was rather unimpressed by her actions so far. Turning to scan the bar once more, she notices Junior's men also backing off, with a lot more of the patrons on their private booths now eyeing them with interest.

"Give it up by trying to talk things out with Junior, he was taught to never lie in his life... If he does not know, then he does not know." He explains, brushing Yang's shot glass towards her as he held his. The liquid inside had a strong tint of brown, almost similar to fuel. Turning to face her partner of the night with curiosity, he simply waves her off, taking a whiff of the drink by putting it closer to his face.

"And would you know anyone of this appearance then?" Yang raised a brow as she brought her scroll into the boy's vision, who simply shook his head.

"She kinda looks like you?" He joked, lowering the shot glass back onto the table, somehow slightly less drunk than before.

"Whatever." Yang sighed as her search had come to a fruitless end, instead deciding to empty the content into her mouth, immediately feeling a burning sensation too overwhelming to contain.

The taste by itself was murderous, a stinging pain of spice, mint, and extreme coldness ripped through her taste buds and choked on her throat, while the texture itself was far more slippery than oil, enough to even forcefully slide itself through her oesophagus, threatening the vile concoction to fill her lungs had it not been for her gag reflex.

"You're meant to drink it in a gulp." The boy burst into laughter as Yang shot a deathly glare at him. It felt like a balloon was being inflated inside her mouth, her teeth were suddenly extremely sensitive, her tongue numbingly burnt, and her throat as if she had just vomited.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang smashed her hand onto the counter as the boy continued to chuckle.

"There's a common saying in Vacuo about this drink..." He explained as he eyed the spat-out drink all over the bartender's side, his hands gently shaking the shot glass without causing it to spill, even in his drunken state. "The first time stops the heart, the second starts the heart, and the third brings you to heaven. It's a popular drink in that sordid sh*t-scape of a kingdom."

"You're from there?" Yang slurred as the burning sensation of the drink still lingered in her mouth, bringing out another laugh from the man as he had yet to drink his own shot.

"Wandered around here and there, Vacuo was one of those places. Anyways, Junior's right, you kinda do look a bit young 'round these parts..."

"Nope, totally legal. You kinda do as well." She retorts back, her hand now fidgeting on the empty shot glass, tempted to ask for her drink once again.

"Whatever, who gives a crap anyways when you're here. Lemuel G. Free. You can just call me Free." The man shrugged as he announced himself in a rather mocking tone as if he was seemingly tired of giving out his name to everyone he met, which wasn't a lot to begin with.

"Yang Xiao Long, student huntress." There was this particular air around announcing one's self as a huntsman or even just a student huntsman, forming an imaginary barrier between ordinary civilians and huntsmen, a barrier of fear, respect, and so much more.

"Oh, a student? Beacon?" Only, the man did not react.

"Got accepted, gonna be my first year. You?"

"First year Beacon for me as well... Pops forced me." The boy chuckled as Yang was momentarily stunned with surprise. She never thought she would meet another soon-to-be student of Beacon.

"Well, good meeting you here, Free." Yang smiled.

"You're the type to start bar fights for fun..." Free chuckled as Yang winced at the sudden question, uncertain of what he was planning.

"Well, my uncle would always come to stop them immediately, but... yeah-"

BANG

Yang was immediately sent flying backwards as Free threw a massive right hook right onto her face, using the rotating bar stool to his advantage. The impact was powerful enough to even tear away the stool Yang was on, which was bolted to the ground.

Free watched as he gulped down his shot of Snakebite, the effects of the concoction almost evident as he immediately crushed the shot glass with ease.

"That was cheap!" Yang simply laughs off the punch as she lands on the middle of the dance floor, eyeing Free with wariness, the force of the punch hinting of the boy's true strength.

"Oh please! You'd have done the same!" Free roared as a similar smirk grew on his face, the boy throwing himself off his seat as he made his way towards Yang. The girl simply chuckled as well from his comment.

"You said your uncle's been stopping you from a proper bar fight eh?!" A sense of excitement and amusem*nt was carried through Free's tone as Yang quickly understood the sudden change of tone across the bar, with the dance floor now void of people.

"The guests here seem unbothered with the two of us fighting. Heck, even Junior is just sitting at the back." Yang commented as she noticed the manager and a pair of twins in frilly dresses sitting at the back, each one equally interested in the fight.

"You've heard of dog fights in the countryside, same thing here." Free loosened his tie as he threw his coat to the side, revealing a black long sleeve that went well with his black leather gloves.

"What, they're betting on either one of us? I'm honoured." Yang joked as she partially wondered if 'Snakebite' was a cue for a brawl, and had slightly regretted not taking the concoction.

"Just some bloodthirsty mongrels tired of the city life. What better way to satiate them than two Beacon students brawling to their heart's content?" Free instantly dashed forward, ramming his fist straight towards Yang, who blocked it with her own right punch.

There was no denying that something else was at play here, Yang knew. It was more than just entertainment for these crime lords and their posse, more than just a gambling game to them. It was Free's very own action that started this battle, having seen the audacity, the arrogance, the power Yang had displayed over Junior. He knew that Yang was capable of fighting through the entirety of the bar manager's men, it was obvious the second she walked into the bar, uncaring of the hostility eyeing down at her, and he just desperately needed a bite out of the meal in front of him.

While it was natural for one's body to feel a sense of adrenaline course through their veins as they fought, it was a reactionary result of 'fight or flight', to survive an encounter that could very well severely injure a person, a body's natural stimulant. Battle-lust was a term given to those who actively sought out such a stimulating environment. Their continuous drive for battle, whether it was for the thrill, the challenge, acceptance, or some other factor, had led them down a burning addiction they could only quell through fighting.

And Yang chose to grant her opponent his wish of that night, a brawl.

"You asked for this!" Shifting her upper body a bit left, she leveraged the force of their impact to throw her other hand forward, with Free raising his own left arm upwards to block the attack. Only, she had gotten down to her flow, once more shifting her body to the right, she threw a right hook, then a left, then a right, capitalizing on a repetitive tempo of rocking from left to right to aid in her attack. She swung her body like a wave, and each strike, whether it was Free blocking, or her punches landing their mark, brought her leg forward a bit, an attempt to overwhelm her opponent with a move known as a Dempsey Roll.

Yet, of all the choices she thought the boy would make against her wave of attack, she did not expect Free to simply move forward, narrowly ducking his head as he delivered a devastating blow to her abdomen, only hindered by Yang's own aura, which nearly disperses the punch, and pushing her back a little. With a lunge forward, Free takes advantage of the knockback as he throws his other fist directly onto the girl's face, slamming her onto the ground with enough force to glitch the illuminating dance floor for a second.

Slightly raising his fist for a second, Free hurls it right back down towards her face, only for Yang to simply jut her head a few inches to the side, burying his fists onto the floor instead. Taking advantage, Yang grips his wrist with her hands, and, using her core strength, brings her fallen body upwards and around, feet first from the ground, wrapping her legs onto the boy's shoulder area and continuing the motion by throwing Free's captured arm upwards and around, leveraging herself just above him and causing his body to spin uncontrollably.

Free crashes onto the ground as she lands on her feet, the audience around them giving a round of applause.

Returning to their upright positions, the two slowly began to circle each other, cracks and pops of their joints being heard as they made quick flexes of their arms and legs. Each one wondered what the other-

Nah, they were too impatient to wonder.

In a split second, both combatants narrow the distance between them, throwing a punch that narrowly brushes past each other's knuckles, landing squarely on each other's cheek. There was a brief pause as the two turned to face each other, only to throw their other hand forward, rotating their upper bodies to exert an equal amount of force against each other. Only this time, their fists collided, sending an invisible shockwave for all the spectators to feel, with the force of the punch enough to push both combatants apart.

Without pause, Free broke out into a mad dash as he threw a flurry of manic punches towards Yang, who could only defend by covering her front with her arms, waiting for an opening in Free's part. Yet, underneath the barrage of blows, Yang couldn't help but let out a smile as her hair began to glow, a fiery aura enveloping her back with her pupils flickering to blood red in the process. She had activated her semblance, the thrill of the battle and the damage she had sustained empowering the brawler.

Just as her semblance reaches its peak, the girl catches Free's right arm and meets his left fist with her own. Only, Yang did not feel anything 'solid' when their fists collided. She had punched many things before, but it was her first time feeling someone's approaching fist react immediately by recoiling backwards whilst the figure in front of her was still moving forward.

It took a second for her answer to come, as Free's arm suddenly exploded into a million pieces of machinery and steel, his forearm dropping onto the ground, twitching robotically in the process.

"Crap... I just bought this arm." Free sighed as Yang continued to just look at the stump of where the boy's arm was supposed, the trail of smoking machinery and cloth materials on the ground quickly bringing Yang to a realization.

"Were you fighting me with a prosthetic this entire time?" The momentary shock was enough to quickly return the girl to her senses, having just thought she blew up the man's arm with the force of her punch. Compared to a human limb, prosthetics rely heavily on the material used for durability, as the flow of aura proved harder to wrap around inorganic materials when compared to the natural growth of the body. Simply put, while it was a given to coat one's weapon with aura, as it wasn't as effective as coating one's body with their own aura.

Such as fact made prosthetics less durable than any human with aura, and prosthetic combatants a rare sight.

"Damn right, and you got a problem with that?" Free simply asked as he pointed his finger at her, somewhat annoyed by her comment. Only, there was another reason as to why she was now stunned in place.

"Guess I can say I, Dis-arm-ed you!" Yang couldn't help but think of a joke, garnering a brief pause then a sigh from her opponent.

"Well played Blonde. But I still got one more arm!" Free let out a cackle as he raised his remaining fist high to the sky. Only, something else was happening with the boy as Yang watched as his grey hair began to move by itself, bringing out a matching glow to when she had activated her semblance, albeit in a silvery aura compared to her gold. She then noticed as his pupils turned from a deep navy blue to the same blood red, just like hers.

"You must have a semblance similar to mine." Yang couldn't help but comment as she took a step forward. He intended to end the fight with one final attack, his silver aura flaring just as brightly as Yang's.

"Maybe I do? Maybe I don't?" Free brought his fist close to his chest as he bent down to his knees, Yang simply doing the same thing. The pressure building up on their legs and their adrenaline skyrocketing only made the charge up take a few seconds as they launched their whole bodies forward for the last time.

BOOM

Both their aim was true as their fists collided once more. Yet for the split second the two had made contact, Yang could feel her body simply moving forward as if his fist wasn't there. A second later, Free's arm explodes as small machinery tears through his coat, exposing a second metal frame underneath.

'A second prosthetic?' Yang widened her eyes as her fist kept moving forward, the thrill of the battle had brought her to overexert her final punch, to the point where it could only stop once it had found its target.

BOOM

And so it did as her fist was buried straight into Free's chest. The force dealt by the single blow sent a shockwave across the bar, cracking the floor beneath, rupturing bottles, and even giving the looser tables a shudder.

Free was then launched straight through the moving wall made of concrete that served as the bar's entrance, blasting through a second wall and landing face first onto the dark streets outside the building, with Yang lowering her aura as she made her way outside. Passing through the surprised newcomers to the bar, who narrowly missed the projectile that was Free's passing body, their eyes lingered on Yang's form, mistaking her as a huntress on the job.

Yet, the girl was unbothered by the sudden attention resting on her, instead making her way outside, where Free was located at. Despite seemingly losing both his arms in the exchange, Free was quick to his feet, and leaning forward, he let out a Cheshire grin.

"Well then... let's start round 2-"

BANG

An incoming bus ploughs right through the unsuspecting Free, launching him straight to the sky and ending the fight then and there.

"Whoa... 'kay... Good fight." Yang winced at the sight as she watched Free disappear into the night sky. For being her first taste as to what to expect of Beacon, she was excited as to what other powerful students she would fight next.

"She would miss out on so much once I get into Beacon..." With a sigh, she drops to the concrete ground, somewhat tired of the fight. Free was evidently drunk and wore civilian-graded prosthetics not meant for fighting, it was a somewhat unfair fight. And yet, he had pushed her to use her semblance.

Since the two would probably meet in Beacon as batch mates, if not, squad mates, the notion of fighting Free for real elevated her excitement even more, her burning hair brightening up even further with her feelings.

"Yang?" A familiar voice calls out the tired brawler, startling her out of her still active semblance, the glow dissipating almost immediately. Turning to face the source of the voice, she was greeted by a young girl almost half a head shorter than her, wearing a gothic black dress with combat boots.

"Ruby!" Yang quickly stood, fixing herself before embracing the girl.

"I've been looking all over for you!" Ruby's muffled voice escaped the blonde's captivity, who promptly released her.

"Well sis', what's the rush?"

"I'm going to Beacon!"

Chapter 8: Beacon Academy

Chapter Text

"You know of that devil?!" Yelena let out a growl as she took a step forward, the temperature dropping sharply.

"No, no. We wouldn't want to associate ourselves with someone so... dangerous." Ozpin waved his hand as Glynda brought herself away from the angered Cautus, her wand ready just in the off chance the girl would attack.

"Then how do you know of them!" The Headmaster could tell how much hatred emanated from the young girl, the immediate and extremely potent reaction only serving to answer his question, the very reason why Yelena was here in the process.

"Let me tell you of a story then..." Ozpin began, "It all began 80 years ago..."

~~~

"They what?" Patriot raised his brow as he listened to her daughter. He was awoken from his slumber by Yelena, who quickly began to recount her meeting with the headmaster.

"But you are asking me if you could enrol into this academy?"

"If you wish to explore this world instead of staying here, then I would decline the offer-" Yelena was promptly stopped as she felt her father's hand rest on her head, her rabbit ears crunching a bit to make way for his palm. Turning her gaze to her father's sights, she looked through his menacing sights, seeing a silent confirmation to her question.

"We are no longer bound by the chains of the infected and Ursus... You have your own life now." Deep down, beneath his years of battles and triumphs, beneath his thick impenetrable armour, he was still a loving father. He had left the warring Sarkaz council of Kazdel for a better life in Ursus, and he had left Ursus when it had betrayed him and his family.

For all his life he ran from fate, eventually, to the point where the world did not need him anymore. A second chance like this was the best ending he could ever think of.

Yelena took some time to digest her father's words but without a beat, she burst into a teary smile, wrapping her arms around her father.

"Oh right, he also gave me this." Yelena suddenly pulled away from her father, producing a piece of paper from her pocket.

"A free tour of Beacon Academy?"

~~~

The large wendigo sat quietly as he ignored the ever-increasing stares garnering from the other passengers of the local airship he was on. It wasn't in his schedule today to visit Beacon Academy, though he didn't mind, as there really wasn't anything in his schedule besides roaming Vale to begin with.

"The Headmaster plans to disguise your meeting with him as a tour of the academy."

He was partially excited for such an opportunity, to be integrated into this brand-new world so easily, and he felt a particular nostalgia for it all. Having left the violent court of Kazdel for a brand new future during his younger years, he enlisted in the Ursine military with the prowess he had. And now Yelena was following his steps... But hopefully, not all his footsteps...

He did not want her to experience the same tragedies he had experienced, from the loss of his son to even his decaying march in the wastes of the Northern tundra, he wished for this to be the last time he would ever need to bear his shield to fight.

As the view of the Academy grew bigger and bigger, Patriot's eyes widened with surprise and glamour at the overviewing sight. While still incomparable to the architecture of a moving city, the towering spire at the very centre aligned with magnificent stone structures and buildings was a sight to behold. It was far too large for the entire facility to be 'just a military academy', and far too grand to even be labelled an academy.

It was as if the entire kingdom had poured all its profits onto maintaining the school alone, a notion impossible in the world of Terra, where nobles often schemed for their own gains, and corruption ran rampant. There was no doubt in the wendigo's mind that the Headmaster might be the most powerful person in all of Vale, and to meet him was almost akin to meeting the Emperor of Ursus.Almost.

Whatever the case was, there is still a long tour before their eventual meeting...

~~~

"When Professor Port told us that we could get some extra credits for next year's term, I never thought it would mean replacing him for this tour..." A young, flamboyantly dressed woman sighed as she slung a bag over her shoulder, fixing a pair of shades resting on her nose. The woman, Coco Adel, led her team of three other second-year students of Beacon towards the academy's airport.

"Well, extra credit IS extra credit. Just wished he actually paid us for this job..." A large man at the back of the group sighed. Being a head and some taller than Coco, he was Yatsuhashi Daichi, the frontline assaulter of the group, dressed in a green robe similar to a traditional Mistral robe, he carried a large sign that simply said 'tour' in the middle.

"Could've been a lot worse, team GASP was sent off to the north to help collect some dead bodies. Steven couldn't stop vomiting over the bodies apparently." A rabbit girl nodded as she walked closely behind Coco. Velvet Scarlatina was Coco's partner-in-crime, always seen with her camera slung on her hips, she was always there for her team, ever supportive of their actions, and was basically the 'big sister' (oddly enough she is rumoured to be the youngest of the four) that bound the group together.

"Also heard that that entire village got blasted with some powerful ice stuff. Semblance and dust it would seem..." Coco chuckled, uncaring of the sudden destruction of some no-name village she had no connections to, "And that it had some big slave trade stuff running in there."

"Whatever the case is, Velvet's right, it could have been worse." The final boy of the four, Fox, explained, following the group just in front of Yatsuhashi, he had his hands in his pocket, simply looking up at the cloudless sky. Though he wasn't looking at all, as he was blind.

"Heck, we get to meet a few 1st-years's parents... pretty cool not gonna lie..." He added, rubbing his chin together at the thought of being seen as this 'cool badass senior of Beacon academy. A person to look up to for their outstanding performance etc.'.

"Hey, an airship just landed, maybe we can meet them ahead of schedule!" Yatsuhashi pointed forward, with the group eagerly running forward as they were rather excited as well.

"Maybe they could be a famous huntsman like Qrow the hero! Or some other important figure!" Velvet gleamed with her rabbit ears fluttering in excitement as she remembered gushing over one of her favourite 'Huntsmen and their Hunts' magazine volumes, depicting a middle-aged man with a tattered cape posing heroically with a massive greatsword.

Yet, the four's thoughts were quickly dashed as a figure walked down the ramparts of the airship well before any other, his unique features glueing their sights solely onto him.

He was far taller than Yatsuhashi, who was already one of the largest students in Beacon, and far bulkier underneath the somewhat tight set of clothes on him that outlined his sculpted body. The way the being carried himself forward was almost similar to that of a moving mountain, with each step as solid as the very foundation of the four kingdoms itself.

Yet his physical stature and movement were nothing compared to the imposing skull mask he wore, far different than any Grimm the team had faced, it roared the same ferocity of the strongest Grimm, but also the complex intelligence of man, finally crowned by two blood red gems that were the man's eyes.

"Whoa-" Coco caught herself before she was about to say anything, as if the figure could hear her from that distance, "Do you know what kind of Faunus he is, Velvet?"

"I... don't think I've seen a giant elk faunus before..." The rabbit Faunus muttered as she eyed his mask once more, "He certainly isn't from here that's for sure..."

"And where would you think he came from? Definitely not Mistral for sure." Yatsuhashi explained, having came from Mistral.

"Atlas is obviously out of the question, with the racism still going on there." Coco clicked her tongue, once more reminded about the issues plaguing the northern kingdom of Atlas.

"And that would only leave Vacuo..." Velvet finished, "The most lawless of the four kingdoms, a good fit for a fighter like that guy-"

"His aura is different than the rest..." A sudden voice echoed into each of the team members' thoughts, with the three all then turning to face Fox. It was his semblance, Telepathy, the ability to speak to others through their minds, it was a versatile semblance in a day-to-day setting, especially when speaking privately to his targets.

"What?" Coco raised her brow as she returned to face the massive Wendigo now making his way towards them.

"It's not as bright as the ones around him, he has not unlocked it." A side effect of his semblance was that the boy was able to sense one's aura, recognizing them through his blindness by this alternate form of sight.

"You're telling me that a guy like him has not unlocked his aura yet? He looks like he eats Beowolves and Ursas for breakfast!" Yatsuhashi coughed out, rather in denial of his teammate's words.

"Well, there are cases of professional huntsmen who have never unlocked their auras before, though very 'rare' cases," Velvet explained.

"Guys?" Coco suddenly interjected as the man slowly made their way towards them. A part of their brain wanted them to run, while another screamed to pull out their weapons. The former thought as if they were staring down a landslide, and the latter thought as if an incoming beast was headed their way. Only, they simply stood their ground, understanding that there was no danger to be found.

"Excuse me," The man let out a voice far deeper than any of the four could think of, as if a silent command forced them to freeze in place.

"Y-yes?" Velvet was the first to shake off the commanding effect and answered back.

"Would any one of you be..." The figure suddenly paused as he raised his massive hand. Being so close to the figure allowed the group to get a better look on his features, only, they were all seemingly stunned by his claw-like hands, massive enough to wrap around one's head easily.

"Professor Port?" The second thing they realized was that the figure was reading something buried in his hand, and with the mention of their professor, it did not take very long to understand his question.

"Y-you're here for the tour?" Coco nearly spat out, her eyes widening as it would mean one other thing. Whatever child came from this man was coming to study in Beacon.

"Ah yes. The tour. My daughter gave this when she got accepted." The man lowered his hand as he revealed a specific ticket towards the four.

"Wait... a physical ticket? Tours are booked online." The girl explained.

"Then again, the Professor did say that there would be a scheduled tour today. Only those that know of this tour would even be here." Velvet reminded her partner, then turning to face the man, "Sir, who exactly gave your daughter this ticket?"

"Headmaster Ozpin met my daughter yesterday, offering a place here in Beacon."

"Ozpin?!-" The four gasped, quickly collecting themselves from their shock as they bought in to his reason.

"Well... You're about 15 minutes early, so why don't we just wait for the other tourists to come?" Coco checked her scroll as she flashed a smile towards the man. While the man was indeed a few minutes too early, it was also an excuse to wait for some other people to come... to lessen the man's overwhelming presence.

~~~15 minutes later~~~

Nobody came.

The four deflated as they sat on a bench nearby, with Yatsuhashi vainly raising his sign to an approaching crowd as if there would be some more tourists in the crowd.

"It's seriously just that guy?" Fox sighed as he leaned even further backwards, his head now hanging at the back of the bench. They were all shaken by the sight of the figure in front of them, not because he was a Faunus, but because he was far more than a Faunus. For those minutes they waited, the four were the closest in remembering the original, uncensored, reason for the universal hatred of the Faunus.

'They were not human'

'They are animals'

'They are monsters like the Grimm'

Yet by no means were the team racist or bigots, instead, it was purely by human instinct that kept them so guarded against the man. It was far more comparable to viewing the man like a civilian would view the Grimm: frightening.

Nevertheless, there was a second feeling building up beneath the first. Shame. Even if they were simply following their instinct, it was unacceptable for them to view the man as any more than a man, and the first to break away from this cycle was Velvet, who bore this shame heavier than the rest as a Faunus.

It would have been extremely hypocritical for her to even be so guarded, having experienced this hatred and distrust first-hand for being a Faunus, her thoughts were instead replaced by a simple, singular, question: 'If even a Faunus would be so scared of this man, what kind of life has he lived until this point?'

"Whatever the case is, we should treat him as Beacon Academy's guest. He isn't an enemy." Velvet stood as the weight of her silent shame became unbearable, turning to face her team with her scroll on her hand, "We've been worrying about nothing."

Coco shrugged as she and Fox also got up, her 'cool' demeanour refusing to visually reflect any signs of the team's guarded nature, unlike Yatsuhashi or Fox. Yet, Coco's shame wasn't just that she distrusted a Faunus like those racist anti-Faunus individuals, but that of a warrior.

Why would she, a huntsman, be so scared of one guy? What would he do if he decided to reveal that he was White Fang and attack? Nothing. Because she. was. a. huntsman. She fought the Grimm, true monsters who simply sought the destruction of all life, what would one, singular, man do to her?

"You're right... Let's get this tour started." Coco smiled as the other two also came to their senses, making their way towards the lone man to begin the tour.

~~~

Patriot had been on tours before. Whether it was the Ursus royal academy in the Capital when his son got accepted, the military FOB he and his squadron were meant to stay during their campaign against Kazimierz, or even a beautiful honeymoon with his wife in some other moving city. They all functioned the same, moving from point A to point B at a rather slow pace, meticulously describing each section of a place, from history, function, or just some fun facts here and there.

Yet unlike those times, he was all alone, making it a bit more of a personal tour with speeches meant for groups of people. And it clearly showed with how Coco spoke.

"And here we are on the first part of our destination, the dining hall. Separated from the main building, it's more than enough to host the four batches of future huntsmen, from first years to fourth years." The fashionista explained as she and Velvet opened a set of grand entrance doors, with the wendigo widening his eyes as the sight of the massive canteen filled his vision.

"How exactly does Beacon feed this many students when their main source of entry is by air?"

"How exactly does Beacon even operate in that way?" Was his actual question, ever since he boarded the airship, he found it weird that a prestigious academy would be situated so far away from the main city.

"Well, there are indeed roads meant for these supplies, but as far as I recall, the academy has some warehouses nearby that could last months." Coco shrugged, rather surprised that the man would ask such a logistical question.

"I see, though why exactly is Beacon even this far out of Vale?"

"Now that I could answer," The girl gleamed as she snapped her fingers, with Yatsuhashi taking a step forward and pulling a whiteboard out of thin air.

"It would seem as if you have never heard of a Huntsman academy, no offence," Coco scribbled a big dot at the centre of the board, "But us Huntsmen need all the training needed, which heavily includes practical training using live targets." She then doodled all around the big dot.

"You mean the academy keeps the surrounding region a hostile environment?" Patriot raised a brow. A rather crude and old-fashioned way of teaching, even for Ursus military academy standards, but was far the most logical, considering this world's Humanity is fighting feral monsters, there's no way of simply keeping these monsters in cages for so long...

"But controlled. Thanks to Atleasian technology, the school perimeter and the surrounding region known as the Emerald Forest can detect all signs of movement, whether it be human, or Grimm." Coco puffed in pride as the other three rolled their eyes (figuratively for Fox), with Patriot nodding at her clear explanation.

He once more returned his focus towards the size of the canteen. While he had never seen a Grimm before, for the best military academy in this world to house this much space for specialists in hunting down these creatures... how bad was the state of Remnant?

Ursus might have had an academy of this size, but it was primarily due to its militaristic and expansive nature... meant solely for conquering and winning wars, but in Beacon's case, this academy is meant for safety, a symbol of hope for civilization to continue onwards. One is a selfish path, the other a selfless path.

"Alright then..." He couldn't help but chuckle at such a thought. Remnant might have had many flaws just like Terra, but it certainly had a brighter future.

~

"And these are the dormitories your daughter would be staying at. Good enough for a team of four to sleep in." Velvet pushed open a door leading into an empty room fitted with 4 beds, the wendigo nodding with satisfaction... only for one thing.

"Team? Forgive me for my lack of knowledge, but what would you mean by team?" Velvet almost recoiled as she turned to face the other three waiting outside, all rather puzzled by his question. It was similar to asking 'What was dust?' or 'What are huntsmen?'.

"Well, during your daughter's stay here in the academy, she will be grouped by the headmaster into a team of four. Just like me and my friends, we're team CFVY. It'll be a way for your daughter to connect with other future huntsmen."

'A lot more intimate and personal than I like, but it should be fine-' A sudden thought shot through his mind as he eyed Yatsuhashi and Fox.

"Total strangers sleeping in one room?" The two boys shuddered as they felt a cold touch running up their spines, with Velvet instantly recognizing the real question behind Patriot's words.

"Oh no! Beacon is very strict with THOSE kinds of misconducts, and the headmaster will make it very clear that any inappropriate behaviour will be severely punished during the opening ceremony." Velvet's tone suddenly shifted, her words as hard as steel, her face clearly expressing each word that came out of her mouth. She was extremely serious about such an important topic, and Patriot could see it.

"Very well then." He nodded once more. It wasn't that he was scared of Yelena's well-being, in fact, he completely trusted Yelena with protecting herself, as he has done so on multiple occasions. It was simply the thought of a uni-sex dormitory existing, an extreme departure from the Ursine Military dormitories and their brutal code of conduct.

~

"These are the classrooms that will hold most of the first-year classes, which are usually just reviews on the lessons taught in combat schools, since, like what Coco had said, Beacon Academy would mostly be on the practical side of being a huntsman." Yatsuhashi waved into an empty room. On one side was a set of white and blackboards, while on the other were elevated rows of desks.

It was rather nostalgic looking at such a peaceful-looking classroom. It reminded him of his son's Scholar years, while it also reminded him of that one school back at Chernobog that Reunion captured during the invasion... Though he wondered whatever happened to that school, as he forgot which of the Reunion captains were made in charge of keeping the students inside alive and well...

'They must've been safely rescued by Rhodes Island...' Patriot waved away the memory as he was confident the students were alive and well, considering that the warehouse containing the school's food was well stocked and not ransacked or burnt.

"Combat schools? My daughter hasn't been to one." The man instead focused on the problem presented currently, and that problem was Yelena's, and his, rather lack of information and knowledge of this world.

"What?" Yatsuhashi had to double-take on what the man had said. There were many instances of people who didn't come from Combat Schools but still entered Beacon, most prominent were 'Unprofessional Huntsmen'. However, in those cases, these individuals would come from an economically unstable background... or displaced from home, loss of both parents, both rather tragic backstories.

"My daughter and I have been roaming in the wilderness for quite some time. We had nowhere to go, or for her to enrol into a combat school." Patriot explained, a somewhat truthful statement barring Oripathy and coming from a completely different world. An answer too personal to ask for more, with the boy only able to accept it and simply move on.

"Well, I guess your daughter would just have to double-time on her studies." He chuckled, somewhat reminded of his first few months in Beacon.

'It would be interesting to meet this man's daughter...' Yatsuhashi couldn't help but smirk, curious as to what kind of story her life was before entering Beacon.

"It is what it is." Patriot nodded as they continued onwards. He couldn't help but eye them once more as they continued onwards, finding the four as perfect examples of seniority helping their juniors, raising his expectation for the academy even higher.

'Hopefully the rest of the students here have the same class as these four...'

~

"And for our final location, and quite possibly the most important place in the school, the amphitheatre." Coco smiled as she waved her hand over the empty semi-circular room. It was a rather grand area, with the main entrance overlooking a series of steps going down, each step also acting as some sort of seat all focused on the centre. That centre being a massive marble stage.

"It looks similar to the classrooms..." Patriot made his way down the flight of stairs as he curiously scanned the place once more, unsure as to what made this place so important besides holding indoor ceremonies.

"Well, almost similar. It also functions as a teaching venue, just not in books or essays." Coco explained as she also made her way down the stairs.

"I always wanted to do this..." The girl mumbled as she pulled out a remote from her bag, aiming it squarely onto the stage and pressing a set of buttons in succession. In an instant, the entire room began to shudder, with Patriot freezing in place as his instincts told him to search for some imaginary enemy. Only, there was no enemy, and instead, the source of the rumbling was happening right in front of them as the stage began to lower, revealing hidden corridors situated below the floor.

"It... became a pit?" The wendigo muttered as a loud metallic 'CLICK' signalled that the stage had finished moving, with him quickly making his way to the railing and leaning forward, unsure as to what to think of the sudden pit replacing the stage.

"More specifically, an arena." Coco moved beside the giant, also leaning forward, just not to the degree of Patriot due to her height.

"Ah, it would make sense for an academy such as Beacon to have a room dedicated to combat practices..." The most relatable area for a hardened veteran like Patriot. While the Emerald Forest was reserved for practical purposes, one-on-one combat is an equally important detail for specialists such as Huntsmen. Not everything evil could be chalked up to shadowy dark monsters after all...

"Yeah, I guess your daughter would vastly excel in these combat classes." The girl commented, tempted to ask the man for his daughter's name-

"She definitely would excel in that department." A sudden new voice brought the attention of the five to their backs, with each one reacting in various ways as their eyes rested on two figures. Glynda Goodwitch, and Headmaster Ozpin.

Chapter 9: The Headmaster and the Wendigo

Chapter Text

"Professor Ozpin!" Velvet backed off as she was the closest to the two professors. Even with her heightened senses as a rabbit faunus, there was no indication of their presence until the headmaster made his known. They likely arrived during the transformation of the stage, but even in that loud transformation would she have heard them.

"You must be Yelena's father." Ozpin nodded away the four students's surprise as he turned to face the wendigo, "It was truly an unfortunate event that we failed to meet yesterday."

"And you must be Headmaster Ozpin." Patriot replied back, both men nodding at each other's comment, "A victim of circ*mstance, but here we are right now."

"Well, Mr. Patriot, the rumours I've heard of you are certainly true."

'A lie.' The wendigo quickly deduced. Ozpin was stealing him away from the four students without alerting their suspicion.

"And by what rumours did you hear of me?" He playfully tilted his head, entertaining the Headmaster's words.

"A man of enormous strength and size that could best an entire bandit camp all by himself, wearing a skull mask to ridicule the idea of fearing the Grimm," Ozpin explained, his words weightless to Patriot, but as heavy as mountains to the four students. He was simply retelling the things he had seen in the camera recordings Kandi had sent him.

"Please, those are just rumours. Why don't you just get to the point." Though flattered by the headmaster's on-the-spot complements, Patriot found no reason to keep this charade going.

"Very well then. Team CFVY, while it was unplanned for you to be replacing Professor Port as the Beacon tour guide, I believe you have done an excellent job in guiding our esteem guests and you will all be rewarded handsomely, besides Professor Port's extra credits that is."

A noticeable gleam of satisfaction came from the four as Glynda took a step forward, guiding the four to another exit of the arena, with each one bidding the Wendigo goodbye. And leaving the two men to converse.

~~~

After a quick elevator ride towards the top of Beacon's main tower, Patriot found himself in a massive room that span the entire top floor.

Taking a step into the office, the wendigo was immediately greeted by the glass floor below and the ceiling above, with several spinning gears all rotating at varying speeds, it took a second for him to regain his focus and move onto the middle of the room, with Ozpin calmly moving towards the other side behind a simple desk.

"A grand office for the headmaster of such an academy..." Patriot complimented as he eyed the window behind the headmaster, a clear view of the entirety of Beacon Academy, as well as Vale at the far distance.

"Too grand for my liking, but I can't just renovate a room some 600 meters above ground." Ozpin chuckled, interacting with the desk as light projections began to materialize between the both of them.

"I appreciate your generosity for inviting me to a tour of this academy before the meeting. If the full scholarship hadn't already sold me, this would have." Patriot chuckled as well, only to then eye one of the projections, seeing Yelena in a dark room, presumably a recorded video of her meeting last night, "But I presume this meeting isn't just about Yelena's admission..."

"Exactly." Ozpin nodded, with Patriot simply waving his hand, inviting the headmaster.

"Then go ask your question, Headmaster."

"Where did you get your shield?" Ozpin immediately asked, expanding an image of the wendigo carrying his shield.

"What? Why my shield specifically?"

"Mr. Patriot... I am to assume that you have no idea as to this world's history." Ozpin explained, with the wendigo simply nodding silently, "Very well then,"

At that moment, Ozpin's monitor expanded as he himself moved to the side of his desk.

"About 80 years ago, the four kingdoms of this world waged a war amongst themselves, the kingdoms of Mantle and Mistral on one side, and the kingdoms of Vacuo and Vale on the other. The war all started when the kingdom of Mistral chose to set their sights on the Sanus regions of Vale, a decisive move that started with the very first battle of the war."

"It was also through this that the first sightings of an insignia now known as the 'Warmongerer's Insignia' were spotted." Ozpin's monitor then revealed a familiar insignia, the insignia of Ursus.

"Headmaster, are you telling me that men of Terra had arrived here a long time ago?" It sounded surreal. The impossibility of such action weighed heavier than just the impossibility of both him and his daughter being transported here. And the probability that such men came from Ursus would have been staggeringly low.

Ozpin only nodded silently, continuing his explanation.

"As the years went throughout the war, rumours of the men under the warmonger's insignia spread across each theatre, men who cared not of Grimm attacks or surrendering, but just simple slaughter. These 'spectres' were ruthless in their actions, carrying weapons of mass destruction that were far too advanced for the simple swords and bows of that time. It was only during the climax of the war that the entirety of Remnant was shown the true capabilities of these mysterious men, in what would be called the 'Burning of Vacuo'."

A second image was all it took for the wendigo to suddenly rise from his seat, as a singular figure stood across a blackened field of sand and rust. Behind him, banners that flew the Ursus insignia were bloodied and red. The figure himself was anything but ordinary, with a black trenchcoat that melted into the dark sand, on his hand was a pure red sabre, the only colour in such a black-and-white photo. Instead of a head was a faceless helm connected with various tubes, each port leaking out a mist of black.

"It would appear that you know this figure-"

"опри́чник. Royal guard of Ursus. The Emperor's Blade!" The wendigo let out a low roar as anger built up within him, "What did it do?!"

Ozpin fell silent as he observed the sudden reaction of the wendigo in front of him, seemingly confirming his primary objective of meeting Budrokkas'tee.

"This, Emperor's Blade, led his entire army into the Capital city of Vacuo. By the time news of such an attack reached the ears of the other kingdoms, Vacuo turned from a lush tropical paradise into a burning sea of black flames, the ground reduced to ash, and the people... no more."

Patriot lowered his frame back onto his seat as he digested such info. Even in another world was such a monster capable of upsetting the world order.

"It was this action that led to the immediate end of the war, as all the four kingdoms set aside their differences to defeat the Emperor's Blade, taking a week of continuous battle to completely overwhelm the small army. It was only after the war when an investigation was launched into the Kingdom of Mistral that we learned that everything was orchestrated by that figure."

Ozpin paused, letting the thought sink into the war veteran, having fought the Royal Guards before. "It was only through testimonies of the less fanatical soldiers that we learned of the true intentions of the army-"

"To conquer the world under the flag of Ursus..." Patriot explained, only then realizing the true intention of Ozpin, "Headmaster, are you suggesting that I am also here to conquer these lands for the empire?"

"You bear the symbol on your shield. Though, you and your daughter had already shown your distaste for the figure. I am simply... fearful of your existence." An existence that resembled a demon of the past, a wildcard yet to leave its mark on this world's history. Even a man of many talents such as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy could not comprehend the dangers Patriot and Yelena would have on the world if left unchecked.

"I suppose I must testify my innocence, and in doing so explain who I really am." He sighed, with Ozpin simply nodding.

"Well, that, as well as what exactly is your world."

"Very well then, I will tell you of my world, but in return, you must not let this conversation fall upon anyone else's ears." Patriot warned, with Ozpin accepting the exchange.

"I am Budrokkas'tee, once a member of the Armoured Wendigo division of Ursus, I have long since abandoned my position, having seen the tragedies the empire had dealt. My species is neither Faunus or Human, but as a Sarkaz, a Wendigo..." Patriot began to explain the state of Terra, and what encompassed his world, or what he knows of.

"My world is like yours now, but it was cursed by an infection that began many wars. It was called Oripathy, a disease caused by a valuable mineral named Originium. It would crystallize a target's body while giving them extraordinary powers from within themselves, a rather cruel and slow death, and once you finally succumb to it, your body crystallizes over, before shattering and spreading the infection everywhere.

We, the infected, were segregated into camps and were targeted for what would happen to our corpses. Compared to this world, the rage towards the Faunus is rather laughable, when the people in my world died no matter what their fates were... their bodies destroyed, unable to even be buried properly, or burned in a pyre. I saw this completely upon the death of my son, Grrovae'zzeal, his head broken upon the curb of a street. And it was only then that I defected Ursus, leading a squad to free the infected from the abuse. And it was in one of these raids did I found her, Yelena."

He then explained the events that led to his death, from his first meeting with a white-haired Draco, then to her revealing her true colours, to finally the invasion of Chernobog, one of his biggest regrets... Although... He left out his true death from the narrative, simply 'dying in the midst of battle'.

The headmaster continued to listen, from the ruins of the demon country of Kazdel to the icy wastes of Northern Ursus, it was, however, what came next that he paid the most attention to, the organization that Patriot co-led, it made the White Fang look like a small group barking at something far larger.

Ozpin feared that such an organization could have also been transported into Remnant, no, he could only visualize the raw power of what was considered a small organization by Terra's standards could bring upon his own world...

It would bring ruins to all that stepped against its ideals...

Ozpin felt a stiffness in his chest as he gripped his cane with pressure. If this was just the Wendigo's side of the story, what other hidden dangers inhabited Terra? If such dangers as a singular Emperor's Blade were enough to almost bring down the balance of the world, could there have been a far worse entity that could've been drafted into Remnant?

Remnant was, and would never be ready for a second Emperor's Blade, what more dangers far exceeding the capabilities of a legendary warrior such as the Wendigo in front of him?

"I've heard of multi-world theories before... but this? This will shatter the scientific community... Arts? Oripathy? Reunion?" Ozpin muttered, with Patriot finishing his story.

"What are the chances of others like you arriving into this world?" He asked, with Patriot only shaking his head.

"I nor my daughter even knows how we even got here... for all we know, either no one else or the entirety of Terra could already be here by now. The men of Terra could be persecuted by your people, considering they all could be called 'Faunus' or even animals in the form of humans..." He added, "And would fuel the flames of chaos."

"Very well then... I will seek the aid of my colleagues for such a task. But in the meantime, let us return to Yelena's admission. There are documents to fill." The man quickly changed the subject as he simply shoved the impending task for a later date, pulling out a pile of papers with a pen.

"Ah, but before we do, may I ask for one thing?"

"Go on?"

"I've been in this world for about a week or so. I have no clue as to your world culture, or anything else. I or Yelena have no money in our name, and I don't believe I could be a full-time Huntsman."

"That... can be arranged."

~~~

The sound of a blade sharpening echoed throughout a warehouse, with each shrilling echo, members of the White Fang could only shudder, as if a predator stalked them from the shadows, taunting them for their lack of anything besides menial labour. Only, the predator did not hide in the shadows, and instead sat on a box quietly, one hand on a grindstone, the other on a massive blade.

"Gravestone! Hey! Man, you were just. So. Awesome back there!" A second, familiar voice broke through the silence as the criminal, Roman Torchwick, entered, eliciting

"C'mon, I know you're supposed to be overseeing this entire..." Roman hung on his last word as if forgetting what he was supposed to say next, noticing the masked figure looked at him, "White Fang expenditure. But please, you don't have to be so sucked up and serious about this all! 'Bout I treat you to some steak! You helped me after all."

SCHING

"You called me a dog." Roman widened his eyes as he suddenly felt the razor-sharp edges of the figure's blade graze his neck, "Is that all I am to you?"

"What?! No! No! You must've misheard what I said yesterday! T-that's all!" He quickly raised his hands, now completely under the control of Gravestone. He had dealt with other violent criminals before, mostly Dust Laundering, but the figure in front of him was far too different.

"After all, why would I? A mere criminal mastermind, insult the White Fang's second-in-command?"

Chapter 10: The Children Who Feign Huntsmen

Chapter Text

Yelena watched as a crowd of people boarded airships destined for Beacon, simply walking past those who bade their parents farewell, her father nowhere to be seen, as in his words: 'didn't want to cause a commotion.'

"Thanks to that headmaster, I have opened up a book store of my own, you have got nothing to worry about... Go." She remembered, now quietly walked towards the large airship that was going to transport her towards the academy, where her new life was going to start.

Using one of the benches found in the airship as a bed, she leaned herself on the glass where she saw the ship departing the city, suddenly overhearing a few girls chatting beside her and perked her ears, interested in whatever they were talking about... It was at least better than just simple sightseeing...

"I still can't believe it! My cute, itty-bitty sister is going to Beacon Academy! With me!" The blonde jumped, wrapping her arms around her blushing sister, Yang's much larger frame muffling whatever screams of embarrassment came out of Ruby.

"Please... stop..." The younger patted her sister's shoulder, Yang quickly backing off with a pout.

"Aww, but I'm so proud of you! Heck, dad's been crying this entire week!"

"I mean... he is seeing the two of us leave for Beacon, and it'll be lonely back there at Patches..."

"Crying out of joy that is!" Yang quickly corrected her sister, "Everyone in Beacon's gonna go CRAZY when they see you!"

"Really. Sis. It was nothing. I just attempted to take down a criminal, Glynda Goodwitch just happened to be nearby... y'know. Stuff..." Ruby sighed. Yang's treatment of Ruby literally went on for the past week, with her father, and basically everyone in Patches, also celebrating her early admission.

"Exactly! Picture it: 'A 15-year-old stops a ruthless criminal and his goons from ransacking some poor merchant's dust store.' Perfect headlines if you ask me! You will be the Bee's Knees!"

"I don't want to be the Bee's Knees, I just want normal knees!" Ruby's sudden sentence finally broke Yelena into a fit of laughter, catching the two girls's attention.

"Hey! Do you have a problem with our conversation?" Yang eyed Yelena with hostility, only for the latter to wave her hands.

"Nothing, nothing, but it is surprising to hear someone want to be normal, while still going to Beacon Academy." While it was also something Yelena wanted, she simply was going to Beacon for the information the academy was going to give her. It's a different case for a girl born and raised in the world of Remnant.

"Chalk it up to stage fright I guess. Anyways, seems like we came off on the wrong foot. What's your name?" Yang sighed as she waved away any form of hostility, Yelena's reasoning sounding reasonable to her.

"Yelena. And you two?"

"Yelena... Wait, aren't you the girl that big guy you met in the warehouse told you about?" Yang suddenly turned to Ruby, who had her eyes widened by the sight of Yelena. Of all the things the daughter of a man with massive stature like Mr. Patriot would have been, a beautiful rabbit faunus was not one of them.

"Ah, you must be Yang Xiao Long. My father told me about you..." Yelena then turned to face Ruby, "And your sister?"

"Nice to meet ya!" With a chuckle, Yang extended her arm, with the white rabbit simply accepted the blonde's handshake. Only, the latter gave out an immediate shudder as she instinctively pulled back her hand.

"Y-your hands. They're way too cold!" The blonde girl muttered, with Yelena simply shrugging as she chalked it up to her arts, or in their world, semblance.

"Anyways, I don't recall my father saying your sister would be joining Beacon." The girl rubbed her chin as she sized up Ruby. The crimsonette definitely looked too young, far less developed compared to her much larger sister's... features.

"Two years early! She's that cool! Aren't ya sis?"

"Yang..." Ruby sighed as she once more didn't want herself to stand out.

"Two years? That would mean you advanced in your school." Though Yelena had no prior knowledge of the educational system, her father did tell her the basics. And if Beacon Academy was supposed to be the final part of one's education to becoming huntsmen, there must have been other schools before.

"Yeah..." Ruby rubbed her shoulder as Yelena simply continued to observe her. She could clearly tell that there was a part of Ruby's mind that was uncertain of such a promotion, skipping two whole school years would also mean skipping 2 years of education, and in the context of Beacon, 2 years of combat training.

With how impressive of a feat Ruby had accomplished, Yelena was simply reminded of Reunion once more, where children fought alongside veterans and other adults for survival...

"And you have what it takes for this academy?" Yelena's question surprised the two sisters, never deviating from her neutral tone, it was a question that doubted Ozpin's judgement in the eyes of the sisters.

"I-"

"Of course, she could! Ozpin selected her, so she should be perfectly fine!" Yang simply answered back as she wrapped her arms around her sister, letting out a big smile towards Ruby, and instilling a sense of confidence towards the young girl.

"Very well then, this'll be an interesting year for the two of you." Yelena simply smiled back. If Yang was so confident of her little sister, then maybe Ruby was cut out for such a task.

"You too!" Yang waved as the two decided to roam around the airship a little more, unsure as what else to do on the ride. Only, their next encounter would only happen a mere minute later, as a familiar figure stands in their way.

Yang's eyes widened as she took a better look at the figure in front of her.

"Free?!" Yang jumped backwards as the boy she had met back at the bar simply waved. Besides his tied-up silver hair, everything about him was vastly different, as he was wearing a sleeveless faded-grey trench coat as well as a pair of denim pants that hid a set of sandals. His exposed prosthetic arms were far larger than a civilian-graded pair, defining his arms with a more mechanic appearance than the biological look of a civilian-tailored prosthetic arm.

"So this is the guy that got hit by a bus..." Ruby narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. With Yang's wording, it sounded as if Free was an antagonist, starting a brawl out of nowhere.

"And who would this little silver-eyed warrior be?" Playing into Ruby's somewhat hostile tone, Free flashed a Cheshire smile as he leaned forward while speaking in a cutesy tone, making use of his far taller frame to 'intimidate' the younger girl while calling her as if she was a mere child playing pretend.

"My young sister," Yang simply stepped between the two, with Free taking a step back in surprise.

"You two? Sisters? You-"

"Different mothers."

"Oh... I see... Well, your parents would be proud seeing you two here." His tone suddenly shifted at what Yang implied, "Though, she still does look a little too young to be here..."

"Ozpin saw how badass she was and pulled her from Patches." Yang immediately returned to her upbeat tone as she playfully rubbed Ruby's head, inciting a sigh from the younger girl, with Free raising both his brows in marvel, applauding lightly.

"Woah, that's pretty cool..."

"Yeah yeah... I am cool..." Ruby played off the two's hype as a blonde figure suddenly shoved past her, eliciting a deathly glare between the two older figures.

"Watch it!" Yang growled as she watched the figure clumsily trip, as if grazing the younger girl was enough to bring him off balance.

"S-sorry... just a bit-" The figure choked, with the three getting a better look of the boy as he wore a rather medieval set of armour over his casual wear, with a sword on his hip and nothing more.

"You good man?-oh!" In an instant, the boy threw up to the floor, with Free jumping backwards like a cat and catching the attention of the surrounding people.

"Guess rides like these aren't for everyone..." Yang sighed as the three covered their face with a hand, Ruby returning her view back outside as the view of Beacon grew ever larger...

~~~

Yelena's jaw dropped as the ramparts were lowered down, the view of Beacon being as what her father had said, if not even grander than any narrative could write.

However, her awe was quickly dashed as a sudden shove forces the girl to the ground, scraping her hands on the stone floor. Yelena hissed with pain as she quickly looked up to catch the perpetrator and three other boys around him. While two were laughing alongside the perpetrator, the third, a blue haired boy, was merely glancing away, as if he did not want to associate himself with the others.

"Watch it, animal!" The taller boy sneered as he looked down at Yelena. The shove was on purpose, it had the force of the boy's entire body thrown onto her, like he was telling her that it was, indeed, on purpose, and yet she could do nothing about it. But, she could.

"So this also corrupts such an academy." The girl merely mutters, catching the attention of the boy and his gang as she stood up.

"What was that?" The boy turned as he raised a brow, his attention caught by the mere comment.

"Cardin, ignore it, there's a lot of people here." The blue haired boy quickly protested as he rested his hand on the larger boy's shoulder, clearly having far more awareness of the situation than his leader or the other two members.

"f*ck off merc, I ain't having some rabbit talk back to me." Cardin simply shrugged off the boy's hand, clearly not on the same position as Cardin and the other two.

"You should listen to your friend there, I could have sworn needlessly attacking an unarmed girl in public was something seen as savage, or-animalistic." Her finger flexed as the air around her grew cold, waiting for the bully to strike first after seeing that her taunts were effective. She was sure she could take him on, after all, she had seen far worse-

"Back off!" A figure suddenly jumped in between the two, pulling out a transforming shield and a blade. Neither the bullies or Yelena had expected something like this to occur, and while she could have simply fended off the four by herself, Yelena simply opted to watch, observing the boy in front of her to grasp the 'level' of skill needed for Beacon Academy.

It was also then that she had noticed the vague familiarity of her 'knight in shining armour', having seen him in the airship.

"Aren't you the guy who vomited earlier?" Yelena raised a brow as she also remembered watching a far larger guy running in disgust with vomit on his boots.

~

Jaune felt his entire throat burning as the airship landed, managing to lose the crowd of onlookers by running head-first down the ramparts. The physical disgust he saw amongst the crowd was like a sledgehammer driven through his chest, but the worst looks came from the man closest to him.

With just mere looks alone, the man was almost comparable to the demonic-looking faunus back at the restaurant a week ago. Towering, dangerous, and somewhat monstrous with the prosthetic arms. Yet it wasn't his looks that frightened Jaune, but what he did to the man.

Hethrew upon the man's sandals. Such action, he knew, was essentially targeting himself as the enemy. And that man was probably going to attend Beacon as well!

It wasn't even his first day in Beacon and he's already making enemies...

"What was that?" A sudden hostile voice alerts him, his eyes widening as he recognises one of the two figures in the commotion. It was the white rabbit lady from the restaurant, the one who was talking to that massive faunus.

'Guess even she can't escape being a Faunus...' Jaune thought as he quickly pulled out his sword and shield. He did not think about the strength of the two figures he was approaching, and neither did he prepare one bit for such a confrontation. To him, it was simply a 'damsel in distress'.

"Back off!" He quickly slid between the two just before the larger boy was within arm's length of her, his shield raised just like in the movies he had watched. Only, it was then that the harsh realness of the situation hit him.

The bully was large, maybe not as large as the Faunus he saw a week back, but large nonetheless.

"Aren't you the guy who vomited earlier?"

"Are you okay?" Ignoring the girl's comment of earlier's embarrassment, Jaune simply played the hero.

"Do you know who he is?" One of the bully's goons snickered, his tone seemingly disappointed that Jaune had no idea who he was dealing with. "He's Cardin Winchester, heir to the Winchester Shipping Co. And he'll f*ck you up!"

"Russel, shut the f*ck up." The boy in blue suddenly grabbed the speaker and flashed him an irritated look before turning to face Cardin, "I said let's go Cardin.Youcan deal with this guy later, it ain't worth getting in trouble on day one."

"Shut it Sky! I did not hire you to be our nanny." Cardin raised his voice as he violently shoved the blue haired boy backwards, not enough to break his balance, but enough to actually silence him. Returning to face Jaune, Cardin let out a grin, "And what are you going to do? Protect this poor 'widdle animal?"

"Shut up!"

~

"Try me." Cardin simply smiled as Jaune made the first attack, raising his blade up high as he charged towards his opponent, who could only snicker as the bigger of the two simply dodged the attack, leaving Jaune to swing at nothing but the air.

"Is this your knight in shining armour?" Cardin taunted as he turned to face Yelena, dodging more and more of Jaune's attempts to hit him. Yelena herself had to agree with Cardin with that statement as she watched Jaune's attempted swings, looking more like a child mindlessly flailing a stick, using the weight of his blade instead of his own arm strength to swing it.

"Go on." Cardin laughed, widening his arms as he continued to dodge effortlessly. Even when his opponent wasn't attacking, the added layer of Cardin's gang laughing and a crowd gathering to watch the fight seemingly proved a devastating attack against Jaune. With each second the fight continued, the more Jaune's chest tightened, his head heating up as thoughts scrambled around like a vortex of water.

Hereallyhad no idea how to fight, simply taking each move from the movies he had watched as a child, there was no form of composure, a sense of urgency, or even the thought to guard after every attack. He simply was fueled by his need to cut down the bully in front of him, slightly ignoring his body burning from exertion.

"Well, workout's done, time to end this." Cardin yawned as he finally made a move by swatting away Jaune's sword with a backhand. In a flash, the larger bashed his shoulder onto Jaune's attempted defence with his shield, bringing Jaune crashing to the ground.

"Three cheers for Cardin!" One of his goons roared out, with the crowd following suit as the spectacle of such a fight entertained them far more than learning the actual context. Like a gladiator receiving his praise, Cardin raised both hands, his eyes on everyone, then back to his opponent.

"What?" Cardin grimaced as he eyed Jaune once more. The boy still had his shield up, seemingly still bracing for an attack that would never come. And most importantly, had backed up to just in front of where Yelena was standing at. Behind the plated steel shield, he was terrified, unsure as how to escape his dire situation.

"Just like a turtle huh?" Cardin sneered as he pulled out a mace from his waist, "Let's see how many strikes it'll take to break that shell of yours!" Cardin roared as he raised his weapon upwards-

The crowd's noise lowered to silence as each one felt the atmosphere suddenly change. The temperature had gone down substantially due to Yelena activating her arts, yet their eyes weren't on her, but on someone else. Yelena herself watched in silence as she quickly recalled her arts, supposedly using it to guard the fallen Jaune from Cardin's strikes, she watched as the bigger boy froze in place, or more specifically, his weapon.

"Wha-"

"I believe this fight is over." A sudden voice catches the four bullies off guard as they failed to catch a new figure behind them, with only the voice announcing its presence finally bringing the three others to turn, noticing a palm lightly grasping the mace's head, Cardin overpowered by a girl in red now standing behind him.

"P-Pyrrha N-Nykos..." Russel stuttered as Cardin widened his eyes, the name causing him to spin around in shock and take a step back, releasing his own grip from his weapon.

"Tsk. You shouldn't be interfering with a fight, Ms. Untouchable." Trying to save face, the boy simply replied back, his face grimacing at the sight of the lone girl standing confidently against the four.

"You'll have your fights later on, but it's a bit too... uncivilized, for fights to break out so suddenly. It's what animals would do," Pyrrha grinned as she eyed Cardin with mockery, uncaring of the other three boys around her, knowing well they were mere specks of dirt attached to her clothes. "And you wouldn't be ananimallike her? Aren't you? Prince Winchester?"

Yelena choked out a chuckle at the redhead's mocking tone. It was a sigh of relief to find someone who did not hate on the Faunus, as well as someone with the strength to back up her stance.

Jaune on the other hand, was shaking, having experienced his very first battle, it was evident that the figures around him were on a level far beyond his scope. If someone like Cardin was easily bested by Pyrrha Nykos, and the white rabbit (now that he had the time to notice), seemingly unconcern about Cardin's hostility, what did he look like to them? Was he merely a boy running in the 'guise of a student huntsman? What about the people watching? Was he a fool that bit off more than he could chew?

No. He needed to be bigger, unless his cover would be blown immediately. Quickly returning to his feet, he unsheathes his blade and shield, acting as if the damaging blows he had sustained from Cardin did not affect him at all.

"N-no." Cardin could only stutter as Pyrrha smiled, carelessly tossing his mace a few inches in front of him, with the ground slightly

"Welcome to Beacon." The girl smiled as she turned to leave, shoving past two of Cardin's goons blocking her way, while Sky nodded respectfully towards the girl, as if having wished she had came sooner.

"Well that was fun..." Yelena simply nodded as she watched Cardin rise up and pick up his mace, the four then leaving as he glared back towards Jaune. A cliche 'I'll be back' sight, though it proved effective on the blonde boy, who simply froze in the impending doom to come...

"You good?" Yelena then turned to face Jaune, who seemed far worse up close.

"Yeah... You?" Jaune once more tried to play the tough man, though, any facade of that was simply gone to Yelena, viewing the boy as someone who really should not be here.

"I'm fine-"

BOOM!

~~~

Ruby salivated as she eyed the approaching influx of people from the other airships, mainly glued onto their waists and backs, her jaw widening with each passing step.

"You good Rube's?" Yang eyed the younger with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. The two had separated from Free during the ship's landing as a splatter of the blonde boy's vomit landed on his boots, and he was now in search of some bathroom to watch off the stains.

"Y-yeah. It's just,gah, these weapons! They all look so cool!"

"Hehe... I can never get tired of you gushing over some strangers' weapons..." Yang simply sighed as Ruby turned her sights on her sister, somewhat offended by her remark, "I mean, can't you just swoon over Crescent Rose?"

"I do like Crescent Rose, it's just that... weapons are an extension of ourselves, they physically describe who we are! That's why they're so cool. And it's like meeting new people, but better."

"C'mon sis, you can gush about weapons anytime later, why not go meet some new friends today? It's the start of your year here in Beacon after all!"

"But... I already have you, that should be enough." Ruby chuckled, as if such a statement was a fact to her. Only, the next moment she rested her sights on Yang, she found her sister mingling with her friends from Patches.

"Actually... my friends and I were planning stuff before we arrived a Beacon! See ya good luck!" In a flash, Yang was off towards the main building, leaving Ruby speechless in the courtyard.

"Wait! Where are you going!" Ruby tried to reach out, only for her voice to be drowned out by another wave of students.

It was ironic. She was living her best dream, taking a step forward into becoming a huntress. And yet, surrounded by this sea of people... she was lonely. She was reminded of her two-year advancement from Signal Academy, having left her childhood friends she spent her life with. It was at this moment that she reminded herself, she was nothing more than a child playing pretend.

'What if Headmaster Ozpin was wrong? What if I'm not cut out for this? Do I just leave? Waste whatever time I have here and return to Signal as a failure?' The world around her quieted down as she stopped herself from crying. 'I'm not a child. I don't cry.'

PAP!

Ruby's thoughts were immediately interrupted as something heavy 'lightly' slammed against her back, causing the young girl to fall forward, landing on the hard cobblestone path.

"Ow!" The girl grunted as a hint of pain coursed through her body. Though aura could dampen the damage on one's body, it was different if the case was one's entire body striking the ground.

"You dolt! Look what you've done!" The harsh words hit Ruby like a whip, so sudden that the young girl nearly fell down once more.

"S-sorry!"

"No, you are not sorry. Do you not see what kind of damage you could have done here?" The girl continued to hammer her sharp tone through Ruby as the young girl finally noticed what she was referring to, as on the floor was one of the luggages, now open, revealing several cannisters of dust. And on the top case of another luggage was a name tag: "Weiss Schnee"

"Are you brain dead? How could you not see a big trolley coming straight towards you?"

"Look, I'm sorry, how about I help you-ouch!" Ruby's attempted help featured her reaching her hands towards the open luggage, trying to close it back shut, only for Weiss to slap her hand away.

"What do you think you are doing?! Do you even know what this is?" Weiss raised a canister of red dust in front of Ruby, "This is dust, D-U-S-T, dust."

"Uhhhh..." Ruby, rather surprised by her harsh tone, had nothing to say.

"What are you? Braindead?" Weiss sighed in disappointment, "The thing that powers everything."

The girl then began to trail off with several examples, each time shaking the canister for some added effect, only, the canister she had retrieved was damaged, and was also leaking.

"I-know..." Ruby tried to stop Weiss as the leaking dust began to form a cloud of red, only growing bigger with each-

"Achoo!" Ruby could not hold it.

BOOM!

The cloud of unstable dust exploded right between the two, sending an echoing crack of thunder across the entire courtyard and disrupting whatever peace and excitement flowed through the area's atmosphere.

The first to the scene were Jaune and Yelena, somewhat closest to the explosion.

"What happened here?" Jaune widened his eyes as he eyed the mess the cloud of dust had made, with both girls having fallen over from the force of the explanation.

"Some dolt blew up my dust!" Weiss suddenly paused as she eyed the white rabbit, who also froze as the two recognized each other.

"Y-your that girl-"

"From the bank." Yelena finished Weiss's question, Ruby and Jaune widening their eyes in surprise.

"You two know each other?" Ruby asked, surprised by the interaction.

"Somewhat, no." Both girls shook their head as Jaune pulled the crimsonette up, with Yelena helping up the girl in white.

"We just met a week ago, she helped me make a bank account." Yelena, being as straightforward as possible, explained.

"Enough of this, why exactly are YOU here anyways? You look a bit too young to be attending Beacon." Weiss simply returned her focus on Ruby, taking a step forward as she pointed directly towards the girl's face.

"Well... she is two years younger than most people here..." Yelena answered, only to realize Ruby waving her off, as if not wanting that fact to be known.

"Well how about that. You ARE two years too young. This isn't some fantasy school of magic and rainbows you know. Do you know where you are?"

"Of course I do! Heck, maybe I'm better than you for coming to Beacon many years younger than you!" Ruby retorted back, making use of her early admission as her only weapon.

"What?! Two isn't a lot."

"One is singular, two is plural. Princess." The young girl smirked as she watched Weiss's face turn a slight shade of red, visibly annoyed by a fact she could not overcome.

"Actually, she is a heiress..." A sudden new voice enters the conversation, with the four turning to find a girl in black holding one of Weiss's dust cannisters, "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Corp. One of the largest producers and exporters of dust.

"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss threw her arms up victoriously, yet the girl simply continued.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and highly questionable business practices." Tossing the cannister back to Weiss, the black-haired girl then looked at Yelena, who was still rather confused about the entire situation, then back to the now surprised Weiss.

"Wh-what?! How dare- The nerve of... Ugh!" Weiss stormed off with her luggages in tow, leaving the four alone.

"I'm surprised she helped you with that bank account thing." The girl in black commented as she took a closer step towards Yelena, "But I guess you repaid that by helping her up."

"What?" Yelena simply asked in confusion, only agitated the girl even further as she tried to explain, only to stammer and quickly stop, finding a much shorter way to explain.

"You are a Faunus, and her company mistreated the Faunus, do you not hate her?" She said, with Ruby awkwardly shifting her shoes and fidgeting her hands, Yelena regretted not browsing the news on her scroll, as while both she and her father knew the basic common sense of this world, they did not know the major events happening around...

"Let's just say I'm not completely up to date with the news... Maybe I could take some revenge when I find out what's happening." Yelena shrugged, pulling away Jaune and Ruby away from the girl in black.

She was already sick and tired of the Faunus situation happening in this world, and simply wished to move forward.

"Where to now Yelena?" After an awkward silence that lasted a few minutes, Ruby simply asked, both still being dragged by the white rabbit.

"To where we are supposed to b-" As Yelena was about to finish answering her question, she came to the realization that she was just walking around in circles.

"Also, aren't you Vomit Boy?" The young girl finally acknowledged Jaune's existance.

"Actually... my name is Jaune... Jaune Arc. And you?"

"Ruby Rose." Jaune then turned to face Yelena, with the girl realizing that the two had yet to exchange their names.

"Yelena..." The two waited for something else as they stared at Yelena, who was confused once more, it was Ruby who asked.

"Just Yelena?" She asked, with the rabbit nodding, Jaune shrugged as another awkward silence fell upon them, the sound of footsteps just passing by them, it took another minute as Ruby finally opened up with a topic.

"So... I got this!" Ruby said, grabbing what looked to be a red board, the other two looked at each other, only for the sound of gears turning to catch their attention once more, the box folded and unfolded until it formed a scythe far larger than herself.

"A... scythe?" Yelena asked, only thinking of the farming equipment, it was Jaune who dropped his jaws in amazement.

"A scythe?! That's so cool!" The face of the boy made Yelena think of a starving puppy being fed a bone, chuckling at the thought.

"It can also turn into a heavy bolt action sniper rifle!" Jaune's smile dropped in disbelief.

"A wha-?" He asked, with Yelena looking intently at what magic Ruby would do next with her weapon, but all she did was pull down what looked like a bolt handle, and the sound of clicking was heard.

"It is also a gun." Ruby's simplification of her statement was met with plain silence, as if the two were supposed to agree that it was also a gun. Knowing it was his turn to show off his kit, Jaune plainly raised a sword.

"I've got a sword!" There was a brief pause as the two waited for something insane like Ruby's scythe, which had already folded back into a red board, the two continued staring at the blade.

"Ummm, what does it do?" Ruby asked, probably thinking it had a gun compartment in it, Jaune only shook his head as he grabbed hold of his scabbard.

"This can also become a shield, I guess?" He said as the scabbard expanded into a shield. Yet, as polite as Ruby was, she could only sigh,

"That's it?" She asked, with Jaune silently nodding, she apologized for the rude comment as she explained.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing Crescent Rose, thinking everyone else would have their own Crescent Rose." both Jaune and Yelena widened their eyes as they looked at the fidgety child.

"You, made that? Incredible..." Yelena said as she recalled her days in her father's guerrilla unit, each warrior always had to scrounge for any piece of metal they could find for repairs on their equipment, while some just used wooden pikes when they had no choice.

"Well... everyone in my school had to forge their own weapons... Didn't you forge your own?" Ruby asked, also now assuming everyone was a forge master like her, with Jaune shaking his head.

"Mine's is a hand-me-down... How about your weapon Yelena?" Jaune asked, with Yelena simply pulling out a plain hunting dagger.

"It's... a dagger?" Ruby asked, with the rabbit nodding, she explained.

"It's simply just a dagger, no guns, no machines, just a simple survival dagger for the outdoors..." In the cold northern Ursus, survival was all that mattered, even with her immunity to the cold, she still needed to eat. Sometimes she ate the grass that dotted the place, sometimes she had to gut open any animal she came across...

"But... How will you fight against the Grimm?" Ruby asked, looking at her in confusion.

"Oh, I just use my arts-semblance to take them out. My father always trained my semblance as we always hunted the Grimm in our place." Yelena lied, or at most, twisted her facts, as while she and her father did go out hunting most of the time, the creatures were far worse, or were men...

The two others, on the other hand, could only shudder at the sight of the massive Wendigo, and wondered what Yelena's training would have been.

"But... Don't you get tired? Like, when using your semblance?" She asked, closing her distance to the rabbit, only for the sound of bells to begin ringing, snapping them out of their conversation as they noticed the road being empty.

"Hey! Aren't we supposed to be somewhere?" Yelena was the first to move, with the two running behind her.

"Aww shucks, do you know the way around here?" Jaune asked, with Ruby butting in.

"There should be signs for us to follow at least!" She said as they dashed the auditorium, where they were supposed to go to...

Chapter 11: A Silent Night

Chapter Text

(Note: This is a remake, readers who have read the next few chapters, please do not spoil anything or comment anything related to the next chapters.)

"Traitor... I- I can't believe you, Blake."

"Have you seen his true face? The scar that permanently burned on him? Can you tell whose mark was burned onto him?"

"How... dare you condemn us. Was it your father's words influencing you?"

"Living a sheltered life as a princess, wanting to be like us... only to scream at the first sight of blood!"

"Even when you barely touched the surface of human evil, you call us the devils?"

"I won't stop you. But if you leave now- Everybody will hate you. Humans. And Faunus."

"You can never live with the humans... after all, you can run away, but you can never escape who you truly are."

"Blake? Blake! Answer me! What did he do?! Why are you running away!"

"You. Hypocrite."

"Why not kill yourself? You sorry excuse of a Faunus."

"Die."

"Coward."

"Disgrace!"

"I'm sorry Blake, but this is truly who I am."

~

Blake awoke in a coughing fit as she reached out for Gambol Shroud, head spinning as she rapidly scanned her surroundings as-

Nothing. She did not have Gambol Shroud, neither was she ever in trouble. She was in Beacon's dining hall, refurnished into a massive sleeping quarter to accommodate the new batch of students. Around her, students rested on thin mattresses provided by the academy, but not her, as she was instead resting by the wall, sitting on the cold, marble floor as if it were the softest bed imaginable. And unlike everyone, who wore some form of sleepwear, Blake was still in her usual clothes.

"No one is trying to kill you..." Blake whispered as a single tear trickled down her cheek, disappearing into the fabric of her clothes. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she sighed as the clock on the wall barely turned eleven, it had only been an hour since she fell asleep, and now she was unable to return to her slumber.

Nevertheless, she was always prepared, with a small pouch by her side, she carefully unzipped the mouth, making sure not to alert anyone to her presence. In it was a small handbook of her favourite novel, Ninjas of Love, and a bottle of almost empty sleeping pills, a daily ritual she took to be able to sleep, and in some cases, taken more than once a day.

Both items, alongside her weapon, were the only things that gave her some semblance of comfort. Security, escapism, and relief. Without either one, she wasn't sure if she could get through a day without breaking.

Yet, every time she held onto the small pills that were able to knock her out quickly, there was always *that* hesitation to take it in. As if everything she was doing was all wrong- that she should not even be here.

The thought linger as her eyes lazily eyed the drugs on her palm.

'Would you like to take it?'

'Do you want to sleep?'

The voices in her thoughts drifted as the strength in her hand gave in, the girl sighing as her hand fell to her lap. The irony that she depended on such a pill, yet disagreed with it baffled her. She had repeatedly taken it, why was she always so hesitant?!

'Blake.'

A voice shook her upright as she got on her knees, her senses on high alert as she clearly heard a friend call her name.

No one. Once more was her mind playing tricks on her, no one in this room recognized her for who she was, no one to call her out for her own hypocrisy.

Returning her back against the wall, the girl raised her hand once more, eyeing the pills still in her hand. And with a deep breath, she closed her eyes... and took the medication in one gulp.

It did not take long for the effects to settle in as her chest loosened, feeling each inhale of her lungs in action, her mind unclogging from whatever memories her mind forced herself to replay. This was the calm she always needed. But- It was not enough to get her to sleep.

She needed a higher dose.

Blake sighed as she could feel her throat begin to dry. Grimacing at the need to leave her already comfortable position, she rose from her place. Body loosened from the effects of the current dose of sleeping pills, she lumbered her way to the water dispenser, catching the attention of some of the students. After all, she was still in her outside wear compared to others.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Before she realized it, she had already downed her 6th cup of water, her arm slumped on the upside-down gallon of water feeding into the waist-height dispenser as if she owned the publicly-used machine. To be fair to the girl, there was no one else going for the water dispenser, and she was also rather tempted to just drop dead then and there, letting the effects of the pills finally put her to rest.

Though, her mind still fought the urge to sleep. 'Find a better place to sleep. You're *at least* better than this.'

Blake sighed at the thought. She indeed needed to find some other place to rest, though looking back at her original spot, there was already someone else who had taken the spot.

Scanning the room for a suitable location, which was primarily a place devoid of people, Blake widened her eyes as her gaze landed on a familiar someone.

It was that rabbit faunus she had encountered earlier that day, slumped in a similar position to her, without a mattress or blanket provided by the academy, the girl's gaze glued to her scroll. Deciding there was no other option left, Blake used her remaining energy to make her way towards the girl, feeling each, weighty, step of hers on the cold marble floor of the hall.

~

"Can I sit here?" Blake made her presence known as Yelena turned to face the girl's direction. With a nod, the girl let out an exhale, dropping to the ground like a puppet without any strings attached.

"You... you can't sleep?" Blake sighed, attempting to strike up a conversation with Yelena.

"In a while. But it seems like you can't sleep yourself." Yelena replied back, pocketing her scroll as she turned her focus on the girl. It was evident of Blake's hesitation to sleep, the bags under her eyes was one thing, but her hoarse breathing and unstable wobble of her upper body like a drunkard was far more telling.

"It's... fine." Blake tipped her head, realizing that the two had yet to exchange their names,"Blake... The name's Blake..."

"Yelena." The girl nodded as silence fell between them. It was clear to Blake that Yelena was only entertaining her words, uninterested with speaking at the moment... Yet-

She needed to ask something.

"How... were you treated? As a Faunus..." Blake could not help but ask, with Yelena sighing at the question once more.

"This again?"

"No- It's just that- I-" Blake stammered as her mind could barely form any words, tiredness enveloping her. Yet before she could give out a reason, the rabbit merely answered, uncaring of Blake's reasoning.

"Badly. But that's all in the past now." Yelena spoke as she scanned Blake's actions, speaking from experience alone, though not as a Faunus, but as an infected. But it seemed like the girl didn't mind Blake mistook every word Yelena spoke as being treated like a Faunus.

"I spent most of my life fighting for the rights of the people, almost in a similar way to *this* White Fang organization... At first it was just my father and his men that roamed the country, but as more support grew for the group-" Yelena stopped herself as her chest tightened, remembering all the lives lost in the futility of it all, "It collapsed upon itself."

"Almost like the White Skull..."

"What?" Yelena's ears twitched as she barely caught on to Blake's words, though the moment she rested her eyes on the girl, Blake was already asleep, having taken another dose of sleeping pills, with an empty bottle on her resting hands.

Yelena sighed as she watched the girl sleep, pushing away the girl's words as nothing more than the words of a sleep drunk, instead prioritizing another thing entirely.

Blake wasn't like her, well adjusted to the cold, and even if aura were to provide some form of temperature stabilization, the girl still needed it. Without a pause, the rabbit rose to the ground and made her way to the stack of blankets, intending to cover the girl in the warmth she unknowingly needed.

Whatever pain Blake held underneath her facade... Yelena felt a strange familiarity to it.

Chapter 12: Stories

Chapter Text

Yelena woke up early that dawn with Blake sleeping beside her. There barely was any light seeping through the huge curtains that covered equally huge windows, and from the looks of it, nobody else seemed awake at that moment, some resting in groups, while others, just like her, sleeping alone by the sidelines.

For would-be huntsmen, which she still compared to mercenaries, it was surprising that they weren't awake by this time. She recalled the many times her father had to wake her up in the middle of the night, following him and his squad of shieldmen as their locations would be discovered by the Ursine military. Then again, her original world was far different than where she was right now, and it seemed like this was simply a moment of respite before the trials to come.

Having no thoughts on returning to her slumber, Yelena quietly stood, once more scanning the room from a higher elevation. She could see the two sisters, Yang and Ruby, in a somewhat tight embrace, with Jaune... who had fallen off his mattress. Yet, aside from the few whom she had already met, there were some other details that she had noticed. Quiet a few mattresses remained empty, their blankets either left messy, or neatly folded.

It was evident that there were others who had awakened before her, and idea that brought the image of a diligent mercenary back into her mind.

Walking out of the room and outside, she felt the cool morning winds graze upon her, the silence reminding her of the cold nights she had around a campfire, and surrounding her where her father's men silently worked on their tasks. Soon enough, however, the peace of her loneliness was quickly dashed as she eyed a figure in the distance, sitting still as she held a pen on one hand, and a book on another.

It was the girl that saved Jaune from yesterday, having retained her red nightgown, she was completely invested in the pocketbook by her hand, writing on it.

"Ah, hello!" Before Yelena could contemplate leaving the girl alone, the latter noticed the white rabbit's presence and beckoned her to come closer.

"I'm surprised there are others who are awake by this time." Yelena simply commented as she stood beside the girl in red.

"I used to wake up early to do my morning exercises. Though I doubt I could while wearing these. And you?"

"I simply wake up early." Yelena nodded as she turned to view the sun rising at the horizon, the sky turning from darkness to a hint of greyish blue.

"Thanks for saving Jaune yesterday. Though you kinda stole my thunder by doing so..." Yelena joked, with the girl simply chuckling at the remark.

"If you wanted to save him, maybe you should have stopped Cardin beforehand?" The girl simply followed up, not annoyed by Yelena's choice to not interfere, but more out of curiosity.

"I simply wanted to see the cards he would lay down, and why he bothered to 'save' me in the first place..." The girl explained, with the others nodding in partial agreement.

"But that was still a bad idea leaving him like that."

"Frankly speaking, I thought Beacon was meant for the likes of you and Cardin, in terms of skill, he... barely was able to wield his sword." Yelena was right. No matter the wrong she had done by not helping the boy, all the blame rested on his actions, or, the lack of it.

"Each of us has our own story to tell. While that Jaune fellow does lack the skill, he still is here, meaning Headmaster Ozpin let him in, or some other member of the faculty. There are other ways to enter after all."

"I guess so..." The girl's words reminded Yelena back to her talk with Ozpin, how, by all means, she should not be here, but is. Maybe Ozpin indeed had some plans for a boy like Jaune, but for now, Yelena would just have to wait.

"I'm Yelena by the way." Yelena suddenly said, realizing that the two had yet to exchange names.

"Pyrrha Nykos." Pyrrha smiled, though taking note of Yelena's lack of family name.

"What do you have there?" The rabbit asked, unsure as to what she was looking at on her pocketbook.

"It's merely some drawing practice. I recently got into sketching after a friend of mine showed me his works." Pyrrha explained, handing Yelena her pocketbook. The sketches the girl explained, were somewhat crude, a piece of evidence of her novice experience. Though, for what experience Pyrrha had with drawing, Yelena could see the details for each figure as she flipped through her sketches.

"These look cool."

"I wanted to try exercising my skills by drawing fairy tale characters, the ones only described by words," As if she had eyes on her sketchbook, Pyrrha then pointed out the many characters Yelena landed on. Yet, the rabbit quickly stopped her as she took a seat beside the girl.

"Forgive me for not knowing, but can you also explain these fairy tales?" Her question raised an eyebrow from Pyrrha. To not know any Fairy tale is like not having a childhood, everyone knows these fairy tales. Unless-

"Very well then..." Pyrrha simply swatted away the thought as she accepted Yelena's request, leaning over to get a better view of each character Yelena was eyeing.

The first set were two characters taking up both pages of the book. One was a rather well-built man wearing a workman's attire and an axe slung on his shoulder, while the other was a scrawny man with a piece of paper.

"These two are from the Tale of Two Brothers, or, how this world came to be." Yelena widened her eyes from the thought, "The first is the God of Creation. Earnest in his work, he created and founded everything, helping us humans through his inventions. The latter is the God of Destruction. Though lacking the strength his elder brother had, he manipulated the world from behind, causing untold destruction, eventually creating the Grimm, the worst parody of his older brother's 'creation'.".

Yelena then flipped over to another page, being greeted by yet another set of two figures. However, these two characters had the attributes of birds, black birds from what Yelena could tell, with one looking far larger than the other.

"The Lying Raven and the Honest Crow. While the Raven was far stronger in any physical attributes, she was nothing more than a coward who simply chose to boast her strength, running when a fight gets too dire. The Crow, on the other hand, knew his strength and chose his fights in which he could probably win. It was a story to not bite more than what you can chew."

The next page had four figures instead of two. Each one of varying ages, starting with a young girl wearing a flower crown, an excited teen wearing overalls and a straw hat, a noblewoman wearing a trench coat, and an elderly woman hunched over her cane.

"The four maidens, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They met an old wizard by the forest, his cottage undone, his garden unkept, and his surroundings rotted and abandoned by the wizard's lack of action.

Winter, the oldest of the four, chose to sit beside the old man to keep him company, entertaining him as both shared their wisdom to each other.

Autumn chose to tend to the trees, and while it looked like nothing had changed, the trees would grow new leaves in the upcoming year.

Summer helped restore the old man's house, in time for a massive storm to hit as the five gathered around to tell each party a story of their own.

And finally Spring, the youngest and most energetic of the four, simply played on the man's garden, pulling out weeds and tilling the dirt, and eventually, life grew once more on his lawn.

It was a story of eventual change, no matter how little the wizard cared for his surroundings at the beginning of the story. No matter how much power he had, there would always be change."

Yelena stopped as she felt the hard leather cover of the book, realizing that she had arrived at the very first page of the pocketbook, the art drastically different to the other sketches as it took a while for Yelena to digest the mess of details of the four characters drawn. While the four maidens showed four characters of varying ages, these four were each vastly different from the other:

One was a regal man who had a crown on his head, his clothes akin to kings in books and a walking cane in his hand.

Another was a girl who carried a bident, with her eyes specifically coloured in a shade of silver and a lamp on her waist as she stood proudly.

The third was a taller figure compared to the three, who carried a large broadsword almost the size of the first, with a joyous smile drawn compared to the faceless features of the rest.

And finally was another girl, this time dressed in a velvety robe, with a tent-like hat and a staff timidly held with both her hands.

"It seems like you took more than words from a book with these four..." The four were a stark contrast compared to the rest of Pyrrha's drawings, each one

"Yeah... these four aren't exactly fairy tales. They're heroes from the Great War, the founders of the huntsmen academies. Team ORGN." Yelena winced as she was reminded of Ozpin's words about the Great War. How an Emperor's Blade instigated the entire conflict and how a part of Remnant is essentially a wasteland on life support as a result. However, she was curious as to what the public thought of the Great War, as they simply saw the Emperor's Blade as a massive Grimm far more powerful than the rest.

"Ozymandias the great, Ricka the brave, Gulliver the strong, and Nessa the wise. These four were well-known throughout the kingdoms for their braveries in fighting against the injustice the forces of Mantle and Mistral brought, as well as the Grimm that followed soon after. Their efforts were all recorded in 'The Tale of the Original Huntsmen'.

While the story follows the four and their exploits, it abruptly ends during the Burning of Vacuo as Ozymandias, the leader of the team, reveals himself to be the king of Vale, and ends the war once and for all by slaying the Diablo." Diablo, from what Yelena had heard from Ozpin, was the name of the supposed 'Grimm Beast' that destroyed Vacuo.

"As for the other three, Ricka was Ozymandias's right hand woman, and when he revealed himself to be the king, she revealed herself to be the royal guard of the king. Her skill with a blade was unmatched, using her semblance to petrify huge swaths of Grimm, she was also called the 'Silver-eyed Warrior'.

Gulliver, compared to the other two, was simply a young street kid in the settlements of Sanus when the war broke loose. He proved himself worthy to travel with the other two when he wrestled a General of Mistral into submission. As the war waged on, Gulliver's strength grew unmatched, capable of stopping an Alpha Megoliath with his one hand, holding a legendary Grimm Wyvern down to the ground with his hand wrapped onto its talon and an anchor on the other, and even brandishing a sword so powerful, that it could cut through aura users like butter.

Nessa, just like Gulliver, was a street kid who joined the war at a later date. In some recordings, she was seen doing things that were simply impossible even with a Semblance. She was able to create small floods in areas where floods were impossible, mould the earth into hills or ravines, and even freeze over the deserts of Vacuo in the final battle against Diablo."

Yelena widened her eyes at the difference in narration between the other stories compared to this last one, how Pyrrha almost seemed 'excited' by her own words. It was clear that the girl viewed these past figures as heroes, more realistic characters compared to the heroes of fairy tales, and a level of power plausible to attain, as it already happened.

From a guess, Pyrrha was simply inspired by these four to become who she was currently, though Yelena had no clue what exactly Pyrrha had done, besides a clue that she was well known thanks to Cardin's reaction.

Yet, another thought also came to Yelena's mind as she turned to look back at Pyrrha's sketches. Then, she turned to face the girl in red as she simply asked.

"If these are actual people... how did their story end?"

Pyrrha froze as Yelena's question echoed again and again. She had read the story many times before, but the ending was always simple:

"And they lived happily ever after in Gulliver's hometown of Sanus. Gulliver had a child with Nessa, while King Ozymandias dismantled the monarchy system of the four kingdoms and established the Huntsmen academies." Pyrrha knew this wasn't what Yelena was asking for, as she herself also asked the same question the first time she had read the story.

"But, I believe your real question is, how did their lives end." It was a rather grim question to ask for such heroes, but realism cannot be ignored here.

"Exactly. Surely a child from both heroes would play a big role in the next generation, and wouldn't the tombs of these great heroes be a sight of view? It may sound Grim, but it does happen."

"That... was never explained. I've never been to Sanus before, but I tried finding their tombs as well (on the internet)... they simply disappeared. Including Gulliver and Nessa's child, their story, as well as their existence, simply faded away. It's one of the great mysteries still unsolved till now."

"Now how exactly did the entire world lose sight of four great heroes-" Yelena's question was suddenly interrupted as a bell chime was heard.

"We should get going, it seems like breakfast has started..." She gave Pyrrha her pocketbook as the two made their way back inside. Yet, in their silence, the thought still lingered. Where did four of the great heroes of Remnant go?

Chapter 13: Lockers and Launchers

Chapter Text

Breakfast came and went as the students made their way towards the locker rooms to get themselves prepared for what was to come. Ozpin, during his speech, had mentioned some kind of exercise that would be happening today, and they were all anticipating some big exam for their class standings.

"You seem a little bit more excited today..." Yang raises a brow as she fixes her mechanized gauntlets around her wrists, turning to see Ruby excitedly humming while her arms wrapped around Crescent Rose.

"Of course! No more talking to strangers, and now it's time to talk with weapons." Instinctively, her weapon transforms into her huge scythe, sparking some stares from the nearby students, astonished a small girl like her could wield such a weapon.

"C'mon Ruby, it isn't just about weapons and fighting, maybe the whole team thing Dad was talking about would happen today or tomorrow, or anytime this week! We will eventually need to mingle with strangers, and you already did so yesterday with Yelena, Free, and the others." Yang smiled, recalling Ruby telling her of her experiences with Yelena, Blake, Weiss and Jaune.

Ruby groaned at the thought, with Yang noticing the visible negative reaction.

"If you wanna grow up, then you should start talking to people and learn to work together, and not just talking to weapons."

"I will. Eventually. And besides, I don't need people to help me grow up, I. Drink. Milk." Ruby hung on that last word, with Yang tilting her head with a sigh. "Also, can't I just be in your team? Sisters in crime kinda thing?"

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang winced, rubbing her shoulder.

"My dear sister Yang Xiao Long, are you saying you don't want me to be in your team?"

"What no? I just thought... Maybe you can break out of your shell?"

"What the- I don't need to break out of my shell, that-"

"Ridiculous!" Jaune lets out a groan as he accidentally walks past the two sisters, having not noticed them as he was more focused on the locker tags, "I thought I placed my weapon at locker 069, not locker 420!" He sighs, only for his focus to finally break as he catches a glimpse of Weiss and Pyrrha talking just a couple of lockers away.

"As I was saying, the two of us would make a perfect team!" Weiss smiled as she leaned closer to Pyrrha, who was simply busy putting her gear on.

"I appreciate the offer, but I was planning on letting things go as fate demands it. That would include not being in your team, in any chance." Pyrrha politely explained, with Weiss sighing as Pyrrha then smiled, "But it would be grand if we did pair up!"

'Yes! With the strength of Pyrrha and my mind! We will be unstoppable!' Weiss smiled as her thoughts trailed off, only to be interrupted by Jaune coughing, catching the two's attention.

"T-thanks for saving my butt yesterday." Jaune bowed his head as both Weiss and Pyrrha looked at him with surprise.

"Y-you know him?" Weiss winced as Pyrrha waved away the possessive girl's words.

"Well, I can't take any signs of bullying, and you did help that girl."

"So... can you join my team?" Jaune let out a smile as he leaned closely to Pyrrha, bringing both girls to react with surprise, Weiss reacting more aggressively.

"W-what?! Do you not know who she is for you to just waltz in and ask?!" Weiss sandwiched herself between the two as she pressed a finger onto the boy's chest piece.

"Umm... Pyrrha Nykos? Winner of the Mistral Regional tournament... and poster girl for Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box?"

"Yes! Four-time winner of the Mistral Regional tournament, the top of her class AND every combat school in Mistral- poster girl for Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box?" Weiss tilted her head in confusion.

"You know, Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box, they only post a picture of star athletes and cartoon characters?"

"Sorry, was more on Snowy Cream Coco Flakes than that brand..." Weiss simply waved away Jaune's own question, cursing for not having researched Pyrrha a little more.

"Well, he's right with that, though the cereal wasn't exactly as healthy as one would expect..." Pyrrha attempted to loosen the tension between the two as she moved to get a better position between the two.

"Anyways! If you already know who she is, then why exactly do you think you can simply ask her?"

"That is exactly the reason why I can ask her," Jaune smirked as he leaned forward as if he had the high grounds for the conversation.

"Actually, he can join in... I guess?" Pyrrha, once again, tries to dissolve the situation with a smile, "He seems nice?"

"See? Pyrrha gets it!" Jaune gleamed as a reaction, leaning forward and taking advantage of his height over the short Weiss to also gloat in satisfaction, only to be answered by a tired and annoyed sigh from the girl in white.

"Actually, with Pyrrha on my team, spots are now quickly closing in, and... y'know, maybe you can-" It was the breaking point for Weiss as each of Jaune's words also brought him inches closer to her, somewhat triggering a switch within her to instinctively shove him away, only to follow it up-

BANG

A singular, black glyph forms on her hand a she clutches onto her weapon, Myrtenaster, heavily. In the next second, Jaune's entire sense of gravity shifts 90 degrees from the ground to away from Weiss, as if the world itself had changed its gravity, and soon enough, a powerful force shoves Jaune's already falling body flying into the nearby lockers, barely clinging on to dear life with his incomplete set of armour taped around his casual garments.

"You." Weiss's voice was stiff as her eyes glared daggers at the fallen boy, his groans catching the attention of some more students, frightened and surprised by the sudden scene.

"Know your place, scum." The darkened glyph on Weiss's hand quickly sparkled as she prepared another attack, this time shifting the gravity of Jaune back onto the ground. Yet just as the same kind of force was about to crush the helpless boy, a hand lightly grabbed the girl by her wrist.

"That's enough now..." Pyrrha's soft voice gets the attention of Weiss, snapping her out of... whatever episode had possessed her. Quickly realizing what she had done, the girl loosened her grip on Myrtenaster as the glyph on her other hand faded immediately.

"I-" Without another word, Weiss storms off, shoving past an incoming Free as he approaches the scene.

"The hell happened here?" He raises a brow as Pyrrha simply eyes the leaving Weiss with pity, taking an educated guess as to what may have triggered such a reaction. Back at Jaune, Ruby and Yang rushed in, noticing bruise marks on his hands and arms which he had instinctively used as a shield.

However, they weren't just surprised by such an altercation, but by the bruises themselves. He shouldn't have those in the first place.

"You have no aura?" Yang was the first to comment with surprise and confusion. Having no aura in a huntsman academy was like a man walking into a battlefield with no weapon or armour. Having no semblance was understandable, as someone could simply use their skill with a weapon to off-balance the disadvantage, but aura was a necessity.

"Aura?" Jaune raises a brow, unsure as to what the girl had just asked. This, once again, shocks the two sisters as they look at each other. But before they could say anything, a noticeable drop in the air temperature around them announces Yelena's arrival.

"Ah, Yelena!" The boy stuttered as she came closer, her hands now wrapping around his bruised arm with the sisters watching in silence, unsure as to what was happening, only to drop their jaws as she activated her arts, beginning to cover his bruised arms with a layer of ice.

Jaune widens his eyes in surprise, pain, and the chill of Yelena's ice as it covers his bruise lightly, wrapping around his arms. It was light enough for him to carry his weapon, while not as cold as actual ice, more like the chill of mint coursing through his body for every millisecond.

"That's for saving me yesterday," Yelena's eyes twitched as she eyed Pyrrha, who simply gave a nod of approval, "My hero." She jokingly added as she made her leave, taking a jab at Jaune's original intentions while making the nearby students giggle. They've all seen Jaune's fight with Cardin, some first-hand, some through word of mouth, and it was an obvious case of the whole 'knight in shining armour' complex, with this most recent violation against the Schnee heiress only solidifying such a mindset.

Jaune could only sigh as Ruby and Yang carried him up, with the boy watching Pyrrha make her leave. He was surrounded by lions all bearing their fangs at each other. Weiss had her praises for Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang had their weapons seemingly at the ready for any confrontation, and Yelena had quietly shown her superiority with her cryomancy as she froze his bruised arm.

It was only the second day, but he had managed to make a third enemy.

"Where... where did it all go wrong?" Jaune muttered as Ruby and Yang carried him towards his locker with his hands wrapped around their necks, "Dad always says confidence is key..."

"Jaune, confidence isn't the only thing you need in this place." Ruby sighs as the speakers above began to blare out.

"Will all first-year students make their way towards the cliff edges?"

~~~

As the group of students made their way to the cliffside, they all noticed the familiar figure of Ozpin and some kind of maid behind him, both standing in silence and peace as they waited for the students.

Ozpin was carrying the usual coffee mug in one hand and his signature cane in the other, while the maid behind was carrying a tray with an elegant ceramic kettle and a bowl filled with sugar cubes on it, with a clipboard sandwiched between her under arm.

The maid herself was a lot shorter than the headmaster, with a long brunette ponytail hanging on her backside, she wore a white long sleeve under a black coat vest, with black trousers to match the set.

"Hello, students." The headmaster smiled, taking a step forward.

"The objective is simple, navigate your way through the forest and onto the ruins west of the forest. There you will collect an artifact that will cement your standing here in Beacon. Failure to do so would be an exclusion for this year's batch." There was a murmur amongst the students as Yelena could only stand in awe at the cliffside view over the Emerald Forest, noticing in the far distance an opening which seemed to be where the artefacts were stored.

"But weren't we already accepted? With the whole transcripts and such." Someone, most likely Jaune, asks out loud, their face hidden by the crowd of students.

"Well, yes, you all were accepted to enter Beacon proper, but not as students. It was merely a security check." Some sighed at the technicality, "This will be the practical exam into entering Beacon 'as a student'."

"But what does that have to do with us standing by the cliffside? I don't see any elevators bringing us down to the forest- are we going to climb down?! I don't know how to climb!" Ruby jumped in panic as Ozpin let out a chuckle, moving his position closer towards the edge until his steps turned from walking on dirt to walking on metal.

"You will all be launched into a randomized location." Ozpin tapped on the metallic surface of where he was standing on as the group of students widened their eyes. Aligned with the edge were more metallic platforms, all guessing they were mechanized springboards.

"So you are going to launch us into a forest filled with dangerous Grimm?" Yelena raised a brow as the students made their way to a launchpad, the thought of 'flying' had never crossed her mind before.

"Well, Miss Yelena, it is the fastest way." Ozpin simply nodded at her question. She wasn't particularly concerned at all, remembering a specific Rhodes Island operator who made her entrance by falling off an airship into the main battlefield, but simply amused by the idea.

Though looking to her side, it was clear there were others who were bothered by the idea. Notably Jaune, his legs buckling under his shield. He may have been hiding it by carrying his shield, but it was simply that noticeable.

"I almost forgot. This initiation would also lead to the formation of your team of four. They will be with you through the four years here in Beacon." Ozpin suddenly added, with Ruby now suddenly surprised and nervous.

"What-"

"Additionally, you will instantly be paired with the first person that you meet in the forest. Just like your team of four, this team of two will be with you through the four years."

"WHAT?!" Ruby now widened her eyes as she puppy-eyed an excited Yang, who simply eyed her sister with confusion.

"What am I supposed to do? Fly to your location?" Yang scoffs at Ruby's worries, "Like I said before, now that you're in Beacon, you can meet new people, instead of your friends back at Patches and the 15-minute walk to their place. This is a big world filled with big people!" Whether it was a snide remark on Ruby's small frame or something else, Ruby pouts at her sister's words.

"Ummm, so how exactly do we... land?" A few positions away from the girls, Jaune muttered, turning his eyes towards the Headmaster in worry.

"You will use your own landing strategy." The boy's jaw slacked.

"And what exactly are these landing strategies-" Before he could answer, the spring platform below him flinches, before shooting the boy straight towards the sky, the first one to go. The students beside him watched as Jaune's body rag-dolled through the sky, eventually disappearing into the treelines below the cliff. Some burst into laughter while others shuddered, equally as frightened as Jaune.

"I love Beacon already!" The sound of Free at the distance could be heard as he and a few more were quickly launched in unison. Ruby. Weiss. Blake. Yang. They were next, and so on and so forth.

"Yelena." Ozpin's voice suddenly breaks off the rabbit's own focus on her incoming launch. Turning to face him and the young servant, she sees the Headmaster smile.

"Bring me results." He simply said as she was promptly launched from the cliff. If he was simply going of transcripts, Yelena had barely done anything besides freezing an entire village. And while certainly impressive, it was not concrete enough for him to understand the cards she was laying down.

She was, in every sense of the word, a wildcard to him, and was both hesitant and excited for her actions to come.

Yelena, on the other hand, simply smiled as she prepared herself for her landing.

~~~

Ozpin watched as the new batch of student huntsmen flew through the air and towards some area of the forest, still sipping his coffee on one hand, and his cane on the other, with the maid behind him slacking her jaw in bewilderment.

"So, Ella, how's your first week on the job?" Ozpin turned to smile at the tanned brunette, surprising her for how out of pocket the question was.

"Well, I was surprised when you let go of Head Maid Rhodopis, and equally so when you chose me to be your next servant. I've never actually seen the Initiation process before, and I hope to see more from your perspective." The young girl simply chirped as the sound of Glynda walking alerted the two.

"I do not care where that Jaune fellow came from, he is visibly NOT ready for this kind of exercise, or even stepping into Beacon in that manner." Glynda sighed as she then asked the girl to pour her a glass of coffee.

"Trust the process, Glynda, and besides, his transcripts-"

"They look incredibly fake if I must say so myself." Glynda shook her head in disappointment as was handed her glass of coffee, with Ella raising the tray she was carrying for the professor to retrieve some cubes of sugar.

"If I may ask, what would you mean by 'came from'?" Ella tilted her head in confusion.

"A curious one," Glynda smiled at the girl's curiosity and innocence, "Jaune Arc came from the Arc family situated at Mistral. It was a family of huntsmen dating back to the Great War, which the heroine of Mistral, Joan Arc, fought against, and eventually besides, team ORGN. You could say that he was supposedly destined to be a huntsman."

"I've heard of Joan Arc in the stories, but there was nothing about her starting a family..." Ella turned to face Ozpin with a bemused look.

"The Arcs have a history of 'playing the side character' if you will. Heroes, yes, but they always fail to receive the proper credit when the time comes... sort of a curse. If you will." Ozpin explained as Ella soon turned her eyes back onto the remaining students still airborne.

"This Arc, however, had not entered a combat school. There is no physical or concrete evidence that he had even wielded a blade before or even any weapon for that matter. He simply approached our application just like any Unprofessional Huntsman would: Photographic evidence of his achievements. But the pieces of evidence so far are just too generic, like one would find in a stock image library browser."

"Glynda." Ozpin once again stops the professor, "Like I said, trust the process. If he fails, then he will fail, if not, then his transcripts are true."

Chapter 14: The Emerald Forest; Part 1

Chapter Text

Jaune screamed through the air as he felt his guts rearranged from the shift of gravity. There was some gravity dust mixed in with the launch pad, and it was to make sure the launch pads did not just send students to the same place. Jaune's own launch pad was surprisingly the weakest of the bunch as he landed much closer to the cliffside than the other students passing by him.

He was surely fate's hated child. It wouldn't be a surprise now if he were to make a new enemy in this initiation or fail in a spectacularly embarrassing way, like getting himself killed.

But it wasn't going to be because of some random fall.

With all his focus now stapled onto the approaching tree line, Jaune raised his shield, placing all bets of survivability on a shield literally older than him by five times. He hadn't been entirely honest with Ruby and the rest he had spoken to, as his weapons weren't even his to begin with... They were of his ancestor's, wielded way back during the Great War.

"Don't die-don't die-don't die-" He gritted his teeth in anticipation, only to crumple from the impact of the first few branches. With every impact did he dream of the worse possible wounds possible on a man, impalement, dislocation of bones, the likes.

Yet as soon as he opened his eyes- He was safely on the ground. His body hurt like hell sure, but he was alive... A bit anti-climatic, but alive nonetheless...

~~~

Yelena winced as air rushed through her, unsure as to how such a tactic like literally throwing children off a cliff was allowed by this world's version of child protection services. She might have spent her whole life living in the wilderness, but she did hear that the Ursine academies, though brutal, still had to follow those agencies.

Whatever the case was, she was now in a crash course towards the dense forest below, and unlike the many students falling around her, she had no aura.

"Aura..." A sudden thought crossed her mind. She could theoretically recreate aura with her own arts, if it was simply a physical shield to dampen any incoming attack, or in this case, a brutal splatter onto the treelines, her ice could cushion her fall.

In an instant, Yelena channelled her ice towards her fingertips and began to imagine. In most cases, her mastery over her powers was as simple as thinking of how her arts would act, a similar case to walking or writing, but she had mostly used it to hurl freezing air at her enemies, or sharpened icicles. Aura was a far different case, since it was something invisible, she couldn't think of it, or grasp its properties, like painting on air.

If she was to recreate aura, she needed to feel how aura worked-

"Too late-" She winced as she instead covered herself with her ice, crashing through the treeline like a meteor. The moment she impacted the ground, the ice around her burst open, leaving Yelena unharmed by the fall.

'Maybe don't do anything experimental during such a scenario...' The rabbit brushed off the ice off her clothes as she turned to face the impact crater. A large chunk of the ice coating was still buried in the ground, forming the evident shape of its caster like those rubber cooking moulds.

It did tick off the very purpose of protecting here, but it was obviously not aura. However, it did give her some inspiration.

'I'll think of it later...'

ROAR

Yelena jumped as the sudden screech alerted her to a creature now standing behind her. It was hunched over, with a white-bony mask only illuminated by a set of red eyes. It had the form of something wolf-like, yet it was also incomparable to anything, with its pitch-dark body under the bone platings. It was a Grimm, or more specifically, a Beowolf.

"So this is a Grimm..." Yelena couldn't help but mutter. Had it not been for the culture and advancement of technology, this would be concrete evidence that she was definitely not in Terra anymore.

Readying her arts at the tip of her fingers, the monster began its attack, pouncing at the white rabbit by throwing its entire body. Yelena weaved to the side, waving her hand in the process and grazing the Beowolf with ice. Landing ungracefully back to the ground, the Grimm yelped in pain as it turned to view the damage to its hide, while Yelena widened her eyes as well to her own attack, having felt a weird sensation of fur and flesh. She had hunted wild animals before, but the texture was far from familiar, just another reminder of the alien physiology the Grimm had.

Seeking no further need to push the battle further, Yelena charged an ice spike onto the damaged Grimm, piercing through its skull plating with ease-

SKRRIEEEE

A second Beowolf suddenly dropped from the tree lines above, their claws making such endeavor possible. It was a sudden attack that had caught the girl by surprise, as she barely had time to even chant her arts, only to instinctively shield her upper body with both her hands-

SCHING

Yelena winced as a massive ice sculpture suddenly sprung from the ground, or more specifically, from where she was standing. It had suddenly appeared as the second wolf ambushed her from behind. Perhaps through instinct, perhaps through her arts having a mind of its own, Yelena's ice sculpture had saved her, with the second wolf now encased in the figure made of ice, a figure in the shape of her father's guerilla shield-guard.

Yelena It surprised her to see how vivid and detailed such an accidental use of her arts had been, as it seemed more 'durable' than what she was expecting.

Then, a moment of realization hits her as her father's words once more enter her thoughts.

~

"You were using your arts without Originium."

"What?"

"We do not have Oripathy anymore, and yet you can still use your Arts.
There is something supernatural at play here."

"When you say it like that...It's as if we still have, and do not have, Oripathy.
A paradox."

~

Yelena had recognized that she had gotten far more powerful as if her current self was at equal power to her most powerful state during her final battle back at Terra. No, she was seemingly far more powerful than even that she once again looked back at the extremely detailed statue.

For her entire time here in Remnant, besides the town filled with slavers as well as tending to Jaune's bruises a while back, she had never used her arts, never noticed its vast improvement without Oripathy holding her back. She had greater control of her constructs, a far more stable and colder ice, as well as her stabilized body, not deteriorating from some accursed sickness.

She then returned her focus to what both Beowolf had left behind, a singular bone plating as small as a tea plate resting on the ground. Raising her brow, she reaches down to grab it, pocketing it for some other purpose later on.

"A curious boon for this world's main threat..." She remarked. Even if it was her first time dealing with the Grimm, it had already cemented itself as a main threat to humanity. There was an effort to slay such a beast, but there was nothing in return, no meat to eat, no material to produce, or even anything besides a singular bone plating that could be used for decorative purposes.

It was merely a machine hellbent on slaughtering all it sees, literally, as it wasn't even alive.

"What a cruel and unfair world." Yelena sighs as she walks away, leaving the heroic sculpture of the guerilla shield-guard as evidence of where she landed.

~~~

Ruby swooped through the air as her mind was still glued onto Yang, attempting to see where her sister would land, only to wince as Yang activated her gauntlets, firing shot after shot of gravity dust bullets to propel her farther, as well as farther away from Ruby's landing spot. As if attempting a similar move to her sister, Ruby was engulfed in a ball of rose petals, changing the arc of her landing by dashing several meters towards Yang's location-

A sudden force falls onto her as her semblance quickly dissipates, her concentration turning from Yang to whatever was now on top of her-

White

"Oh for fu-" Ruby widened her eyes as she instantly recognized whose back was currently shoved onto her chest, Weiss's white hair and panicked voice trailing through the sky until the younger of the two made the decision to reactivate her semblance, embracing the two in the same red petals as they struck the treelines.

The ball of petals splattered onto the ground with a bang, having shielded the impact of many branches, as well as the hard dirt floor, and leaving the two girls to rag-doll onto the floor gracelessly.

Ruby herself took the impact a lot worse, as the ball of petals was directly connected to her aura, as well as her... still under Weiss's body.

"Oww..." Ruby held her head as she felt her mind spinning. Though she was physically fine, aura did not stop someone from getting the full experience of ragdolling through the dirt at speeds faster than a car in a highway.

"You dolt! Can't you see where you're flying?!" Weiss, in a similar manner to the first, roars, stomping her foot to the ground as she begins to check her supplies of dust and Myrtlenaster over helping the younger girl up.

"Well at least I stopped your fall!" Ruby, evidently annoyed this was the second time she was meeting Weiss, yells out, surprising the girl in white momentarily as she tried to retort back, evidently thinking of reusing Ruby's age once again, only to hold back on her words.

"Well- thank you. But you should get your eyes checked." Weiss retorted when a sudden realization crossed both their minds, with Weiss being the first to react by quickly making her leave.

"Wait! Doesn't this mean we're partners?" Ruby shouts at the leaving Weiss, though it was a hard pill to swallow for the both of them.

"It was merely bad luck. Now I will go this way, and you go that way. Have fun finding whoever you were stalking back in the sky!" Weiss huffed out, having actually never seen Yang. Ruby, on the other end, begrudgingly sighs, slowly turning the other way when a sudden scream beckons her back to Weiss.

It wasn't Weiss who was screaming, however, as she herself stood straight in surprise, like a rabbit noticing a predator, and instead eyed the source of the moving voice, the trees shuffling as 'it' got closer. Instinctively, both raised their weapons, Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose, towards the commotion, only to be startled once again as Jaune comes barrelling through them... with a massive scorpion-like Grimm pursuing them.

"What the-" The two girls gawk as they, instinctively as well, jump to the sidelines before the Grimm, known as a Deathstalker, could get their attention. The improv worked as the Grimm simply went along to chase the still screaming Jaune, who could only look at the two with betrayal for a second, only to return his focus back to running.

"Should we-"

"Nope. But for now, I guess we can be partners, less I'd join up with him of all people..." Weiss interrupts Ruby, walking back towards Ruby as they quickly made their way closer towards the open field where the artefacts are stashed away. Coincidentally using the pathway of fallen trees and trampled greeneries the Deathstalker had done in pursuing Jaune.

"Well... it is what it is." Ruby sighs, skipping her way a tad bit forward from Weiss.

~~~Moments ago~~~

Jaune scrambles to empty his pouches in fear that the launch caused him to lose a bunch of important gear, taking inventory of everything from a flask of water, a really simplified emergency kit, flashlights, firestarters, and so on. Compared to the majority of the other students simply finding the initiation process as nothing more than a walk in the park, Jaune wasn't like them.

Taking a moment to recount once more, Jaune nods in satisfaction as he pockets everything besides a compass, and almost proceeds to make his way towards the open field when a noise catches him off-guard. The noise sounded vaguely human, like a whimper- a cry for help-

"Help... me..." As if by instinct, Jaune quickly changed his route, instead of making his way towards the destination, he decided to help whoever was in need, like a proper hero would.

The voices led him closer to the cliff side, where sunlight was masked by the earth above. Seeing how there was NOTHING suspicious about the scenario presented to him, Jaune's heroic instincts pushed him even further to uncovering whose voice was being echoed out, finally leading him into a darken cave.

"A-anyone there?" Jaune asked into the darkness, steeling himself to simply push further towards helping the person in need.

"Help... me..." The voice continued, as faint as it was from the last time the gullible boy had heard it. This prompted the boy to venture even deeper into the caverns, repeatedly calling out whoever's voice was beaconing him. Yet, it was already too late for him to retreat as the voice echoed through the caverns one last time, a lot louder than before, and what seemed to be right in front of him-

"Help.ME." Multiple dots of red slowly began to appear in the darkness as a roar soon followed. Jaune, caught off guard by this sudden change, nearly stumbled backwards, only to be caught by a nearby stalagmite, eyes still fixated on the set of red as it slowly made its way forward. It was then that he also began to hear something tapping on the stones rhythmically, powerful steps that seemingly shattered the stone beneath. Seeing the need to unmask this creature in front of him, Jaune slowly brought his hand towards his belt, nervously taking out his flashlight and finally aiming it forward-

SKRIIEEE!

The light uncovered a towering beast in the shape of a scorpion, with drooling mandibles adorned below the set of red bloody eyes, it was accompanied by a yellow tail on top, with two bone-white pincers flanking its side. It was a Deathstalker, a far deadlier Grimm than the common folk of a Beowolf and most others.

"I thought the Beacon staff regularly culled the Grimm here!" Jaune screamed as he began to run, the fastest he has ever run in his entire life. Truth be told, this was the first time in his life that he faced a Grimm so close, or even in person, and it was far more than 'bodies as black as the night with skeletal platings covering them'.

Thinking of a way to escape, he made his way out of the cave and back to the forest. Rapidly scanning for anything, his efforts were met with results as he quickly noticed both Ruby and Weiss land at an area close by, and thought that the three of them would be enough to take down such an opponent.

With whatever mental strength he had left, Jaune made the decision to run towards Ruby and Weiss, a blessing that they were pretty close by in the first place-

The two girls merely backed off in both instinct and surprise, unable to do anything as they merely looked at him in shock.

'Hey!' Jaune's words were stuck to his mind as he looked at the two girls, surprised they weren't going to stop the Deathstalker. Wincing at the inaction from the two, Jaune can only return his focus back to running for his life, shrugging off branches and bushes and quickly swerving as he managed to graze past every tree that came his way.

But it only took a few more moments before his luck ran out, as he suddenly tripped over a rock, crashing onto the ground and allowing the Deathstalker to finally catch up.

Turning to face the monster, Jaune could only whimper in fear as the red glow of the monster's eyes glared right back at him. There really was nothing he could do, with his mind burning with thoughts and memories, such simple actions as 'defend' or 'attack' were muddled by other things, his fingers numbed from the overwhelming sensation, his legs a mess of twitching muscles burnt from the running. He was merely reduced to this pitiful state, all because he had to 'play the hero'.

"W-wait-" He stuttered, a miracle he could even process a single word with his state of mind. Though, reasoning with an unreasonable creature was in response to said state of mind, he didn't really care too much, death was stalking right in front of him, in broad daylight-

SCHING

The Deathstalker roared one last time as its massive frame collapsed towards the ground, revealing a spear having penetrated deep into its core body. Moments later, the darkened body began to fade away, leaving its entire tail structure behind. The scene played out too quickly for Jaune to even notice as a figure was standing on the treelines, looking down at him with glee.

"Well that was an old Deathstalker..." Pyrrha's voice suddenly called out from the treelines as she jumped down, picking up her spear and taking a screenshot of the skeletal tail. While doing so, Jaune was still frozen solid as his thoughts replayed over and over again, the sound of Pyrrha's javelin Milo piercing the Deathstalker's head, the final screech of the Deathstalker, and her nonchalant attitude of what just happened.

"That could be considered an Alpha Deathstalker now that you think of it..." Pyrrha's thoughts bled out into her voice as she turned to face Jaune, "It's a bit surprising to meet you here, but I guess that makes us partners!"

Jaune sighs one last time as he falls to the ground, exhausted from the chase. Though, unnoticeable from the two students, rested a small metal ball from where the Deathstalker had dissipated.

~~~

Yang smashed the ground with full force as adrenaline burned through her body. Just like everyone else, it was also her first time being flung off like that, the absolute freedom of the air breezing through her body only wanting more as she used Ember Cilica to propel her even further forward through blast after blast generated from the shotgun feature of her gauntlets.

With one last blast, she shoots towards the nearest set of trees, using the hard bark of the trees to shield her fall. Unlike her sister, Yang's aura had been trained well enough to make such an act as similar to falling from a 5-foot drop. Yet, it did not disclose her from causing enough noise to attract the nearby Grimm, which came in the shape of several bear-like appearances, known as the Ursa. They usually hunted in packs, though relied more on brute strength than the characteristics of a Beowolf.

"How nice of you all to prepare a welcome party for me!" Yang smiled as her hair flared to the same golden fire while her eyes turned a shade of red, a byproduct of her semblance activating.

Without another second wasted, she rushed forward towards the closest Ursa heading her way, only to backflip over the creature and landing behind it. The blonde winked at the other Grimm as she grabbed the Ursa now in front of her, only to bend her upper torso backwards, suplexing the Ursa straight towards the ground with nothing more than sheer strength, and crushing its head as well as the dirt beneath. In an instant, the Ursa dissipates into thin smoke and a finger-shaped bone, prompting Yang to backflip from the motion of the suplex, bringing her heel slamming onto another Ursa.

With a kinetic push coming from Ember Cilica unloading onto the ground, Yang is brought standing onto of the second bear, her boot still digging straight into its face. With all eyes upon her, Yang playfully spun around the bear-like monster, humming as the Grimm around her pounced forward.

"Oops!" Yang chuckles as she jumps, the pouncing set of Grimm inadvertently crushing their body mass onto the still-stunned Ursa.

"Missed me!" She taunted, pointing her left gauntlet up into the air.

BANG

She fires the trigger, shooting herself back down to the ground like a meteor, and straight towards the clump of Grimm. The impact was powerful enough to tear through the crowd like an explosion, the ground erupting in a fiery display of yellow and orange.

"Alright!" Yang emerged from the smoke with nothing so much than the embers of her semblance activation, red eyes returning to a calm shade of lilac.

"Now where was west-"

ROAR

Before she could finish speaking, another wave of Grimm suddenly appeared from the bushes, catching the girl by surprise as she had no time to ready another punch. Only, the second wave of Grimm were swiftly taken care of as a flying blade cleaved through their heads like butter, only for the same blade to return, cutting each new Grimm into three pieces.

Emerging from the bushes was Blake, catching her thrown blade and unsheathing it back into a much larger cleaver. For about a minute did the two stare at each other, silent by surprise, though it did not take long for the blonde to break that silence.

"I was going to take that. Y-know?" Yang joked as the bodies of the Grimm fell to the ground, with an Ursa close to Blake dissipating into a perfectly shaped Ursa mask, only for the girl to promptly smash it with a hard stomp, acknowledging Yang's joke.

"I... guess we're partners?" Yang added, with Blake simply humming in reply.

~~~

"That should be the last of the pairings... leaving two more students pair-less," Ella explained as she held up a customized scroll (property of Beacon Academy), having settled the tray of coffee on a short table nearby.

"And Glynda?"

"Currently setting up the Amphitheatre. The extraction crew led by Professor Ann and Ace have already been notified of the students' whereabouts, and will be updated every 5 minutes." The maid explained, though, it was clear that there was something else in her mind.

"Are you troubled by something dear? If you have any questions, feel free to ask, after all, this is your first time observing the initiations."

"Well... It's just like what Sir Arc had said, why was there a fully developed Deathstalker in the forest? I thought this sector was just culled a week ago by the incoming second-years."

"Well, developed, yes, but they are by no means as dangerous as you think they are," Ozpin explained, taking another sip of his coffee, with Ella raising a brow.

"I don't follow..."

"The culling was meant to selectively kill off the population of Grimm, but not all. With that being said, we specifically left several adult Grimm for the students to handle. If you were to look at this event as a game, what would you call a fully developed Deathstalker compared to the weaker, less experienced Beowolf or Ursa?"

"The... boss?" Ella raises her brow.

"Precisely, and what would a boss give you when you slay one?"

"Certain benefits, like medals or weapons."

"Yes. These Grimm were specifically left alive to procure team leaders. If one were to slay these 'bosses' with no trouble or do so in a noticeable way, like Miss Nykos with the Deathstalker, then they would be entitled first-hand to be their team's leader." Ozpin explained, only to point towards the metallic orb left behind by the dissipation of the Deathstalker.

"Additionally, if one of these special Grimms were to actually endanger a student, they also contain a small explosive that would neutralize the target."

"Ah, I see. So Sir Arc wasn't in any danger at all?" Ella added, with Ozpin bobbing his head sideways.

"If his legs gave out well before meeting Miss Nykos, or Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, then he would have."

"And that would mean Miss Nykos would be in the selection of team leaders?"

"Yes." Ozpin nodded once more as Ella returned her sight on to watching the camera feed.

"But... what would happen if two or more of these individuals are paired up together?"

"Then we shall see..."

~~~

An hour had passed as Yelena made her way through the forest. She had fought more of the darken creatures with relative ease, and she was seemingly getting closer towards the open field she had seen on top of the cliff edge.

BANG
BANG
BANG

Yelena paused her movement as she began to pick up the sound of a battle going on. Taking her time to not alert any nearby Grimm, she made her way closer towards the fighting, understanding that the only sense of fighting had to be other students against the Grimm. And with that logic, she was right, as she quickly found herself at the edge of the forest, entering an open field where the sight of a lone figure was off in the distance battling wave after wave of the oncoming creatures.

She watched as the figure tore through a Beowolf like a piece of paper, instantly launching himself straight towards the next Grimm like a feral beast, grappling each one and tearing them to shreds. The man was clearly enjoying his rampage, with the commotion luring more and more Grimm from the forest.

ROAR

That even included Grimm from her side of the forest, more and more of the darkened beasts beginning to attack her in the process.

"Tsk, your opponent is him, not me." Yelena twitched as she waved her arm, flash freezing the approaching Grimm, only for more to replace the frozen ones and pushing her further into the fields. The more she tried, the more she wash pushed back, and the fiercer the Grimm became.

"Enough." Yelena let out one final wave of ice towards the incoming Grimm, far more powerful than any other she had casted, it was finally enough to blast through the creatures all the way back to the forest line, even enough to completely freeze over the nearby trees into coats of icy spikes.

BANG

'That sounded a lot closer to me...' Yelena thought as she returned her focus back towards the figure, only to find that the boy was now rapidly approaching her, fist pointed directly towards her with the intent to kill.

"Wait!"

BANG

Chapter 15: The Emerald Forest; Part 2

Chapter Text

~~~Back at the Police Station~~~

"Additionally, Miss Yelena," Ozpin stopped Yelena as the girl was about to leave, the room having returned to its original state as the girl canceled her arts, "It would be wise to... maybe tone down on your powers."

"And why would I limit myself? Isn't the purpose of the Huntsmen academies to train children into fighting these monsters?" Yelena, understandably confused, turned to face the headmaster. Such a condition was like fighting in a battlefield with one hand behind the back.

"Well... it's more on keeping your real identity a secret than anything else. Your father can walk in the streets so openly due to people mistaking his mask for an unknown culture in Mistral or Vacuo, but your outstanding powers over ice is something beyond just any regular semblance. Reveal too much and even I can't stop the public from knowing your true self, and what's to come... there are people out there who would see you and your father as a threat." Ozpin tilted his head forward, with Yelena acknowledging his statement.

"I understand. However, what would your definition of limited be?"

"Well, starting with the obvious, nothing too flashy, like what you did back at Petal Village. Just use your ice generously, no freezing entire people and the likes. 'Course, that does not mean you'd have to concede in future duels with stronger opponents, if you think you need a certain percent of your power to go against an opponent, go ahead."

"Very well then..."

~~~Present time~~~

"W-what the- ice?" Free snapped out of his battle-lust as the realization of what had happened hit him. Currently, his one arm was enveloped by an ice wall the width of dining table, with his legs immobilized by even more ice.

"Shiet..." He simply muttered as he eyed Yelena rounding the edges of the ice wall she had made, a threatening glare aimed directly onto him.

"What was that for?" With a flick of her wrist, Yelena shot up an ice spike from the ground, stopping it only mere inches away from the boy's neck. Noticeably angered by the sudden attack, she couldn't care less of what the headmaster had just warned her back at the police station, and took care of the remaining Grimm with her arts.

"Oops?" Using his free hand, Free raised it in a sign of defeat, "I tend to get carried away when fighting... I must've mistook your ice for a Grimm..."

"A Grimm can use ice magic?" Partially through curiosity, partially through sarcasm, Yelena raised her brow and asked.

"Nah," Free whistled, "Anyways, sorry for attacking you, couldn't help it."

"Whatever, what's done is done, though I won't be this kind when you attack me again." Yelena flashed a glare one more time as Free simply gleamed at her acceptance.

"Yay! By the way, I'm Lemuel G. Free, and I believe us meeting makes us partners."

"Of course we are..." Yelena rolled her eyes at the realization, 'A murderous man-child as my partner, where have I seen this before?...'

"Yelena, I hope we can at least work together for the next 4 years..." She muttered, with the two exchanging hands in the process.

"I do hope so as well!" With a firm shake, Yelena quickly turned her attention to Free's frozen limbs, the boy seemingly uncaring of his current predicament.

"So... about your limbs... it would take a while for my ice to dissolve."

"Should be fine, as long as I could feel my limbs, I could break through this-"

CRACK

With some effort, Free tore his entrapped arm from the ice casing, leaving a ring of white ice around his elbow joint on his prosthetics. Soon after, he quickly broke off from the ice casing trapping his legs together, stunning Yelena from the act.

"So you could have done this instead of taking the time to shake my hand?" The white rabbit raised her brow once more as she sized up the boy. He seemed unharmed enough from both the battle and her ice, probably thanks to his aura, but she couldn't help but wince at how nonchalant Free was.

"I could have, but you'd have prolly attacked me then." Free simply shrugged away the comment, having gone through similar altercations in the past.

"Fair point... how's your legs?" Noticing his bionic arms, Yelena guessed that the boy's lack of self-preservation had led him to his current state. Additionally, she knew that, even without going all out on him, her ice should have been cold enough to freeze the blood inside his body.

"Bit chilly, you've got a strong semblance." Once more laughing off her question, Free shook his legs as a sign of his current state, finally facing Yelena properly.

"Well then, you know where the artifacts are at-" Free's question was suddenly interrupted as the ground began to shake, the vibrations only getting increasingly more violent as it continued-

BANG

The ground in front of them erupted into chunks of stone and dirt as something huge rose from the ground, quickly blotting out the sun over the two. It was a Grimm, no doubt about that, bearing the same similarities as a Beowolf with its pitch black body and bone-white plates.

The creature was massive, with most of its joints seemingly still under the ground, it towered over the two taller than any tree found in the forest. Adorning the very front of it were four sets of jagged pincers, bone white just like any other Grimm, each one were the size of an adult. Lining the entire top side of its body are rows of red eyes, while on its sides were possibly hundreds of talons that gave the creature the shape of a millipede.

"This is also a Grimm?-" Yelena suddenly paused as her eyes widened. She had noticed something shining surrounding one of the segments of the creature. It was a thin ring of ice, her ice to be specific. The girl quickly deduced that the impact of her landing a while back must have also shot a stream of her arts under the ground, coincidentally striking, and awakening, the creature as well. Turning to face Free, Yelena noticed as Free had seen it as well, throwing a quickly glance back at the rabbit.

"Uh... oops?-"

SKRIEEE!

~~~

"T-thanks again..." Jaune repeated his gratitude as he rose his upper half from the ground, body still aching from the recent experience. To him, it was a life or death scenario, but to Pyrrha, who was examining the skeletal tail left behind from the defeated Grimm, it was simply a lucky catch, having gotten a habit of picturing Grimm trophies during multiple hunting events hosted from her huntsmen relatives.

"Well, I just noticed you running, and the Deathstalker had its guard down, that's all!" Returning her sights back to the boy with a smile, Pyrrha's upbeat attitude seemingly clashed with Jaune's own, though it was nothing that the boy could get annoyed to. Of course the academy was expecting students to deal with these monsters, he was in the 'SCHOOL FOR HUNTSMEN'. Sure Pyrrha was a cut above the rest, and that Deathstalker could have proved difficult to even the students here, but he should have done something else besides running away.

"Cool... cool... So... Partners?" Unsure as to continuing the conversation, Jaune simply returned to the previous topic of their partnership, with Pyrrha seemingly on board with.

"Exactly! Now that we've paired up, I guess we should start finding where the artifacts are being stored at." The girl radiated with excitement, a testament of her nonchalantness to the entire situation she was in.

"C-cool... let's get going- ouch!" Jaune collapsed as he attempted to get up, suddenly feeling a sharp pain on his knee with Pyrrha quickly kneeling down as she worried for her new partner's wellbeing, surprise that he couldn't stand up.

"Are you alright?-" Pyrrha froze as her vision rested on Jaune's bruised knee, a bloody red patch on his exposed skin which was partially concealed by whatever denim fabric was left hanging. Her gaze then eyed Jaune's own gaze, who was rather oblivious to her sudden pause, only to quickly turn to eye his pouch hanging by his belt. It was clear that he was carrying a first aid kit, a roll of bandages and some alcohol, items rarely seen on someone with aura, as aura would usually take care of light wounds like minor cuts or bruises.

It didn't take long for Pyrrha to reach a conclusion. Though Jaune could have broken his aura from the landing, the damage to his shield told her otherwise. Additionally, he should have sustained no other damages as he was running away from the Deathstalker, and that would only mean-

"Wait... you have no aura?-"

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha! I finally found you!" The moment was suddenly interrupted a Weiss's voice pulled their focus away.

"W-wait- Weiss- you could attract the Grimm!" Ruby's voice quickly followed soon after. The young girl wasn't exactly afraid of the Grimm, in fact, she had fought the Grimm many times before, almost becoming as simple as breathing to her to be exact. No, she was instead worried of the current objective, staying cautious thanks to the nervousness of entering the academy at such a young age.

"Hide your wound Jaune." Pyrrha whispered as she tugged on Jaune's pants while turning to face the two, covering up his bruise in the process. Aura was essentially a necessity to enter a Huntsman academy, everybody knew. If anyone else knew that Jaune had not awakened his aura, his very transcripts would be investigated, and Pyrrha already believed that he had faked it.

"Hello Weiss! I see you got yourself a partner!" The girl turned her focus to the ever vigilant Weiss, whose pride and ego gravitated to the supposed 'golden girl' over noticing Jaune's state.

"Oh no, I just met her on the way to meet you!" Weiss puffed with joy and triumph, though Pyrrha only raised a brow to that statement.

"I don't think that's what the headmaster said-"

"P-Pyrrha Nykos?!" Ruby's rather high pitched voice suddenly overtook the conversation, immediately activating her semblance and barreled right past Weiss. A second later, Pyrrha found herself looking down to the crimsonette girl, barely having the time to even register what had just happened.

"Oh-my-god-it's-really-you-I've-watched-all-your-matches-you-were-really-cool-" Ruby began to ramble on, not even taking the time to catch her breath as she fawned over the much taller girl right in front of her.

"R-Ruby!" It was Weiss's turn to act in panic as she ran the remaining distance towards the two, "Can't you see you're bothering her?"

"It's fine Weiss." Pyrrha could hear Weiss yelp at her answer as she returned to face the much smaller Ruby, "So, you must be her partner, what's your name?"

"R-RubyRose!" The young girl chirped as her energetic self could barely be contained, any and all sources of nervousness simply being washed away by the radiance that was the golden girl celebrity.

"I-watched-every-single-battle-of-yours-though-I've-watched-every-other-battle,-but-your's-were-really-cool-That-final-fight-against-Aslan-Altan-in-the-Mistral-Regional-Tournament-Championships-last-year-and-the-year-before-kept-me-up-at-night!!"

"It's- honestly a bit of an honor to meet someone who watched all my battles..."

"To be frank, everyone watched all your battles, the Mistral Regional Tournament was also something of a reality tv show as well... The action, the drama, the... romance I guess?" Weiss interrupted, surprised that she said all that.

"I haven't." Jaune, still seemingly out of breath, yawned out, a surprise that seemingly caught the other three off guard.

"Well... what did you find so cool about my battles?" Pyrrha felt like she was speaking to a child in front of Ruby, her face seemingly radiating as she was meeting (one) of her idols. It was a rather refreshing sight over the likes of Weiss who simply saw her as a powerful figure worth collaborating, though it was still similar as Ruby did see her as some untouchable being standing on a higher position than the rest.

"What I found cool? EVERYTHING! When Aslan went POW and you blocked her attack, and she flipped and you dodged perfectly. Then-"

"We should probably finish this before you could continue, Ruby. Initiation is often seen as the second entrance exam of Beacon. Anyone caught by the Grimm would immediately be booted off the academy..." Though it was a bit disheartening to stop someone with the energy of Ruby's, the four needed to secure their spots first, "How about we hang out as friends later on?"

"Sure! I'd also love to meet Milo and Akouo up close!" Ruby simply nodded the reality of continuing on the objective as she answered back gleefully.

"Who?" Jaune, still as lost as before, asked with a raised brow, seeing how enthusiastic and passionate Ruby had gotten from the moment she mentioned both names.

"It's my weapons, Milo and Akouo, named them after my pet dogs back at Argus." Pyrrha explained as she pulled out her spear and shield right in front of the weapon-loving Ruby, figuratively on the verge of exploding as she was not only meeting a celebrity, but also their weapons.

"Well... that's pretty sweet..." Jaune nodded as they finally began to move, with the boy doing his best to conceal the pain of walking with a bruised leg. As the conversations continued alongside the journey, Pyrrha assumed the position as the figure head of the four, with Ruby, then Weiss, continuing on and on like it was a walk in the park.

As Weiss started to speak to Pyrrha, Ruby slowed down her pace, matching Jaune's slower movement that made him fall behind Pyrrha and Weiss.

"Your bruise is showing Jaune..." Ruby suddenly whispered to Jaune, quickly pointing down to his red knee. "Things would get complicated if Weiss noticed that you have no aura..."

Understandably confused as to both Ruby and Pyrrha's actions about his bruise, Jaune simply nodded as he once again fixed his pants. He had no idea of the tightrope he found himself in, thinking that the two still had not suspected that he had done something shady just to enter Beacon. Additionally, he couldn't just ask a junior (Ruby is still 2 years younger than everyone else, that includes Jaune) about something that seems to be so obvious with everyone else.

"Sure, sure. But why Weiss?" It was the least obvious question the boy could ask, deflecting any idea that he really had no idea what aura was.

"Considering Weiss is... well... Weiss... she's probably petty enough to report to the professors that you have no aura... that would lead to some investigation thingy and... I guess you know what would happen next." Ruby simply nodded. Although she was relatively young and rather inexperience, she knew the standards the Huntsmen academies had over their students, having endlessly researched about it/heard from her other relatives.

Having no aura wasn't specifically a requirement, but it would have raised suspicion as to how a person would have been accepted into the academies in the first place. Heck, most soldiers or guardsmen, even without the goal of becoming a huntsmen, would often unlock their aura simply by fighting or excelling their bodies.

Jaune on the other hand... simply froze, his mind having taken a figurative reset as the revelation of his secret was now out. If a 16 could easily tell that he had faked his transcript, the professors would find out far quicker.

'This was a lot harder than I thought...' Jaune could only think as he simply smiled back with a nod, opting to instead follow the group in silence, hoping Weiss wouldn't look his way.

"By the way Pyrrha, is it just me, or can you also feel the ground shaking?" Thankfully, Weiss never turned to face Ruby and Jaune, opting instead to speak to Pyrrha-

SKRIEEE!

~~~

"There was once a story of a Leviathan class Grimm that ate half of Vacuo some hundreds of years ago." Yelena and Free made a mad dash as the giant centipede-like Grimm chased after them, with Free seemingly narrating a story in the process.

"It devoured entire cities with one bite, and the moment the hero of the story damaged a segment, it split in half." Instinctively, both dodged to the sides as a ball of acid melted the ground they were on. "The story named it the 'Eater of Worlds', and ever since then, the name stuck to every single Grimm of this type."

"The name sounds a bit too hyperbolic!" Yelena panted, unsure if she should be annoyed by such a naming convention or the fact that they were being chased by such a creature.

"The past likes to overinflate a lot of things!" Free shouted back at they quickly stopped and turned, surprising the giant creature with a synchronous attack of ice and fist to its face, slightly changing its direction to the left of the two and allowing them some more time to think of a plan.

"Are you saying that there are other stories that are fake?" Yelena took a breather as they slowed down, leaving behind the stunned centipede.

"Mostly, yeah. Wander around the world long enough and you can find some reason or merit to these stories through cultural logic." The two watched as the centipede began to burrow downwards, shaking the area around, "Fought one just like this back at Vacuo. Took about an entire team and two weeks to destroy every segment. Seeing one here is just downright unlucky for the both of us!"

"Well thanks for the story, now how do we deal with this?"

"Even with its size, it prefers ambushing prey small enough to be swallowed whole. Considering you kinda pissed it off with whatever ice stuff you did, and that we just deflected its charge attack, it'll probably go after the other students first as it's cautious on taking us alone."

"Wait- what?! That monster's going to attack the other students?! Shouldn't we be worried about that?" Yelena, feeling a bit responsible for awakening such a creature, turned to face Free in surprise.

"Eh, should be fine, they're enrollees ofthegreat Beacon Academy. One of the four prestigious huntsmen academies! You think some worm is gonna stop 'em?"

"Probably?..."

"Eh, you're probably right..." Both shrugged as they simply resumed their run, closing the distance to their destination...

~~~

"I found Cardin. You two, get to the artifacts." A static voice echoed from a hand-held radio, carried by an orange-haired boy wearing thick plated armor. Moments later, the boy gritted his teeth, his hand seemingly attempting to crush the radio from anger alone.

"And of course the merc' found Cardin first... dammit if only this stupid rule of 4 wasn't a thing..." Dove Bronzewing sighed as he stashed the radio around his belt. Accompanying him was Russel Thrush, the smallest of Cardin's gang, with a neon green Mohawk resembling fire, a spiked pauldron, and somewhat raggedy clothes, he was also the most 'rugged', his attire was something akin to a bandit from an RPG game than anything else.

"f*ck's got Uncle Winchester so worried to hire a merc from Vacuo when we can easily take care of ourselves? Couldn't he just bring out some servant our age? That Sky guy is totally killing the mood. f*ck it, even his semblance is hella creepy..."

"Whatever the case is, at least Uncle assured that he was simply here to fill up that fourth spot. Looks like a wimpy bitch, even a runt like you can probably beat him up lol!"

"Oh f*ck-off dickhe*d. How about stop being a fat*ss while blaming your armor that we're slow as sh*t?" Russel waved his arm as his insults quickly changed the subject, resulting in the two falling into a barrage of other childish insults. Yet as their pointless argument continued onwards, they quickly quieted down as both suddenly felt the ground beginning to shake, the vibrations quickly becoming violent enough to shake off any loose leaves on the trees nearby and scaring away the birds.

BOOM

The Eater of Worlds erupted from the ground with a roar as it arced over the boys, burrowing back to the ground. The sight petrified the boys as it returned immediately, this time crawling outwards with speeds faster than a car on a highway both boys and allowing it to quickly encircle them, its massive size preventing them from even escaping. They had no understanding of the creature, having never heard of such a Grimm, something entirely responsible for them barely learning anything from combat school. Stricken with fear, they could only move closer towards the circle, while the Eater of Worlds closed the area they could maneuver.

"Hey!" A sudden shout catches the centipede's attention, stopping its progress from crushing both boys with its body. Turning it's front-most segment towards the direction of the roar, the creature paused as it noticed a burly man standing in the near distance, wearing shades and a headpiece, the man wore full tactical armor, with a shield on one hand and a mace on the other, "At least I'll put up a fight compared to those two you're hunting."

In an instant, the centipede roared once again before charging straight towards the man, spewing acid on the way forward. The man reciprocated as he charged forward, raising his shield to block the acidic spit of the centipede. The moment he got within the biting range of the monster, he immediately stopped as his mace swung downwards, parrying the charge attack and sending it down to the ground. This sudden stop to its charged cause the rest of its body to spring upwards, with the man taking advantage of it as he eyed the frozen segment again, and backed away for a better sight.

With a single throw from his mace, the man's aim was true as his weapon shattered the frozen segment of the Eater of World. The Grimm roared in pain and fury as the main body immediately began to burrow back to the ground, while the other half slammed right back to the ground like a bomb, erupting into a cloud of dust as it also began to burrow. Moments later, both boys stumbled outwards, wheezing and coughing before crumpling to the ground, unsure as to what had happened, and what to do, only to look back at the mess the battle had made.

"Russel Thrush and Dove Bronzewing." The two jumped as a deep voice echoed, with the man standing unscathed from the battle as the dust finally settled, his mace resting on his shoulder. Their eyes widened as they noticed the Beacon academy crest stitched on the man's vest, on top of it being a name tag: [ACE]

"From the basis that you could not handle the scenario presented to you, you both have failed in this test and are disqualified from entering Beacon Academy as students."

~~~

"We're finally here..." Yelena panted as she could feel her legs burning, her hands using her knees to simply hold herself upwards. She may have been able to walk long distances with her father, but running was far different, taking a toll on her little endurance, something she had been unable to work on due to her oripathy in her previous world, and her short time in this new world. Making a mental note to work on her cardio in the future, she turned her sights forward, in front of her being a stone structure with a multitude of pedestals to choose from above a flight of stairs.

"Huh... I was sorta expecting something far grander..." Free, basically still in perfect condition even after a long battle and an equally long run, frowned, "So should we go?"

"S-sure..." Yelena waved as she straightened her back, limping forward in exhaustion. From the moment they arrived at the top of the stone platform, the sight of the pedestals were much clearer now as they could see a pair of chess pieces on each pedestal. At the center of the floor stood a singular wooden sign, something that seemed to be important before choosing the artifacts, or, chess pieces.

"Guess we're the first ones here..." Free muttered as the two then made their way towards the center of the platform, getting a better look of what it said.

"Both pairs are to choose the same chess piece on a pedestal."

"A bit specific, but I guess rules are rules..." Free shrugged as Yelena agreed with his statement, each one beginning by browsing the pedestals with their hands on their back like they were browsing a shop.

"So... which one should we take?"

"Whatever's closest." Yelena simply answered back as she then made a beeline to the closest pedestal, with Free following soon after.

[Black Bishop Piece]

"Cool. Now what?" Unsure of the significance of what they have just done, the two looked at each other with confusion as a sudden roar echoed right behind them. Rushing to greet whatever Grimm had caught up to them, their jaws dropped as they laid eyes on a girl riding an Ursa.

"Yeeee-Haww!" A voice overpowered the cries of the Ursa as the orange-haired girl grappled the beast, her own strength being enough to resist the thrashing of the beast. The Ursa then fell to the ground dead, its neck seemingly crushed by the girl's grip. "Aw, I broke it..."

The sight left the two completely silent as they slowly turned to each other, only for Yelena to catch Free growing a smile.

"That was pretty cool..."

"That was stupid."

"But you gotta admit, that was an amazing entrance."

"Point still stands, she could have gotten hurt."

"So you do agree."

"Only if you also agree that was stupidly dangerous."

"Should be fine, she has aura." Free waved away Yelena's concern as they watched the girl drop down before the Ursa began to dissipate, only to be met up with a boy in green, who seemed to be her partner as he chastised her for her actions.

"Nora, how many times did I tell you not to ride an Ursa..." The boy sighed as the girl merely giggled, though, he wasn't concerned for the girl's safety, "You left me behind to deal with the other Ursas."

"Uh... oops!" She merely smiled, eliciting a sigh from her partner, only for the much taller boy to pat her head like a parent forgiving his child.

"Aww, there's people that reached the artifacts firsts!" She pouts, looking up to see Free and Yelena looking down at them.

"It should be fine, it seems we're the second ones here." Nora waved at the two, who proceeded to wave back. Making a dash up the stairs, both pairs now stood face-to-face with each other.

"That was a bit dangerous what you did there..." Yelena explained as she greeted the girl.

"Oh don't be a buzzkill, I was fine. Right Ren?" Nora turned to face her companion, who could only nod in agreement.

"Don't worry about it, she's done that more times than I can count. Though it's still a bit worrying every time."

"See? Told ya she'd be fine." Free chuckled along as Yelena could only sigh.

'The assistance of aura may have dumbed down the logic and self-preservation of this world...' She thought as something new catches her attention, noticing as a familiar girl in red exited the forest.

"Ah! Pyrrha!" Nora waved energetically, beckoning the newcomer to notice them as well.

"Hello Nora! Ren! Yelena!" Pyrrha simply waved back with a smile, Weiss appearing beside her soon after.

"W-wait, you know them?" She winced in abject horror, with Ruby and Jaune popping out right behind her, having finally caught up with the two.

"Yeah, I met the first two a week ago back at Vale, while Yelena- a bit of a long story." Pyrrha can only smile back as she could easily guess the thoughts appearing out of Weiss's mind, simply returning to focus on the four.

"It seems fated that you two would get paired up!" Pyrrha complimented Nora as she met the girl half-way up the flight of stairs, shaking Nora's, then Ren's hand as he also came to greet her, though, less energetically.

"Welp, we came prepared!A-OUGH! A-OUGH!" Nora suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, with Ren simply shaking his head, somewhat expecting this from his long-time partner.

"Nora, again, that's the sound of an owl, not a sloth."

"It still worked finding you!"

"You attracted two king taijitus as well..." REN sighed, though rather alright with Nora's antics.

"Well... It still worked considering you two paired up..." Pyrrha merely chuckled as she continued up the stairs, now with Ruby, Weiss and Jaune following behind. Finally reaching the top of the stairs, the girl was quickly met with Free now in front of her, with Yelena just a bit to the side, having never moved out of her position.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't Miss Pyrrha Nykos.THEuntouchable girl. Name's Lemuel G. Free, nice to meet ya." Free smiled as he extended his hand forward, his mechanized gauntlets absolutely dwarfing Pyrrha's own.

"Pleasure's all mine. You seem rather excited that I'm here." Pyrrha extended her own, with both shaking their hands as a result. Compared to Ruby and Nora's excitement of meeting a celebrity like her or Weiss's attitude due to her status, Free looked like he was anticipating for something, as if she needed to give him something.

"Well, it's not all the time when you can meet miss undefeated. You and Aslan were one of the reasons why I began taking jobs at Mistral, hoping to meet you guys there for a spar."

"Well, maybe your wish would come true soon enough. And I assume you're Yelena's partner?"

"He almost punched me in the face." Yelena jokingly answered, eliciting a sudden and threatening glare towards Free from Pyrrha, only to quickly revert to her regular self.

"Was an accident, jeez, I already said sorry y'know." Free whistled, rather surprised that the usually formal and gleeful Pyrrha could make such a face.

"Heh, so Pyrrha, who's your partner?"

"That would be me." Weiss proudly jumped in, exclaiming to the white rabbit triumphantly.

"But... I saw Jaune first, so Jaune's my partner."

"Well... it's not like the professors would realized that we switched teams or something, Ruby can have Jaune-"

"Well about that..." Pyrrha quickly cut off Weiss's words before it could result in verbally harming the younger girl and Jaune, pointing Weiss to a nearby pillar just behind one of the pedestals.

"It seems like they've been watching us for a while now..." She explained as she made her way towards the pillar, giving a few hard taps to loosen any loose stone and revealing a lens.

"What-" Weiss gasped as she took a few steps forward, in disbelief that such a thing was present.

"Well... I guess it's settled then, you're my partner now Weiss." Ruby was far more accepting as she tiredly walked up to Weiss, patting her shoulder and revealing two pieces of a white knight.

""But- fine! I'm only doing this because the professors are watching us!" Weiss winced as she begrudgingly snatched up the white knight piece, trying to conserve whatever ego she had left by moving to some unoccupied area of the platform.

"It is what it is Weiss... It is what it is..." The younger girl sighed as Pyrrha moved to comfort her.

"You two would get along later on..." She simply assured the tired Ruby, who seemed at her mental limits in dealing with her supposed partner.

"Whatever both your cases are, what should be do now? Ozpin never said anything about extraction." Free suddenly butted in, his question now grabbing the attention of everyone.

"Oh right... he didn't say anything about it-"

SHUDDER

The ground began to shake as it cut off Nora's comment, the violent shuddering even causing the people on the platform to nearly loose their balance. Moments later, the earthquake lightened, causing confusion amongst the group.

"Guys, I don't want to alarm y'all, but there's a juvenile Eater of Worlds around these parts, and we should probably not be staying in one area for a long time." Free quickly told the group of his and Yelena's encounter with the centipede, only for his voice to be cut off by a shriek at the distant background.

"And that is a Nevermore heading this way..." Pyrrha simply turned and smiled back, as if trying to lighten the situation.

"How did she know..." Jaune couldn't help but mutter in the process, surprised by the girl being able to distinguish a single roar.

"C'mon long-hairs, we can probably take them on~" Nora also smiled back as she leaned onto her hammer, eliciting a wince from the blonde boy.

"The Nevermore we can, but fighting an Eater of Worlds on these grounds is like a death sentence. They ambush their prey from below, and if we destroy a segment of their body, it would split up, causing more damage." Free corrected, with Weiss, the ever studious one, raised her brow in suspicion.

"I thought Eater of Worlds are mostly found in deserts like Vacuo, how is there one here?"

"'Mostly', not all of them are found in deserts. Mistral's disappearing caravans aren't always chalked up to bandit attacks, and Grimm attacks are way too generalized."

"And the Academy just allowed some big worm-"

"Centipede-"

"-exist close to the academy?" Jaune winced, now wondering how safe the academy actually is. It was weird enough that Beacon was located a distance away from Vale, but it never occurred to him how dangerous of a threat the wilderness was.

"Atlas is partially responsible for some of the other three Huntsmen academies's infrastructure. That would also include various defenses against the Grimm. The academies of Mistral, Vale and Vacuo are basically the most technologically advanced places in their respective kingdoms. The Headmaster probably knew about the Eater of World living here and seemingly believed that we, students, can handle it." Weiss explained, finally smiling as she was able to help.

"A bit irresponsible-"

"Wait... if it's a monster that needs to ground to ambush us, wouldn't the ruins a bit more to the west of us do the trick?" Jaune suddenly interrupted, catching the group by surprise from the suggestion.

"Well- it would definitely restrict the Eater of Worlds' mobility that's for sure, we would have a better chance then." Free stuttered, unsure as to how he did not think of such a strategy as well.

"Then it's settled, we should probably head there for the time being." Jaune concluded, with everyone seemingly accepting the plan, besides-

"W-wait, are you seriously going to follow his plan of all things?! Those ruins back at the cliffside look like the perfect hunting ground for a flying-type Grimm like the Nevermore."

"Honestly, Jaune's right here. We may be at a disadvantage on those towers above a ravine against an approaching Nevermore, but we're fighting two sides of a battle here, and the Eater of Worlds is a far more threatening Grimm than the Nevermore with its ambush attacks-" Pyrrha turned to defend Jaune as a second roar from the Nevermore echoed out, this time with Ruby widening her eyes as she turned to face the group.

"Umm guys?" The girl had a nervous and bewildered smile on her face as she pointed towards the forest, with a massive vulture-like beast quickly moving towards them. Yet peculiarly, there was something on the creature. Something Yellow and black on it.

"That's... an alpha Nevermore... with my sister on it."

Chapter 16: Meet The Rose

Chapter Text

~~~An Hour Before Initiation~~~

"As much of a sh*thole you three had gotten into with that little act of yours from yesterday, we should be thankful that no professor came and it was merely Pyrrha Nykos." Sky sighed as he leveled his scroll in front of an uninterested Cardin, Russel and Dove, showing a list of items, all being several chess pieces, "The information about the relics was just given to your father yesterday by his informant. It's be chess pieces, wherein those who have the same pieces would be selected as a team. So if you three want to stick together with the whole 'buddy-buddy' shtick, we need to reach the relics first."

"That sh*t seems obvious don't you think? Got any other things to say like a broken record?" Dove grunted, clearly wanting to leave the meeting.

"There seems to be some kind of signal jammer preventing us from communicating via scrolls, so I've hooked up with some buddies of mine to get you these." Sky opened his satchel as he produced four small boxes without any detail saved for a retractable antenna.

"Radios? Don't scrolls use the same frequency?" Cardin raised a brow, inspecting the curious object.

"Vacuan dirt bricks. Made during the Faunus war when the fighting reached Vacuo, the frequency should be high enough to go through most jamming signals, as well as being undetectable to other receivers besides these ones. In the case you're ever caught, simply crush it and it'll be nothing more than dirt and twigs." Sky explained as the three blinked at him in surprise, almost forgetting he was a Vacuan mercenary before being hired to assist them.

"You got that all?"

~

"Dove and Russel were disqualified." Sky gritted his teeth in frustration, his hand instantly crushing the secretive radio.

"Wait what?!" Cardin turned in shock as Sky repeated his words in a far calmer manner.

"Their radios gave out a spike, meaning their radios were destroyed." He explained, turning to look at the sun for directions, "It must be related to the earthquakes, an Eater of Worlds maybe?"

"Maybe they just broke that radio of yours? Y'know, like dumbasses." Cardin tried to reason out, doubting that his two friends could have been disqualified this quickly, yet, even as he applied a somewhat playful manner to somehow persuade his 'partner', it gave little to change Sky's decision.

"Really? They may be stupid, but they weren't that stupid to accidentally break something that vital- but if that's what you, their long time friend, would think-"

"See? Let's go!" Cardin glowed as though it worked-

"Then it perfectly cements my understanding that your friends should have been disqualified at this point for sheer stupidity. And besides, if they did enter, they'll be a liability to your ticket in getting a huntsman license." Sky chuckled as he watched the lights on Cardin's face dissipate immediately, 'Well, no sh*t am I also saying this because I also want to get a huntsman license, this is the most common way a mercenary can turn into a fully-fledged huntsman after all..."

"You f*ck- We need to join up with Dove and Russel." Cardin winced, surprised by the rather sarcastic answer Sky gave back, and instead attempted to intimidate Sky with his size and bulk, changing his tone as he took a step forward... though to little effect as Sky merely sighed.

"Your father merely paid me to get you to Beacon, I ain't under your command. If those two dumbass friends of yours can't even make it out of initiation, then they shouldn't be here."

"Listening to my father is the same as listening to me, so whatever I say, you follow, unless you want me to cancel your payment." Cardin lurched forward, pressing a finger right onto Sky's chest, though like before, was to little effect.

"Considering the two of us are already in Beacon, unless you would try and disqualify me right here and now, your father has to pay me per the agreement. And if you try anything funny against me,you'll see why he hired me instead of any other Vacuan rat." Sky explained in the most unapologetic and impassive tone, slowly pushing away Cardin's hand as he began to move towards the direction of the relics.

"I-" The far larger boy stuttered as he couldn't help but step back in surprise that the supposedly timid helper of his could talk with such ferocity, "Whatever, maybe you're right..." Instead, he simply accepted Sky's command, finally bringing a smile to the mercenary.

"Good, now that you know their place, we can finally go through with the plan. Besides Cardin, there should be a high likelihood that our other two in the team would help us- I mean you, far greater than those two twats-"

Crunch

Sky's words were cut off as the sound of wood breaking echoed out, turning their attention towards a nearby opening, only to freeze as their vision laid eyes on a dormant Alpha Nevermore the size of the very same airships that transported them to Beacon. Just like any other Grimm, it had a pitch dark surface saved for several pieces of bone-white plating stuck to its head and main body, with its wings carrying feathers as long and as large as a truck.

Though it may have been an Alpha, which were the strongest, largest, and most dangerous form a Grimm could take, the beast was asleep, something Sky immediately took advantage of as he pulled Cardin closer towards the Grimm.

"From what the informant has stated, the leader of a team would be decided from whoever defeats a strong Grimm. And by the looks of it, that is a sleeping alpha Nevermore, completely unguarded andon the ground,something you should take advantage of." Sky whispered, returning to his position as someone merely hired to help Cardin, "If you kill this Nevermore, you'll receive the role as a leader, and wouldn't have to worry about the other two students bossing you around."

Sky never cared about taking a leadership position, with the hassle and spotlight it would bring, he was all too familiar with being bossed around, though not to the extent as Cardin was now, after all, he was merely a mercenary, nothing more, nothing less-

"What?! Are you crazy? You think I can kill a Nevermore before it wakes up?" Sky froze from Cardin's comment. He could have sworn the arrogant boy would have leapt at the chance, success or not, it would still have been an attempt. And yet it's only now that he was playing the game safely.

"So, what? Are you really going to give up this chance? The opportunity is right there!" Sky raised his voice slightly as he waved at the still-sleeping Nevermore, frustrated at the outcome, and finally realizing the true face of Cardin, who was nothing more than a malicious brute that would take advantage of the weak. He was just as bad as Dove and Russel and was a liability to himself.

"I'll try my luck when we get to the selection, I'm not risking my life here." The boy's words were like a sword on Sky's throat, an insult to his life as a mercenary, and everyone else taking the initiation.

'I thought you wanted to become a huntsman, coward...' Sky gritted his teeth in anger. If this was the most common way a mercenary could get a huntsman license, how many huntsmen were like Cardin? The supposed 'guardians of humanity'?

"So, Blake right? How's Beacon for you?"

A distant, distinctly woman's, voice suddenly catches the attention of Cardin, giving him an idea as he turned to face the Nevermore, then back to Sky.

"I might as well remove some other idiots from the pool to increase my chances in becoming leader." The boy flashed a sinister smile.

"What are you talking-"

"Hey there!" Cardin beckoned towards the voices as he quickly, and somewhat silently, made his way towards the voices with Sky try to catch up from behind, fully knowing what the boy was going to do. Yet Cardin was just faster, caused by Sky's carefulness to not awaken the nearby Nevermore, and soon met up with both Yang and Blake, having just recently met up.

"Oh hey, more peeps!" Yang, the ever welcoming one, simply waved, with Blake just behind her, too timid to greet their batch mate.

"Yeah sup! I found the relics area and just came to find some more allies, my friend should be guarding-" Almost in cue, Sky explodes from the bushes, nearly raising his spear towards Cardin.

"Cardin! Stop-" Sky's mouth was immediately covered by the other's hand as the two girls stared in bewilderment, surprised the boy was doing so much against his own partner.

"Oh it's nothing, he was simply overreacting with the many Grimm guarding the relics." Placing a hand on Sky's shoulder, Cardin reminded him of his absurd strength, something he had over the far skilled mercenary.

"Hmmm, well, since we ARE going on the same direction." Yang smiled as she gave the boys a thumbs up. Yet beside her, Blake couldn't help but notice Sky's hands silently waving at them, away from Cardin's notice.

"Yang? Should we really be following these guys?"

"What? You don't trust a fellow batch mate?" Cardin nearly winced as his facade trembled in anger, 'how dare they not follow me.'

"Well, if they've mistaken the relics for something else, we can always just move elsewhere." Yang simply assured Blake as the two began to walk ahead, leaving behind the two boys.

"I will rip your throat out if you even dare mutter a word. f*cking merc..." Cardin spat the ground right between Sky's boots as he slowed his pace behind the two girls, until-

"Anyways, where was the relics-" Both girls froze as their eyes finally caught the massive silhouette of the slumbering Nevermore, their brains racing to register what was happening.

"Wait a second-"

"Have fun with that Nevermore!" Cardin roared as he pushed both girls, causing the two to slam right onto the Nevermore's gigantic face. Almost instantly, the Nevermore came to life as two red eyes the size of a beach ball opened under its heavy eye lids, catching the sight of Blake's terrified and surprised look on its peripherals.

SKRIEE

The Nevermore roared as its entire body began to rise, far taller than even the trees surrounding it, it unfurled its unholy wings, spanning the width of the entire tree-less area that marked its nest.

"CARDIN YOU SON OF A-" Yangs words were cut off as the Nevermore let out another scream, only to begin flapping its massive, bus-size wings, quickly knocking back anything not rooted to the ground, including Blake and Yang, then picking the two up as it flew away, wanting to take the two as its dinner.

"Heh, did you see that bitch's face?" Cardin slowly appeared from the bushes as Sky collected himself. Turning to face the Nevermore, then back to Cardin, Sky surrendered whatever self-respect he had to his employee.

"What the hell is wrong with you..." He sighed as they watched the Nevermore fly away.

~~~

"If that Nevermore exits the forest's perimeters or goes high enough, those two would probably be disqualified from entering Beacon as students. And if they jump from that height, there's a high likelihood that the Nevermore would retaliate while they're still in mid-air. Someone would need to stun the Nevermore first to allow the two to jump." Pyrrha explained with concern, causing Ruby to tense her body as she silently squeezed her hand onto Jaune's arm, eliciting a small yelp.

"But how would we do that? That Nevermore looks close to 200 meters above the ground." Weiss raised her brow, not noticing the panicked state Ruby was in, "None of us has a gun for the occassion, nor do we have someone with the talent to shoot that far. It's their fault anyways for getting caught by a Nevermore, therefore, they should just get disqualified-"

"I'll do it." Ruby immediately cut off the girl's words as soon as she heard the word 'disqualified', "Up there is my sister and Blake, a new friend of ours. I am not going to watch as those two get disqualified."

In an instant, she pulled out Crescent Rose from her back, immediately transforming it to its scythe mode and stabbing the ground for stability. She then changed the magazine, pulling out another one from her pouch on her side, this one colored pitch black compared to her other magazines.

"The rest of you, be prepared to catch them just in case they can't do their landing strategy from that high up." Ruby quickly commanded, "And Pyrrha, Milo has a scope right? Spot for me."

"Sure thing." Pyrrha simply nodded as she began to twirl her spear, the mechanism inside quickly transforming it into a rifle, eliciting a gasp from Jaune as he followed the other four down the platform.

"From that far? You really think you can hit a flying Nevermore with two students on it? I'd rather believe in fairy tales than this." Weiss puffed out an air of disapproval as Ruby began to concentrate on her aim.

"300 meters and rising. Target still moving at similar speeds, your best bet is to pick off its right wing from the position it's facing." Pyrrha merely continued, with the rest waiting for something to happen.

"You see those few feathers that's kinda shiny by the joint of the wing?"

"Yeah, fire when ready." Pyrrha confirmed Ruby's target as Weiss pressed on.

"Give it up Ruby, you're putting those two in more harm than good if your bullet hits them-"

"Weiss."

The young girl cut off her partner's remark as she continued to focus on her aim, her voice tone changing drastically to a slow whisper, completely concentrated on what was at stake, almost sounding lifeless and robotic, "You came from Atlas so you might not know... I have scored top points in live training, and ranked first in target exams in not just the combat school I went to, but on every combat school in Vale of my batch. I have achieved 79 confirmed target kills during the annual junior Grimm huntsman tournament, ranking 20th on the Vale national leaderboard while using those cheap disgraceful guns the Vale government provided us with."

"What are heck are you going on about-"

"Currently, my weapon here is fitted with a .50 caliber bolt-action chamber with a 29-inch barrel, the largest size legally allowed for a combat student, with the option to switch to either a 5.56 or 7.62mm, with a semi-auto, automatic, or burst fire setting if the occasion calls for it. It is also currently loaded with a 8,750-lien custom-made black-tipped .50-caliber high-explosive incendiary round the size of my entire hand, with the bullet weighing in at more than half a kilo. It can theoretically go through 10 inches of solid steel at a range of 2-3 kilometers, and the propellant used is made with a 40/60% ratio mix of high-grade fire and gravity dust weighing in at about 250 grams, enabling it to go well past 1500 meters per second at its highest velocity."

Ruby paused as she finalized her shot.

"You may be right when you say you are better than me at just about anything, considering I have not finished my final two years of combat school. But if there is one thing I know that you don't, it's that-"

BANG

Ruby turned coldly towards a stunned Weiss with the same serious face as before, unfazed by the fact that the sound was akin to an artillery gun being fire.

"I never miss."

SKRIEE

"Hit confirmed!" Pyrrha triumphantly declared as the bullet went through the Nevermore's right wing, leaving behind a baseball-size hole as the pain caused it to drop both Blake and Yang to the ground.

"She's gotta be the most dangerous 15 year old I've ever met..." Free chuckled as he turned to focus on the two falling girls, Yang seemingly brimming with excitement and joy from the series of events, and Blake who was- not as excited.

"They're falling too fast." Ren explained calmly, unsure if he, Nora or Jaune would have the capabilities to catch them.

"Wouldn't you have a semblance perfect for this?" Free then turned to face Yelena, who simply replied with a raised brow.

"I don't think my ice can catch them." Yelena explained. It wasn't due to Ozpin's request the brought her to that conclusion, only, she really wasn't sure if she was capable. 'Ice is hard' she thought, '"I cannot make a construct that could soften their fall."

"Well... maybe try something? Your biggest ice construct that could probably save them." He replied back, eliciting a sigh from the rabbit.

"Ah screw subtlety." Yelena muttered as she quickly reached out her hand, ice quickly freezing the grass in front of her, only to immediately shoot upwards, forming a smooth ramp almost the size as a bus standing lengthwise. While impressive, the rest did not believe it could safely catch the two.

"Couldn't you make a snow floor? I don't think an ice slide would 'soften the impact'." Free asked in concern as Yelena shot him a glare, seemingly defensive that he was misunderstanding her arts.

"There is a difference between ice and snow you know! I don't think I can form snow."

"W-wait what? They're different?!" Free winced.

"Guys? They're getting closer... Yang seems capable enough to land on her own-"

Bang

"Yep." Ren's words were immediately interrupted by shotgun shells as Yang countered her descent by using the recoil of her gauntlets, though Blake did not have that feature.

"Alright, what if you extend your ice to engulf Blake then slow her descent?" Free once again suggested, to the annoyance of Yelena.

"You really think I can do that with hard ice? Even I have my limits-"

"Just make a tall pillar! I will be fine!" Blake shouted in the air, already producing her weapon.

"Well, she seems to have an idea." Free shrugged as Yelena once more focused her arts, this time shooting up her tallest construct that reached close to 30 meters in height. Immediately, Blake struck the pillar with her blade, sliding down it in a spiral manner, the ice shrieking as she carved her way down. It did slow down her descent, enough to the point when she merely needed to roll as she impacted the ground, as graceful as a... well, cat.

"Huh, well that worked..." Nora scratched her head as she looked at the now carved up pillar of ice, then turning to face Blake whose fingers were burning up from the over exertion.

"When I catch that Cardin guy-" She gritted in pain as Yang impacted the ground soon after, her gauntlets smoking from overuse.

"When I catch that Cardin guy."Yang immediately repeated, her hair turning a fiery gold as her anger flared, only, her fury wouldn't last long as the sound of Crescent Rose folding back to its neutral state was heard.

"Yang!" Ruby cried out soon after, leaving the still bewildered Weiss with Pyrrha as she ran towards her sister.

"Ruby!" Yang's fire dissipated as she, in turn, charged towards Ruby, both siblings embracing each other like long lost sisters, "That was you right? There's no one else that would carry a gun capable of leaving a hole through a Nevermore than you."

"Yeah, though you kinda owe me 4 thousand lien. And something else." Ruby turned to face her head directly towards her sister's face, revealing a malicious smile that only elicited a sigh from the older sibling.

"Well, you know I can't say no to that smile of yours after what you just did..." Yang tightened her squeeze.

"I wouldn't want to enter Beacon without you..." Ignoring her sister's monstrous strength, Ruby simply replied back.

Just a few feet away, Yelena moved to aid Blake, forming a bar of ice for the girl to sooth her burning hands with.

"So... why were you two on that creature?" She asked,

"Some guy name Cardin tricked us by waking up that Nevermore. I guess he wanted to reduce the competition or something?" Blake sighed as Yelena and Jaune raised their brow.

"Wait... Cardin?-"

SKRIEE

"Guy! The Nevermore is coming!"

Chapter 17: The Emerald Forest; Finale

Chapter Text

BOOM

The Nevermore impacted the ground as it let out a shuddering roar, enraged by Ruby's attack.

"Um guys? We should probably get going!" Jaune mustered up the courage to shout,

"Wait, but our relics!"

"Don't worry sister, I got you!" Ruby explained as she flashed a set of chess pieces towards Yang and Blake, seemingly having pre-planned even this situation.

"Well- that's convenient-"

SKRIIEE!

The Nevermore roared once again as it took flight, prompting everyone to finally evacuate the area as they began to make their way towards the ruins.

"Dammit, again with the running..." Yelena couldn't help but sigh as she eyed everyone else, all in top shape (save for Jaune), carrying heavy equipment, with some even wearing armor on top, "Hey Free, I thought you said we could take this thing?"

"We could have if it didn't just impact the ground the way it did! A Nevermore has the ability to signal every Grimm to its location, THAT INCLUDES THE-"

BOOM

An explosion of stone and dirt erupted from behind them as trees were flung to the distance, the Nevermore had attracted the now two Eater of Worlds to their location.

"So that's an Eater of Worlds!" Jaune yelped as the pair of giant centipedes arced acrossed the sky in a similar manner to a dolphin jumping from the water, only to burrow back to the ground and repeat the movement, rapidly gaining speed from the action as it did not have to spend time digging.

"As cool as it is that we're being chased by three Alpha Grimms at the same time, how the hell is this supposed to be Beacon's initiation?!" Yang commented as their attention was briefly returned to the Nevermore, screeching as it began to fly directly upwards and into the clouds.

"Best of the best, school for huntsmen kinda schtick!" Nora gleefully skipped as the thrill of what was going on entertained her.

"How are you even excited we're running from our deaths!" Jaune, being the somewhat normal man of the group, could merely comment as strange whistling could be heard above them.

"Feathers!" Ren warned as both he and Nora dodged first as massive feathers impaled the ground at speeds similar to a bullet, also serving as barricades as the feathers width spanned the size of a small car.

"What the heck was that?!" Jaune nearly ran towards a feather as Pyrrha pulling him closer to her side.

"Alphas, they can do crap other Grimms can't do." Free's explanation was interrupted as the Nevermore returned from the skies, instead plunging its entire body directly onto the group.

"Does this also include throwing itself right onto us?!" The sky dimmed as the Nevermore's descent fell faster and faster, causing everyone to pick up their pace.

"No- that's just a thing Nevermores do. A bit annoying!" Free couldn't help but chuckle as if Jaune didn't know the behavior of a Nevermore. Well, the boy didn't.

"A bit?!-" Jaune's cry of horror from Free's joke was cut as he tripped on a random rock (again), immediately falling behind as the group could not afford to stop.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha and Ruby shouted as the latter rushed to save the fallen boy.

"What are you doing you-"

"Go ahead, I'll be fine!" Ruby waved away Weiss's sudden pang of concern as she looked towards Yang, her own sister, for confirmation. Only, she did not see any sense of uncertainty from the blonde girl, as if Yang completely trusted Ruby with whatever stunt she was about to do.

"Pick up the pace people that Nevermore is closing in!" Free's words shook off Weiss's surprise as he also completely trusted Ruby with her decision, though not in the same reasoning as Yang's, merely going off Ruby's word and not the 'how' she would do it.

Dashing towards Jaune, Ruby grunted as she slung the fallen boy's arm around her shoulders, using her leg strength to begin moving.

"R-Ruby?! You don't need to carry me like this." Jaune winced as the pain on his knee spiked. While it was partially due to the sight of Ruby being slowed down, it was also from the fact that she, a girl smaller than him, was also carry and saving him.

"Nah, I kinda need this for my Semblance."

"What-" As the darkness of the Nevermore was mere moments from impacting the ground where Ruby and Jaune stood, the boy noticed as a cloud of rose petals began to envelop them, with their speeds picking up in a supernatural manner.

BOOM

The ground shuddered as the massive Grimm impacted the ground, causing the ground to erupt into a cloud of dust. This also caused the group, which narrowly evaded the attack, to stop and turn.

"Ruby!" Although her cold appearance so far would say otherwise, Weiss couldn't help but call out, eliciting a quick glance from Yang and Blake in surprise, only to return back to the cloud of dust, where a second cloud of rose petals emerged. The red cloud flew quickly away from the much larger cloud, only to fall back to the ground as both Ruby and Jaune stumbled outwards from the dispersed rose petals.

"A little help?" Ruby could only groan as this was the second time she had crashed onto the ground with another person's weight pressed on her, eliciting a simple chuckle from her sister who pulled the girl up for a hug. Around her, the group let out a sigh of relief as Free nodded.

"Some semblance you got there!" He chuckled as he grabbed Jaune by his collar, slinging the boy on his shoulder and alleviating the young girl from his weight.

"Hey put me down!"

"Well, it is a pretty nifty semblance for going places, I often trained by carrying Yang." Jaune's words fell on deaf ears as Ruby stuttered, surprise by Free's compliment, with Yang throwing a quick 'hey!' as she finished explaining.

"Whatever semblance you have Ruby, it does not change the fact we are still being chased by those three!" Weiss explained as the Nevermore took flight once more, resuming the chase albeit now with Jaune as Free's shoulder luggage. It did not take long for the group to finally reach their destination as Blake, the fastest, stood by the cliffside, surveying the supposed battleground that would allow them to defeat the Eater of Worlds. Now viewing the ruins up close, the girl widened her eyes at the state of the ruins, with crumbling concrete pillars shooting upwards from a seemingly bottomless ravine, with barely any room to walk on decrepit walkways.

"The ruins are just up ahead! But there seems to be a problem!" Blake shouted as she guessed that a single pathway couldn't support them all, "We would need to split up."

"Easier said than done!-" Weiss's words were interrupted as she dodged a blob of acidic spit raining from the approaching Eater of Worlds. Blake returned her focus back to the platforms as she noticed that the far larger platforms were located further within the ravine. It was evidently far more stable, however, it would place them in the middle of the ravine, supported by the same crumbling pillars supporting every other broken platform.

"We could jump!" Blake answered back as she pointed towards the platforms in the middle of the ravine.

"Jump?!" Jaune (still on Free's shoulders), shouted in both surprise and horror.

"That- actually works..." Weiss suddenly stuttered, to the surprise of just about everyone who turned to look at her, "What? It's just like what she said, the only way forward is jumping to the next platform."

"Huh, well that's that then..." Free shrugged as he quickly made his way to the edge, intending to jump first, much to Jaune's disapproving grunts behind him.

"Wait!" A sudden objection from Pyrrha froze Free as he turned with an annoyed look.

"Now what?!"

"We can't all jump on the same platform, then all three alphas would attack us."

"We'll go take on the Nevermore, we've got the best range weapons out of the ten of us." Ruby suddenly explained as she looked at Yang and Blake, who were both keen on settling things with their kidnapper, and Weiss, who seemingly tilted her head in confusion.

"Ruby, wouldn't Pyrrha be a better marksman than- your sister?" Weiss turned to eye Yang's gauntlets, who simply gave a grunt of acknowledgement for the girl's question.

"Trust me, princess, I know what I am doing. Right Rubes?"

"Heck yeah." Ruby simply smiled as Weiss finally gave up and nodded, having gain some respect for her partner after what she had done earlier.

"Besides, that Nevermore has a hole on its wing, it's significantly slower now." Blake added, with Weiss nodded again to the comment.

"Well then, good luck to you four, we'll split up three for three against each Centipede then." Free explained as he patted Jaune's back, who could only sigh in agreement as the blonde boy knew it was logical.

"Considering they wouldn't have the space to move, they'll be easy targets!" Nora excited explained, to Free's disapproval...

"And how are you going to factor their sturdy scales? Their corrosive spit? And besides, they can still crush you with their weight, same thing as with the Nevermore..." Free chuckled, freezing the energetic girl in place.

"I- well-" Nora flinched, only for a golden idea to suddenly hit her in the head, eyes beaming golden as if she had just solved world hunger, or even the global problem concerning the Grimm, "We hit them harder!"

~

"I mean- you're not wrong?" Free, and the majority of the group, tilted their head in unison, only to be interrupted by the roars of the Grimm closing behind them.

"Can we go now?"

"Alright..." The first to jump was Ruby's team, with Ruby leading the charge with her semblance, Weiss used her gravity glyphs to propel her forward while Yang 'punched' her way through the sky. Yet it was Blake who took everyone's attention as her agility was beyond anyone's (besides Ren) level, parkouring her way through the supposedly unstable platforms, she climbed through the ruins with grace, and reached the platform just behind Ruby.

"Well Jaune? I'd love to bring you down, but answer me honestly, can you make this jump?" Free chuckled once more as it was their turn to jump, with Pyrrha's group making their way through their platform.

"Just- just carry me..." Jaune couldn't help but answer once more, seemingly banking on the idea he would regain his pride during whatever fight was to come.

"Alright then," Free then turned to Yelena as the girl simply sighed, completely understanding what he was waiting for.

'The logic of this world is seriously baffling...' Yelena rolled her eyes as she waved her hand towards their chosen platform, creating a bridge for them to cross.

"Cool..." Free whistled, watching Yelena cross the newly created bridge first, only to follow her soon after-

"Acid!" Jaune screamed as Free only had the second to turn around as a glob of acid impacted him, causing the ice bridge to break away and send the two boys falling. Miraculously however, the larger of the two was just quick enough to launch the boy straight towards Pyrrha's group, landing safely as Pyrrha and Ren caught him by the ledge.

"Free!" The groups called out as Free continued to fall, taking the brunt of the force as the green substance coated his arms and paralyzing them in the process. Yelena was quick to move as she slammed her hands onto the ground, ice beginning to grow from the ground she touched, the shooting downwards to Free's elevation. A moment later, a platform of ice shoots out right under the still-falling boy, catching him in the last second.

As both Yelena and Free slowly recovered from such an attack, Jaune couldn't help but alert his group to the approaching centipede, taking a big gulp as they all assumed a battle stance.

"Well- At least it can't burrow now..." Jaune winced as the centipede roared.

~~~

Yelena commanded the ice platform of Free's to rise as she watched the groups above her beginning to fight.

"You alright?" Yelena asked as she then eyed one of the centipedes cautiously thread across the platforms, making its way towards them, the closest to the ground.

"That acid hit my arm and damaged the insides, it's currently deadweight!" Free groaned as his aura repelled the acid off his body, "I could still use my other arm, but I would need time to remove the damaged one."

"Can't you fight with that thing still hanging on you?" Yelena raised her brow as the boy flashed a sign of disgust with her words.

"What do you think I aim? Flailing around this acid soaked arm while I fight? It'll screw me over." He explained as it was Yelena's turn to raise her brow.

"If my arms break, I don't just tear them away."

"This is different, these are prosthetics." Free fired back, only to grumble away as he began to detach his hand, "Whatever, it'll take me a minute since the acid seemed to have severed my locking mechanic, forcing me to do it manually..."

"Alright then, I'll give you a minute..." Yelena sighed as she turned to face the centipede that was now on their platform, ready to strike, though acknowledging its position and surrounding spaces, "But for now, I would like to take on this damn thing."

With a flash of her hand, Yelena began her onslaught of attacks as icicles formed around her while the floor below froze over, with ice barricade rising to halt the centipede's approach. Yet as her icicles made contact, it proved ineffective as they merely bounced off the creature, unfazed with its thick shell and massive size.

'I could definitely take it out if I merely increase my potency, but that would give me away to Free..' Returning to face her partner, she was reminded of Ozpin's words, of her needing to keep her cards to herself, 'It should be a minute now...'

"My ice doesn't have enough time to freeze the Grimm over!" Yelena winced as she looked back. They were loosing ground, and moving to another platform would have endangered the other groups as the chances of their Grimm escaping were high, "How long is this minute of yours?"

Click

"All done." Free's words caught the girl's attention as he moved past her. He was missing his right arm, discarded a few feet as the acidic spit continued to melt through the circuitry and pistons. Yet even without his arm, he seemed far more confident at handling the Grimm than he was at the platform holding the relics.

"So all I have to do I stall it long enough for you to take care of it?"

"I've never taken a beast this big before, so I'm not sure how long it would take for me to channel my semblance." Yelena explained as she began to notice something hovering behind Free's back, three disks of light lined up parallel to him, red, white, and yellow.

"Very well then. Maybe a minute would be alright for you?" Returning to face the Eater of Worlds, which was finally getting through to breaking the last of Yelena's barricades, Free began to move forward slowly, before speeding up into a mad dash as a familiar sight surprises Yelena. Free's entire body began to envelop itself with a cloud of silver petals, rose petals to be exact. It was the same way Ruby had used her semblance, all down to even the distinct flight pattern the petals danced around her body before completely enveloping herself, it was happening onto Free.

"Thanks... Free..." Yelena couldn't help but shake her head at her partner's recklessness as she turned her attention to herself, uncaring of what was happening just in front of her. She noted how it was to be the first time she would be channeling her arts in this new world, without the fear of Oripathy taking her over her body, without the need to kill or maim.

Slowly, her heart rate slowed as the air around her began to drop in temperature, her mind a mix of past and current emotions and memories, as if seeking the very core of her existence, as it was, in her mind, the true idea of what Arts was. Throughout her entire life did she experience pain, but no more, as she was instead given a choice to live another. Though it could be seen as selfish, to be reborn in a world similar to her own, but to leave the fight against the injustice for the Faunus, it was her own choice, after all, she only wanted peace, and nothing more.

'What would you sing for?' She was now fighting for a new life away from violence, her own path in life, and what better to celebrate such moment... than a lullaby to her old life?

Спи, спи
маленький-

~~~

The cloud of silver petals slammed right towards the Eater of Worlds like a ram, immediately dispersing itself and revealing Free's hand on one of the centipede's many sets of limbs, grappling it by the very base where its scales was its weakest, with his legs using its other limbs like a ladder. Without its ability to move under the ground, the Eater of Worlds could only thrash in an attempt to shake off Free, who stood firmly in place as his hair began to flair up in a brilliance of silver.

"Now how exactly does this work?" Turning his attention towards the head of the centipede, his eye shimmered a brief flash of white as a black sigil similar to that of Weiss's own manifests just above the Grimm, instantly beginning to bush both figures onto the ground, but- "Not strong enough."

Free then turned his attention to the ground as another black sigil manifested on the ground, increasing the gravity even more as even the massive beast finally gave in by falling to the ground, unable to move. It was the perfect trap for such a massive target-

В небесах одна

Free suddenly paused as Yelena's voice seemingly drowned out the creature's roars. Her voice was unnaturally loud, even as if invading his mind as his focus simply turned towards her.

Догоняет всегда

Turning to Yelena, Free widened his eyes as he watch the girl beginning to glow a pale white, rising from the ground in the process.

Ночное время

Her words were neither English nor any other language he knew of, almost otherworldly yet divine, her whispers softening his tensed body as if a lullaby to pull him to rest. Though he could not understand a single verse, he still felt captivated to listen onwards-

Всех поймает, а сейчас

Only, as if understanding her lyrics through instinct alone did he finally realize the danger he was in. It was no lullaby for the tired, but a lullaby to life-

Песенку тебе я спою

A massive explosion of extremely cold air expanded from Yelena as everything it touched froze to ice,

Баюшкины баю, баю

Ice as blue as the depths of the seas grew across the surfaces of stone like living plants, each one rooting themselves and even cuttting the surrounding stone around,

Земля она то вертится

The creature's roars, once drowned by the soft lullaby of Frostnova, were silenced forever as its body were entangled by these living ice growing around it,

Глазки закрываются

Its body freezing along with the stone below, till it was nothing more than a sculpture of ice of its last moments,

Песенку тебе я спою

Free gritted his teeth as the sigils below and above him also began to freeze over, with only the warmth of aura barely keeping him from freezing over,

Баюшкины баю

In just a matter of seconds, nearly the entire half of her side of the ravine was turned into a frozen cavern, even catching the second Eater of Worlds that was falling due to Pyrrha's team in mid air and freezing it in place,

Глазки закрываются...

Yelena's voice slowly quieted as her body finally returned to the ground, her legs giving way from the exhaustion of the entirety initiation and her final attack taking a toll on her body. She understood that her attack was somewhat too much for the scenario she was in, and maybe a weaker attack would have done the same job, but she just could not help it as she wanted to test the limits of her current powers without the hindrance of Oripathy.

Yelena guessed that she was as strong as she was during her prime back at Terra. It was not the fact that she got strong, it was the fact that she could get even stronger, her previous limit was not a benchmark to a higher level, enabling her arts to excel with a completely rejuvenated body unhindered by the constant grip of death in her body.

She also couldn't help but chuckle for a bit as her recovering hearing could pick up cheers from the other eight, Nora jumping around, with Jaune and Weiss in disbelief from the attack. Yet the most surprising sight was the young Ruby at the other side of the ravine, a hundred feet above everyone else, with whatever attack she had done to take out the Nevermore having gouged a portion of the cliffside off, the two locked eyes to each other, and both simply smiled.

"Y-you good?" Free groaned as he slowly raised himself above the frozen corpse of the Grimm, its faded body leaving behind its skeletal remains trapped in ice. Having also been caught by the blast, Free was also entirely covered in ice flakes, with his clothes having frozen over, eliciting tiny cracking sounds every time he moved.

"I feel great..." Yelena sighed back, closing her eyes with a smile as she knew the initiation was finally over, "Not dying, if that's what you're thinking..."

~~~

...SCHING...
...
...SCHING...
...
...SCHING...
...

The slow, hypnotic screech of Gravestone's blade dragging across the whetstone was serious getting onto Roman's nerves now. He did understood the risky business he was going to go through when the supposed 'leader of the White Fang', who seemed nothing more than an angry red-head teenage bull, decided to approach him, a human. He understood that whatever business the White Fang had was going to be game changing, enough to even flip the balance of Vale, if not, the entire world, though it was more of the near million lien he was promised that he signed up. But what he was not expecting, was a time bomb ready to go off at any moment, and he somehow had to baby sit alongside stealing the entire dust reserves of Vale.

Turning to view the White Fang members working under him, he noted how strange it was that they, Faunus, were also scared of the masked second-in-command. It was a far more noticeable effect than the same members standing right beside their own leader. There was something really strange going on, and if he was to escape from this endeavor, at least in one piece, he needed answers.

"You, deer girl- Yeah you with the sniper." Roman stood from his throne of mostly broken chairs and mattresses as he pointed towards one of the nearby watch guards on duty, "Come by my office really quickly."

~

Roman lit a cigar as he met up with the rather small deer girl wearing the classic, though in his definition, generic, uniform of the White Fang. Ensuring that there was seemingly no one eyeing the two, he stepped inside one of the warehouse's small offices, one without a window, and locked the door. This caused the timid girl to squeak as she was never expecting the criminal to do all this.

"Alright, deer girl, or whatever your name is-"

"I- you can call me Deery, human," The girl stammered.

"Well, Deery, you seem to be a good soul working in a bad world, though, a rather experienced worker," Roman leaned onto the desk behind him as he began, "wasn't the whole schtick of the White Fang about Faunus helping the Faunus?"

"Y-yes? That's why the boss expanded our operations to Vale in the first place."

"Well then, shouldn't it also be promoting some kind off..." Roman lowered his voice as he attempted to find a proper word without referring too much on cult behavior, "hospitable atmosphere with your kind? Whole 'love thy neighbor' kinda way?"

"Yeah?"

"Then can you tell me what the hell's the deal with that second-in-command of yours? As far as I can tell, you treat that guy on the same spectrum as you guys treat me or any other human." Roman wagered that the relationship between the members and Gravestone were a lot worse, tempted to make the connection of a human view of a Faunus as monsters.

"G-Gravestone?! Well s- I mean- what's wrong with them?!" Deery's face immediately flashed red as alarm bells began ringing in her thoughts. Just the mere mention of Gravestone was like a knife to her throat.

"Don't worry, chill, relax, this conversation is going nowhere. No one will hear us, just between the two of us, cutie." Roman chuckled with an assured smile as he proceeded to give a rhythmic knock onto the door, with a similar knock being replied back, "See? I got my assistant, that Neapolitan girl with a parasol, on standby, so on with your word."

'But I did not see that girl following us...' Deery froze as she wracked her mind. As a sniper, she had a pretty good perception on things, and was generally seen as the best of the White Fang's snipers, 'her semblance?'

"Kiddo I ain't got all day, nor the patience."

"Eep! Alright, alright... Gravestone isn't a White Fang member..." Deery finally began as her feet shuffled, still nervous of speaking, "They merely work directly under Adam. Nobody knows who they are, as they've never removed their mask or their armor..."

"Then... why are you all so scared? You're working under me and you ain't scared of me."

"They're a monster.... Something about them is so- unnatural." Deery shuddered as she recalled a memory, "They always smell like rotten blood, their shadow behind them staring directly onto us, as if capable of killing us in an instant. Whenever they are assigned to a mission, it would often end in a catastrophic collateral amount of casualties, all human, but enough to frighten the local Faunus population they worked in. Some even call them the embodiment of violence and fear, worse than any Grimm attack."

"Whew, so that's what I'm dealing with, some psychotic serial killer on a leash?" Roman whistled, he had dealt with killers before, but a killer enough to shake up a small militia such as the White Fang was something new.

"What is weird however is that Gravestone isn't here to oversee the Vale expansion-" As if finding now to be the right time to warn the criminal, Deery added, "Something happened about a year ago that changed our boss. He began sending out Gravestone and hisother second-in-commandon more and more missions. Finding something. That thing out there isn't here to help us, but to find something in this city."

"Oh? I mean I was never going to rely on that guy but- do tell." Though he was never keen into looking at the White Fang internal politics, Roman was indeed curious by such a revelation, "How sure are you whatever Gravestone is search for is here?"

"From what I've heard-"

'she can only be in Vale, it's the only answer left.'

Chapter 18: So about Rooster Teeth

Chapter Text

Holy sh*t I just woke up and Rooster Teeth is shutting down. While that won't be a problem for me considering I am still doing volume 1 of this series, RWBY has been the show I'm most vocal about for years now. While it was Mad Max, the Fallout Series, LOTR and Star Trek that got me to writing, RWBYKnights was what skyrocketed this account.

For so long, RWBY's quality has been constantly degraded with poor writing and decisions from the staff, especially with the utter insanity that was the DC crossover. It was a show that had so much potential but somehow struck almost every single wrong decision possible.

What made the whole thing worse was the writers' insistent reasoning of them simply following Monty's vision. Monty Oum, to those who do not know much about RWBY, was the creator of the show before he tragically died in between volumes 2 and 3 of RWBY. He was the mastermind behind all the action sequences back then.

Anyways, RT's insistence on them simply following the vision of someone who died 9 years ago somewhat struck an uncomfortable sensation in me, as if instead of sucking up on their mistakes, they are throwing Monty under the bus for poor writing and stuff. Hell, they've been playing this whole charade til the very end with Volume 9 when the whole big revelation simply went 'Yep, we planned that out since Volume 1-2.'

I am not writing this message as a way to hop onto the bandwagon of constantly sh*tting on RT, or saying 'I am right', that's like beating on a dead horse for being slow, I am writing this message cause I feel hopeful for the future of RWBY. From what I've heard, Warner Bros is going to hold onto RT's IP until someone comes and buy it from them.

The amount of studios that have proven themselves could work wonders in doing RWBY on future volumes. Heck, RT was too prideful to do a full rework on the show, but other studios might as well rework the show, to unlock RWBY's true potential.

And even then, RWBY will live on in the hearts of many, I'll still be here writing this series, and so will others with their fanfics and other works. This may have been an abrupt message for you guys, but I just needed to get this out.

The whole point of me writing this crossover was to get people from the RWBY side to go check out Arknights, hence why the original version of the story written on Wattpad was so heavily sided on the Arknights content, but it was only when a few comments began saying they were watching RWBY cause of this story that I made the realization that a crossover should not be heavily depended on one side, but should be cared equally.

So to those who have not seen RWBY yet, I recommend watching it, it's a pretty decent show besides a few many road bumps here and there. That's all for now.

Chapter 19: The Other Perspective

Chapter Text

The sound of gunfire and stone breaking echoed on the tops of the ruins as Ruby's team warded off the approaching Nevermore as it crashed onto the far taller of the pillars.

"Your sister's gauntlets is a gun?!" Weiss raised her voice as she eyed the blonde girl shooting out a barrage of bullets from punching air. It was already hard enough to accept Ruby's weapon as a farming scythe/rifle thing, and it did take a while for her to understand any other weapon, such as her first time viewing Pyrrha's battles live on TV, "Won't the live ammunition blow up around her arms?"

"Oh please, what's the worry about princess?" Yang chuckled as she fired another blast. While Atlas was known for their technological advancements, they were ironically simplistic when it came to many designs. A sword is a sword while a gun is a gun, it is all they could ever be. Such was meant to establish a sense of standardization and camaraderie between each person, and Weiss fell under such belief, as her rapier, discounting the chamber containing her dust storage, was by far the simplest weapon of the team.

"Whatever, don't go crying to the infirmary when your gauntlets blow up." Weiss sighed as she then turned to face the youngest girl, "Didn't you have a plan in mind? We can't just keep stalling by jumping around the ruins like some playground, and none of our bullets could pierce that Nevermore's feathers, unless you'd want to spend another one of those black tip bullets of yours."

"First of, I do have a plan, I just need to find the space for it," Ruby did a double take as she eyed a set of pillars conveniently close together, "Actually, I found the space for it. Second off, I may have forgotten to measure the correct amount of dust rationing, as the last one weakened the chamber and one more of that bullet might blow up Crescent Rose."

"Really now? Well beside your pretty much broken weapon, what kind of amazing idea do you have?" Weiss raised her brow as a grin grew from the young girl.

"Ever played Angry Pigs?"

~~~

"Whoa!" Jaune reflexively jumped backwards as another glob of acid rain down on the group. He could hear his heart beat as he watched the other three go on with fighting the massive creature. They weren't even able to break through the centipede's tough scales like what Free had warned them about, merely annoying the thing as its attacks only got more frequent.

The more he looked at the scene in front of him, the more desperate the situation became. He wasn't even sure how they could deal with the creature, or even escaping-

Tick

Jaune's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he felt small fragments of dust trickle down onto his head, enough to make him wished he had gotten a helmet, but also enough for him to look up. What quickly greeted him was a roof, a second platform made of cracked stone right on top of them.

"The ruins..." The boy muttered as his eyes suddenly widened, a plan forming in his thoughts.

"Nora! Come here for a bit!" Jaune mustered up the courage and shouted.

"What now blonde? Kinda busy over here!" Nora, rather annoyed, turned to face him while currently hanging on one of the centipede's jaws.

"You can't pierce its armor! But that thing can!" Jaune pointed towards the upper ruins as even Ren and Pyrrha had also heard 0f Jaune's plan.

"Well why didn't 'cha say so?! What can I do?" Nora let out a smirk as the trio backed off for a moment, with Jaune pulling out his shield to join in the fight.

"The Eater of World is off by a few feet, we'd need to bring it closer to us. Nora, can your hammer break the ruins above?"

"Break? Oh I can break all right!" Nora let out a maniacal laugh as, with nearly inhuman strength, jump towards the upper ruins, noticing Ruby's team around a set of pillars.

"Alright then, let's get to it." Jaune nodded as he eyed the other two, both beginning an assault of bullets as he banged his shield with his blade, "Come here you ugly!"

The Grimm roared as it did just that, making a mad dash at it slammed right onto the pillar where the trio were standing at. It let out a roar as both Pyrrha and Ren swiftly grappled onto the beast's limbs, while Jaune himself moved towards another area of the platform, taking time to hurl a small rock at its face, to some success, "Over here."

The creature roared once more as its ligaments turned to face the boy, and, uncaring about the two students already pinning it down, charged towards Jaune once more, spewing acid at his general direction from which he dodged and block. Surprisingly, his shield bore the brunt of all the spit, letting out the familiar hiss of melting steel, yet oddly enough, his shield did not melt away, as compared to Free's arm.

"You're pretty slow aren't you?!" Jaune taunted one last time as he now found himself at the very edge of the platform. And with yet another charge, Jaune simply braced. It was unsure whether it was simply the thrill of what was happening that caused him not to faulter, or some other reason, but he simply stood and watched, with merely a smile on his face and his shield braced in front of his chest piece.

"Nora!" The boy suddenly spoke as the centipede finally stopped in place, rising and towering above Jaune in an attempt to crush him. Only, it was immediately interrupted as the ceiling above them explodes into a landslide of rubble, with Nora front and center of it all.

"Goodnighty!" Nora roared as her hammer impacted the creature the same time the rest of the debri buried the creature, causing the grounds they were on to crumple. Nora was immediately launched backwards as she fired her weapon, sending out a point blank explosion to further quicken the destruction, yet also endangering Jaune as he tried to catch up with the falling platform.

Of all the things he wouldn't have accounted for, he did not think falling for a second time was it, yet, there was also something he learned during the short period of the initiation.

"I got you." Pyrrha swiftly caught Jaune as the two both watch the centipede disappear into the abyss. Pulling him up, the four regrouped with Nora letting out a hearty chuckle. They had done it, Jaune couldn't believe it. For how scuffed the past two days had been for him, he has solidified his place in Beacon, and was going to become a huntsman.

"Great job team!-" In that instant, a flash of cold air surged through them.

~~~

"This is a STUPID idea!" Weiss gritted her teeth as she channeled her semblance onto Blake's whip-like weapon, which were attached to both pillars, which were also carrying Ruby like a slingshot. While regular bullets weren't able to penetrate an Alpha Nevermore's feathers, there were other creative ways, such as a human slingshot carrying an oversized gardening scythe.

"What? It's basically the only way." Ruby chirped as she raised her thumbs on Blake, who was also surprised she went ahead with such a plan.

"I'm honestly more surprised by you thinking of using my weapon like this..." The other girl simply muttered, genuinely surprised even with her still harden emotions.

"Well, I've seen this once from my Uncle, should beexactlyhow he did it!" Ruby tilted her head, genuinely sure such a move a totally normal thing to do against a Nevermore.

"It is STILL a stupid idea!" Weiss repeated as she adjusted her positioning, using her gravity glyph to pull the massive slingshot.

"Yo! Nevermore's approaching! You guys ready up there?!" Yang shouted from afar as their focus returned back to the massive Grimm gliding across the ravine.

"."

There was a sudden still of silence as both groups locked eyes to each other, with the terrible red abyss of the monster's pair of eyes merely lazing at them with only the thought of death. Its whole body soared across the ruins, unscathed beside the hole caused from Ruby's bullet, the group of students knew it all now or never, the creature's next move capable of catching them.

"Now!" Ruby's words were instantly reciprocated as Yang emerges from the ruins, chucking a massive boulder towards the Grimm. Her aim was true as the boulder crashed onto the Nevermore, its greater mass and having caught the beast by surprise hurtled it onto the ravine wall. It roared as it tried to regain its stature, yet the blonde muscle girl merely came forward as well, using the knockback on her gauntlets to send herself as another projectile flying towards the neck of the Grimm.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as she grappled the Nevermore back to the ground, her hair a brilliant flare of fiery golden, it took just about everything to hold it down.

"Weiss!" Ruby quickly commanded as Weiss nodded, and with an instantaneous flick of her blade, the black sigil holding the slingshot put flickered white, and soon after, the Crimsonette watched herself soar across the air. It was a far more violent launch than the controlled spring trap during the start of the initiation. Faster, and headed straight to the solid stone face of the ravine. She could splatter into a bloody mess, it was one of the many reasons Weiss had objected, but not a reason for the young girl. Instead, she held Crescent Rose with all her strength, channeling all her aura onto her four limbs as she shot for her flaming golden sister.

It was all according to her plan. Since she did not know where the tough hide of the Nevermore's body connects with its softer neck from those speeds, she had used her own sister as the target, and in the split second of impact-

Yang jumped away, leaving with a smile as her fiery aura soon faded away, and replacing her was Ruby, the edge of her weapon embracing the neck of the massive bird, with a familiar black sigil now marked on the cliff side. No, she did not stand on the Nevermore like her sister was in pinning the great beast, she instead stood on the stone face, a close 90 degree, her entire body was burning from the impact.

The feeling of her feet on the wall was something akin to pulling rubber. It regularly pulled her entire figure right back towards the wall with a much stronger force than actual gravity, but a force she was still comfortable maneuvering in. Yet the play had not set as the girl had one final move to make, and a second later, a sudden glow in front of her began to appear as more and more sigils create a line for her to cross.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted from back at the slingshot, her blade focused to the cliffside, "Execute that Grimm!"

With a nod, Ruby roared as she began to run upwards, relying any sense of safety and trust to Weiss's semblance that kept her standing on the ravine, instead focusing her entire being dragging the Nevermore by the edges of her blade as it flailed around. Partially enhanced by Weiss's glyphs, her own adrenaline, and just about every ounce of her strength, she pushed on. Doing such action first hand broke the image of a badass heroine executing a beast the girl had in mind, instead, she could feel her blood boil within as each breath was broken by the need to exert even further, her hands seemingly bruising even through the passive shield of her aura, her legs ready to explode from each contraction. Rather inspiring, it was far more brutal to look at.

Yet her gamble was working as her blade began to dig through the creature, helped by the sheer weight of the bird itself, Crescent Rose had began to pierce through its incredibly durable feathers for armor.

What felt like minutes to Ruby were seconds to anyone else as she finally found herself now on the top of the ravine, having all her strength drained by that point, her boot was now resting at the very edge of the cliffside. Yet as she went for the final push upwards, she frozen. Body stiff as her exhaustion began to settle in. Ruby then turned below to see the Nevermore also beginning to fight back, yet past the black beast were her new friends, batch mates for her time in Beacon.

For that very moment, Ruby finally herself as a student in Beacon, and she very much would like to be apart of the academy, even if it did mean truly skipping 2 years. This was her final hurdle to that objective.

"Just die already!" Ruby let out one last roar as she turned her whole body to face the Nevermore, meeting it eye to eye as she pulled the lever of her scythe.

BANG

The muzzle of Crescent Rose flashed as the entire weapon finally pushed itself through the Nevermore, severing head from body as the recoil of the gun also sent the girl flying in the air. For a moment, everything stilled as Ruby grasped the situation. She had done it, slained her first Alpha no-less, gotten herself into Beacon Academy. Down below, she eyed as her other three in the group celebrated, with the Nevermore's corpse crashing onto the ruins below, only to fall to the abyss.

Falling back to the ground, Ruby's legs nearly gave out as she buckled under her own weight. Though her aura wasn't shattered, she had used so much energy it might as well would have. Yet, she decided to keep standing, watching as-

Песенку тебе я спою

A sudden and violent gust of wind blew past the girl as the temperature all around her dropped immediately. It was clear where the source of this sudden chaos came from, as it was only from the ice semblance of Yelena that Ruby had seen many times already. Yet the girl could not believe what she was seeming.

As the winds finally died down, she gawked at the incredible power of Yelena as just about everything in the ravine froze. The girl could not comprehend what had just happened, and how a single individual was capable of so much... but, she did not care. Whether it was the mental exhaustion or simply the incomprehensibility of the entire thing, she chose not to think too much about it. Instead, she smiled as both she and the white rabbit locked eyes with each other, both sharing a sense of accomplishment for what they had done, and admired the other's work.

Ruby collapsed as all her thoughts were washed away by her exhaustion, and in a rare moment for the weapon enthusiast, dropping Crescent Rose to the ground. For being her first day in Beacon, she had already met a handful of interesting figures, and she could not wait to meet more in the future.

Yet the day had not finished as a figure suddenly approached her from behind. Turning to meet the figure, her eyes widened as the distinct ID of a Beacon professor caught her eye first, only to realize the man wore heavy tactical gear, carrying a large solid brick of steel as a war hammer, and a shield on the other. As both locked eyes, the man smiled.

"You put up a good show to watch. Ruby Rose, welcome to Beacon Academy."

Chapter 20: Teams

Chapter Text

A city aflame, air burned an invisible fire, stone and steel melted into a soup of hot orange. In the centre of all this, a horned woman burned the hottest, looking down from her throne of destruction, she saw a single man beaten and battered, on one hand, he barely was able to carry a war hammer, and on the other, was the absence of an arm.

"Everyone has left you to die. To what reason do you side against your own kin?" The woman asked, on her hand, a molten greatsword formed, surrounding it, an aura of distorted, superheated air burned. The woman took a step forward, burning the stone into molten magma, she approached the man, yet, the man did not waver. He quickly attacked, swinging his hammer with all his might, the woman simply dodged as the hammer slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave of magma around the two.

"Tch. What a pain." She said as she swung her sword. The world around shuddered as the molten battlefield erupted once more in flames, yet, the man still stood, dodging the swipe, the strike instead melted a building behind him, collapsing as the man swung once more.

Just outside the battlefield, Yelena stood still, in awe at the unfaltering determination the man had, it reminded her of her father. This was her first time meeting someone that could 'somewhat' match the woman, no, this was the first time she saw someone unfazed by her. Beside her, a pale child in white walked up, with his frustration evident, the child gritted his teeth as he held onto a cane that he carried.

"How... how is he still fighting her?" The child said in rage, somewhat insulted that their leader was spending the effort to fight the badly injured man. Yelena only nodded as the man once more took a step back, retaliating through a flurry of blows that made the woman step back. As she expertly parried each hammer strike, Yelena only nodded, not wanting to see the end of this one-sided battle...

"So this is the strength of our enemy... She will remember this..." Yelena muttered as a finally swipe shuddered the burning city... silencing the battlefield.

"Rhodes Island..." The woman mutters as her greatsword dissipates into steam, staring forward to the horizon with her burning gaze...

~~~

Ace held his breath as he rode the elevator toward the top of Beacon's tower. For three years had he been working in Beacon as a professor, and about four years since he was transported here since his death, and not once was his secret ever found out.

He chose Beacon as a strategic means to gather information about the current world he was in, especially thanks to the Cross Continent Transmit System, which allowed for near-global communications between other individuals. Specifically, his entire team, and all other Rhodes Island operators who he had located, were currently under orders from him to stay hidden, using alternate identities, with the sole mission to find more individuals from their world of Terra.

'Can't be that bad...' Ace couldn't even think of a proper reason for Ozpin to call him. He had stayed out of trouble for the past three years, if he wanted to drink, it would have been when everyone else was, and to even refrained from getting drunk to spill information. Besides, the only other thing he had that would incite suspicion was to visit the CCT once a month or so, but that was easily solved with his team using coded words and playing off being his previous huntsman team and friends.

The elevator slowed to a halt as the door began to open, and immediately, Ace understood the reasoning of his summon.

"Ah, Professor Ace, you've arrived." The headmaster stood behind his desk with a smile, the same smile Ace had accustomed himself towards. He never knew what was inside the headmaster's head, his smile saying a whole lot of things or none at all. Yet Ozpin's intentions were laid bare as the man right in front of him was Patriot.

"Warrior of Rhodes Island." The wendigo had heard of a man who held off their leader from Yelena, with an arm missing from saving another one of his comrades, and a war hammer on the other. Even through description alone did he understand that the man in front of him was the very same.

"Whoa- hey there!" Ace raised his hands as if still trying to salvage whatever identity he had crafted for four years, though, he quickly gave up as he couldn't explain the giant Wendigo standing before him.

"You must be the Patriot of Reunion huh..." Ace's demeanour changed immediately as he deflated. Though both men were enemies, in their current scenario, they seemed more like reuniting allies in the alien world.

"If what my daughter had led me to expect, you fought valiantly against our leader." The wendigo praised the man as he then turned to the headmaster, "Is this why you called me again after our last meeting?"

"Yes actually, I had my suspicion, but the moment you and your daughter arrived, every suspicion I had about you, 'Professor' Ace, was solved." Ace merely applauded comically.

"Since when did you suspect my identity?"

"Well, you did mention your past employers being a bankrupt company known as Rhodes Island, and while I applaud you and your team's attempt to falsely create this 'Rhodes Island' company, even going so far as breaking into a government facility, tampering with state documents, and other crimes I am willing to forgive, I uncovered the facade about two years ago."

"And you never confronted me?!" Ace slightly raised his voice in surprise.

"I had my suspicions, and even had Glynda observe you for the longest time, but I could never pin anything on you besides those crimes. Additionally, you were our model professor." Ozpin explained, taking a sip of his tea in the process.

"Wait, you and other members of Rhodes Island have been here for years?" Patriot suddenly intervened, more curious of the time discrepancy. It was understandable that Yelena would have arrived on Remnant seemingly half a day before his arrival, considering that was also the distance between their deaths. But Ace's death was merely a week before both their own deaths.

"Yep, heck, the earliest an operator has appeared here seems to be 6 years ago. Yeah, I also realized the time discrepancy does not follow the time of our deaths. Additionally, it seems as if only specific individuals can be transported to this world." Ace hypothesized, striking the attention of both men.

"And what would those 'specific individuals' be, Professor Ace?" Ozpin asked, intrigued about the hypothesis.

"If it was just about anyone in Terra, then there would be millions of confused souls wandering around this world right about now, but instead the only guys from our world are people who participated in the battle of Chernobog. Rhodes Island, and you Reunion guys." Ace turned to face Patriot, who simply nodded in understanding.

"But that would also include the civilians who were killed in the fight, have any of your men identified one?"

"No, that's the weird part, so far, it's mostly been Rhodes Island operators, and now you and your daughter, i.e., reunion members," Ace explained.

"Would this 'battle of Chernobog', forgive me for my ignorance, also include a figure called the 'Emperor's Blade'?"

"The WHAT?! You mean to say such a guy got sent here?!" Ace took a step backwards as Ozpin's question caught him by surprise. If there was even a singular Emperor's Blade in Chernobog during the time of the battle, Reunion would not have attacked, nor would Rhodes Island infiltrate the city in the first place.

"No, my men scouted the city after it was taken over, an Emperor's Blade prides itself on being the will of Ursus. They would never hide. Even so, their very presence would be impossible to ignore." Patriot shook his head.

"But would you guys kindly tell me when did an Emperor's Blade enter this world? Now I'm curious." Ace requested, still perplexed by such a major character being transported into the world of Remnant.

"Very well then, have a seat, Professor Ace, this is going to take a while."

~

"Hmmm, so that leviathan-type Grimm Diablo was an Emperor's Blade huh? Well if the specifications aren't solely on those related to Chernobog, I've got no clue on what it could be. Then again, there seems to be a gap between each transportation." Ace quickly suggested, "Has there been any other figure from Terra between the great war and now?"

"None so far. That would only mean that each time-" Ozpin paused as a thought surfaced, "There really does seem to be a pattern to this..."

"As expected of the Headmaster, do you know anything related to our circ*mstance?" Patriot applauded the man as it seemed the mystery would be solved in his hands. Yet, Ozpin can only shake his head in disagreement.

"That, I cannot explain, but it seems as if each time people of your world transfer to ours, the balance of Remnant would be influenced to change. Whether it be something so small, or as large as the Great war, a new movement in this world will happen."

"huh, I- uh... thanks?" Ace raised a brow, rather surprised by the way the conversation went.

~~~Present Time~~~

Yelena quietly eyed the 'professor' as the other nine celebrated their accomplishment. They were all being transported back to Beacon by a bullhead, their own personal aircraft considering the group was the farthest away from the original location.

"You were amazing Ruby!- not to steal the credit from Miss Princess over here-" Yang chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the other three, much to Weiss's dismay.

"I get it, I get it, now can you stop- squeezing your arms-" Weiss puffed like a balloon as the much larger of the four let out a playful squeeze, with Blake and Ruby somewhat going along with Yang's roughness.

"I'm still surprised someone like you could drag an entire Nevermore up a cliff..." Blake complimented to youngest of the girls as Ruby meekly nodded.

"Well... when you carry a weapon like Crescent Rose all the time, you're bound to get muscles..." The girl explained, with Blake simply raising her brow in confusion, sizing up the rather small frame of Ruby.

"How about you guys? How'd you deal with your Grimm?" Yang loosened her grip as she then turned to face Jaune's group, "We kinda already know how Yelena dealt with her side." The blonde added, giving a complimentary nod at the white rabbit, who was still eyeing Ace with caution.

"Oh you know, we dropped the centipede down the bottomless ravine. Simple stuff." Jaune simply shrugged, unsure whether he should feel proud when Ruby literally hanged a Nevermore with her weapon, while Yelena froze the entire ravine in ice. Compared to the two, his plan was the simplest of the three, Granted the only other option being the Nevermore or somehow surviving being close to Yelena with whatever 'frost nova' move she pulled.

"It was a wonderful plan." Pyrrha complimented, trying to lighten up Jaune's mood. Yet, her words were immediately interrupted with a grunt, turning everyone's attention to Free, who was holding his severed arm with the other remaining one like a bat.

"By the way, Jaune." Free flashed a malicious smile, sending a shiver down Jaune's back.

"Y-yes?" The boy stuttered. The sight of Free casually holding his severed arm was already frightening enough, but the mere tone of his voice was enough to scrape away the temporary adrenaline rush he had gotten from fighting the Eater of World.

"You owe me an arm and a pair of sandals." Free patted the stump of his shoulder with his severed arm. The tension in the air tightened as the rest suddenly quieted down, with even Yelena and Ace taking notice of his words.

The silence, save for the droning hum of the bullhead engine, accompanied Free as he stood from his seat, and without a word-

BOP

The sight was as ridiculous as it seemed to be, with Free standing well beyond arm's length from Jaune, holding his severed arm as he lightly tapped the other boy's head with the severed arm's curled-up fist like a hammer. Nora, followed by Yang, immediately burst into laughter at the expense of Jaune's reaction to everything, only for Free to wrap his arm around his shoulder, also laughing at his own actions.

"Relax, Yelena kinda owes me a lot more for ruining my coat! If I was even after the money that is!" The boy added as Jaune raised his brow to it, only to suddenly realise just how cold and rough Free's coat was. After all, besides the Eater of Worlds, Free bore the brunt of Yelena's attack the hardest.

"Huh, well, thank god I don't have to pay you for anything, I'm flat-out broke since my parents haven't sent me my allowance for the month." Jaune quickly began to play off his earlier reaction as Free detached from him.

"Well, I did hear that Beacon had some form of on-campus job requests, maybe you can get more than just waiting for your parents?" Pyrrha explained, the most knowledgeable of the inside workings of Beacon Academy... solely because she was the poster girl for the current batch of new students, she was personally guided by the Headmaster himself.

"Oh! Job requests? Does that include weaponsmithing? It would be so cool if they had a weaponsmithing job! I could get so much lien and look at all the COOL weapons people have!" Ruby immediately began to ramble on the thought of using her hobby to gain money, nearly exploding in excitement with Weiss simply eyeing her in oddity.

"Well, I believe so, after all,how will we ever repair our damaged weapons?" Pyrrha let out a grin as her words were what finally set off the already ecstatic girl. She was sure to check out Ruby's skills in weapon crafting later on...

~~~

"Small world." Ace finally broke the silence between the two as Ruby's continued ramble over weaponry went on.

"So my father was keeping secrets from me about this place... huh..." Yelena shook her head in disappointment, with the professor letting out a faint chuckle.

"C'mon, you could say this as a surprise. Ta-da! Your past enemy is now your professor, oh the irony." He commented, finally letting out a chuckle from Yelena.

"You were strong, considering you were able to stand against her flames, I guess that's how you entered Beacon?"

"Please, it's not just combat prowess that can get you into this academy, I had to spend almost an entire year faking my identity as a 'huntsman' to get in. Had it not been for you and your father, it would have been my fourth year here in Beacon without detection." Ace boasted, with Yelena perking her ear.

"Wait, you've been in this world for four years?"

"Yep, your father also knows about this. Some time distortion when passing through worlds kinds of stuff I'm guessing. Let me guess, no Oripathy as well?"

"None, thankfully." Yelena simply nodded as she couldn't understand how Ace lived in the world of Remnant for four years, though, she knew not to push further if no one else knew.

"Well then, I'm guessing since you're in charge of the initiation, you're also in charge of the creation of the teams?" The girl simply changed the topic, not wanting to touch on other worldly transportation for a long time.

"If I were to guess what you're about to say- You don't want to be leader, and you don't want anything that happens in the ravine to be revealed." Ace explained, with Yelena raising her brow in surprise and confusion.

"Well, that, though what makes you so sure I was taking a leadership position?" She tilted her head, rather amused by the conclusion.

"Well, the initiation was meant to sort out the students into a random team of four, but also to find a leader amongst the four. You've scored the highest in the academy's metaphoric scoring system, especially what you've done in the ravine. And believe me, I'm a professor here."

"Hmm, I see then... just give it to Free then..." Yelena questioned. She was a commander of Reunion, having learned from her father's ways as well as her own experience in warfare... but that was all behind her now. And besides, what good would using militaristic traditions do inside an academy?

"Eh? That reckless kid that spent more time fighting than actually obtaining a relic?" Ace chuckled, rather surprised by her answer.

"You must have seen the camera footage to know he isn't just a battle-lust idiot. Well he acts like an idiot sometimes, but it's obvious he has experience with these kinds of stuff, additionally, I am still relatively new to this world."

"I see then, I will go forward your comment to Ozpin then." Ace nodded as he eyed the landing platforms of the academy, "We've arrived for now, good luck with your team members, and I'll see you in class."

~~~

Sky sighed as he dropped onto the closest bench he could find after exiting the bullhead. He wasn't physically exhausted, considering almost every Grimm in the forest was alerted to somewhere else, but instead mentally. For the remaining time the two had wandering around the forest, he could only think of the two girls.

He believed his time in Beacon would have been a rather easy going period of his life, considering most subjects that he had researched on leaned more on practical work, or hypothetical scenarios in the field of work, areas he was an expert on due to his life as a mercenary in the harsh lands of Vacuo. Though he did give a thought about the more political classes such as huntsman rights and laws, but it wasn't such a big deal.

And yet his employer had to be Cardin. First day alone and he had already made enemies with literally the most popular student in the entire world, then he went on to entrap Yang and Blake with his shenanigans. Thankfully he didn't have to worry much about Pyrrha, considering he was the one who alerted her to the fight, but Yang and Blake were a completely different story.

He had noticed that Yang had a sister from the way she was acting the night before, and if said sister were to find out... It would be much harder to out a student after initiation.

'So about your sister...' Sky repeated over and over again as he tried to find the right words to mitigate any damage. He didn't care about Cardin's status or whatever plan his employer's son had in store, the boy had proven himself unfit, and also, it was never in his nature to rely on someone else's plan, the habit of a lone mercenary.

The sound of another bullhead hummed above them as it descended on the neighbouring platform beside him. A rather strange sight considering most of the recruits were waiting by the stone platform that had the chess pieces. He had seen the remaining students, so there shouldn't be any more-

"I didn't know we ran THAT far from the Nevermore..." Yang chuckled as she skipped down the ramp, followed by everyone else, including the silent Blake tagging along from behind. They were all relatively unharmed... and they just so happened to be with the same boy Cardin fought yesterday...

"Oh that's worse..." Sky sighed in an accepted defeat as Cardin walked past him, seemingly uncaring of the scene, or the state of his team, "You're not even bothered that those two might be gunning for you now?"

"Why should I be? Unless they'd openly attack me in public like those faunus savages in Mistral, I ain't got to worry."

"Even in Combat training?"

"Listen here you-" Cardin pounced as Sky's question of his capabilities broke his patience, grabbing ahold of his collar and yanking him off the bench. Yet once again, Sky couldn't be bothered, staring directly towards Cardin's twisted face unbothered.

"Remember Cardin, you're still in public." Sky tilted his head as he then eyed the surrounding students, some stopping to watch the commotion the two had created.

"Tsk." The larger of the two grimaced as he threw Sky back to the bench and stomped off to the amphitheatre. The remaining boy sighed once more as he then turned his attention to the stunned crowd, whether or not they had heard everything, he did not care.

"Anyone want to switch partners?"

~~~

The amphitheatre was far more crowded than the previous day, as others besides the students were waiting for the Headmaster to give his speech.

"What's with the cameras?" Yelena questioned as her attention fell upon the people hidden at the back of the room, more weirded out than curious.

"It must be related to the Vytal festival," Pyrrha explained, resulting in more confusion from the rabbit girl.

"The what?" Yelena raised her brow as the question irritated Weiss.

"The Vytal festival, the biggest huntsman festival in the world, held every 2 years, you know, every student huntsman's dream to participate. Where have you been living in? The middle of a forest?" Weiss quipped, with Yelena only raising a brow.

"Um... yes?" She was technically truthful considering her years spent in the frozen tundras of Northern Ursus. Yet the answer only brought a frown to the annoyed heiress as she sighed, defeated.

"Whatever, just don't make a fool out of yourself on stage." The girl puffed as she went ahead of the group, with Yelena turning her focus elsewhere.

Just to the side, Yang noticed her sister bouncing as her face brimmed with excitement, far more than anyone else.

"Ruby? What's with that smile?" Yang playfully tilted her head as she recognized Ruby's excitement. She had seen it before when she first revealed Crescent Rose to her and her father, as well as when she told her father she had gotten accepted into Beacon. Ruby had something, and she was excited to share it with her friends-

"I know how the teams will be chosen." Yang's smile instantly turned to surprise as everyone turned to face her.

"Wait what-"

"It's the chess pieces. Two pairs have the same chess piece. Simple as that." Ruby explained as Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren and Nora brought out their chess pieces. Both pairs carried the White Rook piece.

"Wait- you knew how the teams were selected?!" Weiss raised her voice as she dashed back towards the young girl, only to quickly adjust herself as she remembered where she was.

"Well, if you weren't so focused on breathing down my neck every single second, you would have noticed that there were only 4 of the same pieces, 4 rooks, 4 knights, and so on on the platform." Ruby simply retorted back, as if pointing out the obvious that nobody had realized.

"Wait- if that were the case..." Yang's voice trailed off as both she and Blake produced their own relic pieces, the same white knight pieces that Ruby and Weiss had, "Well I'll be damned, my sister is growing up fast!"

Yang brightened up as she tackled her younger sister for a hug. She wasn't even made at Ruby's actions, but rather impressed that such a 'shy and meagre' younger sister like Ruby had the foresight to do such a thing in the middle of the hectic initiation.

Yelena chuckled at the sight of the two sisters' actions as Ruby attempted to pry her way off her sister's grasp, to no avail.

"That would only leave mine and Free's team unknown then," Yelena added as she pulled out her own piece, the black bishop piece. Her question was promptly interrupted as the Headmaster finally made his way to the centre stage, with 'Professor' Ace just at the sidelines with Glynda.

"Settle down now, everyone." His voice was commanding, even for a veteran such as Yelena. Unlike her father's, his was far more welcoming, his words carried a sense of bravado and stature, weaponizing his position as headmaster to control everyone beneath him. Not with force, but through reverence.

"There have been plenty of huntsmen from the past, and many more with shine in the future, but today we are gathered here for today's huntsmen. Some have failed the last hurdle, but they may always return for next year's batch. The rest of you, however," Ozpin scanned the crowd, careful not to eye any of the reporters amongst the students.

"I welcome you all as official students. You have proven yourselves ready for what is to come." There was a momentary cheer as students began to celebrate, only to be immediately silenced with a raise of the headmaster's hand.

"I do not wish to congratulate you for simply entering my academy. That is merely the first step into being an official huntsman. You all have gotten a long way to go before the finish line, and if you simply think graduating is that finish line, you are better off not entering this academy, for the sake of your own life."

A malicious smile grew on Free as he couldn't help but hungrily eye the students around him, all combatants for him to face. And with Ozpin's words, there was more than simply graduating.

"To join this academy is to accept being a huntsman, to serve humanity against the forces of Grimm, and be the very beacon that will light our race's future. Therefore, if anyone believes that they are not worthy of this task, I do suggest leaving. There is no glory as a huntsman, only service." There was a momentary silence as Ozpin's words began to weigh on every student. There was no sugarcoating, no advantages to being a huntsman.

Ruby tightened her palm as she felt her heartbeat. She knew she needed to succeed, after all, it was he who recommended her to Beacon. Compared to everyone around her, she was the least prepared, in both experience and her lessons. But still, she promised herself that she was ready.

"Very well then. I will now be selecting the teams, and their respective team leaders." Ozpin finally nodded as he took a step to the side, revealing a wall monitor being lowered from the ceiling.

"These teams, might I repeat myself, will stay as a team for the next four years of your tenure in this academy. The selected team leader has been personally hand-picked by me, and a select few others. It is not out of an individual's strength that got them to this prestigious position, but that they have demonstrated qualities of leadership and is an inspiration to their other members and others around them."

Ozpin finished his speech as he gave a brief pause.

"Now then, we can begin. May the holders of the White Rook piece come up to the stage?" The headmaster began as Jaune, Nora, Ren and Pyrrha followed, with the rest of the group cheering for their success.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkarie, Lie Ren, and Pyrrha Nykos..."The audience held their breath as Yelena turned to look at Weiss. The least excited (and generally more bothered) that the great Pyrrha Nykos, the strongest student huntsman in the present day, achieving as much fame and glory in her relatively short life as even the most prestigious of huntsmen, capable of even bending the powerful political grips of headmasters that so desired her to join their academy... And she was not with her.

"You four have retrieved the white rook piece, and from today's fourth will be known as team JNPR (Juniper)." The audience applauded at the declaration of the team name, or more specifically, congratulating Pyrrha for her achievement as team leader-

"Lead by Jaune Arc."

~

The room fell into dead silence, with even Weiss having widened her eyes in denial of the headmaster's words.

"Congrats Pyrrha- wait- me?!" Jaune was the last to realize his position as Nora hugged him with all her might, while Ren stood at a distance to congratulate Jaune instead.

"You have demonstrated excellent coordination with your team," Without skipping a beat, Ozpin began to explain as the monitor began to flash instances of the final fight against the Eater of World, "Understanding the weaknesses of your team and building a strategy around the environment. I expect great things from you."

Jaune nervously smiled as the headmaster now stood before him. Even with the two being mostly similar in height, Jaune saw himself as a toddler in front of the headmaster, the most powerful man in all of Beacon, and he was fooling him.

It was odd, too cartoonish for even Jaune's cultivated and extended taste of cartoons could even believe so. Ozpin's eyes were of extreme trust, unbreakable, endless. And he was giving a boy who faked his transcripts the position of leadership over Pyrrha Nykos.

"I- Yes sir..." Jaune could only mutter out threw words as he could feel his head being crushed by the pressure of the situation. Turning to his newly made team members, he gave them a meek wave as Pyrrha smiled once more, patting him on the back, and finally, his legs gave out.

The room burst into murmur and laughter as Jaune fell to the floor, partially due to Pyrrha's strength, and partially due to Ozpin's words, but the team, at that moment, didn't care. Soon after, the stage was once again empty beside the headmaster, as the next team was ready to be officialized.

"Now then, will the holders of the white knight pieces come up on stage?"

~

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces, and will now be dubbed: Team RWBY (Ruby)." Yang still couldn't believe Ruby had planned for the two of them to be with her as a team. Her own little sister had recognised the mechanic of the team selection faster than anyone else. She was proud, almost to the point of bursting into tears.

"The four of you have demonstrated incredible talent throughout the initiation," The screen just above the stage began to flash snippets of the four girls' accomplishments, mainly their strategy on taking out the nevermore. Weiss felt her chest expand with pride as she turned her gaze to the cameras. It was her first step towards glory. The very headmaster of Beacon was personally recognizing her, and all that was left was to crown the team leader.

"And have distinguished the core traits of what professional huntsmen should be. you four will be led by-" Blake was the least interested in the leadership role. She didn't even realize there was a team pairing till she heard Ozpin's words back at the cliffside.

"Ruby Rose."

"What?!" Weiss and Yang jumped in surprise as Ruby turned to face Ozpin, unsure if she heard his words correctly. Blake on the other hand simply perked her brow, somewhat alright with Ozpin's decision, though, still uncaring.

"You have demonstrated remarkable speed in your quick thinking, such as saving your two comrades from the clutches of the Nevermore, to even an unconventional, but creative, way to dealing with the thick hide of the very same Grimm." Flashes of the Nevermore fight sprinkled with Ruby accurately hitting the Nevermore with her sniper were shown, with the crowd simply applauding her actions.

"Oh, I can't believe it! I'm so proud of you! Wait till Dad hears about this!" After a brief hesitation, Yang tackles her sister with a hug, rubbing her cheeks on Ruby's like a kid hugging their oversized stuffed toy. However, in this instance, Yang was a whole lot bigger than Ruby.

"Alright- alright, sis... you can let go now..." Ruby muttered as she began to tap on her sister's elbow.

The dust eventually settled as the girls went back to their place to digest the headmaster's words. And as quickly as both teams were called, the third soon followed, then the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Finally, on the seventh, Ozpin's eyes turned to Yelena. It was her turn.

"May the holders of the Black Bishop come up on stage?" His words rang on Yelena's ears as Free excitedly patted her back, both proudly making their way on stage.

"I'm rather excited for our teammates-" Yelena suddenly froze, with Free nearly crashing into her.

"The hell?" The boy winced as he grappled onto the wall to avoid Yelena. Turning to face the same direction Yelena was looking, Free raised his eyebrow as both their gaze landed on their other two team members. Cardin Winchester and Sky Lark.

"Dammit..."

Chapter 21: FLyWaY

Chapter Text

"That Cardin guy... You're going to let him go?" Ella eyed Cardin from behind the curtains as Ozpin conversed with Ace about Yelena's words.

"Yeah, 'saw the cameras, that's basically attempted murder y'know," Ace commented as well.

"While his actions are certainly deplorable, he will simply be issued a major offence. I have dealt with far worse children in the past, bandits, mercenaries, and even mobsters, and I've seen them all turn good after their years in here." Ozpin took a final sip of his mug before giving it to the young girl, making his way onto the stage.

"I've dealt with worse."

~

"Lemuel G. Free, Sky Lark, Yelena and Cardin Winchester. You four have selected the Black Bishop piece, and would hereby be dubbed: Team FLWY (Flyway)." Ozpin spoke with as much care as he did with any other team. Yet underneath the facade of the wise headmaster was a sense of worry of what was to come. Merely looking at Yelena brought his thoughts elsewhere, as if already seeing the tragedy to come, but not sure when it would happen.

The thought of the unknown was a curse that only he should bear, and even then, he could only carry so much before his secrets spilt out. If such a world like Terra was capable of churning out monsters like the Emperor's Blade capable of tearing the balance of the world, or moulding young children (comparably to him) like Yelena into forces of nature needing an army to stop... What's the worse to come?

After all, Yelena, Patriot, Ace... they're only singular individuals in a vast world. They may know their world better than Ozpin, but they are just as blind to Terra as well...

Taking a deep breath, he looked down towards the four, seeing each fault in themselves.

"And you will be led by Lemuel G. Free."

"What?!"

~~~

"Cardin?!" Yang and Blake winced as everyone turned to face them.

"That's... that's the guy that got you on a Nevermore?" Ruby raised a brow and pointed at Sky.

"No, the big guy wearing full plate."

"Oh," Ruby nodded as she turned to face the stage once more, noticing that Yelena, on the side, had a tiny smirk growing on her cheek, while Cardin, on the other side, had his brows raised, surprised by the pairing.

"The Winchester? It's been a while since I've seen him..." Weiss widened her brows as her team then turned to face her, much to her annoyance, "What? They visited me at my 15th birthday party, though it was more of a business gathering than a party when you think about it..."

"Oh... thought you'd be head over heels for some hunk of muscle that nearly tried to kill us." Yang joked, with Weiss's face turning a shade of red in embarrassment.

"I'd still say no to him even if he was the last man on Remnant. I have a type."

"Now that you mentioned it... The Winchesters somewhat hold a monopoly on Vale's shipping lines. Cardin should be the only son of the Richmon Winchester and Dena Winchester, the current heads of the Winchester house and company."

"Hehe, Rich-mon Winchester..." Ruby, in her ever-childish wisdom, snorts, with Yang following along with her sister's antics.

"And you will be led by Lemuel G. Free." Ozpin announced, much to everyone's surprise, including Free, who raised his brows and turned to Yelena.

"Free has consistently shown his versatility in the events of the initiation, from displaying his knowledge over the Grimm at hand and recommending actions needed to fend off a specific scenario," The screen began to display scenes of Free and Yelena against the Eater of World, paired with him discussing what the Grimm was to the other teams.

"To understanding his team member's qualities and traits and perfectly opening up a window for them to attack." Ozpin finished as the screen then cuts to Yelena and Free's final fight on the ruins, with Free using his semblance to stall the Eater of Worlds, only for Yelena to blast the entire screen black, the aftermath unseen.

"Wait a second... that's my semblance..." Ruby muttered as she turned to Yang and Weiss, both also confused by the sight.

"I thought his semblance was similar to mine?" Yang tilted her head as she clearly remembered Free's hair flaring up like hers.

"That thief..." Weiss's reaction was the most vocal of the three as she took a step forward. While it was easy to mistake Ruby's or Yang's semblance as something else, Weiss's glyphs were unique solely to her, and she did not need any more time before understanding what had happened.

"He can copy our semblances!" She turned to face her team with annoyance, bewilderment and disgust. She had spent so long mastering her semblance, only for a random nobody to come and steal the spotlight (and the leader role) using her semblance.

"That's a bit broken, isn't it? There has to be some drawback to his powers, like everyone else's semblance." Yang winced at the idea, though she was certainly correct about such an assumption. Yang's semblance can only take effect the more bruised she is, while Weiss's glyphs need her concentration to use.

"Whatever the case is, you three can always ask him later, or now..." Blake trailed off as she watched the trio make their way towards the stage as the newly formed team was headed down.

~

"What kind of semblance do you have?!" Yang, Weiss and Ruby questioned the boy as he was just off the stage, with Yelena, Cardin and Sky at the side, and Blake on the other.

"Whoa whoa, we can talk about this later on. 'Bit crowded here." Free raised his arm in surrender as the trio backed off, though not before Weiss gave one last glare in his direction.

"Fine. But what you did was extremely rude." Weiss turned to leave as Ruby attempted to disarm her partner's anger, simply waving at Free and Yelena before chasing after the girl in white.

"Semblance thievery aside, I'm a bit surprised you're the leader and not Yelena with her semblance basically freezing the ravine." Yang chuckled as she congratulated the two.

"Me too, Yelena was the sole reason we were able to defeat the Eater of Worlds."

"Well, I'm alright with him being the leader," Yelena waved off the two's surprise as she turned to face Blake, who met her gaze with a smile.

"Are you four done talking already? Move out 'cause you're blocking the way." Cardin's voice interjected as they all turned to him, "I'm a bit surprised you two survived a Nevermore, but I guess that means you are at least decent enough to even enter this damn academy. Or the standards have dropped heavily."

"You-" Yang's eyes began to turn red as she immediately focused her attention to the boy. Her hair sparking the familiar golden hue of her semblance as she was about to pounce, only for Blake to quickly stop her by her shoulder.

"Not in here." The girl shook her head as her words snapped the blonde girl from her rage. Without a word, Yang took one last glare at the boy as she left.

"Whatever. Let's go." Cardin winced as he also walked away, with Sky simply bowing before following soon after.

"You sure about this Yelena? Cardin-"

"I can handle myself just fine Blake. I've dealt with worse." Yelena explained as her mind drifted to the faceless soldiers of Ursus. Cardin was nothing like the monsters she had to fend off, but even if he were... self-defence could theoretically mask any murder.

~

"And that concludes all the teams for this year. Your assigned dorm rooms will be flashed on the screen." Ozpin bowed as he finished the remaining teams, with the room erupting in applause soon after.

"Room 4-10..." Free whistled as his gaze turned to Cardin and Sky at the sides, only to then turn to Yelena, "So... what's the deal with that Cardin guy? He's gonna be our teammate for the next few years, might as well fill me in."

"Just a racist, that's all."

"And the attempted murder of Yang and Blake."

"And also that as well..." Yelena answered as the two made their way towards the other half of their team, with team RWBY and team JNPR already making their way outside the room.

"So, now that your final moments as some solo grumpy dude are up, why not check out the dorm as a team."

"Tsk. Fine." Cardin winced as the group also began to make their way towards their dorm in awkward silence.

.

.

.

"So... we're becoming huntsmen aye?" Free, attempting his best 'leader' role, broke the silence. Yelena had no reason to speak to Cardin after what he had done, Sky had nothing to say, and Cardin... was Cardin.

"Why'd everyone want to be huntsmen in the first place? I'm a tad bit curious." He continued.

"Just wanted to explore this world... I guess." Seeing her partner somewhat fail at his job in breaking the ice, Yelena simply answered back, turning to Sky in anticipation.

"Oh me?- Same reason as well. Ma did tell me Vale's nice this time of the year compared to Vacuo-"

"This is stupid..." Cardin suddenly interrupted the trio as they all stopped.

"What?"

"A damn cripple as a leader, a f*cking animal, and a mercenary... this team is already screwed." Cardin winced as he glared at Yelena. To him, it was a genuine insult to work with a faunus, additionally with Free and his absence of arms, and a savage mercenary from Vacuo like Sky. Yet, even when his words were mostly focused on everyone, it was Free who was the first to finally snap.

"First off, it ain't cripple, it's amputee. Second off, if you're complaining about the teams, why not go ask Ozpin?Now. I'm trying my hardest to make this ride not crash." Free turned and shoved his metallic finger right onto Cardin's chest, yet was only met by a snicker.

"Didn't know a dumbass like you would get so serious. Relax, I can at least tolerate the three of you. After all, I dealt with worse" Cardin smiled as he shoved past the supposed leader, commanding Sky to follow him to check out their dorm room.

"You good?" Yelena tilted her head as she eyed Free's hand balling into a fist.

"Yeah, I dealt with worse..." Free repeated Cardin's words in a low voice as he watched half his team walk towards their designated room. More annoyed than angry, he took a deep breath before returning to his ever-so laid-back attitude.

"Let's just get going before they start taking dibs all over the area..." Free simply smiled back as the two jogged the rest of the way to their dorm room.

The room was perfectly sized for four beds, though, it was only perfectly sized for four beds, and nothing more. There was a closet inserted inside the wall and a desk on the other wall, but besides that, there was no other room for anything else.

"I mean... it perfectly conveys that we're all here to study and nothing else, but one desk?" Yelena sighed as she watched Cardin scan the room multiple times, being the only one to have brought a luggage, with the other three carrying a simple bag. But even then, it was still a cramped spot.

"What'd you guys bring?" Sky, also attempting to bridge a connection between the two pairs, questions, motioning to Free's drawstring bag and Yelena's messenger bag.

"Just a pair of clothes, a notebook and some writing supplies."

"Same with Yelena, though I left my tools in a rental locker room back at Vale." Free followed up, with Yelena raising a brow to his additional statement.

"Tools?"

"Y'know, for fixing my hands when it breaks apart," Free explained as he once again raised his severed arm, only to then gently place it down on the ground, leaning it to the nearby wall.

"How about we move one of the beds to that open space?" Cardin suddenly interjected as he pointed to the open area in between the two doors leading to the outside corridor, catching everyone by surprise.

"Whew, now that's a surprise, to think you're actually talking to us, and not sh*t-talking for once." Free chuckled.

"I'm only talking to you because it is indeed, very, cramp in here. We can have the rabbit sleeping there as well." Cardin continued, much to everyone's dismay.

"Dude... seriously, the hell is up with the racism? You. Are. Going. To. Live. With. Yelena. For. The. Next. Few. Years. Deal with it already. Also, I can take the bed between the doors." Free defended Yelena

"Because she is an animal. You faunus folks are all the same, pretentious scumbags that can only think with their animalistic side." Cardin slowly raised his voice to match Free as he once more glared at Yelena.

"Whoa whoa whoa- before we start ripping each other apart, why not we just introduce ourselves? Y'know, since we're all teammates here." Sky immediately broke the fight as he stood in the middle, attempting to persuade the two, with Free and Yelena looking at each other before agreeing.

"Sure." Free and Yelena nod as they accept Sky's offer. Turning to Cardin, Sky shrugged.

"Majority voted Cardin." He said, much to the other boy's annoyance.

"Dammit, fine." Cardin rolled his eyes as the four sat on the ground, awkwardly spaced apart, "So who's going first? Sky?"

"Eh? Me?"

"You're the one who suggested this, so you go first."

"Name's Sky Lark, mercenary that came from Vacuo, that's about it," Sky explained as Yelena and Free turned to look at each other.

"That's... it? Any semblances and stuff?" Free was the first to question, though, Sky simply shook his head.

"It'd be better to leave it a surprise for combat practice. Though, I do use a spear as my weapon, Magister Caelum." He finished, with the two simply nodding as Free was up next.

"Lemuel G. Free, I got no place to call home, though, I've been to Vacuo and Mistral as a mercenary as well. I'm looking forward to seeing all your semblances." Free let out a chuckle as he then turned to Cardin.

"Cardin Winchester, heir to Winchester Transportation Inc., also I wield a mace, Persuader. If that's all you people want from me, I'll be heading to the CCT." The boy coughed out an answer as Free raised a hand, only to immediately point towards Yelena, whom Cardin shrugged off.

"I'm-"

"I'll be back in a while," Cardin cut off the girl's words as he excused himself and went outside the dorm, leaving the door open and his luggage on the bed at the very right of the room.

"Huh..." Yelena tilted her head as the pair turned to look at Sky, who finally collapsed from his rather happy personality, revealing the tired self as he turned to face Yelena.

"I should apologize for what Cardin did yesterday, Yelena." Sky creased his forehead with his hand rubbing his temple, "I was merely hired by Cardin's father to assist him in getting through Beacon, I got no power with how he acts."

"Wait, the hell did Cardin do?" Free raised a brow as the girl wave her hand.

"Just some faunus racism, that's all. Are people's actions like his a common thing?" 'in this world?' Yelena raised a brow as she remembered the slave trade she found herself in during her first day in Remnant.

"Well, yeah, I did hear about the White Fang movement in Mistral, but people still see the Faunus as nothing more than animals. I just did not think Cardin would be so blatant about it." Sky sighed as he finally got a conclusion to yesterday's problem, though it did not help that he still needed to speak to Blake and Yang about the whole 'attempted murder' stuff Cardin did.

"Anyways, what's your story, Yelena?" Seeking to dig himself out of the ever-present thought of handling the crap Cardin was doing, Sky simply returned his focus to Yelena.

"Well..." Yelena smirked as an idea surfaced in her. She had nothing to say, after all, she's technically only a few weeks old in this world, "I've come from a really far place from here, so far even the language of people is vastly different than here. You might as well call it another world entirely-"

"Northern Solitas, got it."Both Free and Sky nodded in agreement as Yelena's ears twitched in surprise.

"What?!-"

"Not gonna lie, I'm a bit surprised there are still people living in that god-forsaken place, I thought everybody moved to Mistral at some point," Sky joked as his pleasantries turned to dismay, scared he may have insulted Yelena in a way, "Not that your culture is anything to be made fun off-"

"Oh grow a spine, if someone from Northern Solitas came all the way south, that means Atlas finally built a damn Tesco in that place! Hoorah for globalization!" Free burst into laughter as Yelena couldn't help but laugh along. If this was how a bond between teammates is formed around here, she was fine with it.

~~~

"Your friends did not enter?" A deep voice echoed from Cardin's scroll, their words lingering with disappointment.

"Y-yes... father. They should be on their way back to the manor." Cardin spoke slowly as his mind was painfully empty, eyes gazing beyond the horizon, breath stiff from anticipation and dread.

"Fool. I only accepted your request to put them into Beacon because their families have connections to Atlas and Vacuo suppliers. With them gone, our advancements will be hindered." The man raised his voice as Cardin's mouth tightened.

"I-I can still help- father!"

"With what? Your studies? You're already in Beacon, so go be a good damn son and excel in your studies, if you can graduate Beacon as a huntsman, you'd be the talk of the town amongst the Circle."

"I- alright... How's ma?" Cardin brightened up as his father's words softened.

"She's still out of town, rounding up the stolen cargo from the previous few week's White Fang attack. How about your team? Did you take the leader role?" Cardin winced at his father's question.

"Unfortunately, no. Some guy with robot arms managed to take down an Eater of Worlds and that got him the position. I was unlucky finding a strong enough Grimm to take down to earn the position."

"Well, it is indeed unfortunate, though, what about your other team members? Is that merc still doing his job?"

"Barely. And- I'm..." The boy held his breath, "I'm with an animal."

"What?"

"That Sky guy is extremely annoying, he's probably the reason why Russel and Dove were disqualified. Said something about giving up on those two over getting disqualified himself."

"Cardin, I hired that mercenary because he's the best damn mercenary in Vacuo. Not to babysit those two dipsh*ts, but to watch over you. See him as your rival, if you can beat him, you're strong enough to be a huntsman. But what about this 'animal' of yours?"

"White hair, bunny ears, the whole deal, probably even came from Mantle. The only damn thing nice about that faunus is her not constantly spouting that 'faunus equal rights sh*t' every second."

"Son. I have told you about this many times before, but you should always be careful when near a Faunus."

"Yeah dad, I know. They bite back." Cardin rolled his eyes as he had indeed had heard his father speak about the Faunus, many, many times before.

"Noth only bite, they claw, they tear through bodies like the monsters they are. It's even worse if they are from the White Fang. Their founder was a literal demon as tall as a bus with branch-like horns. His face was so hideous even a mask made of a deer skull was a less menacing sight."

"Yes yes, I know dad. I learned this all from your teachings."

"Son, I'm only repeating this to keep you safe. Whatever happens with that faunus teammate of yours, tread cautiously. You might find a knife on your throat the very next day if you slip up. For now, give me the animal's name, I'll have my agents research her background. And also your leader's name as well."

"Very well then. The Faunus's name is Yelena, my team leader's name is Lemuel G. Free."

"Understand. I'll be going, good luck on your first week of Beacon Academy."

Chapter 22: The Labyrinth

Chapter Text

A door creaked open as a young child peered inside. At first, he found himself above a set of stairs overlooking a library, and as soon as he closed the door, he slowly began to walk down, careful not to let out a sound. His heartbeat was fast, he was nervous. Yet he continued.

The reason why he was entering a library this nervous was mainly because of three things. The words of his mom kept repeating behind his mind, not to mingle with any Faunus he came across, and he has always believed in his mother's words, that they were crooks and monsters, yet... His curiosity had gotten the better of him, as everyone around the neighbourhood had heard of a recently opened bookstore owned by a large scary Faunus. It was only a matter of time before the children began daring each other to enter the new bookstore, and he was the first to succumb to the taunts...

As the child reached the bottom of the stairs, he quickly realized how massive the bookstore was in comparison to the outside. Maybe it was thanks to the extra space as he knew he was below ground, maybe it was because he was still a child... But, as he once more scouted the area, he peered back up the flight of stairs, seeing the many eyes of the other children also peering in, all watching him.

Frankly speaking, the bookstore was clean, and brand new, with the walls and floor polished, with the only problem being that due to its size, the place was dimly lit, with shadows being cast over entire sections and corridors. It was unfortunately for that specific reason that his heart rate elevated even further, with a cold chill running down his back as he stared down the long winding corridors that seemed like it would never end...

He felt like he was in those stories, about the hero and the monster, both trapped in a labyrinth, fated to meet one way or another. Shivering at the thought, he calmed himself at the thought that he was the hero, a huntsman to be, and the hero always wins... but did they always win?

Suddenly, the wooden floor shook as the hanging lamps rattled. A footstep, the child quickly realized. Turning back to look at the entrance, he grimaces as he finds the door closed shut. His friends had abandoned him, he was all alone...

Moving once again, he sneaked through the hallways created from long, tall book-filled shelves, each path he took seemingly enough to fit three or five more of himself from feet to head. At first, he didn't think about anything of it all, it was just a library owned by a Faunus, yet... the more he snuck around, it terrified him nonetheless.

.

.

.

The silence was unbearable.

The only sound he heard was that of his small feet tapping onto the wood with each step as well as his breath.

Soon enough... The world around him shook once more. Another step. Stopping at a corner, he peered a crossroads of hallways, empty, and he continued onwards. Yet, as he did, he noticed something hanging above him, as the hallway he had entered was oddly dimmer than the rest, he looked up to only gasp at a terrifying sight. A massive halberd hung above him in sharp metal hooks. It was many times larger than himself, with each blade almost as tall as the boy's own height. He was already considered tall for a 10-year-old, how monstrous would a man be to wield such a weapon?

Then, again, the ground shook, then another, there was something else besides him in the bookstore, the monster in the labyrinth. He could feel it himself, they were getting closer,itwas approaching. Yet, he persisted onwards, walking deeper, unknowing of how to escape the perilous predicament his dare, curiosity and now foolishness, had brought him into...

Until-

His movement stops altogether. He didn't understand what he was seeing. No. He couldn't see anything. The moment he turned a corner, it was like walking into a brick wall, but there was no wall, and there was nothing to see. Understandably confused and alarmed, he looked back to see the very library he had been walking the entire time, but returning his sights forwards...

No.

Realization struck him like a bullet as there was indeed something in the darkness, clothes. He was seeing the darkness of a black long coat, and not the darkness of the void. He could make out the seams of grey stitches, and a pair of large... boots. And as soon as the realization settled, his gaze turned upwards.

The first thing to catch his eye was a massive claw resting on one of the shelves. The claw was large enough to wrap around the child's body and some more, sharpened fingers almost as long as his own forearms. Yet, it was merely a claw, as the true identity of the figure was still above his gaze.

GRIMM

His mind screamed as he fell on his back, almost wetting himself in fear of the incomprehensibility of the figure. The figure was massive, larger than any man he had ever seen, with broad shoulders he could sit on, and another claw on the other side, equally as dangerous as the first claw. It was as if he was an ant to the figure, a tiny insect that could unconsciously be stepped on by accident.

Yet, what stood out the most was what the child was most frightened of. Replacing any ordinary head was that of a Grimm- no, it was far from any Grimm he had seen in his scroll... yet so similar. It was similar in shape to a deer's skull, with two large, branching horns growing out on each side, the horns blackened compared to the white antlers of a deer. And finally, a set of two ruby-red gems adorned the eye sockets of the skull-

'Those are eyes.' A voice, possibly a voice of reasoning, possibly a voice of revelation, spoke to the boy's thoughts. His presence was known to the figure in front of him, and it was looking at him.

"Umm..." The child stuttered as the figure lowered his entire frame. Even then, the figure was still far larger than the boy. Finding himself to be at his limits, the kid was about to make a break for it when a deep, haunting voice paralyzes him, the voice of the figure.

"Are you alright?" The figure spoke, each letter too heavy to be carried by the child as his arms finally gave out. He had lost, merely a snack to the labyrinth monster's daily sustenance.

His eyes shut tight as he thought of the horror that was to come, soon feeling the creature's claws wrap around him. His body went limp as he could feel the figure now lifting him upwards, possibly opening his terrible maw to devour him in one go...

But... a second soon passed, then a minute... nothing still had happened.

The boy slowly opened his eyes as the man was about to set him upright once more. Like a toy soldier and a collector, he carefully let go of his giant claws as the child looked up in awe, the giant now contracting his entire body, straightening up once more, also almost causing the poor kid to topple over again, still at awe by how massive the figure was.

"I apologize if you had gotten confused and lost your way. Currently, the hanging signs are still being worked on..." The man spoke, still in a terribly low hum as before, though it felt a lot more humanizing for the boy to understand now, "What book are you looking for?" He asked, with the child being reminded that he was in a bookstore the entire time.

"D-Do you have the bo-book, theThird Crusade?" He asked, now mustering all his strength, the man hummed as he placed his claw and scratched what appeared to be his chin. As he did, the child once more glanced through the veil of darkness that was his coat, seeing a plain dark shirt sculpted from the man's muscles. It was obvious the man had killed, he had seen his fair share of battles. It felt savage- dangerous to look at. It felt brutally unlike the triumphant huntsmen that he saw on his scroll through passing news videos and stories...

"Yes, indeed, I remembered putting a few copies of that book in the novels aisle just earlier. Let me assist you there." He said as the child only nodded back. Following the man, the kid noticed the rather lack of anything happening, no, the world did not shake at the steps of the man, nor was there any growling of a monster or screeching of his claws on the walls. It was all in his head. The entire time.

"Here it is, would you like to rent it? Or buy it?" The man asked as he gave the child the book he asked for, with the child quickly replying only to rent. The man simply nodded back as he gave him a rental card.

"Very well then, the duration of the rent will be 5 days, with each passing day after increasing the price of your rent by 30 lien." He said, leading the child to the set of stairs, the kid was speechless. While the presence of the man indeed shuddered him, the way the man acted, how he spoke... he was no monster.

"Thank you... Sir..." The child turned around as he bowed to the man. Even if he was still halfway up the flight of stairs, he barely was even at the man's eye level.

"It is alright, and, you can call me Mister Bul." He said as he began to walk back into the labyrinth of books...

Walking out of the bookstore, the sun once more embraced him with warmth as if the interior was as cold as the frozen continent of Solitas up north, with a group of children rushing in and flooding the kid with many questions, the kid only smiled.

"You all owe me 30 lien now." He said as the man had just gotten his first set of customers for his book store...

~~~A Message From Yelena~~~

(Message Received 21:42 May 14, 1405, Vale Time Zone)

Hey Dad, I'm officially in Beacon Academy now. I met some friends, and even have a team I will be sticking in for the next few years. Of course, I will visit regularly, every weekend and holidays, though I'm supposed to be back at Beacon before 9 in the evening.

By the way, you should probably get your standards lowered in terms of a fighting force. Not everybody is like you, the Guerillas or even Talulah, and my team is the farthest thing from your standards. But... I'm rather alright with it, though there are still a few things to sort out with them.

Also yes... they're all guys, but they seem to respect my privacy, they, two of them actually, even helped me with setting up some curtains to divide the room between my space and theirs.

Free's the leader of the team, he's an idiot, but he's the one you're gonna like the most, I guess?

Then there's Sky, a bit timid, though it's just the first day and he's rather nice to talk to...

And finally Cardin, a bit racist, but not enough to revive Reunion on, hahahaha.

The four of us make team FLWY, pronounced Flyway by the headmaster.

There are also a few more I'd love for you to meet, especially that Ruby Rose girl you met in the armoury! She's amazing with her weapon! If I were to guess, almost everyone so far I've met is equal in strength to a reunion captain, Ruby especially.

Anyways, that's all for now! Cya! Tomorrow should be the start of class.

<End of Act 1: A World Unknown>

Chapter 23: Fangs

Chapter Text

"During the final years of the great war, the treatment of the Faunus continued to fall. There was so much hatred that they were seen as nothing more than discardable labour, dehumanized into nothing more than animals in a slaughterhouse.

The hatred was ever-growing. It was so evident that even in the heroic tales of team ORGN, the four heroes came across the mistreatment in multiple instances. But this treatment would soon change as the hero of the Faunus appeared from nowhere.

Our hero came at the most chaotic period just after the Great War. With the hatred of the faunus at its peak, humanity sought to contain all the Faunus in the very corner of Remnant, the small island of Menagerie. This instigated a new war, the Faunus Rebellion.

While the war itself was shorter compared to the Great War, it was just as damaging to the world as the Faunus all around the world fought for their freedom. The fighting was mostly done on separate occasions, mostly with the humans being the victor over the Faunus's less organized masses.

But that changed in the famous battle of Fort Castle, where the Faunus Hero, the White Skull, commanded his troops into battle. Front and centre in the fight, he was not like the much less experienced general of the human side, General Lagune, who merely sat within his commanding post way off in the distance.

Reports said he was as tall as a tree as he was as large as a small house, his head masked with a deer's skull, with horns that looked like branches growing outward. Wielding a great hammer far too heavy for anyone else to wield in battle, each strike was enough to break through multiple ranks, with his accompanying roar alone drowning the blaring war trumpets of the human battalions. Yet the most striking thing about the hero was the ruby-red gemstones that were his eyes. With only a single gaze, it was said that a hundred men were frozen in place and surrendered on the spot.

But while his physique was something out of a fairytale, it was his commanding strength that finally led the Faunus to organize and fight back. The White Skull was almost seen as the second coming of King Ozymandias in terms of his tactic, utilizing the many unique traits that made each Faunus who they were, he slowly began to gain more ground, and followers, into the masses, and soon enough... The White Fang was formed.

Yet another surprise awaited the world as the Faunus arrived at its conclusion, with the White Skull personally speaking to the leaders of each kingdom. From the still-ravaged wastelands of Vacuo, the developing country of Mantle, Vale, and the greatest offender of the Faunus-kind, Mistral.

The hero spoke to each representative of each kingdom seeking a truce. Discarding his weapon, his armour, and even his soldiers, he walked into an enemy city to state his case. And even as he was surrounded by the darkness of humanity, even as the whole world watched as the man spoke, he was calm. If they dared attack him he could easily level the city, but he did not want more blood to be spilled.

And soon after, he emerged victorious. The Faunus will go on to live with the human race just as they did before. But there are still some that harbour hatred for the Faunus, and that is why the White Fang still fight till this day." A girl with white hair and bear ears closed the storybook on her lap, turning her attention to the entranced group of children sitting cross-legged, each one a faunus like her.

"Now then, that's all for today's session children! Did you have fun?" The girl spoke in a calmly manner as she waited for the children's reaction, putting away the book she held onto a nearby push-cart in the process. It took a moment for the children to collect themselves as they looked at each other, but before long-

"Yes! Binibini Misha!" The children exploded in excitement as they brought themselves closer to the Ursine girl, eliciting another chuckle from her, "The White Skull sounds so cool!"

"But he also sounds scary..."

"It would be so cool if the White Skull met Gulliver the Strong!"

"Who's stronger? Gulliver or the White Skull?"

"But he should be as smart as King Ozymandias right?"

.

The children's constant barrage of words and questions filled Misha with happiness, this was always something she'd love to see as a daycare teacher, to fill the hearts and minds of the children she oversaw with knowledge and joy, and for the children to reply with their enthusiasm.

Yet her attention was stolen as she eyed two figures making their way towards the circle of children sitting on a colourful foamed puzzle mattress.

"Y'know... converting the living room into a daycare wasn't particularly what I had in mind when I agreed with renovating the old one..." A tall burly man wearing a loose blue coat over a sleeveless top and tropical shorts walked into the area. It didn't take long for the children to gasp in excitement as some even stood from the foamed puzzle tiles.

"Oh! Tito Ghira!" Misha immediately stood and bowed as she promptly emptied her throat, turning to the children with the voice of a teacher, "Ahem, kids? What do you say to Chieftain?"

"Good Afternoon Tito Ghira!"

CRITICAL HIT!

The voices of the many children echoed within the large living room as the large panther faunus toppled over, theatrically gasping as he clutched his chest as his heart had failed him. Around him, the children, and Misha, laughed and giggled at the sight.

"Ah! Children! Don't remind me how old I am getting! I still can run for dozens of years!" Ghira dramatically spoke as the sound of the doorbell echoed, with the doors to the main entrance of the house opening for the parents to enter, picking up their children as each one respectively waved goodbye to their teacher.

"The parents came just in time, we came here to call you for lunch." A feline faunus wearing a black tank top and a beach skirt helped Ghira up.

"Blake!" Misha exclaimed as she nearly tackled the girl, both sharing an embrace in the process.

"Hey Misha! Shame I couldn't come for today's daycare, I heard Small Adam and Bob had something to show." Blake smiled as she eyed the departing children.

"Oh it's nothing, their father's already starting to teach them how to carve wood, and they came with this miniature Banka!" Misha produced a small dugout canoe with horizontal ribs holding wooden beams at each tip. At the very middle of the canoe erected a small and colourful mast that had the names 'Adam' and 'Bob' painted on it.

"Aww, did they also add in the paint?" Blake poked the miniature as Misha simply nodded.

"But now that you mentioned it... We were supposed to have painting classes today, but the cargo of paint your father had ordered still hasn't arrived yet from Mistral. We tried going to the paint store, but they said they had none left." Misha's face softened as her ears drooped, "We've been planning this for a while now..."

"What?" Blake raised a brow, yet before she was able to proceed with questioning the younger girl, another voice called out, bringing the attention of the three to the source.

"Tito!" A second bear faunus with similar white hair entered the room from the main entrance. Seeing the last of the children off with a wave, the boy's ears perked slightly upwards as he noticed Blake also in the room, "Blake!"

"Alex!" Blake gleamed as she moved to embrace the boy.

"I just came back from the last paint shop. Nothing as well." Alex explained as the two separated,

"Hmm, if the import of paint is late, that would mean other more serious imports would be late as well... I'll have a meeting scheduled then." Ghira nodded at the three's worries were acknowledged.

"Though... I did come back with someone..." Alex's mood lightened once more as he turned to the still-open front door, where a singular figure with red hair and bull horns stood. The man wore a sleeveless white shirt over a pair of ripped jeans, with a sheathed sword hanging on his waist. Yet the most curious detail of the man was the white mask that covered his upper face, with only a few thin slits allowing him to see.

"Oh! Adam! Glad to see you've returned." Ghira smiled as he turned to his daughter, the most excited by the sight of the man.

"Adam!" Blake gleamed as her attention turned from the young teacher and her brother to the boy standing at the entrance, her ears perking upwards, unable to conceal her excitement.

"Blake!" Adam smiled back as he nodded at Ghira in greeting, only to turn and jog towards the girl in eagerness as the two embraced warmly.

"how's my princess?" The boy caressed his fiance's head, eliciting a pur from Blake as she tightened her grip around his body.

"I'm fine... I wasn't expecting you to return so soon..." Blake's voice softened as she could feel Adam's hand gently stroking on her hair.

"You missed me that much already? I told you it was only a council meeting with the High Leader, and besides, she's here in Menagerie right now."

"Oh..." Blake blushed as she looked away in embarrassment, quickly catching a glimpse of her father, Misha, and Alex all standing in front of them, their arms crossed and their brows raised. In an instant, Blake remembered where she was, and quickly detached herself from Adam, with the boy bursting out in laughter at the sight.

"Y'know, the Blake I know can be a tough cookie to crack, but every time she sees you, Adam..." Ghira couldn't help but smile at the sight, nodding in approval as the weight of embarrassment crushed Blake's chest even further.

"Al-alright alright! Can we go now?! The food's gonna get cold now!" Blake shyly waved away the laughter as she stormed off, leaving the four, with Misha stepping forward and bowing her head to Adam.

"Glad you're back, Kuya..."

~

"So how's you're meeting with Sienna, Adam?" A much older cat faunus woman spoke as she gently settled a platter of rice in the middle of the dining table, then turned to eye Blake, her arms crossed as she was still embarrassed with her previous actions.

"Oh it's nothing, Ninang Kali, the usual White Fang report, that's all, though it's about time for recruitment season now that I think about it..." Adam explained as leaned forward, carrying another platter of rice and placing it closer for his two smaller siblings to reach over.

"Ah, so that's why she's here in Menagerie!" Ghira raised a brow as he checked his scroll for the current date, "Well, I know a couple of capable souls who'd love to enlist themselves, heck, even Blake here can probably tag along now as well!"

"Wait what?! I thought you said you didn't like me being in the White Fang?" Blake shot up from the table with her ears perked upwards in surprise,

"Well, back then you were still a young kid, now you're old enough to look after yourself! And also fight a damn good fight." Ghira chuckled. He had been training his daughter to fight for a while now, and she was a fast learner.

"But I do have my concerns about the White Fang before Blake can help as well." Ghira lowered his utensils as his words grew stiff.

"Like what? Tito? If it's about our operations, we have specialized intelligence groups that allow us to prepare for the given mission at hand. And besides, if an operation is too difficult, we wouldn't risk losing our men."

"Then what about those two?" Ghira's tone shifted as Adam froze in the middle to take another spoonful of Adobo, only to lower his spoon back onto his plate as he finally noticed Ghira's changed expression.

"What?"

"I've heard about two guys running with the White Fang that Sienna and you know of. If I remember correctly, they were going by the namesSkullshatterer and Gravestone." Ghira's words silenced the table as Blake raised a brow.

"Oh, I also heard of those two before, I believe Auntie Sienna complimented their work the last time she came here. Odd names though." She spoke, with Ghira eyeing his daughter as if he was trying to find a secret she didn't have.

"That's not the problem here... While Sienna eventually convinced me that the White Fang needed to return to their roots, needing to stand our ground, those two are too destructive." Ghira's words slowly began to change the atmosphere as the tension between the two men escalated.

"I heard from the news, that there were men with masks unlike the White Fang who were present in supposedly White Fang operations. I heard they were responsible for most of the deaths in an area. That isn't what the White Fang should be doing."

"Too violent? We are fighting in the front lines for equality, those- those monsters all carry guns and we're expected not to kill!? Those two are doing what the White Fang is supposed to be! They are the Fangs of the organization!" Adam rose from his seat as the conversation reached its climax, surprising everyone on his sudden shift.

Yet, while everyone was too stunned to speak, it was Misha who tugged onto her brother's shirt, pulling his attention to her head shaking, "Brother... too much."

In all her time with Adam, Blake couldn't help but repeat Misha's words in her head. She had seen Adam this emotional before, many times... but on every occasion, the young girl was always there to pull him out of his anger with just words. Blake felt a tinge of jealousy, but also a sense of sorrow for what Adam and his siblings had to go through for her fiance to act that way.

She wondered how she could be like Misha, be the guiding light to Adam, to actually see the man under the mask. This was one of the reasons she wanted to join the White Fang.

"Sorry... I just- I just get so heated whenever people think the White Fang are overdoing their work... We're fighting for the equality of the Faunus, we have seen what those major corporations are willing to do with us, even after the Faunus war." Adam lowered his head in shame as Ghira silently nodded.

"I understand Adam, after all, I couldn't walk out of the seat of High Leader without taking many wounds myself." The man spoke, not as a leader, but as a father, "I'm just concerned with the direction the organization is heading to. The White Skull fought because it was a time of war, and even then, he sought after peace."

"Yes... Uncle, I understand, I... I will tell Sienna about your concerns." Adam nodded as well as the two men fell into an agreement, everyone returning to their meals as each one shared their own story for the day-

"So, Blake, are you ready to fight with me?"

The entire world around Adam fell into silence as Blake widened her eyes. Her chest began to tighten as she suddenly began to break eye contact with her boyfriend, turning to her parents, Alex, Misha, for anything-

Yet they were gone, and instead were replaced by two hooded figures besides Adam.

"Blake?"

Blake awoke at the sound of Yang's snoring, finding herself in the dimly lit dorm room of team RWBY's, her dorm room.

After the whole team announcement ceremony was over, and reaching their dorm to deposit their baggage, the team immediately separated, with Ruby finding some kind of workshop for weapons, Yang off exploring the other parts of the academy, and Weiss heading to the CCT.

All who remained in the dorm was Blake, unsure what to do besides try off her assigned uniform, and lay on her bed reading her favourite novel, the only thing she carried alongside her clothes and gear. The next thing she knew, she had fallen asleep, and it was already night.

It felt weird sleeping under an actual ceiling for once, after all, she had been sleeping in the wild for an entire year, struggling to survive as she waited for Beacon's decision to accept her. But it also felt... comforting. Even if it meant living with a Schnee, Beacon had laid a solid path for her, finally restabilizing her chaotic life to the right track.

"I'm sorry..." A singular tear streaked down her face as she stared at the dimly lit ceiling as she whispered to no one. And soon after, she was once again asleep, as if a nightmare had never awoken her in the first place...

As if she hadn't cried herself to slumber, wishing she could have been as ignorant as the day she made that decision.

Chapter 24: The First Day

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day... Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and on days like this-

"Wakey wakey!" Ruby's high-pitched voice rang into Weiss's ears as the sleeping girl jumped in shock, only to comically fall to the ground with an ungraceful thud.

"Ruby! What the heck was that?!" Weiss growled as she picked herself up, dizzy from sleep drunk. Looking around, she only finds Ruby awake, completely dressed in the Beacon Academy uniform already, though slightly altered by the appearance of her red cloak, with Yang still in bed and Blake already in the shower.

"Rube's... tone it down a little... give me five more minutes..." Yang groans as a faint smell of alcohol seeped out of her breath. She had gone out to Vale in celebration, though returned carrying one of her friends passed out drunk.

"C'mon guys, we haven't even fixed our stuff yet. Look at this place!" Ruby attempted her most leader voice she could muster, waving around the room as their luggage (mostly Weiss's) was haphazardly placed.

"I- You made a point I can agree with for once..."Weiss's eyes widened as she took a second scan across the room. In her high standards, the room was a pigpen at the end of a busy day of pigs soaked in a mud pit...

"Well, I doubt the cabinet would fit everything we have, and the beds are already on the way..." Weiss explained, only for a realization to bring her back to her excessive amounts of luggage, "We... can move the beds around?"

"How?" Yang lazily raised her head from her pillows as she beaconed the entire room. There was no space for the beds to move.

"I mean, we can connect the beds and make one big bed!" Ruby innocently suggested, remembering the times when she and her sister would cuddle together on a cold night.

"No." Weiss immediately shut down the idea as she was not keen on sleeping in the same bed with some random strangers, even if said strangers would be with her for the next four years.

"Well... how about bunk beds!"

"No- bunk beds?" Weiss staggered as something inside her was triggered.

"Yeah, bunk beds. We lift two beds on top of each other!" The younger one explained, Weiss seemingly in deep thought about the idea.

"I mean... it is space efficient with this egregiously high ceiling..." She finally relented as she attempted to picture the 'bunk beds' in her mind.

"That settles it! Kanpai!" Ruby jumped victoriously as she finally had a plan for the whole time.

"Kanpai..." Both Weiss and Yang muttered, the former still holding doubts of the bunk beds idea, while the latter still had her eyes close, as if she was moments away from falling back to sleep.

"Kanpai." Blake suddenly spoke with a monotone voice as she poked her head out of the bathroom, with hot steam escaping through the open space. She had just finished showering, with her body glistening with water from the rays of light leaking from the dorm's window, yet curiously enough, had her bow already fashioned on her head.

What soon followed were the girls beginning the room's re-design, mostly with Yang begrudgingly doing whatever Ruby was asking her to do, while Weiss simply opted to fix her luggages, which occupied the most space.

Before they knew it, the room had changed dramatically, with the four taking a step back to marvel at their work. Or just look at their work...

"Ruby?" Weiss spoke in a low voice, clearly showing the disappointment on her face.

"Yes Weiss?"

"What the heck happened?" The heiress couldn't believe what she was seeing. While she did agree on bunk beds, one of the beds was currently suspended over the other, with nothing more than rope wrapped around the legs attaching to the ceiling. The other bed was carefully stacked on top of the other with a series of books. As to where they got the books, none had an idea.

"Well, it's a lot more stable than it looks." Ruby chuckled nervously, much to Weiss's increasing annoyance.

"Whatever, we can always return the beds back to how it was after class-"

"Class... What time is it?"

"Five minutes to Eight-" In an instant, the entire team rushed outside the door and down the hallway, Yang grabbing her vest, opting to change on the run. As they did so, the commotion alerted the neighbouring JNPR, who were also beginning to fix their room.

"You should have watched the time!" Weiss complained, using her glyphs to make herself faster.

"It's the crime of passion Weiss! Time flies when you're having fun!" Ruby whined as they finally arrived at their designated class, skipping breakfast. Though what awaited them by the door was Yelena, who had come from the canteen.

"Oh, hey guys."

~~~ About an hour ago~~~

Yelena stood silently in front of the bathroom mirror, eyeing her new outfit. She had never worn a skirt before due to the already cold climate of Ursus and her Oripathy that had caused her always to feel cold. And yet here she was, a black sweater vest, long white sleeves, and a red skirt replacing her usual garb.

Her hair was still flowing freely, though she was also tempted to try other hairstyles she had seen throughout her journey. One specifically stood out, the bright red ponytail of Pyrrha had constantly been in her mind for some time now. But just a singular problem came between her and an assortment of other styles... She needed a band to lock her hair.

'Maybe Pyrrha has one...' Yelena lamented, leaving her sights from the mirror and outside the bathroom.

"Yo," Free sat idly by his bed, wearing loose jogging pants and a rather tight shirt, having waited for Yelena to finish dressing. On the bed were both of his arms that he had worn yesterday, having been replaced by two smaller arms that actually resembled human arms compared to the more mechanical look the previous sets had.

"The two?"

"Went to the cafeteria to eat first, you should go ahead, class'll start in an hour."

"Alright-" Yelena's voice was quickly interrupted by Free choking, returning her focus from the door back to her team leader, who nearly collapsed onto the ground.

"You... alright?" Yelena raises a brow, waiting for the boy to finish his choking fit, only to realize his eyes were levelled onto her... backside.

"Y-you- you have a tail?" Free winced, turning his sights onto her rabbit ears, then back to her puffy rabbit tail, "Your cloak must've obscured it, now that I think of it."

"I- uh... yes?" Yelena raises a brow to his comment, more confused than creeped out that he was checking her butt.

"I don't know much about faunus biology, but don't you guys only have one trait?" Free straightened his back at the question, pointing towards her tail in confusion.

'Crap...' Yelena's ears drooped at the question. It was one thing to hide her arts by calling them her semblance, but it was another one entirely to explain the literal differences in biology.

"I- uh... I guess I was just born with two traits?" It was the first answer she could think.

"Huh, alright then," Free simply shrugged as he easily accepted her answer. Partially due to his own ignorance to the faunus, as well as his mostly relaxed and unbothered attitude to most things besides fighting.

Though while the problem of her tail had been resolved with her leader, there was still that...otherproblem Yelena had noticed. And as Free was about to stand, a sudden spike of ice grew from the ground, immediately pressing onto Free's neck and causing him to fall back to his bed, with the temperature in the room falling significantly.

"Now then... why were you looking at my tail?" The ice shard slowly began digging onto Free's neck, so much so that he was completely pressed onto the wall, with the boy raising his arms in surrender.

"Don't get me wrong, but that tail of yours sticks out like a man in swimwear in a field of snow. Wait a second... Atleasians do that sometimes." Free explained, though muttering to himself with that last sentence.

"Hmm..." Yelena narrowed her eyes at Free's explanation. As much as it made sense that Free would be surprised, and as much as she wanted to accept his word, after all, her white bushy tail on Beacon's mostly dark uniform does allow it to stand out even more, she felt like there was more to his intentions.

"I-I'm serious here, also- you might be extremely cute and drop-dead gorgeous, but I already got a girl!" Free chuckled nervously as he quickly produced his scroll, revealing a phone number with the name 'Crutches' sandwiched between a set of hearts and running legs emojis. After an awkward moment of silence, Free decided to continue onwards.

"She'd kill me faster than you can if she learned I was hitting on another girl!" He squeaked, possibly the weakest and most subdued Yelena had seen him be, a stark difference to his brutal fighting style and how he acted right after being chosen as leader. This, after another suffocatingly silent moment, finally broke Yelena's fury as she began to chuckle, only to burst into a fit of laughter.

"You think so?" The girl couldn't help but think. She had been called many things before, mostly in the negatives, while others reflected her icy personality and arts, none was like the word 'cute'. Even her father would refrain from such wording, though his actions instead spoke for him. Free's words once again reminded her that she was in another world, where nobody knew who she really was.

"Y-yes?" The boy gulped as he, in a rare occasion of circ*mstance, looked up to the white rabbit, as if he was the smaller of the two.

"That's the first time someone had said that to me!" Yelena's laughter and comment was accompanied by the temperature of the room dropping even further, as she then eyed the boy one last time, tilting her head playfully and letting out a (threatening) smile, "If I catch you one last time,you're dead to me."

"Yes... mom- I mean ma'am-" Free simply chuckled, both ignoring his two Freudian slips as the ice began to dissipate.

"Good. I'll text you the cafeteria food." Yelena nodded as she wrapped her cloak around her neck once more, checking on the mirrors to see if her tail was still visible. While she wasn't ashamed of her tail to hide it, it was going to lead to some further questioning from figures more perceptive, or aggressive, than Free, and she did not wish to be bothered with it in future scenarios.

"Also don't talk about my tail to the others," The girl finished as she left, leaving Free alone, where he simply collapsed back to his bed with a sigh.

"I'm gonna die before getting my license at this rate..."

~~~First Period; 9:00 am - 11:00 am, Huntsmen Regulation~~~

"While the most generalized duty of a huntsman is to actively safeguard humanity from the likes of the Grimm, with the most common jobs being that of an armed escort outside the city perimeters, hunters, or general guardians of a distant town, the four kingdoms have all utilized us for various other means."

A tan-skinned man in his late forties spoke, his muscular body contrasted the rather vintage look of his clothes, from a faded red waistcoat over white long sleeves, and black slacks paired with oxford shoes.

Small spectacles covered a pair of pitch-dark pupils, and white hair that stood out even further by his already dark apparel. It was as if the man came out of those classical sculptures.

"Can anybody tell me what specific roles each kingdom has given to their huntsmen, and why?" The man, Professor Lycurgus, asked, scanning the room as he awaited for his answer. Meanwhile, on the elevated seats, Ruby's head was already on fire, ignited by the amount of information being thrown at her.

Turning her head towards her team for help, Weiss simply smiled as she raised her arm with confidence-

"Due to Vale being the safest and most stable kingdom amongst the four, Huntsmen have mostly been relegated to law enforcement, investigation, and scouting missions when outside of a settlement." Cardin smiled as he eyed the heiress, knowing she was about to answer.

"Outstanding, Mr. Winchester. Now how about the three other kingdoms?" The professor continued, simply acknowledging Cardin's answers, with Weiss wincing at the stolen question.

"And how about the huntsmen of Atlas?" The professor continued, with Weiss immediately standing up, not wanting the chance to have her spotlight, and more specifically, a question designed just for her, to be snatched up.

"The huntsmen of Atlas are almost always under the control of the Atleasian military, given the rank of a Specialist or other unique placement. Whatever role is needed for the military at a given moment, would be the same on the huntsmen side." She spoke pridefully as the professor once again nodded.

"And under what reasoning or obligation do the huntsmen of Atlas have for them to be under military control?"

"Stability, unity, and absolute peace between the citizens and military. Additionally, Atlas Academy is run by Headmaster Ironwood, the head of the military division." Weiss continued, "Due to the harsh nature of Solitas, Grimm attacks are the least frequent in Atlas, and the military, alongside the huntsmen, are all stationed in other parts of the world as backup. As seen in Northern Mistral's Argus settlement."

"I appreciate your thorough answer, Miss Schnee." Just the same as Cardin, the professor proved rather unbiased, letting the heiress sit with only a simple acknowledgement to boast of.

"How about Mistral? I do see a lot of Mistralians in this class..." The professor specifically eyed the entirety of JNPR, all having come from Mistral.

There was a moment of silence As the four looked at each other, then to Jaune, who, in a panic, nervously smiled to Pyrrha.

"Anima, for being the largest continent in Remnant, approaches huntsmen training more actively. Cartography, security escorts, search and destroy, etc. The huntsmen in the kingdom are always outside the boundaries of settlements, often living in the wilderness for months." The girl answered, having learned from the huntsmen of Mistral.

"As expected of Miss Nykos. I believe I heard my colleagues in Mistal talk about you participating in the hunts before." Professor Lycurgus commented, while Pyrrha simply nodding along, "Then I expect great things from you." The man smiled before turning back to the class, "Finally, Vacuo."

"Vacuo is the most unstable region of Remnant, with the worst of the Grimm always causing havoc across the settlements. To put it frankly, there isn't any difference between a huntsmen and a mercenary in those places." Sky explained as the professor raised his brow.

"And would you like to elaborate on that statement? Mr. Lark?"

"As long as you can kill the Grimm, you can start earning money. Though being a huntsman more often than not can get you richer clients, at the cost of a more dangerous commission."

"And is this the reason why you want to become a huntsman? Mr. Lark?" The professor pressed onwards, rather intrigued by his comments.

"Well, somewhat. Though I got other reasons, money's always been a problem for the folks of Vacuo." Sky muttered, a little embarrassed with his own question.

"I see, Vacuo does have some social problems I am also aware of, though it had been a few years since I've visited the place."

BRRRING!

The sudden noise of the bell chime marked the end of the first subject, with the professor promptly dismissing the class soon after.

"Phew, glad Weiss noticed the time, or we'd still be stuck in our dorms fixing things." Yang leaned back on her seat, with Blake nodding. JNPR in the meantime quickly joined up with RWBY on their seats.

"And it was a good thing you guys run so loudly, or we would've been late as well." Nora chuckled, eliciting a "hey" from Yang.

"Team RWBY and JNPR." The deep voice of Lycurgus suddenly catches their attention. Unlike the neutral tone during the entire duration of his class, there was an obvious hint of aggression along his words, "You were... by technicality, late by a minute."

The eight froze in place as they hardly had the time to respond, "If this happens ever again... I will make you all regret being late."

"Y-yes... Professor..." The eight mumbled, reverting the professor back to his neutral state before walking out for lunch.

"Let us agree never to piss him off..." Nora whispered.

~~~Lunch; 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm~~~

Free shuffled his arms as he sat in front of Yelena, who was busy eating porridge for her lunch. It was hard enough to focus on today's lesson when he almost died this morning. But what was harder to stomach was his embarrassing Freudian slips and having to sit beside Yelena only moments later in class.

"You good man?" Sky was the first, and only one, to notice Free discomfort, tracing his leader's cautious vision to Yelena, still happily indulging on her porridge.

"Yeah, yeah. Just not that hungry-"

"Can you get me the salt shaker?" Yelena asked, with nothing more behind her comment. Her porridge was already great, it just needed a few more drops of salt.

"Yes!" Free immediately stood, much to Sky's surprise, almost robotically making his way back to the open countertops for the assortment of salt and pepper shakers, passing by team RWBY in the process.

Ruby's mind was still heated as she tried to recall everything she had heard from the professor. Huntsmen guidelines, acts, rules and regulations... terminologies swam around her brain like a crowded public pool.

"You good sis?"

"Y-yeah... I just feel like my head's on fire..." Ruby whined as she scooped out another spoonful of roasted chicken on rice, with Weiss rolling her eyes at the complaint.

"Please, why are you complaining when you were the one who entered Beacon in the first place?" Weiss huffed as she patted her lips with tissue paper, having finished her meal in record time.

"You-"

BRINGGGG!

Weiss suddenly raised her hand to pause Yang's outburst as her scroll began to ring. In an instant, her eyes widened to their limits, causing the three others to take notice.

"Excuse me, I would need to take this." The girl commanded as she quickly made her way outside, stunning Yang and Ruby in the process.

"Geez, what's gotten Weiss scared?" Yang sighed as she simply returned to her meal, comforting Ruby as well.

~

Weiss held her breath as she eyed the image on her buzzing phone. It was a moustached man with white hair and light-blue eyes, underneath the image was a single word: "Father".

Looking around to see if nobody else was watching her, she finally answered.

"H-hello, father."

"Ah, so you finally answered... after having me wait for a good two minutes!" A medium-high pitched voice laced with annoyance cursed the girl through her scroll, eliciting a wince from Weiss.

"I-I'm sorry father, I was at the cafeteria." Weiss pleaded, her weight only being lifted slightly when she heard a faint sigh coming from the other side of the conversation.

"Fine, reasons, reasons." Weiss nearly dropped to the floor as she could feel the tensed string loosen, somehow managing to barely satisfy her father.

"Well, father, why have you called? I mean, I'm not complaining, it's just that you called in the middle of lunch-"

"You know the reason why I called!" The voice immediately retorted back, the volume of his voice almost sounding as if Weiss had turned on loud-speaker, "You tell me why I called!"

Weiss held her breath as she fully understood her father's command. It was very evident as well what he was talking about, she just wished it wasn't...

"I'm not the team leader..."

"Louder!" Weiss's muted voice was immediately interrupted by the man's command.

"I'm not the team leader!"

"Exactly! You aren't! You're team leader is some no-named country girl from nowhere! And she beats you!" The man lashed out, his words dominating Weiss's body as she freezes in place.

"I- I-"

"I should have known you weren't ready yet!" Weiss could feel every syllable of her father's words burn onto her face, with the scar that corrupted her perfect face aching from uncovering memories.

"Ye-I-" She couldn't help but wince at every word spoken, like a slash of a weapon on her body...

"But Pyrrha Nykos isn't also a team leader!" Weiss finally got the words out of her mouth. She felt... vile. She did not- never wanted to slander the perfect girl, the girl she always wanted to be... but... push did come to shove, and throwing Pyrrha under the bus was the only way out of her current situation.

"Well... I did also see it in the papers... 'Miss Perfect, sideline by the surprise reveal of the descendant of Heroine Joan Arc'..." Weiss blinked, absolutely stumped by what her father had said.

"Wait... who?"

"That Jaune fellow!"

"Oh... him..." Weiss sighed, 'of course that incompetent fool got into Beacon, nepotism at its best...'

"Well, I guess I can let this blunder slide for now..." The man let out a begrudging sigh as Weiss realized the storm had passed, "but you have to work double time to mend your failure!"

"Ye-yes! Father!"

"Very well then... I will see your efforts first-hand during the Vytal Festival..."

"Yes!" Weiss nearly choked at his words... it was clear what her end goal was, though she had not expected what her father had just said.

"That's all for now, Weiss. I expect great things from you, as a Schnee."

"As a Schnee..." Weiss sighed as the conversation was finally over-

"Oh right, Weiss,"

"Y-yes f-father?" The sudden return of his voice nearly caused the girl to drop her scroll.

"I should apologize for calling you in the middle of your meal. Have you been eating healthily? Did you sleep well? What did you eat today? Did you see any... disgusting...cheese?" The questions caught the girl off guard as she waved her hand in panic.

"Y-you don't have to apologize- I just finished eating! It's the same thing I would eat back at the manor! A-also, there was no cheese- I-I think? And even then, I hate cheese as much as you do!" The girl rambled, eliciting a 'hmmm?' from her father.

"Good. Stay healthy Weiss, you know what you can and cannot eat, especially that blasted dairy product that could make you fat. You know what happened to Uncle Snatcher don't you?"

"Yes, yes...He exploded."

"From that devilish treat! You don't want THAT to happen to you!" The man spoke with absolute vile from the produce, Weiss simply nodding along as the conversation took an awkward turn.

"I understand father..."

"Good... farewell for now Weiss."

"Farewell..." Weiss finally, truthfully, let out a sigh as she hung up her phone, nearly losing the energy on her legs. She understood what she needed to do, and that was getting that damned Leader position from Ruby Rose...

~

Cardin sulked as he continued to eye Yelena, with his father's words constantly replaying, over and over again. What does she have that was so dangerous to him? If it weren't the law, what would she do if he'd just... take her off the board?

'You're the civilized one Cardin...' The boy winced as he spoke to himself. There was no need to complain over spilt milk 'unlike the Faunus who frequently did so', and there certainly was no need for him to be on edge about Yelena.

'She's just a girl... with rabbit ears...' He attempted to calm himself, though immediately sulking in vain as his eyes could only return to the animal aspect of Yelena. What was even worse was how... alone he was.

He didn't have his friends and everyone else he either saw as weak or despised... Besides Weiss.

Cardin let out a comforting grin as he eyed the heiress leaving for the next class... It was so obvious that she was pissed off with Ozpin's decision, and even he was surprised by the headmaster. Even more so with Pyrrha Nykos herself.

The boy nodded as he finally found someone on even grounds with him, and it was only a matter of time before the two of them spoke-

Bump.

A sudden bump breaks away his thoughts, immediately exploding his pent-up frustration and turning into anger.

"Watch where you're going!" Cardin snapped, spinning around his entire frame in rage to catch the figure. Only, said figure was a girl half his size, with brown hair that stretched down to her tiny waist... and brown rabbit ears...

"f*cking animal." The boy immediately added, the suddenness of his words causing Sky to almost jump in shock, with Yelena pausing as she awaited for the rabbit girl's response. Just a row behind Sky, Blake had her eyes silently track Cardin and the brown-haired rabbit girl, ignoring the rest of her team's dialogue.

"Cardin! We're in the middle of the dining hall-"

"I'm sorry." The rabbit girl simply bowed, causing Sky and Cardin to freeze in place, not expecting such reaction. Meanwhile, the two rabbit girls locked eyes on each other, with Yelena instantly realizing the reasoning for the girl's actions, and nodding back at her in response. The girl meanwhile smiled at Yelena's acknowledgement before leaving.

"Got the salt!-" Free paused as he looked at the scene, then noticed the rabbit Faunus walking away, only to turn to Cardin who returned to his meal, "Oh..."

~~~Second Period; 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm, Grimm Studies~~

"There are four categories that divide the Grimm: Pawns, Specialists, Generals, and Leviathans," A rather short and plump man strutted across the main floor of the classroom, grey eyebrows so thick it covered whatever eyes the man had, with an equally thick moustache that also covered his mouth in grey.

"Pawns are the simplest of the Grimm. Beowolves, Ursas, you get the idea. Mostly hunting in packs, they don't have any abilities besides their beastly instinct to destroy. These Grimm, and any Grimm in the other categories, can evolve into either an Alpha form or a different form." The man, Professor Port began, strutting across the room as a monitor displayed the very creatures encountered during initiation.

"Then, we've got the Specialists. Creatures with rudimentary abilities such as flight, poison, or some other. Some of you, from what I've heard, have already met these types during your initiation." The professor quickly eyed Teams RWBY, JNPR and FLYW, causing the rest of the students to murmur to themselves.

"Can anyone give me the names of those Specialists present in the initiation?" The three teams eyed each other as Yelena confusingly raised her hand.

"Um... The Nevermore and the Eater of Worlds?" Yelena's hesitation was put to rest by a hidden thumbs-up Free gave under the desk, with Port nodding.

"There was also that Death Stalker in the woods..." Pyrrha added, though in a voice where nobody could hear her.

"That's right Miss Yelena! Specialists, compared to Pawns, have more than one other way of murdering a person! Though, Generals are far... Far more dangerous!" The professor quickly changed the subject, his tone acting as if he was telling scary stories in front of a campfire.

"Generals are essentially the top of the Grimm food chain. Just as what their name represents, they are an anomaly of Grimm possessing the knowledge and tactical mind of a human, capable of leading the Grimm of the lower class decisively. This trait, as well as their unique powers, makes them a priority target. The existence of one is enough to endanger an entire kingdom.

Can anybody give me an example?-"

"A Nuckelavee." Ren suddenly spoke out, surprising almost everyone on the row besides Nora, as well as the professor.

"A Nuckelavee! A rare answer I might say! I was honestly expecting anyone of you to answer more common Generals such as an Ichor Shaman-"

"Oh-oh! I know what an Ichor Shaman is!" Ruby suddenly jumped, startling Weiss besides her and drawing the attention from Ren to herself.

"Oh, Miss Rose, can you tell me what an Ichor Shaman is then?" Professor Port puffed his chest as he entertained the energetic child.

"Well... I'm not exactly sure what they look like, but they can shoot out some stuff that can spawn more Grimm... My uncle once fought them and won!"

~

'What-' Weiss suddenly shot a glance at Ruby, then to Yang for an explanation. Though, she was immediately met by a smile by the older sister.

"Oh? And who might your uncle be?"

"Uncle Qrow!" The young girl immediately answered, taking in even more attention from the students in the classroom as they all knew what man Ruby's uncle was.

"Wait, did she just say her uncle was Qrow the hero?"

"Whoa, she's a relative to Qrow the hero..."

"Would he come to Beacon to watch over his niece in the Vytal festival?"

"Silence." The professor waved his hand as he acknowledged Ruby's words, though, Yelena was particularly in the dust.

"So, who's Qrow the hero?" Yelena secretly leaned towards Free, who, though not vocal, expressed his surprise the most through his usual battle-lust smile.

"It's just like Ruby said, he fought off an Alpha Ichor Shaman alongside the entire army it spawned, which threatened almost the entire south side of Vale with the help of his huntsmen team. By the time help arrived, the Ichor Shaman and its den were destroyed. Made news headlines about two decades ago, the talk of the world if you will, and most of us grew up reading the tale as a bedtime story..."

"Ah, so I'm guessing Ichor Shamans are just that dangerous..." The girl raised her brows at the thought. She should ask Ruby later on for more details...

"Anyways, as Miss Rose was saying, Ichor Shamans can grow their own Grimm Pools, the very liquid that manifests the Grimm into existence..."

"You didn't need to bring up Uncle Qrow, Rubes..." Yang chuckled as she whispered a comment, eliciting only a smile from the leader.

"I'm surprised you two are related to that hero." Blake muttered as she immediately returned her focus to the professor, who then began his next topic.

"The Leviathans are the rarest, and most destructive, class of the Grimm. They are so rare that there have only been two instances of a Leviathan sighting in all of history, both of which happened during the Great War.

The first was a Wyvern twice the size of a modern-day airship. It could spawn its own Grimm with its vomit while spewing a brimstone of fire that levelled entire cities in one go. It was defeated by Gulliver the Strong and Nessa the Wise atop Mount Glenn, where it was said to have been its nesting space.

The second and the most dangerous Grimm ever recorded was simply nicknamed 'Diablo'. It is the sole reason why the entire geography of Sanus changed from a lush jungle to a desert, which is also known as the 'Burning of Vacuo', as well as a stop to the Great War.

There are no known records of what Diablo looks like, but it did have traits completely unique to itself. It possessed some kind of ability to mutate the Grimm into something, far more powerful, while also shooting out some kind of black fire which can burn even steel.

It took the Heroes of Remnant, Team ORGN, as well as several thousand brave soldiers from the four kingdoms and an entire week to take down Diablo and its horde of mutated Grimm.

It is also worthy to note of an old fisherman's tale of a Grimm the size of a mountain that roamed the deep oceans like a person walking on a shallow pond..."

'Diablo...' Yelena thoughts drift back to Ozpin's words as the professor began flashing images of a vast desert, with some places as white as snow, and others a shade of yellow. But the most noteworthy image was of a pitch-dark landscape, with black glass structures rising from the ground, as if molded by some kind of intense fire.

"As you all can see, remnants of Diablo's attack can still be seen all throughout southern Sanus, with some of these images being taken as near as a few hundred kilometres from Vacuo itself."

"The black sea." Sky suddenly commented, his words somewhat shacky, causing the professor to turn to him.

"Ah! Mr. Lark. I believe your place of origin is Vacuo?"

"Y-yes. Mr. Port." Sky clicked his tongue in surprise, having not realized he was thinking loudly.

"Well then, what can you say about these images?"

"The rest are self-explanatory, but that last image... that's the black sea, a kingdom-size area of black sand where the Grimm is at its worst." Yelena straightened her body at Sky's words. Diablo, or the Emperor's Blade, never had the ability to mutate others, much less creatures from another world. Their powers were purely of untamed destruction, wielders of demonic magic.

Well... that's what her father had said about them, and he had the scars to prove them.

"The more suicidal huntsmen would leave for the Black Sea, but I can only count a few to return unscathed, or even alive. And even then, it was usually a big deal when they return."

"And have you met one of these figures?" The professor suddenly cut his student's words, raising a brow

"Well, there's Captain Ahab-"

"Ah-ha! Ol' peg leg Ahab himself! I met the captain some four decades ago when I took a vacation to Vacuo. Next thing I knew, I was on his dune ship heading towards the Black Sea!" The professor began to go on a long tangent about his younger years, mixed in with sudden, off-the-topic questions. This, alongside the previous mention of her uncle, had eased the youngest in the room a slight bit, as after a while began drawing crude pictures of the professor.

"What'd you think?" Ruby raised her drawing to her team, revealing a crude drawing of the rotund Professor using basic shapes and lines.

"Ruby, can you stop drawing?" While Yang simply laughed at her sister's drawing, and Blake bore no attention, Weiss was the most vocal, immediately shooting down the girl's drawing.

Ruby sighed as she instead turned to face the other teams, with Jaune noticeably asleep, Nora attempting to whisper to Ren, though the latter simply did not reciprocate, more focused on Port's story. But Pyrrha's actions quickly got the girl's attention, drawing on her papers just like Ruby was.

"See? Even Pyrrha is drawing on her papers." Ruby whipped back to Weiss, who simply waved away her leader's words.

"She'd already know what this subject and lesson entails. You- skipped two years." Weiss briefly paused, memory lingering on that one moment when Ruby had teased Weiss about being the better of the two, for having skipped two years.

"I- uh... but Professor Port isn't doing anything." Ruby laments, quickly eyeing the professor, still indulging on his own stories of the past, "See?!"

"Well, you should at least get ready if he ever starts throwing questions-"

"Miss Schnee!" Weiss's words were suddenly interrupted as the professor finally finished his story, breaking the boring atmosphere that weighed on the students, and snapping Jaune awake.

"Y-yes? Professor Port?" Weiss's attitude immediately turned, her voice

"Have you been paying attention? Most of what you're hearing will be present in the test."

"Wait- what test?" Jaune snorted, voicing the very concern everybody in the class was thinking of.

"The one written on the board!" The professor raised his hand towards the board... but was nothing on it.

"Umm... there's nothing on the board... sir?" Pyrrha finally intervened raising her hand slightly

"Oh, ah! Mr. Lark had gotten me monologing! But not to fret, the exam would only be about the basics, that would be everything we've discussed and will discuss later on!" The professor quickly assured the class, only to return to face Weiss, "Anyways, I do have a special activity, and it does seem like you're up for the task... Miss Schnee..."

"Don't worry Professor... I won't let you down."

Chapter 25: Frustration and Desperation

Chapter Text

"Go Weiss!" Ruby shouted from the sideline as Weiss readied her stance in front of the class, having brought out her rapier, she awaited the professor's command. In front of her was a metallic cage,

"Aren't the Grimm creatures of destruction?" Yelena felt appalled by what she was seeing in front of her. While everyone around her was more than capable of handling a singular Grimm, especially Weiss, to have a feral creature wreaked havoc inside a classroom was less than acceptable.

"Well, this is a school for huntsmen after all... It should be fine..." Free simply shrugged, trusting Port's judgement and Weiss's capabilities.

"I'm ready." Weiss let out a calm exhale, pointing her pointed blade onto the cage, watching as the cage violently began to shake, the Grimm inside feeling the tense emotions of the girl in front.

"Very well then. Begin!" The professor bellowed out as he pulled out his weapon, a double-barreled shotgun with a double-headed axe head horizontally lined at the edges of the barrel. With a quick strike, he shatters the lock holding the creature inside in place and dropping the iron flap open.

Almost immediately a sudden squeal reverberated throughout the class as a black figure escaped the darkness of the cage with extreme speed, almost impacting Weiss as she took a step to the side. Instead, the figure crashes onto the wall, finally revealing a dark orb, which uncurled to form a small boar-like Grimm. A Boarbatusk.

Meanwhile, Weiss elegantly glided to the side with her glyphs, impressing a few students to the side with her display of talent. As much as she could handle a mere Boarbatusk, a juvenile at that, first impressions are key. And that meant as much bravado and charm she could muster up.

"Very good use of your semblance, Miss Schnee, quick thinking and quick on your feet!" Portman praised the heiress, prompting a smile to grow on her face as she readied for the Grimm's next attack.

"Show off." Cardin sighed, the comment loud enough for the front row to hear, with Yang immediately turning and visibly giggling at him to annoy him even further.

Back at the front, Weiss watches as the Grimm readies another charge, and readies a set of glyphs all around herself. She was going to deal with the Grimm with a single, and rather spectacular, attack, but it needed it to get closer to her.

'Wait for a minute...' Weiss waited for the right moment as she stood her ground, her patience and focus in sync as she pictured how her desire attack would be seen by the students in front of her-

"GO WEISS GO!" Ruby screamed right alongside her sister, the collective shout enough to disrupt Weiss as she instinctively turned to face her team in surprise, the glyphs she had readied disappearing in a flash.

"Wha-"

BANG

Before Weiss could even process what was happening, the Boarbatusk's charge landed a devastating blow on the side of her cheek, knocking her onto the blackboard, where a box of chalk landed on her head.

"Schnee!" The professor shouts in concern, his voice taken noticed by the now rampaging Boarbatusk. Up on the desks, the whispers of praise turned to gasps, with Yelena returning a gaze to Free.

"I- huh... what exactly was the point in all this, now that you think about it..." Free slowly turned away from Yelena, whose face had 'I told you.' written all over it. Cardin meanwhile winced at the ugly sight, clenching his fists in frustration. As much as he saw Weiss as a rival, her falling here would leave a bad touch on noble children...

"Well, I guess I'll just have to put you back in your cage..." The professor simply sighed as he readied a stance, waiting for the Grimm to charge at him. Only, a dozen glyphs suddenly manifest around the creature, Weiss at the back having levelled her rapier onto it. With one final flick of her wrist, massive spikes of ice shoot out of the glyphs, impaling the Grimm like an iron maiden, not even giving it the time to squeal in pain as it faded into a mist of darkness.

There was a moment of silence as the glyphs began to disappear, the students watching as Weiss slowly lowered her rapier onto the floor, tired. Then, the professor finally sprang into action, turning his eyes onto team RBY, specifically, Ruby.

"Ruby Rose, do you not know the basic etiquettes of a duel?!" Port roared out as he immediately darted towards the fallen heiress to help her up. For a plump man half a head shorter than Weiss, he was surprisingly agile...

"I- I just wanted to support her," Ruby muttered as she slowly shrunk back to her seat.

"Not when you're literally in the front seat. Miss Schnee, are you alright?"

"I- I'm fine Professor... my semblance just got interrupted..." Weiss shot a glare at her leader, almost seemingly about to burst when the school bell interrupted, signalling the end of the day. It was already hard enough to take in everyone else's reaction to her fall, Pyrrha's genuine concern, Cardin's disapproving wince, and even the raised brow from Free.

As much as they were total strangers to her, considering it was their first day, they all had the expectations that 'A Schnee could at least handle a simple juvenile Borbatusk all by herself'.

"That will be all for now children. Ruby, learn from your mistake now to not distract your teammate." Professor Port dismissed the class as the students silently got up and leave

"U-understand." Ruby nervously turned to her sister, attempting to avoid the gaze of the professor and Weiss, though failing instantly as she could not stop eyeing her partner.

"Good. Now, if any of you ladies need any help with Grimm studies, you know where to find me." Professor Port finally nodded as he left the room, leaving the team alone.

"S-sorry Weiss..." Ruby crept up to Weiss as she attempted to hold her shoulder, "I just wanted-"

"Just... go." Weiss panted as she slapped away Ruby's approaching hand. Ruby's 'interference' caused her such embarrassment, and now she wanted to help her?

"Leave her be Ruby..." Yang solemnly placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, realizing that the proximity between the two would only worsen the situation...

"I-" Ruby muttered, only to silently give up as she followed her sister out of the class, leaving one last glance at her supposed partner...

'She might as well kill me at this point from embarrassment...' Weiss signed as she loosened her grip on her blade, taking a breather on the lowest steps of the stairs leading to their chairs. Slowly, her head weighed on her shoulders, jaw tightening in frustration, 'this- isn't fair.'

Even being an entire kingdom away from her father, she still could feel his ire, hearing the scorn of disappointment as she had imagined him witnessing her embarrassment today. She collapsed her face onto her resting arms as tears slowly began to trickle down, wondering what else to do.

It'd be impossible to submit a letter of transference to another team a week into her first year, and the Vytal Festival was happening this winter.

'Ruby will bring down the team...' she thought... and thought... and thought... the thought repeating more times than she could count until she was practically wording it out loud.

"Why did the Headmaster accept Ruby?" Weiss widened her eyes. She was so focused on Ruby's incompetence, that she never realized the 'why' of the situation.

"If Qrow the Hero is her uncle... that would mean that her parents are also influential!" Weiss's brow widened at the realization, quickly turning her attention outside the window, eyeing a far taller building in the distance... the Cross Continental Tower.

~

Weiss ran towards the massive data tower that proudly stood in front of Beacon's courtyard, the only partially public place in the whole area, where visitors were able to roam around, whether it was to take a picnic under the summer breeze, gaze over the cliff side that showed the Emerald forest, or in most cases, to use the CCT.

While the girl could have searched up Ruby and Yang's parents through her scroll or a nearby terminal, such local appliances pale in comparison to the system of the CCT, where all data is stored, data from each of the four kingdoms, as well as faster and more stable access. Additionally, the CCT allowed the girl one other necessity that terminals or a scroll could provide in a public space such as Beacon Academy.

Privacy.

[4th Floor]

Silence welcomed the young heiress as she walked out of the (rather spacious) elevator, finding herself inside a massive and dark room that stretched for the entire cylindrical floor. Instead of some kind of boring office lights that covered the entire ceiling, the room was illuminated by blue hard-light walls wrapped around a desk in a five-by-five square stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

These were the many cubicles of the CCT, each one providing both soundproofing and obscurity from each user, and there were just close to twenty per floor, with walkways separating each blue-lighted cube.

'4-7, 4-8, 4-9, ah, here... 4-10.' Weiss nodded as she raised a keycard she had acquired from the CCT front desk on the first floor and pressed it firmly onto the hard-light wall. Soon enough, a small [PING!] was heard as the wall opened to reveal a simple desk and terminal, with a comfortable single-seat sofa for a chair.

The girl immediately got to work as the doorway closed behind her, booting up the terminal and searching up the pair of sisters.

Ruby and Yang definitely had a record to boast about, with Yang claiming first in 'Patches' Little Huntsmen league', which was essentially an annual end-of-year tournament for the one combat school in Patches, Signal Academy, while everything that Ruby had said back at the initiations being true.

"Hmm..." Weiss needed to know more, even with Ruby's background, it did not warrant her need to skip two years of combat school. She then searched up Qrow Branwen.

"Qrow Branwen, better known as Qrow the Hero, is a huntsman who graduated from Beacon Academy. Alongside team leader Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, and his sister, Raven Branwen, formed Team STRQ, assigned personally by Headmaster Ozpin."

Weiss quietly muttered as she then clicked on the [Team STRQ] hyperlink.

"Team STRQ was the leading huntsmen team of the school year [XXXX]* of Beacon Academy, having won first in the 29th and 30th Vytal festival in the Teams category, with leader Summer Rose winning first place in the 29th festival in the Individuals category, with Raven Branwen at second place, subsequently taking first place on the 30th festival. Both Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long did not participate in both festivals, and Summer Rose did not participate in the 29th Individuals category."

Weiss widens her eyes as she sees multiple images of Team STRQ's victory, with a woman resembling Ruby holding up a golden trophy and a woman resembling Yang begrudgingly holding a silver trophy.

"Whoa..." The girl could only chuckle at the ridiculous feats and achievements the team had acquired. Yet, the article slowly grew more spacious after their graduation, and discounting Qrow's victory over the Ichor Shaman, the only other notable thing the group had done was their disbandment. Around fifteen years ago...

"There has to be more here..." Weiss winced at the dead end as she scrolled to the top, only to realize one important detail she had missed. TaiyangXiao Long. Yang had the same family name as the man, and with how the other two women looked exactly like Ruby and Yang, there wasn't much to imagine.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, member of team STRQ, currently teaching in Signal Academy, Patches-" She suddenly stopped as an image began to slowly rise while she was scrolling down the man's page.

"What?-" It was a plain picture at first, detailing a tan man with dirty blonde hair and ragged clothes sharing a handshake with another, but the other person caught Weiss's attention. Ozpin.

Both Ozpin and Taiyang were exchanging hands, behind them being a combat school, Signal Academy.

"Beacon Headmaster Ozpin vouching for retired huntsman Taiyang Xiao Long to teach in Signal Academy..." Weiss grimaced at the description below the image. It was now clear to her how Ruby had gotten into Beacon so easily...

~Extra~

"Blake... Belladonna." Weiss inquired. As much as she was furious about Ruby's entrance, there were a whole lot more individuals to search about-

"Huh, nothing? Alright then... Weiss Schnee." Weiss chuckled as she searched her name in the CCT network. Unlike her more sheltered life devoid of access to the Atleasian CCT, she had complete access to the Vale branch.

"Weiss Schnee, the middle child of Jacque and Willow Schnee. Current Heiress to the Schnee Dust Corp. Also currently enrolled in Beacon Academy."

"Huh, how rather bland..." Weiss sighed at the text, removing her name as she instead wrote down Jaune's name, rather curious of what her father had said about the boy. Yet, instead of a similarly decorated page as team STRQ, the search engine instead filtered into 'Joan Arc', the heroine of the Great War on the Mistralian front.

"Odd... Pyrrha Nykos." Weiss's confusion quickly faded as she moved to Pyrrha, who had equally as many achievements, though not as big as team STRQ, each detailing every single fight documented, all wins. Perhaps it was due to the technology of current days that made way for improved documentation, or the fact that Pyrrha was just that much of a celebrity compared to the supernova rise but also the slow decline of STRQ.

~

"Hmm, Lemuel G. Free." At this point Weiss was now simply curious about everyone else's file- It wasn't technically stalking per se, just that she needed to construct a background of all her classmates. And that started with Free, whose name only appears in a Vacuan mercenary identification file on some shady site, as well as a few dozen articles of certain 'barely legal' Vacuan fighting arenas, all wins just like Pyrrha.

Sky also appeared to have the same background as Free, though with fewer articles on fights, and not as decorated as Pyrrha's or Free's.

"Vacuans really have it hard there huh?..." There was a brief pang of pity from the Schnee as she wondered how young the two had started fighting. Unlike Pyrrha's more professional fights, underground fighting arenas were almost unpredictable and very dangerous. It would also explain Free's lack of arms...

Nora and Ren were in a similar lack of documentation like Blake and Jaune's profile. Unlike Vacuo's documents on their mercenaries being digitalized somewhat, Mistral still used hard files for huntsmen quotas, so any of Nora and Ren's actions would go under the digital radars of the CCT network.

And that... only left Yelena. The most mysterious of the twelve. Compared to Jaune, who has a well-known descendant, Nora or Ren who came from rural Mistral, or Blake, whom Weiss assumed to have also come from Mistral solely on personality alone... she had no idea who Yelena is.

The rabbit faunus did not look like she came from anywhere big, as well as her lack of knowledge of certain things like bank accounts and such would lead Weiss to suspect that she came from some rural place as well. Yet her semblance was powerful enough to freeze an entire ravine. Someone as powerful as Yelena was bound to gain certain traction.

'Her clothes would suggest she came from a cold place, but it couldn't be Solitas as General Ironwood would have scouted her immediately... or would have recognized me as a Schnee...' Weiss rubbed her chin in contemplation as she brought out her scroll to begin writing notes.

'It also couldn't be Northern Mistral, she has a different accent, unlike JNPR...' Leaning back on her seat in the futility of her action, she thrummed her fingers on her chin, 'She also doesn't have a family name...'

"Who... are you, Yelena?"

Chapter 26: The Bet

Chapter Text

Night had already fallen when Weiss reached the dormitories. As team RWBY's room was at the last floor, it took some time for her to scale up the building. Yet as she ascended to the last floor, where a lounge room was also stationed at, she just so happened to meet one other person. Yelena. Who then made her way towards the Schnee with worry of her previous fight.

"Are... are you alright?" Yelena scanned Weiss for any form of wound or damage from the previous fight. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of aura taking the brunt of any damage, having lived her whole life in the constant presence of death. Yet as she did, her eyes suddenly locked onto Weiss's expression, she was... surprised. Surprised Yelena was asking for her well-being, enough to stop her in her tracks temporarily.

"I'm fine, and besides, what do you care about?" The Schnee quickly collected herself as she returned to walking, 'A Faunus asking a Schnee if they are alright... has she lived in the woods her entire life?'

"Well, that charge looked painful, and-"

"Like I said, I am fine, I can take more than a hit, aura or no aura..." Weiss swatted away Yelena's queries as she began to walk faster, enough for the cautus to take the hint and stop. Though coincidentally, Yelena stopped right in front of her dorm, with Free having watched the entire exchange unfold.

"Give up on her already, that's THE Weiss Schnee, from the Schnee nobility. The most asshole asshole to ever be an asshole, inherited directly from her father. She's probably gonna go to her dorm, start yelling at her team, they fight, the team splits, no more team RWBY, end of story." The boy shrugged as he was quietly tuning his mechanical arm with a screwdriver, his fingers reflexively jolting with each tool turn, "As brilliant as Ruby is for her age, if she can't keep her team from crumbling, then big man upstairs would have no choice but to change the positions of his chess pieces."

"Ruby may have been at fault for interrupting her, but to go that far?" Yelena couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity. She had seen so many absurd things before, but such action was highly unnecessary.

"Man, you're really are up north from Atlas huh... That's just how Atlas nobility are..." Free turned into their dorm room, eyeing Cardin reading a textbook on his bed, "Scratch that, that's how every noble family acts in all four kingdoms. Some kind of familial pride bullsh*t making them a pain in the ass 24/7..."

"So this is how my father felt in the military..." Yelena sighed as she remembered the stories her father told her before his Oripathy infection.

~~~

"I just... wanted to show her some support, y'know... as a team thing." Ruby sighed as she looked up at the empty ceiling, lying on one of the elevated beds.

"C'mon sis, itiskinda our fault, though what's the worst she's gonna say? It was only a single mishap." Yang explained with ease, also resting on the lower beds at the other side, with Blake on top, still silently reading her novel.

"Well, it's only been three days, and you already know how she tends to be." Ruby couldn't help but keep her worry, a worry that Yang had opted to 'try' and ignore.

"Ah well-"

"Ruby!" Weiss suddenly barges in, the suddenness enough to bring the two sisters to stand up.

"Hey Weiss, so... sorry for what happened earlier, we were just trying to cheer you on. That's all." Yang, being the straightforward person that she was, simply apologized, though failed to realized that Weiss wasn't even looking at her. She was looking at Ruby.

"S-sorry, Weiss... I know I screwed up with your fight, but it's just like what Yang said..."

"Save it, Ruby, of course, you wouldn't know any better than to cause me a battle that I could have won easily. You aren't even supposed to be here."

.

"What?" Both sisters recoiled at the statement, with Blake now silently eyeing the Schnee in the guise of reading her book.

"Take that back! That's a bit too harsh, and all she did was distract you." Yang took a step forward, trying to find any logical reason for Weiss to have said the words she uttered, though to deaf ears.

"I meant everything that I said." Weiss puffed as she doubled down, catching Blake's attention even further as she lowered her novel to her lap.

"The hell does that mean?! She proved herself in initiation, she came up with that plan to take down the Nevermore, what more do you expect from her? Who I may remind you, is two years younger than us!" Yang took another step forward, too riled up to hear her younger sister calling her name to stop-

"You're here because of your parents."

.

.

.

"What?!" A sudden gust of wind explodes from Yang as her semblance activates. It had taken a considerable while for Weiss's words to be processed by the three others, Ruby especially, but the implications were devastating.

"It's obvious, do I even have to say it?" Weiss, surprisingly undeterred by the imminent danger of standing before Yang, continued.

"Say... what? Exactly?" Ruby muttered, half confused, half needing to answer first instead of waiting for her sister to explode.

"Of course you 'don't know'. Does this ring a bell?" Weiss exclaimed as she produced her scroll, revealing the very same photo of the blond-haired man shaking hands with the Headmaster.

"Tai was it? Your father, alongside it, professor Ozpin."

"You were looking up our past?!" The other three suddenly shouted back, with Blake finally breaking away from her tactic of 'not doing anything'. Immediately jumping down from her bed, Blake shot a killing glare at Weiss as her entire body stiffened. The fear of being found out was at stake here, and by a Schnee no-less-

"Don't worry Blake, there was absolutely nothing about you..." Weiss quickly swatted away the deathly glare, surprising Blake enough for her to calm down.

"I was only scouting my 'teammates' anyways, 'cause, you know, I'm stuck here with the three of you. It's unfair that you all know me already, but I do no know who you are." Weiss huffed, "And besides, I needed to guarantee my future with you three."

"And what does all that have to do with our parents?" Yang quickly turned to check on her sister, who had frozen in place with shock.

"Simple. Your mom, or moms, were the top scorers during their time in Beacon. Your uncle is the Hero of Southern Vale, and your father seems to be a big shot in that combat school in Patches."

"And?!" Yang's minuscule patience were beginning to run thin as she had to do a double take on every absurd syllable spoken by Weiss. She clearly had only researched 'barely' enough to prove her argument.

"Ozpin clearly wants to see the children of his prodigies start early, enough to pull you out of combat school to say the least. Either that, or your parents got him to get you-"

BANG

Weiss was barely in the middle of pronouncing 'you' when she was interrupted by Yang's fist buried deep into her left cheek, the impact enough to force her whole body straight onto the wall, leaving a noticeable crack on it, and spending a large percentage of Weiss's aura.

"Yang! Stop it!" Ruby immediately followed as she gripped her sister's arm forcefully, attempting to settle the situation, even if Weiss's comments were mostly directed towards her.

"You- Brute!" Weiss roared out in pain as multiple glyphs began to form around Yang, the two ready to fight then and there.

"You have no right to talk crap about our family! Especially our moms!" Yang did not care about the glyphs, nor Ruby besides her, nor the massive commotion created with Weiss impacting the rather hollow walls. If it means angering a global corporation or such just to beat the crap outta her offender, so be it.

"I have every right if it determines MY future!" A further wave of glyphs manifested specifically around Yang as Weiss returned to her feet.

"Weiss!" Blake's voice finally broke the stand-off as everyone looked towards her direction, her face contorted in anger and annoyance, gripping the black booklet she always read in her downtime, "Stop it."

"Blake?" Yang muttered as they all watched the girl in black step forward.

"Of course the Schneeheiressis complaining about her own position in the team. Not content with putting your feet down on the Faunus in Mantle, and now you're out here bullying our leader."

"What?!" Weiss recoiled at Blake's words, specifically at how the latter highlighted her status as a Schnee.

"She might be a bit childish, but remember, Ozpin chose her, over you. And what's this about nepotism? The daughter of the most powerful, non-military figure of Atlas, the heiress to the largest dust corporation that rules half the world over the need of dust, calling her admission-"

"Blake. Yang." Ruby suddenly called out in a stern tone, surprising the girl as she was not expecting such a voice from the upbeat Ruby. Turning to face the young leader, Blake's eyes widened as she was instead met with a reassuring smile, "I can handle this."

Ruby promptly turned towards Weiss, who was still reeling from Blake's comments about her own family, and produced her scroll, showing the Schnee a photo of their school schedule.

"Weiss, how about a bet?"

"A-A bet?" Weiss quickly scanned the image for what the young girl was implying, only to widen her eyes on tomorrow's schedule: Combat practice.

"If I can stand alone against anyone in the class, you will stop complaining," Ruby explained with determination in her eyes. It was the most straightforward solution to both of their problems. While it would take much longer to know the results of any future tests, a physical spar was immediate.

"And what if you lose?" Weiss's question made the two other teammates wince. It wasn't that the two doubted Ruby's capabilities like Weiss did, it was just that... what if she did lose?

"I step down as leader. I'll go straight to Ozpin after the class."

"Ruby!" Both Yang and Blake erupted in opposition, both hating the idea of Weiss taking leadership.

"I said it's fine, guys. The matter is between me and Weiss." Ruby once again shot a glare at her team members, causing the two to freeze up at the sight of their leader acting so unnaturally.

"Well, I accept your proposal. Ruby Rose." The glyphs around Yang quickly dissipated as the girl step forward, raising her hand. Ruby promptly nodded as the two shook hands, sealing the bet with a rather tight grip.

Yet there was one more bystander to also witness the entire exchange.

"Hmm... A bet?" A malicious grin grew out from the figure just outside, watching as Ruby promptly ran out the door, with Blake following behind, while Yang 'somewhat' attempted to talk diplomatically with Weiss. The man was simply going out for his dinner, but now he had gotten a glimpse of tomorrow's dessert.

~

"Ruby!" Blake called out, chasing the young leader, who was surprisingly fast even without her semblance. For the first time since their meeting, Blake knew she needed to intervene. She was just as furious as Yang was, yet was more perceptive in recognizing that Ruby needed just as much help as Yang was doing with stopping Weiss.

"Ruby! Please wait!" Blake called out once more as she finally decided to do more than call her name. Almost immediately, the girl's body began to darken unnaturally, like no light was touching her. A second later, her entire form was pitch dark, with nothing but her silhouette still chasing after the Crimsonette.

PANG

In an instant, Blake shot out of the dark silhouette, surging in renewed speed. It was Blake's semblance, Shadow, allowing her to create a shadow on her original spot, and expelling her to her desired direction at greater speeds. In this case, to catch the fleeing girl.

"Ah-" Ruby gasped as she was promptly, but gently, tackled to the ground, with Blake twisting around her body to cushion the young girl from the ground. Both girls rag-dolled through the empty hallways with excess speed, finally stopping just meters from the end, their bodies entangled.

"O-ow... you didn't need to do that you know..." Ruby groaned as she opened her eyes, suddenly finding herself so close to Blake's face. With a blink to process her vision, Ruby quickly used her semblance to jump away from the girl, face reddened with embarrassment.

"B-Blake, wh-what was that for?"

"Ruby, I know when someone's going to go somewhere empty just to sulk alone." Blake didn't bother as she slowly rose up, having sustained some damages to her aura from the fall alone, "Trust me, I've got my fair share of moments."

"It's just..." Ruby lowered her voice as she rested her gaze on the floor, unsure what else to say.

"We're in a team Ruby. As much as Weiss does not like it, we're all here to support each other." Blake continued, placing both her hands on the younger's shoulders, "What Weiss did was disgusting, it'd be perfectly fine to be pissed off for what she said like Yang is, but you... I know you're bottling all that up."

"I'm fine. Really. So long as I win my first fight, I can prove to Weiss I can stand my ground in Beacon, and we're back to one big happy team." Ruby simply replied, finally stopping to look at her teammate.

"It's not that Ruby, Weiss attacked your family. That's as disrespectful as insults come. Believe me, and I'm- I've been in Faunus protests..." Blake stuttered as she nearly gave away her true nature. Though Ruby was too conflicted to have noticed.

"Like I said, I did not let this slide, Blake, that's why I made that bet with her. Please...- trust me in this." Blake could see it all too well, and Ruby's facade she had used against Weiss was finally crumbling. The young girl was crying. Tears streaked down her cheek as she attempted to look at her teammate with a straight face.

"Ruby... It's alright if you feel angry at your 'teammate', no kid should have heard what Weiss had said."

"But I'm not a-" Ruby couldn't even form her words properly as her body began to crumble on her thoughts...

'What if Weiss was right?'

In truth, that was the only thing she could think of since their argument... She had barely survived her first day, with unfamiliar subjects force-fed into her mind, the surrounding students leagues above her own, and even the pressure as a team leader... And Weiss just had to bring up her mother...

"I- I don't- It's not true..." Ruby finally broke, collapsing onto Blake. The latter waited momentarily as she looked down at the young leader, the sight reminding her of the children back in her home town... Slowly, she gently wrapped her arms around Ruby, patting the Crimsonette's back rhythmically. If Ruby's sister could not provide her sister the comfort at the moment, she might as well fill in the role of her big sister...

"It's alright Ruby... It's not true..." 'Weiss must have hit a weak spot on their parents...' Blake couldn't help but hypothesize. Whatever the case was, Blake just had to pray that Ruby won against whoever they were to go up against...

~~~Extra~~~

"So I was thinking, we buy a waffle maker this Saturday!" Jaune exclaimed as both he and Ren were walking back from the canteen after their diner, "Nora LOVES pancakes! She'd sure love waffles."

"Jaune, where exactly would we even get the money? We've mostly been living off the first-week-free canteen food, and in-school jobs won't be available till next week." Ren explained monotonously, "Nora and I spent all the remaining cash we've gotten in our last job before Beacon, and I don't think you've got a lot of money as well..."

"Well, it's a team effort, also, there's Pyrrha."

"Jaune. We can't just use Pyrrha as the team's wallet-" Ren's words were interrupted as the two boys noticed both Ruby and Blake in front of their dorm room.

"H-hey guys, mind if we crash in for the night?"

Chapter 27: White

Chapter Text

"Mirror... tell me something..."

~~~

A thunderous blast shuddered the exterior of Beacon as the dead of night settled in, with team JNPR having been somewhat filled in with Weiss's antics, discounting the whole nepotism part, by Blake. Both girls were now sharing a bed with Nora and Pyrrha planning to sleep in for the night, with Yang having called that Weiss had shut herself under her blankets.

The layout of the team's beds was surprisingly simple, two beds joined together, boys on the right and girls on the left, with the beds being just enough, when connected, to include both Ruby and Blake alongside Pyrrha and Nora.

"Geez, that's mad crazy that Weiss still doesn't trust you after what happened..." Nora gawked at the rather summarized explanation while she held onto a plate of pancakes, a courtesy of Ren using the kitchen area in the dormitory's common room to bake a midnight meal. Ruby in the meantime merely leaned on the wall, sitting between Blake and Nora with her plate resting on her lap.

"Yeesh, talk about expectations, or that she's just salty, y'know." Jaune nervously chuckled as he was reminded how Weiss had easily thrown him like a ragdoll just a day ago. He was pretty sure he'd be dead by now had he been Weiss's leader instead of Ruby...

"Well, it is what it is I guess, 'just need tah beat up someone tomorrow ey?NOM!" Nora chuckles as she swallows a whole piece of pancake dressed with chocolate syrup.

"Nora's right Ruby, it's just one match anyway," Pyrrha assured the young girl, only to be replied with a slow disagreeing headshake from Ruby.

"It's not just one match, the students in Beacon are leagues above the students I've fought in Signal... Weiss is right about one thing: you all have at least two more years of experience. Heck- What if I get matched up against Yelena or you? I'm way outta your league!"

"Well, if you're matched with me, I can always go easy, y'know, there's more at stake for you than me losing." There was a sudden shuffle as Ruby balled up her hands that rested beside her folded legs.

"But... I wouldn't want that." She shot down the redhead's words, eyeing Pyrrha with a steel-like expression, "I need to prove not just Weiss, but also to know if I am supposed to be here... I don't know why the headmaster allowed me into Beacon, I'm not even ready for these kinds of things."

"The heck 'you mean 'not ready?' then what was Initiation? You were perfect!" Nora *almost* stood as her stack of pancakes wobbled in front of her, "Oh don't tell me you, sniping a literal Nevermore from the skies and dragging its body up a cliff, isn't exactly noteworthy?"

"I mean- it is, it's just that, those can be exceptions, I may be good at one or two things, but can I really be a huntsman just by shooting well or showing off flashy moves?" Ruby eyes the silent Blake at the side, noticing how her words affect her somewhat.

"Huh, well dang." Nora slumped back onto the bed as she took another chomp out of her tower of pancakes, her appetite insatiable. "Tuwo nwea-ptch pteir own I gwespts..."

"Nora, what did I say about talking while eating?" A sudden voice catches the girls off guard as they turn to see Ren holding another platter of pancakes, with a 'The Bakery' pink apron over his green pyjamas. This causes Nora to droop her shoulders in response as she gulped down the pancake in her mouth.

"Never to talk while eating...Like I said, to each their own I guess..." Nora shrugged as she flatteringly looked at her partner, who simply gave a nod of approval and promptly dropped another stack of 15 pancakes on her plate, causing her eyes to sparkle in delight.

"Look at it this way Ruby, even if you lose to Pyrrha, youarelosing to Pyrrha. I'm pretty sure not even Weiss can defeat her." Ren explained, giving his point in the conversation and noticing a wince from the redhead from his remark, "It'd be more evident if you lost to Yelena. You said it yourself that you felt the cold up the cliff. As much I'd cheer for you, there's no winning against Yelena..."

"Well, how about the other students? What if I lose to someone else who also has not proven themselves to Weiss?" The was a long pause from Ruby's words as the four looked at each other, each one unsure how to answer such a question...

"Then accept it and move on."

The five turned to the final person in the room, Jaune resting on the other side of the room, having re-entered back into the conversation since his previous remark about Weiss.

"Jaune! No!" Nora winced as she stood up, albeit on the floor this time.

"No- no, what I'm trying to say is that... while it does prove that you aren't on the same level as the rest, it would not prove that you shouldn't be in Beacon... You should be here."'More than I ever should be...'Jaune sighed as his thoughts continued what he had just spoken. It felt weird giving a piece of advice to someone more deserving of him, but, he is still technically older than the girl by two years...

"Well, maybe... I guess..." Ruby sighed as she looked out the window, taking a small nibble out of her pancakes and watching droplets of rain pour down the window. "You're right..."

~~~

"Tell me, who's the loneliest of all?"

There were too many. Too many eyes on her. Too many mouths talking about her. Their thoughtsALLabout her. The heiress. The Schnee. The future 'most successful woman in Remnant'. The one currently singing in front of thousands of Atleasians, her voice echoed through radios, her face plastered on several magazines and newspapers.

On that day, literally, without a shadow of a doubt, with not even a single speck of hyperbole, metaphor, or so on, the entire kingdom of Atlas was either watching or listening to her sing. From the most respected of figures within the Atlas council to even the dirtiest street rat plaguing the impoverished city of Mantle.

She was Weiss Schnee. And it is her 15th birthday.

Well- she was 'technically' celebrating her birthday in the eyes of the public. It 'was' her idea to advertise a Mantle charity event through an extremely elaborate opera. And it certainly 'was' because of her extremely gifted voice that she was to be the main character in said opera.

That's what the public thinks. But in reality, it was of someone else's.

This was no celebration. It was a declaration. A declaration that Weiss Schnee was to be the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. This whole celebration was merely meant to advertise who Weiss is, and certain who was the man who raised such a talented individual.

And that individual was seated just above her, in a private box overseeing everything. Jacque Schnee. Even as she was mostly focused on her vocals, Weiss could see him plain as day over the darkness of the opera house, a relatively tall pale man with white hair, a white moustache, and even a white coat and tie. The man was practically radiating light with his appearance, and even then, he was still as shameless as Weiss knew him for.

She could see him sitting alongside some other figures of equal attires, members of a group of influential figures within the Atleasian nobility. Unlike the rest all in silence watching her perform, he was up there, talking to some men she did not bother knowing, overwatching his daughter.

Turning her attention away from her father, she focuses her all on her voice as the climax nears. Yet, even as she pushed herself to the limits, her thoughts were still a jumbled mess, unsure as to even deciphering it.

'What am I to you?'

'Is there more to my life than just your plaything?'

'Have you ever loved me?'

Questions flooded her mind as her voice spiked, rising and rising with each intonation and syllable, the lyrics now clawing through her throat like vomit. Even with her trained voice, it was just a song she could barely perform, a song forced onto her by her father for 'being eye-catching'. Yet here she was now, stunning both the audience and the entirety of Atlas.

With one final, angelic cry, she drops to the ground, both in acting, as well as her own weakening body from the strain of singing. Yet, even in anguish, she is still an actress, and on stage, she was instead received through a standing ovation from a faceless crowd...

At that moment, she was the loneliest girl in the world, even when the whole world was looking at her...

~~~

"Tell me, can a heart be turned to stone?"

"Weiss has done it once again!" An elderly lady chuckled as she surrounded Jacque with a few other formally dressed figures.

"Of course she is, she is, after all, the jewel of House Schnee, the one to inherit it all from me when I... eventually, pass along." Jacque burst into laughter, eliciting others to follow along. Around them, many other guests of similar attires minded their own business, with Weiss lonely in the middle of the room.

They all were in a massive ballroom, with classical Atleasian music playing in the background. Yet, the young girl was all alone. Nobody to talk to, nobody to relate to. Like a piece of jewellery behind a glass case. Even if it was her birthday.

"Happy birthday sister." A young boy almost similar to her father approached finally approached the girl, wearing an ice blue sleeveless coat over a long sleeve, and his hands behind his back.

"Hello, Whitley... come to congratulate me for my stunning performance?" Weiss tiredly asked, too unbothered in holding up the charade of the 'perfect girl' in front of her younger brother.

"Well, partially so, though I am more curious as to why you aren't exactly approaching any of Father's companions, "Whitley questioned, bringing a raised brow from her sister, "Ah, my apologies there! Father did forget to give you his word before you went on stage, and the afterparty prevented the two of you from discussing in closed doors. Here."

Whitley explained as he pulled out a folded note from under his coat, handing it to Weiss, while also narrating it himself.

"'Weiss, some very powerful individuals will be attending the party. It would be nice of you to greet them and cement yourself in their memories. I've given your brother some picture cards depicting the people I'd like you to meet, so get to it." Whitley spoke in his most 'Jacque Schnee' voice, much to Weiss's annoyance.

"Fine, fine, hand me the cards... it's not like I've got something else to do anyways..." The girl sighed as she promptly snatched the deck of cards from her younger brother.

"Well, have fun with that, sister. Good luck!"

"Yeah yeah..." Weiss sighed as she quickly began her research, rapidly memorizing the faces and names of each figure presented with each card-

POFF

The young girl staggered to the ground as she walked directly onto a nearby pillar, her face colliding with the hard marble.

"Ow... maybe don't read while walking?" Weiss muttered to herself- Wait, there was never a pillar in the middle of the ballroom-

"Ah! Miss Schnee!" A sudden, thunderous voice snapped the young girl's attention, the source coming directly above her. Shaking off nausea from the impact, her vision was drowned by the sight of a giant man almost twice the size as her, with the 'pillar' she had impacted, being the side of the man, while an imprint of her face faintly left on the man's brown coat around his external obliques areas.

"Richmon deary! How could you do that to our little hostess!" Another voice suddenly echoed beside the young girl as a woman quickly approached and knelt by her side, holding her back with her surprisingly toned arms.

"I wasn't looking, young heiress, forgive me for my lack of awareness." The man also crouched down as the two figures collectively helped Weiss up to her feet, though the girl was still wobbling from the impact.

"I wasn't looking either, my father had given me a note to read and I was too busy myself, the fault isn't on your end... Richmon? Wait. Richmon Winchester?" Weiss's eyes widened as she snapped her head from the woman back to the man, getting a good look at his chiselled face, short, pulled-back burnt-orange hair, and striking indigo eyes.

"Are you, by any chance, Richmon and Dena Winchester?- Of the Winchester Shipping and Transport Corporation in Vale?" Weiss gasped at the chances of her run-ins being a big, BIG shot. Although she had yet to read her father's picture cards, she certainly knew these two.

"Yes we are sweety! Though, you can call us Auntie and Uncle Dena and Richie!" The woman chuckled, eliciting a grimace from the man.

"Dena dear... weAREN'Tthat old..." Richmon whined as the woman promptly shot a deathly glare towards his direction.

"Never mind that fool of my husband dearie, your performance was absolutely stunning! And when we received an invitation from your father, we knew we had to come!" Dena gleamed as she leaned closer to the much shorter Weiss.

"I- I see, Mrs.- I mean Auntie Dena... Oh right, don't you have someone else with you?" A sudden thought surfaced from the young girl as her mind pulled out a metaphorical binder, remembering there was a third member of the Winchester household...

"Ah, yes, where is that child of ours? I could have sworn he was just here..." Richmon turned around, animatedly looking around the entire ballroom as if the figure he was looking for was just that minuscule... Yet, as the man turned and turned, Weiss caught the sight of a boy about a foot taller than her, simply eyeing her lazily.

"I'm here father... I have always been behind you..." A tired voice sighed as the three turned to the figure behind Richmon, revealing another figure standing. Wearing a pitch-dark coat, the boy had a similar pulled-back burnt-orange hair to the older man, and while smaller than the giant, he was still a head taller than the Schnee heiress, and noticeably bulkier than Dena even with a coat concealing his musculature.

The boy was Cardin Winchester.

"Yo."

~~~

"Night guys..." Jaune yawned as the boys went to bed early on, leaving just the girls on their side of the room. With the plates left on the still-empty desks, the four had also begun to settle in for the night, with the particular exception of Pyrrha.

The girl had developed a habit ever since she began to draw. Besides her free time, she would take her time before sleeping and right before she started her day to draw at least a few sets of characters or objects. It was how Yelena found her during initiation day, as though it seemed like she had been drawing the entire night, in reality, it hadn't even been ten minutes between both girls waking up.

And in this case, this night was no exception. She had already shocked her team the night prior thanks to pulling up her sketchpad out of her bag, and the initial shock of her pulling out a 12x18 had even caused Blake to react.

"You draw?!"

"Well, I'm not just the golden girl after all..."

Though she did not show it, it was rather infuriating, how she was always untouchable to all, always on a pedestal higher than second place. If she was not making enemies by winning, she was out there alienating herself just by existing. It was the very reason she had moved to Beacon, heck, had it not been for her parents, she would have been at Vacuo right about now.

She just wanted to be a normal girl, doing normal girl things, with other normal girls. And yet even in her attempted runaway, she failed at that, as everybody knew about her. Well... as if a miracle from whatever true god is out there...almosteveryone.

Her team did not.

Nora saw the girl as a friend, Ren saw the girl as an ally, and Jaune... Well, he treated her as a normal person. Although he originally proved to be inadequate, with the rather aggressive actions at the locker room, as well as his pitiful display against Cardin, initiation had shown her his true self.

Had it been anyone else planning that fight, they would have used the girl to deal the finishing blow, yet Jaune cast Nora instead, and further used him as bait, instead of the more experienced Pyrrha, who could have taken the blow easily. He saw her as just someone else, and he did not wish to cast someone else but himself as bait.

And that made her happy...

She couldn't help but smile as the three girls silently watched her draw, albeit crudely.

"It's a bit of an honour for you to draw me..." Blake muttered, resting right beside Pyrrha.

"And me too," Ruby chuckled as well, sandwiched between Blake and Nora. The red-haired girl was simply drawing the entirety of Team RWBY, having already finished off Yang just a few moments ago. They were more blocky and geometric, etched in with random scribbles around the joint sections, but they were unmistakably TEAM RWBY.

"It's nothing, seriously, I'd just draw whatever I see... and I saw you drawing back at class..." Pyrrha smiled at Ruby, who simply smiled back.

"Well, Weiss did complain about drawing in class... saying that you get a pass cause you probably knew the subject already..." Ruby's words caused Pyrrha to wince. Although the Schnee heiress had her reasons to over-inflate Pyrrha's image, she wasn't omnipotent, she was just as bored with Professor Portman as Ruby was...

"That was never the case... really, Professor Port was just that boring... I doubt we'd need to listen to his stories to learn about the Grimm... anyways, we can always check the textbooks for anything that we missed." Pyrrha simply replied, somewhat giving away her study habit.

"Well, you should probably tell her that, she'd never believe me..." Ruby chuckled as she leaned back, tiredness weighing down on her. And yet, her eyes were still glued onto the crude drawing of herself...

"It's a bit odd y'know..." Nora yawned as slumber also began to take hold of her.

"What is?"

"I always heard how amazing you are at everything, but here you are now... not to insult you or anything, drawing like that," Nora muttered as Ruby and Blake both looked at her first, then back to Pyrrha, with the redhead eyeing Ruby in the process.

"Well, I'm not immediately perfect. As much as the media frames me as the golden girl, I'm only human, after all, and behind the glamour and glitter, I also have my fails." Pyrrha motioned to her crude drawing of the three girls, "But every failure is a step towards becoming better, and you shouldn't be pulled down just because of something you can't do right..."

Her words resonated between Ruby and Blake as they eyed her speechlessly. While it was indeed a realistic thought to see Pyrrha as an equal to them, she has been praised and celebrated so much that it was hard to see anything but the definition of perfection.

"Well, if you say it like that... then I can't argue with it. Right Rubes? Blake-y?" The last of Nora's conscience faded as she called it for the night, with Ruby simply nodding along. Pyrrha's words have comforted her to a degree, and it was just a matter of practice now...

~~~

"Save me from the things I can see!"

"Ah, Miss Schnee! I beg of you to meet my children, Hance and Heath Stroll!" An obnoxious noble pressed on the young girl, dominating and invading whatever personal space the young heiress had.

"M-Maybe later, Mr. Stroll, I should be finding my father..." Weiss let out a fake chuckle as the older man grabbed the girl by her wrists.

"My children wanted to be huntsmen when they grow up, so I bought them the Ashtin Marclasstin combat school to help themselves early on. I can help you become the star of the huntsman world if you can only join teams with my kids! You'd make a powerful team with my dear boy Hance! You two havesomuch in common!"

Weiss winced at the blatant nepotism, the utter disregard and shameless mention of the man's words was repulsive to her.

"P-please have some decency, Mr. Law Stroll, we can converse about these matters later, I really need to go find my father!" The girl nearly screamed as she yanked her arm off the man's grasp. Though the grip of the man proved too tight for the younger girl to bear, she had already unlocked her aura by then.

It was suffocating. this had continued over and over again, nobles beyond the comprehension of a normal, regular man, beyond how one can normally act. Their morality, exposed within the abhorrent closed windows of Weiss's party, men and women of equal elevation... It was enough to gross out the young child.

For every noble like Richmon and Dena Winchester, there was always a dozen as bad if not as worse as Law Stroll.

Weiss merely wanted to leave at this point. Yet as much as she wanted to leave on her own terms, she would have been instantly flooded by numerous questions. "Why?" "Are you alright?" "Should we call your father?"

But if she was using the power of her father's name on the other hand, none would be the wiser, cowards that wouldn't dare question his authority with the same questions-

"The Atleasian General has arrived!"

-But one.

The entire ballroom shushes into silence as all three hundred and twenty-eight guests of noble origin turn their heads at the massive main double doors. The simple, five-letter sentence had brought the most powerful men and women to their highest senses, their eyes manic and widen, gawks and whispers from the closest from the door eventually infecting the entire crowd.

She could barely see the commotion, but the young girl immediately knew the man the spokesman had just announced. Just at the front, two men stood before the crowd, with the man on the side carrying a fairly large box wrapped in a plain white sheet of paper.

Both men wore the apparel of high-ranking military officials, with the man in the middle dressed in a pure white overcoat, suit pants, and black combat boots. The man had a well-built frame, a cleanly shaven face, and buzz-cut black hair that further matched his rather blocky appearance. Right above his right eyebrow was a strip of silvery metal, giving off a presence that the man was more than human...

"G-general?" Jacque's composed attitude finally broke as a wave of gasps echoed throughout the ballroom, enough to cause the orchestra to stutter for a moment. All around the lone duo of men, multiple gasps and chatter spilt about, some hesitating, and ultimately faltering backwards, too scared to try and create a conversation with the figure.

"Settle down Jacque. I'm not here for business." The man explained as he slowly raised his hand, instantly commanding the crowd to hush in silence. It was evident that he carried himself above and beyond Jacque Schnee, the only man in a room full of rich and powerful figures, to view Remnant's richest man as beneath him.

If a young child viewed the huntsmen as heroes beyond their wildest imagination, or a lowly farmer would compare himself to a high noble in wealth, then these influential nobles and political figures would be like the child or the farmer to the greatGeneral James Ironwood.

The head figure of Atlas's army, military research and development, foreign affairs department, and the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. To say he is the most powerful man in all of Remnant is an understatement. If the Schnee dust corp ruled half the world in terms of dust distribution and production, the man single-handedly had a hand in all the four kingdoms through sheer, unyielding, military might.

The comparison between the Schnee patriarch and the General of Atlas was as different as a minuscule summer Ant to the legendary Grimm Leviathans of the past.

And the man was now standing before her.

"What the hell do you mean 'you're not here for business?' I can see where your sights are directed at, and she will not be your second pawn!" Jacque roared once more, quickly flashing a gaze at the other attendees as if attempting to gain the audience's backing just to stop the man. Yet none spoke.

"Look who is talking..." The general scoffed as he simply began to move once more, breaking contact with Jacque as he took a step forward.

Shuffle

The crowd between the general and the young girl hurriedly parted away as the man walked. Even without a word, he had commanded the powerful to scatter, their eyes filled with panic and bewilderment over the simplest of actions the man took.

'He's going to me- TheGeneralis going to me!' Weiss wanted to do something, to say something. She especially did not want him meeting her here, not in front of her father, or the scathing eyes of the rest of the guests. Yet he had other plans.

"Hello, Weiss, I hope my appearance hasn't ruined the mood of the party." There was about a foot and a half between the two before the man began to speak, his tone a sudden contrast from before. Unlike the falsity and the blandishments carried around with how the other nobles spoke, or even the controlling nature of her father, the General's voice was soft and welcoming.

"H-hi, Sir Ironwood..." The young girl couldn't help but stutter, "You didn't ruin much, really... we're all just- surprised you are here."

"Please, you don't have to be so formal with me. Your older sister's a close comrade of mine, so you can simply call me Uncle James." The man knelt, levelling his sights with the far smaller Weiss. Yet aside from his sudden action, what surprised the young child the most was the mention of her sister.

"My... sister? Oh!" It took a moment for the girl to connect the dots, yet as she did, the complete picture began to surface, "My- my sister, Winter? She works with you?"

The was an audible wince from the girl's father as she widened her eyes. Her sister had left the family for the Atlas military several years ago, and while she was able to visit the young Weiss every now and then, the topic of her work had always been a mystery to her.

"She does, hasn't she told you?" The man tilted his head slightly, partially eyeing Jacque as the Schnee patriarch realized that the curtains had been opened.

"Well, not really, Father was always strict with separating business from family."

"Oh- how... ironic." Ironwood glared sternly at Jacque, then waved her statement away, "Well, you should probably thank her that I am here! She has proven herself as an exceptional individual, rising to the rank of Specialist in the few years she was in the army. And you also have that similar talented potential in you."

It felt surreal being complimented by the general, even more so the truth of her sister's status in the military. If anything, the man had given her more support than her father had ever done so throughout her entire life, if discounting the endless dance and singing tutors meant more to mould her to be his gemstone of a child...

"Why... thank you..." Weiss couldn't help but chuckle, leaning forward to even whisper to the man, "You're the only one here today who had actually complimented me..."

"It's nothing, it's the most that I can do at this current moment, besides presenting you with your sister's gift..."

"My sister gave me a gift?" Weiss covered her mouth in shock as she turned her eyes towards the box being carried by the second figure, then back to the general. 'The general is personally giving me Winter's gift?!'

"While your sister is unfortunately absent for your sixteenth birthday, as she had other, more pressing matters to deal with-"

"It's alright, she did congratulate me on the scroll earlier this morning," Weiss shook away the surprise as she immediately returned to formalities, smiling at the apology as she took another step closer towards the friendly man, now simply disregarding the many eyes on her, and uncaring of her father's slowly twisting face.

"Hahaha! An optimistic one I see, well, I guess I should speed things up a bit." The general let out a hearty laugh as he turned around, motioning to the brown-haired man with an altered sleeveless white vest, "This is Specialist Clover Ebi, one of your sister's colleagues."

"Specialist..." Weiss repeated, remembering what the general had previously spoken. Unsure as to what she needed to do, the young girl simply began to fumble her fingers as she watched the other man step forward, eventually also going down to his knees as the general moved to the side.

"You're definitely Winter's younger sister, it's like looking at a photo of her younger self..." The man chuckled as he carefully presented the large box in front of her, "The general and I saw your practice videos with your sister, you've got more in you than just being a little songbird for your father."

"Why thank you..." Weiss instinctively nodded, a trait she had learnt from her father. Though, unlike the empty blandishments her father's guests used, more as a way to get to Jacque than an actual compliment to her capabilities, Clover's words were far more impactful.

"And we both know that you are more than deserving of your sister's gift." Ironwood finished, his final words turning a switch inside the girl's mind as she began to unwrap her gift, the only gift that she actually cared about amongst the thousands of others from faceless entities.

"General! Stop this madness at once! I know this is merely a ploy to steal Weiss from the Schnee family like you did with Winter!"

"At ease Jacque, like I said, I've come here as a guest." The general returned to his feet as his dominating voice shot Jacque back to his position. Then, with a smile, began to play with the Schnee's own rules and pride, "Do I not have the right to gift the heiress of the Schnee household a boon worthy of the most prestigious of huntsmen and soldiers?"

"I- well..." Jacque shrank back even further as he noticed the crowd finally realizing what was happening. He had lost the crowd the moment the General entered the room, and now the crowd had turned against him.

"V-very well then... Weiss. What do you say to your benefactor?" The man finally, though begrudgingly, accepted the losing position he had, opting instead to save face by 'reminding' Weiss of basic etiquette.

"Thank you, General- I mean Uncle James, and Uncle Clover." Weiss bowed, eliciting a smile from both men as the girl's cuteness in saying their names was contagious.

"Aww shucks, I ain't that old to be called an uncle y'know..." Clover covered his smile with his hand as he promptly motioned his hand onto the still-wrapped present, "You should probably open your gift before anything else. And besides, your performance before was astounding, and the audience all around you now wishes for an encore!"

Clover's boisterous voice echoed throughout the room as the crowd slightly gathered around to see what the general had given the young girl. Even the still-angered Jacque had to get his sights first-hand on what Weiss had received.

RIP!

The large ballroom quieted to just the sound of the young heiress tearing her gift open, revealing a beautifully embroidered box, its surface covered with a navy-blue felt fabric, with a golden plate at the centre depicting a miniature silhouette of the floating city of Atlas accompanied by strips of Atleasian warships moving outwards. It was the emblem of the Atlas Military.

At the front was a set of four latches also made out of gold, each one embellishing the emblems of the four original huntsmen of Team ORGN: A crown for Ozymandias the Great; a lantern for Ricka the Brave; a sword for Gulliver the Strong; and a staff for Nessa the Wise—their emblems now symbols of honour, bravery, strength, and knowledge, attributes of a proper huntsman.

Slowly, the young girl flicked open each latch, the sound of the spring-locked metal flicking into place quickly echoing across the room, until the box was finally open.

C-CREAK

Weiss widened her eyes as she lifted the upper half of the box, revealing a weapon inside. It was a silver rapier beautifully engraved with Atleasian artistry, with the base of the blade replaced by a large cylinder more commonly found in revolvers. Its four-winged handle guards were further engraved in the same Atleasian style as seen on the blade, though a lot more noticeable.

"Your sister commissioned our greatest weapons researcher of a dust-fed blade similar to the ones used during the great war. It's a lot more efficient, durable, and destructive when used correctly." Ironwood explained as the girl wordlessly raised the blade, feeling the rubber grip perfectly shaped for her hand, the weapon's weight itself light enough to be casually carried around with her single hand.

Then, her eyes drifted back to the box, several magazines of dust meant for the cylinder, and a neatly folded note at the other side.

'The World Is Your Canvas, Weiss Schnee.'

'So Take Up Myrtenaster.'

'And Paint'

'The World'

'Your Colour.'

— G.

"What?" Weiss raised a brow as she promptly folded up the note, stuffing it in her pocket.

"Ah, Pietro must have given a congratulatory note! Well, he is a bit eccentric at times, so don't mind it if you're shaken by his word." Ironwood stood as he waved his hands towards the crowd to move back, having realized that the crowd had gathered a bit too close for comfort. Though none had seen what the girl had read.

"W-wait... who?"

"Ah, Pietro Polendina, he was the one who crafted your blade, and my head researcher." Ironwood explained further, marvelling at the artisanry found on her blade, "It'd probably last you a lifetime!"

'But there's no 'G' in Pietro Polendina...' Weiss winced again, only to simply shrug as she slowly stood, her face now radiating a smile of pride. Turning to the crowd, her resolve hardened as she finally knew the words she needed to say, to break from her torturous life in Atlas... With the General vouching for her by her side, she would not let this opportunity slip.

With a deep breath, Weiss raises the blade for all to see.

"I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Household. I wish to become a huntress. And this is my blade:Myrtenaster."

~~~

"Can't sleep?"The snores of Nora and Ruby echoed across the room as their bodies were in a tangled mess, mixed in with the slightly calmer rain outside and the boys' (mostly Jaune's) own snores. The remaining two were huddled under their blankets beside each other, merely staring at the darkness above.

"Yeah... Just a bit nervous for tomorrow, that's all..." Blake couldn't help but mutter.

"Not that I'm saying it will, but even if Ruby loses, I doubt Ozpin would actually demote her," Pyrrha assured the girl as she then turned to face Blake.

"A lose is still a lose... Ruby may be the leader in name, but Weiss's actions would grow worse as a result of her being the actual leader... and I really would like it if a Schnee wasn't bossing me around..." Blake sighed. It probably wasn't that weiss to vent out all her anger to the most popular girl in the world... but, she had been given the chance, and she wanted to see what the great Nykos would think about it...

"Well, as much as I am rooting for Ruby, have you heard Weiss's story?"

"What?" Blake nearly rose as she had not anticipated such an answer. It was true that the two didn't exactly explain what Weiss had done, but she still had not expected Pyrrha to give Weiss a chance.

"It's WeissSchnee, heiress to theSchneecompany, they only care about themselves, to get the most out of everyone and leave them drained. Accusations of Faunus slavery and mistreatment run rampant in Mantle and Solitas, the rich become richer and the poor become poorer... What Weiss wants is to take the glory and bragging rights of being the leader!"

"Well, that's what you might think... though you aren't wrong as well," Pyrrha explained, folding her arms under her head like extra pillows.

"What?"

"Just look at me. I grew up being framed as the invincible girl, the golden girl who is perfect in everything, but Jaune was elected as leader. Context clues would suggest I'd be slightly angry at the result, but honestly, I'm just happy with Ozpin's answer." Pyrrha couldn't help but smile, her eyes momentarily drifting to the still face of the sleeping Jaune, devouring every inch of his face into her mind, the sight giving her a warm and comfortable feeling inside her chest.

"So... you think Weiss wants the leadership role for something else?"

"Yeah. However, you're still somewhat correct. Unlike my parents, who came from a family of bakers in Argus, Jacque Schnee is Jacque Schnee, Weiss probably had to sacrifice a lot or bet on something to appease the man, like getting the leadership role, or something bigger..."

"Sigh... It's always back to Jacque Schnee... the great Nickolas Schnee had supported the Faunus during the Faunus war, but the moment the man retired, Jacque had to step up... and looked where that lead up to..." Blake returned to rest as she blankly eyed the ceiling once again, giving a silent wish that the man who was Weiss's grandfather would still be alive.

"As much as a 'figure' Jacque Schnee is... Weiss is not him, she is simply Weiss. Maybe next time, you should try asking her instead of basing your assumptions on her last name... Considering you're actively participating in the Faunus movement, I believe you've heard of this quote before..." Pyrrha paused momentarily as she turned to face the wall, finally ready to sleep, "Don't judge a book by its cover...Anyways, night."

"Yeah... night..." Blake sighed as she was the last one left awake...

It was undeniable what Pyrrha had just spoken to her, and as much as she tried to be as passive as she could be, the celebrity had called her a hypocrite. For what was her life's mission, to stop the racism of the humans against the faunus, Blake had seen how much hatred men had against her kind, how with just a simple glimpse of their animalistic side would lead to such drastic actions... and here she was now, comparing the heiress to her father.

Sure, Weiss's actions may have been... bitchy, but she had yet to see a specific act of her acting like her father. She had previously been with Yelena, a Faunus rabbit, and she didn't really comment much about the Schnee. 'Maybe Weiss is better than her father... maybe she could at least change...'

Blake's thoughts cooled with Pyrrha's words and Weiss's actions. How would the girl react if she pulled down her bow? Simply reveal she's a faunus as well? What would she say if Blake had come clean? Said she had previously worked with the White Fang?

"f*ck..." Blake sighed again. Though not because of her thoughts, but because she regretted not returning back to their dorm just for her sleeping pills... It was going to be a long night for her, either that, or she wakes up the room with a scream, induced by a repeating nightmare...

~~~

"I can keep it from the world."

"Ah- Miss Schee!" A short and stout man squeaked as he dashed through the massive corridors of the Schnee mansion at his fastest speed, sliding right beside the young girl well before she was able to open a set of doors in front of her.

"Oh, Klein, I should apologize for not explaining my intentions." Weiss warmly apologized as she gazed at the man's ice blue eyes resting just above his cleanly brushed toothbrush 'stache.

"I-I had expected this sooner or later, but I just didn't think your father would- ACHOO!" Klein recoiled slightly, an action Weiss had grown accustomed to as she watched the colours in his eyes shift to a harsh red.

"Utterly inconceivable! That madman of a father ought to be taught a thing or two!-" The little man suddenly shifted his position once again, eyes turning a shade of yellowish-green.

"Do you really wish to do this, sweetie?" Klein's tone shifted to that of worry, though Weiss merely nodded her head.

"Unlike Father, you have seen me train with Winter, you know the best that I can deal with anything Father would throw at me. Well, unless it's an actual professional huntsman, but I doubt that would happen..." Weiss chuckled, eliciting a similar chuckle from the man as his eyes turned to a mint green, and his face slacked into a dopey expression.

"He-he, yeah you can say that Miss Schnee. I-I guess I do-don't have to worry about anything- Ah-hem." Klein suddenly shifted once more as he suddenly held the young girl's shoulders with both his hands, sternly eyeing the girl with his eye shifting once again to a light-brown hue.

"Remember that even with your aura active, you can still sustain certain damages. Although these specific attacks would still be mitigated, it'll be as painful as you think it is." The man finished with a pat on Weiss's shoulders, with the girl once again nodding to his words.

"Like I said, I should be fine, just beat up whatever's at the other side of this door, and I'm on my way to Beacon..."

"Well, that father of yours certainly hates the idea if he wishes to take such drastic measures..."

"Whatever, thanks to the general, Father can't just say no to my request." Weiss scoffed at the mention of her father's fury, opting to ignore it instead.

"Though, I do have my queries about your decision, Ms. Schnee, why Vale? You certainly would have an easier time in Atlas Academy with the literal General behind your back."

"Then it wouldn't be fair, is it?" Weiss paused as she held her hand on the doorknob. It was a question she was ready to hear a million times over. 'Why Beacon?', and was equally ready to give the same answer, "I need to show the world that I can survive on my own, without the influence of my father or the general. They will see me as more than a Schnee."

Klein stopped for a moment as his eyes widened. He had watched over the young girl ever since she was just a baby. In a similar manner to a true father, Klein had just seen the girl shine brighter than ever, the first instance of a child having turned into an adult.

"Very well then... Give your father hell!" The man couldn't help but shed a tear as he watched the young girl enter the massive double doors and towards her own freedom.

~~~

"Why won't you let me run from him?"

The room was massive, far larger than any ballroom Weiss had visited, or any other indoor living space. No, it was a massive room meant to train the private soldiers of the Schnee household, squadrons of soldiers unbound by General Ironwood's authority, and to solely serve Jacque Schnee. But now, it was simply reserved for Weiss's latest 'performance'.

At the side of the building flanked multiple vertical windows and furnished pillars, with each pillar hanging a beautiful embroidery depicting the dance of a dozen swans over a moon-lit lake, circling the white emblem of the Schnee family, an overly detailed snowflake.

At the end of the building rose a balcony of sorts overlooking the large training platform, and on it, were the others of the Schnee family, Jacque, Whitley Schnee... there were two missing.

The young girl stopped at the very centre of the training room, with the shine of the shattered ever-crescent moon shining down on her through the window. All that was left was an awkward, suffocating silence, with Weiss making a show of action of looking at the empty balcony just beside Jacque's own viewing balcony, then turning to her father.

"Where is Mother?"

"I do not know, neither do I care. I'm more focused on your current insubordination!" Jacque roared as he pressed his whole body onto the cold railing, his voice echoing across the massive room. Though, the three all knew where she was... It's just that neither of the three bothered to raise such a point.

"Then what about Winter? I thought this matter concerned theentirefamily?" Weiss flinched, once more eyeing the empty balcony to Jacque's right.

"I would invite all your uncles, aunts and cousins before she can join in. She has no right to further meddle with your life! That instigator ran off to the military long ago."

"Then I'll run off to her first, then to Vale." The sheer hatred found in Jacque's words nearly caused Weiss to chuckle, breaking her character with a Freudian slip being thrown as a result. This, in turn, snaps the Schnee patriarch into realizing his own mistake as he promptly turns around to fix his appearance, then turning back to Weiss in a more calming manner, throwing away anger and revealing his true nature.

"If you lose, you will stop this madness at once." The man changed the topic as he spoke in a commanding manner, his voice as hard as steel. Yet, Weiss solemnly eyed him with grit on her face, unsheathing Myrtlenaster as confirmation.

"If this is what it will take to leave, then so be it. Show me my opponent, father." Weiss's words were equal to her father's, their voices alone a battle in and of itself. Though, if there was any worry of her daughter breaking free, Jacque had expertly hidden it under his enraged face, instead moving to his side as he began interacting with a set of command panels.

"When your sister first announced her betrayal of the Schnee household by going with the General, it had caught me by surprise." The man suddenly began to speak, still engrossed in whatever was on the panel, "I barely had the time to send my complaints to the general and such, nor speak to Winter about it... but even now that I'm prepared, I'm still heartbroken and betrayed that you listened to her..."

BRRRNGGGGG!

A low hum filled the massive room as the sounds of machinery began, yet still, the Schnees remained still.

"Why couldn't you be like your brother? a perfect image of what a Schnee should be like..." The humming grew louder as Jacque motioned his hand to the young boy, his chest puffed up proudly by his father's words.

"Because I am not like him. I want to be a huntsman."

"Why... Why?! You have everything here, a roof to sleep under, nigh-unlimited wealth, and more! And you wish to walk around those- those commoners?!" Jacque roared once more, his other hand hovering just over a singular button that appeared in front of the screen, [RELEASE].

There was a brief pause as Weiss gathered her thoughts, and then, she nodded.

"Because I must uphold the Schnee honour. I have a talent for fighting the same way Grandfather once did so during the Great War, and I will use it."

"Heroism and glory are outdated ideals, Weiss. What good would saving a single soul be when you can operate a machine that controls half the world in the palm of your hand? So long we control the dust, we control everything."

"Then what about my image? Would you be satisfied with me on the chair, yet only seen as a spoiled princess empowered only through nepotism? Or would you rather a Heiress that carved her path in life, all by herself and deserving of the family's company!" Weiss pointed her blade directly at her father. It had become apparent that no matter what he was going to say, nothing was going to stop her.

"Very well then. You have made your choice, so stick by it, and don't complain when you can't even defeat your opponent now..." Jacque sighed as he punched the button, eliciting a screech from the machinery beneath the floor as a massive hatch began to open right in front of the young girl.

The air escaping from the hatch was warm, with columns of smoke rising from the more mechanical sections by its sides. Then, the drums of the machines below began to be overwhelmed by something else, like screeching metal travelling at untold speed, closer to them.

Weiss readied her stance for the onslaught to come, her left foot shifted slightly forward, her blade's handle levelled beside her eye. It seemed rather obvious now that her opponent was neither human nor a wild animal, but something else. Well, there was one last answer, though it was an answer the young girl couldn't bear to accept.

The screeching of steel grew deafeningly loud-

A massive titan of a figure jumps from the pit well before the metal platform carrying it can be levelled in place. Its immensely large stature was enough to cover the moonlight leaking into the area, far larger than any land vehicle or even a bullhead was.

Wrapped around its body was a set of extremely thick-plated armour, with a knightly helmet that covered some type of abyss hidden underneath. And on its hand-

BOOM

Weiss jumped backwards as a massive blade about three times her height crashed down onto her, the being having chucked the weapon like a throwing dagger. Its edges were chipped and dulled as if the beast had been using it for a long time in its insanity, the handle itself forcefully moulded by the insane strength of its wielder. As it lands, the giant freezes in place, with Jacque promptly clapping like he had finished watching a play.

"Weiss, this is the Arma Gigas prototype. Modelled after the Atleasian Heavy-Armoured Knights of the Great War, it's powered by an amalgamation of several geists stitched together." Jacque introduced, somewhat reading off a script on his scroll, then promptly pocketing it, "Its creator believed humanity could control the Grimm, I found his ideals to be weird, but if it meant stopping you, then I was willing to fund his work."

The giant slowly rose from its initial lunge, rising to eight meters in height. Both machine and Grimm, the young girl could see the evident masks of a dozen Grimm skulls piled within the helmet piece, with a hexagon-shaped insignia branded on its forehead.

"After Winter left, I knew I needed something that could perfectly bring any more attempts like yours now to the grave. To- show you the horrors of the Grimm beyond Atlas." Jacque finished as the giant began to how a deafening screech, reverberating the glass and causing Weiss to take another step back.

"What you created is a monster! The general would have your head for even experimenting with the Grimm!"

"But he won't, because he would never find such a specimen... and besides, this is merely an incomplete version, I never expected you to rebel so soon..."

"Were you always expecting me to rebel?" 'Thank the brothers Ironwood came early to help me...' Weiss scowled, recovering slightly from the giant's howl, watching it pick up its blade from the ground.

"Somewhat, I did catch a glimpse of your practices with Winter, though I had always chalked it up to simple children's play." Jacque reasoned as the fight finally began.

"Raaah!" The armoured giant roared once again as it began to flail its massive blade at surprising speeds, causing Weiss to barely dodge to the sides as it carved a massive gash onto the marble floor. Though she had anticipated a massive trial to earn her freedom, she did not expect... this.

The girl regained her posture as she swiped the cylinder of Myrtlenaster, cycling it until the barrel of volatile lightning dust was selected. Calming her breath, she placed two fingers on her forehead, then promptly pointed it directly on top of the giant, summoning a massive glyph that began to fire out bolts of lighting.

The creature roared out in pain as it thrashed its blade again, causing her to jump back against the wall and break off her incantation. The creature followed its original swipe as it spun around using the continuing momentum, leading to it missing the young girl a few times and hitting the wall in the process.

Weiss promptly dodges, this time shifting her momentum as she dodges the falling stone shattered from the knight's blade smashing at the was. Yet the creature had not finished its attack as it lunged forward clumsily, repeatedly shoving its blade onto the floor.

"What's it going to be Weiss? Can you only run? Just like how you're running away from your responsibilities here?!" Jacque taunted as he eyed the young girl with disappointment.

Yet instead of annoyance, the sound of her father's patience running out caused the girl to smile as she promptly pirouetted to the side of an oncoming attack, running past the massive blade of the giant and jumping using a gravity glyph cast on the ground. Setting up another glyph on the giant's knee, she flicks her cylinder once more, turning the blade's selection to the red fire cartridge. With another flick of her wrist, the blade brightens with the same reddening colour.

SCHING!

Weiss strikes her blade upwards onto the knight's head as she ascends, causing the beast to flinch backwards while maintaining her own momentum. As she got to an elevation twice the height of Jacque's balcony, she flicked both her arms, levelling them to her own shoulders, casting a gravity glyph right on her back and allowing her to hover.

"Let's see how thick that armour is..." Weiss couldn't help but comment as she pointed Myrtenaster towards her opponent, summoning half a dozen glyphs around her, each one burning in intense heat. Then with another flick, commands each glyph to fire a fireball at it, the usage enough to noticeably deteriorate the red cartridge's storage.

BOOM

Weiss showered the creation with explosions, each blast more than capable of cratering the marbled floor, though, it merely pinged off the thick armour of the prototype. Seeing this, Weiss recalls her glyphs and instead arcs herself towards the giant. In half a second, the polarity of her gravity glyph was reversed dramatically, propelling her forward like a human bullet.

SCHING!

Another strike was landed, with Weiss's blade still empowered with fire dust, the moment her blade impacted the breastplate of the giant, a crack of light emerged out of it, instantly melting whatever type of metal was used in the armour into molten slag. As she could not control the trajectory of such a move, she had to aim at a large target, over a critical flaw in the armour such as the joint sections.

Crashing onto the floor, the young girl quickly recovered with a roll, eyeing the giant as it fell to the ground as well, smashing the marbled floor and creating a cloud of shattered stone.

The entire room falls into dead silence as Jacque widens his eyes in disbelief. He never expected Weiss to deal with the prototype, much less pierce its armour...

"Damn, that general! It was all thanks to her new blade. It had to be!" Jacque couldn't help but growl in fury, with Whitley somewhat eyeing his father with hesitation.

"Father, as much as I follow you, a deal is a deal. Weiss won."

"And whose side are you on child!?" Jacque roared at his youngest child, yet, Whitley was seemingly unfazed by his outburst and instead pointed at a camera- several sets of cameras around the area. Originally meant to oversee the Schnee private soldiers' training, it was clear that Jacque had completely forgotten to shut down the camera systems, as they all twinkled a white dot, signalling that they were being operated.

"Always by your side father... it's just that Weiss has you in Zugzwang. Bishop takes rook, checking king." Whitley explains as Jacque instead turns back to Weiss, who was panting heavily from such drastic actions.

"Who the hell is manning the cameras, Weiss!? Is it that butler of yours? Or some other benefactor of your rebellion!?" He yelled, his anger now at full blast.

"The only person that's benefiting from all this is me, Father. As you said earlier, neither Winter nor the General is present to witness this fight." It was partially a lie, however. Well, Jacque had already guessed right, it was just that he thought too low of Klein to accept the fact, as well as that the butler was acting completely independent of Weiss, without her command, and without a motive besides to help the young heiress escape.

"Damn you-"

"RAAAAGGHH!"

The cloud of dust was swept away as the giant regained its stance, its breastplate shattered, revealing the dark body of the Grimm, flailing arms sprouting from the opening like a hundred tendrils. Weiss hadn't defeated it just yet, she merely enraged it.

Before Weiss could even react, the creature threw its giant gauntlet out like a whip, the joints separating as the same black fluids stretched and contorted the knight's appearance. It smashes right onto the young girl, shattering her aura completely and flinging her all the way back through the very same door she came from, cratering onto the wall in the hallway.

"Father!" Whitley broke character as the young boy snapped at Jacque, this time leaning over the rails, trying to eye as much as his sister as possible. Outside the room, Weiss coughed up blood as she was implanted directly onto the shattered concrete, her entire left face gushing with blood, her left eye seeing red.

"M-Miss Schnee!" Just a few feet away, a random cleaning lady rushes towards the young heiress, unsure if what she saw was real or something in her imagination. Yet as she stood beside Weiss, there was no doubt that she had just witnessed a sixteen-year-old get launched from the training room.

"A-are you fine!?" The maid panicked as she turned to the open doorway, her eyes widening at the creature slowly walking towards the young girl, and her. "Brothers! What the hell is that!?- We-were you fighting that thing?!-"

"Towel." The maid's eyes widened as she realized that the Schnee was merely eyeing her, even with her bloodshot right eye crying blood, "Do you have a clean towel?"

"N-no, ma'am- the rug I'm holding's for the floor, shouldn't I help you to the infirmary for treatment?"

"Damn, I was getting a bit sweaty... ah well..." Weiss sighed as she dropped down like nothing had happened. Though now, her entire left arm was drenched with the blood of her face, with even Myrtenaster's handle dyed red, some even dripping off her fingertips like sweat.

"M-Miss! You're face."

"You may resume your tasks, madam, there is nothing for you to be concerned about." Weiss blankly eyed the Arma Gigas in sheer hatred as she spoke, her voice low, yet each syllable sharp enough to cut through the thoughts of the woman.

"I apologize for staining the carpet with my blood," The girl paused as she held the right door, and closed it with a swing, before moving onto the left door, "I'll get in touch with my butler to have some men replace the fabric, the shade of dark red looks out of place in this pristine place."

Click.

Weiss sighed as she closed the door behind her, returning herself back to the room.

"Now, where was I?-"

BOOM

Weiss reflexively dodges a second whip strike from the beast, re-entering its enraged form as it begins to charge at her. Gritting her teeth, Weiss promptly roared back as she spun Myrtenaster's cylinder once more, switching to a bright-blue cartridge, and turning her blade frozen, the air around sublimating.

In the span of fourteen seconds, the two engage in a rapid combo of whip-strikes and sword flails, countered by Weiss parrying or merely dodging each attack. Pain may have overwhelmed her body, but there was no point in complaining when death was at stake.

The girl flips over a sweep of the giant's tendrils as she points her blade towards the floor, freezing the marble as she retains her momentum to ride the ice like a skateboard. Closer and closer did she get, each strike of her blade merely instinctual at this point, an "If/Then/Therefore" reactionary logic statement.

If the giant strikes right, then its next strike would be from the left, therefore look for attacks on the left.

If the giant wields its blade, then the next attack would be from its chest tendrils, therefore eye the chest area for certain attacks.

If the giant turns its back, then the next attack will be a large aerial sweep, therefore use Myrtenaster to create ice constructs.

If...

SCHING!

Weiss cuts through another tendril as she jumps over another, still skating around trying to find an opening. With her aura shattered, she couldn't cast any glyphs. But with the thick armour destroyed, all she needed was a precise shot, and well- Myrtenaster had several mechanics the general implied...

Ducking one final strike from the beast's blade, Weiss switched her cartridge to the gravity dust, and pointing her blade towards the Arma Gigas's chest, she gripped Myrtenaster's handle tightly as it was magnetized towards it. The polarity was a lot more inconsistent than using her glyphs, and she was indeed holding onto Myrtenaster instead of the other way around, but it did the trick, and she had gotten in range.

The giant, realizing what the girl had done, shot out its tendrils one final time, but Weiss had gained enough momentum to switch the cartridge back to electricity, each touch of the blade to a weaker tendril chaining lighting onto another, both shocking and stunning the tendrils and giving her space to stand on the main body.

With a slash, Weiss begins to rain attack after attack on the Grimm's exposed body, additionally reflecting each incoming tendril. Yet she knew she couldn't damage it for too long, as it immediately crashed its free hand onto its exposed chest, causing Weiss to jump up and onto it, then jumping once more to the top of its head.

Even without her glyphs, she was still agile enough, and that agility brought her jumping high and above the giant for the final time, flicking her cylinder back to the near-empty fire dust and consuming the rest, causing the blade to heat up as the air around it combusts into fire.

SCHING!

The attack lands. Weiss had gone right through the knight, the Arma Gigas being severed horizontally on its torso, leaving behind the screams of the dying Grimm, and large heavy armour pieces falling onto the floor...

She does not even need to watch as the remains of the Grimm fade away, with the large helmet falling right in front of her, now an empty shell.

She had done it, she had won over her father's obstacle, fair and square. And now...

She collapses to her knee in exhaustion-

"No, not yet Weiss... You've got more to do..." Weiss chokes out her words as she struggles to stand. Regaining her composure, she turns to a speechless Jacque, pointing Myrtenaster at his direction for the final time.

"So, father, do you uphold your accord?"