Enjoy!

Chapter 3

"RAVEN!"

Raven's body jerked as a voice screamed her name, one she knew didn't belong to anyone on her team. Then she spotted movement in the corner of her eyes, a King Taijitu's heads moving in to strike far faster than she could react. She had left herself defenceless. Instead of getting struck however, she found the blond boy from earlier standing between her and the Grimm, grunting as the two heads crashed into his shield.

"You," she was surprised to find him of all people here, defending her from what could, and most likely would, have been her demise. "Why?"

Shock still ran through her body, but she forced it aside as she decided that helping him out of his predicament was more important. He had saved her after all, so repaying the favor was a given in her mind. Raven focused her Aura into Masamune, before dashing in and swinging her katana as fast as she could. One head fell to the ground, the King Taijitu's other head roaring in pain. Much to her surprise, the blond boy used his shield to push the other head back, followed by a clean cut from his sword, the remaining head falling as well. The body left behind dissolved immediately.

"Me," he responded, glancing around while his body stayed on high alert. "You needed help, so I helped you."

Raven wanted to believe otherwise, but the honesty in his voice stopped her. He couldn't sound that honest without meaning it. And it wasn't like her leader wouldn't do the same, helping a person who needed help, no matter who they were.

"Jaune, was it?" Raven asked, drawing Masamune close to her body. He, Jaune, nodded in acknowledgement. "We'll have to work together it seems until we can find anyone else on my team. Be careful."

She said nothing more, rushing into the fray against the Grimm in front of her. Jaune wasn't far behind, often moving in to cover her. He was used to acting like that in a fight, providing cover for someone else, in order to give them as much space as possible to cut anyone down. With him at her side, she had far more opportunities to strike, needing to worry less about getting hit in return.

"This isn't a regular Grimm attack, is it?" Jaune questioned, his mouth drawn into a line, as he took whatever chance he got to go on the offensive himself, though he still prioritised acting as her shield. "There's far too many of them for this to be normal.

She scoffed at his observation, not bothering to deny it. How he even knew of the attack was a question for later, once the Grimm were dealt with. Suddenly, a smaller Nevermore slammed into Jaune's attack, a cry of surprise escaping him. Not one to hesitate, she delivered a swift kick at the Grimm bird, knocking it into the sky just to cut it in two. Then the sound of an Ursa Major barrelling reached her ears, Jaune joining her in taking a step back. She saw Jaune about to move in, though someone made a move before him, taking on the Ursa Major head on.

"Qrow!" Raven shouted, nearly snarling as her brother looked back at her with that look in his eyes. Like her, he was usually calm and composed in a fight. Unlike her though, he enjoyed battling anything. Winning or losing didn't matter, so long he got to fight. It didn't happen always, but if he battled for a longer period or he got really into it, he tended to get all kind of crazy ideas in his head. He pushed the Ursa Major back, cutting across its face followed by a shot delivered at point blank. The beast rose on its hind legs, crying out in agony. Not one to play around, Qrow stabbed the exposed stomach of the beast, transforming his weapon into its scythe form and tearing it out of the Ursa Major.

"I don't think we need another blond," her brother spoke with annoyance, not bothered by her glare at all. Damn him. "Whatever. For now you're a welcome sight. These Grimm have been a pain, and far too many."

"Where're all the people that live here?" it was a question she hadn't expected, but it made sense that Jaune would be asking. He couldn't know, after all.

"At a safe distance away from the village," she explained, never stopping to cut down any Grimm that she could. "We managed to spot the attack early enough that getting them out was possible."

The three of them had formed a triangle, Grimm surrounding them from all directions. Raven had only experienced Grimm acting like this once, but she couldn't fathom what prompted them to act like this here of all places. Ozpin had told them of Salem, how she was the Queen of the Grimm and could control them. That said, it made no sense for her to control Grimm in order to wipe out an insignificant village. At this point, it didn't matter though, as killing the Grimm was higher on her list of priorities.

"So, what's the plan?" Jaune asked, blocking a Beowolf's attack, only to slash through its midsection.

"Keep fighting until all the Grimm are dead or we fall over. We got no way out, so either we survive or we go down fighting." Raven's words lacked any hesitation. She had no plans of dying here of all places, separated from half of her team, but if that was how she would end, the Grimm would go down with her.

"Hey sis, think you can take us to Summer or Tai? We'll make sure you can create a portal to one of them without worry." Qrow suggested, shooting down Grimm with Jaune giving him cover. The idea was good, and she nodded in agreement. Focusing on Tai, she swung Masamune, the air rippling as a red portal opened in front of her.

"Let's go." she spoke calmly, glancing behind her as her brother and Jaune approached the portal. Then she jumped in. Appearing on the other side, she moved aside to let them through as well, the portal disappearing once they appeared next to her.

"Hey Raven!" Tai called out, kicking thin air and sending a Beowolf flying into another one, followed by a punch in the air against an incoming Nevermore. There was enough force behind the punch for the Nevermore to explode in the air. Whereas Qrow got excited by battle, her partner was just a positive person, even in a situation like this.

"Tai," she greeted him, choosing to give him a smile. He always reacted well if others were happy as well, and she liked seeing him smile. "Where's Summer?"

"I'm here!" their leader called, rose petals cutting through the Grimm and exploding. Amongst all the black, white appeared. She stopped as she reached them. "Jaune?"

"Summer, we got no time for idle chatter. Stay focused on the task at hand," Raven reminded the other woman, only getting a sheepish smile in response. She knew all of them too well. The five of them formed a tight circle, the Grimm closing in on them. "This is the best situation we've found ourselves in since the start of the attack. We fight now."

"Got it, partner!" Tai declared, bouncing on his feet as he took a fighting stance.

"Only use your Semblance if needed, Tai," she told him, now glancing over to Jaune who stood to her right. "You'll stick with me. Qrow, cover Summer."

Raven knew that even if Qrow was too into a fight, he would never let Summer down. She had always been a bit more frail than them, but made more than up for it with her potent offensive. Then she moved, ripping apart the first Ursa that decided to die with an Aura enhanced strike. Jaune joined her, ducking under a Beowolf that leaped over him. Not bothering to look, she could hear Tai's excitement, alongside an audible crunch. Shaking her head, she focused on making sure that she and Jaune took down as many of the Grimm as they possibly could. For never having fought together, the two of them managed to fight far better together than she had expected. Did he just fight how he did when he was alongside his partner and teammates? It didn't matter as she swung Masamune in a wide arc, letting Aura cut the Grimm. What should have been a perfectly fine stab from Jaune turned into him crashing into a Beowolf, his sword being pushed all the way through to the hilt. He quickly righted himself again, kicking the body of the Grimm away.

"Seems like I had a case of bad luck." he joked, a weak smile accompanying his joke. Then he seemingly came to some kind of realization, his expression shifting around until it settled into something more neutral. While it could have been a coincidence for him to bring up bad luck, his reaction that followed told her that knew far more than he let on. He knew of her brother's Semblance, and she didn't know how that was possible. Currently, it didn't matter though, as she had bigger priorities. She could ask him all she wanted once they were done. Suddenly an Ursa came hurling at her, which didn't deter her from splitting it in half.

"Beringels?!" Summer's worried cry came, echoed by the loud movement of Beringels. Raven could see that Grimm's numbers had thinned by quite a bit, but if they were bolstered by stronger Grimm, it didn't mean very much. One of the Beringels came running at her and Jaune, picking up other Grimm and throwing it at them as it kept getting closer and closer.

"Aim for its legs. If it can't run around, it's far easier to deal with." she noted, Jaune nodding in acknowledgement, preparing himself for the fight. The Grimm thrown at them were quickly cut down, the Beringel continuously throwing more Grimm for them to cut down. Her temporary partner blocked the first punch from the Beringel with his shield, though it quickly turned out to be a mistake as he was slammed into the ground by the force of the attack. Rushing in to cover him, she pulled its attention to her, trying to strike at its legs. After she got in the first hit, it seemingly understood what she was trying to do. Between the sheer number of Grimm, specifically targeting this village, Beringels appearing and even one that was probably old enough to learn during a fight, something was very wrong, and she needed to know what. Seeing that he Jaune had recovered, she noticed that he had changed his sword to the form that he had tried to use on Qrow earlier, but never got the chance.

"If you can keep it busy, I can probably cut it down a size." Jaune said, not lacking any confidence or looking in any way fazed by the threat they had found themselves going up against. Accepting his confidence, she lead the charge, trying everything she could think of to keep the Beringel distracted from Jaune. Her attacks seemed rather ineffective, as it simply shrugged off anything that wasn't a deep cut or her stabbing Masamune through it. Barely jumping over one of its legs trying to nail her, she saw Jaune cleave his way through its knee right as it pulled its leg back. The roar it let out was deafening, as it started to thrash around in a fit of rage. With it immobilized, capitalizing on the weakness it presented wasn't hard. Having no way to escape or move around, the swings coming her way were far more predictable. With efficiency she severed its two arms, before using its body as a springboard to get higher, channeling Aura into Masamune once again and cutting its head off cleanly. She landed back on her feet, stumbling slightly backwards. Prepared to fall, she found herself caught by Jaune who made sure to place her upright again.

"Thank you." while it hadn't been much, Raven still decided to show him some gratitude. Not just for catching her, but also for going out of his way to get here and help them. Looking around, she could see that all the Grimm had been dealt with or were running away. Had the Beringel they had killed been the leader?

"No problem." he responded, opening his mouth to say something more but for some reason stopping himself. It didn't take her long to find out why.

"Raven!" Summer called out, barreling down the square they had been fighting in and enveloping her in a tight hug. "Are you alright?"

She struggled and tried to escape the hug, but gave up when she didn't manage to shrug Summer off. Instead, she simply returned the hug with a sigh, deciding that keeping her happy wasn't worth struggling for.

"Yes, Summer, I'm fine," Raven finally managed to pry their leader off her, letting out a huff that was more for show than anything else "What about you two?"

The question directed at her brother and her partner only got a shrug in response, one that was synchronized perfectly between them. She could only sigh as they bumped their fists with a grin. That's when a loud screech interrupted anything that would have been said, Raven noticing that all of them tensed up at the unfamiliar sound. Glancing around, she tried to pinpoint it, but she couldn't spot anything.

"What the hell was that?" Qrow asked, with a seriousness that was rare coming from him, Highwind at the ready. "And here I thought the large number of Grimm or the Beringels had been our biggest problem."

She could feel the worry pool in her stomach, her eyes never stopping darting around. Whatever was coming had to be a threat, a Grimm far older than any of the ones they had killed. It hadn't attacked at any point prior, but why? It had to have been around for at least some time, based on how little time it took for it to appear after they had killed the Grimm in the village. Or had it simply not deemed them enough of a threat? They had dealt with stronger Grimm before as a team, but it didn't lessen her worry. As she looked up at the full moon, she could see and hear it, the flapping of wings being the only sound that was made.

"A Griffon!" Tai shouted, pointing up at the sky. The moon illuminated the Griffon, its wings and legs moving in tandem as it got closer and closer. "Damn, it's big!"

It was far bigger than any Griffon she had ever encountered. A regular Griffon wasn't too big, but this one was enormous. She'd only heard rumors of the ancient Nevermore that had made its home in Emerald Forest, and if the rumors were true, she could certainly believe this one was close in size. Nothing was said as Summer, Tai and Qrow all fired their different projectiles at the beast. Raven's eyes widened as she could only watch the beast move through the barrage of Summer's rose petals, Tai's punches and kicks and Qrow's bullet.

"It's completely unfazed!" Jaune exclaimed in shock, staring at it with wide eyes, definitely sharing in her worry. Anything but getting close and personal would probably be ineffective.

"Stop firing! We're just wasting energy and ammunition!" Summer ordered, loading a bullet into her gunblade, Revolving Rose. As she took aim, Qrow and Tai moved back slightly, staying just in range to step in should the Griffon attack Summer. Summer fired her one bullet, hitting straight in the chest of the avian Grimm. Even if nothing happened for a moment, Raven knew what could come. Fire enveloped it as the bullet exploded, the Dust inside it igniting. All of them watched as the Griffon dropped to the ground, slamming into it, and the fire burning its body. Then it let out a roar and flapped its wings, the fire vanishing like it was nothing.

"One could have hoped that it would have been more effective." Raven muttered with annoyance, dashing in and aim to strike at one of the wings. A talon from the massive Griffon met her attack effortlessly, picking her up like she was nothing and flinging her back, before taking to the sky. Qrow was already in the air, landing on the beast's back, holding on for his dear life as he was about to be thrown off. She took her chance and opened a portal, letting herself fly into it. Appearing above her brother, she angled Masamune downwards in an attempt to stab it. Instead, to her shock, it rolled on its back, Qrow unable to hold on, and once again blocked her attack by pushing her aside.

"This thing is ridiculous." she heard Qrow mutter after he helped her get back up from her less than pleasant landing. "It doesn't let us get in a good hit up close and our ranged attacks have proven to be ineffective. What now?"

No answer was needed as it was Jaune who spoke the loudest with his actions. He charged in, jumped in the air in order to reach the Griffon, and just doing anything he possibly could to make a difference. One of his swings forced it to land in order to avoid getting hit, a mistake she wouldn't let slip. She felt her Aura rush through her body into Masamune, and she put her all into her as she cut the air. The arc of Aura rushed through the air, slamming into the beak of the Griffon, making it wail.

"We keep just trying until it's dead," Jaune was afraid. She easily recognized his behavior as fear, but he kept going. "It's beatable, so anything we do against it is worth it!"

"Right." was all Summer spoke, smiling as she joined him in trying to attack. Qrow and Tai weren't far behind, the four of them moving and switching around as they tried to take the Griffon down. Their attacks were working, but they weren't getting any results. The Griffon kept fighting like the attacks that were hitting it meant nothing, before it retreated up in the air to watch them.

"Brother, you should really put those strong legs of yours to use." Raven taunted with a grin, trying estimate the height the Griffon was hovering at. Looking around, all of them looked worried now, except Jaune, whose eyes were lighting up.

"I can jump high, but it won't do me any good without any momentum," Qrow responded with a huff, glaring at the flying beast alongside the others. "Striking it from above has proven ineffective. Unless you forgot that."

"Could you do it if I launch you?" Jaune asked, heads were turning as they stared at him. "I mean, you could jump on my shield and I would push you up further."

"I've heard worse ideas, so why not?" Qrow wondered with a shrug of his shoulders, walking away from them to create distance for a sprint. "Not like it can be worse than some of Summer's early ideas."

"Hey!" their leader exclaimed, levelling a fierce glare at her partner, alongside a pout. Raven decided to step in before the two of them lost their focus.

"It's a good enough idea, and better than anything else we got. Summer, try and keep the Griffon locked in place with your petals. Tai, assist her if needed," she said, directing her words at Summer and her partner. "Brother, once you're up there I'll open a portal to strike from above. We should be able to cleave it like that."

Simply waiting, Raven watched as Qrow and Jaune took their positions, with Jaune holding his shield at the ready, Summer at the same time summoning a tornado of rose petals around the Grimm. Qrow's sprint was impressive, followed by a leap that she knew not many would be able to pull off. He barely touched the shield as Jaune jumped up from his crouch and launched Qrow into the air, who was quickly transforming Highwind into its scythe form. Watching her brother carefully, she waited until the last moment to open a portal angled up towards her. Jumping in, she drew back Masamune as she closed in on the Griffon from above, while Qrow was coming from below. Together they struck, Highwind wrapping around the Griffon's neck while Masamune cut through its midsection, the two of them cleaving the Grimm into three. It had barely gotten a scream of point out, before it had been silenced by their combined attack.

"Yes!" Jaune cheered from below, Raven shaking her head at his excitement. For him this was most likely a far bigger experience, as students of his age didn't take on Grimm this strong usually. She and Qrow let themselves land on the ground without any issues, Tai taking her in a hug, which she didn't bother to get out of, Summer doing the same to Qrow. Raven glanced at Jaune, and spoke.

"We need to talk."

Jaune scratched his head as all five of them sat gathered around a table late in the night, the hotel's restaurant being nearly empty after the day's events. It hadn't stopped the villagers from heaping them with thanks for saving their village from destruction at the hand of the Grimm. Much to his dismay, he was the recipient of a not so friendly glare from Raven, Qrow looking mostly intrigued while Summer and Tai looked happy enough. Why couldn't Raven be a little more friendly after they had fought side by side against the Grimm and it had been his plan that had netted them their victory over the Griffon? She hadn't had any issues with him then.

"So, why do we need to talk?" he decided that trying to act like nothing was wrong was his safest option, since it meant Raven was forced to ask him and he could decide what he wanted to tell. Hopefully she didn't plan to force anything out of him.

"Let's start with the less important question. Why did you come to the village? We hadn't told you of the mission, so you couldn't have known." Raven stated, prompting Qrow to learn forwards on the table, taking a sip at his beer glass, instead of his flask. It didn't stop Summer from hitting him on the head each time, Tai laughing at each hit, which prompted Raven to level her glare at him in turn.

"I wondered why a team of your caliber would be out here, so while in the city I asked around a bit. Turned out a bartender remembered overhearing you talk about a Grimm attack on the village." Jaune explained, flashing Raven a smile as she pinched her nose. Summer's smile lit up at the mention of the bartender.

"Oh him! He was nice, except that he kept giving Qrow something to drink." she noted, suddenly grabbing Qrow's glass and keeping it out of his reach.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Qrow exclaimed, desperately trying to get his glass back. "I still planned on drinking that!"

"You already had one, and you emptied your flask today. You don't need any more than that." Summer's words had a finality to them, seemingly even Qrow not willing to argue with his partner. And then, to Jaune's shock, the man pouted. He pouted. The laughter he was trying to hold in clearly had different plans, as he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Shut up!" Qrow growled, his arm shooting across the table to grab Jaune, who leaned back in order to avoid the attempt. Having put too much force into leaning backwards, there was no stopping him from toppling over his chair. Qrow returned the favor with his own laughter, joined by Tai, Summer giggling and Raven simply smiling at the antics they put on display

"Focusing on the matter of hand, you heard of the attack and decided to come to help us?" Raven asked with interest, her smile never leaving her lips as her teammates kept laughing or smiling.

"Yeah. It sounded more appealing than practicing my landing strategy, and I thought it could be some good training," Jaune admitted, finding that his reasons were solid. "Didn't expect things to turn out as they did."

"We didn't either expect it to be an attack of this level," Summer said, her giggling having stopped and her smile not longer as big as it had been before. "I asked a woman earlier, and while she wasn't sure, she thought we could maybe find something in their library. She said the village had once been special, but that it had been forgotten outside of a book covering its history."

"That sounds like a better lead than anything we could ever hope to find. Let's check it out tomorrow!" Tai declared, enthusiastic as he punched his fist in his open palm.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet," Raven spoke with far more seriousness than earlier. Jaune had barely even moved, and she had reacted in an instant, her eyes following his every movement. "Tell me, Jaune, do you think it was coincidence that you brought up bad luck after you had tripped during the fight? I don't, since I think you bringing up bad luck makes very little sense. Neither does you knowing my brother's name make much sense."

He couldn't get out of this physically, because Raven would stop him immediately, and it would be counterproductive to his task.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth," Jaune decided to be completely honest. She would call him out if he lied, and this way he hopefully could get them to trust him. "I wouldn't believe it if anyone else would tell me the exact same thing."

He could see how the entire team took his words in, Raven glancing suspiciously at him and Qrow staring at him. Jaune shouldn't have been surprised, but he still was as Summer came to his rescue.

"I believe in you, Jaune. Maybe you'll tell us someday, but if you don't wanna tell, it's fine with us." Summer's words left room for debate, as a look that had very clear implication between her three teammates. A short silence settled over their table, with Qrow nearly putting his legs on the table, only for Summer to instantly push them away. Tai laughed, a common occurrence for the night, which earned him a punch on the shoulder from Raven. Glancing at her, Jaune could see that she didn't trust him, unlike during the battle, but that Summer's words had to mean a lot if she let the issue drop like she had.

"Wait, what do you mean someday, Summer?" Qrow asked incredulously, gaping as he looked to his partner. "I already gotta deal with one blond!"

Qrow wasn't alone in looking incredulously at Summer, Raven probably looking even more incredulous than her brother in Jaune's eyes. He still wasn't sure what had managed to put them in that state.

"They say the more, the merrier, right?" Tai injected in the conversation, all smiles and cheer, taking it in with a rather relaxed attitude. "And five is probably better than four."

Then it dawned on Jaune what they were talking about.

"You want me to stick with you?!" he exclaimed shocked, his hands slamming on the table. This was exactly what he wanted!

"Yes," the leader of Team STRQ said with a smile, never faltering. Then she turned her attention to the only one who hadn't voiced an opinion yet. "Raven, please?"

He could see how she tried to resist the puppy eyes Summer was giving her, but Raven's shoulder slumped in defeat after a moment.

"You know I don't like this, but I assume you won't budge on this?" Raven questioned, her mouth drawn in a line. "Very well. I'll not complain, but you'll have to prove yourself. One battle won't convince me."

"Thanks Raven!" Summer jumped out of her seat to latch onto the woman in question. "You're the best!"

Jaune thought he heard some mumbling that could resemble 'let go', but he thought he would be better off if he didn't bring it up. He couldn't understand how this Raven was at fault for part of the team issues.

"C'mon," Qrow spoke, nodding in the direction of the stairs that lead to the higher floors, Tai already walking ahead of them, with the other two even further ahead. "You'll be staying with me and Tai. Got a spare bedroll for you."

Jaune hesitated for a moment, before following the two men, who were trying to catch up to their partners. He was momentarily surprised by the chain events of the night, but he couldn't say he minded how things turned out. This was exactly what he needed. He was staying with Team STRQ.

And so Chapter 3 comes to an end. There're a few details to take note of from the chapter. Some, I'll explain here, others will be explained as we go.

Weapons for everyone but Tai. The show shows Tai fighting without any weapons, which I decided to stick with here. Instead, I gave him a Semblance to compensate, in form of being able to extend the range of his attacks, at the cost of draining his Aura faster.

Raven stays unchanged, though I gave her weapon, alongside Qrow and Summer's, a name. In this case, Masamune. It's a huge katana, so I thought it would work.

Qrow's weapon is called Highwind, which is also why I have him be able to jump far higher naturally.

Summer is the one I had to be the most creative with. Her weapon is a gunblade, based on the Revolver from Final Fantasy 8. Named it Revolving Rose, since it's originally called Revolver, and it mirrors Ruby. Her Semblance is simply to control rose petals.

Anything else of importance will be expanded upon in the future. So, I hope you enjoyed. Like always, I appreciate any reviews. Until next time!