Episode 8

Griz and Noiren entered the clearing, breathless from their seemingly endless run from the Sobek. Looking back, they soon realized it had already given up pursuit.

"What the hell was that?!" Shouted Griz.

"I believe," Noiren said, pausing to catch his breath, "That was a really pissed off Grimm." Griz eyed the swamp behind them. He spat at the ground and glared at Noiren.

"I can relate to that," Griz mumbled to himself. Noiren started to walk towards the other students resting before them. Griz followed, noticing the objects atop stone pillars circling the temple.

"Those the relics?" Griz asked rhetorically, not really expecting anyone to answer. A blonde girl spoke up.

"Yyyup," she confirmed. Griz sighed in relief, seeing that only about half of the objects were gone.

"At least we weren't the last ones... there's still relics left!" Griz said with a smirk.

"You actually just missed a group that came by."

"Who were they?" Noiren asked as he approached the center of the structure.

"Uhh, that Daichi guy and... some quiet girl with a rifle," The blonde said slowly, thinking about her response.

Noiren slumped over and any enthusiasm he had suddenly fled. "I bet it was Sage. But being quietdoesn't really describe her..."

"Sage! That's what her name was!" the girl said confidently. Griz mimicked Noiren's mannerisms and groaned.

"I suppose that confirms it," Griz said, before moving on from the topic. "What about you and your partner; you have names don't you?"

"Oh yeah, I'm Yang." Yang motioned towards a pillar on the opposite side of the temple. Half in the shadows was a taller girl with midnight-black hair. Yang continued and called out to her, "And over there is Blake. Blake, come say hi!" Blake glanced over her shoulder at them, unimpressed.

"No thanks, I'm good," she replied, looking towards the forest once again. Noiren stared at her a little longer than Griz and Yang, finally looking away to introduce himself after Griz.

"We should find a suitable relic now," Noiren suggested, ending their conversation. The team of Faunus walked to the middle of the ellipse, stopping to gaze at the variety of relics presented.

)(

Sage and Daichi walked with their heads held high, following a cliff at the end of the forest. Daichi nodded his head side to side to a tune in his head. Sage marched triumphantly, hands in her pockets. Sage would giggle occasionally, prompting odd stares from Daichi.

"Something funny?"

"Everything's funny if yah look at it right. Like your face."

Daichi reacted, twisting his face in surprise.

Sage burst out laughing. "Like that!"

"Sage, have you always been this way?" Daichi questioned, scratching the back of his head.

"No. Or wait, maybe I have. Who even knows; I sure don't." Sage continued to march through the woods, still chuckling. Daichi sighed, picking up the pace to keep up with her. Daichi tried to think of some topic for small talk; he couldn't stand silence almost as much as Sage enjoyed breaking it. He eyed up the rifle bouncing on her back.

"So, you like rifles?" Sage whipped around with a grin, eyes gleaming.

"HELL YEAH, yah bet I do!" Sage pulled the gun off her back and began to spout random and senseless bits of information about the type of gun it was, where it was made, blah blah blah. Daichi rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I only asked if she liked rifles. Jeez..." He ignored her and keep walking, until she said:

"-watching your bullet hit its target and seeing the blood fly is the best part!"

"Wait, what are talking about?"

"What, yah weren't listening? Hmph, I ain't gonna repeat myself. A real friend would have listened the whole time."

"But I, uh, well... I mean, I've only known you for a day!" Daichi stuttered, slightly offended.

Before Sage could reply, the distant sound of trees crashing caught their attention. Daichi turned attentively and instinctively reached for his sword. Sage noticed as well and held the rifle in a more attentive manner. The cracking of limbs drew closer, accompanied by flashes of gray and black between the shadowy trees. Daichi gasped, "Grimm!" The last thicket of limbs obscuring their view shook and shattered, a Deathstalker bursting through in pursuit of a familiar figure.

"Pyrrha!" Daichi called out. Her focus snapped to Daichi and could now see the exhaustion in her eyes. Without looking away, Daichi sternly commanded Sage, "Slow it down." Sage grinned and primed the chamber of her rifle, flicking the safety off. She aimed at the leg joints of the colossal beast and fired several rounds, pulling the bolt back and forth impossibly fast. It screeched in pain and turned towards Sage. Its eyes flickered a deeper red than before. Sage and Daichi instinctively backed up.

Pyrrha stopped sprinting, leaning against a tree to catch her breath. To everyone's surprise the Deathstalker noticed and turned away from Sage towards its original prey. Daichi ran towards her, brandishing his blade. "Pyrrha! Run! It's coming for you!" He swung diagonally upwards from the ground and a segment flew off his blade towards the Grimm. It flew high and grated against its armor before flying past. The Grimm, unmoved and slightly annoyed, finally focused on Daichi and his partner. "Damn thing's heavier than it looks. It's going to take more than just one blade to topple this thing," Daichi thought. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to swing again. He stepped backwards, his arm bumping into the side of the bluffs behind him.

"It's pinning you against the cliffs! Head for the temple!" Pyrrha called out. Sage took off running, but Daichi stood still in anticipation. The Deathstalker closed in quickly, pulling back its stinger, ready to strike. Daichi lunged away just as the tail end stabbed into the cliff behind him, narrowly missing its claws and giving him the head start he needed on the monster. He caught up with Pyrrha and chased after Sage, the Deathstalker screeching as it freed itself.

)(

"These don't really look like relics to me," said Griz as he examined a white Rook piece.

"I wonder if we get graded on what piece we choose. You know, like, huntsman's' intuition." Noiren asked

Griz gasped at this and began to furiously fume over the piece in front of him. Noiren walked among the pieces, grazing each of them with his left hand. He stopped at a black queen. "I'm surprised no one has taken this piece; it's a good piece." Griz looked over and narrowed his eyes.

"What does it do?"

"Have you ever played chess?"

"Like I would have the time for something as childish as that."

"Considering Ozpin chose chess pieces, he probably disagrees. It's a game that requires skill, forethought, and patience." Noiren paused, and continued with sudden realization "Like being a huntsman..."

"Well don't just stand there gawking at it; if it's what we need, grab it and let's go." Noiren slid the slender black game piece in his pocket.

As they began to walk back to the cliffs, an Ursa came roaring out of the tree-line. The pair of Faunus readied their weapons, but the Ursa collapsed, dead. An eccentric, orange haired girl hopped off its back.

"Aww...It's broken." She sighed sadly. A boy jogged up, out of breath from following the girl.

"Nora..." He said between broken breaths, "Don't ever do that again."

Crashing, gunshots and tree limbs snapping drew the students' attention away from Nora's feat. An explosion of wood and foliage followed Pyrrha Nikos as she sprinted out of the forest, followed by a massive Deathstalker Grimm and Daichi's fellowship. Noiren and Griz regrouped back at the temple, hoping the stone structure would provide more protection. Out of the trees on the other side of the temple, Ruby leapt from the branches and landed in a roll, running over to her sister. More students now gathered at the temple; their numbers rivaled a small army.

)(

Sage tried to line up her sights but the Deathstalker was too quick. She had already used her semblance within several minutes prior and couldn't aim while running.

"Daich'! Try an' do something!" She called out.

"I have been trying, Sage!" He yelled back. Daichi's fingers danced over his sword's grip and the entire weapon came alive. He swung it downwards, every segment ejecting and following his movements like a whip. The Grimm swiftly scuttled out of the way as the blade slammed into the ground, throwing up an explosion of soil.

Daichi cursed under his breath and recalled the segments. The Grimm spun continued to mow down foliage in its pursuit of Pyrrha. Daichi chased after them while developing a plan in his mind. "Alright, if I can intercept it from the front I can slow it down by cutting a few trees in its path." Daichi closed the distance, but right as he entered range of it he finally noticed they were in the barren field by the temple. There were no trees. He pulled out his revolver, now reloaded with red dust cartridges. He exhaled, slightly affecting the sensitivity of the dust with his aura and fired three fiery projectiles at the Deathstalker. They whistled and burned through the air, exploding against its hard shell.
"Fantastic. Now I have its attention and no next step. Great move, Daichi."

However, Sage now had a clean shot at the creature's tail. It would have been an easy target, the bulbous stinger, but Sage was no longer paying attention. She was watching vomit boy tumble through the air followed by Weiss. Sage tracked their descent, thinking,

"Well, as it stands, she'll fall right on poor vomit boy. Her aura should take the blunt of it, but if it's too low..." She began to giggle. "Ohh...the Ice Queen might break a few bones." She watched Jaune hit the ground with a satisfying thud. She watched Weiss expectantly, completely oblivious to the deadly Grimm chasing her comrades. She spotted Griz stumbling towards where Jaune fell, pushing past Yang. He stepped over Jaune with one foot and held his arms out. Weiss fell right into them, nearly dragging Griz down to the ground. Clearly straining, he dropped her on Jaune. Sage squealed with laughter. Daichi yelled at Sage, finally noticing she wasn't contributing anymore.

"Hey! Quit screwing around over there and, " He was cut off, dodging a swipe from the Deathstalker's claw. "Help me!" Sage continued to laugh. "Of all the damn times for her to be screwing off, it's right now, in a life-or-death situation! I am SO finding a way to get back at her for this. Assuming I live!" Daichi thought pessimistically.

)(

Griz looked down at Weiss. He reached out a hand. "Are you alright? How do you feel?" Weiss stood up on her own, effectively stepping on Jaune. She brushed Griz' hand away.

"I would have been fine on my own," She glared at Griz, causing him to step back, "Without the help from a Faunus." Weiss brushed herself off and hurried past him towards her partner.

"My back..." Griz looked down and jumped. He had completely forgotten about Jaune.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, offering his hand now to Jaune.

)(

Pyrrha was rejoining the group at the temple and Daichi had the Deathstalker's attention. He stood in front of it in an attempt to block its advances. Daichi was getting frustrated with every one of his blade whips either deflecting off the Grimm's armor or being evaded entirely. Daichi suddenly became aware of the rifle fire swiftly approaching him from behind. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ruby flying at them, scythe drawn. Taking the distraction, the Deathstalker ran straight at Daichi and slapped him aside him, knocking the wind from lungs and the sword from his hand. By the time he regained his balance he saw the Grimm pummel Ruby with its claw as like it did to him. She turned and ran with the Deathstalker hot on her heels. Daichi breathed deeply and scrambled for Écarlate, desperate to close the distance with the Grimm as fast as possible.

"Daich', we got a turkey situation above us!" Sage yelled at him from the tree-line. He looked up, feeling his heart sink as a massive Nevermore circled towards them from behind. It hovered at their rear for a moment before powerfully beating its wings down, sending a hail of razor-sharp feathers. The onslaught of feathers barraged the earth and forced Daichi down as he blocked an incoming feather. The impact pushed him to the ground while another massive plume caught Ruby's cape, rendering her immobile. She tugged at her cape, but the Deathstalker easily caught up and raised its golden stinger, ready to strike. Daichi was about to yell to her but couldn't remember her name. His mouth open and eyes widened with fear; Daichi was flooded with memories of his past, locked away.

)(

Sage watched as Ruby fell, caught by one of the Nevermore's spears for feathers. She watched through her scope, unable to target the approaching Deathstalker's eyes; it was obscured by the plumes of the Nevermore attack. "Wait, where's Daich'?" Sage followed the wake of trampled grass behind the colossal creature and found Daichi stumbling. His face was as white as a sheet, drained by the sight of the Grimm's deadly stinger. He dropped his sword and grabbed his head, falling down onto his knees as if defeated. Sage quickly realized what was happening. The terror in his eyes was all too familiar to her. She quickly stashed rifle away and began the trek to her helpless partner. Sage leapt from her perch and took off running for Daichi, mirroring Yang's sprint for Ruby.

"There's no way she'll make it in time." Sage gasped aloud. As if to correct her, Weiss whipped out her rapier beside her and activated her glyphs, launching herself past Yang, flying right at Ruby. She slammed he rapier into the ground, emitting a blinding flash of blue light. Everyone shielded their eyes, and the Nevermore bellowed, temporarily blinded. The vague sound of Daichi sobbing in pain was barely noticeable over the piercing Nevermore screech. As the light faded, it revealed the Deathstalker's tail and claw had been completely encased in a thick blanket of ice. Sage kept her speed towards Daichi, sliding next to him when she approached. Her face was coldly stern.

"Hey, Daichi, get up man, we aren't out of the fight yet!" She told him. He only responded with continued hyperventilation. "Daichi look, we have to go, come on, snap out of it!" She shook him gently, and in his panicked breathing there were words. Sage couldn't make sense of them. "Hey, if you're worried about Ruby, she's fine!" She scolded. He remained in a panic. "Ay, ay, ay...Look, I'm sorry for this, but I have to get you out of here somehow…" Sage pulled out her rifle and slammed the base of Daichi's skull with the stock of her rifle, knocking him out. She hefted him over her shoulder and began to walk as quickly as she could to the temple. Griz and Noiren noticed and went over to them."What happened?" Griz asked as Sage set Daichi's limp body against a pillar.

"I had to knock him out. He was having some sort of episode, and it might have been a long time before he snapped out of it."

"What triggered it?" Noiren asked, slight concern in his voice for Daichi, as well as how intelligible Sage's speech had become.

"No idea," Sage said hostilely. "I wouldn't mention it; don't want to risk setting it off."

Daichi stirred, his consciousness slowly returning to him.

"Just, keep this under wraps," Sage hissed, with a hint of disgust, "you lousy Faunus..."

)(

Daichi slowly opened his eyes. Sage, Noiren, and Griz were all standing around him. Daichi wondered, "How did these guys get over here... what did I miss?" He slowly sat up and looked around him. He was at the temple again.

"How...how'd I get here?" He asked groggily

"Daichi! You're awake!" Griz said ecstatically. Noiren and Griz approached him and helped him up, retrieving his sword and handing it to him.

"You...took a nasty fall. Sage brought you over here." Said Noiren, shooting Sage a wary glance out of the corner of his eyes. Sage put her finger and thumb between her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as though she had a headache and reeled forward, capturing Daichi's attention. He reached to catch her, but she stopped herself and looked up at him with a goofy grin.

"Hey Daich'. So, yah have finally fallen for me huh?" Daichi's face grew red and he dropped her. Sage stood back up and cracked her neck, chuckling.

"N-No, it's not like that! You were falling just now." He stammered. Sage looked at Noiren and Griz.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. They jumped back defensively. "Tell this guy that his funny looking face ain't good enough for me." Noiren relaxed. It seemed Sage was back to normal. Well, about as normal as you could get.

Behind them, the ice began to crack under the strain as the Deathstalker attempting to flee its encasement, frightening them.

"Oh, here's a novel idea! Let's get outta here 'fore that things kills us!" Sage exclaimed. Daichi turned his gaze back to the tree line, where the other students had gathered, starting to run back towards the starting cliff. Daichi stood up and slung his sword over his back. Everyone followed suit sheathing their weapons.

"I'd say we should probably follow them. If they know the way back, they are our strongest chance of survival. If we have numbers with, surely the Grimm can't stop us that easily."

"So back to the cliffs, then? From there we can probably strategize," said Noiren, agreeing with Daichi's plan. Daichi nodded and started to jog back to the ruins. Sage skipped behind him and Griz started after her. He stopped, noticing Noiren hadn't moved.

"Hey, Remnant to Noiren? Come on chuckle-butt, we have to go."

"What do you think happened to Daichi?"

"Huh?"

"You heard Sage. Daichi was having some sort of episode. What caused it?" Griz contemplated this.

"I don't really know. If he tells us, he does. Until then, as far as we're concerned, he took a nasty fall." Griz answered, followed by Daichi yelling back at them.

"You guys coming?"

Griz started walking. He looked over his shoulder and said,

"Come on, we can ask more questions later." Noiren nodded and ran up to Griz. They had caught up with the others at the tree line. Daichi started to speak,

"Well, we should hurry back or we-" He was cut off by an echoing roar as the massive Grimm, that Noiren and Griz encountered, erupted from the marsh on their right. Daichi choked on his words but managed to get out, "Is that a Sobek!?" Despite its size, the second the Grimm slammed into the earth it charged them with surprising speed, teeth bared.

"Run!" Shouted Griz. Everyone sprinted out of the way as the black flesh of the Sobek cascaded into their old position. The woods began to thin out and soon they were in a plain surrounded by rubble and ancient aqueducts. The Nevermore from earlier had taken up a position at the end of the prairie, defending the cliffs. The other students were hiding from its gaze.

"Well at least we can hide from that thing," thought Daichi. As if to contradict him, the Sobek burst out from the woods, followed by the Deathstalker.

"Well shit!" Sage said, throwing up her arms in exaggerated surrender. Daichi looked at the pillars that Ruby and the others were hiding behind. His eyes followed them to the top, which made a walkway above the ground.

"Guys, if we can get up on that walkway we can avoid getting killed by what's here on the ground!" Shouted Daichi.

"What about the Nevermore?" Noiren inquired. Daichi turned to Sage.

"Sage-" She took her hands out of the air and looked at him, "Do your thing." Sage grinned and pulled out her rifle. It flipped open, extended and clicked loudly into place. She aimed down the scope and emptied her clip into the Nevermore. A roar from behind them revealed that the Sobek decided to close in on them. Daichi stood still and furrowed his brow. His aura began to glow, now merging and enveloping his blade. Three blades split off and lined up on the ground as he concentrated. "Get on! I'll launch you!" Everyone seemed puzzled, but reluctantly stepped onto the black rectangles before them. Daichi grinned with malice and swung his sword upward, sending the ejected segments flying upwards. The slabs accelerated at incredible speed, launching their passengers over the aqueduct.

Daichi looked up only to see the gaping maw of the Sobek lunging towards him. "Eep!" Daichi gasped. In the face of almost certain peril, a small gleaming object landed directly between Daichi's legs. He glanced down to see a large, uncut, green dust crystal. Charge with aura, it shone for only a second before exploding into a rush of wind energy. He flew upwards just as the Sobek's jaws clamped, landing beside the others. The Deathstalker stormed past the Sobek, heading towards Pyrrha and her companions while the Nevermore had Ruby, Yang, and their partners preoccupied.

)(

Noiren peeked over the side of the structure, startled to find the Sobek backing up, still watching them. He pointed down, "Daichi, this doesn't look good at all." The Sobek charged again, slamming its armored snout into the pillar holding the platform up. The pillar held for a moment before cracking and shattering under the Grimm's weight. The walkway shuttered and began to fall beneath them. Instinctively, everyone ran and jumped to a stable section of the stone. Griz shouted,

"It's trying to knock us down!"

"Thank yah, Griz! Because we clearly couldn't see that!" Sage yelled back. Daichi pointed towards the cliff.

"The Nevermore is busy, if we run to the cliff sides we can make it without having to fight this!"

The Sobek knocked into their platform again. They started running down the platform, not bothering to stop again.

"Uh, Daich'? Maybe 'run and live' ain't an option..." Sage said. The Sobek had stopped chasing them. It turned a bit away from them and lifted its tail away from them. Noiren gasped, remembering the gales it generated when he and Griz first encountered it. Noiren ran past Sage and tackled Griz, yelling, "Duck!" The Sobek swung its tail slowly at first before snapping it towards them, pushing a massive gust of wind towards them. The raging gale blew over them, sending loose rocks and plants flying. Daichi grabbed a handhold in the platform, barely managing to hold on as they all braced against the aqueduct. An earsplitting crack echoed around them as the platform start to fall sideways towards to forest.

"Son of a...darnit!" thought Daichi as the ancient construct plummeted towards the ground. Sage leapt from the platform and onto a tree, Noiren kicked off and landed easily with his feline instincts. Griz had buried his metal claw into the stone and was struggling to pull it out. Daichi reached into his jacket, grasped a purple Dust crystal, and slowly crushed it as his aura absorbed its effect. He grabbed Griz and wrapped his arms around him, positioning himself to take the impact. The platform hit and threw its occupants harshly to the ground. As the Dust cleared Daichi released his hold on Griz, not visibly damaged. Griz looked at him in confusion.

"How did you..." Griz began to ask.

"Gravity Dust. My semblance allows me to absorb dust and gain its effect through aura. In this case, force dampening." Daichi looked at Griz. "Instead of multiplying force, it reduces the amount of force on me to a fraction of what it should be. Say if it were red Dust I would be fire-proof." Griz stared at Daichi in awe. "Griz, this is no time to idle; that Sobek is coming back! And very quickly I should say." Griz nodded and sprinted with Daichi away from the growing roars and crashing.

"We should hurry," said Noiren. As if agreeing telepathically, all four of them turned and ran opposite of the sounds of the Sobek. In the short distance ahead Daichi could see the trees thinning out. Thinking it was a clearing he pushed his body harder, only to skid to a stop at the edge of the sprawling canyon before them.

"Well what now?" inquired Griz. Daichi turned back.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight. Sage, get up into the trees and try and shout out its eyes. Blind it."

"Caaannn do." She replied with a salute and began hopping up the lower branches to the tree tops. Daichi turned to Griz.

"Griz, ready your portals. I have a plan. I'll need them where I point." Griz nodded and unsheathed his chokutō. "Noiren." The Faunus listened intently. "Cover me. I have no doubts it will try to use that wind attack again."

"I'll think of some way to counter it."

"We will only have one chance, most likely. Make every move count," said Daichi confidentially. He looked up at the cliff the Nevermore was guarding. He saw the faint flashes of gunfire. "Maybe this is why he chose chess pieces. In the end this is just another game to be won. With our lives as the prize."

"I can't get a clear shot! There's too many trees in the way!" Sage hollered down to them. Daichi smirked and readied his blade. He focused intently, and his aura merged with his sword once more. He looked at Griz and Noiren.

"You might want to duck." The second they dropped to the ground his sword erupted into six deadly pieces, and each slab flew through the trees at an alarming speed, quickly leveling every tree between them and the Sobek. The ground shook from the collective impacts of every tree trunk as they tumbled to the ground. The Sobek burst into view, staring at its prey with hate-filled crimson eyes. The Sobek swung its tail immediately, sending a blast of wind at them.

Noiren jumped in front of Daichi, and half-filled Rougir's bullet chamber with gravity Dust. He spun the cylinder to a different selection and filled the rest of the with green Dust. Only a second before the gale hit them, Noiren thrust his blade forward and fired the Dust chamber. A blast of wind shot out from the lance, amplified by the gravity Dust. The two gales met and dissipated each other's force, stilling the air in front of them. Stalled by confusion, the Grimm stood still for a moment. Sage took the opportunity and two shots rang out, both within one second. The bullets struck home, effectively blinding the Sobek. Daichi stared in awe. "No way... if she's using a bolt-action rifle... to pull off two shots that quickly, she is pretty amazing." Snapping out of his daze, Daichi pointed out a row of spots in front of the Sobek.

"Griz, portals!" He called out. Griz nodded and focused. He didn't know how straining this many portals would be on his Aura, so he braced for the worst. Six portals appeared in a row before the blinded creature. Daichi readied his sword, allowing it to split into six pieces. "Griz, when my sword hits the portal, make more right above them."

"Oh... okay, I got it!" Griz said, understandingly. The Sobek roared and charged forward towards their voices. Daichi swung his sword down, sending all six blades towards each portal. Griz closed his eyes and held his left hand out. Right as the sword slabs hit the bottom voids, six more portals appeared ten feet above them. The slabs fell through, disappearing and reappearing from the top. The Sobek blindly charged through the barrier, only to be slammed with the slabs, over and over and over again. Its plating cracked and the blades cut swiftly through its flesh. The Sobek backed up, roaring in pain, as the now black stained segments continued their endless descent. Griz stumbled and his portals wavered, enough so that the blades hit the ground.

"Griz! Call them off, I think that's enough!" Daichi yelled as his sword recombined. Griz waved his hand and the voids disappeared. Sage shot several times again, this time into the now open wounds with red Dust-infused rounds. The Sobek roared and thrashed as the bullets exploded into a spray of fire, the wounds spewing a thick black mist everywhere. It positioned itself towards Sage's tree and ran at an alarming rate towards her perch.

"Ulp! ABANDON SHIP!" Sage yelled as she leapt to the tree next to her. The Sobek knocked the tree over, sending it cascading into the gorge. Daichi smiled; a plan forming in his mind.

"Griz! I need more portals! Put one above us; put the rest behind the Sobek over the cliff!" Griz strained, sweat dotting his brow as he used the last of his aura to do what Daichi asked. Daichi turned to Noiren as the Sobek turned around. "Put as much fire next to the portal above us as you can! The low pressure should create a vacuum over the cliff!"

"Let's see if this works then," said Noiren. He compacted and flipped his weapon, and set the selector on the revolver to red. He raised the barrel and pulled the, releasing red Dust that exploded into a stream of fire. It shot past their nearest portal, noticing the mist from the Grimm's wounds began to draw towards the cliffside voids. The Sobek slipped as the pull grew stronger but caught itself and slowly crawled towards them. Daichi gritted his teeth.

"It's working, but we need more heat!" Griz stumbled to reload his submachine gun and began to fire round after round of red Dust shards into the fire, adding more volume to the size of the flame. The Sobek's claws scrabbled to gain purchase as it slid backwards. It caught itself and barely held its weight from falling off the edge. It hissed in rage and hauled itself up and over, making a desperate dash towards them. Daichi sighed and spun, drawing his sword. He performed signature attack, swinging upwards and launching the top slab at the creature. The blade collided with the Grimm and Daichi continued slashing, blasting the following five slabs into its massive body. The Sobek slid back from the impacts and nearly toppled off the edge, still holding itself on the end of its luck.

Sage leaped from the tree and calmly walked up to Sobek. She leaned in close to its snout, holding onto the tree behind her. She took a deep breath and blew in its face. The Grimm slipped and tumbled backwards, flying through and dissipating the portals as it fell in the ravine. Its roars grew faint and soon disappeared completely. Sage turned around and grinned.

"Happy Birthday to me!" Everyone looked at her, confused and exhausted. "Hm... I wish you guys had a sense of humor!" said Sage. She burst out laughing at the end of her odd statement. For the first time, everyone else laughed too. Griz fell to his knees.

"Wait, wait...where did the Nevermore go?" Panted Griz. Daichi looked up the cliff and saw a flash of red at the top. Squinting, he made out Ruby standing tall, cloak flapping in the wind.

"Well, I'll be da-" He caught himself on his swear, "-a monkey's uncle." Sage laughed at him.

"Daich', yah're so weird!"

)(

Daichi was inside the assembly hall, standing in the front row waiting for their names to be called. As Ozpin called out the name of the team before him, he felt an increasing feeling of nostalgia and sadness. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Everyone around him started clapping. He wasn't thinking about it, but he found himself doing the same. Ozpin continued as the applause died down.

"Daichi Stone, Noiren Liquet, Griz Baxter, and Sage Williams, will you all rise to the stage," Ozpin called out. Daichi felt butterflies in his stomach as he walked up in anticipation. He and the others walked up onto the stage. He felt every pair of eyes boring into him. As they stood in place underneath the Holo-screens, Ozpin continued.

"The four of you all chose the Black Queen piece. From this day forth, you will be known as..."

Daichi, Sage, Noiren, and Griz all waited anxiously.

"Team SNGW, (snow). Led by..."

Daichi thought in place, "I bet it's Noiren. Griz is a bit too much of a loner, Sage is too wild. Noiren is easily the most calculating."

"Daichi Stone," finished Ozpin. Daichi felt shocked. He stood where he was, unable to completely register what had happened. He looked to Ozpin.

"As long as you can grow and learn from mistakes, I'm confident in this decision." Ozpin smiled softly at him. Sage walked over and poked Daichi in the face.

"Ow, hey!" Daichi looked at her, slightly annoyed.

"Well Daich', ya'll definitely be a better leader than what Griz would be!"

"Hey! I heard that!" Exclaimed Griz. Noiren only smiled slightly at this. He nodded towards Daichi with approval. Daichi looked into the audience and saw Ruby clapping enthusiastically for him. He and his new teammates walked off stage as Ozpin called out Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang's names.

"The four of you all chose the white knight piece. From this day forth, you will be known as, team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose." Daichi couldn't help himself from clapping loudly for her. Nothing could have made his day any better. It seemed things were shaping up to be an interesting year.