Yang Xiaolong liked to think she was a somewhat rational person. Living with the rampant insanity that was her uncle Qrow, sisters Luna and Ruby, and her father pretty much demanded the ability to keep your cool when things start to go… wonky. Sadly, however, sixteen years of experience didn't seem enough to prepare her temper for Beacon.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Somehow, Yang found herself unable to answer the girl beside her, too busy gaping at where said sister was now sitting in a tree, shaking her head dazedly.

"I…" Yang's grasp for an explanation was suddenly interrupted by the roars of an ursa. Yang and her partner Blake turned to look, and their eyes widened when they saw some sort of pink… thing riding on its back. As the two girls watched incredulously, the ursa crashed to the ground, eliciting a sad "Awww… I broke it!" from its rider. They barely had time to register the fact that said rider was probably a student, the orange haired girl looking about their age, before another student, this time a guy in tight green robes and possessing dark hair with a pink highlight, came stumbling into the wide clearing from behind her, panting heavily.

"Nora… please don't ever do that again." rather than respond to her partner's desperate plea, the girl moved with blinding speed to pick up one of the relics within the temple ruins, dancing and singing. Only after she was called back, sending a sheepish grin at Yang and her partner, who were left gaping, did Blake speak again.

"Did that girl just ride in on an ursa?" Yang once again opened her mouth to answer, despite already wallowing in the futility of such a gesture, when, almost unsurprisingly, something else happened. From the opposite edge of the clearing, another young girl, this time with hair the color of autumn leaves and wielding a spear and shield came charging in, the pincers of a massive scorpion-like Grimm snapping through the air just inches behind. Even as she tried to process this new development, she was temporarily distracted by her sister Ruby, who had finally made her way to their side.

"Yang!"

"Ruby!" The two sisters moved to slap a high five, ecstatic to see each other, before they were rather suddenly cut off by the Grimm rider, appearing in between them.

"Nora!" As Yang found herself thrown to the ground. She felt something catch in her chest, a small blossom of heat. Before she could react to it, however, she found herself distracted by her partner's next words, although she already knew what they would be.

"Did she run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" It wasn't really Blake's fault, Yang knew. In fact, the other girl was probably just as incredulous as she was, if only showing it in a different way. But somehow, the blonde couldn't find it in herself to care. Suddenly the small heat grew, bursting into a raging firestorm within her, and she opened her mouth yet again…

"We're almost there- Fuck!" And again she was cut off as she whirled to see two young men, one with messy dark hair and green eyes that practically glowed in the shadows of the temple and his pale blonde companion, come flying out of a small cave opening behind the ruins, eight glowing red eyes glaring out of the darkness behind them. The two boys bounced and rolled with surprising dexterity, before coming to a skidding halt on their knees just a few yards away from Yang, Blake, Nora, Ruby, and Ren.

"Shoot it!" The blonde yelled, earning an irritated glare from his partner.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Harry, As Yang realized that was exactly who this was, snapped back even as he drew the massive sword hanging off his back. In an instant, the weapon had transformed into an equally massive bow, and the raven-haired warrior was drawing it back, a blazing arrow of white light nocked and ready. There was half a second of sharp silence, blessed peace descending as everyone turned to watch this latest development in awe, before he released a harsh breath, and the bolt of energy flew. For just a moment, Yang thought the guy had missed, his shot going way wide and up, until it struck the rock face. There was a loud rumble, the very air shaking with ear-shattering force, and a moment later, the entrance to the tunnel collapsed in a deafening cascade of stone.

For a short moment, all Yang could do was look back and forth between the archer and his work, rage forgotten in the shock. How on Remnant had he managed to do that? She opened her mouth to ask that very question…

"You left meeee!" From above fell another easily recognizable form, the white-haired Schnee heiress, a dangerous scowl on her face as she glared at Ruby, and Yang's mouth snapped shut.

"I told you to jump!" Came the exasperated reply, and Yang almost giggled despite her surroundings. Ruby was so cute when she got annoyed. The giggle was replaced with a sympathetic "oooh," however, when a second later Jaune, who had apparently just recovered from his own unpleasant experience with the deathstalker, made a rather foolish attempt to save the heiress, resulting in a short stint as her body pillow.

"My hero."

"My back…. Grk." Yang didn't even try to respond, even when the redhead who had apparently still been running from the deathstalker-Yang had almost forgotten about her- landed in front of them with a sickening crunch. She was just… done. Completely, and utterly, done.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together." Yang winced at the blonde's boy's sarcastic drawl, but didn't even try to correct him. Ruby, however, grinned, her eyes trained on the deathstalker.

"Not if I can help it." Yang reached out to stop the younger girl, a sudden note of panic in her thoughts as she realized what her sister was about to do, but was just a second too late as the cloth of Ruby's hood slipped through her grasp. She was forced to watch helplessly as rushed towards the deathstalker before getting thrown back with an almost lazy swipe of the beast's claw.

"Ruby!" She cried out, before launching herself towards her sister. She ran, faster than she'd ever run before, heart racing in a blind panic, but it wasn't enough. Long before she could get anywhere near ruby, lying in the middle of the field and groaning in pain, Yang was suddenly thrown backwards by a burst of wind. She landed with a grunt, eyes snapping closed for a fraction of a second as pain blossomed in her back, but she couldn't lie still. One of her sisters was in danger, and Yang would be damned if she ever allowed Ruby or Luna to come to harm. She shoved the pain away, swamping it with aura to heal the surface damage, and pushed herself up onto her elbows. That turned out uot be a mistake, as all it did was give her a perfect view of the Nevermore, nearly forgotten as it circled the skies above them, unleashing a storm of massive razor-sharp feathers on Ruby.

Yang's heart was in her throat as she watched the hail of death crash down, certain she had failed in her duties just like that time so many years before. Just as the tears were welling in her eyes, however, a tight ball of anger and shame coiling in her heart, she realized that somehow, Ruby was unharmed. Only one of the deadly feathers had struck near her, and all it did was pierce through her iconic red hood, pinning the girl to the ground. The sudden realization elation that surged through her at the sight was short lived, however, as suddenly a shadow descended over Ruby, who was struggling to free herself.

'Ruby, watch out!" Her shout was meaningless, the words whisked away on the wind as Ruby froze in shock and fear, staring up at the looming Deathstalker. Again, Yang felt fear grip her as she watched in horror. There would be no escaping this time. Her little sister was going to die.

"No." The word, spoken so quietly it was like a ghostly whisper as it slithered into Yang's ear, sent her eyes wide. In a flash, everything changed. One moment, the blonde was watching the Deathstalker's claws and stinger descend on Ruby, the younger girl's death certain, and the next the three deadly appendages were suddenly still, quivering as they struggled against an unexpected resistance. Standing over Ruby, in a space that had been empty the previous second, were two girls, both of whom Yang recognized. Luna, wearing an expression of such fury that even Yang shivered at the sight of it, was crouched between the claws, the pole of her long axe lodged between them. Above her stood the bushy haired girl from the night before, Hermione if Yang remembered correctly, both hands bracing a round buckler against the glowing stinger. For a moment, it was if time stood still, the two girls, and impenetrable wall of defence as they held back the monster.

"Away!" Yang was snapped out of her awe by Luna's usually melodic voice, harsh with anger and the edge of combat. The blonde girl gave a slight shove, shifting her opponent backwards slightly, before diving to the side. Her partner hesitated for a fraction of a second, doubt flickering across her features, before following suit. For as second, Yang wanted to cry out. Why was Luna abandoning Ruby? The question rang through her mind and rolled to the tip of her tongue, but before she could voice it, Yang caught a flash of white out of the corner of her as the deathstalker's stinger came down again, accompanied by a cry of fury and triumph from the beast as it finally struck at its prey, there was a loud crackling sound, like like ice melting, and before Yan could truly register what was happening, the Schnee girl slid into place beside Ruby, slamming her sword into the ground. WIth a flash of dust, the deathstalker's claw was caught in what appeared to be a giant glacier, glistening in the fading sunlight.

It took Yang a few seconds to pick herself up, aura having finally healed the majority of her damage, but as soon as she was able the golden blonde rushed Ruby, grabbing her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh Ruby, you scared the shit out of me! Don't ever do that again!" It was only after several long seconds and a desperate gasp for air from Ruby that Yang let go, setting her sister back down with one final squeeze. As the rest of the group started gathering, she turned to Luna, standing just off to the side.

"You know, it's not like you to be late to the party." She said, a lightly teasing lilt to her voice. From Luna's serene smile, however, she knew that her sister understood what she couldn't say with words.

"I am never late, nor am I early. I arrive precisely when I mean to." was her answer, and a hint of laughter rang in Yang's ears. Yang smiled gratefully, the last dregs of fear fading at the sound. Both Ruby and Luna were alive and well, and that was all she cared about.

XXX

"Potter, when this is over, I'm going to kill you."Draco growled as he ducked a scything leg from the Arachne Grimm, before continuing moment he and his partner had claimed their relics, a black rook piece that gleamed in the dying light, their impromptu rockslide burial of the creature had practically exploded, sending the entire eclectic group of students scattering from the ruins. Now, with three oversized Grimm chasing them into a massive crumbling ruin with no signs of stopping anytime soon, the blonde couldn't help but place the blame on his partner.

"It's not my fault!" The lion faunus yelled back, rolling under his own arachne leg and sending a wild shot backwards. The Draco winced as the glowing bolt of energy burst against the monster's armor plates, leaving behind a perfectly unscathed white expanse. "How was I supposed to know there was a giant Arachne in there?"

"That place was abandoned for what, two, three years? Did you think it was just gathering dust!?" Draco felt a surge of satisfaction as he caught the flicker of doubt on Potter's face from the corner of his eye. The dark-haired man knew he was right.

"Boys, now is really not the time to be having this discussion." Any further comments the two boys may have had were cut off as Granger landed between them, face hard and tangled mane of brown hair blowing in the wind of their passage. Draco's eyes widened minutely at her sudden appearance, before he was forced to throw himself to the side, dodging a sudden lunge from the giant Grimm behind them. The girl beside him, however, stayed right where she was, raising her shield before her. With a sound like crashing boulders, the ancient Arachne slammed into her, claws and pincers scrabbling against the solid barrier as it tried to surge past Granger with all the strength of a speeding train. She held firm, however, a solid rock against the tide, and with a vicious shove, picked the beast up and threw it backwards. Draco watched in awe as the Grimm skidded, legs scrabbling to keep it from flipping over. The thing massive! How had Granger done that?

"We need to move now." Draco's attention was torn from the witch turned warrior, and his head snapped to the side to look at the new girl. He recognized her vaguely from his Hogwarts years, Looney Lovegood or something like that, but right now she wore a hard expression that seemed out of place on her soft face. "We're falling behind." Draco glanced up to see that they were indeed losing ground, the eight other students drawing away from them. With a grunt, he pushed himself up from his crouch, before setting off running again. Draco had no interest in being left behind with the three Grimm still chasing their tail.

It was at the ruins that things started to go horribly wrong. The front of their group had just started to cross the stone bridge, and when suddenly a hail of great black feathers crashed down in front of Draco, forcing him to veer to the side, rolling across rough ground as he tried to keep from being he came to a stop just at the lip of the cliffs, rising to a knee and watching with horror as the Nevermore chasing them crashed into the bridge, destroying it in a rain of ancient stone. He saw no more than that, however, as three familiar forms landed beside him, each diverted by the feathers as he had been. Behind them, however, came the more worryin concern. LIke a homing rocket, the Arachne followed the four ex-hogwarts students charging their position.

"Any ideas?" The blonde asked as he readied his weapons, although he was unsure who exactly he was asking. They were pressed up against a sheer drop with no way out and a giant, extremely deadly Grimm charging them. Draco was thus surprised when rather than being met with silence, he heard Potter speak up, a mischievous glimmer in the dark-haired boy's eyes.

"How are you with jumping?" Draco's eyes snapped to him, the cold silver clouded with confusion, but before he could ask, Potter sheathed his weapon, the massive blade disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place, and took a single step backwards. A silent scream caught in Draco's throat as he threw himself forward, eyes wide at the sight of his partner disappearing off the edge of the cliff.

No! For half a second, Draco couldn't believe what he had just seen. Potter had just… killed himself. Just like that. It was a hundred foot drop, at least, to the bottom of the ravine, and no amount of Aura could protect you from the blunt force trauma of such an impact. The fear and disbelief shattered a moment, later, however, as he felt a subtle shift to the air, the sharp edge of power coalescing around Potter. Then, without warning, the large man suddenly seemed to slow, as if the very air were dragging at his falling form to stop his breakneck descent. A second later, he touched down almost lightly, the only sign of force in his landing being twin puffs of dirt beneath his boots, so tiny Draco could barely see them.

Magic. The word slipped into his mind like a serpent, wriggling among his speeding thoughts. That was the only explanation. Draco knew, of course, that the other boy had retained his gifts just as Draco had, the arcane energy from his arrows more than adequate proof. In fact, had Draco not managed a very similar feat to what he had just witnessed only an hour before? Still, that had only been a short drop from a tree. Potter was absolutely insane for risking such a maneuver on this massive ravine, but as Draco looked back to the charging Grimm, he couldn't find it within himself to blame him.

"Come on." Draco said, earning surprised glances from the two girls still standing beside him as he stood. He paid them little attention beyond that, however. They could stay here and die, or follow. Draco had no illusion over which he would choose. Without hesitation, he took a step forward, then leaped, throwing himself into a spinning dive. Draco blinked at the sudden sensation of falling through the air, the wind rushing in his ear and his vest flapping about his body. Only a chance glimpse of the hard ground rushing up to meet him pulling his thoughts back to the present. With a frantic glee, he wrenched at the ever-present feel of magic, gatherinig a tight cloak about himself. The blonde struck the ground harder than his dark-haired compatriot, his bones shaking with the force of impact, but as he realized he was still alive, couldn't help but smile proudly. Becoming a blood splatter would have looked quite bad on his resume.

Draco glanced up as he heard two more thuds, smirking as Granger and Lovegood struggled to regain their balance. At least he had done better than them. The smug thought fled his mind a second later, howev er, as the ari was rent by a high keening sriek, and he was forced to throw himself backwards to avoid the shadow growing beneath him. There was a much louder impact, like the solid whumph of a dust bomb, Their Arachne friend came crashing to the earth right where the four teens had been half a second, Draco prayed that the stupid creature had broken its legs on impact, but that hope was dashed as it rose, seemingly none the worse for its impromptu diving lesson.

"That's not good." Draco sighed, falling into a ready stance. He paused, however, as Potter sent him an amused glance, a slight chuckle slipping from the green-eyed man's lips.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said dryly, before turning to the Lovegood girl. "Luna, eyes." Draco raised an eyebrow at the sudden sharpness in Potter's voice, but didn't deign to comment. If the guy had a plan for dealing with this thing, he wouldn't complain.

The lovegood girl gave a short nod, before dropping back and slamming the axe-blade of her weapon into the ground. For a moment, Draco marveled at the weapon; She must be extraordinarily strong to wield it like that. He stopped a moment later, however, as the slip of a girl started firing. With unnerving accuracy, the high powered bullets of the sniper rifle slammed into the Arachne, every blast darkening one of its eight glowing eyes. Within seconds, the thing was blind, and Draco's own eyes widened as it let out a deafening shriek.

With little warning, the giant Grimm shot forward, mandibles clicking furiously as it sought out the one who had wounded it so. Draco reached for his Lily Storm Knowing before he could even grasp the weapon that he would be too late. He gasped a second lter, however, as in a flash of Brown, Granger appeared in front of the beast. The bushy-haired girl caught its bulk on her shield, once again proving the impossible as she strained against the tidal wave of pitch-black flesh. Moving on instinct, Draco shot forward, his weapon spinning into action to bat away the deadly claws which tried to reach around the barrier.

As the blonde defended his ally, Harry wasted no time in capitulating on the Arachne's distraction. Surging forward a few steps, he dropped to the ground, sliding between the legs of Hermione and Draco to land right underneath the blinded Grimm's thrashing hold of his weapon, still shifted into its bow form, in both hands, he twisted. With a quiet snap, the two edges came apart, and HArry suddenly held two gleaming short swords in his hands. Wincing as the Grimm's claws and legs scrabbled and bounced off his aura, he lashed out to either side of him, pinning the two front appendages as his blades bit through flesh and the stone underneath. Then, gathering magic in his palms, he weaved a solid bar of blazing energy between them, once again forging the weapon into a bow. Then, he pulled a small bag of glittering dust out of a hidden pocket, deep crimson and shocking yellow swirling as he struggled to keep it from spilling. Moving quickly with sharp, practiced motions, he poured the bag over the string, which glowed as the elemental properties infused into it. Then, a feral grin splitting his lips, the dark-haired warrior gathered his strength, and pulled.

The blazing spear of energy, crackling and snapping as fire and lightning danced up its length, burned in Harry's hands, but he kept hold as more and more power pooled into it. Finally, as he could feel the magic straining and threatening to shatter like spun glass, he let out a sigh, and released. The bolt, burning like a second sun, shot upwards, tearing through the soft Grimm flesh, slipping right through a crack in the monster's armor. Above him, the eleven other teens in the area gasped as the sky lit up, a great column of light splitting the falling darkness. As the Arachne faded away, however, death claiming its body, Harry smiled tightly. That had fucking hurt.

XXX

Alright, I'm back. Now, as most of you will have noticed, I just put this chapter up. It got fucked up though, so here it is again. I won't bother with recreating my AN, cause I don't have the time, but I do want to talk about something funny I realised a few nights ago. Now, for those of you who have seen season four, you know what's happening with Ozpin, right? Now think back to the night before initiation. Remember the book Blake was reading?

...

Yeah, fucking Rooster teeth. Three fucking seasons early. Anyways, see ya, and don't forget to review!