Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, it was created by Monty Oum and is owned by Rooster Teeth.

He walked away without looking back. Into the wilderness he went in the dark of night, seemingly without a care in the world, but his eyes showed the degree of determination he possessed. It was time for him to leave, the calling from his heart kept telling him to go out, do something now that you had enough to start with.

He had steeled his heart, his will was strong. Leaving them behind was something that he had envisioned himself doing for quite a while now, yet despite that, his feet felt somewhat heavy. Though he carried on, it didn't stop making every one of his steps feel as if he was dragging a large steel ball and chain on each foot.

Neither trying to ignore or forget the fact that he had left his home, Jaune kept on going, leaving his parents and his sisters behind... For the sake of fulfilling his desire.

When the sun came up from the eastern horizon, June woke up to the sounds of distress from a lot of people in the house. With a frown that was half from her still sleepy and the other half from her being concerned, she pushed herself up from her bed.

Once she got out of her bedroom, she saw how some of her sisters were crowding right outside Jaune's room. "...Rouge? Stella? What's everyone doing outside of Jaune's room?"

The second youngest of the sisters, Rouge, looked very panicky as she said; "J-Jaune... he's gone."

In that moment, June was filled with fear, "...What do you mean?" she asked, not really comprehending what Rouge said. "Where is-?" she then began to run over to the door before the pigtailed haired Stella stopped her.

"Mom and dad are... searching the room right now. Let's wait a bit." Her pig-tailed haired sister said, her green eyes unfocused.

Moments later, both her parents stepped out, her father carrying a torn out page of a notebook and both of them looked devastated, saddened. "Mom, dad, what happened? Where's Jaune?" she asked.

"...Family meeting. Right now. Stella, call your older sisters, tell them to come, but if they can't, tell them to use their Scrolls for a conference call." Her father ordered.

The seriousness in his tone of voice compelled Stella to immediately act while June just... stared in slight disbelief. Why? Why did her brother leave?

There had to be a reason. There had to be.

It took at least an hour later until everyone were gathered in the dining room. Those who weren't able to come for one reason or another were gathered through her father's Scroll with a conference call.

"Jaune left?!" the tomboyish Sylvia with short spiky blonde hair yelled as she banged the table with her palms, "How?! Why?!" she asked.

"Sylvia, let-let's calm down." Said the emerald-shade green eyed Cora as she gently touched the back of Sylvia's hand, though one could easily see that she was shaken, "Dad, I see you have a note there... Is it from Jaune?"

"A note? What's it say?!" yelled out the eldest, Mera, from the conference call as she was in her apartment far away.

Their father sighed as he read the letter.

To whoever is reading this: I've left home. I'm sorry, but I feel that I must do this. I'm sorry for leaving you all behind, I know how this must hurt you, but I'm compelled to do this. To use what I have now to do something. I'm going out to The Wilds. Please don't expect me to return for a long time.

I love you dad, mom, sis... But I'm sorry. I have to do this.

Jaune.

There was a long silence then, which was broken when Luna, who was staying at a friend's house at another town, yelled out "Are you fricking kidding me?!"

"Luna!" yelled Mera, the eldest, who was on a business and thus is unable to be there physically as well.

"No Mera, don't 'Luna' me! Our idiot of a brother left home because he wants to go out into The Wilds, don't you 'Luna' me!"

"Our brother is going to The Wilds?!" yelled Sylvia in sheer disbelief.

"Oh no... what was he thinking?!" Cora shouted in horror.

"What's he trying to do there?! Even if he's been training, that doesn't mean that he can just go out there! He's not even a real Huntsman!" yelled Stella.

"No... no no no no no, Jaune, why did you... Why...?!" Rouge uttered in confusion as she he partly covered her mouth with her hand.

Pretty soon, it all devolved into a massive ruckus. The ones who were silent were their parents, who just took it all in silence and an aura of gloom that enveloped the two of them while June was silent... because she was being thoughtful.

Her memory of what happened a few days back, of him carrying her on his arms, returned in full force. She remembered the question she asked him and his answer to it.

"Brother, why have you been going out to the wilderness lately?"

"I was... testing myself."

"Testing?"

"Yes. I've been training for quite a long time now, and I want to see how far I've come and how well I can perform in real combat situations against Grimm."

"...Oh. You're acting like a Huntsman."

"More or less."

"But why?"

"Let's just say that... I want to prepare myself for the future."

It seemed that he meant a very near future. Looking back, it was a great foreshadowing, one that she had dismissed as nothing more than a cryptic answer. June frowned, unhappy with how her brother just up and left them so selfishly, but at the same time...

'He wants to fight the Grimm... It's not a bad reason to leave, and he's strong enough, so I think I don't need to be worried.' She thought before she added, 'And even though I wanted to come along, I'm... still very weak. I'd be a dead weight.'

She and her brother understood each other quite well, perhaps more than they understood their other sisters and vice-versa. June knew that Jaune was as hard-headed as, if not more than she was, so he must've planned to leave for quite a while.

Because if she were to do such a thing, she wouldn't even let the idea out from her head before she was ready to do it like Jaune just did, assuring that no one in their family knew that he was going to leave. And she understood the drive, the motivation he had to use what he had to do something he wanted to do.

So with a resigned sigh, she thought to herself, 'Brother... I guess I'll forgive you this one time.' She had her aspiration, he had his, and she knew both of them would do anything to see it fulfilled. Right now, her brother was fulfilling his, it'd be wrong for her to call him out for something she herself would've done.

"We have to make missing posters, like right now!" she heard her sister Sylvia exclaiming, breaking her out of her reverie.

"We also have to report his disappearance, can you call the mayor, dad, mom?" asked Cora.

"Fuck that, go borrow some hellhounds from the nearest canine compound and track him down while the trail's still warm!" Luna advised from the conference call.

"Everyone, please calm down, this is not helping!" Mera, the eldest, tried to bring back order.

"Mom, dad, let's go out and try to find him." Said Rouge calmly but with a sense of urgency, "We can get our bikes, we might catch him before he got too far."

Both Arthur and Jeanne still looked rather despondent, much more devastated by Jaune's departure due to reasons that none of their children could comprehend. To them, it meant that Jaune was walking the path that their mother Jeanne once walked, the path of short-sighted zealousness that led her to abandon her own parents.

Looking over at the ruckus his departure had caused made June realize something: 'They don't know that he can actually take care of himself...!' she steeled herself before she stood up and banged her hands on the table and shouted...

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!"

Her shout actually managed to do just that before she cleared her throat and said, "Our brother will be fine! He can take care of himself!"

"...Wait-"

"WHAT?!" was the sound of her sisters yelling at her, and in front of her, both her parents were looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Okay, listen." June began, "I know you guys are worried about him. I know you're scared for him, but he'll be fine." She stated before she raised her hand to stop them from interrupting, "Our brother is strong. He's strong like you wouldn't believe. He can throw a mean punch, he's calm under pressure, it takes him a long time to get tired, he's amazing."

She then turned to her parents and said; "Brother's strong. A lot stronger than you might think he is. He's going to be fine. I've seen him fight, I saw him winning those fights, I know he will be alright out there. Please, just believe in him like I do."

It was the last sentence that did it. They could see how much she believed in Jaune, and it was... stunning, to say the least. The devotion, the faith, the trust she had in him was something that gently squeezed the hearts of the others who saw it.

To Arthur and Jeanne, what she said was the soothing elixir that they were seeking for their hearts. Believe in Jaune like June did, the June who trusted her brother so much and looked up to him to support his decision...

Maybe that's what they needed to do. However, for June to say such a thing must meant that she had seen something.

"June... What fights did you see Jaune do and win?" asked their mother pointedly as she narrowed her eyes at June.

Facing the full brunt of her parents and sisters' gaze with a wide, proud grin on her face, June then said; "Well, there was this time a couple days ago when I followed Jaune as he went into the forest..."

Welcome to Hunting School! Part 2

When she was launched, June did not scream, neither out of delight nor terror, June simply stayed silent as she looked around her. Up and down, left and right, she assessed her surroundings and situation to see how far she could and/or should go.

She positioned herself like a flying bird with arms and legs spread before she summoned her force field a few millimeters above her skin and shaped them as if she was mimicking the outline of a flying squirrel. The end result was that she began to glide freely as if she was wearing a real wingsuit.

'Easiest way to do it, and also the most obvious.' She thought to herself, looking around to see those who were not lucky enough to have such a versatile Semblance were either using their weapons or were just curling themselves into a fetal position and hoped for the best.

Thanks to her Semblance, she flew farther than everyone else. It suited her fine though, the temple might be deep in the forest after all. She continued her glide until she heard a whistling sound from behind, and it was slowly getting closer and closer.

Looking back, she saw an object fast approaching her. It was bronze and red and had quite a sharp tip. She kept her eyes on it, watched it as it came closer and closer before she tipped her body left a bit as it was about to reach her and then tipped back to the right and grabbed it in quick succession.

To her surprise, it seemed to fight her hold for a moment before it suddenly calmed down. 'This is... that girl's weapon, isn't it?' she thought as she looked back, only to find no one behind her, 'What's her deal...? Hm?'

She saw that there was a small piece of paper wrapped on the shaft and she knew then why Pyrrha did it, 'A message, huh?' she asked rhetorically before she decided to glide downward, landing on a small clearing, free from the thick canopy, allowing a large amount of the sunlight to pierce through.

Turning off the force field now that she no longer need to use it, June then turned her attention to the weapon she grabbed out of the air, more specifically the note wrapped on its hilt. Opening it, she read the message written within.

Please hold on to this and wait, I'm coming for it.

-Pyrrha Nikos

Inwardly, June grinned at the audacity of the girl's plan. 'Well, Ozpin never said that having a plan to meet someone they want instead of leaving it to chance is not allowed.' She thought to herself before she pocketed the note and decided to wait for the red-headed girl.

It took quite a while before the Mistralian girl popped up with a smile and waved at June, "Hello again."

'...Whoa, a bit of deja vu there.' June thought before she replied, "Hello to you too." She then slightly lifted the weapon thrown at her as she approached her, "Here's your weapon. Couldn't lose it during the test now, can you?"

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, "Yes, it would be bad indeed." She agreed before she retrieved her weapon back from June's extended hand, "Thank you." She said so innocently, though her eyes betrayed her mischief, "So... I guess this makes us partners."

"Yup." June said before she asked; "So, do you have any idea where to go, Pyrrha?"

"Well, I think we should go deeper into the forest, but I don't know the exact way." Pyrrha said to her. "I might've been... a bit distracted." She admitted sheepishly.

"Hm..." June crossed her arms and looked down at the ground for a moment before she nodded and without warning, jumped up really high past the trees and into the sky before she jumped again to gain more height.

Each time she used her feet, Pyrrha saw a thin film of blue light covering them, indicating that she used her Semblance. 'Force field generation? It seems very versatile...' she thought to herself.

Moments later, June came crashing down feet first right in front of Pyrrha and said; "Alright, if the cliff we came from is one of the forest's ends, the other is that-a-way." She pointed to the direction behind them, "Let's go, Pyrrha."

She nodded and followed the blonde girl closely. A keen mind to check the surroundings and what could possibly be a very versatile Semblance, traits of a prodigy. To Pyrrha however, they were all simply secondary to the primary reason why she chose her to be her partner...

She could be anything other than an idolized warrior put on a pedestal with her. So with light, feathery steps, she followed June, glad to be her partner.

On another place in the forest...

Weiss huffed as she walked through another bush. 'I'm sure she went here somewhere...' she thought to herself, trying to find June whom she had focused on during her flight. 'Or was she...? Darn it, am I lost?'

Considering that she didn't check where she landed and only focused on where June was, she was indeed right. She went quite far, but it didn't matter when she couldn't find her way to anywhere. 'Shoot... I was really hoping that we can-'

"Damn it."

Hearing a deadpan voice claiming that made Weiss turn... and she saw someone she'd rather not see. She was half-tempted to just close her eyes and walk away, but she couldn't do that when the golden-eyed girl in front of her was glaring at her and she did not want to lose the impromptu competition.

Still, the whole situation was made even more complicated due to the fact that, now they had seen each other, they were now partners.

Both of them sighed at the same time, prompting them to stop mid-way and looked at the other with narrowed eyes, as if the other had just done something incredibly, unforgivably aggravating. "Well..." Weiss began as she crossed her arms, "It looks like we are partners."

"...So it seems." The girl, Blake, replied back with a dead, flat tone of voice.

"I suppose both of us want to be the partner of a... certain blonde." Weiss stated again, to which Blake only raised one of her eyebrow, as if stating that it should be obvious, "But clearly that's not what happened here."

The two of them fell into a long moment of silence again before Weiss said; "Listen, I have been taught to always make compromise whenever I must. So for now, let's just... unite ourselves under a common goal, what do you say?"

Inwardly, Blake couldn't help but to say, 'Compromise, what do you know about compromise when your father's company never do that in regards to the rights of Faunus kind?' she thought to herself before she stopped.

United under a common goal... She could admit that she understood that at least. The many different groups of faunus-centered movement that would later become the White Fang were made of divisions that were focused on very different things.

Some were 'freedom fighters' types, those who fought back against discrimination by protesting or even rioting when possible. Some were 'saboteurs', those who freed captive faunus and/or sabotage the system that enslaved them by espionage, infiltration and so on. Some were 'angels', those who provide relief, sustenance and other daily necessities to faunus who lived in poverty or were disenfranchised.

All of them were united under a common goal: To help the Faunus kind. Despite their differences, they recognized that they wanted the same thing and united under the banner of White Fang, decentralized but united.

Of course, the compromise fell apart when the 'freedom fighters' and the 'saboteurs' became more and more extreme with their methods and their pure goals were corrupted with hate until suddenly, the common goal changed from helping Faunus kind to destroying Human kind, and those who had moderate views, most of them coming from the 'angels'' side, either left or were exiled, and thus White Fang became the terrorist organization it was now.

From this, Blake learned an important lesson: Compromise under a goal is good, but when its goal was too vague, differences in views will become even more pronounced over time and will lead to corruption and even fragmentation. Right now though, the goal that she and the Schnee needed to achieve was simple and straightforward.

Go to the temple at the other end of the forest, get the relic and return back to Beacon. For now, she will have to work with her. She didn't have to like it or her, but she'll have to do it.

A new life, a new Blake. She had to keep on moving if she wanted to make good of what she promised herself: She vowed to become a better person now that she was out of the terrorist group that the White Fang had become.

Seeing Adam when she was no longer in his inner circle, how he acted, the belief that he had about how to 'help' faunus, how quickly he came to hate her by straying away from him and the brand of White Fang he led, it all brought about a degree of objectivity that allowed her to see how far White Fang has fallen from grace with greater clarity, even more so than when she saw its corruption from within.

"Deal." Blake said with a nod.

"Good." Weiss said with a reciprocating nod, "Now, let's go to the temple, follow me."

When Blake noticed where the girl was going, she asked her, "Do you know where to go?"

It halted the white-haired girl on her tracks before she turned and said, "Of course I know where to go!" she yelled in a rather indignant manner, as if Blake had offended her so. "I'll have you know that I'm more than capable to-"

"The temple's that way." Blake told her while pointing at a direction that was ninety-degrees leftward from where Weiss was.

Blake watched Weiss' face went red before she said; "H-how do you know that?"

"I paid attention to my surroundings while I was flying." Blake answered smoothly, "Follow me, Ms. Schnee." She said with a smug smirk.

Weiss, not used to being ordered by someone else other than her father or sister, fumed for a while and yelled, "D-don't look so smug, you... smug woman!"

Despite that, Weiss followed Blake regardless, proving that she indeed did not know the way.

With a certain pair of sisters...

"ORAORAORA!" the sound of a battle cry and repeated shots discharged from a pair of shotgun-gauntlets echoed as Yang pummeled an Ursa with her gauntlet covered fists. With explosive power of her gauntlet and her strength, the Ursa stood no chance in winning.

On the other side, Ruby was moving between three Beowolves with Crescent Rose, her silver eyes focused and her face grim. After Yang finished her beating on the Ursa, she turned back, looked at Ruby... and saw how different she was behaving.

Her sister had a look of anger, not the passionate, burning anger Yang knew very well, but a focused one, filled with frustration and a trace of a bad memory that Yang knew nothing about. She was using her emotions to fuel her movements.

Ruby finished up her fight very quickly, opting to render the Beowolves helpless first by cutting off their legs before performing the final blow that decisively ended them, by slicing off their heads. A precise brutality combined with a visage of coldness that... didn't seem like her in Yang's opinion.

Silently, Ruby let Crescent Rose's long handle rest on her the back of her neck and looked at the dispersing Grimm particles with a frown on her face. They were no match for her, she felt powerful facing them, she knew she was strong, yet she couldn't help but to be reminded of how...weak and powerless she was against that Lucy.

Every cut, every bite, every tear felt like they were done by a predator seeking her flesh to be devoured, and then she saw with wide eyes as her enemy did just that, despite looking very much human as herself.

The sheer horror at seeing your flesh, freshly taken by sheer force, being eaten raw by another human being was... scarring, to say the very least. With a slightly shaky deep breath, she calmed herself before she turned to Yang and walked past her, "Let's go find the temple..."

"Ruby, hold on." She had to stop her there, but when she didn't, she opted to follow her closely. "What... was that? I've never seen you fight like that before."

Ruby didn't stop and asked her sister, "Like what?"

"Like... It's like you were possessed." Yang said, "You always enjoy using your weapon no matter what the situation is, but back there... It's like you're just out to kill them."

"...I was fast, wasn't I?" Ruby asked.

"...Well, yeah that was fast, three Beowolves all dead in three seconds flat, faster than your previous record by three seconds, even." Yang had to admit that as unnerving as that was, it was quite impressive.

"Then good." Ruby said, "That means I'm improving. I was... testing myself. And isn't the Headmaster watching our progress?"

"...Oh right, we are getting evaluated by how we kill the Grimm too." Yang muttered in realization, "Still, they had to give out points for style too, right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Maybe." Ruby answered with a shrug, "Still, let's just find the temple and get the relic, sis."

"...Sure." Yang stated though it was clear that she was still worried by Ruby's behavior. She remembered how, on that day, her sister's clothes were quite tattered and messed up. She knew something must've happened, but her sister's resistance to her question dissuaded her from questioning her further.

Though she had been rather normal at home, now that she was thrown into a situation where they had to fight when provoked by the Grimm, she was seeing more changes to Ruby's personality and demeanor. In a fight, she had become more... methodical and pragmatic, swift and somewhat brutal.

'I don't know what happened, but I don't like this... Why can't you just trust me, Rubes? What happened that changed you so much?'

Could this be that angsty period in one's teenage years that people told her about? She herself didn't even have that kind of phase! ...Well, there was that one little thing that she didn't really let go of, but that's something else entirely.

With both of them being preoccupied with the task at hand their minds were elsewhere, they failed to notice something big creeping up behind them. It was following them stealthily as its red eyes watched over them...

With June and Pyrrha...

"Ah, there's the temple." June stated as she pointed to the ruin, "And those must be the relics... Still, are we the first ones here?" she asked as she looked around, finding no one else in the area but herself and Pyrrha.

"I think so. The relics has not been taken yet." Pyrrha said as the two of them walked closer to the ruin of what once must've been a temple of worship.

Before them were 'relics', as Ozpin had stated. However, instead of artifacts of old that had a value due to what it's made and/or how it's made, they were different chess pieces of varying colors, black-and-gold pair of chess pieces with only two pawns for each color.

"So... which one do you want to get for us?" June asked Pyrrha.

"Hm... How about we wait for other partners to get here?" Pyrrha asked, "I'm assuming that our four-man team will be chosen based by the piece we take, so... It might sound a bit dishonest, but... It would allow us to know who we'd want."

"Ah, good thinking, good thinking." June said with a nod, "It might be a bit under-handed, but it's a valid plan." She commended her partner as she went to a nearby pillar surrounding the temple, sat down with her back leaned on it and patted the empty spot on her right, "Sit with me, c'mon."

Pyrrha's small smile did not fully convey the degree of happiness that she was feeling as she sat beside June, her heart beating faster than normal.

"So, tell me some things about you." June said. "Who's Pyrrha Nikos, what does she like and why she's here, all that stuff."

"Well..." Such a novel feeling, being asked about who she was, what she likes and things that many others took for granted. "I'm a Huntress-in-training, just like you... I like... to spar in my free time, and I'm here to improve my skills to become a real Huntress." She said, omitting many, many things about her that she did not want June to know. At least not yet.

"Alright then, my turn." June said, "I like..." she thought about it for a couple of seconds before an image popped up in her head: Blonde hair like her own but blue eyes instead of green, a smile that would either soothe her, make her excited or even smile back without a clear reason why other than seeing it made her want to do it.

"I..." she blushed as she cast her head down, "I like... to train too, and uh.. other stuff." She said to Pyrrha, who wondered what June could be thinking about to react in such a way, "And uh, I'm here to become a real Huntress too." She continued as her blush subsided a bit before she decided to go with a bit of truth, "I want to see if I'm as capable as my brother now."

Her brother, she said... And that look on her face... She knew that look, she had seen it from other people so many times before. "You idolize your brother, don't you?" Pyrrha asked.

"A... a bit, yeah." June said bashfully, trying to understate the notion. "It's normal, I mean he's my big brother, the strongest person I know save for my parents." She rationalized before she decided to change the subject, "So what about you? Do you have someone you idolize as well?"

"Not really." Pyrrha answered, 'If anything, it's the opposite.' She thought, reminded of how, because of her status as an accomplished prodigy who had received achievements and accolades in her homeland, she was the target for idolization by many. "I don't... like the idea of idolizing someone."

"Oh? Why not?" June asked.

"It puts them on a pedestal, and... in a way, it is quite dehumanizing." She answered, letting out a bit of her bitterness out, "I'd rather see people as people." She stated simply, "No matter who they are, how good they are in a fight or certain things that makes them famous, they're still... people, you know?"

"Hm. I get that." June agreed, "But I'm not putting my brother on a pedestal, I don't worship him or anything like that, but I do think very highly of him." She said, "He's a self-made man who can be very stubborn and selfish, but... very loving and kind too." She described him, "I guess you can call that idolizing him, but it's the kind that... makes me want to be at his side instead of watching from afar."

Once again, Pyrrha's heart seemed to beat faster again at that statement. She idolized her brother, yet she also wanted to stand beside him... She did not put him on a pedestal, she regarded him as a point she wanted to get to. All this time, she only knew the kind of idolization that put people on a pedestal, a figure who is seen as and demanded to be perfect.

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she had met a fan of hers like June, and also couldn't help but to be a bit jealous of her brother. Perhaps she wouldn't be as jaded with her own reputation as she was now.

'Maybe I could talk with her brother too...' she thought to herself, 'She seems to hold him in a really high degree, but... I wonder if he's as good as she claims?' she wondered, curious as to whether or not the assistant professor matched June's view or, like she experienced with her own fans, her partner severely exaggerated his good points.

The only thing she knew objectively about him was his physique. Even when covered in a sit, his body's muscular contour was quite impressive. That, and that he was quite attractive. Other than those things and June's view of him, she knew nothing else. 'I'll go do that later.' She promised to herself.

The moment of silence was broken when they heard a very loud noise coming from the side of the forest across from them. It prompted them to stand up and ready themselves for the incoming Grimm, Pyrrha switched her javelin into its rifle form while June brought out her sword.

The cacophony of noises that came from within the forest became louder and louder with each passing second until finally... Two figures came out, a black-haired young man in green-black-and-white ensemble carried/pulled along by his waist on the arm of a much smaller ginger-haired girl with prominently white and black ensemble with dashes of pink, most prominently on her skirt.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" the girl carrying a rather large war-hammer yelled, though judging by the ecstatic look on her face, it was not out of fear, but excitement, "The spider's here!"

"Spi-?" June stopped when she realized what the girl meant, "An Arachne."

A moment later, a gigantic spider-shaped Grimm burst out of the forest, 10 feet/3 meters tall from the top of its large abdomen to its legs and 25 feet/7.6 meters long spider, a horrifying, screeching monstrosity of black, white and red with thick eight legs and slightly furred bodies and eight dead-looking black eyes, like the eyes of a doll, were focused on the girl who was running away with the boy

"Aim at its eyes, Pyrrha! Distract it!" June ordered before she charged as Pyrrha took a few shots aimed at the spider's eyes, hitting one on her first shot before it quickly wised up and moved in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding Pyrrha's every other shot. June went past the deceptively strong petite girl and coated her sword with her force field as the spider Grimm screeched at the approaching blonde.

Now that she had become its target, June struck. A swift diagonal swish of her blade sent a sharp-edged wave of her forcefield that immediately slashed the spider's face, creating a quite deep diagonal wound on its face that blinded at least three of its eyes and caused it to screech in agony.

June was still charging though, as she coated her sword again with force field and delivered a slash that cut off one of its left plated legs. While it was unbalanced, she immediately moved to another one of its legs and slashed it off too.

Pyrrha, who had changed her weapon into a short sword form and equipped her shield on her other hand, charged as she went to the spider's right side, "Hiyah!" and cut off one of its right legs with a yell.

Before the Arachne could even retaliate, it was distracted by the sound of an explosion, followed by a yell that signalled an incoming attack... from above, in the form of the strong petite girl lifting her white and pink warhammer with a glee evident on her face as she yelled out, "TASTE MY MAGNHILD, SPIDEY!"

The hammer hit the spider's head, caving it in and sending it crashing down.

June and Pyrrha quickly dashed back out of the way, saving themselves from being weighed by thousands of pounds worth of Arachne. However, while Pyrrha stayed where she ended up, June, aided by her Semblance, quickly jumped up high and yelled, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"SURE THING!" As if she knew June was referring to her, the much smaller girl leaped far back as June stabbed the Arachne's head with a sword coated with her forcefield and to make sure, she twisted the sword's angle, causing it to twitch before she went beyond double tapping as she lifted up her left hand coated in her force field, slammed it down to Crocea Mors' pommel, rendering it as a channel to send it right inside the Arachne's head...

And it turned into a quickly expanding sphere that completely obliterated its head inside out.

June landed on the ground that the Arachne's head used to occupy, puffing out air as a show of relief. She then looked around and saw the look of surprise from Pyrrha and the gleeful look from the smaller ginger-haired girl.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" the girl exclaimed before she was suddenly in front of June and shaking her hand, "Hi! I'm Nora Valkyrie, and that right there, is my friend Lie Ren!" she pointed at the slowly approaching black-haired boy who waved at them, "We're together, but not together-together, you know, we've known each other for a long time, we're the best of friends and now we're partners! What's your name?"

"...I'm June Arc." She introduced herself with an indulgent smile directed at Nora before she turned to Pyrrha and prompted her to say...

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." Said the Mistralian girl as her hand was immediately taken into Nora's, "I-it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too! Ren, come on, say hello to them!" Nora said to the boy with a pink highlight on a few strands of his black hair who was now right beside her.

"Hi." Was the way he greeted them, calm, subdued and controlled. He was literally her polar opposite. "Thank you for your help. Have you taken any of the relic yet?"

"Nope." June answered before she said; "We've been waiting for another pair of partners to show up actually." She said with complete honesty.

"Ah." Ren nodded, immediately understood what June implied. "Are we the partners you were hoping for?" he asked a bit cheekily, though one could hardly tell that from how he carried himself.

"Well..." June looked at Nora, who tilted her head a bit with a smile and grinned as she said; "If you're as good as Nora here with her Magnhild as you do with your own weapon, you'll have no complaints from us." She said, "That, and you two have known each other long enough to be comfortable around each other and work together. It's an easy choice."

Ren simply smiled while Nora was grinning in glee. Pyrrha looked at June and couldn't help but to feel that she had made the right choice for a partner. She was truly glad that she chose to go to Beacon to complete her Huntress training. 'I already have a better time here than I did in Sanctum.' She could be herself, away from her image as an idolized Champion.

"Right, let's get the pieces then, shall we?" asked June as she walked at a leisurely pace towards the relics, with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora following closely behind her.

The assembled four looked at all the chess pieces set up on their respective pedestals. "So... a team is decided by having two groups of partners choosing the same pair?" Ren asked.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll pick this one." June said as she took a gold tinted knight piece.

"Horsey~!" Nora said in delight as she took its matching pair, effectively declaring Nora and Ren's partnership with Jaune and Pyrrha, "We're the Knights of the Horsey~! We're the Knights of the Hor~sey~!"

Amused by the girl's nonsensical song she made up on the spot and the way she hopped in delight, June and Pyrrha couldn't help but to smile. A bright, cheery presence like hers is always welcome in a team. Ren's tired smile however, told a slightly different story. It was as if he found it endearing, but also a bit tiring at times as well.

Their attention was then diverted to the sound of someone exclaiming...

"Oh! We're here." Said Weiss as she and Blake walked out of the forest, "That didn't take as long as I thought it'd be. You're quite good at path-finding." She commended.

Blake simply nodded and hummed positively, affirming that she heard her. She looked towards the temple quite a bit away from them and saw a familiar face amongst the four who were already there, "Oh, there's June."

"Ah, who's she wi-" Weiss spoke before she saw the girl right beside the blonde and promptly stopped. "...No. No way, how could I not have noticed her before?!" she exclaimed. "And she's partnered with June? ...I don't know who I should be jealous of." She lamented.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Blake spoke the redhead's name. Four-time Champion of Mistral Regional Tournament in a row. During her times as a New Fang infiltrator, it was part of her duty to keep an eye on the news, to keep track of important, exceptional people, and the young woman's name popped up more than a few times.

So the skilled girl who possessed a very powerful, very versatile Killer Semblance along with the combat skill to make full use of said Semblance is partnered up with the so-called Invincible Girl of Sanctum Academy? 'Some people get all the luck, I guess.' Blake thought as she shared Weiss' sentiment, eerie as that might seem.

She just did not know who to be jealous with. Pyrrha for taking June or June for taking Pyrrha. Nevertheless, the idea of the two partnering up was now a reality, as scary as that might sound to a fellow student who presumably had to have a friendly fight between teams in the future. Facing the two of them would be a horribly one-sided battle, she felt.

"Hey Blake, Weiss." June greeted them with a wave when they were close enough "So... you two are partners?"

Blake and Weiss side-eyed each other before sighing, "We are/It seems so." Said Blake in a rather weary manner while Weiss' tone was one filled with more resignation than anything.

June could see that there was a lot of tension between the two, but she couldn't fathom as to why. 'Maybe it's because she's a faunus?' she wondered to herself. Due to not knowing the details as to how the Schnee company treated their main labor force, June was lost.

"So... Which piece are you going to take?" asked Nora, gleefully curious,

Before either Blake or Weiss could answer the question, another pair came out of the forest, a girl with long mane-like blonde hair wearing a rather skimpy brown, black, orange and yellow ensemble and a shorter girl with dark red hair and a more modest red-and-black ensemble. They saw the six others and quickened their pace in response, eager to meet them and get the relics.

"Heya." The blonde girl, Yang, greeted them with a wave, "So... I'm with Ruby, my sister, who's with who?" she asked.

"Well, my partner's Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos." June said as she gently grabbed the smiling Mistralian girl by her right shoulder, "These two are Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, our teammates." She said as she gestured to Ren and Nora, who both waved, in a subdued manner for Ren and rather enthusiastically for Nora.

"And I am with her." Weiss said as she pointed her thumb at Blake. "I am Weiss Schnee, I believe we've met the night before and she's-"

"Blake Belladonna." She introduced herself.

"Right! I'm Yang Xiao Long, and my sister's name's Ruby Rose." She introduced the two of them while Ruby waved shyly at them, "So, how do we pick our teams?" she asked.

"Well, the rule for partners apply here," June explained, "And since we've already become a four-man team..." she trailed off as she gestured to the pair of knight piece on her hand and Nora's.

Yang and Ruby turned to Blake and Weiss, and the first one to break the ice was Yang, "Well, I guess that makes us a team then." She said with a wide smile.

"Yup, just get a matching pair of chess piece and you're set."June said as she gestured to the available relics, "Ours is the golden knight pair, so if you want a pair of similar color, you'll have to pick anything else."

"Aw, I wanted the golden ponies~" Yang said playfully, she didn't appear hurt or sad by it at all. "Still, there's still the black ponies, do you want to take that?" she asked as she turned to Ruby.

"...I think I'll take that." Ruby answered with a nod as she approached the black knight chess piece.

Between Weiss and Blake, the former walked beside Ruby and took the matching black knight. Both girls looked at each other, Ruby with a sheepish smile and Weiss with a neutral, unreadable expression before both of them nodded. Weiss immediately extended her hand and said; "Weiss Schnee."

Ruby reciprocated the gesture and said, "Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you, Weiss."

As they did that, Yang went to Blake and said; "So kitty-cat..." she saw as Blake stiffened in a nigh-imperceptible way, but she chose not to comment on that, "How's Snow Princess treating ya?" she asked, wanting to know what kind of person the prissy-looking girl in such a gaudy outfit was like.

Blake, who came to realize that Yang did not knew about her being a faunus but called her kitty-cat because of her bow, said, "...Bearable." was all that she could say, because despite her initial misgivings about the Schnee, she... turned out to be quite alright, considering her previous assumptions about what kind of people the Schnees were.

"...Eh, that's more than I hoped." Yang shrugged. Evidently, she had her pegged as the type that was arrogant, prude and everything related to that, but she could take 'bearable' from the girl whom she had noticed to be very reserved and quiet since day one. "You two can get along?"

"Not exactly, but she's... willing to compromise if it's a must." Blake said.

"Ah, well then, I think we'll all get along just fine." Yang said so easily, "Right then, this test turns out to be easier than expected. We've only encountered a few Grimm along the way."

"Yeah. I think even Emerald Forest isn't all that immune to the steady drop in Grimm presence." Remarked Blake before she looked down at Yang's weapon, a pair gauntlet-shotguns, a standard weapon, only slightly modified to match the color of her hair. 'You can learn about a warrior from their weapon.' Was an old saying she had heard once, and looking at Yang's, she couldn't help but to deduce, 'A person who value simplicity and effectiveness above all else, headstrong, has a confrontational side and a temper to match.' That is her assessment of one Yang Xiao Long.

Compared to her, Yang was like the day to her night, but it seemed that, if her judgment was true, they shared some things in common with each other.

'Hm... promising.' She thought to herself with a smile on her face.

As Ruby and Weiss went back to their respective partners and thus solidified their forming as a team, Yang exclaimed; "Alright, so we just got to get back to Beacon now, right?"

"Hm... who here has fought at least a Grimm?" Weiss asked all of them, to which everyone else save for Blake and herself raised their hands. "Oh... Would it affect our performance grade if we haven't fought any?" she asked immediately.

"I think you'll be fine, they only told us to get the relics, and if push comes to shove, I can vouch for your-" June frowned as she abruptly stopped talking. Was that...? Did she just hear something growling? She turned to look to her left, and stared at the spot between the trees. '...Something's there.' She thought to herself, an outline of a creature was quite visible, a Grimm most likely, but...

A pair of red dots seemed to materialize out of the shadows of the forest, almost reaching the canopy, indicating the creature's height. Unlike the big red eyes that she had seen from the Grimm, this one was far smaller and much more sinister in comparison. "Something's watching us." June warned.

As if on cue, the red dots moved as the creature to which the dots belonged to stepped out.

It was a wolf. A Grimm with the shape of a wolf, a real quadrupedal wolf with black fur... but it lacked the white plating and its eyes, instead of being fully red and faintly glowing, was fully black save for the dots, which June realized was its pupils, giving it a human-like quality due to the fact that they were round-shaped.

To match its terrifying visage, the wolf's size was... immense. 15 feet/4.5 meters tall from the top of its head to its feet, 42 feet/12.8 meters long from its nose to the tip of its long spiky tail, it was easily bigger than the Arachne and much more intimidating despite the lack of bone-like plating.

To their horror, June and the others in its sight could feel the curiosity, the intelligence behind the wolf's eyes. Fear immobilized them, its gaze, the human-like quality it exhibited was something they didn't expect from the Grimm. And for those who had fought some of its much more feral members before, it was... jarring to see the difference.

None of them ever felt this tense before... save for Ruby.

Its gaze reminded her of the monster in human form Lucy, and thanks to her experience, she became very, very cautious instead of getting excited. "...Everyone..." she was the first one to speak, even if she did so quietly, "Stay calm... Don't panic, but be prepared to run."

Yang side-eyed Ruby, the fear was enough to partly paralyze her. Her little sister was more than willing to run for it instead of jumping into the fight? Her wariness was something that Yang didn't expect from her.

"Run?" Weiss whispered back, not taking her eyes off of the gigantic wolf who was still looking at them with a judging stare. "Aren't we supposed to-?"

"No." Blake said to her partner in a terrified tone, "This is... not something that we can fight." Her instinct was yelling at her to run like hell. This wasn't something that they could deal with. And the fact that it looked like the ancestor of dogs didn't help matters for Blake.

"Listen to Ruby and Blake, everyone." June said, "Nora, don't charge at it." She told Nora, who looked antsy, as if very conflicted whether or not she should charge.

"Okay leader..." Nora said quietly, her joviality no longer present.

Even Pyrrha was afraid. 'This Grimm... it isn't feral. Something behind its eyes seems to suggest intelligence, but Grimm are not known for their intelligence unless...' her eyes widened as she said to the others, "It's an old Grimm. I've heard stories that the older they get, the smarter they become, but... I've never seen one so close before."

"H-how old do you think it is?" Yang couldn't help but to ask.

"That doesn't matter." Ren said, "As long as it's still there, guessing its age won't help us, we need a plan here."

"Right, I have an idea, you guys run while I-"

June stopped when the wolf moved, becoming a black blur that shot itself right at Ruby, prompting Yang and June to run at the girl who was paralyzed like a deer in the headlights. June was faster as she came in front of her first, Crocea Mors turned into its shield form and immediately erected a wall of force-field extended from the shield that stopped the wolf cold but also made her skid back several feet.

"Gh...!" she grunted in pain as she was caught by the others. Her arms felt numb, 'Even with forcefield, it's this strong?!' she thought before she gritted her teeth, "Everyone get behind this shield now!" June ordered and everyone followed.

"G-guys, we need to run." Ruby said, "June, can you-?"

"Yeah, I'll hold it as long as I can, go now." June immediately said, calm but it was clear that she was in pain.

"N-no!" Pyrrha exclaimed, "You can't expect us to leave you behind!" She wasn't willing to lose the first true friend she's made, not like this.

"Sis, what are you saying?!" Yang couldn't believe that Ruby would even order such a thing. "Why are you-?!"

"I didn't mean it like that! I-I was about to say that someone carry June facing backwards so that she can keep protecting us while we run!" Ruby said.

"...Oh well that's a good idea!" Yang exclaimed before she lifted June up in an awkward manner, with her being on the front, her arms and shield facing the wolf still, but because of their height difference, Yang's head was firmly on Jun's breasts.

"...It looks awkward, but it might be the best idea we've had so far." Blake couldn't help but to remark before she looked back at the wolf, which was still content on just watching them for some reason. "Before it attacks us again, let's just-"

Suddenly, another player came into the field. Unlike the wolf, he came with a bang, a loud dramatic entrance from above and did a three-point landing between them and the wolf. The bottom edge of a dark blue long coat on a blonde man's broad-shouldered back billowed against the wind that was created by his entrance.

"Jaune...!" Ruby spoke the name with great relief in her voice.

"Brother...!" June whispered out, glad that he had arrived before the situation devolved even further.

Jaune Arc was facing the wolf with blazing blue eyes glaring against its hellish eyes of black scleras, irises and red miniscule pupils. Then, as if coming from within his own head was the voice of one Glynda Goodwitch.

"Jaune, I'm assuming you're taking responsibility?"

"Yes, I am." Jaune answered readily, "Keep an eye out in case there's anything coming from behind."

"I will. So far, the Wolf's the only anomalous Grimm around. Where did it come from, how did we miss its presence?"

"Some old Grimm tend to go hiding, preferring to wait it out." Jaune answered, "They're the kind that never strays far from their nest, and this one might've been here long before Beacon was formed." Said Jaune before he elaborated, "Its intelligent, fast, strong and the lack of plating concerns me..."

"Why?"

"Either it outgrown them, or it shed it off, like a caterpillar shedding its cocoon after it becomes a butterfly."

"...You're saying it metamorphosed?"

"Maybe. Either way, if it wants to get to my sister and her friends, it will have to go through me." He said, all the while still keeping an eye on the curious yet immobile wolf which... didn't seem all that aggressive compared to the Grimm he had fought before.

But then once again, it moved like a blur, heading straight to Jaune. Like his sister before, he blocked it right on its nose, stopping it cold... using only his left hand.

The kinetic wave created by the impact reverberated, sending a wave of wind to the watchers behind him, but he wasn't done. Just as the wolf began to sniff him, he cocked his fist back, earning a wide-eyed look from the wolf who immediately tried to body-slam him using its side.

It only allowed him to grab onto its body, pulled it into a 360 degrees rotation before he threw the wolf away from those behind him, sending it flying away.

It shook the earth when it landed on its left side before it quickly got back on its feet. Its eyes were narrowed, it was crouching, as if ready to pounce and it huffed, yet it did not growl. Jaune frowned at the behavior. Grimm, even the old, ancient ones, were known to be aggressive towards any sentient lives, humans and faunus alike, yet this one...

'It's not fighting back...' it didn't add up. Something didn't add up, why wasn't the Wolf attacking?

Behind him, the group of would-be Huntsmen were still trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. They just saw a rather tall but nevertheless normal-sized man lifted and threw a wolf Grimm bigger than some vehicles as if it weighed nothing.

"Whoa... he's gotten stronger." June remarked.

Those who hadn't seen how fast and/or strong he was, that is everyone else but Yang and Ruby, were rendered silent. That was until June said that of course, at which point, Weiss screamed out.

"W-wait a minute! How did he do that?! Did he just threw that gigantic beast like it was nothing?!" Weiss asked.

"He did..." Blake answered, as much in disbelief as her partner was.

"Whoa, so he is a superhero!" Nora exclaimed.

Ren simply stayed silent, a bit shocked, and what he saw made him a bit wary of the man while Pyrrha...

"...Incredible." there was awe in her eyes, something that, if she were able to see it, she would find familiar, having had seen it before from her fans.

"Yeah, he's... pretty incredible." Yang said with a slight smirk.

"...Something's up with the wolf." Ruby said, earning the attention of the others save for Jaune, "It doesn't... it doesn't look like it wants to fight."

Looking back, it was clear to them that the wolf was staying still where he was, just like what Jaune was doing. "Well... maybe it's because it's terrified of him?" Yang asked rhetorically.

"Not... terrified." Ren said, earning the others' attention, "It's being-"

'-submissive.' Jaune thought to himself, realizing what the beast was doing. It wasn't attacking not because it was preparing for it, but because it didn't want to. Perhaps him moving fast was just its way of approaching him? With that in mind, he relaxed a bit... and the wolf responded in kind.

A second later, it began to walk towards him, slowly but surely with measured pace and steps until it finally got right in front of him. It was looking down on him as he looked at it right in the eyes and did not show any fear.

Then, slowly, the wolf gently touched the top of his head with its nose, and Jaune had never felt so bewildered before. "So... Friendly?" He asked flatly, prompting the wolf to remove its nose from his head and look at him. "It's hard to tell what you think from your face alone."

The wolf narrowed its eyes slightly before licking him with its very red tongue. Fortunately, it didn't leave any trace of saliva, but it was still quite bizarre. "Thanks for clarifying that..." He remarked with a deadpan, to which the wolf simply huffed.

Jaune looked back to where his sister and the others were and saw them... puzzled by what happened before he turned back to the wolf and asked; "Will you hurt them?"

The wolf looked at them, prompting them to become a bit skittish for a moment before it turned its gaze to Jaune and shook its head. "...Alright." he accepted it, and that was that. "Still doesn't change how bizarre this whole thing is." He remarked to himself.

"Agreed." Glynda's voice said inside his head, "Ozpin has said that he'd like to meet with the Grimm... After you do what you need to do, of course."

"Right." Jaune said as he turned his back to the massive wolf and was about to walk towards where the newly formed teams were before he looked at the wolf behind his shoulders and said; "Can you speak?"

He saw as its throat seemed to rumble before it let out a noise that... could only be best described as the groaning of hundreds people with deep voice trying to say 'No' only for it to come out as, "NnnnnNNnnoooouuUuUUuuaAA"

The teams of would-be Huntsmen shivered at the sound while Jaune blinked and said; "Alright, not a definitive no." He then turned and walked towards the would-be Huntsmen as the wolf sat down on its abdomen.

"It's okay, it's not going to hurt you." Said Jaune as he stood right in front of them before he turned to June who was still nursing her forearms, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I-it's okay, It's only a little bit of pain." June answered sheepishly, as if she had done something wrong. She was about to say more before her right forearm was gently grabbed by Jaune and he caressed it to test whether or not it needed immediate aid.

"Hm, I think you'll be okay." Jaune said, not noticing the blush on his sister's cheeks before he let go of it and asked the others; "Is anyone else hurt?"

"N-no." Ruby answered for them as they all shook their heads. "T-thank you for interfering, I thought that we were... Well, a-as it turned out, we didn't need it, but-"

"Don't worry about it." Jaune said with a wave of his hand before he said; "However... that being said, there is another reason why I'm here." He said before he walked away from them a bit, putting a small distance between them, "All of you are talented. Not only that, skilled. Your potentials are great."

He turned to them again before putting his hands on the pocket of his pants and said; "However, it is also clear that you haven't been challenged with something beyond your ability." He said before subtly looking at a certain redhead wearing a hood, "Well, save for one of you anyway."

It was subtle enough that no one save for the one whom he was referring to knew who he meant by that, which allowed Ruby to breathe more freely. "Of course, that's before you met that guy." He said as he pointed his thumb at the sitting wolf watching the unfolding event with interest. "Still, the fact stands that you did not fight it because it didn't want to do that in the first place. So what if you're faced with someone or something that really wants you dead?"

The question changed the atmosphere in an instant as Jaune cast the same glare he had directed at the wolf before at them.

They felt an oppressive feeling bearing down on them, and, thanks to them having experienced it just before, it allowed them to be able to get their weapons out and drop into a stance.

"Y-you're going to fight us?" Ruby asked, very afraid just at the thought of that.

Even June showed a bit of fear, though her face also showed a bit of excitement, "Heh... Even though I'm not in full form, I'll gladly do that." She said, "I want to see how far the gap between us is now."

The rest, even Yang and Nora, remained silent, as his show of power conveyed a very clear message: Do. Not. Fight him. Yet right now, that's what they were going to do regardless.

"You are the first eight people who got the relics, congratulations." He commended them honestly, "You are among the most promising trainees this academy ever had in years, and that says a lot about you all. However, I'm here for a reason: To bring you down and keep you grounded in reality. Consider this the very first lesson that will be imparted to you. And for that to sink in... I will have to take you seriously."

Cold sweat trailed down from their heads to their neck, some of them gulped as fear once again took hold of their hearts. But this time, they were prepared to fight no matter what, even if they know they will lose, they will put up a fight.

"You're far below my level." He stated as a matter-of-fact, "And as such, I will only use-" he lifted his hand a bit and pointed his right pinky finger at them "-this finger to touch you." At the slightly confused look, he said, "If you underestimate me even slightly when you don't know the extent of my full strength, don't. Huntsmen never underestimate any unknown elements from anything or anyone. Their life and that of others are on the line when they do that."

Thoroughly chastised, they could only nod, prompting Jaune to say, "Good. On the count of three. One."

Tension spiked up abruptly as they were rooted in place and keeping their eyes set on him.

"Two."

If they had to fight, then so be it! They will go down fighting!

"Three."

Ruby charged with her Semblance before she forced herself to a stop when she heard the sound of several people falling down. She turned back and saw everyone, everyone, on the ground, writhing and groaning while grabbing their abdomens. They looked and sounded like they were in so much pain and wanted to scream out but couldn't because of that.

"Guhk...! Aaagh...!" Yang's groans were the loudest, "What... the fuck...?" her self-control over profanity usage near her sister broke due to how much pain she was in.

"Aaah... Ren... it hurts... so much..." Nora moaned out. She sounded as if she was crying.

"Wh...at... was... that...?" Pyrrha spoke raggedly, as if all her energy had been sucked away.

"It... It hurts...! It hurts... so much..." Weiss muttered as she was shaking.

"Uuugh..." Blake couldn't even form a coherent word as she closed her eyes shut, trying to will the pain away.

Ren's breathing was ragged and he wasn't even able to get his voice out.

"B-brother..." June struggled to get her voice out, "H-how...? How... are you still... so far away...?"

A moment later, all of them, one by one, fell unconscious, and Ruby realized that they all had been defeated in a single second. The moment Ruby used her Semblance, all of her friends were on the ground in pain, unable to move. In horror, she quickly turned to Jaune... only to find him just an inch away from her, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes.

She was shaking. The memories of that night with that monster was returning as this reminded her of how helpless and utterly powerless she was, and then, with pity and regret visible in his eyes, he flicked her in the head using his pinky finger, rendering her unconscious.

And that's how their Beacon's initiation test ended...

Sometime later...

He watched as Glynda levitated the incapacitated new team from afar, carrying them towards Beacon. His job is finished, all of them now had the capacity to acquire a Mantle, with Ruby having the potential before that thanks to the incident a couple of days back.

The girl's reaction showed him that she was still quite traumatized by what happened a couple days ago. 'I'll need to be there for her then.' He thought resolutely. What happened with Ruby can be linked to him, so he felt responsible for her well-being. If that had to continue now that she's in Beacon and he's an assistant professor, then that's what he will do.

'Now...' he thought as he turned and walked to the wolf who, while the others were down, had come and sniffed on them before deciding to look at him with a gaze that Jaune guessed to be inquisitive. "What did you find interesting back there, wolf?" he asked.

In response, it lifted one of its clawed forelegs and scratched out three words on the ground:

YOU

CHANGED

THEM

Jaune's eyebrows rose up, "You can tell?" he asked, to which it replied...

YES

'So now they do have Mantle.' Jaune thought with a nod before he asked, "How can you tell?" he asked.

SCENT

Jaune frowned at the word before he asked, "Physical or Spiritual?" he asked, which made it look confused. He sighed before making it simple, "Is it from their body or their soul?", which allowed it to answer...

SOUL

"So Grimm can smell souls... Now isn't this interesting?" he asked rhetorically before he said, "You know, there's someone who would really like to meet you to ask you some questions. Are you willing to come along?"

It pondered what should its answer to the question be for a long moment, as if it was deciding on something life-changing, which sounded ridiculous when one saw that it was a Grimm. Afterwards, it then wrote its decision...

YES

"Well... good." Was all that he could say to the cooperative old Grimm, "Let's go to Beacon then."

And with that said, Jaune walked alongside the gigantic wolf Grimm towards Beacon, leaving the temple behind them...

A couple of seconds after they left, a group of four boys came out from the forest, led by a rather tall one decked in heavy-looking armor. All of them looked terrified for their life as they walked to the temple.

"Oh man, I thought they'd never leave..." muttered one who had a mohawk.

"I know, if it weren't for that big wolf, we would've been here first. I mean the thing fricking blocked us from advancing!" said the one with dark blue hair.

"Whatever, either way, I'm just glad that we can get the relics now." Said the one decked in bronze-looking armor.

"Agreed, let's just get the relics and go." Said the leader of the team as they approached the temple, passing by the words on the ground which the wolf carved without even sparing them a glance.

To be Continued...

So ends the initiation test... And a new element to the story in the form of the bizarre wolf Grimm. I'll see you in the next chapter!