This is way too long coming and no apology could ever excuse it.

I admit, I was lost with this story, couldn't figure out how to get to the endgame that I had envisioned. Tried a dozen things, maybe more, but it took a jaunt through Youtube and playing my first Monster Hunter game again to figure myself out.

As such, we'll go back on the hunt. Today's target is something that no one has faced before, something that has lain dormant and gives the land monsters a true commander.

The Najarala.

However, another problem in the form of the Baggi scouts will keep Team JNPR occupied, so Team RWBY alone will have to confront the Najarala and its subordinates.

The hunt is on.

Taste of What is to Come

-Ruby-

I was having a good day when the message popped up.

We'd all gotten our homework done for the week after Yang insisted on having a weekend out on the town, which made us all buckle down and do it. You don't say no to concert tickets when your sister somehow procured eight of them.

This in turn had put Weiss in a good mood, which made me thankful for a variety of reasons, and she joined me in the many games I did during my free time and helped me figure out those little flashes I could make.

Now I had flashbangs built in! Woo!

Anyway, we'd also gotten to watch Yang very awkwardly start to flirt with Blake. When we'd first gotten put on this team, Yang had been all tease and no substance, per usual, but we'd all noticed her teases and innuendo give way to genuine compliments and hand ringing.

I'd never seen Yang so out of her depth, but Blake was kind enough to take it all in stride and not give Yang too much trouble. Well, most of the time, teasing begets more teasing, or something like that.

That had all been in the last two days, with Yang being awkward starting just that morning. Classes were going well, I was somehow paying attention, and I'd been pushed by Jaune in combat class for the first time ever! A really, really good day with the promise of working on weapons with Weiss later making it even better.

Then the message popped up, right in the middle of lunch.

I was on my second plate of pulled pork and cookies when I heard the ding. "Geez, I hope that's not a message from Port. I'll die if he adds more pages to that report."

My mumble went unheard by the others, engrossed in a debate over the benefits of liver and dark meat. I don't know what either had to do with the other, but we'd had stranger topics.

I sighed and pulled out my scroll, only to freeze when I saw the sender. Headmaster Ozpin had another mission for us, and it was practically jumping off the screen with how red the script was.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Weiss asked as she turned away from the debate. "Did you grab oatmeal-raisin again?"

I gulped and turned my scroll to her. "Uh… not quite…"

Weiss stared at the scroll before her eyes narrowed. "Darn it, and here I was thinking I could get a head start on the history paper."

I groaned at the reminder. "Look, can you get everyone to finish up and head to the dorm? I need to get the details, or at least as many as I can."

Weiss nodded and started lecturing everyone, shutting down the debate with her ever-eloquent words and stirring voice. There's a reason she gave the speeches when I needed everyone's attention, I could only scream until everyone stopped talking.

But, with that, I ran from the cafeteria and blew through the halls. I was in such a hurry I almost ran several people over, but I made the elevator just shy of my record and fidgeted the whole way up to Ozpin's office.

"Professor Ozpin," I said as the doors opened. "You wanted to see me?"

Ozpin sipped from his mug and pulled up a screen, a video feed starting. "Thank you for joining me, Ms. Rose. We have a situation that needs Team JMPR, but it's different than the previous cases."

He tapped some keys on his desk and the video started to play. At first, all I saw was trees, but then something strange popped up. "Is that…?"

"Something not recorded." Ozpin answered as the massive snake-lizard slithered by, it's scales tipped in orange and hissing as it passed. "It's obviously one of the Beasts, but not one I know of. I'd ask you to go through your book upon your return, see if it's there, but prepare for battle. This video was taken in the Emerald Forrest not three hours ago."

I gulped. "Um, is there anything else?"

"There is," Ozpin said, another video popping up. "This was taken less than thirty minutes ago, around our northern border."

I watched as a pack of blue raptors climbed over the lip of the mountain ridge, a much larger one leading them. It seemed to sense the camera and looked right at it, an ugly sneer stretching over its maw before it barked and the video went black.

"That is a Baggi pack." Ozpin sighed. "Normally, I'd simply keep an eye on them, but they've begun moving in the direction a village just south of that camera's position. Aerial surveillance puts their arrival at three hours and we have no hunters or huntresses close enough to take care of them."

I didn't like the sound of this. "So… we're splitting the team?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Ozpin said, taking another sip. "I can get one of your teams to the Baggi pack in two hours, but the larger one must be held at bay. In your opinion, which team is best able to remove the Baggi's? The other will hold our guest at bay."

I gave it some thought. My team was a lot better at taking down singular targets with Blake and Weiss providing traps and distractions while Yang and I walloped them. "…Team JNPR. They're better at picking off small fry and have more options. My team can distract no problem."

"Good," Ozpin said, a smile showing his approval. "Have both teams ready to go within the hour. There'll be bullheads ready for both by then. Show them what these last weeks of training have done, and don't be afraid to remove any fool-hardy Grimm that get in your way."

I nodded and almost left, but another question came to mind. "Um… what about Professor Goodwitch? It would be so reassuring to have her there."

"She's patrolling the coast." Ozpin answered. "We've had no incursions from the sea since you sent that Royal Ludroth packing and Professor Goodwitch slew the Gobul. However, that does not mean we can be lax, as these land incursions could be nothing more than a distraction."

That was smart, but I really would've like having Professor Goodwitch with us. Unknowns were… scary. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. We'll take care of this Professor!"

I didn't wait for a dismissal and ran back to the elevator, nerves making me more restless than usual. Once I was back in the halls, I blurred back to the dorms and slammed open the door. "We've got a mission!"

"Really?" Yang drawled, Ember Celica already out and getting calibrated. "Snowflake had us run here with plates in hand and start working not a minute after you left."

I blushed as I saw that everyone was already working. "Oh, I guess it is pretty obvious. Well, I got the nitty-gritty from Professor Ozpin."

"Don't keep us in suspense." Blake said as she handed Ren a set of shells. "What is it this time? That Ludroth show up again or some pack of Jaggi?"

I laughed sheepishly, everyone looking at me now. "See… we have to split up the team. There's two places we need to go."

Jaune shot up from polishing his shield. "What?! We've never had to be so far apart, even with the Qurupeco!"

"There's a pack of Baggi making for a village." I explained, making for the shelf that held the book. "They're to the north. The second's something Professor Ozpin's never seen, so I'm hoping it's in here. Looked like a giant snake with a beak and a crest."

The room quieted, Pyrrha eventually figuring out the plan. "We'll be dealing with the Baggi, Team JNPR."

"On the nose," I laughed. "You guys have more options there, my team's better at distraction. Now then… no… no… this looks promising."

I started to read the passage. "The Najarala is one of the few snakes to have survived the long night after their creation, only a coastal subspecies and the great Dalamadur joining it. The Najarala awaits its prey with patience and cunning, only the keenest of senses able to detect its presence before sound and fury fill the air."

The drawing was just as artsy as the others, but the head looked very similar to what I saw in the video. "Alright, it looks like the big guy's a Najarala. Ambush predator and it does something with sound, so we'll have to be careful."

"Be careful after you make your adjustments." Ren noted as his weapons flipped into his sleeves. "Heaven knows you've been dying to use those paralysis darts."

I chuckled. "Right you are, my good man. Now, where's my sweetheart? I need to give her a bit more power with all that armor I saw."

I looked around, frowning at a conspicuous absence. "Hey, where's Weiss? I wanted to take another look at her blade, see if the new mechanism's working well."

On cue, the door opened to show Weiss with my sweetheart over her shoulder. "Oh, Ruby, good. I had to take your weapon over to Professor Oobleck so he could load the darts. Hope you don't mind."

The room took a collective breath, much to my confusion. I mean, Yang and Blake had made a path, Jaune and Pyrrha had huddled together for protection, and Nora was holding out Ren as a bored looking sacrifice. Even Weiss had a glyph forming just in front of her.

I didn't see what the big deal was, so I shrugged. "Thanks Weiss, that saved me a trip. Mind showing me what he did? I'll help you with Myrtenaster's gears afterwards."

The room was silent for a moment before Yang began to hyperventilate, Blake fainting dead away. A moment later Nora jumped on Ren and started making out with him, Jaune falling to his knees and praying loudly while Pyrrha got a hungry glint in her eyes as she looked to Jaune.

Weiss gave voice to the reason for this madness. "You're not mad someone else touched Crescent Rose! Ruby, did someone drug your food? Did you eat one of those mushrooms growing in the gardens? Did… did you finally go to therapy?!"

I felt very insulted. I know I'm rather protective of my sweetheart, but I trusted my teammates. "Uh, you saved me a trip and I know Professor Oobleck does good work. Also, I can tell she's not damaged in the least, so why be mad?"

Yang passed out, apparently unable to reconcile what she knew about me and what she was seeing. I was secretly amused that she fell on Blake in a very interesting position and took a photo for future blackmail reasons.

"Wait," Nora gasped as she came up for air, Ren dazed beneath her. "So, this isn't the apocalypse?! We're not going to Rapture in the next few minutes?"

Weiss took a deep breath. "No… it appears not. No one's losing their virginity today, and I'm talking to you Pyrrha!"

I blinked before spotting a sheepish Pyrrha half-way out the door, a resigned Jaune being dragged behind her. "Oh, silly me. It looks like we were all overreacting."

Weiss glared before groaning. "Look, you guys get these drama queens up and moving, I'll help Ruby get ready. We have to be on those bullheads soon, and I don't fancy one of the targets reaching their goals."

That sobered everyone, Ren taking out some smelling salts for Yang and Blake while looking decidedly unamused. I mean, everyone knew him and Nora were a couple in all but name, but not reacting to that?

What on earth happened in their room on any given day to make that tame?

Weiss holding out my sweetheart stopped any further thoughts. "Give her a once over, then we'll talk my stuff. Don't get too in the grease, we don't need you slipping all over the place."

I giggled and took my sweetheart. Everyone started calling my dear by the proper objective case, and that's another twenty lien from Yang, weeks ago. Still made me laugh that they all finally caved. "I won't, not when we're dealing with a snake! Reminds me of this one time we had a snake in the house and I tried to catch it after helping dad with the truck."

I proceeded to tell the tale over Weiss's objections, but I still had to admire how well the paralysis darts fit in the firing chamber. Oobleck knew his stuff, even if his doctorate was in history, but I had a feeling it was Port or Peach that did the darts themselves.

After that, we moved on to Weiss. "So, how are those gears I recommended working?"

Weiss put her rapier on the bench and opened the gear casing. "Quite well, actually. The originals, while faster, couldn't take it when I accessed my power and the frost got into them. Fragility comes with the speed, but I've adapted to these nicely. The added durability makes it much easier to fight when we we're training our powers."

I nodded and looked at the gears, my trusty wrench in hand. I made a few adjustments and spun the chamber. "There, that should be a lot smoother. Really Weiss, you need to let me do this more often! I always make great changes, you've said it yourself!"

"But it's my weapon." Weiss countered as she tested the mechanism, the gears spinning smoothly. "The day you let me make adjustments to Crescent Rose instead of yourself is the day I let you do Myrtenaster instead."

I gasped at the thought. "You want to touch my sweetheart?! Take her out to dinner first why don't you?!"

If Weiss rolled her eyes any harder, they'd pop out. "Dolt, just get cleaned up. Your sister and Blake left a while ago since the room was still standing."

Oh, that's right. Yang came over to hug me while crying about 'growing up' while Blake held her nose with a truly irate glare in place. I don't know what Ren used in that bag of salts, but it must've been bad to make Blake smell it long after he'd put it away.

Regardless, a trip to the bathroom had me ready to go. "Alright, Weiss! Let's go get the big NR!"

"Again, with your codenames." Weiss muttered as we left the room. "You know no one actually uses those, right?"

I refused to accept that blasphemy, so I changed the subject. "So, from what I saw on the video, this guy's big. Like, really big. You'll probably need full power glyphs to bind it."

"That's a lot of power." Weiss muttered as we entered the main hall. "It'd probably be better if I work with Blake and attack the weak points while supporting you and Yang. Once it's weak, then I'll bind it."

I hummed at the idea. It wasn't bad if you asked me, but as with every plan we've come up with, it never lasts. "Well, this thing works with sound somehow. Maybe we should bring earplugs?"

"Too late for that," Weiss sighed as we arrived at the docks. "We'll just have to be careful."

I couldn't argue with that, so we climbed into the bullhead and took our seats. JNPR would arrive at their destination long after we got to ours, probably even after we were done, so I kind of envied them.

Then I remembered Jaune's terrible track record with travel and silently wished them luck.

Our trip was otherwise silent, Blake in her book and Yang rocking out to something on her scroll. I was doing some last-minute adjustments while Weiss… meditated, for lack of a better term.

We'd all started having our own habits as the year wore on, especially as we'd trained with Goodwitch and fought the Grimm. Honestly, this was our first Beast in almost a month and I was kind of nervous.

Then my scroll buzzed, a message from Ozpin popping up. A quick look made me groan. "Darn it, we have another bunch in the forest. Looks like a… Iodrome and Jaggi pack, Great versions included."

My team groaned too. Well, Yang did after Blake pulled out her headphones and told her. "Geez, now we got to split up too? Where did these guys come from?"

"Probably the deep woods." Blake hypothesized. "There's no surveillance there with all the Grimm, but I've heard that their numbers have been dropping recently. Maybe the Beasts are settling the score with their old enemies?"

I would love that personally. They could battle it out in the wild and leave us alone, but heroes never got that lucky. Nope, we had to go and get right in the middle of them.

Dreams do come true.

"We'll take it as we go." I said, everyone looking to me. "Weiss and I have been in these woods a lot for Port's assignments, we'll track down the Naja. Blake, Yang, I know you're both strong enough to take on those packs without too much issue. After they're done with, track our scrolls and meet up. We'll get a better plan together."

I got nods all around, so we settled in for the rest of the ride. We were dropped off at the ridge we'd been taken to for initiation and I could see some cleared patches in the forest. "Looks like they've been busy."

"Lots of Nevermore feathers." Blake muttered, a pair of binoculars materializing in her hands. "I bet there's a fight going on if they haven't dissolved yet."

On cue, a Nevermore shot out of the forest, its screech filling the air before it jolted and fell out of the sky.

We all stared for a moment before exchanging glances and drawing our weapons.

"Alright girls, this is it!" I started. "You all know what to do but remember to be careful. These are Beasts, not concrete, your Aura can only do so much against them."

"Roger!"

With that, we jumped into the woods and split up. The packs were marked to the north side of the forest while the Naja had been seen in the east. Considering where the nevermore came from, Weiss and I made a beeline for its crash site.

Once we were there, I held up a fist, something buzzing in the air. "Quiet, I think it's nearby."

I heard the revolver on Myrtenaster slide into place. Judging on where I'd seen it earlier and the number of clicks, Weiss had gone with ice per usual. Couldn't comment though, not as a heard of Beowolves came hurtling out of the trees.

We were ready and willing to take them all down, but something shot from the tree line and slammed into the ground amongst the Beowolves. A moment later, some kind of high-pitched rattle screeched through the air, nearly making my ears bleed.

I was distracted from my pain when the things on the ground shook in time with the rattle before freaking exploding. The Beowolves didn't know what hit them, the shards from the objects punching straight through them and making all but one Major die instantly.

That Major had barely a second to howl in defiance before a massive serpent dashed forward and seized it in its jaws. A quick jerk later and the Major fell limp, dissolving to nothing.

"Holy… crap…" I breathed as the Najarala shook itself. "That is one big lizard."

Weiss was equally impressed. "It must be at least forty meters… even the Ludroth wasn't this big…"

We silently agreed that engaging was a bad idea, but seeing it slaughter Grimm did little for our understanding of its defenses. All I could tell was that its scales were super thick and the beak looked like a nightmare.

"It's underbelly," Weiss whispered as the Naja began to dig. "If it's a burrower, then its underbelly should be soft to let it go through the ground easier, make it more streamlined. But, why have that huge crest if you're a burrower?"

The answer came a moment later when the damn thing disappeared into the earth, only to burst out of the ground beneath our perch and lunge for me. I took a swing that caught on the crest and carried me away from its jaws, but my sweetheart did nothing but scratch it. "Defense and intimidation, now book it!"

Weiss fired her ice and bound the Naja's feet, its crest shaking and rattling. I'd barely hit the ground when it shrieked, the noise sending a lance of pain into my head. Weiss responded with a roar of her own, the Naja reeling in surprise before it started batting at its bindings.

We retreated while I fired potshots the whole time, satisfied that at least a few stung the thing. Problem was, we didn't get more than a hundred yards before it was barreling into us again. Weiss took a glancing blow, but it still sent her into a tree.

I blurred away and started swinging where I could. The scales on its lower body weren't as tough, so I got some gashes in, but I'd have gotten more if the thing would hold still! It was contorting into all kinds of weird shapes and I didn't like it one bit!

Then it went into the ground and shot right back up, catching my leg and sending me spinning. A wall of ice sprung up to protect me, but I didn't have time to thank Weiss before things started slamming into it.

"It's scales!" Weiss shouted over the Naja's growls and grunts. "The thing's shooting scales at us!"

On cue, the crest rattled again, the high-pitched noise returning. The scales in the wall began to shake too, then they shattered along with the ice. It was only my quick reflexes and Aura that kept me from getting stabbed.

"We need Yang!" I called as the Naja lunged for Weiss, Myrtenaster shifting to gravity dust. "Neither of us have the power to break those scales!"

The glyph flashed into existence, the sudden increase in weight slamming the Naja to the ground. It just got pissed though and picked itself up, its roar shaking the air again. Weiss jumped away and rolled, a yellow glyph coming to life. As she sped up, I used the distraction to get in close and land some nasty slashes on its belly.

The Naja screeched again, scales flying off its tail at random. They all missed me and Weiss, so I didn't pay much attention, but I had to put up a shield with my Aura when it whipped around and tried to bite me.

Then its tail slammed into me and sent me into a cluster of scales. I just barely put up a full shield before the rattle reached me and the scales exploded, but I was panting after using so much energy.

"Ruby!" Weiss called as she ran towards me, a massive wall of ice blocking the Naja's charge. "Are you ok?"

I nodded and stood. "Yeah, this thing's just so damn relentless. Even the Ludroth wasn't trying this hard to kill us."

Weiss didn't respond, only grabbing me and rolling as the Naja went under the wall and tried to wrap us in its coils. I gasped as I felt it's fangs sink into my leg, the Naja wrenching me from Weiss's grasp and flailing around, aiming to break me on the ground or the trees.

My Aura did all it could, but I was still beaten black and blue by the time I was able to plant Crescent Rose in its eye and make it let me go. The screech was the worst I'd heard, its body thrashing in pain and rage with its tail clubbing me straight into Weiss.

"We need to go, now!" Weiss panted, clearly tired. She'd been devastating our surroundings trying to make the Naja break its grip on me, but the fear of hitting me had only succeeded in putting some nasty wounds on it, but not near enough to kill or even slow the Naja.

I tried to stand, but my leg wouldn't move. I tried to tell Weiss when I felt every muscle in my body lock-up. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't blink. I was completely paralyzed, completely helpless, and I'd never been more scared in all my life.

The Naja, as if sensing this, began to growl strangely. Then, a sonic boom shot from its maw and slammed into us, sending us both flying. I still couldn't move when I rolled to a stop and Weiss was nowhere I could see.

Then I heard it, the thud of massive feet and the hiss of scales on grass.

The Naja entered my sight and glared down at me. I still couldn't move, but I had to do something. Something to distract it, to get time… that's it!

I focused my power, feeling my eye shift as the black lightning flashed into existence. The Naja grunted in surprise, but I focused on putting as much power into the lightning as I could while forming it into balls.

Then I sent them forth with a silent command, the balls flying into the Naja and detonating.

Miniature suns bloomed with light while the fury of thunder boomed through the woods. I couldn't close my eyes with the paralysis and everything went white, ears rendered deaf by the boom. Once the ringing settled down, I could see the Naja slouched over and whining, apparently in a similar state to me though with a large scorch mark stretching across its body.

Then it shook off the shock and advanced again, its gaze wearier. "Power… though incomplete…"

My eyes would've widened if they could. Did… did the Naja just speak?"

It sniffed and chuffed. "Yes… I doth speak, hatchling… you are no hunter, though you aspire to be… it would be best to nip you while you're still a bud…"

It loomed over me, jaws open and ready to end my life. "I take no pleasure in this… but my people must be avenged. I will… puzzle out how you could hear me later…"

I blinked, was stunned that I could blink, then rolled away as the Naja slammed into the spot I just was, coming up with a rock in maw. It bit the stone into rubble and glared, its tail cutting off my escape and its body constricting me a moment later.

"You fought off the poison quickly…" The Naja noted. "A shame you were human… a Stygian like you would've won the war…"

I couldn't breathe as the scales pressed in, their edges digging through my clothes and into my skin. Where the hell was Weiss? Did the blast really send her that far away?

"Let go of her!"

A lance of lightning slammed into the Naja, making it screech in pain and let me go. I fell to the ground, gasping for breath, but I looked over towards the shout to see Weiss standing there. She was disheveled with her hair loose, but I've never seen something so beautiful in all my life.

Problem was, I'm pretty sure my ribs were broken along with my leg being a bloody mess. I wasn't going to be moving any time soon.

The Naja knew this and charged Weiss, scales flying forth. Weiss slid underneath them and summoned a glyph, skating around the Naja's charge and leaving a dozen cuts in its hide before stopping and stabbing its tail, the blade glowing red.

With a yell, she turned the blade and the tail came off, the Naja screeching in unholy pain and rage. Weiss didn't get to savor her victory as the Naja moved with unnatural speed, even by my standards, and swatted her through several trees.

"I… will deal with you first…" The Naja panted, blood gushing from its tail stump where Myrtenaster hadn't cauterized flesh. "Then… it shall be your friend… who suffers for this… indignity…"

I'd been kind of awed by Weiss's attack, but I was smart enough to start limping away. I'm not tooting my own horn when I say even my limp is fast enough to beat Yang in a race, but it wasn't long before the Naja's paw slammed into my back and pinned me to the ground.

"Now… now I take pleasure in this…" The Naja hissed, its tongue brushing my ear and taking off skin. "You should've followed your ancestor's example…"

"And gone for the throat…"

I could almost feel the Naja's neck tense, ready to bite my head off. All I could really do at that point was pray that Weiss, Blake, or Yang would show up and fix this mess.

And… silently apologize for not telling Yang I was the one who messed up Bumblebee's shocks and transmission.

Or that I accidently threw Blake's book into the incinerator.

Or that I stole Weiss's notes… many times…

Wow, I had a lot to apologize for.

I closed my eyes and got ready. "I'll see you soon… Mommy."

The blow never came. All I felt was the paw lift off me followed by the screech of the Naja and a familiar roar. I opened my eyes and looked over to see something… sickening.

Weiss had run headlong into the Naja, claws of ice covering her arms and legs while massive saber teeth stuck out of her upper jaw. The claws and teeth were tearing the Naja open, its cries of pain and rage slowly petering into calls for help. Even those became weaker as Weiss ripped open its guts, viscera and blood splashing and splattering across her white hair and the ground.

And the stench…

I vomited. What little was in my gut after this fight fled as the Naja quieted, it's body nothing more than a shell filled with shredded meat. I watched it die, the light fading from its one good eye, and heard Weiss raging and snarling as she continued to tear long after it was dead.

"Weiss… it's dead…"

The snarls stopped, Weiss wrenching herself free of the corpse. Every part of her was stained red, and I knew she'd probably be mad about ruining another dress, but I was far more concerned and scared when she turned to me.

Both of her eyes were slits, scales replacing the skin of the orbits. The claws of ice looked sharper than any blade, even as the blood streamed down them, and there was rage in every inch of her body.

Rage that I'd inadvertently directed at myself.

"I'm ok… Weiss…" I tried as she stalked towards me. "Please… come back… it's… over…"

Weiss continued to glare, claws reared back as she came up to me. Her intent was clear, even as I silently pleaded for her to calm down, but then she relaxed. "…Ruby?"

I nodded, glad to see the slits starting to disappear. "Yes, Weiss… I'm ok…"

Weiss kneeled, and her claws stroked my cheek, making a line as it cut. "You're… ok… good…"

She slumped and thudded as she hit the ground. "No one… hurts… my dolt… my leader…"

"No one…. Hurts my friend."

Hearing her call me that meant the world. We'd known each other for months now, but she'd never called me her friend before. Too bad we both had to nearly die, again, to have it happen.

"Rest, Weiss." I whispered as her eyes closed and the tattoo began to form on her arm, the ice carving it into her skin. "We'll… we'll be home soon."

Weiss nodded and went still, only the rise of her chest showing she was alive. I smiled, glad she was ok, before feeling exhaustion take hold.

My last sight was yellow hair and lavender eyes, a roughed-up Yang pulling me into her arms as she called for Blake to get them home.

Then, I rested.

With many more questions than answers.

Ch. End

Woo! Chapter done!

I hope you guys enjoy the fight with the Najarala, I've never actually fought him since I don't have the mobile games so I had to improvise and use videos. This shows a taste of a four-star monster, one that wasn't taking them all that seriously until Ruby went boom and Weiss cut off his tail.

Others won't be so cavalier or reluctant. If the Najarala had been serious from the start, both would've died quickly. Speed only does so much regarding his armor and Weiss would've been targeted first because of that.

There's work to be done, for sure.

Anyway, I bring you the update! Long time coming, but I like it! Hope you do too!