I believe site notifications are working again. If you've missed the past two weeks, go back and read 33 and 34, or else you'll be REALLY confused.

I am done with my junior year of college! One left to go! But that also means one year left of marching band...That's going to stink.

I'd give the "Should Blake be CONSIDERED to be a Rider" poll another week, but the yeses are so far ahead I'm going to have to go with them. Again, this just means that Blake isn't out of the running. It's not a guarantee one way or the other.

Weiss sat on the edge of the Bullhead, waiting for someone to give her something to do. She already had everything she needed on the Bullhead. Well, almost everything. Yang still had Myrtenaster. Hopefully she would let Weiss have her weapon back.

A high-pitched squeak came from behind her. Weiss turned around and smiled down at Saphira. Her hatchling smiled up at her with tail wagging. Saphira had been nothing but a bundle of joy since she hatched. How could someone so small have that much energy all the time? Then again, that was most babies.

Saphira crawled onto Weiss' lap and fired up her motorboat. The heiress pet her baby dragon with a large smile on both of their faces. Saphira's happiness reached past her head and Weiss flinched. No matter how gently Saphira or anyone else touched her mind, it still hurt. But instead of the sledgehammer from before, it felt like someone knocking on her head continuously.

As if hearing Weiss thoughts, no, when she heard her Rider's thoughts, Saphira pulled back into her own head and raised her eyes to Weiss. Those blue orbs locked on Weiss', then Saphira jumped to her Rider's shoulder. She crawled around so her head and tail were hanging down on either side of her head. That was her favorite spot so far. If only she could stay that size for a long time.

Weiss ran a finger under her dragon's chin. "You ready to see the world, Saphira?" The hatchling purred and raised her head, opening more space for the treatment.

"Glad to see you two are getting along," another voice said. Weiss raised her head to see Ruby walking over holding an old bag. "Honestly, I can't see a situation where you wouldn't."

"She's perfect." Weiss smiled at her dragon. "She's beautiful, cute…and she's helping with my head."

Ruby sighed. "I was worried about that last one. You couldn't even let Velvet in."

"I guess we're on the same wavelength. That, and she knows whenever she's really hurting me." Weiss focused on the bag Ruby held. "What's in there?"

"This is for Saphira." Ruby raised the bag. Saphira arched her neck and sniffed the air. She gave a high-pitched hum and jumped off Weiss' shoulder. Her wings snapped open, but she fell to the ground. From there, she stretched up Ruby's leg and squeaked at the bag. Ruby held the bag higher as she laughed at the hatchling. "This isn't for now, cutie."

She turned her gaze to Weiss. "It's food for the trip to Du Weldenvarden. Saphira can hunt for herself now, but you're flying over the desert, and the elves don't like having that kind of a mess in their cities. Until she's old enough to know that, Vert will share his kills."

"I don't suppose there's any way I can make her a vegetarian?"

"I…kind of made Cerise an omnivore. She likes a few fruits, especially watermelon. But it's not practical unless you have a farm the size of Patch." Ruby sat next to Weiss and handed over the bag. The smell finally hit Weiss. Whatever was inside was definitely dead, and for whatever reason Saphira wanted it.

Weiss sighed. "I guess that's nature."

Ruby laid a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "I'm not sure if you going back there is the best idea. But…you're my hero for taking this on." Weiss blinked and looked to her 'little sister's' face. Ruby's eyes watered and her smile shook. "I know you're not going to exactly the same place, but you're still going back. I can't go anywhere near anywhere the North Sanus Mountains anymore, no matter how bad the situation could get. I don't know what kind of situation would make me even consider going back there.

"Still, I'm not taking any chances with you." Part of Ruby's smile disappeared. "Everyone going with you knows to pull you out if things get bad. If you freeze up, you'll sit on the sidelines until we're ready to go home. At least you'll have a lot more time to spend with Saphira." In response, the blue hatchling jumped into her Rider's lap.

"I know you have Yang going with you, but she's, you know, Yang. She'll do anything and everything to help, but she's basing everything off how she helped comfort me. If you need anything, Velvet can get you in touch with me." Ruby took her Scroll out of a pocket and shook it. "Blake said it's the same process of how you talked to her."

"Thanks, sis." Weiss pulled Ruby into a sideways hug.

"Anytime." Ruby returned it as well. Saphira crawled up Weiss' back and chirped at Ruby before nuzzling her herself. Ruby pulled back and stuck a finger at Saphira. "And you. Protect your partner-of-your-heart-and-mind. She was my partner-of-the-blade first." Saphira thrust her head forward and bit Ruby's fingertip, humming happily. The receiver didn't even flinch.

"Be nice, Saphira." Weiss stroked her dragon's back. "Next time you see her you won't be able to do that. You'll be too strong." Saphira released Ruby and squeaked at the other Rider.

"Hatchlings are just too cute." Ruby stood up and backed away. "See you in a few days, sis." She turned around and jogged to Cerise' side. The two of them walked into their cave, with Ruby resting a hand on her dragon's neck.

Weiss scratched the side of Saphira's head. "That's going to be us someday. You're going to grow up big and strong like Cerise and Nalia. Don't tell them I said this, but you'll be prettier than both of them combined."

"Not more than Halcyon!" Yang yelled from the side. "He's got that on lockdown."

Weiss rolled her eyes as the lovable brute approached. "You two are exactly the same."

Dragons and their Riders usually are, Halcyon said from behind his Rider. So I guess that means Saphira is going to be the Ice Princess of the sky.

"Breaking hearts a mile off the ground." Yang held a hand over her own heart. "You two deserve each other."

"Last time I checked," Weiss bit back, "Pyrrha had her eyes on Jaune the whole time. And he's…Jaune!"

"Whatever you say, Ice Rider." Yang sauntered over and climbed into the Bullhead. She ran a hand against Saphira's back as she passed. "You're not babying her too much, are you?"

"Didn't I say something about not criticizing my techniques?"

You may have, Halcyon said sounding serious, but this isn't that. Saphira isn't human, and she shouldn't be raised like one.

"Last I checked, you, Cerise, and Vert turned out just fine. And…" Weiss looked down. "I really don't want her to have the same early life I did."

Oh. Uh…

A hand somehow made it under Saphira's head and onto Weiss' shoulder. "I don't think that's a problem. You're too much of a good person for that."

"Thanks, sis." Saphira hummed and licked Yang's face as well.

Yang squeezed Weiss' shoulder. "Your head still bothering you?"

Weiss' head dipped. "Yes. It's nothing against any of you, but whenever you try…"

"I think I may know how to help, but I'm not sure you're going to like it."

"As long as it's not one of those metal helmets that will keep Saphira out as well."

"I'm not even sure that works." Yang paused. "This may sound weird, but get a song stuck in your head."

Weiss stared at her 'big sister.' "What?"

"I overheard some of the elves talking about reciting a bit of poetry to keep people out. Figured it could be the same. Got 'I Burn' stuck in my head, Halcyon couldn't force his way in."

"Really? Just like that?"

If I was really trying to get in, Halcyon started, I'm sure I could have broken her defenses. She was talking with Ruby at the same time, but she kept her defenses up, a near first.

"It's a pain in the butt sometimes," Yang admitted, "but it could save you some pain."

"And more than that in the future." Weiss looked at her lap. Maybe reciting name, team, and student Id did more for her than she thought. Some motion near the giant staircase caught Weiss' eye. She turned toward it and saw Blake leading Jaune and Pyrrha…and an elf. Lord Däthedr if memory served. "I thought it was just us."

"Same here, or at least Yaela would come with. You might want to get in the cockpit. It's going to get crowded out here really soon."

Weiss pulled her legs up over the edge of the Bullhead's floor. She stood up from there with Saphira clinging to her shoulders. "I guess I'll start the preflight checks. Save some time." She made her way into the cockpit and sat in the copilot's chair. Saphira jumped off her Rider's shoulder and onto the command console. "Just so you know, Blake's probably going to kick you off of there when she comes in." The hatchling shrugged and looked out the windshield at Vert and Velvet.

The heiress reached for the controls, then retracted her hands. What if this really was fake? She could be teaching whoever to control the Bullhead. It wouldn't take the transport out of the sky, unless whoever destroyed the console…Weiss clamped her hands on her head. "Weiss Schnee, team RWBAY, six-seven-three-seven eight…"

A hand fell on Weiss' shoulder, causing her to jump in her seat. She jerked her head in the direction of the hand and looked up at Blake. "You okay, Weiss?"

"No." Weiss let her shoulders sag. "If this isn't real and I do what I would, I'll be handing this thing over to them."

Blake nodded slowly. "Not like they could do anything with them without Dust." She sat in the pilot's chair. "I don't think anyone would fault you for stepping out right now."

"What about that elf you brought along?" Weiss winced at how loud she said that. Blake didn't close the door to the cockpit. If Lord Däthedr was in the crew compartment, he definitely heard that. "I don't think they would forgive a Rider backing out of a mission like this." Weiss lowered her head. "And Ruby just told me I was her hero for doing this. I can't let her down."

"Fair enough," Blake said, but she didn't sound convinced. She flicked a few switches and the cockpit vibrated as the engines spun up. "I can fly this thing myself. You're still welcome in here of course. I doubt Saphira would like being trapped in the back with no windows."

"No she wouldn't." Weiss blinked and looked back toward the door. "Does Lord Däthedr know about that part? And Jaune's airsickness?"

"Yes to both of those, but Velvet said she took care of that last one." Blake grabbed the intercom mic. "We're buttoning up people. Everyone going north should board at once."

Jaune and Pyrrha's voices grew louder and took on a slight metallic echo as they entered the Bullhead. Another voice joined in, already having that echo. It looked like Lord Däthedr heard everything. The whole transport shook as Yang jumped in. "Ay you!" she yelled out the side of the Bullhead. "See ya later! Don't have too much fun without me!"

Blake keyed the mic again. "Get your head in here Yang. I'm closing the doors." She gave Yang a second before flipping the switch that closed the crew compartment. "Everyone strap in. This thing gets a little hairy at altitude. We won't crash, but it may take a few tries to get out of here."

"Thanks for that…" Jaune said with a voice crack.

Weiss fastened the seat belts over her shoulders and lap. She reached out to her dragon. "Come here, Saphira. Blake needs to work." The hatchling chirped and jumped into her Rider's arms. Weiss held her dragon close to her chest and didn't let go. Evidently Saphira took it as a hug. She hummed, wrapped her wings around her Rider, and nuzzled her snout beneath Weiss' chin.

In front of the Bullhead, Vert jumped out of the Dragonhold with Velvet on his back. The transport shook, and the Star Sapphire fell from beneath them. Instead of switching from takeoff to flying position, the twin engines off the Bullhead stayed facing down. Weiss occasionally saw Vert pass in front of the Bullhead as he circled upward.

"Jackrabbit to Whiskers," Velvet said over the short-range radio, "Meadow's engines are starting to struggle. Hang back while we attempt to exit."

Blake keyed the radio. "Whiskers copies, Jackrabbit. The sky is yours." She shook her head as the Bullhead stopped rising. "Remind me why we're still talking like this among ourselves with no air traffic control?"

Weiss shrugged. "Ruby said it sounded cool. I guess we're just going with it."

"True." Blake smirked and nodded. "I swear, she makes 'because it's cool' decisions a lot."

"That's our Ruby. But she's leader of the Riders now. I wonder what she'll do when that becomes relevant."

"Relevant?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Let's face it. All Riders right now are good friends. We bounce ideas off each other all the time. We'll likely become Ruby's inner circle. But when dragons hatch for others, she'll have to take responsibility for them, and they might not work well with Ruby's high energy, low formality leadership style." Saphira chirped in what felt like confusion.

Blake stared at Weiss. "You've put some thought into this."

"Probably more than Ruby." Weiss chuckled and Saphira squeaked again.

The radio chirped to life with a burst of static. "…rabbit to Whis…through the…ear to proceed."

"Copy that, Jackrabbit. We're coming out." Blake gripped the stick and the collective. "Here we go." She raised the collective and the Bullhead rose with it.

A few seconds later, the altitude warnings sounded in the cockpit, but the transport still rose. The frame shook, but it kept moving. "Come on, come on, come on," Blake mumbled. The rock walls closed in on the Bullhead. Saphira shook and dug her claws into Weiss' clothes. She was scared of the rattling and the approaching walls. Her Rider hugged her and hummed. Hopefully that would calm her dragon. The first time they came this high, Weiss was surprised on how hard it got to breath. The Bullheads were supposed to be pressurized, but then again, not at this altitude.

Just as it felt the mountain would close over the top of the Bullhead, the rim passed beneath the windshield. Dozens of mountains rose on all sides, but most were beneath Farthen Dûr. Blake flicked a switch and the engines tilted to flight position. She pushed more power to the engines and the transport shot forward. It nosed down and flew toward more breathable air and a reasonable cruising altitude. Vert flew almost a mile ahead of them.

Saphira stopped shaking and raised her heck to look out the windshield. Her ears and wings raised and a high pitched hum escaped her throat. She turned to look up at Weiss, her eyes wide. Who knew dragons could beg? "Blake, any chance I can let Saphira go anytime soon?" Saphira switched her beg's target to the Faunus.

Blake only spared the dragon a quick glance. "Don't let her walk in front of me. I need to see where I'm flying."

Weiss relaxed her grip on her dragon. "Stay close to me, and don't push any buttons." Saphira chirped happily and jumped on top of the console again. Her tail wagged and her head moved all over the place. Her gaze focused on Vert and she raised her wings. She copied the older dragon's movements. Of course, her own would be different due to Vert's engines.

The new Rider reached for the radio. "Snowflake to Jackrabbit, when able, could you take our wing? I think Meadow is setting a bad example for…" Weiss paused. What would Saphira's call sign be? "…for Ocean."

"We copy, Snowflake. Right now, it looks like we'll have to lead the way through the mountains. But if we find a place we can fall back, we will." Weiss shoulders slumped, but let it go. There wasn't anything they could do about it at the moment. Maybe learning from Vert wasn't a completely bad idea. He at least knew how to adjust to wind.

Saphira kept mimicking Vert for a long time. Before Weiss knew it, the mountains fell behind them and gave way to a thin stretch of grassland before the Hadarac Desert. Vert lost altitude and the Bullhead sped up. The green dragon disappeared from view, and Saphira's wings drooped. She looked at the land ahead and her head fell with a whimper. No mountains or other interesting terrain in sight. She jumped back into Weiss' lap and curled up. Soon after, Weiss felt her dragon drift off to sleep.

Throughout the rest of the flight, she sang to her sleeping dragon and pet Saphira's back, taking care to avoid the spikes on her back. Not only did it hurt her fingers, but the hatchling didn't like it either. A good distance into the desert, Weiss thought she heard and felt Saphira humming along with her songs. How could she do that while asleep? Occasionally Blake spared a hand to scratch near one of Saphira's wings. The sleeping dragon leaned into that, but still stayed unconscious. The ground below turned to grassland and Weiss barely noticed.

Weiss looked out the left side of the windshield. The music stopped as her voice caught in her throat. She recognized that mountain, though she saw it from a different side before. They were flying low, so hopefully no one over there saw the dragon and the Bullhead on the horizon. "Should we be this close?" Weiss whispered. Saphira lifted her chin off her Rider's lap and yawned.

"We're twenty-five miles away," Blake soothed. "Ruby said this should be a safe distance." She picked up the mic. "We're nearing the drop site. Buckle up." She gave those in the back a few seconds to do so, then eased the Bullhead toward the grassland below.

Saphira stood up on Weiss' lap and chirped up at her Rider. She tilted her head and sniffed the air. Weiss felt her dragon's naïve concern. "Don't worry, little one." She cupped her hands around Saphira's head and tried to put on a reassuring smile. "I'm fine." Her voice cracked. Her smile abandoned her as did the remainder of her good mood. "I swear, I'm not normally like this. Ask anyone."

"She isn't," Blake agreed. "Your Rider normally isn't scared of anything. She's…just had a bad experience recently." She flicked her eyes to Weiss, asking for permission after the fact.

Weiss shook her head. "Leave that explanation to me, please." Saphira looked between the two and chirped unsurely.

The Bullhead flew just above the ground and Blake flicked a switch. The engines rotated to vertical and the transport stopped in the air. It slowly touched down on the grassland that Weiss and a summoned Griffon flew over only days before.

"Let's get going." Blake removed her restraints and powered down the engines. She checked some of the gauges. "Looks like we're going to need to refuel." She stood up and walked out of the cockpit. Weiss followed, still holding Saphira close to her heart.

Only Velvet was missing from the crew compartment. Everyone else stood silently, and the only sound came from Saphira trying to squirm out of her Riders arms. Weiss wasn't sure what to do about her. She couldn't take her with, and she couldn't leave her alone. The choice was obvious, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Hey Yang?"

"Yeah?" Yang turned her head to the new Rider.

Weiss' head sank between her shoulders. "Could you…look after her while I'm gone?"

Yang blinked and looked at the hatchling. She put on a motherly smile in an instant. "I'd say I'll treat her like I did Halcyon, but I don't think you'd like that."

"It still works." Weiss crossed the metal floor and handed her hatchling over. Saphira looked back at her Rider and whimpered. "Saphira, please stay with Yang until I get back. Stay with her and do everything she says. I promise, I won't be gone long." Saphira flicked her tongue out and licked Weiss' cheek.

"Dragon hatchlings are smarter than human offspring," Lord Däthedr said from behind Weiss.

"I've noticed." A little ice made its way into Weiss' voice. "I have seen a few other hatchlings grow up." She focused back on Yang. "She has some food in the cockpit on the floor on the copilot's side." Saphira's ears shot up at the mention of food.

"No problem." Yang nodded then gently shook the hatchling. "Can't let this cutie go hungry now, can we?" Saphira shook her head and squeaked again.

"Sorry I'm late!" Velvet called right before she stepped into the Bullhead. "I didn't miss anything, did I?"

Blake shook her head. "We're going to get this over with and fly away within the hour. Pyrrha, you're with me and Weiss. Velvet, Jaune, this thing's fuel is getting low, but it's not too bad. You can fill the current cells with the used ones and we should be good."

"I'll need some help filling Vert's as well," Velvet said.

Jaune nodded. "Not a problem."

"I know what I'm doing," Yang said as Saphira crawled up her shoulder. The hatchling sniffed the Rider's golden hair and batted at it. "Hey, watch it! Halcyon gave this to me." She pushed Saphira's small paw away.

Pyrrha joined Blake and Weiss by the door. "Well, shall we get going?"

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave." Weiss hugged herself as she stepped out of the Bullhead.

"Weiss!" Yang called. "Hold on a second." The heiress looked back to see Yang sifting through a storage compartment. A few seconds later she pulled out Myrtenaster. She jogged over to the weapon's owner and handed it over. "You're going into enemy territory; you'll need your weapon."

Weiss grabbed the hilt of her weapon and held her rapier vertical. This felt right. "Thanks, sis."

"Anytime." Yang turned around and walked back to the Bullhead.

Weiss faced the mountain, and everything felt wrong again. "Let's just get this over with."

Blake, Weiss, and Pyrrha lay prone on the top of a hill. All three had to be nervous about being there, but only one of them visibly shook. Blake put a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "You sure you don't want to head back to the Bullhead?"

"I'm sure." Weiss shaky voice said otherwise.

"You don't have to go any further," Pyrrha soothed. "Blake and I can take care of this."

"And leave you two alone out here?" Weiss hissed. "Which one of you can summon a dragon? They may know about it, but I doubt they're expecting to see it here."

Blake shook her head and faced the mountain again. The back half of the city backed up into the mountain. A huge wall encased the city. The structure was already about as tall as Armen's, and it was being built on. At least the parts under construction couldn't be manned as well, not that pouring burning pitch off them would be able to targets things in the air.

When Ruby gave the order, Blake would fly back here and perform nighttime aerial recon, as much good as that would do with the overhang. If anything, the recon would hopefully show where the army was stationed and maybe where the Forsworn slept.

But that mission came later. "Do you know roughly where the tunnel you came from let out?" Blake asked Weiss without turning her head.

"Around there." Weiss pointed a finger toward the back half of the mountain where a small forest still stood. "I don't know exactly where."

Blake stared at the forest. There was no way she could see something buried in the mountain from this range, even with her enhanced vision. If it was covered with trees, the Bullhead wouldn't be able to get any decent images either. There had to be someway… "I'm starting to get Ruby's crazy plans."

"What was that Blake?" Pyrrha asked.

"Weiss," Blake turned to her teammate, "you said you rode out on a Griffon, right?"

"Yeah." Weiss' eyes narrowed, and there was no comprehension in them.

"And your summons retain parts of themselves from their lives, right?"

"Yeah." Weiss' eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "No. You're not going in there with a summon I can't keep an eye on. I don't even think I can send one out that far."

"It doesn't need to take me all the way, just point me in the right direction."

"I'm with Weiss on this one," Pyrrha said. "That is too close to the Forsworn to be going alone. You might as well be walking through the front door."

"Then it's a front door that's poorly guarded since Weiss was able to escape." Blake sighed. "I know this isn't the best idea, and I hate that I thought of it in the first place, but this could be a way in. The Bullheads and dragons could create a distraction out front and a few of us could sneak in the back."

"Who says that tunnel's even open?" Weiss demanded. "They wanted me to escape, but I doubt they want me to come back in that way. It has to be sealed by now."

"That is exactly why we're here, to find out if that tunnel's open. We're not going to know for sure until one of us gets in there."

Weiss shoulders slumped into the dirt. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Just like you couldn't let those slaves by that mountain go."

"Point." Weiss sighed. "Ruby and Yang infected us. All of us are impulsive now."

Blake shrugged. "There could be worse things."

Weiss pointed Myrtenaster behind her and a glyph spun to life on the ground. A single Griffon rose from it and crouched down. "Get Blake to where I first summoned you." The white Grimm nodded.

"For the record," Pyrrha started, "I still think this is a bad idea."

"Noted." Blake took out her scroll as she crept to the Griffon's side. She turned on the life tracker app. "Pyrrha, keep an eye on your scroll. If my heartrate skyrockets, come get me."

"Will do." Pyrrha nodded as best as she could with the ground right beneath her chin.

Blake mounted the Griffon and grabbed two fistfuls of fur. "I'll come back if I don't find anything right away." She kicked the Grimm and it jumped into the air. Luckily it knew to keep low. As it flew farther away from Weiss, its flying grew erratic. It even tried to throw Blake off a few times. Pointing the business end of Gambol Shroud at the back of the Grimm's head showed it who was boss.

Just as they reached the tree line, the Griffon vanished from existence. Blake fell the remaining distance to the ground and rolled into a bush. Her second set of ears stood on end. Nothing sounded out of place, but Blake held her katana in front of her just in case. She looked back to the hill where Weiss and Pyrrha lay and couldn't see them. At least that was a good sign.

Blake faced forward again and walked in. She would have preferred that the Griffon carried her in a little farther. At least then she'd have a better idea of where to look instead of vaguely this direction. Still, she pressed forward. She took out her Scroll and set a timer for ten minutes. If she didn't find anything by the end of that, she would run back to the hill.

The only things that moved in the woods were squirrels and other assorted small animals. There weren't even any signs of human foot traffic. Blake wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

Seven minutes in, Blake found a sheer rock face. It all was directly connected to the mountain. If this entrance was anywhere in these woods, it would be along here. She walked alongside the cliff, eyes switching from the trees to the rock. A few places along the wall were gouged out, but not nearly enough for a tunnel. Probably just the locals needing some stone for one thing or another.

At nine minutes, Blake felt a breeze coming from the cliff. She faced it and saw nothing but rock. Magic, she thought. She backed away and picked a rock off the ground. After a second's pause, she threw the rock forward. Instead of bouncing off the rock, it flew through. She found the tunnel, but was it safe?

Before she could take a step forward, she heard another sound. Whatever it was, it was coming toward her. Blake dove out of the way just in time to not be burned by an inferno of golden fire. Luckily for her, the blaze didn't spread out from its original path. The fire eventually died out, but not before setting some of the forest ablaze.

Her Scroll rang, snapping her out of her gaze. The timing couldn't be good. Blake picked it up. "Something going on?"

"Get out of there!" Pyrrha yelled over the Scroll. "I don't know what you did, but there's a massive flock of Grimm heading toward you from the city."

"What?" Blake whipped her head to face that direction. Ruby did say the Riders ran into some Pteros on their way to Du Weldenvarden. "I'm on my way back." She put her Scroll away and started running. Luckily she wasn't running toward the Grimm at all. Pyrrha's and Weiss' position was slightly behind the mountain. Flock implied flying Grimm, and Gambol Shroud wasn't the best at taking down fliers besides maybe immature Nevermores and Griffons.

Blake burst out of the tree line and saw another white Griffon standing a few hundred feet away. She sprinted toward the summon and jumped on its back. The Grimm jumped into the air. Since she wasn't doing anything, Blake looked over her shoulder toward the city. Sure enough, a black mass flew toward where Blake found the tunnel. There weren't many, but there were enough Nevermores and Pteros that made Blake glad she ran.

The Griffon landed by Weiss and Pyrrha, along with two more summons. "Where'd those things come from?"

"I don't know." Weiss mounted her own Griffon. "One minute they weren't there, the next, well, you saw them."

"Magic." Blake swore. "No offense, Pyrrha."

"None taken." Pyrrha turned her own mount to where the Bullhead rested. "I had the same thought."

Weiss urged her Griffon forward. "Let's go." One by one, the summons leapt off the ground. They all flew low to the ground.

Before the Bullhead and Vert came into view, a Nevermore screeched behind them Blake looked back toward the beast. It was the only one giving chase at the moment, but that could easily change. "Weiss, you have something that can take that thing down?"

"I do." Pyrrha called over the wind. She stuck a hand up toward the Grimm and her eyes started glowing. Instantly, the wind changed. The Griffons flew into a headwind, and the Nevermore plummeted from the sky. It hit the ground like a formerly suspended piano. While mangled up on the ground, it burst into flames.

"A little much there, Pyrrha?" Blake asked.

"No." Pyrrha shrugged. "The fire should give the illusion that's what killed it."

"Hopefully." Blake faced front again and saw her Bullhead and Vert come into view. "Let's get out of here before more of them show up."

Getting close to the Traitor. Only a few chapters to go.