Jaune sat in his dorm, clad in his pajamas and staring blankly at the notebook in front of him, which taunted him with its emptiness.

He was trying to come up with notes on what to talk about in Port's class the next day. He hadn't really considered the matter when he'd agreed to doing so, being so focused with other things, but now he was slightly freaking out about what he was going to say and how.

"Jaune, you've got to relax." Pyrrha said from her bed, where she sat with a book she'd borrowed from Blake. "You'll do fine."

"Yeah!" Nora exclaimed in agreement. "You've already got cred. People will listen to you when you talk about fighting Grimm cause they know what you've done."

"But what do I say!?" Jaune whined, pulling on his hair. "This is important! These people might refer to what I say when they fight Grimm, and if I don't give them the right information I could get them killed!"

Pyrrha got up and moved over to Jaune, getting behind him and beginning to rub his shoulders, trying to help him relax. "I'm sure whatever advice you give will be helpful." She assured him. "You're a survivor. Like Nora said, you've already proven it. Now you just need to tell the other students how you did it."

"Make a list of the Grimm you fought and what they looked like." Ren advised as he made himself some tea. "Note the weaknesses you noticed, and the way they fought. Then just talk about the best way you found to take them out. That's pretty much what Grimm Studies is supposed to be."

"You can't be worse than Port." Nora added bluntly.

Jaune let out a deep breath before picking up his pen and beginning to write, starting with the name of the Grimm, a basic description, and then anything else he could think of.

Pyrrha peered over his shoulder to see what he was writing before beginning to giggle. "'Bouncy Ball'? Really Jaune?"

The blonde blushed slightly. "Well I didn't know their official name. That's just what I took to calling them."

"I'm sure Port will know once you describe them." She assured him.

"Not necessarily." Ren said as he sat down and opened his scroll to browse some of his favorite sites. "New Grimm varieties are being discovered all the time. Considering it's the Deathlands, it wouldn't be too surprising if Jaune ran into some unknown ones while he was in there."

Nora grinned. "So Bouncy Ball could become an official name?" She jumped up, pointing at forward in mock terror. "Look out! There are Bouncy Balls incoming!" Then she fell back onto her bed, cackling as Jaune groaned at the thought, Pyrrha patting his back with a smile.

Grumbling to himself Jaune continued working, dreading the next day.

Looking at his notes at noon the next day, Jaune took a few deep breaths before glancing around at the empty auditorium he was going to be presenting in.

Unlike most Grimm Studies classes, this one was going to have every first year student from all four academies at once. It had been decided to have his presentations be to entire year groups in order to get them over with more quickly and not overburden Jaune. Every student not on a mission would be attending, and they'd be recorded both for those that were on missions and for posterity.

The thought made Jaune want to throw up.

True, as Blake had 'helpfully' pointed out that morning at breakfast, he'd had more of an audience during his VNN interview. But the difference now was that it wasn't so abstract. He'd actually be able to see the hundreds of students watch and study him. He knew them, had fought (and lost) against some of them. And more importantly, he was actually imparting important information and not just answering a few basic questions.

"Relax, my boy!" Port's boisterous voice cut through his thoughts as he stepped up to his student, clapping him firmly on the back. "Yes, it can seem daunting at first, but once you get into a rhythm it will all fall away. I'm sure you will dazzle them all with tales of your exploits!" He laughed.

Jaune let out another shaking breath. "I'm just worried about giving them bad advice that could get them hurt in the future, sir."

Port stroked his mustache. "Understandable. I'm gratified that you are taking this situation so seriously, my boy, but I feel that you are looking at this the wrong way."

Jaune turned to look at the larger man. "How so?"

"You will be using your knowledge to better prepare your peers for the future." Port said with surprising seriousness. "You will be using your hard fought experience to ensure that they will have a better chance of surviving that battles to come. That is what teaching is all about. So you shouldn't see this as a chance for you to trip them up. You should see this as a chance to give them a helping hand."

Jaune blinked before smiling slightly. Weiss had once told them all that Port was wiser than he let on, but it was good to see it. "Thanks, Professor. That helps."

Port chuckled heartily before patting him on the back. "Good. And don't worry, I'll be here to help if you need me to. You aren't doing this alone."

Jaune nodded in gratitude, but before anything else could be said the students started walking in, chatting with each other while glancing at him curiously as they searched for seats. He could see CRDL, SSSN, RWBY and his own team among the many teens attending the class, and he felt his pulse quicken slightly.

Letting out one last breath Jaune stepped forward and glanced at his notes before looking up at all the students who had begun to quieten down, starting with the Atlesians and ending with the Vacuans. When he saw that they were focused on him he hesitated briefly before pulling up on the determination that had seen him through his ordeals in the wilds.

"Thank you for coming." He began, more strongly than he'd expected. "I've been asked to talk to you a bit about my experiences in the Deathlands. I figured I should, if only so you can have an idea of what you could face in the future." He glanced at his notes. "Since this is Grimm Studies, I'll obviously be focusing on what I fought. So please don't ask me about unrelated things, like the city I found." When he saw some of the students nod and/or murmur in agreement he smiled. "Alright, let's start with one of the most common Grimm I faced."

Turning to Port he nodded, prompting the Huntsman to type on his scroll, bringing up an image on the projector at the back of the auditorium. "This is security footage of one of the Grimm that attacked Gernsback. I've taken to calling them Bouncy Balls." There were a few giggles, and he chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I know, but in my defense I didn't know any official designation for them." He cocked his head to the side. "Besides, giving them a dumb name makes them less scary. It's not 'a Grimm that could crush me to paste if it lands on me', it's just 'a dumb bouncy ball'. And that makes things easier."

He was surprised to see several students make a note of that in their notebooks, but focused on his notes. "Anyway, these things look stupid, but they're mean jumpers. I've seen them go fifteen feet with ease, and since they're pretty heavy they land with a lot of force, which makes their jumps their main attack. But they've got some wicked claws, so if you dodge you need to make sure you immediately get out of range or block with a shield, since they like to follow up their landings with slashes."

Seeing an Atlesian girl raise her hand he motioned to her. "Is that all they can do?"

"Pretty much." He said with a nod. "One tried to bite me once, but otherwise they're pretty basic. Problem is they can take off after landing pretty quickly, so they can be hard to hit, which tires you out. And dealing with them in numbers is a nightmare, since if you dodge one another is probably trying to land on you immediately after, so you have to keep moving. Your best option is using a ranged weapon with a decent spread, especially while they're in the air and can't dodge." More note taking, which gratified Jaune and gave him some more confidence.

The next image was one of the fox-like Grimm that had almost killed him when he first ran into them. "Alright, these pains in the ass are rare, even in the Deathlands. I've since learned that they're called Kitsunes, though I always called them assholes." A few chuckles from the audience. "Kitsunes like to hunt in packs. First group I ran into was three strong, and they came really close to killing me. They're fast, and like to make you focus on one so the others can flank you. As you can see the ends of the tails are heavily armored. They like to use them as clubs or spears, and they're really strong, so avoid getting hit. They also have the ability to shoot fireballs from their mouths, so make sure you keep track of all of their positions, or you'll end up taking a blast to the head without realizing it."

Neptune raised his hand from where he was sitting with his team. "I'm guessing they aren't too hard to kill, since they don't seem very armored?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. Problem is that their lack of armor helps with their speed, so they're good at evasion. I killed one by breaking its neck with my shield while it was biting into my arm. Another I got with my semblance when it attacked me. The last I had to cripple by taking out a leg so it couldn't get away before I managed to take it out." Neptune and several others noted that down. "Don't underestimate them." Jaune stressed. "I wasn't kidding when I said they almost killed me. I was heavily injured and unconscious for most of a day after fighting just three. Make sure you have backup when you fight them to keep them from flanking you."

Another hand raised, this time from a Shade student. "I heard you took out a giant Elder Grimm by yourself at Gernsback. What was it?"

Jaune glanced at Port, who nodded. "Well, I was going to leave that for last, but I guess I can talk about it now." Another security image from Gernsback, this one showing the Grimm Centipede, which elicited some indrawn breaths. "This one doesn't have an official name either, but I just called it 'You Bastard'". A few more chuckles. "As you can see it's big as hell, and armored up the wazoo to boot. It is hard to get through that thing's armor plate. Those leg blades are strong and sharp. I saw them punch through solid stone easily as it climbed down a cliff. So keep in mind it can follow you pretty much anywhere." He paused to let them take notes. "It's fast, too. You're unlikely to outrun it unless you inconvenience it somehow. And even then, it'll show up again eventually."

"I don't know if it's just me, but this thing chased me for a full week, running me down, keeping me from sleeping and hunting, wearing me out so it could finally kill me. I only 'lost it' when it threw me into a river and I fell down a waterfall. Didn't see it again till Gernsback after that. So keep in mind that it's relentless."

A Haven student raised her hand. "How do you know it was the same one?"

Jaune pointed at the monster's face. "See how it's missing part of its jaw? I did that with an explosive arrow thanks to my semblance. That brings me to its main weakness. Its bone plate is tough as hell, but its underside isn't armored, so if you can hit that with strong enough attacks you can take it down. The problem is the ton of blades in the way that'll rip you apart if you go into melee. Instead try explosives like mines, or high caliber bullets whenever it rears up. Just keep moving out of its range, otherwise you're screwed. Oh, and go for the eyes if you can, obviously."

He looked around, waiting for any more questions, before nodding to Port again. "Alright, next I just want to make you aware of some Grimm fish I found in some streams."

"Fish?" Cardin asked incredulously.

Jaune chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But trust me, you don't want them to come across you when you're bathing." There was a bit of laughter at that. "Anyway, these things come in schools, and…"

"You did well, my boy." Port said with some pride once the last of the students walked out of the auditorium, discussing the class amongst themselves. "I found it quite informative."

"Thanks, Professor." Jaune said tiredly, feeling oddly drained. "I hope the rest of these presentations go that well. The higher years might not pay attention to me."

"They will." Port assured him. "Just do what you did today and you will have no problems."

Jaune stretched. "Thank you. Anything else, or can I go get something to eat?"

Port waved him off. "Feel free. I'll inform you of when the next class will be."

Jaune nodded and began to leave, almost running into Oobleck. "Sorry Professor."

"Doctor. And no problem, Mr. Arc. I was actually just looking for you. Would you mind coming to my office after lunch? I'd like to get started on the academic paper regarding the Sand find." The overly caffeinated greenette asked quickly.

Jaune blinked before nodding with a small sigh. "Sure. Let me just get something to eat and I'll meet you there."

Oobleck clapped his hands with delight. "Excellent, excellent! See you there then!" Then he was gone before Jaune realized what had happened.

Groaning lightly and rubbing his eyes Jaune resumed making his way to the cafeteria.

"...And you are sure the carvings depicted Grimm being subservient to the obsidian faunus?" Oobleck asked as he typed furiously, Sophia Sand's journal open beside him for reference, Jaune sitting in a comfortable lounge chair with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Yeah." Jaune said. "They surrounded him, and had their heads bowed. I think whoever lived there might have had an origin story about the Grimm that involved that guy."

"Very astute observation, Mr. Arc." Oobleck praised as he continued writing. "There are many myths involving the origin of the Grimm, such as ancient peoples thinking they were the twisted souls of animals. So it is unsurprising that this society would have their own. What confuses me is how this fits with Sophia's observations."

Jaune sipped his coffee. "She said there wasn't any hint of the Grimm in any of the carvings she'd seen, but that doesn't mean there weren't any in any carvings at all. Maybe anything involving Grimm was put in a single area that Sophia didn't see?"

The historian scratched his chin. "Possible, possible. Still, it doesn't feel right to me." He sighed. "If only I could study the city for myself."

"That would be hard, Doctor." Jaune said carefully. "I've got a general idea of where it is, but not really enough to get you straight there without trouble. And you'd need a lot of Huntsmen to clear out all the Grimm before you can do anything besides get a quick look around."

"Yes, yes, I am aware. Ozpin has made sure to remind me of that. Still, I'm looking into any possibilities. Money wouldn't be a problem. Many academics would be willing to help fund an expedition, considering what could be found. And others would also be interested, if only for the gold you brought back." Oobleck went back to typing. "Still, that's a topic for another time. I want to publish this initial paper first. It'll make any plans later on easier to get support for."

Jaune sighed slightly before nodding. "Anyway, the only exit I found out of the city was in the back of the temple. Doesn't mean there aren't others, but it seems like leaving was something serious to them."

"That doesn't make much sense though." Oobleck pointed out. "They would need to leave often in order to hunt, and there didn't seem to be areas for farms within from what you've said, so they'd need to leave for that too."

Jaune considered that before he was hit with a brainwave. "Maybe it was a sort of, what do you call it, caste system?"

Oobleck immediately focused on him. "Meaning?"

"Well, what if only certain people were allowed to live in the city, and the rest lived outside doing things like farming and hunting?" Jaune asked. "I found some evidence of roads outside of it, and any farmland would have been overgrown by now, wouldn't it?"

Oobleck stared at him long enough that Jaune was about to apologize when the teacher turned back to his computer with a cry of "Brilliant!"

The blonde blinked. "Really?"

"Oh yes! That hypothesis makes what we know fit extremely well." The doctor typed furiously. "Of course, there's no guarantee that you're right, or even that if you are there might not be other details we're missing, but it seems quite promising considering currently known facts." He grinned at the teen. "Very well done, Mr. Arc. Top marks!"

Jaune flushed with pleasure. "Thank you." He said, feeling a bit of pride that his idea had been received so favorably.

"I believe that's all I need from you for the moment, Mr. Arc. I should have the paper ready to publish by the weekend." Oobleck assured him. "Of course, please let me know if you remember any further details or have any more ideas before then. I will give you a copy for your review before I send it off."

Jaune finished the last of his coffee and stood up. "Sounds good, Doctor. Just let me know if you have any more questions."

Oobleck nodded absently, pushing his glasses up on his face. "Of course. Now go get some rest. You'll be starting classes again soon. Best you prepare."

Jaune groaned slightly at the thought before nodding and walking out. Still, he couldn't help but feel good about how the day had gone.

Things were definitely interesting now that he was back, that was for sure.

Welcome to the latest chapter of Survival.

This chapter was essentially set up for the future while following through on other things. Next chapter should have a bit of a timeskip as we get closer to the Vytal Festival.

I can't think of much else to say, so I'll go ahead and remind you all that you can have a say in what I update each month when you donate to my Pat A Ron. For each dollar donated you get an equal amount of votes in my monthly update poll. I plan to do something different with the March Poll that will go up in a week or so, so go ahead and check it out. That's Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis.

Thanks everybody for reading. Till next time, please review!