Kamen Rider Aurum

by Starpion

When an ancient threat reemerges in the world of Remnant, one young man rises to the challenge in order to become a hero and achieve victory! That hero's name? Kamen Rider Aurum!

3. Teams, Treasures, and Transformations

"Invincible Girl." That's what the public called Pyrrha Nikos. It wasn't a title she was particularly fond of. Despite her excellent tournament record, she hardly considered herself "invincible." Nobody was, not even the most legendary figures. But as she tore through the forest, she had to concede that her strength gave some truth to the title.

Her heavy javelin, Miló, had been condensed into a short sword. The handle was partially retracted and more edges had been released below the spear tip, increasing the length of the blade. Her shield Akoúo, a bronze circular shield with segments missing on the side and a circular wave pattern, was fastened to her bracer. Using her shield, she smashed through the trees in her way as though they were mere toothpicks. Once she found herself a sturdy-looking branch on a nearby tree, she rolled onto it while Miló shifted into its third and final form, taking the shape of a hunting rifle. Coming to a stop on one knee and placing Akoúo on her back, she looked through her rifle's scope to scout the area, seeing how her fellow students were faring.

It was then that she saw Jaune Arc flailing through the air and screaming at the top of his lungs. It appeared the poor boy had never practiced a landing strategy. She smiled a little as her memory of the locker room was refreshed by the sight of him. He was certainly an outgoing person, perhaps a bit overconfident. But he also seemed friendly, down to earth. And he treated her like an equal rather than a goddess to revere. This was somebody who she'd love to spend the next four years with.

But right now, he needed help. Without a moment to lose, Pyrrha shifted Miló back into its spear form. Holding it back with her hand on a concealed trigger, she aimed carefully with her thumb. She had pulled this off without harming him before, but that was at close range in less dire circumstances. Once she was absolutely sure of herself, she threw her weapon. Before letting it go, she pulled the trigger as a shot went off from the handle behind it, which served as the barrel of her weapon in its gun form. This extra momentum sent Miló flying through the air at breakneck speed, soaring out of sight as it plunged into the thicket. Pyrrha listened closely, trying to catch the moment of impact.

*thunk*

A few seconds later, she was rewarded with the sound of her spear piercing wood, no other sounds emerging. Good, she hadn't hit Jaune's body. But was she able to snag his hoodie and stop his descent?

"Thank you!" she heard him yell from beneath the canopy. Pyrrha let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. He was safe.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed in the direction of the voice with a wave. Placing her trusty shield back onto her bracer, she leapt down to the forest floor, making her way to Jaune to free him. She just hoped that he would accept her as his partner.

~KRA~

Having landed safely on the ground, Ruby took off as a shot. Her silver eyes darted back and forth as she looked for any other students who had landed. She had to be careful, after all. The second she locked eyes with someone who didn't have a partner, that was it. No redos, no take-backsies.

'Gotta find Yang!' thought Ruby. She made the most sense, after all; being her sister, Ruby knew and trusted Yang more than anybody at the school. Having her as her partner would be perfect. 'Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find…' "Yang! YAAANG!"

No response. Yang was probably nowhere near her. Even with her Semblance, scouting the forest for her specifically could last until nightfall. 'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad,' thought Ruby. 'What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first?'

Her mind started racing as she weighed her options. 'Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! …I don't think he's very good in a fight, though,' she thought as she recalled him fumbling with that shield. 'Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm, plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not so sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. Ugh!'

Ruby's mind kept racing as she thought of familiar names and faces, the scythe user shaking her head to clear her thoughts. 'Okay, who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, aaaand…'

Ruby felt the world going into slow motion as she dug her heels into the ground, skidding to a stop. There, in front of her, was the last student she knew by name. One Weiss Schnee, who was turning to face her. Just as Ruby came to a complete stop, Weiss was looking directly at her. It was at that moment that Ruby recalled Ozpin's words.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Ruby's world ground to a halt. Weiss Schnee, the girl who had done nothing but yell at her and probably hated her guts, was her partner. Not her first choice. Or her second, or third, or her hundredth. But this wasn't all bad, was it? Maybe now she could finally make it up to Weiss! She could properly apologize, show that she was good enough to come here, maybe even become her friend! And Weiss…

…was walking away from her.

"Wait! Where are you going?" asked Ruby as she started following her, stopping when she realized it was a lost cause. As Weiss started pushing plants out of the way and making her own path, Ruby just kicked the ground. "We're supposed to be teammates…" she said dejectedly, everything going wrong once again.

~KRA~

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Jaune grit his teeth as he struggled to pull the spear that was run through his hood out of the tree. He wasn't ungrateful or anything. He was panicking while he was airborne, so Pyrrha stopping his fall was a godsend. He had to thank her once she came back for her weapon.

But did she really have to keep making holes in his hoodie?! This was a one of a kind Pumpkin Pete collector's item! It took him weeks to get all those box tops for him to get it!

Of course, there was also the fact that he was stuck there. He was a good distance from the ground, so he didn't have to worry too much about attacks from below. And the leaves provided decent cover, so he doubted he'd be attacked from above. But just hanging in the air uselessly wasn't going to get him through initiation. Even with both hands, the spear wouldn't even wiggle.

"Come on, come on! Stupid…"

Finally giving up, he sighed and hung his head in resignation. It was then that he saw Weiss Schnee staring back at him. Awkwardly, he waved at her.

'Wait, does that mean… we're partners?!'

But before Jaune could celebrate this twist of fate, Weiss turned around and started walking away. Jaune groaned as his apparent partner started abandoning him, only for him to see her grab the hood of one Ruby Rose.

"By no means does this make us friends," said Weiss as she dragged Ruby away, Jaune realizing that Ruby and Weiss were already partners.

"You came back!" said Ruby. Jaune was happy for her, but soon realized something.

"Wait! Come back!" shouted Jaune, waving his arms to get their attention. Neither of them seemed to notice as they walked out of sight. "Who's going to get me down from here?"

"Jaune?" Jaune stopped flailing about and looked down, the owner of the spear that pinned him to the tree looking up at him. "Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

"Very funny…" said Jaune as he crossed his arms, but eventually smiled at his new partner. Pyrrha gave a smile back. "Well, I'll be right with you, as soon as I can pull this—WOAH!" Suddenly, the spear dislodged itself as though by magic. He barely had enough time to activate his Aura before he hit the ground face-first.

"Oh my gosh, Jaune! Are you okay?" he heard Pyrrha ask.

"I'm fine," was what he meant to say. With his face buried in the ground, though, what actually came out was closer to "Mmfn."

"Excuse me?"

Jaune pulled his head up and spat out a few blades of grass. "I'm fine," he said as he got up, dusting himself off. "Guess I loosened it a bit earlier, huh?"

"Seems like it," said Pyrrha, equipping her shield and changing her spear into a smaller sword. "It seems that we're partners now."

"Yeah, looks like it," said Jaune with a smile. He briefly looked around the forest, everything looking the same. "So, any idea where we're supposed to be going? I can't make heads or tails of this place."

"Hm, based on what I saw during my brief flight, this way seems best," said Pyrrha, gesturing in a direction with her sword.

"Okay then," said Jaune as he held his hand in that direction, "lead the way, partner." Pyrrha smiled as the two walked deeper into the Emerald Forest, Pyrrha taking the lead.

~KRA~

"So what types of Grimm do you think we'll run into?"

After a few minutes of walking in relative silence, Jaune decided to break the silence. Pyrrha briefly stopped to look at her partner, thinking of an answer. "I'm guessing less challenging types such as Beowolves and Creeps, perhaps a Boarbatusk or an Ursa. Nothing too extreme, but dangerous enough for us to give our all."

"Makes sense to me," said Jaune. "Whatever we're up against, I'm sure we can cut them down to size!"

"I like that confidence of yours," said Pyrrha with a smirk. In a profession such as this, a positive outlook was as great a weapon as whatever you used to fight with. Her attention was drawn to his personal weapon as she put her left hand on her chin. "Though I'm curious. That weapon doesn't have any ranged or Dust functionality, does it?"

"Uh, no, it doesn't," said Jaune. "It's an older weapon. From the Great War." He slumped over, a bit disappointed.

"Oh no, I wasn't putting it down! I think it's a splendid weapon!" Jaune perked up a bit, much to Pyrrha's relief. "I was just wondering what your belt pouches are for in that case. I use mine for ammunition in my weapon's rifle mode. Perhaps medical supplies?"

"Uh…" said her partner, his hands subconsciously moving to said pouches. "That's… a surprise."

Pyrrha was confused, but knew better than to pry into his privacy. "Then I eagerly await to see it whenever you're ready!"

"Thanks, Pyrr," said Jaune. A distant gunshot rang out as Jaune turned to face it. "Did you hear that?"

"Gunfire," said Pyrrha as she turned back, brandishing her weapons. "It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Moving forward, she pushed a low tree branch out of her way, letting it snap back into place once she was past it.

"Ow!"

Pyrrha spun around. Apparently Jaune was distracted by the distant struggle, as the branch she released had inadvertently smacked him square in the face. He was knocked on the ground, hand over his cheek.

"Jaune! I'm sorry!"

Jaune just laughed it off, moving his hand to reveal a small gash on his cheek. It broke the skin, but didn't appear to be bleeding much. "It's okay. Just a scratch!" he said as he got back onto his feet.

"Why didn't you activate your Aura?" asked Pyrrha.

"Well, I wasn't expecting the trees to attack me," joked Jaune as his cheek was covered in a brilliant white glow. The shallow cut was closed almost instantly. "See? No big deal."

"That was pretty fast, even for a small cut like that," said Pyrrha. "You must have a lot of Aura."

"Yeah, made training a whole lot easier. Even if I choked pretty bad, I could still get back up and fight in an hour or so."

"Incredible. And with an Aura of that size, no doubt you have a powerful Semblance to put it to use."

"I sure hope I do…" said Jaune as he crossed his arms.

Pyrrha was confused and concerned. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't… have my Semblance yet," said Jaune. Pyrrha couldn't stop herself from gasping. Just about everyone she knew in Sanctum had their Semblance discovered before graduation, even if it took some longer than others. And here she was, speaking to somebody who still lacked one. Jaune was quick to wave his hands in front of him. "I mean, it's not like I haven't tried! But no matter what I did, I couldn't figure it out."

"Well, as your friend and teammate, I'll happily help you discover your Semblance!" said Pyrrha.

"I appreciate it!" said Jaune. "Hey, what about you?"

"Hm?"

"Weiss said that you're a champion or something, right? I bet you've got an awesome Semblance! What can it do?"

Pyrrha simply thought about it for a moment wondering if she should reveal her Semblance. She just smiled at him. "That's… a surprise." Jaune just stood there for a moment before he started chuckling, the two sharing a laugh before getting back on track.

~KRA~

"The last pair has been formed sir," said Glynda, observing her Scroll. Ozpin was doing the same a short distance away, the two observing their students through hidden cameras as they fought their way through the forest. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy… I can't possibly imagine those two getting along." Ozpin just smirked as he observed their interactions on his own Scroll. It was clear that they knew each other fondly, regardless of what Glynda thought of their opposing personalities.

"Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos," said Glynda as she changed her view to Jaune and Pyrrha trekking through the woods.

This caught Ozpin's attention. "And what makes you say that? I thought you said that he had earned your trust."

"Call it a hunch," said Glynda. "It has nothing to do with Mister Arc's character. But the circumstances behind his enrollment… it still concerns me. I fear that there may be more to this Kamen Rider business."

"I understand your concerns," said Ozpin. "While I consider Ironwood an invaluable ally, his stubbornness and paranoia causes quite a bit of trouble. However, until further discovery, it appears that these Kamen Riders are our only defense against the Umbrae. As such, trusting Ironwood is our only option."

"I suppose so," conceded Goodwitch as she closed her Scroll. "At their current rate, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?"

"Oh, an old favorite," said Ozpin with a smile, his eyes moving to the image on his Scroll depicting the odd couple of Ruby and Weiss. These two would have a much harder time getting along, but he was sure they were capable.

~KRA~

"No way, you're from Argus?!"

As Jaune and Pyrrha continued their trek through the Emerald Forest, they continued their conversations to keep themselves busy. Jaune had to hold back his laughter when Pyrrha almost tripped upon hearing about his seven sisters. He also learned the names of her weapons, Miló and Akoúo, after they both divulged the names when discussing the functionality. Most recently, Pyrrha had divulged her hometown, which rang a familiar bell in his mind.

"Born and raised," said Pyrrha with a hint of pride in her voice. "Are you from there? I've never seen you around."

"No, but my sister lives there! She moved to the city about a year ago to live with her wife," said Jaune. "Since she works at the CCT tower over there."

"Oh, how lovely!" said Pyrrha. "Perhaps we can visit them during our summer vacation."

"Sure, but I don't know how long I'll be able to handle Saphron's teasing," said Jaune. Pyrrha laughed a little before the two came to a complete stop. Standing before them was a large cave, one that seemed to go on far beyond where the sunlight extended. Scrawled on the cave walls were pictures of men fighting a giant scorpion with weapons of old.

Jaune looked at the maw of the cave before turning to Pyrrha. "Think this is it?"

"Hm, maybe," said Pyrrha. "Though I recall Professor Ozpin said it was a temple we were supposed to find."

"This cave is pretty big," said Jaune. "Bet a small temple can be squeezed in here."

"True, and there are carvings here," said Pyrrha. "Then again, they do look foreboding."

"Only one way to find out," said Jaune as he unsheathed Crocea Mors and sliced off a tree branch. "Think you can give me a hand with our light?"

After the two of them made a torch and lit it, Jaune led the way into the cave. It wasn't long before the sun's rays were long behind them, the torch being the only light in the tunnel. "I don't think this is it," said Pyrrha.

Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for, like, five more feet?" As if the universe hadn't made him its punching bag enough yesterday and today, Jaune didn't realize that a rock was in front of him and tripped over it, falling onto the ground. The torch spun through the air before landing in a puddle, the flames doused. Jaune could only grumble as he got back up on his feet, unable to see his own hand in front of his face in this darkness.

"Do you… feel that?" asked Pyrrha.

"Soul-crushing regret?" asked Jaune.

"No, it's… warm," said Pyrrha. Jaune suddenly felt it too, a warm and comforting feeling deeper in the cave. Slowly and carefully, the two partners moved deeper into the dark. Finally, they found the source: a soft glow from an enticing golden orb, dangling in the dark.

"That's the relic!" said Jaune as he went to grab it. But as he tried, it moved out of reach. "Hey!" he shouted as he tried to grab it again, the relic once more dodging. "Bad relic!" Finally, he grabbed it in both hands, keeping a firm grip. "Gotcha!"

But suddenly, the "relic" jerked up, lifting Jaune a yard into the air. "Gah!" he exclaimed as he dropped onto the stone floor of the cave, landing on his back. He looked up at the mischievous ball of light only for a chill to run down his spine. Looking at it from below, it wasn't a ball at all. It was a STINGER.

"Jaune?!" asked Pyrrha as Jaune looked behind the stinger. Red patterns started to glow in the dark, forming a shape. And at the bottom of those markings were ten red eyes. Those eyes seemed to pierce his very soul as he met them.

"Pyrrha? Run."

"What?"

"Run! RUN!" yelled Jaune as he turned onto his stomach and scrambled onto his feet, breaking into a sprint in the opposite direction of that stinger's owner. The sound of Pyrrha's boots were right in front of him as they bolted to the light at the mouth of the cave. Behind them was an inhuman screeching and a chorus of loud clicks, legs scampering as they were being pursued. "Not the relic, not the relic, DEFINITELY NOT THE RELIC!"

The two jumped out of the cave almost at the same time, both equipping their swords and shields. Upon landing, Jaune and Pyrrha turned around to face whatever horror was awaiting them. And sure enough, it stormed out of the cave. Just like the pictures on the outside of the cave depicted, their opponent was a gigantic scorpion as big as a Bullhead. Its body was pure black with thick ivory, bone-like armor covering its claws and back. Red markings spread across its head and claws, and ten eyes glowed with hunger as its mandibles clicked. Its body was littered with battle scars and patches of moss and grass seemed to be growing on it, indicating that it had seen its fair share of battles. And finally, a long tail with armor covering it was arched over its body, a golden stinger dangling at the end.

This was a Grimm, one of the many monsters that threatened humanity. More specifically, this was a Death Stalker, one of the most feared Grimm species native to the continent of Sanus. Those in Vale, Vacuo, and everywhere in between dreaded having to deal with this aggressive, abominable arachnid. And now one was standing right in front of them, motionless as if it dared them to make a move.

"It's huge," said Jaune in awe and terror.

"I've read that older Death Stalkers can grow to this size, but I never thought I'd see it," said Pyrrha.

"So, run and live? We can't take this thing on ourselves."

"But if we run, it will definitely chase us," said Pyrrha. "And we'll lead it right to the others and put them at risk. We have to stand and fight."

"But what can we do against that? It's way out of our league!" said Jaune, pointing to it with his sword.

"I know, but if we can drive it back into its cave or stop it from moving, then we'll have the chance to escape."

Jaune took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this!" Jaune and Pyrrha charged, shields facing out. The Death Stalker screeched as it swung one of its claws. Jaune was quick to deflect it with his shield, pushing it up and slashing at the underside with his sword. The slash hit true, but it didn't even scratch the thick armor. Pyrrha rolled under its other claw and struck its face with a series of her own slashes, but got the same results. The scorpion lifted its claw into the air and swung it down like a hammer, Pyrrha rolling backwards to dodge the strike. Raising her sword over her head with both hands, she brought it down with as much power as she could only for it to leave a shallow scratch, if one could call it that.

Jaune was busy hacking at the bottom of its other claw, landing a flawless upward slash. But technique meant diddly-squat when trying to cut through three-inch bone armor that was as hard as steel. He moved his shield just in time for the claw to smack him back, the monster apparently fed up with him. Jaune skidded back, but kept his footing. The Death Stalker reared back its tail before shooting it forward. Jaune was able to sidestep the sting, the stinger landing in a nearby tree trunk. The Grimm pulled back its tail, Jaune seeing that it had punched a perfectly round hole in the wood. Suddenly, the bark surrounding the hole started to turn gray and lifeless, the beautiful green leaves turning brown as a deadly venom coursed through it.

"Okay, we are NOT getting hit by that!" said Jaune as he and Pyrrha regrouped.

"I agree," said Pyrrha. "But now what? That armor is unlike anything I've dealt with."

"Then let's try the legs!" said Jaune. "They're unarmored and in its blind spots! Hacking those off will leave it a sitting duck!"

"Let's do it!" said Pyrrha as they broke off just as the stinger plunged into the ground. Jaune ran to the monster's left while Pyrrha took the right. Running past the four legs, she slashed across them all at once with the sharpened edge of Akoúo. The screech of pain gave her hope, but it was dashed when she saw the legs were practically uninjured. It wasn't just the plated segments. The entire body was solid. But she refused to give up, aiming her sword swings at the joints. After five slashes that bounced off, she converted Miló into its spear form, gripping it with both hands and swinging it to slash all four legs by their joints. This caused another shriek of pain as the Death Stalker moved itself around to face her. She raised her shield just as it swung a claw, knocking her back.

Jaune sprinted to get back to his own targets, a diagonal slash from the upper left scraping off the legs. Another downward diagonal slash yielded the same result, which was to say nothing. Holding his sword to his left, he swung a sweeping slash across the leg's joints. That was a little better, causing the Death Stalker to let out a cry of pain. It was a little damage, but not nearly enough.

But as Jaune raised his sword to deal another blow, the Grimm turned back to him and grabbed him in its pincer. He let out a scream as it tightened his grip, his Aura the only thing that kept him from being chopped in half. "Jaune!" shouted Pyrrha as she ran to assist him, only for her to be snatched up in its other claw and drop her weapon. Soon, the Death Stalker had both in its grip, tail flickering back and forth as if contemplating who would be the first victim.

Jaune grunted as he slammed the pommel of his sword on the claw to no avail. He turned to see Pyrrha having no better luck as she tried to pry the claw open, unable to move it even a centimeter. With it wrapped around his midriff, Jaune wasn't even able to transform. He let out a cry of pain and dropped his sword as the pincer tightened. Was this it? Was this the end of his life as a Huntsman, a hero?

*thoonk*

Suddenly, the sound of something being shot out of a tube filled the air. A small gray and pink cylinder with a heart on it and a pink contrail coming from it bounced onto the shell of the Death Stalker. It almost looked like a… like a…

'GRENADE?!'

The grenade in question exploded on the back of the scorpion, causing it to release Jaune and Pyrrha. Jaune fell onto the ground, getting up and reclaiming his precious sword. "Ow… hey Pyrrha, you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Pyrrha, once more holding her weapon. "But where did—"

"INCOMIIIIING!" came a voice from the treetops. Falling from the shroud of leaves was one Nora Valkyrie, a silver grenade launcher with ornate patterns in her hands. The grenade launcher suddenly started to shift, transforming into a war hammer. Nora slammed the hammer down on the Death Stalker, causing it to lose its balance. While it was wobbling, she put the head of her hammer on its back and climbed onto it, still holding the handle. Hand above her eyes, she pulled a trigger as a small burst shot out of the front of the hammer, propelling it and her off the Grimm before she landed in front of Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Hi, Jaune!" said Nora as she held her hammer in both hands. "Hi… you! Room for two more?"

"Two?" asked Jaune, only to hear the sound of automatic fire. He looked behind Nora to see green bullets bouncing off the body of the monster. Following Nora was Ren, holding a pair of green automatic handguns with blades pointing down from the barrel, reaching the bottom of the handles. He rained down a shower of bullets before he passed a tree, digging the blade of one of his guns into the trunk. He spun around before he was facing the direction he came from, kicking off the trunk and landing by the group with a pose.

"Looks like you two have your hands full," said Ren.

"You can say that again," said Jaune.

"Looks like big, dark and ugly is still up and about," said Nora as she pointed to the recovering Grimm, the monster shrieking and clicking its mandibles.

"We have to fall back and think of a plan!" said Jaune. "Come on!" The four ran into the bushes, Pyrrha and Ren providing cover fire with their guns. Once they were hidden from sight, Pyrrha shifted Miló from gun mode to sword mode.

"So what's our plan of attack, Jaune? The legs are just as sturdy as its armor," she asked.

"Yeah, and my hammer didn't seem to do anything but make it dizzy," said Nora. "This'll be a hard nut to crack!"

"Any ideas, Jaune?" asked Ren.

"Uh, gimme a sec," said Jaune, thinking it over. His immediate thought was transforming into Aurum, but he wanted to prove himself as a Huntsman as he had as a Kamen Rider. As fun as that would be, it was a last resort. But he couldn't see any other way. That armor was thick, especially the bony parts. Its claws looked strong enough to slice through stone. And even if they survived being pierced by that stinger, the venom would kill them in seconds.

'The stinger…!'

"That's it!"

"What's it?" asked Pyrrha.

"None of us can pierce its exoskeleton, but maybe it can!"

"So do we trick it to sting itself? That sounds like fun," said Nora.

"It might be too smart for something like that," said Ren.

"Exactly, but then I thought of something. Its tail and stinger are the most flexible parts of its body, right? So it might be the most vulnerable."

"Oh, I see where this is going," said Pyrrha. "I trust you, Jaune. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it."

"Thanks, Pyrrha. Okay, the two of us have shields, so we'll keep it from using its claws. Ren, you have the most important job of all. You need to cut that stinger loose. Think you can pull it off?"

"Certainly," said Ren as he spun his weapons.

"Awesome. Now Nora, you have the most important part. As soon as that stinger comes loose, you have to drive it in."

"You got it!" said Nora. Just as she said that, the stinger they were discussing burst through the bushes and plunged into the ground. The four got up and moved as the Death Stalker hacked through the bushes with its claws.

"We have to work fast. Let's do this!" said Jaune.

Pyrrha made the first move, rushing forward to face the Grimm head-on. The monstrous scorpion swung a claw at her, only for it to be deflected and pushed away by her shield. Once she was close enough, she slashed at the Death Stalker's face, causing it to move back. It swung its other claw at her, but Jaune was quick to block the strike using his own shield.

The Death Stalker soon found itself under heavy fire as Ren ran towards it, blasting away using his guns. The monster whipped its stinger forward, just missing him as it plunged into the ground. Ren took the opportunity to jump onto the stinger just as it was pulled out. The Grimm noticed the additional weight and tried to shake Ren off, but he wouldn't budge as he moved his guns close to the base between the tail and stinger, opening fire as he tried to blast it loose.

While Ren was busy with the stinger, Nora shifted her hammer back into its grenade launcher form and started blasting away at the claws. Jaune and Pyrrha jumped away as the scorpion moved the claws in front of its head, unable to move them away as a barrage of explosions struck. Pyrrha took the opportunity to shift her weapon into its spear form and throw it like a javelin, gunshot increasing its speed and power as it sped past the claws and plunged into one of the monster's eyes.

At this point, the Death Stalker lashed its tail even harder, enraged by this seemingly easy prey giving it a hard time. This was enough to send Ren flying into a tree, hitting the trunk with a thud and a grunt of pain. "Ren!" shouted Nora as her best friend fell onto the ground, struggling to get up.

Jaune got a better look at the tail and smiled a bit. Ren's efforts weren't in vain. He had managed to nearly tear through the base of the stinger with his continuous fire, the stinger hanging on by a thread. A light breeze could knock it off at this point.

"Pyrrha!" shouted Jaune, pointing to the stinger.

"Done!" said Pyrrha as she threw Akoùo like a discus, the shield slicing off the last bit of flesh that held the stinger. Said stinger fell onto the head of the Death Stalker, piercing its armor and getting stuck in the Grimm's head. The monster let out another unholy screech as the shield bounced off a pair of trees and returned to its user.

"Nora, nail it!" said Jaune.

"Heads up!" shouted Nora as she shifted her weapon into hammer mode. Pyrrha held her shield over her head as Nora struck it with her hammer. The second after the impact, Nora hit the trigger and shot into the air, Pyrrha jumping to give her some extra lift. Once Nora reached her maximum height just before the treetops, she started twirling around as she descended, hammer ready to strike. She smashed the stinger with all her might and momentum, pushing the stinger even further into the Death Stalker's body and forming a circle of cracks around in the armor. The Grimm shrieked once more as its body was forced to the ground, aimlessly flailing its claws and tail. Finally, its limbs and tail fell limply to the ground as its screeches petered out, the red glow of its markings and remaining nine eyes fading away into black. Nora lifted her hammer and let it rest on her shoulder as she stared the beast down. The giant Death Stalker, after a long and grueling fight, was dead.

"It's over," said Jaune with a relieved smile. "We did it." He threw his hands into the air, chest puffed out with the sweet feeling of victory. "WE WON!" With that, he fell onto his back, still smiling as he laughed in relief.

"I'll say." Jaune looked up to see Ren limping over to Nora and Pyrrha, the latter reclaiming her spear from the Grimm's corpse.

"Ren! You're okay!" said Nora as she ran to hug her bestie. Jaune saw Ren wave his hands in front of him to stop her, Nora complying and simply circling her arms around him in an "air hug."

"Are you sure he's fine?" asked Pyrrha as she placed her weapons on her back. "That seemed like a large impact."

"My Aura should deal with it in no time," assured Ren as Nora backed away, still smiling as she bounced on her heels. "And this is nothing. I fought off a King Taijitu earlier."

"By yourself?!" asked Jaune as he scrambled to his feet. "That's insane!"

"Indeed," said Ren as he looked around, slipping his weapons into the sleeves of his jacket. "So now that we've dealt with the Death Stalker, we should probably see if we can find that temple."

"Jaune and I couldn't find it," admitted Pyrrha. "Have you two had better luck?"

"When I was swinging through the trees like a majestic sloth, I did see this big open field with a ring of busted pillars," said Nora. "That must be it! And it was straight that-away!" She pointed behind Jaune and Pyrrha, southwest of where they had been walking.

"Then it looks like that'll be where we go," said Jaune, starting to walk that way.

"Wait," said Pyrrha as she put a hand on his shoulder, pointing with her free hand. "More trouble ahead." Wandering about twenty feet away and right in front of where they were about to go was a large black bear, about twice as big as any of them. Said bear had a bony mask with red marking, bony plates that looked a little like scales on its legs, large claws, and sharp bony spikes sticking out of its back and legs.

"An Ursa," said Ren, drawing his guns with a flick of the wrist. "Possibly drawn to us from our earlier battle. We may have another fight on our hands."

"It hasn't noticed us yet," said Jaune, turning back to the group. "Maybe we can sneak around it?"

"Maybe…" said Nora as she stared at the Ursa. Her lips started turning into a cheeky grin, a plan seemingly forming in her mind. Jaune looked puzzled, wondering what the explosive wild child would come up with while Pyrrha looked just as confused. But when Jaune turned to Ren, he saw a glimpse of unadulterated fear for one's life.

"Nora, NO," he said firmly, or as firmly as he could with a wavering voice.

"Nora, YES!"

~KRA~

As Yang pushed the last of the branches away, she was revealed to find a clearing at the bottom of the small cliff they were on. All those trees were starting to drive her crazy. As she scanned the area, she noticed some ruins in the form of a circular stone base, probably a rotunda. Pillars holding part of a stone ring were lined along the base with a damaged wall behind it. The side that Yang was facing was the opening, one that had been widened as some of the pillars at the front had collapsed. The rocks were covered in ivy. And lining the inside were twenty small pedestals, gold and black items on them.

"Think this is it?" asked Yang as she turned to her partner, Blake. Shortly after landing, Yang had run into a pair of Ursai. They didn't give her much trouble, but one had been stupid enough to slice off one of her beautiful golden locks. Needless to say, that pissed her off enough to trigger her Semblance, giving her the power to send it flying with one punch through a line of trees. But right before she could introduce the other to her gauntlets, Ember Celica, it was stabbed from behind by Blake. And after wandering through the forest, the pair had finally arrived at what had to be the temple Ozpin was talking about.

At her question, her partner gave her an odd look before jumping down the edge. Yang followed her, the two walking into the temple ruins and getting a better look at the pedestals. The things on them looked like…

"Chess pieces?" asked Blake.

"Some of them are missing," said Yang. She was more of a checkers gal than chess, but she recognized the pieces. If she included the missing pieces, both colors had two pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, a queen, and a king. A total of twenty pieces, one for each pair of partners. No doubt these were the relics. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well, I guess we should pick one," said Blake. Yang agreed as she walked up to one of the pieces, a golden knight.

"Hmm…" she said as she studied the piece, picking it up and turning to her partner as she held it over her head. "How about a cute little pony?"

"Sure," said Blake with a smirk as she walked up to the center of the ruins, Yang meeting up with her.

"That wasn't too hard!" said Yang. She was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to bust a few more Grimm heads, but that didn't mean she wouldn't take an easy A!

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find," said Blake with a rare smile, Yang returning the gesture. Forget what she said in the ballroom, she could get used to spending the next four years with this girl.

The small moment of peace was shattered as a high-pitched scream came from the woods, accompanied by the faint roar of an Ursa. "Some girl's in trouble!" shouted Yang as she turned to the part of the forest where she heard the scream. "Blake, did you hear that?" Her partner didn't answer. "Blake, did you hear that?" she repeated as she turned to Blake. "What should we do?" But Blake still didn't answer. She wasn't even looking in her direction. She was looking… up?"

"Heads uuuuuuuuuuup!"

Yang's head shot up as she heard a familiar voice, her sister seemingly… falling from the sky?! It was definitely Ruby, though where she fell from was a mystery. Before she could get over the shock of the bizarre scene and help Ruby, Yang turned left to see her land in a tree, falling off a couple branches before she landed on a sturdy one. Ruby groaned in pain as she held onto the branch, but she seemed okay, causing Yang to let out a sigh of relief.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" asked Blake.

"I—" Yang started to say, only for the high-pitched scream to ring out again, much closer as something started moving out of the woods. Yang and Blake turned to face it, when it appeared.

"YEE-HAAAAAW!" The thing that came out was an Ursa, one with two passengers. One was a girl in pink who Yang vaguely remembered from the cliff, one who was laughing like she was having the time of her life. The other was the "girl" that had been screaming, one Jaune Arc who was clinging onto one of the spikes like his life depended on it, which it most likely did. The girl was holding onto the neck of the Grimm, and when she seemed to tighten her hold, the Ursa suddenly collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. The girl rolled off the back while a petrified Jaune slid off and landed on his side. "Aw, it's broken," said the girl as she climbed back up, observing the carcass.

From the woods, two more people ran out: a redhead who Yang recalled was named Pyrrha, and a boy in green who she didn't recognize at all. "Jaune, are you okay?" asked Pyrrha as she bent over to help Jaune up.

"I think my heart stopped," said Jaune.

"Nora!" scolded the boy in green. "Please, don't ever do that again." He looked at the Ursa, only to start looking around frantically.

Yang looked back at the Grimm with the snapped neck, its killer nowhere to be seen. "Ooh!" she heard, turning to see the girl, Nora, staring at a golden rook, picking it up and dancing around with it. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

"Nora!" screamed the boy in green, causing Nora to stop with the rook still on her head.

"Coming, Ren!" she said as she gave a salute, the chess piece falling off her head and into her free hand. Nora skipped towards her friend without a care in the world.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

"I…" said Yang, eye twitching. A soft "Oof!" caught her attention, Ruby having fallen from the branch she was on. As soon as she got up, she started running to Yang as the golden-haired girl smiled. "Ruby!" she yelled, overjoyed to see her sister was safe and sound.

"Yang!" shouted Ruby excitedly, running to give her big sister a hug.

"Nora!" But before the two could properly reunite, Nora popped between the two and knocked them off-balance.

"Where did she come from?" asked Blake.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Yang let out a scream as her eyes turned from lilac to red, her hair glowing and flickering like a fierce flame as a golden energy covered her. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!"

Everyone was dead quiet, Ren, Jaune, and Pyrrha running up to the group and standing around Blake. After two seconds, Yang cooled down as her eyes and hair returned to normal. The calm was returned, but not for long.

"Does anybody else hear that?" asked Pyrrha.

"Oh, now what?!" snapped Yang, turning to Yang.

"Look!" said Jaune, pointing behind her. Yang turned to see a trail of dirt in the ground, the trail getting closer as someone, or something, was burrowing closer. Finally, the one making the trail burst out of the earth with a loud cackle. The one responsible landed on their feet, wearing a white mask and wielding a giant drill for a right hand.

"Ahahahahaha! Man, I must've been digging around for hours looking for you guys! I couldn't spot a single one of you baby Huntsmen! But then I felt this huge wave of anger, and I knew I had to dig right over and get a good look! Oh, it felt so good!"

"Okay, no," said Yang as she punched her fists together. Her patience was long since worn out. "I don't know who you are, but I don't have the time for this! So take off that stupid mask and get lost!"

"Take it off?" asked the figure, his drill turning back into a hand. "Okay!" He then grabbed the edge of his mask and tried to pull it off, digging his clawed fingers underneath and wriggling around as he tried and failed to remove it. "Hngh, ngh! Sorry, it's stuck pretty tight. But what about yours?"

Yang was confused as the guy pointed at her. She was about to say she didn't wear a mask when he continued, flexing his fingers. "Looks pretty tight too! I might have to pull REALLY hard on it." He started laughing again, drills on his back spinning along with the spirals in his eyes.

Yang took a cautious step back, raising her fists. "That's not a costume, is it?" she asked the others.

"Umbra…"

"What?" asked Yang as she turned to Ruby, her sister shaking like a leaf as she backed up.

"That thing's an Umbra, just like the one from the other night! It's a Grimm!"

"That's a Grimm?" asked Blake. Yang was in disbelief. So Ruby wasn't mistaken? It really was a Grimm? One with Aura?! But whatever it was, Yang wasn't about to let it hurt anyone.

"I don't care what it is, it's going down!" Yang threw her fists back at the ground behind her, two shotgun shots launching her forward. She rocketed into the air, streaking towards the Drill Umbra as she pulled her right hand back. With a battle cry, she landed a wicked right hook right in the face of the Umbra, pulling a hidden trigger as a bullet was launched at point blank to add to the impact. She landed on her hands and knees as the Grimm stumbled back, turning around with his hands on his face. Yang got back up and smirked, getting back into a boxing stance. She quickly cocked her right fist back, Ember Celica ejecting an empty casing.

"Gah! That… that…" The Drill Umbra turned back around, a black energy swirling around its face. "Didn't even dent me!"

"What?" asked Yang, stumbling a little. She put all the power she could into that punch!

"Let's see how you handle this!" The Umbra lifted his hand in the air, once more turning it into a drill and plunging it into the ground in front of him. "Drill Eruption!" Yang felt a rumble underneath her, her Aura flaring up just as a drill bit made of yellow energy broke through and hit her. Yang was sent flying back to the temple, landing on the floor and lying there in shock.

'What just happened? What… is that?!'

~KRA~

"Yang! Are you okay?" asked Ruby as soon as she and the orange-haired girl - Nora, if she recalled - helped her sister to her feet. Ruby remembered how tough the first Umbra was, how Aurum said that regular Huntsmen couldn't damage one. But she also knew that her big sister was one of the toughest people she knew. So to see even her get shrugged off like that, and then sent flying, almost felt like a nightmare.

"I'm fine," said Yang, head facing the ground. When she looked up, her teeth were gritted and her eyes were blood red. Ruby recognized this as her Semblance, letting her turn damage she took into power. "Which is more than I can say for the walking toolbox over there!" The Drill Umbra just cackled again.

"Sis, wait!" Ruby stepped in front of Yang. "You can't hurt it! None of us can!"

"I think we have bigger problems," said Pyrrha, pointing at the sky. Ruby looked up to see her transport to this part of the forest. A giant raven was flying overhead, one that was pitch black save for its talons and the white and red crested mask over its face. It also had a long tail plume, four red and yellow eyes, and a second pair of talons on its wings, almost like a dragon. This was a breed of Grimm known as a Nevermore.

And hanging onto a talon that was the size of her entire body was one Weiss Schnee. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" called out Weiss from above.

"I said 'jump!'" shouted Ruby back at her.

"She's gonna fall," said Blake flatly.

"She'll be fine!" said Ruby.

"She's falling," pointed out Ren. Indeed, Weiss had slipped and was now plummeting to the ground.

"Somebody has to help her!" said Jaune.

"Don't worry!" said Nora, only to move behind him. Ruby was confused why she wasn't going to help Weiss. Suddenly, she saw her take a grenade launcher and turn it into a war hammer. But before she could gush about how cool that was, she saw her swinging it back and Jaune turning around in a panic.

"Wait, Nora! Don't!" But she didn't listen, sending him flying towards Weiss like she just hit a home run.

~KRA~

"AHHHHHHHH!" screamed Jaune as he soared into the air. If he lived through this, he was gonna give Nora a stern talking to at the very least. But once he was close to Weiss, that all disappeared as he smiled, holding his hands out to hold her. Once he was in reach, he put his hands underneath her as if he were carrying her.

"Just… dropping in," he said with a goofy smile. Weiss was staring at him, wide-eyed and unable to say anything. No doubt she would thank him, grateful for his selfless actions. Soon she would… look down?

The smile on Jaune's face disappeared as he did the same and remembered that the two of them were very high in the air. And oh yeah, gravity was a thing. "Oh, god," he said as the two held onto each other and started free falling. "Oh noooooooo-oomph!" He ended up face-planting in the dirt, Weiss landing on top of him. Well, at least she was safe. And all it took was his dignity, and possibly the use of his legs.

"My hero," she said sarcastically.

"My back!" he grunted.

~KRA~

"Great, the gang's all here," said Yang as Weiss and Jaune got up. "Now we can die together!"

"Oh, this is perfect!" said the Drill Umbra. "I said I'd kill at least five of you, and now there's eight of you! All wrapped up in a bow for me to wipe out at once!"

Ruby shook her head as she unfolded Crescent Rose into its scythe mode. "Not if I can help it!" she screamed as she rushed towards the Umbra. This was it, her chance to prove herself. Throughout the entirety of initiation, Weiss had treated her like a bother, a child who had no idea what she was doing. But now she would prove her wrong, and save everyone else from this monster.

"Ruby, wait!" shouted Yang. "You said—"

"Forget what I said! Nobody's dying today!" Pulling the trigger of her weapon, she shot herself forward and swung her scythe across the body of the Grimm. Unfortunately, all she managed to hit was Nether.

"Is that all you've got? Blondie over there hit a lot harder than you did!" He lashed out his foot and kicked Ruby in the stomach, knocking her back.

"D-D-Don't worry!" said Ruby as she got up slowly. "Totally fine!" She knew full well that her attacks wouldn't hurt the Umbra. But if she was sure she could distract it long enough for the others to make a break for it. She turned back at the Grimm and shot it in the face, making it stumble a bit.

"Okay, now you're asking for it!" shouted the monster as he lifted his drill hand. The groove at the base of the drill started to glow yellow, the glow spiraling up the grooves until reaching the tip. With the whole thing glowing, he pointed the drill at Ruby as it started spinning, the speed gradually increasing. "Piercing Spiral!" A beam of swirling yellow energy shot forward, Ruby dodging the attack. The Drill Umbra cackled as he moved his hand to follow her, boring a trench into the ground.

"Ruby!" yelled Yang as she started running forward just as the blast stopped. Ruby turned to her sister and sheathed her weapon, racing towards her. At this point, everyone escaping with their lives intact was the best option, and that included her.

Ruby suddenly heard a caw above her, looking up to see the Nevermore. The colossal Grimm flapped its wings, sending a line of feathers raining down on them. The razor-sharp feathers embedded themselves into the ground, one catching on Ruby's cape and stopping her dead in her tracks. She gasped as she saw some feathers streaking towards Weiss and Jaune, but luckily they were able to block them: Jaune using his shield, and Weiss using a white glyph that looked like a snowflake.

Ruby turned to see Yang, who wasn't nearly as lucky. The feathers had formed a set of bars around her, keeping her from reaching her sister. "Ruby, get out of here!" yelled Yang as she started punching the feathers, trying to knock them loose.

"I'm trying!" yelled Ruby as she pulled on her cloak, trying to get it free. It was useless, however.

"You have guts, human," said the Drill Umbra, causing Ruby to turn back to him. His drill was spinning again, a loud whirring noise filling the air. "Don't mind if I have a closer look! Ahahahahahaha!" He broke into a sprint, jumping into the air and rearing back the drill. Ruby could only close her eyes and raise her arms, Aura coating her body. It was over. Her plan was in tatters. All she could hope for was the others getting out alive.

"RUBY!" shrieked Yang.

*crackle*

"AHH! That's c-c-cold!"

"You are SO childish!"

Ruby lowered her arms, opening one eye. The Drill Umbra was right on top of her, but he wasn't going anywhere. His right arm was frozen solid in a giant cluster of ice. He was trying desperately to pull himself free, the drill trying and failing to turn in the icy prison. Ruby turned to see Weiss, her rapier pointed out and the tip of it inside the mini glacier.

"Weiss?"

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style," said Weiss as she pulled her sword free. "And I suppose I can be a bit… difficult… but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if YOU quit trying to show off, I'll be… nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off," said Ruby as she finally freed herself from the feathers. "I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine," said Weiss as she walked towards the temple, Ruby turning to see her walk away and Jaune and Yang trying to free the latter from her feathery cell.

Ruby sighed in relief, clasping her hands together. "Normal knees," she whispered as she stood up and walked over to the blondes, finally managing to get her sister loose.

"So happy you're okay!" yelled Yang as she tackled Ruby in a bear hug. The moment was brief, however, as the Nevermore let out a screech.

"Guys?" said Jaune as he and the sisters made their way back to the temple. "That thing's circling back! What are we gonna do?"

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying," said Weiss. "Our objective is right in front of us." The group turned to the remaining relics.

"She's right," said Ruby. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs." She nodded at Weiss in agreement. "There's no point in fighting these things."

"Then we had better move fast before that thing breaks loose," said Blake as she pointed to the Umbra, still struggling to free himself.

"No." Ruby turned to Jaune, everyone else doing the same. "We can't let that Umbra roam free. There are still countless students in the woods who will have to come here. We need to stop it."

"Did you hit your head when you fell from the sky?" asked Yang. "That guy is tougher to take out than any Grimm I've fought!"

"You'll be killed!" said Ruby. "Jaune, please don't do this! You saw what happened when I tried!"

"I have to do this! Because…" Jaune sighed. "Because I'm the only one who can stop it."

Ruby paused for a moment. 'What is he…?'

"Is this just some desperate act of bravado? Because if so, it's in awful taste!" said Weiss. "Who do you think you are anyway?"

Jaune just reached into the pouch on his right, pulling out a gray rectangular object with a circular display in the center. Ruby gasped as she recalled the object. "I'm a defender of justice!" And with that, he slapped the object on his waist. Gray strips of metal shot out of the sides and wrapped around his body, forming a belt.

Ruby and Yang stepped aside as Jaune walked forward, approaching the frozen Umbra. The others were watching in curiosity, nobody having the slightest clue what he was up to. Nobody except Ruby as she sped away, moving so that she was a good distance away and able to see his face. He came to a stop right between the group and the Umbra, pulling a golden coin out. With his left hand, he flipped the coin, letting it spin through the air before catching it with his right hand. He pushed the coin through a slot on top of the belt buckle, the coin showing up in the display. Just as she thought, there was a picture of a stag beetle on it. 'He's… He's-'

STAG BEETLE!

Suddenly, loud music started playing from the belt. It sounded like a fanfare of herald's trumpets, as if an army was approaching. Everyone was captivated as Jaune got into a stance, raising his right hand into the air. "HENSHIN!" he shouted before he grabbed the lever on the side and pulled it down, the lever moving back into place as soon as he let go.

ARMOR UP! STAG BEETLE! GLEAMING GOLD!

The coin started to glow unbelievably bright. In a flash of light, a stag beetle the size of Jaune appeared in front of him, one made out of translucent gold energy. It screeched before it separated into golden balls of light, the lights quickly flying over to Jaune. Each ball crashed into a different part of his body, the golden energy coating him completely as they seemed to form a suit. Another brilliant flash of light shone from Jaune, causing Ruby to avert her eyes. When the light died down and she looked back, she gasped as she saw a familiar white and gold figure standing there.

"And my name is… Kamen Rider Aurum!" shouted Jaune - no, AURUM - as he threw his right hand out in a peace sign. Glancing over at the others, their reactions ranged from mild shock to being completely floored. And only one thing was racing through her mind right now.

'WHAT THE HEEEEEEEECK?!'

~KRA~

"Uh, Cinder?" Cinder turned to Mercury, who had been watching the initiation through a pair of binoculars to get a better look at the carnage (his words, not hers). He lowered the binoculars, Emerald turning to him perplexed. "You might want a look at this."

Cinder raised an eyebrow before strutting over, taking the binoculars and finding where Mercury was looking. Her eyes widened behind the lenses as she saw her Drill Umbra struggling to break free of ice, and a white and gold figure standing in front of a group of students. 'The Kamen Rider… is here?'

~KRA~

Jaune smiled behind his helmet as he held out his signature peace sign. Wearing the armor was a wonderful feeling. As it was magically custom-made, it fit him like a glove and felt nearly weightless. He could also feel the power and speed that it granted him. He'd always remember how it felt a few weeks ago when he finally pulled off the transformation. But now wasn't the time to reminisce. He had a job to do.

"Jaune?" Aurum turned around to see Ruby staring at him, silver eyes the size of dinner plates as her mouth looked like it was about to hit the floor. "You're Kamen Rider Aurum?!"

Aurum looked behind him, gauging the reactions of the rest of the group. Well, this was a bit of a pickle. General Ironwood had told him to keep those who knew about his identity to a minimum, and now he had transformed in clear view of seven others. Then again, he was also told that he could reveal it to those he trusted. Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora he trusted in a heartbeat. Weiss and Yang? Of course. The girl in black he barely knew, but if she was friends with Ruby and Yang, that was good enough for him.

"That's amazing!" Aurum suddenly noticed that excluding Ruby, the group of six was now a group of five. He turned and jumped back a bit when he saw Nora looking at the Aura Driver. "I can't believe that I'm friends with a superhero! Hey, this is the thing that makes your costume, right? Where did you get it? Oh, was it from the tomb of an ancient warrior? Or was it tech from an underground organization that declared you the chosen one? Oh, I've got it! It's from an ancient king who lived centuries ago!"

"Uh, none of those?" said Aurum, the others moving over to him. "Look, you guys get out of here. I'll handle the Drill Umbra."

"By yourself?" asked Ren.

"I'm the only one who can damage it. Just grab your relics and get a move on!"

In another flash of light, a sheathed sword appeared on his left hip. He detached the sheath and attached it to his left arm. It looked very similar to Crocea Mors, which was intentional; this weapon was created when he first transformed, based on the weapon he was most comfortable with. The sheath had the same white and gold color scheme, but the stripes were replaced by a legless stag beetle, head facing the sword's hilt. The hilt was white instead of blue, and the guard was bright gold and shaped like a stag beetle's jaws. They were also clamped onto the sheath, preventing him from drawing the blade. Grabbing the sword's hilt, he pulled a hidden switch with his thumb as the "jaws" on the guard opened. As he pulled the sword out, the sheath unfolded into a shield just like his own weapon, the ends trimmed with gold and the full image including the legs of the beetle. The blade was gray, this one being pristine and lustrous compared to Crocea Mors. These were his signature weapons, the Stag Saber and the Beetle Sheald.

"In that case," said Blake as she pointed at the Nevermore, which was circling over the clearing, "we should leave sooner rather than later."

"You're telling me?" asked Weiss as she pointed to the Drill Umbra, the drill starting to turn as the ice began to crack.

"Hold on, Jaune," said Pyrrha. "I'm staying right here."

"What?! But-"

"You're my partner. I'm not about to abandon you for any reason." Pyrrha smiled at him. "I'll be here to help you until the bitter end."

"Pyrrha…"

"Count me in too," said Ren, revealing his weapons just as Pyrrha equipped hers. "I'll help you in any way I can."

"Run from a fight? I'll do that when pigs fly!" said Nora as she grabbed her grenade launcher. "Let's do this thing!"

Aurum looked at the three, unsure of what to do. The Death Stalker was one thing, but none of them could fight the Umbra, which is why he had to do this alone. This was his job to do, and the last thing he wanted was his new friends getting hurt, even killed. But he doubted that anything he said would change their minds. "Alright then."

"Okay, the rest of you, come with me! We'll meet up back at the cliffs!" said Ruby as she ran to the temple, grabbing the other golden knight as the other three caught up.

~KRA~

As Weiss and Ruby jumped a boulder while running into the woods, Yang lingered for a moment with a smile. Ruby really was breaking out of her shell. Taking charge, coming up with plans; if her little sister ended up a team leader, she wouldn't be surprised. But she'd certainly be proud.

"What is it?" asked Blake, Yang just smiling at her.

"Nothing," said Yang as she saw Ruby gesturing for them to follow, the partners obliging and making their way out of the cesspool of a forest.

~KRA~

"Looks like our feathered friend isn't interested in us," said Nora, pointing at the Nevermore as it flew over the temple with a loud caw, seemingly in pursuit of Ruby and company.

"That's good, because we're about to have our hands full," said Ren as the Drill Umbra finally broke free from the ice, smashing it to pieces with his drill.

"Stupid ice!" growled the Umbra before turning to face Aurum and his friends, drill returning to a hand. "Now I've only got four here! Guess I'll have to work quickly to reach my goal!"

"You're not even going to get one," said Aurum as he held out his shield, sword held back with the tip pointed forward.

"Four on one, huh? Well, that's not fair! I'm the one who should outnumber you guys!" The Umbra started to cackle again. "Oh right! I can!"

"What is he talking about now?" asked Pyrrha, tightening her grip on her sword.

"Penumbrae! Come on out and join the party!"

From the surroundings, a murky shadow started to spread. A hand burst out of the shadow, then another, and then another. Out of the darkness crawled a small army of humanoid Grimm. Each of them had bony armor with red markings on their shoulders, chests, and lower legs. Some of them had scimitars in their hands, while others were unarmed, only having hands with clawed fingertips. But the oddest part was their faces. Despite having bony plates like adult or even juvenile Grimm, they had no masks to speak of as if they were newborn Grimm. Their faces had only red and yellow eyes and jagged mouths, screaming at the four as the shadow they were born from disappeared.

"What are these things?" asked Ren.

"I've heard about these when I learned about Umbrae," said Aurum. "They can make minions called Penumbrae."

"There must be at least fifty of them," said Pyrrha, scanning the group.

"The more, the merrier," said Nora as she shifted her weapon into its hammer form.

"These guys shouldn't have Nether like the normal Umbrae," said Aurum. "I'll deal with the drill guy, you keep them off my back! Think you can handle them?"

"Don't worry about us, we'll do just fine," said Pyrrha with a smile.

"Get them!" ordered the Drill Umbra, the horde of Penumbrae rushing forward. Crouching down, Aurum jumped over them, landing on one knee and slamming his shield on the ground. He took off towards his opponent, blocking a slash from the Umbra's claw with his shield. The battle was on.

~KRA~

Pyrrha grunted as she blocked a sword swing from a Penumbra. Knocking its sword back with her own, she took the opportunity to slash at its torso. The Grimm fell to the ground with a shriek of pain, starting to dissipate. 'Not very durable, these Penumbrae,' thought Pyrrha as she heard a noise behind her. She spun around and held out Akoúo just as two Penumbrae struck her shield with their claws. Pyrrha felt her heel dig into the ground from the impact, but stood her ground. 'Powerful, though.'

One of the two Grimm opened its mouth, shooting a red burst of energy at Pyrrha. She stumbled back as it hit her, but recovered quickly. It would take more than that to take out Pyrrha Nikos. Just as the Penumbra was charging up another blast, she stabbed it in the side of the head using Miló, causing the blast to fizzle out. As she pulled the sword out of its head, she sliced the head off the nearby Penumbra.

Pyrrha noticed two more Penumbrae rushing towards her, one from her front and one from behind. Shifting Miló into its spear form, she pulled the trigger and stabbed the one in front of her in the neck. The bullet tore through the chest of the one behind her, both killed simultaneously as two more sprinted over. Pyrrha stabbed one in the chest, then lifted her spear and threw it over her body, slamming it into the ground. She turned back to face the other just in time to block a sword swing with her shield, then slash its torso with her spear.

Meanwhile, Nora was dealing with a group of her own. She swung her grenade launcher, Magnhild, into the face of one Penumbra and knocked it to the ground, blasting it with a grenade and blowing it to kingdom come. Another one jumped towards her with its scimitar above its head, getting shot out of the air by a grenade as a result. She fired a third grenade at a pair of Penumbra, one getting blown up and the other leaping out of the way.

The one that dodged the attack shrieked and opened its mouth, charging an energy blast. But Nora saw this and sprinted towards it, shifting Magnhild into its hammer form and holding it behind her. Right before the Penumbra could blast her, she slammed the head of Magnhild into its face. The impact plus the blast going off in its mouth caused its head to explode, the rest of it collapsing onto the ground. Nora spun around and swung her hammer into the side of another Penumbra, sending it rolling away until it came to a stop and started to dissolve.

Nora gasped as she felt something slash against her Aura, one of the Penumbra having hit her back with its sword. She spun around and slammed its arms with Magnhild, tearing the arms clean off. It screamed as she tackled it into another, knocking them onto the ground as she jumped into the air. "Hiiii-YAH!" she shouted as she slammed her hammer down on the two, crushing them.

Not too far away, Ren was busy with a Penumbra as it swung its sword. Using the blades of his guns, StormFlower, he caught the scimitar and disarmed the Grimm. He then punched it in the face using one of his guns, shooting it for good measure as it crumpled to the ground. He spun around and blasted another in the chest with his other gun, then rushed over to a third and shot it in the head with both.

Turning around, Ren saw two more Penumbrae and a third behind them. The two in front rushed him with their claws, but he met them head-on. The first had its neck sliced open as he punched past it with his blade against the jugular, and the second was slashed down the torso. Ren rolled under a blast from the last one, then knocked it off its feet with a sweep kick. Getting up, he thrusted StormFlower down and impaled it with both blades. Getting up and turning around to see four others approaching, he pointed his guns at them and pulled the triggers.

*click click click*

Ren started to panic a bit as he heard the one sound no Huntsman wanted to hear during battle: the sound of an empty gun. It suddenly dawned on him that he had forgotten to reload StormFlower after his battles. The Penumbrae seemed to notice as they started smiling, rushing towards him. Ren simply got into a combat stance, as being out of ammo didn't mean he was out of the fight. The first one that reached him received a gun barrel punch to the face. One snuck behind him and tried to claw him, but Ren drove a blade into its head and kicked the corpse away. The last two came from opposite sides and brought down their swords, Ren blocking their swings with his Aura-covered blades.

Before Ren could push the blades back and counter, he was kicked from behind, the first one not dead yet. Ren collapsed onto the ground, the Penumbrae surrounding him. Ren soon found himself being kicked, clawed, and slashed as he covered his body with Aura. None of them were giving him a chance to fight back, his Semblance wouldn't be much help, and his Aura wouldn't last forever. To say he was in dire straits would be a severe understatement.

"Ren's in trouble!" shouted Nora, breaking away from the fight and turning to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, gimme a boost! Hurry!"

"On it!" Pyrrha ran up and held Akoùo above her head, Nora once more slamming Magnhild onto it and propelling herself upwards. She spun around head over heels as she descended, finally managing to smash her hammer into the ground. This caused a spray of dirt and rubble to fly at the Penumbrae, knocking them off and partially burying Ren.

"Are you okay, Ren?" asked Nora as she helped her friend to his feet.

"I am now," said Ren as he brushed himself off. "Thanks to you." Nora just smiled, which he returned. The sounds of the Penumbrae getting back up let them know they weren't out of the woods just yet. Ren cut one down with StormFlower, and Nora smashed another into the ground with Magnhild. The third raised its scimitar to cut them down, only for a javelin to run through its face and send it flying back. Pyrrha ran up to the two and reclaimed Miló from the disintegrating Penumbra.

"Brace yourselves!" she said as she held out Akoúo and turned around, several red blasts hitting the shield. Nora and Ren ducked out of the way as the remaining Penumbrae opened fire. Taking cover behind Pyrrha, Ren took the opportunity to remove StormFlower's empty magazines and replace them with full ones.

"There's too many. We need a way to thin out their numbers. Nora?"

"I'm down to my last grenade," said Nora. "What if we try the Fastball Special?"

"It's worth a shot," said Ren. "Now!"

Nora got ready to swing her hammer just as Ren jumped into the air. Just as Nora swung, Ren positioned himself so his feet were against the head and coated with Aura. Nora pulled the trigger and followed through, launching Ren right into the crowd. While flying through, he held out his weapons to his sides, blasting and slashing through everything. Once he was beyond the Penumbrae, he rolled into a landing and turned around, about half the Grimm smoking and collapsing. And the others were all looking at him.

A gunshot rang out as one of those Penumbrae collapsed, the back of its head destroyed. The horde turned around as another was blasted in the chest, Pyrrha wielding Miló in its rifle mode while Akoúo was strapped to her back. Once she had all their attention, she shifted Miló into spear mode and dashed over to them. A few blasted her, but she managed to deflect them by twirling her weapon like a baton. At the same time, Ren was running towards them from the opposite direction. Right when she was upon the small army, Pyrrha shifted her weapon into its sword mode and gripped it with both hands, delivering a powerful slash to the side at the same time as Ren did from the opposite end. Once the two came to a stop, the remaining Penumbrae collapsed into a pile of corpses.

"That was awesome!" shouted Nora, jumping for joy at their victory.

"That was something else, Ren," said Pyrrha. "Being willing to get launched into a pack of Grimm? I must applaud your courage."

"I couldn't have done it without you and Nora getting those Grimm off my back," said Ren. "And you managed to take out the same amount with one blade that I did with two, all while deflecting those blasts. Your praise as a warrior is well-deserved."

"Well, I try," said Pyrrha with a blush, only to notice the other fight that was going on and gasp. "Jaune!"

~KRA~

While his friends dealt with the Penumbrae, Aurum was locked in combat with the Drill Umbra, parrying his claws with the Stag Saber. The Umbra swiped his left, Aurum blocking the hit with his sword. The Drill Umbra growled as he turned his hand into a drill, bringing it down as Aurum countered. Sparks started flying as the drill spun against the metal, Aurum feeling himself being pushed back. With all his strength, he pushed the Umbra back and slashed at his chest.

"Ow!" shouted the Umbra, jumping back a bit. He ran forward and tried to run through Aurum, but the Kamen Rider sidestepped the stab and slashed the back of his enemy. The Drill Umbra growled and spun around, trying to stab Aurum again. But Aurum blocked the hit with the Beetle Sheald, the high-speed drill unable to even scratch the surface of the shield. Aurum took the opportunity to stab his opponent with his sword, then kick him back.

"Oof! That shield is something else!" said the Drill Umbra as he recovered. "Ahahahaha! So let's see just how much punishment it can take! Piercing Spiral!" Aurum was quick to raise his shield as the boring beam struck. He grunted as he took a couple steps back. His shield might have been nearly indestructible, but he still had his limits. He felt his arm be pushed back as the Piercing Spiral moved past the shield, crying out in pain as it scraped against his shoulder.

"Ahahahahaha! Playtime is over now!" yelled the Drill Umbra as he burrowed underground. Aurum gasped as he looked around, trying to see where he'd pop out from. The Umbra burst out of the ground and scraped Aurum with his drill before diving back into the earth, cackling all the while.

'Have to stay focused,' thought Aurum. 'Remember my training, don't get distracted like last time.' The second he heard the sound of something breaking out of the ground, he swung his sword down in that direction. But he hit nothing but dirt. "What?"

"Gotcha!" came a voice from behind him as Aurum felt the drill strike his back. The hit sent him flying, rolling onto his side. He tried to get up, but he couldn't.

"And you're supposed to be a Huntsman? Ahahahahahaha! What a joke!" laughed the Umbra, walking over to Aurum. "You actually fell for the oldest trick in the book!"

"I'm not finished yet," said Aurum as he tried to find his footing, getting onto his hands and knees only to fall back down. That last hit was harder than he thought.

"Then let's change that! This won't hurt a bit!" laughed the Drill Umbra, Aurum turning to see his drill spinning and pointed at the ground. "It'll hurt a whole lot! Drill… EruptiOW!"

But before the Grimm could land the deciding blow, a bullet hit the side of his head. His Nether absorbed the damage, but it still knocked him off balance. Aurum gasped as he turned to see Pyrrha, her gun pointed at the Drill Umbra and smoking as she glared at the monster.

"What the heck was-ow!" The Umbra soon found himself under fire courtesy of Ren, one of Nora's grenades blasting him back as he stumbled over one of the tunnels he dug. "Grrrrr! What is wrong with you humans?! You know that won't work on me! Are you just asking to die?"

"Whether it harms you or not is irrelevant," said Pyrrha as she cocked her rifle. "What matters is protecting Jaune from you!"

"Yeah! We're not gonna let some maniac hurt our friend while we're around!" shouted Nora, shifting Magnhild into its hammer form and shouldering it.

"After all, fighting to protect others is the job of a Huntsman," said Ren.

'Guys…' thought Aurum as the Drill Umbra walked closer to the three, none of them backing down in the slightest.

"Then I'll just save him for last and wipe you all out at once!" shouted the Umbra, pointing his drill as the grooves started glowing again. "Piercing SpirAHHH! Not again!"

Before he could blast the three, an upward swing courtesy of a recovered Aurum knocked his drill up. The drill's spinning stopped as the glow faded away. Behind his mask, Aurum's eyes were glaring daggers at the Drill Umbra with gritted teeth. He kicked the Umbra to the ground, twirling his Stag Saber in his hand before getting back into his stance. "Don't mess with my friends!"

The Drill Umbra got back up and smacked his drill with his other hand, the drill bit roaring back to life. "Ahahahahahahaha! So, you're ready for round two? Then bring it on, bug boy!" The Umbra laughed as it ran towards Aurum, thrusting his drill forward in an attempt to tear into him. But the drill was stopped by the Beetle Sheald.

"Stop laughing!" shouted Aurum as he pushed his shield to the side, Pyrrha gasping as she recognized it as a technique she had performed earlier. With his enemy open for attack, Aurum slashed him twice across the torso in quick succession, forming an "X" shape. He went for another swing only for the Umbra to block his swing with his drill. The two clashed their weapons, metal meeting metal as sparks flew and Aurum pushed back the Umbra bit by bit. Both kept swinging and striking their weapons, trying to find an opening.

Finally, Aurum bashed the Umbra back with his shield, giving him the opportunity to land an upward diagonal slash. The Drill Umbra moved back a bit, then pierced the ground. "Drill Eruption!" As soon as Aurum felt the ground shake, he jumped back with his shield in front of him, the spiraling spear of energy bursting out of the ground and scraping against the shield.

As Aurum landed, he noticed that the Grimm had vanished, another hole behind the one from the previous attack. For a laughing lunatic, the Drill Umbra was smart enough to tunnel underground again while using his strongest attack as a cover. Aurum closed his eyes, listening closely. He heard another hole being dug up behind him, but he also heard the drill going back down as soon as it was dug. Another fake out. Aurum listened closely, grip on his sword tightening. Another hole was made in the ground, but this time the sound of the drill kept going up.

"Gotcha!" shouted Aurum as he swung his sword in that direction, slashing the Drill Umbra. The Grimm was knocked back, hitting a tree before stumbling forward. "Victory is in my sight!" said Aurum as he hit the switch on his sword's guard, closing and opening the jaws in quick succession. The blade of his sword started to glow a brilliant gold.

VICTORY SLASH!

Aurum jumped towards the Umbra with his sword high above his head, bringing it down with all the power he could. A golden trail was left as he slashed through the Drill Umbra, the Grimm sparking as Aurum turned around. With one last cry, the Umbra exploded, nothing left behind.

~KRA~

Cinder gasped as she saw the Umbra erupt into a fiery demise, another of her servants slain by the so-called Kamen Rider. "What's wrong?" asked Emerald.

"The Umbra… was destroyed," said Cinder as she lowered the binoculars. Snarling, she tightened her grip as they were superheated in her grip, shattering into smoldering scrap.

"Hey! I paid good money for those!" shouted Mercury.

"And how much of that was your own, I wonder?" said Emerald with a slight smirk, Mercury smirking ear to ear as he looked back at her.

"Like you're one to talk, sticky fingers," he said.

"Enough petty squabbling," said Cinder. "Let's get back to our hideout." Cinder started walking away from the cliff's edge, pulling out her Scroll and pressing a button on it. Out of thin air, a black Bullhead appeared, one that had been granted a cloaking device courtesy of an… accomplice stealing some top-secret Atlesian documents. The three climbed into the dropship, Emerald reactivating the cloaking device just as Cinder got behind the pilot's seat.

~KRA~

"Jaune, that was incredible!" said Pyrrha as Aurum walked back to the group, careful to avoid all the holes the Umbra had left.

"Heh, thanks Pyrr," said Aurum as he collapsed his shield into its sheath mode and put his sword away, both sword and sheath vanishing. "But I'm not sure what I would've done if it wasn't for you guys."

"What are partners for?" said Pyrrha simply with a smile.

"Yeah," said Aurum as he scratched the back of his head. "Y'know, I wanted to do this alone because I didn't want any of you getting into trouble. But it looks like I'm the one who needed you guys to bail me out."

"Hey, life's funny like that!" said Nora with a slap on his back, Aurum's resilience being the only thing that kept him from falling flat on his face. "We're just happy you're okay! And you blew that Grimm to bits! Ka-BOOM!"

"I've never seen a Grimm explode when defeated like that," said Ren.

"Yeah, I'll explain that later. Maybe," said Aurum. He smiled behind his mask. It looked like whether he was a Huntsman or a Kamen Rider, he didn't have to fight alone. And he'd happily have these three by his side.

"What happened? Is the Umbra dead? Are you guys okay?" Aurum and company turned to see Ruby speeding up them in a flurry of rose petals, the others trying their best to catch up with the speedster.

"He's down and out," said Aurum as he turned back to Jaune, putting his Driver and Medal back into their pouches. "What about you guys?"

"That Nevermore is no more!" said Yang with a thumbs-up. "Hit a dead end, though. So, wanna head back together? Never thought I'd say this, but I think I've had enough excitement for a while."

"Just gimme a sec," said Jaune as he walked over to the ruins, grabbing a gold rook as his piece. "Okay, now let's go."

~KRA~

The journey from the temple to the cliffs was nowhere near as eventful as the initial trip. The eight just spent the walk back regaling stories of their battles; Ruby's group about the Nevermore, and Jaune's about the Drill Umbra. Afterwards, they started talking about other battles, like Ren's encounter with the King Taijitu and Ruby and Weiss facing a pack of Beowolves. The only trouble they had to deal with were a couple of Beowolves that Yang punched to pieces in an instant. They weren't just fellow students, they were fire-forged friends laughing together. Once they reached the cliffs, they found an airship waiting for them. And now here they were, waiting in the auditorium as the teams were announced.

"Russell Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Jaune paid attention as the eighth team was standing before Ozpin, profiles above them on a screen. The members of the audience applauded as they lined up. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal). Led by… Cardin Winchester!" The newly christened Team CRDL walked off the stage with a round of applause from the audience.

Jaune was up next, walking up with Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. Pyrrha being his teammate was no surprise, but since the teams were formed from identical pieces or the same-colored royal pieces, Nora and Ren would be his teammates. He couldn't ask for a better team himself, agate The four stood side-by-side as Ozpin looked over them, their profiles appearing on the screen. "Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)." As the audience clapped for the newly formed team, Nora gave Ren a hug. "Led by… Jaune Arc!"

This last statement caused Jaune to double take. "Huh? L-Led by?" Jaune was a lot of things, but a leader was the furthest thing on his mind. Whether it was doing things for his parents or older sisters, or when he was being trained by Ironwood and his subordinates, Jaune was the type to take orders rather than give them. His actions in the forest was his first time actually taking charge. Could he really handle this responsibility?

"Congratulations, young man," said Ozpin. Pyrrha gave him a shoulder bump with a smile to try and cheer him up, but his legs ended up giving out as he fell on his butt. The audience laughed at his antics as Nora and Ren helped him get back to his feet and led him off the stage.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." Ruby and her friends were the last team, making their way to the stage. "The four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by… Ruby Rose!"

Jaune looked at their reactions as the crowd cheered. Ruby was in shock, Weiss was looking at Ruby in disbelief, Blake was neutral, and Yang was giving Ruby one of her signature back-breaking hugs. "I'm so proud of you!" said the older sister.

Meanwhile, Ozpin gave a small smile. "It looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year."

~KRA~

Roman Torchwick sighed as he angrily slammed his Scroll onto the table in front of him. He was currently in his hideout, a map of Vale with various markings on the wall in front of him. He had just received some news that destroyed his mood for the night. Not only was Red a Beacon student now, but so was the Kamen Rider. Which meant that the two thorns in his side were about to go even deeper.

Roman groaned as he pulled out a cigar and lit it with his custom lighter, letting the tobacco do its magic. He heard the sound of wheels against the cement, turning around to see one of the men that Cinder had provided for him. He was wearing a black and white outfit, face obscured by a gray mask with two slits over each eye. And the trolley had a huge case on it. Roman held out a suitcase full of Lien, part of his payment that he obtained after a much more successful run the previous night. Placing it on the table, the masked grunt took the money.

"Open it," said Roman, gesturing to the case. The masked man grabbed a crowbar and pried the case open. The inside held a rainbow of Dust crystals, just about every variety. This was enough to cause quite a bit of destruction. Grabbing a blue crystal of Water Dust, Roman studied it as he pondered the situation at hand. One thing was certain though. "We're gonna need more men…"

---

Another super-long chapter, but considering all the material I covered plus the added stuff, it was a given. We also got Aurum's transformation sequence! For the standby music, I figured a trumpet fanfare would fit the knight motif. Think Kamen Rider Baron in that regard. There was also a heck of a lot of fighting in this one, plus the debut of the Penumbrae. Now then, to the guest reviews!

Guest: Glad you like it! As for Jaune being his canon self, I tried to keep the changes to his personality minimal as to avoid making the character unrecognizable. Besides, it'll take more than four years of training to make Jaune break out of the lovable goofball we all know. Just look at Neon.

AinsleyTheGreat: See above for why Jaune isn't too different from canon.

Next chapter will be covering less than four episodes of the show for once! Starpion out!