Blake and Yang traversed Emerald Forest together for a short while. They said no words to one another, following a path that eventually led them to a large grove at the bottom of a small cliff. When they spotted an ancient stone circle below, surrounded by Old Vale's ritualistic structures, they drew their eyes to a set of pedestals lined concentrically within, which appeared to have been recently built. They both stopped and examined the ancient ruins, Yang occasionally glancing at her new teammate.

"That's it." she waited for a response from Blake, but received none. "So, why'd you shave your whiskers?" she was given only more silence. She sighed, before looking at the pedestals further. She noticed that many of the artifacts appeared to be missing. "I guess we're not the first one's here."

Blake placed her heel against the cliff side, letting herself fall into a slide, slowly descending down to the temple until her feet were gracefully placed to ground. Yang grinned, then shrugged, mimicking the Faunus and sliding down to the temple as well. When they were together again, they approached the ruins, treading carefully as they entered the central circle. They each approached opposing pedestals, studying each artifact meticulously for clues to their meanings.

"They're chess pieces." Yang said, holding a pawn between her fingers and looking for any peculiar marks that would distinguish it from the rest. "Never played the game before. I wonder what they mean?"

Blake gave away her first words since the night at the Ballroom, "I don't even think Ozpin knows. They're trying to toy with us. It doesn't matter which one we take; they'll judge us on how we got them."

Yang snatched a Black Knight piece, placing it in her pocket before twisting around and facing her teammate, "Maybe you're right." she walked over to Blake, stopping just behind her, looking to the side to see what piece she had taken, but just missing it as she placed it in the pocket under her skirt. "So, which one suits your fancy, tiger?"

Blake's bow tie shifted, her ears detecting something, "We're being watched."

Yang raised a brow, placing herself on alert in an instant, looking around the open grove and listening for footsteps. Then, Yang heard the slide of a gun spring back behind her head, and the touch of a barrel against her skull. She raised her hands up, and Blake did the same. From the front of an aged pillar, the surfaced of the stone warped in space, until a figure of a young man with spiked orange hair appeared from the air, pointing a pistol-dagger at the Faunus girl's head.

"Look what we caught, Gelano." said the orange haired man, pulling the slide of his weapon and loading the chamber.

Gelano replied, pushing his semi-automatic gun-baton into Yang's neck, "A Branwen and a Faunus, in the same place, Auran. Today's our lucky day."

Yang smirked, her nostrils flared, "You creeps've been watching us this whole time?"

"Bingo." Gelano replied, "We overheard your little conversation in the locker room. You're Raven's daughter, aren't you? I bet the the enforcers would love to get ahold of you."

"What the hell did we do to you, anyway?" Yang waved her hand a bit. "What's your problem?"

Gelano smashed the handle of his weapon against Yang's crown, a spark of Aura absorbing some of the blow as she ducked forward.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

Auran joined, pushing his gun into Blake's hair, "This isn't a joke!"

Yang scratched the back of her hand, keeping her hands held high as Gelano aimed his weapon, "Well you guys look clowns, so its hard to tell."

"You think its funny?" Gelano yelled. "I lost my brother because of you! Do you have any idea how many lives were lost in Vacuo because of your stupidity?"

Yang grinned, closing her eyes, "Oh yeah, I remember. Mom talked about that battle a lot. They really thought we were just going to let them destroy Old Vale without a fight? Please, you guys deserved it."

"You're pushing it!" he angered. "Hey, Auran?"

"What is it?"

"It sure would be a shame if these two went missing out here, don't you think?"

"A tragedy."

The two of them laughed, reveling in the power they held over them.

"Very cute, boys." Yang said. "Why don't you just let my teammate go, then? She hasn't done anything to you."

Auran cleared his throat, "Getting rid of this Faunus bitch is a bonus. Its bad enough they let a Branwen into Beacon, but now, even animals could pass the test. Vale's really reached a new low."

"Gods, I'm tired of hearing your voice." Yang groaned. "Hey, Blake, what do you say we end this already?"

Yang looked to the side, entirely away from the Faunus girl. The two miscreants were baffled. When they glanced over to where Yang's eyes met the grove's edge, they found Blake Belladonna, her arms crossed with a coy grin on her face, and her sickle-gun held firmly in her left hand, a ribbon tied to its handle and wrapped around her wrist.

Blake nodded, "Definitely."

Auran's arms shook in terror, seeing the cat Faunus in two places at once: one directly in front of him with her arms held up, and the other a short distance away from the temple with a smile.

"W-w-what the HELL?!" he leaned back.

Gelano warned, "It's her Semblance! Hurry up and kill her!"

Auran acted carelessly, firing a few rounds into the Blake that was closest to him, missing the target several times from shaky hands, but managing to land one bullet in her eye. The force made her stumble, but it seemed to take little effect on her. She turned her head, her eye caved with a hollow hole and no blood. He stepped back, and she slashed her sharp claws at his face. He jumped in time to avoid a fatal strike, but was left with deep cuts through his nose and lips, his skin stinging as he nearly tripped over his own heel.

"Its her Shadow, you idiot!" Gelano screamed, aiming the sight of his gun-baton at the true Blake, firing several rounds before she dashed with her head down, avoiding the projectiles and heading for his partner. "Shoot her!"

Blake flicked her wrist, her Aura glowing with a magenta hue around her hands. She kicked Auan's feet off of ground, bringing him to a fall, then threw her sickle-gun at Gelano, her Aura charging it with force. He kicked the weapon away, his own Aura glowing red and shielding him from the sharp edge.

"You'll have to do better than that!" he shouted, aiming at Blake once again; however Yang grabbed his gun-baton, pulling it from his grasp, then threw it into the forest.

"You talk too much." Yang walked toward him, the sound of Blake's assault echoing behind her as Gelano backed up. "You're through!" her eyes changed to red, her hair glowing brightly.

Gelano grinned, holding his fists up and guarding his face, his Aura protecting him, "You don't stand a chance against me, savage. Any blow you deal, I'll make you pay for it tenfold."

Yang threw a powerful punch at him, but the strike was repelled away. Gelano's hair glowed and he laughed.

She stumbled for a moment, before flexing her legs and planting her boots firmly in the grass. "You're Semblance is the same as mine." she grinned, walking up to him once again, absolute confidence in her stride. "Go ahead," she leaned closer to him. "I'll give a you free hit. Let's see what you've got!"

"You'll regret it with your life!" he drive his bare first from his hip and up into Yang's chest, her breath leaving her as she grunted, spit splattering from her lips. Her head fell forward, and Gelano pulled his fist away, strafing to her side with a pride. "Now whose the joke?"

She crossed her arms over her waist, feeling the warmth of blood resurfacing from her bandaged wounds. She shook her arms, and her opponent laughed at her paralysis.

"You Branwen are all the same," he said, "stupid, dirty, and overconfident. Don't worry, I'll put you in the Dust where you belong, so you can rest in peace."

Yang cackled, her head still down, "I'm sick of everyone calling me Branwen..." she leaned up, wiping the spit from her face, her eyes now crimson and shining, her hair flowing upward with a stream of Aura strong enough to produce a gale. "My name is Yang Xiao Long..." she pushed herself forward, reaching for Gelano's neck, snatching him tightly with her thumb pressed against his airway. The power of her Burn was far too great for him to conquer, and he struggled helplessly to break free as she stared up at him with a look that horrified him. "I am a Dragon!"

The walls of the grove were set ablaze as her scream echoed throughout Emerald Forest. She pulled Gelano down to her, thrusting her knee deep into his chest, streams of fire erupting around him, the sound of cracking ribs harmonizing with bellows of agony. The leaves were pushed away, the shift of hot air creating bursts of air in all directions.

Her eyes returned to lilac, and her Burn settled. She put her foot back to the ground and dropped him into the grass. He tried to return to his feet, but his injuries were too great. His Aura had been completely disabled.

...

Somewhere in a dense part of Emerald Forest, Weiss and Ruby walked about in exhaustion, the Ice Queen serving as guide.

"Okay," Weiss spun around, lifting her hands up only to let them fall loosely back to her sides, "I'm it can't be too far from here."

Ruby walked with her head forward and her arms dangling, her eyes half open with a lazy a frown, "You don't know where we are do you?"

Weiss countered, "That's not true!" she stopped for a second, moving a set of vines away from her face and looking to the side. "We're...We're..." she stuttered a bit. "...Okay...we're lost." she held her head down.

Ruby slapped her cheeks, perking up and going to her teammate's side, "I thought you were the master at navigating the wilds?" she looked her directly in the eyes as the Ice Queen avoided doing the same.

"C'mon, Weiss, I could've gotten us there by now."

"Oh, I bet it all would have worked out just fine if it were in your hands, hm?" Weiss tilted her head to the side, secretly hoping that she would not answer.

Ruby yawned, "I was just trying to be nice, Weiss. I grew up in the forest, I know how to get around. Why do you have to be the leader, anyway?"

Weiss huffed, "Clearly, I'm the perfect candidate. As Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, I have experience with executive duties, such as workforce management, strategy coordination, rationing supplies, and -"

Suddenly, they heard Yang screaming from a nearby part of the forest. The air around them changed temperature, and strong wind currents began to flow through the shrubbery. They looked up when they saw sparks of fire floating into the sky through the cracks of the leaves.

"Yang!" Ruby was pleasantly startled, both finding her sister nearby and having a beacon to light their way to her. "She must be fighting Grimm. This way!" Ruby ran ahead, grabbing the Ice Queen's wrist and puling her through the forest.

"Hey!" Weiss resisted for a moment. "How do we know this isn't a trap or something? I mean, what if she leads us away from the temple?"

Then, she felt the pull on her wrist cease, Ruby stopping in front of her, looking down at something in front of them. She peeked over the her energetic teammate's shoulder, spotting a raven staring up at them with its mouth open. "Why'd you stop?" Weiss gently pulled her hand away from Ruby's grip. "It's just a bird. Thing is probably diseased anyway."

"What's wrong, friend?" Ruby furrowed her brows, looking into the eyes of the raven. She felt a mysterious warning in its gaze that she had to decipher.

"Great!" Weiss closed her eyes, and sighed. "We … are talking to birds now! Has Vale gone insane?"

The raven began to caw and click, its throat expanding and contracting, flapping its wings in stress.

Ruby opened her lids widely, "Oh no, she's here!"

Weiss walked to her side, peeking at her face and asking, "Who's here? What weird nonsense are you going on about this time?"

"Weiss!" Ruby jerked her head to the side and looked at her teammate with worry. "We have to get to the temple, fast! Everyone's in danger!"

Before Weiss could question her, a puddle of Grimmsang slithered toward them from within the brush. Weiss screamed, stepping behind Ruby and looking over her to see. Suddenly, it jumped up onto the raven, wrapping itself around the body, an eyeball protruding from the puddle and staring at the two of the them.

"NO!" Ruby dropped herself down, heading for the raven's aid, but Weiss pulled her back.

"Don't touch it!" she pulled her to her side, keeping sight of the raven as it fruitlessly struggled to break free. "There's nothing we can do now." she brought her attention to Ruby, who stared at the horrible sight in shock. "What is going on here? Who is coming? Where did that thing come from?"

The raven was soon fully consumed, and its form began to grow in size. The bird's flesh warped, its head growing larger. The mask of a Grimm beast conjured over its face as its beak grew longer and its eye sockets sank in.

"Its Cinder." said Ruby.

As the beast let out a terrifying screech behind them, feathers spread through the forest.

"Who?!" Weiss replied, looking back at the raven, recognizing its new form. "It's turning into a Nevermore! That...thing...it turned it into a Grimm?"

She waited for an explanation, yet Ruby seemed petrified. So, she grabbed her hand and pulled her deeper into the forest, escaping before the creature could threaten them, heading in the direction of Yang's battle cry. "Let's go! It's not our job to fight Grimm for Initiation. Fingers crossed: they better be at the temple!"

Ruby ran along, speaking through deep breaths, "Weiss, I don't know why my aunty is here, but, if she finds the other students, people will get hurt. They can't beat her in a fight."

Weiss ran faster as they heard a grand caw in the sky, "I'll find out what the heck you're talking about when we get out here! Just move it, will you?!"

…

Blake and Yang stood before the two miscreants, Gelano and Auran, who lay side-by-side against the stone floor of the temple ruins, one covered in cuts from the Faunus' claw strikes and the other coughing blood from his lungs due to broken bones.

"That takes care of these buffoons." Blake commented, her tail moving from under her skirt as she crossed her arms, looking down at them with her sickle-gun in her hand.

"Piece of cake." Yang boasted, crouching down over the louder blue haired Gelano. "Don't be such a wuss. You'll live!" She tapped her finger against his head. "So, you gonna tell me who sent you punks? If you do, I might be nice and call for help. Its a looooong walk back, and you look a little tired. Just saying."

Somewhere in the forest, they heard the sound of rapid fire from an automatic weapon, and the shrill screams of a woman. The growl of an Ursa echoed into the ruins, until the body of the Grimm shot over their heads, sparks of electricity surrounding it as its body disintegrated into Grimmsang.

"Whohoo!" Nora Valkyrie appeared behind the trees, holding her skirt down as she fell into the grove from high up. She held a giant warhammer in her other hand, hiding behind it as she swiftly approached a tree branch at the edge of the grove. "EHHNAH!" she grabbed the branch with her hammer, spinning around it for sometime before slipping upside down, hooking her legs around the tree and dropping her weapon. As she dangled upside down with loose arms, Blake and Yang stared at her with various expressions of confusion.

Then, Lie Ren walked into the grove at a slow place, his two green knife-guns in both hands with his head sloped forward.

"Sorry." he said lethargically with a bow, courteously stepping over Gelano and Auran's bodies and making his way over to Nora. On his trek, he snatched two chess pieces from the ruins without even looking, carrying them over to his girlfriend, her hands open and waving.

"Oh, what'ya got for me?" Nora snorted. "A necklace?"

Ren stood under her, looking up at as she moved to and fro like a twig, "I think these are the artifacts they wanted us to find." He gave her a pawn piece, placing one his his pocket for himself. "Nora?"

"What is it, Sweety Buns?" she asked, placing the chess piece in her mouth and biting down on it to hold.

"I don't think sloths make those kinds of noises."

There was silence for a moment, before she pressed her fingertip against his nose and replied, "Boop!"

After observing the couple's strange behavior, Blake and Yang looked at each other and shrugged.

"Hey," Yang yelled to them as Ren pulled Nora down from the branch, "Who are you guys?"

Nora rolled in the grass and jumped up to her feet, picking up her warhammer on the way, then running over to Yang, Ren slowly following behind. "Hi!" she placed her hand over her chest. "I'm Nora Valkyrie, and this is my boyfriend!" she held her arms out for Ren, hoping for him to make a dramatic entrance, but instead flipping his hair to the side.

He placed his weapons in the holsters on his belt, and replied, "I am Lie Ren. Its always a pleasure meeting new people." he glanced down at the two miscreants on the ground. "These two gave you trouble?"

Blake pressed a switch on her weapon, Gambol Shroud, compacting it into a rectangular shape and storing it under the band on the back of her skirt, "Just some fools, trying to stir trouble."

Ren chuckled, "They don't like the Faunus, I'm guessing? Thought so: I overheard them talking before the launch. I'm not sure they really are students."

Yang added, "I guess that happens a lot around here."

Below them, Gelano laughed, his voice struggling to leave him, "You are all a bunch of idiots. You think any of this is an accident?"

The four of them turned and faced him.

"What's up his butt?" Nora asked.

Yang followed, "Don't know, don't care. My offer still stands." she wagged her finger. "Might be some fees involved though if you keep talking like that."

Gelano coughed, barely opening his eyes as he leaned his head up and stared at Yang, "You stupid bitch! Did you … really think ..." he coughed again. "... that Junior was just going to let you get away with what you did?"

"Junior?" Blake muttered, raising a brow.

"I think he means Junior's Bar." Ren commented.

Nora grinned and held her arms up, "Didn't that place get 'xploded last night?"

"Wait..." Blake began to put the pieces together in her mind, "was that you?" she looked to Yang. "The enforcers have a warrant out for that you. That was you?"

Gelano laughed through his teeth, "Roman sends his regards."

"You know about the guy?" Yang asked.

He leaned his head back struggling to breathe, "You Vale trash are all the same. You really think this is the worst of it? The Dust trade is ramping up, and you think that her being here is just an accident? As we speak, everything is falling into place. You might be able to protect her for a little while, Yang, but in the end, it will be futile. Vale was already doomed the moment you set foot here."

Blake stepped beside her teammate, "Who is he talking about?"

"Go ahead and tell them the truth." Gelano leaned up and looked at the Branwen girl through squinting eyes. "They might know who you are, but I guarantee that she's hiding something much greater! She's coming, and she knows it. She's fooling all of you, and you don't even see it!"

Yang clenched her fists. "Choose your next words carefully, punk. They might be your last."

Ren and Nora looked at each other, the red haired girl responding, "What on Remnant is he talking about?"

Blake looked at Yang, her eyes focused on Gelano. "You're hiding something from us?"

"The Witch of the East is coming," Gelano said, his shoulders falling back into the grass, "and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Nora responded, "Wait, that's just a fairy tail isn't it?"

"Fools. All of you."

They were interrupted by the sound a loud caw in the sky, and Weiss Schnee screaming frantically above them. They looked up, finding a giant Nevermore - a raven Grimm with incredible wings and deadly talons – flying over them, Weiss desperately holding on to its feathers, kicking her feet.

"HEEEEEELLP!" she yelled. "GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

Rose petals followed the Nevermore, diverting down into the ruins and landing next to Yang, Ruby appearing from inside of the flower storm with a worried look on her face, "Yang! We gotta help her!" Yang looked down at her sister's hands, seeing Weiss' sword in her palms. "It was Cinder, I know it!"

Yang distracted herself from the two miscreants entirely, shaking her head, "I knew I felt her Aura." she turned and faced her fellow would-be Hunters and Huntresses, pointing toward the ruins and shouting. "Everyone, let's go and save her!"

Blake protested, "Who cares about the Schnee girl." she sneered. "Its her fault for getting captured."

"Hey!" Nora said. "That's not very nice!"

Ren agreed, "We should save as many people as we can. Its our job as Hunters to protect people."

Blake rolled her eyes, "Fine, but if this takes too long, I'm leaving you behind."

Ruby summoned another storm of petals, floating into the air and flying over the trees toward the northern side of the forest, making chase for her friend, "I'm coming Weiss!"

As her sister left the area, Yang dashed for the ruins, quickly snatching two more chess pieces with Jaune and Pyrrha on her mind. She placed them in the pocket of her leather hip trim along with her meager ammunition.

"Let's hurry! We don't have all day!" She charged into the forest, her ankles surrounded with Aura to power her sprint.

The other's joined her quickly, disappearing into the brush, their weapons ready.

Soon, the two miscreants were all that remained at the temple, Auran unconscious from his injuries, and Gelano staring into the sky. Even with broken bones, he managed to push himself up to a sit, closing his eyes until he caught his breath. When he opened them again, he was greeted with a of pair, a red skirt with flowery patterns lining it, and the scabbard of a sword aimed toward the ground. He looked up and saw a woman wearing a carved Grimm mask, four holes for the eyes with crimson pupils peering down at him, red marks across its sharp edges. The woman's hair was long enough to reach the back of her knees, feather-like tufts of hair blowing against the light wind behind her.

"It's you." Gelano said. "I had a feeling that you'd come. Come to silence me? Just end it. I hate waiting."

The strange woman grabbed the handle of her great sword, unsheathing it, presenting its red blade to him. As she held it before his neck, he observed its thin, yet solid structure, and he recognized it immediately.

"The Omen." he said, peering back at the woman. "I never thought I'd see it for myself."

In a single slice, she detached his vocal cords, and he fell back to the ground, his last moments of life leaving him. Then, she stabbed his companion in the chest, and through the heart.

With blood flowing through the Dust, she walked away from them, leaving the grove, giving the aged ruins back to the dead.