Joker is so much fun in Smash Bros. Just getting that out there. Speaking of smashing and thieves.


Metallic clashes rang out in an empty field far away from the reign of the kingdoms. Ruby would never admit it out loud but she treasured these moments alone with Yang, even if they were spent sparing like this. She blocked a strike from Yang's Grimm arm with her scythe, the larger Grimm's wild eyes meeting Ruby's calm eyes, and used her leverage to lift herself up just in time to dodge another punch. Ruby countered with a quick kick before wrapping her legs around Yang's neck and flipping the larger general backwards.

Yang landed roughly face first and Ruby rolled back onto her feet. With a quick spin of her scythe she slammed it blade first into Yang's right arm and slammed a boot onto the back of her neck. Yang, to her credit, didn't show pain and only struggled and growled under Ruby's strength. Once she realized Ruby had her dead to rights, Yang sighed angrily and tapped the ground three times with her left hand.

"Lost again Yang," Ruby couldn't help but tease stepping off Yang's neck and pulling her scythe out of her arm. She moved near Yang's head and smirked as Yang looked up at her before offering a hand to help her up. The blonde rolled her eyes and grabbed the hand to pull herself up. When she was back up she shrank her Grimm arm down and crossed her arms. "What is it you like to say Yang? 'Overextended your reach'?"

"Shut up, I almost had you that time!" Yang said poking Ruby in the chest with a claw. "If I had my shotgun-"

"Guns are cheating, and they always have been," Ruby retorted brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "The simple fact that I'm stronger without them proves my station well enough. Stick to being a powerhouse for us and leave the leading to me, ok Yang?"

"Whatever."

"If you two are done fighting," a third voice said catching Ruby and Yang's attention, "can you explain why we have to be here?" The two looked to find Weiss sitting on a nearby boulder examining the claws poking through her gauntlets and Blake leaning against the side of the same boulder.

"Look who showed up," Yang said with a wide smile, "You two done playing with your dolls for the day?" Weiss glared down at Yang and hopped off the boulder and, after a moment of brushing her dress off, marched at Yang with Blake slowly following behind.

"I'll have you know those 'dolls' are instrumental to our plans in the future," Weiss said pressing her face into Yang's. "I'm doing far more work than you are burning villages down."

"Really?"

"Of course," Blake said plainly, "a little more pressure and they'll break. That's just as true with people as it is with society. The subtle touches work more often you know."

"Where's the fun in that? Give me a match to start a fire over mind games any day."

"Listen to me you little-" Weiss started, but…

"Enough!" Ruby shouted slamming her scythe into the ground between them. Once the three others were looking at her she let go of the scythe and paced in front of them. "Weiss asked what we're doing, so I'll speak plainly. Queen wants us to inspect the academies again."

"Why? It's not like they've changed all that much in a year," Yang said. "How many times do we have to-"

"As many times as she tells us!" Ruby shouted and ran her left hand down her face. After a deep breath she said, "We're too far in this to take chances. The academies are taking in new blood soon and any one Huntsman could derail any plan. We all should know that from experience."

"True enough," Weiss said rubbing her chin. "Little Weiss has heard rumblings in the Atlas high society about some outstanding up and comers. It deserves attention."

"Then you'll take Atlas," Ruby said nodding to Weiss. "Blake…"

"I can set a day aside to inspect Haven," Blake said holding a tentacle in front of her. "We should also remind the Lion on where he stands, if you agree."

"Read my mind. I'm going to inspect Beacon myself." Ruby held up her Grimmed right arm and clenched it into a fist. "Cinder is making her move soon, and Queen wants some mild details ironed out."

"So I get Vacuo? Fair enough, I like resting in the Shade. Eh?" Yang's retort was met only with disapproval from Blake, an eye roll from Ruby, and a red icicle shot at her head that was dodged with a chuckle.

"You have your orders and two days to see it through. We'll talk via Seer when we're done. And stay vigilant, we're almost done and can't afford any screw ups." The four generals nodded to each other and started going their separate ways. Ruby watched her retreating comrades for a moment before retrieving her scythe and looked up at a Griffon that was landing. As she got ready to mount the Grimm she thought of her destination and the man who lived there.

"Soon, we'll see each other again Ozpin. And you'll pay."


Summer was not happy, having pulled the short straw to get Dust for the team, and finding out that most of the Dust shops were closed for one reason or another. It took her all evening before she finally settled on going to the normal stop of Team STRQ, From Dust til Dawn. She made her way to the street the shop was on and sighed in relief that it was still open.

'Leave it to Shopkeep to keep the doors open so late,' she thought as she jogged to the shop and saw the old shopkeeper still at the counter when she entered. He looked up and waved with a smile at Summer. "Hello, sorry for coming in so late; It's kind of an emergency."

He waved those concerns away and held out a hand, which prompted Summer to dig through her skirt pockets and give him a slip of paper. "It's just the basic necessities for now. Can you fill that out?" Shopkeep looked over the paper for a moment before giving a thumbs up. "Awesome, you're the best! I'll read a magazine in the back, so just holler when you have it together." Shopkeep nodded and started looking behind the counter, so Summer left him be and went to the magazine rack in the back and quickly zeroed in on a weapons magazine to read.

'Ooh, the X30r scope looks good… if any of us could actually use it.' Summer sighed and flipped a page. 'None of us are able to fight at long range, we're too focused on close combat. Maybe I can try and talk Qrow into modifying his scythe into a sniper rifle again?' The bell for the front door rang, which barely elicited a glance back from Summer before she spotted an ad for a new slide polish. At least until a conversation filtered to her from the front.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" A man said from the front followed by a gun powering up.

'Oh that's not good.'

"Please, just take my lien and leave!" Shopkeep said in panic, only for the first voice to shush him.

"Calm down, we're not here for your money. Grab the Dust."

'That's even worse.' Summer carefully moved so she was facing the magazine rack before closing her eyes and listening to the footsteps. 'If it's a robbery it'll be a group effort. Four people, five tops, if they want to be fast and quiet. This should be easy.' The sound of Dust siphons filled the shop along with more talking that Summer couldn't quite make out. She had only come up with a rudimentary plan when…

"Hey you, put your hands up!"

'And they found me. Let's hope this works.' Summer pretended to be engrossed in the magazine, glad she had left her hood up, and heard the man growl and walk over to her.

"You got a death wish or something?!" he said roughly turning her around by her shoulder, which actually caught her off guard for a moment as she took him in. The black business suit and undershirt, the red tie and matching hat, all of it rang a small bell.

"I'm sorry, you said something?" she asked innocently. He responded by holding a cleaver up to her face.

"Put your hands up, now!" he reiterated.

"Is this a hold up?" she asked again and was slightly taken aback when he nodded. "Well, ok then." As fast as she could Summer threw her magazine at the thug's face, which surprised him into taking a swing at her. She ducked under it and jumped toward him to land a drop kick to his face just as he got the magazine out of his face, sending him flying to the front of the shop. She landed on her back and rolled backwards into a crouch.

'If they have guns, one stray bullet could blow this place up. I need to get outside.' Her eyes settled on the large window in front of her and she started focusing. So when another robber rounded the shelf and aimed at Summer, he barely caught a glimpse of her crouching with white petals coming off of her before there was an explosion of petals in front of him and found himself flying backwards with a hand on his face.

The two broke through the window and Summer slammed the robber's head into the pavement outside before landing in a rough roll. She got up to her feet, her eyes on the man to see if he was conscious, and drew her sword and dagger before turning back to the store.

Through the broken window Summer could see the rest of the robbers and she locked eyes with one in particular, a man with a white coat and a bowler hat, and she pointed her sword at him. He just shook his head and said, "Get her," which the others obliged by running out the front door and toward Summer.

'Two cleavers, one SMG. Yeah, easy.' Summer took a breath just as the first guy reached and took a swing at her. She blocked the strike, sidestepping just a little so the cleaver scrapped along her sword, and she kneed him hard in the stomach. When he bent over she hit him on the back of the head with her sword's pommel and blocked the second robber's cleaver.

They pushed against each other for a moment before Summer flipped her dagger into a reverse hold and stabbed the robber in the arm holding the cleaver. He screamed in pain and dropped his cleaver which Summer room to kick the back of his knee and, once he was down on his knee, knocked him out with a roundhouse kick. Then she heard the sound of a gun cocking and quickly 'Blinked' to her left, barely avoiding a stream of bullets and leaving behind a trail of white petals.

When she stopped and focused on the last robber, she pressed a switch on her dagger which morphed it into a pistol and Blinked over to him. He tried to swing his gun at Summer, which she blocked with her sword before shooting him in both legs and kicked him backwards at the robbery's leader who looked down shaking his head.

"You get what you pay for I suppose," he before looking up at Summer aiming at him. Sirens started echoing in the distance as he took one last drag from his cigar and dropped it on the ground and stomping it out. "Well kid, I think we can both agree this was an interesting evening, but now it's time for me to leave."

"After all of this, not a chance," Summer replied and leveled her gun a little more, "Now drop your cane and put your hands over your head!" He simply smirked.

"Not a chance," he said and raised his cane to Summer, her eyes widening when the bottom flipped open.

'Oh shi-' Summer Blinked upwards just as he fired a shot from his cane, which exploded on the spot she had been standing on. She landed and saw that Mr. Hat was gone and Shopkeep had walked up to the front door. He pointed behind her and she turned to see Hat climbing a ladder across the street.

"Damn he's fast. Will you be ok on your own?" Shopkeep nodded and Summer sheathed her sword before running to the ladder, already focused on the very top of it. Hat had already climbed to the roof when Summer jumped and blinked up to the roof, grabbing the edge and pulling herself up and aimed her gun at Hat. "Freeze!"

Hat slowed to a stop and shook his head. "Persistent brat," he mumbled under his breath.

"I won't tell you again, put your hands over-!" Summer was interrupted by a dropship rising in front of Hat and opening its side doors. Summer raised her free arm in front of her face to protect it from the wind as Hat made the jump up to the ship and climbed inside. 'A dropship for a small Dust robbery? Who the hell is this guy?'

"So close squirt, but no cigar," Hat said holding up a Fire Dust crystal.

"SQUIRT?!" Summer shouted, feeling her eye twitch slightly. Hat then threw the crystal out of the airship and the crystal landed just feet in front of Summer, though she didn't take her eyes off of Hat. She took a deep breath and focused again, white petals once again floating off of her cloak. 'One more big jump is all I could afford right now.'

"So, like I said," Hat pointed his cane at the crystal, "Good night and so long!" He fired the cane and Summer shot toward him in a storm of petals. The world slowed for just a moment as she barely missed hitting the shot in midair before she continued on hitting Hat with her shoulder as the shot blew the crystal up on the rooftop.

Hat grunted in pain as he was knocked into the far wall of the dropship while Summer was knocked onto her back in a daze. She shook the stars out of her eyes in time to notice the open door to the cockpit and fire three shots into it, the first two going wide and hitting the window while the last one hit the console. The pilot flinched away from the gunshots and the dropship lurched to the side while warning screeches sounded from the console, the former making it harder for Summer to find her footing as she stood up.

The cane to the face didn't help much in that respect either.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?!" Hat shouted and swung his cane at Summer, though she had managed to switch her gun back into a dagger and rolled to her feet to block the cane in time.

"Nope. A Huntress never does," Summer replied and pushed the cane back. She made to stab at Hat's face only for it to be parried by a cane. Summer soon found, after a few more failed swipes and having to block a few more blows, that Hat was actually a skilled fighter in his own right. Hat took another swing at her head, which she blocked with her dagger and grabbed with her free hand. The look on his face when Summer yanked him closer and managed to land a swipe on his chest was priceless, along with when she kicked him into the cockpit.

"Just give up, you're not winning this!" Summer shouted at him and pointed her dagger at him as he lay against the console, his Aura still shining from the recent protection. Just then a bright flash of purple shone from above the dropship, followed by very dark storm clouds that made the ship rock. Summer couldn't help the smirk when she added, "Especially not now."

Hat groaned in frustration and looked to the side as someone new, a woman in a red dress, entered the doorway with a flame in her hand. Summer's eyes widened and she barely managed to dodge to the side as the fireball shot past her and exploded on the back wall. She just found her footing when she had to block a sword swing, and Summer felt a chill run down her spine when saw the material the sword was made of and when her eyes met the woman's yellow ones.

'Oh this is bad. Too enclosed for this, I gotta get out!' Summer's arms were starting to ache when she ran her dagger down the sword toward the woman and ducked. The woman dodged backwards and her sword passed over Summer's head, who ran for the open door and jumped out. The moment she left the dropship she turned around, switched her dagger into gun mode, and fired back into the airship. Most of the bullets hit the side of the ship, but the few that would have hit her were blocked with her hands flashing brightly.

Summer's handgun clicked empty and she Blinked downwards, landing roughly on her back on the roof and rolling backwards. She came to a stop next to a woman, needing only one look at her to recognize Glynda Goodwitch, and got up into a crouch when Glynda put up another Glyph to protect both of them from a set of fireballs from the airship. The world exploded around the Huntresses, though the both of them stayed calm while Glynda gathered up some of the debris into a spear and launched it at the dropship. Summer slowly reloaded as she watched the woman destroyed the spear with more fireballs, though it quickly reformed and scrapped against the ship's wings. The ship was knocked around and looked ready to come down when a wave of energy shot out from it, knocking away both the clouds and the moving debris.

Summer growled at that and aimed at the woman, though simple distance made that impractical. The woman made a swipe with her hand and the ground under her started shining red. When she noticed the sigils under her feet glowing brighter, Summer dove forward along with Glynda mere moments before they exploded. When Summer got back to her feet and aimed again the dropship was already disappearing into the night.

"Dammit," Summer cursed and lowered her weapon as she watched the ship disappear behind a building.

"Summer Rose," Glynda said getting Summer's attention and crossed her arms, "I should have known you'd be in the middle of trouble yet again."

"Not by choice Professor," Summer replied and spun her gun in her hand, it switching back to a dagger mid spin and sheathed it. Summer then sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Ugh, what a night."

"And how exactly did you find yourself in the middle of a robbery by accident?" The sirens had grown very loud by now and the two Huntresses moved to the edge of the building to look down at the police cars that had just arrived.

"I should explain that to the police as well," Summer said looking back at Glynda. "Will there be a debrief back at Beacon as well?" Glynda nodded and motioned back to the ladder with her wand. Summer sighed and shook her head as she walked past Glynda to the ladder. "So much for a simple Dust run."


Summer barely got any sleep that night. Thanks to both reporting what happened to the police and debriefing Professor Ozpin about the incident, her mind was kept constantly going over what happened. Thankfully that's why coffee exists, so Summer spent the morning on top of the pillars in the courtyard with a thermos, a mug, and her scroll open on the news. Right now it was talking about the latest technological advances from Atlas, which Summer paid only the barest of attention to.

"There you are." Summer jumped a little and looked behind her to see Qrow walking up to her. He waved at her, which she returned, and sat down next to her. "You gotta stop wandering off like that."

"You all can find me easily, so why bother telling you guys?" Summer replied and pulled her thermos closer to her, "And this is my coffee, you can't have any."

"I'm fine on that," Qrow held up a hand, "And it sounds like you'll need it after last night right?"

"We're taking turns for Dust runs from now on," Summer said taking another drink of coffee and holding her scroll up again. "I think Raven's right, we are all cursed."

"Great, now all of you can feel my pain," Qrow said sarcastically. He then leaned closer to Summer's scroll and said, "Oh, speaking of. Turn the volume up." Summer rolled her eyes, but did so anyway as the news showed the front of From Dust til Dawn, cordoned off by police tape.

"A local Dust shop was the site of another robbery, the latest in a string that's been happening in Vale for the last few weeks. This one however was thwarted with minimal damage thanks to the efforts of two Huntresses. The first on the scene, a Beacon Academy student who wished to remain anonymous, said she was just in the right place at the right time and did what any Huntress would do in the situation."

"Anonymous huh?" Qrow asked glancing at Summer, the news still droning from the scroll.

"After the firestorm of coverage we faced after taking down a Mafia family last year, you're damn right I didn't want my name circulating again," Summer said draining her mug and setting it down. "I just want to be a normal student for at least a few months."

"But that isn't happening, right?" Qrow asked just as a mug shot of Hat came on screen.

"Probably not," Summer said with a sigh.

"The mastermind behind the robbery attempt has been identified as Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal in the Vale area. He is considered armed and dangerous and any information on this man is to be reported to the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."

"I knew he seemed familiar," Summer said handing the scroll to Qrow and picking up the thermos, "He had barely left that nightclub just before we busted it up last year."

"Junior's place? That can't be good then." Qrow looked over at Summer as she took a drink of coffee.

"And now that you point it out, the people with him were part of Junior's gang." Summer sighed and shook her head. "Power vacuums suck. And then there's that on top of everything else," she pointed at the scroll as a picture of a Faunus protest appeared next to the news anchor.

"A Faunus protest for worker's rights yesterday was brought to a sudden halt when members of the White Fang interrupted the meeting." The picture was replaced by the White Fang logo. "This once peaceful group has now disrupted fifteen protests over the past few months around the world, and has been attributed to countless acts of terrorism. The most notorious of these acts is the attack on a Schnee Dust Company train two months ago, which resulted in a car full of Dust being stolen and the deaths of 30 security guards and train engineers. The main suspect behind that attack is still at large."

"Yeah, the world's kind of a mess right now," Qrow said closing the scroll and handed it back to Summer, "but when isn't it? We can't exactly do anything about the White Fang."

"I know. Make the world better one bit at a time, that's all we can do." Suddenly a portal opened to Summer's left and Raven walked out a second later carrying a plastic shopping bag. "And that's three of us," Summer said as the portal closed and Raven sat down next to her, "So where's Tai?"

"I saw him hanging out with CFVY," Raven said running a hand through her hair, "He was helping out Velvet with that box she's been working on since last semester." Raven leaned forward and glanced over at Summer and asked, "So, what happened with you last night?"

"Ugh, that. It was just a robbery I got caught up in, nothing more. At least I'd like to think so." Summer scratched her cheek and noticed Raven raise an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not in public," Summer warned quietly. Raven nodded and went back to looking in the distance. Summer looked down at the bag Raven brought and opened it slightly, raising an eyebrow at the contents. "What's with all the eggs?"

"Don't you worry about that," Raven said waving a hand at Summer. Summer could feel Qrow shaking his head next to her when Raven smiled widely and pointed in the distance. "And there's the first transports, right on cue." Summer and Qrow turned and saw the incoming airships bringing in new students.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Qrow said leaning forward as well, "New year means new students."

"We're going to have underclassmen," Raven added with a small chuckle. "Precious newbloods who'll be looking to us for guidance. That'll be fun."

"Well, they're doomed."

"Will both of you be quiet. I want to see what we got," Summer said reaching behind her to her pouch and pulled out a set of binoculars. She looked through them at the first transport ship that docked and the stream of initiates that filtered out of it. "It looks like we got some good ones this year."

"Any stand outs either way?" Raven asked and started digging through her bag, "I got an egg with the lame duck's name on it."

"I knew it, I knew you'd do something like this," Qrow said face palming, "You're going to get us in trouble again!"

"Only if we get caught."

"We always get caught."

"Will both of you shut up," Summer said and glared at the twins, "You're both so loud." Summer looked through her binoculars again and after a second said, "And you're in luck Raven, someone is throwing up in a garbage can."

v"There's always at least one," Qrow commented thinking of a certain blonde, "It doesn't really mean anything."

"True enough," Summer said and started scanning the incoming crowd again, "Let's see… ok there's one. At 141, the red head in the armor with the mace." Summer handed the binoculars to Raven so she could look through them. Raven watched the boy Summer pointed out and sighed.

"Lame, but average," Raven said plainly, "Not even worth an egg."

"Really?"

"Yep, you can tell pretty easily," Raven handed the binoculars to Qrow. "That smirk, the way he carries himself, it all just screams overconfident jackass. Give him a month and he'll be another cardboard cutout bully."

"Yeah, I agree," Qrow said after a moment. "I'd bet 500 Lien that he doesn't make it six months."

"I'll take that bet. Can I have some coffee Summer?"

"No," was Summer's response along with moving the thermos away from Raven.

"Hey I got a couple of newcomers that look good," Qrow said and handed the binoculars to Summer. "144, the energetic red head and the guy in the green jacket she's with." Summer searched for a moment before she found them, though given how the girl was acting it wasn't hard.

"God, she's bouncy," she commented as she watched the red headed girl dance around her friend. "She'd give my Blinking a run for its money. I love that guy's jacket too."

"You could use some more color in your wardrobe," Raven whispered.

"Excuse me?! I'll have you know white and black look good on me!"

"But it's all you wear, even casually! Even I have something other than red and black to wear you know." Raven then reached over and snatched the binoculars from Summer and started looking again. "I'm getting bored now. I need to find a real bad one or else I'm just going to start egging random people."

"Oh god, please don't do that," Qrow pleaded quietly, only for Raven to leap to her feet with a small yelp of excitement.

"There we are! He's blonde, he's lost, and still looks a little sick! We got our lame duck of the year at 152!"

"Let me see," Summer said taking the binoculars back and looking at who Raven pinpointed. It took a moment before she found said blonde and recognized the black hoodie he had. "Oh yeah, that's Vomit Boy. And yeah, he looks really lost."

"He won't last a day. I'd put 1000 that he forged papers to get here."

"I can't possibly imagine how you'd know who forged papers Raven," Summer said sarcastically, which earned a glare from Raven, as she passed the binoculars to Qrow. "Besides, you don't know if he did that. He might just be a wild card in the making."

"Either way, he's getting an egg. Qrow, spot me!"

"Sure. Throw when ready," Qrow said flatly and looked through the binoculars.


The day had not been going in Jaune's favor so far. Sure he had managed to get onto the ship for Beacon well enough, but they had only barely started moving when he got blasted by motion sickness. He was sure the others saw him sick to his stomach the entire ride over and a few minutes after. And now that he was actually at Beacon he realized he was absolutely lost and with no one else around to help him out.

'Well I guess there was that cute redhead, but that ship probably sailed when I started getting sick.' Jaune sighed and looked around again when a small 'crack' sounded next to him. He jumped away from the sound with a 'manly yell' as he'd later describe and looked down to find the shattered remnants of an egg on the ground. 'What?'


"Miss," Qrow said flatly.

"You suck Raven," Summer added teasingly.

"Dammit!" Raven punched the ground and pointed at Summer. "The sun got in my eyes!"

"Oh yeah, that blinding noon sun," Summer replied with an eye roll before reaching over and taking an egg from the bag. "You just don't know how to throw them."

"Huh?" Raven asked as Summer stood up, raising an eyebrow along with Qrow as she lowered her hood and held a thumb out.

"You're not serious, are you?" Qrow asked with a hint of worry.

"Why not? It's like shooting a bow; you have to visualize the arc you want it to go along and, most importantly," Summer reared her and took a quick step forward, "flick your wrist when you throw!" Summer did exactly that and Raven watched the egg sail into the sky, Qrow looking through the binoculars at the intended target again.

"How do you know how to shoot a bow?" Raven asked after a moment.

"Hunting when I was a kid."

"Figures."

"And…" Qrow interrupted holding up a finger, "Hit. Right on the head."

"Bullseye!" Summer shouted and threw her arms up. She also definitely did not start bouncing like a kid, despite what Raven saw.

"I want a go," Qrow said suddenly and stood up to walk past Summer.

"Seriously?" Raven asked as Qrow dug through the bag and pulled out an egg, "After all the talk about not getting in trouble?"

"That went out the window when she got in on it," Qrow pointed at Summer, who at least had the decency to blush and pull her hood back over her head. "We might as well all go down together right?"

"I knew you had it in you," Raven said with a smirk.

"Just spot me," Qrow said irritably and held out the binoculars to Raven, who took them with little complaint and looked through them. She couldn't help the chuckle at the blonde boy trying to wipe egg from his hair while Qrow looked over the egg in his hand.

"Flick the wrist, right?" he asked Summer, who nodded happily. Qrow shrugged and threw the egg with a grunt, which sailed effortlessly through the air.

"Ooh, he sees it coming this time!" Raven said excitedly and leaned forward. "And… damn."

"Missed?"

"Nope," Raven lowered the binoculars and handed them to Summer, who was caught off guard by her surprised look. "It was caught."

"Caught?" Summer asked and raised the binoculars to see a girl in bronze armor casually tossing the egg in one hand looking right at her, Vomit Boy staring at her in surprise next to her. "She must have good reflexes to catch something so small and fast. I don't think the egg even broke."

"Let's see if she can catch another one," Raven said taking another egg and standing up. Just as she reared up for a throw she felt a firm hand grip her forearm and, since Summer and Qrow were now looking behind her in terror, Raven knew who had her.

"Team STRQ, causing trouble as usual," the humorless voice of Glynda Goodwitch said.

All Raven could reply with was a small "…Shit."


"Well, at least they got caught," the girl said and shook her head as she looked down at the egg in her hand. "I can't believe someone would stoop to so juvenile a prank at an academy. Are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll be ok. It's just egg after all," Jaune said and continued wiping yolk out of his hair. "Ah, I'll wash it out later. Egg is hardly the worst thing I've had in my hair."

"That's… really sad."

"Yeah, it is." Jaune sighed and turned to her fully. "I was hoping to get more than a few minutes before something like this happened, but whatever. Thanks for the help anyway."

"It was my pleasure, Mr…?"

"Jaune Arc! Er, but just Jaune is fine." Jaune held out the hand that wasn't covered in egg to the girl and was glad when she accepted and shook it. 'Oh wow she has a firm grip!'

"It's nice to meet you Jaune," she said cheerfully and let go of Jaune's hand. The pair stood in silence for a moment until Jaune coughed.

"So… are you going to tell me your name?" he finally asked. It was another moment before her eyes widened and she jumped a little in shock.

"OH! I'm sorry! I didn't think-" She stopped for a moment to clear her throat. "I mean, my name is Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice to meet you." Jaune blinked twice at Pyrrha and tilted his head at her.

"Pyrrha… Nikos?" he repeated quietly.

'So much for that,' Pyrrha thought sadly, her smile never dropping from her face. 'He probably knows me from my time in Mistral and-'

"That's a nice name," Jaune said, which brought Pyrrha's thoughts to a halt. "I feel like my luck's starting to turn. I didn't think I'd make a friend so fast here."

"Uh, right! I was just thinking the same thing!" Pyrrha replied happily, "This will go by easier with a friend right?" 'Does he really not know who I am?' Jaune looked to his right and stood up straight in shock. When Pyrrha followed his gaze she saw a group of four people walking toward them, led by the woman Pyrrha saw on the airship announcement. Glynda Goodwitch, if she remembered right.

The group stopped next to Pyrrha and Jaune and Glynda looked the two of them up and down with sharp eyes before looking back at the three that had followed her. "Are these the two?" she asked, her tone just as harsh as her demeanor suggested.

"Yes Professor," the girl at the front and Pyrrha took a moment to take them all in. The boy in the back, dressed in a gray and white dress shirt with black pants to match, seemed almost uninterested in what was going on, which was shared by the black haired girl next to him, who was dressed in a black and red outfit that looked similar to a ninja's clothes. Still, at least the guy was looking at them as opposed to the girl who was just looking to the sky with her arms behind her head.

And then there was the girl in front, the shortest of everyone gathered and hid almost entirely by a white cloak. The hood over her head his most of her features, though Pyrrha could make out her dark red hair, fairish skin, and her eyes when she looked at her. Pyrrha wasn't sure why, but the look in her silver eyes exuded a quiet confidence and fierceness that complimented her posture. The way she narrowed her eyes at Pyrrha only proved to the gladiator just how dangerous she was; a natural if there ever was one.

"Well, for the sake of these two, I'll reiterate your punishment," Glynda said and pointed at Pyrrha and Jaune. "Since you three decided to integrate yourselves in their first day at Beacon in an obnoxious manner, you three will show these two around the Academy."

"Do we have to?" the boy asked scratching the back of his head.

"It's either that or detention, as I explained. Which would your whole team rather have?"

"Well," the black haired girl started, "I for one would prefer det-"

"Qrow, hit her," the other girl said and the boy (Qrow, Pyrrha figured) slapped the first on the back of her head. White cloak ignored the glare being shot at her as she said, "As Raven was saying, we'd be happy to show them around. Just please don't tell Professor Ozpin about this."

"He will know," Glynda said and leaned closer to the girl, "that you all have been punished accordingly Summer Rose. Orientation is in twenty minutes, so make sure these two get there." With that said, Glynda straightened up and walked back toward the main building of the Academy. Once she was out of earshot the black haired girl, Raven, sighed loudly.

"What a waste of our day off. Think we can just bail?"

"Don't even think about it," Qrow said warningly.

"It is our fault for getting carried away," Summer said quietly, "even if it was you that brought the eggs. Speaking of…" Summer turned to Jaune, who stiffened up a little more under her gaze. "I'm sorry about the egg. I didn't think it would actually reach you."

"Uh, n-no worries! I'll just have to wash it out," Jaune said nervously and rubbed the back of his head, sighing a second later when he realized he got even more egg all over himself. Summer tilted her head to the side and leaned closer to Jaune, who backed up a little at the closeness.

"What's your problem? Are you allergic or something?" Summer asked narrowing her eyes a little. Jaune could only stammer out something akin to an answer under the gaze.

'This girl's really getting on my nerves,' Pyrrha thought glaring at Summer.

"You're doing it again," Qrow said suddenly. Summer looked back at him and tilted her head at him.

"Again?" she asked, which both Qrow and Raven nodded at. After a couple of seconds of staring at each other Summer grabbed her head with a cry of "Dammit, you're right!" Then she slouched forward in an exaggerated fashion with a huge sigh before turning back to Pyrrha and Jaune with an absolutely bashful look on her face. "Um, I'm sorry if I made you nervous. I'm… not good at the whole 'people' thing right now. B-but I'm working on it, I swear!"

'Is this the same girl?!' Pyrrha though almost in shock as Summer nervously pressed her index fingers together. Qrow groaned and moved past Summer, grabbed Jaune by the arm, and dragged him flailing toward the academy building.

"Time's wasting. I'll take Vomit Boy to a bathroom and you guys take her to the assembly hall. We'll meet later, ok?"

"Vomit Boy?! Where'd that come from?!" Jaune's cries were ignored as Qrow dragged him away, the three girls left behind staring after him while Summer chuckled nervously.

"Ain't that like Qrow to get straight to the point," Raven said with an eye roll and turned to Pyrrha. "So who are you supposed to be anyway?"

"Wha-?" Pyrrha asked, very much thrown off by the question. "You… don't know me either?"

"Should I?"

"And you get on me for being blunt Rae," Summer commented and looked at a bewildered Pyrrha. She pointed behind her and said, "Anyway, the assembly hall is this way. Um, we can give introductions along the way."


"And that is why you need to get that stuff out of your hair as soon as possible. Ants are the worst," Qrow finished telling Jaune as they walked outside and toward the assembly hall. "So did you get all of that kid?"

"Um… no?" Jaune replied slowly, "Wait, how often do you get egg in your hair?" Qrow turned around and pointed at Jaune, who stopped short before he ran into the finger.

"Life lesson number 45: women are dangerous, especially if they decide to gang up on you. And if you ever end up pissing off an energetic girl, just kiss your ass goodbye because they will never forget a slight."

"…Really?"

"Yeah." One last turn and Jaune got a good idea of what Qrow meant as he heard a sharp, feral cry of a wild animal, nearly as ferocious as any Creature of Grimm, fill the air around them.

"SUMMER! DAMN YOU AND YOUR KING TAIJITU!" Jaune looked around in shock until Qrow pointed over at the assembly hall where Summer and Raven where sitting and staring at their scrolls, the latter much more angry than the former.

"And lesson 46: Women are very competitive, in all things. Best not to get in their way when they do." Qrow lead the way to them and pointed at an open door that several people were walking into. "Your orientation is in there, so have fun with that." Qrow then waved Jaune off and walked over to Raven and Summer.

"Wait, what? But-" Jaune started before sighing and following the other students into the assembly hall. He threw one last look at his 'guides' before he focused on the crowd in front of him, trying to find a certain red head.

"There you are." Jaune jumped a little and looked behind him to see Pyrrha holding back a laugh. "I was worried you wouldn't make it Jaune. You didn't miss anything, in case you're wondering."

"Thanks. It… took a while to find a bathroom. You had better luck than me it seems."

"Summer and Raven are… characters, to say the least." Pyrrha rubbed her chin and closed her eyes in thought. "Still, I can't help but think they feel… familiar."

"Do they? I'd think you'd remember someone like them." Pyrrha tapped her chin at Jaune's words before nodding.

"You're right. I think I'm just being paranoid. Still though…" Pyrrha's train of thought stopped when the sound of someone clearing their throat echoed through the hall and she, Jaune, and everyone around them looked to the stage. In the center of the stage was a middle-aged man with white hair and dressed in a black and green suit with Glynda Goodwitch standing behind and to the side of him. 'That must be Professor Ozpin, the headmaster,' Pyrrha thought as the man adjusted his glasses.

"I'll keep this brief," he started. "Each of you have come here for one reason: to become Huntsman, the first line of defense against the horrors of the world. You all trained for years and faced many hardships to get to where you are today. Some would call you the best, but when I look at you I see wasted potential waiting for direction. I can show you it, but it'll be up to you to make that first step."

Ozpin then smiled a little and added, "That being said, this is still a school. So try and have fun, and make this the greatest four years of your lives. You won't get them back after all." Ozpin nodded at the crowd and walked away, leaving Glynda to approach the microphone.

"All of you will be sleeping in the dance hall tonight, and tomorrow morning you will have your initiation. Be rested and ready for them." Glynda followed after Ozpin when she was done, leaving the students to mill among themselves.

"That was… quick," Jaune said glancing at Pyrrha.

"A man of few words, I'd assume," Pyrrha answered turning to Jaune. "When you're the headmaster of one of the major Huntsman academies, you probably learn to get to the point fairly quickly."

"I guess." Jaune shrugged and crossed his arms. "So what should we-"

"HEYYA!" Jaune screamed at the sudden shout in his ear, loud and high pitched enough that most of the others around him turned and stared at him. The new girl, orange haired and wearing a combat dress of white, black, and pink, didn't seem bothered by the scream or even seemed to notice that he had screamed. Instead, she asked, "Do you know what a sloth sounds like?"

"A… what?" Jaune asked.

"I'm… afraid not, no," Pyrrha replied in confusion.

"Darn. I'll have to think about that more," the girl said scratching her chin. "Maybe an injured Boarbatusk will work better? Or something drowning in tar? Speaking of, I haven't eaten anything today yet and tar cake sounds good right now. Have you ever had that?"

"I-"

"Nah, you look like you've only ever had cereal and celery. And you-" she pointed at Pyrrha, "-look like you've been on cereal! Maybe it's just the way you wear your hair? I love the color by the way, it reminds me of peppers or rubies. Wouldn't recommend eating the later though, I got a bad tooth ache when I tried it."

"What-" Pyrrha started.

"Or maybe that was just rock candy? It's hard to tell sometimes when you're at a buffet. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, are you sure you don't know what a sloth sounds like?" Thankfully Jaune and Pyrrha were saved from answering that question when a boy with black hair and a green jacket walked over and grabbed the girl's shoulder.

"Nora, don't bother strangers," he said and looked at Jaune and Pyrrha, "I apologize for any trouble. I'll keep a closer eye on her from now on." He then proceeded to drag Nora away, her feet digging into the floor slightly, as she was lost in another train of thought.

Jaune watched them until they were out of sight and said, "Well… that happened."

"She certainly seemed interesting," Pyrrha agreed and clapped her hands in front of her. "And on that note, why don't we get back to our tour guides? I'd like to get to know our new home better, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're right. After you." Pyrrha nodded and led the way outside. She squinted a little at the sunlight before walking over to where she had left Summer and Raven. Raven was now standing up and angrily poking at her scroll's screen with Qrow looking over her shoulder while Summer sat to the side with a smile.

"Dammit!" Raven finally shouted and threw her scroll angrily, which Pyrrha managed to catch before it actually hit her.

"Heh, thanks for the free crates Raven," Summer chuckled and stood up.

"Shut up! I almost had you!"

"You almost did, I'll admit. 'Almost' is still a loss in the game though." Summer laughed again at Raven's glare before she noticed Jaune and Pyrrha walk up to them. "Oh, you're done? Huh, I guess I forgot how short Oz's speeches can be."

"Is he always like that?" Jaune asked as Pyrrha handed Raven her scroll back. "With his speeches I mean."

"If it's anything like the speech we got, probably," Qrow said with a quick shake of his head. "Unless he's talking about fairy tales that is, then he just goes on."

"Fairy tales?"

"Don't worry about that," Summer said putting her scroll away. "So, what's the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"Well," Pyrrha started, "I guess we have the day to ourselves until we have to bed down in the dance hall. They… weren't exactly clear on when the free time ends though."

"They'll let you know," Qrow replied waving a hand. "Besides, the only real hardass when it comes to schedules here is Goodwitch."

"She's more than enough though," Raven added.

"In any case, let's get the tour started proper," Summer said before chuckling to herself and whispering, "This'll be perfect practice for me."

"Practice?" Jaune asked, though Summer ignored him and turned around to walk down a path. "With what, talking to people? She can't be that bad."

"You'd be wrong. It took her six months to talk to us normally," Qrow said and moved to follow Summer.

"And even then, we all had to be threatened with expulsion to get that started," Raven added. She then leaned closer to Pyrrha and Jaune with a glare, "And don't ask about that, we won't answer. Now let's get this shit over with already. I got things to do."

Jaune blinked at that and glanced at Pyrrha, who stared after Raven as she walked away with her arms behind her head. Pyrrha met Jaune's look and shrugged before the two set off as well.


The next few minutes of walking were spent going over the basic layout of Beacon Academy; the main buildings with the classrooms and training halls, the student and faculty dorms ("You'll get assigned your own room there in a few days… if you survive," Raven had said cryptically, to Jaune's worry), and the group was passing through an open part of the courtyard when Summer stopped and spun on her heels.

"Do you mind if I ask an odd question Pyrrha?" she asked as the group stopped as well.

"I suppose not," Pyrrha replied rubbing her arm nervously, "As long as it's not too out there."

"Don't worry. I just want to see your weapon."

"My… weapon?"

"And there it is," Qrow said shaking his head and glancing at Summer, "You're seriously going to just flat out ask her that?"

"Of course, I'm curious," Summer said crossing her arms. "Besides, there's so much you can tell about a person from their weapon. Extensions of ourselves and all that."

"Why are you looking at me when you say that?" Raven asked.

"Why so defensive Raven?"

"Back to the topic at hand," Pyrrha said grabbing Summer's attention back, "while I don't mind showing you, is there a reason besides simple curiosity?"

"No." The bluntness threw Pyrrha off and, after a few seconds of silent staring between the two, Pyrrha slowly reached behind her to draw Miló and held it out to Summer. She took the weapon with a smile and said, "Thank you. Let's walk and talk about this beauty. What's her name?"

"Why are you like this?" Raven muttered to herself as the group resumed walking.

"Miló, and I have a shield named Akoúo to match," Pyrrha answered and watched Summer run a finger along Miló's edge and weighed the short sword in her hand.

"Nice name," Summer complimented just as she found a switch on the sword's handle. She pressed it and barely suppressed a gasp when the sword extended into a javelin with a series of mechanical clicks, though she couldn't hide the excitement when she added, "And it's a javelin too! That's a great choice to compliment the sword."

"Er, thank you," Pyrrha said quietly and rubbed her neck.

"Please don't encourage her," Qrow replied with a shake of his head. Summer ignored that in favor of further inspecting the new javelin. She hummed when she found another switch and pressed it before spinning it in her hand into a reverse hold while it shifted into a rifle.

"Ooh, a three-in-one package! I really love this one," Summer said as she aimed down the sights away from any buildings. Once she was satisfied with that she shifted the rifle so she could gently pull back the bolt halfway. ".30 caliber rounds, and the feeding ramp is polished to a mirror sheen. I don't think there's any rattle either. You take good care of this."

"A Huntress is only as good as her weapon, or so my father always says," Pyrrha said with a small shrug as Summer turned to her with a small smile. With another twirl Miló was back in sword form and held out so Pyrrha could take it back.

"You'll do well here. I can tell you've seen a fair share of combat," Summer added scratching her cheek. "And you alone probably have a more balanced fighting style than my whole team. Qrow."

"For the last time," Qrow said with no small amount of irritation, "I'm not modifying Harbinger into a sniper rifle!"

"But it'd be cool! And we need that kind of diversity!"

"Don't you talk to me about diversity Summer! We all know how you're like with that!"

"I'm not having this argument with you again Qrow! Sniper Scythes are cool, end of story! There will come a day when you realize I'm right, like always!" Summer and Qrow locked eyes for a few seconds, with Jaune and Pyrrha watching uncomfortably and Raven yawned quietly.

"So…" Jaune started after a moment, "Where do we eat?"

"…This way."


"And over there's the dining hall," Summer said pointing at the building. "Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served at regular times, though that doesn't necessarily mean you have to eat there. You can order outside food deliveries as long as you clean up after yourselves."

"The headmaster allows that?" Pyrrha asked surprised. "Isn't that a little odd?"

"Old Oz ain't exactly orthodox by any means," Qrow answered. "As long as you continually improve yourself and follow the listed rules, he doesn't really mind."

"For instance," Raven added crossing her arms, "if you prefer cooking your own food, there's a kitchen on every floor in the dorms for that. You can get ingredients from the kitchen staff, and as long as you don't take too much they don't mind. It's a great system, especially if you have a good cook like Summer with you."

"Don't build me up like that," Summer said quietly, "I'm not that good."

"Says the girl who saved us from a camping trip of eating cup noodles with nothing but her skills and a portable stove."

"We can go camping here?!" Jaune piped up excitedly.

"Only if you're absolutely awful," Qrow said immediately crushing Jaune's spirit like glass. "It's supposed to be a last ditch effort to strengthen teamwork. If you go on that trip, you're one step away from expulsion."

"Well, thanks for the notice," Pyrrha said glancing over at Jaune, who looked about ready to vomit again. "So… shall we continue the tour? They said we'll be sleeping in the dance hall tonight."

"Oh yeah, that." Qrow looked over at Summer, who was staring very intently at Jaune, or rather between his pale face and the sword hanging from his waist. 'He really doesn't look too good. I probably spooked him too much just now.' "I'll show you where that is. You're friend can catch up when he's feeling better. Do you mind watching him until then Summer?"

"What?" Summer stammered, looking at Qrow with wide eyes. "Oh… um, ok."

"Great, let's go Rae."

"Sure," Raven said flatly.

"But what about- gah!" Pyrrha started to say before Raven wrapped an arm around her neck and dragged her along.

"Come on kid, I want to get this over with." Raven held fast as Pyrrha flailed in her grip as they walked away, though eventually she accepted her fate and let herself get dragged away.

"Raven's certainly gotten more sociable," Summer commented and shook her head, "even if she could use some work on her manners. Oh well." Summer turned back to Jaune, who was already looking better, and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "So… are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting that." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "Are your friends always like that?"

"Yeah, but don't hold it against them. They're naturally direct and… didn't exactly have good childhoods." Summer looked down at the ground and rubbed an arm under her cloak.

"Ok… what do you mean?"

"…Here's a tip Jaune: don't ask that question. Nobody has a happy past here; I'd be surprised if you did." Jaune looked away with a slight scowl, proving Summer's point. "If anyone wants to share that, it's their choice. And don't say anything to them about this conversation, ok?"

"Yeah, I got it," Jaune answered with a sigh.

"Good." Summer then clapped her hands and flashed her best smile as she asked, "So, care to share your weapon?"

"Share?" Jaune stared at Summer for a moment before he realized. "Oh right, you were talking about that earlier." As he was reaching for his sword he remembered how impressed Summer was with Pyrrha's weapon and felt a rock form in his gut. He managed to hide it as he drew his sword, though he couldn't keep the sheepishness out of his voice as he said, "Well, I have this sword."

"Nothing wrong with that," Summer said calmly and held a hand out, "May I?" Jaune blinked a couple times before he carefully handed the sword to Summer. "So does she have a name?" she asked giving it a few practice swings.

"Um…" 'Damn, what was it again?!' "Crocea Mors! And um… I also have this shield." Jaune pulled out his scabbard and unfolded it into a shield.

"A simple sword and board combo? You don't see that a lot nowadays." Summer looked the shield over and asked, "So do they do anything else?" Summer tapped the shield and jumped back when it folded and unfolded rapidly, forcing Jaune to juggle it for a moment before it unfolded into his face and knocked him flat onto the ground. "Sorry! I didn't-"

"It's alright," Jaune moaned and sat up. He rubbed the sore spot on his face and said, "It's not the first time that's happened to me anyway." He pushed himself up to his feet and picked up his shield and folded it up again. "Anyway, the shield gets smaller. So… I can put it away when I don't want to carry it." He put it back on his waist to demonstrate, giving a cheesy grin in the process.

"Doesn't it weigh the same though?" Summer asked quietly. Jaune dropped the grin and nodded quietly. "Well, that's good for exercise I suppose." Summer held the sword up again and ran a finger along the edge. "That aside, this is a really good sword. It must have been a pain to forge huh?"

"F-forge?"

"Well, I don't know about other prep academies, but at Signal we had to make our own weapons. It took me three tries to get York how I wanted it. Then again, this doesn't have a Dust injection system like York, so it was probably easier huh?"

"I… didn't make it," Jaune admitted rubbing the back of his head. "It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it in the Great War."

"Really, this is eighty years old?" Summer asked looking down at the sword with wide eyes. Then she blinked and asked, "Wait, you said your name was Arc right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"As in Gustav Arc?! The hero of the Great War who helped thousands of soldiers survive the biggest Grimm ambush in history?!"

"That would be him, yes…" Jaune looked down in embarrassment or… disappointment?

'No, why would he be disappointed?' Summer shook the thought away and looked back down at the literal piece of history in her hands and smiled widely. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Jaune was back to just confusion as Summer planted Crocea Mors point down and leaned on it.

"I had a good feeling about you, and my gut is hardly ever wrong about people. I'm looking forward to what you can do once you cut your teeth a little." Jaune's expression darkened a little before he smiled again. Summer lifted the sword and held it out to Jaune and said, "That aside, this is a great weapon. Don't be ashamed by how simple it is. In this age of baseball bat-rocket launchers, everyone underestimates the classics."

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Jaune asked taking and sheathing the sword.

"Oh that's a story. If you survive your exam tomorrow, I'll tell you all about it." Jaune was suddenly feeling sick again, though Summer ignored it in favor of looking around for her teammates. "You didn't happen to see where the others went, did you?"

"I... they were going to the dance hall, weren't they?"

"Right, the dance hall! Of course!" Summer held a finger in the air and froze for a few seconds before she started laughing nervously.

"What?" Jaune asked. Summer turned to him with the reddest blush on her face and pressed her fingers together nervously.

"I… forgot where it is," she replied and continued laughing awkwardly.

Jaune could only stare at her in disbelief.


I'm having an awful lot of fun writing Pyrrha. I guess that's true for all straight men in fiction.