So here we are, the slump of Volume 1. We won't be here for long.


"So there we were, in the middle of the night…"

"It was day."

Lunch time for Team STRQ had gotten more interesting whenever Team JNPR joined their table, wanted or not. At the very least they tried to give their underclassmen the proper attention they deserved, though today Summer noticed that Jaune and Pyrrha were more than a little distracted right now.

"We were trapped in the middle of the woods, surrounded by Ursai," Nora continued dramatically.

"They were Beowolves," Ren corrected again.

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

"But in the end we fought them off, and Ren and I made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

"She's been having this reoccurring dream for about a month now," Ren explained shaking his head slightly and taking a drink from his mug.

"Weaksauce," Summer said waving a hand, "You should hear some of the dreams Tai has. It's an adventure every time I hear one."

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me!" Taiyang said excitedly, "I had a great dream the other night about you and Raven!"

"Oh god," Raven said face palming, "Please leave me out of your weird threesome dreams please!"

"Wrong Raven! I wasn't in the dream at all, it was all about you and Summer kicking ass and taking names." That caused Raven to slowly lift her face out of her hands and move to rest her chin on her hands as she looked at Taiyang.

"You have my attention."

"Ok, you're going to have to bear with me for a minute. It starts with you and Summer trying on wedding dresses."

"Are you alright Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as Taiyang started describing his dream. It took a second for Jaune to realize he was being addressed and jumped a little when he realized.

"Huh what? Y-yeah I'm fine," Jaune said looking at Pyrrha, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been playing with your Beowolf nuggies since you sat down and haven't actually eaten them," Summer said pointing at Jaune's tray, "and that doesn't bode well. Still upset about the spar the other day?"

"No, I-I'm over that!" Jaune said waving a hand in the air. Getting kneed in the groin in front of a good portion of the school wasn't exactly good for him, but it wasn't the end of the world. "I'm fine, really!" To punctuate that he put on an exaggerated smile and gave a thumbs up at Summer, who didn't look like she bought it in the slightest. Any reply that would have come from her was interrupted by some loud laughter a few tables down from Team CRDL.

"Oh look, the douchebag parade has come," Raven muttered and watched them surround Velvet.

"Yep," Taiyang agreed, "I'll finish my dream talk later."

"Jaune, we know Cardin's been tough on you for a while," Pyrrha said looking back at Jaune with concern.

"Oh come on guys, Cardin just likes to play around. You know, practical jokes."

"Dude, he kneed you in the groin the other day," Qrow said shaking his head and looking at his sister. "Just as you said Rae, cardboard cutout bully."

"Yup," she replied with a nod.

"Oh come on guys," Jaune said trying to sound jokey, "name one time he's-"

"He knocks your books out of your hands whenever you pass by each other," Taiyang interrupted.

"Um…"

"He trapped you in a door with your own shield once," Qrow added.

"Well that was-"

"The locker 'accident'," Summer said air-quoting the last word.

"…I didn't land that far from the school."

"Jaune," Pyrrha started putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder, "You know that if you ever need help all you have to do is ask any of us."

"Yeah, count me out of that," Raven said shaking her head.

"I know!" Nora said jumping up, "We'll break his legs!"

"No you're not!" Summer said glaring at Nora. "If you ever say something like that again Nora, I'll report you to Goodwitch! Don't think I won't!"

"…Spoil sport."

"Guys, it's fine!" Jaune said standing up with his tray as Nora sat back down, "I can handle myself. Besides, it's not like Cardin's just a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."

"Trust me, we're aware," Taiyang answered just as a shout of pain came from another table, which was soon shown to be from Velvet getting her ears pulled by Cardin. "I'm not eating this apple by the way."

"Good to know," Summer answered picking up the apple.

At the other table, Team CRDL was having a time laughing at Velvet's pain as Cardin yanked on Velvet's rabbit ear. "See, I told you they were real!" Cardin said loudly and gave another tug to the ear ignoring Velvet's pleas.

"What a freak," Russel commented as he and his team continued laughing, which didn't last much longer as an apple flew by and smacked Cardin right in the forehead. He yelled in pain and let go of Velvet to grasp his forehead, giving the Faunus the chance to get away. On her way past the table STRQ and JNPR were sitting at she shot a small glare at a standing Summer, who only shook her head at the look.

"You're welcome!" Summer shouted after Velvet before sitting down again. "Pitiful."

"I agree," Pyrrha said scowling in CRDL's direction and Cardin patting his forehead, "It's atrocious. I can't stand people like that."

"You better get used to that," Raven said holding up a fry, "and you better get used to people not doing anything to help. What Sum did is the exception rather than the rule, even for us."

"Doesn't make it any less…" Pyrrha stopped and glanced at the members of Team STRQ with wide eyes. "Wait, you mean you usually don't help her? Why, isn't she your friend?!"

"That's a strong word to describe her relationship with me. Mutual acquaintance at the very least. There's no point to helping her anyway."

"What do you-?"

"To actually answer your question," Qrow said glaring at his sister out of the corner of his eye, "there's two words to sum that up: Extremist terrorism. The White Fang is the worst thing to ever happen to the Faunus, next to slavery."

"For Velvet in particular, it's a little more complicated," Summer added, "I don't know the specifics, but the gist I got is that Velvet's opinion is 'If I fight back, it's just proving the Fang's point.' That seems to extend to others helping her out of those situations too. It's utter bull shit, but… it's kind of hard to disagree all things considered. The Faunus have been getting better treatment since the Fang got more violent."

"That doesn't make it right," Ren said simply.

"Right and wrong doesn't matter," Raven replied shaking her head and popping a fry into her mouth, "not in this world."

"Oh boy," Qrow whispered resting his head in his hands, "here we go again."

"You can disagree all you want Qrow, it doesn't change the fact that I'm right. Remember?"

"Right… about what?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, you're still here? That's good actually, because I get to drop some Branwen wisdom on your naïve asses."

"Rae," Summer warned.

"This world runs on one rule, and if you remember it you'll do fine."

"And that is?" Nora asked.

"The weak die, the strong survive. Simple as that." Raven picked up a grape from Qrow's tray and held it up pinched between her index and thumb as she looked between each of JNPR's shocked faces. "If you're strong enough, you can overcome any adversary and conquer any challenge. You can carve your place in the world with a sword in hand and the blood of your enemies trailing behind you. If you're weak…" Raven looked Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora in the eye as she squashed the grape, "You die. You gain nothing and lose… everything."

For a split second, Raven looked sad before returning to her normal neutral and she threw the grape onto the table. She crossed her arms as she continued, "There's no room for the weak in the world. Physically, mentally, socially, it doesn't matter. That's why I don't help Velvet when she gets into that kind of trouble; If you can't help yourself, why should others bring themselves down to help you?"

"That's… a very bleak way of looking at the world Raven," Pyrrha said moving her hands to her lap, "And very narrow. Weakness can be turned into strength if you work to improve on it."

"Granted, but that needs to be earned yourself. Strength earned through the help of others isn't strength, it's a crutch and it will hurt you in the long run." Raven looked down at her food, shook her head, and stood up. "Consider this a free lesson on how the world works. It doesn't care who you are or what you have, if you aren't strong enough it'll take everything from you and leave you broken and bleeding on the ground. Then you'll find out whether you're strong and get up or weak and die."

"Rae!" Summer said getting up and running after Raven as she left the dining hall, who were followed shortly after by a rather forlorn Jaune, who dumped his entire tray into the garbage before leaving.

"Jeez, what got up her butt?" Nora asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Qrow said sourly and stood up as well. He started rubbing the back of his neck as he said, "In some small way, I do agree with Raven. But it's still…" he shook his head and sighed as he stuck his hands in his pants pockets and started walking away, "I don't know."

"Guys…" Taiyang whispered looking after Qrow worriedly. A few moments of silence filled the area until Nora cleared her throat loudly.

"So… how did your dream end?" she asked with a smile.

"…I don't give a shit. See you guys later," Taiyang replied pushing his food tray in before getting up and leaving as well, leaving behind some very worried underclassmen.

"I didn't… mean to…" Pyrrha started but stopped when Ren put his hand on her shoulder. She started feeling better as she looked over at Ren giving her a comforting look.

"It's not your fault," he said simply and squeezed a little harder while Nora leaned across him to grab Pyrrha's hand, giving the gladiator her own smile and reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you," Pyrrha replied and squeezed Nora's hand. 'Why does helping others have to be so hard?'


Pyrrha wouldn't see any of Team STRQ for a couple of days until they happened to have one of Oobleck's classes together. With Jaune, Nora, and Ren going to sit on their own somewhere Pyrrha sat with Summer and Qrow, who were killing time before class playing Amity Arena. Pyrrha silently watched the match between the two that ended a minute later with Qrow victorious.

"Huh, guess even I can get lucky on this," Qrow commented claiming his crates.

"Yup, good job Qrow," Summer replied shutting her scroll and putting it on the desk in front of her before turning to Pyrrha. "And hello to you too Pyrrha."

"Oh, hello. You were in the middle of a game so… sorry," Pyrrha said tapping her fingers on the desk before sighing. "Listen, about the other day…"

"Water under the bridge," Summer said waving a hand in the air, "if anything we should be apologizing. Raven has a… bleak way of looking at the world, but she has her reasons."

"And if you'd believe it," Qrow added putting his scroll down, "she's actually a lot better now than she used to be. A year can do a lot for a person." Summer nodded in agreement while Pyrrha clasped her hands together.

"Still, I'm-"

"Don't apologize," Summer interrupted, "it's not your fault you and Raven have clashing world views. You can't get along with everyone all the time." Pyrrha was about to apologize, but thought better of it and simply nodded as she took her scroll out and put it down on the desk to look over the classes' text book. At least until the whirlwind of caffeine fueled energy that was Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck shot into the classroom a few minutes later and started the lesson in a flurry of words.

It took Pyrrha a few minutes to realize what the lesson was about and a few more to get herself caught up to Oobleck's point. It still amazed her how she retained every bit of information she got in his classes despite how fast he talked. Once she was certain she'd be alright for the lesson Pyrrha couldn't help but look at where Jaune was sitting to find him asleep, which did nothing to alleviate the worry she had been feeling for her partner.

"And so class it was prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, also known as the Faunus War, that many people in every kingdom became adamant about localizing the Faunus population in Menagerie," Oobleck rattled on in between sips of coffee and pointing at the map. "Now! Even though it may seem like ancient history to you students, it's important to remember that these are relatively recent events with repercussions still being felt to this day. Have any of you ever been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"

More than a few Faunus students in the class raised their hands including Velvet in the front row, which got a headshake and a scoff from Summer and Qrow respectively.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful," Oobleck summed up, "We must all remember that small acts such as these can have far reaching consequences. I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang."

"Those guys again," Qrow whispered and glanced at Summer, "that name has been getting around a lot more despite how quiet they've been."

"No kidding," Summer replied, "I looked up that train attack and found a picture. It looked like something out of a Splatter movie! I'd want to stay quiet and out of the public eye after something like that was attributed to me."

"-Turning point of the third year of the war? MISS SUMMER ROSE!" Summer jumped at Oobleck calling her name as he zoomed to the front of the section she sat in, "No whispering in class! Now what is the answer?"

"Um… The Battle of Fort Castle?" Summer guessed with a fake smile. Oobleck stared at her for a moment before zooming back to his desk.

"Correct! Good to know you can pay attention even when not paying attention." Summer let out a breath of relief as Oobleck continued, "Now, who can tell me what unique advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Pyrrha noticed Cardin, who was sitting behind the dozing Jaune, flick a small paper ball at Jaune's head waking him up with a small 'Hey!' that caught Oobleck's attention and he zoomed in front of Jaune.

"Ah, Mr. Arc! Finally taking an interest in class I see! What is the answer?"

"The… answer. Right, the advantage…" Jaune looked past Oobleck at Pyrrha, who was gesturing at her eyes along with Summer while Qrow was yawning, "That they had… was binoculars!"

"Dumb shit," Qrow muttered while Summer face planted on the desk, Pyrrha face palmed, and the rest of the class laughed.

"Very amusing Mr. Arc," Oobleck said flatly, "Mr. Winchester maybe you know the answer since you find Mr. Arc's so entertaining?"

"Well, I know it's easier to train an animal than a person," Cardin said with the pompous arrogance only someone like him could have.

"It must have been easy for you to be housebroken then," Pyrrha said out loud, earning chuckles from the class.

"You got a problem Nikos?!"

"No, I have the answer: Night vision. Almost all Faunus have perfect vision in the dark."

"Lagune didn't know that, and that cost him the fight before it even started," Qrow spoke up, to Summer's mild shock, "He tried to sneak up on the Faunus while they were asleep. The watchmen saw his force almost immediately and, when they got into the fort, shut the gates behind him and he was captured." Qrow turned to look at Cardin as he added, "Who knows, maybe if he wasn't such a racist jackass, he wouldn't have become the laughingstock he was destined to be."

"Why you little-!" Cardin said starting to stand up.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat," Oobleck said shooting a look at a smirking Qrow and moving up to a giggling Jaune. "You and Mr. Arc can stay behind for additional lessons." That stopped Jaune's laughter and, with another sip of coffee, went back into teacher mode.

"Moving right along, if you look all throughout history you'll find several incidents like this. One small incident or person's decision can change the course of the world! Can any of you young scholars think of one other such event?" Oobleck looked around the silent classroom with more than a few students fidgeting slightly. "Anyone at all? It doesn't have to be about the Faunus Rights Revolution, anything at all." It was a few seconds later that Summer raised her hand with a determined look. "Miss Summer Rose?"

"The Massacre at Rouge Plains," she answered, which stilled most of the class and caused a couple of the first years to look at her confused.

"Ah, the largest Grimm attack in known history," Oobleck explained sadly and took a drink, "I would agree with you, but I'm curious about how you came up with that answer?"

"I've been interested in the Great War lately and it just stood out I guess. And besides that, anything related to the Creatures of Grimm and their behavior is something I've always been interested in."

"Indeed. I can't help but notice that some of you are a little lost on the subject, so allow me to elaborate!" Oobleck zoomed over to the large map of Remnant that he kept on the back wall and smacked his pointer stick on the north east corner of Sanus, partially covered by a study paper of some kind. "During the Great War, the forces of Vale and Vacuo fought against Mistral and Mantle for multiple reasons: territorial disputes, suppression of the arts, among others. During the later days of the war a Vale army led by General Gustav Arc met a combination of Mantle and Mistral forces at what is now called the Rouge Plains."

Jaune couldn't help but perk up at the sound of his ancestor and actually started paying attention.

"Now battles during the War followed a particular ebb and flow in how they were fought: the armies would fight and the negative emotions of it would inevitably draw the Creatures of Grimm. The two armies would then join forces to fight off the Grimm before fighting each other again, and so on and so forth until one side emerged victorious. That is how the battle went for the first day until fighting broke for the night."

Oobleck started zooming around the class as he continued, "In the early hours of the next morning, one of General Arc's scouts woke him to report a massive horde of Grimm were approaching. General Arc went about the standard procedure of getting his army ready and sending a messenger to the opposing army to inform about the Creatures of Grimm, but by the time his army was ready the horde was upon them." Oobleck stopped and pointed at Summer when she raised her hand.

"I read General Arc's publicly released memoirs and he described this horde as 'an army, numbering in the several thousands.' Would you agree with that use of words?"

"I would disagree with the use of 'army' because that implies organization, but the size is about right. Modern estimates place the Rouge Horde at around 10,000. Both armies were caught off guard by the horde, with only Vale being slightly prepared for it thanks to the advance warning."

"Why, they're just Grimm," Cardin said putting is feet up on his desk, "Shouldn't it be easy for two armies to take care of?"

"Says a man who's never faced down a horde of Grimm before," Summer said glaring at Cardin, Pyrrha shrinking a little at how angry it looked, "why don't you keep your mouth shut about things you don't know ok?"

"Hey, that's-!"

"Let me paint a picture for you Cardin," Summer interrupted standing up. She ignored Oobleck's protests as she walked down the row toward Cardin. "Imagine that you're in the middle of a field surrounded by forest, only you and your team. Civilization is miles away in every direction, so you're isolated from help of any kind. And then, out from the trees, you see them come out. Beowolves, Ursai, the Creatures of Grimm are on you."

Summer reached Cardin's desk and put her hands down on it, her eyes locking with his as he took his feet of the desk. "At first it's just one, then two or three, and then it's dozens at a time pouring out of the trees and charging at you. You can fight naturally, but no matter how many you kill there's always another one to take its place." She leaned in closer to Cardin, who was getting more and more unnerved by the silver eyed girl. "Just imagine being surrounded by that: the black fur, the bony white masks, the fangs dripping with spittle and razor sharp claws. And no matter how fast or strong you are, all it takes is one. Good. Tag. And then you're-"

"MISS SUMMER ROSE!" Oobleck shouted and slammed a coffee mug on his desk hard enough to get the girl's attention. "That is quite enough," he said harshly once Summer looked at him.

"…Right, sorry Doctor," Summer said standing up straight and clearing her throat. "In any case, that's my experience with a horde of Grimm and it was only about a hundred strong. The only reason that my team is alive today is because of a supreme stroke of good luck." Summer started making her way back to her seat and glanced down at Velvet, who was staring up at her with a look of understanding. She sat down and looked back over at Cardin. "Now imagine you're one of those poor souls at Rouge Plains. Back then Mantle was the only kingdom to have Dust weaponry in any decent supply, so if you're a Mantle soldier you would probably have an assault rifle. Everyone else had to make do with the standard weaponry at the time. It wouldn't have just been Beowolves and Ursai either, there would have been larger Grimm too."

Summer shook her head and closed her eyes, Pyrrha noticing that she was shaking slightly. "Never underestimate Grimm. It's called a massacre for a reason."

"…Indeed," Oobleck said getting the class's attention. "The armies at Rouge Plains numbered 15,000 combined, maybe a little less given the day of fighting before the horde arrived. However due to the timing of the attack, they were almost entirely unprepared for fighting the horde. General Arc led a charge to group up with the Mistral-Mantle forces, which many historians believe to be the sole reason anyone walked off that field. I disagree with it being the sole reason, but it is a major contributing factor.

"At the end of the fighting the horde was successfully broken and scattered, but at a high price. 15,000 soldiers walked onto that field, and only 3,000 left it. Those who survived were indeed very lucky. As Miss Rose suggested, this was indeed a major turning point in the Great War; grand battles of this size never happened again due to a fear of attracting another Grimm horde of that size, though thankfully another one of that size never appeared. Smaller battles relying on hit and run tactics became more commonplace, eventually culminating in the Vacuo campaign that ended the Great War."

The bell rang and Oobleck looked at the wall clock. "Well it seems class is over! Aside from those I've mentioned earlier you are free to go! However I would like to propose a thought experiment: imagine what would have happened if any of what we discussed today hadn't happened the way they did. What if General Lagune hadn't been captured, what if the Rouge horde had went a different direction? Write a short essay about your thoughts on the matter and turn it in next class. You are dismissed!"

Everyone started getting up and leaving, Pyrrha having to be tapped on the shoulder by Summer to get her eyes off Jaune so she could get up and follow her upperclassmen. They had started passing Oobleck's desk when Summer snapped her fingers and turned to him.

"Doctor Oobleck," she said getting the teacher's attention, "there's actually something else I wanted to ask you about Rouge Plains. But if you're too busy-"

"Nonsense!" Oobleck said smiling and adjusting his glasses, "I'm always ready to stoke the fires of knowledge in my students! If you can wait until after I'm done with Mr. Arc and Winchester I'll be happy to answer!"

"I'll wait outside then," Summer nodded and left the classroom with Qrow with Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren right in front of them.

"You guys go on ahead," Pyrrha said to Ren and Nora, "I'll wait here for Jaune."

"Are you sure?" Nora asked tilting her head, to which Pyrrha nodded. "Ok, we'll see you back at the dorm."

"You go on too Qrow," Summer told her teammate as she watched Nora skip away with Ren behind her.

"You won't hear me complain," Qrow said rolling his neck, "classes are so dull. What do you want to ask Oobleck?" Summer quietly pulled out her scroll and tapped it a few times before showing Qrow the screen, making sure that Pyrrha couldn't see it. After a second Qrow's eyes widened and he nodded. "You really think he'll have something to say about that?"

"Only one way to find out." Qrow nodded and started leaving in his usual slouch. "Oh, and tell Rae not to order anything! I'm making dinner tonight and it'll be one of her favorites!"

"Got it," Qrow called back giving a thumbs up. Pyrrha moved to lean on the wall next to Summer as she pulled out her scroll to check a news site.

"So… what does Raven like to eat?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're not going to get Raven to change her mind by feeding her good food," Summer said and shook her head with a sigh. "I should know. She still won't agree to another Girl's Night Out with me no matter what."

"I-I know," Pyrrha started wringing her hands, "I just… wait, what?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'Girl's Night Out'?"

"Oh Pyrrha, you sweet summer child," Summer said closing her scroll and putting a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, "Fine, I'll explain. Let's start with a quick list of my favorite hangout spots Downtown!"


"The two of you have been struggling in my class for quite some time now," Oobleck told both Jaune and Cardin, who had both moved to one of the front row seats. "Now I don't know if it's arrogance on your part, or simply a lack of interest in the subject, but whatever it is it stops now.

"You were both accepted into one of the best academies for a reason, so it's about time you both started acting like it. History can teach all sorts of lessons, as I'm sure you've learned today, but you have to be willing to learn from it. Because I can tell you one lesson everyone learns eventually gentlemen; if you don't learn from history, you're destined to repeat it. Pages 51 through 59, I want an essay from both of you by next class. Now run along!" Oobleck then shot out of the classroom stopping right next to Summer and Pyrrha. He took a drink of coffee and was about to say something when-

"That's ok Summer, I don't want to know what a soap land is!" Pyrrha's exclamation nearly caused Oobleck to spit his coffee over his students, though he managed to bring it down to only choking on it.

"To be fair, I don't know what it is either," Summer replied sounding offended, "There just happens to be one close to a café I like to go to. It's a cat café, you'll love it!"

"This conversation is over, I don't want to go! Oh Professor Oobleck, so nice of you to show up!" Pyrrha laughed nervously as Summer turned to notice Oobleck as he recovered and Jaune standing in the class door watching them in confusion.

"I'm just going to assume your… conversation was entirely on the level girls," Oobleck said somehow keeping his normal academic tone, though a hint of annoyance crept in when he added, "And it's DOCTOR. I didn't earn the PHD for fun, thank you very much. Now about your question Miss Rose?"

"After you," Summer said gesturing back to the classroom. Oobleck nodded and zoomed back into the classroom, narrowly avoiding Jaune and Cardin just as the latter flat out shoved Jaune onto the floor before walking away. "Karma's a wheel you know!" Summer shouted at Cardin, who waved her off as he turned a corner.

"I seriously will break his legs," Pyrrha commented helping Jaune up.

"Pyrrha…"

"It's fine, really," Jaune said once he was up on his feet, sounding more than a little miserable. Pyrrha looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding and grabbing both of Jaune's hands.

"There's somewhere I want to show you," Pyrrha said before dragging Jaune away, the poor boy flailing behind her until they disappeared around a corner.

'Everyone's getting dragged around nowadays. Well, whatever,' Summer thought with a shrug before walking back into Oobleck's classroom, finding the teacher standing next to his desk pouring more coffee into the multitude of cups and mugs on the desk. "Doctor?"

"Ah Miss Rose, glad to see you wrapped up your conversation successfully! So, what is your question?"

"It's more like I wanted your opinion on something I read about the Rouge Plains. May I have a cup?" Oobleck nodded and Summer picked up one of the paper cups and pulled out her scroll to open a text. "I already said how I was reading Gustav Arc's memoirs which is what brought the Rouge Plains to my attention in the first place."

"I've read his memoirs myself," Oobleck nodded, "they're very interesting, but I would advise against treating one source of information of an event as complete fact."

"Naturally. Here it is." Summer took a quick drink and highlighted a section of text before handing it over to Oobleck. "This is what I wanted to ask you about. It stuck with me ever since I read it." Oobleck took the scroll and, after a drink of coffee, read the passage out loud.

"In the middle of the clamor of battle and the cries of the monsters, I saw a rider approaching in the middle of the horde. From the way it looked atop it's Grimm mount giving commands I knew deep in my gut that it was no friend of man. As custom dictates I challenged it to single combat, which it agreed to much to my surprise. With a scythe as its weapon it charged at me; the melee was brutal and I still needed to tend to my men while fighting it off, but in the end I emerged victorious when I plunged my blade into its chest." Oobleck silently quirked an eyebrow and closed the scroll to hand back to Summer. "Interesting."

"So you think he was telling the truth?" Summer asked putting her scroll away. "About the rider. He doesn't go into detail about it there or anywhere else in his memoirs, but I can only assume from his wording that… well, it was humanoid. What do you think?"

"The likelihood of that is incredibly small Miss Rose, even you should know that," Oobleck replied taking a drink and setting the mug down. "General Arc was a great man in many ways, but he was a soldier above all else. With all due respect, soldiers tend to fluff up their own exploits to make for better stories, something I'm sure both of us are guilty of as well."

"Fair enough," Summer shrugged and drained the cup before setting it down. "So what do you think he saw there?"

"My personal opinion? Do you know the Nuckelavee of Mistral?" Summer nodded. "A rather unique Grimm, resembling a horse and rider from witness accounts. It's unknown if other, similar Grimm exist, but the simple fact that it does exist means the possibility of others like it having existed is there. I believe General Arc saw a Grimm like that and the fatigue and adrenaline of the fight caused him to see something that wasn't there. The rest, as I said, is fluff to make for a better story."

"…But you did say that he might have been telling the truth."

"Every theory is plausible Miss Rose, especially when it comes to events that happened nearly a century ago. As scholars, it's up to us to take all the knowledge of these events that we have and form our own theories that best fit them."

"That makes sense, and it's always good to hear other people's ideas. I believe that's everything I wanted to ask, so I'll let you go Prof… Doctor."

"No trouble at all! And remember the assignment!" Oobleck said before disappearing out of the room in a blur, a few papers following after him in the breeze. Summer stared after him for a moment before rubbing her chin in thought.

"So he didn't know. I guess the Generals are just as much of a secret as Oz said. I need to be more careful about that topic from now on." Summer started leaving the classroom and, once she was outside, smiled lightly and nodded to herself. "Still, I believe I learned something good today."


A few weeks ago, Pyrrha found a nice little spot on the dorm rooftop that was perfect for helping her clear her mind from any ill events of the day. Just like every other night she came here the stars were out and shining clearly in the sky with barely any of the academy's light blotting them out. She brought Jaune here for hopefully the same purpose, that he would look up and find the same kind of serenity that she always found and let his troubles fade away.

She was wrong.

"Uh Pyrrha? I know I've been a little depressed lately, but I'm not that depressed." Pyrrha blinked at Jaune's words and looked at him to find him looking over the edge of the rooftop. She looked between him and over the edge and slowly pieced together his thought process. "I mean if I'm not cut out for this, I can always be a farmer or a stay at home dad or… something."

"No!" she yelped and dragged Jaune away from the edge by the arm. Once he was far enough away she let him go and said, "Please don't do that!"

"Hey that's not fair Pyrrha, being a stay at home dad is a noble thing to do!"

"That's not what I mean!" Pyrrha rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to face palm at Jaune's density. She took a breath to calm herself and said, "Jaune, I know you've been struggling in class lately. I just wanted you to know that if you need a little help I'm here for you."

"That's…" Jaune started before shaking his head, "That's ok, I don't need it."

"I know it's hard to ask for help, but it's ok. Everyone needs a little push from time to time." Pyrrha started pacing a little around the roof and gestured around her, barely sparing a glance at a crow that landed on a nearby A/C unit to watch them. "Just look at where you're at now. You made it into Beacon Academy! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" When Pyrrha looked back at Jaune she found her words had the exact opposite effect of what she wanted, if the way he was cringing and looking guilty meant anything.

"You're wrong," he finally said turning away from her and looking up at the Shattered Moon behind Beacon Tower.

"What do you-?"

"I don't belong here and every day that passes makes that all the more clear. I never went to a prep school or got any formal training but I still wanted to be a Huntsman." Jaune turned back to Pyrrha, "So I stole my family's sword, got some false papers, and lied."

Pyrrha, wide eyed at the turn the conversation was going, could only stammer out, "But… why would-"

"Because this is what I've always wanted to be!" Jaune answered turning around again, "My father, grandfather, and his father were all heroes! I wanted to be one too, but I was never good enough for that."

"Jaune," Pyrrha started, briefly wondering what to say before settling her expression and walking to Jaune and reaching out to gently hold his arm. "That's not true. If you just let me help you, you-"

"I don't want help, don't you get it!" Jaune suddenly yelled pulling away from Pyrrha and causing her to step away from him. She would have taken a few more if she hadn't seen that he was more sad than angry. "I'm tired of being the guy who always needs help! I'm tired of being the useless idiot stuck in a tree while his friends fight for their lives!

"Raven was right. I can't get stronger or better if I'm constantly relying on others for help, because if I do I'll just drag you guys down with me! And if I can't then what good am I?" Pyrrha, unsure of how to respond, tried to take a step toward Jaune who flinched back from her and looked away. "Just leave me alone."

Pyrrha kept her hand up for a second before lowering it and turning around. "If that's what you really want," she said flatly and started walking to the door. The crow cawed at her, to which she responded with a shape glare before she opened the door and left the rooftop. Jaune took a breath and started to leave as well.

"So, I couldn't help but overhear that."

'Oh crap,' Jaune thought recognizing the voice and looked behind him to see Cardin climbing over the edge of the rooftop. 'Wait, where was he…? Never mind, bigger problems.' "Cardin, what are you-"

"I have to admit Jaune," Cardin interrupted as he walked over to Jaune, "I didn't expect you to be capable of much, but sneaking into Beacon and keeping a secret for so long? That's interesting."

"Please Cardin, don't tell anyone!" 'Just my luck! Of all people to overhear that, why him?!'

"Oh Jaune, I wouldn't tell anyone. Especially since we're friends."

"F-friends?" Jaune asked feeling goosebumps creep over his skin.

"Yeah Jaune, we're friends now," Cardin replied dragging Jaune into a headlock, "and as far as I'm concerned, I got your back as long as you have mine, got it?"

'Crap.'

"Having said that, I really don't have the time to do the extra assignments that Oobleck assigned me. So why don't you take care of that for me?" Cardin let Jaune go and let him drop to the ground while he walked back to the edge he climbed up from. "Thanks so much Jaune, this'll be a great friendship," he said just as he started lowering himself back down over the edge.

And promptly found himself stuck hanging on the ledge because the window was closed.

"Crap! Idiots, open the window!" Cardin said trying and failing to tap on the window with his foot. "Hey Jaune, you're still up there right? Help me up!"

Jaune, still a little thrown from everything that had happened, could only really watch as the crow flew over to where Cardin was hanging, landed near his fingers and looked at them with great interest.

"What was that? Jauney boy, is that-" the crow interrupted Cardin by pecking at his fingers. "OW! What was that?!" Peck. "OW! Stop that!" Naturally a crow cares little for that kind of plea, so it continued to peck at his fingers until the one hand let go of the edge and it started pecking the other. "Seriously, I'm losing my- AH!" Cardin let go and fell the three floors with a crack of wood echoing along with his screams.

Jaune, naturally, let out a yelp and rushed to the edge of the roof, scaring the crow out of the way, and looked over the edge down at Cardin. "He's… ok?"

"I'm ok!" Cardin shouted after he stood up rubbing his back. "I… may have broken a tree branch on the way down but I'm ok, no thanks to you Jaune!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP IN HERE!" Someone suddenly shouted leaning out a window and looking down at Cardin.

"Screw you, I just fell off a roof!"

"Oh boo hoo. Let me give you something to make you feel better!" The boy leaned back inside and reappeared a second later to dump a big container of orange drink on Cardin.

"Gah!" Cardin shouted and tried to shake the drink out of his school uniform. "I'm going to get you for that!"

"I'd like to see you try bitch! Marigold for life!" The boy retreated back inside and closed the window, leaving Cardin to growl and trudge back inside.

'Well… that happened,' Jaune thought and sighed and moved to sit away from the edge. The crow cawed at him and Jaune glared and waved the bird away. "Shoo, you're not helping!" he said and was thankful that the crow flew away with another caw. With that done Jaune pressed his hands into his face and groaned. "I'm so screwed. What am I going to do?"


"And then the two of you delivered an uppercut at the same time to the Mistral General, knocking him out and saving the kingdom! And you did all of it in the finery of wedding dresses." Taiyang gave both Summer and Raven finger guns and a quick "Eh?" as he waited for their reactions.

"You know, disregarding how it took you days to finish that story," Raven said stirring the meatballs on her plate, "it was definitely worth the wait. It went a whole lot better than your dreams usually go."

"The showtune in the middle was a bit over the top though," Summer said and took a bite of meatball.

"Hey, I can't control how my dreams go," Taiyang defended picking up his plate and sitting on his bed. "In my defense, I really do think you have killer singing voices." Taiyang stabbed a meatball with his fork and motioned around the room with it as he asked, "Where's Qrow? I think he would have loved that story."

"He said he was getting some exercise," Raven said through a mouthful of food, "whatever that means." A soft 'thunk' and caw sounded through the room and the trio looked at the window in time to see a crow slide down the glass out of sight. "Oh, there he is."

"Oh my god!" Summer shouted setting her plate down and rushing to the window to open it. No sooner had she done it and looked outside did the crow come back and land on the window sill to look at Summer with the closest a bird could to a glare. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were out there, so-"

The crow cawed at her and flew into the room before setting down on the floor so Qrow could rub his face. "It's fine. It's not the worst thing that's happened to me while out and about. Is that plate mine?"

"No, that's mine. Here's yours," Summer said grabbing a full plate from the table she was standing next to and held it out to Qrow, who took it with a nod and walked to sit next to Taiyang as Summer returned to her spot next to Raven. "So how's 'recon mode' treating you? See anything good?"

"It's going ok, still getting used to it. Did see a couple of things, but they're not really our problem." Qrow lifted a meatball up and inspected it for a second before biting it and giving Summer a thumbs up. "Good as always. So how'd that thing with Oobleck go?"

"Swallow before you talk Qrow, and it went fine."

"You going to elaborate or…?" Raven said gesturing at Summer with her fork.

"Gustav Arc fought a Grimm General and won, and not just any one either. Pardon the pun, but it would seem the good General Arc stared Death in the face and walked away from it."

"No shit! Guess you don't get sole survivor credit anymore Sum," Raven said getting up to sit crossed legged, "So that means they can be killed!"

"Or beaten at the very least," Taiyang corrected and scratched his chin, "but I can't imagine that it was easy in any case. You'd either have to be really strong or plan a lot in advance."

"I agree, but it's still something to keep in mind in case we meet one." Summer ate her last meatball and set her empty plate and lay down with a sigh. "But that's all future problems. We got plenty to deal with right now."

"Less than a month of remedial classes left," Qrow said with a sigh, "but we can do this. It's not the hardest thing we've had to do."

"I hate that that's true," Raven said shaking her head, "but we just gotta keep on pushing. That'll be a piece of cake."

"Yup. What's the worst that could happen?" Taiyang asked.

"Please don't say that!"