Yang sprinted through the forest, her breathing ragged as she screamed out Ruby's name again and again. She had to find her; she didn't care whether or not it was against the rules for siblings to be partners she was finding her baby sister and she was going to protect her. The forest was a blur to her as she blindly ran through it.

She let out a cry as she tripped over a gnarled root sticking out of the dirt and went tumbling down a hill covered in bushes and briar. She tumbled through some shrubs and slid to a stop, groaning in pain. The thorns from the briar's were wrapped around her body and tangled in her hair. She grumbled as she rose to her feet and froze at the sight before her.

Two Ursa stood before her, dining on the corpse of one of her fellow students. The poor dog Faunus had had her ribcage ripped open and her entrails pulled out. A pool of blood surrounded the girl and caked blood covered her face. Her hazel eyes were glazed over and one of her dog ears had been chewed off. Her parachute was tangled up next to her corpse and soaked with her blood. Her legs were broken and her femur was sticking out of her right leg. Her left forearm had been ripped off and was being gnawed to the bone by one of the Ursa.

The two Ursa were staring at her; one gnawing on the girls arm lazily. Yang swallowed and turned her bracelets into Ember Celica. The Ursa with the arm let it drop from its blood soaked maw and charged at the girl, its roar sending a chill down Yang's spine. The other Ursa hung back and began to flank her.

The first Ursa charged at her and she leapt out of the way. The second Ursa attacked her from behind, raking its claws across her back. She hissed with pain as her aura absorbed the blow. She spun around and caught the Ursa's paw as it swiped at her again. She grit her teeth as she struggled to keep the paw at bay. She screamed as the second Ursa bit down on her shoulder. Her aura was going haywire as it absorbed the bite.

Yang yelled, her eyes flashing red, as she used her spare hand to punch the Ursa in front of her in the arm, firing a blast at the same time. The Ursa roared as its arm flew off in a shower of black, gooey blood. Yang grabbed the Ursa biting her shoulder with both hands and lifted its jaw off of her shoulder. She spun around to face the Ursa, snarling as she kept its jaws apart. She screamed and twisted the Ursa's head with a sickening snap. The Ursa fell to the ground as she turned to face the remaining Ursa.

It was laying on the ground dead, black blood dribbling down its head. The ninja girl that Ruby had met yesterday stood on top of the Ursa's corpse, her sword lodged in its skull. She glared at Yang before yanking out her blade and stalking off. Yang sprinted after her

"Hey! Wait! Have you seen my sister?" The girl looked back and shook her head.

The wolf had her pinned to the ground and Weiss was struggling to keep the wolf's snapping jaws away from her throat. Her sword had fallen out of place and was laying in the mud near her. She groaned as she felt her arms begin to shake from the strain. She grunted and tried to hold the wolf away with one hand while feeling around for a rock of something. She felt her hand close around a jagged palm sized rock, grabbed it, and bashed it over the wolf's head. The wolf growled with pain as it fell over. Weiss took the opportunity to scramble towards her sword. She gasped as she felt the wolf grab her leg and drag her backwards. She clawed at the ground, trying in vain to get to her sword.

The wolf yanked back on her leg and she was painfully thrown back. The wolf was on top of her in an instant and grabbed her head with is giant clawed hand. She grabbed the wolf's wrist, trying to pry the wolfs hand off her face. The wolf lifted her head up and slammed it into the ground. An explosion of light filled her vision and it felt like her head was going to break apart as the wolf slammed her head into the ground again. Her aura was doing a good job dulling the pain but it could only hold out for so long. The wolf let go of her head and wrapped its claws around her throat. She wheezed and tried to pry off the claws, her nails digging into its skin and drawing blood. The wolf lowered its head and looked her in the eye as it strangled the life out of her, hot drool falling onto her face.

She could see her reflection in the wolf's eyes. Her reflection smiled at her as it raked its thumb across its throat. Black spots began to appear in her vision as her struggles against the wolfs claws became weaker. The wolf threw back its head and howled in victory.

The wolf's head exploded into a spray of black blood, bones, fur, and brains, splattering all over Weiss' face. The wolf's corpse slumped over on top of her, its claws slipping off her throat. Weiss gasped for air, her throat burning as the cool morning air was sucked in and out greedily. Her vision cleared and Weiss stared unblinking up at the tree tops, her ears ringing. The trees were thick and there was very little sunlight able to filter down, keeping the forest in a perpetual state of twilight. Despite it being spring there were no flowers blooming. She could feel a gentle breeze blowing across her cheek and watched as dead leaves danced in the wind. She stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, staring up at the trees, her hearing muted.

A face appeared in front of Weiss, shaking her and shouting. She couldn't hear what the girl was saying as she watched the girl's panicked face. Her skin was pale and her eyes a bright silver. Her hair was black with the tips dyed crimson. The girl lifted the Beowolf off of her and sat her up. The ringing in Weiss' ears slowly came to a stop.

"Weiss! Are you okay? Can you hear me?" That girl, where had she seen her before? Oh that's right, she spilled coffee all over her the day before. The girl shook Weiss' shoulders again. "Weiss! Answer me!"

"What? I'm fine, let go of me." Ruby let go of her and backed away, eyeing Weiss strangely. Weiss stood up and grabbed her sword from the mud. She brushed the mud and dirt off the Dust chamber and sheathed it. She started to walk off into the forest, pushing shrubs and bushes out of her way.

Oh Dust.

Ruby followed after her. "Weiss, where are you going?"

"Unless you feel like fighting more of these things I recommend we keep walking. Beowolves always travel in packs," Weiss said. Ruby ducked under a low hanging branch.

"I know that. But do you have any idea where you're going? And what was up with that? You zoned out like a zombie after I killed that wolf for you."

I… I almost…

"I'm heading towards the ruins. Did you not pay attention to anything Ozpin said?" Ruby stopped and cocked her head.

"How do you know it's that way?"

"I just do, okay."

"You sure about that? Or are we heading towards a Grimm nest for you to get killed at?" Weiss stopped and spun on her heels and marched over to the taller girl. She glared up at her.

"Listen, Ms. Coffee Spiller, I was doing just fine before you showed up. I don't need your help or anyone else's." Ruby laughed.

"Right, you totally had that under control. You were just gonna let that wolf strangle you to death then?" Weiss turned away.

If she hadn't shown up…

"I had it under control! I always have things under control!" Her voice broke.

"But you didn't! You were about to die till I sniped that beo! You're not perfect Weiss, you can't do everything on your own!" Weiss kept her back turned Ruby as the tears started to run down her cheeks. She felt her body tremble, and she clasped her hands over her mouth to silence the hiccup coming out of her mouth.

"Are you… crying?" She heard Ruby take a step towards her.

"Of course not you dolt! Just leave me alone, I don't need your help or anyone else's! I can make it all by myself!" Weiss tried to take a step forward and fell to her knees. She stayed that way and wrapped her arms around her chest, rocking back and forth as she sobbed.

Oh Dust, oh Dust. I almost died! I can't die this young, there's so much I need to do! And dying to a Grimm, my body… would they have had anything to send back home? What would Mother, Winter, and Whitley do if I died? What would Klein do? Oh Dust, oh Dust!

She started to sob even harder as she thought of the look on her beloved sister's face when she learned she had died.

Several minutes passed before Weiss felt the tears slow and she managed to regain her composure. She stood up, her tears making streaks on her blood covered face. She turned around and saw Ruby standing there awkwardly, fiddling with her scythe rifle. She pointed a finger at Ruby.

"Breath a word of that and I will flay you alive." Ruby nodded her head.

"Ya wanna talk about it?"

"No," she said. She turned and marched back into the forest. Ruby shook her head and followed after her.

Jaune whimpered as Pyrrha cleaned his wounds with alcohol. She put away her first aid kit and spoke

"There, your aura should take care of the rest. Why didn't you have it on when we were falling?" Jaune groaned as blood trickled down his arm.

"I don't know how to use my aura." Pyrrha's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.

"You what?"

"I don't know how to use it!" Pyrrha placed her hand on Jaune's forehead, a red glow emanating over her body.

"Close your eyes!" Jaune did as he was told. Pyrrha's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she said with a commanding voice "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through, this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release this one's soul!"

Jaune opened his eyes to see his body emanating a white light and that the wound in his arm was healing. He grit his teeth as the flesh, muscles, and bone painfully and quickly stitched itself back together. Pyrrha's eyes rolled back and she shuddered.

"There, that should do it." She was winded and she struggled to get the words out. Her olive skin was coated with a shiny sheen of sweat. Juane moved his arm around; it was sore but that was better than broken and bleeding.

"You okay? And where did you learn to do that? That was awesome!" Pyrrha held up a hand as she caught her breath. Once she was ready she turned and spoke to him.

"My mother taught me how to do that. Helping others unlock their aura is a skill that my family has been passing down for generations."

"Neat!" Jaune said. He looked over the edge of the branch and down at the forest floor far away. "So do you have any idea how to get to that forest temple thing?"

Ren hiked through the forest, fidgeting with his goggles as he walked. They must have looked silly but hey, free stuff was free stuff. The forest reminded him of the one near the village he grew up in. The memory made him smile and the scar on his chest to ache. The grass was particularly tall as it brushed against his hips. He trailed his hands through it, smiling at the softness of the grass.

He heard a high pitched squeal and looked up. Nora was hanging upside down from a tree branch, her parachute tangled up and tied around her. Her face was red and her arms were swinging as she swayed with the wind.

Ren made a high pitched squeal to get her attention. Nora looked down and gasped.

"Sloth buddy!" Ren smiled up at her and went to the tree before climbing it. He reached her branch and pulled out Storm Flower. Nora's eyes widened and pointed behind him. "Uh, Ren, you might wanna take care of that."

He spun around to see a King Taijitu at eye level with him. Blood coated its white scales and a multitude of fresh wounds covered its head. He looked down to see the other half gulping down a dead student; his face blue and his body crushed. Ren's hands began to shake and his scar burned. He started to hyperventilate and he fell to his knees as the snake reared up.

"Ren! It's okay, I'm here!" Nora yelled, trying to untangle her grenade launcher from her parachute. Ren could hardly hear her as her placed his hands over his head. The world was growing fuzzy and burning, bloody buildings began to fill his vision. The King Taijitu stood before him, its scales caked with gore.

An explosion shocked him back to his sense, the heat washing over him. He looked up and saw the snake rearing back in response to Nora's grenades.

"You okay Ren?" Nora asked. Ren nodded and glared down at the snake as it writhed with pain. He turned the safeties off and leapt down. Nora was with him; he could do anything.

The snake reared up both heads and hissed at him. He began to fire, the recoil shaking his arms. The bullets pierced the snake's scales and black blood began to leak from the multitude of wounds. The white head snapped at him and he leapt out of the way. The snake's jaws were stuck in the ground, its fangs deep in the grassy earth. Ren ran up to the snake and plunged his blades into the snake's eyes. He cut deeply across the eye, blood spurting out and splashing against his goggles and clothes. The snake writhed around and broke its fang off trying to free itself. Ren got away from the snake as it freed itself, blood oozing out of its mouth.

The snake lunged at him blindly and he dodged each strike, sweating began to run down his brow. The other snake head was hanging back, letting the white head do the legwork while it waited for its chance to attack. The snake lunged and hit its head on a tree. Ren took this opportunity to stab the snake's good eye, blinding the beast.

He kept one blade lodged in the snake's eye before sticking the barrel into the hole and pulled the trigger, empty the entire magazine into its eye. Bullets flew through the other eye and the snake twitched as it died.

He heard the other snake hiss as it prepared to strike. He stood his ground and stabbed Storm Flower's blades into the top of the snake's mouth as it striked. He struggled to keep his ground as the snake shook and tried to get his blades out of its mouth.

"Nora! Shoot down its throat!" he shouted, looking over his shoulder. Nora saluted and took aim. He struggled to keep the snake's mouth open and keep his body at an angle where Nora wouldn't blow him up by mistake. He heard the shot and saw the pink grenade fly down the snake's gullet. He pulled out the blades and leapt backwards.

The snake exploded, blood raining down as parts of the snake flew away. Ren was breathing heavy as he looked around, making sure that there were no more surprises. Satisfied, he holstered his guns and climbed the tree again. Nora was swaying from the branch, the grenade launcher held loosely in her hands. Ren crouched down next to her face.

"I'm sorry about…that. I'll try to not let it interfere with our other fights." Nora said nothing but smiled and poked him on the nose.

"Boop," she giggled. He smiled.

Ozpin stood in the grassy field, sipping his coffee and watching old black and white films on his scroll. Glynda was pacing back and forth behind him and Team CFVY was busy playing cards. Doctor Sorrell and her nurses were waiting by the bulkheads, chatting with the pilots. He chuckled as he watched Barney Chaplin struggle with a machine he was tightening a bolt on.

The sound of nearby gunfire drew his attention away from the film and he looked up, his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. A large pale man in a gray shirt caked in mud and Grimm blood was running up the hill, a dark skinned man in black and covered in bloody wounds slung over his shoulder. Behind them a dog Faunus with purple hair was firing an assault rifle behind her as she ran next to a moose Faunus who was crying as she tried to keep up with the large man.

Ozpin looked back at Team CFVY, and motioned for them to go help the students, they had made it to the hill. Coco stood up, telling her teammates to stay put and keep playing the game. Coco grabbed her handbag and walked down to help the students. Ozpin watched with disinterest as Coco turned her handbag into a Gatling gun and mowed down the Grimm that were chasing the students.

The four students made it up to Ozpin, panting and crying as they stood in front of him. The large gray man presented a silver rook. The purple haired girl held out a silver rook as well. Ozpin pocketed his scroll and put down his coffee. He took the two rook pieces and eyed them. He returned them and smiled at the students.

"Congratulations, you have survived initiation. May I ask for your names?"

"I'm Sterling, and the guy bleeding out on me is Jet." The man in gray said. The large man on top of him grunted a hello.

"I'm Drey," the crying moose girl said.

"And I'm Violet," the purple haired girl said. Ozpin nodded his head before stepping aside and motioning over to the nurses behind him.

"My medical staff will tend to any wounds you may have and we will be providing a ride back to Beacon Academy. If you feel that you are suffering from any kind of psychological trauma don't be afraid to let our staff know. Our school therapist is quiet good at his job I'm told. And welcome to Beacon." He smiled as they hobbled over to the Bulkheads.

He took his scroll back out and picked up his coffee, taking a sip. Coco came up to him, her clothes pristine and her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Pretty impressive. Only took them, what, two hours? Almost as fast as Velv and I." Ozpin took another sip of his coffee.

"Indeed."

Blake stalked through the forest, ducking past branches as Yang stomped through the forest after her, shouting and yelling, and being unable to keep up with her. Blake grit her teeth as she listened to Yang struggled to keep up with her, shouting about how Blake needed to slow down and if she had seen her sister.

Blake had been hoping to avoid anyone and just end up assigned to a random team; she could keep her distance from them and still get the training she needed to become a Huntress. She didn't want a partner, she didn't need a partner. Not ever again. She rubbed her cheek as she ducked under a branch. Especially one that was this obnoxiously loud and with such poor survival instincts. She cursed her bad luck. She had seen Yang fighting the Ursa and decided to kill one and flee before Yang could see her; she didn't have it in her to face Ruby with the knowledge that she had let her sister die. Ruby was a nice girl, but being her sister's partner was much more than she bargained for.

She walked through some bushes and stopped, glowering at Yang when she nearly ran into her.

They had stopped on top of a grassy cliff overlooking a decrepit and overgrown temple. The bricks were so badly weathered that any color that may have existed had been long washed away. Vines and flora had overtaken most of the building, strangling the crumbling walls and invading the shattered windows. The tiled roof was collapsed and caved in across multiple parts of the large building. The tower in the back of the building was falling apart and she saw a family of small Nevermore's roosting in the tower's remains. There were close to a dozen bloody corpses at the foot of the stairs of the temple, alongside the smoldering remains of dead Grimm.

The sight of the dead bodies didn't faze Blake, she had seen much worse with the White Fang. She heard Yang swallow and looked at her; terror in the girl's purple eyes as they fluttered over the battlefield.

Blake turned away from the cliff and started to walk down the path that led down. She felt Yang grab her wrist; her grip a vice. She looked back at Yang, annoyed.

"The fuck is your problem, ninja bitch?" Yang demanded. Her eyes had turned red. Blake grabbed Yang's hand and pried it off her wrist, crushing her hand before letting it fall. She furrowed her brow

"My problem is that I'm stuck with you," she turned away from Yang.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you can just help me fight an Ursa and then run away? We're partner's now, and we need to stick together!" she looked back at Yang.

"I am not your partner." Yang narrowed her eyes and the tips of her hair began to smolder.

"Yes you are, and you are going to stop for a moment and answer my questions!" A howl cut through the air; it sounded close. Yang looked around, her eyes widening. Blake turned her back to her and started to walk away.

"Goodbye," she said. Yang grabbed her wrist again.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer me, partner!" Blake snatched her hand back and started to rub the side of her face.

"I don't need a partner. And no I haven't seen Ruby. You happy now?"

"No, why on Remnant would I be happy? I'm fighting for my life, I don't know where my sister is, and I'm stuck with a rude bitch who keeps trying to run away from me." Blake narrowed her eyes.

"You're only slowing me down." Yang scoffed. There was another howl, closer this time. Blake started to walk away. "I'm leaving," she said. She felt Yang grab her wrist again and Blake spun around, slamming her fist into Yang's face. Yang fell to the ground, grunting in pain. Blake stared at her, seething.

"Let's get something straight, I do not need another partner, and if you ever lay your hands on me again, I will kill you. We clear?" Yang was rubbing the spot where she had hit her. The fire in her hair had died and her eye had turned back to purple.

"Yeah, jeez. Don't gotta be a dick about it." Blake turned and walked away. She heard Yang sigh and get up.

"Good. Now let's get down there before the Grimm kill us."

Pyrrha led the way through the forest, Jaune following after, shaking like a leaf as screams, gunfire, explosions, and roars echoed all around them.

"So, um, Pyrrha, how'd you get into this school?" Pyrrha laughed.

"Is that serious question?"

"Uh, yeah?" Pyrrha stopped and looked back at him. He genuinely looked confused by her answer.

"Do you not know who I am?"

"Should I?" Pyrrha smiled.

"No, I guess you shouldn't." She pushed a branch out of the way and held it for Jaune as he ducked under. "If you must know, I went to Sanctum Academy for several years and after graduating I decided to come here to Beacon instead of going to Haven."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why would you come here? And not go to Haven?" Pyrrha grew quiet as she walked, her eyes downcast.

"I wanted a change of scenery. I grew up in Mistral, I wanted to know what the rest of the world was like." Jaune nodded his head.

"That makes sense. Ya liking it so far?"

"You mean aside from being dropped into a forest full of Grimm? Yes, the food here is quiet nice."

Pyrrha stopped as she stepped into a clearing. The grass was dead and overgrown, reaching up to her elbows. The clearing was situated next a cliff face, the exposed rock hard and almost completely vertical. She spied a large, jagged cave opening in the cliff face. Something about this place felt off and she was prepare to turn back and head into the forest when Jaune stepped forward and into the grass.

"I bet that cave is a shortcut. Come on Pyrrha, follow me." Pyrrha was uncertain but followed after him, unsheathing her spear and moving her shield to her arm. Jaune entered the cave and Pyrrha lingered at the entrance for several minutes; this didn't feel right. She heard Jaune scream and he bolted past her. "It's not a shortcut!" he screamed. Pyrrha looked back into the cave and started running after Jaune when she saw a Death Stalker come bellowing out of the cave.

Yang looked at every corpse as she walked up the stairs of the temple. None of them were here sister but the sight still made her stomach churn. Blake didn't seem phased by the carnage and walked through the torn apart doors.

The interior of the temple was just as bad as its exterior. Grass had sprung up in the cracks in the flooring and vines were strangling the pillars and columns. Sunlight filtered down through the ruined ceiling and a herd of deer were grazing on the grass. Flowers were growing from ancient paintings and moth eaten tapestries hung on the walls.

Yang followed Blake into a large square room. The floor was well kept and decorated with three separate and gigantic chessboards. One was covered with bronze chess pieces, another silver, and the last gold. Blake began to wonder the room, looking at the tapestries and flowers while Yang walked up to the gold chessboard. She picked up the knight piece; horses were neat, and gold was her color after all.

"The little pony okay?"

"You can pick any piece, it doesn't matter." Yang glowered at the girl as she stowed the knight piece away. She grabbed the other one on the end of the board; just in case Ruby lost hers on her way to the hill.

"Well we got what we came for, know how to get out of this forest?" Blake said nothing and left the room and headed towards the door. Yang sighed and followed after her; this was going to be a long four years.

Blake stood at the top of the stairs, her brow furrowed as she appeared to be in deep concentration.

"What is it?" Blake pointed to the tree line on the cliff above them as Ruby came sprinting from it.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled. She tried to run down but was stopped by Blake who held a hand in front of her and pointed at the tree line again. Yang's blood turned to ice as she saw a Nevermore appear above Ruby, a girl in white clutched in its talons.