Author's Notes: ..okay, I have to say this straight up, I am sooooo sorry for this very late update. I have been going through some...rough times. A lot of tough times. Hey everyone. First of all, I would to formally apologize for not being able to update some of my more popular stories in a very long time.

People might have noticed that some of my more popular stories haven't been updated. I'll tell you why now: my life is HELL. I am currently in my last days of summer school, so the pressure is on. That, and my life at home is nothing short but, in a word; fucked up. I live in a household that has six women. Three of those women are my sisters and my mother. The other two are my grandmother and my great-grandmother. My grandfather is a piece of shit who hangs out with friends who are quite possibly druggies and is a worthless fucker who does nothing to help us, and puts us further in debt by buying things with money that we do not have. My great-grandmother has dementia, and has made our lives hell. Every day, there is screaming and yelling. She has made my mother cry, and my grandmother, who is undergoing kimotherapy, is losing her mind, yet she refuses to send her to an old people home.

If you are reading this, then you now understand why I am unable to write as much anymore these days.

I'm deeply sorry for being unable to update my more popular stories, such as R-eset and this one, and I hope you all can forgive me.

I've also been having trouble with computers as well. My old one crapped out, so I have to wait for a new one to arrive. I'm using Joshua's laptop right now.

On another, more uplifting note, a dear friend of mine, Otaku-Nation666, has joined Fanfiction media not too long ago. He is the younger brother of the same man who brought me into the world of anime and gaming, Joshua. He was originally living with his parents, who I later found out were abusing him after Joshua's death, and is now living here. I can't tell if I'm just putting him in another hell in this house, but at least all he has is listening to hollering and screaming. He has a few stories posted, and I recommend a few of them;

RWBY: Within Enlightened Hearts, Tokyo Ghoul: Wishes of an Eyepatch, High School DxD: Destiny's Play, and Fabulae Parcae. He has also stated plans to post a Code Geass story. I'm afraid I don't know much about it, other than it will be like R-eset in which Lelouch is sent back to the past...except there's one detail: he does NOT have Geass anymore.

Anyway, that is it from me. I hope you all understand why I am unable to publish much of anything these days. It'll be a miracle if I post anything at all again after this. So, with that in mind...please enjoy the chapter!


"Hand in hand is how it will be, a life and death fight against the fiend, and he whom death bears off shall submit to the judgement of the Lord." -Beowulf


RWBY: Black Rebellion


Rouge couldn't recall the last time he felt the thrill of fighting Grimm.

The excitement of a life or death situation, the feeling of a blade slicing through Grimm flesh, the heart-pounding, spine-tingling rush of combat! All of it was amazing. He felt alive! As the wolves continued to rush at him, intending on ripping him apart, his body spun around wildly, twirling about quickly, and his scythe, Wilted Requiem, continuing to cut through them. He swung and stabbed the blade of his weapon through a Beowolf's body. He heard the growls of two more Grimm behind him. Smirking, Rouge pressed another button on Wilted Requiem, causing a second blade to appear from the backside of the first. With amazing dexterity and strength, Rouge spun on his heel and sliced through the approaching Beowolves with the second blade.

'I should thank Ruby for installing that upgrade.' the younger twin thought as he ducked underneath a swipe, and swung his scythe, bisecting it with ease. 'It certainly makes things easier.' He jumped back and rested the double bladed scythe on his shoulder, taking note of the remaining number of foes. Out of the pack that attacked him, only three remain. 'Three left, one of them an Alpha.' Rouge observed as he fell back into a stance. Learning from the mistakes of their pack members, and waited to strike, rather than rush in needlessly. 'I need to finish this quickly.' He clicked a button on the shaft of Wilted Requiem, causing a cartridge of ammunition to fall on the ground. He took a new cartridge from the small pouch on his belt and replaced it. In contrast to the old cartridge, the new one had a symbol on the side.

As soon as it was connected and loaded into the scythe, the black designs began to glow slightly, developing red circuits. A smirk played on his face. "Let's turn up the heat."

Rogue slammed his weapon to the ground, one of the blades stabbing into the earth. He took aim at the closest Beowolf, and pulled the trigger. The recoil would have thrown him off of his feet, but it was instead absorbed into the ground. The blast from the barrel of the rifle was like an explosive shot, and when it struck the Beowulf beside the Alpha, a fiery explosion erupted on it's chest, throwing it off of it's feet, and struck the tree behind it. Its body remained motionless as it slid onto the ground, a gaping hole where its chest cavity used to be.

"One down." Rouge then turned his line of fire over to the second Beowolf.

However, the second wasn't about to let him take the shot. It rushed straight at him, causing the teen to scowl slightly as he tried to shoot it down. It was quick and agile on it's feet, leaping away as the shots exploded and impacted on the ground. When it came close, Rouge was forced to duck underneath the strike that would have lopped off his head, were it not for his aura. The wind whipped across his face before he kicked Wilted Requiem out of the ground, flipping it into his hands, and slicing off an incoming arm, following up with another slash that cut off it's leg. The creature cried out in pain, and tried to bite him in relatiation, only for Rouge to vault over it, and ram the end of his scythe into it's back, throwing it to the ground. In swift succession, he buried the scythe into it's body, cutting straight through the skull and into the ground.

The Alpha Beowulf was right in front of him when he opened fire. The Alpha proved to be sturdier than its subordinates as it was merely thrown back by the force of the blast. While it did receive some burns, the attack did not fully penetrate its hide. "Damn," Rouge cursed. "Guess Fire Dust doesn't quite do the trick." He removed Wilted Requiem from it's fleshy sheathe, and fell back into his stance. "I don't have time to be wasting around."


Jaune was convinced that today was a bad day for him. First he tried to woe Weiss, the girl who had complimented on his looks, only to later learn that it was actual all just a joke. It was a major blow to his self esteem that his mother had told him. Sure, he was named after his ancestor, Joan Arc, who was a girl, and he got a lot of flak for it, and she was the first one to actually compliment his looks other than his mother, but learning she was just joking about it was a hard blow.

And then came the fact that he was thrown into the air, headfirst into a Grimm-infested forest. He was thankful that girl with the red hair, Pyrrha he thinks her name was, stopped him from breaking his neck by impaling his shirt into a tree, like earlier, but... did she have to pin him so high up?! How in the heck was he supposed to get down?! "Hello?!" He called out again, hoping someone was within hearing range. "Can someone please get me down from here?!" Again, he was only met with silence.

A sigh escaped him. "...anyone...?"

Once more, silence. No one was coming.

He hung his head low, a dark cloud hanging over his head. "Why do these things always happen to me...?" Jaune lamented.

Thankfully, however, he received some salvation, noticing the rustling of bushes. Looking down, he found a familiar white-haired girl emerging from the bushes, dusting off her dress. "H-hey..." he waved at her weakly. "Little help?" Weiss stared at him, her face flat, and promptly turned back around into the bush. "H-hey, Weiss?!" She disappeared into the greenery. The blonde's face fell. "W-Wait! Please! Who's going to get me down from here?!" He pleaded.

It just wasn't his day.

"Jaune?" The knight looked down, and to his relief, he found Pyrrha. She smiled almost tauntingly as she crossed her arms. "So," she said playfully. "Do you still have spots on Team Jaune?"

"Ha, ha." he said with a roll of the eyes. "Can you please just get me down?"


"...Roooooouge? Ruuuuuuby? Helloooooo?" Yang called out as she trekked through the woods. It had already been five minutes since she landed, and still no sign of either of her siblings.

The blonde brawler wasn't worried about them, knowing full well that they were perfectly capable of protecting themselves...but at the same time, she couldn't help but try to find them, in spite of her insistence that Ruby try to find other people to fight alongside with. Perhaps it was her sisterly nature acting up, but she still couldn't help but feel anxious.

After all, both of her siblings entered Beacon two years early. She was worried that they may not even fit in with their fellow students. Honestly, she wasn't sure who to be more worried for: Ruby or Rouge.

"Rubes?" she called out. "Hey! Rubes, Rouge! You here?! Hello!" she bellowed out, only to receive her own echo as a response. A shake of the head followed, and a sigh came after. "Why am I not surprised?" She scratched the back of her head as she observed her surroundings. The forest was oddly quiet, but she could hear fighting off in the distance. Most likely, teams were being formed as they speak. Now, don't get her wrong, she was looking for a team herself, but she was looking for Ruby because she was worried about her. She came to Beacon two years ahead of everyone else, so she was easily nervous, despite her confidence in her skills. She would form a team with Ruby, there was little doubt about that, but she wanted her sister to strike out on her own. After all, she wouldn't be there to cuddle her forever.

Suddenly, movement was seen out of the corner of her eye. "Ruby?" Yang asked, peeking through the brushel. "Is that you?"

"Grrrr..." The black shadow growled. It stood on all fours before it rose up and stood on its hind legs. It was a massive, bear-like creature with fur as black as midnight. It's back was covered with ivory spikes while a white mask with red markings was present on its face.

Yang's smile dropped. "...nope." She quickly jumped back, avoiding being thrashed when the Ursa swung it's paw at her, as if to rip off her head. "Hey, big guy." Yang waved at the Creature of Grimm, known as the Ursai Major. "You seen a little girl with a red hood or a kid with different pair of eyes, would ya?" In response, the Ursa roared, and swung it's paw down. Yang leaped back, performing a backflip to achieve some distance. She flipped her hair back as she she grinned. "You could have just said no instead of 'rawr.'" The Ursa roared again before charging. Yang grinned and cocked her wrists, activating her yellow shotgun gauntlets from their bracelet form: Ember Celica. The beast roared up, running toward her at top speed. Yang slammed her fists into the ground, creating a loud 'bang' as she was propelled into the air, a result of Ember Celica's kickback. She vaulted over the Ursa, shooting off another blast. The beast staggered a bit, swaying through it's charge before it slammed into the trunk of a tree. "Oof," she giggled. "That had to hurt." The Grimm pulled itself away, shaking it's head before turning to Yang, fangs bared in anger. She was about to brace herself for another charge when a loud, bellowing cry emerged from her side. Acting quickly, she brought up her arms, and was thrown back by the sheer amount of force that was put into the strike. Her body tumbled through the ground before she came to a stop.

Looking up, she found another Ursa. This one was glaring at her as well, snapping a loud roar.

"Two for the price of one, huh?" she said as she dusted herself off. "Okay then!" She jumped up, curling her legs up into a ball, leaving the third Ursa to charge in, and run into the second, causing them both to tumble into the ground. As she hit the ground, Yang pounded her fists together. "Sweet~" she said cheekily, excited. She was going to get to fight three Ursa, all at once! This was going to be a lot of fun! ...wait, she was supposed to find Ruby and Rouge, wasn't she? Eh, oh well. It could wait. Her sister was tough, so she wasn't too worried about her. After all, their uncle taught her how to use that scythe of hers, so she'll be kicking ass and taking names. The same could be said with Rouge, seeing as how he was also gifted.

That meant... she could kick the shit out of these suckers~!

"Alright boys," Yang smirked. "Who wants a taste of Yang?" The one on the right growled before charging in first. It stopped just short of her, and swung it's paw. She ducked underneath it, and delivered an uppercut to it's jaw, knocking it upward. With a follow up, she swiveled around on her feet, cocked her fist back, and threw a right hook, hitting it's underbelly. Almost like a boartusk, it's body flipped about into a ball for a few short seconds before hitting the ground, left in a daze. One of the two Grimm from earlier, got back up, and charged at her again. This time, it was ready to bite off her head. Not wanting to get her hair damaged, she instead chose for the direct approach, and rammed her fist in it's jaw, causing it to stagger back. The third Ursa came up from behind the second, ready to slam it's weight on her. She avoided it by flipping backwards on her hands, launching herself into the air to make some distance. Once she did, she unloaded two shots. One hit the first one in the face, causing it to recoil, while the other hit it's shoulder, causing to it cramp down on it's leg.

Meanwhile, the first Ursa charged in, now seething with anger. Yang cracked a cocky grin as she charged in to meet it's advance. Without stopping, she ducked underneath the swipe of it's paw, and swiveled around on her foot. Now behind the Ursa, she jumped up on it's back, and reared back both of her fists. With a swift succession, she began to unload Ember Celica as her fists pounded away at it's armor on it's back. Each struggle caused it to strain to stay on it's legs. Unfortunately it could no longer bear the weight, as she reared both arms back, and swung them both down. A resounding BOOM echoed in the air as Yang was blown off, flying through the air before landing back on the ground. The Ursa cried weakly as it fell on it's stomach, the armor on it's back completely shattered, and it's fur singed. "One down!" she cheered before turning her attention back to the other two.

A massive black paw swung, hitting her on the side.

"Oof!" She grunted as she was thrown into the air. She hit the ground. Hard. But she tumbled and pulled herself up on her feet. "Not bad. So what else can...you..." Her words died in her throat as she saw it. It floated slowly to the ground before her.

A strand of blonde hair.

HER blonde hair.

The Grimm suddenly felt tense when they saw her body trembling. "Y-you..." Creatures of Grimm held only instincts within them. They knew where to find prey by the feeling of aura, a power that belonged only to humans, those with a soul. It was within their instincts to destroy and maim and kill whatever possessed a soul, yet it was also within their instincts to recognize a potential threat. "Y-you...!" And now, a threat stood before them. Yang's head snapped up, her hair suddenly glowing like fire, and her lilac eyes turning bright crimson.

"YOU MONSTERS!"

She rushed forward with newfound speed, her fist cocked. The Ursa before her didn't even see it coming as her fist impacted its snout, shattering it. The power behind the strike was unlike anything before. This time, it's body was thrown back, thrashing to the ground before hitting a tree. Before it even had a chance to recover, the Ursa was suddenly bombarded with strike after strike after strike. The tree threatened to break was the Grimm was pressed further into it, it's belly being torn apart with each shot. The Ursa howled in agony. Yang delivered once final blow right in the throat. The tree gave way. The bark snapped away, and the Ursa plowed through it, neck crushed and broken. The tree fell over, hitting the ground with a thud. The earth shuddered below their feet. A bellow from behind her reminded that Yang there was another Ursa behind her. She was still seething from the damaging of her hair. She wouldn't be happy until she bashed it apart.

"You're next..." She seethed.

The Ursa roared. But before it could even move, a sharp blade stabbed itself into the back of its skull. The blade was then torn free and sliced through the Grimm's neck and upper back. The bear-like creature swayed a bit before toppling over. Yang raised a brow at the sudden action, then saw who stood behind the Ursa.

It was Blake.

The two stared at each other, with the latter pulling out her black blade from the dead beast, slipping it into it's holster.

Yang broke the silence. "...I could have taken it."


"...are we there yet?" Jaune complained as he and Pyrrha trekked through the forest. "My feet are starting to hurt."

"I think we're almost there." the warrior girl answered as she pushed a branch away from her face. Unfortunately, as she let go, it whipped across at Jaune's face, causing him to be thrown back. The girl whirled around in panic, startled. "Jaune, are you alright?!" she asked in concern, bending down to help him up. "I'm so sorry!"

The knight accepted her hand, and pulled himself up. "It's alright..." he told her, wincing as he gently touched the small cut on his cheek. He hissed in pain as it became irritated. "Ow... Talk about a cut." He drew his fingers away and noticed the amount of blood on them. Yep, definitely a nasty cut.

"That looks like it smarts." Pyrrha noted as she pulled out a small handkerchief from her pocket, and gently wiped away the blood. She then frowned in confusion. "Jaune, why didn't you activate you're Aura?"

"My what?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"Your Aura." She repeated.

"Bless you."

The girl frowned heavily, now even more confused. "Jaune," she asked. "Do you know what aura is?"

Instantly, the blonde became nervous. He knew he heard the term 'aura' somewhere before, but he wasn't sure where. However, his mind became worried about the possibility that perhaps Aura was a major part on being a Huntsman, an tried to play it off. "O-of course I know!" he lied, cringing inside as he realized how obvious he sounded. "Do you know?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Aura is the manifestation of one's soul."


'...it's a bit quiet here,' Ren thought as he entered a small clearing within the Emerald Forest. It had been twenty minutes since he had landed, and had already begun making his way to the temple, believing that he would encounter his partner on the way. He had a good idea where it might be, and found himself here. In spite of the quiet, serene feeling the clearing gave, the silence was anything but to anyone aware of the dangers of anyone who knew what lied within the forest. 'Too quiet.'

In the next moment, he heard something slithering behind him. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see a gargantuan black snake with red markings and red eyes. It was a King Taijutu.


"It bears our burdens, and shields our hearts."


The snake hissed, and lashed out at Ren, only for him to vault over it's head, an impressive feet given it's lightening quick snaps. He quickly put distance between the two, and took out his weapons, a pair of dual green guns with blades attached to the barrels.


"Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"

"Uh... Yeah."

"With practice, our aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."

"What about monsters?"

"No, the monsters we fight lack a soul."


The long Grimm ripped through the ground as it advanced, pieces of earth sent flying and ripped apart in it's charging advance. Ren maneuvered away, a series of backflips allowing him to evade it's charge. However, as he was going through the air, the Grimm rammed it's body forward. At that moment, the teen called upon his Aura, and brought up his arms to defend against the attack. The force of the headbutt threw him quite a ways away, but he landed safely on his feet.


"They are the Creatures of Grimm. The manifestation of anonymity."


As he regained his bearings, Ren noticed that the snake had begun to coil around him, circling around his prey. Just before it could close in on him, he jumped up, and away from it's grasp.


"They are the darkness, and we are the light."

"Right. That's why we fight them."


Ren opened fire on the beast, though his bullets did little to it's skin, which was as thick as armor. It hissed and screeched as it snapped toward him, however Ren propelled himself away from it as he parried it, using the side of it's head as a launching pad, and throwing himself onto it's body, sliding along it's spine as he continued to shoot at it. As the snake regained sight of it's target, it tried to swallow him whole, mouth open, but Ren was far quicker. In a rapid movement, he rammed his palms into the side of it's head, causing it to stagger as it reeled from the effects of the blow, and followed up with a swift kick to the head. This strike caused it's head to strike into the ground, leaving it's neck exposed. As it tried to get up, Ren quickly took the initiative, and the blades from his guns extended, slashing across the neck, and cutting through the armor.


"It's not about why, it's about knowing."


The Grimm screamed out in rage, and snaked all around the air before slamming it's head into where Ren stood. He jumped up to avoid it, a cloud of dust and debris flying through the air below him. He took the initative, and threw himself back down to the ground, ramming his blades into the Taijutu's skull.


"Understanding both dark and light helps us manifest our Aura."


Ren sighed, slightly exhausted from his encounter, but frowned when he heard something rustling behind him. He looked over his shoulder, and found himself staring at a white body with red markings, and a familiar face staring back at him, hissing and bearing it's fangs while it's red eyes glared at him. "...shit!" he cursed as he jumped off to the side, avoiding the white Grimm from slamming into him.


"Everyone has some of both."


As he brought up his guard, his magenta eyes frowned heavily when he saw the black snake move up, it's form slightly drowsy form the attack. Upon a closer look, the white Taijutu and the black Taijutu were actually apart of the same body, dancing and moving together as they glared down on him. Dread filled him as he clenched his grip over his weapons, wishing he had some backup right about now.


"By bearing your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm."


Mustering his courage, he ran over. He jumped over the white head's assault, running along it's back, and sliding along it's spine, and began to open fire on the creatures. He continuously moved his body around as he slid along the body of the Grimm, aiming for various parts, but found that none of his attacks were making a dent. As he jumped up, intending to get a better vantage point, one of the heads shout out from nowhere, and batted him away, tossing him to the ground, and his guns thrown out of his hands.


"You project yourself and your soul with fighting."


Ren groaned as he stood up to his knee, a hand on his head. "That hurt..." he muttered before looking up, finding the black head of the Taijutu glaring down at him, it's mouth open. It's head snapped forward with the intent on devouring him. Ren brought up his hands, and braced himself. The snake tried to bite down on him. Keyword was tried, as its fangs were stopped by a glowing plan on Ren's hands. The teen struggled against the force behind the strike, but stood his ground. In a swift motion, he pushed his hands forward, snapping the fangs in his hands, grabbed them, and with a fierce palm strike powered by his aura, shot the ivory spire through the Grimm's eye.

It's form quaked as the fang went out through the other end. A second later, it's head imploded. The black half of the snake fell to the ground, now lifeless. Ren turned his attention to the white half of the Taijutu, and narrowed his eyes. "...one down." The snake hissed in fury, and charged forward. Ren followed up as well.


"Now, close your eyes, and concentrate." Pyrrha instructed. Jaune couldn't help but blush when her hand touched his cheek, and how close she was. 'Wow, she's beautiful...' he thought, clearly embarrassed. 'T-then again, Weiss is pretty beautiful too! ...but she also apparently doesn't like me either.'

"U-uh..." Jaune did as he was told, and closed his eyes. He tried to picture what a physical representation of Aura was like. Given Pyrrha's lecture, he assumed it was like a sword and shield, so he visioned it as such, much like Crocoa Mars. He pictured a blade within a sword, decorated and clearly meant to cut down everything in it's path, while the shield, strong and sturdy, would protect everyone around him, and even himself.

With the image now in his mind, Pyrrha closed her eyes as well. However, as she opened them, her green eyes glowed, and a light red aura danced around her body. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," she recited the words that had been passed down to her when she had her Aura unlocked. Soon, a white aura began to dance around Jaune. "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death." Gently, her hand touched his breastplate. "I release your soul. And by my shoulder, protect thee."

As soon as her hands left him, Jaune could feel...something within him rising to the surface. He opened his blue eyes, and looked down at himself. "Okay," he said with a giddy smile, noticing the white light around his body. "This is so cool." He then turned back to Pyrrha, intending to thank her, but grew concerned when he noticed her breathing rather heavily, her hands on her knees. "P-Pyrrha?"

"It's alright." she told him, gaining her strength back as she straightened herself out. "I used my aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." She smiled as she saw the cut on Jaune's face heal instantly, almost as if it was never there to begin with. "You have a lot of it."

Whoa...really...?" Jaune was amazed with himself...an confused. He really had that much power...? Another smile crossed his face, and clenched his hand. "Alright...!"


Ren panted heavily as he slipped his weapons into his sleeves, exhausted as he stood atop the corpse of the slowly dissolving Taijutu. The battle was far longer than he anticipated, but he was finally able to defeat the damned thing. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he straightened himself out, rubbing his shoulders and dusting himself off. 'That was more difficult than I thought,' he thought to himself as he wiped off the dirt on his sleeves. 'I hope there are people I can team up with.' He paused. '...I wonder how Nora's doing?'

"Bhhrrrra! Bhhrrra!"

He smiled softly. 'Speak of the Devil.' He looked behind him, and found Nora, hanging from a tree branch, upside down with a massive grin on her face. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

The orange haired girl let out a broad grin. "Boop!" She took her finger and tapped him on the nose.


"Our last pair has been formed, sir." Glynda informed, loading up the screen on her Scroll. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." A sad expression crossed her face as she recalled the video footage of her battle with the Grimm on her way to find her partner. She had never seen someone so hyperactive and wild. She actually pitied the poor Grimm that ended up on the receiving end of her hammer. "Poor boy. I can't possibly imagine those two getting along." She paused as she loaded up another screen. "Still, he's probably better off than Ms. Nikos." Ozpin and Qrow raised an eyebrow as they looked at the woman, her face set into an angry frown. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."

"Maybe," Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "Kinda weird how his Aura hasn't been unlocked yet. Usually anyone who joins a training school has theirs unlocked on the first day." Indeed, it was pretty concerning. Without his Aura unlocked, he would've been easy prey for the Grimm. Hell, he wouldn't even be alive after landing in the Emerald Forest if it wasn't for Pyrrha helping him.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." the blonde-haired teacher said as she exited out of the video footage, and slid the Scroll back to it's inactive form. "At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." Unknown to Glynda, Ozpin was watching two video feeds from the cameras that were placed in the Emerald forest. One showed Ruby and Weiss, the two bickering about which way they should go, and the other showed Rouge, trekking through the forest, all the while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. "Speaking of which," Glynda said as she turned around to face the man. "What did you use as relics this year?"

The man didn't answer, instead more focused on the screen presented to him.

"...Wait...don't tell me..." Qrow grinned, recognizing this sort of behavior from Ozpin.

The man smiled. "Yes, I used the same ones from when STRQ were still my students." he answered. "Also, you're nephew is quite gifted. I assume that Ruby designed his weapon?"

"Yep," he nodded. "She's just like Summer; a massive weapons' nerd." A sigh escaped his lips, remembering the more happier days of his team's career. "Those were the days... God damn, I miss that."

"You mean you and Raven getting into it whenever you did something idiotic." Glynda shook her head. "Gods, I remember how much of a headache the two of you caused me. It got even worse when Taiyang was involved."

"Oh, please." the scythe master rolled his eyes. "We weren't THAT bad."

Glynda gave him a flat glare. "...Mr. Branwen," she said, her tone cold and frigid. The impact was even more pronounced by the fact that she was addressing him how she had when he was also a student. "Need I remind you WHAT the two of you did on the last day of your second term here?"

"Uh...No?" He asked rather than stated. Ozpin snickered, which was unusual, though the memory was just too funny for him, all for several reasons. He could still remember what the Branwen twins had done so vividly.

"Then allow me to refresh your memory, does the sight of your sister, in her bath towel, holding her sword, and chasing after you through the halls, all the while shouting every possible curse word imaginable as well as describing how she is going to kill you ring any bells?!"

"...Oh...right..." Qrow drawled lamely. It wasn't really his fault though.

Glynda kept her face locked as she took out her Scroll again, typing on it at a fast pace before showing playing a video feed.

"COME BACK HERE AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN TAI!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CATCH US IF YOU CAN SIS!"

"I HATE YOU FOR THIS, QROW!"

The video feed, as Glynda described, had Raven Branwen, clad in only a towel that hid her rather proportionate body parts, but it looked ready to come off. Her face was set into fury, eyes glowing red, and a dark aura around her as she swung her blade around wildly. In front of her was a younger, laughing Qrow, and an absolutely terrified Taiyang Xiao Long.

"Okay, in my defense," the scythe wielder held up his hands in defense. "That was all Taiyang's fault. I mean, hey, how were we supposed to know that the girls were taking a bath?" He paused, and grinned. "And I still think Tai's a lucky bastard. Who would have thought that Raven and Summer had-"

"One more word, Mr. Branwen, and I will throw you from this cliff with your sword shoved right where you don't want it to be." Glynda warned as she ended the video feed.

"Alright, alright..." Qrow held his hands up in resignation.

He still stands by to this day that Taiyang was a lucky bastard. It was actually a wonder how neither of the boys knew until that particular day that Summer had quite the figure, which the drunkard considered to be a blessing in disguise. Now, if only he could get his sister to be how she used to be, back during their glory days as STRQ... If only she could the girl he used to know as his sister, rather than the masked swordsman named Raven Branwen.


Elsewhere, in Vale, a large group of people were moving about. They were easily recognizable by the masks on their faces, and their black and white clothing, as well as the weapons in their hands. The White Fang had been occupying one of the small shipping yards near off to the outskirts of Vale, as there was little trafficking in this part of the region. Therefore, it made an excellent makeshift base, as well as granting them access to various routes to receive and transport supplies to their comrades.

Currently, six members of the White Fang patrolled the area, scouting for any possible intruders. "Man, this sucks..." one of the members complained, sitting against the gate, a rifle leaning against his shoulder. "How come we got stuck with guard duty?"

"Because we got the short sticks, that's why." another member scoffed. "Just keep an eye out."

"For what?" the first guard asked, incredulous. "I doubt anyone knows we're here!"

The third member of the group, who was leaning against the fence, arms folded over his chest with a sidearm at his hip, turned to look at the first guard, a grim expression clear on his face. "You obviously haven't heard about what happened back at Fort Castle." he snorted. "Because it was a relic of a sight, hardly anyone ever came around. That was our last base for a short while, but after we stayed there for a month, we got hit."

"By who?" the second guard asked. "The humans? Huntsman?"

"Worse." he answered. "The Black Fang...and the one leading it was the guy who burned several of our brothers and sisters to a crisp."

Both of the guards expressed shock and disbelief, the first guard staring at him as if he had just grown a second head. "Wait, back up!" he said in disbelief. "You're telling me you actually fought against the Blue Devil, and ESCAPED?"

"I didn't fight him," the third guard corrected his comrade. "I saw what he did. The Captain called for a withdraw when he saw how outmatched we were...and this was after we lost fifty of our men."

"Fi-Fifty?!" The rest of his comrades gaped. A single human...was capable of slaughtering that many of their forces?!

"But even after the Captain had us retreat, many more of our comrades were eradicated. Even the Captain himself." He shook his head grimly.

"Jesus..." the guard shook his head, reeling from the image of his comrades and friends being slaughtered. "What kind of monster is he?"

"I dunno, why don't you find out for yourself, mister Faunus~?"

"Wait, wha-GUAGH!" The Guard couldn't even finish as a blue blade sliced through his throat. This took the other guards by surprise, and turned around wildly to face their attacker. Their faces paled when they found themselves at gun point, the owners being individuals wearing black masks with red markings and black jackets. The owner of the blade that was currently in one of the guard's throat was a young man in a blue jacket, and a toothy grin plastered over his face. Beneath the shadows of the hood, one could see the faint glowing of his eyes.

"So," the hooded individual said jovially. "Who wants to scream first?"

"Th-The-The-The Blue Devil...and the Black Fang..." The identified Blue Devil grinned. "Give 'em a prize."

"Yes sir!" He Black Fang members nodded and pulled the triggers on their weapons, gunning down the White Fang guards.

The sound of gunfire alerted the members of the camp. Instantly, every Faunus in the shipping yard became alarmed, even more so when the lighting was cut off. "Oi!" one of them cried out. "Get the power back on!" It took a few minutes, but eventually, the lights were restored, thanks to the back-up generator. However, when they came up, the White Fang suddenly found themselves staring at a group of black-clothed individuals wearing black masks, with the Blue Devil right in front of them. "Y-you...!" one of the members paled. "You people are...!"

"Man, talk about a haul~" the hodded figure chuckled as he pulled his hoodie down. "Remind me to thank our informant!" The Blue Devil, much to their shock, was no older than 18, having chin-length electric blue hair, and striking blue eyes, as well as a wide grin on his face. "Alright, ladies and gents...!" He brought up his sword. In a matter of seconds, it became wreathed in azure blue flames.

"LET'S PARTY!"

A second later, all of hell broke loose.


"...remind me again," Ruby deadpanned. "Why exactly are we taking this route?"

"J-just shut up, okay?!" Weiss snapped, a furious blush on her face as they walked through a heavily dense area of the forest. "This is the quickest way to the temple!"

"But you fell in quicksand... Twice!"

"I said shut up!"

They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes since they first paired up. Thanks to Weiss's sense of direction, the pair was now lost. Truthfully, Weiss had found a path to the temple, but as Ruby stated earlier, the path was not the most pleasant of one. They had found quite a few Grimm along the way, as well as the occasional pits of quicksand, which the heiress had an uncanny knack of falling into. Quite honestly, it made Ruby want to roll her eyes, but the two, in spite of their hostilities, had come to grow as partners, if only to a certain degree. Weiss had seen her skills with the scythe, and she was quite impressed. Ruby similar was impressed by Weiss' fighting ability, as well as her usage of her Semblance and Dust.

To save time, be it out of boredom or something else, they had also discussed their families. The red-clad reaper made it a point not to bring up Rouge, as it appeared to be a sore spot for the girl. "So, um... got any siblings?"

"One." Weiss answered as she hopped over a small puddle of mud. "An older sister."

"Oh, so like mine." the girl smiled. At least they had one thing in common. "Is she at Beacon too?"

"No, she graduated from Atlas Academy." she replied. "She can be quite... overbearing." While it was true, Weiss greatly admired and respected her sister. She made her feel like she was an actual person, rather than simply as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation. Winter Schnee may have been a strict individual, being a ranking figure in the Atlas military, but she was also a caring, compassionate sister.

"I know what that feels like." Ruby giggled. "Yang may not look it, but she can be pretty brutal when she wants to be. There was this one time a group of kids bullied me during my first year at Signal. I tried to deal with it myself, because I didn't want to be a burden, but when Yang found out, well..." A nervous chuckled escaped her as she rubbed her neck. "Let's just say they now have an unnatural fear of blondes." Well...there was that and the fact that those bullies have become completely traumatized by a particular hetero-chromatic boy. After Rouge heard of this as well...let's just say that whatever Rouge did to them...Hell would've been a mercy.

"Why am I not surprised?" Weiss drawled. Eventually, the two reached a small clearing, though what they found in the clearing was enough to make the two stop dead in their tracks, eyes wide, and mouths gaping. "Not..." she whispered to her partner. "One... Word..."

In front of them was a gigantic black bird, sleeping lazily with it's wings curled around it. It was without a doubt a Grimm, evident by the white mask on it's face, but it wasn't just any Grimm... It was a Nevermore, one of the most dangerous Grimm on record, and judging by it's size, it has been around for a very long time, as the bigger the Grimm, the more gigantic it's size, and the greater it's power. Weiss immediately knew that they had no chance of winning if it woke up, so she played it safe, and gently stepped back. Out of fear of being seen, the two quickly hid among the bushes.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Ruby whispered in panic. Weiss nodded, clearly troubled as well. "What's a Nevermore that big doing here?! I thought there was only supposed to be just Beowolves, Ursa, and Death Stalkers!"

"Well, I don't think even the staff can keep track of all the Grimm in the area. This must be one of them."

"What do we do?!"

"The best thing we can do is quietly walk away and not wake it up. There is no way we can beat this thing if it gets in our way."

"But how do we do that?" Ruby questioned. "We have to get to the temple, and you said this was the shortest way there!"

"I know that!" Weiss hissed. "We'll simply have to walk around it!"

Ruby pouted slightly. They had already wasted enough time as is. For all they knew, Initiation was probably already over, and they failed the test. They needed to reach the temple, and quickly... but how were they supposed to get there? She looked back at the Nevermore, and stared at it angrily. 'Stupid oversized bird!' she thought angrily. 'Why couldn't you just be flying off somewhere?!' She paused. 'Wait...fly?'

"Hey Weiss...I just got an idea."


"...so that's the temple." Rouge said as he found his destination.

It had taken about half an hour, but he was finally at the specified location. He had not encountered anyone on his way here, so he had not found a partner as of yet. He was fine with it for now, so long as he wasn't paired up with Weiss, much less Cardin. He made his way down the hill, approaching the structure all the while minding his surroundings. "Looks like others have reached here," he noted, seeing a few podiums left empty. His eyes scrunched in confusion, seeing the relics.

"Chess pieces?" It was odd. The artifacts they were assigned to retrieve...were chess pieces? "...What a crafty man you are...Professor Ozpin..."

He smiled wryly as he took one of the pieces, that being a black colored King. "If a king doesn't lead," he recited his own personal philosophy. "How can he expect his subordinates to follow?" He did not know when he first made these words his philosophy, but he didn't care, as he felt that this phrase was engraved into his soul.

He tossed the piece a few times in his palm before slipping it into his pocket. He had completed the first objective, now he needed to complete the second; find a partner. "Well, speak of the Devil~!" a familiar voice called out. "Rouge! Hey!" The twin male Rose turned to find his older sister arriving from a nearby bush, accompanied by the familiar figure of Blake Belladonna. "I was just talking about you!"

"Yang...and Blake...Glad to see you two made it here safely."

"You too." the black-haired girl nodded. She then looked around the area, as if expecting his partner to be close by, but found that he had none. "Did you not find a partner?"

Rouge shook his head. "No, though given the rules of Initiation, I guess we're partnered up for the time being.

"Well, I guess so...but it's kind weird since there are three of us now..."

"Couldn't be weirder than maybe someone riding in atop an Ursa, or hell forbid, someone dropping from atop a Nevermore." Rouge joked, earning a grin from his older sister.

"Yeah. What are the odds of either of those two things happening?"

Unfortunately, unknown to Rouge, he had just jinxed himself as he heard the sound of roars and snarls coming from behind him. The three whirled around to find an Ursa emerging from the forest, standing on it's hind legs and roaring and snarling. As the three prepared for combat, a loud voice yelled "YEEHAW!" before the large beast suddenly ceased, it's body swaying and falling to the ground. Falling off of it was a girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes. Her clothing was a mix and match of some sort, with different colors and themes. She wore a collared black vest that ended at her waist. Her apparent emblem, a hammer with a lightning bolt, was found on the back. Under the vest were two layers of clothing, colored red and light-blue respectively. She sported a turquoise bow at the back of her skirt. She also wore a white sleeveless top that forms a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, with a white detached sleeve on each arm. She wore matching fingerless gloves on each hand. She sported a pink skirt that starts at the waist and ends mid-thigh. Her shoes were a mix of pink and white with pink laces, displaying her emblem on their soles. She also wore armor that began in the middle of the shoulder and neck and ends by the waist. "Aww, it's broken!" the girl pouted before she hopped atop it's body, looking down at the corpse. "Ewww..."

"Nora...?" a weak voice called out. Staggering away from the Ursa, clearly winded, was a male teenager with long black hair tied into a ponytail that ended midway down his back. There was a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes were pale pink, and wore a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that was red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. The trimming went down the right side of his torso and formed a black collar. He also wore a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit, and light-tan pants with black shoes. "Please," he begged. "Never do that again." To his confusion, the girl was gone, causing him to look around wildly for her.

He didn't have to look far, as in a split second, she was right next to Rouge, looking at a white Rook piece. "Ooooh~!" she said, ogling the piece before she darted around with the chess piece atop her head. "I'm Queen of the Castle~! I'm Queen of the Castle~!"

"NORA!"

Nora stopped her little dance and grinned. "Heehee...Coming Ren~" She saluted as she dropped the Rook from her head into her hand and skipped over to her partner.

The three blinked rapidly at what they had seen before Yang and Rouge stared at one another. "...I didn't think that would actually happen." he deadpanned. "Though I doubt someone will fall from the sky."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH...!" A high pitched scream cut through the air.

"Huh? Did you guys hear that? Some girl is in trouble!"

"Uh, guys...?" She pointed upward. The two looked up at the sky...and promptly panicked.

"RUBY!"

Both siblings screamed in panic. They were witnessing their sister free falling from te sky with no way of stopping her descent. "HEEEEAAAAADS UUUUUUUP!"

However, as she continued to fall, a yellow blur flew in and intercepted her fall, causing both figures to crash into a tree instead.

As it turned out, the figure was none other than Jaune, having been thrown into the air for whatever reason. His body was hanging upside down from a branch, his foot stuck on one of the sticks, while Ruby was holding her head, Nevermores circling around her head with swirls in her eyes, back pressed against the bark of the tree. Rouge sighed in relief, thankful that the blonde had saved his sister, if perhaps a bit unintentionally. The same could be said for Yang, making a mental note to thank Jaune.

"Did your sister..." Blake said, completely taken for a loop. "Just fall from the sky?"

"I-"

Before Yang could breathe out a word, a familiar red-head emerged from the forest, running at top speed while breaking through the thicket, much to the group's utter shock and horror, was a gigantic creature covered in thick white armor, two pincers for claws, a giant golden stinger attached to it's tail, and several red eyes. 'Oh, hell...' Rouge paled. 'Please don't tell me that's what I think it is...'

But much to his chagrin, it was exactly what he thought it was. A Deathstalker, one the size of an average bus. Based on this, he deduced it to be an Elder Deathstalker, one that's been around from quite sometime.

"Did she just come here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake questioned, growing further confused by every passing moment.

"Grr..." Yang growled. Rouge looked at her sister. She looked about ready to blow. That is never a good sign. "...GRAAAAAGH! I can't take it anymore! Can't everyone just chill out for like, two seconds before something crazy happens?!" As if on cue, Pyrrha brought up her shield, defending against the lashing of one of the pincers, throwing her back. Ruby snapped out of her daze, shaking her head, and looked at the sight in front of her. "Oh, crap!" Her eyes widened as she quickly lept up. "Sorry, Jaune! Be right back!"

"W-wait, Ruby-!"

She was already leaping out of the tree, using the recoil of her gun to launch her forward, speeding toward to catch Pyrrha. The two tumbled through the ground, eventually coming to a stop next to Rouge and the others.

"Uh, Hi guys!" Ruby waved at her brother and sister from the ground.

"Ruby!" Yang cheered, running to hug her sister.

"Yang!" Ruby cried as she leaped up to her feet, about to reciprocate-

"NORA!"

The ginger girl jumped up from between them, causing interference.

"Great," Rouge rolled his eyes at their antics. "The gang's all here. Now we can all die together!"

"...wait," Pyrrha looked around, clearly troubled. "Where's Weiss?"

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEE!"

Everyone looked up to the sky. "...found her." Rouge deadpanned. The Schnee Heiress was hanging onto the Nevermore's feathers for dear life.

"...I said jump..." Ruby retorted meekly.

"She's gonna fall." Blake pointed out.

"She'll be fine." Ruby said in fake assurance.

"She's falling." Ren deadpanned.

The white-haired girl was now plummeting downwards, arms and legs flailing all the while screaming. Jaune finally managed to remove himself from whatever was holding him, and looked up to find the girl falling. He was about to run in and grab her as she fell, but then looked at the ground. He gulped, seeing the distance down. "O-oh boy..." he gaped, feeling his stomach beginning to churn in ways it was not supposed to. "This is...so gonna hurt, isn't it?" He took a deep breath, tapping his cheeks as he took a few steps back. "O-okay... You can do this, Jaune. You can do this. Just..."

He gulped.

"...don't die."

He jumped.

In midflight, he managed to catch the falling girl in his arms. 'Whew! Made it! Still alive too!' He mentally sighed with relief. It took him a second to remember that they were still in mid-air, prompting him to panic.

"OOOOOOH CRAAAAAAAAP!"

Jaune fell on the ground first. Weiss followed immediately after, on his back.

"My hero," she said as he looked at her nails, disinterested.

Jaune, however, groaned. He wasn't going to tell her how heavy she was, but he was most certainly going to complain about the pain she had inflicted on his body. "My back..."

Everyone was now gathered at the temple, the Nevermore above flew away from the area, but had no desire to leave. The Deathstalker on the other hand found its prey and refused to let it go.

"Okay..." rouge frowned. "We've got a Deathstalker and a Nevermore... This is certainly fun, isn't it?"

They have two Grimm, some of the more dangerous species, blocking them off back to the Cliff.

Jaune paled as he got up, not liking the odds. "We are so screwed..."

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby cried, suddenly ran forward, reaching for Crescent Rose, which unfurled into it's scythe form. Yang shouted for her to stop, but Ruby was already in motion. The scythe suddenly let loose a loud 'BANG!', causing it to recoil, and send her flying straight towards the Death Stalker. Rouge' eyes widened in horror. What in the hell was she thinking?! She was being stupid! She couldn't go up against a Death Stalker by herself! This fact was made evident when it swung it's pincer at her, knocking her away. Her body slid across the ground before she stood back up on shaky feet, easily rattled by the attack. "D-do-don't worry!" she called out weakly. "Totally fine!" She aimed the tip of her scythe, allowing another 'BANG!' to pierce in the air. The shot didn't even so much as affect the Death Stalker, it's armor to thick to penetrate.

Seeing her attack ineffective, Ruby chose the correct course of action. She disengaged her weapon as it folded in on itself, and slipped it behind her back as she took off in a run. "Ruby!" Yang called out in concern, running after her sister. Unfortunately, the Nevermore had noticed them, and began to chase after the red-hooded girl. It let out a blood-curdling caw as it swung it's wings, shooting several fathers that would make the girl it's pincushion. Thankfully, none of them hit her, but one did impale itself on her cape, halting her movements, while the rest impeded Yang's progress. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the Death Stalker creep up on the smaller girl. "Ruby, get out of there!"

"I'm trying!" she shouted back, but only now realized the dire situation as the Death Stalker reared back it's stinger, intent on running her through. She shut her eyes.

She awaiting the unbearable pain of her body being run through by the pointed appendage...yet nothing came.

"Honestly! Sometimes you are such an idiot, sis!"

The girl opened her eyes, and found two things in front of her, barring the lashing stinger of the Death Stalker from piercing her. One was the familiar, purple scythe called Wilted Requiem, and the other, a gigantic block of ice that trapped the giant scorpion's stinger and right pincer.

"You are so childish!" Weiss Schnee snapped as she removed Myrtenaster, turning to face her young partner with a cross look on her face. Ruby gawked, seeing Rouge and Weiss standing right in front of her. The white-haired heiress' rapier that she had removed from the ground was orginally embedded into the earth, trapping the stinger in its frozen prison. Rouge stood in front of her, his eyes set into a narrowed glare of concern, and his scythe propped over his shoulder. "And dim-witted, and hyperactive..." Weiss continued as she stood up, glaring at her with scrutiny. "...and don't even get me started on your fighting style." She paused. "And, I suppose..." she looked away, appearing to be slightly abashed. "I can be a bit... difficult."

Rouge scoffed. "Understatement of the century..." he muttered. Thankfully, she didn't hear him.

"...but if we're going to do this," she looked back at Ruby, narrowing her eyes. "We're going to have to do this together. So, if YOU quit trying to show off, I'll be..." She hesitated once more, mentally cursing herself for doing so twice in a row. Rouge, however, looked amused. It was clear she was not used to this. "Nicer."

Ruby looked at the ground. "I'm not trying to show off," she insisted. "I want you guys to know, I can do this."

"You're fine." Weiss shook her head, a miniscule smile on her face.

The hetero-chromatic boy smirked. "Well, what do you know?" he joked in a scathing tone. "The Ice Queen does have a heart after all."

"Hush, you." the girl glared at him before helping Ruby up to her feet. They quickly rejoined their friends, though Jaune was quick to notice that the Nevermore was circling around them, as if watching it's prey. "Okay, now what?"

"We grab the relics, and go." Rouge said. "Our task is to retrieve the relics, not fight the Grimm."

"So run and live...That's a plan I can get behind." Jaune nodded in relief.

Ruby smiled as she took one of the white chess pieces, the same one that Yang had taken earlier; the white Knight. She looked back at Jaune as he took a white rook piece, and he nodded back at her. The two then pocketed away the relics, and quickly moved away from the sight. "Let's go!" the red reaper said as she ran up the hill. From behind them, Rouge looked over his shoulder, seeing that the Deathstalker was managing to break free from it's icy prison. He then turned back to Ruby, and smiled proudly, seeing her ahead of the group, determination clear on her face.

"She looks a lot like mom when she's like this, huh?" Yang said, running next to him. she had a proud smile on her face as well, happy to see that her baby sister was starting to come into her own.

"She does." he agreed. As they continued to run away, the Nevermore let out a shrill shriek, and gave chase to them.


Unknown to Rouge or the others, however, there was another spectator that was watching Initiation. The figure was sitting atop a cliff that overlooked the Emerald Forest, much like the one that Glynda and Ozpin and Qrow were at. It was a woman, given her physique. They wore a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. An object that looked to be made from feathers hanged from the right side of her skirt. She also wore black, thigh-length boots with a red splatter pattern. Her most distinctive feature was a fearsome, full-face mask that resembles the face of a Creature of Grimm. The mask bore four eye slits, further enhancing the character's inhuman appearance. At her side was a large sheathe, with a slim handle protruding from it.

"Hmph...It's almost as if I'm watching the past..." The woman mused.

The scenery truly brought up a few memories for her. Ruby Rose was just like Summer, only without that timid nature of hers. Her personality brought forth a clash between her and Weiss Schnee, the stuck-up and arrogant brat thinking that she deserved everything simply because she was some daughter of a major corporation. Blake Belladonna was definitely just as experienced as Pyrrha Nikos, evident in the way she held herself up. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were also interesting, with the former being a good contrast and more level-headed companion to the overly eccentric latter. She was growing slightly exasperated with Jaune Arc. Despite coming from a prestigious and powerful family, it was painfully clear he had no formal training whatsoever. It was obvious this was his first taste of actual combat. She was also glad to see that Yang Xiao Long was holding herself up nicely, though her thrill of battle and lack of care regarding her surroundings could use a bit more work. It was just begging for trouble.

However, she wasn't here to observe them. No, she was here to observe one person in particular, the same person who had made that declaration to her all those years ago.

Her attention was focused on one male in the group. The brother of Ruby and Yang, Rouge Rose.

"...looks like your doing well, little one." the woman said, smiling beneath her mask. Ever since that day...she's continued to watch over him. To see if he will follow through with his vow. His promise.

Qrow had warned him repeatedly to stray from his path, but he refused to do so. He continued to trudge forward. He wasn't like her, who believed that the weak shall one day perish. He knew that this was the way of the world, that only those with strength could march forward, but he refused to accept that order of the world. He rejected it with every fiber of his being, denied it with all of his heart. His reason being his twin sister, Ruby. He knew that she was weak, hopeless and naive, lost in this world. Even if she became stronger, it would all be for naught, and that she would fall into darkness like all the others, like her own mother, Summer.

It was because she was weak that Rouge rejected the notion of the strong ruling over the weak, that those without power will one day fade away into nothingness. She remembered his declaration to her on the day she met him for the first time at Summer's Grave. She had seen his eyes. Eyes lit ablaze with rage and strength. Eyes that refused to bow. Eyes that would not succumb to despair.

Eyes that shown the will of one who would throw the world into chaos for the sake of one little girl.

Just the thought of it brought a smile to her face. He was definitely not like her. After all she had witnessed in her years as a Huntress...that boy was definitely an irregularity. "I wonder..." the woman mused. "Would you willingly destroy the world...all for the sake of your sister?" That was the question always on her mind when it came to Rouge. Would he willingly go so far for a single person?

And yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, Raven Branwen already knew the answer.


Initiation, part II...END


"That's right, run swiftly. If you live through this battle, you will be a true warrior. And you will carry on." -?