ANGR

by epicvictory2025

RWBY AU. An adventure of Four teenagers attending Beacon Academy. They all have their reasons for being here, and they are gonna prove they can face the dangers and protect Remnant. But can they remain brave and face the unknown that's hiding in the shadows?

7. Through the Woods

RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

The OCs belong to me

Team ANGR

Chapter 3; Through the Woods

Emerald Forest

---

The Emerald Forest. A vast and wide open valley covered with nothing but endless forest as far as the eye can see, over the horizon and even beyond the mountains. Just like Forever Fall, it too has been left mostly untouched by human activity and rarely has been explored from time to time, which makes it the perfect environment for the Grimm to hide and multiply. A perfect habitat to reap on any unlucky or ignorant person to ever wander in these woods alone.

Regardless, it's used as part of the initiation in Beacon academy for the new and young hunters and huntresses to test their strength, willpower, skills, and determination to prove if they are worthy of attending the academy… after they endure whatever the forest holds, with a team of four members each, retrieving the relic they are searching for, and especially staying alive through the whole thing.. because the Grimm are the real deal and this is no game… this is an actual test for survival.

And today is the day; The Initiation

The skies were filled with flying individuals made of flesh, leather, silk, fabric, and metals. New students to become part of the academy that is Beacon.

The power of the catapults that launched them have sent them flying for several more minutes and now they are miles deep into the forest from the cliffside where they started.

One by one, the students begin to spread out, as gravity begins to take hold and velocity begins to decrease.

Descending towards the treeline is Adam Taurus, who remains calm and collected, letting gravity pull him down, as he tightly grips Wilt by the hilt, which is still sheathed with Blush. He's coming down at a fast pace as the treetops are getting closer and closer to him that it looks like he will crash through the branches.

But the blue haired faunus doesn't plan any of that and quickly unsheathes his blue bladed katana that gives out a loud "SHING!".

Just as he enters the forest's treetops and through the thinner branches, he begins twisting his body and swinging his blade at a rapid pace that he's easily cutting his way through the thicker branches like a weed wacker through the vegetation.

Just as the bull faunus was about to hit the ground, he was coming in at a diagonal angle so he had to time it right or his landing's gonna be rough. He slightly twists his body again and stretches leg out, right before impact to the ground, at a steep angle. Just as he slammed into the earth and slid for at least a dozen meters, he manages to balance himself and grinds to a halt that leaves a trail behind him.

Adam stood in silence for a few seconds, standing at his full height, with Wilt still in his hand. Thing is, despite that he sliced through the branches, none of them appear to have been visibly cut and are still attached to the trees… that is until Adam calmly puts Wilt back into Blush and smoothly slides it back in. Once the sword is fully sheathed and lets out an audible "Clack" sound… all the tree branches that he went through were all chopped off from the trees and littered the forest floor behind Adam. The faunus takes a deep breath and begins walking, not saying a word since there is no one else around.

As he carried on, keeping his hand firmly on his sword's hilt, he stayed focused on his surroundings, already knowing the Grimm thrive here and they could be just around the corner, even behind the nearby bushes and trees right next to him. Which is why he can't get distracted or else he'll run the risk of getting ambushed and forced to fight which will waste some energy and ammo on the weaker Grimm that he doesn't really need to face unless absolutely necessary.

Just as Adam continued his trek, some of the trees and bushes had glowing red eyes that were all staring at him….

---

A few miles away, in another part of the forest, another soul was hurtling through the sky. If one could see his barmah hat and kangaroo tail, it's definitely Nigel Arvo.

For such a thrill of flying through the air like a missile, Nigel was doing his best to keep his hat on his head by holding it in place because he doesn't want to lose that hat of his that he deeply values.

When the faunus begins to descend, he takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, briefly using his semblance to scan what's ahead of him and begins formulating a way to safely land.

The first thing he does is draw his balderangs from his holsters that held them in and focuses towards the treelines he's about to fall through. He reels his arms back and throws his bladerangs with all his might, making the bladerangs spin like flying buzz saws and cutting their way through the thick treetops, clearing a path for Nigel.

He twisted and twirled, without hitting any of the falling branches, and managed to grab a larger branch with both hands and swung from it, adding more momentum to launch him forward, until he finally slammed into the ground feet first which slightly cratered the ground beneath him and sent bits of dust flying. His strong and muscular legs have absorbed much of the impact for him which made the landing easier for him.

"Talk about a hard landing." Nigel said out loud and stands back to his full height, casually catching his bladerangs that spun back to him and puts them back in their holsters, without even looking.

Since he's here now, might as well get going and get the relic… but first, he's gonna do a quick scan of his surroundings.

The kangaroo faunus started to slow down his breathing and slowly closed his eyes. He cleared his mind that he could barely process a thought and felt a concentrated surge of his emotions are heightened… and he opens his eyes, which are in a familiar violet shade.

With his semblance activated, Nigel scans his surroundings. What he sees in his sight is mostly the forest that appears to limit his range of vision but that's where his semblance comes in.

Like back in Bardus, his point of view appears to be slightly dimmed down to a violet shade and appears to be hazy like that of a mirage. Out in the distance, he can see many bright dots of lights that are in variable colors and they are scattered all around him, indicating these are all of the students in the initiation.

That's not the only thing he detects… aside from the bright dots of light… he also sees scattered patches of darkness that resembles dark clouds… and he senses a lot of negativity in them.

"No doubt that's from the Grimm…" Nigel thought, instantly recognizing the dark clouds that are only visible to his semblance vision since he has seen it many times before. He recalls the time when he traveled through the Wailing Desert back in Menagerie where the Grave Stalkers hid under the sand dunes to ambush unlucky victims. His semblance helped him locate where they are hiding which helped him get around the Grimm without getting ambushed by them. Any that ditched their tactic and tried to take him head on only end up dead by him.

For now, being able to detect where the Grimm are, most of them are far away from his current position and they are scattered all over the forest… but he can't help but feel a bit concerned he detects bigger and stronger clouds of darkness further away… no doubt those may be Death Stalkers and Nevermores… and possibly something even nastier than those two types of Grimm combined…..

With that noted, Nigel stays cautious and begins to notice the direction the other students are heading, giving out the hint the relics must be in that direction which is where he must go.

He steps forward and heads further into the forest, staying completely on guard and not letting the Grimm get the chance to ambush him if they even tried.

"Alright. Let's see what the Emerald Forest holds for us to overcome." Nigel said, taking out another dark chocolate bar and takes a big bite out of it while savoring the taste. After wrapping up the rest and putting it in his pocket, he begins walking further into the forest, deciding to take a more open path where there are less trees to reduce the risk of Grimm ambushes.

---

In another part of the forest, a third soul enters which came down like a meteor and crashed through the treetops and into the earth, creating a small explosion of dust and dirt flying from the impact.

When the dust settled, crouched within a crater, on one knee and one fist, is Gale Hathi who haw his head down but raised it up, showing his eyes that are filled with determination and eagerness to enter this god forsaken forest.

Just before he landed, he managed to slow himself down slightly with his Turbine Gauntlet but even than, the landing was still very powerful and left the ground indented beneath him but he didn't break a sweat.

He stands back up to his feet, taking a big and deep breath that fills his lungs with fresh air of the Emerald Forest. Instead of already heading out, Gale wanted to just stand still and inspect the forest around him.

Opening his eyes and looking around, he already knows the Emerald Forest is a place that has been barely touched by human activity and filled with Grimm. But he doesn't seem intimidated or worried for that matter, regardless of the Grimm and the dangers. In fact, he actually feels relaxed and contempt with this place, vaguely reminding him of his native homeland that is the jungles of Sanus. While this forest isn't as noisy nor as massive as his homeland and filled to the brim with all kinds of megaflora and megafauna, this place still felt

It's apparent that, while he's already getting used to stepping into the more densely populated cities and towns that the humans and faunus populate, Gale will always feel more at home out in the wilderness, especially the more tropical locations.

During those thoughts, he heard the sounds of chirping and spotted what looked like a green cardinal which is a bird covered in bright green feathers with some yellow streaked arcross it. The bird was chirping for a bit and flew off its perch and further into the forest. Nearby, Gale also spotted a silver squirrel with pointy ears which is in fact a squirrel covered in silver fur. It was eating an acorn until it spotted Gale and scampered out of sight.

It seems even the Emerald Forest has an ecosystem with organic life that thrive here, as all environments should, regardless of the presence of the Grimm.

With an initiation needed to be done, Gale can't stand around any longer and begins to make his steps.

"Time to put all of my training, both from grandpa and from me, to the test." Gale said and marched forward. "Just watch me grandpa." He internally whispered, as he looked up into the sky, seeing nothing but clouds. "I'll make you proud how far I've come."

---

Last but not least; There's one more young soul that's entering the forest… well… more like "flying" over it.

"FREEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOM!" Screamed a thrilling shout that was so loud and powerful that even the other side of the entire forest could hear it. Flying high in the sky at near supersonic speeds is none other than… Rocky Rhode Runner. What he's actually doing to make him go so much faster and farther ... is that he's using his semblance by flapping his arms at such a fast pace that it almost makes him look as if he's actually flying like an actual bird. Heck, he's even using his tail feathers to help him steer and remain steady.

Here, Rocky is actually enjoying the thrill of "flying", despite that he needs to take it seriously. It's like he's being a free spirit that's deeply enjoying what it feels like to be free with nothing to worry about to hold him down from his past… of his struggles and torment that will forever be with him until the day he dies….. And that was before he met his trainer who taught him everything he knows that gave him hope for a better life that also partially molded him into what he is now… then that incidental event in Atlas forever changed his life…..

Before Rocky could think any further… he couldn't stay focused on where he was going… and ended up crashing right into the top a massive tree that towered over many others. He smacked into it so hard that the tree bent back that the top of it almost reached halfway to the ground.

For some reason, the tree didn't snap in two from the immense pressure and remained bent halfway down for a few more seconds which was enough for Rocky to regain his senses and tried to comprehend what is going on.

"Oh my aching head… where am I…?" That was all Rocky could say before he realized what was happening and where he's at…. And the tree can no longer stay bent. Seeing what is about to happen, Rocky kept a straight but blank expression on his face as if he knows this is gonna suck.

"Oh son of a bi-" That's all he could say, before the tree finally snaps back into place which catapults Rocky who goes flying yet again, only to tumble head over heels this time, while comically screaming at the top of his lungs.

With no control of himself, Rocky plummeted down and into the treeline and crashed through the branches but it gets comically more crazy is that he's tumbling through the forest and bouncing off the trees like some kind of pinball in a pinball machine. Thankfully, his toon force semblance and aura absorbed most of the impact that it's hardly even hurting him but it sure is making him dizzy since his vision is spinning and blurry that it's almost making him sick to his stomach.

"When will this crazy roller coaster ride end?!" Rocky moaned in complete disdain and wishing for it to be over.

As if his wish was granted, Rocky hit a random tree for the last time and begins flying towards the ground at a diagonally steep angle like a human sized meteorite. Just as the roadrunner faunus hits the ground, he STILL didn't stop as he's now basically sliding across the ground while also being partially submerged in the ground which leaves a carved out trail behind him and sending small chunks of the ground and dirt into the air.

After sliding for a few more seconds, Rocky hits a random rock that was partially burried in the ground which not only stops him but also sends him tumbling into the air.

"WHOOOA!" Rocky wailed as his vision is spinning yet again. However, a maneuver like this instantly reminded him of an acrobatic technique back in his circus days so he focused and used his experience and skills for his acrobats taught by his trainer. And using those tricks, he manages to safely land on his two feet like he was doing a complex acrobatic technique with no difficulty.

Even doing that impressive technique, the young man couldn't help but slightly hallucinate and see himself back underneath a massive circus tent and surrounded by cheering crowds in the thousands to even hundreds of thousands.

Despite that it's likely his own illusion, Rocky wanted to appreciate his imaginary audience, as he stands up straight and spreads out his arms like he's showing off his awesome feat to everyone.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You've been a wonderful audience." Rocky announced with great enthusiasm, albeit with a dazed slur.

But what Rocky didn't know was that something big was behind him and was about to fall on him… it turns out to be one of the trees that he pinballed into ended up snapping in half seconds after, as it now starts tumbling down… towards Rocky with his back turned and he didn't even see or hear the tree coming.

CRASH!

The large tree fell right on top of poor Rocky which apparently squashed him underneath it's massive weight that also shook the ground that even sent the perched birds in the trees to fly off in fright.

Seconds later, as it seemed the faunus is dead, his arm reached out from under the tree that was followed by his other arm…..and they look as flat as paper for some reason. Either way, Rocky doesn't waste time and begins to dig his fingers into the soft soil, pulling himself out from under the tree.

Eventually, after several struggling seconds of straining, he finally dragged himself out from under the tree and stands back up… somewhat because he's all wobbly and trying his best to stay balanced.

The weird thing for Rocky is how light he feels on his feet. That's because he's flat as a pancake due to his semblance making him mold his body that helped him absorb the majority of the tree's weight coming down on him.

"Oh that smarts." Rocky says as he started getting used to his temporary new body shape but still wobbling around a bit. "Good thing my semblance and aura bailed me out of that one or else that would've been the end of Rocky Rhode Runner." He chortled and looked like he was in a stupor. That's a side effect of his semblance when he uses it a little too much in a short amount of time, especially doing it in physics defying ways..

He tried to take a walk but he looked more like he's drunk off his ass and was trying to stay on his feet, as much as he was like a piece of paper that's struggling against a slight breeze.

"Ah right. What was I thinking?" Rocky says as he takes a deep breath and jams his thumb into his mouth. Once he did, he starts to blow with all his might and he suddenly starts inflating his flattened body back to it's default shape with a lot of cartoonish popping sounds coming from his body changing back to normal.

"There we go." Rocky sounded satisfied of recovering his regular body shape but he noticed his mohawk got all messy and bent out of shape. He quickly straightens it back out into it's crest like shape that of a roadrunner's with his hands and a bit of hair gel he keeps in his pocket.

"Now where was I…" He mumbled for a second until he just remembered. "Oh right. The relics and getting a partner." He announced and started heading in the right direction in a slight jog to make up some wasted time of being stuck under that fallen tree.

But Rocky didn't get far, not even ten feet, as he heard the sound of growling right behind him…

"Ugh.. for the love of-" But he had to leap out of the way as a swipe of razor sharp claws barley missed him and ended up slashing against a random tree which got sliced in half and crashes to the ground nearby.

Rocky gained distance and saw… an Alpha Beowulf that turned around and growled at Rocky, baring its fangs and claws. Out of the bushes came several more Beowolves, at least four, that are apparently the Alpha's pack members.

"Oh come on!" Rocky complained with his arms raised in the air like this has to be some kind of joke. "I just got here and now you are attacking me?! I thought we don't fight the likes of you until the next several paragraphs after we enter this place!"

The Alpha Grimm ignored him and roared, signaling it's pack members to attack.

Rocky rolled his eyes and just went with it, instantly drawing his double barreled revolvers and twirled them in his hands. "Alright. If that's what you want, then be my guest!" He shouts and takes action.

The dark beasts charge at full speed, intending to tear him apart with their razor sharp claws and dagger like teeth. But Rocky was already one step ahead before they even made the first move.

He aimed one of his revolvers at one of the smaller beowolves and fired an ordinary bullet that easily pierced it's skull, instantly killing it, as black smoke and black liquid blew out of the other side of the exit wound. As it collapsed, the dead Grimm distengrated.

The Alpha was instantly upon Rocky and tried to swipe him with both of its claws in a criss cross slash fashion. Rocky reacted to this by using his semblance to bend way back like he's doing the limbo. Once the Grimm missed, Rocky counter attacked by putting his hands on the ground and launching forward with his leg that kicked the Alpha Grimm right under it in the chin which stunned it. Rocky than wrapped both of his legs around the neck and uses his momentum to toss the larger Grimm into the other Grimm. One managed to dodge but the other two weren't so lucky and fell over from the Alpha slamming into them.

Just as the Alpha Beowulf crashed into the others, Rocky already aimed one of his revolvers and fired a Fire Dust enhanced bullet towards them. However, the Alpha Grimm is far smarter and focused than its more reckless and dimmer pack members that it instantly leaped out of the way from the fire bullet's path. It was able to evade a fatal injury but the other two weren't so lucky.

One Grimm took a bullet to the chest but instead of the bullet going through it like the last Grimm, the bullet explodes in a decently large explosion that the entire Grimm's upper half was blown to bits, leaving the bottom half to stand still and then fade to ashes.

The other Grimm was a little more lucky but not enough to be unscathed by the heat and force of the explosion. As it skidded to the side, its body was badly burnt and charred that some of its bone armor were cracked and melted, even its mask was partially broken off, along with its right ear blown off as well.

The Alpha Beowulf saw the whole thing and takes note to itself that this opponent has very effective and destructive long ranged weaponry… and it needs to cancel that out by getting in close where he would be forced to face the Alpha without using his most destructive parts of his arsenal.

Rocky turns his attention back to the Alpha Grimm which was standing on all fours and watching him like it's studying him, giving out a low growl towards him.

Rocky quickly figures it out that this is definitely an older Grimm and it's definitely much smarter than your average beowulf. It's already likely thinking of a way to get around his ace in the hole that are his revolvers and to force him to face it up close with a handicap at that.

"Trying to read me like a book, eh?" Rocky mocked the Grimm which growled back at him. "Well you're gonna have to flip the pages and study me very quickly because I'm gonna turn you into swiss cheese!"

The faunus opens fire with his revolvers again, intending to take out the Alpha as quickly as possible. The Alpha Grimm sprinted on all fours to avoid the gunfire, even using the trees and boulders as cover and to make it harder for Rocky to take proper aim. The Alpha than ran behind a large boulder. Rocky ceased fire and kept his eye on the Grimm's hiding spot, knowing this Grimm is likely trying to make a counter attack against him.

On cue, the Alpha appears on top of the boulder and instantly throws something at Rocky who instinctively fires at them. Turns out, they were two rocks that the Grimm threw at him but Rocky, nevertheless, shattered the rocks to pebbles with two well placed bullets.

But that's what the Grimm wanted which gave it time to leap towards Rocky with its claws and teeth bared. Rocky was distracted by the scattered pebbles that he had to block with his arm to not hit him in the face that he didn't have time to aim at the Beowulf that was coming towards him.

He was forced to roll out of the way and did several acrobatic backflips to gain some distance as the Alpha Grimm missed and skidded to a halt.

"You know, for an Alpha Beowulf, that was a rather clever trick you did there." Rocky told the Grimm which turned around and growled at him again.

"But that's where you must perish." Rocky bluntly announced and aims again. This time, deciding to use some of his Dust to end this Grimm due to being smarter than he gave credit for. He fires another Fire Dust enhanced bullet but the Grimm dodges yet again and avoids the explosive heat. Rocky figures this Grimm is gonna dodge his bullets so he thought of a more indirect surprise to catch it off guard.

He uses his semblance to curl into a tight ball and rolled under the Grimm that passed over him. Before the Grimm can turn around, Rocky was one step ahead of him and fired a lightning dust bullet that electrocuted and paralyzed the Grimm in place for several seconds. This gave Rocky enough time to fire another fire dust bullet dead center in the chest. Unlike the weaker Grimm, the Alpha was durable enough to tank it which sent it flying back and slamming into the same boulder it hid behind, leaving a big crater on the face of it.

The Alpha was lying on the ground, with much of it's fur burnt and it's thicker bone armor all cracked and broken off. But it still managed to get back up, albeit shakingly, and still glared and growled at the roadrunner faunus.

"Time to end this, since I need to carry on." Rocky said, now sounding a little impatient.

The Grimm roared at the top of its lungs and sprinted at full speed, intending to rip him to shreds, even if its majorly injured. Even with some self preservation and intelligence to boot, the Alpha Grimm is still bent on killing humans and faunus until it dies. Besides, it's close to death and Rocky can now apparently counter its own tactics so it's going all out as a last ditch effort to get at Rocky.

Despite the determination, it was a big mistake for the wolf Grimm.

Rocky aimed downwards and fired an Ice Dust bullet which appears to have missed the Alpha and just end up freezing the ground…but once the bullet hits the ground it exploded into a bunch of man-sized impaling icicles with very sharp at the tips and sticking out of the ground at a diagonal angle… and they were pointing right at the Alpha Beowulf that was flying towards it.

The Beowulf gets impaled by the icicles in nearly every part of its body, especially in the chest, stomach, arms, legs, and neck, leaving it immobilized, as black ooze and smoke leaked from it's gaping wounds. The Grimm was losing strength and struggled to break free as Rocky walked towards it and aimed his revolver at it's head.

"Checkmate."

BANG!

He fired another Ice Dust bullet that instantly turned into an icicle which impaled through the open mouth and sticking out of the back of it's head. Black smoke and ooze leaked out of the head wound as the Grimm stopped struggling and layed limp in the icicles. Seconds later, it too faded to ashes that leaves nothing but the icicles.

Rocky took a deep breath and calmed down, already savoring the short victory of killing his first couple of Grimm of the initiation. He twirled his revolvers and put them back in their holsters. He looked around and finds no more Grimm… though, he swore there was one that got hit by his explosions and got half burnt but he doesn't see it anywhere.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Meh. It probably succumbed and went to ashes." He said that he didn't care and went on his way.

Little did he know, hiding in a nearby bush, is the young beowulf that suffered the intense burns and losing it's ear. It managed to sneak away when Rocky wasn't looking and got to safety. The Grimm watches Rocky walk away and the Grimm felt it's instincts telling it to attack him… but it was hesitant to attack since it's being aware what that being it tried to attack is capable of and easily dispatched it's pack members and alpha.

Basically, this Grimm is learning what it experienced and it decides it should withdraw and go somewhere else while licking its wounds.

The Grimm silently growled and scampered deeper into the Emerald Forest, looking for another pack of Beowolves to co-exist with.

---

20 minutes later

Some time has passed and many of the other teenagers have traveled far, a few have even found each other already and becoming official partners.

Others have still yet to find theirs… and sometimes… some partnerships are more interesting than others.

Moving quickly through the dense forest is Gale who's doing a simple jog, along with some added jumps and swings from the trees to throw him even further. Due to his experience in the jungles of Sanus, the Emerald Forest is a cakewalk for him.

Still, it's been some time since he got here and he has yet to come across either a Grimm to slay or a partner to team up with. Not that he's complaining or rushing things since he's used to traveling on his own and fighting all kinds of Grimm since his grandfather's passing so he's really patient but he's also just as eager to have a partner and a team for this year.

Before he can think any more, he suddenly heard a growling sound to his right and it was coming from the bushes… and sees something big and dark within it. He saw red lines and red eyes start to low as they glared at Gale.

Recognizing that it's a Grimm, Gale instantly activated his Turbine Gauntlets on his wrists and got into his combat stance, ready to fight his first Grimm in Vale.

The Grimm bursts out of the bushes, knocking aside a tree and crushing the smaller bushes under its mighty paws, letting out a mighty roar that could be heard for miles.

It's an Ursa Major; And it's got its sights on Gale with a feral bloodlust to maul him.

The young man couldn't help but smirk towards this rather large and burly Grimm that's glaring down at him, reminding him of the Beta and Alpha Beringel that he fought and slayed back in the jungles of Sanus. Though, this Grimm is probably not as powerful or as vicious, a Grimm at that size and power is a perfect warm up for him.

"Bring it on." Gale taunted as the giant demonic bear roared again and charged on all fours which wasn't surprising to Gale as he knows older and stronger Grimm are also faster than their younger selves.

Gale instantly responds and points his arms behind him and creates a massive burst of wind from his weapons that sent him flying forward. He reaches the Grimm and lands the first hit with a flying knee kick with an added boost in power from his gauntlets. The knee strike hit it square in the forehead that stopped the Grimm dead in its tracks and sent a small shockwave outwards that blew away dust and pieces of loose dirt.

The Ursa Major growled in response, showing only moderate damage from the impact and still able to fight. It raised its large paw and tried to swipe at Gale but he caught it with both of his hands and counters with a spin and a sharp elbow strike to the side of the Ursa's gut which stunned it long enough for Gale to wrap both of his arms around the neck of the Grimm and tosses it over his shoulder, sending it into ground which cratered under the impact. Just as Gale was about to wrestle the Grimm into a submissive headlock, the bear counters by raising itself from the ground and tries to bite his face off but Gale leans aside to avoid the bite and ends up on top of the Grimm's back, suddenly giving it a chokehold from behind.

The Ursa Major roars in anger and tries to buck Gale off of its back but the teen held on tight and won't let go. The Grimm can't reach him from behind either so it can't force him off so easily.

With quick thinking, the Ursa Major stands up at full height and quickly backs itself up against a nearby tree, smashing itself with Gale between it and the tree that took most of the impact hard enough to snap the tree in half and forced Gale to let go.

The Ursa turns around and begins swiping its claws at Gale repeatedly with occasional biting attempts but Gale kept dodging by leaning and ducking out of the way. Only getting swiped once that sent him skidding back and smacked into another tree that broke it in half and crashing into the ground. The Grimm advanced on Gale and forced him onto defense again which lasted a few more seconds.

Just as the Ursa Major tried to land another swipe, Gale intercepted it with a block and then quickly wrapped his arms around the Grimm's midsection as far as he could in a fashionably ironic and literal bear hug. Before the Ursa could do anything, Gale, with his gargantuan strength, SUPLEXED the massive Grimm into the ground which shook the area and made another crater only much larger than the last one.

Gale leaps back and sees that the Ursa Major has its head buried in the ground and it's body laid stiff, even it's legs pointed sky high and didn't appear to move. Seconds after, it fell to the side in a loud thud. Gale stayed on guard and watched the Grimm slowly get back up. It's mask is heavily cracked and some of its back spines are broken and splintered.

"Oh you're still kicking, after all that I've given ya?" Gale said towards the Grimm, still a little surprised this Grimm has taken such a powerful suplex that it could've killed most weaker Grimm in one hit.

The Grimm stood back up and roared at him, now really pissed off and charges again on all fours, it moved so fast in such short bursts that Gale didn't have time to properly countered and the only thing he could do was block with his arm… which the Grimm bit down on his exposed arm which wasn't covered by his gauntlet, near the elbow, with its powerful jaws.

Despite his aura preventing the Ursa's teeth form penetrating his flesh, Gale still couldn't help but grit his teeth at how painful and powerful the bite is but the Grimm doesn't stop there. Before Gale could do anything, the Grimm started shaking its head side to side really fast that Gale is now being swung around like a chew toy being rough handled by a dog. The Grimm kept slamming Gale into the ground which left craters, a few trees that snapped in half, and even a random log which shattered into splinters.

After a few more seconds of getting flung around, the Grimm swung one last time and let Gale go, sending him flying several feet away and tumbling across the ground like a rag doll but the young man easily recovered and managed to land onto his feet. Now clearly annoyed and wanting to end this.

The Grimm roars yet again. This time it makes a great leap and tries to crush Gale underneath its mighty paws with all of its weight behind it. Gale responds by activating Tempest, his left gauntlet, and shoots a focused green projectile of Wind Dust that smacks the Grimm right in the face and causes it to careen out of control in midair which left it open for Gale. He charges up a powerful punch as familiar green winds swirl around his right arm as he winds it back and prepares to land a powerful blow.

At the same time, Gale focused into his semblance, as his muscles bulged, elephant ears and tusks sprouted out of his head and mouth respectively, his eyes turned a familiar black and pupils remained turquoise, and his hair grew out a little.

Just as the Grimm was about to hit the ground, Gale, with the added force of Gust and his semblance, launched his punch forward and struck the side of the Ursa's head that sent a powerful shockwave which kicked up dust and even some branches off the trees. The impact not only shattered half of the Grimm's mask, but also sent it's lower jaw flying off the head and sending the entire Grimm spiraling dozens of feet through a few trees and left a huge trail of upturned earth.

At the end of the torn trail, there lay the Ursa Major that wasn't moving, missing its bottom jaw, half of it's entire mask broken off, and half of it's head caved in.

It's dead and reduced to ashes.

Gale watched the defeated Grimm fade away, as he took a deep and calm breaths, deactivating his semblance and going back to his default appearance.

"Strong and persistent that Grimm was." Gale said as he rubbed the dust off his shoulders and kept walking in the direction he was heading. "Something tells me that's only just the tip of the iceberg."

Though, Gale couldn't help but notice something he walked by and looked it at.

What he noticed were several upturned trees that were laying around in piles like overgrown firewood. Some were even piled on top of each other but most were scattered about, while also seeing large holes which suggests thats where the trees were torn out of them.

This seems odd as the trees were torn from the ground and their roots were visible with clumps of dirt still attached to them. Though, it appears something may have pushed or knocked them down out of their roots. But, they don't look like they were pushed down, as Gale can see, since he noticed the the way the holes look and that the trees were not close to their holes suggested they were YANKED out of the ground and CARRIED around. Further supported that Gale noticed the bark on some of the trees were heavily caved in as if something wrapped around the trees and crushed them a bit… or GRIPPED them and pulled them out of the ground.

"Yeah… definitely the tip of the iceberg…" Gale muttered and kept walking, feeling a little unease of what this forest is hiding from the watchful eyes of society.

---

One mile away.

Adam Taurus is currently on guard and kept his hand close to Wilt's handle, knowing there may be a Grimm around every corner he's walking towards in these woods so he's not taking chances of relaxing and letting his guard down.

It's already been some time, though, that he hasn't encountered a Grimm or anybody else so far.

But it didn't last long as he swore he saw something move in the corner of his eye from his mask, and heard the snapping of twigs nearby which put him on guard and gripped the handle of Wilt but has yet to draw it out.

He kept his sights towards the location where he swore he saw and heard the source coming from, tightly gripping Wilt in preparation to attack. After half a minute of staring in the direction where he thinks the Grimm is there… he sees and hears nothing. Adam's instincts even gone silent of the possible danger of a Grimm in that direction.

Adam calms down and loosens his grip on his sword, thinking it's probably a deer or a rabbit.

He turns his attention back to his path and steps forward…. only the moment he took that step, the ground erupted beneath him as something was bursting out from underground as a giant mouth of razor sharp teeth tried to chomp his leg.

With his trained and quick reflexes, Adam instantly leaped out of harm's way and widened the distance between him and his attacker, instantly grabbing hold of Wilt the moment he landed and got into his battle stance.

Standing in the middle of the upturned hole is a Grimm but it resembles some kind of bipedal reptilian creature that has a pair of hind limbs with sharp claws and a tail but no forelimbs. It's stubby head has a familiar white mask in red markings, sharp teeth, and four eye sockets. It's body is covered in bony white scutes that cover its body and sharp dorsal plates running across its back and tail.

It's a Creep. And this one seemed to have snooped up on him that it almost got him by surprise from beneath his feet.

Luckily, Adam has his sights on it and he's more than ready to slay it. The Creep snarled and growled at the bull faunus who doesn't bat an eye and remains focused, ightly gripping his sword, ready to draw and land an accurately precise slash on the Grimm.

With that in mind, Adam watches the Grimm snarl and charge at him full speed, still gripping Wilt and staying in place as if he's letting the Grimm come to him and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Just as the Creep was within range and lunged forward, with its mouth open and teeth bared, Adam narrowed his eyes behind his mask and slightly drawn Wilt out of Blush.

Than Adam makes his move.

SHING!

In a split second, both the Creep and Adam are standing still and away from each other with their backs turned. Adam appears to put Wilt back into Blush with an audible "clack".

The Creep suddenly let out a weak growl as its own head got cleanly sliced off, disintegrating once it hit the ground. Its body collapses, moments after, and it too breaks apart into nothing.

But Adam wasn't out of the woods yet, figuratively and literally, as he knows Creeps travel in packs.

Adam felt the ground around him start to shake and tremble, as several more Creeps burst out of the ground which sent large clumps of dirt scattering.

In no time, Adam is now surrounded by even more Creeps, including one that's an alpha Creep that's bigger, meaner, and has bigger dorsal spines that are razor sharp

This alpha Grimm is known as the Creeper.

Again, Adam isn't deterred and remains as focused as ever. Besides, he's faced far worse than this, Grimm or not, so this shouldn't be hard for him.

Wanting to make it easier, he instantly draws Wilt again and dashes towards the Creeper, intending to take it out first since it poses a bigger threat than all the other Creeps combined. But the Creeper is far smarter than the other Creeps and quickly responds by quickly turning around and started kicking clumps of dirt and pebbles at Adam which forced the young man to cover his face with his arm… mostly because he doesn't want to have his mask damaged or knocked off.

Just as he recovered, the Creeper already burrowed under ground, intending to let the other Creeps wear him down and plans to ambush him by surprise when he's distracted.

Adam was a little annoyed with this since he doesn't have a proper counter against burrowing enemies so he's gonna have to take his time with the Grimm that are already on the surface. Thankfully, most of the Creeps seem to choose to stay above ground and attack him directly.

Adam changes tactics and decides to focus on the Creeps above ground, darting ahead and attacking the closest one before any of them made their next move. He unleashed several slices on that one which dropped dead and ran to another and sliced it's head open in a vertical fashion.

And with that, all the remaining Creeps snarl and attack. Adam goes on the offensive and begins slicing and dicing with impressive skills and accurate precision that he's able to keep the Creeps at bay, each one that got too close is chopped in half, decapitated, or impaled. Some got lucky to get close enough to bite or disembowel him with their clawed feet but the faunus either dodges or blocks their attacks with Wilt. Every time their teeth or claws impact against the blade, it slightly glows blue which is what he's using his semblance to make Wilt absorb the kinetic energy of the Creeps' physical attacks and storing it for a stronger attack.

Shortly after a few Creeps have fallen, more Creeps suddenly pop out of the ground and join the fray, as if they are replacing their fallen brethren. As Adam continued to persist, the Creeper burst out from beneath him, due to its larger size, sending large clumps of dirt and even some rocks flying. Adam could was forced upward as the Creeper was now in the air with him.

It planned to catch Adam off guard from beneath him to send him up into the air which leaves the faunus vulnerable long enough to attack him, as it's about to slash him with its sharp claws on its powerful legs.

But he's far from helpless as recovers in midair and blocks the oncoming strike with Wilt which sent tons of sparks flying everywhere but the sword glowed even brighter. Adam used the velocity from the hit to spin around slashed the Creeper which left a nasty wound across it's underside, sending it flying across the forest floor, and slamming into the ground but not enough to kill it.

The masked swordsman lands gracefully and sees a few more Creeps popping out of the ground but not as many before.

To bring it up a notch, Adam grabs Blush with his free hand and now he's dual wielding both a sword and a shotgun-sheath in combat. More Creeps begint to drop like flies, whenever if they are chopped to pieces by Wilt or filled with holes by Blush, it looked easy to Adam but he's deeply concentrated and doing his best to not get touched.

Nearby, the Creeper recovers and stands back up, snarling at Adam and charges again. Adam noticed the larger Grimm coming towards him and quickly slashed two more Creeps before leaping high into the air and towards the Creeper, throwing Wilt which spins like a buzzsaw.

The Creeper saw the spinning projectile and tried to dodge it by leaping out of the way but it wasn't fast enough and ended up getting a nasty gash it's back and side as the buzzsaw sword sliced through it like a buzzsaw through soft tissue, regardless of the Grimm's armor. The Grimm screeched and fell on its side while Wilt stuck itself in the ground blade first. Adam landed away form the Creeps and rolled several times towards Wilt. The moment he stopped rolling next to his blade, he grabs the hilt and yanked it out of the ground, turning his attention back to the Creeps.

The Creeper recovers and decides another tactic to catch the faunus off guard. It snarled at the other Creeps, ordering them to follow it's commands and they obeyed. After that, the Creeper borrowed underground yet again while the Creeps all roar in unison and charge together like a small stampede.

Adam doesn't falter and takes his combat stance, with drawing Wilt back into Blush, still gripping the hilt, and activating his semblance. The blue glow on Wilt glowed even brighter, thanks to all the kinetic energy his sword absorbed, the same goes for his hair and blue emblems on his mask, though, not as bright and intense as the time he used it back in Forever Fall but still bright enough to be noticeable.

The Grimm kept charging, not even taking the possible hint what is about to happen in front of them, even if it's gonna kill them.

Without warning, Adam unsheathes Wilt in an Iaijutsu quick-draw fashion that he slices upwards which creates a blue tinted, crescent shape, vertical air slash that flew forward so fast that it left a carved trail behind it. But Adam didn't stop there as he holds Wilt with both hands and swings again in a horizontal fashion that he creates a similar blue tinted air slash but it's horizontal and it too raced towards the Grimm, not far behind the first air slash.

The Creeps were too slow to react nor even comprehend what's coming their way as the vertical air slash easily bisected the Creep in front and a few more directly behind it. Before the remaining Creeps could respond, the horizontal slash chopped the rest in half as the chopped pieces of the Grimm flailed in the air until they scattered across the forest floor. Like many fallen Grimm, the remains of the Creeps break down into ash and drift away in the wind.

He pretty much slaughtered the remaining pack of Creeps in just two moves.

At the same time, when the Creeps were getting chopped by the ranged air slashes, the Creeper bursted out right from behind Adam and spun in midair, intending to land a powerful blow with it's sharp and mighty tail. But Adam anticipated that and ducked, easily avoiding it. While he ducked and the Creeper was about to land on its feet, Adam spun around and did a low swing that chopped off one of the Creeper's legs.

The alpha Grimm screeched in pain and collapsed to the ground, unable to keep its balance, due to the lack of one leg. Before it could even do anything, Adam instantly stabbed Wilt downwards with both of his hands straight into the Creeper's head which made it go stiff and stopped struggling. With one firm twist of the sword, the Creeper instantly disintegrated.

With the threat now neutralized, Adam takes a breather and sheathes Wilt back into Blush again. Though, he knows he's going to be using it again soon but he's pretty good at using it when drawing it.

Through all of this, while focused on the initiation, he couldn't help…. but think about how everyone else is doing out there, especially Blake…. and even Ruby Rose. Sure, he deeply cares about Blake and thinks about her at times, especially when they are separate. Not that he thinks about her all the time and knows Blake can take care of herself as much as he can by himself, it's just that this event is going to bring a lot of upcoming events that he couldn't predict, whenever if good or bad, that brings some concern to what the future holds.

What makes it a bit hard for Adam that he's been with Blake for a long time that they are borderline inseparable, giving each other good company, since they first met in Menagerie, and stayed close when they were in the White Fang. The only close friends Adam and Blake, besides each other, were Ilia Amitola, a chameleon faunus who was really close to Blake and apparently had a crush on her, and Vlad Tradat, the bat faunus, Adam's other close friend and former teammate… who was almost like a brother to him…. and he can still remember the look in his eyes that read shock and betrayal when he and Blake left him behind on that train in Forever Fall….. he even wonders how Ilia feels too… probably something similar to what Vlad felt but likely less angry...

As for Ruby Rose, on the other hand… is an interesting young girl that seems to have caught his attention about her. Regardless of looking younger and seemingly being so innocent due to her bubbly and enthusiastic nature, Adam has seen past that and she's far more than that.

That made him start thinking about Weiss… the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Despite their limited contact… it didn't go well for them as Adam can tell she's not much of a ray of sunshine to him and Blake. It's likely she doesn't like faunus so that's a given but that's the least of his concerns if she hates faunus or not. Just what the heck is she doing here in all places, attending Beacon Academy, nonetheless? It's not like Atlas doesn't have the best academies of its own which would be worthy for Weiss to attend to no question. So why attend here in Vale?

Adam doesn't have the answers to that but he can't help he may find them very soon the longer he hangs around with Weiss… if they can get along since they never really started out friendly with each other….

At the same time, just the mere mention of Weiss and her company has started to remind him of Atlas…. which suddenly made Adam visualize something that made him feel momentarily tormented… it was brief but he pictured something that was glowing orange… made of letters… and it was burning hot the closer it got to him. It made the left side of his face feel sore and hot that he had to stop thinking about it and gently placed his hand on his mask where the left side of his face hides behind…

"I can't be thinking about that right now…." Adam thought as he regained his focus to his surroundings and kept walking.

As Adam continues his path, a stray Creep came out of nowhere and blindly charged at Adam, not even acknowledging that it's brethren fell to this faunus.

Without even taking his eyes off his path, nor losing focus on what he's thinking, not even noticing the Creep coming at him from the side, Adam casually draws his sword and slices the Grimm which killed it that it's corpse tumbled in midair from the powerful slash and faded to ash before it even touched the ground.

The bull faunus sheathed Wilt back into Blush and carried on… but he momentarily halted as he sees something in front of him.

It looks like some kind of big hole, at least 10 feet wide and dozens more across, but it's only up to knee height so it's not much of a hazard to him…. but something seems wrong with this hole and Adam can't help but feel a little dreaded the more he looks at it for some reason.

That's when he finally realized something… he noticed the odd shape the hole is. It almost… resembles that of a foot… a with four oversized toes.

That's when Adam finally puts the pieces together…It's a footprint. And based on the size of the foot, the owner must be gigantic…. and very likely a Grimm….

"Something tells me this is not going to be an easy…." Adam thought in slight worry. Despite facing off all kinds of Grimm in his life, including a few Nevermores, King Taijutus, and Death Stalkers…. he can't help but feel worried this Grimm is on another level….

Regardless, Adam carefully stepped into the hole, crossed it, and stepped out of it on the other side, as he continues to keep walking forward.

---

Elsewhere

More and more partners and even teams are slowly being formed, heck, some have even made it to the temple where they needed to retrieve the relics they are searching for.

Trudging through the forest is Nigel who is taking his surroundings very well and munching on his dark chocolate bar again. He hasn't encountered any Grimm yet but he can easily locate them with his semblance.

Problem is, as much as he can spot them, he can't identify what type of Grimm they are due to their lack of their soul and he can only sense the negative energies they feed on which are shapeless dark clouds that only his semblance can detect them. He can only guess what type of Grimm it may possibly be, based on the size and density of the dark clouds, along with how much negativity they contain.

While he was looking out for Grimm, he's also looking out for any potential partners, not that he really minds who he ends up with as his semblance may help him read them better which may help him communicate with them better.

Thanks to years of training with his semblance, he's able to sense aura at farther distances but only less accurately with emotions as they take more focus to read. His current distance limit is 5 miles in diameter, any further beyond that limit, traces of emotion and aura disappear from his vision and sense.

Even right now, while being scattered across the forest, he can still sense some familiar bits of emotions and colors of aura from different locations in different directions.

Nearby, about three miles away, he sensed two aura signatures; One that's magenta and other that's bright pink. The one that's magenta is facing off against a Grimm… it must be a large and powerful one, either a Death Stalker or a King Taijitu. The pink one is not too far away and appears to be heading towards the green one… which is also moving through the treetops….

It's Ren and Nora; and it seems they will be partners this year. Nigel couldn't help but feel that it's no coincidence that those two ended up being partners, since he could sense a lot of affection and care from Nora that's focused on Ren who also shows bits of affection back towards Nora… and yet they apparently are treating each other as just friends.

He looked in another direction and, about two miles away, he sees two aura signatures in the color of red and white, respectively… and the white aura seems annoyed and reluctant while the red one seems pretty happy and full of joy for some reason being with the white aura.

He didn't need to guess it's Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee as he can recognize their aura and emotions he sensed earlier before being launched…. And he wonders how those two will get along with quite polar opposite in personalities but he can;t help but assure himself those two will get along quite well.

After surveying enough and wanting to not waste anymore energy on his semblance, since it does slowly drain his aura, he deactivates it and goes back to eating his dark chocolate bar again, only eating halfway, wrapping it back up, and putting it back into his pocket.

That is, when he was doing that and his semblance wasn't activated, something was hovering above in the treetops and it begins taking position to strike. It isn't human and looks more like some kind of giant insect… with extended and sharp forelimbs, and bulging, glowing, red eyes.

Now that Nigel is in the right spot, the giant insect drops down from above and dives towards him, intending to skewer and chop him with its forelimbs.

But Nigel, even without his semblance on, can hear it coming from above and rolls out of the way in time before the sharp forelimbs easily impale the ground that it even sent cracks around it.

Nigel rolled to safety and instantly draws his bladerangs into his hands, ready to fight this Grimm.

Standing before Nigel is a Grimm that's twice the size of an adult man and resembles a giant praying mantis. It has large wings that are folded and encased, pointy antenna, a pair of giant compound eyes which have the same color as all the other Grimm, and especially those sharp and spiky forelimbs that resemble a pair of scythes. Like every other Grimm, it too has the same color pattern with a dark exoskeleton, white bone armor covering much of its abdomen and the joints of its limbs, and the familiar red markings.

The Grimm lifts its forelimbs from the ground which left gaping holes where the forelimbs hit and turns its head towards Nigel, letting out a snarling hiss.

It's none other than a Reaper Mantide. A rather large and aggressive praying mantis Grimm that are known for their sharp and powerful forelimbs, their strong and nasty mandibles, and especially their ferocious tempers towards humans and faunus.

This one was flying just above the treeline and spotted Nigel nearby which instantly went towards him.

"I take it this must be your way of greeting visitors in these woods?" Nigel said to the Grimm, despite knowing they are nothing but bloodthirsty nightmares only existing to kill and maim. "I bet you also don't get a lot of visitors often." He added.

The Mantis Grimm hisses even louder, as if it answered his insults or just wants to rip him to shreds.

"Well, in that case, I'll be more than happy to accept your way of greetings with my very own." Nigel said as twirls his bladerangs and presses a button on each one which causes the blades on the edges to appear again. The Reaper Mantide hissed in return as it scrapes it's two forelimbs together which causes some sparks to fly.

"Show me what you got, ya twisted looking pile of boney grime." Nigel mocked which made the Mantide shriek in return.

Before the Grimm could attack, Nigel made his first move and throws one of his bladerangs which spun towards the Mantide but the mantis Grimm had some quick reflexes as it leaned out of the way and the boomerang missed but quickly came back to Nigel who caught it.

That did not go unnoticed as the mantis Grimm watched the projectile come back to its owner…. It's learning.

The mantis Grimm charged forward with blinding speeds that it almost caught Nigel off guard. It raised both its forelimbs as it prepares to grab Nigel and bite him with it's sharp mandibles but the kangaroo faunus easily leaped out of the way as the forelimb ended up grabbing nothing.

Nigel ended up leaping over the Grimm and landed right behind it with an impressive somersault. Once he landed from behind it, Nigel attacks by leaping and slashing with his bladerangs but the Mantide countered by quickly turning around and blocking one of the bladed boomerang with one forelimb that sent sparks flying.

The Mandtide attacks with its other forelimb but Nigel dodges again by leaping back into the air and throws the other bladerang. This time, the mantis Grimm was ready and swats the weapon with a backhanded slash out of the air and ends up impaling a nearby tree. Leaving Nigel with only one bladerang to fight with.

The Grimm screeches again and begins unleashing a series of unrelenting swipes with its sharp forelimbs. Nigel starts swerving left and right, avoiding the swings when he can, finding it tricky to block with only one remaining bladerang in hand. Normally, he does have a method of quickly getting his other bladerang back but, he shouldn't do that when he's still dodging and wanting to avoid his aura getting damaged, until he has an opening.

Just as the Mantide made another swing, Nigel blocked it and countered by landing several punches to its head, followed by a tail whip, and ended with the faunus balancing on his tail and giving out a rather powerful drop kick right in the midsection which actually sent the Grimm skidding back that it almost lost its balance but used it clawed feet to stop itself from skidding back any further. This gave Nigel enough time to extend his free hand out towards his boomerang embedded in the tree.

Just in case he loses his signature weapons, since he started training with them, Nigel has made a type of magnetic device built into his fingerless gloves that attracts only to the metal his bladerangs are made of.

The bladerang in the tree was pulled out by Nigel's magnetic device and instantly spun back to him at hand. Now back to two in hand.

Just as Nigel retrieved the other weapon, the Mantide was already dashing towards the faunus at full speed and had both of its forelimbs raised up to strike him down. Nigel had no time to dodge or counter attack so he was forced to raise both his bladed boomerangs to block head on. The forelimbs came down hard on the bladerangs which sent a small shockwave around them and small cracks formed beneath their feet, while sparks flew everywhere.

Nigel gritted his teeth and kept his footing, pushing back as hard as he can. Though, as much as he was, this Grimm proved to have the upper hand as it started to slowly overpower him that it's even pushing him back, thanks to being taller and having six legs with sharp claws that give it better traction and footing to the ground.

Nigel couldn't help but admit this Grimm is quite a formidable one and even stronger than him in a direct grappling brawl which they both are in.

"Crikey. This bugger is stronger than it looks. Bet it could even overpower and kill Tiny with relative ease" Nigel thought to himself, recalling Tiny the Tasmanian Tiger faunus that he fought back in Bardus and considers he wouldn't stand much of a chance against this Reaper Mantide.

During their tussle, the mantis Grimm even started lunging its head down and kept attempting to bite down on Nigel's face with its sharp and powerful mandibles but the faunus kept leaning out of the way and barely avoiding the jaws, otherwise Nigel would be getting some rather nasty bug bites.

Eventually, before Nigel can devise a counterattack, the Mantide managed to pin him against a large tree so hard that the tree itself almost snapped in half but stayed firm. Nigel grunted from the impact but stayed focused on the Grimm that's trying to maul him. The giant mantis tried to bite him once again but Nigel leans his head to the side once more, only not far enough to have a sharp mandible graze his cheek which was protected by his aura but he still felt how badly it stung when it grazed him. Missing it's intended target, the Grimm ended up biting into the tree and tore out a large chunk of bark, cambium, and sapwood from it.

Feeling ticked off and wanting this Grimm off of him, the faunus took the opportunity and bent both of his legs back, sending out a mighty double kick into the Mantide's midsection hard enough to actually launch it back, sending it crashing onto its back with a loud thud.

He pressed a button on each on his weapons and activated the Fire Dust which caused the patterns to turn red and ignited the bladed tips on fire. Now he has a pair of flaming bladerangs and calmly glared at the Reaper Mantide which got back up on its feet and screeched at him even louder. Now it suddenly started rushing up to him without giving Nigel room to maneuver as it started swiping and biting even faster and more aggressively that Nigel had to stay more focused to dodge, block, and counter. Not only were sparks flying, but also pieces of ember, upon each hit between Nigel and the Grimm.

"And it keeps getting more furious the longer it fights. I need to end it quickly." Nigel noted to himself, not wanting to waste too much time with this Grimm since there are likely far more vicious and stronger ones out there and he there's no doubt for that to be true.

Just as the Mantide misses again, Nigel throws one of his bladerangs out which now looked like a flaming disc. The giant insect moved again but it was too slow to completely avoid as one of its antennas was sliced off and it screeched in pain from the burning sensation. But Nigel doesn't let up as he also sending a series of slashes across the Mantide's midsection which left burning gashes. The Grimm shrieked in agony and raised its forelimbs to block the assault which only left the bone armor slightly charred.

As it continued to guard itself from the blazing assault, the Grimm unfolded its wing case. Just as Nigel sent out another slash, the Grimm swatted the burning blade aside and leaped back with several flaps of its wings to widen the gap in order to recuperate.

The other bladerang that Nigel threw earlier returned to him as he caught it in his free hand.

Nigel was starting to pant a little due to having to fight this long and against a Grimm this strong and persistent. While the mantis doesn't show signs of fatigue, the damage across its body says otherwise with it's burnt wounds and half missing antenna. .

After a few more seconds of silence, the Mantide screeches yet again and starts vibrating its wings so fast that its started to hover off the ground and into the air. It suddenly darts forward so fast that it's like a blur and barreled towards Nigel at supersonic speeds. Nigel barely had time to react and dodge as he rolled out of the way a split second before the Grimm rammed into him.

Just as Nigel stopped rolling, the Mantide has already made a sharp turn and was already darting at him once more. The young faunus couldn't react in time as the Grimm hits him head on at full speed.

However, at the last moment before impact, Nigel pressed another button on his bladerangs and the patterns turned from red to dark orange which means the Fire Dust has been switched with Earth Dust. He crossed his bladerangs close together and formed a shield made of solid stone which took the brunt of the Reaper Mantide's full head on collision which were reduced to rubble.

At the same time, Nigel was sent flying back by the force of the Grimm, regardless of reducing the damage upon himself with the rock shield, it still took a decent chunk of his aura out of him.

As the kangaroo faunus flew back, he slammed through a tree and through the upper portion of a boulder that shattered and made him tumble in midair. But it didn't stop there as he now started tumbling down a nearby steep hill.

Nigel was too disoriented and moving too fast to stop himself as he kept rolling down the steep hillside until he reached the edge and took a thirty foot drop which ended him hitting the ground in a loud thud.

Upon hitting the ground, Nigel laid there, as his crocodile teeth laced barmah hat, which fell off his head during the rolling, gently fell next to him.

Nigel quickly regained his senses and shook his head that got bits of leaves and dirt out of his hair and face. He looked over to his hat, picked it up, wiped the leaves and twigs off of it, and placed it back on his head. He stands back up and looks up towards where he fell from but doesn't see the Mantide anywhere.

Wanting to feel a little better before having to face the Grimm again, since it's likely tracking him down right now, he reaches into his pocket in wanting another taste of dark chocolate ... but he suddenly realizes his pocket is empty….

Nigel's blood ran cold as his hand kept, instinctively, grasping in the empty pocket in a desperate attempt to grasp his favorite candy bar.

That's when he noticed something in the corner of his eye that's laying several feet away from him….

There lays Nigel's chocolate bar… unwrapped and broken to pieces... covered in dirt, leaves, twigs, tree sap, and worms… the chocolate bar has been totally wasted.

Nigel stares at his now ruined candy bar with a blank expression that it's almost like his emotions have been erased and he stands there motionless, unable how to respond to this.

Behind him, a loud thud was heard and it reveals itself to be the Reaper Mantide which found Nigel and screeches at him.

Nigel doesn't respond and continues to stare at the now soiled chocolate bar that it's sweetness is tainted and ruined beyond recovery.

With the sounds of the Grimm behind him, Nigel than started to realize the Mantide is directly responsible for getting his chocolate ruined…..

That's when the Mantide suddenly felt a sudden rising spike of negative emotions coming from the kangaroo faunus… and most of it is rage.

"You…" Nigel muttered darkly, as his fists tighten even more that his veins become visible.

The Grimm tilts its head to the side and can't comprehend why he's suddenly so angry… unaware that it pressed Nigel's berserk, despite sensing it.

At that moment, Nigel swiftly turns his head over his shoulder and gives off a rather bone chilling glare towards the mantis Grimm, while his eyes glowed violet rather brightly.

"Now you've really done it." He said with a venomous tone mixed to it. He isn't using his trump card of his semblance but he's now very angry towards Grimm who ruined his chocolate bar… and it's gonna pay for that. A split second after what Nigel announced, he instantly darted full speed at the Grimm that it too responded by flying at full speed towards him, about to decapitate him with a well placed swipe of its forelimb..

Just as the two were about to hit head on, Nigel suddenly fell to his knees and slid beneath the Grimm that flew above him… and he raised his bladerang upward and stabs into the bottom of the Mantide's lower abdomen which dragged along the rest of the way, leading a very deep and long gash across the abdomen.

The Grimm screeched in extreme pain from that rather painful attack but it kept flying, albeit more clumsily as its starting to slowly lose its strength.

Just as it turned around, Nigel was already unleashing another drop kick, only more powerful than the last one. The Mantide shrieks again from the kick that it went flying back and slamming into the cliffside so hard several deep cracks spread around it.

Before the Grimm could recover, Nigel threw one of his bladerangs which impaled one of the Mantide's forelimbs which also stuck it against the cliffside. Before it could respond, the boomerang's patterns glowed blue and froze the forelimb in a block of ice which also froze against the wall of the cliff, trapping the Grimm.

Before the Reaper Mantide could attempt to break the ice, Nigel was already sprinting towards it that it was forced to focus on him and swung it's free forelimb at him… only for Nigel to suddenly catch the forelimb with his free hand… and chopped it off, right at the joint, with his other bladerang.

The Grimm screeches yet again but even it didn't get time to finish as Nigel suddenly rams the sharp end of the forelimb he chopped off… into the Mantide's compound eye which sent out wisps of smoke and black gunk out of the gaping wound.

At that moment, the Reaper Mantide unleashed the loudest pained screech it could ever muster before Nigel finished it off with a swipe of his bladerang…. Decapitating the oversized bug Grimm with one slash.

Everything goes silent as the Grimm head tumbles in midair and breaks down once it hit the ground. The headless body slumps down but not all the way due to its arm still encased in ice and stuck to the wall but it too fades to ash seconds after.

With that all done, Nigel takes a deep breath and starts to calm down after doing all that. He sure didn't use his trump card but that still was a little exhausting since he did push himself against a tough and persistent Grimm like that one.

Though, his victory wasn't worth celebrating, as he slowly turned his attention back to his chocolate bar that is still broken to pieces and beyond being saved.

Truthfully, as much as he enjoys his chocolate bar, there's no point making a fuss over it and this isn't the first time he lost his chocolate bars and they are easy to get, so he considers getting another one when he finishes the initiation and gets his team.

Nigel reaches out to the other bladerang still encased in ice that's attached to the cliffside and lets the magnetic device in his fingerless glove do the work. The bladerang started to spin like a buzzsaw and carved it's way out of the ice and spins back into Nigel's waiting hand. After that, he strapped his bladerangers back to his hips and looks around where he's at and where he should go.

Nigel decides to use his semblance again and activates it, scanning his surroundings. Not far away, two and a half miles, he now senses a crimson red aura.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Nigel thought, feeling the sense of righteousness and selflessness coming from her, but he can also sense other bits of emotion that seems unusual for a prodigy and champion like her… she seems to be focused on something or someone with curiosity and interest. He doesn't know for sure who that is but…

That's when Nigel sensed a sudden increase and intensity of aura, not to mention Pyrrha is calm and focused… almost like she's chanting as she's trying to use her aura on something… or someone. Eventually, he sensed another aura that appears in his vision and semblance Nigel recognized the technique of semblance unlocking when one individual uses his/her aura to unlock the aura from another individual who hasn't unlocked their aura before. Naturally, some people can unlock their own aura by themselves while others need the assistance from another individual to assist them in unlocking their aura,

That's when Nigel started to sense something familiar about this new aura that he now detects…. It's very familiar from the time he sensed someone not too long ago back in the locker room whom he became acquainted with

"Jaune Arc?" The faunus said in slight curiosity, discovering it's the same blonde boy who almost lost his number to his locker which Nigel recovered for him. Yes, it's no doubt Jaune as he recognized that bit of slight self esteem issues and awkwardness coming off of the aura… but he also feels bits of confidence and gratitude coming off of him…. but Nigel than senses something coming from Pyrrha that's focused on Jaune… it's almost like she's interested in him in some way.

"Even if it's merely a coincidence they became partners by crossing paths, why does a reigning champion, like Pyrrha Nikos, of all people, feel interested towards somebody like him?" Nigel isn't one to judge other people since there may be a reason why Pyrrha seems to like him and keeps it to himself but he's still a tad curious until he needs to get going.

One thing is, though, he's not alone in this area and he can sense another presence … a very familiar one… and it's colored green. Nigel turns around and sees who it is… and he can't help but mentally sigh who he's partnering up with.

It's Rocky Rhode Runner; The roadrunner faunus whom he met yesterday.

"Oh… it's you." Nigel announced to Rocky, in his way of greeting him at the very moment.

Though, despite his rather not-so-inviting way of greeting him, Rocky wasn't responding… because he saw the whole spectacle… well, most of it that took place down here where he saw the whole part of Nigel fighting and annihilating that Grimm.

What's more… is that his jaw has dropped so far down it's touching the ground and he's standing at full height no less.

Rocky managed to recover from the shock and grabbed the bottom of his jaw from the ground and shoved it back up into its default position of his mouth and gave a response.

"Yep… it's me alright." Rocky responded, keeping his composure and sounding like he wasn't impressed, regardless of that his jaw literally dropped to the ground seconds ago. However, what Rocky isn't aware of is that Nigel is reading his emotions like an open book with his semblance and Nigel can tell Rocky was too awestruck at how badass the outback faunus was which amused Nigel a little.

"So how's that neck of yours? Still a little sore from yesterday?" Nigel asked with a slight smirk on his face.

Rocky couldn't help but grow a tick mark on his forehead but he kept his composure and smirked back. Though, annoyed as he is towards this kangaroo faunus, especially for choking him, he can't help but feeling talking smack with this guy for his own kicks.

"Pretty fine, actually." Rocky answered, sounding like he is but Nigel can still sense his annoyance, sarcasm, and vaguely bits of amusement of his own from what happened yesterday. "As a matter of fact. I feel GREAT. Thank you very much" He boasted.

"Your welcome." Nigel responded that sounded a little snarky to the mix.

After their rather short, smack talking, spat, the two stared at each other in silence and kept their eye contact at each other, definitely confirming these two will be partners for Beacon. Rocky ends the silence by walking up to Nigel and both stared more intensely… until Rocky raised his arm and stretch forward as if he's asking for a handshake.

"As much as I like snarking with ya, why don't we start knowing each other." Rocky said that Nigel nodded in agreement. "Names Rocky… Rocky Rhode Runner." He greeted but had a rather serious look on his face to give Nigel the hint. "And before you say another smart ass thing about me, bub, it's a name that sounds like that of a roadrunner since that's what I am also as a faunus." He added

Nigel stared at his hand for a second but stretches his hand out and grasps Rocky's which made the two shake hands.

"Well the name's Nigel Arvo, mate." Nigel responded with his way of greeting "Quite an honors meeting ya."

"That I will tend to keep." Rocky answered with a grin like it's gonna be an interesting dynamic between them

"So it seems we're official partners now, eh?" Nigel says, pointing out the obvious to his new partner.

"Oh, pretty much, we are." Rocky replied with a smirk. "Might as well make the best of it… or we'll otherwise just end up as sitcom rivals for all I care."

"Likewise." Nigel agreed as they stopped shaking hands before Rocky continued.

"Well…. Let's go get the relic than. Standing and bickering ain't gonna cut it."

"Right." Nigel said, as he turned his semblance on again and noticed the direction some of the students are heading which may indicate the possible location of the "It's this way."

"Wait. How did you kno-... it's that semblance of yours, isn't it?" Rocky said with an obvious tone towards Nigel

"Right on, mate." Nigel confirmed and smirked. "And since I did say to you about I would or wouldn't tell ya about my semblance… seems I'm gonna have to tell ya now, if we're gonna have to work together as partners and a team."

"Alrighty then." Rocky says and admitted that it's a good point if they are gonna work together, than they are gonna have to know each other better. "So what is your semblance anyways?" Rocky says, not wanting to go until the long details as of now since they need to get moving.

"I'm an empath. I can basically read emotions." Nigel described his semblance which made Rocky raise an eyebrow.

"Read emotions, huh?... Can you also read minds?" He asked.

"That would be a telepath. I cannot read thoughts or what people are thinking, regardless of what they are feeling." Nigel pointed out. "Though, I can still locate where people are since I can feel their presence by their emotions and I can see their aura too."

"Ah. That's cool." Rocky admitted. "Well, to make it blunt about mine… well…" He tried to say how to describe his semblance. "Lets just say I'm something like a cartoon character…." He tried to explain in the best way possible to not make it confusing.

"Cartoon character?" Nigel said, a little confused, but also slightly curious.

"Yeah." Rocky confirmed. "Think of it like those looney characters that defy logic on a daily basis just for kicks and giggles."

Nigel couldn't help but admit that does sound pretty interesting and amusing, reminding him of the cartoon characters he used to watch as a kid on TV with his family…. as much as he could watch them.

"So that explains how your jaw literally dropped to the ground beyond the physical capacity for a human jaw." Nigel also noted.

"Well, it's not that simple." Rocky said about his power. "I can sort of defy the laws of physics and, to an extent, reality, as long as it's supposed to be funny and humorous. Believe me, even to this day, I can barely wrap my brain around that. Drawback is, though, any moment that is WAY too dramatic or serious… than I pretty much have to rely on my acrobats and double barreled revolvers."

"Well that's quite a rather weird but ironically fitting drawback in a place filled with bloodthirsty Grimm that would want to rip our faces off and gnaw on our bones." Nigel described casually without missing a beat.

"But still." Rocky said, trying to sound like he's not backing down. "I can still sort of use my semblance if I can make the situation funny enough."

"Than let's hope your humor is enough to bypass the dread and despair that follows the Grimm everywhere they go." Nigel says like it's the best he can support for Rocky at the moment.

Before Rocky can say anything else, Nigel suddenly felt a huge spike of aura that caught his attention elsewhere. What he saw far away was a yellow shaded aura signature… and he felt such great pressure and intensity, even from far away. Not to mention he also can sense a LOT of anger and ferocity coming from that same signature ... and all that fired up rage is directed at two clouds of darkness… which are Grimm.

"And what did you just sense now?" Rocky asked nonchalantly.

Nigel continued to watch the yellow signature demolish one of the Grimm for a few seconds before answering.

"Nothing much. Just some Grimm and an aura signature that's yellow… and really angry. Whatever those Grimm did to that person and caused such an outburst… has signed their death warrant." Nigel noted but he sensed another aura signature that's purple and it appears to be heading towards the yellow aura signature.

"Kinda like you?" Rocky pointed out about Nigel's outburst when his chocolate bar was ruined.

Nigel turned his head and stared at Rocky with a rather serious but otherwise nonchalant expression but that also made Rocky sweatdrop and regret what he said out loud.

"Uh… what I meant to say that it sucks to be them." He slightly stuttered and tried to change the topic. "I bet 50 lien and my private magazine collection that's Yang." Rocky added, since he learned a little more about Yang from Ruby when they talked and learned more about each other. Though, Ruby partly told him about Yang for his sake and safety as much as it was to know about her.

"Private magazines?" Nigel turned and looked at Rocky with a raised eyebrow, wondering what Rocky meant by that which made Rocky stutter for a split second.

"A-Anyways!" Rocky announced, changing the topic yet again. "We better get going and find those relics, along recruiting two more partners to form our official team!" He declared and marched forward with Nigel casually walking next to him. "And, FYI, if we get an awesome kickass team, I shall declare myself as team leader will be leading us to bring peace to Remnant!"

"Leader, you say?" Nigel said, sounding like he's doubtful with his partner's claims. "Tch. If swines could fly and it's raining cats and dogs, I'll give you a lick of convenience to see you as team leader."

This gave Rocky an annoyed look on his face with steam pouring out of his ears.

"Besides. It's not YOU that decides who becomes leader, mate. It's up to Ozpin to decide who fits for the leader of the team. He IS probably watching us through his probes as we speak."

This made Rocky looked surprised and a bit embarrassed of not realizing that. His head suddenly turned into that of a braying donkey for a split second.

"Oh… alright then." Rocky says as his head turned back to normal, as if he understood it, darting his eyes around to see any probes but doesn't see any in sight.

"Let's go get the relics, mate. If we're lucky, we'll be the first to get there." Nigel said and started sprinting through the forest.

"Okay. Let's-a-go!" Rocky shouted and both carried on through the forest to find the relics, as he too sprints and eventually runs right next to Nigel at an equal pace, keeping up with him with relative ease.

---

Beacon Cliff.

Back on the Beacon Cliff, there stands Ozpin who is still standing at the edge towards the horizon of the forest but is watching his tablet and watching everyone's movement, hoping they do good and especially they survive the test.

Behind him is Glynda who's walking up to him and carrying her own tablet, monitoring everything that's happening in the initiation.

"Another pair has been formed, sir." Glynda noted and inspected her tablet as she tapped her finger on one of the videos which is Ren and Nora that she zooms in.

"Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." Glynda said, further inspecting the two new partners but narrows her eyes, as if she's feeling pity to one of them.

"Poor boy." Glynda says, sympathizing towards Ren. "I cannot imagine those two possibly getting along."

She taps on another feed which now shows Pyrrha and Jaune, which is confirmed they are partners now. "Still, he's better off than Miss Nikos."

"Hmmmm…" Ozpin hummed, as he turned his eyes towards Glynda with a look that's saying "are you sure about that?" but doesn't say anything else and stares back his own scroll.

That's when Glynda felt suspicious… something seems very strange about this Jaune that she can't be sure about him, despite trying to look into the best of everyone who tries to become a huntsman and huntress.

"I don't care what the transcripts of his say about him. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat, especially after Miss Nikos unlocked his aura… which I find very suspicious right now." She pointed out as she saw the part when Pyrrha unlocked Jaune's aura for him. Normally, every student should have their aura unlocked before entering the initiation and Jaune here apparently hasn't."

Glynda than starts thinking this shouldn't be ignored and may want to dig deeper into this to uncover what she thinks Jaune may be hiding. "When the tests are over, I'm going to get to the bottom of this and ask him some questions when he returns… that is, IF he survives." The blonde pointed out in concern.

Ozpin said nothing and keeps his eyes on his own tablet but that doesn't mean he hasn't heard every word she said... but even than, he finds Jaune interesting as well. Something tells him an average joe with no

Glynda than focuses on one video feed that shows Nigel and Rocky who are currently sprinting through the woods.

"Anyways. Another team pair has just been confirmed. Nigel Arvo….. and Rocky Road Runner." Glynda dryly said when she mentioned Rocky…. the same faunus boy that caused such a ruckus last night in the ballroom. Much to her annoyance and disdain, Glynda got much of her beauty sleep taken away from her when she was forced to get out of bed and march to the ballroom when she could hear the loud screams all the way from there to her own room that was in the teacher dorm rooms.

Even right now, after Rocky explained everything to her, which she believes him and vents her annoyance on the girls that kept calling to Rocky and even threatened to kick them out if they ever do that again, she's still a little peeved at him for losing some sleep to break up the chaos and more so for wasting more time helping him find a different place to sleep until she chose Nevin, much to the custodian's reluctance and outright disdain towards that idea.

"Those two do make a pretty formidable partnership, if I say so myself." Glynda dryly admitted, seeing that those two do appear to fit the picture as a formidable team. She ain't counting on it just yet and shall continue observing them, both in battle and other important huntsman tasks. She noticed they are heading to the relics at such a fast pace that it does impress her a little.

"At their current pace, they should be reaching the temple in just a few minutes." Glynda notes and starts walking away but turns and looks back at Ozpin.

"Speaking of which. What did you use as relics this year?" She asked but Ozpin doesn't answer or even turns over his shoulder to look at her. He's looking at his own tablet which focuses on the feeds of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, whom are pretty much partners now… even if they are bickering at each other which isn't a good start for those two.. Hopefully, they should get along soon.

"Professor Ozpin?" Glynda said again but Ozpin still doesn't' answer…. he than focuses on two other feeds next to Ruby and Weiss' feed…. showing one of Adam Taurus and the other that is Gale Hathi…. both towards each other.

---

Elsewhere.

Deeper in the forest, up on a hillside which heads towards a mountain, one would notice Adam Taurus is heading up massive hill that leads to a small but still relatively large mountain. Up here, there are many less trees and more rock spires that litter the landscape.

Adam believes heading up there would help get a better view of the forest which may help him get a better view where the temple may be. Eventually, after scanning the place, he can see what looks like a temple which is where the relics may be… but between him and the temple is a deep and vast gorge that stretches on for miles and miles across the valley. Adam looks at it and wonders if it's worth crossing through the massive gorge to get to the otherside. Considering there is no other way, unless he must waste more time going around it, seems to be going through it is the only option as of now.

POW!

That's when Adam heard a loud impactful sound nearby that almost sounded like something or someone got punched. A split second later, one of the rock spires shattered to rubble as something tumbled towards Adam whom got of the way in time as it skidded passed him and grinded to a halt. Adam looked at it and turns out to be a pig-like Grimm with large tusks and four eyes; A boarbatusk.

The pig squealed for a few more seconds before dying the same way as all the other Grimm do.

Adam raised an eyebrow but then heard more sounds that came from where the Boarbatusk came from. The sounds of grunting, violent impacts, and explosions.

Adam wasn't sure if it's another student that are fighting Grimm or something else that he doesn't know. Either way, he's gonna head over and find out.

He slowly sneaked around the rock spires until he sharpy turned a corner and peeked his head around it and see what it is.

The first thing he sees is a tattoo of an elephant's head located on the back of somebody that looks to be an orange haired human being who is fighting a drove of boarbatusks… and he seems to be handling them quite well.

Gale was able to avoid one of the boarbatusks coming at him doing it's "spin dash" which means it's basically rolling like a wheel and going full throttle at him. Just as Gale leaped out of the way, he aimed his fist at the Grimm and fired a round projectile of concentrated wind that slammed into the pig and sent it crashing into another rock spire which killed it and shattered the rock to pieces.

Another one tried charging at him by simply on all fours rather than doing it's spin dash. Gale turned and reached out as he grabbed the Grimm by the tusks and stopped it in its tracks. He than spins around like a top until he gained enough momentum to let go and tossed the Boarbatusk into another one which ended up having killing the two since it broke their spines and necks by the impact.

Adam was a little awed by this guy taking care of those Grimm with nothing but his bare hands with a little help from his interesting looking gauntlets. In fact, he hasn't seen anybody that skilled and strong in quite a while… since Vlad. Either way, Adam considers, since it's him and this guy, it's highly plausible these two may be partners.

However, Adam noticed something nearby but Gale didn't. It's another Boarbatusk and it's coming in fast, rolling at full speed. But what Adam didn't expect that it rolled into one of the rocks that almost resembled that of a curved ramp which it used to send it flying into the air…. and it's barreling down towards Gale who doesn't notice.

That's when Adam decides to take action and sprints full speed towards Gale and the Grimm that's about to hit him. Just as Gale turned around and saw the Grimm, he couldn't react in time but saw someone else in the corner of his eye who was sprinting towards him but suddenly leaps into the air. Gale watched in complete shock as Adam leaps up towards the spinning hog and draws his sword yet again, easily darting past it with one swing. Just as it looked like nothing happened, the Boarbatusk splits in half and disintegrates once it hits the ground past Gale.

Adam gracefully lands and sheaths his sword back after, while Gale watches him with wide eyes.

"Woah…" Gale could only say and silently admitting how awesome and smooth that was the masked boy just did. "Flashy."

Adam didn't say a word and turned around as he looked at Gale who looked back at him. Even through those small slits of his mask, he's clearly making eye contact with Gale.

The orangette realized Adam isn't saying a word and they've been quiet for almost thirty seconds so he decides to end the silence. Gale wondered if this guy is mute or just doesn't talk much… or he's waiting for Gale to say something.

"So.. does making eye contact with someone wearing a mask still counts as being partners?" Gale said out of the blue, sounding like he's trying to be a bit humorous in this rather dangerous and serious place.

Adam couldn't help but slightly smirk that Gale barely noticed as he nodded.

"Yeah." Adam said. "It pretty much does count."

"Alright then. Guess we pretty much are partners now and no turning back from that." Gale said, relieved, as he walked over to Adam until they were close enough.

"Well, if this is how it's gonna be between us, better start knowing each other as well." Gale said to Adam as he raised his hand as if he's asking for a handshake. "Name's Gale Hathi and It's an honor to meet you… uh…" Gale slurred as he realized he doesn't know this guy's name but Adam grabbed his hand and shook it in return.

"Adam. Adam Taurus." The masked boy responded. "Pleasure to meet you too, Gale."

The two stopped shaking hands and got down to business, at least they should know the basics of each other.

"I take it you've been wrangling some Grimm and you're quite good at it." Adam says that Gale takes as a compliment.

"Thanks." Gale said with a grin. "And you don't look so bad either, right after you sliced that boarbatusk in two like a hot knife through butter."

"Than that makes two of us." Adam grinned back. That's when Gale noticed something and remembered something last night.

"Say. Aren't you the guy, from last night, with that girl wearing the bow, and talking to Yang and that other girl?"

"Oh. You mean the conversation with Yang and Ruby Rose when me and Blake Belladonna were reading to ourselves?"

"Yeah. That's it." Gale confirmed. "I saw you guys over there but I couldn't hear you so I was wondering what you were talking about. Not judging."

"Oh nothing really." Adam assured. "We were just getting to know each other, sharing our ideals. and what we believe in, especially what's better for Remnant's current state it's in. Simple talk"

"I see." Gale commented on what Adam said. "Sounds like Ruby is quite an interesting person."

"She is. I never knew Yang's little sister would have so much optimism and hope just by her words and presence alone." Adam also said, still remembering how shook he was by Ruby's optimism and beliefs, despite the weight of reality bearing down on everybody's dreams.

"Hold up. Yang and Ruby are sisters?" Gale asked, now suddenly confused.

"That's what Yang said when she was hugging her."

Gale started to imagine Yang and the other girl that's Ruby in his head… trying to find similarities but doesn't find any. "Huh. My only guess is that they may be half sisters than but I'm not jumping to conclusions and may have to ask Yang herself when I see her next time."

"Speaking of conclusions." Adam pointed out and started at the gorge and the temple further in the distance. "We should get going. I believe I have spotted a temple over there, beyond that gorge that we must cross. I don't see any alternatives around it so going through is likely the only option, if we want to get the relics as soon as possible."

"Alright, lead the way, patner." Gale said and follows his new teammate and partner.

And so, the two carefully watch their steps as they slowly travel down the slopes of the gorge… unaware they are about to discover something that no one else has before.

---

Nigel and Rocky.

Nigel and Rocky still kept running at a good pace, showing their endurance they can run quite a distance and have plenty of energy to spare, even after fighting some Grimm earlier.

Eventually, after exiting the thick part of the forest and out into a more open clearing, they caught their breath and looked around, wondering if this may be the place.

Eventually, they spotted something that looks man made… a temple, which looks so run down and in ruins as if it's been there for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

"Well… if this ain't the place where the relics may possibly be, than I don't know what place it is than." Rocky said and begins to head to the temple with Nigel.

Once they reached it, something that's lined around the center of the temple are 32 cylinder platforms. Each holding what looks like a chess piece that you would find in chess; Pawn, Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen, and King. Not to mention half of them are goldish-brown in color while the other half are charcoal black.

"So… chess pieces." Rocky said out loud, not sounding really impressed with but can tolerate it. "Not that I'm disappointed or anything, I was expecting the relics to look more… something like 'valuable'. Something like you find in treasure hunting movies that are priceless and eye catching to look at."

"Eh. Chess Pieces symbolize many things in many ways that I find it pretty interesting to be worth used as relics for this test." Nigel replied with his own opinion on liking the chess pieces being the symbolic relics for the test.

"To each of their own." Rocky said in return, choosing to just lean against the temple while Nigel walks up to the chess pieces. Nigel stares at the golden colored pieces and stares at them… until his eyes slowly turned to one of the two Bishop pieces.

Normally, one would expect Nigel could've taken the more higher ranked looking pieces, such as the King or Queen. Yet, Nigel couldn't help but keep his gaze and focus on the Bishop, almost like his instincts are telling him that piece is calling to him to choose it as the relic Nigel will have for the team he will soon form.

That's when Rocky noticed Nigel picking the piece.

"A Bishop?" He asked. "I can respect your decision but why choose that one when we could've had the King or Queen?"

"I don't really know, mate." Nigel replied. "It's just that something about this piece seems special for us… for possibly our entire team. It's almost like it symbolizes you, me, and two more we have yet to unite with."

Rocky stared at the piece and than at Nigel for a few seconds but grinned and nodded his head like he understands him.

"Either way, it sounds cool so I can roll with it." Rocky approved and started to head out. Nigel stashed the bishop piece in one of his pockets on his vest and follows close behind… until he stopped in his tracks… and turned his head in a different direction where he sensed something… something really bad.

---

Adam and Gale

Further down the slopes that lead to the bottom of the gorge, Adam and Gale took their time and patience to go down the route as smoothly and as safely as possible, not risking to fall or cause an avalanche of rocks that may put their aura or even their lives in jeopardy.

The two stayed quiet since they didn't feel like chatting to each other since this place doesn't feel like an ideal place to have a conversation so they kept their focus on where they are stepping. That is, the further they've gone down the gorge, the darker it got. Not enough to be considered as dark like night time and you need a flashlight, but still darker than back up on the surface.

Eventually, they reached the bottom, after several more minutes, they are over 100 feet below ground within the gorge which is slightly cooler and damp down here…. and darker.

"Alright." Adam said, now feeling like he can talk since they don't have to worry about losing their step. "We reached the bottom. Now we need to find another slope to reach the top of the other side of the gorge."

"Yeah." Gale agreed as he looked around… and couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. "For some reason, the longer we stay down here… the more I don't like it."

"I'm in the same boat with ya." Adam agreed that he doesn't like it down here either.

"Better get a move on then." Gale finished and started walking with Adam next to him.

As they kept walking, the eerie silence and darkness started to get on their nerves so Gale wanted to end the silence to make them feel more at ease.

"So….first time you've ever been to an academy, huh?" Gale wondered to his new partner.

"Yes." Adam answered rather softly and not sounding so upbeat about it. "It is."

"Heh. Same for me." Gale murmurs as this too is his first time he's ever seen, let alone been to, an academy. "Hope we do well together."

"I hope so as well." Agreed Adam It's only a matter of time until we find two more teammates and than we have our official team."

"You think our team will be awesome? Any guesses who may be he leader even?" Gale also asked, sounding a little eager on that question. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it out of ignorance. I'm just curious and wondering if we will make a great and effective team for the next four years we must deal with."

As much as he doesn't really mind, Adam couldn't help but admit Gale does make a point there if they will be an effective team that may help their bonds grow stronger which may help them become better huntsman to make a better place for the world.

"You know. That's actually a pretty good question, Gale." Adam agrees.

"So what do you think, than?" Gale egged Adam on and wonders what he may say.

"Well, call me shallow, but I can't give a true answer to that. From what I can share from what I know; It's not about how awesome we are, it's all about what we DO, how much we believe in each other, ... and in some cases... how much we're willing to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good... "

"Woah... where did you learn or hear that?" Gale wondered to his teammate that he's slowly bonding with.

"Somebody that helped me see things more clearly." Adam answered.

"You know." Gale admits, thinking of his grandfather who said a similar ideal he shared to his grandson. "I was thinking of something like that too."

"Than what was the point asking me?" Adam asked but not rudely and more out of curiosity.

"I don't know... maybe I was wondering if there was someone else who also had the same kind of thoughts and knowledge as I do." The orange haired boy said as he

"Oh... than I guess we aren't so different than." The bull faunus replied as Gale thought of another topic.

"So... about this girl named Blake you were with. Some friend of yours or a relative ...?" Gale suddenly blurted out and couldn't help but regret saying that. Luckily, Adam took the question well and answered.

"A good friend of mine… one that I've known for a long time where we go way back." Adam said as he now wonders where Blake could be and if she's fine. Normally, she should at least have a partner by now so Adam shouldn't get paranoid and focus on his own mission with Gale.

"Nice." Gale nodded and smirked.

"Well, since it's my turn to ask; Any friends or relatives you may have?" Adam asked, now returning the favor… but that's when Gale looked pale and started to frown, as if he's thinking badly of something… in Gale's head, flashes of images that were some people he once befriended and especially his grandfather. Adam easily spotted that and couldn't help but wonder what he may be feeling.

"I… Can we just pick that up for another time? I don't really feel like saying it right now" Gale sternly asked, sounding like he really wanted to change the topic.

"I understand. You can share it when you are comfortable with it." Adam assured and rested his hand on Gale's shoulder, letting him know he will support him, as they should be since they are partners.

"Thanks." Gale said with a smile.

Before Adam can reply, he suddenly stepped on something

Laying on the ground was a sword… which has been shattered in two.

"Oh man…" Gale gulped… not liking what he sees. Adam isn't liking it one bit either and feels like something is very wrong.

Adam kneels down and gently picks up the shattered blade and hilt, as he firmly held it in his palms. Both he and Gale noticed something is engraved on the hilt as the bull faunus brought it closer to their eyes.

They managed to read it that were words in cursive.

GRETCHEN RAINART

That is what the name of the former owner that's engraved on this blade….. highly suggesting it belonged to a young student in training who took the initiation… and failed the test.

"So it seems there really were students in training before us." Gale pointed out before he lowered his head and looked somber. "... And some have never passed and made it out alive….." He finished that he could barely say in one sentence.

"Yeah… I'm afraid it is….." Adam responded with his voice sounding a little hollow. "So many lives snuffed out just for an initiation…"

This made both Gale and Adam wonder… are these kinds of initiations really worth it for young students to risk their lives to prove they are worthy to attend huntsman academies?

Sure, these students have chosen to become huntsmsan and are aware

Adam and even Gale are no strangers to these kinds of topics that plague their minds for how Remnant operates the societies they all live in.

The two stayed silent and couldn't help but pay their respects to the person named Gretchen who died… likely falling in battle to the last breath when she couldn't escape.

"I think we should go….." Adam said with slight sorrow as he wraps both the hilt and blade in a cloth he was carrying with him. Gale nodded and watched Adam strapped the wrapped up blade to his hilt.

"I consider it's best if we pay our respects for Gretchen by returning this blade to where it needs to be buried." Adam advised in which Gale agreed with no doubt.

"Me too." Gale nodded and begins to walk with him.

CRUNCH!

Adam and Gale stopped in their tracks as they heard something that crunched beneath their feet. Feeling like they don't want to, both teens looked down and noticed Gale stepped in something. Even if it's morning and the sun is already out, it's still pretty dark down here and the shadows due to the lack of sunlight made it hard to see. Their eyes managed to adjust a little... and all they see is a bone... that of a human being.

Adam and Gale's pupils slightly shrunk at what they are looking at, as they felt chills racing up their spines.

That's when Gale slowly pulled out a light Dust crystal and activated with his aura to light up the area... which made the two wished they hadn't as they now see something that made their hearts stop and blood run cold.

What the two now gaze upon that will forever be etched into their minds … are dozens upon dozens of the scattered remains of bones, skulls, and incomplete skeletons ... humans and faunus alike. What's even more disturbing is that each skeleton looks different... indicating what may have happened to these poor unfortunate souls. Most bones remained scattered and laying in different places at random, rarely even showing a partial complete skeleton which some look like they were torn in half or grounded to bits. Even some skulls were smashed and splintered to pieces like cheap glass... which is what makes it even more downright horror and terror to the poor boys who can't look away from this nightmare inducing sight.

What these two young men have walked into... is a cursed, gorge ridden, death trap where all the students that have ended up down here and didn't make it... are reduced to whatever is left of them as they still continue to rot until there's nothing left.

"We need to get out of here... now." Adam said with his tone slightly trembling as they need to leave before something bad happens... they can't help but feel whatever is the cause of all this... is still around, as Adam remembered the footprint while Gale remembered the uprooted trees.

That's when the two boys couldn't help but feel cold blooded dread, as they realize they are not alone in this gorge… something behind them, close to the walls of the gorge, started to move which made the ground shake. The two fighters slowly turned their heads and looked over their shoulders.. and what they are staring at… is STARING back at THEM.

---

Nigel and Rocky.

Nigel sensed something… something very powerful that he couldn't help but slightly shutter, as he felt the dreaded presence of such negative emotions all focused in one Grimm which took the shape of a rather massive cloud of darkness that hovered near two aura signatures.

"Bloody Hell…" Nigel whispered, which Rocky barely heard.

"What? What's wrong?" Rocky turned his attention back to Nigel, a little confused and even a little concerned, upon noticing how startled and unsettled Nigel looks.

Ever since Rocky met him, Nigel never faltered or looked spooked in any way, showing such nerves of steel and stoicism he carries… and here he is looking like he saw a glimpse of a ghost for a split second.

Nigel didn't answer back as he continued to stare at the massive cloud of darkness and negativity within the gorge that's hovering close to two aura signatures… one that is blue and the other that's orange.

"This is bad, mate… very bad…." Nigel could only say, barely keeping his sentence firm.

"What's bad?" Rocky said again, now feeling more worried. "You're not making any sense."

"I sense two aura signatures…." Nigel said, trying to sound calm but Rocky knows he's downright worried. "And those two mates over there, down at that gorge, have walked into a Grimm's lair…. A very nasty and titanic one at that.

Rocky's blood ran cold as he stared towards direction Nigel was looking at ... wondering what they should do…..

---

Adam and Gale.

Adam and Gale started backing up and away from the massive figure that's hidden in the shadows of the gorge where the sun doesn't shine but they can't deny it's a Grimm… a rather massive one.

While the full details of the Grimm remain hidden, what Adam and Gale can make out on the Grimm is that it's humanoid in appearance, in addition to it's dark texture, bone armor, and red markings. It's heavily muscled body lumbers towards them, as its massive feet tremble the ground with each step. Adam noticed each foot has four giant toes, just like the footprint he saw earlier. Held in one of its massive four fingered hands is what looks like giant club made of solid granite… tipped with spikes made of metal ore sticking out of the club.

What the two young men noticed was something is what was staring back at them… a large, single, red eyeball that looks down on them and glowed eerily in the shadows that it's the only thing they can clearly see.

While it's nowhere close to being half as big as the largest of Goliaths, it still dwarfs even the largest of Nevermores and Death Stalkers.

As it continued to stare down at two young men with its massive eyeball shinning down on them like a spotlight and still lumbering towards them that indicates it's not gonna let them escape, the massive Grimm slowly opened its mouth, bearing its massive fangs that could easily tear a human in half, and lets out a deep and rumbling growl that pierced the silence…..

---

And that's that for this chapter.

Well, the initiation is still going but it seems things are about to get a lot more intense and crazy based on what Adam and Gale have found….. and they have discovered something else that brings the question about Ozpin's initation…..

Also, one thing I want to note. I was originally going to have the whole initiation arc as one chapter but since I realized how long it was, I decided to just split it into two chapters.

Oh, and I've seen Vol 7 of RWBY and I'm enjoying it. Though, just to note, as much as RWBY is still ongoing and its canon material. I want to remind you that my RWBY AU that is ANGR is gonna be different in some ways. For now, I got everything written for Vol 1, 2, and 3, along with a little bit of 4 and 5 but that's on hold and more to be written. I'm gonna wait until the rest of RWBY finishes itself and then will I continue writing the rest of ANGR at how it goes and to see if I can make any more changes or none for my fic.

Anyways, hope you all had a good halloween and now we're onto Thanksgiving.