ANGR Chapter 9: Stand Together, a rwby fanfic

RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

OCs are mine

ANGR

Chapter 5; Stand Together

Emerald Forest.

Not far from the ruins where the relics are, eight teenagers, led by Ruby Rose, have all gathered their pieces they have chosen. Currently, they are being stalked by a Deathstalker and a Nevermore that are trying to kill them. They managed to make a run for it but now they are forced to face the two giants at a massive ruined temple.

Elsewhere, the trees were shoved aside and even uprooted from the earth, as the Cyclops trudges through still looking for those four huntsmen in training that it has lately lost sight of and doesn't even know where they have gone or if they are even close by. The more it wandered aimlessly, the hungrier it got. The addicting desire and urge to flatten and devour them made its urge rise higher.

It hasn't tasted another human or faunus for quite some time. It will surely be enjoying the juicy taste of flesh and blood again right after snuffing out their pointless lives. Yet, it's unaware it's being watched as many watchful eyes are hidden in the canopy of the trees, like a pack of shadows stalking the giant in silence.

Deeply hidden by the thick cover of the leaves and branches, it's none other than Adam, Gale, Nigel, and Rocky, playing the role of the hunters, each perching in a different tree

Due to his lighter and smaller frame, Rocky easily kept his balance on the smaller and higher branches. Also helped by his hard and well earned acrobatics that his balance was near perfect without even trying. Further back, Adam and Nigel were balanced on mid sized and lower branches to support their own weight and had to keep their own balance focused.

Lastly. Of the four, Gale, being the tallest and heftiest, was forced to stay perched on the lowest and sturdiest branch without causing a creek or snap that may alert the enemy. As dangerous as the Cyclops is, more Grimm showing up would make things far worse for them.

Even when perched in separate trees, they were able to pinpoint each other's positions. More so for Nigel, thanks to his semblance helping him easily spot his teammate's aura signatures as clear as seeing through glass.

For safety measures, they are using their scrolls to cooperate with each other without blowing their cover. Seems technology can be quite useful in some ways, especially in communication, along with combat and killing Grimm.

Keeping everything together with every step to not make a single error that could jeopardize their plan. If done right, they have much higher chances of beating this seemingly unstoppable monster; not by pure brawn nor special abilities alone…. but a combination of the former two, with brains, numbers, strategy, teamwork, and especially leadership.

Even when he's mostly being level headed, Adam was finding this challenging to remain calm, all because of the overwhelming power and ferocity of the Cyclops, even when compared to every other Grimm he faced. Just staring at it from behind, he still remembers that burning glare from it's giant eye that left his blood running a little cold. And yet, it hasn't deterred him from getting the mission done, despite already having what they needed. They're doing what is right for the better of Remnant.

He's leading these other three on a mission. He just started getting used to their presence, despite not knowing them on a personal level at the moment… they are still his unofficial teammates and he's taking the responsibility leading them for this mission.

Just like he and Blake used to do back at the White Fang… only doing it for the better good without the need of extreme violence and hatred that only brings more violence and hatred.

Now that's all going to change. As he stands with his new teammates, very certain to himself and feeling his trust to them, they need to slay this unholy demon that he promised himself back at the gorge, avenge the deceased that died there, train as official huntsmen in training until graduation, and take the next step towards peace and justice for Remnant.

Another step towards redemption and a better life for Adam; The same kind his master wished for him. Since now is the time, he momentarily cherishes those moments before focusing back onto the mission at hand. He taps Rocky's icon and begins texting a message to his teammate since now is the time for "Phase One".

You know what to do, Rocky. Make sure you lead it right where we want it. We'll be waiting for you.

Seconds later, Rocky texts back with his reply.

10-4, Captain!

Followed by an emoji that's a thumbs up and another doing a peace sign. Adam knew what that meant and sent his texts to Gale and Nigel shortly after.

Just signalled Rocky to make his move. Be prepared for the next step once he gets the Grimm's attention and lures it to where we want it to be. And remember, this is a threat we've never faced before so make sure everything we have planned counts.

The other two, Adam and Gale, got the memo and started to retreat in the opposite direction. Nigel stayed put and kept his eyes on Rocky and the Cyclops. He's best suited for this task he was assigned to as he can easily see the aura signatures of his teammates and the negative energy surrounding the Cyclops.

Rocky's already moving and sneaking closer to the ground, not making a sound of snapping a branch nor rustling a leaf. Even the slightest sound could alarm the Grimm which would risk jeopardizing their plan. Once he finally touched the ground, he silently landed. Avoiding stepping on a twig or a single leaf, and began to lay low and sneak closer. While doing so, he slowly reaches back for one of his revolvers that were tucked in his holsters.

The Cyclops still hasn't found any sign on where those four morsels could be, not even a trace of their negative emotions to pinpoint them… in fact, the last place it sensed their negative presence was near the flock of those fluffy, four legged, creatures, which still makes it feel suspicious…. which no longer matters. It has already been a while since it lost sight of them.

Even then, it hasn't given up on searching them, because it still seeks and desires to have a little taste of their flesh and blood.

But what it doesn't know is that it's already being stalked until….

"HEY! UGLY!"

BANG!

A loud bang of a shot went off, followed by a stray bullet whizzing across the forest and smacked right into the back of the Cyclops' head but simply bounced off. Not even a scratch or dent left behind but enough for the Grimm to have felt that and stopped in its tracks.

"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU ONE-EYED BART! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Shouted the voice again, which turned out to be Rocky's voice, clearly mocking the Grimm.

"Aren't you overdoing it, Rocky." Nigel mentally sighed but already knows Rocky is still doing what he's meant to do in his part which is working.

A few seconds of silence have passed. The Cyclops slowly turned around and spotted someone dozens of yards away… the same tail feathered insect that shot it many times when it was climbing up the gorge which made it growl in hostility.

Rocky was smugly grinning, casually twirling his revolver and lazily leaning up against a tree, like he's all relaxed and having a good time of his life. He points the barrel of his gun upwards, which had smoke billowing out of the barrel, and he blows it out with a casual blow.

"Heh. For a second there, I thought I was gonna resort to my stronger dust laced bullet to get your attention. You sure have left me waiting with your delayed reaction." Rocky sneered as he smugly grins at his one eyed adversary that dwarfs him. "But now that I've got your attention, I think it's time we get down to business."

But the Cyclops doesn't listen as it stomps forward with murderous intent in its eye, letting out yet another roar.

"Not much of a talker, eh?" Rocky raised an eyebrow as he stood up straight and prepared to get into the action against the behemoth. "Well, I wouldn't mind that, either way,..." Rocky's tone darkened and glared at the behemoth with a rather serious smirk "...'cause we faunus and humans don't really have anything in common with the likes of your kind; that's trying to eradicate us all in cold blood… which includes you, especially, have done for quite a long time"

Just as the Cyclops was about to swing its own club down to crush him… Rocky already pointed his revolver close to its feet while giving a rather serious, if devilish, grin on his face.

"So we'll be returning the favor."

BANG!

He shot an Ice Dust infused bullet that exploded upon hitting a certain spot in the ground which froze it into a large sheet of solid, slippery, ice; right where the Cyclops was about to step. The Grimm lost traction and slipped which caused it to lose footing and fall over on its side.

"Watch your step!" Rocky hollered as he already took off, in a headstart, towards the opposite direction. "Catch me if you can, Mono-Wimp!"

The one eyed Grimm quickly recovers and angrily roars again. Giving chase that every tree in its way topples over, not even bothering pushing them aside, it just steamrolls forward without slowing down. Rocky was keeping pace and didn't miss his stride, still keeping ahead but not going too fast to make the Cyclops keep up with him.

Nigel began to follow his partner and the Grimm, swinging and leaping through the trees that are safely out of the Cyclops' way and view.

Nearby, a random drone, one of the several dozen that's surveying the initiation, suddenly came by and heard the roar and first noticed Gale and Adam leaping through the trees….

Beacon Cliffs.

Back at the starting point, Ozpin and Glynda continue their surveillance, despite the recent event that there is a Cyclops in the woods.

Things were being tense because of a recent discovery that neither the headmaster nor the professor were excited about.

Glynda continued doing her part in surveying but still isn't feeling like herself. Ever since the discovery that one eyed monster that she believed to be dead... is still out there roaming about, likely killing more students it comes across. If it doesn't get taken care of, Gods forbid it even showing up where she's standing, the tension and stress get worse and she may even suffer another panic attack. Yet, even with the dread crawling up her back, she managed to remain calm and keep her head clear… for now.

As she kept her eyes on her scroll tablet, one of the footages shows eight students who already retrieved their own relics are now trying to escape a Nevermore which is flying high above them, followed by a Deathstalker that is chasing them.

On the other hand, the whereabouts of those other four boys being chased by the Cyclops are unknown after the last drone has gone static. They know they are still out there…. Whenever still alive or something worse.

Glynda's knowledge of what the Cyclops is capable of makes her anxiety justified but the headmaster encouraged her to have some faith in all the students that are fighting to survive and retrieve their relics. There hasn't been any reported deaths so that's a big plus… for now.

Even then, when she's doing her job... Why is she filled with regret?

Could it be….. she still carries the feeling she can't forgive herself for what she did out of ignorance that led to the death of her childhood friend, Dorothea? Or is she just overthinking it and shouldn't blame it on herself because it just happened and she had no control over it?

Whatever it is, the sense of guilt made her more anxious was all linked to the discovery that Cyclops had caused her the trauma and left her feeling the haunted nightmares she tried to forever forget have slowly been creeping up on her again.

"Even if I do have faith for them, it doesn't guarantee it will be like some kind of miracle or divine intervention that will protect them and leave them unscathed." Glynda thought. Regardless, even through the horrible guesses racing through her mind, she continued her gaze on her tablet. She and the other professors still have the permission to attack that unholy creature, if it gets anywhere closer to Beacon Academy. A professor is always prepared if unsuspecting and unwanted intruders wander from the forest towards the academy or city will be dealt with. No Grimm will come near civilization on their watch, even when there is no fear the cities radiate.

There was a beeping sound on her tablet which snapped her out of her deep thoughts. Status report shows another drone has detected something. For a second, Glynda had a feeling her gut was telling her there's a certain reason that relates to the recent Cyclops discovery.

She tapped the specific icon number of the drone which now shows another location of the forest. Glynda made sure the drone was out of the way and out of reach, not intending to lose another drone.

The footage shows the Cyclops rampaging through the woods. This time, she can see the scars on its armor and body. More gruesome and soul wrenching to look at than she can remember, far larger, meaner, and more heavily armored. It continues to evolve and adapt if it's left unchecked it could possibly even pose a threat to an experienced huntsman or huntress.

"So, you're still alive and out there, all these years, even after when Dorothea sent you to the bottom of the gorge from where you came…and taking you with her." The blonde professor thought in a mix of fear and spite, the more she looked at the abomination she wished she would never see 's been so long that she barely even remembers most of the details it possesses. "No doubt you have gotten far larger and more powerful than the last time I saw you face to face."

The woman now feels hesitant if she could even fight it by herself and win, despite how much she has improved and grown more powerful than the time she was just a teen. But that doesn't make her a coward since she would absolutely fight the Cyclops if it came to that. Surely, she would even be glad to give that monster a piece of her mind and a special taste of her semblance for killing so many innocent students and especially Dorothea. Despite that, her duties must come first.

Regardless, she puts those thoughts aside as she must alert Ozpin of the status update.

"Professor Ozpin." Glynda spoke up and caught the headmaster's attention. "I must inform you that one of the drones has managed to locate the Cyclops again and it appears to be rampaging through the forest."

The headmaster took his eyes off of his tablet and looked at Glynda's. Seeing what Glynda presented caught his interest.

Hmm... I see." He casually replies and sips his mug, again, seemingly not at all surprised. "No doubt that's a Cyclops." Despite the suspicion and lack of visual evidence, Ozpin figured it was the same Grimm. His career of running an academy of training students to fight Grimm made it easy to identify it with a mere glance.

"I surely haven't seen a Grimm of that kind in quite a long time." He noted as the Cyclops roared and tore up more trees and debris. "I'm even surprised they are still around and living this close to Vale. Most people these days have considered them a complete myth." He continued nonchalantly at the Grimm being rather active and on the move. "And it seems to be pretty agitated."

Glynda wanted to roll her eyes but decided to look past that sly comment since they got bigger fish to fry. She then noticed something that the Cyclops was chasing which made her narrow her eyes.

"Yes. And I bet I would know a good reason as to why." Glynda answered as she zoomed in on someone that's being chased by the Cyclops…. Rocky Rhode Runner.

"Hmmmm…. Seems like someone you and I know may be the reason it's so riled up." Ozpin said that sounded like he's impressed. "I'd have to say. It takes a lot of guts and bravery to have a Grimm at that size and ferocity chasing you through the forest towards a trap you have made for it."

Feeling confused about what he meant by that, Glynda realized he may be implying about Rocky and the other three young men he's teamed up with could be doing something more collaborative. Thing is, she only sees Rocky, many possibilities going through her head where the other three may be at.

She looked again and noticed there was another lifeform that the drone just detected in the trees and moving through them swiftly. It was a kangaroo faunus who was leaping and swinging not far behind and was keeping up, not being noticed or spotted.

"It appears that our mischievous, feathered, friend has made a partner. Likely following him and giving support in case things get complicated for the former." Oz informed Glynda who isn't astonished that there is no panic or fear… this is coordination and teamwork, against a massive threat no other huntsman that she knows or has seen ever wanted to before.

"But that's not the only thing I find interesting. There's something else that you must see." Ozpin said as he showed Glynda his tablet; Yet again, Adam and Gale appeared together and were sprinting through the woods. Glynda realizes drone #7 that spotted them is half a mile away from the drone, #2, which is on the Cyclops.

Ozpin smirked, seeing such a seemingly kind of cooperation and tactics being used. "And these two are also playing their part in this as well."

The blonde professor wonders what he meant by that, until she started to put the pieces together on what he exactly meant until she figured it out and that only left her very astonished and impressed, as much as she can admit it with the look on her face.

"Are you implying to me they're taking a much more complex approach to this, especially this early for their ages?" Glynda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When you put it that way, indeed." Ozpin answered and raised an eyebrow back at her. "Those four seemed to have taken their time and patience to formulate a strategy to get around an obstacle they can't normally overcome alone with their own strength and abilities alone. A time consuming, yet complex approach in dealing with Grimm."

"While we all know strategy is a major factor and one of the most important arts of combat and war, we must never overestimate that as there are lots of risks that are worth taken for it to be a success. For forming such a plan means they know what kind of threat they are dealing with."

Much to what Ozpin said, it's true the boys are aware what kind of the threat the Cyclops possess and they are risking their lives to kill, despite that they don't have to since they got their relic... they are doing something that no one else has EVER done in any initiation of Beacon Academy.

"And what's even more impressive is that they could've just walked away and come back with the relic and get the initiation over with… but they decided to do what's right; an overlooked example of what it means being a huntsman". Ozpin noted, highly impressed how dedicated those four boys really are, the first he's ever seen. But they aren't the only ones as Ruby and her teammates are doing something similar as well.

"That is one thing that I deeply admire and respect about people is when they take action for a good and justified reason, rather than a simple task they are assigned for without question. It takes a strong mind and a simple soul, with the help of their crafts and skills, help them overcome almost anything that's thrown at them." Oz finished and smiled.

Glynda felt a tiny spark burning within the depths of her soul, the more she stared at the determination and confidence in their eyes against an overwhelming force of despair and terror, along with Ozpin's speech. This is the kind of expression that any full pledged huntsman shows off in the midst of soul wrenching Grimm and saving the innocent lives of people.

"Y-You're right." Glynda said as if she was ashamed for letting her paranoia and anxiety get the better of her. "I should've known and not be so pent up when I have a job to do."

"It's alright." Ozpin replied with nothing to suggest he's annoyed or serious. "It's not your fault to feel so anxious over a Grimm that you suffered from personal experiences since that day." Ozpin knew what Glynda was feeling the whole time and he knew what she suffered from so he did what he could to support and carry her through his academy until she graduated, and now he's grateful she is working for him in return as a part of his academy.

"And you aren't the only one who sometimes gets anxious… especially when things get awfully bad, especially if Remnant and all of the kingdoms are put in grave danger..." He sips his mug yet again, this time, enjoying the taste more.

"It's natural we all have a lot to learn in our lives and make many mistakes, whenever we don't want to repeat them many times…. especially with the weight of the world on our shoulders….. which we still so do day by day." He lets out a soft sigh and looks at all the students doing their best to stay alive and prove they came here for a reason and are giving it their 100% to prove their worth. "It's important we must never forget those lessons that helped us fight and struggle just to see another new day."

"Especially for me... especially for me..." Oz coldly thought to himself.

Glynda no doubt agrees with his words. Not like she's been lectured a lot by the headmaster before about all the important things she needed to learn and understand in order to work as a huntress and professor for the academy. She too, as have all the others before and after her, have learned and adapted through trial and error, thanks to the support of Oz, her teammates, and especially Dorothea's last words before she was gone.

As they always say, people make mistakes and must be taken for granite or they are doomed to repeat them.

The blonde woman slowly turns her gaze back at her tablet and continues to watch the Cyclops chase after Rocky, while Nigel stays close, along with Gale and Adam moving ahead in the next step of their plan.

"So it has all come to this, hasn't it?" Glynda thought, trying to process and comprehend seeing some students unlike any other she's seen before. They are fighting a kind of Grimm that overshadows many others in the Emerald Forest. "For all my years working for this academy that I graduated from, for serving Ozpin and his cause, never would a nightmare that I believed to be long gone… would still be here, hiding in the shadows. Now it has crawled back out from the hellish pits to show itself again… continuing to slaughter anyone that gets in its way…."

But she frowned and looked serious. "And yet, there are those that will not back down from it, despite how overwhelmingly terrifying and unstoppable it is."

She started to see… maybe there is something special in the many new students that are attending this year, especially these four young boys taking on the nightmare that killed her friend.

"Even then, I'm still not sure what to say or think of all of this…. Do I still deserve to be a huntress when I couldn't even defend myself that Dorothea had to sacrifice her life…. and her dreams, in exchange for mine? So I finally obtained what I wanted to be… is it all really worth it?"

There were times when Glynda had dreadful thoughts weighing her down and gripped her like a vice. It's nearly unbearable to her….. but she shook her head in retaliation.

"No! I should never doubt myself. I've haven't forgotten her last words and I shall never go back on them either… that would only further let her down when her death has already been in vain."

Even Ruby and the others she's fighting with haven't gone unnoticed either as she can see they are giving it their all too in this unforgiving forest.

"If Ozpin can have faith in everyone, including those four destroying an enemy that I failed to destroy…. then I shall fully put my faith in them too. Perhaps they can avenge everyone it murdered. Once that unholy demon has been slain…. then all of them…"

She mentally conjured a blurry image of her childhood friend… giving a warming smile and enthusiastically tapping her red footwear together which caused them to glow.

"... can rest in peace."

And that cleared Glynda's mind and her anxiety washed away. She came back to her senses that she was being herself again. Though, she still made a promise that she won't hesitate to face the Cyclops if it still gets near them and anywhere near Beacon.

Beacon Academy

Back at the Amphitheater, it was more or less the same with the current student's watching what they see on the screens. They already seen many students facing off against all kinds of Grimm, especially bigger and more dangerous ones, cheering them on in hopes of victory and joining them to learn and fight alongside them.

Yet again, team CFVY is really impressed with these newcomers that are actually able to perform such feats that only a second year could already do...well, Fox still can't see what's happening so his three other teammates share whatever they got in store for him if it's really important, but mostly it's Yatsu giving out the notes to Fox via Fox's semblance

Still, Yatsu doesn't say much, as he mostly likes to keep it to himself, he still feels impressed and admires the many newbies showing their skill and determination. He seems to especially admire the teenager with the Elephant Tattoo on his back... not to mention he's also very tall which Yatsu can relate to. Well, he's still shorter than Yatsu but far closer to his height than everyone else.

The same could be said for Coco. As the well being skilled and knowledgeable in fashion, she highly admires many of their outfits and attractive looks of the newcomers she finds interesting. Seeing them up close and personal may be giving her some ideas on new designs of outfits she wants to make and try out.

Velvet, on the other hand, while she is enjoying this excitement, she's a little concerned that everyone makes it out okay, especially with larger and older Grimm appearing and taking on the students in certain places which raises the stakes here. Of course, she can't help but feel really curious about all their weapons she wants to take pictures of with her own specialized camera she owns.

Sadly, much to the disappointment of the more battle crazed students that hunger for the action, things just started to look interesting as four certain students that appeared to have been chased by something massive but too blurry and up close to make details out of before going static. Due to being taken place in the Emerald Forest, most agree it's likely a Grimm. Question is... what type is it?

"I wonder what that was we barely even glimpsed at." Coco said rubbing her chin with her finger

"Maybe a Grimm?" Velvet deduced as she shrugged her shoulders. "Because I can't think of anything else that would appear in the Emerald Forest… unless I'm missing something."

"Considering this is the Emerald Forest we're talking about; Most likely." Yatsu softly replied.

"Not to mention how that place has been left abandoned and untouched for centuries. It's a given that place would be the perfect hive to have some really big Grimm hiding out there." Fox finished.

"Still." Velvet continued. "I can't help but feel this initiation we're watching seems different. Even our initiation that we had didn't feel as tense as what this one is holding."

"Yeah. I see that too." Coco agreed and just remembered another thing. "And let's not forget the Vytal Festival is also coming up and it's Vale that will be hosting the festival."

"Oh that's right! I almost forgot about that! I'm so excited we're gonna participate in the Vytal Festival really soon!" Velvet cheered, feeling excited to become part of the Vytal Festival for the first time.

Both Fox and Yatsu also smirked. Despite being mostly calm and focused, they surely enjoy the Vytal Festivals and they are highly eager to join the tournament for the first time and prove just how awesome and skilled they are.

"Well whatever is happening and we're gonna be doing, better strap yourselves in guys." Coco announced to her team. "Because this is gonna be one hell of an exciting year for us."

"That's right! Keep following me, you oversized tub of crude sludge!" The gun slinging faunus hollered. Constantly harassing the Cyclops and further infuriating it. It swung and smashed even more, leaving many large craters and cracks with every impact towards the ground. Even many trees caught in the crossfire weren't so lucky as they snapped and broke like toothpicks.

CRASH!

"Missed me again!"

BOOM!

"Close but no cigar!"

THWOMP!

"Ya can't even hit the broadside of a barn with a club at that size and weight!" The comedic bird faunus continued taunting the Grimm. "Either it may be that lack of depth perception being the reason you can't hit me or you're just that bad!"

The more Rocky mocked it, the angier the Cyclops got. It started swinging harder and faster than ever before, trying to hit him out of frustration that this insect just won't shut up. Nigel even barely managed to avoid a random swing that destroyed the tree he leaped off of moments ago.

"Bloody Hell, Rocky! Are you trying to piss it off more than it already is?!" Nigel thought in annoyance to his partner, right after that close call of nearly getting smacked.

He noticed the trees around them are getting a little narrow from each other and the forest is getting slightly less dense. They're going to a place where they want it to be that may hopefully give them the edge in their favor.

Nigel perched nearby in case things got complicated with the Cyclops.

After a few more minutes of the chasing, Rocky and his pursuer have reached a location in the forest that he instantly recognized which made him smirk. This spot in the middle of the forest, which has fewer trees, more open ground, and appears normal but what the Grimm doesn't know is that they have something in store for it.

And that's where Adam and Gale are waiting; each standing near a large tree, respectively, opposite from each other. Wrapped around both of the trees dozens of bungee vines that are tied and wrapped by hand which the two have done in part of their part and are prepared to trigger them at the right time.

Adam stood besides vine, posed in an iaijutsu stance, gripping firmly on the hilt of Wilt which was sheathed, as if he's about to do a fast quickdraw of his sword.

Standing near his own vine, Gale is holding the same katana that Adam picked up back at the Gorge, in a slightly less fancy pose, as he's only borrowing it for the time being.

"On my signal, we cut the vines." Adam instructed which Gale nodded, already remembering what they have to do in this part.

On cue, they heard the distant rumbling getting louder. A sign the Cyclops is heading their way. Soon, Rocky came rushing out of the foliage and he's moving so fast that his legs looked like a figure eight. In the clearing, he screeched to a halt and was rather standing in the middle of the area that he needed to be.

"Phew! Made it!" Rocky sighed and wiped the sweat off his brow. He noticed Gale and Adam were at their spots which made Rocky know what needs to be done next.

Not far away, Nigel also arrived in the area but stayed put in the trees. Nigel wasn't far away as he swung nearby and landed in another tree that was close to Adam.

"And now we make way for the next step." Nigel thought as he perched on another branch and waited.

The sounds of crashing and snapping, followed by many of the trees falling over, the Cyclops bursts out into the open and lets out another bellowing roar.

"The target is now in sight." Adam thought.

After announcing its presence, the Cyclops looks around, wondering where that puny morsel went. He couldn't have gone far since it was able to keep up with him and only lost sight of him once he entered the slightly more open area.

A high pitched whistle was heard which caught its attention and turned its head towards the source of it… standing there in the center is Rocky, yet again. Smiling and whistling a tune, he was doing some stretches to loosen himself up.

"Boy, I must say." Rocky chirped as he finished his stretches and crossed his arms at the towering monster before him. "For an oversized and hefty piece of work like yourself, you sure are quick on your feet to keep up with me." He grinned.

The single eyed Grimm growled as puffs of smoke billowed out of its nostrils and its eye glowed more brightly. It takes a step forward, still not done with Rocky for shooting it in the back of its head earlier.

"That's right. Just come closer, we've got a big surprise waiting for you." Rocky thought, anticipating the monster will fall right into their trap. It's going to be as easy as pie.

"Once it gets within range, it will surely be easier to disarm and pin it down, leaving it vulnerable that gives us the chance to get the job done. If that fails, we got plan B as our backup plan, as Adam devised." Nigel thought, as he stayed silent in his spot, watching how this may unfold. Adam and Gale held their respective blades even tighter, as small drops of sweat rolled down their foreheads and cheeks.

"Wait for it…" Adam thought tensely, his grip tightened even more.

"Just a little bit closer…." Gale mentally strained as the monster drew closer. Feeling a drop of sweat roll down his cheek. If they screw this up, they may be all for nothing.

Nigel stayed silent and watched with anticipation. His semblance can already sense the tension from his teammates, unsure what the outcome may be…even then, that won't stop them from getting the job done in any way they can.

As it seems it was going to work, the Cyclops suddenly stopped in its tracks which caught the four by surprise. It was only a few more steps from their zone of the trap… and now it's standing at its border.

"What the- did it just stop dead in its tracks?! At a time like this?!" Rocky thought in surprise and frustrated it's now out of reach of their trap. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Welp. Guess this is gonna be harder than we thought it would be… not like we didn't know that from the start." Gale thought about how unpredictable this Grimm seems to be but kept his grip on his borrowed sword more tightly, having a feeling this would be far from being easy.

"Crickey." Nigel mentally sighed at the sight. "Seems this bugger's smarter than we've given it credit for. It won't take the bait…. and it's starting to feel suspicious This doesn't look good."

"Considering this thing has lived for at least a century or two, it likely has developed a major sense of precaution from facing all kinds of huntsmen and huntresses it fought and slaughtered."

Despite the feathered snack just standing there leaving himself wide open, like an easy snack, the Cyclops feels its instincts blaring that something seems fishy here.

Most huntsmen and huntresses that it has slayed and devoured either cowered or ran in fear, or died to the very last breath when they stood against it. Here, this little feathered nuisance stopped running from it and is suddenly trying to provoke it to attack him where he stands with no fear or hesitation. Something isn't right.

Feeling heavily suspicious, the one eyed Grimm stared at Rocky for a few more seconds until it drifted it's single eye on the terrain surrounding him, trying to find something out of the ordinary. It may be nowhere as smart as most humans, but, living for centuries has given it enough intelligence to make it aware of its surroundings far better than other Grimm.

Rocky felt worried due to the unexpected twist of events. This Grimm is smarter than it looks and it's only a matter of time until it may even see through their trap they planned out.

"Gotta keep its attention on me!" Rocky thought as he tried to egg it on some more to make it come over to him.

"Ah what's wrong~?" He said, mocking it from how it refuses to step towards. "Afraid of coming over here and pounding me to a pulp? Or are you just brain dead now?"

The Cyclops heard that and so wanted to crush him to a pulp but it refused to step forward due to its suspicions.

"Dammit. It's not falling for my insults anymore. Must have already gotten used to hearing them. Guess I should've toned them down a bit." Rocky disdainfully admitted to himself. He had to think what other way is there to make it come over to him without the need to leave his spot.

That's when he decided to pull out a secret weapon he was keeping in case things don't work… and he's gonna have such a kick out of this one so very very much.

"Still won't approach me, eh?" Rocky smirked as he suddenly turned around and quickly unbuckled his belt which caught everyone's attention.

"Wait a second…." Nigel thought as he started to realize what he's doing. What he's about to do. "Don't tell me…. he's not gonna do…. THAT?"

"So it seems he will be doing that after all." Adam said with indifference in his tone, despite feeling a little appalled that it's going to happen. Even though much of his young life was filled with many hardships and struggles, with a strict and disciplined mindset, even he is left baffled by something this absurd. But he's going with it nonetheless if this is what gives them the advantage to win.

"Yep… he really means it. He's not joking." Gale responded, sounding more curious how this will go down. He ain't complaining as he's more open minded going along with Rocky's idea.

In Nigel's case, he's rather not so enthusiastic about it, despite going along with it, even by chance of surviving and winning this mission. "Bloody moron." The faunus mentally groaned that his partner was about to perform the stunt that he rather not happen begrudgingly goes with it.

The marsupial faunus has, by any means, no resentment towards his bird faunus partner. They already formed an established partnership just to mend themselves together as an effective and deeply understood teamwork combo in the future, especially with the other two guys that joined them that made four. Not to mention getting to know him better since that's what that teammates in huntsman academies should do. It's just that this very idea he's going to do which he brought up is still ridiculous.

Though, while he does admit the absurdity and how out of the blue it was to them, Adam told Nigel he decided and is willing to take that chance because, as long as it works in their favor, he doesn't see anything wrong with that. It's worth a shot.

For Gale. His reason why he approves of this… is that he thinks it's really amusing and to see if Rocky has the guts to actually do it…. and that made Rocky feel like that's a challenge and didn't back down from that.

"As much as I find it ridiculous and out of the ordinary to be used for such a task I've agreed to go along with it, since everyone else is on board so the heck with it anyways. Besides, as long as it works and we live, I'll look past all that and call it a day." Nigel thought and continued to watch…

"Well, in that case." The bird faunus gripped the hem of his pants and boxers, with his back turned, looking over his shoulder at the Cyclops with a sneering grin, even hoping his partner and teammates were watching too…. but has no idea the drone is that a single drone is also watching…. and its feed is connected to Glynda's tablet… which broadcasts to all the holo screens in Beacon Academy… where everyone is seeing it all... in HD.

"If you ain't gonna come over here and get me like the chicken you are…. then why don't you just EAT MY SHORTS!" Rocky shouted as he bends over that he's looking upside down between his legs and looking straight at the Cyclops from an upside down perspective…. and yanked his arms straight down while gripping the hem of his pants.

Just a few minuttes ago, the drone that caught sight of the Grimm and faunus, also happens to be connected to one of the screens of Beacon… where many students are watching it.

That soon caught the attention of some students, including CFVY. Some gasped in shock or surprise. Others were actually astonished and awed, if intimidated, by this humanoid monstrosity that is unlike any other Grimm they've ever seen before. Yet, some of the students that were more knowledgeable with Grimm instantly recognized it as a Cyclops.

It was just straight up bizzare, even downright madness, to see someone this new stand out in the wide open spaces, under the towering gaze of a behemoth that could easily devour him like a bite sized snack. And what's more is that he doesn't look afraid and is just smiling and looking so defiant at the behemoth.

But that ain't fooling some of the students, including CFVY, as they can tell by no means he's an idiot and may be onto something that may actually be an advantage in his favor.

Even Fox, based on Yatsu's details he tells him, felt surprised and highly curious about this. Normally, he wasn't too much interested about this year's initiation but this sudden event has really got his attention now.

"Well… ain't that a coincidence." Coco deadpanned but is clearly piqued, and even a bit on edge, by the sight of this.

"Yeah. Never would I actually see something like this in my life. It's almost unbelievable to comprehend." Velvet agreed with her friend.

"And this new guy seems to be standing his ground against that Grimm." Yatsuhashi spoke. Pointed out the obvious of what they saw. "Not sure if I would call it having guts or asking for a death wish."

"Now you guys are making me wish I wasn't blind after hearing what you're saying. It's already caught my undivided attention and now I really wish to see it myself." Fox said with his semblance directed at his three teammates, but rather teasingly since he didn't mind if he couldn't see as his semblance is more than enough to help him get around and be able to communicate more efficiently.

Either way, most students started bringing their focus on that particular footage which seems to be something they've never seen before. It appears Rocky is standing his ground and smirking at his adversary, but for some reason, the giant didn't move and appeared to be glaring at him.

This made many wonder what it really meant to them. Was he actually intimidating the monster by standing his ground? Is the Grimm just waiting for him to make a wrong move so it kills him in one swoop? Are they just challenging each other to a staring contest? Nobody exactly knows. It only further raises the mystery and makes them wonder what it all means.

Either way, it left many on edge seeing a short feathered faunus stand up against a towering giant that could easily crush anyone beneath its massive feet. And everyone's on their toes wondering what's gonna happen.

They can see his mouth is moving but they can't tell nor hear what he's exactly saying since the drone isn't close enough. They can see his expression reads confidence and a bit of cockiness to the mix which does seem a little concerning to some of the students.

That's when he turned around with his back against the Grimm which caught the attention and curiosity of what he's about to do. Perhaps it's him getting out his secret weapon. If some have thought of that, then they are right... except it wasn't the king of weapon they were expecting it to be.

The moment when Rocky unleashed his secret weapon…. it only took several seconds of processing to comprehend what was going on and reactions shortly followed. Some saw it coming but they were too slow and too late to warn everyone else because it happened so fast

Many let out loud, surprised, gasps of shock and surprise. Even some girls even let out high pitched shrieks of shock. Other students bursted out into laughter, especially most of the other boys that were rolling on the floor laughing and hollering. Some just stood there in complete silence and their faces were completely blank and emotionless.

"MY EYES!" One student screamed, repeating his madness mantra while his eyes were literally burning as if he was staring directly into the sun.

One of the female students, who looked really high class and fancy from a wealthy family, dramatically draped an arm over her forehead and fainted that one of her classmates caught her before she could hit the floor as she remained limp and out cold.

"Somebody get the brain bleach!" Another shouted as he had his hands over his eyes.

Not even team CFVY was safe from the disturbing scenery and they were too late to look away despite the possible signs this would happen.

Velvet looks like she saw a ghost, as her cute bunny ears started to slowly droop down and back to express the realization of what she's seeing and how disturbed she's feeling right now. Yatsu and Fox appear to have blank expressions on their faces. The former didn't appear to have a reaction while the latter was obviously blind so he didn't see what everyone else did despite the sounds of everyone's reactions. Coco slowly took off her shades and heavily huffs on the lenses with her breath before wiping them with a brown cloth that has her emblem on it. Her expression looked like she saw a lot of weird and disturbing stuff she wished she hadn't and would gladly forget all that.

"Now I've seen everything." Yatsuhashi calmly declared, not showing much of a reaction on his face… as if that was the last straw to even care. He now wants to go back to his dorm and call it a day.

"Let me guess." Fox announced as he can read the many appalled and disturbed thoughts of his teammates and everyone in the room, despite that he can't see what they are exactly looking at on screen. "That one faunus did something on screen that's considered widely disturbing?"

"Yeah…. something like that." Velvet meekly answered, feeling a very small piece of her innocence disintegrated out of her being. "You don't really wanna know…."

"Then I suppose I should be grateful I'm unable to see that..." Fox replied, deciding he doesn't want to see it and a bit grateful he's unable to.

"Yatsu….. can you please make me completely forget what I just saw." Coco calmly asked her giant teammate before putting her shades back on, still heavily disturbed by the sight she really wants to forget that disturbing sight that's now drilled into her head. "It's really giving me mental scarring..."

While the chaos of reactions continues, there are others with other tasks in the academy that must be done.

Out in the hallways, Nevins was busy mopping and cleaning the floors, intending on making them so clean that you can clearly see your reflection off the surface. It's a duty for a custodian like him to have the floors of Beacon Academy to be as shiny as its legendary reputation, being run by one of the wisest and most successful headmasters in Remnant.

As he finally mopped the last patch of floor in this section of the academy, Nevins gets out his morning cup of steaming coffee that he got right before getting to work. He softly blew to cool it down and took a slow and small sip.

He managed to feel better after his first sip of the warm beverage that cleared his mind and washed his stress away, not long after dealing with that roadrunner faunus that slept in the same room that belongs only to him and then unintentionally kissed his boot when he tried to wake him up just made it rather awkward

Regardless of not so great of a way starting their day, the custodian isn't petty and has nothing personal against the young fanus. Besides, it was only between him and the boy so nobody else would ever know so it's nothing to fret about. Though, that doesn't make it out for him that he should count his chickens before they hatch when he has yet to see Rocky proving himself that he has what are the top qualities of being a student in this academy, completing the mission. For seeing how far Rocky has gone, Nevins is willing to give him a chance to convince him he's not some complete chatterbox that lacks the qualities of a huntsman.

Speaking of that, Nevins looked back up towards the screens, seeing any new progress. He noticed many of the new youngsters prove to be quite formidable and highly effective when working in teams. He shifts his sight towards another screen... and no surprise, there's Rocky yet again. This time, he isn't alone; as there stood a massive Cyclops that was right in front of him and staring him down.

"Hm… so you have discovered and encountered a Cyclops, eh? How unfortunate that must be for you." Nevins said, sounding like he almost pitied him going up against a Grimm that could tear you limb from limb and reduce you to a bloody smear. Yet, that once again makes him feel a little concerned about that for the students and staff's safety. He may be a quiet and elderly custodian that cleans the academy twenty-four seven until its squeaky clean but he's by no means a senile old fart that's blissfuly ignorant of what's happening, whenever inside or outside of the kingdoms borders and safe havens.

Lately, in recent years, there have been many new cases of larger and stronger Grimm that have been appearing closer and closer to civilization. Sure, it's not surprising the Grimm are constantly stalking outside the kingdoms and gnawing on their walls from time to time, but it seems unusual and even frightening that more cases of stronger, larger, and especially more aggressive kinds are becoming more common than they have been during the days when he was a young lad. That should be raising concerns but it's been proven many times the students from before and now have managed to survive and even defeat some rather large and dangerous Grimm with the ones that have passed heavily outnumbered the ones that died or couldn't pass due to their injuries… and that doesn't lessen Nevins' concerns.

He took his attention off the screen and took another sip of his coffee for only a few seconds until he lifted his eyes back onto the screen… than spat out an entire mouthful of his coffee that it sprayed and splattered all over the hallway floors he just finished mopping.

"WHAT IN THE BLOODY DICKENS?!" Nevins shouted in a momentary surprise of not expecting something he would ever see in the live feed for the academy. "What in the love of the Four Kingdoms and Menagerie are you doing?!" He screamed in disbelief and rising anger, completely baffled and highly offended seeing something like that as an absolute disgrace to see something so vulgar and inappropriate to be broadcasted.

"Presenting your posterior to the camera?! Tainting the pure and noble eyes of the academy?! Especially to the headmaster?! In the middle of the initiation, no less?! HAVE YOU NO SHAME AND DIGNITY?!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. What he's seeing is the same thing everyone else saw… and he isn't taking it well….

"Why I 'oughta teach you bloke a lesson for such an unbelievable way of dishonoring this beloved academy!" The janitor shook his free fist, feeling heavily peeved at the spectacle that crazy kid was showing off with.

But then he remembered he was getting stressed out that may and quickly calmed himself to not crush his coffee cup in his hand. No longer being completely blinded by his anger, he began to notice something…. Rocky wasn't directing his taunting at Beacon… It was towards the Cyclops. He also noticed the surrounding spot the boy was standing in looked pretty suspicious….

That's when Nevins began to slow down his breathing so his stress levels don't worsen his health. In fact, he harshly coughed a little that it sounded very hoarse and dry. "Easy there Nevins, you're way past your prime and of suffering a heart attack when I still got plenty of life to spare." He thought as he actually began to think more rationally. Once he caught his breath and calmed down, he thought clearly and looked back at the screen and saw what he failed to see seconds ago.

"Ah, I see." Nevins says in realization, somehow seeing something that nobody else would've noticed on screen. "So you weren't intentionally flaunting yourself, out of disrespect and mockery. You were just being part of a well laid plan and leading that Grimm into a trap..."

Her narrowed his eyes. "Regardless of that clever division you and your teammates devised.. you still got an uphill battle to reach the goal… if you are able to reach it with every piece of yourself left intact."

Despite seeing the many initiations before this one, he admits never had he seen one this interesting in quite some time. In fact, he just remembered that there was one initiation with four special and unusual students that were made up of two boys and two girls. One had special attributes while the other two that got promoted for something special Ozpin made them to be….. and the fourth was just the normal one but made that up by being very determined and never giving up which Nevins highly respected those four, despite never knowing them personally.

He lowly hummed at Rocky with uncertanty.

"If you're really here to be a huntsman, then you better survive and prove it, lad." The custodian heeded his advice and continued to watch, deciding to mop the floors when this is over as it seems to get really interesting. A little surprising that he mostly tended to ignore most initiations in the past but decided to watch as this one got his full attention.

"Until this is over, I'll be watching and hoping for you to survive… and win."

As for Glynda and Ozpin…. they couldn't utter a word. Glynda's right eye was twitching and Ozpin starred with a blank look but just sipped his coffee, not even thinking of giving a witty comment on that one.

Emerald Forest

Everything has gone deafeningly silent as nobody moved or made a peep. All gazes focused on Rocky…who wagged his tail feathers from side to side and flexed his eyebrows, while giving a dastardly grin at the Cyclops. Surely, really enjoying his moment he wanted to do on a Grimm and he finally did it. Another thing to do crossed off his bucket list.

While Gale was surprised Rocky actually did it, he was neither shocked nor appalled by it for that matter. In fact... he thought it was actually pretty funny, as much as he didn't want to visibly show it by trying his very hardest not to burst out laughing.

Adam's reaction was rather indifferent towards it but even he was silent seeing the spectacle, despite agreeing with Rocky to do it if he had to…. and now he questions himself if it was ever a good idea to begin with.

Nigel's response? A facepalm and an apathetic sigh. "Ya didn't need to go overboard with that, ya crazy loon…."

As for the Cyclops… it didn't move an inch as it stared in silence… but its anger has slowly boiled to even greater heights that it started to shake and its hand tightened around its club. It growled even louder, as red veins glowed under its skin which gave it an even more menacing appearance. Large clouds of black smoke billowed out of its mouth and nostrils with each growing breath of hatred. It's one eye goes bloodshot and glowed even more brightly… while a strange humming sound was heard from it and boiling steam sizzled off the eyeball.

"Well… at least that will surely make it come forward." Gale thought nervously as he didn't need to guess what's going to happen next.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Cyclops roared out again, absolutely livid at HIM for doing THAT. It quickly stomped forward, ignoring its own sense of precaution, desperately intending to crush that feathered nuisance beneath its club and scrape the remains off into the ground like wiping off a splattered bug!

"That's right. Take the bait." Adam thought as they all watched the monster enter the zone and upon Rocky who didn't budge despite having a three story high monster towering right over him.

The Cyclops raised its club and prepared to crush the roadrunner faunus who was now standing there who's now holding his pants up since his belt is still undone. Despite not looking afraid, Rocky was sweating bullets as he saw the spiked weapon high above that even its shadow was looming over him. Even knowing how the plan must go, he can't help but feel dread seeing that weapon

"Oh man…. I think I can see my life flashing before my eyes again!" Rocky shuddered but didn't move, despite yanking his pants back up and tightening his belt, praying to his teammates to do it now or he's a goner. "It's now or never guys or I'll just be nothing but a teen sized pancake! And I don't think it's gonna be my semblance this time!"

"NOW!"

Just as the Cyclops was gonna unleash its wrath, it heard a shout from somewhere else which caught it by surprise that it momentarily halted its attack which gave Rocky the chance to cartwheel and backflip to safety.

After giving the signal, Adam and Gale slashed their respective vines in one swing. Gale simply slashed his vine while Adam, in the blink of an eye, drew Wilt from Blush and slashed his vine in iaijutsu fashion. He instantly sheathes it back into Blush, a split second after he swung.

The sounds of creaking and snapping were heard from above which caught the Grimm's attention….

WHAM!

Before it could try to even see or comprehend what was coming, it felt two powerful blunt forces slamming into both sides of its head. What happened was that its entire head was smashed between the ends of two, massive, swinging logs, like a pair of giant sledgehammers; the very traps that Gale and Adam just released and those are only the first sets.

While it wasn't enough to serve lethal damage, thanks to the Grimm's thick head and mask, it was still enough to momentarily stun and leave it vulnerable. On cue, Nigel takes his turn as he throws his bladerangs forward which cut several more bungee vines in the treetops. Setting off the next trap. Just as the Cyclops started to regain its senses, another log came swinging down with the heavily dense, broad, side of the entire trunk coming in at full speed…

POW!

… slamming into its heavily armored chest with such forceful impact that it rattled its armor, causing the Cyclops to feel the wind knocked out and stumbling out of balance.

Nigel throws his bladerangs again towards more vines, causing another trap to go off….

BAM!

Another massive log came from behind and, like the previous one, slammed the Cyclops right in the back that caused it to now stumble and trip forward, trying to not fall over..

"As we've suspected." Nigel deduced, recalling what Adam and Gale had said to him and Rocky, during what they had previously experienced. "The Cyclops has a poor sense of balance and slow recovery rate, once it is tipped over far enough."

And so, one of its weaknesses has been exploited that leaves the Grimm vulnerable for the next trap to be set.

And so, the Cyclops stumbled forward and tried to regain its balance but it suddenly felt itself falling forward when its foot sunk into the ground. It fell into yet another trap that was a hidden pit covered and hidden by the leaves and debris. It was deep enough for its foot to fall in and make it lose its balance even more…. and then it suddenly felt its legs pushed against something which turned out to be dozens of bungee vines tied together into one massive rope and it was tied to two trees tightly… which means….

"TIMBER!" Rocky hollered.

CRASH!"

Down goes the Cyclops as it crashed into the earth which shook the area like a small earthquake. It even lost its club that fell out of its hand once it hit the ground. Its club fell out of its hand which landed nearby.

"Do it!" Adam yelled, as he and Gale ran from their hiding spots and towards the Cyclops. Gale tossed his borrowed sword back to Adam who now dual wields again.

Upon hearing that command, Nigel throws his bladerangs one last time and cuts the rest of the vines that were above the downed Grimm. Four large boulders, wrapped in dozens of bungee vines, were strung together that formed a large net which enveloped the Cyclops and weighed it down from getting back up.

Beacon went silent as they've seen everything of the four boys taking action and trapping the Grimm beneath a net of vines. Never would they expect seeing the environment being used like that to their advantage.

"Well damn… never saw that coming." Coco said as she was highly impressed by such a complex maneuver to get the drop on a Grimm like that. Most students prefer using their weapons and sembelenaces when it comes to strategy, rarely ever using the environment and making some simple yet effective traps like that.

"Woah! Did you guys see that?" Velvet gleefully said in excitement.

"I sure did." Yatsu answered to his bunny faunus friend, feeling widely impressed, while describing to Fox that he too is liking what he's hearing.

"Seems like these guys are doing things the old fashioned way…. I like that" Fox noted as he admits that's rather clever and even pretty cool.

"Hmmm… not bad, lad." Nevins complimented the piece of action they just did. "That's a rather clever way of using your surroundings, against a Grimm like that no less. I like that."

Glynda and Ozpin were also watching as the blonde professor watched in silence with a surprised look on her face while Ozpon casually smiled and took a nice sip.

"And I thought James once told me that we continue to "advance" in our society that the "primitive" traps we once relied on for survival have become "outdated" and "obsolete", long before the discovery of dust that we now rely so much on nowadays…. but I have to disagree with him on that." Ozpin said in a serious tone. "It ain't wrong to fall back on using the simple, yet, effective, options to your surroundings that can still get the job done, at least when used in the right hands, especially if weapons and semblances are not enough."

Being pinned down, the Cyclops struggled and thrashed around, like a wild animal, trying to break freak. At its current position, the Cyclops is vulnerable and now's the time to take advantage of that. While Nigel jumped and descended from above the treelines, Adam, Gale, and Rocky surrounded it from the sides, all having their weapons drawn and aimed towards the head of the Cyclops…. where the eye is located. That's what their main target is.

"Go for the eye!" Adam shouted, as they surrounded the pinned Grimm. That's easier said than done when said target is a massive monstrosity that's thrashing and roaring like a berserker and won't stay still, especially that the net is barely keeping it in place that some of the weaker ropes are beginning to rip and snap by the constant straining of its massive movement and strength. "Destroy the eyelid if you have to!"

Trying to escape the trap, the Cyclops managed to stand back up on its feet and tried to break free as some of the vines stretched and began to tear. Gale and Nigel won't let that happen.

Gale fired a powerful blast of concentrated wind that striked one of its knees while Nigel leaps with all his might dropkicks against the other, causing the Cyclops to lose balance and fall onto its hands and knees but the arms ended up landing on a slippery sheet of ice that Rocky left there which cause the Grimm's hands to lose traction. Gale and Nigel then grabbed the vines tied to the boulders from the front and pulled as hard as they could with a harsh yank which forced the Cyclops to faceplant into the dirt.

Despite being pinned down, the Cyclops' head and arms were out of the net as it continued to struggle. Now it's swinging its arms around, smashing the ground and leaving craters, even snapping its jaws at anybody that gets to close.

"Crap! It managed to partly free itself!" Gale shouted as he was forced to let go of the vine to avoid a random arm swing. He opened fire with his gauntlets at the Cyclops, aiming for the eye, but the Cyclops closed its eye again which only left the air projectiles slamming into its face which briefly stunned it long enough for Adam to leap up and slashed the eyelid with both swords which left a rather painful looking X shaped cut but the eye was left undamaged. That rather stinging inflicted attack left the Cyclops letting out a loud roar of pain which left its mouth open for Rocky to fire a bullet laced with explosive Fire Dust.

Once the bullet entered its mouth….

KABOOM!

Never would the Cyclops ever expect to get the insides of its mouth damaged yet again. Clouds of smoke and fire spewed out as it hacked and wheezed, along feeling its cheeks scorched and its tongue partly torn and burnt.

Nigel follows up by leaping up and throwing his bladerangs towards the eye that was open. The boomerangs bared their sharp edges and spun like saucers of death towards the eye…. Yet again, the Cyclops countered by raising its arm and deflected the projectiles. Nigel called them back with his magnet hidden gloves and caught them back into hand.

"I swear. This is starting to get really tedious and especially getting really annoying…." Nigel scoffed how the Cyclops is denying them the chance to hit the eye.

"Same." Gale agreed but remained determined. "But that won't stop us until we get it!" He shouts as he rockets forward with his gauntlet, catching the Cyclops off guard until he spun in midair and lets out a powerful heel kick with his heel slamming right into the spot of the mask where the nasal hole is. The impact echoed but the Grimm didn't budge and the mask didn't crack. It jerked its head forward to force Gale off which sent him hurtling and sliding across the forest floor until he slammed into a boulder which shattered to rubble.

Yet, that doesn't deter Gale as he flipped back onto his feet and he was glowing again, entering his partial transformation again.

"HRAA!" Gale screamed, completing the partial transformation that made nearly everyone look at him. Nigel and Rocky got a good look at the transformation for a split second and now knew how his power worked but didn't think any further and got back into the fight since Gale already explained to them about it.

Though, what Gale wasn't aware of was the drone from afar was seeing the whole thing which means everyone else in Beacon saw it too….. his unique ability that was never seen before.

The moment everyone saw the transformation and seeing him charge, looking a bit bigger and more muscular, while sporting a pair of elephant ears and even elephant tusks… reactions came about and they were spoken.

"Woah did you see that?!"

"I did! I just saw him sprout a pair of elephant ears! I think I saw some tusks too!"

"But what does that even mean?"

That's what caused the room to be filled with the mumbles of confusion and curiosity… with a few looking a little worried and uncertain.

Team CFVY was no different, especially Velvet, seeing some random person that was seemingly a human and he suddenly gains traits like that of an elephant faunus…. It just makes her and her team wonder what that's supposed to mean.

"Now hold up… Is he supposed to be a human that can apparently turn into a faunus? Or is it the other way around…. Is there something we're missing here?" Fox asked his teammates with his semblance.

"I don't know… maybe it's a kind of semblance we've never seen before." Coco said, trying to give her answer but she's not really sure if she's right. Despite the raised questions about Gale, they're gonna have to put those on hold since the fight continues and gotta wait for a conclusion.

Compared to the more vocal students seeing Gale's state, Nevins, Oz, and Glynda were silent. Ozpin and Glynda do recall they may have seen him in his partly transformed state when he was running from the Cyclops earlier but they can definitely confirm that seeing it up close now so that's no longer being left up in the air. Nevins only raised an eyebrow like there's something very peculiar about Gale and his unique ability that's apparently his semblance.

Gale sprinted forward at top speed that dirt was upturned and leaped at the Cyclops again, sending a powerful punch right in the same nasal spot and, this time, cracked and dented from the impact. This time, the Cyclops was pushed back but growled in pain and rising anger. It tried to swat at the nuisance but Gale used his gauntlets to blast him away to safety.

With a slashed eyelid, a broken nasal of the mask, and a scorched mouth, it seems this should weaken and slow down the Cyclops enough… except it didn't. It only pissed it off more that it roared again and started getting back up on its feet. It grabbed the vines that covered it and started tearing and snapping them apart, even biting some of them for good measure.

"Just how much more is it gonna take to even slow this guy down?!" Rocky complained.

Before the teens could even attempt to attack and counter, the Cyclops finally breaks free from the net and lets out a triumphant roar of freedom.

"Seems Plan A ain't gonna cut it." Adam mumbled as they watched the Cyclops standing at full height and glaring down at them. "Guess we may have to use Plan B."

Already knowing it dropped its club which was laying a bit away from it, the Cyclops decided to get at those four by picking up one of the boulders that were attached to the net. It reeled its arm back and threw the rock like it was a softball, despite only being a third of its size and weight. Adam and his teammates barely dodged it as it smashed through several trees which all collapsed.

The Cyclops grabbed another boulder and chucked it again, this time, at Rocky.

"Whoa!" Rocky gasped as he dropped to his knees and leaned back so far that he was doing a limbo to avoid the rock which smashed into another tree.

But it didn't stop there as the Cyclops grabbed the third boulder and did the same thing, as before, towards Gale. The large projectile hurled towards the tattooed boy but he got into a stance and amplified Gust with some Wind Dust and a jet booster. Once he punched forward, he managed to shatter the boulder which reduced to rubble but he didn't stop there as he created a powerful gust that gathered and blew the remaining pieces back at the Cyclops which forced it to block with its arms but most of the pieces smashed into its shoulders, midsection, legs, anywhere else its arms aren't protecting. It lowered its arms and growled at the four, still not going down.

As for the last boulder, the Grimm noticed the vines wrapped tightly around it. Something ticked in the Grimm's head as it picked up the vines that were attached to the boulder… and started holding it like it was a morning star….. making everyone realize what it's doing….

"You gotta be joking with me…." Gale groaned, seeing how much harder it's gonna be now for them.

With its improvised weapon, the Cyclops violently swings it around and smashes towards those closest to it, like a berserker knight wielding a flailing morning star of death, smashing every tree to splinters, every smaller boulder to pebbles, and leaving big craters in every spot in the ground it hits. Thanks to the bungee vines rubbery stretchiness, the weapon extends out with each swing, giving the Grimm far more reach than its club could.

"Plan backfired! PLAN BACKFIRED!" Rocky panicked as he ran, rolled, and jumped all over the place, barely avoiding getting smashed and even tucked his head into his body like a turtle in its shell to avoid getting his head knocked off. "This is bad! Really really bad, guys! It turned the vines and rock into a freaking flail and it knows how to use it!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Adam grunted as he stopped running and got into another Iaijitsu stance with the borrowed sword strapped to his back and Wilt sheathed into Blush again. The Cyclops notices him and spins the boulder to gain enough momentum and swings it but Adam anticipated that. The moment it came towards him, Adam leaped to the side, and swung Wilt which cut the vine, disconnecting the boulder which sent it rolling through the woods and barreled through at least a dozen trees.

"Nice." Gale said as the Grimm is now disarmed again and the four go on the offense, with Gale and Rocky teaming up to launch a volley of all kinds of projectiles enhanced by Dust which bombard the Cyclops and force it to put up its arms yet again to cover its face and eye.

Nigel leaped up onto the Grimm's back and climbed up until he was top of its head but he didn't get unnoticed as the Cyclops felt something crawling on it which forced it to move one arm aside and tried to swat at Nigel like swatting a mosquito. Nigel already saw that coming and easily got out of the way by using one of its horns to help him swing to another part of its head. Once there, Nigel got out one of his balderangs and pressed a switch which caused the blades to become serrated… and spun like that of a chainsaw.

The Cyclops knew what Nigel was doing so it closed its eye, confident its thick eyelid will protect its weakness… but that's what Nigel is gonna be taking care of.

With a shout, Nigel plunged his blanderang into the eyelid which caused the Cyclops to let out a pained roar as the spinning blades of the serrated boomerang did its work, tearing through the flesh of the eyelid. It tried to swat Nigel but its arm got blasted by Gale's Wind Dust which denied its counter attack. Nigel dragged the entire blade down which split the entire eyelid in two, followed by grabbing onto the split eyelid and pressing his legs against the Grimm's cheekbones for leverage.

RIP!

With a mighty heave, with the aid of his legs, Nigel leaped off the Grimm and tore both the pieces of the eyelid off in the process which disintegrated seconds after. Thanks to that, Nigel leaped and flipped off of the Grimm and landed next to his teammates gracefully.

The moment the eyelid was ripped off, the Grimm lets out an extremely high pitched shriek of agony as it covered both of its hands over its eye and stumbled back that it tripped over its club and fell over in a loud thud.

"Ouch… that's gotta hurt." Rocky winced at the thought of getting his own eyelids ripped out like that. No pity for the Cyclops. Rocky stands close to the other three as they watch the giant quickly get back onto its feet, now lacking an eyelid which means it can no longer shield its eye other than its arms.

After shrugging off the pain, the Grimm turns and it bares its fangs with an angry gaze…, it has almost reached the breaking point that they just won't die and especially refusing to give up as they continue to defy it with sheer livelihood that they express in their eyes…. It just sickens it, more so than ever before. Of all the times it enjoys feasting on the fear and despair of many before them, they don't back down, even if it can sense bits of fear and anxiety in them… which is called being brave and determined to fight the darkness until you win.

In that moment, the eye started to glow again, even more brightly. The familiar humming sound was heard again, even louder and higher pitched. This got Adam and the others a bit concerned about what that means and they hope it isn't something what it may be. The Grimm lets out another angry roar as it swipes its club back in hand and then reaches out its free hand and uproots a large tree that's similar in size to its club out of the ground and is now upping its game with a tree that its using as a second club which surprised everyone just where this is going.

Seeing how the Cyclops keeps improvising itself makes the obvious its not some big dumb monster; but a smart and resourceful Grimm that shouldn't be taken lightly in what they are dealing with, especially when they already know it could easily kill them with one lucky hit. Another thing to be concerned about is they are also clearly starting to show some signs of fatigue, despite still having a lot of aura to spare and enough to fuel their semblances. Despite that, they show no signs of backing down and still stand their ground.

Now armed with both the tree and its signature spiked club of earth and metal, it swung rapidly with ferocity which created even more craters and more trees snapped to oblivion. Yet, the boys kept dodging and spreading out to force it to focus on one at a time. Rocky managed to barely dodged the brunt of a swing… only to get a small and brittle branch smacking into his face and getting a mouthful of leaves that he quickly spits out.

Everyone else that's watching the one monitor all stood in silence at just how awesome and intense things were getting, even when compared to Ruby and Jaune's battle with the Grimm they are dealing with right now.

"Woah….." Velvet could only say that ended the silence. "Who are these guys exactly, Coco? They seem to be doing really well handling that Grimm." She asked her friend who was also staring in silence but seemed to be grinning.

"I don't really know but they sure are kicking ass and looking good at it! Especially that one guy who tore that Grimm's eyelid off?! Hardore!" Coco responded with excitement. Even Yatsuhashi and Fox were also getting their blood pumped at this. Most of the students were cheering and hollering, definitely rooting for those four to win.

Nevins watched with his eyes more open and focused, looking a little more interested in what just happened. "Working together to distract the enemy and taking out one of its defenses to leave it's one weakness even more vulnerable." The custodian commented. "I must say. I'm widely impressed by you and your lads thinking outside the box approach."

For Ozpin and Glynda, the latter's expression was completely wide eyed and really astonished seeing these four boys are actually fighting and even pinning the Grimm down with some really effective teamwork, while the former just confidently smiled.

"As I thought, these four really know what they are doing." Oz enthusiastically said and confidently sips his mug yet again. it makes him feel so happy seeing students taking on and dominating the Grimm, especially the bigger and smarter ones. "Their teamwork is really impeccable, despite they only just formed recently. Almost as if they were already a formidable and organized team from the start." Though, he can't be so confident and sure of himself when the fight hasn't been decided yet so they continue to watch.

Back in the fight, the place got very destructive as the place was covered with many craters, fallen trees, and pieces of rubble reduced to smaller pieces of rubble. The four boys were at it with the Cyclops, as they attack and defend themselves while their giant adversary does the same, making it a seemingly endless fight with neither gaming the upper hand. However, the fight then started to shift as the four boys started to back off and started running again. This time, the Cyclops ain't getting them a headstart as it chased right behind them and continued swinging wildly which just felled yet even more trees in its path.

Every time it swings and misses, one of the four boys does a counter which is either Adam slashing with his swords and shooting with Blush, Nigel slashing and throwing his bladerangs with occasional Dust to the mix, Gale shooting more wind projectiles and occasionally getting close with a punch or kick, and Rocky shooting more Dust laced bullets while cartoonishly moving from tree to tree and hollering like a goofball.

However, what's concerning for Adam is that the borrowed sword he's wielding is starting to crack and wear down the more he's using it. So much neglect being left in the gorge for so long has left it rusty and it can't hold for much longer if this keeps up. Not like he didn't know that as he could tell from the start the Sword hasn't been used for so long but he's more than willing to use it to have this sword avenge its fallen owner and everyone else.

The drone that's still on them was able to keep up and continue seeing the whole thing until the conflict reached another open area; an open field where there were far less trees, many kinds of random stone monuments were scattered all over the place. Some were recognizable while others didn't and were reduced to ruin. In the center, there stood a massive stone tower that appeared to have been there for at least several hundred years as it was covered in moss, many pieces of stone were cracked, loose, or missing, but firmly stood tall.

And so, the four boys were seen hurdling out of the trees as they tumbled in midair but they rebalanced themselves and gracefully landed and skidded to a stop in the center of the field. Seconds after, the Cyclops bursted through trees and let out another roar that rumbled across the field. The drone caught up and hovered high above, keeping a safe distance and keeping out of sight as it watches everything unfold to all the viewers.

Even with all that effort in using the seemingly effective traps and managing to expose its weakness, it still wasn't enough to finish off the abomination and now they are gonna be doing this the old fashioned way; a simple, brutal, and straightforward fight, with advanced weapons, mystical, Dust, Semblances, and the skills to use all of them, against a massive Grimm that is at least a couple hundred years old with the smarts and ingenuity to back up its power and ferocity.

It has gotten silent as the two forces stare down at each other, trying to size each other up, despite one being far more colossal than four of the others combined. If looks could kill, then their glares could make even the hardest and most stubborn souls drop dead, especially coming from the Cyclops' one eyed, burning, gaze. It's not any different back at Beacon, as things have gotten quiet and tense as they know things are gonna get ugly. Even the rowdiest students were quiet as a mouse.

Nevins couldn't help but tighten his hand around his coffee cup, threatening to be crushed and burst the contents out, feeling the tension in the depths of his soul beginning to rise.

"By the Gods…." Nevins muttered under his breath, his coffee still in hand but it's now getting cold as he doesn't bother drinking. "Am I hallucinating or is the truth that's happening before me?"

"So this is what the few among the new generation are truly capable of." He thought.

Ozpin didn't say a word but Glynda was doing her best to keep herself together and not just go into the forest and deal with the Cyclops herself but she promised Ozpin so she stayed put. Ozpin knows this may go down as one of the most intense initiations he has ever seen and hosted…. he's seen far worse but this one surely deserves its own right being hyped.

"And now this is where it begins to escalate." Ozpin thought without saying a word.

Adam Taurus, Nigel Arvo, Gale Hathi, and Rocky Rhode Runner; All four stood in respective poses, holding their respective weapons, giving off their respective, unique, vibes that defies who and what they are, inside and outside of combat, against a two-three story high Cyclops that's very pissed they have managed to last this long against it and even managed to harm it.

The Cyclops seems to stay in place again as it stares at them with a wide open and hungry gaze, thinking about devouring them once it kills them. That is, after so much they've been a thorn in its side for this long, it actually feels like it wants to do more than just eat them; it wants to brutally rip them apart limb from limb and crush them to death… slowly and painfully.

"Alright. As much as our traps did only so much for us, It looks like we've managed to weaken it, even if a little." Adam noted, seeing the visible damage on the Grimm, even if it was minor, especially ripping the eyelid off. "But it seems it has more than enough fight in it to still be lethal if we're aren't careful. So stay on your toes and give it everything you got when it makes its move."

The other three nodded as they knew they were just getting started and they are gonna make every bit of it count if they are gonna win this. The Cyclops still stayed just as still as they did and waited for them to make one mistake and it will be coming for them again.

"Keep in mind we also have Plan B as our backup. We have to weaken it just enough and then we can use it." The masked faunus said as he tightened his grip on the swords and momentarily directed his eyes towards the tower. When they were gathering supplies and resources for their traps, they ended up stumbling across this place and decided to add that as their Plan B rather quickly since they found something useful that will help them.

"In layman terms; we fight and beat it up just enough until it's just right to serve Plan B that we have cooked up just in case. That sure sounds good to me." Rocky hummed as he quickly reloaded his revolvers.

"Sounds good to us." Both Gale and Nigel said simultaneously, as Gale inserted more Wind Dust and pumped his fists, and Nigel just inserted some Dust vials in his bladerangs and casually twirling them. They continue to hold their ground and glare at their enemy who didn't move either, with equal intensity and defiance against each other that the tension could be cut with a simple knife. A force born from the lands of nature and society, against a force that was born from the depths of the darkness that comes to kill all sentient life….. it feels really strange to them…. very strange and very mysterious, that you could say it was almost unnatural and defying the laws of order. How everything that could've been a normal day for them being on a simple task to become students have led them to where they are now standing, amongst the fighting and bonding that seems to be what they live for.

Those thoughts made them think back where they've been that led them here.

Two hours ago.

The ground where they occupied as their "layout" for planning was covered in all kinds of texts, arrows, shapes, drawings, and even some math based equations that shows everything that is needed to fully prepare making their traps. There were also many random doodles that were lots of random shapes and even one that looked like a carnival with balloons, fireworks, clowns, carnival tents, and a ferris wheel…. seems Rocky was doing some doodles while he was helping their plan.

"Alright guys… this is what we'll do with our plan." Adam declared as he stabs the stick into the eye of the stick figure that is the Cyclops they plan to fight and defeat. "This is gonna be our best shot beating that Grimm, one way or another." He finished as he adjusted his mask. He's gonna be using Wilt a bit to cut down some of the trees so they can use them as part of their traps.

"Sounds good to me." Gale agreed as he was loosening his shoulders and cracking his knuckles, feeling ready they got some work to do and he will be happy using his superhuman strength to build the traps. All that training, from his grandfather, carrying all kinds of heavy objects including trees, boulders, and weights, really paid off for him. "Time to put these muscles to good use…. outside kicking Grimm ass, that is."

"It may seem what we're doing may be suicide… which isn't far off as a fact based on the Grimm we're dealing with so to speak." Nigel pointed out as he tipped his hat and leaned against a tree, being chill. His task will be finding lots of bungee vines and tying them together for many uses.

"Well, to be fair; a huntsman's gotta do what a huntsman's gotta do." Rocky said to Nigel as he finished doodling a stick figure that looks like a clown on a unicycle and juggling bowling pins that were on fire. The other three didn't mind but they can't help but admit that's a bit amusing to see all those silly drawings close to their plan… makes them feel more at ease despite how imperative things are right now. Anyways, he's gonna do some scouting for a bit while his buddies get the supplies then he'll help put it together and even let them know if he finds anything else useful in the forest.

"Still. Whoever thought it would all come to this, despite what we already have what we need." Nigel pointed out while also adjusting his own hat. "Not that I'm saying it's a waste when doing the right thing. It just seems to be us, of all people."

"You got that right." Gale agreed. "As much as I like getting an A+ for our effort getting the relic, I think slaying a Cyclops will surely give us some extra credit."

"Grades or no grades, we're doing what is right and we're not gonna let all those that have died in the hands of that abomination be left in vain." Adam said to Gale who understood and didn't doubt what Adam said is a fact.

"Yep. I don't know how this will go, you guys, but I can assume this could go two ways." Rocky said to his teammates with concern. "Either we slay this Grimm, pass our test, become students, and continue our adventure in this little story we live in, for the next chapter …..or we just die and that'll be the end of us and our story we exist in. The End."

Already getting used to Rocky, they pretty much sum up as they either live to see another day or die and their fate will be like everyone else before them… and they are all hoping it's the former for them.

"Then I have no intention of getting us killed and left to rot out here either. We're gonna fight and make it through." Adam started with a determined frown on his face, even behind his mask, they can tell his eyes are filled with the desire to get this through and they will do it with the will and strength of their commitment to finish this mission they make it out to be.

"Oh that's one thing we all cannot doubt on." Nigel said with a smirk. "As much as I don't believe in luck or fate tied to destiny, I sure as hell never doubt in the will to never surrender and never giving up until we win."

"Sure sounds like we're getting into the spirit." Rocky said with confidence to his buddies.

"Hell yeah." Adam, Gale and Nigel agreed at once as all four boys fist bumped each other. Then everyone just awkwardly stood in silence as they all stared at each other… finally beginning to realize what they've all been through, what they are dealing with, and the potential risks they are gonna do that may get them killed.

"You know. For what we've all been through since the start…. I feel like I want to have us gather together and discuss something before we get to work on our trap." Adam announced which made the four come closer together as the other three stared at their unofficial leader of the team.

"Now before we get to work and build our traps, I just felt like it would be appropriate to at least share something to each other about how we feel about all of this." Adam said as they all listened. "Anything you guys want to say personally before we get started?"

This came out as a bit of surprise to the others, even Nigel. As much as Adam can be straightforward with things, there are times where he wants to hear things from other people so he can understand them far better, just like what he did with Gale during their seemingly last moments before Rocky and Nigel saved them…. and also how he bonded with Blake when he first met her after she learned more about him.

He thinks it's a good idea to at least tell their last personal how they feel for this team before they enter the fight that can only be decided by their decisions and quick thinking through it all. That's one of the things he learned from his master is the acts through bonding with your team.

"You know… that actually ain't such a bad idea." Rocky says since having get togethers at times like this are really important, especially if you may or may not die against a threat that wants to kill you.

"If that's the case, I'll obliged. But just to let you guys know, I ain't gonna share too much about myself since we're not fully established as an official team and it's gonna take some time to fully trust each other…. yet."

"That makes sense." Adam agreed. "Considering we all have our own lives, it's obvious some of us may have personal secrets we don't want to share…. not yet, at least." He thought, thinking about his own secret he has hidden all the time from everyone.

"Guess I'll go first then." Gale said as he shared what he thought. "As much as I'm as confident as you guys at surviving this, if we do in fact die in the middle of this forest and never get back to Beacon... I just want to say you guys are really cool and I'm actually really happy knowing and fighting with you."

He went silent for a second until he continued. "Honesty, I've never hung out with people like you guys and it still surprises me. If we do survive this, I want to see the end of our mission to finish the academy, and become students, and take our teamwork to the next level… it's what Grandpa wanted the best for me before..."

Based on his tone about the mention of his grandpa and he's implying left them silent and felt sorry for him losing a family member, one implied that he must've been very close to. It makes them wonder… does he even have a family… or was his grandfather was all that was left until it's just him now? Rocky and Adam can relate to that, to an extent.

"There's also one more thing I need to mention is my semblance." He said which caught their attention. "I usually don't use it around people often for personal reasons…. but can you trust me to not be afraid if I do use it?... it's a bit complicated if I do try to explain it would you not freak out if I have to use it as an emergency.

They all nodded in agreement, surprisingly in an instant no less. They got to know Gale a little better during their discussion so they take his word for it..

"Lastly…..I just want to tell you guys… I've been having fun fighting with all of you." Gale smiled. "I really want this team to last a long time if we win this."

"Well, then let's make that happen, partner." Adam smiled back which made Gale smile a bit more. "

"Guess it's my turn now." Rocky said as he cleared his throat and pulled something out of his pocket which turns out to be the torn remains of his will and testament. He instantly gets out scotch tape and some glue, as he cartoonishly puts it all back together. Everyone raised their eyebrows but Nigel instantly knew what Rocky was doing as he recognized that piece of paper he previously destroyed and now repaired it..

"Alright. I don't have much to say but I do personally want all of you guys to know this is my will and testament." He announced to his teammates.

"Since we're up against a threat that we may or may not survive against, I wanted to think ahead and let you know I have written it all down… as much as I highly hope we can get through this, just in case…. Nigel." He turned his attention to his partner who didn't make a reaction. "If I ever die but you all live…. I want you, of all people, to read my testament and maybe even make them become a reality." He asked casually like everything was normal. "Will you all do that for me?"

Nigel stood there and stared at his partner with an expression that reads "are we really doing this?" but decided to just go with it because why not.

"Sure… I'll read it…..IF you drop dead first and I'm still breathing." The tattooed faunus answered with a smirk on his face.

"...Fair enough." Rocky admitted to the logic of his promise.

"But what if we all die and none of us, let alone Nigel, get to read it?" Gale asked a rather good question.

Rocky pulled out the same container that he stored the paper last time and placed his will/testament in it. "I have a back up plan, in case that happens." He explained as he rolled up the paper and put it in the container like putting a treasure map in a whisky bottle. "If we all do meet our demise, someone else who finds this off of my corpse or anything that remains of me, will read and fulfill the needs of what it says... hopefully"

After putting the bottle away, Rocky looked back at everyone. "I'm done now. That's two out of four."

"Guess it's my turn to share before we get down to business." Nigel said as if it's no big deal but the serious look in his eyes tells them it's gonna be. "Like you guys having your reasons being here. I too, surely, have my own but it's rather personal one for me and me alone."

The three that are hearing this can tell in his tone that he's not making a joke out of it and he's taking it rather personally indeed. "I've traveled and fought far and wide, mostly by myself, rarely getting help from anyone since the places I've been too were mostly out for themselves." He said sternly which everyone was listening with interest and shock where he is going with this. "

"My mission and long term goals have pushed me forward that they eventually led me here; an academy I shall attend for four years with you three as my teammates, until we finally graduate."

"Once I become an officially skilled huntsman, it will give me many opportunities and benefits I'll gladly have to earn a lot more than I ever could before."

"So you're doing what's right and helping people?" Gale said, guessing that is Nigel's reason.

"Well, that's actually the secondary part for what I'm really doing, but yes." Nigel corrected but Gale wasn't completely wrong either. "When the times really call for it, I will do what is right and I'm more than happy to help the people, as huntsmen and huntresses, when they need us most. My big and primary reason for being a huntsman is for the money. That's all I'm gonna say about that."

"Wow…. that's a specific reason behind your motivation." Rocky said out loud. "Not that I'm not impressed or anything but it's good to hear you have a reason but also willing to do the right thing as well… so that's great."

Yeah. It's actually pretty cool. Perhaps you got good reasons using the money." Gale said happily.

"Money or not, we're happy to have you on our side and as an honorable member." Adam finished warmly to Nigel.

"Heh. Thanks mates." Nigel thanked with a smirk on his face. "It's a pleasure fighting and kicking Grimm ass alongside you guys so that's a bonus for all of us. I'm sticking with you all until the end."

"So what about you, Adam?" Gale asked his partner. "Anything you wanna share before we get going?"

Adam didn't say a word and stood in silence, making it a bit tricky for Rocky and Gale to figure out what he's thinking or even expressing due to his mask hiding his eyes. They do wonder why he wears that rather decorative looking mask but they know better than to ask since that likely wouldn't be polite since he's been wearing it the whole time. Nigel has an easier time reading his emotions, he can't figure out even the smallest hints what he might be thinking about since he's so calm and collected at that.

That's what annoys Nigel that he has one flaw with his semblance which is he has trouble reading people, when they are very very calm and collected, being able to control their emotions. Still, he was able to sense small bits of hesitation, for a split second, which could mean he's trying to think, implying he has some things he doesn't want to share about either himself or something else.

"As leader of this team, I shall do the honors. Though, I do find it a bit ironic that I'm going last." Adam dryly chuckled but sighed. "For most of my young life, I've tried and done a lot of things for the better of the faunus and for humanity too… and I've made a lot of mistakes that I'm still trying to fix….."

That made Gale and Rocky raise an eyebrow of what he meant by that. Nigel then sensed the feeling of regret and bits of sadness in his emotions but he also sensed righteousness and justice.

"That's why me and another close friend of mine have come here to make the corrections for the wrong we have done."

For a second, the moment he mentioned that, both Gale and Rocky thought of that golden eyed, black haired, girl with the black bow whom they saw he hanged out with last night, reading books together like a pair of bookworms. Nigel too had a hint but it took him a bit longer to figure out since he barely saw her for once.

"Hold on." Rocky interrupted. "Are you referring to that girl with the black bow? The one that you were reading with? She's also with you on this?" He asked in curiosity, remembering him seeing Adam sitting next to that girl and reading with her.

"Yes." Adam confirmed that sounds like he's not making a big deal out of it. "What me and Gale talked about, before you and Nigel rescued us, that's her and that's all I'm gonna say"

"Oooooh." Rocky nodded, sounding like he realized and understood… while giving out a smug grin. "I see. Seems like you two lovebirds were just having some good reading time together before we begin the test~" The bird faunus said coily while rubbing a hif finger across his chin and raising his eyebrow.

Unlike last time, though, when he blushed a bit about the mention of Blake since Gale genuinely teased him about it, Adam was clearly not amused one bit by Rocky's smug way of teasing him. In fact, despite the mask hiding his eyes, Rocky could somewhat tell Adam is not only unamused… but he's glaring at him too.

And yet, Nigel sensed a slight amount of embarrassment Adam was hiding. As much as the bull faunus won't visibly admit it, it's true he does enjoy hanging out with Blake… but calling him and Blake "Lovebirds" is definitely not true. Though Nigel had a sense of suspicion about the details of the girl for a different reason….

"Heh… heh… heh… shutting up now." Rocky meekly said, clearly sounded intimidated.

"As I was saying." Adam continued without missing a beat. "We have come here for a reason and we're doing what we can for a better Remnant." He finished. "And that's the end of our discussion sharing what we wanted to share."

"Since we're now done with sharing what we all feel, we all know what we have to do now." The masked faunus said as he extended his arm out with his palm facing down.

"So who's ready to slay a Cyclops, team?" He asked with a smirk. "It's do or die!"

The other three smirked in response, Rocky's being a tad goofy than he intended it to be. They extended their arms and stacked their hands on top of each other.

"Let's do this!" They all shouted as they raised their hands in the air. And so they began the next step by gathering and building.

Present

Still in their stances, they know they now have to fight the Cyclops with every piece of fiber flowing through their bodies.

Everyone that was watching this eventually unfold, were holding their breaths and standing stiff, waiting to see what will happen when one side or other moves an inch that will set off the ground quaking wake of their final battle.

But what nobody could see, except those that have the ability to see aura… that their auras were flaring like a roaring inferno….. than manifesting and taking shape… into the respective animals they represent.

Adam's was a blue bull that snorted and scraped the ground with its hoof, Nigel's was a violet kangaroo that was in a boxer's stance and jabbing it's forelimbs forward, Gale's was an orange elephant that curled its trunk, flapping its ears, and lets out a trumpeting bellow, and Rocky's was a green roadrunner but had a bit of an eagle theme to the mix, giving a silent but deadly glare. All of their eyes were glowing brightly of their respective colors.

Whenever or not it was an illusion, the Cyclops doesn't back down as it steps forward and lets out a very loud roar that shook the ground and was heard miles upon miles around.

"Here it comes…" Adam calmly said to his friends as the fight is now imminent. The giant Grimm moves again and begins to slowly pick up speed and sprints towards them like a runaway train.

With essentially everyone watching and all stakes at an all time high, only one thought they all hadmin common.

Let them fight.

The giant Grimm raised both its club and tree high in the air and brought them down like two sledgehammers. The four reacted in accordance, as they all leaped in different directions to avoid the direct impact. This time, they knew what the Cyclops was capable of so they managed to leap further back.

KABOOOOOM!

With the combined force behind stone and wood the Cyclops wields, it created an even bigger shockwave and a deeper crater than the last one back in the gorge. More stone and dirt was overturned and flung into the air while a massive dust cloud enveloped the area. This time, they all braced the shockwave, even Adam drawing Wilt and the other sword, absorbing some of the kinetic energy made by the shockwave to fuel his semblance. The Cyclops doesn't let up as it dragged its stone club across the ground and swung it upwards which upturned more dirt and stone which sent flying at Gale and Rocky.

"INCOMING!" Rocky shouts as he cartwheels and backflips to avoid some of the debris. He then started contorting and stretching to absurd levels to avoid more that he even suddenly placed his hands under his thighs and "hoisted" himself up that his legs stretched and elongated to the point the debris whizzed through the gap where he was standing. Gale was forced to punch and blast Wind Dust at a few to pieces and then had to block his arms and endure taking the rest. Since he's much tougher in his partial transformed state, he hardly lost much aura.

That left it open for Nigel and Adam to leap from behind the Cyclops and attack by rapidly landing many strikes with their bladerangs and swords respectively, respectively, at rapid speed. Compared to the front of itself, the back of the Grimm had far less armor so Nigel and Adam went all out slashing and cutting the back, cutting the thick skin and causing more cuts and lacerations to appear but not enough to cause major damage. The Cyclops instantly felt that and countered by instantly turning around with it's tree club stretched out, intending to swat at them.

Still in midair, the two anticipated that and were ready, Adam's hair and blue markings glowed a bit while Nigel's activated his semblance and his eyes glowed a little as well. Just as the giant tree was about to hit them with the force of a wrecking ball, the two faunus suddenly spun like two twisters at such blinding speeds they were nothing but blurs of whirling blades as they made contact with the tree.

SHING SHING SHING SHING SHING!

At that split second that all happened, Adam and Nigel seemed unharmed as the tree went past them. It went silent for a few seconds, as they remained motionless in midair as it time stopped. Then gravity took hold and the two were forced back to the ground.

As they gracefully landed back to the ground, at that moment they did, the entire tree's leaves all came off like it was shaved. A second after, the entire tree itself, down to the core, was spliced and diced to splinters. All was left was a mere stump that the Grimm had left in its hand. Momentarily dumbfounded, the Grimm angrily threw the stump at Adam who casually swiped Wilt vertically upwards and chopped it in half like cutting a knife through butter. The two remains crashed into a boulder and a random ruined statue respectively which crumbled to rubble.

"Is that the best you got?" Adam mocked the Grimm with a raised eyebrow under his mask. He usually doesn't bother mocking his enemies, let alone Grimm, but since this is personal with the Cyclops and the atrocities it has committed, he will make this an exception.

Whenever it was a reaction to the remark or just wanting to crush him, the Grimm roars and sends its fist downwards like a hammer but an Electric Dust laced bullet shot into the Grimm's arm which caused a violent surge of electricity which caused it to miss Adam and hit the ground several feet away from him. The Dust did no damage, like before, but it was enough to partially paralyze it and lose control of its trajectory.

"Remember me?!" Rocky shouts as he now starts running in circles around the Grimm, constantly shooting all kinds of combinations of Dust laced bullets, while maintaining a fast speed that his legs are moving so fast that they look like a figure eight. Thanks to his small size and crazy speed, the Grimm could barely keep track where he's going and couldn't even come close to smacking him like the gnat that he is to it. It kept missing that it only further agitated it, as it kept getting pelted with more and more Dust bullets that one even almost hit it right in its exposed eye which Rocky was mostly aiming for. Nigel suddenly sprinted at the Grimm and leaped up onto its back yet again. The Cyclops stopped its focus on Rocky as it felt something that's really familiar latching onto it's back….

Nigel quickly climbs up the back and positions himself onto the face of the Cyclops and pulls out a familiar bladerang with a chainsaw feature to it and raises it above his head…. aiming at the eye. Not falling for the same trick twice, the Cyclops suddenly whipped its head forwards which caused Nigel to lose balance and fall off the Grimm's face. Being left open, the one eyed monster grabbed Nigel in it's free hand with only his head and shoulders visible…. and began to squeeze….. hard.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Nigel screamed in agony as he felt himself getting crushed by the pressure of the Grimm's grip strength and his aura started to flicker and flash many times, struggling to keep him from being crushed like a tin can. Anyone that was watching this, some cringed out of reflex seeing how painful that looked while others covered their mouths with their hands out of shock and worry for Nigel's life at stake. Even the adults could feel Nigel's pain, feeling worried all of his insides are gonna get completely crushed and mushed.

"Nigel!" The other three boys yelled in shock and worry for their teammate being in danger.

"Get your beefy and stinky hand off of my partner!" Rocky screeches as he fires even more dust laced bullets that some resulted in large explosions of varied elements which caused the Cyclops to growl and face in Rocky's direction, using its club to block the bullets and to protect its eye. Gale joined in by shooting more wind projectiles from the rear which slammed into its back. Lastly, Adam started slashing its legs, even going for the heels and achilles tendons.

The attacks that came in all directions caused the Cyclops to slightly loosen its grip on Nigel who took the opportunity to push back so that he made enough room to reposition himself to push with his back and legs to force the hand open just enough to crawl out of the Cyclops hand and got some payback by doing a wicked move by using his tail to spring upward and sent out both of his legs which kicked the Cyclops right in the chin and sent its head snapping upwards from the blow.

"Blamo!" Rocky shouts seeing how powerful that looked.

With that moment of vulnerability, Gale sprinted and leaped upwards like a human rocket and went even faster, activating the jet turbines on Tempest and Gust. He landed several dozens of punches and kicks across the face and then ended the combo with a massive, jet enhanced, punch right in the cheek that a tooth broke off and fell out of its mouth. As it looked like Gale did serious damage, the eye suddenly darted its direction towards him so that he could see its burning pupil staring into his soul. Gale felt a tinge of dread creeping up his spine as the Cyclops suddenly swiveled its head and delivered a nasty oversized headbutt that sent Gale hurtling into the ground which kicked up dust but the Grimm didn't stop there as it kicked him like a softball which sent him tumbling across the ground until he slammed into a ruined pillar which cracked and crumbled.

"Gale!" Adam shouts in worry that he runs towards Gale but orangette manages to get back up, seemingly looking fine. Though, his aura momentarily flickered in response.

"Gale, are you alright?" Adam said to his partner, wondering if he's hurt but Gale seemed fine.

"I'm good. I've been through a lot more." Gale said as he cracked his neck and glared at the Cyclops.

"This isn't doing us any favors… guess it's time we should use Plan B now." Adam said how obvious things are going now.

"Oh I'm with you on that." Gale agreed as he eyed the top of that stone tower. "Time to introduce our secret surprise we have instore for it." He runs towards it with Adam in tow. Nigel and Rocky noticed in the corner of their eyes

"Seems we're gonna be using Plan B now." Nigel thought. "Good. We barely did anything to this guy but it should be enough to leave it still to get a good shot."

"Oh boy oh boy!" Rocky thought in excitement. "This is gonna be so rad!"

The marsupial and bird faunus then had to do their best to keep the Grimm's attention on them as they doubled their effort of attacking the Cyclops which kept its attention on them. Rocky shot more Fire Bullets while Nigel threw his bladerangs with Electric dust which shoots out lightning bolts as they pass the Cyclops and return to Nigel's hand. Rinse and repeat.

Adam and Gale entered through the gaping doorway of the tower and quickly climbed up the spiral staircase until they reached a worn down wooden ladder that leads to the top through a trapdoor. Once they reached the top, it's nothing but littered with all kinds of worn down and useless equipment that was used in ancient times and even a few random rusted weapons were among them. The one thing that stood out the most and was perfectly well placed against the stone tiles that they kept was a long and thick iron spike that was longer than they are tall, with barbs laced across the sharp end of it.

Gale easily picked it up in both of his hands, despite its weight. It felt very strong and sturdy to hold, despite being all rusty and worn down by the ages of time that didn't do it any favors. It's still in good enough shape to be used as a weapon that can fatally stab anything in the right place and this is what Plan B really is going to be.

No words were needed to be said as they knew how this would go down. Adam loads an unusual looking Dust bullet cartridge that was reddish-orange and had a symbol that looks something like a lens flare. He inserts it into Blush and points it to the sky and shoots which sends a bright little light that rockets high in the air. Seconds later, it explodes which brightens even further like a flare for a several seconds until it goes dim. Nigel and Rocky saw and got the signal. The two changed strategies by backing away from the Grimm but continued to harass it with bullets and Dust from their weapons which made it come to them and towards the tower.

Soon, the Cyclops was near the tower that Nigel and Rocky were even almost backed up against it but they weren't worried as they now have it where they want it to be.

Both Gale and Adam looked at each other and nodded, knowing what they gotta do, but not before giving each other one last fistbump for the day, if they do survive this. Without saying a word, Adam let gravity take a hold of him as he tipped forward and fell but planted his feet on the walls of the tower and ran down it. Gale stays behind for the moment but he's more than ready to jump when it's just right.

As Adam sprinted down the tower faster than gravity could take him, he drew both swords and leapt down the tower at a sharp, downward, angle towards the Grimm with his two swords pointing forward, ready to strike. But the Cyclops somehow noticed him coming and raised its hand and ended up getting its palm impaled by both of the swords but Gale used the momentum to swing upwards and land on top the Grimm's skull like head. He then stabbed the borrowed sword through the top that it impaled through the hard armor. It didn't pierce far enough to kill it but it did go deep enough that Adam can use his swords to anchor himself in place.

The Cyclops roared yet again and tried to shake him off and even tried to squish him with its free hand but Adam tapped into his semblance, even more so than before, and swung Wilt out and actually managed to leave a nasty cut and also forced its hand back which made the Grimm roar in pain.

"Hold it in place!" Adam yelled.

On cue, Rocky stood to the Cyclop's left side Nigel at its right. Both held their respective weapons which glowed bright blue… preparing a powerful move. Going full charge and using all the Ice Dust he inserted in all the slots of his revolvers at once, Rocky shoots two large beams of ice which converge into one and hits the Grimm's left leg. With his weapons glowing blue brightly, Nigel throws his bladerangs which explode a massive amount of ice across the entire right leg of the Cyclops upon impact.

The Cyclops was momentarily confused as it noticed both of its legs were frozen in place but then it suddenly felt something wrapped around its wrists because Nigel and Rocky are now using bungee vines that they are using to hold its arms down as they tug and pull with all their might. Nigel seems to be doing better while Rocky was barely doing his best to keep the arm down. The Cyclops tried to resist but Adam stabbed Wilt into its skull. Holding on tight to both of the swords, he then yanks back forcefully which forces the Cyclops to bend its neck back so that it's facing up towards the sky where the sun was just at its peak.

All of this was done in mere seconds, denying the Grimm any chance to counter or do anything

"NOW, GALE!" All three shouted at once.

In response, with a scream of a mighty warrior, Gale Hathi takes a mighty leap and dives down with the spike in hand and has the pointed end. The Grimm noticed that and its pupil shrunk to a near pinpoint to show what it realizes that it's seeing something that's gonna make it no longer be able to see.

Out of desperation, it tried to resist but the efforts of Adam, Nigel, and Rocky holding it down, with its legs frozen, wasn't enough to make it escape in time. Despite its resistance and effort, the Cyclops could do nothing as it watched Gale come down with that spike….

SHRRK!

… which impaled straight into its one eye…. going really deep no less….

Everything went deafly silent.

Gale and Adam leapt off the Cyclops while Nigel and Rocky let go of the vines, as all four retreated and regrouped at a safe distance, hoping that did the trick and killed the Grimm. The Cyclops stood as motionless as a statue, not even uttering a sound from its gaping maw. Not even a twitch. Its fingers loosened enough for its club to fall out of its hand and crashed into the ground with a loud thud.

Everyone that witnessed it all were awestruck and left in utter silence how insane a fight like this was between the four souls and wretched demon. Velvet and Coco were wide eyed and struck with complete shock and awe that Coco even lowered her shades to get a better look at the spectacle. Even Fox was dead silent, nothing to even remark about, when the stoic and calm Yatsu briefly told him what happened, who is barely trying to comprehend what he's seeing.

Nevins couldn't fathom to say a word just how groundbreaking perfect their teamwork was. Glynda couldn't say a word, as she was watching the whole thing completely focused that she doesn't even bother wanting to talk to Ozpin or even answer any question he gives out if he wanted to know. She's just too focused at wanting to see the outcome… seeing the monster that forever took someone from her slaughtered and slain… by those four boys that are, in her eyes and belief, the physical manifestation of her retribution and vengeance for Dorothea…. and it looks like it came true that she was holding back tears of joy.

In all of his years of seeing the vast potential in many young students striving to be the very best and honorable huntsmen for humanity and the faunus, Ozpin would never have seen these four be so cooperative and effective with their teamwork putting their well laid out plans to such good use. If they do survive this… he really wants to have a word with them.

Adam and his teammates kept their distance and watched the Cyclops stand there motionless. They don't if it's dead or on the verge of dying already, since they know a Grimm is definitely dead when it disintegrates.

Even after half a minute… it's not disintegrating which begins to be a concern. Despite the sheer agonizing sting of having a human sized iron spike in its eye, it didn't move a muscle and was in some kind of petrified state… because it was trying to process what just happened to itself and why is it still here if it should be dead…. something stirs in its dark and primal mindset. For a very long time... It remembered something…. the day it came into this world from the pits of the darkness that have birthed it.

Centuries ago.

There was nothing but darkness and silence. An endless sea of vileness that descends endlessly with no end. Something stirs within the black malice and gains consciousness, becoming aware. At first, despite wondering what's going on and where it is, it felt the urge and instincts to surface which it did.

Above the oozing black sludge, an arm emerged from the surface and gripped onto solid ground. The ooze dripped off which revealed dark skin and white bone armor with red marking. Eventually, attached to the arm is a massive body of muscle and bone, as it hauls itself onto land, while the black ooze drips and flows off its entire frame. It resembles some kind of humanoid but no doubt is it a Grimm. Soon, after taking in its first breath of air, it slowly opened its single eye socket in the center of its head to reveal a red burning eye.

The Cyclops, while not as massive, as muscular, or as heavily armored as it will be in a few hundred years, it was still quite a large and menacing looking Grimm that dwarfs most others.

Once it gained its bearings, it started looking around where it stood; Somewhere in the middle of a barren wasteland. Rocky terrain with many massive purple crystal-like structures sprouting across the landscape. The sky was a hellish-dark red and the shattered moon seen in the sky. There were no plants or animal life anywhere to be found.

If any sane mortal were here, it would truly be a place of nightmares.

The hulking Grimm looked around, as it noticed other types of its brethren crawling out from where it just came from; most of them were common such as Beowulfs but plenty of other kinds, from the smallest Imp to the largest Goliath, have also risen from the dark pools.

It also sees a group of humanoid Grimm that were moaning and groaning like zombies, lethargically coming out of the dark pools… and were, oddly, moving at a slow pace.

Then there was a strange raspy noise nearby that the Cyclops saw something else emerging from the same black pools it also came from. It looked like an impish, humanoid, creature, with small horns and long arms each tipped with two long, boney, fingers. It barely even has a visible mouth that's almost stitched entirely shut by the webbing of its own skin. What's odd for it, as it was emerging out of the pools, from the waste down, weren't a pair of legs, but another part of itself that resembled a partially skeletal equine which is the size of an average horse, with clawed front feet, and hooved back feet.

The strange Grimm fully emerged and stood next to the Cyclops which stared at it in silence.

The humanoid part of the Grimm was constantly wheezing and rasping, while randomly twitching its head. The sounds of snapping and cracking were heard as it turned its gaze towards its larger counterpart, giving a rather soulless stare at the one eyed behemoth which starred back with its gazing eye. Almost as if they are peculiar with each other's appearance and their purpose of being here.

Several seconds of silence have passed, as the strange Grimm rasped with indifference, as it's equine half snorted and started walking off to wherever it sensed any negative emotions. Many other Grimm were already doing the same. Even the ones that can fly took off and flew over the terrain and out into the horizon while the ones that can only swim took the pool channels that lead out to sea.

Seeing what the others were doing, the Cyclops followed their example as it too lumbered forward, already starting to feel the instincts and urge to slay any human and faunus in sight. It doesn't bother questioning it, despite being aware of it

Before it left the wasteland, it stopped when it sensed a heavy and powerful presence that felt very similar to the source that brought it here….. but more concentrated and focused. It looked up towards a nearby mountain of rock formations covered with more dark crystals.. and there stood something…. Someone, at the top.

Looking down upon their creations… a silhouette that resembles a human with a feminine build, covered in a dark robe like dress with red symbols similar to the Grimm themselves. Even covered by the darkness and shadows, what could be seen from the being were a pair black and red eyes… and a wicked smile.

The one eyed Grimm didn't know nor understand what is happening or why the being is there …. but all it knew was the buzzing feeling it sensed to its core that it needs to do what it's made to do. So it goes out across the world of Remnant and spreads its destruction.

Years, decades, even centuries, have passed. The Cyclops roamed the continent of Sanus, constantly bringing its wake of destruction and terror wherever it went, slaughtering countless people and faunus alike, even many of those that tried to fight back fell victim to its hunger for death.

As it kept going and fighting, it evolved; bigger, stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and more adaptable. Even when the humans and faunus continued to advance themselves to further combat the Grimm, the Cyclops was able to keep up with them. It even became intelligent enough to stay away from major kingdoms and crafted a weapon of its own to wield, something that's rare for even a humanoid Grimm to accomplish. Some even say it's an example of the next step in Grimm evolution.

And during that single moment, …. It finally realized something it never had at first; A hidden subconscious. A burning desire. To impress it's creator by further raising its kill count on the populace of Remnant, including the huntsmen that hunt it and its brethren…. and it will continue to do so… only with a bigger reason behind it all….

It isn't done with them yet….

Back in reality, the four boys continue to watch, an obvious concern the Cyclops hasn't disintegrated and is still standing there. Must be that larger Grimm sometimes takes a bit longer to fully dissipate to ash but that's still not really helping since it's been a little while.

"Is it dead or is it just playing possum with us?" Rocky asked in a whisper, sounding worried that it might not be over yet.

That's when they heard a dreadfully familiar humming sound again. They noticed the eye was glowing brightly again… and the iron spike still lodged in its eye started to steam and glow dark red.

It's when the four realize what they are gonna be going through. They all had sweat drops rolling down the back of their heads as they brace for what's to come….

"Apparently not…." Nigel responded.

"Uhhhhh…. That doesn't look good." Gale muttered with dread in his eyes.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

As if coming back to life, the Cyclops has gone completely berserk and bellows skywards to the heavens…. firing a large beam of red, destructive energy out of its entire eye that the iron spike got even brighter that it started to slightly bend and even melt.

The roar echoed across the entire forest that almost every square inch of it felt the rumble of its warcry. So powerful that not only did most of the nearby surrounding trees across most of the forest to quiver and shake. The closest trees were being bent back and threatened to have their branches broken off. But even that paled in comparison to its gigantic beam of pure raw energy beams its way up into the sky, even blowing a small but noticeable hole through an unfortunate cloud.

Everyone in Beacon witnessed the footage seeing the Cyclops suddenly doing that was so shockingly unbelievable that it's incomprehensible to even believe it with their own eyes or for their brains to process. The adult staff weren't doing any better as most of them too were shocked out of their wits. Nevins had his mouth agape and looked spooked out of his mind that he looked to be on the verge of passing out from shock.

Ozpin and Glynda can easily see that. Not just on their tablets… but also by looking out into the distance of the forest that they see a small little red line beaming into the sky. Glynda felt herself feeling that familiar dread creeping up on her again but she doesn't budge and takes a deep breath, knowing what needs to be done. Ozpin didn't say a word… he had his eyes narrowing, almost like he looked upset….

Meanwhile

"YAAAAAAAAAA!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, as she was running up the face of the cliff, with the aid of Weiss' glyphs, dragging up the gigantic Nevermore by the neck, with her Scythe… until she reached the top and decapitated it with one swing. And that was after the aid of Blake and Yang who helped Weiss launch Ruby at the giant demonic bird.

Apparently, Ruby, her sister Yang, and many of her new friends, have been having a fight for their lives as they were forced to face a Nevermore and a Deathstalker in another place in the forest which is an abandoned temple. Just a minute ago, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, with Jaune surprisingly showing good leadership, already took care of the Deathstalker, with quick thinking and effective teamwork.

They managed to defeat the Deathstalker with their teamwork which included cutting off its own stinger and driving further through its head which finished it off. Now they got to watch Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang do their own teamwork to finish off the Nevermore.

"Wow…." Jaune whispered in awe towards Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang who took out that Nevermore in such an awesome fashion. Such coordinated and effective teamwork. When he looks back on how he, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren managed to beat that Deathstalker, mostly thanks to his words of advice that helped them use their skills.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang gathered close and looked up at Ruby, and Yang couldn't help but warmly smile at her little sister who has shown her worth she's definitely gonna be attending this academy with her.

"Well... that was a thing." Yang uttered, ending the silence.

Ruby stared proudly at the edge of the cliff, feeling highly proud of herself and her teammates, including Yang, they have accomplished; They've defeated and slew those two powerful Grimm and have finally collected the relics. No they should get-

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ending the silence came an unholy, ear splitting, roar that paralyzed them with a chilling sense of dread… as a red beam of raw energy blasted into the sky.

Thanks to Ruby being on top of the cliff, she could easily see the beam in the distance and can even tell the location it's coming from.

"What the heck is that?!" Jaune shrieked, being caught off guard by the loud roar and the giant laser. He didn't see that coming.

"I have no idea." Ren replied, slowly getting up on his feet after he collapsed from exhaustion and losing most of his aura right after defeating the Deathstalker. Even feeling tired, that roar and laser got him worked up and feeling a bit spooked. "And something tells me could be a Grimm… despite that we're seeing what looks like some kind of laser beam shooting up into the sky."

"Indeed." Pyrrha agreed, feeling a bit on edge imagining a Grimm shooting an energy beam of destruction. "Never have I seen one capable of doing something like that, in my life." The redhead said in concern. Even after a tough battle with odds against her, she's still more than ready to continue fighting if they have to. That's what she trained for and this is why she and everyone else is here.

As for Nora… she was madly grinning like she's excited to see what is making such an awesome laser beam. Though she's aware it's dangerous and she does worry for the safety of others, especially Ren, she still enjoys the thrill of it just as much because she loves smashing Grimm. "Whatever it is, whatever it can do, I want to smash its face in like a watermelon!" She jeered in excitement, much to Ren's slight displeasure but can more than tolerate it.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang, were also seeing it and we're just as shocked and confused as the others. Blake herself was especially surprised as she recognized that roar she heard earlier a little while ago and now the enemy seems to show a bit of its own power that reminds her of that spider mech back on that train she, Adam, and Vlad used to rob.

Soon, the laser stopped but the echo of the roar still went on for a bit until it went silent as well.

Well… guess that also was a thing too." Yang deadpanned, feeling how that just outdid the spectacle of their execution on the Nevermore.

"That's it?" Weiss said in slight irritation at Yang sounding so underwhelmed in her reaction. "That was a laser blasting off beyond the clouds and you say that's a thing?!"

Yang rolled her eyes at how uptight and haughty her teammate is being "Well, excuuuuuuse me, Frost Princess." she sarcastically snarked at the heiress of the SDC. "Not like you have a better way of reacting to that."

Weiss huffed, not feeling the need to make a comeback at Yang. Blake didn't say a word as she kept her eyes towards the horizon where the laser was at, her eyes under her bow kept twitching at the sounds of distant roaring… feeling her gut telling her something...

"Adam?"

Yang and Weiss were mildly arguing at each, with Yang more like teasing the heiress who continues being all stuffy and arrogant. However, all the silence ended when Ruby Rose came down high from the cliff and landed next to them. The three girls of this team looked back at Ruby who rather had a serious look on her face, showing the qualities of a team leader.

"We need to regroup with Jaune and the others." Ruby announced, sounding serious. "There's something we must do."

Soon, everyone managed to regroup, away from the temple, and back into the forest.

Everyone stared at Ruby who was quiet until she spoke.

"Now before we get to the bigger picture, I just wanna say, good job you guys." Ruby smiled and gave a rather awkward thumbs up to her teammates who all smiled back. Even Weiss couldn't help but smile as well, despite not really liking everyone but she couldn't help but feel warm to all of this…. something she wanted to feel in quite a long time. As for Jaune… he actually felt happy he managed to do something that was capable of helping his teammates get through, thanks to his wits and good eyesight and telling his teammates what to do that helped them win.

They all had to admit… they actually did really good taking on those two large Grimm that did give them some trouble but good thinking and strategy helped them overcome their giant sizes and brutality. Now they have another thing that caught their attention and they aren't sure what to do from there. Besides, they got what they needed and they have the chance to go back to the start and finish this initiation…. but ever since hearing that roar and seeing that beam.

"You guys are thinking the same thing as I am, aren't you?" The red hooded teen said to the others who all nodded, though, Jaune's was a bit more hesitant and nervous.

"Yes." Pyrrha answered. "We all have and even I'm shook by the mere sight of it."

"Yeah! Did you guys all see that?!" Nora shouted with excitement. "That massive beam launching into the sky! It's gotta be a Grimm we've never seen before that can shoot lasers! Fear it's LASER FACE!"

"Nora, now is not the time to be using your imagination." Ren sighed to his long time friend that he knew for so long yet is still not entirely used to her crazy antics.

"Well… I mean, we're in the middle of the Emerald Forest where the Grimm thrive." Jaune nervously said "What else is out here that couldn't be a Grimm…. that can shoot lasers out of its face… that could vaporize you to ashes?" He gulped.

"What's the point of all this?" Weiss interjected. "We have what we need and we're already spent on most of our aura and Dust. Do you think this is necessary to just go and fight something that's capable of doing anything like that?" As much as Weiss is against it, it's more out of being rational since she's clearly a bit on edge seeing Among everyone else, some were thinking the same thing being hesitant of going near whatever made that laser, Grimm or not.

Ruby scrunched her brow, admitting Weiss has a point on that. As much as she loves fighting Grimm, she knows the whereabouts between that and the dangers that threatens

"You got a point, Weiss. I am running a little low on ammo for Crescent Rose." Ruby answered, knowing they did get some hits and spent a lot on their semblance and Dust that they are a bit winded but still more than capable of keep going if they need to. "Even I know what we're dealing with and the dangers from it that could kill us all, especially going in recklessly…" She hasn't forgotten whenher charging that Deathstalker without a plan and barely did any damage to it, which left her vulnerable when she tried to escape to only end up getting her cape pinned by the Nevermore's feathers. If it wasn't for Weiss who saved her, she would've been seriously harmed.. or worse. So she learned the lesson is starting to be more cautious.

"Look. I don't know what that is that exists in this forest and if we should or shouldn't get ourselves involved with it, especially that we have what we want and are exhausted right now… but I cannot stand we should ignore it and leave it when it could pose as a potential threat to Beacon and even Vale." Ruby said.

"But still, we aren't able to fight it at our current state." Weiss said in concern.

"As much as I'm against backing off from a fight, I have to agree with the Frost Princess." Yang said.

"Hey!" Weiss shouted in annoyance of that nickname.

"Yeah." Blake joined in. "I'm definitely thinking of not blindly rushing in there half empty on ammo, while having our aura drained quite a bit. I think that's absolutely crazy and reckless."

More members of the group started voicing their expressions on their concerns until Ruby got her turn when everybody said their part.

"I know, guys." She says. "What may be out there could easily kill us and I'm sounding like we should fight it….bBut we're not gonna really for now."

"We're gonna go over there and see what it is and then we'll have to decide if we should fight it or retreat and possibly get support from the staff of Beacon. We'll keep our distance and not let it spot us." Ruby explained which actually sounds reasonable.

They heard another loud roar and what sounds like explosions in the distance.

"So. You guys wanna come with me and find out what the enemy is and possibly slay, like the huntsmen we strive to be? Or should we run and waste time just to get back up?" Ruby gave one last speech to her teammates who all looked at her. "One way or another, we must always be ready to face an enemy that may be a threat to innocent people, especially those that can't fight back. So are you all with me?"

Hearing such a speech from a little girl has gotten their spirits up so they all nodded in agreement, even smiling. Though, again, Jaune was a bit nervous facing such a massive threat but he calmed down with Pyrrha standing close to him. Though, Weiss was a little less enthusiastic about it but she has to agree they need to at least see what the threat is and what it can do until they are able to figure out what action they must do.

So they all nodded in agreement they'll join her. Besides, they all have to admit they are a bit curious, if a bit scared, what kind of Grimm or something of the sort, could shoot a laser like that which looks highly destructive.

They all ran in the direction where the beam came from, feeling fully cautious and on guard to avoid confronting the threat directly until they understood what it is and what it can really do.

Back to the main battle. The Cyclops finished shooting its laser and stopped roaring while it, without warning, grabbed the partially melted spike, despite it burning hot to the touch from the beam's heat it conducted.

"Well…. That's new." Gale said with a nervous but brave look in his eyes. "Whoever thought a Grimm could do something like that."

"Ho boy." Rocky gulped in fear. "Somebody get me a pair of yellow and brown pants..."

"As if this day can't get any worse…." Nigel sighed. Despite not showing it, he's clearly afraid and feels like they are going up against a mountain of a challenge that may kill them if they aren't so lucky.

"We can't stop now!" Adam yelled to his teammates, keeping them from breaking, even when feeling the exhaustion starting to take hold of them and they used up all of their traps, resources, and ammo. "No matter what it can do or reveal to us, we must stand our grounds and destroy it!"

Soon, the Cyclops finally pried the partially melted spike out of its eye and tossed it aside like a piece of garbage. The spike was bent and twisted out of shape that it's no longer useful for them. The Grimm covered its eye yet again as it wailed in agony but it eventually recovered.

It's eye was a complete mess to look at that the boys and anyone else seeing it all cringed at it. Despite being pierced and oozing black liquid, the Cyclops could still sort of see but its vision was very blurry and can't make out complex shapes and details anymore. Though, it can still sense them by negative emotions, which made up for its blurry vision.

"Get ready, guys!" Adam announced as he took his pose with both swords in his hands. "Give it everything you got! We're ending it's terror, here and now!" The other three boys nodded and got into their stances too, especially Gale debating himself whenever he should fully transform and Nigel has to make his trump card count when the time is right.

The Cyclops bellows and charges its eye that hummed and glowed again. Adam instantly knew what it meant and acted fast before it was fired.

"Sprint forward and fight it up close!" He commanded as they all leaped and sprinted forward, barely avoiding the beam of energy that blasted and exploded once it hit the ground, sending more dirt and stone flying. As much as they don't like taking the Cyclops up close, it's a far better risk than getting blasted and vaporized from a distance. With no other opti optional trap laid out, they're gonna have to use their talents and tools now to get this job done.

The battle escalated more as the four boys darted everywhere, as they punched, kicked, slashed, and bombard the monster with Dust from every angle they could reach, even for the eye, as more cracks and dents appeared on its armor and more black ooze sleeping out of its wounds. The Cyclops kept swinging its fists, sending out a kick, and even shooting a powerful beam that either incinerates the ground, destroyed more trees and burnt their leaves to ash, or even blasted the tower which left a large gaping hole in it which threatens to collapse it but stays upright.

Everyone were struck with awe mixed with terror seeing them going all out with no backup plans or tricks up their sleeves. Just themselves and their weapons taking on the injured, yet persistent, demon.

"I… I cannot believe what I am seeing." Velvet muttered under her breath. The way they fight is so awesome that she even likes their fighting styles that are giving her some ideas. "It's like I'm dreaming."

"Yeah. Even though I'm starting to admit our last time we were slaying a horde of Grimm, especially when I'm getting hyped and tearing down many swarms of them with my baby, it starts to look pale compared to what we're seeing." Coco said.

Nevins was even more awestruck seeing this that he was leaning closer to the holo screen and looked.

"Blimey… never have I seen anything this intense and violent for so long in my life." Nevins muttered under his breath… the more he looked at them, fighting with such determination and bravery in their eyes, even in Rocky's… he felt his soul begin to illuminate within his elderly husk of a body.

"I don't know why I'm now thinking and telling myself this… but I feel I would be damned if you and the other three would fall to the clutches of that demon." He thought. "You must win… you all must WIN and come back here in one piece….. especially you, lad." He thought, referring to Rocky.

Glynda was slightly shaking again but stayed put, still putting faith in the four, and Ozpin remained silent, watching the spectacle and waiting for the outcome, hoping humanity wins over the Grimm today.

Despite their best efforts, the four boys were slowly losing ground. Adam slashed the Grimm's cheekbones which left more slash marks but then he got swatted aside which sent him slamming into the ground that left a human sized crater. He groaned as he struggled to get back up.

"Adam!" All the other three shouted in worry of their leader but that was a mistake as the Cyclops briefly sensed a bit of negativity and turned it's limited sight to the closest target.

As he got up to a knee, Adam watched in shock as the Grimm suddenly moved faster than before that it punted Nigel with its foot, like a soccer ball, that sent him flying several yards back until he smashed into the ground and skidded several more yards that left a carved up trail, until he smashed into a tree which was almost uprooted completely out of the ground.

"Nigel!" Adam, Gale, and especially Rocky shouted in worry for Nigel.

Than, with Rocky distracted in midair, the Cyclops sensed his worry which made it sent a hand out and flicked Rocky which sent him flying like an arrow until he slammed through a large rock head first which his entire head was sticking out the other side and had a mouth full of pebbles falling out. Birds and stars were flying around his head.

"Rocky!" Now it was Adam, Gale, and especially Nigel, who was still a bit dazed, screamed in worry for their roadrunner teammate.

"That's it! You're gonna pay for that!" Gale shouts as he launches forward and starts unleashing a brutal combo of powerful strikes from his fists and feet with the aid of his gauntlets and Wind Dust. He even went as far as giving a mighty headbutt against the Cyclop's forehead so hard it slightly cracked and almost bent its neck back. But the Grimm growled in response as it wounded up a mighty punch that Gale was too slow to react in time.

KAPOW!

Compared to what the Alpha Beringel did to him once, this is way way worse. Thankfully, Gale was able to raise his arms and block, adding an extra layer of Wind Dust to shield him… but even that felt way stronger than getting punched square in the face by an Alpha Beringel. A shockwave was made as Gale went rocketing back like a bullet until he slammed into the tower at the base… and then the entire tower collapsed like a stack of cards due to the unstable damage it suffered.

Nigel and Rocky, the latter who just spat out the last pebble and came back to his senses, watched in horror watching their new friend taking a rather painful and devastating looking punch directly, even if blocked, and being sent into the tower that follows up on crushing him underneath several tons of rubble stone.

"GALE!" Nigel and Rocky shouted at the top of their lungs, watching their new friend get buried beneath the collapsed tower.

It was no different as most of the students who were watching gasped in horror and some even shrieked how devastating that looked lethal.

While Velvet had her hands over her mouth how terrible that was, she suddenly noticed Yatsuhashi… he didn't look shocked nor terrified… but he frowned and looked serious while crossing his.

"Yatsu? Is there something wrong?" Velvet asked in confusion. "You saw that guy get launched into the tower that also fell on him and you don't look too worried."

"I know that." Yatsu replied without taking his eyes off the screen, specifically at the pile of rubble. "I usually keep things to myself about other people but even I'm concerned for his life… especially I know it's gonna take far more than that to put him down."

That caught the others by surprise and they were a little confused as they looked at him funny.

"What do you mean by that, Yatsu?" Coco asked her larger teammate

"I don't know why exactly… but I know he's really strong. Just by witnessing him, his fighting style, and his semblance backs it all up." The tall and imposing teenager replied.

"And I can't help myself… but feel like having a little spare match with him if he survives this…. If given the chance."

Underneath the rubble, it was really dark and there are barely any cracks for beams of light to shine through.

"Man… that thing's strong and hard to kill…. especially that eye laser it can now do…" Gale groaned as he tried to move but is suddenly wedged beneath all the rubble that he's struggling to move it, due to an uncomfortable position that gives him no proper leverage, the straining weight of dozens of tons weighing him down, and that hit the Cyclops gave him was still rather painful. His aura is still going but it took a major hit, even when he blocked, was depleted to almost half.

He tried to look around but could barely make out any details since it was very dark, whatever he could see made by the narrow rays of light didn't matter as it was nothing but reduced rubble of stone and dust.

"Great…." Gale groaned as he tried to move but not much. "Wedged beneath a fallen tower, your teammates and partner still out there fighting for their lives, and you're stuck between a rock and a hard place… literally… what a way to end up here in the middle of a battle that I need to get back in…."

Gale tried to put in more effort in freeing himself… but even in his half transformed state, he's clearly stuck and futile to get out any time soon. Gale grunted as he put in even more effort that he was on the verge of popping a blood vessel and managed to slightly move the rubble up but it suddenly forced him back down as he couldn't push back any more. He sighed and grunted from the painful strain and now feels more uncomfortable having the rubble press down on him even more.

"It's no use… too heavy…." He sighed and now started having trouble breathing with the weight holding him down. "If I want to get out of here and rejoin the fight… the only solution is my full transformed state which should help me break free… and a good time to use to beat that Grimm."

He tries to activate it but it seems to not work at first as something is holding him back. Despite his logic behind that he knows it will help him get out of here…. he can't help but realize he's hesitating what his teammates and possibly even the rest of the academy taking a look at him when he's fully transformed… which has been known to cause a variety of reactions back in the jungles of Sanus, positive or negative.

"Heh… must be my subconscious fearing what they will all think of me once they see me like that…. Guess, even when I fully convinced myself to embrace my decision to leave the jungle, it seems I'm still anxious about taking my fully transformed state around other people…."

It's true. He can still remember the times of the few people that despised and feared him of his fully transformed state which took the form of a massive and muscular elephant like humanoid that's capable of such massive destruction if left unchecked and beyond his control. While he can't forget there were those that praised him and were in his debt of saving their villages… there were still those few that feared him and drove him away, even after he saved them. The last time he ever full transformed state around people… was the time it was around a certain girl….

Though, most of them were people living in the same jungle and weren't accustomed to society as much as the place he is in now… how much different will these people think of him compared to the ones from his homeland? Will they love him? Fear him? Be indifferent and treat him as casually as everyone else co-existing in Vale? Those were the questions that made him feel nervous to face head on….. but he's not alone as visions of his new friends gave him some comfort.

That's when he noticed something in front of him that he can barely see. As he adjusted his focus… it was a familiar feather… the same one his grandfather gave him long ago. It must have fallen out and looks slightly ruffled but still in one piece, thankfully.

Seeing that feather… instantly reminded him of his beloved grandfather, but much more emotionally clear than he did when he talked to Adam in the gorge….. He could see his towering and imposing size but it doesn't scare him as that paled in comparison to his warm and welcoming smile, his gentle eyes of wisdom and parenting, and especially his grandfatherly love and training that raised him into a fine young boy who was able to live on his own to where he is now as a capable young man… and Gale feels he's still watching over him as his guardian angel….

Gale felt a rising sense of determination and power in his soul as he reached out and grabbed the feather that he gently held in his hand. He takes a deep breath as he begins to calm down and clear his mind that he can focus his power better.

"One way or another. I must keep going…. whatever it takes…. even if I am accepted with open arms or shunned and resented in spite." He whispered but didn't falter as he tightened his fists. "But I'm not alone… Adam… Nigel… and Rocky."

He thought of his teammates smiling with him as they planned everything out together like the buddies they are and the bonding they shared so far that he wishes to add more in their journey. "They understand me. They won't leave me behind. Because I know they will stay by my side because they promised to trust me, as I will trust them, no matter what. They're my next pillar for a happy life I've been seeking."

He closed his eyes and began to focus…. that he felt the rising power within him slowly but steadily increase, that his aura brightened and he slowly began to slightly grow in size and a few elephant features began to appear.

"I… am Gale Hathi."

His eyes flashed open and are now glowing brightly orange.

"I will strike down the enemy, and protect the future and for the people that I cherish."

Adam gripped the ground with his fingers that they dug into the dirt and scraped clumps of it out of the earth, as his teeth gritted and tightened that they threatened to break. The Cyclops was about to turn its attention to Adam as it felt a rising increasing in anger but it suddenly got hit by another lightning Dust bullet in the side of its

"HEY! I'm not down with ya, you overgrown laser pointer!" Rocky shouted as he drew its attention back to him. The two duked it out which left Nigel and Adam time together.

"At least he will keep it busty." Nigel muttered as he tried to stand back up but suddenly felt a rising pressure nearby that was Adam. With his semblance helping him see aura and emotions, the tattooed faunus felt a little disturbed, as he noticed something different.

Adam's aura manifested and took shape into a bull by his emotions, just like how he and the others did earlier but something was wrong; instead of glowing blue, the blue bull's eyes…. were glowing RED which made it look even scarier. Even as it snorted, the clouds of aura coming out of its nostrils were also red.

He also sensed his rising anger and rage…. as Adam could already feel himself getting angrier that he almost couldn't think straight and charge in like an angry bull seeing the color Red.

"There's something very wrong with Adam, just by his aura and emotions. He's getting angrier by the second… and it's unfathomable to even see his aura look like that. " Nigel thought in concern. While he has seen all kinds of ways aura behaves, based on the emotion of their users, even taking shapes of what they represent… but never something like that before. From the start, Adam was all calm and collective and now he seems to be on the verge of going berserk.

Just as it looked like Adam was gonna charge and scream like a berserking lunatic…. he strained and groaned in frustration.

"Hrngh! STOP!" Adam mentally cursed himself not to lose himself by his anger…. once again. "Control yourself, Adam Tauros… remember what master taught you to control your emotions. You can't get reckless, especially with your teammates at risk." He slowly took a deep breath. Still, despite not cutting himself loose, he's still rather pissed this monster has harmed his teammates and friends, especially his partner. He looked over to where Gale went and saw no signs of movement.

"I can't worry for Gale at the moment and focus on the main threat. I need to have hope he took that hit and is still alive beneath that rubble… just hang on a little longer, we'll get you out when we can."

Nigel sensed the anger within Adam slowly ceasing while the blue bull aura vanished. "Seems he managed to calm down…. That's good." Nigel sighed in relief but then sensed a far greater and rising pressure coming from the collapsed tower where Gale fell. Seeing through the rubble, he saw a familiar aura that was a familiar color and pattern that was much like Gale's.

"Wait… hold on… is that…?

There was the sound of stirring and movement coming from the remains of the tower, along with an increasing pressure of power that even Adam and Rocky felt. Even the Cyclops suddenly stopped fighting as it turned its attention towards the tower, despite only sensing negativity, it sensed the power and pressure resonating underneath the debris. The power increased as rays of orange light streamed and flashed through the gaps.

"The drone is getting a massive reading of aura and power that's steadily increasing, coming from the pile of rubble!" Glynda said to Ozpin with surprise who also seemed anticipated and curious, almost like he doesn't look surprised.

Soon, the power died down and the orange light desists. All was quiet that there was nothing but the sound of blowing wind….

BOOM!

As if a bomb went off beneath the debris, dust and pieces of the tower went flying in every direction which caught everyone off guard, even the Cyclops which turned its head over its shoulders to see what happened behind it.

There was a large silhouette within the dust cloud that looked like some kind of elephant but on two feet, followed by the sound of a roar that sounded like that of an elephant, but more monstrous and human like. Before anyone could even try to comprehend what's going on, they were all caught off guard as the silhouette charged out of the dust cloud and out into the open at full speed. His giant feet shook the ground and trumpeted at full volume towards the Cyclops.

The three were trying to comprehend what they were seeing but they instantly recognized the hakama pants the creature was wearing and the tuft of orange hair on top of its head, along with the earrings and necklace it wore.

"Is that… Gale….?" The three all said in unison, putting it together that it has to be their teammate, due to the familiar clothing, orange hair, and especially that tattoo on its back which is now glowing with power, and that it came from the same spot where Gale was.

Gale ignored their confused stares and charged at his target he needed to take down. Before the Cyclops could even do anything, it was caught off guard as Gale came at it at top speed and shoulder tackled it in the legs from behind which caused it to fall forward and crash into the ground like a fallen tree.

While the spectacle was happening, Rocky quickly ran over to Nigel and helped him up, as they did the same to Adam but they never took their eyes off the giant fighting that's happening.

With both up close, it's obvious the Cyclops still dwarfs Gale, even in his elephant form, but it sure does lessen the size difference a fair bit that Gale doesn't look as tiny. As it tried to get up, the Cyclops suddenly felt a giant hand firmly grab onto its horn and then saw a giant fist coming right at it…

WHAM!

Gale unleashed a mighty punch in the Grimm's face that the impact was doing a lot of damage as the Cyclops heavily flinched and groaned out of reflex. Gale kept going at it with more punches while keeping the Cyclops still. Fragments of its mask and several teeth were sent flying from the punches Gale was giving it nonstop.

Every student in Beacon had their jaws dropped watching the new thing they never expected to see something like that. Even Nevins was so shocked he missed drinking his coffee which spilled all over the floor but he was too flabbergasted to notice or care. Glynda was also flabbergasted; she just had her eyes wide open yet again. Ozpin… seemed really curious now.

"I said it once and I'll say it again… this year's academy is gonna be an interesting one." The headmaster says happily as he sips his mug… only to realize it's empty. "Oh dear. It seems I may need a refill." He chuckled while Glynda wasn't amused with a sour look in her eyes, especially at a time like this.

When the students came back to their senses, their reactions… were rather surprisingly positive.

"That's so cool!"

"So awesome!"

"Come on, Elephant Man! Kick it's ass!"

"WOO! You go, dude! Way to show the Grimm not to mess with us humans and faunus!"

"You know what… I take it back. I haven't seen everything." Yatsuhashi admitted how surprised he saw Gale do that which was the least thing he would've expected.

"Man. Just what kind of team are these guys?"

"Seeing only half of them showing their abilities…. it's gonna get really interesting." Fox said.

Velvet couldn't say a word because she was just too deep in awe seeing this kind of thing happening that's about to go down.

Only a handful of people didn't get excited seeing this, either out of fear, disgust, or indifference. But that is only a minority compared to most that are liking this guy being able to shapeshift into an awesome humanoid elephant.

Even when he can't hear the cheers, Gale doesn't let up as he continues pummeling the Cyclops in the face that much of its mask was cracked and more fragments were gone but it suddenly roared in retaliation and caught Gale's giant fist with its bigger one. It started to get back up onto a knee and forced Gale to let go as he caught the Grimm's free hand trying to punch him. Now the two giants are forced in a locked power struggle as they push and struggle. At first it seemed even, but Gale started to lose ground as he was slowly getting pushed back that he dug his elephant feet into the ground and skidded back that upturned the ground.

As Gale struggled, he heard a dreaded humming sound he was too familiar with. He looked up and can see the Cyclops' eye, despite being damaged, is charging up to shoot him point blank that could seriously be fatal.

"Rocky! Adam! Toss me at the Cyclops!" Nigel yelled as the bull and bird faunus each grabbed Nigel's arms and worked together as they spun to gain enough momentum to launch Nigel at the Grimm. As he sailed towards the target, he flipped in midair that he was going in feet first and outstretched both of his legs out that he slammed into the Grimm's cheek so hard it forced to turn its head away from Gale and that was just before it could fire its laser. The laser made a wide arc where its head went and ended up slicing through dozens and dozens of trees of the forest and a few ruined pillars which all collapsed like a bundle of sticks.

This gave Gale the opening to unleash a brutal uppercut on the Cyclops chin which forced it to let him go and he took the opportunity to retreat with Nigel and regrouped with Rocky and Adam.

The Cyclops was really messed up from that beatdown that it struggled getting back onto its feet at a slow pace which gave enough time for the three faunus to stare at their teammate's animal form which was new to them, while Gale calmly stared back at them.

"Gale… is that really you?" Adam asked his giant partner who stared back at him with the calm expression of his elephant gaze.

"Nigel's eyes flashed for a second and he instantly recognized the familiar emotions and aura wave patterns he gives off, only at a much more intense level in that form which made him smirk.

"Well, based on your tone and what my semblance is telling me, unless it's all wrong, then it must be Gale." Nigel smirked up at his giant teammate who couldn't help but rumbly chuckle at the hint of sarcasm in Nigel's tone.

"Isn't it obvious, guys?" Rocky pointed out. "Aren't we also missing the obvious details here? The pants? The hair? That tattoo on his back?"

Gale watched his teammates and partner being so casual next to him that he felt… relieved and especially happy they were treating him no different than before he revealed his semblance to them. It gives him more hope there are people who will accept him for who he is, as the many back in the jungle that didn't drive him away with threats and insults.

"...YES….. IT'S ME…. GUYS. " Gale answered with his tone rumbling and slow, but gentle and calm, even happy. They noticed the way he speaks is different, yet, familiar. "THIS IS WHAT…. MY SEMBLANCE... CAN DO."

Even in this form, they recognize him as the same friendly and lovable gentle giant since they first met him earlier today.

"Yep. That must be Gale alright." Rocky sarcastically, yet teasingly, said which made Gale wanted to chuckle but that would have to wait when Cyclops roared and finally got back to its feet, albeit hunching over just a little bit, showing signs it's been taking a major beating but it's still asking for more.

"Looks like our chit chat is gonna have to wait, guys." Adam announced as he got into his battle stance which everyone else did as well. "We got a mission to finish."

"So what now?" Nigel asked. "We used all our traps and that Grimm still hard to crack open and it will kill us before we can kill it. I doubt even Gale's elephant form will be enough to tip the scale in our favor." He added as the Grimm started to lumber forward, the humming in its eye started to charge up yet again.

Nigel was right. Even after all their traps used up and Gale's trump card brought in, it's still not enough. Even if Nigel and Adam used their trump card to the mix, it might not be enough either….

That's when Adam had an idea as he stared at the eye that's nearly fully charged… he remembered what the Cyclops can do with its eye and it reminded him of something… like the time what he did back on that train in the Forever Fall….

"I have an idea." Adam told them, and rather quickly as the Cyclops is about to fire. "And it's gonna be our last chance to win this."

"What is it?" Rocky asked. "And you better tell us quickly or we're gonna get fried and I'll be served as fried chicken." He gulped as the Cyclops was about to fire again.

"Damage it a bit more and I'll do the rest by getting it's attention and "

He then notices the club that the Cyclops has dropped and seemingly forgot about it.

"And Gale."

Gale turned his head and looked at Adam in curiosity.

"When I say "now", stop it anyway you can."

Gale nodded to gesture as a 'will do'.

"Speaking of stopping it…. I bet that Cyclops wouldn't mind if we borrowed it's club for the time being." Adam smirked as he noticed the club nearby.

Gale looked at Adam and then at the Club for a second… and couldn't help but give the best smirk he could express as an elephant by opening his mouth wide, flexing his trunk, and flapping his ears. He's so liking the idea Adam is suggesting to him, as Nigel and Rocky were also liking it by their visible smirks.

It has gotten relatively rowdy with all the students no longer holding back and actually cheering and shouting in confidence for the four to defeat that Cyclops. A big symbolize way of expressing mankind and the faunus against the Grimm.

Even team CFVY, Nevins, Glynda, and Ozpin were especially giving their support but in a more subtle fashion with such concentrated anticipation that the tension held them on the edges of their toes. As for Ruby and her friends, they were moving as fast as they could and they were getting closer to the fight.

The Cyclops finally reaches full charge and prepares to fire at the annoying worms that just won't lie down and die. Never has it ever felt a sense of urge to just kill these four fleshlings that dare stand up to it and make a humiliating beat down when it strives to be the most feared and dangerous Grimm in existence.

With no need for a speech at the monster, there was one thing the four man team could say.

"BRING IT ON!" Adam, Nigel, and Rocky shouted at the top of their lungs while Gale just loudly roared and trumpeted in defiance at the monster that took away so many lives.

The Cyclops fired another blast that soared at the team of four but they already moved out of the way and charged with Gale easily keeping up with the other three, sprinting towards their enemy.

The Grimm raises both of its arms into a sledgehammer fist and brings it down yet again on them, roaring at them to just die so it can get on with its existence. They all leaped out of the way but Gale could only skid and sidestep aside, as his size and weight kept him from being blasted away from the shockwave of the Grimm's attack.

With the Cyclops left open, Adam and Nigel came in and started working together with a combo of endless slashing of two swords and two bladerangs, respectively, that chunks of bone and Grimm flesh were getting chipped and peeled off, doing tremendous damage. The Grimm counters with a wide backhanded swipe of its arm that hit them and sent them flying back.

Gale rushed in and jabbed at the Cyclops' abdomen several times that the Grimm felt it and grunted in pain but it soon punched Gale down which forced him crashing face first into the ground and formed a large crater. It then pressed its foot down on the humanoid elephant and tried to crush him underneath but Gale resisted and pushed back which Rocky came in from behind and used the Grimm's knee as stepping platform to leap up to the Cyclops's face and fired a Mud laced Dust bullet that exploded into a glob of mud that further blinded the monster. It roared in surprise and tried to wipe the mud off, only for Gale to take the opportunity to force it off of him which made it stumble back with the mud still on its face.

Rocky did something nifty as he then fired a Fire Dust bullet which exploded in the Grimm's face. The heat from the fire hardened and solidified the mud into a rock like material which makes it hard for the Cyclops to get it off its face and, as much as it couldn't see, unable to see at all.

This gave Adam time to blitz around the heels of the Grimm, trying to sever its achilles tendons but the bone armor did their job preventing that from happening, though, pieces of it did get chipped off. The Cyclops managed to sense him and kicked him away but left itself open for Gale to jump on its back and grabbed one of its shoulder blades, tears it off, and stands it in the neck which bellowed in anger as it grabbed him over its shoulder and tosses him off that he landed next to Adam who just recovered. Then it tried digging its fingers into the rock like mud that's still on its face that it started to crack and crumbled off.

"Oh boy…" Rocky grumbled as he tried firing off more Dust bullets but that only caught the Grimm's attention and briefly sensed where he was. It raised it's foot and stomped down which created another shockwave that sent the bird faunus forced back and tumbled like a wheel until he too was next to Adam and Gale with his eyes spinning. All was left between them and the Cyclops is Nigel who stood in shock seeing his teammates getting their butts handed, even against a somewhat weakened and blinded Cyclops…. It comes to show just how tough and dangerous this monster really is that it needs to be put down.

The entire crowd that was watching this were sweating bullets, especially Glynda and Nevins, seeing how brutal it's getting and it seems the boys are losing their edge in this fight.

"Bloody Hell. This monster just keeps coming and asking for more. We're nearly spent on everything we have and we're out of traps…."

He looks back at the others who are standing back up and getting ready to fight but the Cyclops was already charging towards them by sensing their pain and anxiety.

"I gotta give them time to recover and spread out…. guess I have no choice but to use my ace in the hole…."

Nigel cleared his mind and slowed his breathing, focusing on using his trump card that he now deems necessary to be used. Though, he's standing there, out in the open, as the Cyclops was coming towards him at a fast pace, yet, at a slightly slower pace than before. This does not go unnoticed as the audience in Beacon were now muttering and whispering in concern what Nigel is doing as he's just standing there and looking like he's letting himself be left open and easy pickings.

"What the Hell is he doing?! He's just standing there and doing nothing! He's gonna get killed!" Coco shouted, sounding a bit concerned for that kangaroo faunus.

"If he doesn't do something… he's gonna get crushed." Velvet said in concern but Yatsu and Fox don't seem as worried…

"As much as I wonder what he's doing… unless he's got a death wish, no way he's that stupid to let himself be exposed like that without a good reason." Fox said to his three teammates at once which made them start to feel more at east, more so with Velvet and especially Coco.

As the Cyclops reeled back another fist and prepared to unleash it on Nigel and flatten him to a pancake…. Nigel finally brought in his trump card.

"There are a number of ways to take on many kinds of larger opponents…. with the right knowledge and skill."

He opened his eyes which were now glowing a familiar violet shade as everything around him turned a shade of violet, as his surroundings were slightly distorted and time slowed to a crawl….. Once again, he can sense aura around him much more clearly… seeing the auras of his friends and even the silhouettes of their spirit animals, including Gale's orange elephant which looks far larger and with longer tusks.

But there was something else he sensed. Even without looking, he can sense eight aura signatures coming his way and some of them felt very familiar. He doesn't take much focus on that, though, as he now creates a mental simulation that shows one of the many possible events how this will go down for him and the Grimm.

"First, dodge the Grimm's incoming fist."

The Cyclops throws a punch but Nigel casually dodged without using much muscle that it's like as if sliding to avoid the attack.

"Then counter the attacker with slashes across its forearm to harass it."

Nigel drew his bladerangs and slashed the arm which were minor but were enough to enrage the Cyclops which roared.

"Provoked, it will try to seize you."

The Cyclops roars in fury and reaches both of its hands out to try to grab him and crush him like it did before.

"Sever its fingers with a cyclone of your blades."

Nigel spun like a blender and ended up severing off three fingers, two on the left hand and one on the right.

"Then leap to its face and initiate a sharp kick to the nasal."

Nigel leaped up and performed a powerful kick in the center of the face, that was already broken from Gale's assault earlier, which shattered the nasal part of the mask.

"Then maneuver behind the neck with an axe kick to the cervical."

He swung around by the Grimm's horns until he was behind it then did a nasty axe kick to the back of the Cyclop's neck that the visible spine bent and cracked.

"Dodge several crushing stomps and counter with a double kick to dislocate it's kneecap."

He easily dodged all of its stomps and then did an astounding leap towards its knee and doublekicked it so hard there was a shockwave and the kneecap was dislocated.

"Dodge a furious swipe and leap onto its back.

He then gracefully dodged the Cyclops trying to swat him with a side swipe of its arm. He sprinted between its legs and leaped onto its back.

"Plant explosive Dust into an open wound and leap off."

Exactly as what was said, Nigel impaleed the Grimm's back with the sharp end of his bladerang and planted at least a dozen of his Fire Dust vials into the open wound, crushed them, and leaped off.

"Ignite it."

He scraped the sharp ends of both his bladerangs together that created sparks which landed on the Dust lodged in the Grimm's back.

There was an explosion that carpeted the entire back of the Cyclops that roared in extreme pain as the force of the explosion pushed it forward.

"In summary; several non-fatal lashes across the arm, three severed fingers, nasal part of the mask completely shattered, damaged cervical, dislocated kneecap, and entire back scorched and blown to shreds. Current status of the enemy; Heavily damaged and worn down. Capacity to move; Highly hindered. Capacity to kill; Still functional and still dangerous.

All in that split second, it came to Nigel and now he knows what he can do, despite there being no outcome where he could kill the monster. This is better than absolutely nothing so he has to make it count. Though, he's now suffering a rather painful headache that's a bit worse than the one he did on Tiny so he needs to focus this time to make his analysis work.

Just as the Grimm threw it's punch…. 23 seconds have passed and now the Grimm is stumbling forward right after getting most of its back has been blown off with more bone exposed and it's armored spine being visibly damaged.

Now the halls were filled with the loud cheers and hollers of the students were cheering and hollering how awesome and sweet that was, even highly impressed and flabbergasted how easy Nigel made that look.

"Oh dang. I knew he was pretty cool but now he seems more awesome. I'm liking his style of fashion AND his way of beating up Grimm." Coco whistled like she was even more impressed. Velvet was happily cheering while both Yatsu and Fox had their arms folded but were grinning like they sure were enjoying this beatdown.

"Such power. Such skill." Nevins muttered in amazement. "Never have I seen anything like that in a long long time…." Watching everyone doing their part, Gale's elephant form that looked like a powerhouse, Adam's impeccable leadership and sword skills, Nigel's acrobatics and his mysterious ability that especially Rocky's crazy, yet effective and practical, approaches…. not since he was a young lad…

Glynda and Oz were silent but were highly impressed by the performance. Though, they were actually able to notice…. the moment when Nigel's eyes flashed and glowed purple for a split second.

"How interesting…" Ozpin said in curiosity.

"He must have used what looked like his semblance." Glynda replied but she was feeling happy the abomination that gave her nightmares and took her childhood friend is getting what it deserved, as it seems to be on the verge of defeat.

Nigel stood where he landed and glared at the Cyclops that was stumbling and barely staging on its feet from that powerful explosion and its dislocated knee wasn't helping. It looked over its shoulder and gave the most chilling death glare a Grimm could ever give. Then it suddenly straightened it's leg out, grabbed the dislocated knee joint, and forced it back in with a sickening snap as it bellowed in pain doing that. Despite fixing it, it could only limp to move around which slows it down, yet, it's as determined to kill them as ever.

Nigel wasn't showing any signs of being intimidated but he clutched his head and tried to soothe the headache that was still pounding his head but it started fading away. Despite his efforts, his aura was nearly gone and he was panting. Doing one more type of hard action would spell his aura shattering.

"Woah…" That's all Rocky could say in response watching Nigel being such a badass.

Gale and Adam were silent but they were also highly surprised by what Nigel did that sent the Cyclops reeling and putting on the ropes, all while not suffering a single hit. However, that gave them enough time to take action since the Cyclops' speed has been reduced.

"Now, Gale!" Adam shouted as Gale nodded and ran over to the club that the Cyclops dropped and is just laying there. Taking Adam's advice, it's a good time to use the Grimm's own weapon against it.

"Now is the time for me to use my own trump card." Adam said as he looked at Rocky. "Rocky, keep its attention on you one last time and give it Hell." He instructed which made Rocky smile.

"Aye aye, captain!" Rocky saluted and reloaded his revolvers one last time with the strongest Dust he's carrying and charges at the Grimm and climbs up it's abdomen until he was on its face and forced its mouth open and aimed both revolvers into its mouth

"OPEN WIDE!" Rocky screams as he shoots every last Dust laced bullet down the throat of the Grimm which sends off a variety of explosions in its mouth and throat which did so much damage that smoke, ice, electricity, and wisps of flame, were billowing out of its mouth and some holes in its body but that isn't enough to kill it as it quickly snatched him in its hand starts squeezing him so hard that he was like a stress toy since his eyes nearly popped out but his aura was about to shatter which spells big trouble for Rocky.

This caused panic in the eyes of some of the students… and even Nevins, as much as he won't admit it, is also worried for the boy's safety.

"Hnnngh!" Rocky painfully grunted at the pressure trying to crush him. "I see you're trying to use me as your own stress toy because you're, you know, having such a bad day and nothing more… but I won't allow you to use me like that." He declared as he suddenly contorted into the shape of a noodle and slipped out of the Grimm's grasp and reformed into his default shape. However, that was the last of his aura which shattered as he sprinted away, albeit, not as fast without his toon force. The Cyclops then tried to chase him but something zoomed past it that ended up chopping off one of its horns which caught its attention.

There stood Adam holding Wilt and the borrowed sword but he appears to sheath Wilt while strapping the other sword to his back. He just stood there with a frown on his face and his eyes hidden by his mask.

"I'm right here, you despicable piece of filth." Adam sneered at the monster as he dared it to come at him which has caught its attention that it ignored Rocky who ran to safety.

"Your reign of terror and slaughter ends now." Adam growled. "We're gonna make you an example of humanity extinguishing your kind off of our home so we can finally achieve the peace we've long sought to establish. That is what I shall do."

He suddenly straps the borrowed katana to his back while sheathing Wilt back into Blush but keeps his grip on the handle. "If you have what it takes, give me your best shot." The masked faunus warned.

The only reply was a roar from the one eyed Grimm that sounded like it's accepting his challenge. However, what actually the Grimm thinks is that Adam is daring it to come over to him and fight him Man-to-Grimm. It ain't gonna do that as it charged its eye up again and prepared to fire another powerful laser that will surely vaporize him to ash. However, the kind of bait it thought it was avoiding only ended up taking another kind of bait that Adam intended…. his semblance.

Once fully charged, the Cyclops fires yet another powerful blast of energy that beams towards him at full speed which was what Adam wanted. Like the same way that he did on the cargo train against the Spider Droid, Adam unsheathes Wilt only halfway and holds his sword in front of him as Wilt takes the giant beam head on and begins to absorb it thanks to Adam's semblance.

"Such power!" Adam mentally grunted as he resisted while feeling the power of the Cyclops' hatred and hate of its laser converted into stored energy. "This is much stronger and far more destructive compared to that Spider Droid's blast back on the cargo train, I can barely hold back against it… and I'm losing ground."

Even when he was prepared for it, Adam was gritting his teeth and using every ounce of his strength from being knocked off balance and obliterated to dust. He was being pushed back from the force that his heels were carving into the ground and leaving a trail, all while his semblance did its work absorbing the beam into his sword which grew brighter, along with his mask, hair, and clothes.

"Just a little more… then it will be enough to end it in one stroke…."

Despite that Adam is blocking its attack, the Cyclops isn't aware what Adam is actually doing and continues firing, even adding a little more juice to bring it up to overpower his block and finally kill him.

"Now!" Adam shouts, finally absorbing enough energy that he considers good enough.

WHAM!

That's when the Grimm felt a powerful force slamming into the middle of its abdomen, out of nowhere, nonetheless, that it lurched forward and held its gut in pain which deactivated its laser blast. As the Grimm turned its head at who dared hit it like that. There stood Gale, still in his complete transformed state, holding its club, that's almost twice his size, in both his hands. Though, he's barely holding it steady, due to the tremendous weight of the club itself.

As Adam said, Gale is mindfully borrowing the weapon that he'll give it back pretty soon…. he starts bashing and swinging the club the best way he can as the Cyclops was taking even more damage that its bone armor was cracking and falling apart with each strike. Gale even slammed it in the leg… right in the knee where it was dislocated moments ago which forced it on its knees and then Gale followed up with an overhead smash on top of its head that its middle horn shattered.

"Well.. that's quite a way to improvise." Ozpin said highly impressed Gale is able to wield a club that large and heavy.

"GRAAAAHHHH!" Roared the Cyclops as it had enough and actually caught the club in its bare hand when Gale tried to hit him again which caught the elephant by surprise. He realized what its trying to do and tightened his grip on the club as the giant Grimm tried to reclaim it's weapon that they know what it can do in its hands. Now the two giants were fighting over the club in a tug of war, battling for dominance on who will beat the other to death with it.

"Nigel!" Adam shouts as Gale keeps the Cyclops occupied. Nigel, despite his aura's almost spent, ran over to him but didn't say anything as they don't have time for that.

On cue, the Cyclops won the tug of war and overpowered Gale as his grip on the club loosened and slipped out of his hands. Before he could do anything, the Cyclops reached its free hand out and grabbed by the face and smashed him into the ground that shattered and cratered the ground.

"I need you to launch me at it, anyway you can!" Adam yells, as they know their running out of time. He quickly draws Wilt all the way out while also bringing out the other katana, back to duel wielding again. He focused and channeled the stored energy into the other sword… and it started to crack.

As Gale tried to get up… the Cyclops was already back on its feet and punted him with its club like a golf ball. That hit was more than enough to easily send him flying across the area as he tumbled and crashed into a nearby boulder which halted him but the side he crashed into became a heavily dented crater.

Nearly everyone gasped, even Glynda who had her hand over her mouth, and Nevins looked nearly horrified watching a Grimm send such a large humanoid elephant like that with just a mere swing, while feeling concerned that Gale took a rather nasty hit.

"Gale!" Rocky shouted in horror, as he was nearby and watched his friend take that kind of hit. He quickly ran over to him, as Gale groaned in pain… and suddenly started to glow orange and started shrinking down to human size, while many of his elephant traits disappeared.

Gale was back to his human form as he violently coughed and groaned how much pain he's in. His aura glowed and flickered until it too, like Rocky's, shattered like glass.

"Ho man… that one is gonna feel really sore by tomorrow." The tattooed boy wheezed as he tried to stand up but was having a hard time… until he saw Rocky with his arm out, offering a hand to him, with a concerned look in his eyes.

"You alright?" Rocky asked worriedly that Gale responded with a dry chuckle.

"Yeah… I'll be fine... I've been through much worse without aura" Gale answered, recalling himself of the time he nearly got killed by that Baku with no aura. As he gets up, he is able to stand on his own but Rocky insists on holding his arm over his shoulder to support him.

Seeing what happened made Adam growl even more and looked at Nigel with determination behind his mask.

"Let's do this, Nigel! Let's get this monster and end this!" Adam shouts as he prepares an ultimate move that he will use to finish off the Grimm.

"Right!" Nigel obliged as he got behind Adam and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. He then crouches down and bends his legs to build up some energy into his legs that the ground cracked a little until he leaped upwards high enough to reach the Cyclops at eye level.

At that moment, Nigel instantly re-positioned himself that he pressed his feet against Adam's back while they were bent to the max like he's ready to jump.

"GO!" Nigel shouts as he finally sends Adam flying forward with the aid of his powerful legs which not only made him rocket ahead like a human sized bullet but also created a visible shockwave that echoed across the field that it caught the Cyclops' attention.

While Adam went forward, Nigel used up the last of his strength that he couldn't even reposition himself as he fell flat on his back that he bounced a few inches off the ground and grunted from the impact. Once he laid still, staring up into the sky. His aura glowed and flickered as well, and shattered seconds after.

"You're all.. That's left." Nigel muttered as he laid there but eventually sat up and watched what was happening.

Now all Adam is all that's left of the four that is able to take this Grimm down. He's got one shot at this and if he misses or can't end it… then that is it and their fates are sealed.

The Cyclops can see Adam is coming at him full speed and decides to take him head on. Besides, even if it wanted to avoid him, it's unable to since its injured knee slows it down. And so, it took the challenge as it held its club in both of its hands, despite missing a few fingers, and winding it back like a baseball player about to hit a homerun.

As he flew forward, Adam started to spin with his two blades close together like they've combined into a single blade for extra damage. Faster and faster he spun as the momentum and the stored energy he took from the laser also intensified many times over. Soon, there was a human sized tornado of blades that was coming at the Grimm full speed and not stopping while the Grimm waited for the insect to come close enough to hit him which would reduce him to a bloody paste.

"Come on, dude! Win this for us and for Beacon!"

"Yeah! Beat that abomination!"

"Show that Grimm to never underestimate us huntsmen and huntresses!"

It has gotten all time high in Beacon that pretty much even if you stood outside near the landing and docking bays, you could still hear the screaming.

Even Velvet and Coco were so excited they could no longer hold it in

"You can do it!" Velvet cheered.

"Kick it's ass and slice it in half" Coco also shouted in excitement.

"Yeah!" Fox and Yatsu shouted, finally no longer being stoic and getting excited for once.

"My elderly heart is pounding so fast that I think I might suffer a heart attack!" Nevins spouted as his old mind is struggling to keep up with everything that's happening right now.

Glynda was now was gritting her teeth, her heart pounding, and she was sweating.

"Please... Slay that abomination… so she can finally rest in peace…" Glynda whispered rather tensely and filled with desperation for the boys to win.

Ozpin's expression was more or less the same but he too was interested how this will go out but he's no doubt rooting for the huntsmen to win this round.

"GO ADAM! GO!" Gale, Nigel, and Rocky all shouted at once, as they cheered for their teammate which he heard that further fueled his determination…. so they can go back to Beacon…. form their official team…. share a room… fight off more Grimm…. and have pizza and chocolate together…..

All those thoughts that would become possible for him and his team's future, made him open his eyes as he spun to the max and prepared to swing his swords. The Cyclops slightly slides its feet a bit to make it's pose more prominent to make its swing even stronger.

HRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!

GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!"

With every last ounce of his might, Adam swings out his blades, with a hyper crazed and screaming look on his face, while the Cyclops finally swings its club in return at full force, while it too had its eye wide open in fury and spit was flying out of its gaping and fanged maw. The two moved past each other and swung so fast that not even the drones at their most advanced couldn't detect who managed to hit the other and come out unscathed. It was all just two blinding blurs that swung at such speeds it couldn't be told what exactly happened.

Now everyone and everything has gone deafly silent, yet again, arguably even more so than the last moment when the Cyclops eye was impaled by that iron spike.

Adam and the Cyclops stood still, with each other's backs and looking really calm, as the wind blew. Adam had his arms widely spread out, with both blades in hand, while the Cyclops was in its pose after swinging its club like it made a homerun.

The whole world was silent, waiting to see who took the lethal hit and fell to the Earth as the loser, while the winner reigned supreme and lived to see another day.

Crick… Crack.

The borrowed sword that Adam wields cracked which spread out through the entire sword… and shattered into a hundred bite sized pieces which rained down on the ground where Adam stood. Adam grunted as he suddenly felt unsteady and tried to stay standing… and his blue aura started to flicker like a dying light.

"Adam…" The three said in worry as it looked like Adam took it bad… and they may have lost….

His aura finally shattered which made him drop to a knee and grunted from the pain that started to sting in his chest and abdomen. He even… coughed up a little bit of blood.

"Oh no…" Velvet whispered as everyone looked horrified that it seems the Grimm have won today and took a life, followed by three more when it gets its hands on them.

As it looked like the Cyclops had won and gave an evil smirk… a visible diagonal line appeared in the middle of its neck… and something happened to the club as it suddenly got cut in half in which the upper half fell to the ground with a loud thud.

As the Cyclops gurgled and groaned what's happening…. it's head slowly slid off its shoulders and dramatically, in slow motion, crashed into the ground like a bag of potatoes and rolled away from the body until it laid still. After that, the headless body fell to its knees then, with the other half of the club still in its lifeless hand, collapsed on its side that resulted in a loud crash and laid motionless.

The winner of this duel…. Adam Taurus

Adam couldn't help but smirk to himself, despite the pain which was from the club that managed to slightly graze him, especially from the momentum from both him and the Cyclops going head on at each other.

"They… won…. They really won! They slayed the Grimm and won!" Velvet cheered that the whole crowd of students all cheered, even some of the staff were cheering as well. Coco also cheered and hugged Velvet who hugged back in celebration. Fox and Yatsu were really smiling and fist bumped each other. Some students were even tossing up their hats or anything they were holding in celebration.

The halls may be quieter but they were no less full of enthusiasm as Nevins was watching the screen…. With such pride and proudness he feels in his soul

"You did it…. You really have done it, lads… you proved what it takes to be worthy huntsmen. Especially you, Rocky Rhode Runner…." Nevins approved with a genuine smile that he had a tear in his eye. Though, that's when his eyes diverted to the floor which was still covered in stains of his morning coffee. He sighs but doesn't feel angry or upset, not after seeing such a show, that he just whistles a tune as he gets out his mop and mops the floor.

Glynda's reaction was the most emotional of them all…. She had her hand over her mouth and was shaking in such a state of happiness and sadness that she couldn't believe it all came true to her…. The Cyclops, the same one she feared and murdered Dorothea…. has been slain.

"They did it…. They really did it." Glynda whispered almost silently… as tears were seeping out of her eyes that she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I know…. and now Dorothea can finally rest in peace…. may her soul live on and watch over you and all of us for a better future… for Beacon and everyone attending it.

"This must be a good sign for good things to come… even on our darkest days…" Ozpin thought as he looked out into the distance again.

As the Cyclops' corpse began to slowly disintegrate and carried off into the wind, Gale, Rocky, and Nigel, all limped to Adam and sat with him who was sitting crossed legged and painfully clutched his abdomen.

"Well…. That was quite one heck of a battle we've all been through." Gale said to end the silence and all nodded in agreement to that.

"Yeah… it sure was mates…. It sure was." Nigel muttered, panting and taking off his hat and wiped his sweat brow with a free hand… "I need some dark chocolate right now…."

"Boy…. that sure was awesome how you beat that Grimm." Rocky chuckled. "Especially when you were all juiced up. You sure were lit up like a Christma- I mean Nondescript Holiday Spectacular tree." Rocky said which made the other raise an eyebrow at him. What is he even talking about but they decided to let that slide because they're too hurt and tired to even care.

"Yep…. that's one way to show the Grimm we mean business." Adam coughed as he tried to breathe calmly and hopefully let his aura reactivate soon to stop the internal bleeding and heal his wounds. "Guess that makes it our first mission a success, even before being an official team. What an achievement…."

"So… anyone up for some pizza." Rocky blurted out and got nothing but silence… but than all four boys started to laugh like they were having a good time.

"You know… we really do make a good team…. standing together…. holding each other up….and having each other's backs." Adam gently smiled at his team who were now all .

While they celebrated and laughed together like pals… it ended when their acute hearing picked up something… a familiar sound.. a kind of humming…

They stopped laughing as their blood ran cold and their bodies froze in place, even swore to themselves their hearts stopped… as it suddenly got a little brighter behind their backs…. They slowly turned around and looked at what was making that sound and bright light…..

"Hold on… what's going on." Coco said in confusion as she looked at the screen closer… than her she gave an expression of horror in which everyone else did too that Velvet had her hands over her mouth. Even Fox and Yatsu looked terrified.

"This… this can't be real… it should be over by now…." Nevins mumbled as he looked back at the screen that he was frozen in his position of mopping the floor.

"No… it can't be… that's impossible." Glynda shook in fear that she was now losing herself that she wanted to do something… anything… to stop it. Even Ozpin looked genuinely shocked, even looking the least terrified.

The boy's pupils dilated and their mouths slowly widely gaped in horror, as they were now staring down the direct sight….. of the Cyclop's motionless head, laying on its side, behind its body where it used to be that's now gone… charging up for one last shot, using every last bit of it's hatred and rage focused into one last laser blast that will surely kill them now. Since their auras are now gone and accumulated too much damage, they are too weak and slow to get out of the way in time.

As for the Grimm, it's already aware it's nothing but a head now and its body is forever gone. It can already feel its life fading away…. It's long term goal and desire has finally come to a stop and it can no longer get another chance… during those moments, despite not seeing well, it saw four shapes and it sensed there's no doubt it's definitely those four worms alright…. The ones that reduced it from a mighty monster… to a pathetic and useless head. And so, if it's gonna go down like this, then it will surely take all of them with it to the non-existent void.

That is all it now wants to do, one last thing, to finally satisfy itself after its gone..

Adam and the others were too stiff in fear to utter a word or even try to move out of the way. Even if they did, it would be too late as it's already about to fire….

BANG!

There was a loud gunshot as a stray bullet whizzed through the air…. and going straight through the Cyclops'one eye which ruptured into a goopy black mess.

"W-W-What in the-?!" Rocky could only say in response as he and the others caught off guard for a split second.

Since the shot for the laser was interrupted and the eye is now pretty much destroyed, the large amount of hate has gone unstable and haywire, all built up and now coming apart, which meant only one thing….

In that last split second, before finally meeting its demise, the Cyclops realized it's one last chance to take those four down with it…. has ultimately failed. All it could do was blindly curse at them one last time in a high pitch roar of agony, as the unstable energy in its damaged eye finally couldn't hold itself together anymore…

BOOM!

The head of the Cyclops exploded like a bomb that created a large fireball which incinerated the remains of the head that there's nothing left of it, not even a scrap or bone or tooth. Adam and his teammates had to cover their faces with their arms as the winds rushed past them.

When the dust settled, in place where the head used to be is a smoldering crater and bits of fire around it. The only remnant of the Cyclops that was left is its destroyed club.

"W-W-Were we just saved at the last second….?" Gale said in complete confusion.

"If that was a bullet and the sound of a gunshot….. most likely." Adam answered but smiled out of satisficiation it's finally over and he can get some rest now.

"You know, as much as I hate to repeat it, that's now getting old… I saw my life flash befo- ah why bother. It's already getting old now." Rocky mutters how old seeing his life flash before his eyes has become.

"It seems, they managed to arrive in time to save our arses, at the last moment." Nigel smirked as he had a good feeling who did that.

They all looked over their shoulders… and standing on top of a nearby hill was Ruby and her teammates. They all had varied reactions but most of them were mostly focused on surprise and astonishment. Even the normally stoic Ren looked surprised while Nora was grinning like a madwoman.

"Woah…" Jaune could only say after watching that Grimm head explode like that.

"Adam… you're okay" Blake sighed in relief and smiled that her old time friend is okay, despite looking tired and hurt.

"You know… I hope we all get to see the footage of their battle…. I wanna see it all." Yang blurted out like she wanted to see how this all went down.

"I told you all, especially you, Ren! It really did have a laser face!" Nora shouted like she was right to them all while Ren just sighed, not really putting up with Nora's antics right now.

Ruby cocks her Crescent Rose as a bullet casing is ejected and smoke is flowing out of the barrel.

"Got 'em." The red caped girl said while looking so casual and smug about it.

Phew. Finally, after a long time and effort, managed to conclude the Emerald Forest Arc and ANGR is pretty much a team now…. Or until Ozpin officially does so with approval by next chapter.

Now, thing is, I just wanted to point out this arc did take quite a while to finish and maybe it has felt a little dragged out in some cases but all I'm glad is that ANGR finally slayed that Cyclops and now we can move forward to our world saving teenagers attending the academy like attending highschool and bootcamp.

With the Emerald Forest arc that mostly focused on coming together, facing Grimm, and forming the teams, I'm planning to have more interactions with everyone in Beacon Academy and facing new enemies that are hidden in the dark in future chapters now.

Now, I've also made a lot of plans of expanding the academy's staff a little more to make it feel more lively. I don't want to drag that out too much either but I'm eager and determined to expand the lore and world building of the ANGR a bit further than what RWBY in canon was able to share so far.

And lastly, I saw lots of signs and teaseers of Vol 8 that's coming soon and we're finally getting the Vol 7 Soundtrack! It's been 84 years since we started waiting for it! I'm now excited for Vol 8 and see how that goes!