Hello again. Chapter four, ready to go. Chapter five will likely take longer for me to edit, as I'd like to adjust some things. Going to do a brief address of some things I saw expressed in reviews:

Sibyl becoming a student is something I spent some time deciding on. I don't like to explain things in the author's note, because if I have to explain it here that means it was not self-evident in the story itself, which means I'm doing a poor job of writing, eh? Ideally, you will come to understand why Ozpin chose him to pose as a student opposed to a teacher as the story progresses. Whether those reasons were valid, pointless, or his intent fails, it hardly matters. I just am trying to make sure things happen for a reason.

Oh, and I would like to admit to a mistake. I forgot to make it more clear that Sibyl has lost his Estus flask. The only real mention is in chapter 1, after his encounter with Manus. Something along the lines of "he couldn't be bothered to find it" after it slipped from his shaky hands. Naturally, it didn't make the journey with him. I apologize for not making that more clear, and will try to do better in the future.

I'm very eager for this chapter and the next to be done, as I can then really get to the meat and bones of my own story. I'm genuinely excited for what I have in store, and I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. I'll try not to disappoint!

Edit: Another thank you to ekaterina016 for beta'ing my story!

It was a tough choice, he'd readily admit. There was so much he didn't know about the initiation they were soon to be going through, and if there was one thing he hated, it was not having information. It was actually incredibly ironic how much he hated being left out of the loop considering for damn near his entire venture, he never had any information and everything was done more or less blindly.

He was given vague instructions, at best, and was expected to complete them through whatever means necessary. The undead liked to think he had gotten quite good at it.

While he had many questions on what to bring for the initiation, the most pressing issue was the lack of the Estus Flask which had sat at his hip for damn near his entire journey. It was a very odd feeling to not have it attached to his hip, one he had dealt with since his initial awakening. Not for the first time, he cursed his weakness after the Abyss tainted his eyes. If he had simply ignored the pain, he would have both his Titanite Slab-reinforced helmet and the lifeline to all undead: a flask full of Estus.

Still, he'd persevere without it. The second issue he was facing was hesitance on choosing a weapon. The indecisiveness was partly him simply wanting to show off to these children; the other part was him wanting to be as prepared as he could be. More so for the former, if he was to be honest, because he was certain he could make it through whatever initiation they threw at him with just his pyromancy. There was no fun in that, though, and as such he had taken up a good portion of the locker room, his many weapons and even a few shields scattered around. Those who passed by either sent him a raised eyebrow or muttered in annoyance. Both gestures were easily ignored.

His hand reached out to grasp the Black Bow of Pharis, but hovered just an inch off from the ranged weapon. Yes, it was a quality bow. Of the regular sized bows, none had quite the same firing distance as it had. While it traded that attribute with lesser stopping power, he wouldn't use a bow for anything except obscenely long distances.

It was a fine weapon, one of the best in his collection which had been received as a gift from that odd hunter of the Darkwood Forest. But he was fighting Grimm, large creatures of the Abyss. It was why his eyes kept going back to Gough's Greatbow which sat up against the locker of whatever fool had been placed beside him. No bow was more well-crafted or as powerful as Gough's, even if it was unwieldy. It would rip apart the Grimm; of that, he was sure.

Logically, however, there was no reason for him to use it. His sorceries made bows unnecessary unless the range was truly unreachable, but he really wanted to see how deep a great arrow would pierce into a Beowolf! It was a great mystery, and he had a theory it would lodge itself nearly all the way in... Then, he'd have to slice the beast open to retrieve it; that, or wait until the corpse dissipated.

The real problem was he could hardly afford to carry so many large, unruly weapons.

After much debate, he had decided to keep his Black Knight Greataxe, given how easily it ripped through the Grimm in their first encounters. Shields… He never paired a shield with anything except a regular sized sword or spear. The Crystal Ring Shield was a rare exception to that rule, as he used it with a few of his greatswords and axes.

…did he really want to use his greataxe? He had been wielding it for a while, and it was beginning to get somewhat boring. He wanted a bit of a challenge! Perhaps the Black Knight Glaive would work for this occasion? He certainly wanted something large;Ornstein's Dragonslayer Spear, maybe? He was reaching for the glaive when a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"…wow," Ruby breathed out, looking with wonder at his collection.

He spared a glance over his shoulder and couldn't help but smile, taking a step back to admire the pile of weapons he had removed from his box – subtly, of course. Though, now that they were all out... it wasn't as subtle as he thought. His smile faded, though he still commented to on his collection to Ruby. "Impressive, is it not?"

"Looks more like a mess to me," Yang added, clearly not as taken with his collection as her sister was.

He and Ruby scoffed in unison, the latter adding a glare. Good! His collection was impressively large, both in numbers and quality, and he didn't much like someone insulting it. "Yaang! This is amazing – he has so many weapons! Is that a scythe? I didn't know you used a scythe!"

Sibyl chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "It is a scythe of somewhat shoddy design; I had to reinforce it to prevent the wood from splintering. I found it in some catacombs, discarded and abandoned, though the blade itself was in fine shape. I simply couldn't leave it."

Ruby nodded eagerly before rushing away in a literal blur, leaving… petals of redin her wake? He barely had time to register what was happening when she returned, mouth spread in a wide smile and something in her hand which was unfolded as quickly as he could blink. "This is Crescent Rose!" The formerly block-like device transformed, revealing a scythe which was as large as the one Priscilla wielded.

Yet, that was all he could make sense of. Was such a weapon common? He could hardly imagine it in actual combat. Any weapon which transformed was inherently structurally unsound.

"A fine blade, but I question how well it will function in more… trying environments."

Ruby nodded sagely, setting the blade end on the ground and placing a hand on her hip accordingly. "I know, I know, it has too many parts – everyone says that. But, I keep her maintained perfectly, and it's not like I rigged the fold with just one or two old, shoddy joints-"

Before she could continue on in her explanation, Yang whistled. He had a theory it was to stop Ruby from babbling on about something he could only just make sense of.

"You're sounding pretty eager this morning, Ruby."

The girl in question turned around, folding her scythe back into its more block-like form and hugging it closely. "Yep! No more awkward small-talk or getting to know you stuff. I get to let my baby do all the talking."

Sibyl nodded in agreement. "I, too, am itching for a good fight." He stared at the cloak-wearing girl for a few seconds. Well... if he was having trouble deciding on what weapon to wield, perhaps she could assist him. "Tell me, Ruby, should I use the glaive or the greataxe? Oh, and what of the bows? The black bow or wooden greatbow?"

The girl in question tiptoed closer, leaning in and scrutinizing his choices. "Oooh, what about that one!" She pointed at the Moonlight Greatsword, the thick, idle emerald blade always catching eyes.

"Hmm. It has been sometime since I've used it, and the enhanced abilities are rather eye catching..." Smiling, Sibyl set the weapon and aside from the rest of his collection. It was one of his favorite choices, and he had not touched it since defeating the Sanctuary Guardian. "Wonderful. You have been of great assistance, young Rose."

"Right," Yang emphasized, ensnaring both their attentions. "Anyway, Ruby, not everyone is going to be as interested as Sibyl here about weapons."

He nodded in confirmation when Ruby looked at him hopefully. Only Shiva had ever been as passionate as he was about killing devices.

"If you're going to grow up, you'll have to get used to people who don't always like the same things as you," Yang explained, slowly.

Ruby rolled her eyes, scoffing lightly, "You sound like DDad. "First of all, this is a combat school, Yang! Meeting new people has nothing to do with fighting. Secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk."

Sibyl saw nothing wrong in her logic initially, though what milk had to do with growing up was beyond him. He thought about adding his opinion but decided to keep his mouth shut and let the two sisters deal with their squabble. There was shaping up to be a mess he had to clean up…

"Well, what about when we form teams?"

He dropped the large archstone greathammer he had been carrying onto the ground, cracking the floor below. "T-Teams?" He mumbled, eye wide. They were going to have teams? How large? Were they assigned or chosen? He was going to have to have a team?! He worked best alone, only teaming up when he occasion was particularly ruthless! Even as a warrior of sunlight, it was come and go; they didn't stay and function as some sort of group-

"…you alright over there, Fireball?"

He blinked, thoughts momentarily cleared. Shaking his head, he leaned down to pick up the great hammer he had carelessly dropped. "Perfectly fine. Please, continue."

"Okay,"was Yang's reply.

Excellent, he had managed to play that off properly. She would barrage him with no awkward questions.

"I don't know; can't we just team up?" Ruby stuttered out, rubbing her hand.

He stopped paying attention then, going back into the depths of his mind which wouldn't stop panicking. Teams… who would he team up with? Weiss came to mind as a fine choice; she didn't seem to be a large irritant. There was also the redhead, Pyrrha, who had been pleasant to speak with. He spared Yang a glance as she continued to argue with Ruby about teams. She would likely find a way on his team regardless…

How large were the teams? Anything over four seemed excessive, but he hardly knew what to expect. It could be threes, or twos… no, if it was pairs, they would have simply said a partner. So at least over two… on the rare occasions he had called two phantoms to assist him with a demon or god, they formed a healthy group of three.

Well, that didn't seem too bad, now that he thought about it. Ideally, it'd be Pyrrha, himself, and Weiss, but it was more likely Yang would force her way onto his team. Regardless, either setup would work for him. Of course, he'd need to see how they fought to have a better idea of how they complimented each other, but he took pride in his adaptability.

There were other dynamics to a team, weren't there? He was so used to simply slaying something and going on his way; they never stayed together for long. How would he fit in with these people he had nothing in common with? What could they bond over? Perhaps sharing stories, though they might not have any particularly good ones…

Thoughts for another time. His weapons and armor were secured and put away quickly, and he was eternally grateful for his bottomless box's magic. Should he leave his box in the locker? It seemed the most efficient way to go about it, but he was so used to having it at his side, shrunk down in the form of a pouch. It was a good thing the lockers were so large; he had turned his box on its side to avoid suspicion and enlarged it.

Deciding to leave it and not second-guess himself, he shut the locker, took a deep breath and walked off, leaving Ruby and Yang to continue their argument.

He had changed out of his Astoran Elite Knight Armor, instead deciding to favor the improved mobility the Hard Leather Set had to offer, complete with a steel helmet which offered better visibility than a more classical knight's helm. Given his one eye, he felt any visor was out of the question until he was suitably used to the limitation.

Right. If he was going to attempt and team up with Pyrrha and Weiss, he ought to get their feelings on the situation. It was rude to simply assume they'd join. In fact, he wasn't sure they would want to be on his team at all and was expecting to be politely laughed off. No, no, he had to be confident! It was embarrassing for a Sunlight Warrior to be behaving like a self-doubting child.

He felt his ears perk up upon hearing Weiss's voice, and made to her location immediately. They had to discuss teams.

As luck would have it, Weiss was already with Pyrrha; Velka smiled upon him for once. He cleared his throat to get both of their attentions. "Ah, Lady Pyrrha, Weiss, just the pair I was looking for!"

Pyrrha offered him a radiant smile, waving happily. "Hello, again!"

Weiss was more subdued, but she did greet him with a nod, "Sibyl."

"A pleasure, once more. I come here with a request," he began, closing his good eye and taking a deep breath. Just offer them a spot on the team. It was that simple. "I am… err…"

Damn! How did he even begin to explain? "I am not well versed with people, and the prospect of teams has me hesitant. I hardly know how I'd even begin to fit into such a group socially, though I am a more-than-ready combatant. The two of you were pleasant to converse with, however brief it may have been, and…"

His free hand came up to scratch at the back of his neck as he stumbled through his explanation. "It's just, uh… oh, Gwyn damn it all. I was hoping one, or even the both of you, would be willing to form a team!" There! That hadn't been so hard, had it? Even if he made a complete and utter fool of himself, he had managed to give them his offer.

Fortunately, Weiss did not wait long to respond. She smirked, crossing her arms. "Well, you've got great-

"That sounds grand!" Pyrrha interrupted, seemingly as eager as he was!

Weiss nodded in agreement with the redhead's words, and relief flooded him.

"Wonderful. That is quite the load off of my back, let me assure you. I'm… well, I'm actually rather looking forward to the teams. I've never been in any sort of extended, constant group like how these are sounding."

The prospect of teams continued to grow more pleasant as he thought about them. It would be like conversing with Solaire and Siegemeyer, constantly! It could have an almost family feel to it; stories could be shared, jokes made… Yes, he was looking forward to it, indeed. Everyone had always been too busy with their own problems in Lordran to stay together, but here was different in that regard. Ideally, a team would help make his stay here until his return to Lordran far more enjoyable.

"Great!" Weiss commented, rubbing her hands together and getting a look on her face which he had trouble placing at first, but then it hit him. It was reminiscent of Patches when he tried to explain one of his great schemes. She stayed like that for a few moments, interrupted by only one thing.

"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

He was about as intimidating as a pillow, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy at least seemed to have some sense about him, wearing plated armor on his chest and elsewhere. It wasn't as if he had enough flesh to protect him.

"Not again," Weiss muttered.

They had met? Not a good meeting, if the look the white-haired heiress had was any indication. Pyrrha tried to introduce herself but was promptly ignored by the blonde boy. How rude, to simply blow off a lady like that. Perhaps he needed a lesson in proper manners? He had been similar until encountering Rhea.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved Pyrrha off, moving closer to an unamused Weiss who avoided eye-contact. Jaune was a persistent fellow, however, and paid no mind to the social cue. "So, Weiss! Couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

Sibyl stiffened a laugh as the boy flexed his muscles – or attempted to, anyways. There was hardly anything to flex. He and a hollow had that in common.

"…you've got to be kidding me." Weiss palmed her face, beyond frustrated.

The knight hardly blamed her.

"Hey, there's no need to be embarrassed," Jaune assured, hardly stopping to breathe as he continued, "Been hearin' rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one. Whadda ya' say?"

"Actually," Pyrrha began, interjecting herself smoothly into the conversation, "I think the teams are comprised of four students each, and we had already-"

"You don't say. Well, hot-stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

Sibyl opened his mouth to tell the boy to go eat sludge, but Weiss was a step ahead of him. "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel."

What an awful title! There was no originality, nothing which made it stand out. It was nothing like Big Hat Logan or even the Iron Tarkus.

"This is Pyrrha," Weiss continued, "she graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

Sibyl blinked. What was Sanctum? Another academy similar to this one?

"Isn't that a church?" Jaune commented, showing around the same understanding Sibyl had.

"She won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row – a new record." Weiss paused, leaning in closer to the boy. "You do know what that is, right?"

Jaune laughed nervously, "What? Of course I know what it is – who doesn't know what the Mistral Regional Tournament is!"

He continued laughing as Weiss stared at him expectantly. "You have no idea what it is, do you?

Jaune nodded sadly. Sibyl coughed lightly. "I… uh, have never heard of these tournaments either, nor of Sanctum."

"See," the blonde explained, "this is hard trivia! Only super pretty and intelligent girls like yourself know it!"

Weiss was beginning to get a bit red with anger, though whether it was at his ignorance or Jaune's words, he did not know. "Gah! She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Jaune gasped, hands moving to cover his face. "That was you?!"

Pyrrha blushed, keeping her eyes glued to the ground.

"What is a Marshmallow Flakes and who is Pete?" Sibly questioned, tired of being left out of the loop. It happened constantly, even before he came to this damned land.

The blonde flirt turned to face him, pity and confusion visible on his face. "Wow, how could you not know that?"

Sibyl shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the comment. Who cared if he didn't know these things? He was in an entirely new world! It was completely alright. "My life has consisted of combat and survival. Anything outside of it is a mystery, really." The group 'ooh'dsilently, staring at him for a few moments longer than what was comfortable. "Regardless of my inadequacies, I am eager to learn."

Weiss nodded. "And that is the difference between Sibyl, a respectable, if ignorant hunter in training, and you."

Well, he would take what compliments he could get.

"Now, after everything you've just learned, do you really think you should be the one inviting Pyrrha to join your team?" Weiss questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"…actually, I think Jaune would make a fine leader."

The undead blinked. Where was the logic in Pyrrha's words? Nothing the blonde had done showed him to be inclined as a leader.

"Pyrrha, please! This kind of behavior should not be encouraged-"

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?"

Sibyl decided this interaction had gone on long enough, reaching at his waist and grabbing the Sunlight Talisman which rested there.

"Alright, that's a bit too close… Sibyl, a little help please!"

And indeed, the blonde was pushy at best. Muttering the cadence under his breath for Emit Force, the visible bubble of white energy formed in front of him. He lightened the offensive potential, not wanting to kill the lad, but just knock him away.

It worked splendidly as Jaune found himself thrown against the far wall. Sibyl sniffed, sneering lightly. "He really ought to learn how to treat a lady."

Pyrrha was silent in the wake of his words, staring at the boy now on the far end of the room. "I don't think he was that bad, really..."

"Perhaps not to you, but he refused to respect Lady Weiss's declines of his advances."

The heiress nodded. "I came here hoping to avoid that sort of treatment…" Weiss muttered, eyes trailing to the ground.

Sibyl moved to step beside her. "Not to worry. Should our team come to fruition, I can keep such pests away." He smirked, winking his one good eye. "I can be quite intimidating."

Before anything more could be said, a voice echoed around the locker room. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation."

Ah, yes. It was time.

Well, whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. They stood, not many of them, mind you, but they stood together at a cliff side, overlooking a great, green forest which was as wide and as far as any he had seen. Each of them had been instructed to stand on some sort of platform, and he was expecting them to do something unpleasant. They always did.

Based on the fact they were on a cliff-face and overlooking an emerald sea of leaves, he could only assume it would be an exhilarating flight. It was also insane, much like everything else about this place, and he could hardly fathom how most of these children would land. He at least had his sorcery to handle the drop, though it would need to be mitigated further. Stepping from the top branches seemed the easiest way to do so, as his armor would protect most of him from cuts and scrapes.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin began, and he nearly scoffed at the assuming words. He couldn't remember training for anything, simply waking up in a cell with less than a broken blade. No, really, less than a broken blade: it was just the damn hilt of the longsword, maybe three inches of a blade left. Things had developed quickly from there as the ability to absorb souls offered many benefits, none the least of which being an innate understanding of weapons. His training had been experience, not all his own.

"And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

That much was true, at least. Glynda stepped forward, ensnaring their attention. "Now, there have been many rumors about the assignment of teams. Allow us to put an end to your confusion: each of you will be given teammates, today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon," Ozpin explained, "so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Of course, of course, but how were they supposed to know who they would work well with? There might as well have just been a randomized system with all the information they had to work with for picking teammates!

It all seemed to be based on nothing but chance, much like his bumping into Weiss and Pyrrha.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

There was utter silence, and the undead swore he could hear Ruby's reality shatter. Everyone seemed to actually think Ozpin was being serious! Sibyl laughed, drawing the attention of all his fellow students. "A fine joke, Headmaster. I almost believed you to be serious."

Glynda coughed lightly. "…he is completely serious, Mr. Sibyl."

Oh. Oh. It hadn't been a joke, then. The entire system was random, based around Velka-damned luck. His own luck had always been awful. "Right," the undead mumbled, resisting the urge to cast a damn Chaos Pyromancy at Ozpin's smug, impassive face. Gah! Was this not an academy of learning? Who would come up with such a chaotic system?!

"As I was saying: after you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. There you will find an abandoned temple, and within, several artifacts. Each pair much choose one and return to this cliff side. You will undoubtedly meet opposition along the way; do not hesitate to destroy them, or you will die."

"Nothing new, then," he whispered to himself, too irritated about how they were going to be drawing partners to keep his thoughts internal. It made no sense! The moon being shattered made more sense than how they were going to be picking partners. He could only assume Ozpin was beyond the method. Hopefully, the headmaster had a more... reliable way to pull up old legends. Sibyl wouldn't hesitate to leave and seek someone new for assistance in returning to Lordran if he had to.

"You will be evaluated for your performance, but we instructors will not intervene. After you have returned, we will regard that item, evaluate your performance, and grade appropriately."

It was an easy enough task, a simple fetch and return. He had done similar tasks many times.

"Any questions?" Ozpin asked, his speech finished. Sibyl could feel his hairs begin to stand in excitement. All the standing around and just talking had been a complete bore. Perhaps he had just gotten too used to the violent life Lordran encouraged, but… well, it was all he knew.

"Uh, yes, Sir-" Jaune tried to interrupt with a question, but Ozpin ignored him thoroughly. "Good. Now take your positions."

As everyone around him braced for impact, Sibly reached down and retrieved his Oolacile Catalyst. As the first person far to his left was launched through the air, he reckoned he had guessed correctly on the purpose of their platforms. A quick cast of Fall Control would make this venture a breeze, and perhaps he would even pair it with Iron Flesh… yes, that sounded like a fine idea. The branches would break easily enough, and he could still use their impact to slow his descent.

"Hmm. Another sorcery, Mr. Sibyl?" Glynda questioned as those besides him were sent upwards into the sky.

"Yes. Fall Control. I imagine you can guess its purpose?"

She hummed, glancing down and noticing his boots seemed to have a glow around them. With a push up of her glasses, she inclined her head lightly. "That I can."

Cracking his neck, he took a deep breath. A moment later, the undead found himself airborne, the wind slapping against his exposed face and eye. It was actually quite difficult to see, but he managed to focus through the whipping air. The sea of green was rapidly approaching, so it was time to implement stage two of his landing strategy.

Channeling his pyromancy, he placed his palm above his heart. His flesh, though covered by his armor, was undoubtedly now colored in the grey sheen of iron. His leather armor was not affected by the cast, though anything trying to get through both his heavily reinforced armor and his reinforced flesh would find it pointless to even try. The hard leather would take some scratches during the fall, but it was nothing his sorcery could not repair later.

With his weight increased, he began to drop rapidly, descending through the leaves as the branches they were attached to broke under his mass. He hardly even felt the impact, though it did shift his trajectory somewhat. Still angled, though not as heavily, he braced his knees for the impact of the ground.

As his feet hit the ground, he stumbled, falling forward and face skidding along the dirt. It didn't hurt as much as it should have thanks to his casting of Iron Flesh, but it did sting. Staying on the ground for a few moments, he finally let go of the death grip he had on his Moonlight Greatsword.

Quite the successful landing. Now, it was time to find a partner and soon thereafter, the artifacts.

Pyrrha stared from her position on a large branch as the other students went flying into the horizon, a few disappearing below the leaves and into the woods below. She was focused on two in particular, however: Sibyl and Jaune. The former seemed to have things in order, crashing through the top of the tree coverage without looking very worried about it from her point of view. That armor of his ought to help protect from the branches, and she wouldn't be surprised to learn if he just brute-forced his way to the forest floor.

He was… interesting, if a bit strange. Nothing about him made sense. While she was very curious about his eye, Pyrrha was hesitant to ask how someone so young got such a brutal scar. She knew it better to hold her tongue and let her curiosity run rampant than risk offending him. They had only just met, after all, and she could only imagine how sensitive he might be over it. And really, that eye was one of the more uninteresting things about him!

She had spotted his… uh, collection of weapons, about as wide a variety as she had ever seen: spears, glaives, greatswords, multiple shields, and even some obscenely large hammers. It was all very overwhelming to look at, and she couldn't exactly figure out why he refused to use just one in particular. In addition to that, he had something which looked an awful lot like a Semblance which he claimed to not be a Semblance. She wasn't entirely sure how true that was, but it was interesting, regardless. If it was true, the implications were amazing.

And, maybe best of all, he didn't know anything about her except what she showed or told him about. It was refreshing to not be stared at expectantly, or to have someone constantly bringing up her accomplishments as if those were the most important things about her. He had approached her in the corner of the ballroom not because he was a fan, but because he just wanted somewhere to lay down.

So far, coming to Beacon had been everything she dreamed of and more. If she could just secure him as a partner, it would be perfect.

…of course, there was also Jaune. He seemed charming in his own way, and didn't know who she was, either. Pyrrha would secure one of them as a partner, the question was just which one. Squinting into the distance, she managed to spot Jaune flying through the air in an… uncoordinated manner, limbs flailing.

It seemed her decision had been made. Besides, they were going to be comprised in teams of four. She just needed to make sure Sibyl ended up on her team too and things would be perfect. Everything would be perfect.

Taking aim with her javelin, she tossed it with all her might, guiding it along with her Semblance. She heard the 'clink'of it entering the woods even from this distance, and a shout back of "Thank you!" let her know she'd hit her mark.

"I'm sorry!" She called over the vast forest, taking a deep breath afterwards. It was time to go retrieve Jaune.

Ruby was in a hurry with good reason. She had to start her search for a partner early, because whoever she first found would be her partner for the next four years! The longer she waited to find someone, the more people would be taken as partners. Every second she failed to find someone was another second she could be left completely alone without a partner! That was why she was hurrying as fast as she was through the forest, trees blurring alongside her.

She couldn't just get stuck with some random person she'd never met before as a partner. either. She hardly had anything in common with people already!

It meant she had to think about who she wanted as a partner. It had to be Yang, didn't it? Yang would be looking for her too; they were sisters! They had to be on the same team, because family stuck together. That was what Dad said, anyways. Yang was the clear number one choice as a partner, but what if someone else found Yang before she did?! Who else could she partner with? The list was very short.

There was Jaune, but… well, his nickname was 'Vomit Boy', and he didn't seem like he'd do anything other than get eaten against Grimm in a fight. So, no, Jaune wasn't an option, even if he was nice. They could still be friends, though! There was nothing stopping them from being friends, she just really didn't want him as a partner. She liked living, and he'd probably make that harder.

Blake was an option too, the quiet girl who liked books whom she'd met last night. She seemed nice, if a bit negative. Things had gotten awkward with her after Yang left, though… who else could she partner with?

Sibyl. She could partner with Sibyl! They both loved weapons, and he had such an awesome collection of them! She had a feeling what she'd seen wasn't even all of them. How did he carry around all of them, anyways? There had been more than a dozen of them, and most didn't look like they folded or compacted. All the more reason to have him as a partner, she could learn all about it!

Plus, if Sibyl had so many weapons and scars, he had to be some sort of Grimm-killing superhero. He definitely looked heroic with his armor, though not so much now that he was wearing the leather set. Well, it was still kinda heroic looking, but a sort of rugged hero like in her comic books.

Man, she could already picture the two of them as partners. Him, with his cool emerald sword, and her wielding Crescent Rose. They'd be back to back, surrounded by Grimm. She'd say some cool one-liner, like 'This is looking Grimm,' then he'd nod silently, and they would-

Ruby skidded to a stop, nearly falling forward. There was some white thing in front of her, and she'd nearly just ran straight into it…

Oh. Oooh. What she saw as a white blur was in fact Weiss, and before she had managed to register it was Weiss, silver eyes had already met blue ones. The clearing was silent as they stared at each other.

…well, at least she'd be able to make up for nearly killing both of them in a dust explosion? Or not, as Weiss turned completely away from her and walked off through the brush.

"H-Hey! We made eye contact," Ruby muttered, kicking the dirt beneath. Was she really so annoying that Weiss would just completely ignore the rules? Maybe she was just some stupid kid who lucked into Beacon. Everyone else was so different, so seemingly prepared and she was just-

"By no means does this make us friends," Weiss declared, grabbing her by the back of her hood and dragging her off to somewhere.

Ruby couldn't stop herself; she cheered. "I knew you'd come back!"

So, Yang had a partner. It wasn't Fireball, who she'd been hoping to find as a partner, but the whole 'first person you make eye-contact with' thing had ruined that plan before it could even hope to start. Instead, her partner was the Blake girl she had left Ruby with the night before. The good news was Blake seemed nice, if a bit quiet. It was fine. Yang would break her out of her shell. It was just a matter of time, and seeing as how they had to spend the next four years at Beacon together, they'd have a lot of time together.

There was still hope, anyways. Sure, she and Fireball weren't partners, but teams were comprised of four people, so she just had to hope Ruby had been a smart little sister and sought out Sibyl. That would be an amazing team…

Until then, though, she'd be making do. "How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked, holding up the golden chess she'd picked up, and she did know it was a chess piece. Just not the name of the chess piece, so 'pony' would do.

Blake rolled her eyes, but Yang noticed the quirk of her lips up into a smirk. Progress! "Sure."

"Guess I'll hang onto it." Not that she really had a good place to put it… eh, she'd figure it out. "That wasn't so bad." They'd encountered one group of Grimm, and she'd more or less taken them out on her own.

"Well, it's not like this place was difficult to find," Blake commented.

Yeah, for an initiation, she wasn't really feeling it was all that difficult.

As a decidedly feminine-like scream sounded, maybe it was difficult, and they were just that good?

"Some girl's in trouble… What should we do?" They couldn't just leave another student alone if they were in trouble, right? That went against everything they were trained to do as Hunters and might even blemish their grades. Still, she and Blake had to decide what to do together, and Blake wasn't even paying attention. Gah! "Blake, I said-"

Blake pointed upwards, and as Yang looked towards the sky, the screaming from above registered to Yang's ears.

"Heads up!"

Wait… that was Ruby's voice! Squinting, Yang's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the sight of Ruby free falling through the damn sky! Her blonde hair flowed freely as she rushed forward, sliding along the ground to where her sister was going to be landing.

"Ruby!" She screamed, "I got you!" Arms held open, she tried to track her sister as she fell closer and closer to the hard stone beneath them… aaannnddd then she was gone. Yang blinked, turning to look at where Ruby had gone flying through the trees. Something had slammed into her, but it had happened way too fast for her to track.

Yang prepared to go check on her, then she heard a rustling from the woods. Glancing back, she readied to kill the stupid that Ursa which entered the clearing, but then it fell forward, dead. Oh, and some girl with orange hair flew off the top of it, landing with a roll. She'd… she'd been riding it?

"Aww, it's broken…"

Yup. She'd definitely been riding on it.

Who the hell rode on an Ursa!

Some boy followed right along behind her, panting as he held his knees. "Nora… never do that again."

The Nora girl was already gone, a golden chess piece which… uh, looked like a tower in her hand. Yang needed to figure out what the hell chess pieces were actually called. "See, Ren, I told you riding that Ursa would make us get here way faster! Ooh, and look! I got the castle! Bow before your Queen!" Nora shouted, holding up her piece and prancing around happily. Yang blinked as the orange-haired girl sauntered over towards Ren when the boy called.

"…did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake questioned, just as confused as Yang was.

The blonde brawler opened her mouth to respond, and as she did so, something else happened! A damn Deathstalker entered the clearing, chasing Pyrrha, and was that Sibyl? Huh. Good for Fireball, getting paired up with a cute girl like that. She squinted as she realized something else other than the Death Stalker was also after him, flying above. It was hard to see, though, because the sun was right behind it.

She was kept watching as Sibyl did something with a white branch in his hand, little teal balls forming around his head. That was new… it definitely didn't look like his pyromancies. It was hard to tear her eyes away from the sight, but the sound of her lovely little sister landing next to them was one of the few things which would ever tear her attention away. "Ruby!" Yang spoke, drawing her dazed sister's attention.

Ruby looked positively relieved at seeing her, smiling wide, "Yang!"

"NORA!" The orange-haired psycho said, popping up between the two of them and stopping whatever idea of embrace they had. Yang was a bit miffed about that, actually. She'd been so worried about Ruby, and now when they were finally about to embrace, she interrupted it!

"Did he just run all this way with a-"

Before Blake could even finish her question, Yang exploded, hair alit and eyes burning like a fire.

"That's it! Would everyone chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

Everyone was still for precisely two seconds before Ruby coughed, pointing upwards politely. Sighing, Yang forced herself to look up, and wouldn't you know it, Weiss had jumped off the talon of a freaking Nevermore!

As Jaune leapt from a tree branch (when the hell had he even got there?), catching the falling heiress, Yang reached a conclusion.

Initiation wasn't as easy as she had thought it was.

Some Time Earlier:

Leaning back and ducking beneath a claw, Sibyl swung sideways, the emerald, magical blade he wielded cutting through the Beowolf which had saw fit to attack him with absolute ease. A quick follow-up slash upwards into the neck of the beast had it collapsing to the ground, dead along with the two others which had attacked him.

Really, he had been getting attacked constantly! Since his landing, he had captured the attention of three groups of Grimm. Two of them had been the Beowolf subspecies he had encountered upon entering this world, while the other group he had been unable to place, the Abyss-covered thing looking vaguely bear-like.

Taking a moment to pause and think, Sibyl took a glance back at the cliff side they had been thrown from. He was still heading in the right direction… probably. Directions had never been his forte, though his lack of them never caused any real issues. Lordran, while a big place, was hard to get lost in without gaining something of value in getting lost. A wrong turn could take you to corners unexplored, which offered wondrous secrets of their own. The plight of the undead had been going on for centuries, so he never felt too rushed as to avoid exploring all Lordran had to offer. That was what had led him here, indirectly. A simple trip to the Darkwood Basin and he was in the ancient city of Oolacile. One encounter with Manus later, he now lived beneath a different moon.

Life could be rather surprising like that.

Adjusting the sword against his shoulder to lay it more comfortably, he continued on through the greenery. His eye was beginning to get more and more irritated, and he had a few theories on why, the most prominent being these creatures of the Abyss were agitating it. Every time he stared at one, it just... hurt. The idea the beasts themselves were behind it made enough sense, though he was far from an expert on the Abyss.

Then again, was anyone an expert on the Abyss? He might be the closest they had, which was rather sad. It just showed how much they were bumbling around in the dark, pardon the pun, with regards to the Abyss. Not like it'd be easy to get someone to want to be an expert on the Abyss, anyways.

All he needed to know about the Abyss was it could never be allowed to spread, and in that respect, he would do all he could to stop it. Though this land might have been far beyond the point of him being able to kill the source and stop the spread, he could still assist by teaching them pyromancy and sorcery.

Every manner of weapon needed to be used to combat the Abyss-

Sibyl heard something. A rustling of the leaves above thanks to a strong breeze some might have written it off as, but not him. It was better to be paranoid than crushed, after all. He did not hesitate to leap aside, and as he did so, a large, black griffon-like Grimm landed with a smash where he'd been standing, sending dirt up everywhere and roaring. He eyed the creature steadily, noticing the spikes attached to its tail and the white, bone-like claws it had. Its head was armored with the white mask as well, much like the other Grimm he had encountered.

It was large, but nowhere near the largest beast he had ever encountered, nor was it very intimidating. It seemed to have limited offensive capabilities from a glance, though if it could breathe fire, he might rescind that statement.

Sibyl slid his foot back as the creature growled, readying his blade for whatever it might do. The two circled slowly, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The undead obliged, never being an overly patient individual; charging forward, he channeled the energy within his sword and swung it horizontally, an arc of energy firing out and slamming against the beast's head.

It exploded on impact, the energy expanding outwards and undoubtedly causing devastating damage. Sibyl squinted through the dissipating energy, trying to see if he had managed to crack the-

Scrambling, the knight managed to just avoid the claw from cutting across his side, retaliating with a fast swing at the griffon's ankle which it dodged with a quick step back. He managed to get his sword in a defensive position just as the spiked tail of the beast tried to impale him; it failed to get through the peculiar metal of his Moonlight Greatsword, carved out from the innards of Seathe's tail. He had learned not to question why dragon's tails seemed to be a treasure cove for unique weapons, just that they were

He pushed against the tail, trying to slice at it but missing. It turned around and instantly began pecking at him with its beak, aiming for his wrists. He twisted to avoid the attack, creating distance with a wide sweeping attack which had the beast rearing back. If it had sought to disarm him with those pecks, it seemed to have plenty of combat experience. Rather intelligent, especially compared to the beasts he had fought before.

Keeping his blade low, he stepped aside from a swipe of a claw and swung upwards, rapidly bringing the blade down thereafter. It cut across the chest of the Abyssal griffon, and Sibyl prepared to charge his blade for a devastating finish to his combo against the dazed beast-

But the beast simply ran forward, slamming into him with its head and sending him flying back. His body bounced briefly, though he managed to use his blade to stabilize himself and get back to his feet as the creature- Where was it?

The shadow above told him what he needed to know. Rushing forward, he fell to the ground as it impacted just behind him, a much better outcome than the alternative. Not wanting to give up the opportunity for an easy attack, he scrambled to his feet, summoning a Great Chaos Fireball with his free hand.

He threw as the beast turned around, the pyromancy impacting directlyagainst its head, and the lava which would often form with his spells began burning through its white mask…

Or not. The mask was left rendered grey and given a single fracture line, but it was not broken as the chaos lava dissipated into the air. Another few swings would likely finish the job.

Sibyl cursed as something roared behind him. A glance showed it to be one of those odd Abyssal bears, though more heavily armored and simply bigger than the ones he had encountered earlier. These were not good odds for him, especially with how they were positioned both in front and behind him. He needed to get somewhere more open, preferably a wide clearing, as opposed to the crowded floor of the forest.

Channeling pyromancy internally, he blew from his mouth, and purple mist came out to shroud the area. Ideally, the beasts would run through it and become poisoned, but given the cautious looks they gave, he doubted it. Still, the shroud of purple toxin gave him an opportunity to runas fast as he could.

Right. Find an open space, then he could deal with the two beasts who wanted to rend the flesh clean from his bone, before swallowing the two anatomical parts whole.

As he sprinted through the foliage, he could hear the roars of rage from behind him. The griffon was what had him more concerned; it could catch even him by surprise, just by virtue of being a flying creature. They were always difficult to deal with. If only he had brought Gough's Greatbow, he might have been able to ground it, though if seen in a more positivelight, at least it couldn't breathe fire in addition to its ability to fly.

He spared a glance behind and blinked at the sight of the griffon tearing out the throat of the bear-like Grimm. He had expected them to work together in all honesty, but it seemed not. Well, that was fortunate for him. Turning back ahead as the flying Grimm discarded the corpse it had created, Sibyl kept sprinting.

Trees were being knocked down in their pursuit of him, it seemed, though why the griffon would do that when it could simply fly was beyond him. Hurdling over a long-since fallen log, he spared a glance over his right shoulder in case it had closed the distance-

"Pyrrha?" He muttered, confused. She waved lightly, not stopping in her own escape. Why was Pyrrha here, and what was she running from?

His question was answered a moment later when something else crashed through the trees. He nearly fell forward in surprise but caught himself. The thing which was following Pyrrha was… well, for lack of a better term, it was a giant Abyssal-scorpion, with a glowing yellow stinger which looked very dangerous.

Wonderful.

The both of them cleared the final sections of the woods, moving out into a wide, grass-filled clearing. Perfect! Sibyl was left running for a few moments as he couldn't find the Griffon, eventually taking a hard turn and splitting off from the beast which was chasing Pyrrha. He needed to prepare for the Griffon's approach, as it was surely high in the sky and waiting to swoop in on him. Crouching forward as he continued to run, he grabbed the catalyst tucked into his boot with his left hand, the Moonlight Greatsword still held in his other one.

Casting Homing Crystal Soulmass while sprinting wasn't too difficult, and as six teal crystal formed above him, he prepared to kill the damn Griffon which saw fit to try and use him as a meal. The homing crystals only ever went where his eyes commanded them, thus so long as he didn't look back until he was ready to annihilate the creature which chased him, things would be fine. All he had to do was wait for it to attack, and as a shadow passed overhead, it was time.

Jumping forward with a roll, he turned his face around as he uncurled, catalyst already raised, his mind focusing the soul energies into form. The Griffon was charging downward at him as the Crystal Soulspear was cast. It was a rather beautiful sight, the Soulspear flying forward while the Homing Crystal Soulmass encircled it, moving forward to meet at the point of the Griffon's mask.

The explosion was a breathtaking sight, and he rather doubted the Griffon survived that.

Oh. The body of the creature was still coming at him, wasn't it? Perhaps he hadn't thought this entirely through. Bracing for impact, he was still crushed under the weight of the beast, only managing to lighten the blow by pushing off its underside and sending it forward. It still hurt something awful, but at least he survived with only a bruised everywhere.

To his utter surprise, the beast was alive, if in awful shape. Its mask was fractured everywhere, and in fact the upper right corner had fallen off completely. The body of the beast was in terrible condition, and he could see a visible limp on its front right paw. Another blow would likely finish the beast, though he noticed it crouched and looked skywards, the tale-tell signs of a flying beast attempting to take to the skies.

He would not allow it to flee. Preparing a regular Soul Spear, he looked forward to watching it drop from the sky like a stone-

"Behind you!" Pyrrha's voice shouted a moment too late.

Sibyl screamed in pain as something snapped on both sides of him, picking him up and swinging him around. He slammed his sword forward in some vague attempt to stop it, seemingly managing to do so as he was released and sent flying across the courtyard. He bounced, his helmet falling off during the awful skid along the dirt. He stayed there for a moment, senses ringing and his one-eyed vision blurry. Setting his sword down and grimacing in pain, he reached for his side, feeling where that thing had squeezed both sides of his torso.

A glance to where he'd been thrown from showed it to be that scorpion creature. Sibyl growled, a growl which he didn't realize sounded remarkably dark and different, digging his fingers into the dirt. He hadn't seen something that large coming?

A hand on his shoulder managed to bring him back into focus, and he realized someone was speaking to him. "Damn! You alright, Fireball?" A concerned, wide-eyed Yang asked. "A Deathstalker squeezing like that should kill you!"

He coughed, a bit of blood coming out with it. Shaking his head as Yang tried to force him to stay on the ground, he made to stand, grinding his teeth against each other to help minimize the pain.

"I couldn't see it. I couldn't see it. By Nito's damned tomb, I couldn't even see it attack! This eye is but another curse, leaving me worthless!" He summoned a fire ball, smashing it into the dirt beneath him and ignoring the wisps of flame which lashed out against his face, stinging lightly. His hand was left buried in the chaos-lava, the effects lessened greatly against himself. It burned but the soothing sight of the flame dissipating helped in calming him. Breathing in deep, he glanced back to find the curious gazes of… well, quite a few people. Yang, Ruby, Weiss and Jaune among them, along with two unfamiliar faces.

He sighed, lowering his head. Gods, he had made himself look insane! What a wondrous impression to make on his second day in their company.

"If your injury has left you with a vulnerable side," Weiss began, reaching out a hand for him to take, "you'll simply have to count on us to cover it."

He stared into her blue, sympathetic eyes, his gaze moving down to the hand. A moment later, he took the outstretched hand to help himself up, chuckling lightly. "I suppose so…" He stumbled as his insides squeezed, yet Weiss helped stop him from falling. He made to thank her, but…

"Oh, my God," Ruby began, her head suddenly just up in front of him, eyes alit with excitement, "I can't believe you sent that Griffon off! It was limping, and you did that all by yourself! That's so amazing; what was that big teal spear thing, anyways? Ooh, and when the Deathstalker had you, and your blade glowed and slammed in its face and it threw you-"

He tuned out the young girl's babbling, blinking and trying to finish clearing his vision.

"Ren," the orange haired girl spoke, the new voice drawing his attention "…can I learn how to throw fire?"

Ren, a boy with some sort of pink streak in his hair, seemed to freeze. "I… I don't think that's a good idea, Nora."

Before anything else could be said, Pyrrha was thrown much the same way he had been, skidding to a stop near their feet.

"Well, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!"

Yang summed up the situation quite well, he thought.

"He nearly killed a very old looking Griffon," Glynda muttered, more to herself than Ozpin. He would have killed it had the Deathstalker not interfered, with only a few spell rotations! Older Griffons were known to be very hardy, though their offensive capabilities were hardly impressive. They typically overwhelmed with numbers, given how hard they were to kill and their advantage of being able to fly. Though, to be strict, he should have killed it a bit earlier. It just didn't seem like a normal Griffon to her, even beyond being a seemingly old one. She spared a glance at Ozpin, trying to gauge his reaction. Of course, he didn't have a visible one. She herself was very interested.

"That was what he called a 'Soul Sorcery', correct?"

Ozpin nodded, still overlooking the cliff side as he watched on his own scroll.

"If… if he's offering to teach that, Ozpin, it could be the upper hand we need to finally push the Grimm back."

Ozpin finally turned to look at her, face serious. "I don't doubt it, nor do I think that Griffon was here on a mere coincidence."

Her eyes widened. "You don't think…?"

The old headmaster nodded, turning back to the forest below. "These are dangerous times, Glynda. Very dangerous, and that boy may have more influence on events than he, or even us, may think."

She nodded, moving closer to the cliff. "Mr. Sibyl doesn't seem to have a partner as of yet, and there are none left."

The headmaster tapped his cane on the ground for a few moments. "Given his… circumstances, it might be for the best."

Glynda raised a single brow, looking down at the scroll in her hand which showed just how visibly frustrated the odd boy was.

It was hard to not feel sympathy when he slammed a fire ball into the dirt, the flames going up and smacking against his face, not that he seemed to care. His eye injury must have been very recent, because he had been taken completely by surprise when the Deathstalker approached. Truth be told, she was just glad he was alive. When he had been caught between the pincers, she feared it would be the last they ever heard of him.

He didn't seem to have an Aura, either, which is something they should have thought about a lot earlier than now. It was far too late to do anything about it though, and Glynda decided to just thank the stars the leather armor he was wearing seemed to be of very high quality. She watched as he took the offered hand of Weiss Schnee, anger at himself hidden behind a weak chuckle.

Sibyl would be given no partner at this point, and she couldn't think of any teams which were missing a member at the moment. It was a blessing which she briefly considered a curse, before dismissing such a though entirely. He would either be attached to an existing team as an extra member, or exist only as a sole student.

It would at least stop him from being too heavily influenced on who he chose to teach his odd arts, though she suspected most of his students would come from the group which had gathered. It wasn't as if they could do anything about it; he had made it clear he would pick his students personally.

She narrowed her eyes when Jaune Arc showed up on the scroll. He had indirectly caused Mr. Sibyl's near-death. No matter what his transcripts said, he was not ready for the level of combat required at Beacon. Poor Pyrrha, being paired with him… though she was the one who had sought him out. Whether that was to save him from an unsightly death or out of real desire to be his partner, she didn't know.

Her gaze went back to Sibyl. He seemed too advanced for this, but simply having him as a teacher wasn't viable. It would draw far too attention, both from the council and the other kingdoms, not to mention Salem. While she highly doubted Sibyl could be forced by any of them to share his knowledge, they would damn sure try. Humming. Glynda considered the most important question which had been pestering her mind since meeting Sibyl last night.

Could she get him to teach her those Soul Arts?

The situation was dire, Weiss could admit. She grimaced as Sibyl forced her off, leaning down to pick up that odd, emerald sword of his. She could hardly believe he had managed to drive off a Griffon all by himself, and yet, he had done so. It was very impressive, doubly so with how he had done it. Those odd crystal spears of his were amazing, and she so dearly wished she could wield them, too.

…then he had been caught off guard by the Deathstalker which came from his blind-side. How he wasn't separated at the torso was beyond her, but she was very glad he was alright. It would have been a hard sight to stomach, no matter who it was, even the blonde ball of annoyance who called himself Jaune.

His eye injury was definitely recent, answering a question she'd been afraid to ask. He seemed about as frustrated about it as anyone could be, especially given that it had nearly gotten him snapped in half. He was trying to conceal the pain, but they could all hear him wheezing lightly. None commented on it.

It would be difficult for the situation to get much worse, honestly. The only thing which was missing was Ruby doing something completely, utterly idiotic and-

"Don't worry, I got this!" The child declared, readying her scythe and shooting off before anyone could even think to stop her. Yang's plea for her to stop went unheard, and the older sister rushed ahead to try and help her younger, much more foolish sibling. Sibyl sighed softly, adjusting the blade against his shoulder.

"An old friend once said: what is bravery without a dash of recklessness," he paused, staring as Ruby's little assault ended with her getting flicked back by the Deathstalker's pincer, "but that might have been a bit too bold, I think."

The group nodded in agreement, and Sibyl raised an eyebrow as Ruby began rushing back to them, Deathstalker on her tail.

His fists clenched. "I am going to render that creature little more than a pile of melted flesh and bones," he growled, a fire ball appearing in his hand. That was another thing: how did he have two Semblances?! It made no sense at all. It was also something she'd have to think about later, because as the Nevermore above roared and began to shoot feathers from above, she realized it was her partner out there and she couldn't just let Ruby die.

She'd have done something no matter who it was of course, but still, it was her partner. It would have been very embarrassing for a Schnee to lose a partner on their initiation day. Turning to Sibyl, she had an idea. "You know how you launched Jaune this morning?" He nodded, face scrunched in confusion. "Launch me." Whatever questions he had was ended when she jumped, summoning one of her glyphs beneath her at an angle.

He smirked, reaching at his waist and retrieving some sort of cloth. A moment later, Weiss was sent flyng forward, faster than even her own glyphs would allow by themselves. The line of feathers and Yang's yellow hair was little more than a blur as she flew. She spotted the Deathstalker's yellow stinger coming forward, ready to impale and finish Ruby.

She stopped it with Myrtenaster, slamming her rapier into the ground and using the ice dust within to form a wall of crystals, the stinger getting stuck. Ruby was looking away, eyes shut, and Weiss felt what anger she had mostly dissipate.

"I can't believe you," she began, staring at her partner's form. "You nearly take my head off during an earlier fight, and now, you decide to just rush at a Deathstalker?"

That seemed like the basis of her plan, anyways. Who came up with something like that? Maybe Sibyl might try it, but from what she had saw from him, he had the power and strength to make it work. Still, despite Ruby's problems, maybe she had been a bit harsh. "Despite that, we're partners. And… I suppose I can be a bit difficult."

Gah! Would Ruby get that poor, pitiful little smile off her face! "But if we're going to do this for the next four years, we're going to have to do this together," she continued, internally lamenting the fact this was her partner for the next four years. But she'd make it work. It had to work, and that was why compromise was important. "So if you quit trying to impress everyone, I'll try to be… nicer."

Ruby sighed, still sitting on the ground and looking pitiful. "I'm not trying to show off, Weiss! I just want to show you I can do this."

Well… she had a lot of complaints about her, most of them having already been listed, but she didn't seem inherently bad. Nothing like Jaune. "You're fine," she declared, turning about and walking off as Sibyl and Yang approached, the latter very concerned looking.

The siblings embraced, Yang practically squeezing the life out of Ruby. "I thought I lost you," the older sister mumbled, not daring to let Ruby go. Weiss turned her eyes away, not feeling it her place to observe personal matters.

"A fine performance, Weiss," Sibyl commented, drawing her attention as she reunited with the larger group.

She flicked her hair, smiling softly. "Of course."

He chuckled quietly as Ruby and Yang rejoined the group by the artifacts. Everything was fine, if only for a moment.

"Guys, that thing's circling back." Jaune observed, head facing the skies. And yes, the Nevermore was circling back. Drat. "What are we gonna do?"

They'd be dead meat here in the middle of the clearing, as Ruby had shown so clearly. There was only one real solution, and she'd be the one to explain it. "There's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us."

Ruby nodded. "She's right. Our mission was to get an artifact and get back to the cliff. There's no reason to fight these things!"

Sibyl scoffed, face scrunched in a scowl. "I hardly agree. I will not flee until that thing is little more than a puddle of melted flesh and bones, assistance or no."

The group shared a look as Sibyl adjusted the blade on his shoulder, staring at the stuck Deathstalker with pure, utter loathing in his eye.

"W-What? Why?! You saw what it did to you last time, right?" Jaune questioned.

Weiss had to resist the urge to choke the life out of him. What part of his small, idiotic mind thought that was a smart thing to say?

Their resident one-eyed warrior grabbed Jaune by the breatplate, pulling him up off the grounds slightly and in so close their noses were nearly touching. "If I cannot best that beast in the only thing I've ever experienced in my miserable existence thanks to the damnable injury upon my eye, then I'm hardly worthy of entrance to this school, much less my life. Now, step aside."

Jaune was hardly given a chance to step aside as he was shoved back, Sibyl moving to retrieve his iron helmet which had fallen off during his slide. It ended up bouncing over near the artifacts, in fact. The group spared a look, most a bit too shocked to say much. Well, except Ruby. "Wait! Wait," she said, rushing to get ahead of him and waving her hands wildly, "Listen – we can kill it, but not here. I saw some ruins when we were on the Nevermore; we can fight it there!"

Wait… yes, that could work. They had passed over some ruins during their flight, now that she thought about it. Sibyl nodded. "A fine observation, young Rose," he declared, moving towards the circle of artifacts and grabbing one: a simple pawn.

The rest of them followed suit, Ruby grabbing a knight piece while Jaune grabbed a rook and united with Pyrrha. Why Pyrrha had sought out him as a partner was beyond the heiress, but at least she seemed happy. Actually, it had only just occurred to her, but… "Sibyl? Did you not find a partner?"

He nodded, pocketing the pawn piece. "I did not, but I'm sure I'll be placed on a team regardless." Based on what he did to the Griffon, Weiss was inclined to agree. Pieces retrieved by each group, they rushed off, Ruby and Sibyl leading the way, one with a peaceful aura and the other haunting.

Ruby had been right, and Sibyl had no real trouble admitting the fact. In his anger at being tossed aside like some worthless doll, he had wanted to engage the Deathstalker instantly and enact revenge. With the Nevermore circling overhead, it would have been a death sentence. Engaging it here, however, in the midst of the ruins was a much wiser and advantageous position. It both limited the angles the Nevermore could take and increased their avenues of attack.

Peeking out from behind the pillar he had taken to using as cover, he ducked back to avoid the feathers from striking his face. Yes, fighting out in the open without the Nevermore occupied would have been an awful idea. Taking another glance out from the pillar when it was clear to do so, he spotted his target enter the clearing.

He could feel his eye flare up in his anger. For once, he didn't even try to stop it, because that would have taken a few minutes, and he intended to give the oversized scorpion no rest. Casting Power Within, he could feel the Aura both invigorate and drain him simultaneously. Sibyl stayed crouched, waiting for the opportunity to best strike.

Nora had engaged the flying Nevermore with some sort of ranged explosive cannon, something that he was very interested in now that he'd seen it. He was not given much time to admire it, however, as the Deathstalker sought to attack her while her back was turned much as it had done to him. Rushing out with a roar, he slashed with his charged blade, the energy blade smashing in the side of its face and drawing its attention. Perfect.

Still marching forward, he conjured a Great Chaos Fireball, tossing it near the limbs of the scorpion. It scooted back, avoiding the explosion, before rushing forward again. Of course, it hadn't seemed to see the patches of chaos lava which were left over. It roared in anguish when it skittered over top of the lava, leaping back and prancing around on its many legs.

He didn't give it a pause, tossing another fire ball which impacted upon its mask. He charged through the explosion of the flame, stepping back briefly to avoid the strike of its stinger before continuing, swinging his blade against the joint of its left pincer. He had to duck to avoid a blow thereafter, and it prepared to strike again on his right. He braced for the blow, but it ended up being blocked by Jaune's shield.

Perhaps he was not entirely useless. Nodding in thanks, Sibyl didn't waste the opportunity, swinging his blade upwards before thrusting it into one of the Deathstalker's eyes. It moved back, striking at him with his stinger – and as it did so, Ren leapt over him, using his bladed weapons to dig a hold onto the tail as it swung back. He was firing… something at it, judging by the noises, and Sibyl could see the stinger begin to loosen.

Pyrrha had already thrown her shield before he could say anything; it was a fine throw, and he couldn't help but admire when it cut through and left the stinger falling, the shield even bouncing right back to Pyrrha.

Sibyl slid forward, letting go of his blade as he conjured Chaos Storm, kindling the flame internally from his chest before slamming it into the ground, the pillars of fire forming everywhere underneath the beast. The flames raised from all around, warming him as if he was in the ruins of Izalith itself.

Much more importantly, however, it ended the life of the damn beast which had made a fool of him.

He crawled out just as it collapsed, too weakened to even stand. He blinked at the sight of Nora falling from the sky, a hammer in her hands which she slammed against the stinger stuck on its head like a nail, a satisfying crunch ensuring that the creature was in fact dead. He laughed, lying flat on his back and admiring the blue sky above.

Or, that had been the plan. Instead he got to watch as Ruby was fired at the great Nevermore, her scythe catching the underside of its neck. She then scaled the entirety of the cliff, moving rapidly even with such a great weight. And then, as she reached the top of the cliff and the Nevermore snagged on something, its head was cut off cleanly, petals of red filling the sky and falling freely.

Well, color him impressed.