Hello again, all! Today, we cover a bit of the special lessons that our wonderful teams are going through before we start digging into the meat of this chapter

Today, we hunt!

Target: Qurupeco

After the first week, we started getting used to the workload. It did help that Weiss learning I was her messaging friend mellowed her out.

"Dolt, watch that lightning!"

Well, I guess mellow was a tad strong. She still got annoyed at sis and me when we were trying to goof off, but she only yelled when we did something stupid.

"Watch your feet, Ms. Rose!"

I grunted and almost tripped over the barrier Professor Goodwitch raised in front of me. See, that was the interesting thing about our off-course lessons. We had to do so many different things in the three classes, but each was themed.

The first class had us work in a variety of uneven terrain. You know, jungles, desert, mountains, snow, that kind of stuff. All of that was accomplished with a liberal application of Dust and Professor Goodwitch's Semblance.

However, if we didn't want homework, we had to clean up the mess afterwards. That was fun.

Anyway, the second class was completely underwater. We went to the pool and jumped in, in full gear.

Yeah, that hadn't made anyone happy.

However, Professor Oobleck, who'd been recruited for this class, basically told us to suck it up. In his words, we were 'fools that think every threat comes on solid ground' so we had to learn how to fight underwater. Man, Weiss had been so upset by that; Blake had been as well. First thoguh, poor Jaune had needed to learn how to swim in his gear, otherwise the weight would make him drown.

Now, after that ordeal, we'd been put in a wind tunnel and taught how to fight in the open air. It was… unique. After all, how many people can say they must sky dive and swing a scythe longer than they are at a moving target, simultaneously?

Adding on that there were seven other people in there with you trying to hit the same target?

Yeah… let's just say more than just egos were bruised in there.

Finally, after all that, Professor Goodwitch would get us out. Then, she'd assign us something to do with our powers, Semblances, or weapons. Usually all three. However, our very first assignment was something I don't think even Yang could have thought up.

We had to learn how to… roar.

Yep, roar. R.O.A.R, roar. Trust me, we were so confused, but Professor Goodwitch just told us to scream for as long and hard as we could. We all just looked at each other, but when Goodwitch starts glowing, you start doing.

Just thinking about it made me blush. We all sounded like dying animals, and Professor Goodwitch just stared at us until we couldn't go on. Then, she dismissed us.

And that pattern basically repeated itself the first week. Sure, we got assigned other things to do, but Professor Goodwitch kept making us scream, even when she gave us other things to do.

But, that brings us back to the present. Right as I ran into a wall that hadn't been there previously. I grunted and flipped back, used to the impacts by now.

"Come now, Ms. Rose. You're falling behind the others."

I growled and flashed after the others. Something I'd learned when we'd started this training was that my Semblance and Stygian powers worked in great concert. If I really concentrated, I could go much faster than I had before, but that gave me severe tunnel vision.

So, my face became very well acquainted with a variety of surfaces. Mostly walls.

On the bright side, I was getting better at accessing the power. At first, I could only let it out in a big burst, with the changes overcoming me physically and mentally for a brief time. Now, I could channel a little trickle of the stuff, and make flashes out of the lightning.

Not the most impressive trick, but hey, baby steps.

Anyway, I caught up with the others and stopped myself next to Weiss. She rolled her eyes at me, but I bumped the fist she held out.

Today, we'd just run through a course made to resemble the conditions of an icy mountain. Weiss, forbidden from using her Glyphs until she could run the course naturally, was the last to arrive after me. First had been… Blake I think, followed by Ren and the others trickled in shortly after that.

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "Glad you could join us, Ms. Rose. But, on account of you using your Semblance to arrive, everyone must run the course again."

Everyone groaned and Weiss gave me an exasperated glare. I smiled and scratched my head, not really sure how I'd forgotten that Weiss wasn't the only one who couldn't use their Semblance.

Jaune spoke. "Um, Professor, I know I've asked this already, but can you remind me why we're doing a mountain today?"

Goodwitch, I'll just call her that from here on, stared at him. "Mr. Arc, the reason is to prepare you for possible hunts in Atlas or the Vale mountains. Under that snow can be any number of crevices and caves, and learning to detect them while moving is crucial to your survival."

Jaune sighed, nodding his answer. Goodwitch sent us back to the beginning, and after coming in about the same order as last time, minus yours truly, we got a break. We almost collapsed on the floor, but we were able to make our way to a set of benches bolted to the wall of the room we were using.

Well, it wasn't a room per se. Just a large, indoor space that Beacon used for all kinds of things. Made it a pain to clean up, though.

Pyrrha spoke when everyone had some water. "So, how's everyone been keeping? We haven't talked much since we started on Monday."

Yang stretched. "Ah, you know, keeping busy. We'd have a lot of free time, if it weren't for these extra lessons."

Nora jumped in. "But, we get to do some real cool things! I mean, we get to go skydiving every day!"

Ren pulled her back to the bench. "Nora, not all of us have your level of energy. Besides, I've gotten more than one bruise from your…enthusiasm in that wind tunnel."

Nora pouted. "Meanie."

Jaune chuckled. "Has anyone figured out that roar thing yet? I've been busy."

Blake rolled her eyes from behind her ever-present book. "Please, we all know Pyrrha's been helping you with your form. You guys just head out to the roof and whack at each other until Pyrrha beats you silly."

Yang laughed. "Well, Pyrrha's the best fighter out of all of us. I don't think even I'd win."

Pyrrha smiled demurely before turning to Jaune. "He's already improved a great deal. Give him time, and he'll be just as good as me, I know it."

Jaune glanced away, my keen eyes catching that faint blush. Geez, he was just so funny when he was embarrassed! I coughed. "Well, I got a couple new mods for my sweetheart. I'll be able to use black Dust rounds, once I make some adjustments."

Weiss sighed next to me. "Ruby, we talked about this. Gravity Dust is not meant for casual use, especially in bullet form. The recoil's enough to send a grown man flying."

Yang guffawed. "You should listen to Snowflake over there, sis! Last thing we want is our leader going through a wall since she got too excited."

I pouted, glaring at Weiss out of the corner of my eye. She was giggling on the inside; I could see it in her eyes.

Jaune groaned. "Can we get back to what I was trying to ask? Has anyone figured out the roar?"

Silence met his question and Jaune sighed. "I just can't think of what to do. I mean, how are we supposed to roar? We're humans, not lions."

I hummed, Weiss huffing beside me. "Why do we even do it? We waste time at the end of the day, just to sit around and scream like barbarians."

Yang laughed. "Ah, come on, Snowflake, it's real nice to scream. I mean, we all scream for ice cream, right?"

She looked around, arms open and lips in a grin. We just ignored her, but I caught a smirk on Blake's face.

Weiss continued. "Do not call me Snowflake. Anyway, I see no reason why we sit there and scream. Frankly, it's demeaning, and does nothing to help us learn how to fight."

I didn't really want to agree with that, but Weiss made a good case. Why put that in these special lessons, when it doesn't do anything?

"Hm, I see you're still stewing over it. Tell me, students, why are you here? Answer me that."

Goodwitch walked up to us, her green eyes staring through to our very souls. …Ok that was an exaggeration, but she has intense eyes.

Weiss answered. "To harness the mysterious powers granted to us as so called 'Icons'. In other words, we're still just training to be Hunters and Huntresses, like all of the other students."

Goodwitch nodded. "That is correct, but do you remember what this is training you to hunt?"

Blake answered this time. "Beasts, things that aren't Grimm but are just as good at killing, if not more so."

Goodwitch nodded. "Correct again. Now, can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Grimm, and the Beasts?"

We all paused, not sure how she wanted us to answer. I had an inkling, but it just sounded weird.

"Ms. Rose, I see an idea bubbling in that skull of yours. Care to share?"

I gulped and glanced around. Everyone was staring at me and I could see Weiss giving me a 'just do it' look. I sighed and answered. "Well, Grimm don't really react to outside stimulus. They find things by sensing negative emotions and not much else. The Beasts are closer to actual animals, so maybe they'd be vulnerable to outside influences?"

Goodwitch nodded. "Good, Ms. Rose. While little information remains about specific vulnerabilities of the Beasts, many of the texts that reference them show them to be very sensitive to sound."

That's when it clicked. If we could get the roars down, we could manipulate how the Beasts heard. That was a big advantage!

Goodwitch smirked. "I see you've come around. Now then, Doctor Oobleck is waiting for you next door. I want all of you to try and successfully roar by next week, not just scream. You must intimidate them, and no mere human will do."

We nodded, and then hurried toward the pool. I had to admit, it was nice that we'd finally figured out why we needed the roar. It was just a matter of figuring out what could let us really roar, rather than sound like Zwei with a tummy ache.

My mind conjured a silly image of that sweet little corgi barking at something like that Great Jaggi we killed. I giggled even harder when I thought of the Great Jaggi running away from that little sausage on legs.

I sighed, and tapped Weiss on the shoulder. "Hey, Weiss? Do you think us getting the roars down has to do with our Icon power?"

Weiss sighed, falling in step with me. "I wish I could say. But, I applaud your idea, it was very good reasoning. If you could keep that reasoning in a normal atmosphere, I wouldn't call you a dolt all the time."

I giggled. "Ah, where's the fun in that? Friends annoy each other all the time, and best friends can insult each other without any issue."

Weiss frowned. "Then tell your sister she's not my best friend. I want her to call me by my name, not Snowflake."

I shrugged. "That's just Yang. She gives nicknames to everyone she meets, and really likes bad puns. I'm actually kinda surprised she hasn't subjected us to many of those."

Weiss huffed again, emphasizing her displeasure with a stomp of her foot. "Well, I still want her to stop. She's brushed off my every offer for a study group until the night before the assignment's due, and then she comes begging for us to help."

I sighed. "Yeah, she has some bad habits. Nevertheless, I will say there's no one you'd want more in a fight. She cares for her teammates; she just needs time to get over her impressions."

Weiss sighed and nodded. "Well, I know I'd prefer you over her in a fight. I trust you, not her."

That made my heart flutter a bit. I'd made friends before, but I'd never heard someone say they trusted me with such sincerity. Not since Yang.

I smiled and pulled Weiss into a side hug. "You and I are going to be best friends forever, Weiss!"

Weiss blushed at the contact. I'd forgotten she didn't like people touching her, again. "Get off me, dolt! We'll be late if we don't make the pool soon!"

I grinned and saw Weiss glare. "Ruby Rose, if you dare-"

I grabbed her arm and we flashed to the pool, a trail of rose petals mixed with lightning showing our path.

Ah, it was fun to be at Beacon. Especially if I had my friends.

"Ms. Rose, Ms. Schnee! Glad you could join us! Now, since they're late, we'll be doing five more laps, with weights!"

Well, it'd be fun if they didn't kill me first.

-The next week-

We stood at attention before Goodwitch, each of us staring straight ahead. Goodwitch paced along, eyeing each of us critically.

"Alright, let's hear it. Give me your best roar, try to make me feel afraid. You won't, but I'll be able to tell if it can scare anything more than a puppy."

She pointed to Pyrrha. "Ms. Nikos, you can start us off."

Pyrrha nodded and we all did the smart thing. We took out earplugs, and put them in.

Goodwitch rolled her eyes before nodding to Pyrrha. Pyrrha took a deep breath before a brief shimmer of black lightning shimmered on her throat, and she let loose. It was still loud, even with the earplugs, but I could at least place the roar as being closer to a keening screech with a rough undertone.

It was funny to realize it was coming from Pyrrha, though. Come on, think about it, a seventeen-year-old girl with looks and a body to die for screeching like a banshee. The force was something else though, considering Goodwitch's hair was pushed back.

Pyrrha finally stopped, panting at using so much air. Goodwitch applauded. "Wonderfully done, Ms. Nikos. Work on the octaves, and you can make yourself sound like a hell beast."

Pyrrha nodded and stepped back, face glowing red.

She must be so embarrassed. I wouldn't want to show that off in public either.

Goodwitch turned to Blake. "Ms. Belladonna, you're next."

Blake sighed and stepped forward. I tried to pay attention as everyone went forward, but I just tried to make sure my hearing was ok. First there was Pyrrha screeching, then we had everything from a sandpaper jaguar and a bellowing Ursa, and finally to Weiss's best rendition of a pissed off lion.

Then, it was my turn.

Goodwitch's hair looked like a twister had hit it. "You've all done very well so far. Now, Ms. Rose, if you would."

I nodded and stepped up. I smiled and took the deepest breath I could before letting it all out. I couldn't really hear it, but Yang had described it as a wolf's howl mixed with the sound of crashing metal. It was quite intimidating, if I do say so myself.

Goodwitch nodded. "That's good. So, tell me, how did you figure out how to make these roars?"

Nora raised her hand. "We just focused our aura into our throats! Once we had the… power? Yeah, once we had the power awakened, we just took the Aura it was in and put it in our throats."

Goodwitch smirked. "How droll. But, it is effective, that much I can say. Now, we should vacate the area. I don't think any of you would like to explain to the dozens of students that doubtlessly heard you what those noises were."

We collectively gulped and slinked out of the gym. Blake and I had it easy since we could vanish, but the others had to sneak out. I offered Weiss and Yang to take them with me, but they both told me no. Can't imagine why.

Thankfully, after we'd escaped, a message popped up from Goodwitch saying we had the rest of the day off before reporting for the field trip to the Forever Fall forest in the morning. There was a short attachment at the end of the message, but it looked like only me, Weiss, and Ren noticed it. The others had gone off to do their own things.

We shrugged and clicked the package, scanning through the document silently. I felt nerves crawl into my stomach when I finished. Basically, we weren't going to Forever Fall for the sap, like planned. Instead, Team JMPR would be on the hunt for a pack of Beasts consisting of Great Jaggis, Velocidromes, Iodromes, and something called a Qurupeco. I didn't know what an Iodrome or a Qurupeco were, but Professor Ozpin had the Iodrome marked as a two-star threat, while the Qurupeco was a three-star.

I sighed and closed the scroll. "Well, there goes relaxation time."

Ren shrugged. "It's not all that surprising. We ran into two of them during initiation, so it's not too far out of left field for more to show up."

Weiss shook her head. "Yeah, but this is four Beasts at the very least. Two of them took eight of us, so if we don't divide and conquer, this'll end badly."

Ren nodded. "And there will be other students too. Most of the first years are going on this trip, and Professor Ozpin only gave us a general area to search. How did he even know these things had shown up?"

I shrugged. "I'd put my money on security cameras. However, let's go grab the others, now. We need to strategize."

Ren leapt to his feet and walked towards the cafeteria. Weiss knew where Yang and Blake would be at this point in the day, so I went to grab Pyrrha and Jaune.

As expected, they were on top of the dorms, sparring away. Jaune had improved a lot, especially in such a short time, but Pyrrha was still wiping the floor with him. She had wiped the floor with him once, literally. That was during their first day of training and she wanted to show Jaune her Semblance.

I giggled at that memory, but sighed when Jaune took a hit to his gut and folded to the floor. Pyrrha started apologizing, like always, and I just had to wonder how someone like her could stand doing photo-shoots for cereal brands.

Jaune took the offered hand and Pyrrha pulled him up, the two of them just looking at each other with each other's hands wrapped around their forearms. I started to feel awkward as the silence dragged on, so I cleared my throat.

They jumped apart as though they'd been poked by a burning stick. Pyrrha's face blended with her hair while Jaune tried to salvage the broken moment. "O-oh, hey Ruby! Did you need something?"

I smiled, putting a bit more sugar than I needed to in my face. "Oh, you know, just came to call you back to the dorm. I know we have scrolls but there's no way you've looked at them recently."

Jaune scratched at his head while Pyrrha's face flushed further. "Can you… just tell us what's going on?"

I smirked. "Like I said, team meeting. Team JMPR meeting, specifically."

They grew curious and followed me after grabbing their things. I found Weiss and Ren with our other wayward teammates, and we took a seat at the big table in JNPR's room.

It was somewhat odd, since we'd found out that our hallway ended in a dead-end so our rooms were connected. That had been an awkward discovery since Jaune was the one to walk through while I was doing some delicate work on Crescent Rose.

Needless to say, I was not happy.

Anyway, ramblings aside, we were all business, as everyone got up to speed. I'd even remembered to go grab the 'Book of Monsters', as I had since dubbed it. Therefore, while everyone was reading, I flipped over to the pages holding our two new foes.

Weiss spoke first. "Alright, Ruby, you've been staring at that book for the last few minutes. What's in it?"

Ruby glanced up, a sheepish grin on my face when I realized everyone was staring at me. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you guys. See… remember that book Professor Ozpin told us about, the one with the details on the Beasts? Well… my Dad had it back at the house, since we thought it was just a storybook. He… sent it with me, without me knowing."

Everyone stared at me before Yang started cracking up. "Ah, that's just like Dad! Always thinking he's doing one thing while doing another. Small wonder mom always had to lead him around."

I giggled, but sent Yang a withering glare. We'd agreed that mom would not be mentioned until we could trust our teammates implicitly, and we were still a long way from that point, regardless of me knowing Weiss.

Yang shrugged at me and Blake went next. "That's convenient. Say, are there passages that describe what we'll be going up against?"

I nodded. "Yep, there are. Says here that GJs howl a lot and are super aggressive. Vs are fast but not the toughest, Is are able to spit poison, and Qs are able to imitate the calls of other Beasts while looking like a Mistral festival."

Everyone stared at me.

I shrugged. "What, I'm just summarizing. The book's really poetic in the descriptions, so I just pulled out the important bits."

Nora tilted her head. "What's with the letters? Are those like, codenames?"

Weiss sighed. "I'm not surprised if they are. Let me guess, GJ is Great Jaggi, V is Velocidrome, I is Iodrome, and Q is Qurupeco. Am I right?"

I grinned. "On the nose, partner mine!"

Pyrrha frowned. "Poison? That sounds bad. How many did the message say there were?"

Jaune tapped at his scroll. "Doesn't say, just the types. Pessimism says four of each, optimism says one of each."

Nora laughed. "Only four of each? Why not, like, eight of each? Or ten?"

Ren sighed. "Because, Nora, we wouldn't need to keep this a secret if there were that many. They'd be sending in the military if that was the case."

Nora smiled. "True that, Ren!"

Weiss slammed her hand on the table. "Stop goofing off! We need to figure out who's going to be going with who, during the hunt. Normally, I'd say partners with partners, but that won't work."

Ren sighed. "I know, I know. My Semblance only makes Grimm ignore me, and testing it on these things, when we're still inexperienced, is a bad idea. Add on Jaune's Semblance being a mystery, and we're short any easy combinations."

Pyrrha sighed. "They're too large for me to use my Semblance effectively too. I may be able to manipulate large amounts of inanimate objects, but anything that tries to struggle is out of my league."

Jaune smirked at her. "Ah, don't you worry. We may not have any easy solutions, but we also have the best fighter in our year with us. Not to mention you got this guy!"

He pointed a thumb at himself and Pyrrha giggled. The rest of us just rolled our eyes. I mean, they'd known each other for little more than two weeks and they acted like love-sick puppies. Well, Pyrrha did, Jaune's skull could split concrete so he didn't count.

Weiss cleared her throat. "Enough, Jaune. Now, as I was saying, we need to put ourselves in units that complement each other. The question is, out of all of us here, who goes best with who?"

My hand shot in the air. "Uh, Weiss, I work best with you. We've been working together in all the partner assignments since the first day of classes and your Glyphs let me change direction midair."

Weiss huffed. "Anyone else think of anything better? Ruby makes a good point, grudging as I am to admit it."

Yang laughed. "Ah, don't be so cold, Snowflake! You two work well together, and I certainly can't help her when she's going full tilt. I'll take Blake, though."

Weiss glared at Yang. "Explain."

Blake did so. "She needs someone to distract the target when her Semblance runs dry. My clones can do that without issue, and I'll hit any weak points she makes pop up."

Blake's smug grin infuriated Weiss, I could tell. Yang's equally smug grin just made it worse. Thankfully, Nora jumped in. "I'll take Pyrrha! She can help me if I get a bit too excited and overextend."

Pyrrha smiled. "Sure, if you keep your hands on Magnild. I can't help you if there's nothing to grab."

Ren sighed. "Well, that leaves me and Jaune. We'll take care of the Vs I guess, since we both have an idea on how to fight that one."

Yang stretched. "So… we basically went with partners minus a two-woman switch? Man, talk about fluff."

Weiss growled, but I got in the first word. "Alright, you know what that means!"

Everyone stared at me, excitement clear in each of their eyes. Oh wait, they were looking at me in dread, I was just so excited that I thought they were excited too.

"Weapon mods!"

-Hours later-

"Alright, I think that's good!"

I folded Crescent Rose carefully and tucked her into my locker; my eyes alight with pride. I heard some groans behind me, but I ignored them. All the prep work was complete, now we just had to go face the big lizards and get the job done!

I shut my locker and turned around, blinking when I saw only Yang and Blake. Yang was snacking on something I couldn't make out while Blake had yet another book in hand. I could tell she liked it if the intense gaze in her eyes meant anything, but I couldn't figure out why she kept shifting her legs.

I shrugged it off and grabbed some heavenly cookies and a glass of milk, sitting down and inhaling my snack. Yang answered my question before I even thought to ask it. "If you're wondering where Snowflake went, she's in the shower. Said something about scrubbing away grease."

Ah, that explained it. I'd been super excited to get into the gears of Weiss's rapier, but it'd had taken much more lubricant than I ever thought possible to get all the gears running smoothly. She could switch Dust vials in a split second now, but I just knew she wouldn't speak to me for a week after the hunt tomorrow.

One does not ruin the clothes of Weiss Schnee and not get scolded out of their shirt.

I sighed and sat back. "So, Yang, why Snowflake for Weiss? I thought you'd be a bit more insulting."

Yang shrugged. "Eh, I would've if she'd kept being mean to you. I had even thought of calling her 'Ice Queen', but she mellowed enough for me to call her a special little Snowflake."

I rolled my eyes. "And what's Blake's nickname? I know you've come up with one, but you haven't shared it."

Yang smirked, eyeing Blake's fascinated gaze. "Hey, Bellabooty!"

Blake jolted, glaring at Yang. "What did you call me?!"

Yang laughed. "Come on, that's too easy! Not my fault your gear shows off!"

Blake growled. "Call me that again and I'll jam Gambol Shroud in your eye."

Yang just kept laughing, and I decided to leave before this got worse. I wandered into our room, and started writing out another entry in my journal, not caring about the crashes and shout s coming from the other room. It was actually nice, if I do say so myself. It just felt normal and normal was sometimes the greatest thing in the world.

Now if Weiss could just finish up in the shower, I could hit the sack…

I sighed and pulled out a Grimm Anatomy assignment. By the time Weiss got out of there, I could finish this whole thing.

Which I did… along with my Combat homework, history homework, and survival quiz…

I wasn't getting to shower tonight, was I?

-Morning-

I didn't get to shower.

By the time Weiss finally came out of there, I was dead to the world. Yang got to shower, Blake got to shower, but I didn't. Now I felt all icky and looked like a mess while we were waiting for the bullhead to take us out to the Forever Fall forest.

Weiss wasn't looking at me, while I could hear Yang snickering along with Nora at my poor state. I guess this was my punishment for ruining Weiss's clothes.

Geez, now the other teams are giving me weird looks too. The only consolation I can take is that Penny won't be going to the forest until later today.

Oh, before you ask, Penny was a friend I'd made last week. She was an odd girl with red hair and green eyes, but she was friendly and I liked talking with her. However, she also followed me around from time to time, and had this disposition to make sure I was ok whenever I was uncomfortable. It was as though she was a robot.

I shook my head and stood ready as Goodwitch walked up to us. "Good day, students. I hope you're all ready to go on this lovely trip. As you all know, there are Grimm in the Forever Fall forest, but I will be accompanying you to keep them away. You are to focus on your objective: retrieve the sap."

Her eyes trailed over to team CRDL, her eyes narrowing at the four boys. "Also, know that any interference from other teams is prohibited. We are here for one thing, and it's not petty feuds."

I glanced over to team CRDL and wondered why they were trying to look innocent. "Hey, Blake, what's the story with them?"

Blake glanced over. "Oh, them? They're the local bullies from what I hear. They've been giving the Faunus students a hard time, and I hear they don't like Pyrrha, since she always beats them so easily. Hopefully they don't pull something stupid."

I sighed, but almost yelped when Goodwitch popped up in front of me. "You look worse for wear, Ms. Rose. Be glad that Grimm can't sniff you out, because I certainly can."

I cringed, looking away from the disapproving stare. Goodwitch walked away. "Come along students, we have a long day ahead of us."

I dragged myself into the Bullhead, and sighed when only Yang sat next to me. I knew I stunk, but come on!

Yang started playing a game on her scroll, so I just looked out the window the whole trip. The Forever Fall forest was well known for its pink trees that had a super sweet sap in them, as well as being known for the large concentrations of Ursai that lived there.

It was something of a rite of passage to get the sap if you were a student at Beacon, or that's what Yang told me. I took everything she said with a grain of salt, though, especially after the "Baked Bean Fiasco" that happened when I was ten.

On the bright side, the trip was quick, and Team JMPR was walking through the trees with little issue. Goodwitch had been kind enough to point us in the Beasts' last known location, and the prints left in the soft earth were easy to spot.

Ren stopped us. "Hold up, the tracks vanished for two of them. The largest, and the one that belongs to the V."

I smiled, proud that we'd started using my designations. "Ok, so, that means the Q took off. But, where'd the V go?"

Jaune yelled from the left, the familiar blue scales of the Velocidrome flashing over his body. The raptor skidded to a halt and screeched at us, making us scatter into our groups. Ren and Jaune would take care of this one, while Pyrrha and Nora hunted down the I. In the meantime, Blake and Yang would go after the GJ while Weiss and I got the Q.

…Man, that shorthand sounded weird in my head.

As for why Weiss and I got the big guy? Well, it could fly, and Weiss's Glyphs let us fight that thing on both land and air. I was also the best aerial fighter of our group, as shown in our training.

Weiss and I were already running through the woods when we heard roars come from behind us. It sounded like Jaune and Ren were using what they had to take that V down.

"Hey, Weiss!" I called. "What do you think this guy looks like? If he's big, shouldn't' we have seen him by now?"

Weiss huffed, skating on one of her glyphs to keep up with me. "That book of yours said it was green. We should see it from a mile away with all the pink around us!"

I sighed. "Why are you so mad? Don't you have, like, seven dresses exactly like that one?"

Weiss rounded on me. "That dress was expensive! In addition, it was my favorite! I tried repeatedly to go get changed, but you kept dragging me back!"

Oof. "Hey, I know I'm zealous, but you should've just told me!"

Weiss's voice took on a growl similar to her roar. "I did!"

We were about to get into it when a strange honking exploded above us and I ran into a webbed red tail at top speed. It was heading toward me and I felt my aura barely stop the recoil before I went flying through the woods.

"Ruby!"

I could tell it was Weiss's voice, but I had to roll away from a big orange bill clamming into the ground next to me. It dug a deep hole into the ground and it kept coming so I kept rolling. It wasn't until a blast of fire from Weiss slammed into my attacker stopped the assault.

I finally got a look at the Beast that had jumped me and felt myself stare. It was a big bird with an orange beak and green scales with lighter green feathers and red skin on its wings and tail. Black rocks sat on the tips of its wings and a big red oval sat on its white underbelly.

It scratched at the ground and took a deep breath, the red oval expanding into a big sack before screaming a roar that was one part goose, one part avalanche.

I took that challenge personally, answering with my own roar. It flinched visibly at the sound and Weiss took the opening. She flew forward on her Glyph and dug Myrtenaster into its wing. It screeched in pain, and then flung Weiss back into the woods, a sick crack echoing a moment later.

I pulled out Crescent Rose and sent five rounds of fire at it, but it charged through the bullets and swung its leg at me. I jumped over it and started running around it, gulping when I saw the gashes its talons had left in the tree where I once was.

It kept after me, swiping with talons, tail, and wings, but I pushed my Semblance to the limit to outrun it. For something so large, it was fast and accurate. I threw in some of my own attacks as I ran, but nothing did anything more than scratch it.

I growled, but yelped when I felt a Glyph launch me into the air, away from another tail swipe. Weiss was back and she looked pissed. I heard Myrtenaster's gears flip and fire bloomed on Weiss's blade. She swung and sent a needle of fire at the hole she'd punched in the Q's wing, but it got the fire on one of the black nubs at the point of its wing.

I could have sworn it smiled and started slamming its nubs together, sparks flying when they hit. I had a bad feeling about that.

"Weiss, get out of the way!"

She didn't listen, so combination of pride and distance making her ignore me, and she sent a lance of lightning forward. The Q leapt over the energy, its wings spread wide, and slammed its nubs together where Weiss had once been.

A blast of fire and sound sent Weiss rolling away, even as the Q leapt at her again. She flipped away, but it kept going, each blast coming closer and closer to Weiss. At that point, I had no choice but to grab Weiss. Unfortunately, she kept rolling and dodging around the thing.

I groaned and shot forward, burying my blade in the thigh of the monster as it wound up for another attack. It howled and started kicking hard, trying to dislodge me, but I held on and started formulating a plan.

We need force to get through this guy's scales. Not even my sweet heart's doing enough to even hurt this thing… Wait, that's it!

I pulled myself off its leg, but it spun around and kicked me across the woods, one of its talons piercing my aura and digging a bloody furrow into my side. I grimaced in pain, but ran over to Weiss's side and pulled her away, running until we couldn't hear the Q anymore.

I panted, the adrenaline from the encounter fading. It hadn't been that long, but the sheer relentlessness of the Q surprised me to no end. It just kept coming and coming, using everything from that club of a tail to its claws to try and kill us. Then, there was the fact it apparently had some kind of flint on its wings that caused freaking explosions.

I rounded on Weiss when I caught my breath. "What was that?! Why did you stand your ground against that thing?!"

Weiss shot up. "How was I supposed to know it could cause explosions by clapping?! Besides, you just ran at it and I had to improvise!"

My frustration grew until I felt my side pulse in pain. My grimace made Weiss's face soften. "Where'd it hit you?"

I grabbed my side. "It's nothing, just a scratch."

Weiss wouldn't hear it. "Like I'd believe that. That thing's talons are longer than Myrtenaster, there's no way it's just a scratch."

I grimaced again, but she forced my hands away and gauged the wound. Her frown deepened when she moved some of the cloth away. "Ruby, this cut nearly got through your muscle. Two inches deeper and it would have disemboweled you."

That… was bad.

Weiss sighed. "Thankfully, your Aura's already starting to heal it. It'll take time to heal, but you should be just fine, as long as you don't take any more hits there."

I nodded and sat down, looking at the Q's blood staining Crescent Rose. "Ya know, Weiss… I think I have an idea to take that guy down."

Weiss sighed. "It's the Glyph platforms, right? May I remind you, I was the one who came up with that."

I giggled, smile awkward. "Oh, right, silly me. But yeah, can we do that? I'll need a lot of Glyphs if it's going to work."

Weiss sighed. "I'll need to use a lot of power and concentration for that, Ruby. I'll need to access my…inner Barioth? What can we call the Icon powers that make them sound less awkward?"

An idea came to me. "Beast mode?"

Weiss gave me a flat glare. "No, not that. Something short and sweet."

I had another idea. "Jam?"

Her face grew annoyed. "And why jam of all things?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, just thought it could be a code word. Ya know like, 'I need a lot of jam for this' in case we have other people around us."

Weiss sighed. "We'll think on it later. Anyway, it'll take a lot of power. You have to be ready to go when I say go. Understood?"

I nodded before the world blurred and my arm erupted in pain. I barely heard Weiss shout my name before I was shaken like a rag doll.

My Aura barely kept my arm attached, but I found myself flying through the air and rolling on the ground a moment later. The Q had hunted us down, and if the mangled mess that was my left arm meant anything, it was out for blood.

I don't know why I didn't feel any pain, even as I saw blood leak down the torn flesh and disjointed bones, but I knew this had to be done quick or I'd pass out.

I could see Weiss's Aura flare, her eye changed, and solid Glyphs imprisoned the Q. It slammed and crashed against the ice, but Weiss's rage was absolute. I took advantage of the opening in the ice and leapt into the dome. MY semblance came to life, and I reached for my jam, it was fun to say, infusing my limbs with the lightning and feeling the tunnel vision take hold.

I held Crescent Rose to my side and I started to jump, my weapon nothing more than a flash of light as my speed let the metal cut deeply into the Q's hide and meat. It screeched at every attack, the sounds morphing from wails of anger to wails of despair as it realized it was trapped.

My final slash opened the sack under its throat, blood splattering both the dome and me. With a pitiful groan, it flopped to the ground and grew still, blood pooling on the ground.

I escaped the dome as the ice fell apart, shards peppering and puncturing the mangled corpse.

I sighed in relief, glad that it was over. To think, a three-star monster had taken so much damage and hadn't gone down until I'd essentially ground it into beef. Weiss was beside me instantly, eyes wide in panic. "Ruby, your arm! We need to get you back, now!"

I smiled at her. "I'll… be fine. Message the others, they should be done by now."

Weiss shook her head. "Dolt, can't you tell when your hurt? What would you do wi-"

Weiss vanished, my eyes struggling to comprehend what just happened. I turned slowly until I came face to face with the Q, rage burning in its orange eyes. Its tail was still raised, and I just knew that it had swung it with all the force it had.

I turned around and found Weiss crumpled against a tree, one of her legs at an unnatural angle and one of her arms had an expanse of white bone sticking out of it.

My eyes turned back to her attacker as it roared loud and hard into my face. My hair was blown back from the force, and sound fled me. I only felt a warm trickle escape my ears and saw the jaws of the Q open.

Then, I knew no more.

-Night-

I… wasn't dead.

That didn't make any sense. I'd just been deafened while the Q was getting ready to kill me. What happened?

Wait… what happened to Weiss?!

I shot upright, but groaned as pain burned through my body. I recognized that I was in an infirmary, many years with Yang told me as much, but only one other bed was occupied.

"W…Weiss?"

My throat burned as I tried to speak, the parched flesh begging for water. I could feel my left arm was in some kind of sling, but I was able to sit up and gingerly set my feet on the cold floor.

I stumbled to Weiss's bedside and almost collapsed when I found her breathing, her arm and leg in casts. She was alive, despite everything, she was alive. I started crying, not bothering to hide my face when I heard the click of a cane on tile.

Professor Ozpin sat next to me, customary mug in hand. Silence stretched between us until he spoke. "I'm glad to see that you are awake, Ms. Rose. This may seem insensitive, but do you remember what happened?"

I shook my head slowly. "Water?"

Ozpin nodded and handed me a glass on Weiss's bedside table. I gulped it down greedily and spoke again. "No, Professor, I don't. The last thing I remember was the Qurupeco roaring at me."

Ozpin nodded. "I see… Ms. Rose, I must confess something. I did not expect you to try and split up to fight the beasts. I was expecting you to track them down one at a time and end them."

I sighed. "In hindsight… that was probably the best idea. We'd have had a much easier time with the Qurupeco if we'd all been together."

Ozpin sighed. "Indeed, but now you've seen the ferocity up close. Clearly, the Q, as you've called it, is quite intelligent. It knew that it would die if your onslaught in the dome continued, so it played dead. Grimm go until they die, the Beasts do not."

I nodded. It was a hard lesson, but now we'd learned. "Professor… who saved us? Did my sister get there before the Q could finish us?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, Ms. Rose. Professor Goodwitch is the one who found you, standing atop a pile of mangled meat and scales, with Ms. Schnee leaned against a tree. As for how you killed it well…"

He gestured to my left arm. "The sling's no longer necessary. Take off the bandages and I'll explain."

I frowned but did as instructed. The sling came off easily, but my stomach started to roll as I unwound the bandage. My face slipped into a horrified visage when my arm revealed itself. Ugly black and red marks ran up and down my arm, starting at my bicep and ending at my wrist. They showed horrifying images of violence and slaughter, and the marks pulsed with light in time with my heart beat.

I turned from the marks to Ozpin. "What… happened?"

Ozpin sighed. "To put it in simple terms, you went feral. Your beast mentality took over, and now you bear the mark as a sign. Should you access that level of power again, without training, it will become ever less likely that you shall return to us."

He sipped his coffee. "Essentially, the more feral you become, the more like the Beasts you become. It grants you unmatched power, going feral, but do so too much ,and your teammates must kill you."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, but I didn't feel it, my mind long since stalled.

"I'm sorry."

Ch. End

So, who like using 'jam' as a reference to the powers?

…Too soon?

Well, in any case, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as it will be the last for a time. I have other stories that desperately need updating after all!

Again, please, leave a Fav Follow, or Review, they're super motivating!

Have a great day!