Here we are with the second chapter to Conduit. This one is by far the longest chapter I have typed up yet for a fanfiction at over 12,000 words (12,609 if ya want an exact number, which is just over 19 pages single spaced in OpenOffice). I probably could have gotten away with doing Beacon's initiation as two separate chapters, but I wanted to put it into one. As a heads up the switches from first person to third person POV is quite obvious becuase in my Freezing fan fiction is wasn't easy to tell and it confused people. Thanks for the favorites and follows. as usual read, review, and enjoy. Now without further delay onto the story...

Three months had passed since the time in the hospital cell. During that time I learned about the world as well as the legends about what I was, a Grimm Tamer. Which apparently was a special type of Conduit that can bind Grimm to them to use as a pet of sorts. How that works precisely I have no idea. The legends also noted that the bound Grimm's nature changed from hate and destruction to a more balanced one, and with that the color of their eyes changed to bright silver. One month had been spent following Glynda. She got the unfortunate task of training me to live as a female, or at least educating me. That. Was. Hell. Several times I got migraines from the various perfume or hair care products she insisted I use. After those incidents she learned not to have them near me.

Aside from the spectacular failure of not being able to use perfumes Glynda's education was insightful to a degree. I got a lot of strange looks nearly every time we went out to clothing stores. I think that might have been my choice of clothing being primarily boyish or just whatever had been within reach when I got dressed, or because I was a wolf Faunus. It had taken a lot of different stores to find one that I was okay being at and one that didn't want to throw me out for being a Faunus. It may have also been the Beowolf that accompanied us sometimes. Thankfully people didn't really attack once they saw the giant metal collar on him, which had a bright neon blue glow to it.

Today was another occasion where Glynda had taken me to the city of Vale for a new weapon and some food, the latter had been first. I had named the bound Beowolf Grendel and found out that the Grimm ate a lot more than me, and I have a large appetite. We walked down the street getting nervous looks with the collared Grimm in tow, but that resulted in a clear path.

It seemed that no body in their right mind wanted to get close to Grendel. I did't blame them. Grimm on general principal move far faster than normal humans. If they irritated the Grimm it would kill them before they could do anything. It didn't help that many of them knew I was a Conduit. That had been stated on the news more than once for a Conduit to be attending Beacon, which was a rare occurrence. Thankfully my name had never been mentioned, though there had been several shots that one news station had gotten of me and Grendel.

The Commercial District was a nice area lined with shops for various things. The street we walked was littered with weapon shops, armor shops and a few Dust shops. The front of the store we stopped at displayed several types of swords and a hammer that, according to the advertisement, could change into a grenade launcher. The overall look of the place echoed that of a military style armory. Along with weapons that could rival the those from Borderlands. Steel dominated the color scheme with a few spots of brown where wood could be seen.

Grendel and I exchanged a look before a bell ringed on the door. We followed inside only to be greeted with more weapons of incredible verity. What else would be inside a weapon shop anyway? Maybe I could get a rifle that shoots explosive bunnies? Or a shotgun that shoots rockets?

"Is she the young wolf I've heard about?" Some one said then a door near the back opened to reveal a middle aged cat Faunus. I could tell by his stained short sleeve shirt and thick arms that the man often worked with his hands. Probably on weapons given the look of the store.

"She is." Glynda simply responded gesturing to me with a wave of her hand. "Eve this is Rick, a lynx Faunus and a master weapon smith."

"I never thought I'd meet a Conduit like this." Rick commented sheepishly offering me a large hand. His eyes were a vivid green while the short hair on his head was a dusty red brown like his ears.

I took it with a strong shake and a smile. "Even though I'm a Conduit I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a weapon or two that I can use as a back up in case I can't use my powers."

"Wise idea Eve." Rick released my hand then walked up to the back side of the counter. "What kind of weapon do you have in mind?"

I decided to turn and look over the store. There was probably about fifty or sixty weapons through out the sizable place on various shelves, maybe more. "Did you make all of these weapons?" I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. "Can you make a bladed battle staff that can separate into two smaller weapons, an assault rifle that can change to form to that of a sniper rifle, and a pair of pistols that have exchangeable Dust cartridges as well as blades attached to the bottoms of the barrels?"

Rick let loose a quick laugh. "That's a tall order wolf." He grinned displaying a fang. "I can make those for you. You'll have 'em all in four days."

"Thanks." I said then picked up several weapon magazines that were on the counter and left. Once out of the store I got out my Scroll and sent a message to Ozpin. "I've made arrangements for three weapons to be made by Rick. He said I'd have them in four days."

"Interesting choice of weapons Eve." Glynda commented as she walked past me. "Head back to Beacon or you'll miss the Initiation."

That would be rather bad to miss. "Grendel." I said then felt the familiar nudge from the Beowolf letting me know he was at my side. I grabbed the bottom of his collar before teleporting us to Beacon. It was entertaining to see several people flip out and scream or jump up into the air at our sudden appearance near the airship pads. Two people tensed pulling out weapons. The two males quickly got in my path, in response Grendel growled beginning to rise to his full height. "No." I commanded and Grendel settled down, based on his shadow the Grimm sat on the ground.

The two in front of me looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. The guy on the left had the muscle bound jock type of body easily showing through his black jeans and blue T-shirt. His hair was a ruffled mess of dirty blond, having a few strands hang near green eyes. A claymore rested in one hand while the other was open. His companion was nearly the opposite. He had short red hair in a spiky fashion accompanied by red eyes. A slender athletic body was clad in light body armor that was dark red in color. In his hands was a drawn bow with a arrow pointed right at me. I guess the slim guy likes red.

"Who are you and how do you have a Beowolf following you?" Red asked glancing between Grendel and me.

"A prospective student to Beacon." I replied as the jock began to spin the claymore in his right hand. "If you don't mind I'd like to get to the cliff for Initiation."

"You didn't answer the other question." The warrior informed me.

A sigh escaped my lips. "Do you pay attention to the news?"

"Stop avoiding the question." Red commented. After a strangled minute of silence the warrior charged. I kept my hands in my pockets and waited. At five feet from me he raised the claymore in a overhead swing. Four. Two. I narrowed my eyes focusing on him. An invisible force slammed into the warrior launching him back past Red. The archer released the arrow. Grendel appeared in front of me and shredded it arrow before the arrow could reach me. Red looked at me slack jawed while others stared.

Several of them mentioned the words "Conduit" and possibly "Monster". Though I didn't really care as I ignored them. The crowd that had apparently gathered gave me a bit of a wide birth as I walked through them along with Grendel. I easily navigated my way to the cliff where Ozpin was looking out onto the forest. What was he doing here early?

At the sound of me walking on the grass the Professor glanced behind him over a shoulder. "I'm glad you requested Rick to make your weapons. He is the best weapon smith I know." Ozpin commented then sipped his coffee as usual. I've always wondered how people could drink the foul sludge. To me coffee had tasted like wet dirt and smelled almost as bad.

It was only Ozpin, Grendel, and I at the cliff. I looked around seeing a green forest with a light orange hue courtesy of the sun. The cliff was grassy up to the edge and littered with two neat rows of square shaped pads. The launch pads for initiation. How the hell was Grendel and I supposed to use this? Only one of us could fit on the launch pad. I doubt it could launch our combined weight as far as the others would go.

"Anything I need to know about this initiation Professor?" I asked.

Ozpin took a sip of coffee glancing in my direction with his front facing the forest. "As you might have deduced for the initiation test you will be launched into the forest on the pads in the ground." Ozpin turned to me and pushed his glasses up with a finger. "You on the other hand can jump into the forest on your own. Since there isn't enough launch pads for both you and Grendel."

"Anything else?"

"You'll learn that when initiation starts, which is thirty minutes away."

Of course he won't give me a favored bit of info above the other students who won't know a damn thing. I nodded then Ozpin turned back to face the forest. From the side I couldn't quite see his face, but I sensed that many things were on his mind. What would they be? I stopped my train of thought and left for the cafeteria.

Eve. I heard in my head as a dark echoing voice, one that belonged to my bound alpha Beowolf Grendel. I turned my head to the right as Grendel crouched down a little to have silver eyes level with mine. I want food. Can go there? Grendel's voice finished.

I reached up and rubbed the top of Grendel's head. "Of course we can." With that he rubbed his head into my hand. After a pause we continued towards the cafeteria. I felt a slight rumble as I walked. It wouldn't hurt to eat a bit before mowing down a bunch of Grimm. I'm proud that you're learning English well Grendel. I smiled glancing his way and he did the same to me, and let out a low rumble that was his version of purring or something like that. It didn't take us long to get to the cafeteria. Through the windows I noticed that it was more stuffed than I had seen before. Probably due to prospective students and others seeking some food before the test like me.

We entered and received a series of stares from the many new faces here. I scanned the room and found several people that looked familiar. Off to one corner Yang and Ruby sat talking to Jaune who was laughing a little, but I saw anxiety all over his face. I could have turned my ears to try and figure out what they were saying. However I decided against it and got food for Grendel and I. With a loaded tray of food and a big bowl of mixed meats I went over to Yang, Ruby, and Jaune.

"Did you hear about the Wolf Faunus who beat up two guys without touching them?" Ruby asked excitedly right before Jaune looked up and noticed me. Though Ruby and Yang missed the slight glance upwards. Ruby continued to talk as I got up close to her then waited. "I wonder if the rumor about a Grimm Tamer is true?"

I chose then to let my presence be known. "It is." I simply answered. Ruby moved nearly too fast for me to track and was in Yang's arms with a yelp. I couldn't help but grin as Yang held her sister who hugged her tightly. I walked over and put the bowl of meat on the ground by the wall for Grendel then turned back to them. "I'm the one who beat those idiots earlier."

"How did you do that?" Jaune asked as I sat down to Yang's right at the end of the table, closest to the corner.

"I'm a Conduit so I smashed one with kinetic force while Grendel," I pointed to my eating Beowolf in the corner, "shredded an arrow before it reached me."

Suddenly Ruby's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I never thought I'd meet a Conduit!" She exclaimed standing next to me before grabbing my left hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm Ruby Rose!"

The moment Ruby let go of my hand Yang pulled her sister back with one arm. "I'm Ruby's older sister, Yang." I nodded to her then turned my attention to Jaune.

"I'm Jaune Arc." He supplied sounding nervous.

"I'm Eve." I said before digging into my food. The three of them talked about weapons and fighting styles so I tuned them out as I ate my food. Initiation should be easy save for the part where I'd have to team up with the first person I made eye contact with after landing. With my luck I'd probably get some one odd as my team mate, or get stuck with Weiss. Once I was done eating I grabbed Grendel's empty bowl and dropped it off along with my tray at a table for dirty dishes. Within five minutes we were back at the cliff, and not the only two who were early. I'd never seen the three others before and didn't remember if they had been part of the show or not.

Out of the three one was a male with dark green hair that hung about his shoulders. He wore a light green t-shirt with dark blue jeans. On his back rested two medium sized axes and on his waist I could see two holsters with pistols in them. His well built frame lightly strained the shirt as he walked around slowly. Once his azure eyes spotted me the guy waved with a smile. I nodded back in reply. Towards the end of the rows of launch pads sat one of the two females. From the pair of cat ears on her head it was obvious she was a Faunus. For some reason she seemed to be a little thin as if some of her life had been drained away.

A gray shirt clung loosely to the Fuanus's top along with faded jeans that appeared to have seen batter days. Blue hair obscured her face but by the down caste angle of her head I suspected she had a lot on her mind. It was hard for me not to see an invisible burden that weighed down on her. I couldn't help but wonder what it was.

The human female was laid down on the ground with her feet over the edge of the cliff watching the clouds. Her body was just as well built as the male's though her silver hair was much longer then the guy's dark green. As soon as I got within talking distance her head snapped to the side finding me and Grendel.

"Yo." She said then got up to her feet quickly before heading to me. "You must be the Conduit I've heard about." She offered her hand. "I'm Raysel ConCain."

I accepted her hand and shook it. She had a hell of a grip. Probably due to the two claymores on her back as well as some rectangular frame that looked like a compacted gun of some sort. "Eve, and the Beowolf is Grendel."

"No last name?" Raysel asked with a raised eyebrow releasing my hand. Her red eyes caught my attention. They were crimson like Grimm eyes, though no hateful emotion resided in them. If anything it was a hint of sadness, her eyes also had a slit for a pupil.

"I'm an orphan with no one who cared to have remembered it, even if I had one to begin with." I replied with a shrug. I doubt she'd take me seriously if I tried to explain that I was from another world.

A small frown crossed her face. "That's unfortunate." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grendel look out over the Emerald Forest. "Would you be game for teaming up for Initiation?"

"Hell yeah!" I commented and fist bumped her hand. "See you in the forest." I added turning around to jump over the edge of the cliff with Grendel following me. I thought I heard someone scream "Are you crazy?!" but I wasn't sure if that was me imagining it or not. About halfway down the cliff I waved an arm in front of me creating a huge ice ramp for the two of us. We quickly descended it and launched into the air. Grendel landed on all fours while I used a blast of wind to counter my fall. As soon as I hit the ground my pocket started to buzz making me yelp in surprise.

I quickly pulled out my Scroll and opened it to find a call from Ozpin. "Did you two land fine?"

I snapped my fingers with my free hand and the ice ramp dissipated into cold air. "Yeah." I answered looking at Grendel who stretched to his full height, nearly twice mine and yawned.

"In ten minutes I will give you the details of Initiation when the remainder of the participants have arrived."

"Gonna include me with a video call?" I commented and simply got a nod as an answer then the call ended. "Seems we gotta wait to know exactly what is going to happen." I sighed. Unlike them I knew what was required for Initiation, but there was a lot more taking the test than what had been shown in the series. From the sounds of it Raysel already had knowledge of what to do for Initiation. How did she know that?

Maybe have family at here? Grendel offered.

"Good point, she probably does." I commented then started walking as I put my Scroll away back into my pocket. "You got her scent right?"

Grendel nodded.

I grinned. "Once they start flying I'll cloak us and we go find her."

"Unless you're found first." Someone said from behind me. On instinct I dropped to the ground just in time to avoid a spray of bullets where my head had been. I rolled to my feet and spotted a man wearing an all silver colored mercenary outfit kind of like the clones have in Star Wars without a helmet. In his hands was a large assault rifle with a ridiculous magazine nearly the size of my forearm.

"Care to share why you're shooting at me?" I said standing up and conjuring a fire sword in my left hand.

"I hate Conduits." There was venom in the way he said it. "Plus I'm not paid to answer questions."

This could be bad. "What did Conduits do to you mate?"

He raised the rifle to his shoulder. "Why does it matter? You'll be dead shortly."

So much for that. "In that case, bring it on asshole." I growled then threw the ball of fire to the upper branches of a tree on my left. It exploded into a small inferno accompanied by a scream as a body fell from it. Bingo, there was someone there. The click of the safety alerted me to my first attacker who was about to unload a hail of bullets. I dashed forward to put a tree between me and him. A second after I got behind a tree the weapon in his hands roared. I could feel the spray of bullets thump into the tree. Thankfully none of the bullet went through the tree, but I couldn't stay here long.

"Come on, dogie." He called walking towards the tree I hid behind. "Don't be shy."

Shy? Yeah, right. More like I'd rather not get shot. I shook my head then teleported into the foliage of the tree. I watched as he jumped around the corner ready to shoot at something. His shoulders slumped when he noticed nothing was there. Slowly I moved to where I could land on top of him. I let go of one hand then Grendel sneaked up behind him, though the human turned around quickly. My Beowolf pinned the man with one arm to the tree then ripped out his throat with the other. Muffled gurgling was the only sounds that escaped the guy's shredded throat.

Move over. I'm jumping down from the tree. I supplied mentally to Grendel who looked up. He took a few steps back to give me room to land. I let go and landed on the ground with a small crunch of old leaves and a snapping twig. I went through his pockets finding several cards and two Scrolls along with eight spare clips for the silver gray assault rifle. On his waist were several grenades and a cell phone. I guess Scrolls didn't completely replace those.

I pried the assault rifle from the dead hands and aimed it at a tree to get a feel for the weapon. A little heavier than I thought at about six pounds or so. Hopefully there aren't many more of these guys in the forest. More importantly, why where they here? Did Ozpin call them in? Or is it something else?

OoOoOoOoOo

(third person POV)

On the top of the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest there was a full gathering of students. Each one of them was standing on a metal platform in the ground.

"Professor Ozpin, what's going on in the forest?" A silver haired female, Raysel ConCain, asked pointing to the forest behind Professor Ozpin. The young ConCain had voiced the same question running through everyone's mind at the sounds of gunfire, screaming, and explosions that echoed from various places in the Emerald Forest.

"One of your peers is already in the forest with her companion because there wasn't enough of the plates for them." Ozpin replied surprisingly having both hands on the top of his cane.

"Who is in the forest already?" Nora, an energetic teen, clad in pink asked to no one particular.

A short silence followed as people thought about who it could be. With the explosions and weapon firing it was obviously not Grimm that someone was fighting so who was it? Raysel studied the forest in thought. What is going on Eve? She pondered. A twister of fire erupted deep within the forest catching everyone's attention. Echoing screams sounded off from the area of the twister. Shortly after explosions of water snuffed it out. In an instant the water turned into ice then dissipated into a cloud of water vapor, which cleared quickly. Even from where they were this was a type of battle many of them had never seen before.

From a spot near the twister's area rockets blazed forth swirling and aiming for a clearing. Most of the rockets were shot out of the sky by sprays of rifle fire. The ones that didn't get shot down weaved their way to a target. From the chain of explosions and flash formed shells of ice that the target was moving, and definitely not a Grimm. A giant ball of fire followed the missile barrage catapulting to a patch of tall trees, exploding into an inferno. The inferno died quickly scorching trees and creating a smoke cloud.

"As I said before, you will be graded on how you do and what you do within the boundaries of this test." Ozpin said turning his attention back to the gathered batch of prospective students.

"Allow me to put some rumors about teams to rest." Glynda commented stepping forward jotting some notes onto her Scroll as usual. "Teams will be chosen...today."

"What?" Ruby exclaimed sporting a shocked expression on her face.

"The objective of this initiation is to capture and secure a relic found at the ruins of an old temple, then bring it back to the cliff." Ozpin explained looking over the gathered teens. "Any questions?" With silence after as his answer the first sets of launch pads catapulted teens into the forest.

Jaune nervously raised his hand. "Um..sir...how do we, uh, land?"

Ozpin pushed up his glasses with a finger focusing on Jaune. "You will have to come up with your own landing strategy Mr. Arc." Ozpin replied then Jaune was sent into the forest by his launch pad. The professor's Scroll buzzed so he got it out and answered the call.

OoOooOoOOoOo

(first person POV)

"We have a problem Ozpin." I growled into the open scroll. "I was attacked by mercenaries trying to put a bullet through my head."

"Mercenaries?" Ozpin replied perplexed. "How many of them are there?"

"I don't know." I answered and let go of my Scroll slowly. At first it began to fall but then hovered in the air. It stayed put as if I was holding it with a hand only I wasn't. Nice to know my Conduit powers work for things like that. "I think I killed them all, but not without injury." For emphasis I pointed to a bullet hole in my shoulder and several grazes on my arms and legs from near hits. "I'm sure you saw the fight from up there." I added with a light chuckle.

"We did." Ozpin replied before his face got serious. "How did they know what you looked like?" Ozpin asked his face unchanging, probably thinking behind a wall of calm.

"Well..." I shrugged then grit my teeth from the pain. Note to self: don't do that with a bullet hole through the shoulder. "They probably got an image of me from one of the news stations that got some video of me a while back."

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I remember, but at least your name wasn't mentioned." He said then took a sip of that seemingly ever present mug of coffee.

"True, though that doesn't stop people from targeting someone." I replied picking up one of the dead mercs Scrolls. The fool hadn't password locked the device so I went looking through files on it. Most of them didn't interest me and after a minute I didn't find anything. Then I went through messages and found something. "This message doesn't say who hired the mercenaries but this file does have an image of me, and also tells the mercs to collect my corpse."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed as he looked down at something. There was a notable pause as he slowly breathed out a breath. When his eyes went to the screen I could see the anger in his eyes, even if he didn't show it otherwise. "I will have some of my contacts figure out who hired them, for now focus on initiation."

"Why the hell would a someone hire mercenaries to collect the body of a Conduit if they aren't a criminal?" I thought out loud as Grendel moved the bodies of the mercs into a pile, where I went through their stuff. They were quite loaded with weapons and plenty of ammo between the dozen of them. In addition to the rifle I snagged earlier I collected a pouch of grenades, a large canteen with water, some body armor, and two pistols with plenty of dust bullets for them and the other weapons.

"Many pay great sums of money to study the body of a Conduit, especially a Grimm Tamer such as yourself." Glynda answered stepping into view. "They desire that unique ability to bind and command Grimm that you have. Many also want to have power that is not reliant upon Dust to use."

"Makes sense." I commented grabbing my Scroll from the air. "Who wouldn't want an army of Grimm at their command? Or the ability to fight without the need for Dust?"

"Exactly." Glynda nodded. "As Professor Ozpin said focus on initiation, we'll look into the mercenaries."

I nodded then closed my Scroll stuffing it back into my pocket. Screaming caught my attention and brought it skyward. Several people went flying overhead at speed. So it begins... Initiation has started, let's go find Raysel.

Grendel nodded his head then started to walk away from the clearing I had made with a fire twister. I followed him and snapped my fingers while concentrating on the two of us. I made us invisible by means of phasing us mostly out of sync with this dimension and partly in sync with a form of mirror world. With this method of travel only Beowolves could be able to tell if we were near them or not, or possibly a fellow Conduit.

Ten minutes later Grendel and I stopped at a river that was clear except for a small streak of dark red, almost like a clay red. Along the river's edge were corpses of seven Beowolves and two Ursa. They looked like they went through a spiked hell of ice with cuts, shards, and frost covering their shadowy bodies. By the edge of the river sat Raysel with her shirt off and a soaked cloth that she put on her side. The shirt had done a god job of obscuring her large chest that was supported by a solid black bra. That looked about the same size as mine, which was double D. Finding out that had been an interesting experience that led to lots of embarrassment for me and some for Glynda who had taken me cloths shopping that day for basic stuff. Glynda had take me to a number of stores to see what I liked and didn't like for bra and panties.

"Come on out Eve. I know you're there." Raysel said casually dipping the cloth back into the river leaving a stain in the slow moving water.

A snap of my fingers brought Grendel and myself back into reality. "How did you know I was there?" I asked before reaching a hand to my belt and taking a sip of water from the canteen I stole from one of the dead mercenaries.

Upon closer inspection the cloth was really a patch of moss tinted almost to the color of black from her blood. "I could smell you."

"I see." I commented noticing the color of her blood being far darker than normal. "I know you aren't a Faunus so what makes you different?"

"Well..." Raysel paused then with a ripple of energy her body shifted in form. The form she had was that of a large Beowolf covered in sectioned armor plating and spikes on the back. Bloody hell... She can shape shift into a Beowolf. That would definitely set you up as different from anyone else like being a Conduit. "As you can see I can assume the form of a Beowolf." She finished, her voice surprisingly unaffected by the change in form.

Somehow something told me that wasn't all. "That's not all is there?"

"Correct." She commented shifting back to human form. "I come from a family that for a long time has produced a type of being called a "Grimm Shifter" or "Grimmblood" which are not really human or Faunus. They have abilities and qualities that set them apart, ones that are similar to Conduits."

"So I can assume your senses are better for being a Grimm Shifter?"

"Yep." Raysel replied with a nod before putting her shirt back on. It was then that I noticed the healing claw marks and teeth marks on her arms, legs, and one across her belly. The black pants and t-shirt she wore were torn but still usable. "Let's head to the ruins Ozpin mentioned." Raysel added stretching her arms over her head.

Grendel and I nodded in unison then we walked off towards the mountains. Within a a few minutes we arrived at a ridge over looking a ruined temple with a series of pedestals, with a trail of Grimm bodies in our wake. On the ridge above the ruins were a five pitch black pedestals with veins of red streaking over it. On the tops of each was some sort white object that resembled an insectoid body, but from here I couldn't tell what type of bug.

"What are the white objects on the black pedestals?" I asked seeing Blake and Yang walk into the clearing that the ruins rested in. Yang waved at me with a smile while Blake simply nodded. Bringing up the rifle I held I looked down the scope at the white objects. Through it I discovered that the white things were in fact white miniatures of Death Stalkers. I suppose those would be for Grendel and I, as well as those who will be on my team. I looked to my right where Raysel ConCain stood. "I want you on my team, what do ya say?" I said putting my hand on her left shoulder while watching the ruins as some of the others filtered in. The gang was mostly gathered save for Ruby and Weiss who were I guess else where.

"Wouldn't want to be on any other team." Raysel replied putting a hand on my shoulder. A shriek called my attention to the sky where a giant Nevermore flew overhead. In the claws I could see Ruby struggling without Crescent Rose. Where is it? My answer nearly hit me on the head as the weapon smashed into the ground six inches in front of me. Thundering crashes alerted me to something to the right of the ruins. A giant Death Stalker chased after pyrrha trying to slice her with its claws. I raised my rifle and fired a spray of bullets at the giant Grimm making it skid to a stop at the unexpected attack. Again I pulled the trigger only for it to click empty.

With a sigh I dropped the weapon and rushed forward towards the spartan. Her green eyes observed me as I moved in a blur to block a swipe from the Death Stalker with my body. I grunted with the impact sliding a little from the force. Bloody hell it hits hard. Putting that aside I shoved the giant claw back then slammed myleft hand flat on the ground trapping most of the Grimm in ice.

"That'll hold it for now." I commented rolling my right shoulder to flex the joint ignoring the pain from the bullet hole. I could feel bruises on my arms from where the claw had impacted them.

"I've heard of the abilities of Conduits but I never thought I would encounter one at Beacon." Pyrrha said as her eyes scanned over my form, concern showing in them. "Thanks for the assist."

"I'm so glad we ran into you Eve." Jaune panted catching his breath. Poor bastard doesn't exactly have our level of stamina it seems. Other than that he was unharmed.

"Who...you?" The voice of Grendel rumbled from behind me. Jaune watched the Beowolf wearily while the spartan put a hand over her mouth, probably not sure what to say.

I glanced over my shoulder at him before silver eyes met mine. "You met Jaune, the blond, earlier." I said then his attention shifted to the other person in front of me. "You're Pyrrha Nikos right?" I said tentatively trying to seem as if I wasn't quite sure it was her. Of course I knew it was but I had an act to keep for a while.

"Yes." Pyrrha nodded. "I take it you've heard of me?"

"Something like that." I replied checking to see if the ice was in place, it was. Inside the ice the Death Stalker screeched angrily trying to move to no avail. "We have more pressing things to take care of." I added pointing up where the Nevermore circled with Ruby still holding onto a massive talon.

"Agreed." Pyrrha said then turned her attention to Jaune while I went over to the ruins and picked up three of the white Death Stalker miniatures. Grendel came over to me and stayed still so I could put two of the miniatures into a pouch attached around his waist. The third one I tossed to Raysel who put it into a side pouch on her belt.

"Incoming!" a male voice boomed loudly making my ears flinch and flatten. Immediately after that bellow the well built teen with azure eyes came into view along with something chasing him and the cat Faunus from earlier. The creature in question was large, far larger than a human with cat like agility. It growled and hissed at its claws missed the two runners. It looked like a giant angry lizard with white spikes and armor plating with crimson eyes. The creature was determined as it slowed slightly to jump onto a tree then launch itself at the pair. In a fluid motion the azure eyed teen brought swung one of the two axes on his back at the underside of the creature that had to be a type of Grimm. The blade of the ax sliced flesh making the creature roar in pain and flail around, crashing into the ground.

It thrashed for a few moments then faded out of sight. What the hell?! Everyone scanned the area but didn't see it. That ability seemed a lot like the invisibility I had weaved over Grendel and myself after the fight with the mercenaries. Grendel charged forward without me saying anything going for the Faunus. A large armored had smashed into something just behind the cat Faunus that let loose an angered hiss. The giant lizard phased back into view limping.

Kill it. I commanded with the bound Beowolf taking a few steps towards the creature before it tackled him to the ground biting his shoulder. Grendel rolled to his left before throwing it of of him. I pulled out one of the two pistols on my hip and fired two quick shots that punched through the head of the Grimm as it hit a stone column. "What is that thing?" I asked keeping the pistol ready in case it decided to get back up.

"A Shadestalker." The azure eyed male said running a hand through his dark green hair. "I'm Nolan Quester by the way and this one here is Isabel Stelsa." Nolan said gesturing to the Faunus next to him. "They hunt in packs and are dangerous Grimm. This type of Grimm normally isn't so close to a Hunter Academy."

"So why is it? And where are the rest of its pack?" I asked checking the pistol's clip. I had only fired two rounds from its sixteen round clip of earth Dust bullets. I guess that type of Dust worked to be like armor piercing, making the bullet go through things easier. However that would be something I'd ask Rick when I get the chance. After all the man made weapons for a living so he'd probably know for sure, or could at least point me in the right direction.

Cracking brought everyone's attention back to the Death Stalker I had frozen. With a crash one pincer was freed. With its limb free it began to bash it on the ice that it could reach. At the sound of screaming I looked up to see both Ruby and Wiess falling. I ran forward leaping into the air to catch Weiss and holster the pistol hearing someone else catch Ruby. As soon as my feet landed on solid ground I saw Yang with her sister in her arms. A angry huff brought my attention to an oh sooo pleased Weiss in my arms. Ignoring her for the time being I felt stone with my tail so I looked down behind me. (A/N: I figure why not with a Wolf Faunus XD) Evidently I had landed on the only portion of the ruin still supported by pillars.

"Hey!" Weiss yelled at me. I grunted flattening my ears once again and before looking into her glacial eyes. "Put me down, now."

"Okay." I said tossing her down into Grendel's arms, a devious grin on my lips. Surprise lit her face for a few seconds before she landed in his arms. A pause ensued with a shiver. Weiss turned her head slowly to see the black fur of a Grimm. The heiress froze so Grendel put her down onto her feet gently before that head of his snapped to the forest border where Nolan and Isabel had entered the clearing. Almost a dozen Shadestalkers stood there ready to sprint forward. Well...this is going to be fun.

"Didn't the Professor say that there was something to pick up here?" Nolan asked sounding a little confused.

"Just grab the two Death Stalker Miniatures since that's the only things left here." Raysel explained. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her change form making Weiss shriek.

"What are you?!" Weiss shrieked.

I jumped down to the ground looking at the Death Stalker who broke the last bit of ice keeping it in place with a delighted screech. "Rasyel ConCain here is a Grimm Shifter." I explained.

"You look an awful lot like the wolf faunus I saw on the news a few weeks back." Isabel said quietly looking at me with a studying gaze.

"Yeah that was me." I replied with a sigh.

"What do we do now guys?" Yang said breaking into the conversation trying to keep an eye on both the Death Stalker and the Shadestakers.

"Simple." Ruby said causing all eyes to fall on her. "We take them out!" She finished enthusiastically.

"How are we going to-" Weiss was cut off by Nolan putting a hand over her mouth. Thank god she was silenced. I didn't need to hear more of her yelling at the moment, and that probably was the same for the others.

"We divide into groups and deal with the different Grimm that want our hides." Nolan said.

"Sounds good." I relied with a nod. "Ruby take Blake, Yang, and Weiss with you to deal with the big ass bird up there." Ruby nodded and left with the three I mentioned. She quickly sped back to us for her weapon then chased after her group. Turning to Jaune I said. "Take Pyrrha with you as well as these two and kill that over sized scorpion." With that they left in the same direction as Ruby and her group, along with a Death Stalker firmly pissed off at them.

"And us?" Raysel asked tilting her Beowolf head.

"Let's play with the over grown lizards." I said grinning. The Shadestalkers all hissed as a group earning a growl from me and Grendel while I pulled out the other pistol. The black scaly skin of the Shadestalkers gleamed in the sunlight for a few seconds, then they charged. A number of them immediately phased out of sight while the others attacked head on. The first few to reach us were ripped apart by Raysel and Grendel while I put careful shots into others. Two of them tried to bite Nolan on either side but he took off those axes of his and cut them. Sadly the Grimms used their front claws to slow the weapon and in combination with their jaws held them in place. That wasn't a god sign. These bastards were smart, they fought as a pack.

I emptied the pistols clips into both of the Shadestalkers and into a space next to Nolan's back. As I thought a Shadestalker phased in littered with bullet holes. Its lifeless body fell to the ground letting me see I had stained his shirt with black blood. His leg sported several scratches from claws. Holstering one pistol I reached to get another clip from a cargo pocket of my pants when I was sent to the ground. I let out a grunt as I hit the ground along with whatever had knocked me down. Hot breath and crimson eyes alerted me to the Grimm that had tackled me. It's claws dug into my shoulders and ground right before it lunged to bite me. With lightning reflexes I was able to grab the upper and lower jaw to stop it. I cut my fingers a little on the razor sharp teeth but I was able to stop its advance.

The Grimm hissed at me and pushed forward. I also pushed back against it keeping the Grimm's jaw from my neck. The Shadestalker was bloody strong, almost on par with the Death Stalker I had blocked earlier. With effort it was beginning to gain some ground. I strained trying to keep it's jaw back then an idea popped into my head. I focused some of my power into my arms strengthening them, allowing me greater feats of strength kinda like what Yang can do among other things. With that strength I stopped its slow advance then jerked the lower jaw downwards violently. The Shadestalker let loose with a gurgling screech that gave the one the Death Stalker let loose with a run for its money. The Grimm backed off while I planted my booted feet under it and shoved it off with force. It landed on another Shadestalker with a meaty smack. It flipped over then tried to put its jaw into place, but it wasn't making any progress.

"Get back!" I hollered grabbing a grenade from the grenade pouch at my waist. I pulled the pin and rolled it to the gathering of Shadestalkers that were surrounding their wounded pack member. Three seconds after rolling it I hit the deck eating dirt just before the grenade exploded. The blast mostly went over me but the aftermath didn't. Black blood and fleshy chunks of Grimm peppered us. Rolling over I looked at the spot where I had rolled the grenade. There was a small creator charred black along with the ground a meter or so around it. Just what was in the grenade? Lots of fire dust, or a combination of dust types? I shook my head. More questions to ask later.

"Damn Eve." Nolan commented coming out from behind a fallen over tree trunk that was peppered with shrapnel and bits of Grimm. "Where did you get your weapons?"

"I found them on mercenaries." I replied looking around for the others. An ice wall stood there to one side gleaming from all the bits of metal in it. Raysel peaked her head around one edge while Grendel poked his head over the top, yet another example of how tall the Beowolf was. My ears twitched at the sound of groaning. Using them I found a charred Shadestalker corpse and rolled it over. Under it was Isabel who looked winded. "You alright?" She nodded then took my hand to help her stand.

"Let's go back to-" Raysel was cut off by a booming animal like roar that shook the air. My vision bounced around a little from it for a few seconds before it straightened out. What in blazes was that? A shadow passed overhead with a large flying shape. The thing in question was flying and huge, possibly about the size of the Nevermore. Once it turned around and aimed at us I saw what the difference was. The bloody thing wasn't a giant bird but a flying lizard. I jumped sideways in time to avoid giant claws that tore apart the stone ruins with ease.

"Is that what I think it is?" I said watching the creature circle back around with a clear view of its back. To put it simply it had to be a dragon with massive wings, armored tail, and four powerful clawed limbs.

"A dragon." Isabel answered with a huff brushing dust off of her cloths.

Wonderful. I was correct after all. The dragon let out a blast of fire that went off in the distance to smash into something I couldn't see over the edge of the trees, but a loud bird like screech bellowed from the north. After the screech it came back our way and landed on the ground. The dragon was huge but not quite the size of the Nevermore that Ruby had managed to piss off somehow. It's white armor plated head and crimson eyes made me think Grimm but something about it was off. It didn't quite have the same feel as normal Grimm like a Beowolf or Ursa, though I felt power reside in it. How the hell is that possible? Putting that thought aside I though about our predicament and how Beacon choose the leaders for student squads.

As far as I knew from the show squad leaders were chosen by those out the group that showed leadership in a battle, or at least were the ones with plans and ideas. It might help if they can make their team work together to take out a difficult Grimm. Bring my attention back to the dragon camped in front of us I got an idea, one that was certifiably insane (as if this wasn't already).

"I have an idea." I said with a pause to get their attention. "Let's kill us a dragon." I said pounding a fist into my palm with a grin.

"You're insane." They all replied at the same time.

"And wanting to become someone who hunts giant armored monsters for a living isn't?" I countered hearing groans and a grunt. They knew I was right.

"What the hell." Raysel commented shifting shape to her Beowolf form again. "Why not?" She added excitement booming in her voice.

"I'm game, though it will not be easy Eve." Nolan said with a nod.

"Naturally." Isabel said then pulled out two daggers from her pockets. The blades were simple looking with a large hilt that her hands barely fit around. If I had to guess that hilt held a dust cartridge to augment the blade.

Thunder danced around my body as I infused it with power, or mana if someone felt like getting technical. Regardless of what it was called the powers of the universe, the energies that have created or destroyed planets, steadily answered the calls of Conduits. Hell the name for us came from the fact we controlled those energies and carried it with us, able to channel that power to do nearly anything we want. Grendel also had sparks over his body to augment his speed and have a chance to stun something when he hits it. I rushed forward hearing the others fallow me ready for combat.

OoOoOoOoOo

(third person OPV)

At the cliff Professor Ozpin watched two groups of students finish off their Grimm opponents (pun intended). Ruby Rose and her group had engaged and killed a Giant Nevermore by the scythe wielder decapitating the massive Grimm. Meanwhile Jaune Arc and his group had killed a Death Stalker using its own stinger against it, after cutting it off from the tail thanks to Pyrrha Nikos.

"We have a problem Professor." Glynda said inputting commands into her scroll to bring up a video feed. Shortly after a video played on her scroll catching Ozpin's attention. The video had a clear view of the cloudless sky before a shadow darkened the screen. It took a few seconds for the shadow to pass, before an air born being came into view. The camera caught view of a scaly underside to a large winged creature. The flying creature ignored the camera and went far away from it. Once said creature was almost too small to see the video stopped. "That video was taken yesterday from a sensor far to the north. It was a young dragon."

Crashing and roaring caught the attention of the two professors making them look away from the scroll to the distance. Far off in the forest was a dragon on the ground smashing things with its front paws and breathing out fire or ice at times. Near its visible mouth blasts of frost or fire bounded off of the Grimm's heavy armor plating. Suddenly a barrage of explosive rounds hammered into the dragon's snout making it back its head with surprise.

"What is the dragon fighting?" Ozpin asked keeping steady watch on the dragon. It was clear that whatever had its attention was putting up a challenge to the powerful Grimm.

The Headmaster of Beacon heard Glynda tap some more commands into her Scroll before silence. "There is only one team missing, the others have been collected and are on their way to Beacon."

"Which team?" Ozpin asked though from the way the Dragon was fighting it had to be something other than Grimm. The varying explosions and different elements clashing also told him it was humans, and not normal ones at that. Something told him that it was the Wolf Faunus he knew all to well. That young woman was hard to predict in combat, one that made strategies on the spot and never really stuck to formal combat.

"The one that corresponds to the white Death Stalker miniatures." Glynda said looking back to the battle far in the distance. "I suspect that Eve is fighting the dragon."

Ozpin's eyebrow arced up, the only sign of surprise on his face. Will you live Eve, or will I have to bury another group of potential students because of a dragon? The gray haired man mused. Sometimes his job wasn't as rewarding as it sounded. "Prepare an attack aircraft to deal with the Dragon in case Eve and her group can not kill it."

"Very well." Glynda responded relying the message to a nearby military base. Her eyes roamed back to the dragon that roared before its head was beat back exposing its neck. In the following moment giant arcs of ice bit into the soft armor drawing blood. Maybe there was hope for the Conduit and her group.

OoOoOoOoOo

(First person POV)

Black blood coated the trees at the border of the clearing that the dragon had made trying to swipe its claws at us. The dragon had a weakness; the armor on its underside was apparently softer the the top. That last attack of arced ice blades hurt it, but we were another story. I had several large scrapes that I had cauterized to keep them from bleeding while a number of places on my body were bruised. Isabel was bruised and beaten but the least injured of us. Raysel sported a lot of the damage with a broken, if healing, arm and splinters from the wrecked trees. Nolan had numerous scrapes and bruises since his aura had gone in the red not long after the dragon had frozen the area with ice then roasted it to create a hot fog. Grendel was beaten pretty bad though I could sense he didn't have anything broken. But he wasn't in good shape with claw marks and body bruising.

"We need a new game plan." Raysel yelled jumping out of the way of another swipe. "This is getting us nowhere!"

At this rate we'd be outlasted by the dragon simply because it wasn't taking much damage aside from that last attack. Our current position the forest did a good job of protecting the majority of its underside. We needed to expose that somehow. I rolled under a claw swipe aimed at me only pissing off the dragon more, causing it to roar in frustration. Without warning the dragon slammed one closed paw down causing us to go up in the air a little. I heard movement right before something large and armored crashed into my side, sending me up into the air. On the way up I coughed up blood feeling like my ribs were on fire. Then I saw the cliff with the tower ruins and the remains of a giant Nevermore. That was it!

"I got you!" Nolan hollered not long before I landed in his arms wincing at the impact. I was going to be very sore from this tomorrow. "Any ideas?"

I nodded then he set me on my feet. "We need to lure it to the cliff over there." I said loudly pointing to where Ruby and Pyrrha's two groups had run off. "We'll pin it to the cliff then kill the scaly bastard."

"Go." Grendel said then took off running for the cliff followed by the rest of us. The dragon wasn't going to let us pass easily. It tried to crush us with its tail several times before I flicked my wrist to send a shard of ice into its exposed eye. In slow motion I saw the dragon try to move realizing something was heading its way. The stake of ice stabbed into the eye deeply spewing blood. The world snapped into focus as a claw sliced up my backside making me trip forward. However I rolled with the blow and got back onto my feet ignoring the ever building pain in my body. The body armor I had salvaged earlier was now useless so I took off the two halves and kept running.

I glanced back to see the dragon thrashing about in pain. A grin formed on my lips. The distraction had worked. A few minutes later we arrived at the ruins I remembered from the show, but I had failed to realize there were a few problems. One, the bridge that went to the tower was gone into the chasm below. Two, most of the outer structures of the tower were gone. Lastly the tower itself was barely there.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." I grumbled. First things first, deal with the bridge. I knelt down next to the edge that used to have a bridge here and put my hands on the ground. After a moment a bridge of earth formed at my command. I got up and wiped sweat from my brow. This and the fight with the dragon was taxing, I needed to end this or we'd probably die out here. I ran across the conjured bridge to the tower stopping at the center of it. Again I put my hands down flat and concentrated. In my mind I conjured up an image of the tower and imagined platform like spikes jutting out of the walls. I felt one start to form right before something whacked my head. Opening my eyes I looked up to see the dragon's jaw over the top of the tower remains. I brushed my hand over the items around my belt and stopped once I touched the bag of grenades.

"Eve!" Nolan shouted his voice full of warning. I could hear the stone of the tower crack and give way as the dragon tried to close its mouth. I quickly untied the grenade bag from my waist making sure to keep one out in my pocket. I closed the bag then threw it up to the dragon's mouth. The stone finally gave way for the dragon to close its mouth. As I suspected the dragon swallowed the grenade bag and stone, then looked at me. I pulled the pin of the grenade from my pocket throwing it at the dragon. With a quick snap the primed grenade went down its throat. I hit the deck seeing the others follow suit. Only a few moments later a muffled explosion sounded before something splashed onto the tower, and soaking me with it.

"Damn it." Raysel cursed causing me to get up and look at the dragon. It had coughed up a lot of blood but there wasn't any visible exterior wound. At least the Grimm was stunned. I began to gather power once again this time around me causing my body to glow a faint orange. "Pin it." I ordered. Raysel looked at me then focused on the stunned dragon. She shifted back to human form and produced a focused blast of energy that hit the Grimm dead center. She then weaved her hands through the air as the Grimm smacked into the side of the cliff, trapping it. She was breathing hard but held onto strands of solid energy in her hands tightly.

"Nolan! Give me an ax!" I shouted before he tossed me one of his axes. The weapon was sturdy and heavy with a sharp blade that could slice clean through a tree. This would do for cutting off that scaly head. Problem was, how did I get over to there? I knew Weiss could walk on air using her glyphs if need be. Question was could I replicate that? I sighed. Only one way to know. I focused energy into hovering circles that made a walkway of sorts to the exposed neck of the dragon. I crouched to build up enough energy to jump to the first of the glyphs I had conjured. I landed on it but the glyph sunk a little so I exuded energy around me making it stay I place. With that sorted out I charged full speed along the line getting ready to decapitate the dragon. Tightening my grip on the weapon I formed an extra length of blade out of energy that glowed a bright blue.

I let out a battle shout as I brought up the weapon for a swing form my left side putting everything into it. The ax hit hard slicing through the meaty flesh and weakened armor plating. Even though it went in and was cutting the blade began to slow down as it hit some sort of skeleton or something. I tried to force it forward but the damn thing was stuck. I growled before forming a glyph under my feet to push from. I growled pushing the weapon, using my anger to channel even more power to the weapon and its extension. At first it didn't budge then something cracked allowing the weapon to go through it. I twisted in the air with the weapon and watched the head fall down into the chasm below. I caught sight of the energy strings that held the body vanish and for Raysel to fall to a knee. I landed and stuck the weapon in the ground with the handle in front of me to keep me from falling down into that fog layered chasm.

Once I turned away I sat down yawning. It didn't take long for me to hear an airship approach and pick up Raysel and the others at the ruined tower then me. Nolan freed his ax from the ground and put it on his back before helping me stand. He slung one of my arms over his shoulder. On the trip back to Beacon I took the opportunity to nap. Not long after I closed my eyes someone had nudged my shoulder. Opening my eyes it was Raysel who looked at me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on lets go." She said helping me to my feet and letting me lean on her to walk. I didn't exactly feel a good portion of my body since those parts of me were numb but what I did feel was sore as all get out. We left the air pad and made our way over to the auditorium where everyone was gathered. On stage I saw Professor Ozpin in the spotlight with Glynda just outside of the light near him. Towards the back I could make out three different groups of people thanks to being a Faunus. Cardin and his friends stood in the front, Ruby and her group was in the back leaving Jaune and them in the middle.

"You four collected the white knight pieces. Cardin Winchester, Sky Lark, Dove Bronzewing, and Russle Thrush. You will be team CRDL lead by Cardin Winchester." Ozpin said generating a smug smile from Cardin before he and his team left the stage after getting an applause. Up next was Jaune's group who stopped in the spot light. Phyrrha looked alright like the spotlight didn't bother her. Given her past as a tournament champion that isn't surprising. Jaune looked nervous as hell up there. Poor bastard probably wasn't used to that kind of thing and looked like he'd rather be elsewhere. I could see he was tense and once his bright blue eyes found mine he visibly calmed down a little. The third person in line wearing pink, Nora Valkire, was barely able to contain her energy. She was almost bouncing in place with excitement. Ren on the other hand was quite chill at the end of the line. He didn't seem bothered one way or another, but kept an eye on Nora.

"This way." Raysel said quietly knowing I'd hear her. She pulled me to the left side where Nolan and Isabel were waiting with Grendel sitting at their feet. The stairs were not kind to my sore muscles but I went up them anyway with Raysel's help. As we reached them I put my hand on Grendel's lowered head to scratch an ear.

"You four retrieved the black knight pieces. Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkire, Lei Ren. You will be team JNPR led by Jaune Arc." Ozpin said then another round of claps roared from the gathered students. Hell Nolan and the others clapped too quietly. Pyrrha tapped his shoulder with her fist lightly, probably some form of congratulations. Jaune on the other hand was even more nervous, if that was possible. After a few more moments of being in the light Jaune and them left giving us waves and smiles. Pyrrha gave a content happy smile while Jaune gave a half arsed one. I guess not quite sure what to feel.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ruby and her group walk forward into the light. "You four retrieved the black rook pieces. Blake Belladona, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee, and Ruby Rose. You four will be team RWBY led by Ruby Rose." Professor Ozpin said making Weiss freeze on the spot while Ruby damn near jumped with excitement. I knew why Weiss had frozen, she was pissed at not being chosen for team lead. Though that's another problem to deal with at a later date.

"This year I decided to make a special team which includes a Conduit." Ozpin said earning surprised expressions from the crowd. Many of them shouted various things along the lines of "What do you mean special team?" or "who are a part of the team?". Ozpin looked in our direction somehow silencing the crowd. How the hell can he do that with a look?

"Can you walk?" Raysel asked then I nodded. She removed my arm from her shoulder slowly. "Our turn." She added looking at Ozpin. He nodded then the five of us made our way into the light. It was bright enough to make me flinch an eye closed. Several people nearly said something but stopped when they no doubt saw our combined injuries. Unlike the previous teams we sported a lot of wounds from initiation.

"You five retrieved the white Death Stalker miniatures from the ruins. Nolan Quester, Isabel Stelsa, Raysel ConCain, Eve, and Grendel. You five will be team ERIN lead by the Conduit Eve." I looked at Ozpin who let a small smile slip onto his face as he nodded at me. Both Nolan and Raysel put a hand on either shoulder. I glanced to either of them receiving nods of approval. After Ozpin's statement the crowd clapped for us like they did the others. They stopped once the light shining on us turned off signaling the crowd to disperse. I was about to leave for the house when Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor once.

"What's up Ozzie?" I said turning to see a grin on his face from the nickname I sometimes used with him, though Glynda glared at me. She hated it when I did that since it was "inappropriate" and "childlike". It was kinda nice really. This was one simple way to get at her without really doing much since Ozpin didn't mind the nickname at all.

"As you may have heard from one of your brothers miss ConCain teams sleep in student dorms. However your team is a special case." Ozpin said as Glynda watched us closely.

"What exactly do you mean professor?" Raysel said confused.

Before Ozpin could reply I said. "You'll be living in an underground house built for me and Grendel. There's more than enough rooms for you guys."

"I suggest you go to the house and get some rest Eve." Ozpin said then accepted a mug of coffee from Glynda. Where in blazes did that come from? We began to walk away as I heard him speak. "Congratulations on killing a young dragon."

I smiled at the praise I heard in his voice. "Thanks." I replied leaving the room. Fifteen minutes later I stopped at a hill just outside of the garden that surrounds Beacon. The hill looked normal with bright green grass, but it had a door built into a side of it. This was where I lived when Ozpin had trained me and taught me as much as he could about the world in two months. I never really retained most of that, the combat lessons were about the only thing I didn't forget. The house I lived in was built into the side of the hill and extended past it underground. When designing it I had it built like the Hobbit holes form the lord of the rings. It was easy to maintain and keep at a comfortable temperature, plus it was built with Grendel's height and size in mind. Once at the door I got out my scroll to unlock it then let the others through.

The interior of the house had wood walls with carpet flooring just so I don't happen to slip on wooden floors with socks on. Did that a fair few times, which did earn me bruises. However those incidents had all been back home. I had chosen the colors to be a calming wooden brown since white walls would remind me too much of where I came from. And I also didn't like to see that much white in a house. At the front door was a large open hallway and greeting area with a hallway to the right and another one to the left that led to the living room. I went down the right hallway with the others following.

"This hallway leads to the bedrooms which are each the size of a master bedroom and include their own bathroom." I explained passing by six doors, three on each side of the hallway. The doors were spaced equally apart and matched the other one across from it. Just past the third pair of doors were a pair of see through folding doors which were closets that held excess towels and such. "These two folding doors hide closets that have extra blankets, towels, washcloths, and dish towels. The door at the end of the hallway is my bedroom which is connected to Grendel's room." I finished pointing at the door resting at the end of the hallway and the one to the right of it on the right side of the hallway.

"Where's the kitchen?" Raysel asked right before her stomach growled. I shook my head and led the way again. This time we went down the hall past the front door. Shortly after passing it a right turn opened up to a large spacey kitchen. I had insisted on this since I've dealt with small kitchens too many times at back on earth. The floor of the kitchen was cold tile, yet another substance I probably won't be slipping on any time soon. The counters in here were solid marble that was a dark green color. It was surprising when I saw it at the time Ozpin and I supervised the furnishing of my new home. He didn't really spare no expense for what I wanted. In the center of the kitchen rested an island with several burners and Cabinets underneath it.

"Wow." Isabel commented sounding awed.

"Over there is the living room with a giant screen for playing all sorts of games on." I said snagging an apple from a basket on the counter by the fridge. That monster sat close to the living room line at the end of a counter. The living room was nearly the size of a in home theater with open space in front of a large long couch and a lazy chair on either side of it. There was no wall to separate the end of the kitchen and the beginning of the living room aside from the floor switching back to carpet. "Choose your rooms and make sure to let me know with a sign or something whose room is which." I said before devouring the apple quickly. Apples are one of my favorite snacks. If I'm not careful I can eat a dozen or more apples in the same day. I paced the kitchen and stopped in front of the duel sink where a compost chute rested to the right of it. Once the apple was little more than a core I dropped it down the chute where it would go to a compost pile.

I headed to my room to take a hot shower. It took me longer than I'd like since I had to go slow over the scratches and scrapes I had cauterized. On the larger ones the water reopened them, making the wounds bleed. I cleaned those out gritting my teeth through the pain of the soap in the wounds, but at least they'd be clean. After finishing the shower I dried myself off and slipped on undergarments and a pair of shorts shorts before getting into bed for some much needed sleep.

This fic originally had a set paring between Erran and Pyrrha, but after reading Shadow-Labrys's fan fiction "RWBY: Love Is In The Air" I have thought about maybe doing a yuri harem instead of different vaired parings. What do you guys think? Leave a review with you thoughts on some things will be explained later like what happened to the weapons I had described Raysel carrying.

Another question for you fans or readers: Are you guys fine with Shadestalker for the name of the large lizard Grimm or should it be different? if so please give me a suggestion in a review (since Shadestalker was all I could come up with- partly because of its ability for stealth).

As a heads up there will be a bit of time before I post the next chapter to Conduit since I'm going to finish up chapter eleven for Wolf God, my Freezing fan fiction and take some time to work on my own projects. Lastly happy holidays guys, even if I'm a few days late saying this.