Weiss and Ruby

Weiss slid to a halt a few feet away from her attacker. She straightened her stance and looked the Beowolf up on down, her Myrtenaster rapier firmly in her hands. 'Remember your training, Weiss,' she told herself, breathing in and out slowly. 'Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward... Not that far!' She closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. 'Slow your breathing, wait for the right time, and...'

The white-haired girl folded her arms together and shot forward. Before she could even strike the beast, the caped nuisance sliced her scythe through the Beowolf's flesh. As Weiss stumbled back, she swung her arm around, causing a tree to catch fire. Ruby snapped around, eyes flashing as she spotted the flames. She was struck by the angry beast and rammed into Weiss. "Watch it!"

Weiss glared at Ruby, her cheeks flushed with anger. "Hey! You attacked out of turn. I could have killed you!"

Ruby just rolled her eyes in reply. The beast snarled at the two and leapt for them. Ruby readied her weapon, right before the burning tree fell. Weiss, panicked, grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her away. "We have to move, now!"

The ran until they were a safe distance from the burning area. As they gasped for breath, Ruby looked over at Weiss. "What was that for? That would've been easy!"

Weiss shot a look back. "Maybe if you showed more caution when timing out your attacks, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes angrily. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm just surprised that someone who talks so much converses so little during battle."

"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight!" Ruby shouted back. "I'm just fine on my own!"

With a peeved huff, Weiss turned and stormed off. With an angry sigh, Ruby sliced a tree in half with her scythe before following after the ice-themed girl. A lone, black feather fluttered down as they left.

Lucy and Erza

Lucy stepped over yet another a stray bramble as the two struggled through a patch of thorns. She winced as the barbs dug hungrily into her skin and clothes, envying Erza's armor. The redhead's eyes remained clear as she walked, clearing away brambles with her blade.

Suddenly they came to a large hill, and looking down it you could see an ancient temple. Lucy blinked in surprise. "You think this is it?" Erza didn't reply instantly, but nodded. "Yes."

The clambered down the hill until they reached the temple. On stone pedestals lie what were supposed to be the relics. "Chess pieces?" Lucy murmured, picking up one. She turned the golden shape over in her hand. They didn't seem entirely special to her.

"Let's choose this knight," Erza said, tossing the blonde a golden piece. Lucy caught it in her hand, looking down at it. She nodded, catching sight of two figures coming down a hill. One was a large-chested blonde, while the other was a bow-wearing, black-haired girl. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde, a pang of recognition in her chest. "Is that...?"

"Lucy! Long time, no see!"

The blonde raced down the hill and nearly sprang onto Lucy, wrapping her in a tight hug. Lucy grinned awkwardly, patting the blonde's shoulder... "Eheh, yeah... And, you are?..."

Erza approached, her eyebrows raised. "Yang? Should I know her?"

Lucy's eyes widened. Of course, it was her cousin, Yang! She grinned widely, stepping away from the blonde. "Yang! Of course. Sorry."

Yang smiled back, looking over at her redheaded sister. "Yeah, Erza, she's our cousin. I thought your memory was better than that."

Erza blinked. "Oh. I apologize." She smiled softly, putting away her sword.

Blake Belladonna scanned the pedestals with vibrant yellow eyes. Yang walked up to her, choosing one instantly. "What about this cute, little horsey?"

"That's a knight, Yang," Erza corrected.

"Whatever."

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Blake shrugged. "It wasn't difficult finding this place." She looked back up the hill, blinking against the bright sunlight.

Lucy nodded in reply. "So, what do we do now?"

Jaune and Pyrrha

Pyrrha brushed a branch out of their path as she and Jaune strode through the dense Emerald forest. As they walked, explosions were heard in the distance. When the blonde commented about them, the redhead told him that it was gunfire. Their peers must have already ran into enemies.

As Pyrrha bent back another branch, it snapped back and whacked Jaune, knocking him back. "Sorry about that," she murmured, pausing.

"No big deal."

She turned back to him, a perplexed look in her green eyes. "Why didn't you use your aura?"

"My what?"

"Your aura," the redhead repeated.

After a bit of a pause, Pyrrha asked, "Jaune, please tell me you know what an aura is."

" 'Course I do," Jaune scoffed. "Do you know what an aura is?"

A smile played on Pyrrha's lips. "An aura is the manifestation of the soul," she replied. "It bears our burdens and sheilds our hearts. Haven't you ever felt like you were being watched when nobody else is around?"

"Yeah, I guess," a confused Jaune replied, shrugging.

"With practice, an aura can be a shield," Pyrrha explained. "Everyone has it, even animals. However, that does not include monsters like Grimm. They do not have souls. They are the darkness, while we are the light."

"That's why we fight them," Jaune added. Pyrrha shook her head. "It's not about why. It's about knowing. Understanding both dark and light helps manifest our aura. Everyone has a little bit of both. By bearing our soul as a force, it protects us from harm. You project yourself and soul by fighting."

"So, it's like a force field," Jaune conluded. Pyrrha chuckled, walking closer. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."

"Uh...okay..."

Pyrrha closed her eyes, and soon the two began to glow. Pyrrha glowed red while Jaune glowed white. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite and distanced and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder I protect thee."

Pyrrha broke off with a loud exhale, bending down, out of breath.

Jaune looked at the redhead with concern. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied with a quick smile, straightening again. "I used my aura to unlock yours. The energy around you is now your own." She smirked at him. "You have a lot of it.

Ren and Nora

After defeating King Taijitu, two large snake Grimm, Ren stood atop their limp bodies, panting. He slid his weapons back into his sleeves and straightened his posture, looking about.

"Qraaah! Qraaaaah!"

Ren couldn't help but chuckle at the sound. The leaves russled above his head and a girl with ginger hair popped out, dangling upside down.

"I'm not sure if that's the sound a sloth makes," Ren muttered to her, smirking.

She reached down with a hand, smiling mischieviously. She tapped her finger gently on his pale nose. "Boop."

Beacon Cliff

Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch stood atop Beacon Cliff, using a scroll to watch over their students' progress. Ozpin sipped from his coffee cup while Glynda pulled up footage of Ren and Nora. "Our last pair has formed, sir," she stated. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy. I can't imagine those two getting along."

"At least he is better off than Miss Nikos," Glynda muttered. "I don't care what his transcript says, but this Jaune is not ready for combat." Pressing a button, she closed the footage.

"What about The Four?" Ozpin asked, glancing over at Glynda knowingly.

She didn't look back, just simply replied. "Gray teamed up with Natsu, and Lucy teamed up with Erza. Do you notice the coincidence?"

Ozpin didn't reply, just pulled up more footage on his Scroll.

Weiss and Ruby

"Why can't you just admit you have no idea where you're going?!"

Ruby glared up at Weiss, who was pacing before her. Weiss glared down at the sitting girl, hands on her hips. "Because I do know where we're going! We're going to the Forest Temple!"

"You're so arrogant! It's annoying."

"It's not like you know any better than I do!"

"Well, at least I'm not pretending I know everything!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I hate you!"

A short silence settled before Weiss turned again. "Whatever. Just keep moving."

"Just keep moving," mimicked Ruby. "Hurry up. Watch your step. Why are you so bossy?!"

"I am not!" Weiss retorted, whirling around and stomping towards her teammate. "Don't say things like that!"

"There it is," Ruby remarked cheekily.

"Stop acting like a kid!"

"Stop acting like you're perfect!"

"I'm not perfect!" Weiss shouted. "But at least I'm still leagues ahead of you." With that last stinging remark, she whirled back around and stormed away.

"You don't even know...," Ruby whined, trailing after her partner.

Jaune and Pyrrha

As they walked, they soon came upon a cave. "Do you think this could be where the relic is?" Jaune inquired. Pyrrha just shrugged, her eyes just as curious. "Only one way to find out."

They entered the cave, the temperature falling as they traveled deeper. Before walking in Jaune had made a torch, but before he could actually use it he fell over a stone and the torch rolled into a puddle. "Aw, c'mon."

"Jaune," Pyrrha said, her voice suddenly edged. "Do you feel that?"

"Do you mean soul-crushing reject?"

"No...," she murmured. "Warmth."

The two walked a bit more, until the same across something glowing. It radiated heat, resolving Pyrrha's confusion. "That's it!" Jaune exclaimed. "That's the relic!"

He dove for it and grabbed onto it, but as he did he realized he was looking into glowing, red eyes. Dread washed over the two students. "This isn't the relic..."

Jaune let out a strangled scream as Pyrrha ran out of the cave. "Pyrrha, do something!" He hollered, hanging from the Deathstalker's tail. "Help me!"

"Jaune, whatever you do, don't let-" Jaune screamed again as the creature threw him off its tail and lunged for Pyrrha.

Natsu and Gray

The two men had just made it down the hill, where four other girls stood. Natsu instantly grinned at the sight of Lucy and ran towards the blonde. "Yo, Luce," he greeted her. She turned with a smile that lit up her brown eyes. "Hey, Natsu. You made it." She looked past him, eyeing Gray. "Is that your partner?"

"Yeah," Natsu said loudly. "He's a pain in the ass."

As Lucy chuckled, Gray clenched his teeth. Natsu was the only pain around here. The shirtless man marched up to the pedestal where the relics stood, deciding to grab a bishop. "I think you need some divine inspiration," he growled at Natsu, tossing him the relic. Natsu screwed up his nose at him. "Yeesh. Hope I'm not paired up with ya."

"Right back at ya, Cherry-head."

"Whatever, Ice King."

Yang and Blake

Suddenly, the sound of a girl screaming pierced their ears. "Guys, I think some girl is in trouble," Yang called to the group that had gathered. "Maybe we should go help them!"

She turned to Blake when nobody replied. "C'mon, Blake, we gotta go see what's going on."

The black-haired girl only stared up at the sky.

"Heads up!"

Yang paled as she saw her sister Ruby falling from the sky. "Ruby?!"

Erza turned at Yang's voice, and followed her gaze up. "What the..."