Ruby

Ruby wasn't a sleepy person. She was always energetic, and bouncing off of the walls. But in Professor Port's classes, his endless tales of his heroics in the past did nothing but send her to sleep. And it wasn't just her.

Weiss, who respected the elderly professor greatly, was able to stay awake in class, doing her best to take down notes for the rest of the team to read and copy down in their room later on in the night.

Blake was leaning back in her seat, and subtly taking a nap in her chair, but fully aware in regards to what was going on around her.

Her partner on the other hand, was the complete opposite from Blake, and was sprawled across her desk, snoring loudly with her face pressed against the paper of her book. Even though Yang was snoring, it didn't interrupt the professor as he continued to talk about how he had once taken on a fully grown Deathstalker without his weapon in order to defend a village outside of Vale.

Looking over to Jaune's team, Ruby saw that they were also acting similarly to Ruby's team.

Jaune his face in one hand, the other on top of his desk, a pencil in had. If you didn't look closely, you would have assumed that he was simply waiting to write down more notes.

Nora was much like Yang, and was also lying across her desk using her book for a pillow. Although she didn't snore as loudly as Yang, Nora was also sleeping soundly. Ren was leaning forwards in his seat, head facing the page on the table before him, eyes firmly closed. He wasn't really sleeping, he was just taking a power nap until he needed to wake up.

Pyrrha was the only one in the room, other than Weiss, who looked like she was paying attention to what the teacher was saying.

Looking back to Professor Port, Ruby silently thanked Oum, as she could see the professor had started to wrap up his tale.

'And so, one I had defeated the beast, I returned to the village, and let them know that they were safe, and left as a hero to yet another town,' the professor finished, taking a small bow. He didn't receive any claps from the students, but Ruby was sure that he imagined thunderous applause whilst he bowed before them all.

'But, enough with the tales for one day. It is time for me to introduce to you all a new Grimm, of which you will not have met before.'

At this, everyone in the class perked up, suddenly much more interested in the class.

'Aha! Now you are all listening aren't you? I would assume as much, I myself was always eager to learn more about the Grimm when I was a hunter-in-training.'

'So far, I have taught you all about the most common Grimm that you can find. Beowolves, Ursa, Nevermores, King Taijitus, Boarbatusks and Deathstalkers. Today, I will be introducing you, and letting one of you battle, a Grimm that is related to the fearsom Deathstalkers.'

Ruby could see Weiss in the corner of her eye straighten up, obviously hoping to be able to be the one who would demonstrate a fight with the class.

Professor Port had walked around to the back of the class where there were large drawings with descriptions of the various Grimm that were being presented to the class. Placing his hand on the board with the Deathstalker being displayed, he picked it up and spun it around so that the class could see the new picture that was on the back of the board.

The first part of the picture that Ruby noticed was that the name of the Grimm was extremely similar to that of the Deathstalker. Named 'Deathcrawler' the Grimm best resembled a spider. Based on what she could see on the drawing, Ruby could see that the beast had razor sharp legs that would likely be be just as sharp as Crescent Rose.

'As you can see, the Deathcrawler is basically, a giant spider. But! Do not let this fool you! The Deathcrawler has sharp legs, pincers, and is able to trap you with webs that it can shoot from its rear! Once trapped, you will struggle to fight back, and the beast will only be more likely to trap you futher.'

'As it is related to the fearsome Deathstalker, the Deathcrawler is very similar in size. They are often slightly smaller than the Deathstalker, but can also be the same size, or larger. Deathcrawlers will continue to grow, and some can be the size of Nevermores, although they need to live for near on one hundred years before they can reach this size.'

'I have not brought one of these full-sized creatures into class with me, so instead I have brought a younger specimen, one that is safe for us to battle against in here. So, who would like to help demonstrate a battle with this fearsome creature?'

Unsurprised, Weiss had her hand raised before the Professor had spoken more than two words. Waving her hand frantically, she caught the attention of the Professor extremely quickly. Once he turned to her, they could all see that he looked extremely amused.

'Ms Schnee, you have assisted multiple times throughout the past semester, and although I appreciate your eagerness to aid in the learning off your classmates, I would prefer that a different student demonstrates today.'

Slightly upset, Weiss lowered her hand and folded her arms as the Professor started to scan the rest of the class for a student that he could use for the demonstration. Eventually he stopped, his eyes resting on a student.

'Mr Arc! Would you so kindly partake in the demonstration?'

Everybody looked at Jaune, who had a shocked look on his face, and was looking around to check that he wasn't asking a different Mr Arc. Realising that there wasn't another one, he took a resigned sigh and replied, 'Yes Professor.'

'Excellent! Please, make your way to the lockers and change out of your school uniform and into your combat attire!'

Jaune nodded, but before he stood, he looked at Pyrrha and although Ruby didn't have the super hearing that Blake had, she knew that he was asking Pyrrha something. Her assumption was confirmed when Pyrrha nodded to him, and Jaune stood walking out of the class.

'Alright then students, please be sure to take notes on the strategies that the Deathcrawler takes whilst battling Mr Arc, and see how it uses its body to fight.'

Raising her hand, Professor Port turned to Pyrrha, who was obviously wanting to ask a question.

'Yes Ms Nikos?'

'May I please be excused Professor Port?' Pyrrha asked.

'Of course my dear! Do try to return before Mr Arc, but if you do not, we can wait until you return so that you may also watch the battle.

'Thank you Professor,' Pyrrha said, raising from her seat and leaving the classroom.

Pyrrha

Jaune was waiting outside the classroom for Pyrrha and once she left the class, he called her over.

'Pyrrha, what am I going to do? I can barely fight something with the whole team, how am I going to do this myself?' Jaune asked her, panic through his voice.

Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. 'You'll do fine Jaune. Just remember what I have been teaching you for the last few months and you will do fine. You have a strong defense. You have extremely high aura levels, so you should be able to hold out against it until you defeat it. Remember to keep your shield up, and watch out for attacks so that you can block it. Fast and quick swings so that you take the least amount of time attacking as possible. If you get pushed into a tight space, stab at it quickly and repeatedly so that it backs off and lets you get out. You got that?'

'Ok, I better get going now. I guess I'll see you in a minute then?' Jaune said, starting to walk off to the nearby locker room.

'Yes, good luck Jaune!' Pyrrha called out as her leader walked away from her. 'And remember! Keep your shield up!'

'I got it!'

Pyrrha smiled at Jaune's retreating back before turning to head back into the class again and sitting down next to Nora again. Both her and Ren looked at her the latter asking her, 'Is Jaune alright with this?'

'Yes,' Pyrrha responded, nodding her head at her teammate. 'I've reminded him of what to do. Now everything is just going to come down to him.'

Jaune

It didn't take long for him to change into his combat gear and retrieve Crocea Mors from his locker. Once he had returned to the classroom, Jaune had unsheathed his sword and expanded his shield, prepared for the upcoming battle.

'Are you ready, Mr Arc?' Professor Port asked, brandishing his blunderbuss in his hand, the blades of his axe gleaming in wait to cut the lock of the cage containing the Deathcrawler. The cage wasn't rattling, in fact it showed no signs of containing a Grimm at all.

Jaune nodded, raising his shield and pointing his sword towards the cage in the fashion that Prrha had taught him.

'Then let the match begin!' the teacher said, swinging his axe through the lock, letting the door spring open. But nothing came rushing out at Jaune. The cage was still very dark, and the lack of a red glow of the Grimm's eyes unsettled Jaune. He looked over at the teacher, who jerked his head towards the cage, indicating that he should approach it.

Taking a breath, Jaune slowly creeped up on the cage. The closer he came to it, the more he could see inside it. Around the entrance was a thick web that obstructed his view of inside the cage. Uncertain of what to do next, Jaune looked over to Pyrrha, who shrugged her shoulders to him. Unsure of what to do now, Jaune gulped before approaching the cage again, only stopping when he was standing directily before the cage and yet there was still no sign of the Grimm.

Taking another breath, Jaune hoped that he wouldn't regret this and stabbed his sword into the cage. The blade didn't travel far before it became stuck in something. Unfortunately, when the sword was ripped from his hands and pulled inside the cage, Jaune took several steps backwards, his shield raised to his face. Peeking over the top of his shield, there was no response from the Grimm for another few seconds until eight glowing eyes peered out of the darkness at him. A shriek that sounded like fingernails across a chalkboard rang through the classroom, causing everyone in the classroom to flinch and cover their ears, including Jaune. Lowering his shield to cover his ears, Jaune's defense now lowered, the Deathcrawler darted out of the cage towards Jaune.

'Jaune! Look out!' Pyrrha called out.

Looking up, Jaune saw the dark blur heading towards him, and was barely able to raise his shield again before he was pushed backwards from the sheer force of the creature. Flung into the back wall of the class, Jaune grunted loudly as he fell to the floor. Looking up, he got his first good look at the Grimm.

Just like all other Grimm, it was a deep black with a white bone mask with glowing red lines and eyes. White pincers were underneath the mask, both of them around half the size of the blade of Crescent Rose. Eight long, hairy legs supported a large body that was covered with one large piece of bone armour across its back. Its abdomen had a sting which was currently retracted inside it's body. The Deathcrawlers legs had sharp claws that left small marks on the floor every time it took a step.

Jaune stood back up, raising his shield as the monster charged towards Jaune again, pincers clicking loudly. It crashed into his shield again, pushing Jaune against the wall, its pincers wrapped around both sides of his shield. It yanked its head backwards, pulling Jaune and his shield with it.

Jaune couldn't keep a grip on his shield, and let go of it, getting flung across the room. The only thing that could make it worse was the comment that Professor Port made once he landed before the Professor.

'Haha! Weren't expecting it to be so violent were you?'

Standing again, Jaune turned his head to see the Deathcrawler scuttling towards him again. Jaune ran towards the beast, and slid under its belly, hoping he could get behind it and get to his shield which was laying on the floor.

Once he was out of the way of the arachnid, Jaune stumbled to his feet and ran towards his shield. He was only feet away from it before he suddenly couldn't move his feet anymore. Looking down, he saw that his feet were stuck to the ground in a sticky web.

'Haha! How are you going to fight back now that you can't move?'

Jaune gritted his teeth and pulled his legs upwards to try and escape from the web that had stuck him to the floor. Although he could lift his legs up, the webs just stretch and didn't let him move. Hearing the sound of the Deathcrawler moving around on the floor again, Jaune resorted to throwing himself on the floor and reached for his shield.

Just within reach, Jaune curled his fingers around the edge of his shield and pulled it towards him. Putting it on his left arm, Jaune swung his arm around behind him and bashed the Deathcrawler in the face as it reached him. Reeling backwards, the monster let out another shriek that caused everyone to cover their ears again.

Jaune resisted the urge, and instead started to cut to web off of his feet with the edge of his shield. The web wasn't as thick as he thought, and Jaune was able to cut through the web rather quickly. Standing up again, Jaune readied himself for the next attack.

The Deathcrawler was much more wary of him now, and scuttled around him, observing him. Taking a chance, Jaune rushed at the monster, which in turn, charged at him. Once close enough, Jaune jumped into the air, placing his shield atop the Deathcrawlers head and rolled across his shield, running across its back before sliding off of its back, slamming the edge of his shield into its back.

He was quickly flung off as the Grimm shrieked and jerked around in pain. Landing in a roll, Jaune rushed towards the cage, eager to get his sword back. Swinging his shield into the webs with a backhanded strike, the webs move out of the way and Jaune fumbled around for his sword, feeling its hilt almost immediately.

He pulled the sword towards him and turned around, tumbling out of the cage as he tripped over a thick web that was lying across the bottom of the cage. Seeing the Deathcrawler heading back over to him, he lifted his shield and struggled to keep it up as one of the sharp legs impaled his shield, attempting to force it down. Pushing his shield aside, Jaune swung his sword at the leg that was stuck in his shield, severing it from the Grimm's body.

The creature shrieked and stumbled for a moment as it tried to balance itself after losing a leg. Jaune took the opportunity and stood up, quickly swinging his at another leg that was nearby, also cutting it loose from the Deathcrawlers body.

He was pushed backwards as the creature leapt towards him, pushing him to the floor. It closed its pincers around his shield again, but this time, Jaune reached his sword over the top of the shield and thrust his blade deep into the mouth of the creature.

Pulling back again, the beast stumbled away from Jaune, who slowly got back to his feet. He rushed the monster, stabbing his blade underneath the Grimm's mask. Pushing the hilt upwards, his blade cut through the rest of the Grimm's head, cutting it in half.

The arachnid fell to the ground, and began to fade away into shadows.

'Well done Mr Arc!' Professor Port called across the classroom. 'You have done very well! I congratulate you for being able to take out such a powerful foe! Even if it is only a small one.'

'I hope you have all taken a good amount of notes, as I expect you all to have a report on the fighting tactics of the Deathcrawler by next class. I would tell you a tale of when I once took on an entire nest of the foul beasts, but alas, time has run out, and you may now leave for lunch. Class dismissed!'

The sound of everyone beginning to move filled the room and Jaune stumbled over to his team.

'Well done Jaune!' Pyrrha congratulated. 'I'm very pround of you! You did very well, even without your weapon!'

'And you broke some of it's legs!' Nora exclaimed, throwing a fist into the air.

Jaune couldn't help but let out a smile at his teammates excitement. 'Come on. We should go get something to eat before we go to the arena to practice for the tournament. I talked to Ruby and she said that we could have a fight between our teams to make it feel like an actual fight, not practicing with robots.'

'That's a good idea,' Ren said, nodding to his leader. 'But before we eat, you should get a change of clothes, you have webs all over you.'

This one is really late, but I was a bit busy with some other things recently. This was sorta just to introduce the Deathcrawler, which I got an inspiration from when a spider tried to sleep with me the other night :P

The next one is when I'm going to really get properly into the plot of the story, and there will be some chapters involving Cinder's, Mercury's, Emerald's and the mysterious White Fang member's points of view. But, until then, you'll just have to wait another week