Her flight through the air had been brief, the wind whistling through her hair as she clung to the handle of Magnhild. Her strength was barely enough to stay perched upon the hammer. After having explained her plan to team RWBY, she had asked them to launch her through the air towards the maw of the monster. It was their only chance.

Nora knew that Ren would see her, his eyes wide in terror as she flew to her death. What she did not know if that it would be enough. It was a manipulation of emotions—something she wasn't prone to do. Having ideas wasn't her territory. Nora was a girl of action, of immediate response. She felt she always did better by following orders than giving them. Coming up with this plan was completely out of character for her and made her feel weird, but her desperation overcame her discomfort. More was at stake than her own life. The Grimm was getting stronger and stronger with each soul it devoured. It had only devoured a few unsuspecting individuals and was already solidifying. Being tied to the creature in the way that she was, she had witnessed those meals and understood the nature of the beast. It used electricity much like a jelly fish in the warmer waters of Remnant. The shock froze the prey and allowed a connection so that the Grimm could feed upon the aura, and eventually the soul. But the conflict came because of her own semblance. Her ability to use electricity created a loop, allowing her to live and creating a one-way feed into the Grimm's mind. She learned of its core, its hunger, and even bits of its memory flitted into her head. Right now, it was at its weakest. There was a chance to destroy it—but this was the only chance. And all hinged on Ren losing control.

Inside the body of the Grimm, she floated and looked around. Magnhild was a heavy anchor in her hands, but she refused to let go. The core lay before her, a rigid stone with markings like the mask the Grimm wore. It pulsated with a horrible red light, the souls of the devoured crying for release and fading with each sound. Reluctantly, Nora released Magnhild and embraced the core. The moment she touched it, she could feel her aura drop dramatically and she clung with tenacity to each tendril she had.

"Come on Ren," she whispered weakly. "Hurry…"

Jaune, Pyrrha and team RWBY watched in terrified awe as the air snapped and crackled around Ren. His hair lifted and whipped around him, propelled by the energy of his aura. There was a moment of silence, like the calm before the storm, and then he seemed to explode in a cocoon of energy. The raw aura flared and swirled around him like a cyclone, shooting straight up into the air and arching down to strike at the Grimm beside him. The grass at his feet burned to cinders, leaving a wide circle of barren earth around him.

"I can't believe it…" Pyrrha whispered, taking an involuntary step back.

"What…what's happening?" Jaune's eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched the spectacle. "Is this his semblance?" Pyrrha shook her head, unable to pull her eyes away from the sight.

"Some of his semblance might be involved, but this…this is pure auric energy," she replied.

"Emotion is a strong catalyst for aura," Weiss added in a barely audible whisper. "Hatred, anger, fear… while these emotions can be fuel for aura, it can also have detrimental effects." Weiss' eyes were as wide as Jaune's, memory flashing behind those blue eyes in flashes.

The Grimm let out an inhuman shriek that seemed to split the air. The energy formed like lightning as it pierced through the Grimm to its center. The light of the energy illuminated Nora, clinging to the core of the Grimm and smiling brilliantly in the light like a holy angel. The energy intensified and then exploded, blinding all who watched for a brief moment. The shrieks had stopped and silence as loud as thunder filled the forest. The others unshielded their eyes and took in the carnage around them.

The Grimm was gone, wisps of black smoke marking its resting place. Ren lay in the burnt shallow crater, face down, steam rising from his body and his clothing singed and charred. He did not move. As more smoke wafted away in the wind, they found Nora curled into a ball as if she still held the core in her arms. Steam rose from her body, but her breathing was steady.

Jaune and Pyrrha hesitated, unable to choose who to run to first. After a long moment, they nodded to each other and broke off. Pyrrha ran to Nora and Jaune to Ren. As Pyrrha hauled Nora to a sitting position, her eyes fluttered open revealing her beautiful, lively teal eyes. There was a moment as Nora took in Pyrrha's face, then she suddenly smiled.

"IT WORKED!" Nora leapt to her feet and immediately sat back down.

"Easy now," Pyrrha scolded in a motherly tone. She couldn't help but smile as a tear rolled down her cheek. Nora was back. She was herself again. "Yes…I don't know how or why, but it worked…the Grimm is gone…but Ren…" She paused, looking toward Jaune who was working to try and rouse Ren with desperate shakes.

Nora was grinning still, even as she looked to Ren. "Take me over there, Pyrrha," she said. Her voice belied her excitement. Pyrrha reluctantly pulled Nora to a standing position and helped her over to Ren. By that time, team RWBY had arrived and gathered nearby.

"A new aircraft is on its way with medical aid," Yang explained. Nora nodded absently. She knelt beside Ren and put a hand to his face. After a moment, she leaned down and put her ear to his chest. Then she sat up with a satisfied look on her face.

"He's fine," she announced confidently. "He just overdid it, as usual."

"What do you mean 'as usual'? This is Ren we're talking about," Jaune frowned. Nora just beamed at him, not giving him any answer. She reached over and patted Jaune's shoulder, then settled down on the ground beside Ren to look at the sky. The color had completely returned to her face, and it was obvious to anyone that rest would not be on Nora's schedule, no matter what the doctors said.

"I got a lot of leftover energy from Ren, so I will be fine," Nora explained in answer to the unspoken worry of the group. "Ren will probably be out for a week, but he will recover. WE DID IT!" Nora shot a fist to the air in triumph.

"And how do you know all this? When did you become a doctor?" Weiss demanded.

Nora sat up a little, supporting herself with her elbows. Her face became suddenly very serious. "I know this because it happened before. A long time ago." She lay back down and closed her eyes. "It's probably best not to tell him too much of this. He won't remember most of it anyway. Just let him recover." The others exchanged uncertain looks, but eventually nodded.

True to her words, Nora was bouncing around the school like a hyper kitten within a day. She visited Ren every day, waiting for him to open his eyes. It took three days before he opened them, and a full week before he was released from the hospital with detailed instructions from the doctors on what he could and couldn't do. Both Jaune and Pyrrha were surprised to find that, as Nora had said, he couldn't remember anything. He remembered fighting the Grimm and seeing Nora, and then nothing else. Unable to find the words to describe what had happened, they had decided to leave it at that.

But something had changed in Nora. It was at first imperceptible, but then became more obvious to Pyrrha. Nora seemed more content and smiled a little more brightly around Ren in a way that Pyrrha couldn't describe. It was like a nagging, burning question had been laid to rest in Nora. There was something more lively in her bounce, more honest in her smile. Pyrrha had her suspicions, but decided to leave it be. What mattered most was that her team was back together and safe. Ren was back to his own, withdrawn yet high-achieving self and seemed to have established a stronger bond with Jaune. In fact, it seemed that the bonds of their team had become even stronger than before. Perhaps that was why Nora was so happy now. Perhaps.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Ozpin?" Glynda stepped into the office with tablet in hand and a leaf of old folders in the other. Ozpin was watching his scroll with an intense look upon his face. It seemed as if he had not heard her entry. Patiently she waited until he finally glanced up to her.

"Did you locate those files from the archives?" he asked briskly. Glynda set the files upon the desk. His eyes traced over the shape of the folders, then met Glynda's.

"These will have to be updated and added to the database," he said.

"Yes, sir," Glynda responded. "Is there a specific reason?"

"Yes," Ozpin took his scroll and turned it for Glynda to see. "They are no longer beasts of legend. They are alive and well. And they are coming." Glynda dropped her scroll involuntarily as she saw team JNPR facing off with a Grimm from her nightmares.

"How…how is that possible? And how could students possibly…"

"This was one of the weaker ones," Ozpin explained. He shifted the screen and pressed a button to send the file to Glynda's scroll. "It was starved for centuries. The others will not be so compensating."

"What will we do? Even the Maidens couldn't…" Glynda was fighting hard to maintain her professional demeanor, and losing.

"The Maidens of old were limited by many things," Ozpin explained in his unforgivingly calm manner. "Technology, knowledge of dust and aura, lack of support and hunters…But it is a new age now. The Guardians put these beasts under seal in hopes that future generations could finally defeat these Grimm. And it looks like we might have a chance."

"Can we be sure?" Glynda whispered.

"No, I cannot," Ozpin responded. "But it looks like we have little choice. Semblances have changed with the times. Nora's semblance came around just when we needed it. We just have to hope that other such semblances will reveal themselves as the time comes. Until then, we need to locate these other Grimm and prepare the Maidens. Our time is getting shorter and shorter."

Glynda gave a sharp salute of understanding, her back straightened with the pride of a huntress. Everything was falling into place in a way that they had hoped to avoid.

The End