Between the two teams, NPR had theirs earlier as opposed to the RWBY which came after the Vytal dance. There wasn't much to note about it other than Ruby not wanting to wear her dress without her weapon. There was also the sad instance that nobody asked Pyrrha Nikos to the dance. Well, to anyone else it might seem sad. Usually, the reason of others' unwillingness is because they believed that she was out of their leagues. Pyrrha wasn't complaining in that regard, there was only one person she wanted to be asked out by wasn't present. Was it childish of her? Some might say so. Others would probably find it cute that she is loyal to one. She is still a teenager. There are some adults who are still naïve about things so it was probably fine that she was as well.

Speaking of those who are a tad naïve, just before they were to leave Beacon and delve further into the Emerald Forest and into those ancient ruins, their professor and the huntress who is to shadow them, Ann Greene, was groaning at some message that she had received. Presumably, it had come from Thumbelina Peach judging from the muttering.

Professor Greene can be heard laughing to herself. "Free lunch," she said to herself. "Good thing I brought the jars."

They walked their way for the most part. As much as Nora wanted to, none of them used the same launch pads that were used for initiation. It felt so long ago now for Pyrrha. She still remembered those trees that she smashed through with her shield, used the scope of her rifle and managed to catch sight of the very individual who would then be her partner and team leader. She could still remember that day. His panic and screams for help. Pyrrha wasn't about to let someone die like that, especially someone who had gotten her attention. It started out as simply wanting to have someone who wouldn't think of her as some impossible standard. Now, she couldn't imagine life in Beacon without Jaune as her partner.

She sighed at that last thought. She didn't need to imagine what it was like to not have a partner for she was living it. Jaune's transcripts had been exposed just as they were about to start their own private training sessions. Their own special time alone up there on the rooftops. Clashing blades as he learned swordsmanship from her. At some point, he might have tripped in just the right way that he would fall forwards and on top of her. Their faces would be close as their breath was hot and their bodies sweaty from the workout. With emotions running high in those moments, they might just let themselves be succumbed to the high of such physical activity and—

"What are you thinking, Pyrrha?" said Nora, interrupting her train of thought. Nora's grin was devilish as she found some other way to amuse herself. It grew even wider when she noticed the change of color in Pyrrha's face. "You look remarkably… red."

Ren did nothing to hold Nora back. If anything, the only boy left of the team was holding back a giggle. Despite his usually calm and neutral expression, Pyrrha had lived with the boy for long enough to read some of his facial expressions. That slight upward curve of Ren's lips wasn't missed by Pyrrha. Although he clearly returned back to the usual straight line, the fact that those moments happen at all meant that he was clearly holding back his own laughter. He wasn't even going to reign in his partner.

They had nothing much to do at the moment, trekking deeper into the Emerald Forest. Other than killing Grimm, which had been increasing in number as the reports had said, their only other pleasure was the pieces of rocks that might have been part of some building or statue of some ancient civilization considering the unnatural way that they were shaped. It might have been interesting but the most that they received were broken blocks or pieces that might have belonged to something else. None could really tell unless they were interested in history and archeology like Doctor Oobleck.

Nora clearly used that time to poke into Pyrrha's train of thought. It was unlike her to be so unguarded. Years in the tournament scene had made her "So," she said. "Thinking about someone?" Her grin grew wider as Pyrrha's cheeks turned redder.

"We need to focus on the mission," said Pyrrha in a vain attempt of using her leadership status to get them to follow. It didn't work. It rarely ever does, especially when her face doesn't match the seriousness that she tries to achieve in her commands. There were few good seconds of silence that were shared before joyous noise had broken it.

The three of them shared a giggle. Well, two of them anyway; Ren's smile was just visible and without doubt was the closest thing to laughter that they could get.

Ahead of them, Professor Ann Greene raised her hand motioning them to stop. With it, their giggling stopped and was replaced with the seriousness expected of huntsmen and huntresses. In times like these, she had taught them to learn tracking. By differentiating different marks of Grimm, they could figure out what kind of Grimm was there before having to fight it. It was a useful skill and one that Jaune had learned ahead of them. These marks could be found anywhere. The most obvious were those found on the ground, especially muddied ones. Trees have scratches with some parts of their trunks torn off. Branches were broken or were hanging on due to some weight that rested on them. It was the weight of a Nevermore for no bird could be that heavy. Sap similar to those found in Forever Fall also faintly filled their nostrils, probably an Ursa. Large gaps in the ground like it was a trench that was rushed and unfinished? Likely a Taijitsu. From what they were told, their professor only taught them the most obvious signs and where they could be found. The rest could only be done through practice and familiarity, often with in collaboration with these signs.

Professor Ann Greene was then up on the trees. With a grace and lightness of air, she rested herself up on its branches. It was another trick that was taught to them, though it was more for stealth-based huntsmen; those who specialize in assassination tactics and surprise attacks. It is often employed for those of criminal origins rather than Grimm. It is common that not many people would look higher than a certain point, usually 45 degrees, as such many of those who primarily employ stealth could benefit by being significantly high enough. Of course, it does not apply to those who are extremely alert and are especially observant. Greene's cloaks often match with the environment in question for she had many. In the forest, she had worn a cloak whose colors match to that of the trees and the grass. It would have been in contrast if she were anywhere else.

Ren followed suit. Although he wasn't as graceful as he wasn't as experienced nor trained as the professor, he was still silent. Both Pyrrha and Nora were stuck on the ground; these sorts of things were not something they were accustomed to. Pyrrha especially wasn't that good at stealth. She was accustomed to be out in the open, in an even field where her techniques can be seen and awed by the audience; it was how she was trained for most of her life. It was one area that she had never really dabbled in much.

Opposite to presence concealment, Beacon students were also taught some elements of detecting the hidden. It was easy here as Pyrrha had to fight a multitude of different opponents in different playing fields. Smokescreens and other such devices have been used to hinder her in tournaments before. In those moments, Pyrrha's other senses would hone in to make up for the ones that had been compromised, usually sight. Hearing, scent and even feeling the moisture of the air around them was enough to detect any anomaly in the field, thusly guiding her towards her opponent.

For this moment, Pyrrha focused on her hearing. The light breeze swaying the trees and even the occasional flap of the professor's cloak was heard. Ren, because he lacked the experience of Professor Greene, could be heard adjusting himself to rest against the rest of the tree, his adjustments could be heard as he slowly moved his hands and feet to be closer to the rest of the tree. Honing her hearing, Pyrrha managed to pick up a disturbance further up north. There were disturbances here and there but those were just the natural things that occurred in the forests: leaves being blown, birds chirping. All of it was acknowledged by Pyrrha before she found that which should not have been there. She found it in the form of a voice, the voice of a person.

"…It'll… be… enough…" said he for it was a masculine voice. His voice was hoarse but they could pick up some groaning as if the man was pushing himself to its limits.

With her shield out, Pyrrha Nikos was the first to approach the source of that voice. She shuffled her way as she made as silent of an approach as she could. Nora was behind her with Greene and Ren taking to the trees in some attempt of an ambush as they went around. Pyrrha would say that they were doing good. The mission thus far has been relatively light with little new learnings for them. It was more an application of what they learned from Greene's class but since it was the headmaster's request, it had to be something worth looking into. Whoever he was, he seemed to have some connection with the sudden surge of the Grimm near Beacon.

As they got closer, the voice became clearer, more familiar. The foliage of branches and leaves slowly grew apart as further damage could be seen; it had come from the Grimm earlier.

Then, when they had managed to reach pass what was the edge of those trees, everything became clear. Everything within the surrounding area was like an open field and the first thing that they witnessed shocked to their very core: Grimm were being summoned right in front of them. One large Ursa manifested right in front of them. While Grimm have spawned before, the manner at which this one had appeared is what shocked them the most. It had someone summoning them which meant that there was one person who was willingly bringing them here in Beacon Academy.

What was most surprising was that they managed to get a full glimpse of who that person was. It was none other than Cardin Winchester. He was unlike what he was before. Rather than the armor or Beacon's uniform, he wore more casual clothing, like the ones that you would wear when hanging out with friends. In his hand there was a book, the same book that they had seen him carry every once in a while. It glowed a visible light, similar to that of aura. His aura. At the sight of them, Cardin quickly pointed at them and screamed in an incomprehensible manner. The Ursa, listening to his commands somehow, immediately charged at them.

In response, Pyrrha's weapon turned to its spear form and took the Ursa's charge with her shield. With the spear pointed towards it, the Grimm impaled itself and began to dissipate. To follow her up, Nora went around her and went to chase down a running Cardin Winchester, the book he held was held tightly. Sadly, for him, Ren and Professor Greene managed to get around him in seclusion and landed on the other side.

Professor Greene was closer and wasn't as tense as the other two. Her hands were out and she displayed no weapon on her person. The hood on her head was pulled back, revealing her face. "Mr. Winchester," she said. Her tone spoke of an attempt at diffusing the situation. Her other arm was extended outward, preventing Ren from charging in. "It's alright. Whatever it is that plaguing you, the headmaster can help."

Cardin made no verbal response. Instead, he opened the book and his aura flared. Another Grimm then appeared, this time it was a group of small Boarbatusks. They were much easier to deal with due to their smaller size but due to them doing their spinning attacks, it was enough to keep them off balance and allowing him to escape. Ren quickly dealt with the ones that went for him and the professor.

In response, Greene clenched the fingers of her hand revealing strings reflecting the light. Everyone was surprised when there were strings that suddenly surrounded them. Pyrrha couldn't sense it even with her polarity for those were not made of metal. She never heard those strings being set up. Even Ren who was closest to the professor looked surprised as it appeared he also never noticed it.

Cardin acted quickly with another burst of his aura, a Beowolf had slashed it appeared and thus allowing him to escape.

Team NPR would have given chase but all three of them were stopped by Professor Greene. "He won't stop running," she said. "We must report back to the headmaster."

The students looked at one another. They were unsure of what had just happened. Cardin Winchester had somehow learned to summon and control Grimm. Would that mean that all this time, all of that sudden increase of Grimm around Beacon was because of him? Why is that? More importantly, why did they suddenly feel relieved that he was gone? It wasn't the kind of relief due to their issues with the boy but rather the relief that they are now safer? Many such questions entered their discussion as they returned to Beacon. Professor Greene was ahead of them and was quiet throughout the whole trip.

/-/

"That is precisely the problem, James," said Ozpin on his scroll. While the headmaster of Beacon Academy was about to receive a full report, Greene had sent him the important and coded message. "I do not know just how capable this thing of hers is. It was a mistake I had made and one that I will personally rectify if I have to."

From the other end of the call, General James Ironwood responded, "so I shall be taking care of the security, then? You're willingly giving up that position for this?" His tone was that of a concerned friend. Ozpin doesn't blame him. The general was probably accustomed to him being in a calm state as if everything was under control. Here though? With what he had witnessed then, he couldn't afford such demeanor even if he wanted to. Whatever was happening with the Vytal Festival can be given to James. The only issues there would be the fact that two teams have dropped out. One was some team from Haven Academy who withdrew due to some family issue back home while the other would be team CRDL. The latter never made any formal withdrawal but it is to be expected.

The scroll call ended and Ozpin put it down on his table. He slumped back into his chair and looked out the glass window behind him. Glynda has already been given the word to call for the rest of team CRDL. Ironically, the huntsman meant to shadow them had the weapon that he had just sent home earlier in that year: Crocea Mors. Jacques Arc must have been giving the team's leader some poor grade by now. But considering what had just transpired he had other things to worry about.

"I won't fail you this time, Gilles," said Ozpin. "I promise you that. Modified version though it may be, it is still a terrible thing to have it exist in Remnant."

On the table, Ozpin's scroll was left on. The message from Greene was still on display. It had only one word.

Prelati

AN: Spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen RWBY Vol 9 finale and the Justice League crossover

For Vol 9: I don't which is sadder, my boy losing his drip or not being able to bring his mighty steed back with him

For the crossover: I went from Arkos to Lancaster then opened up to White Knight (in Vol 9) only to immidiately go for Knightlight. That and considering what he went through, somebody get my boy a Green Lantern ring.