Chief's A/N: So, if you haven't noticed, we're basically ignoring the lore that Grimm bodies disintegrate after death (I.E. Victor's Grimm bone armor, Kira eating Grimm meat etc.) Just a reminder! Now… GUITAR SOLO! (Insert guitar solo)

Chapter 11: Punishment

Alexi Muratov sat in his room, enjoying the silence he was having even though he was getting along with his team more. Victor was off studying with Pyrrha, like he always was as of late. "I swear they're dating." Alexi thought as he read his book. "Spending that much time together 'studying'? Probably studying each other's bodies no doubt." Dev was off doing whatever Deveraux did during the day, no one really knew what would keep that guy occupied. Nigel was probably taking care of his weapon, like he always did around this time since he was so keen on keeping it in top condition.

Alexi sat and read quietly until a knock at his door took him from his fortress of solitude. He got up to find the knocker to be Kira, the shadow of Team SNTL, always quiet and in the back of the group. "Hey there Kira." Alexi greeted. "What can I do for you?" Alexi liked Kira, she was very cute and quiet, a few things he liked in a girl. "I was just wondering if, um, I could, uh." Kira stuttered.

She had her hands behind her back and stared at her feet as she talked to him in a very shy manner. "Kira." Alexi interrupted. "Would you like to come in?" Kira smiled and nodded her head as she entered his team's room. Kira walked in and took a seat at the table, looking like she was at a friend's house for the first time. Alexi pulled up a chair to her and questioned "So what brings you to my room Kira?"

"Well, everyone has their own thing to do today except for me. I thought I might see if you or Victor might want to, um, hang out?" Kira responded. Alexi leaned back in his chair and replied "Well, I have nothing going on, so I'm good to hang out." As soon as Alexi finished his statement, his scroll went off. "You've got to be kidding me." Alexi groaned as he grabbed his scroll. "Hello?" It was Professor Ozpin, who exclaimed "Mr. Muratov, would you please come and join the rest of your team in my office at your earliest convenience?"

"Of course sir."

Alexi hung up his scroll and grumbled "I need to see Ozpin. When I get back, then we can hang. Okay?" Kira smiled and replied "Sure. I'll be here when you get back." Alexi got up and headed to Professor Ozpin's office as he was instructed. Along the way, he caught up with Victor who had a stack of books under his arm. "Hey there Big Guy." Alexi greeted. "Have fun 'studying' with Pyrrha?"

Victor rolled his eyes as Alexi put air quotes around studying. "Believe it or not, Pyrrha and I aren't dating. No matter how much everyone urges it." Victor grumbled as the two continued their trek. They walked a bit more before Alexi questioned "So what do you think Professor Ozpin wants to talk about?" Victor shrugged and replied "It has something to do with our punishment for starting a fight with Team CRDL all that time back."

"Ozpin tell you that?"

"Yeah, he said that it was time to face the consequences of our actions."

Alexi nodded as the two entered Professor Ozpin's office to see that Dev and Nigel had beaten the two there. "How did you two get here so fast?" Victor questioned as he walked up to Professor Ozpin's desk. "I was walking with Grey when I got the call from Professor Ozpin here." Deveraux answered.

"What were you doing with Grey?"

"The same thing you were doing with Pyrrha."

"Studying?"

Dev face palmed and groaned "You're still sticking with the line that you two are always 'studying'?" Victor rolled his eyes and turned to Nigel, who responded "I was caring for my weapon when I received the call." Victor nodded and took a seat in front of Ozpin's desk with Ozpin waiting patiently for the team to finish their conversation. "Now that all of you are here, I can tell you why I have called all of you." Ozpin stated calmly. "You told me that we are going to receive our punishment for going at Team CRDL." Victor replied.

"You are correct. There is a small task I need you and your team to complete. In the Emerald Forest, there have been reports of a strange new Grimm."

Victor exclaimed "And you want us to go investigate this new Grimm." Ozpin nodded and replied "You are correct. Seeing as how your team has come together, I also see this a better opportunity to further bring your team together. You will depart for the Emerald Forest and search the ruins tomorrow morning." Victor nodded and the team exited Professor Ozpin's office and headed to their room. Victor opened the door to find Kira sitting at the table and reading one of his books. "Hey there Kira." Victor greeted as he patted Kira's head.

"Hey Victor. So, what did Professor Ozpin want to see you guys about?" Kira questioned. "We're looking into something for him." Alexi responded as he pulled up a seat.

"You guys are doing Ozpin a favor? Brown nosers."

Nigel chuckled "Why Kira, is that some friendly aggression I sense from you? Coming out of our shell now?" Kira smiled and replied "I'm getting a little more used to… people." Victor laid across his bed and sighed "Well, that's good to hear Kira." Kira turned to Victor and questioned "So how are you and Pyrrha doing?"

"For the love of! We are not dating!"

"Come on Victor, its Pyrrha. Everyone had a crush on her."

Dev agreed as he strummed out a chord "It's true, everyone does." Nigel and Alexi nodded in agreement as Victor growled "I'm not dating Pyrrha. I don't want a relationship." Dev chuckled "You're an idiot."

"You still never answered my question earlier. What were you doing with Grey?"

"We were just walking and talking. So when are you and Pyrrha…?"

"If you finish that question, Dev, I will break your guitar over your head."

Dev chuckled and continued to strum on his guitar until his scroll buzzed. He looked at it and read a message Grey had sent to him. "Where you at? I want to keep talking : )" It read. Dev responded "My room. Meet you by the statue." Dev put his guitar on its stand and started for the door when Victor questioned "Where are you off to?"

"I've got a date with your sister."

"Watch it there Dev. You and me may be getting along better, but we are nowhere near close enough friends for you to date my sister."

"Whatever you say Big Guy."

Dev walked out of the room and headed to the center of the school to find Grey waiting for him. She was wearing a pretty low cut shirt and jeans with her long grey hair tied back, her grey ears poking out of the top while her tail swung lazily back and forth. Her eyes changed from their usual green to the soft pink that usually followed his arrival. "Did you change while I was talking to Ozpin?" Dev questioned as he sat next to Grey. "Maybe." Grey replied, dragging out the 'a'.

Grey leaned forward, blatantly displaying her cleavage to Dev, who couldn't help but take a quick look. "You know, Victor doesn't really like that we're hanging around so much." Dev replied. He leaned to the side and Grey gladly accepted the lean, nuzzling his shoulder. "Well, he can get over it. Besides, it's not like we're dating or anything." Grey replied.

"Victor also says that me and him aren't cool enough for you and I to date anyway."

"Well, my little brother can't really tell me who I can and can't date."

"How far apart are the two of you anyway?"

"30 seconds, but I'm the older twin."

Dev nodded and questioned "So, why is it that the two of you look nothing alike?" Grey replied, scooting closer to Dev "Well, I take more after our mom, who is a wolf Faunus. While Victor takes more after our dad, who was human."

"But Victor acts more like a wolf than you do."

"Well, Victor was always a little more shunned with our pack since he looked more human, so he tries to make up for it in behavior."

"I guess that makes sense. So why isn't Victor dating Pyrrha? I mean, seriously."

Grey pulled off of Dev and answered "That's more Victor's business than mine. It isn't my place to tell." Dev proclaimed "So you know why he hasn't asked out Pyrrha?" Grey nodded and asked "Can we talk about something else?" Dev smiled and exclaimed "Sure, what do you want to talk about?" The two sat and talked for a while until it was time for dinner.

O00000O00000O

Victor eventually left his room and headed down to get some dinner since he was pretty hungry. He walked his giant ass all the way to the cafeteria, which was sparsely populated since it was still pretty early for lunch. Victor grabbed some steak, mash potatoes and green beans and found himself a seat. He was enjoying the moment he had alone until someone decided to join him. He looked up into the radiant green eyes of Pyrrha Nikos, who had an equally radiant smile on her face. Victor couldn't help but smile as Pyrrha greeted "Hello there Victor. I haven't seen you since… a few minutes ago. So what is your team's punishment?" Victor replied "We're looking into something out in the Emerald Forest, nothing really big."

"Sounds interesting. I know you and your team will do just fine."

Victor smiled and thought "I can really see why people would think we're dating." The very thought of him and Pyrrha together made him chuckle, causing Pyrrha to question "What's so funny?"

"Just thinking that it's funny how everyone thinks we're dating."

Pyrrha smiled, but there was something a little strange about it but Victor pushed it aside as she exclaimed "Let them say what they want, it doesn't change that you and I are friends, Victor."

"Thanks Pyrrha. I really owe you for helping me with class too."

"Well, I'll think of something for you to pay me back. But for right now, I want you to promise me something."

Victor raised an eyebrow and questioned "What is it?" Pyrrha reached across the table and took his hand, replying "I want you to promise me that you'll come back in one piece." Victor couldn't help but smile and promise "I can do that Pyrrha. I promise that I'll come back in one piece."

"Thank you."

Victor and Pyrrha continued to eat and talk until it was time for them to turn in.

O00000O00000O

The morning came for Team VAND pretty early as they packed a few bags in case their mission went a little longer than normal. They gathered their belongings and headed for the Emerald Forest, but they were stopped a few times. First was Pyrrha opening her door, crimson hair a tangled mess and her grey shirt was wrinkled from sleep. Her eyes were still heavy from sleep as she rubbed one and looked to Victor with a small smile. She held out a small stack of papers to Victor and exclaimed "Some of the work you might miss if your mission goes long."

Victor took the papers and replied "Thanks Pyrrha, this is really awesome." Pyrrha's smile widened a bit as she wrapped her arms around his waist and yawned "Be safe out there Victor." Victor returned the smile and hugged her back. Pyrrha broke the hug and headed back into her room, leaving Victor with the smiles of his team, practically mocking him. "I don't want to hear a word." Victor quietly growled.

The group chuckled and continued on with their trek. They were in the larger halls of Beacon when they heard a familiar voice call "Nigel!" The team turned to see Velvet running to catch them and Nigel take a few steps to meet her. "My dearest Velvet!" Nigel proclaimed as she caught up to them. "What are you doing up at this hour? And still in your night gown?" Velvet was wearing exactly that, a long white night gown that fell to her ankles. "I wanted to see you off. After all, once you get back we do have a date." Velvet proclaimed as she put her hands behind her back.

The rest of VAND moved up a step and all exclaimed "What!?" Nigel ignored them and replied "Of course my dear. Thank you for seeing me off, but you really should be in bed. You have classes in the morning." Velvet sighed and replied "Okay Nigel, I'll see you when you get back." She leaned down a bit and kissed him on the cheek before returning to her room.

Nigel turned to his teammates, who were all staring at him with raised eyebrows and open jaws. "Don't we have somewhere to go?" Nigel proclaimed as he walked past his teammates. They moved with him and Alexi questioned "You? And… Velvet?"

"Quite."

"Since when?!"

"Well, when our team got into a fight with Team CRDL and I was consoling her we formed a friendship. We talked and spent time together and I finally built up the courage to ask her out."

No one really had anything to add so the group walked in silence for a while until they reached the cliff that over looked the Emerald Forest. Victor stood at the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath of morning air. He let the breath out and sighed "I can still remember the first day we were here. Dev and I just going back and forth while Nigel and Alexi couldn't stand the sound of each other's voices." The team chuckled as Victor went on "Now look at us. We're here as a team." Dev added "Granted, it is for a punishment because we attacked another team."

Alexi interjected "It was to help someone in need. That counts for something." Nigel gave his input "Indeed it does, especially for me." Victor gathered their attention as he exclaimed "So let's stand together on this mission. For VAND!" The rest of the team echoed "For VAND!" Victor leaned back and fell back first off the cliff, his teammates jumping off after him.

They all landed safely, ready to take the steps they did in order to gain admission to Beacon. The trek wasn't horribly long, but it was pretty quiet since it was still pretty early and Grimm were still asleep. They walked until they found the ruins from where they grabbed the chess pieces that made them a team. Victor patted the spot where the Black Queen sat, remembering that a good number of massive Grimm was what it took for the four of them to work together. The team stood around each other, living in the moment of the memory… until a strange howl filled the forest.

The team drew their weapons and took up fighting positions in a semi-circle, waiting for the attack from the inevitable Beowolves. Eyes scanned the tree line for the red eyes of the Grimm pack, but there was nothing up the morning light. "What was that?" Alexi questioned quietly. "Quite unsure." Nigel responded, his barrels rotating slowly. "It sounded like a Beowolf of some kind." Victor tightened his grip on his axe and replied "That's not a Beowolf howl, trust me."

"Then what was it?" Dev questioned as he held his Longsword on one hand and a revolver in the other. The howl erupted again, but off from the direction of the ruins where the teams took on the Deathstalkers and the Nevermores. Victor converted his axe into its machine gun form and started moving towards the ruins and the chasm. He held his weapon at low ready with his team behind him, Dev watching left while Alexi watched right and Nigel took up the rear. They were pretty close to the chasm when a howl erupted again, and this one was very close.

Victor had the group stop and search for the source of the howl, which shot out of the trees before them. The beast was big, not as big as a full grown Ursa, but bigger than a Boarbatusk and resembled a Beowolf. The body was thick and stocky with large front legs and small but powerful back legs and covered in black fur. The beast's head looked like a Beowolf's, but much larger with a thick muscular neck, the mouth filled with teeth. Bone covered the beast's head, much like all other Grimm, but had plates on its back instead of normal spikes like a Beowolf.

The beast turned and looked at the group, the deer in its jaws dripping blood from a fresh kill. The beast's red eyes narrowed at them, but then darted towards the ruins and the chasm. "I guess we found our prey." Victor exclaimed as he started following the beast's path, ears pulled back. Everyone moved with Victor as they followed the beast's torn path from its claws. "Hey, since we've found this Grimm, is it kinda our decision to name it?" Dev quietly questioned.

"I must agree with Deveraux on this subject matter." Nigel agreed. "What of Black Hounds?" Victor looked over his shoulder and proclaimed "Once we look into these new Grimm, we can decide what to name them, but for right now we need to figure out where the one was going." All of them nodded in agreement and walked to the edge of the chasm, looking over the edge to see the beast jumping from rock to rock until it vanished into the mist below. "Well, looks like there is only one way to go." Alexi sighed as he looked along the edge. Nigel set his bag on the ground and began to pull out some rope, suggesting "We should tie ourselves together before we make out descent. This way, if one of us would happen to slip, then we can keep together."

"Brilliant idea." Victor exclaimed as he started to tie one end to himself. Alexi took ten feet of slack between him and Victor, tying himself to his leader. Nigel took the next ten feet of slack and tied himself, with Dev being the last one as the anchor. The team began their decent into the chasm, taking it slow to avoid any mishaps or mistakes. The descent was long and difficult, but they eventually made it to the mist, which then made the descent even harder.

They were immersed into the mist when the first mistake was made, Dev put his weight on a loose rock and dropped him. His hands slipped as he barked "SHIT!" The drop was almost ended when the rope went taunt on Nigel, but he wasn't expecting the pull and yanked from his perch. Alexi saw Nigel fall and called "Hang on!" He braced himself for the yank, but it wasn't enough to hold the weight of both Dev and Nigel.

Alexi slipped and hollered "VICTOR!" Victor braced himself the best he could, summoning his strength to support his friends. The rope jerked tight and yanked Victor's feet from their holes, but he was able to keep his grip. The other three swung from Victor's waist as Victor struggled to find a foot hold, but was having trouble finding one. Victor looked around and saw a ledge that would support them, as well as a path of hand holds he could use. He attempted to reach out and grab another hand hold, but his hand started to slip so he grabbed back.

"I can't get you guys to safety and hold you up!" Victor called as he held his hold. "I'm not strong enough!" His team continued to sway when Alexi exclaimed "Hang on Big Guy!" Alexi held out his hand and focused on Victor's aura, sensing the fiery red of his strength. He began to feed the fire, making the red grow brighter and hotter. Victor felt his strength multiply five times, his grip on the rocks damn near breaking them. Victor easily reached out and grabbed the next hold, then the next and the next until his team had reached safety.

Victor grabbed the rope and pulled his team onto the ledge, giving them a moment to recover and Victor a chance to rest. Victor collapsed on the ledge and panted "You guys are heavy." Dev patted Victor on the back and sighed "There there big guy. Just think about something that motivates you, like Pyrrha."

"We… aren't…"

"I know, I'm just messing with you."

Victor chuckled and sat a moment to get himself together, then they continued their descent. The descent was taken slower this time, but they eventually made it to what could have been considered the bottom. It was relatively flat and about 100 feet across with rocks jutting out of the ground every so often. "Well, do any of you have a suggestion on how we may find our objective?" Nigel questioned as he untied his rope. Victor started to sniff the air as Alexi focused on searching for any power.

Alexi wasn't able to find the Blackhound, but he did sense something odd about two of his teammate's auras. First was Dev's, it acted like a normal aura, but amongst the blue was an even darker color was mixed into it, almost like a virus. Then there was Victor's, his aura didn't have anything like Dev's, but it was pretty big, almost like it was uncontrollable. Alexi called "I can't find the Blackhound." Victor took a deep breath and growled "I have their scent. They smell like any other Grimm… like death."

Victor readied his machine gun and proclaimed lowly "Let's move. The scent is stronger in this direction." The team moved quickly and quietly, following their leader who moved so low to the ground he was nearly prowling on all fours and his ears pulled back in the thrill of the hunt. They moved for a while, trusting Victor's senses to lead them in the correct path. The rest of the team was starting to wonder if their leader really could smell the Grimm, until they started to hear something moving that wasn't them. It sounded like a large pack of dogs fighting each other, emphasis on large.

They moved up and hid behind some rocks to see one of the Blackhounds get thrown from the distance with another following it. The one on the ground got up, but was taken right back down as the second clamped down on its neck. The pinned one howled and yelped in pain as the second bit down harder. With a sickening snap, the pinned one stopped moving and the second began to drag the body away. The team looked at each other in confusion until Victor motioned towards the sounds with his head.

The moved and started to scale a small ledge of rock that allowed them to overlook the scene before them, and it was pretty grizzly. There were discarded bones of creatures large and small spread out across the spot where the Blackhounds called home. There were large Blackhounds tearing at the body of the fallen one, who then brought pieces to other Blackhounds that were off to the side… and nursing Blackhound pups. "They must be getting desperate to be tearing each other apart for food." Alexi quietly proclaimed. Victor put his finger to his lips and pointed back to the pack, the team seeing a new arrival.

This Black hound was as big as an Ursa and completely armored so that it damn near appeared white. "The Alpha." Victor quietly proclaimed as he slowly brought his weapon up. "We're here to observe and report, not exterminate." Nigel hissed. Dev was about to snap at them to shut up, but all sounds from the pack stopped except for one; sniffing. Dev looked to the Alpha, who had his nose up in the air, prompting Dev to think "He couldn't possibly be smelling us… we're…"

Dev felt the wind blow against his back as he quietly let out "Down wind." The Alpha looked to the group and barred his teeth, signaling that he knew they were there. Victor was the first to react, by switching his weapon into his axe form and jumping into the fray. His axe blade connected with the head of one Blackhound, killing it and prompting the others to attack. Nigel stepped up and had his minigun begin to whir, readying itself to fire as Dev jumped in after his partner.

Dev fired his revolvers at another Blackhound, pushing it back and away from his leader. Alexi separated his AK into its sickle form and jumped onto one's back, driving the dual blades into its neck. He pulled up and began to spill its blood into pools as it bucked and ran. The Grimm finally dropped and hit the ground, forcing Alexi to dismount and join his teammates. Alexi noticed something about the Blackhounds, they were having the mothers and pups retreat while the males stayed and fought.

"These Grimm are smart." Alexi thought as he swung at a Hound. Victor swung his axe and grazed the side of one Hound's face, making it very angry and aggressive. Nigel's minigun finally warmed up and began to unload rounds into the Hounds that remained, forcing them back and into cover. The team on the ground switched to their firearm forms and began to shoot the beasts themselves, forcing them farther and farther. The beasts ended up retreating, except for one, the Alpha.

Dev fired a revolver at it, the round bouncing off the armor as if it were iron. The Alpha charged down on them without hesitation and massive aggression that was characteristic of Grimm. Everyone fired at the Grimm, but their rounds were useless and the Alpha jumped at Dev. He quickly teleported out of the way of the Alpha, only to have it redirect its attack at Nigel, who was continuing to bear down rounds. The Alpha jumped again and this time found its mark, Nigel, and brought him to the ground.

Nigel was able to bring his weapon up in defense, jamming the barrels into the maw of the beast to prevent them from tearing him apart. "Alexi! Boost me!" Victor called out as he sheathed his axe. Alexi followed his leader's aura, making his already strong leader even stronger. Victor charged the Alpha will all his might, slamming into the side of the beast and sending it flying. The Alpha slammed into the wall, but was far from done fighting and jumped at Victor. Victor set up a punch for the Alpha, but it redirected its charge and clamped down on his bicep.

Victor cried out in pain as the Hound slung him back and forth and threw him into the wall. Nigel was in the process of getting up as the Alpha clamped down on his metal pack, teeth tearing into the pack and ripping it to shreds. Dev teleported above the Alpha and dropped down on it, Longsword finding a chink in the armor and driving home. The Alpha howled in pain as Alexi shot forward and started slicing at the Grimm at its underbelly where there was no armor. The Alpha bucked and howled in pain as Alexi caught it around the neck and jumped onto its back, blade digging in the entire way.

Alexi held strong as the Alpha kicked, and then pulled as hard as he could, feeling the blade dig into its neck. With all his might, he gave one strong yank and brought the blade up, slicing the Alpha's neck in half. The Alpha began to stumble as blood poured from its wound until it finally dropped. Alexi and Dev dismounted the Alpha and checked on their teammates. Dev found Victor sitting up and applying pressure to his wound, which was bleeding pretty heavily.

Dev went into his bag and pulled out a shirt, chuckling "You just had to charge in head first, didn't you?" Victor chuckled tiredly "It's what a berserker does, we charge in head first. It's what we're good at." Dev tied up Victor's wound and got up to assist with seeing if Nigel was okay. Alexi swapped to his AK and moved ahead a bit, ensuring that nothing was going to attack them. He was still a good distance from his team when he heard tiny yaps, the ones heard from pups.

He looked around and found a small litter of Blackhound pups huddled up to an adult Blackhound, but it wasn't moving. It looked thin, like it possibly died from hunger and continued to feed the pup until it died. Alexi took a step forward and the little pups huddled closer to the corpse of their mother in fear. Alexi heard Victor shout "Let's go! We're reporting what we've found!" Alexi looked at the pups, scared and alone, and set his bag on the ground.

He pulled out his rations, dried meat and foods, and pushed them towards the pups. "Here you go little guys." Alexi proclaimed quietly. He got up and rejoined his group as they got up and looked for an easier way up the chasm walls. They walked in the direction of the Blackhound retreat and eventually found their way up. A near perfect stair well (or what they could use as a stair well) that possibly went all the way up to the top of the chasm.

"I've never been so happy to see stairs in my life." Victor sighed as he started the climb. The team went with the same precautions going up as they did coming down, but without incident this time.

SOVIETx's A/N: As promised, here is Chief's good work! He's one busy guy. Anyways, we hope you enjoy. :)