Weiss comes across an unlikely face during the attack.

Weiss speared yet another Beowolf with her ice, her eyes trying to find her next target in the midst of the panicking crowd.

Her and Blake had been looking for some food, as none were particularly interested in watching the match in person, when the first screams had pierced the air.

It had started as a rush of whispers and gossip. A cacophony of horrified gasps and frantic mutters. Weiss couldn't pick up much besides for "Poor girl." and "Robots?"

Then the real screams started, people scrambling past them with shouts of "Grimm!" and "Run!"

She had tried to keep Blake within her sights, but her teammate had gotten separated in the stampede. Weiss knew Blake could very well handle herself, but that didn't stop the twinge of worry.

Weiss couldn't waste time and effort looking for her though, not with a literal swarm of grimm terrorizing defenseless bystanders.

She heard a snarl behind her, and turned just in time to impale a lunging Beowolf in its chest. The weight on her sword fades as the grimm dissipates.

A loud screech drew her attention to a teenager laying with his back pressed against the ground, the jaws of an Ursa leaning closer to his helpless form.

Activating a glyph beneath both her and the Ursa, she shot forward, attack the Ursa in a furry of quick, small strikes. By the time she's done, the Ursa falls over, limp as its body becomes a part of the air.

Weiss was about to tell the civilian to find shelter, like she had told every other bystander, but one glance identified the boy as Russel Thrush, of all people.

"Why aren't you fighting?" Weiss snapped after dragging the boy to his feet. "This is what you've trained for, isn't it?"

"There's so many of them though." Russel answered, his eyes wide and panicked. "We don't stand a chance."

"You don't stand any chance if you don't even try and fight." Weiss retorted, but somewhat regrets her blunt phrasing as Russel's eyes only go wider.

She had to do something to get him to fight, or else he was just going to become another victim. Nothing in her mind was sounding convincing enough, so she turned to her memories of Ruby. For someone who couldn't actually speak, the girl had one of the most convincing arguments Weiss had ever seen, and that was coming from a girl who grew up around public speakers and politicians.

"Don't you want to save people? Be a huntsman?" Weiss hoped her words were enough like Ruby's to bring Russel back from his terror. "As long as you can fight, there is a chance you'll win. And even then, there's always hope."

As she waited for a response, she raised a wall of ice around them, shutting the grimm out.

"I-I-I- I don't want to die!" Russel looked near to tears, his hands shaking as he brought his hands up near his face. "I don't want to die here!"

"Then fight Russel, fight and win." Weiss replied curtly, abandoning her meager attempt to mimic Ruby's style. "Do you have a scroll?"

Russel nods his head, timidly revealing his scroll for Weiss to see.

"Call your locker here; your weapon's in there, right?"

Russel's eyes widen once more, but then his fingers begin to type furiously on his screen. Within moments, a locker shot down from the sky and landed between them.

Russel retrieves his weapons, then gives Weiss one more look, like he was asking permission. It unsettled her, but even then, she asked, "Are you going to fight?"

Russell gave her a shaky, but determined nod. With a grunt, Weiss lowers the ice around them, and goes back to eliminating grimm. She didn't bother keeping track of Russell, focusing on her own fight.

Still, she was sure he was doing reasonably well. He had to get into Beacon somehow, and he had almost a year of training backing him.

Now, if only she could contact one of her teammates.