A/N: What's up everyone? I was finally able to upload two weeks in a row! I'm still writing Chapter 9, I haven't had much time to work on it. I'm hoping that changes soon. Also, I'm actually getting my friend to make some art of VLCN for me (I would do it myself but I'm complete crap at drawing people). If you want to see it or any of the art I've made myself just message me! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter everyone!

Luxia was running through the forest, not stopping for anything, just keeping an eye out for monsters. She had decided that the right teammate would show up whether she actively looked or not. Suddenly, Luxia's eyes widened, and she skidded to a stop, her heart doing likewise. Inches in front of where she had stopped, there was a colossal mass of black fur and bony protrusions. It was an Ursa Major. Not just any Ursa Major, either. This one was gigantic. It seemed to be asleep, but even lying down it was the size of a small house. It was facing away from her, but it she could see the trees in front of it swaying with every slow breath of the beast. Luxia's heart restarted, this time beating so fast it was almost vibrating. Her eyes widened in shock. She had never seen anything that big, and she hadn't even known Ursi could become so huge. She slowly stepped back, trying not to wake the slumbering beast.

"Pssst!"

Luxia covered her mouth with one hand to keep herself from screaming. She spun towards the noise, drawing Springsting with her other hand. To her left, Nicholas Arion had been slowly walking around the Ursa, trying to get by without waking it up.

"Nick! Don't do that, I nearly woke it up!" Luxia hissed quietly.

"Sorry! I'm trying to get around this thing. We need to be quick though, in case something-"

At that precise moment, a smaller Ursa raced past, roaring, with Nora riding it and cheering, while Ren held on for dear life.

"... Does that." Nick finished, face draining of color.

The black mass of fur began stirring. The Ursa raised its head, sniffed, and turned its massive head towards Luxia and Nick, snarling.

"Crap." Nick cursed, face still pale.

"We need to move. Now!" Luxia said, grabbing the boy and dragging him past the monster, which was now slowly standing up.

"Luxia, wait a second!" Nick said, yanking the girl to a stop.

"What?! We need to move!" She said, panicked.

"Calm down, I can do something that will get us out faster. It isn't easy for me, but I can do it."

"Well, do it!"

Nick took out Maelstrom as the monstrous Ursa finally stood up and roared. On all fours, the Ursa was positively mind-boggling. It stood as tall as a 3-story building, and was easily about 50 feet wide. This terrified Luxia.

"Hurry!" Luxia said, panicking even more.

"Shut up and let me focus!"

Nick's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and Maelstrom's orb glowed white. He grabbed Luxia, jumped backwards onto a glyph as it formed, and, directing the staff forwards, sped off at blinding speed. The Ursa roared again and began chasing after them.

Victor and Chamele had been walking through the forest for a while now, and had begun to chat idly.

"Hey, Victor? Just how strong are you?" Chamele asked Victor, the tiny girl having to crane her neck upwards to look at the giant.

"What do you mean?" Victor asked, looking down and giving her a confused look.

"Like, definitively. Have you ever seen, like, how much force you can put behind your punches or seen how much weight you can bear or anything?"

"I mean, I've tried but it's not easy. None of the barbels at Signal could bear enough weight for me to really test it; one time I tried putting more than 500 pounds and the bar just bent and broke in half when I lifted it. As for force? I never really cared, I just knew I could hit harder than anyone else could and that meant I didn't have to worry about certain things."

"Oh. Also, out of curiosity, how tall are you? I have to look straight up just to see your face!" Chamele said with a giggle.

Victor laughed at this. "If I had a nickel for every time I've been asked that, I would be the richest man on Remnant. I'm 6'10"."

Chamele's jaw dropped. "6'10'?! I'm 5'2'! How tall are your parents?"

"I'm... Actually not sure..." Victor said, suddenly downcast.

"What do you mean?" Chamele asked, not catching on.

"They were killed when I was a kid... I actually saw it happen."

Chamele gasped. "That's horrible! I'm so so sorry!" She said, giving him a quick hug.

Victor smiled weakly. "Thanks, it's fine though. I don't even know how I survived... I remember some guy walking into my room and then the next thing I knew I woke up facedown in the snow half a mile away. The only thing I remember about the man is that he had two symbols on his outfit. I can't remember the first one, it looked like a capital 'E' I think, and the other one was an icy blue snake."

The two fell silent, walking for several minutes through the forest without saying a word. Then, Victor spoke.

"I don't know why he did it. I don't know how or why I survived. But it's the reason I decided to become a Hunter. I vowed that I'd never stand by and see another person killed, that I'd always protect people who couldn't help themselves. I refused to let myself be helpless again. I don't know, maybe I'll even find the man who killed my parents one day."

Chamele looked at him. "Actually, I know how you feel."

Victor looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"My older brother went to Beacon. He was at the top of his class when he graduated. One day, his team went to investigate why large amounts of Dust were being stolen from the Schnee Quarry. When none of them came back, they sent people and found all three of his teammates, dead and the ground beneath them covered in scorch marks. My brother was never found... I was six years old when they told my parents. Nobody knows what happened."

It was Victor's turn to feel sorry. "I had no idea. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. That's why I wanted to become a Huntress. I want to find out what happened to my brother, and find out who did it."

Silence fell again for a few minutes, then Victor spoke. "We can help each other."

Chamele stopped walking and looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"I mean, we can help each other. I can help you find whoever took your brother, and you can
help me find my parent's killer. We have a deal?" Victor said, holding his hand out and smiling.

Chamele gave a huge smile and took it. "Deal."

The two shook hands. Then they both took off again, headed towards the Relics.

About half an hour later, Victor and Chamele burst out of the forest into a clearing. It had what looked like an ancient worship site surrounded by pedestals, which had chess pieces on each of them. Victor also noticed two very familiar people grabbing one of the white knight pieces.

"Blake! Yang! Hey!" Victor called, waving his arms.

They both turned, and smiled.

"Hey, Victor!" Yang said, the two brawlers exchanging a high five as Victor reached them.

"Hey." Blake said quietly, giving a small smile that Victor returned.

"Guys, this is Chamele. We met right after Ruby blew up. She's my partner. Chamele, this is Yang, my friend along with Nick since I went to Signal and Ruby's older sister. And this is Blake. We met last night."

All three girls gave friendly greetings and smiles. Yang laughed.

"The height comparison between you two is hilarious." Yang said.

All of them laughed at that.

"No kidding, I feel shorter than ever!" Chamele said, smiling.

"Yeah, what's it like living down there?" Victor joked, earning him a punch in the arm and a round of laughs.

"Oh, shut up! Let's get our relic." A red-faced Chamele grabbed one of the two black knight pieces.

"By the way, have any of you seen anyone else?" Victor asked

"No, I haven't seen Ruby or Nick. Maybe they're paired?" Yang said, shrugging.

"Um, Yang..." Blake poked Yang in the shoulder and pointed upwards. All of them turned around in time to see none other than Ruby herself falling towards them.

"HEADS UUUUUP!" Ruby yelled, face white and panicked.

A/N: Well, you all probably knew Nick and Luxia would be paired by now. By the way, that capital 'E' Victor mentioned is supposed to be the greek letter Sigma. Tell me how you liked the chapter! Please leave a review, I'd really like to hear from my readers. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Have a great one!

~VA