The criminals of the Trenches met in a dimly lit stone room. The walls, ceiling and floor around them were cracked and full of dust. Weiss could practically see the specks of dirt rise from the ground whenever she took a step. Lights were scattered around the walls, powered by a miniscule amount of Dust. Grimacing at them, she flared up Aura, which powering the lights so that they shone like brilliant beacons instead of small matches. On the walls, there were also racks of well-maintained but old weapons. Brown Dust rifles were scattered around, some lopsided and others simply resting on the floor. Various ammo cartridges were visible through small slits in the weapons. Nearby, there were also melee weapons. Axes, swords, spears, maces, knives and more either lay on the ground or were crudely stacked on each other on top of their racks. In the center of the large stone room, a wooden platform rose a few feet above the ground and was lined with metal bars. Weiss wrinkled her nose at it; it was a pathetic excuse for a sparring ring, but it would have to do. Near the ring, her new teammates stood. There were fifteen of them, eight women and seven men. They were a very diverse group. They were of varying heights, weights, widths, skin colors, eye colors and pretty much anything else one could imagine. However, there were two things that unified one, they were all criminals. The second factor was their clothes; they all wore light black and gray armor. Weiss, after taking in her surroundings, was ready to quickly assert her position as leader and garner the respect of her teammates. She knew that they were all bored, angry, and defiant. They wouldn't listen to her unless she showed them that it was best for their survival. But she wanted more than that. No team could work together without trust, and Weiss wanted her teammates to trust her and to trust them in return. She had read about them and what they had done, just to know who she was dealing with, but she couldn't let that cloud her judgment.

"I know that it's early, you're tired, and you don't like it here in the first place. I know that most of you are all criminals. I know that you have committed atrocities, and that society has forsaken you. But if you are to survive here, none of that matters. I don't care about who you are and what you've done. All that matters to me is that you live. You have chosen paths in life that have led you here, as have I. We have made mistakes, and it is up to us to see to it that those mistakes don't kill us. It is up to me, as your leader and teammate, to ensure your survival. And, as my teammates, it up to you to give me the same courtesy. If we turn on each other, we will die." Weiss paused, allowing her new teammates to take in what she'd said. To her glee, a few of the criminals looked awed at her honesty. She continued on.

"You may not like me. My family may have wronged you in the past, or my world-saving antics may have led to your arrest, or perhaps I just rub you the wrong way. If that is the case, rest assured. I dislike you all just as much as you dislike me. But, as I said, such things mean nothing here. Today, we come together not as enemies or criminals. Today, we are a team. And, as long as I am on this team, I promise you, I'll be damned if a single one of you dies on my watch. I just hope that you can all promise me the same." Her speech was now garnering even more admiration. More of the criminals were starting to look at the former heiress not as an enemy and a holier-than-thou brat, but as a leader.

"I will warn you: If you step out of line, disciplinary measures will be taken. You cannot cut corners, nor can you shirk your duties. I will have no nonsensical shenanigans in the Trenches. Do you understand? I will turn you from criminals to Hunters and Huntresses, and trust me when I say that will not be an easy task, and I will not be an easygoing leader. And do you know why? Because life isn't easy. No matter what you do and who you are, life is hard. Life is cruel, and the only way to survive is to endure." Weiss finished her speech, her hand grasping her sword tightly. She flicked back her ponytail with a quick hand motion, glaring out at the fifteen person audience as if daring them to defy her. They knew what she had done and how strong she was; she was sure that such a thing wouldn't be an issue. Much to her surprise, however, slowly but surely, roughly half of the criminals began to clap. The other half joined in reluctantly, clearly not enthusiastic about the speech but not wanted to antagonize one of the heroes of Remnant. Weiss allowed herself to smile, stepping forward to meet her group.

"I think that introductions are in order. And no, you don't have to use your prisoner number. I want to hear your names."

Weiss had quickly been introduced to her new allies, and was ready to go straight into preparations. Tomorrow, herself and her team would be going on a mission that would last for three whole days. There was no time to waste.

"Tomorrow, we shall be embarking on our first mission. A three day mission. There are three Grimm nests that have popped up in Forever Fall. They are dangerously close to Vale, and we need to strike at them before they grow large enough to gain the confidence to attack. Nests one and two are made up of beowolves and boarbatusks, respectively, but nest three is inhabited by Nevermores. We need to be ready. Which is why, for today's training, we shall be working from now until six in the evening. And yes, I know that it is currently six in the morning. First, I need to discuss our formations. Then, you shall be practicing with your weapons. Then we will break for lunch. Afterwards, I want you all to spar with each other; I will have sparring partners decided upon seeing your weapon prowess. After that, we will have Aura training, and for the final part of the day, I will have you all test your combat skills against mine. Any questions?" Weiss spoke with authority, making sure to go fast so that no one had time to interject, but also tried to be clear so that everyone could understand her. A scrawny faunus man raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"What if...what if we haven't eaten yet?" Weiss sighed, her palm finding her face in an expression of annoyance.

"You were told to wake up early in order to eat a sufficient meal before coming here!"

"Uh...I slept in." A few of Weiss' teammates nodded in agreement.

"Then go and get something to eat. Be back in five minutes, for I want to start discussing formations soon. Go!" The white-haired woman shouted, inciting fear into her hungry teammates. A few of the other snickered, and Weiss shot them dirty looks.

"While we're waiting, why don't you all re-stack the weapons? They look awfully messy."

"Formations, for any team, are highly important. Now, as you all know, we have four ranged units, eight melee units, and three among you who have individual weapons and sufficient combat training. We will always have the ranged units in back, but at varying distances. For formations where our ranged units are to be distractions, we will have them far back. If we want our ranged units to be our main damage dealers, then we have them closer. If they're closer, their bullets can cause more damage. Now, for the latter formation, we will have the bulk of our melee force defend the ranged units. For the former, our melee units will be fighting the enemy. Our three...special units will do what they can, either helping their allies or hurting their enemies. I will do the same. Those are our two main types of offensive formations. We can add variations to them if we so please. Any questions?" Weiss asked, her speech about formation rising in volume so as to drown out the chewing of various foodstuffs. No one raised their hand, and the former heiress was satisfied that she had gotten through to her team. However, she could tell that her teammates were growing antsy already. Keeping them in line was going to be a challenge.

The dog faunus cringed as Blake and Cinder made first contact. Cinder used her superior size and strength as an advantage, blocking Blake's quick jab and punching her in the gut. The faunus gasped for breath and clutched her stomach with one hand. Cinder would have to keep up a relentless assault so as to prevent Blake from making use of her own natural advantages, her speed and agility. She then threw another punch, a right hook that staggered her opponent. Blake spat blood onto the ground and barely moved out of the way of Cinder's axe kick, rolling away from her stronger adversary. Blake charged again, waiting to get close before whipping out a low kick. Cinder jumped it and lashed out with a kick of her own, but Blake ducked it and delivered a spinning kick to her opponent's exposed side. Cinder grunted and Blake moved in faster than she could recover, a flurry of punches rocking the raven-haired human's word. Blake kept her fists close to her body, blocking any random strikes that Cinder threw out in desperation, all while delivering her own quick attacks. She didn't lean into any of her blows, choosing to go for quantity over quality. Cinder, seeing that she had no opening to strike whatsoever, decided to roll with the punches, literally. Blake hit her and she stepped back, trying to use the blow as a spring to make her fall into a roll. Her opponent, however, was too smart for such a trick, and laced her foot around Cinder's, forcing the woman to fall on her back. Blake fell upon her with a furious blow, leaning into it this time so as to get more damage, but she wasn't prepared for her cellmate to recover so quickly. Cinder was stronger than she had realized. An uppercut staggered the faunus woman, and Cinder quickly got up. She ran to Blake, who tried vaulting her, but she ducked under the attempt and Blake went flying over her, too far to strike back with her fists. She the tried a kick, which Cinder blocked with one of her own. In an immense display of power and agility, the two then traded blows with their legs. Cinder kicked down at Blake's side swipe, knocking her foot away, but she spun and switched feet, kicking straight for Cinder's stomach. Smiling, the black-haired woman raised her knee and blocked the attack, and Blake flipped back to gain space, preparing for her next move. The two opponents stood off, waiting.

"What's wrong? Didn't expect me to actually know how to fight? It's fine, no one does. People seem to think I can only throw fire around," Cinder taunted. She got a grunt in reply.

"And now you're being all tough and taciturn. Okay. I guess you don't want to talk." Blake, having taken ample time to formulate a plan, broke the standoff and charged Cinder. The flame wielder, true to her claim to fame, whipped her hand from her side and summoned a stream of fire. It didn't hurt Blake, but it certain blinded her. Unable to see where Cinder as going, she stood still and waited for an impact. Her plan was ruined by her momentary blindness, but she had another. Cinder delivered a kick to Blake's back, but reacting with incredible speed thanks to a small bit of Semblance, she turned as she felt the impact of Cinder's foot and grabbed it. She brought her opponent closer to her and with a powerful axe kick, sent Cinder into the ground. Blood shot from her nose and she blocked Blake's first punch, but not the second. It almost knocked her out and most likely would have if not for Blake being weakened by her Semblance use. Cinder had felt the same effect. Slamming her palm into Blake's chin, she sent the woman's head shooting up, which gave her time to kick her away. Blake rolled and coughed, her vision growing blurry. Her and Cinder both breathed heavily, and then she charged. She ran quickly towards her opponent, and Cinder suddenly threw her entire body at the woman. Blake flipped over it and Cinder rolled on the ground, having missed her target. With a quick hand motion, however, she pushed herself up and delivered a kick at the faunus. Blake, smiling slightly, jumped over it and turned her body in midair, her feet swinging to meet Cinder's cheek, knocking her to the ground. With a single crude hand gesture, she left the conscious world as her opponent fell to her knees. Cheers and boos erupted from the crowd, but they all sounded like buzzing in Blake's head.

The dog faunus ran from the building, quickly announcing the winner, as she made her way towards Blake. The prisoner was slowly making her way to the fence, eager to get some rest. However, she had gotten up too quickly; her head spun and she fell to her knees again.

"Blake-I mean, prisoner 1337!" The dog faunus shouted in concern, helping the raven-haired woman to her feet.

"You need to rest," she said, concerned. Blake smiled at her.

"Thank you...but shouldn't you be worrying about Cinder?" Behind them both, Blake's cellmate was lying on the ground, bleeding. The dog faunus yelped and ran over to her instead, grabbing Cinder by the arms as another employee got her by the legs.

"Someone, help Blake to her cell," she said to the employees who had come up behind her. A man rushed over to Blake, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"That was painful to watch," he said gruffly.

"It was painful to be a part of," Blake said with a mocking edge to her voice. The man sighed, his expression turning dark.

"Shut up, you."

Yang had found her sister asleep in her wheelchair. She lifted Ruby bridal-style and put her in her bed, bringing her wheelchair next to it for when she woke up. Yang then walked over to the couch, not even bothering to change her clothes. Burying her head in a cushion, she fell asleep almost instantly, and, although hours had passed, she felt as if she awoke minutes later. She had been dreaming of a better time, when Ruby had her legs and her dreams, when she was rudely interrupted by an all-too-familiar whistle. Ruby had used it countless times to awaken her teammates back at Beacon. Yang's head was still tucked into the cushion, but the loud, high-pitched noise from the whistle still rang in her ears.

"Wake up, Yang! It's time for a super delicious and nutritious Ruby-style breakfast!" Her head slowly rose from the pillow, and Ruby laughed.

"Yang, you have drool all over you!"

"I do? Huh."

"Yeah, you do, and it's gross. You have some cleaning up to do. Eat your breakfast and then take a shower, and make it quick. You have to go in thirty minutes, sis." Ruby said kindly, helping her sister off of the couch.

"Drool attack!" Yang suddenly pressed her cheek into Ruby's face, moving her head around. Ruby endeavored to pull away, and settled for a quick jab of Yang's ribs in order to get the older woman to release her.

"Ew, gross! Now my face is all wet! I hope you don't have any hot water for your shower," Ruby said, annoyed, moving away to the sink.

"Sorry," the blonde called out to her, clearly not sorry at all. She sat down to eat her food as Ruby cleaned her face of her sister's saliva.

"So, Yang. Guess what?" From the tone in her voice, Yang could only assume that something very good had happened to the younger woman.

"Your Weapons Monthly magazine came today?" She joked.

"Nope. Even better...Weiss said that she could get me a job!" In the middle of cutting up her ham, Yang's hand tightened and crushed her knife. Bolting up from her seat to hug her sister, she gushed over her new opportunity.

"That's great! You finally have a job!" Yang was careful not to get her face near Ruby's, as she hadn't bothered to clean it of her drool. The brunette returned her sister's hug, finding the blonde's happiness contagious. Ruby found herself going from excited to ecstatic.

"I know! It's so cool! She said that I could do maintenance on weapons in the Eastern Vale Hunting Branch for the First Division! Of course, there's already someone there, so she said that she'd have to convince Jaune, who's now in charge of the First Division, to replace their guy with me, but this is Jaune we're talking about. It's not like she's actually going to have to convince him; he'll be on board. There will be a mandatory job interview, and I am going to need references, but I think I'm pretty much good. In a few days, yours truly will be in weapon paradise!" Yang grinned, her smile faltering slightly when Ruby mentioned Jaune. She did, after all, blame him for Ruby's predicament.

"Ruby, this is really what you need. Having a job will...distract you," she said gently. Ruby grinned.

"Yeah, it will. Now eat your food, sis. You don't have much time." The cloaked woman replied.

"I let you sleep in, but now I'm starting think that was a bad idea." She said after a small silence.

"It was a fine idea," Yang replied.

"Of course you would say that."

Blake ate her lunch slowly, still hurting from her fight with Cinder. Around her, other prisoners ate as well, some passing by to challenge her or congratulate her. She spoke to them for a little before watching them leave, never giving them an opportunity to delve into a real conversation. She wasn't in the mood. She was sore and dizzy. Her head felt like it was buzzing, and the white walls in the cafeteria gave her a headache. Fighting without Aura was tough, even for her. She'd trained without it when she was being mentored by Adam, but that wasn't enough to prepare her for it. It made her realize just how much she took her Aura for granted, and almost laughed at the thought. As her mind wandered to the sensitive topic of Adam Taurus, she began to stop eating her lunch entirely. She couldn't stop her mind as it barreled toward a depressing topic like an enraged boarbatusk. She wasn't ready to get in its way.

"Maybe I should ask Cinder about it after all," she mused.

Cinder flexed her arms, looking around the room. She sat on a dark gray table, looking at a metal door and the gray walls around it. The room was very small, and she figured it could fix a maximum of ten people. Above her, a light flickered, annoying Cinder with its on-and-off shine. At least the room was clean. It was, after all, a medical station, and it had to be free of filth. It just didn't have to be nice. That was how prisons were. If something was required, it was done, but it not, it was ignored. She supposed that, when one was dealing with criminals, they didn't feel obliged to give them good living conditions. Next to her, the friendly dog faunus stood, looking at the ground. It was only then that Cinder realized that she was stark naked.

"Well then. Now I see why you're so awkward. I would like my clothes, please." The dog faunus handed Cinder her prison uniform, and she slowly slipped into it.

"Uh...could you go a little faster?" The faunus asked. Cinder leaned in closer to her, the raven-haired woman's top still not on.

"What's wrong? We're both women here. It's not like this isn't anything you haven't seen before in a mirror," she said. The faunus made a small squeaking noise and stepped away.

"If that's how you want to play, then I suppose I'll just have to oblige you." Cinder put on her uniform and hopped off of the table.

"Thank you for healing me up, Prim. It's a shame that the winners don't receive the same treatment. Blake's probably not having fun right now," she said, grinning widely.

"Do you have to use my nickname? It's a little...um..."

"Intimate?" The word shocked the dog faunus, and she turned away to hide her now scarlet face.

"N-no!" Cinder chuckled and walked out of the room, waving at Primrose as she left. The faunus' ears were hanging limp on her head, almost covering into her eyes.

"That woman..." She sighed, her heart feeling like it might explode from embarrassment and happiness. Cinder had never been so close to her before.

For Weiss, it had been a long day. She'd drilled the concept of formations into her teammates' heads, forcing them to remember the formation names as well. Then, she had to watch as they demonstrated their weapon proficiency. The three warriors who had their own weapons, formerly being Hunters and Huntresses, possessed a considerable amount of skill. One of the three, a man, had a sword that split to form two blades capable of firing powerful lasers. Another one, a woman, had a pair of white gauntlets and black boots. They were all made of smooth metal, but had various holes in them for bursts of wind, as that was the type of Dust her weapon used. The last of the three, a female bull faunus, had a chakram that she could use her Semblance to teleport around. The weapon itself could turn into a large shield. However, the remaining twelve members of Weiss' motley crew were not quite as skilled. Out of the four ranged units, only two had used a gun before being put in the Trenches. The other two had only recently been taught to shoot, but the skill gap between the two wasn't exactly wide. Weiss had spent an hour trying to show them how to aim properly. The melee units fared a little better, although not by much. They were all too eager to kill the Grimm themselves and gain credit, making the former heiress realize that they were melee units more for their demeanor than their capabilities. They, unlike Weiss and the seven other members of the team, had no concept of teamwork. Weiss was very busy with them. Lunch had passed, and then she put them into sparring groups. The melee and ranged groups were mixed, as Weiss wanted them to have the experience of fighting anopponent with a different skill set from their own. The results were very mixed. As expected, the three special units dominated, even fighting each other to standstills, and the melee units did surprisingly well; their aggressiveness was surely useful to them in combat. The ranged units, however, didn't do well under pressure. Only a single member of the ranged group won when they were fighting against any units outside of their own. Aura training was the least stressful part of the day; all of Weiss' teammates had surprisingly powerful Auras. They were nothing special, but she had deemed them all competent in battle situations. And although that was the least stressful part of the day, sparring with the others was her favorite. She effortlessly defeated everyone, even taking out the three special units in a matter of seconds and defeating the entire group in forty. She noticed with annoyance that quite a few of her teammates seemed a little too eager to defeat her. She supposed that they weren't used to being pushed so hard and resented her for it. The day then ended, and Weiss, in a gesture meant to endear her to her team, gave the entire group money to eat out at a fancy restaurant. She herself didn't come; she had other matters to attend to.

Weiss wasn't allowed to go out without a small metal choker on her neck, preventing her from straying too far from her living quarters or getting into any fights; an electric shock would see to that. So, with choker donned, she drove through the streets to Blake's prison, Ruby sitting in the back of the car. It had been a while since they'd visited their friend, and before Weiss left, she wanted to do so again. Ruby offered to come with her, eager to see Blake again. Yang, having finished with her duties as a Huntress, had denied. She said that she had promised to meet Sun, but Weiss knew that, even if she really did intend to meet with Sun, that it was just an excuse not to go and see Blake. Not wanting to start an argument and being unable to blame the blonde anyway, she had accepted Yang's absence and taken Ruby with her. Yang was the one who had seen Blake's handiwork, what she'd done to Roman Torchwick. Yang was also the one who had to stop her. Weiss knew that it couldn't have been easy to do such a thing, and that it would be hard to look someone in the eye after seeing them do something you'd never have expected them to do.

"So...how was your first day in the Trenches?" Ruby asked, interrupting Weiss' thoughts of Yang. The white-haired woman scowled.

"It could have been better."

Done! I have to say, I'm a little torn on this chapter. On one had, I'm quite proud of how I handled Weiss' experience in the Trenches. Her speech reminded me a little of something from Attack on Titan, to be honest, and I thought that it reflected on her character quite well, as well as on how she's changed as a person since her at Beacon. I also liked Blake and Cinder's brutal fight. On the other hand, though, I felt a little lost as to what to write next and how to pace the story, and I feel that Ruby and Yang's scene could have been better. This chapter really was more of a set-up chapter than anything else, since I have three major events planned. Weiss is leaving for three days on a dangerous mission, Yang is meeting Sun, and Weiss and Ruby are meeting Blake. Also, Blake wants to talk to Cinder about something. That conversation is going to be chock-full of information!

I still haven't gotten around to giving Weiss and Yang a scene together, though. I want it to happen, but I don't know when in the story they'll be able to meet. They're both busy, and Yang doesn't really talk to anyone aside from Ruby, so it's hard. But I feel that Weiss and Yang's relationship doesn't get touched upon as much as it should, but in fanfiction and the actual show. It's a shame; the two characters have such a good dynamic! Episodes 15 and 16 come to mind.