Hey, A/N at end for information on this story. Enjoy.

"You were the first person to ever believe in me. You know that?"

The breach had caused a heightened state of alert, which put assets such as airships on constant standby, within the city. Ironwood's new policies regarding the festival called for more airship patrols, and this meant most of the newer models were in use. The one JNPR had boarded at Beacon was only transporting them to another dock at the city's edge where they would board, much to Jaune's displeasure, a much older model; while the older models in service were thoroughly maintained, the difference in technology between them and the current models, especially in terms of safety features and flight stabilization, was significant. Their top speed was also lower than the newer models, although that was countered by a greater fuel tank capacity. Still, the slower ship meant they wouldn't arrive at their destination until dawn even without stopping to refuel.

JNPR's destination was a small village named Dali, located roughly 1000 kilometers away from Vale. With plenty of time to spare the team spent the time getting whatever sleep they needed in between checking their gear and discussing the potential threats they might encounter once on the ground; Ren and Nora had begun a friendly bet as to who would be the first to save Jaune. Pyrrha, at first believing it to be in bad taste and chastising the two, eventually put 10 Lien on herself as her partner groaned miserably from his seat.

When the nervous pre-op chatter finally died down, Pyrrha and Ren made themselves busy by studying the mission intel thoroughly; the other two were less productive, however, as Nora played games on her scroll while Jaune suffered in quiet agony by himself. The actual reports of the Grimm incidents recorded were scarce and vague, failing to specify how the attacks happened or even the Grimm class in question. What they were provided with was that the attacks started less than two weeks ago, but the part that made Ren and Pyrrha raise their eyebrows was the section stating that multiple villagers had been "taken away" during attacks.

"Taken away?" Ren commented curiously, "Is that supposed to be a euphemism?"

"It's unclear. Why would they do something like that in the official report, though?" Pyrrha responded with a shrug, "Either way, it seems we're going to have our hands full here." Ren only gave a curt nod in agreement before putting his scroll away. Pyrrha did the same before looking over at Nora, who had managed to fall asleep with her scroll on her lap. Pyrrha gazed out at the still inky black sky, and, with a while to go before reaching their destination, tried her best to get some rest.

The airship's engines whined as it began its ascension upwards, leaving behind JNPR and their belongings in the forest clearing. The pilot gave one final wave before veering off and flying away. Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren all waved back, while a still suffering Jaune lay weakly with his face in the grass. Slowly he propped himself up with his arms, shaking his head while on all fours.

"Vehicles suck." NPR looked on while their leader clutched at tufts of wet grass desperately as if to reassure himself he was on the ground. Eventually, Pyrrha reached out her hand to him with a smile.

"Let's go Jaune. We can't stay here all day." she teased playfully. Jaune forced a pained grin, taking her hand and using it to lift himself up to his feet. He took a couple deep breaths, savoring the crisp air before clearing his throat.

"Th-that wasn't that bad! I barely puked at all this time!" Jaune was met only with the half-hearted and rather unenthusiastic cheers of his comrades. His shoulders slumped in defeat, Jaune pointed forwards. "L-let's just get moving..."

The four worked their way through the tall grass of the clearing and into a small opening in the trees, finding a thin but pronounced path. The forest boasted a surprisingly diverse amount of flora, with colorful flowers and bushes scattered all throughout the dense viridian foliage which encompassed them. The trail led them through the trees to a large and fairly well maintained dirt road. Jaune noticed a sign across from them indicating the village they were looking for lay down the road to the left. Following the sign's instruction the four soon came upon the village's outskirts. Before them was a rudimentary but sturdy wall made of large logs, many sharpened at the ends; the defensive barrier looked to stretch the entirety of the town's perimeter, and was easily over four meters high. The wall's height made it impossible for the group to see much in town, except for the dark roofing shingles of the buildings and the tall spire-like clock tower which rose from the center of town. They continued forward towards the wall's small gate, noticing that the road gradually transitioned from dirt to cobble; before them the two guards manning the gate eyed them warily. Before JNPR could pass through the gate the two ironclad guards stepped forward defensively, their hands on their weapons.

"Who are you?" one guard asked, "Kids like you shouldn't be wandering around here. It's dangerous," The guard then took notice of their attire, squinting his eyes suspiciously. "Wait, are you…"

"We're here f-for the Grimm troubles you've been having?" Jaune stated coming forward, "W-We're team JNPR, coming to assist you. I'm Jaune, the leader. This is Nora, Ren, and my partner, Pyrrha." Jaune and his team reached out to shake the guards' hands, but they were met with the same looks of doubt.

"You're the hunters from Beacon?" The other guard asked, more of a statement than a question. The disappointment in his voice was apparent, and made Jaune even more nervous. "They sent us a bunch of kids?"

"What's wrong with that?" Nora blurted, receiving a nudge from Ren. Jaune stiffened, his heart beating faster than ever. Pyrrha subtly placed her hand on his back to calm him, making sure the guards did not notice the gesture or her partner's anxiety.

"Well… we were under the impression they'd be sending actual Hunters… not…" Pyrrha suddenly spoke up, interrupting the guard mid-sentence.

"I assure you we are most certainly real Hunters and are more than qualified to help your town, but if our age is that much of an issue perhaps it would be better for us to leave and wait for an older team to be available to help..." The guard took a moment to scan the team, gritting his teeth bitterly.

"...Right. We aren't in much of a position to deny help." He turned, and pointed to the large brick building with the clock tower rising from the center. "Speak to the mayor. He'll likely be in the town hall," the guard continued with a distressed sigh, "He's a bit... shaken up, but he should be able to brief you with the situation. Now that you're here, I guess we can get back to work." The guards nodded to one another and opened the gates, letting team JNPR enter the town. As soon as the four had passed through the gates the guards followed them inside, closing the gate before running off to the left and followed the road between two buildings. Jaune noticed that, unlike his previous assumption, the wall was actually still incomplete and being constructed; to the west a large crowd worked feverishly, stacking and securing logs to close the still sizable gap between the two ends of the wall.

"What's their problem?" Nora asked, crossing her arms. "So much for a warm welcome."

"Despite their best efforts, their desperation was obvious." Ren said, "and they seemed to be in a hurry. I've never seen anyone that anxious to go back to work."

"It seems we haven't met their expectations." Pyrrha noted. Nora shrugged her shoulders, grinning with her eyes closed. "I dunno, maybe it was because Jauney here still had some drool on his face." As Jaune embarrassedly rubbed his face clean the other three laughed at his antics. Jaune composed himself, confident his face was now clean and presentable.

"Whatever the reason, I don't think it'll help us to continue wondering. We should head to the town hall and figure out what's going on." Jaune began walking forward into town only to be yanked backwards by a firm grim in the back of his hood.

"What was that for!?" He cried, rubbing his neck as he turned his head. Nora stood there with her arms crossed, an agitated pout on her face.

"Jauuune… I don't wanna carry this stuff anymore…" Nora lamented as she swung her bag back and forth. Jaune laughed with a shake of his head, motioning towards her luggage.

"Oh, come on Nora, you carry a giant hammer around like nothing. A few more minutes of…" Jaune trailed off as he saw the light fade from Nora's eyes; he felt something utterly terrifying behind the blank, glassed over expression Nora now aimed at him. He averted his gaze, chuckling nervously as he scratched his head. "I m-mean, uh, yeah! Let's go drop off our things at the inn! Great i-idea, Nora!" Nora's cyan eyes returned to normal instantly, sparkling in happiness at her leader's words. Jaune sighed in relief and the four began walking down the main street into town. They stopped in front of a two-story Victorian style building made of brick and wooden logs, taking the time to both admire the architecture and confirm it was the right place before entering.

The lobby was warm and inviting; a simple but attractive chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling and in the corner of the room a stone fireplace burned quietly, adorned by a small sitting area. Directly in front of the four stood a small older lady. She smiled at them from behind the counter, waiting patiently for them to make their way over. Jaune cleared his throat and walked over to her with a smile and a small wave; the woman returned his gesture.

"Hello, dears, and welcome. What can I do for you four?" Jaune leaned against the counter, trying his best to look like a confident leader.

"We have a room reserved here. I'll checking in with my partners." She took a long look at the four before leaning in towards Jaune and Ren; cupping a hand around her mouth she whispered softly to them. "If you're looking for 'that' kind of hotel, I can't help you here. Plus, you all seem a bit young."

Jaune and Ren flushed a deep crimson, reeling backwards at the woman's destructively embarrassing words; behind them Pyrrha and Nora did the same, having overheard the lady.

"I, uh... w-we're not... I mean, um..." Jaune struggled desperately to calm down enough to explain the misunderstanding but fared as poorly as his shocked companions. "It's not like that, miss, I swear!" he blurted feverishly, finally able to articulate a cohesive sentence. The woman placed a finger on her bottom lip pensively, pursing her lips before casually pointing over towards the two girls.

"But then why are these two wearing such short skirts? And the red haired one's shoulders are so exposed."

Pyrrha instinctively reached her hands up to her shoulders, frowning slightly before addressing the lady.

"It's for mobility's sake... I don't want to be restricted." she explained, suddenly jerking up to continue her thought after a few moments, "I-in combat, I mean!"

"Oh, combat huh? So you are hunters or something of the sort, then?"

"Yes!" the four shouted in unison. The quad stood frozen as they watched the innkeeper place her hand on her chin and nod slowly, hopeful she finally grasped the situation properly. Eyes closed, she scrunched her face as if on the verge of a breakthrough; without warning the old lady shot one eye open, flashing an impish grin at the team before bursting into a fit of laughter.

More confused than ever, JNPR watched in awe as the woman wiped tears from her eyes. She straightened her blouse before turning back towards them, and she bowed her head slightly before speaking.

"I'm sorry, you must be terribly puzzled at my strange behavior. To be honest, I knew who you all were when you walked in."

"Wait, but then what was all of that about?" Nora asked with a discontented frown. The woman tilted her head in amusement, putting up her hands apologetically.

"It's been so long since this town's had visitors, I couldn't help but have a bit of fun. Especially with a group of youngsters like you." The four hunters groaned and slumped their shoulders, bewildered the inn keep had taken them for such a ride. The woman bowed again in respectful apology.

"I hope you can forgive this old woman for having a laugh at your expense." Jaune shook his head dismissively.

"It's fine, really. Just a harmless prank, right? Don't worry about it miss..." he trailed off, realizing he didn't even know this woman's name. The innkeeper placed a hand over her mouth, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, my. I've caused all this fuss and haven't even shown enough courtesy to introduce myself." she took a moment to move a few locks of silver hair from her face, "My name, dears, is Abigail."

"Nice to meet you, Abigail." Pyrrha responded, nudging Jaune with her elbow.

"Ah! Yes, nice to, um, make your acquaintance!" Jaune rubbed his arm sheepishly, his facade of bravado cleanly stripped away, "Can we maybe have our room key now?" Abigail nodded, turning and making her way over to a cork board behind her. She plucked a key off one of the many pegs and placed it on the counter, sliding it towards JNPR.

"Here you go, dears." she pointed a finger towards her left at a flight of stairs, "You're staying in room 210 on the second floor. It'll be to your left." she placed her hands together and set them atop the counter gently, lowering her gaze a bit, "I do hope you can enjoy your stay." Thanking Abigail, JNPR made their way towards the stairs. Pyrrha looked back, letting the others go ahead of her as she returned to the front desk.

"Hey, how did you know we were the hunters?" Pyrrha asked curiously. Abigail grinned, an odd feeling of sadness masked behind it.

"Like i said, this town hasn't had any visitors in some time. These days we're quite aware of who remains in town." She shook her head, "Such a shame to burden the youth with such harrowing troubles. Especially nice children such as yourselves. These dangerous things should be left to your elders." Pyrrha looked upon the inn keep, reaching out her hand across the counter. She placed her hand upon Abigail's, patting it reassuringly.

"I'm not so sure that is a luxury the youth can afford anymore, but rest assured that this is what we've trained for." Pyrrha paused, looking towards the staircase, "Perhaps this is better. Getting to know the true nature of this world early on gives us more time to learn how best to survive in it." Abigail looked up at Pyrrha, her eyes sad.

"Even so, no child should have to face the threat of death at your age, no matter the circumstances."

"That is why we fight together. So we can protect each other." With that Pyrrha made her way up the stairs, eager to rejoin her teammates.

Pyrrha opened the white door to their room, walking in as Nora plopped herself onto one of the two small beds inside. Jaune and Ren stood, arms crossed as they looked over at Pyrrha; beside them their bags sat next to two cots, neither cot looking to be in peak condition. It took quite a bit of insisting on Jaune and Ren's part to convince the ever-modest Pyrrha that sharing bed's wouldn't work and that she should be the one to take the other; it finally took a direct "order" from Jaune as team leader for the girl to finally accept their generosity. With bedding arrangements settled, the four quickly put away their belongings and left the building with the gear they would need for a reconnaissance of the area. The first order of business, though, was to get an understanding of their surroundings and the situation as a whole; the only way to do that was to meet the mayor in the town hall.

Jaune, as well as the other three, took note of the town's mainly concentric layout, with the residences on the outer layer and the shops and such closer in towards the town hall. They made sure to point out any areas of interest they spotted: vantage points, choke points, dead ends, escape routes. Anything that seemed like it might be useful or pertinent to combat and survival was brought up and shared. As team JNPR drew closer to the clock tower, one thing became increasingly apparent; the wall around the town was incomplete in more than a few areas, but the biggest gap was the one to the west they caught a glimpse of when entering the village. They watched as men furiously dug large trenches for others to firmly secure heavy logs in place.

"I guess we know why they were in such a hurry earlier." Pyrrha commented as they watched the two guards from earlier rush past hauling a few massive logs upon their shoulders.

"It seems they may finish before nightfall, though," Ren said, "Maybe..." Jaune continued to watch the workers, admiring their determination.

"Either way, we'll make sure to help them even without the wall." Jaune stated confidently as he began ascending the smooth slate steps of the town hall towards the large wooden doors. They entered a large brick hallway, its walls lined with benches and paintings. As they walked down it, passing underneath shimmering gold and quartz chandeliers, JNPR noticed the end of the hall opened up into a sizable auditorium filled with many tables and chairs. A large desk sat above the others towards the back, its face littered with papers and empty bottles

As JNPR made their way further into the room they noticed there was actually a man seated at the head table; he lay passed out and snoring, his face buried in his arms.

"Hey, think that's Mr. Mayor?" Nora asked, pointing a thumb at the man. "Or is it just some bum who passed out." Jaune approached the man, eyeing the half full bottle of amber liquid tightly gripped in the man's hand.

"E-Excuse me, sir?" Jaune called out, "Are you the mayor? We were told we could find him here... Hello?" Met with silence Jaune looked to his team, unsure of what to do. Ren and Pyrrha shrugged their shoulders, but Nora gave Jaune a big thumbs up before reaching behind her and grabbing Magnhild. She held it at her side, grinning as she let the massive hammer drop to the floor; the impact shook the ground with a thunderous racket, shaking a few of the glasses off the table and jolting the man awake. He supported his head in his hands while he grumbled to himself, eventually looking up at the four in a dazed confusion as he weakly scratched his disheveled hair. Jaune leaned in slightly, raising his hand; the wretched stench of alcohol permeated the air around the man.

"Hello there, sir" he offered politely. The man's eyes focused on Jaune, glaring at him. An angry rumble came from within him as he tried to speak.

"Whatever you want or need, right now I don't care." Jaune tried his best to grin cheerfully though the man's brusque words.

"Sir, are you the mayor of this town?" Jaune attempted again, receiving a callous laugh in response.

"Yeah, I am." the mayor answered, his voice deep a slurred. His breath was heavy with liquor, and he motioned towards the door with left hand still holding the bottle. "Now leave before I have you escorted out by force. I'm not gonna say it again." Jaune moved to take a seat in front of the mayor, is team shuffling to stand at his back.

"I can't do that, sir. You see, we're the team you requested from Beacon. We need to know about the attacks you've been facing. The reports didn't give us that much to... work... with..." Jaune's thought trailed off as he watched the Mayor's face turn beet red, a furious scowl forming on his face. He pointed at JNPR, his hand quivering in rage.

"Y... You're the hunters?" he said, his voice hushed and his sentence more of a statement than a question, "They sent us YOU? A bunch of CHILDREN!?" The mayor's knuckles grew white as he gripped his bottle tightly and poured himself a drink. He raised the glass, gulping back the burning liquid bitterly in one swift motion. He slammed the glass down, looking once more at the Beacon students. "We're done for."

"Alright, you son of a-!" Nora shouted, stopping as Jaune placed a hand in front of her with a shake of his head. Nora huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Jaune turned back to the Mayor.

"Please, sir. I assure you we're here to help, but we can't do that unless you help us here first. We need to know what you know." An eerie quiet fell over the five as the mayor began staring blankly at the table. He sat motionless, his gaze fixated on his glass. A sigh escaped his lips, and his expression softened and became sorrowful.

"They took her..." he mumbled to himself, his eyes becoming glassy. "I couldn't do a thing. I couldn't protect her." JNPR exchanged looks, befuddled by the man's nonsensical ramblings.

"It's all over." he continued morosely, pouring more alcohol into his glass while he slowly rotated his chair away from the four, "How could they. How could they send us kids to save my village. Are we worth so little? To forsake me and my people." Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"I don't think we're making much progress here." she said softly, "Perhaps we should start with our survey of the town's perimeter and surrounding area." Jaune nodded, agreeing with her assessment. As he was now, the mayor wasn't going to be much help. Jaune stood, nodding respectfully to the mayor.

"Thanks for your time, sir..." Jaune turned, his teammates following him as he made his way towards the door. The mayor turned to look back as he heard the front door slam shut, placing his glass down on the table.

"Please, let me be wrong about them."

Outside, the now risen sun shone harshly over the treetops prompting JNPR to collectively cover their eyes as their vision adjusted. The four stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glancing back at the building before looking to each other.

"What was his deal?" Nora asked, still fuming at the mayor's attitude towards them.

"Not certain," Ren replied, "But we can't afford to deal with him now. We're just going to have to get the intel ourselves." Ren gestured towards the area around them, "I think Pyrrha's right. We should survey the surrounding woods, and afterwards question some of the guards and residents.."

"That seems best." Jaune agreed, "But stay on your guard. I didn't like the way he was acting… it gave me the heebie-jeebies!"

"People still say that?" Pyrrha laughed with a smirk, lightening the mood amongst the group. Jaune could only sigh and let his head hang.

"Let's just walk around outside the town and see if we get attacked by monsters." Jaune muttered, motioning for the others to follow him as he turned and walked towards the main gate.

Jaune's plan was simple: they would all circle the town's perimeter separately, spaced apart from each other by about 50 meters going out from the town wall. The distance was enough to cover a lot of ground, but still close enough to be well within shouting distance should someone be attacked and need support.

Underneath the canopy of trees was darker than Jaune had anticipated, but there were enough breaks in the foliage to allow ample sunlight to shine though. Luckily the terrain was favorable; unlike the tall thorny brambles and thicket of the emerald forest the ground here mostly consisted of wildflowers and small shrubbery and made traversing through the forest a simple task. All four walked with their weapons ready to draw at a moment's notice, but the chance had yet to present itself.

Jaune made sure to regularly take note of the clock tower's positioning to gauge how far they'd traveled, and after a little over 30 minutes he contacted the others using his scroll and called for them to regroup on him.

"Hey guys, we've made it about halfway around the town. Find or see anything unusual?" He asked, taking a seat on a nearby log.

"I got nothing to report, boss," Nora said with a shrug of her shoulders, "No sign of the bad guys." Ren, whose position in the formation was the second farthest out under Pyrrha, spoke up has he leaned against a nearby tree.

"Same here. To be honest, the most unusual thing is the lack of anything unusual." Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"Even as deep as I was in the forest, I could not find a single trace of any Grimm activity. Not a nest or track in sight."

Jaune scratched his cheek with a puzzled look.

"I didn't find anything either." He looked over at the town, "But I doubt these people are lying. The wall, the mayor... something is definitely going on here. The report talked about a large Grimm infestation, so they have to around here somewhere."

Jaune stood, stretching arms above his head.

"Well, we still have another half of the forest to cover." Jaune reminded, "So let's finish up. Maybe we just started on the wrong side." He received a collective nod from the other three, and soon they were back in formation and patrolling the forest.

Pyrrha scanned the ground and trees carefully, continuing the search for any signs of Grimm activity. As she walked the canopy above her became thicker and the forest floor darker. Pyrrha dismissed it at first, but after a bit it became so thick she thought it too strange. She looked up, squinting suspiciously at the canopy; there was something strange and off-putting about the way it looked. Before she could figure it out a familiar girly scream rang out through the woods and caught her attention. Pyrrha turned her head towards the sound's direction, pulling out her weapon and taking one last quick glance at the canopy before darting off.

Pyrrha broke through a group of bushes and into a small clearing, stopping as she caught sight of Ren and Nora standing both looked at her, Ren wearing an expression of disappointment as Nora covered her mouth and giggled; At their feet Jaune lay struggling, pathetically kicking his legs in an attempt to free his foot from something. Pyrrha sighed, sheathing her weapon and thankful there seemed to be no immediate danger.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, reached her hand out to help him up. The boy shot his hand out, waving them frantically.

"Wait, wait! Stop, watch your step!" he cried, pointing towards his feet, "I got stuck on something hidden under the leaves." Pyrrha backed away, eyeing the ground around him carefully. A shimmer caught her eye, and as her vision focused on it she could make out a network of nearly invisible threads lined through the ground around Jaune. From his feet they spread out a bit, snaking over and under leaves and bushes before shooting up the trees and into the canopy.

"Jaune, what are you caught in, exactly?" Pyrrha asked as he looked down towards his feet. Jaune turned, tugging his foot a few times.

"Actually, I'm not sure myself..." He reached down and pulled away the leaves and sticks revealing a small gray clump stuck to Jaune's foot; the color mixed into the mud around it, but oddly it clung to him in a manner more befitting an adhesive. Pyrrha bent down, taking a long look at it before getting back up.

"Use your sword to carefully cut that stuff off of you, Jaune. I think I know why we haven't found anything." Pyrrha turned to address the other two, "Would you guys please wait here and stand guard while Jaune gets free? I need to check something."

After getting an affirmative nod Pyrrha took off once more, this time returning to the area she had previously been scouting. This time it was not the floor but the roof of the forest that held her attention; as soon as the canopy began thickening Pyrrha leaped up to a low hanging branch to more closely inspect the tree tops. As she had suspected, the same threads that made up the trap near Jaune were here as well, and in much greater volume. In fact the entire canopy was covered in them, and from what she could see it only got denser.

The huntress dismounted to the ground gracefully, making sure not to touch any of the thread clumps. Following the webbing took her deeper into the forest, and she began noticing something bizarre: only this specific stretch of forest was affected. While the farther she went the more the substance intensified, eventually starting to coat the tree trunks and even the ground as well, it never strayed far from it's path to intrude into the rest of the forest.

Pyrrha halted, noticing that very large pods of the substance had begun to appear on the trees around her. She approached on cautiously, unprepared for what she was about to find. Inside, wrapped tightly in the threads, was a large elder Beowolf. The red haired girl readied her weapons reflexively but the creature remained still. Pyrrha lowered Milo a bit, raising an eyebrow before plunging the blade into the Grimm's shoulder. The creature stood dormant and unresponsive, but after a couple of seconds it began to dissipate. Pyrrha backed away, surprised that she had killed it so easily. Looking at the others, she could tell they too were filled with Grimm.

"Oh, boy," she exhaled, "I'd better get back and let them know what we're dealing with." She sprinted back, still mindful to watch her footing lest she end up like the Beowolf.

Pyrrha made it back to the others, drawing Ren and Nora's attention as Jaune sliced away at his still stuck feet.

"I found an elder Beowolf," she began, causing Jaune to cut more frantically as he turned towards her.

"I'M STILL STUCK DON'T LET IT GET ME!" he cried, dropping his blade in panic. Pyrrha shook her head in amusement, waving her hand in reassurance.

"No, no, it's dead now." Both Ren and Nora widened their eyes, visibly impressed.

"Wow, Pyrrha, you really are the invincible girl, huh?" Nora complimented, "How'd you manage to do it so quickly and quietly?"

"More importantly, why was it alone? Alphas always have a pack." Ren interjected.

"Well, it wasn't alone. There were quite a few Grimm all around it."

"WHAT!? You fought all those alone?" Jaune exclaimed, "Why didn't you call for backup!? That's too dangerous!" Pyrrha shook her head, putting her hands up.

"Wait, you're misunderstanding. Let me explain." Once Jaune calmed down she continued.

"The alpha, as well as every other Grimm, was wrapped up in this webbing. They were nearly dead, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say barely alive." She pulled out Milo and stuck it out towards them, "I only had to stick this into the alpha's shoulder for it to disintegrate." Jaune, finally free, stood and pointed at the gray and brown mass.

"Wait, you're telling me this is webbing? What, does this forest have a ton of spiders?"

"Well, yes and no." Pyrrha offered, "You see, I'm certain we're dealing with Arachnia."

"Arachni-what now?" Jaune asked, scratching his head as he looked at his partner.

"Arachnia," she repeated, moving over to help Jaune brush the excess webbing off himself and his gear, "Think of a spider, just the size of a man and armored on top. They're rather fast though, and..." Pyrrha stopped when she noticed the peculiar expression Jaune wore as he looked over her shoulder. Tracing his line of sight Pyrrha's eyes fell upon Ren as he stood with his back against a large tree and Stormflower at the ready. Pyrrha raised a hand in concern, frowning slightly.

"Ren, are you... okay?" Ren nodded curtly, drawing a string of giggles from Nora.

"No, you're not you liar!" Nora blurted between laughs, holding her stomach. "You're totally not!" Ren twitched, a couple beads of sweat forming by his temple. Nora shook her head.

"Ren's totally arachnophobic. It's his one weakness, basically." Nora shot a turquoise colored wink at Ren, who tried his best to ignore her.

"But Ren was totally fine with the Deathstalker! That's an arachnid." Jaune paused, looking to Pyrrha for confirmation, "Right?"

"Fine, let me rephrase." the girl sighed, "He hates spiders specifically, and these take the cake." Suddenly Ren sheathed his weapons, walking briskly towards them.

"Hey," he began, "Now that we know what we're dealing with we should probably go back to the town and ask the villagers what they know, huh?" his voice wavered a touch. Jaune looked at the boy's magenta eyes, their usual stoic demeanor now undermined by a subtle hint of trepidation.

Jaune was unsure of what to do next. Ren was obviously no longer comfortable and had a point about having to talk to the villagers, but Jaune had yet to properly scout the whole area. As if able to read his thoughts Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You know, Jaune, I took a good look at the area they affected and it was very specific. I doubt we'll find anything else in the rest of the forest." Somewhat relieved at her words Jaune smiled happily.

"Okay, then let's head back." Jaune could hear Ren release a quiet sigh of relief.

On the jog back, Jaune looked up at the trees.

"Hey, Pyrrha. Didn't you say the forest was covered in webs deeper in? Why can we barely see any here?" Pyrrha shrugged.

"I'm not sure why, but it doesn't really become noticeable until you get far into the forest, since most of it just looks like the canopy has thickened. Plus, the concentration dwindles considerably the closer you get to town, and the area it covers cuts a small but specific path through the woods." Pyrrha explained, making a slow chopping motion to illustrate the path, "It's no wonder the villagers are unsure where they're coming from. The path winds a lot, and even I hadn't reached the end of it before returning to you."

"So," Jaune added, "How do we beat these guys?"

"Well, I've only fought them twice during tournaments, but from those two battles I can tell you it takes a lot of force to hurt them through the armor plates covering their tops. It's not too difficult or impossible, but the most efficient way to injure them is to target their leg joints or the sides of their abdomens. If possible aim for their underbelly; it's the softest and most vulnerable spot." Pyrrha stopped talking as they reached the wall of the town, following it towards the front.

"They're fast, and will defend these spots with vigor. Despite this they're fairly easy to deal with one on one. The danger is when they're in a swarm. You can't allow yourself to be surrounded."

The four noticed they had made it not to the main entrance, but rather the large opening in the protective barrier. They walked through into town as a shortcut, receiving brief glances from the workers as they passed by. Pyrrha looked back at the hole and the forest beyond, leaning towards Jaune and whispering into his ear.

"That hole is almost perfectly lined up with the Arachnia's web path." she warned, "If they follow the path like I think they will, they'll be coming right through."

JNPR returned to the town's center square in front of the clock tower and stood around the fountain bubbling there.

"Okay, I think we should split up. Pyrrha, take Ren and go see what the villagers can tell you in the marketplace. Nora and I are gonna check out the guard's barracks and see if they can help us learn anything else."

"Sure thing," Pyrrha said, her and Ren waving before walking down an alley to the left and towards the village bazaar. Jaune huffed, glad he was starting to get the hang of being team leader. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over as Nora bounced in place.

"What's up, Nora?" Jaune asked, still trying to catch his breath from the run back.

"Pyrrha said the affected web area was specific and path-like. That means their nest is at the other end of it." she clenched her fists in front of her, "They're definitely going to be coming from that direction, and they will only leave their webs when they need to; that's where they're most agile, so they prefer to stay there."

Nora eyed Jaune as he stuck up a finger.

"Wait, but there were almost no webs leading directly to town. Does that mean they won't attack tonight?" Nora shook her head.

"No, the town and people will draw them in," she interrupted Jaune before he could talk again, "Before you ask, they probably won't spread out through the forest either. Outside of webs and not engaged with prey they tend to take very linear paths."

Jaune scratched the back of his head, impressed with the girl's extensive knowledge.

"How do you know so much about them?" Nora smiled, putting her hands out at her sides playfully.

"Since they're Ren's mortal enemy, I made sure to study up on them."

"Anything else you could tell me about them?" Nora thought for a moment, looking to the side as she tried to remember anything else.

"Well, there's two things I can think of that may be helpful." she stuck up her pointer finger.

"The first is that, while they're good climbers, they're more likely to stay on the ground than climb, if they can." She raised another finger, tilting her head, "The second is that they're not too fond of bright lights or excessive heat. Fire works well against them if used right." Nora's turquoise eyes lit up as she recalled something.

"OH! I just remembered something important!" She lowered her head dramatically, drawing Jaune in close.

"They... can... FLY!" Jaune reeled back, astounded at her absurd declaration.

"Are you serious!?" Jaune asked incredulously. Nora covered her mouth, laughing haughtily.

"You're so gullible, Jaune. Of course they can't fly, silly." Jaune's sigh of relief was cut off by the girl suddenly raising a finger at him, "But they will use their webs as a weapon during combat, and enough of it will cause paralytic effects."

"O-oh, okay thanks." he acknowledged, "This is all really helpful Nora! It'll be a lot easier to plan out a defensive strategy knowing what I'm dealing with. Thanks a ton, Nora!" The girl beamed, embracing Jaune in a massive hug; Jaune could hear his bones cracking as she squeezed. She finally set him down, looking him in the eyes.

"One more thing, Jaune." she said as the boy recovered, "Could you place Ren towards the back? He really doesn't do well with these guys, so I don't want him to be in the middle of it all if he doesn't have to." Nora's concern for her partner was a warming sight to Jaune, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Nora, I'll make sure he's okay."

"Yay! Thanks Jauney!" she exclaimed with a twirl, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see if those guys closing the big hole are gonna be done in time!" she waved as she ran off, "I'll get back to you later!"

"A-alright!" Jaune stuttered, "I guess I'll head to the guard's barracks alone to talk to them... alone." Jaune chuckled nervously to himself and watched the orange haired girl skip towards the opposite end of town before he turned towards his destination and began walking.

AN: "ReasonableName, how are you going to continue keeping the story kinda canon with the apparent truth that came with the end of Vol. 3?" Easy. Don't worry about it.

The reason we haven't really updated was due to us waiting for Vol. 3 to finish up. We needed to see how that turned out in order to get a sense of where we wanted to take our story since so much was added. Safe to say, our original plot had to take more than a few turns.

My Tumblr is "ReasonableName" and that's where you can get the most up-to-date info on Memoria and BU. From here on forward we will be uploading more consistently, with at least one #beefy chapter a month. That's not to say there wont be more than one, but it'll vary. I have lots of stuff on my plate as does my editor (like building a house in ARK: Survival Evolved) so don't expect weekly updates. Just check Tumblr every now and then for snippets, updates and ETAs.

If you liked the chapter, please follow, fave or write a review. We love reviews, even PMs, and I can guarantee reviews give us more determination! (Aka more substantial revs will probably make us pump chapters out faster... last time we ask for them, promise.)

Okay bye, see you in next chapter.