Yang is seen walking through the Emerald Forest calling out with a hint of boredom.
"Helloooooooo?"
Unknown to her, there is a silhouette stalking her.
"Is anyone out there? Helloooo?"
Yang stops and raises her arms. I'm getting bored here"
She overhears rustling in the bushes behind her and turns to investigate.
"Is someone there?"
"Ruby, is that you?" Yang asks, taking a peak inside.
She's answered with a low, inhuman growl is heard, and Yang's head rises up as she stares at the creature.
"Nope!"
Yang quickly rolls to the side as an Ursa charges out of the green. She gets up and activates her Ember Celica, staring at the monster before another Ursa runs out behind her. She leaps over it, and its companion runs at her again, only to get knocked back by a fiery punch. The other Ursa and Yang charge at each other, and Yang manages to get under it and deliver several punches and a kick to send the creature back.
"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?"
the Ursai merely growls at her.
"You could just say "no.""
One of the Ursai stands on its legs and swipes at her twice, Yang barely dodging the attacks.
Yang laughs, "Geeeez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a ba..."
Before she can complete her insult, a single strand of her golden hair falls in front of her face and lands on the forest floor.
"You..."
Yang closes her violet eyes, then opens them to reveal burning red eyes, making the Ursai look exchange a look of confusion before Yang screams. "You monster!!!"
An inferno surrounds Yang for a moment, and she propels herself forward, unleashing a devastating combo of blazing hits and blows on the offending Ursa, making it fly through several burning trees. The other monster runs over, but stops short at Yang's gaze while a tree falls to the ground behind her.
"What! You want some, too?!"
The Ursa rears up and prepares to strike... right when a whirling noise is heard and the monster makes a befuddled noise, falling down a second later to reveal Blake with her Gambol Shroud in the beast's back.
Yang pants in exhaustion while Blake recalls the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and smiling to the side. Yang relaxes and her eyes turn back violet.
"I could've taken him."
Meanwhile...
Weiss deflects the swipe from a Beowolf with her Myrtenaster and getting pushed back into the middle of the beastly circle. She holds out her rapier as she goes through her dueling motions and practices.
Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward — not that forward! — slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and...
She raises her rapier up, the revolver spinning to her burn chamber.
Weiss dashes forward with her loaded weapon at the Beowolf in front of her, just when Ruby suddenly appears between the two in a blur of rose petals and a swipe of her Crescent Rose scythe, landing a hit on the monster.
"Gotcha!" Ruby looks back to see if Weiss is watching only see her speeding in her direction. Both girls screams. Weiss swings Myrtenaster I'm a different direction creating a horizontal wave of fire that set a tree ablaze.
Ruby the fire distracted Ruby giving the Beowolf enough time to attack. It strikes her weapon, pushing her into the heiress and frustrating them both.
"Hey, watch it!" Ruby complains
"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!" Weiss argues
"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..." Ruby comments.
The duo wield their arms as the pack of Beowolves whine and growl around them. Ruby reloads her scythe just as a flaming tree falls near them.
Weiss grabbing Ruby's arm. "We have to go!"
She leads Ruby out of the blaze as it engulfs the grass and sets the Grimm to running back the way they came or howling to their demise.
Ruby and Weiss stop a safe ways from the smoke and flames. Weiss leans over and pants as Ruby looks behind her.
"What was that?! That should've been easy!" Ruby complains
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!" Weiss answers
Ruby scoffs "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!"
"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!"
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!" Weiss finishes with a clear sarcasm.
Said girl walks off on her partner yet again. Ruby, with a frustrated shriek, unfolds Crescent Rose, slices a tree down to the stump, refolds it back, and follows her partner as the tree crashes behind her. Neither notice the large dark feather floating onto the fallen trunk behind them.
Meanwhile across the Forest, Pyrrha Nikos, armed with Miló and Akoúo̱, and Jaune Arc are making their way through the bushes. Jaune hears a noise far away and turns his head.
"Did you hear that?"
"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha acknowledges.
They keep moving forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction as Pyrrha raises a branch to pass by and accidentally releases it right at Jaune's face, flooring him.
"Jaune! I'm sorry!"
Jaune laughs, lowering his hand from his cheek to reveal a minor cut from the wooden recoil.
"It's okay. Just a scratch!"
He gets back to his when Pyrrha approaches him.
"Why didn't you activate your Aura?"
"Huh?"
"Your Aura."
"Gesundheit."
"Jaune, do you... know what Aura is?"
Jaune waves the question off, avoiding eye contact.
"Psch! Of course I do! Do you know what Aura is?"
Pyrrha smiles at him and gets ready to explain to the bad liar.
"Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"
"Uh... yeah."
"With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."
"What about monsters?"
"No. The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness, and we are the light."
"Right, that's why we fight them!"
"It's not about why; it's about knowing. Understanding dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both."
"By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."
Jaune opens his eyes with the revelation. "It's like a force field!"
"Yes, if you want to look at it that way."
Pyrrha walks up to Jaune and touching the side of his head. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."
"Uhh... Okay."
Pyrrha smiles and closes her own eyes, opening them as her skin glows and her irises shrink before shutting them again. The two stand there, now with Pyrrha glowing a faint red and Jaune a bright white.
For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. (placing a hand on his chest) I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee. (Pyrrha stops glowing and hunches over in exhaustion.
"Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha slowly recovers. "It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." She grins as she watches the scratch close up and vanish. "You have a lot of it."
Jaune smiles and observes at his hands as the glow fades away. "Wow..."
Ren stops and narrows his eyes, looking around him while a huge black Grimm serpent rises up from the grass behind him and quickly surrounds him with its large, hissing body. Ren adopts a fighting stance as the snake coils together in front of him and attacks with its long fangs.
Ren as he leaps out of the way, the snake's mouth hitting the ground and instantly coming up again to hit a jumping Ren back with its snout. He lands in a crouch when the serpent encircles him again, and he unleashes his StormFlower before jumping up and firing at the creature. He kicks the snake's snout and slashes at its head. The snake flows around Ren and tries to bite him again, but he flips over it and drives his dagger into its head, pausing a moment without sensing the serpent's white head behind him.
Ren is unprepared for the white half to hit him with its head, knocking him off as he drops his weapons, and leaving him to merely raise his arms and distantly cry "No!" to the mouth of the black head. Thankfully, Ren was able to save himself by pushing back the front fangs. As he does this, he activated his aura glowing a faint, pulsating pink. He grips the teeth and yanks them from the monster's mouth, causing it to flail away. It attempts to bite him again, but Ren spins to the side and stabs a fang into its eye, rotating his arm to deliver a final blow that drives the makeshift weapon into its skull, which ripples, expands, and blows apart in a dark mess as its headless body falls over its fellow creature. Wasting no time, Ren runs right at the white head to finish the job.
By the time Nora found him, Ren stood atop of the body of his enemy, sliding the weapons back into his sleeves and brushing them off before a strange, animal-like noise is heard above him twice. He looks up and meets the upside-down eyes of Nora.
Ren chuckles, "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."
In response, Nora gives her lifelong friend a "Boop!" on the nose, causing him to smile.
Part 2
We now go to Professor Ozpin who's observing the students on his scroll at the Beacon Cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest when Glynda Goodwitch walks up behind him, holding her own tablet.
"The last pair has been formed, sir." Glynda taps the screen to view Nora and Ren. "Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." She changes cameras to observe video changes to Pyrrha and Jaune.
Ozpin simply hums.
"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." She deactivates the tablet. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." She turns back to Ozpin. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?"
She's only met with silence. "Professor Ozpin?"
Ozpin doesn't answer, watching his tablet with a contemplating interest as it shows the footage of Ruby Rose sitting in the grass and picking stray leaves while her "partner" Weiss Schnee paces around.
"It's definitely this way." Weiss starts before stopping and going the other direction. "I mean... this way! It's definitely this way. She finally stops in front of Ruby. "Alright, it's official: We passed it."
Ruby stands up, now slightly annoyed. "Weiss, why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we're going?"
"Because I know exactly where we're going! We're going... to... the forest temple!"
Ruby groans in frustration.
"Oh, stop it! You don't know where we are, either!"
"Well, at least I'm not pretending like I know everything."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I... I hate you!"
Weiss sighs in frustration, rolls her eyes and spun around spinning to walk in another direction. Just keep moving!
"Oh, just keep moving! Hurry up! Waaaah! Watch where you're going! Why are you so bossy?!"
Weiss turning back around to face Ruby. "I'm not bossy! Don't say things like that!" She claims, marching forward.
"Stop treating me like a kid!"
"Stop acting like a kid!"
"Well, stop acting like you're perfect!"
"I'm. Not. Perfect! Not yet... But I'm still leagues better than you." Weiss finishes turning her back to her and walks.
Ruby tears briefly stream from Ruby's eyes. "You don't even know me..."
Elsewhere...
Yang and Blake step out into an opening that reveals the circular stone temple, broken and withered but for the platforms around its inside, holding several black and gold objects.
"Think this is it?"
In response, Blake gives Yang an incredulous look and heads down the hill, her partner following. They walk across the floor and observe the items on each pedestal, now shown to be familiar shapes.
Blake looks at a black king, rather confused.
"Chess pieces?"
"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here."
"Well, I guess we should pick one."
Also Elsewhere...
Jaune and Pyrrha are standing at the mouth of a dark cave, where drawings are seen to the side involving armed men against giant beasts.
"Think this is it?" Jaune asks
The scene cuts to their walk inside the cave, Jaune holding a short, burning torch to light their way.
"I'm not sure this is it." Pyrrha answers.
Jaune sighs, "Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for, like, five more feet?"
Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, Jaune trips on the ground, and the torch flies into a small puddle, extinguishing the flame so the two are cast in darkness with only their eyes visible.
Jaune slowly gets up to his feet as Jaune gets up and grumbles)
"Do you... feel that?" Pyrrha asks
Soul-crushing regret? A cowering Jaune answers.
"No, it's... warm."
Back at the temple, Yang approaches one of the relics.
"Hmmmm..."
She studies the golden knight, then picks it up and shows it to Blake.
"How about a cute little pony?"
"Sure."
The two walk towards each other to the center of the temple floor.
"That wasn't too hard!" Yang says
"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find. The two share a smile.
Jaune and Pyrrha continue onward through the cave until they see a large glowing point of gold right in front of them, illuminating Jaune's excited features.
"That's the relic!"
He slowly reaches out to grab it, but it pull away from his reach)
"Hey! Bad... relic!" Jaune tries to grab it again before jumping forward and manages to grab hold and hang onto it as the object raises him off the above the ground. "Gotcha!"
Pyrrha suddenly realizes the reality of their situation. "Jaune...?"
Jaune's catch lowers itself so he is dangling right in front of the now-glowing red lines and eyes of a Death Stalker.
Jaune's scream is heard all the way from the temple, where Yang turns towards the direction of its source.
"Some girl's in trouble! Blake, did you hear that?"
Blake doesn't answer, staring at something in the sky.
At the cave entrance, Pyrrha rushes out right before the monster crashes through the hole, roaring and waving its grass-encrusted claws as Jaune hangs from the stinger, calling from help and continuing to scream.
"Help! Whoa-ah-ah-ah-ah! Why?! Pyrrha! He-e-e-elp! Pyrrha, this is not the relic! It's not!" Jaune sobs. He continues to cry as he's violently thrashed around "Do something!" He screams
Pyrrha draws Miló in front of the creature. "Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-" but before she can finish, the Grimm hurls its tail back and launches a still-screaming Jaune across the forest as she watches in dismay. "... go." she turns back to the scorpion as it continues to snap its claws at her, and she smiles embarrassedly before turning and rushing away in a burst of green leaves.
Blake is still staring at something above them, but Yang is focused on the forest.
"Blake, did you hear that?" She turns to her partner. "What should we do?"
Finally, the faint-but-growing-louder scream of "Heads uuuuuuuup!" is heard when Ruby falls from the sky and presumably crash lands to the ground.