"WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS!?"

Nothing about the plan was easy for Yang and Weiss. It didn't end at baiting the Nevermore into letting the two of them on top of its back. They had to worry about hanging on for dear life until the Nevermore got close enough for the two of them to dive off and land where the relics were.

In Yang's head, the plan was simple; mount the Nevermore, fly it where they needed to go, and then repeat their landing strategy. Even Weiss thought it was a good plan on paper, but now she saw it for what it was: a suicide mission. At any point, the Nevermore could shake them off. Then they would fall or be swallowed whole by the beast they rode on.

"THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!" Weiss yelled so her voice could be heard over the turbulent wind.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Yang asked in kind. "THIS IS AN AWESOME IDEA! WE'RE RIDING A NEVERMORE! WE'LL BE THE TALK OF THE SCHOOL FOR YEARS!"

"I WOULD RATHER BE ALIVE AND UNPOPULAR THAN DIE TRYING TO BE POPULAR!"

"COME ON, WEISS, YOU NEED TO LIVE A LITTLE!"

"YOU AND I HAVE VERY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF LIVING!"

Ruby and Blake slid down the hill they stood on when they found the ruins. They approached the site on foot, where they got a better look at the different chess pieces available for the taking.

"Any ideas?" Blake asked.

Ruby stood the side opposite Blake as she mulled over all the choices. From what she could gather, each chess piece had a matching pair. That could only mean two pairs of partners with a matching chess piece would become teams.

Two plus two equals four, Ruby figured. And whoever adds up to four will be together for all four years here, maybe longer.

Ruby looked around at the pieces available, letting her hunch pick the right one. She then focused on one of the gold chess pieces. She grabbed it, made her way to Blake, and showed it to her.

"I've got a good feeling about the knight," Ruby answered.

Blake looked, then smiled up at Ruby. "Works for me."

Ruby pocketed the chess piece. "Looks like we got lucky. Everybody else is probably still fighting Grimm just to get here."

"Do you think Yang will make it here?" Blake wondered.

"Oh, of course!" Ruby exclaimed. "She's terrific at unarmed combat! She even taught me how to hold my own in a brawl. But I don't think I'll ever be as good as her."

Blake smiled down at Ruby. "I'm sure you will. That's what we're all here for, to become full-fledged warriors. Plus, if she becomes part of our team, we can all learn from each other."

"True," Ruby replied, smiling brightly. "That would be neat." There was a pause, then she thought aloud, "I wonder if she got Weiss to tag along?"

Blake frowned. "Here's hoping she doesn't. She doesn't deserve you after what happened."

"Honestly, the whole thing was my fault," Ruby replied as she shook her head. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I could've handled the whole thing better. Besides, she didn't like that teams are basically random here, so I kind of feel bad for her."

"Then you're a bigger person than I am if you can forgive her," Blake mentioned. "Maybe you're the best pick to be a good team leader."

Ruby's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Me…?" she wondered. "Are you sure I'm cut out for it?"

"Of course. We've worked well together so far. And I prefer letting someone else take the lead."

Ruby paused to reflect on something her uncle told her when she was younger. She and Yang were playing video games together. They had the day off from Signal, so it was only natural that they spent their free time together. Their uncle joined in, they started talking, and the conversation naturally led to his time at Beacon Academy. He brought out a photograph that was lightly aged but still looked new. In the photo was himself in his youth, alongside Raven Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long—Ruby and Yang's father—and Summer Rose. She remembered the look on Yang's face when she saw both of her mothers together: surprise, then sadness.

Ruby felt the same way when she stared into the silver eyes of her mother. Ruby was only three when her mother left, so she remembered nothing of her. All she knew were stories about her mom and one other thing: she was the bravest woman her dad and her uncle had ever known.

"This was when I first met your parents," Qrow told them. "We were pretty well known back in the day. I like to think we still are."

"What was your team called?" Ruby wondered.

"Team STRQ. And technically, it was your mom's team. She became the head honcho."

"How did you guys figure that out?" Yang asked.

"Funny story, that. Most Huntsman academies let you pick your teammates or assign them to you. But at Beacon? It's both."

"How?" Ruby asked.

"When we got together to decide teams, we were all launched off platforms and into a big green forest. And when we landed, the first person we made eye contact with became our partner. I ended up with Raven while your old man and Summer paired up. We fought a lot of Grimm until we found objects on pedestals, which brought Team STRQ together."

"Like picking straws?"

"Something like that," Qrow continued. "There were twenty-eight people put into fourteen pairs. And those pairs became teams based on what object we picked. In this case, it was dice."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Dice?" she repeated with skepticism. "As in, the ones with six sides?"

"Actually, there were some with four sides, eight sides, and so on. The ones your parents and I picked were two dice that were twelve-sided. Ozpin has a weird fascination with game stuff. Dice, playing cards, even chess pieces."

"Sounds cool!" Ruby commented. "Do you…" she stopped when she realized what ground she was treading. "… Never mind. It's a silly question."

Qrow smiled. "There's no such thing as a silly question, kiddo. Shoot."

Ruby hesitated but continued. "Do you think you, Dad, and Raven will get back to being a team someday?"

Qrow and Yang shared a look with each other. The question was unexpected, but it was bound to come up eventually. Qrow let out a wistful sigh. "Dunno. Maybe. Stranger things have happened." He then frowned. "It certainly wouldn't be the same without your mom around."

Ruby was too young to understand what that meant. But now that she was older, she wished she hadn't. As a child, she was naive, but she was content with the idea that maybe, just maybe, Summer was alive. After all, they never found a body. But Summer's been gone for a while, and her family had searched for her for a long time. It was much safer to assume she was gone.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked, interrupting Ruby from her retrospection.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Ruby answered. "It's just that my mom was also a team leader when she attended Beacon."

Blake picked up on the subtle details. Ruby's melancholy, her use of the past tense… The woman Ruby mentioned, "Summer Rose," was dead. Her ears folded down within her bow, but Ruby didn't notice.

"My condolences," Blake muttered.

"Huh? Oh. Thanks…"

Before their silence grew too awkward, they flinched into combat-ready stances when they heard a high-pitched scream of pure terror. It came from the mouth of a cave that the two of them had overlooked.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Ruby called out.

"I think that was Jaune." Blake tried to sound calm as she pointed out that detail, but there was amusement in her tone.

"That was…!" Ruby glanced away to stare at Blake. "What?"

"Hey, if you've been trained to keep your senses sharp for as long as I have, you can pick up on these things too."

Ruby thought for a moment, then realized her teammate was right. That scream sounded less like it came from a girl and more boyish. Blake's Faunus hearing also picked up something else; she turned to look behind them and up at the sky. "I think we've got bigger problems."

Ruby looked over at Blake, then followed where she was facing to see a Nevermore flying toward their general area. Ruby brought out Crescent Rose in its rifle form with one hand while she used the other to fish out her binoculars to get a better look at the Nevermore. "… You're kidding."

"Hm? Do you see something else?"

"I SEE IT COMING UP!" Weiss called out. She leaned forward and squinted to get a better look, holding tight to not lose her balance. "THERE'S PEOPLE DOWN THERE ALREADY." She craned her head forward. "YANG, I THINK I SEE YOUR SISTER!"

"YOU DO?" Yang leaned in the same way that Weiss was. She immediately picked out the red-on-black figure down below. "YEAH, IT'S HER! GOOD EYE!"

"THANK YOU! NOW CAN WE PLEASE GET OFF THE NEVERMORE BEFORE WE GET OURSELVES KILLED!?"

"I'LL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD!"

"YOU BETTER STICK WITH ME!"

"WE'LL BE IN HUGGING DISTANCE I'LL BE SO CLOSE!"

That was the best assurance Weiss was going to get. She steeled herself. You've got this. You just used this landing strategy earlier and had less control over it then than you do now. Just make sure you don't leave Yang in the dust. A moment barely passed during her mental pep-talk, then she called out, "WE'LL JUMP ON THREE! ONE… TWO… THREE!"

Both of them leaped off the Nevermore together. Weiss set down two glyphs for both of them, followed by a third, then a fourth, and so on, as they began their dangerous descent. Yang, meanwhile, shadowed Weiss's movements flawlessly as she leaped from one glyph to the next.

Blake's eyes widened when she saw distinct white and yellow figures descending from the Nevermore. "That's Weiss and Yang!" she blurted out. "What are they doing riding a Nevermore!?"

"Eh, that's probably Yang's idea," Ruby nonchalantly answered as she put away her binoculars.

The two of them turned their attention back toward the cave entrance. Pyrrha was there now, shooting at a Death Stalker that emerged from a hole it made during its chase. Jaune was there too! He hung onto its tail for dear life, which Ruby felt was perfect because he was in an excellent position to attack its weak point. Unfortunately, he was also in a state of panic.

"THE STINGER, JAUNE!" Ruby tried to call out. "ATTACK ITS STINGER!"

Much to everyone's disappointment, the Death Stalker flung Jaune off its tail and sent him flying before he could react. Ruby and Blakefelt terrible for him, but the Doppler effect from his screaming overhead also made the situation far more hilarious than it should be. Worse, he was on a collision course toward intercepting Weiss, and against his will, Jaune hit his mark. They were both propelled into the canopy of a nearby tree.

Yang, however, was left to experience a free fall. Her velocity increased as she tumbled off the last glyph she was standing on and into nothing. Yang felt her long hair flapping away in the wind. Her eyes turned crimson as she fruitlessly flailed her arms. Panic set in and even overwhelmed her.

"Gotcha!"

From the outside, Yang's form became a streak of yellow that intertwined with rose red, forming a multi-colored corkscrew from Ruby's Semblance. The spiral then descended to where Blake was standing. And when both sisters rematerialized, Ruby stood with Yang in her arms in a bridal carry.

"Just dropping in?" Ruby quipped, taking the opportunity to act like a goofball.

Picking up on this, Yang brought her hand to her chest and gasped with an almost theatrical astonishment in her lilac eyes. "My hero!" Yang deftly grabbed Ruby's red hood with her other hand and pulled it over her head and down her face.

"H-Hey! Don't make me drop you!" Ruby exclaimed, already moving to let Yang slide out of her grasp and onto her feet. Yang started laughing, and Ruby gave in to the urge to do the same. Blake smiled as she saw how the two of them bonded.

Weiss brought herself down from the tree she and Jaune crashed into and dusted herself off. "I'm just fine!" she sneered, which got the attention of the rest of the group. "Thank you all for your concern."

Everyone was drawn to a roaring noise in the distance, followed by manic whooping and explosives going off. An Ursa emerged, running and doing its best to buck off the person riding on top of it.

"COME ON, BOY, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" Nora hollered. "GIDDY-UP!"

But the Ursa caught Nora off guard and flung her onto the ground. Upon impact, she lost hold of Magnhild, which slid out of her reach. Nora was left prone while her weapon was out of reach. She was vulnerable.

Ruby watched as the Ursa rushed in for the kill, and she was quick to act. She brought out Crescent Rose, but Ren leaped from a nearby tree, and in one fluid movement, he not only landed on the Grimm's back but also buried both of StormFlower's blades directly into its head. The Ursa was slain and fell forward. Ren gracefully rolled off the fading carcass and turned around as he stood up. Ren's back was to Nora while waiting to see if any other surprises would come out of the tree line. When he only heard silence and saw peacefulness, that was when he relaxed.

During all this, Yang ran in to grab Nora's weapon and then helped her up. "Hey, uh, Nora, was it?" Yang asked, offering her free hand. "Are you alright?"

Nora quickly grabbed Yang's hand and was pulled back onto her feet. "I'm more than alright! I had a blast!"

Yang found Nora's enthusiasm infectious and smiled. "Yeah, you looked like you were having fun." She passed Manghild back to Nora as she continued: "Guess I'm not the only one who thought riding a Grimm was a good idea, right Weiss?"

Weiss crossed her arms and frowned. "Evidently, half the people who pass this entrance exam are insane."

"I didn't hear a no!" Yang quipped.

Nora interjected, "And there's no better way of making an entrance than riding an Ursa into battle!"

Ren sighed. "It's also incredibly dangerous."

"Thank you!" Weiss exclaimed, just as Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha met up with the rest of the group. "Ren is right. That "plan" of yours could've gotten us killed!"

"But it didn't!" Yang shot back matter-of-factly before placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "And it's all thanks to Ruby! And if anything, Jaune was there to cushion your fall!"

Jaune was slightly surprised when his name was mentioned but lowered his head when he realized what Yang was talking about. "Uh, y-yeah… Don't mention it…"

Pyrrha went in front of Jaune and looked up at him. "And don't forget whose idea it was to go into that cave. You pretty much found a shortcut for us to go through."

While Pyrrha encouraged Jaune, Ruby went over to talk to Weiss directly. "Hey, Weiss? I just want you to know that I'm still sorry about what happened. I messed up when we first met and—"

"Let me stop you right there," Weiss interjected. "The whole thing was my fault, not yours. I acted like a brat when I should've given you a fair chance." She then gave a soft smile. "So if we do end up on the same team, I'm going to work hard to be the best teammate you'll ever have."

Ruby smiled back at Weiss. The moment between them was touching, and it felt like they were finally settling their differences, at least for now. But a thought occurred to Ruby at that moment.

Wait, weren't there two huge Grimm going after us?

Ruby's mental observation jinxed the situation; talons hit the ground as the earth quaked beneath everyone. Before they could look at the Nevermore, it raised its wings and let out a disorienting, almost ear-splitting screech. Ruby and the others covered their ears out of reflex, and that was precisely what the Nevermore counted on.

But just as the Nevermore intended to act, it felt a sharp pain at its side. The Grimm reeled back and let out another screech.

The Death Stalker from before had intervened; its stinger lodged through the giant bird's ribs. While the Nevermore was trying fruitlessly to kick away and flap at the Death Stalker, the others watched what was happening with astonishment. Grimm were typically creatures of pure instinct and thus lacked a greater intelligence than regular animals. But this was something they didn't know was possible.

"Uh, what's happening?" Nora wondered.

"I think that Nevermore was encroaching on the Death Stalker's territory," Weiss pointed out.

"Can they do that?" Jaune wondered, looking over. "Can they act territorial?"

"Evidently," Pyrrha remarked. "Still, I haven't seen anything like this before..."

"Who do we even attack?" Jaune asked.

There was a brief silence broken by the electronic chirp. Weiss, one the closest to the source of the noise, looked over to see who thought being in mortal danger was an excellent time to take photos. "Seriously!?"

"What!?" Ruby exclaimed defensively. "We might not see something like this again! And I have a new background for my Scroll!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. "Not to mention extra credit," she pointed out. After all, Ruby just captured photographic evidence of two megafauna Grimm attacking one another. But there was only one catch: "… Assuming we survive our initiation, of course."

Jaune looked between the fighting monsters and in the direction of the relics. "Now would be a good chance to snag the relics and make a break for it. If we're lucky, they'll be distracted enough to forget about us."

"But what about everyone else?" Blake asked. "I know mortal danger is a part of the initiation, but we can't just leave with these two Grimm here."

"She's right," Ruby interjected, standing before the group. "It's our mess, so we should clean it up. We'll grab the relics like Jaune suggested, but afterward, we need a plan of attack before it goes after the school."

Nobody said anything in response, but they didn't have to. As Ruby was the first to run to the relics, everyone else did the same. Yang hesitated only to admire how her younger sister was taking charge.

She's already starting to remind me of Mom, Yang noticed before joining the others.

The eight of them were within the ruins, which contained the different chess pieces available to them. There were plenty of options, despite Ruby and Blake grabbing one already. Ruby looked over and noticed her sister's hesitation. She was staring at the gold pieces and deciding which one to grab.

Ruby approached Yang and placed her hand on her sister's back. Yang noticed the gold knight in Ruby's other hand as she looked over. "You know, I was already leaning towards grabbing that one," Yang commented, even reaching out and doing so. If memory served her well (similar to what Ruby had about initiation at Beacon), this meant that Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang would become a team.

What's our team name going to be? Ruby wondered.

"I dunno… WYBR?"

Ruby snorted at the idea. "I don't think "wibber" is a color, Yang."

"You're the one who put me on the spot, you goober!"

Nora looked around for her own piece to grab. Ren watched while Jaune and Pyrrha were curious about what to expect. After a moment, Nora found one that caught her eye. She snatched one of the chess pieces from the pedestal and presented it to everyone else.

"King me!" Nora quipped.

Everyone else was a little confused, but Blake displayed outright mirth. With an amused squeak, she asked, "Aren't you thinking of checkers?"

"Yes, I am!" Nora answered as the grin on her face betrayed her carefree attitude.

Jaune cracked a smile of his own as he saw Nora's enthusiasm. "Works for me. The king it is." He went over to one of the pedestals and grabbed the identical piece, making two complete teams that had yet to be named.

The Nevermore finally broke free from the Death Stalker's stinger and flapped its wings, making it airborne and blowing back its opponent. The Death Stalker attempted to puncture the Nevermore again. Not only did it narrowly miss, but the Nevermore countered by grabbing the Death Stalker by its tail, flying towards the mountain, and slamming it into the rock face above the cave.

Ruby was the first to notice the Death Stalker's soft, exposed underbelly. Using her Semblance, she sped out of the ruins and towards her target. When Ruby materialized back into her physical form, her scythe was fully drawn as she used her momentum to drive the blade across its abdomen. Without any armor to protect the underside, the Death Stalker was doomed to a clean bisection. Both halves slid down the mountain face as they deteriorated, while Ruby landed back onto the ground in front of the group, crouched with her scythe held behind her.

The others showed varying degrees of surprise. Jaune was astonished by how Ruby took the Death Stalker down with minimal effort. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, Weiss crossed her arms and feigned aloofness. "I suppose you aren't that bad of a fighter for a grade skipper," Weiss commented, pretending she wasn't impressed a moment before.

Ruby stood up and collapsed Crescent Rose before putting it on her back. "Thank you, Weiss. Now how about we hunt that Nevermore?"