Attack on Titan: A New Path Chapter 47, an Attack on Titan/進撃の巨人 + RWBY Crossover fanfic

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Hellen Keller

Chapter 47: School Castes

*BEEP*

*CLICK*

With a groan and depressed sigh, Eren Yeager awoke from a rather troubled sleep. The alarm on his Scroll would normally be met with indifference or mild annoyance from the young man, but today was perhaps the first day Eren was glad the alarm woke him up.

His sleep didn't exactly come with nightmares, but the dreams and visions Eren witnessed weren't very pleasant either. They were mostly memories and past experiences, most of which came from Paradis and Marley rather than Remnant. Eren didn't stop and wonder why those experiences came during his last sleep, since all he wanted was to forget about it.

The best way to do that, in Eren's mind, was to get dressed and find his friends. As soon as he did the former, Eren exited his room and moved towards the room he expected to find his girlfriend.

"Hey, Cinder," Eren said as he knocked on Cinder's door. "Better get up, we-"

*CREAK*

When the door opened due to Eren's knocking, the only sight to behold was an empty room. Cinder's missing presence would normally be a red flag, but Eren suddenly recalled that he wouldn't find her anywhere in the house.

Or the Kingdom, for that matter.

"Oh... right."

Whether it was the fact that he just woke up or that he simply didn't want to remember, Eren realized that Cinder and most of his friends were gone now. Instead of working on the farm or using Titans to help the town, Cinder was at Beacon Academy with Ren, Nora, Mercury, Emerald, and Midori. They had all been invited to attend the school by Professor Ozpin, who wished to show them what being Huntsmen and Huntresses was actually like.

As well as keep a closer eye on them while challenging Cinder's criticism of the Huntsman system.

Eren then realized why his sleep was riddled with his worst memories of Paradis and Marley. The events he witnessed were the times when Eren felt truly alone, when he spent years on Marley and days in Paradis' dark dungeons. Eren didn't have much to rely on during those times, just himself and his instinct to keep moving forward. But that didn't change how lonely he felt.

Just like those times, Eren began to feel like he was alone. He had put on a brave face when he said goodbye, but his missing friends made Eren feel just as lonely as he used to feel on Paradis and Marley.

And the voice in his head didn't help either.

"You may be lonely, Eren... but you will never be alone. I hope you will remember that."

"..."

The God of Darkness had recovered from the last conversation he had with Eren. It was a time where Eren gained the upper hand, but it was a temporary victory. Eren realized that easily, just like he realized that he didn't have the energy to tell Darkness to be quiet. He did, however, remind himself that he would have to deal with Darkness and his constant interference with his life.

That was, after all, the reason Eren stayed behind in Kuroyuri rather than join his friends at Beacon.

Despite his dampened spirits, Eren decided that there was no time like the present to deal with his problems. After making sure that he was alone, Eren took a seat in the living room and stopped delaying the inevitable.

"Are you still there?" he asked.

"I never left," Darkness replied.

Eren didn't feel strange for talking into an apparently empty room, since his had been forced to do so countless times already. So, he continued the conversation.

"This isn't working," Eren said. "None of it is."

"Clearly," Darkness agreed. "I suppose you want me to leave, is that it? You're not in any position to make demands of me, Eren."

"Neither are you."

"No? Then why are you here? All alonewhile your friends are working to change the world?"

The god's words struck a nerve within Eren, but he restrained his anger; it hardly did anything with Darkness. But that didn't mean Eren was out of options.

"It's like I said," Eren argued. "I'm not locked up here with you. You're locked up here with me. You always have been."

Darkness recalled these words from the last time Eren engaged in conversation with him. They had wounded his pride, just as they revealed the true nature of Darkness' situation.

"So..." Darkness said after he collected his thoughts. "You refuse to release me, just as I refuse to leave. If I didn't know any better... I would say that leaves us at an impasse."

"It looks that way," Eren replied, oddly finding himself in agreement with Darkness.

"Do not despair, my son. I believe we can find some grounds for agreement."

Eren's doubts and distrust naturally returned. "I don't want to hear about any 'agreement.' I want this to stop."

"..."

"Right here. Right now."

Darkness understood Eren's desire. And he also understood the lengths Eren would go to in order to get what he wanted. Though Darkness didn't believe he had anything to fear from Eren, he still had use for his champion. In order to accomplish this, Darkness now understood that a new approach was needed.

"Do you recall what I told you during your hearing with your Council?" Darkness asked. "All I wish is to rebuild the trust we once shared. We trusted each other in our quest to stop Salem, did we not?"

Eren remembered this, as well as a few other things that happened after the quest had ended. "That's not going to happen," he said. "I'm not letting my guard down when it comes to you."

"I understand your reluctance. But my offer is sincere. Let us use this time to rebuild our trust. I believe I know a few ways to accomplish this."

Eren still doubted this, and he decided to challenge the claim rather than remain stubborn. "Name one."

"Very well. How about this 'Relic' we uncovered?"

"..."

Eren's silence ironically spoke volumes for Darkness. Despite everything, neither of them had forgotten what they discovered underneath Haven Academy. And they were both just as curious about it.

"There, you see?" Darkness asked rhetorically. "It still puzzles you, doesn't it?"

Eren decided to challenge Darkness once again, while simultaneously satisfying his own curiosity. "You... really didn't know anything about it?" he asked.

"I know just as much as you, Eren. And to think it somehow eluded me all this time."

"..."

"And I know what you're thinking. If we discovered this 'Relic' under one academy..."

"What else is out there?" Eren asked, finishing Darkness thought.

Darkness was greatly pleased with this progress. "I wish to know as well," he said. "And if we work together, I believe we can find an answer."

"..."

"Let me help you, Eren. Let me earn back your trust."

Eren had to admit that he wanted to know more about the Relic, and he also wanted to find out if more existed. But the idea of trusting Darkness was a great risk, and trust could easily be broken at the first sign of deception. And deception was practically Darkness' middle name.

However, Eren didn't know who else he could rely on. His most trusted friends were in a different Kingdom. And while Carla and Dina were always there for him, Eren didn't think they could help with something like this.

The more Eren thought about it, the more the idea became... tempting.

"I-"

*BAM*

Suddenly, the front door opened to reveal one of Carla's farmhands. It was a man named Abraham, who knew Eren rather well. And seeing Eren in the living room was a miracle for him.

"Eren!" Abraham addressed the young man. "Thank God you're here, we need your help!"

"What's wrong?" Eren said as he quickly got off the chair.

"A couple of Centinels dug into the field! And they must've done something to Vernal, that condition of her's is going wild!"

Eren was well aware of Vernal's condition. They had made progress controlling it, but the transformations came in the presence of Grimm. And a surprise such as this was certainly cause for a lack of control.

And when that happened, it was up to Eren to help.

"Let's go!" Eren said as he ran towards the door.

As he ran with Abraham, Eren thought about his conversation with Darkness. He really wanted to know more about the Relics, but trusting Darkness was a decision that needed more thought. And as the morning had shown him, Eren was still needed in Kuroyuri. The family and friends he had in the small city depended on him, and he refused to ignore this responsibility.

Just as Darkness said, Eren was certainly at an impasse.

"I hope Cinder and the others are having a better time than me," the young man lamented as he prepared for battle.

*WHOOSH*

Cinder immediately felt the cool air rushing on her face and body as she flew higher and higher. This wasn't an uncommon feeling to her, since fighting with Dancing Midnight had taken her to new heights each and every time she used it. Only now, instead of flying higher, Cinder planned to use Dancing Midnight to catch her during her descent.

*THWIP*

Two hooks made contact with the trees and made Cinder's descent faster. But rather than land on the ground immediately, Cinder made the gear swing her back to the top of the trees, where she performed two spins. After this feat, Cinder fired her hooks at the trees again so she could be taken closer to the ground.

*THWIP*

Thanks to the swing and spins slowing her fall, Cinder could fly through the trees until she found a spot to land. Her choice in this case was a spot where a Beowolf had just noticed her. Unfortunately for the Grimm, it noticed her too late.

*SHICK*

Cinder used her swords to effortlessly slice the Grimm's stomach, which caused its upper half to fall to the ground. "Yes!" Cinder said as she reveled in the small victory. "Top that, Eren!"

"..."

"Oh… right."

After Cinder remembered that she was alone, she took a moment to make sure that there were no other Grimm in her immediate surroundings. Sensing no danger, Cinder placed her swords back in their sheaths and started walking. Rather than talk out loud again, Cinder turned her thoughts inward and analyzed the situation.

"Okay… we're going to the northern end of the forest to get a relic," she said to herself. "It's gotta be related to what Eren found at Haven. I wonder what it is?"

"..."

Cinder took another moment to look around and be aware of her surroundings. "Ozpin said we would be monitored out here. Looks like I'm not using my Titan, then. I hope everyone else remembers that."

"..."

"Speaking of everyone else, I should try to find a teammate." Cinder began walking again as she searched for other people. "Gods, please let me find my friends. Please let me find my friends."

"..."

As she continued her search, Cinder prepared herself for the possibility of meeting other people instead of her friends. "It'll be hard, but I guess I could make it work," she thought to herself. "I've already met a few people who aren't complete assholes. Like Ruby. She's nice, and Summer asked me to keep an eye on her. Teaming up with her might help me see why Ozpin wanted her too."

"..."

"Yang seems okay. I wonder why she was so interested in what I've been doing in Mistral? Nobody else seems that interested. Blake was interested too, but I should keep my distance. Eren may have erased her memory, but who knows if it'll come back to her?"

"..."

"Pyrrha would be a good teammate. Us Mistralians should stick together. That Jaune guy is kinda weird, though. And not just his flirting, he was pretty clueless back on the cliff. What's up with that?"

"..."

"But the one person I can't end up with is Weiss. Yeesh, she's probably worse than Winter ever was. I know Winter changed her mind about us, but Weiss hates me with a passion. Fat chance we could work together."

*GROWL*

Cinder's focus on the real world returned when she heard a low growl. As soon as she prepared herself for a fight, a small pack of Beowolves appeared before her and attacked. Using her Volant, Cinder leapt into the air and avoided the sharp claws. She then used her new height to combine her swords and fire three arrows at the Grimm.

*SHICK*

All shots met their target, but one Grimm survived the attack. It turned around to face Cinder when she landed, and Cinder quickly pulled another arrow from her weapon. She was about to fire it, but the Grimm was struck once more by two sharp objects.

*SHICK*

Two blades on chains came from above and dug into the Beowolf's shoulders. The creature was then pulled upward when a figure jumped off a branch and pulled. The figure was revealed to be Emerald, who used the branch and Thief's Respite as a pulley to help Cinder. Once the Grimm was high above the ground, Emerald pulled harder on the chains to finish the job.

*SNAP*

*THUD*

The sound of bones breaking and the sight of a decomposing Grimm told the girls that their target had been killed. With the distraction now settled, Cinder and Emerald acknowledged the fact that they would be on the same team.

And they couldn't be happier.

"Oh, am I glad to see you," Cinder said with relief.

"You too," Emerald agreed with a smile. "If I got partnered with Mercury, I would have died."

The two friends set off towards their shared objective. After a few minutes of walking through the woods, Cinder had the idea to use Dancing Midnight to travel up a tall tree Emerald had pointed out. From there, Cinder would try to find the ruins Ozpin had mentioned earlier, and hopefully retrieve whatever Relics he had hidden there faster.

"See anything?" Emerald asked.

"Just the rest of the forest," said Cinder. "But it's pretty misty way up there." Cinder looked down and pointed in the direction she was looking in. "That way is north, right?"

"Yeah, you got it." Emerald had a good lay of the land, so she knew that Cinder was looking in the right direction.

Confident in Emerald's assessment, Cinder used her weapon to get back on the ground. "Guess that's our destination."

"Yeah. Kinda wish we had the Dark Wing right now."

"Me too."

Cinder and Emerald began to walk through the woods once more, cutting through branches and Grimm alike. Despite this being a Huntsman Academy, Cinder couldn't help but feel that fighting the Grimm was too easy. Between Eren's training and going against the likes of Salem, fighting the Grimm wasn't very difficult. The idea of different variants was challenging in hindsight, but Cinder made short work of them with Emerald.

However, Cinder felt that there was something hard that she needed to do. It was part of the reason that she was so grateful to be partnered with Emerald in the forest. She hadn't told anyone, but Cinder had been looking for a way to talk to Emerald alone. And now, it seemed like the opportunity had found her.

"Hey, Emerald," Cinder began as she continued to walk through the woods. "I probably asked this before but… are you okay? I mean… being here? Instead of Kuroyuri?"

Emerald stopped walking when she heard this question. "Me?" Emerald asked. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. I know this whole thing isn't a walk through the park, but this wouldn't be the first time someone talked down to me. It's fine."

Cinder recalled what some people at Beacon had said to her with ease. Hardly any of it was pleasant, but she had been able to tolerate it. So it was comforting that people like Emerald were able to tolerate it too, but that was only half of Cinder's concern.

"In that case, I also wanted to say thanks," Cinder continued. "You know, for coming all this way with me."

"Oh, that's okay," Emerald insisted. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Maybe not for you." Cinder chuckled as she said this. "If I came here alone, I probably would have died."

Emerald briefly laughed as she began to walk again. "Come on, we both know this place has nothing on us. Especially you."

Cinder walked with Emerald again, but she wasn't done talking just yet. "Yeah, but I'm glad you're all here with me. Even if I don't deserve it."

Emerald didn't stop walking, but she continued to talk and listen to Cinder along the way. "What do you mean?"

"Well, after all that stuff I said before… I really don't deserve you guys."

"Before?"

"The night we found out Eren couldn't come too."

"..."

Emerald recalled the night when she and her friends found out that Eren hadn't been well for quite some time. Having the God of Darkness' voice in his head had put too much strain on Eren, so it was easy to agree that he needed to stay behind and work things out.

Everyone but Cinder.

Cinder recalled being adamant about Eren coming with her, which led to her lashing out at everyone who disagreed. Cinder had said a lot of things she regretted, and she still regretted it even though she wasn't at Beacon alone. Cinder had apologized, but she hadn't explained why she told Emerald that she wasn't like Eren.

And now, Cinder wanted to set things right.

"I know I said it before, but I'm really sorry about that night," Cinder began. "I shouldn't have said any of that stuff to begin with."

Emerald knew what Cinder was referring to, but it was easy to forgive her when the situation was put into perspective. "Cinder, it's okay," Emerald insisted. "I get it."

This was actually something Cinder didn't believe. "Actually, Emerald, I'm not sure you do. I'm not sure anybody does." Before Emerald could say anything else, Cinder did her best to explain herself. "Ever since I met Eren, he made me feel like a whole different person. I haven't been weak, alone, or even scared like I used to be when I was a kid. He always made me believe he could do anything, that he could be anything. And that made me believe I could be anything too." Cinder had been smiling as she recounted all those details, but the smile ran away when she made her final remark. "I never knew how dependent I was on that belief. I don't know how to react to hearing that he wasn't going to be around all the time. Being without him just… put the fear of the Gods in me. I'm sorry I took it out on you."

"..."

Cinder believed that she had been rambling on, even though what she said was the truth. And she was sure that it was hard for someone else to understand, since these were Cinder's own feelings. "I mean, I know how that sounds, but-"

"No, I get it," said Emerald. "Really. I mean, I know I can't live up to Eren. Nobody can. And I know what it's like to feel really dependent on someone. You helped me get over that, remember?"

"..."

Cinder recalled talking about how overly-concerned Emerald was about her. It was a brutally honest conversation, but it began to make Emerald see that she shouldn't feel the need to have Cinder at the forefront of her decisions. Emerald believed Ren and Eren helped with that as well, and now she was ready to teach it all back to Cinder.

"And remember what Eren said back then?" she continued. "He said I became brave, that I got a chance to learn who I really was. I think he was right, and I think the same thing could be said about you. You can be just as brave and independent as I needed to be. I know this isn't the ideal setting, but… this might be the opportunity to do so."

"..."

Cinder had never thought about it like that. It was true that Eren had always been a source of strength for Cinder, and she believed his absence would be fatal while she was at Beacon. However, she hadn't accepted the possibility that she could grow stronger by being at Beacon. Cinder knew that would always need Eren in her life, but having a chance to grow during the inevitable hardship at Beacon was definitely possible.

And it warmed Cinder's heart knowing that someone she trusted believed she could do it.

"You really think I can do it?" Cinder asked.

"Of course," Emerald insisted. "If Beacon can't stop you, then nothing will. I'm sure of it." Emerald pointed north, where the ruins were. "But how about we put it to the test?"

"Great idea."

As they promised earlier, Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch were observing the students within the Emerald Forest. They hadn't left the spot where the students left from, and they were simply waiting for everyone to accomplish their task. Ozpin was observing the events that were transpiring on his Scroll while Glynda was walking behind him with a tablet.

"The last pair has been formed, sir," she said calmly. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. It seems the Hunt Inquisitorius is still together, more or less." While Glynda had a small degree of pity for someone as quiet as Ren working with someone as rambunctious as Nora, Glynda was much more interested in the Hunt Inquisitorius.

But Ozpin didn't seem too interested, given his silent response.

"But, they're probably better off than Ms. Nikos," Glynda said as the screen on her tablet changed from Ren and Nora to Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Mmm…" Ozpin hummed, taking an apparent interest in Pyrrha's progress. But other than Jaune's surprising inexperience, there didn't seem to be much to report.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat," Glynda said before she lowered her tablet. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?"

"..."

"Professor Ozpin?"

Glynda was used to silence occasionally being a response from Ozpin, but she was curious when his attention seemed to be captured by his Scroll. When she looked over his shoulder for a moment, Glynda saw that he was watching a video of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. The two were officially teammates now, and they were currently trying to find their way to the forest temple.

"It's definitely this way," said Weiss, who walked in one direction while Ruby sat still. Suddenly, Weiss changed her mind and moved in another direction. "I mean… this way! It's definitely this way!" Weiss suddenly moved back to Ruby. "Alright, it's official; we passed it."

Ozpin was mildly amused by Weiss trying to figure out where to go, but not by the argument that ensued. Ruby was tired of Weiss pretending that she knew everything, while Weiss was tired of the criticism she was receiving.

"Why are you so bossy?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not bossy!" Weiss insisted. "Don't say things like that!"

"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."

"You don't even know me…"

Ozpin mentally sighed as he watched the argument unfold. "No, Ms. Rose," he said to himself. "She does not."

"..."

After a moment, Ozpin decided to change the cameras to see how other pairs of teammates were doing. But to his surprise, the next camera he chose was showing static. And when he chose another one, static was also on the screen.

"Excuse me, Glynda," he said to his colleague. "You tested the cameras after they were installed, yes?"

"Of course, sir," said Glynda. "I tested them all personally." Glynda recalled this memory with ease, which only made her confused about Ozpin's question. "Why do you ask?"

"It appears two of them have gone offline."

"Offline?" Glynda looked at her tablet to see which cameras were indeed offline. "That's strange. Those cameras were brand new. Perhaps a stray bullet or Grimm broke them?"

"Perhaps."

Glynda continued to look at her tablet to see that another camera had gone offline. Ozpin noticed this as well, and also noticed an apparent pattern. The cameras were all numbered differently, but according to the map, they were all in a line across the Emerald Forest that led towards the ruins.

And if that wasn't odd enough, another camera caught the appearance of a black foot and leg before it was crushed.

"Sir," Glynda said with a gasp. "Did… Did you see that?"

"Yes," said Ozpin. "Be ready. For anything."

As instructed, several pairs of students had found their way to the abandoned ruins. There, they discovered that the relics Ozpin had mentioned were several chess pieces. They all differed in size and shape, and they were all either gold or black. The students weren't told which ones to pick, so they chose a pair of their own and left without question.

A new pair of students entered the ruins, revealing themselves to be Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. Blake had made contact with Yang by saving her from an Ursa, though Yang jokingly claimed that she could have handled it after she already killed one. Other than that, the girls had no real complaints or objections about being teammates.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked as she looked around.

Blake gave Yang an incredulous look before moving downhill. With Yang following, Blake observed the items on several pedestals.

"Chess pieces?" she asked curiously. Blake knew all about chess, but she was wondering what had driven Ozpin to choose such a relic.

"Some of them are missing," Yang observed. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well, I guess we should pick one."

*BAM*

*CRASH*

Before Yang or Blake could choose a piece, the sound of something emerging from the woods. It was two decomposing Creeps, who had been unlucky enough to cross paths with Mercury and Midori. Midori had just cut the Grimm with Scalpel, a weapon that was long overdue to taste the flesh of its enemies. Mercury had managed to make some last minute upgrades and tuneups, which pleased Midori greatly.

But she was more pleased to see the abandoned ruins Ozpin had described.

"Look, there it is!" Midori said as she moved downhill. "I told you that painting was saying the cave was the wrong way."

"Hey, I didn't doubt you," Mercury assured his partner. "I just thought the cave would be more fun." Mercury polished his boots free of ash as he walked, showing that he had killed numerous Grimm. But he stopped cleaning them when he noticed Blake and Yang. "Hey, what's up?"

"Chess pieces," Yang casually replied as she pointed towards the pedestals.

Mercury took a look at the so-called relics and became puzzled. "Wait, that's what we're looking for?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Blake replied. "But they're here, aren't they?"

"I guess," Mercury replied. "These just… aren't what I was expecting." Like Cinder, Mercury initially believed the relics would be like the lamp he and his friends found in Mistral.

Yang decided to take a piece before any ran out. Her eyes eventually landed on a gold horse, which she held up to Blake. "How about a cute little pony?" she asked.

"Sure," Blake replied with a smirk.

Midori looked at the piece Yang had and liked what she was thinking. "Oh, I like that one too!" she said to Mercury. "Let's get it!"

Mercury complied with the request, but he chose a black one instead of the gold piece. "This black one's kinda cool," he said, meeting Midori halfway.

"That wasn't too hard!" said Yang, who was feeling accomplished in her quest.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find," said Blake, who smiled with Yang.

*THWIP*

*SHICK*

Seemingly in response to Blake's point, two more people had arrived at the area. Cinder and Emerald had also found the ruins with ease, and their weapons had made the adventure rather quick. Dancing Midnight allowed Cinder to move through the forest without the need to walk, and Emerald decided to take a page from Cinder's book and use Thief's Respite to swing on the tree branches. This was the first time she had tried such a method, so she was a bit slower than Cinder. But once Cinder gave Emerald some help, swinging as if her chains were like vines proved to be much faster than walking.

And the results paid off when the pair found themselves at the abandoned ruins.

"How… How do you make it look so easy?" Emerald asked as she caught her breath. "My arms are killing me."

Cinder laughed as she gently tapped Dancing Midnight. "I can't take all the credit," she said. "The fuel did half the work. The rest was just my gear retracting the hooks. Try working with the retractions; I know Thief's Respite can retract."

"Yeah, I'll remember that. Maybe Mercury could make it go faster." Emerald looked behind Cinder to see that the boy in question was waving at her. "Speaking of which…"

Cinder turned around to see Mercury and Midori waving. After they briefly waved back, Cinder and Emerald moved down the hill to meet their friends and two acquaintances.

"Hey, guys," Cinder said to Mercury and Midori. "Looks like you beat us here, huh?"

"Don't be surprised," Mercury said with a cocky attitude. "I was always fast." Emerald rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Look at this, Cinder," Midori said as she pointed to the pedestals. "It looks like Ozpin wanted us to take these things."

Cinder observed the pedestals with ease and came to the same conclusion as Mercury. "Chess pieces" she said. "These are supposed to be relics?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," said Mercury. "Not what we were expecting, huh, Cinder?"

The girl in question knew Mercury was referring to the lamp in Mistral, and she agreed with her friend. "No, definitely not."

Yang suddenly stepped in to make everyone focus. "You better go ahead and pick one," she said. "We weren't the first ones here, and they're going fast."

Emerald looked at the empty pedestals and agreed with her acquaintance. "Yeah, she's right," she said. "Got any preference, Cinder?"

"We went with the horse," said Midori. "I think it looks nice."

Cinder turned to the closest horse piece, which was another black one. "Oh, wow," she said as she took it. "You know, it actually reminds me of home."

"Oh, yeah," said Emerald. "Me too."

The idea made Yang a little curious. Remembering her earlier desire to know Cinder better, Yang moved a little closer and initiated conversation again. "You have ponies where you're from?" she asked.

"Horses, actually," Cinder corrected. "We live on a farm."

"Really? Was that before or after you became-?"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

A loud, high-pitched scream caught everyone's attention immediately. "Some girl's in trouble!" said Yang. "Blake, did you hear that?"

"How can you not hear something like that?" Mercury asked rhetorically.

Yang dismissed Mercury's sarcasm, but acknowledged the fact that she wasn't the only one who heard the scream. "Well, what should we do?"

Before anyone could answer or go searching for the distressed student, another scream from above caught their attention.

"Heads uuuuuuuuuup!"

Everyone looked up to see that Ruby was falling from the sky. Nobody knew how she had gotten up there in the first place, but she was coming towards the ground dangerously fast. But at the last second, Ruby crashed into a tree thanks to Jaune flying out of the forest.

Though the impact was rather painful.

*CRASH*

"Ohhhh…" Ruby groaned as she saw stars. What was that?"

"Ahem," said a familiar voice. Ruby looked up to see Jaune hanging upside down. "Hey, Ruby."

Everyone on the ground stared at the tree in awe. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang.

"I-"

*CRASH*

Several noises from the tree line made everyone turn and see an Ursa emerge with a roar. But before it could attack, a pink blast of energy knocked the Grimm down and revealed a person on its back.

"Yee-haw!" Nora yelled with a smile. Once she saw that the Grimm was dead, Nora rolled off its back and groaned. "Aw, it's broken."

Ren arrived next, panting and leaning against the decomposing Grimm. "Nora!" he said as he began to catch his breath. "Please… don't ever do that again."

"It's Ren and Nora!" Cinder said with glee.

"Looks like they improvised too," said Midori.

"Hey, guys!" Emerald yelled with a wave. "Down here!"

Ren and Nora looked downhill to see their friends. Ren was glad to see that everyone appeared to be alright, and so was Nora. However, Nora's attention was captured by the chess pieces. Not only did she pick one without hesitation, but she also began to sing and dance with it as if it was a toy.

"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" Nora playfully sang. Cinder couldn't help but giggle in amusement, since Nora used to do the same thing when they were younger. Cinder and Nora used to play dolls together, and Nora would sometimes sing the song and make the dolls dance, which amused Cinder.

Ren wasn't too entertained, however, since he called her name to make her stop.

"Nora!" he said in annoyance.

Nora stopped singing and took the chess piece off her head. "Coming, Ren!" she said, taking the chess piece with her.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked Yang.

"I-"

*SCREECH*

The sound of another Grimm entering the area made everyone look and see Pyrrha fighting off a massive Deathstalker. Cinder and her friends, like the other students, were familiar with this Grimm. However, none of them had fought a Deathstalker very recently, and the size of it was definitely intimidating. It had even made Pyrrha focus on retreat rather than fighting.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, hoping to find her partner.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called back.

Ruby stood up and looked down at the creature. "Whoa!" she said before she ran off the branch and rolled onto the ground.

"Ruby!" Jaune pleaded, not wanting to be on the tree alone.

Ruby felt bad about forgetting Jaune, but her worries were cast aside when she stood up and saw Yang alive and unharmed. "Yang!" she called out in relief.

"Ruby!" Yang cried as she shared the same relief.

"Nora!" said Nora, stepping between the sisters and including herself in the conversation for no reason at all.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake asked Yang once more.

Rather than attempt to give an answer, Yang literally burst into flames and shouted at the top of her voice. "I can't take it anymore!" she said. "Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens?!"

"..."

Everyone around Yang complied with the request. None of them made a sound for a few seconds, in both compliance and shock at Yang bursting into flames apparently on her own. Ren took the time to check in on Nora, while everyone else looked back to the sky when they noticed something strange.

"Um… Yang?" Ruby asked as she pulled on her sister's sleeve. When she had her attention, Ruby pointed towards the sky so Yang could see what she was seeing.

And what they were seeing wasn't good at all.

Not only was there a giant Nevermore flying above the ruins, with everyone below in its sights, but Weiss Schnee was hanging on one of its talons. And judging by what she said, Weiss wasn't happy about being so far off the ground and close to a large Grimm.

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss yelled down to Ruby.

"I said 'jump!'" Ruby replied in defense.

"Wait a minute," said Emerald. "You were riding that thing?"

"Damn," said Mercury. "And I thought Nora was the wild one."

"She's gonna fall," Blake pointed out.

"She'll be fine," Ruby insisted.

"She's falling," Ren observed, disproving Ruby's claim.

Oddly enough, it was Jaune who took the initiative to help the falling Weiss. After he stood up and saw what was happening, Jaune ran off the branch and jumped with his arms wide open. And as luck would have it, Jaune had managed to catch Weiss.

"Just… dropping in?" Jaune said to a speechless Weiss.

"..."

Unfortunately, both Jaune and Weiss remembered that they were dropping in. In other words, Jaune's decision had done nothing to prevent the both of them falling and screaming towards the ground once more.

*BAM*

Jaune landed first, painfully so. His armor had taken some of the impact, but the fall was still painful. And it didn't help that Weiss had fallen onto his back in a seated position.

*BAM*

"My hero," Weiss sarcastically remarked as stayed where she was.

"My back," Jaune groaned as Weiss refused to move.

"Oooh," Nora groaned as she saw Jaune on the ground. "That's gonna leave a mark."

"I'll give him a hand," said Midori, who rushed over to use Healing Wish on Jaune's back. Just as she left, Pyrrha slid across the ground next to everyone after being hit by the Deathstalker.

"Great, the gang's all here!" Yang said sarcastically. "Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it!" said Ruby, who took off running with Crescent Rose in hand.

With a battle cry, one that drowned out Yang's plea to wait, Ruby met the Deathstalker head-on. When the opponents met, the Grimm knocked the young girl back a few feet. Ruby wasn't seriously hurt, though her confidence had taken a hit as well.

"D-Don't worry!" Ruby said as she got back up. "Totally fine!"

After she got back on her feet, Ruby fired multiple bullets at the Grimm's skull before she turned around and ran back towards Yang. The Deathstalker was unfazed by the bullets, and its main objective was to kill the girl who attacked it.

This effort became much easier when the Nevermore released multiple sharpened feathers from its wings. For one of these feathers had struck through Ruby's cloak and hit the ground, leaving her trapped and ripe for the Grimm's picking.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang implored.

"I'm trying!" Ruby insisted as she tried to remove her cloak from the feather. Her efforts proved to be in vain when she saw the Deathstalker raise its golden stinger and move it down towards her.

"RUBY!"

*WHOOSH*

Two things flew past Yang after she reached out towards her sister. The first was an explosive arrow that Cinder fired at the Deathstalker, which exploded in its face. And the second was Weiss, who froze the stinger with Ice Dust before it could move.

As Ruby and Weiss discussed their partnership, with Weiss promising to be nicer if Ruby promised to stop overextending herself, Yang turned around to see Cinder lowering her bow. "Thanks!" she said before she rang off to check on her sister.

"Don't mention it," Cinder replied, even though Yang couldn't hear her.

"Nice shot, Cinder!" said Emerald.

"Yeah, that was a close one!" Nora agreed.

Mercury leaned over to Cinder and whispered to her. "Be honest; you were aiming for the Schnee, weren't you?"

Cinder smirked as she playfully rolled her eyes. "Nah," she replied. "Winter would probably kill me if I did."

Ren also leaned over to Cinder so he could whisper to her. "Ruby seems a bit headstrong," he observed. "Do you still think Ozpin wants the same thing from her as Summer?"

Cinder knew that Ren was right to ask, and she was also curious about the idea. "Well, she's definitely younger than the rest of us," she noted. "But that might make it easier for Ozpin to make her into his ideal version of a Huntress." Cinder turned to Ren and finished her thought. "And a school might be the perfect place to teach her."

"Indeed."

"Guys?" Jaune called out. "That thing's circling back!" Everyone looked to see the giant Nevermore was indeed circling back. "What are we gonna do?"

"Nothing," said Cinder. "Leave the Grimm alone. Your pieces are right over there." Cinder pointed towards the ruins, right where the chess pieces were waiting.

"She's right," Ruby agreed. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs." After she nodded to Weiss, Ruby repeated Cinder's point. "There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live," Jaune replied. "That's an idea I can get behind!"

Ruby and Jaune went back towards the ruins and grabbed their pieces. Ruby found a piece like the one Yang took while Jaune took a piece that was similar to Nora's. After they smiled at each other, Ruby and Jaune looked to their allies and showed them their pieces.

"Time we left!" said Ren, who noticed that the ice on the Deathstalker's tail was starting to crack.

"Right," Ruby said as she waved to the others. "Let's go!" Ruby was ready to lead everyone back to safety, to get back to Beacon and finally become the Huntress she dreamed of being.

However, these dreams became threatened with a terrible reality.

*CRASH*

After everyone had moved behind cover from the Nevermore, which was perched on top of the ruins, they students all heard a strange sound coming from behind them.

*CRASH*

The sound of trees being broken made everyone believe that the Deathstalker had managed to catch up to them. While there wasn't a Deathstalker in sight, everyone agreed that there was trouble behind them.

"Well, that's great," Yang sarcastically remarked after the Nevermore screeched loudly.

Everyone agreed with the sentiment, but Mercury was the first to see that things were getting worse when the sound of trees breaking was followed by something else.

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

Mercury turned towards the two sounds and listened closely. As he did, fear began to run within him. After he made sure that Cinder, Emerald, Ren, and Nora were all accounted for, Mercury knew that something was wrong.

Horribly, horribly wrong.

"I know that sound," he said.

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

Cinder also recognized the sound, as did Emerald, Ren, Nora, and Midori. When they turned around and saw that everyone they knew was among them, Cinder and the rest of her friends knew the sound of footsteps combined with the crashing of trees couldn't be mistaken.

And it wasn't the footsteps of a Deathstalker, which would have come much quicker. These footsteps were slow and heavy, like the feet of a giant. And as it turned out, there were indeed the feet of a giant.

A giant that made its presence known to the children with a mighty roar.

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

*ROAR*

When the roar reached everyone's ears, all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in training could see that a Titan had joined the battle. Just like the ones at Salem's castle, there was a Pure Titan standing high above the warriors. And once the beast's red eyes made contact with the people at its feet, everyone felt the same fear and dismay as Cinder and her friends.

"Oh. My. God," said Yang, who had forgotten about the Nevermore. Ruby moved behind Yang for protection, but found no security with her sister.

"Wh… What?" asked Weiss, who felt the same fear as Ruby. "It… It can't be." She moved closer to Pyrrha for help, but Pyrrha was just as afraid as Ruby.

As were Blake and Jaune, who dropped their weapons in shock.

"What… is that?" asked Jaune, having no familiarity with the beast.

Cinder was also shocked by the Grimm, but her experience allowed her to regain her bearings. "A… A Titan," she said quietly, having lost her voice for a moment. But she found it again when the Titan began to charge towards the group. "Get out of its way!"

*CRASH*

Everyone scattered in various directions and avoided the Titan's fists and feet. Emerald and Mercury were the first pair to reunite, and they observed the Titan with its own eyes.

"What… What the hell?!" Emerald said as she stared at the Grimm. "That shouldn't be here!"

"No shit, Em!" said Mercury. "But it is! And I know that's not Eren in there!" Mercury had made a similar mistake before, but he knew the Pure Titan couldn't be Eren. It was impossible before, and it was impossible now.

"Guys! Over here!"

Emerald and Mercury looked to see Cinder and Midori at a different part of the ruins. When they saw the duo waving to them, Mercury and Emerald took a risk and rejoined their friends as fast as they could. Mercury's natural speed aided him, while Emerald was able to use Thief's Respite to swing across the ruins. It was still a difficult feat, but it was much faster than running.

Once the group was reunited, they all looked at the Titan. It had scared the other students, but they had managed to escape. However, it began to gave chase to Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, who were forced to run towards the cliff that the Nevermore was waiting on.

While everyone shared the question as to how one of Salem's Pure Titans was still alive, they were more concerned with the students in its path.

"They're not ready for this," said Emerald, who was well aware that nobody else in the forest had experience with a Titan. "That thing's going to kill them!"

"We have to stop it!" said Cinder, taking the lead and charging towards the Titan. "Come on!"

Midori was the last to follow, given that she had an important and potentially helpful thought. "What about Ren and Nora?" she asked, hoping they could help.

Mercury looked to see that Ren and Nora were with Jaune and Pyrrha, and they were unfortunately engaged with the Deathstalker that followed them. "They got enough on their plate!" Mercury concluded. "It's up to us!"

Cinder believed that she could end this fight quickly. With the remaining fuel she had in Dancing Midnight, Cinder allowed herself to soar higher and higher until she was at the same height as the Titan's nape. She immediately swung her swords to cut its weak spot, but the Titan turned around just into time to avoid being killed.

Instead of its nape, Cinder had cut a part of its face. While she cursed herself for the missed opportunity, the Titan was still injured from Cinder's attack. It moved backwards off the bridge it was standing on, falling into the mist below the ruins. Unfortunately, the Titan's weight and thrashing had caused part of the bridge to collapse and let Mercury, Emerald, and Midori fall with the Titan.

"No!" Cinder yelled as she watched her friends fall. Using Dancing Midnight, Cinder quickly followed her friends into the abyss, despite the danger of a Titan. She wasn't going to lose anyone in this forest, let alone her friends.

*CRASH*

Given the amount of fog, Cinder didn't see the ground in time to stop her descent. She hit the ground rather hard, though her Aura was able to heal her. Standing up with a grunt, Cinder realized that the fog underneath the ruins had hidden the ground beneath those ruins rather well. To the normal eye, it would have looked like a bottomless pit.

But now, Cinder could see that there was indeed a bottom. Though the fog made it very hard for her to see anything else.

"Emerald?!" Cinder called out. "Mercury?! Midori!"

*ROAR*

*THOOM*

Instead of her friends, the surviving Titan answered Cinder with a roar and footsteps coming towards her. She was able to dodge just in time, though the fog didn't make it easy for her to see the Titan from afar.

Fortunately, she was able to hear her friends.

"Cinder!" Midori yelled. "Over here!"

Cinder followed Midori's voice and found herself reunited with everyone. Once she did, Emerald shared a plan that she just made. "I'm trying to use my Semblance on it," she said. "If we can make it see something that's not there, we might be able to sneak out of here."

"Great idea," said Cinder, who started to whisper. "Can it see anything yet?"

"Not yet. It's a little hard when I can't see my-"

*ROAR*

*THOOM*

"Whoa!"

Everyone was forced to dodge again when the Titan charged towards them. Whether it heard them whispering or sensed negativity like a Grimm, the Titan had managed to find them and strike before Emerald could implement her plan. And because she had to dodge, Emerald once again lost sight of the Titan.

"This isn't working!" said Mercury. "For all we know, that thing can see better in the fog than we can!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do, then?!" asked Emerald.

"You know what we can use! Our Titans!"

Everyone looked at Mercury when he made his claim. Under different circumstances, it would be easy to agree that the power of the Titans was needed at a time like this. However, given the facts they were at Beacon and being monitored, nobody believed using their Titans was a good idea.

"Are you crazy?!" Emerald asked. "What if somebody sees us?!"

"Who's gonna see us?!" Mercury asked as he gestured towards the fog. "Look where we are!"

Mercury made a good point about being in a misty place, but Cinder wasn't convinced. "It's still too risky!" she said. "We made it this far, we just have to think of something else!"

*GROWL*

*ROAR*

"Guys?" Midori said as she heard low growls close by. "I think we have company!"

When Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Midori saw that a pack of Creeps had joined the angry and beastial Titan, they knew the situation had gone from bad to worse. Because of the unexpected arrival, options were running out fast.

And desperate times called for desperate measures.

"We're running out of options here, Cinder!" said Mercury, who recognized the need for a desperate measure.

"Okay, screw it!" Cinder finally decided. "Mercury, help Midori with the Creeps! Your Titan might make it faster!" Mercury ran towards the Creeps with Midori in tow, right before Cinder made a plan with Emerald. "Emerald, you're with me! Try using your powers to box it in so I can burn it!"

"You got it!" Emerald said as she cut her hand. "But will burning it kill it?"

"No." Cinder tapped Dancing Midnight. "But it should be weak enough for me to finish it off personally."

With a silent agreement, Emerald became the first to transform into a Titan. In a flash of red light, Cinder followed suit while Mercury changed just in time to send multiple Creeps flying. As Cinder hoped, his enhanced speed made it easy for Mercury to strike the Grimm with his hands and feet. Midori was able to take care of the ones Mercury missed, and found Scalpel to be working with its blades and Dust enhancement alike.

And soon enough, Midori took a risk and allowed her Maiden powers to emerge. She had come to Beacon in the hopes of learning more about the powers, but learning with practice was an alternative Midori didn't want to waste. And so, she set fire to the Grimm when she could, hoping to end the battle quickly.

Cinder used the same methods of Midori, once Emerald had finished her part of the plan. As Cinder said, there was a part of Emerald's powers that could be used to box in the rampaging Titan. She had discovered it training one day, where she could create red bars and barriers of energy with her mind. She needed time to do it again, but Emerald managed to push the Pure Titan back with her kinetic energy. The Titan had managed to hit her a few times, but Emerald didn't give up until the Titan's back was against the wall.

That was when Cinder moved in for the kill.

*WHOOSH*

Fire emerged from the Incinerator Titan naturally, just as it always did. And its flames caused great pain to the Titan, which it tried to stop by punching Cinder twice. But Cinder didn't give up, even though the Titan punched rather hard. Instead, Cinder continued to rain fire upon the beast until it fell to its knees.

That was when Cinder exited her own Titan, and struck with Dancing Midnight in a way that would have made Eren proud.

*SHICK*

*CRASH*

Everyone heard the Pure Titan fall to the ground, dead as a doornail. Midori saw it as well, though she became distracted by the victory and missed a final Creep ambushing her from behind. She fell to the ground with the beast, where it came dangerously close to biting her neck. But thinking quickly, Midori remembered that she still had Scalpel. With it, the medic saved her own life by pushing her blades deep into the Grimm's torso, until all that remained was ash.

As Midori began to stand up, she immediately noticed that her rough landing had left its mark. Her bones cracked as bruises started to swell, but her Aura and Healing Wish began to make her recovery fast and easy.

But Midori, ever the good nurse, immediately paid attention to her friends. Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald had all exited their Titans, Midori was prepared to give them whatever aid they needed.

"Anyone need a boost?" Midori asked as she showed them her glowing hands.

"We're good," said Cinder. Her steaming body, like Mercury's and Emerald's, was healing due to the power of the Titans. "Save Healing Wish for yourself." After a moment of recuperation, Cinder looked upon the dead Titan with pride and relief. "Great job, everyone."

"Yeah, that was a close one," said Emerald.

"Too close," said Mercury. "That thing shouldn't even be here."

"I thought Watts' terminal was supposed to kill them all," said Midori.

"It should have," said Cinder. "I saw all those collars blow up. The Titans all died."

Mercury approached closer to the Titan as he hypothesized the cause of this anomaly. "Hmm…" he hummed as he began to think. "Maybe this one has a broken collar. Midori, you think you could cut its nape a little more? I wanna take a closer look."

"Uh, that might be a bad idea," said Emerald. "We already took a risk with our Titans. We shouldn't stay here anymore."

Cinder agreed with Emerald; between the Titan and their fall, someone was bound to come looking for them sooner or later. But at the same time, Cinder was curious and concerned about a Pure Titan surviving the events of Salem's castle. The more she knew, the better.

"Let's try to make it quick, Mercury," Cinder suggested. "Emerald's right; we can't be here for long."

"Hey, 'quick' is my middle name," Mercury remarked as he approached the nape with Midori.

Emerald turned her eyes upwards to see the mist was still all around them. "This fog's pretty thick," she observed. "But Ozpin said we would be monitored." She then turned to Cinder. "Do you think he saw us down here?"

"Let's hope not," Cinder replied, feeling just as unsure as Emerald. "Otherwise, we'll have a lot of explaining to do."

"..."

Cinder sensed Emerald's concern and took the right steps to calm her. "But we didn't have a choice here. That Titan was going to kill everyone." She then patted Emerald on the back. "And you're getting better with your Titan."

Emerald smiled as she accepted the compliment and praise, something that meant the world to her whenever it came from Cinder. "Thanks," she said. "I don't want to brag… but I think I've come a long way from sucking people into minds."

Before either of the girls could laugh at the joke, Mercury caught their attention with a terrible discovery.

"Holy shit," he said in astonishment. "Guys, this Titan's collar isn't broken. It's missing."

"..."

The three girls crowded around the Titan's nape and saw that Mercury's claim was true. Rather than metal, all they could see was the flesh and blood of a Titan. And there wasn't a space for a person to fit, given the pattern of the remaining bones. Not only was this a Pure Titan, but it was a Pure Titan left to its own devices rather than be controlled.

But what did that mean? Was it possible that Watts may have neglected to include a collar in this Titan? Or was the lack of a collar deliberate?

And given the existence of one Titan… how many more were still out there?

"Come on," said Cinder, who realized that enough time had passed. "Let's get out of here."

Eventually, all of the students had made it back to Beacon Academy. Some of them were injured and exhausted, but they had all returned safely. And in the eyes of Professor Ozpin and the rest of Beacon's staff, the students had proven themselves worthy of being Huntsmen and Huntresses in training.

As well as the rest of the world.

When the students were all guided towards the school's auditorium, just like they were yesterday, they were greeted with several cameras broadcasting the events about to transpire. It was surprising to see, but nobody had much time to question them. This was because Ozpin was ready to organize the students in groups of four based on the chess pieces they collected. Partners had been chosen in the Emerald Forest, and now it was time for those partners to become teams.

Teams, of which, Cinder was paying close attention to.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark," Ozpin said to a group of four boys who were standing at attention. The cameras had witnessed several teams be formed already, and now they were going to see it again. There were pictures of the boys above Ozpin's head, and they were being arranged in a certain order as he spoke. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team CRDL. Led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience of students and staff applauded as yet another team had been declared. Cinder also applauded, even though she recognized some of the boys that Mercury fought with yesterday. She didn't pay them much attention, however, since she saw two of her friends going on stage with two other people.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie," Ozpin continued. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team JNPR."

The audience applauded once again, but Cinder was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be on a team with them. But seeing Nora hug Ren in joy reminded Cinder that they would be fine now that they were together once again.

Just like Cinder was with Eren.

"Led by… Jaune Arc!" Ozpin exclaimed, making Cinder forget about her distant boyfriend. Cinder had to admit that she was surprised by Ozpin's choice, mostly due to the… poor impression he made in the locker room. And it seemed Jaune was also surprised by the choice, based on the look on his face and the quiver in his voice.

"L-Led by?" Jaune asked anxiously.

"Congratulations, young man," Ozpin replied, solidifying his choice for the leader of Team JNPR. Pyrrha attempted to ease the tension by playfully hitting Jaune's arm, but all it did was knock him over and cause a few people to laugh.

Once Team JNPR left the stage, the next group of people to step up were Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Ruby. Between Summer's request and fight with the giant Nevermore, Cinder paid close attention to the next team that Ozpin was making.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao-Long," Ozpin began. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this forward, you will work together as… Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose."

Once again, Cinder was surprised by the choice. Not that Ruby hadn't proven herself in the Emerald Forest, but Ruby was once again an apparent person of interest to Ozpin. Having a young student be a team leader was certainly proving Summer's theory to be true.

But Ruby had no worries anymore. Between killing a Nevermore, winning Weiss' cooperation and trust in the Emerald Forest, and now being a leader of her very own Huntress team, Ruby felt like she was right where she belonged.

"I'm so proud of you!" said Yang, who hugged her sister after running past a dumbfounded Weiss and neutral Blake.

Cinder applauded with everyone else as she put her thoughts aside. And after she reminded herself of Summer's request, Cinder moved towards the stage with Mercury, Emerald, and Midori in tow.

"And finally," Professor Ozpin began as the pictures above him moved. "Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Midori Kusuri, and Cinder Fritz. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as... Team CMME."

"..."

Like the other teams he named, it was easy for Ozpin to use the teenager's names to create a color. In this case, the color was "camoflauge," which referred to the dark green color of forests such as the Emerald Forest.

More than that, however, Ozpin shared Glynda's belief that there was more to these children than it seemed. But for now, Ozpin put those thoughts aside as he chose the team leader with ease.

"Led by... Cinder Fritz."

The auditorium began to echo with applause, just like it did when the other teams were announced. Not everyone applauded, however, since there were plenty of people who disagreed with Cinder's ideas on the Huntsmen and Huntresses. But they had to admit, the defeat of a Titan was a very impressive feat.

Mercury, Emerald, Midori, Ren, and Nora also applauded. Like Ozpin, all five of them believed that Cinder was a proper leader. Her efforts with in Mistral had proven this, as well as the endeavors in the Emerald Forest. Before today, it was a shared belief that Eren was the ringleader of their group. But in his absence, there was no doubt that Cinder could fill his shoes with ease.

Cinder knew that she had big shoes to fill, but the day's victories left the young girl feeling proud of herself. Today was very difficult, and tomorrow would be only harder. But Cinder also knew that today was only the beginning of her plan to change the world. For her Kingdom, for her friends, and especially for Eren.

Ozpin knew this as well, which left him with only one more thing to say.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

"And with that comes the end of Beacon Academy's initiation. Surprising many others, this was the first time a Huntsman Academy chose to televise such a process, no doubt in connection to the presence of Cinder Fritz at Beacon. Perhaps Professor Ozpin wishes to show the rest of the world, as well as Fritz, what it means to be Huntsmen and Huntresses."

*CLICK*

The television screen showing a news report following Beacon's initiation was turned off by Carla Yeager when she saw that nothing else was important. She, Eren, and Dina had learned that Beacon chose to televise the initiation program, minus the events in the Emerald Forest. Once they had seen enough, the trio decided to draw their own conclusions.

"It certainly seems that way," said Carla, who agreed with the reporter. "Professor Ozpin definitely wants the world to see what's going on at Beacon."

"It's probably because of all the controversy here," Dina pointed out. "It certainly had an effect on people like Ozpin and Ironwood." Dina sighed calmly as she stood up. "I guess I shouldn't really be judging. Thanks to Ozpin, I got to see that Cinder's doing good so far."

"And everyone else too," said Eren. "It's good to see something go right today."

Carla and Dina remembered how Eren saved the farm from Cenintels and helped Vernal with her unfortunate condition. But they retained a positive outlook on the situation, since they were perfectly safe.

Carla suddenly chuckled as she remembered something else. "Say what you will about him, but Ozpin did a good job with naming teams. 'CMME' has a nice ring to it."

Dina chuckled as well. "So does 'JNPR.' That was my mother's favorite color."

Eren recalled another detail and started to smile. "I can't believe Ren and Nora are on the same team as Pyrrha Nikos," he said. "Between that and Cinder's team, they're all pretty lucky."

"Luckier than you might think," said another voice, one that everyone was familiar with. They turned around to see Vernal standing in the doorframe between the living room and the kitchen. They had believed that she had been resting after her incident, but Vernal had watched the initiation on his Scroll. After that, Vernal decided to approach everyone with a startling discovery.

"Why do you say that?" Carla asked.

Vernal held out her Scroll for emphasis. "I was trying to find out what happened in the Emerald Forest, to see how they were doing," she replied, referring to her friends. "There's a rumor going around that there was some big Grimm in the woods. And not just any Grimm." Vernal held out his hand further so everyone could see a video screen.

"What's that?" Dina asked.

"It's supposedly footage Ozpin was using to observe the students. Apparently, someone leaked it."

Vernal decided to let the footage play and let the actions speak for itself. When she did, everyone could see the clear image of large feet and legs crushing trees and the cameras attached to said trees.

"Oh, my God," Dina said as she covered her mouth.

"Is that a Titan?" Carla asked. "But… I don't understand." Carla didn't want to cause her son any stress, especially after recent events, but she needed an answer for this. "Eren… I thought you killed all the Titans at Salem's castle."

Eren looked at the Scroll with the same surprise as his mother. "I… I did too," he said, already having a bad feeling about this.

The mystery behind a Titan in the Emerald Forest had left questions for Eren, his friends, and just about everyone at Beacon who saw the battle. However, there were a select few who knew exactly what was going on. And now, they were prepared to discuss it.

Somewhere in Vale, a woman sitting alone with a Scroll in her hand was visited by a man in a White Fang mask. The man was, up until now, the lieutenant of Adam Taurus. But while his leader was… recovering, the man found himself reporting to the woman instead. He would normally have reservations against talking to a human in this way, but a recent plan of hers had made him curious with the results of said plan.

"My sources inside Beacon say their initiation is over," said the lieutenant. "And they were able to get that Scroll where you wanted."

"Yes, I know," said the woman, who moved the Scroll away from her face. "My congratulations to your friends. They performed remarkably."

The man stepped closer to his acquaintance as his curiosity grew. "You got the footage?"

"All of it. You and your men will soon know what you're up against here in Vale." The woman turned her voice inward as she made another observation. "Your hacking software continues to aid Her Grace, Arthur. Well done."

"What about the Grimm you supposedly unleashed?" the man asked.

This was the second part of the woman's plan; to unleash a monster her master had given her a long time ago, to see just how strong the new Huntsmen and Huntresses were.

And hopefully, remove some of the new players from the board.

"Ah, yes," she said. "Unfortunately, it was disposed of faster than I predicted. You would be wise to tell your forces that Fritz and her friends are not to be underestimated."

The man growled as he recalled what the Hunt Inquisitorius did to his leader. "But now we'll know how they fight," he observed. "When do we strike?"

"It's far too early now. Our plan hasn't changed."

The man's curiosity was still piqued, but it was due to impatience this time. "Why not? Now that we know our enemy, we can strike when they least expect it! You said it yourself, they'll be vulnerable under Ozpin's thumb!"

"And they are. But Ozpin is vulnerable too. His arrogance has led him to underestimate the impact Fritz will have at his school. They'll eat each other alive with the work they're trying to do. And the footage I released online will make everyone else angry and divided as well. Once they've broken each other… we take what's ours with ease."

The man's impatience was slowly but surely being tamed when he heard this. "Okay," he said. "So we have a plan. But let me remind you that Adam and the rest of us have high expectations from working with you."

"I am aware," said the woman. "And let me remind you to expect… the unexpected."

Author's notes: Happy New Year everyone! AT and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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