FM3 - V1 C3: Team Spirit

Volume 1, Chapter 3

Team Spirit

As teams form in the Emerald Forest, trouble starts to bubble and buzz under the surface...

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This series is intentionally written in transcript form instead of traditional text to give it more of a feeling like the original “RWBY” show.

Italics and (Parentheses) are for visual descriptions

ALL-CAPS are usually used for names, and

Border Lines mark where the scene changes.

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WUNDERBAR (offscreen): “This will be the day you’ve waited for... The day to prove your worth and show us you deserve your place in Beacon.”

With a metallic creak, the black screen opens to the inside of a locker, where Moswen pulls out his staff SandSedge in its smaller compact form. He extends it to full length as other students around him do the same with their gear, then he closes the locker to darkness again.

WUNDERBAR (offscreen): “Your first task is simple. When you land in the Emerald Forest, you are to find one of your fellow students and partner up with them by simply meeting eye-to-eye.”

The view cuts to Moswen on a red bus next to a window seat, the vehicle bumping up and down on a dirt road as he looks out at the wide expanse of trees in various shades of green, all encircled by a range of sloping grey mountains.

The scene shifts one last time to show Moswen outside, standing on a square stone pad with the Vale symbol etched into it. He looks down the row of other students on either side - some familiar like Franklin, Talutah, Rita, and Cobalt next to him, while the rest are brand new faces - all on similar s laid in the grass before a wide cliffside, where Wunderbar is sucking on a lollipop and accompanied by the tracksuit-wearing professor, Jazz Peach, who holds a bulky case to her side.

WUNDERBAR: “After that, make your way north between those two mountains to an abandoned temple, where you will find a collection of mysterious relics; pick your favorite of the bunch, protect it from any Grimm that you encounter, and return back to the cliffs.”

PEACH: (speaking as she opens the case, revealing a laptop inside that boots up and shows camera feeds of various angles through the forest, some of which have moving dark shadows) “We’ll be watching from up here, grading your performance, though we aren’t going to intervene. The Grimm population is specifically controlled to make sure your enemies aren’t too many or powerful, but they are still Grimm, so that means you either come back successful... or you don’t come back at all.” (fixes the students with a grave look) “Is everyone ready?”

Franklin turns to the side, crouching slightly; Talutah sheathes her weapons behind her cape, the blades facing up; Rita leans back casually with a relaxed air, as if she doesn’t even realize where she is; and Moswen gulps loud enough for Cobalt to hear, who gives him a nudge and a confident grin. Returning the smile, Moswen lowers the gold-rimmed goggles from his desert cap over his eyes.

WUNDERBAR: (nodding) “Best of luck to all of you. I know this may seem scary to do on your first day... which is why I want to lift your spirits before you go. Miss Peach, start the music!” (he gestures to the teacher with his cane, and the students look horrified as he begins to sing) “So now you’re off to-”

Without warning, all the s spring up and forward, catapulting the sixteen students high into the air over the forest. Wunderbar looks stunned for a moment, turning to an innocent-looking Peach with her fingers over the laptop keyboard.

PEACH: “Oops. Wrong button.”

At this, Wunderbar glares at her and grunts to himself.

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Franklin falls from the sky, stoic as ever, as he leans down to touch his rubber boots, clothes becoming as black as they are. When the forest rushes up to him, he spins and uses his legs to jump off one tree after another, zipping through the trunks like a pinball until he lands on the ground, sliding to a stop as his clothes change back to normal.

Cobalt, still smiling, aims himself at a mass of green, disappearing for a moment through the leaves until he drops from the foliage, bouncing slightly as he’s held aloft with a giant metallic slingshot, its cyan band wrapped around a branch. He closes the slingshot over the tree’s spindly limb, cracking it in two, and he lands on another, bounding off of it deeper into the forest.

Moswen, flung higher than either of them, analyzes the terrain behind his goggles until nodding and deciding to launch a hiero-glyph arm from his hand at one of the nearby trees. It reaches out to grab a branch... only for a purple blur to suddenly swoop right under it, the glowing hand latching on and following.

MOSWEN: “What the- WHOA!”

The young man is dragged along by his Semblance, automatically attached to the white boot of Talutah Tepes; her cape is extended into large wings, using her Carmine Lily spears to stabilize the flight, but she shakes and dips lower as she looks back at her impromptu enger.

TALUTAH: (screaming) “Hey! Let go! You’re mes my gliding!”

MOSWEN: (crying over the wind, holding on to his hat with his free hand) “I’m sorry! Let me try to- Ah!” (he flexes the fingers of his other hand, but that just causes the hiero-glyph to retract and bring him in closer)

TALUTAH: (shaking her head frantically as the distance between them shortens rapidly) “No no no, don’t come over he-”

The two suddenly collide, and with synchronized screaming, they descend into the forest, plowing through the leaves. The camera goes down to show Talutah having managed to plant her knives in the bark of a tree, while across from her, she sees Moswen gripping his staff, its curved hook having caught a branch.

MOSWEN: “Uuuhhh... Sorry?” (he shrugs with his other hand, laughing sheepishly as Talutah just sighs in annoyance)

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The scene changes to the shot of a small tranquil lake in the midst of the trees, long grass blowing gently in the wind... when something crashes right in the middle of it like a cannonball, water splashing upwards with the impact. A few moments later as the lake stops rippling, Rita lazily strolls out onto the shore, stretching her arms overhead as if nothing happened.

She continues walking while running a hand through her dark braids to get the water out, but bumps into something large, black, and furry; when she steps back and looks up, the thing turns on its two hinged legs, and a Beowolf roars in her face, the red eyes in its skull-like face glowing, threatening her with its sharp claws.

RITA: (pleasantly smiling as she reaches behind herself) “Sweeeet.”

From her back, Rita pulls out a dark green rifle with an unusual magazine shape, getting ready as the Grimm raises its arm to attack... and then a sharp noise is heard that stops it, followed by a buzz that causes the monster to shake and writhe for a second until its eyes dim, and it slumps to the side to reveal Ink behind it, still holding his white butterfly knife while adjusting his glasses.

RITA: (shoulders slumped, frowning) “Aww, not cool, man. I was, like, in my element and everything!”

INK: (speaks with a dour tone as they start to walk away from the disintegrating corpse and peaceful lake into the trees) “Don’t fret, Rita. I’m sure there are more bloodthirsty abominations lurking beyond, where they desire to feast on our flesh and devour our souls.”

RITA: (brightens up instantly) “Thanks, Ink; you know just what to say to cheer up!”

One last view of their backs is interrupted with the appearance of another Grimm shaped like a wasp, red wings fluttering as it dives at the camera...

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... and in another area of the forest, it gets smacked away into some nearby bushes by a medium-sized hammer with a large circular head, a black ring around its circumference. Another Rapier Wasp tries to fly down with its stinger, extending to almost twice the length of its own hand-sized body, but Noire hits it with the second of her matching weapons, Bangu and Masher.

Two more insect Grimm manage to score scrapes across her arms as she recovers, but when they go in for a second attack ed by more of their brethren behind them, she spreads her hammers wide, the black rings on them now glowing purple, and they slam together, squashing the bugs between them, as a violet shockwave blasts the other Rapier Wasps away, most turning into ash.

One survivor is propelled out of the bushes, righting itself in the air and getting ready to fly away in another direction, only for a hand to grip its small body and squeeze until, with a CRUNCH, it dissolves into nothing. Franklin wipes his hand on his coat as it changes back from chrome to green.

NOIRE (offscreen): “Franklin!”

FRANKLIN: (looking up in surprise to see Noire step out from the bushes into the small clearing) “Noire! He-” (coughs) “Um... Hi there.”

NOIRE: (standing in front of him, holstering the hammers on her belt) “Fancy seeing you here! Looks like that good luck from yesterday is still going strong!”

FRANKLIN: “I suppose so, especially if we’ve been... made partners now.”

NOIRE: (laughs a little, rubbing her neck as Franklin smiles at her reaction) “Well, that’s really nice of you to say, but actually, I already-”

A loud CRACK is heard in the trees, and a Rapier Wasp comes soaring out between Franklin and Noire. Franklin instantly has his Ferula Bolt baton in hand, but the Grimm just lands far away on the ground and disintegrates after a moment of stillness. They turn their attention from the bug back to the one clambering out of the bushes, a metal baseball bat with a cyan grip known as the Slugclub swung over his shoulders.

COBALT: “Heh-ey, more people! Franklin, right?” (points at Franklin until his eyes turn towards the other’s weapon and whistles) “Whoo-ee, that’s a mighty fine backscratcher you got there!”

FRANKLIN: (glaring at the newcomer) “Excuse me?”

COBALT: (serious) “Oh, you’re excused. Haha!” (literally slaps his knee as his second-long act is broken before straightening up and looking at Noire) “Anyways, I think we’re bug-free here, so you ready to head out, Noire?”

NOIRE: (at Franklin’s confused stare, she answers) “Yeah, sorry, Franklin, but Cobalt and I saw each other first, so...”

FRANKLIN: (looking back and forth between the two) “I... I see.”

COBALT: “No no, WE saw each other, that’s why we’re partners!” (cuts in the middle of them, but steps to an annoyed Franklin’s side, casually leaning his elbow on the other’s shoulder) “But don’t worry about it, Frankie; I’m sure there’s plenty of fish in the sea! Or the trees, in this case, hahaha!” (he hunches over to laugh as Franklin steps away, irritated)

NOIRE: (smiling hopefully) “Do you want to come with us? We’re all going to the same place anyways.”

FRANKLIN: (eyes widening, almost happy) “Well, I...”

COBALT: “Yeah, you seem plenty tough!” (walks over to Noire, hugging her with one arm around her shoulders, which elicits a flustered look from her that he doesn’t see as he talks to Franklin) “Who knows, maybe we’ll even all be put together on one big happy-”

FRANKLIN: “My chances of finding a partner are better on my own.” (he says this sharply to cut off Cobalt’s offer, the comedian silent for once, though when he sees Noire frown sadly, he clarifies, trying to sound logical) “But, uh, we’ll see each other once the test is over either way. They might grade us better if we don’t rely on others too often. Is... that alright?”

NOIRE: (nodding, her smile returning) “Yeah, you’re right. I hope you find someone soon, then!”

COBALT: (raising a hand in farewell) “Guess we’ll make like these trees and LEAF you alone!”

NOIRE: (groans good-naturedly while she and Cobalt turn to leave) “That was just awful, Cobalt.”

COBALT: “What, was my delivery too WOODEN for ya?”

NOIRE: (actively laughing now) “Stop it!”

COBALT: “Alright, fine. I know when I’m BARKing up the wrong TREE.”

Franklin looks on with undisguised jealousy as Cobalt continues to make Noire giggle, then heads in a completely different direction from them, storming through the brush and slashing at branches in his way with the blunt ends of his baton. Still upset, he doesn’t look around until a sizzling sound is heard to his right; looking in that direction, he sees a bullet-sized mark on a tree, dripping with yellow acid right at eye level.

Twisting his head to the left, Franklin sees a line of over two dozen Hotshot Ants, slightly smaller than the Rapier Wasps, but with big bone white talons on each leg and glowing golden liquid in their thorax that gets gathered into a ball between their large mandibles.

As more spheres are spit at him, Franklin grabs the ground beneath him and his clothes darken into brown, the attacks melting harmlessly against his stone-durable coat. When he runs and ducks for nearby cover behind a forked tree, however, the brown quickly fades, and the corrosive substances slowly eat away through the wood, the Ants getting closer. Far from being fazed, Franklin takes his baton and flips the grip, jerking his arm as it shifts into its alternate form.

When the rain of acid slows down and the bark itself is mostly blackened and smoking, the Ants hear a whirring sound right before Franklin pops up between the forked trunk and pulls the trigger on his railgun. With a spark of electricity, the blast instantly incinerates them all, cutting a straight line of crackling energized destruction through a row of trees.

One of the trees, however, lets out a “Whoa!” as something falls from it. Franklin switches Ferula Bolt to its baton mode again for another battle, but up from a bush pops Nuada, leaves in her hair as she turns her anger to Franklin.

NUADA: “Oi! What’s the big idea, you lunk?!” (stepping out of the bush as she marches over to Franklin) “I was gettin’ ready to jump in and ‘elp cut ‘em all down when YOU show up and decide to overkill the lil’ buggers! Not to mention ‘ow you nearly blasted my tail off!”

FRANKLIN: (straightening up and looking down at her, emptying a smoking shell from his weapon and replacing it) “They’re eliminated and you’re unharmed, so I don’t see the issue.”

NUADA: “The ‘issue’ is you needin’ to watch where you shoot, ‘specially with that much firepower!” (she points accusingly at Ferula Bolt)

FRANKLIN: (sighs heavily as the weapon shifts to its compact form and he places it on his hip) “Very well, I’ll keep that in mind.” (looking around, he slowly asks with growing apprehension) “Where’s... YOUR partner?”

NUADA: (silent for a moment, crossing her arms to glare up at him) “For better or worse... seems like I’m lookin’ at him now.”

FRANKLIN: “... Ah.”

NUADA: (laughs humorlessly) “Yeah, that’s ‘bout ‘ow I’m feelin’ right now.” (she turns and begins walking deeper into the forest, gesturing with her hand for the perturbed Franklin to follow) “C’mon, let’s get goin’! Don’t ‘ave to regret our life choices just yet!”

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Emerging from even more greenery, Moswen exits the treeline first, stopping with his jaw hanging as he takes in the sight before him. A ring of stone grey columns stand tall, with the surrounding brickwork mostly being destroyed; hanging vines creep through the cracks and open ceiling, but the remains of a doorway keep some mystery of what could be inside.

MOSWEN: “Wow... This must be the Temple.”

TALUTAH: (grunting as she pulls her cape free from a tangle of branches to follow Moswen) “Finally, almost done with this gods-forsaken forest. I swear, the grass stains will never get out...”

MOSWEN: (walking down the slope towards the ruins) “I think it’s more than worth it. Don’t you know what this place is?”

TALUTAH: (trying in vain to clean her cape, sarcastically going) “Oh, please, DO enlighten me.”

MOSWEN: (stops at the entrance, too enraptured to notice her tone) “All these ruins are the reason Beacon was built around this area. The structures have been here longer than the forest itself; older than recorded history, even! Nobody knows who made them, but the King wanted Vale’s Academy to be constructed nearby.”

TALUTAH: (casts a critical eye over the temple, hand on her hip) “And here I thought I’d have to wait until classes started to get a lesson.”

MOSWEN: “Oh, um, sorry...” (scratches his neck nervously)

TALUTAH: (waves the apology away as she walks through the doorway) “No shame in being ionate, dear, but I don’t have much interest in old rocks.” (her eyes light up once inside, Moswen behind her) “THESE, on the other hand...”

A semi-circle of smaller pedestals with golden accents are waiting for them inside, set under the columns around the carved stone floor. Most of the pedestals hold a square white tile, many of which have glossy black dots engraved on their metallic surface.

MOSWEN: (following Talutah around the room as she carefully appraises one of the tiles with five black dots) “Different numbers of circles... Think they mean anything?”

TALUTAH: (points to the other side of the room, where Moswen sees another five-dotted square) “Well, I’m noticing they come in pairs, so I’d wager a guess how they’ll group us up into teams of four.” (looks over to him) “Do you want to choose which we take?”

MOSWEN: “Hmm...” (he scans their selections until his sight lands on one, and he goes to pick it up, showing Talutah the blank white tile) “Think this one will do?”

TALUTAH: (hand to her chin) “The unassuming outsider, different from those around it but unique in its own way?” (nods) “I suppose it fits.”

MOSWEN: “Great.” (he pockets it in his tool vest and goes toward the doorway where Talutah is already waiting) “I guess we better start heading back. Think they’ll let us come here again after the test, though?”

TALUTAH: (as Moswen only just then notices her hardened expression) “I think you’re forgetting something important about where this place is located.”

Moswen looks outside, and he sees three Boarbatusks outside the temple, large pigs with curving tusks reaching up to their four red eyes and spiny backs that are spotted with thick white plates in their black fur. They snort and stamp the ground in a challenge, staring right back at the two Humans.

TALUTAH: (not looking at Moswen as she speaks, stepping down the cracked stairs) “Keep that relic safe. I’ll deal with the piggies.”

MOSWEN: “Wait, but... I-I don’t think you can...”

He falters as Talutah grabs her knives from under her cape, taking a stance as she waits for the first attack. It comes when the rightmost Boarbatusk charges forward, and she deftly sidesteps its advance, then sees another coming and flips over it, using her feet to spring off of its hide and aim her descent onto the third, knives ready to plunge into it. However, when the red blades meet bone, they both bounce off, and a stunned Talutah is knocked aside by the Grimm’s tusks. Talutah rolls, but manages to slide into a crouch, panting from the blow.

The Boarbatusk she tried to strike readies itself once more, curling up and spinning in a ball with its razor-sharp spines that quickly rolls towards the young girl. As she prepares to dodge, a glowing hand comes out and latches onto the beast’s hindleg, forcing it to stop spinning. Talutah, surprised, looks up as Moswen charges from his spot in the temple’s doorway where he summoned a hiero-glyph tethered to the brick wall, and darting past the other two Grimm, he hooks his staff around the trapped pig’s tusk and pulls hard, sending it crashing onto its back with a squeal.

MOSWEN: (yelling to be heard over its trashing) “Get its underside! Hurry!”

With this, Talutah snaps out of her trance and charges forward, digging her knives deep into the unprotected gut of the Boarbatusk, where it ceases struggling and fades into ash. The two get back up, readying their weapons at the remaining enemies.

TALUTAH: “Thanks for the save.”

MOSWEN: “Thanks for listening.”

The pair of Boarbatusks stomp their hooves angrily... but they suddenly pause, then turn around and run back into the forest, disappearing through the bushes, leaving a confused Talutah and Moswen.

MOSWEN: “Well that was... odd.”

TALUTAH: “Maybe we scared them off?”

MOSWEN: (shaking his head as the air around them grows purple) “I don’t think so. They usually still try to kill people regardless of... of...”

Suddenly, he starts to violently cough, Talutah doing the same a second later. They stagger away and look up at a lone Grimm insect with a rounded black fuzzed body, stubby stinger, and large violet wings that expel a cloud of gas over where it slowly es. As they look, more of the bee Grimm descend from above the trees, coating the area in their fumes.

MOSWEN: (moving from the worst of the gasses into the nearby trees, still coughing between breaths as he and Talutah try in vain to hide their faces in their arms) “Toxic Bees! They... they suck up life energy from trees and... spread their poison through pollen... kill anything that breathes in...”

TALUTAH: (hacking up a lung herself) “I gathered that, but I’m... much more interested in... how to stop them!”

MOSWEN: “Right!”

Holding a breath, Moswen runs into the midst of the purple cloud, aiming SandSedge high and cranking one of its levers until both reels line up to green. A twister emerges from the staff, and the air becomes cleared of poison as the Toxic Bees are flung around, shooting off in every direction. When there’s nothing left of the deadly fumes, Moswen sucks in a few grateful breaths, leaning over as Talutah comes up behind him.

TALUTAH: “Not bad.” (pats Moswen on the back as he still gasps for air, but she looks up, worried) “Err, Moswen? How deadly are their stingers, by chance?”

MOSWEN: (not looking up) “Oh, totally deadly. They’re usually small and slow, but one prick of that venom and you’re done. Why?”

TALUTAH: “Because I don’t think they appreciated what you just did.”

Moswen cranes his head around to see the Toxic Bees, no longer spewing poison, but buzzing and hovering with their sharp stingers ready to attack.

MOSWEN: “Oh. You, uh, want to run?”

TALUTAH: “Yes, I’d like that very much.”

With this, the pair dart into the trees once more, going as fast as they can with the Bees hot on their tail. Soon, all is quiet in the clearing, right as Rita and Ink emerge from the opposite direction, strolling up to the temple.

RITA: (her serene smile is dropped as she smells the recently poisoned air) “Whew, did you pull a silent and deadly on me, Ink?”

INK: (his own nose wrinkling as he retorts) “Says the woman who swam through the bottom of a lakebed.”

He moves on to the temple, while a stunned Rita takes a moment to lift her arm and sniff herself, grimacing at what she apparently discovers.

Back with the chase, Moswen and Talutah continue sprinting away from the horde of Toxic Bees. Moswen slows down, trying blindly to launch a fireball behind him, but even while one Grimm goes down, four more take its place as they go even faster.

MOSWEN: “They’re gaining on us! Use your wings to fly us out of here!”

TALUTAH: (shouting behind herself at the lagging Moswen) “I can’t just jump up and start gliding, you dunce! I’d need to launch off from somewhere high in altitude, not-”

Her explanation is cut short as Talutah looks ahead and screeches to a halt on the edge of a sloping cliff, only to get knocked into it regardless by a running Moswen, who drops his staff from the impact. They slide and fall down the grassy surface, screaming in unison all the while, until Talutah manages to grab a knife under her cape and extend it into a wing, holding Moswen with her other arm as their descent slows just enough for them to survive crashing into the bushes below.

TALUTAH: (as her head peeks out from the foliage, spitting leaves out and drily addressing Moswen) “So is this going to be a common thing with you, or am I just lucky today?”

MOSWEN: (looking around, seeing the dead grey trees and small rivulets of black running through this new area) “Hey, look on the bright side. At the very least, we got away from those bugs!”

As soon as he says this, one of the black streams expands a bubble and pops, revealing a Toxic Bee inside. Moswen and Talutah freeze, but it pays them no mind, instead buzzing over to one of the trees and digging its stinger into the bark, its red wings filling with purple.

Once it finishes, it trails a cloud of poison behind it, heading towards a mass of fellow Toxic Bees, Hotshot Ants, and Rapier Wasps all moving in activity around a new bug Grimm. Sitting on a tree stump, bloated three times as large as the others, with spikes in its skull mask like a crown, flimsy red wings that hardly move, and a fleshy tube emerging from its rear, the Swarming Fly clicks and chitters commands at its underlings.

TALUTAH: (wide-eyed in horror, whispering) “What... IS that?”

MOSWEN: “I think it’s a spawn-type Grimm.”

TALUTAH: “A what?”

MOSWEN: (explaining as the newborn Toxic Bee approaches the Swarming Fly’s face, spitting up a hunk of dirty green slime, and the Grimm eats the offered goods, black fluid spouting from its tube to add to the pools littered throughout the glade) “You know how Grimm can evolve into more powerful forms over time? When they live long enough, certain Grimm will produce the Oil that creates more of them. The bigger the pools, the bigger the monsters that get created.”

TALUTAH: “So this one is stuck making small fry?”

MOSWEN: “For now, but give it a few decades, it might work its way up to larger threats.” (he says this as the pools form more bubbles, creating a Hotshot Ant and a Rapier Wasp that the others, but then he shakes his head, looking at the Swarming Fly facing their direction) “I just don’t understand how they haven’t sensed us yet.”

TALUTAH: “Well, if it’s survived this far, it probably learned not to pick fights too close to its home.” (the Swarming Fly looks up with its large red eyes at the bush the two are hiding in, but eventually lowers its gaze back down)

MOSWEN: “Yeah, that’s right. As long as we don’t anger them, we might actually be okay!”

He doesn’t notice the sound of clanging metal getting louder and louder until his own staff falls from the cliffside, its top landing right in the river of Grimm Oil closest to their hiding spot, still set to Moswen’s last-used red Dust.

There’s a moment of silence before a small flame from the reels’ nozzle quickly spreads down through the stream and sets the rest of the Oil ablaze, along with the trees, the nearby bugs, and even the Swarming Fly’s own tube, the Grimm leader crying out in pain as it’s forced to separate the burning organ from its body. When it does so, the Swarming Fly looks up at Talutah and Moswen, who grabs SandSedge from the inferno it created.

MOSWEN: (wide-eyed, muttering) “We made them angry.”

TALUTAH: (angrily as she gets up and pulls Moswen to his feet) “Oh, you THINK?!”

She leads her partner through a rightmost path around the hive with the least amount of smoke and fire, slashing at any interlopers with her knives if they get too close. Moswen spots a Toxic Bee behind them and burns it with a spurt of flame from his staff, but it cuts out right after killing the Grimm, and he looks at his Dust reels.

MOSWEN: “Crap, I’m out of Fire!”

TALUTAH: “Good news, we’ve got plenty to go around!”

They manage to escape through the trees away from the flames, but back in the smoke, the Swarming Fly sits in the midst of its panicking children, tilting its head back and screeching with a noise that makes all of the Grimm stop what they’re doing, then robotically gather in a mass around their creator. The Swarming Fly’s angry red eyes are the last to vanish beneath the bodies of its drones.

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Near the cliffs where they started, Franklin and Nuada step out from the treeline, looking up at a winding stone path carved into the rocks that extend all the way up to the top.

NUADA: “Well, ‘least they made it easy for us on the last bit.”

FRANKLIN: (walking ahead of her onto the path) “It almost seems too easy to finish like this.”

NUADA: (following along, snorting) “What, are you complainin’? Wanted to scale the wall yourself or somethin’?”

FRANKLIN: “For the world’s best Huntsman Academy, I expected something more challenging than typical training simulations.”

NUADA: “‘Typical’? I didn’t think even Atlas’ schools shoved kids in with live Grimm.”

FRANKLIN: (stiffens as he looks back at her, still pressing on as they get higher than the trees) “I never said I was from Atlas.”

NUADA: “Never ‘ad to.” (smirks and gestures to him) “That kind of fancy weapon and your ramrod way of walkin’? My dad ‘ad plenty of friends like that before we came to Vale.”

FRANKLIN: (continuing to march on, turning at the next bend in the path) “I suppose a soldier’s discipline isn’t hereditary.”

NUADA: “He was a professor up there, actually. But you’re right...” (instead of following, she grabs the ledge of the path above and jumps up, getting in front of Franklin with a grin) “I like bein’ a free spirit, not stuck with a metal pole jammed up my...”

Nuada stops talking as she turns to look behind her, seeing an elevated view of the Emerald Forest and the column of smoke billowing from deep in the trees.

NUADA: “That’s... not good.”

FRANKLIN: (staring imively) “It doesn’t look like it will spread. We should be fine.”

NUADA: (shaking her head, looking down with her yellow eyes slightly shimmering) “No, but look. There’s somethin’ else down there. See it?” (points down at the trees near the smoke, which are shaking and rustling as an unseen force es in a straight line) “I think it’s after somebody.”

FRANKLIN: “Hm. We should keep moving, then.” (starts walking to do exactly that)

NUADA: “What? No, we ‘ave to get down there and ‘elp out!” (steps in front of Franklin to stop him)

FRANKLIN: “Our orders were to retrieve a relic and return back up the cliffs. Going back would compromise our grade.”

NUADA: “Our GRADE?! Someone’s in danger down there! Whatever’s after ‘em is big and pissed!”

FRANKLIN: “How can you be so sure of that?”

NUADA: “I don’t know, just a ‘unch.” (she doesn’t meet his eyes, but calls over her shoulder as she steps to go back down the path) “Now are you comin’ or what?”

FRANKLIN: (silent, then he rounds the next bend in the path, saying) “This is a test. Everyone should on their own.”

NUADA: (growls to herself, the grey of her hair and tail glowing faintly, until she pauses and smiles wide) “Y’know what? You’re spot on. So good luck in’ without your partner!”

With that, Nuada turns to the side of the carved path, aims her Nimhbanríon revolvers behind herself, and blasts off the edge, propelled to jump on one branch and another deeper into the forest.

She doesn’t see Franklin looking back at her, but a nearby camera perched in a tree does, and back on the cliffs, Wunderbar looks over Peach’s shoulder at the grainy laptop feed, stroking his goatee sagely as he waits to see what the young man does next... and then he crunches the lollipop in his teeth, spitting out the stick and replacing it with a new one.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Cutting away from the teachers, the scene lowers on a small grey stone watchtower, its upper levels broken off long ago, now barely able to be seen over the trees around it. Down its moss-coated surface lay a series of cracked arches to it and gear-like structures at its base, one of which Talutah and Moswen are laying their backs against.

The two are still panting from their recent experiences, and Moswen collapses his staff, aiming its top at himself and messing with the levers until it’s pointed blue, at which point he unleashes a small jet of water to wash his face of smoky soot and then fill his mouth, though he only swishes with squinted eyes until spitting it into the grass.

MOSWEN: (sighing contentedly, laying his weapon to the side) “That’s better.”

TALUTAH: “Nifty trick, but don’t hog it to yourself.” (smiling, she grabs the compacted staff from between them and raises it over herself, fiddling with the controls experimentally) “Let’s see, where do I press to...”

MOSWEN: (speaking fast, worried) “Actually, pure water from Dust tends to taste-”

TALUTAH: (as the water reaches her open lips, her eyes widen and she coughs it all back up over the ground, tossing the weapon back at Moswen as she gags) “BLEUGH! Oh my word!”

MOSWEN: “Salty...”

TALUTAH: (still with a disgusted face, she sighs heavily) “At least my mouth isn’t filled with smoke anymore, so there’s an improvement.”

MOSWEN: “I'm sorry for all that, by the way.” (he looks down in guilt) “The crashing, the fire... I started late in my Combat School training, but I didn’t think I’d mess up THIS badly on my first day.”

TALUTAH: (placing a comforting hand on his shoulder) “It’s fine, darling. Mistakes happen all the time. Perhaps not nearly this large, but...” (sees Moswen look even more crestfallen and backtracks) “Err, I mean, I think you have what it takes, especially up where it matters.” (turns Moswen’s face to look at her and taps the top of his cap) “Knowing how to take down those pigs and clearing away the poison? I certainly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

MOSWEN: (still not looking at her) “You wouldn’t be in as much trouble, either.”

TALUTAH: “Look, mistakes were made all around from everybody, but nothing changes if we sit around all day feeling sorry for ourselves.” (she stands and reaches a hand out for Moswen to grab) “There will be plenty of chances to make those up to each other in the future. Deal?”

MOSWEN: (finally smiling, he takes the offered hand and gets pulled to his feet) “Deal. Thanks.”

TALUTAH: (clapping her hands together dramatically as she looks outward) “Now, the cliffs are right over there, so it shouldn’t be too much walking to...” (she stops at the sound of a resounding, growing noise nearby, while Moswen looks past the cogs of the stone gear in the opposite direction) “Hold on, do you hear someth-”

MOSWEN: “GET BACK!”

Moswen pushes a surprised Talutah roughly to the edge of the gear as he falls near the other end, and a split second later, the gear explodes in a shower of stone when a large shadow blitzes through, buzzing fiercely. When the dust clears, they get a look at what attacked them.

It lands on six legs made of razor-sharp claws, its four wings wide and see-through while its back segment consists of a multitude of long spikes. The mass doesn’t turn around, but shifts the many creatures making up its form, rotating the body atop the limbs with sounds of chittering until its head comes into view, shaped into a giant Grimm insect with scythe-like mandibles and two Hotshot Ants in particular swollen with golden-red acid, acting as “eyes” for the Swarming Queen to look at the terrified Humans.

TALUTAH: “Looks like mommy is still angry.”

As if in response, the Swarming Queen lets out a cry, rearing up on its legs and buzzing its large wings, the Toxic Bees making them up producing gas that gets flung at its two opponents. Moswen and Talutah both dart behind the broken halves of the gear, letting it take the brunt of the poison gas as they run and reconvene behind neighboring pillars for one of the arched structures.

TALUTAH: (looking over to Moswen as they pull out their weapons) “Alright, what’s the plan?”

MOSWEN: “You’re asking ME?!”

TALUTAH: “We just got through with the pep talk about your brilliance!”

MOSWEN: “That doesn’t mean I can just-”

The Swarming Queen suddenly lands before them, having flown over the arches, and its face glows yellow as Hotshot Ants all their fluids along to the two main mandibles, gathering into a far larger ball that quickly gets spit in Moswen’s direction. He’s barely able to dodge to his left as the sphere collides with the pillar and instantly melts through the stone.

As the Swarming Queen focuses its gaze on Moswen, Talutah quietly darts around its back, extending her knives into their spear forms. Her sneak attack is ruined when red dots appear all over its rear, seeing the young girl, and various Rapier Wasps disengage from the mass to shoot out at bullet speeds towards their target, who can only step back and slash each bug as they come at her.

Moswen tries to summon six hiero-glyphs around the area to trap the Grimm by its legs, but the Hotshot Ants simply slice through the glowing arms like thin paper with their talons, letting the Queen beat her wings and hover in the air, gathering up more purple clouds to send down in a rush at the enemies below. Standing beneath it, Moswen cranks his staff, aiming a blast of wind at the attack that not only nullifies the poison, but reaches up and scatters the bug Grimm making up the Queen, the Hotshot Ants falling all around while the Wasps and Bees are blown away, leaving the Fly at the center defenseless.

Seeing the target, Talutah collapses her spear into its knife form and throws it, spinning through the air on a direct course to the Swarming Fly, only for a Rapier Wasp to dart between them and take the hit. The weapon falls to the ground with the disintegrating drone before the Swarming Fly collects itself and drops on top of the ancient arch, screeching once more so its Grimm compose themselves and reform into the Queen, the flightless Hotshot Ants getting picked up by the Wasps and Bees to the pile.

TALUTAH: (picking up her knife and coming over to Moswen as they watch the moving mass of insects) “You have Dust, so can you zap it?”

MOSWEN: (shaking his head) “I can only combine the main four, and I don’t have Fire. But maybe...”

Moswen hastily pulls the levers so that one reel selects green, the other blue, then sweeps his staff in a wide arc that sends a white wave of frost to encase the countless Grimm in ice. As the bugs freeze over into a solid chunk atop the arch, Moswen exchanges a shaky smile with Talutah, only to notice the creature inside glow with sickly yellow light that causes the ice to smoke and shatter in an explosion of boiling water. The resulting mist is displaced by the Swarming Queen’s wings, buzzing once more as the Grimm bends its coalesced body to aim multiple stingers at the two.

Before it can attack, gunshots suddenly ring out, striking some of the Rapier Wasps in the tail and Hotshot Ants in the thorax as they drop in ashy piles from the Queen, crying out for its lost components. It flies higher to get out of range, giving Moswen and Talutah enough time to look back at their new ally, running in from the forest and reloading her revolvers.

NUADA: “Bet you’re glad to ‘ave made that alliance now, Prissypants!”

TALUTAH: (sighing dramatically, but with a slight smile) “Of course it would be you.” (she gestures to each of them for brief introductions) “Moswen, Nuada.”

NUADA: (simply nods to Moswen’s handshaking attempt, then looks back up at the Grimm circling around the watchtower) “Any plan to kill this thing yet?”

MOSWEN: “Still working on it.”

The moment of respite is broken as the Swarming Queen charges in from above and tries to land on top of them, the fighters just barely getting out of the way as it claws crash into the ground. Nuada is forced to its backside, which extends itself into a long point to reach her, but she blocks with a dagger and slices off the tip, making quick work of the Rapier Wasps that composed the broken-off point using both weapons to cut through the rest nearest to her.

Meanwhile, the Queen’s head tries a different tactic, all the Hotshot Ants turning to face Moswen and Talutah so it can spit a volley of small acid balls at them. Moswen spins one of the reels and unleashes a downward arc of water that deflects the sizzling liquid; It evaporates on with each other, but some of it splashes back at the feet of the Queen, and the Ants that touch it shriek in pain, causing the entire Queen to sidestep the leftover puddles, something that Moswen takes note of.

Attacked on both sides, it spreads its wings to fly again, beginning to hover off the ground... right as Talutah leaps up from behind Moswen, plants a foot on his shoulder to use as a platform, and jumps towards the Swarming Queen, one spear digging into its chest so she can swing herself around its head, right onto the back of its neck, while the other plunges into where its brain should be. Ashes smoke up from where her blade pierces, but the Grimm climbs higher into the sky regardless, thrashing about and buzzing its wings with the last traces of poison gas that Talutah holds her breath against.

Shots are heard once more as large holes suddenly open up in the Swarming Queen’s wings, Nuada aiming with her revolvers back on the ground. On the other side of the Queen, Moswen tries to use another Dust-generated twister to make the bugs scatter, but while the clouds get dispelled, the bugs’ combined form holds fast this time, packing themselves together so none are blown away in the gale. Talutah, however, is thrown off its back, but she combines the spears with her cape and pulls them out into their winged form, where she swoops back up and drags her blade against the Grimm’s side.

Now out of range for their weapons to work, Moswen and Nuada watch the aerial fight carefully, seeing Talutah now chased by the Swarming Queen around the watchtower as it gathers an acid ball and fires. She tucks her wings in to drop a few feet before spreading them out again, dodging the blast as it instead hits the side of the tower, stones dissolving. Talutah banks around it, but Moswen’s eyes widen at the sight of how wide a berth the Queen gives the melting brickwork.

MOSWEN: “I think I have an idea.”

NUADA: (holding up her pistols and grinning) “Finally!”

In the air, the Swarming Queen tries to bite at Talutah’s feet with its mandibles, but she turns left and lets herself slow down, slicing through the Queen’s other side as it es by. When she reaches the tail, however, a few Rapier Wasps launch themselves out, which she defends against by crossing her blades, though their long stingers instead hit her cape’s fabric; Talutah quickly slashes them off of her, but the damage is done, holes now formed in the wings that causes her gliding to become shaky.

With its prey disabled and slowed down, the Swarming Queen tries another bite, only to get knocked off course by a stone that hits its middle left leg, causing all the Hotshot Ants that comprised it to fall. When it rights itself, hovering in place, the Grimm sees Moswen alone on the ground, goggles over his eyes and SandSedge still pointed high to shoot another rock airborne. The Swarming Queen ducks under his shot, however, and dives down with a buzzing cry on Moswen, right as he pulls a lever to turn one of his staff’s reels, then swinging the weapon around to unleash a cloud of sand from where he stands.

The unexpecting Grimm is blown back, a few of its insects getting lost in the wind, but it digs its claws into the ground, looking up at Moswen calmly standing in the swirling sandstorm that obscures the forest. It jumps ahead trying to slice him, but he uses a hiero-glyph to pull himself to safety, and the Swarming Queen’s many eyes lose sight of him in the chaotic swirl, turning to and fro trying to find him until he swings in from a different direction, his staff blasting the bugs with a rapid volley of mud balls that stick to its feet and wings, preventing them from moving too much.

While trying to scrape the mud off itself, the Swarming Queen’s antennae shake, warning of an impending danger, and it looks up through the ring of sand surrounding it to see Talutah perched on the top of the broken tower, staring it down with wings outspread. She falls from the great height, lost from view in the storm, but as the sand starts losing power and forest is faintly visible again, the Queen sees Talutah flying straight at it, so to finish off this enemy, it readies one more large acid sphere.

That’s when Talutah’s previously unseen legs suddenly kick out in front of her, and Nuada lets go from her boots to launch forward, sliding across the grass until she’s right in front of the Swarming Queen, her revolvers aimed at its mouth. With a playful wink, she pulls the triggers, and bullets explode the ball of acid right back into the Grimm’s face, splashing back all over its body.

Instantly, the Swarming Queen rears back in pain, screeching as smoke billows out from the effects of its own attack. Its large form pulses, twice, then collapses in a scattered pile of small insect Grimm, almost half of them fading into black dust while those that remain merely twitch at Nuada’s feet.

MOSWEN: (as he and Talutah Nuada while she spins her pistols and places them at her hips) “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think we make for some pretty good exterminators!” (he laughs, only to be met with the others’ blank expressions) “Uh... Too corny?”

NUADA: (smiling slowly, punching him in the arm) “Tell ya what. You get a this time for doin’ a good job.”

TALUTAH: (hugs Moswen’s other side as he rubs where Nuada hit him) “Incredible work, Moswen! I knew you had what it takes.”

MOSWEN: (blushing from the praise) “Th-Thanks, really. I didn’t even know if that plan would work.”

TALUTAH: (turning away from the still-smoking corpse, Moswen walking beside her and Nuada behind them) “Well, work it did, and you should be proud of yourself for it.”

MOSWEN: (clearly nervous as he collapses his staff and places it on his back) “W-Well, I just, you know...” (a sound of something dropping at his feet gets his attention, and he looks down) “Oh man!” (he bends to pick it up, revealing the blank white tile) “We definitely don’t want to lose this!”

TALUTAH: “I should hope not! After all the trouble we went through to-”

NUADA: “‘Old on.” (Moswen and Talutah look back to see she stopped walking, her brows furrowed) “That’s the relic you lot picked? Really?”

MOSWEN: (pocketing it again in his tool vest, unnerved by Nuada’s reaction) “Yeah? What’s wrong with-”

Without warning, something plows against Nuada’s back, launching her over it as the thing rushes ahead and knocks into Talutah as well. Moswen only has time to clumsily step away and trip onto his back, pushing himself up to see the weakened yet furious Swarming Queen, now half-formed with only a fraction of its minions making up the large insect. Its wings are too frayed to fly, its sharp abdomen is lopsided, and not enough Hotshot Ants make up the head to fully cover up the Fly underneath, but it still has two Ants act as mandibles dripping with yellow liquid, getting closer to the defenseless Human crawling away before it.

Just as unexpected as its own revival, however, a dark figure lands between Moswen and the Grimm, reaching down to touch the dirt as the Queen bears down on them. Its mandibles close around the arm of the figure, now wearing brown, as Franklin effortlessly rips his arm from its grasp, then absorbs the chrome steel in his baton before driving the weapon into its thorax, sending the Grimm sailing away from Moswen, Talutah, and Nuada, all watching in awe from their places on the ground.

The Swarming Queen finds its footing, screeching at this new opponent, but Franklin simply touches his boots, turning his clothes black, then springs forward. He unleashes a furious barrage of blows with Ferula Bolt, hitting it upside the head, smacking away its front limbs, rolling under it to crash through its abdomen and scatter the Rapier Wasps before they can sting him. The Grimm tries to turn around and bite again, only for Franklin to use his steel’s strength once more and smack it away with the baton, causing it to crash through the exterior of the ancient watchtower.

There’s a moment of silence as dust from the fallen stone obscures what’s inside, but the Swarming Queen tries one last charge at Franklin, who simply flicks his baton into shifting, takes aim, and fires his railgun. The electric shot connects and blasts through the Fly inside, frying all of its progeny, and sends the flaming mass back to the tower, only for the entire bottom level to explode and cause the remains of the tower to crumble in on itself, the upper levels caving in to land atop the once-fearsome Grimm.

A large cloud of dust resulting from the tower’s collapse swallows Franklin, but he emerges shortly after, brushing some dirt off of his coat with one hand. With barely a glance in either direction, he walks past Moswen still leaning up with his jaw dropped, then a crouching Talutah with her eyes narrowed, moving up to Nuada as she stands up and almost smiles, about to say something.

FRANKLIN: “Are we finally ready to go?”

Not waiting for an answer, he breezes past his stunned partner, heading for the cliffs once more. Nuada glowers at his back with barely-restrained anger, Talutah and Moswen ing her side as they stare in the same direction.

TALUTAH: (arms crossed) “So that’s your partner, I take it?”

NUADA: “S’pose so.”

TALUTAH: “Hmph. If that’s his behavior, I wish you luck dealing with him for the next four years.”

NUADA: (gives a hollow smile as she begrudgingly starts to follow Franklin) “Well, y’know what they say... Mis’ry loves comp’ny.”

TALUTAH: “I’m quite not sure I agree with that sentiment, but...” (she blinks, looking at the departing Faunus girl worryingly as she rushes over, Moswen doing the same) “Hang on, what do you mean by that? Nuada?!”

The sound of clapping is heard before...

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... the scene changes to Beacon Academy’s amphitheater, a darkening sky visible through the glass dome ceiling. Crowds are gathered around the stage as Wunderbar addresses four familiar students standing in formation, stating them each by name as a screen stands above them near the wall with a projector displaying their pictures in a 2x2 grid.

WUNDERBAR: “Rita Bates, Cobalt Chukyll, Noire Dane, and Ink Potter. The four of you grabbed the ever-important 4-Dot Domino.” (he brings together two of the white square relics, each with four circles on them, and they magnetically combine along the edge into a single rectangular shape, which he holds up as he announces) “So let it be known that from this day onward, you will be united as Team CNRI... led by Cobalt Chukyll!”

Clapping is heard once more as the projector switches slides to show their photos now lined up in order of the new acronym displayed below in glowing white letters, and Wunderbar hands the domino to Cobalt, who grins at Noire next to him.

COBALT: “‘Canary’, huh? I guess it’s true; birds of a feather flock together!”

Noire facepalms, unable to resist smiling at the puns, while Rita looks pleased and Ink seems less sullen than usual. They start to walk off the stage, and four new students climb up to continue the ceremony, handing over their five-dotted tiles to the Heaster.

From his place in the back of the line near the stage, behind seven other figures, Franklin looks on with obvious annoyance at Noire still smiling in Cobalt’s direction, while the new leader enthusiastically shakes the hands of both Rita and Ink. Wunderbar’s words fade into the background as the camera pans forward from Franklin’s hostile stance to the three standing in front of him, conversing in hushed tones.

NUADA: “He was leavin’ you two, that’s what pisses me off!” (hands on her hips, mockingly deepening her voice) “‘Our orders were to return the relic! Everyone should on their own!’”

TALUTAH: (rolls her eyes, sighing dramatically) “Well, THAT certainly seems on brand.”

MOSWEN: (shrugging half-heartedly) “But I mean, it’s not like that’s wrong, is it? We were being tested...”

NUADA: “Tested to be HUNTSMEN, guardians of the innocent! And ‘e thinks lettin’ people die is dandy so long as HE looks good.”

TALUTAH: “Not to mention stealing the credit for killing a Grimm we had already defeated.”

FRANKLIN: (speaking up, but not looking at them) “If I killed it, that means the rest of you didn’t.” (fixes them with a stare) “Would you rather I have let it take Moswen instead?”

NUADA: “We could’ve saved him!”

FRANKLIN: “Maybe, maybe not, but I won’t risk pride over efficiency.”

Nuada seethes as applause sounds for the newest team, and the group of students before them move onto the stage, leaving the four to step up and continue their quiet argument.

TALUTAH: “Regardless, you had better shape up that attitude of yours. Whoever’s chosen as leader, you’ll need to follow THEIR orders.”

NUADA: “Yeah, that’s right! I’m not gonna allow showboatin’ and treatin’ everyone like they’re just ‘ere to-”

TALUTAH: “Hold on, YOU won’t allow it? Who was the only one that could fight that Queen while it was still flying?”

NUADA: “‘Scuse me, princess, but who’s the one that shot its face full of its own juices?”

TALUTAH: “Only after I got you right in front of-”

MOSWEN: “Guys, come on, we’re about to find out. And besides, it’s not up to us anyways.”

The two girls fall silent and glance at each other, sharing looks of reluctant agreement to Moswen’s sound logic. However, all of their heads jerk around when Franklin speaks up.

FRANKLIN: “If it WERE up to us... I think I’d nominate Moswen.”

MOSWEN: “Wh-What?! No, wait, I-”

More clapping fills the amphitheater, and a panicked Moswen looks back to the stage, realizing that they’re on next. He scrambles up to where Wunderbar is waiting with a cheery smile and outstretched hands, which Moswen es the blank relic into, followed by Franklin filing in behind him, offering his own white square tile from his coat before stepping back. All four students line up, hands behind their backs professionally, acting respectful with everyone’s eyes on them.

WUNDERBAR: “Nuada Glenn, Franklin Stein, Talutah Tepes, and Moswen Zoser. Saving the best for last, you four grabbed the enigmatic No-Dot Domino.” (he connects the squares together once more into a rectangular shape, holding it up dramatically, the camera view angled so that a sweating Moswen is directly before it) “Therefore, let it be known from this day onward, you will be united as... Team FNTM.”

Sounds dull in volume and time seems to slow as the team’s surprised and confused expressions give way to synchronized shock within the split-second understanding of what the teacher’s next words will inevitably be.

WUNDERBAR: “Led by... Franklin Stein!”

Moswen, Talutah, and Nuada all dart their heads left to look at Franklin, who seems genuinely put off by the announcement, the accompanying applause, and the screen now showing them in a reversed order to where they currently stand, “FNTM” proudly listed underneath their pictures. His mouth is about to form words until setting itself in a line while his face resumes its hardened stoicism, nodding firmly to the Heaster as he takes the offered relic back. He ignores the looks of Moswen’s amazement, Talutah’s bewilderment, and Nuada’s fury aimed at him.

Unseen as she leans against the amphitheater’s large doorway, Shirley Locket doesn’t in the clapping, her own bespectacled glare shifting between Franklin and Wunderbar, now turned to the rest of the assembly.

WUNDERBAR: “And with that, we’ve sadly reached the end of this year’s Initiation. It seemed to go by quicker than usual, I must say! But don’t fret, everyone, because believe you me, the fun is just getting started!”

These last words are unheard by Shirley, turning from the stage and quickly walking out of the building, past the statue of the Huntsmen pair victorious over a Beowolf under the silvery light of the shattered moon high above, fragments poking out of its circumference like a halo. Her coattails flutter in the breeze and cover the camera, cutting to a dark screen as the credits roll.

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AFTERWORD

It was at this point that I had to it I SUCK at release times. Granted, this chapter is almost twice the length of the previous installments, and I had to deal with two family birthdays in that time period (this chapter is dedicated to my mother and sister; forget dumb concert tickets, I know they always wanted a fanfic of kids killing bugs!), but I'm hoping to not fall on excuses every week.

For now, Amino is now caught up with all the releases so far, and I'll be aiming for every other Saturday to post new chapters here, but it's very likely I'll be late to my own deadlines, so keep that in mind when checking for updates...

That all said, I'm pleased with how this chapter came out! I've had the battle against the Swarming Queen in mind for years, so it's nice to finally get it out there! The rest of the episode was definitely helped by my advisors, though, especially figuring out the best ways to divide up the Grimm encounters between groups, introduce each species at a gradual pace before getting to the final boss. My only regret is that Nuada couldn't have been there with the Boarbatusks to act as the Big Bad Wolf to their Three Little Pigs.

And yeah, now they're Team FNTM! (Pronounced as "phantom", in case some of you are thrown by the "F".) I'm curious how people will react to the twist that Franklin is the leader; did it actually blow anybody's mind, or was it super obvious from the get-go? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on it, so please comment to show your , because there's nothing more nurturing for a creator's enthusiasm to keep making content than audience engagement!

It was a lot of fun coming up with a bunch of reasons why the Initiation works the way it does, like how small groups of new students probably have to be launched in turns into the Emerald Forest, but we're going to be exploring a REALLY obscure little joke tidbit from the series that nobody besides me has probably wondered about in the next chapter, which may be posted here December 17!

See you then, and thanks for reading!

- Carus E. Lumen

#RWBY

#FeatureWriting