He made his way through the forest and emerged into an open area where an abandoned and destroyed structure stood. There, he spotted small chest pieces coated with a sweet-smelling substance.

Jaune: Those must be the relics!

He walked over to the pieces, realizing that he was all alone. He wondered if he was the first one to arrive.

Jaune: I may not have a partner, but I hope I come across someone without a teammate as well.

He picked up one of the relics and held it up, taking a sniff.

Jaune: Yeah, it smells sweet...

Voice: Hey Jaune! Over here!

Startled by the voice, Jaune turned to his right and saw Yang and Blake walking towards him and the relics.

Jaune: Oh, hey Yang and Blake!

He waved happily at them, and Blake smiled slightly while Yang waved back.

They reached his side, and the three of them began talking.

Jaune: I take it you both are partners, right?

Yang: Yup! Although she's quite quiet.

She laughed as she grabbed a relic, while Blake looked at Yang and then at Jaune.

Blake: She's very... loud.

Jaune smiled and snickered.

Jaune: Well, you'll be with her for four years, so it seems like you'll have to find a way to work together.

Yang: Oh! I found a pony!

She called out to them with a smile as she held up a horse chess piece.

He found Blake's situation quite amusing, and Blake sighed at both what Jaune said and Yang but did show a slight smile as she walked away to take a relic. She had hoped to be Jaune's partner, but it seemed she would have to make do with a less preferable teammate.

Yang: Well, that wasn't too hard.

Blake: Not like this place was very hard to find.

After a few moments of silence, they heard crashing noises in the distance. Blake and Jaune looked up, sensing something falling towards the ground.

Ruby: Heads uuuuuuuup!

Just as she was about to hit the ground in panic, Jaune leaped up using his physical strength and caught the falling Ruby. Gravity caused Jaune to descend rapidly, but his physical endurance allowed him to land safely on the ground without any damage, holding Ruby in his arms.

Ruby: Huh? Oh hey, Jaune! Thanks for the save!

Jaune: Why were you falling from the sky?!

Blake: Did your sister just fall from the sky?

Yang: I...

Before Ruby could reply, several crashing noises were heard in the forest ahead of them, and an Ursa emerged, swiping its claws, only to be hit by a pink blast of energy. It crashed to the ground, and its rider was thrown off.

Crazy Girl: YEEEE-HAAAAW!

She rolled off the creature's back, then got up and groaned in disappointment.

Crazy Girl: Awwww... It's broken.

She dashed onto its neck and observed the carcass as Ren, the guy Jaune realized must be her partner, called out to her and approached.

Ren panted and leaned on the Grimm.

Ren: Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again.

He looked around and noticed that Nora had run off again, indicated by the pink dotted outline where her partner should be. He frantically searched for her.

Nora, the crazy girl, was now in the Temple, staring at a golden rook relic.

Nora: Oooohh...

Suddenly, she grabbed it and started dancing and singing with the chess piece.

Nora: I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!

Ren: Nora!

Nora stopped dancing and saluted Ren before skipping towards him.

Nora: Coming, Ren!

Blake: Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?

Yang: I...

She was interrupted once more as a screech was heard from their right, and a red-haired girl came running into the area with a scorpion Grimm in pursuit. The girl narrowly dodged the giant claws and kept on running.

The scorpion Grimm continued to chase her as she ran.

Blake: Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?

Yang grew angrier until she growled and erupted in a small burst of fire, her eyes flashing red.

Yang: I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!

Jaune patted her shoulder.

Jaune: Just relax, Yang.

Yang started to cool down as Ren ran over to a ditzy Nora, and Blake and Ruby looked up.

Ruby: Umm... Yang?

She tugged on her sister's sleeve and pointed up above. Weiss was revealed to be hanging on a talon the size of her entire body, belonging to a gigantic Nevermore.

Weiss: How could you leave me?!

Ruby: I said "jump"!

Blake: She's gonna fall.

Ruby: She'll be fine.

Ren: She's falling.

Jaune: I got her.

Jaune sighed and leaped into the air. The ground cracked slightly from the force of his push-off as he caught Weiss. Using his strength, he kicked off to counteract gravity, allowing him to stay afloat for a bit and stop Weiss's descent.

Jaune: I got you.

Weiss was surprised before she smiled.

Weiss: My hero~

Jaune then started to descend, gently landing on the ground while crouching slightly to lessen the impact. Meanwhile, the red-haired girl landed on her side at the feet of the heroes. Jaune placed Weiss down on her feet, and she smiled at him.

Yang: Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!

Ruby: Not if I can help it!

Ruby yelled with a battle cry and rushed towards the Grimm.

Yang: Ruby, wait!

Ruby, still screaming, fired Crescent Rose and charged at the oncoming Death Stalker. When the two met, the Grimm swiped Ruby away, knocking her back.

Ruby: D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!

Ruby turned back to the monster and shot it in the skull. She then ran away from it, sheathing her scythe. The Death Stalker now pursued her, and Yang sprinted after her.

Yang: Ruby!

Ruby rushed towards Yang, but the Nevermore cawed above them, flapping its wings and releasing lines of sharpened feathers that caught on Ruby's cape, preventing Yang from reaching her.

Jaune realized that things were about to get worse, so he sprinted off with shocking speed, surpassing those with normal speed semblance, and took immediate action.

Yang: Ruby, get out of there!

Ruby began struggling with the cloak.

Ruby: I'm trying!

The Death Stalker approaches, raising its golden stinger above a scared Ruby and heading down on the helpless girl as Yang reaches out in vain for Ruby.

Yang: Ruby!

As Jaune sprinted past Yang, he reached the stinger just as it was about to pierce her. With a burst of speed and agility, he leaped above the Grimm and delivered a powerful punch to its head. The impact of his punch halted the stinger and caused the Grimm to momentarily freeze, immobilizing it.

Jaune: I got you, Ruby!

Ruby opened her eyes to see the Deathstalker Grimm immobilized with a deep punch dent in its white armor. She looked up at her savior in surprise.

Ruby: Jaune...?

Jaune reached down his hand towards her.

Jaune: Are you okay, Ruby? Are you hurt?

Concern filled his voice, and Ruby felt a sense of happiness at his worry. She took his hand and stood up with his help.

Ruby: I'm fine, thanks to you...

She chuckled nervously before Jaune lightly karate-chopped her head.

Ruby: Ow! Why did you do that?

She rubbed her head, and Jaune shook his head.

Jaune: Punishment for putting yourself in danger! Don't do that, okay?

Ruby realized that he had been genuinely worried about her and nodded, looking apologetic.

Ruby: I'm sorry...

Jaune sighed and smiled.

Jaune: It may be foolish, but you were brave, though a bit foolish.

Suddenly, Yang rushed up to Ruby and gave her a hug, causing Ruby to grunt in response.

Yang: So happy you're okay! Thanks, Jaune!

They stared at each other for a moment, then looked up at the Nevermore still flying overhead and roaring.

Weiss: There's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us.

They turned their attention to the relics.

Ruby: She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliff.

Ruby nodded to Weiss.

Ruby: There's no point in fighting these things.

Ruby went over and grabbed a gold knight, while the Deathstalker slowly got up, wobbling as it tried to stand on its claws.

Ren: Time we left!

Ruby: Right. Let's go!

Ruby led the way, with everyone following, except for a smiling Yang and Blake. Blake approached her partner.

Blake: What is it?

Blake questioned Yang, who looked at Ruby with pride as Ruby stood on a boulder and motioned for the group to continue onwards.

Yang: Nothing...

She moved on, and Blake smiled in realization before leaving as well.

An overhead shot showed the group heading out of the forest and into another abandoned series of structures, with the Nevermore following them from the air. They spread out when it passed above, concealing themselves behind stone blocks with their allies as it perched on a high column and cawed.

Jaune turned to the girl with red hair.

Jaune: Hey, do you have a partner?

The girl looked confused before shaking her head.

Jaune: Want to be my partner?

The girl looked surprised but nodded with a smile.

Girl: It will be a pleasure!

Jaune: Nice! I'm Jaune Arc, and you are?

This caught the girl off guard, and she slowed down while running. Jaune grabbed her arm and ran faster so she wouldn't get left behind.

Jaune: Don't slow down!

The girl realized it and ran faster.

Pyrrha: S-Sorry! I'm Pyrrha Nikos.

Jaune: Pyrrha...?

The girl expected some sort of reaction, but it never came.

Jaune: Well, Pyrrha, nice to meet you, but let's keep running! We're nearly at the structure of the bridge!

Yang: Well, that's great!

She spoke, clearly lying.

Jaune looked behind and saw the Deathstalker bursting out of nowhere, heading towards them.

Ren: Nora, distract it!

Nora obliged, running out from her hiding spot and jumping through the feather projectiles. She reached behind her and launched several heart-topped shells from her grenade launcher, bursting into pink electricity when they hit the Nevermore and causing it to retreat. However, she was unaware of the Deathstalker rushing up behind her until Blake and Ren performed a cross-slash with their weapons against its shell. Weiss landed next to Nora, creating a jumping platform beneath them, and they leaped to safety while Blake and Ren were being chased.

Pyrrha: Go, go!

She stopped running beside Jaune and took out her weapon, firing red shots alongside Ren's green blasts for a moment. However, the Deathstalker quickly approached, prompting the group to run again.

The eight of them raced over the ancient stone bridge, unaware that the Nevermore was closing in on them. The Nevermore used its giant wings to shatter the path right in the middle, forcing Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, and Jaune closer to the central collection of columns. On the other side, Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha were left with the Deathstalker. Ruby fired at the retreating Nevermore, while Blake was beaten back by the scorpion.

Jaune: You're Nora, right?

Nora looked at Jaune and nodded.

Jaune grabbed the back of her collar.

Jaune: Sorry for this.

Nora looked confused, but then Jaune threw her across the edge and over near Blake and Ren. Jaune himself looked at Blake, who looked back at him and nodded. He leaped forward with her, backflipping off the edge as he grabbed her leg and threw her high into the sky. Blake landed on top of the Nevermore and started to attack it, while Jaune landed safely in Blake's previous spot.

Blake dashed all over the Nevermore's body, slashing continuously, before jumping off and landing on the ruined platform at the top of the columns next to Ruby. She then went over to join Yang and Weiss.

Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren charged towards the Deathstalker.

The Deathstalker aimed a claw at Pyrrha, but she deflected it with her Akouo shield and slashed at it with her blade. The scorpion recoiled and swiped at her with its other claw, but Jaune was there to deflect it with a punch, knocking it back so Pyrrha could leap over and attack its face. Ren ran up, firing his weapon, and jumped on the stinger when it tried to hit him. He shot at the base between the stinger and the tail while Nora fired more grenades at the attacking claws. Pyrrha hurled her javelin straight into one of the monster's ten eyes, causing it to throw Ren to the side. But Jaune leaped in time to catch him in mid-air and landed back on the ground safely.

Jaune: I got you!

He turned to Pyrrha.

Jaune: Pyrrha!

Pyrrha: Done!

She raised her shield and hurled it like a discus, slicing the stinger off and causing it to fall into the Deathstalker's head. Pyrrha retrieved her rebounding shield.

Jaune: Nora, smash!

Nora: On it!

She jumped on Pyrrha's shield, and Pyrrha leaped as Nora aimed her blast down to give herself maximum lift. Nora smiled the entire way up before twirling down, slamming her hammer into the Deathstalker's head and driving the point through it, crushing the bridge beneath.

Jaune and Pyrrha bounded over the monster and landed safely behind it. Nora landed on her bottom, Pyrrha managed a crouched pose, and Ren simply walked over to them, panting and groaning before finally collapsing. Jaune caught him, and they nodded at each other. They watched as the Nevermore was peppered with firepower.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were engaged in their own battle.

Ruby looked forward and pumped Crescent Rose, while Weiss turned the circle on her weapon from black to red. She released Ruby at such a speed that the ground behind her cracked, rose petals flying from her ascent. With each new shot, she got closer to the trapped Grimm until her scythe caught the Nevermore's neck in its blade, causing them both to fall to the cliff wall.

Weiss raised her sword and created a series of white circles up the wall. Ruby dashed through them, firing the entire way up. Yang, Blake, and an exhausted Weiss watched as Ruby climbed up with the bird in her grasp. Finally, Ruby reached the top of the cliff, circles forming around her as she fired one last shot. She rended the Nevermore's head from its shoulders in a shower of petals.

Ruby landed beside the severed head, while the body of the giant Nevermore fell lifeless to the ruins and crevice below. The girls, along with Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, watched in amazement.

Jaune: Wow...

Ruby, her cape and petals flowing with the wind, looked down at her friends as they peered up.

Yang: Well... That was something!

Ruby continued to smile, and deep inside Jaune's soul, Sukuna smiled.

Sukuna: She lives for another day and is growing fast... Good... Continue to grow in power, Ruby Rose... You will be needed~

Later on back in Beacon. Ozpin was naming teams and their members.

Ozpin: Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark.

The screen of the auditorium shows each of their profiles as the boys are lined up for the applauding audience to see as Ozpin continues.

Ozpin: 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 gives one more wave of ovation, while four students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

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

Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug.

Ozpin: Led by... Jaune Arc!

Jaune: Huh? This is surprising.

Ozpin: Congratulations, young man.

A grinning Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune who smiled at her.

Ozpin: And finally... Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. 

He motions over the four as they stand before him.

Ozpin: The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!

Weiss looks to her right surprised, where Ruby is obviously in shock as Yang goes over to hug her sister.

Yang: I'm so proud of you!

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

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Meanwhile, in Mistral, a solitary man stood atop a building, blowing bubbles that floated across the town. The gentle breeze carried the iridescent spheres through the air, creating a whimsical sight against the backdrop of the city.

Man: Ah so peaceful~

He spoke with a bored expression, his voice lacking enthusiasm, as he blew more bubbles into the air. The monotonous routine was interrupted by a faint buzzing sound that caught his attention. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his scroll, noticing a new message notification from an unknown Figure but someone he knows.

The man opened the message, his eyes scanning the screen as he read the words that appeared before him. The message was from an colleague, leaving him intrigued as this was quite Rare. With a slight grin on his face, he began to read the contents of the message.

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Doc: Our Mistress has a mission for you.

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

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The man's grin widened into a mad, twisted smile as he contemplated the upcoming adventure. His eyes gleamed with a mix of excitement and something darker, hinting at a hidden madness within him. With an almost maniacal laugh, he spoke aloud to himself, reveling in the prospect of leaving his boredom behind.

Man: Finally... Some action!

He stood up and leap off the building where behind him was piles of destroyed Human corpses that seem to be still alive but they were completely merged and still moving around making Non-Human like sounds.