"You know, I was so hyped from all the action earlier, I totally overlooked something," Yang admitted to everyone, as Abe handed out bags of microwave popcorn. "Vomit Boy's got him selves some firearms now!"

"It is about time, too," Weiss declared. "Every Huntsman should have at least some form of ranged weapon at their disposal."

"Those guns looked really familiar to me," Ruby mused. "Doesn't General Ironwood have a pair of pistols like that?"

"Yes, but his are revolvers," Abe told her. "In fact, it was Ironwood who both convinced Jaune to use firearms in that reality, and taught him how to shoot."

"I take it that means we transferred to Atlas Academy after the Fall of Beacon, then," Ren surmised.

"Yeah, you did," their host confirmed. "Honestly, I'm kinda surprised you guys are taking the destruction of your Huntsman Academy so well."

"Well, things like that happen a lot in our universe," Pyrrha said with a shrug. "I was just a little girl when Mountain Glenn was overrun by Grimm, and not too long after, Oniyuri fell, too. You sort of expect things like that to happen after a while." She frowned. "It's still a tragedy, though."

"Hey, what caused the Fall of Beacon, anyway?" Nora asked. "Maybe we can stop it from happening in our version of reality. Or are not allowed to tell us?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Abe admitted. "I don't think the Author would be very happy if I just gave you all the answers. So, I'll only tell you this much: an infiltrator claiming to be from a different academy is responsible for it." He paused for a few seconds. "Okay, I haven't been struck by lightning yet, so I think I'll quit while I'm ahead."

"So somebody claiming to be from one of the other three Huntsman Academies is responsible for it?" Blake demanded, her amber eyes narrowing. "We should tell Headmaster Ozpin about this when we get back to Beacon."

"If we can get back to Beacon," Weiss corrected her.

"Well, I'll make a note of that, anyway," Ruby decided, typing it down in her Scroll.

"You do that," Abe said. "So, since you're all stuck here for the long run, what say we start the second episode?"

"Oh, heck yeah!" Nora whooped. "Jaune totally rocks in this dimension! I wanna see him fight some Grimm next!"

"Well, you're in luck," Abe assured her. "In the next episode, he does just that. So without further ado..." Using his controller, he selected the second episode, entitled "The Blood Ink," and pushed play.

The episode began with Jaune walking through the streets of Vale, as the sun slowly set beneath the city backdrop. The Huntsman stopped to stare up at the bright pink sky for a moment, as a soft breeze blew through the Kingdom capital, causing his cape to flutter.

"Man, we didn't get sunsets like these back on Vytal," Jaune said to himself. "There were too many trees to be able to properly see the sky..."

"It's the same way on Patch," Yang said. "There's clearings that allow you to see the sun during the day, but morning and evening look pretty bland by comparison. "

"Huh. I didn't Jaune was from Vytal," Pyrrha admitted. "Although, he doesn't really talk about himself that much."

Jaune continued onward, the buildings abruptly stopped looming over him, leaving only an expanse of dirt and patches of cracked asphalt. Shards of broken concrete and rusty girders decorated the otherwise barren ground. Quiet gusts of wind kicked up dust, giving his surroundings a hazy shroud. And then the Huntsman came to a stop a second time, as he stood in front of an expanse of barbed wire fence that stretched on as far as the eye could see in either direction. Tire tracks of a heavy vehicle decorated the dusty ground, the trajectory of which made a giant circle around the fence. A large yellow sign off to his left caught Jaune's attention, causing him to walk over to it. The sign depicted a humanoid figure being mauled by what looked to be a bipedal wolf, and a smaller sign beneath the first read "TURN BACK: GRIMM." The Huntsman looked at the fence behind the sign, where the barbed wire had all been cut, wide enough for a large truck to drive through, judging by the set of fresh tire tracks heading through the space. Jaune looked up to see where they led to, and then he saw it.

Looming far in the distance behind the barbed wire fence were the dark and lonely ruins of Beacon Academy. The school was in surprisingly good condition, though the Headmaster's office at the top of the tallest tower was essentially gone, and a portion of the outer colonnades had collapsed. Inky black liquid covered large patches of the school, and even as far away as he was, the Huntsman could still hear the distant snarls and howls of Grimm.

The audience was quiet as they stared at the sight onscreen.

"Dang," Nora murmured finally, "That's kinda depressing, actually."

"Yeah," Ruby said sadly. "Beacon is the best and most beautiful Huntsman Academy in all of Remnant, and now it's just another abandoned, gloomy castle, like those ruins  in the Emerald Forest!"

"And the Grimm that defiled it have taken up residence there, too," Weiss lamented. "That just adds insult to injury."

Jaune stared at the former Huntsman Academy somberly, his eyes aglow with recollection.

"It feels like just yesterday I was attending class there, trying not to fall asleep during one of Port's lectures," the Huntsman sighed. "I can't believe it's been five years already..." He shook his head, eyes hardening in resolve. "There's no time to get sentimental now," he scolded himself. "I've got to stop the White Fang before they agitate the Grimm!" With his goal in mind, Jaune charged through the open space cut in the barbed wire fence, and ran towards Beacon, following the tire tracks.

"How many members of the White Fang do you suppose there will be at Beacon?" Ren asked Blake. The cat Faunus shrugged.

"It's hard to say," she said. "Depending on how many Grimm are prowling the ruins, as well as how important this 'birthright' is, it could very well be the entire Valean sect."

"So Jaune's might have to fight a small army on top of a Grimm horde," Yang realized, before shaking her head in dismay. "Super..."

As Jaune continued towards Beacon, the sun slowly sank behind the Huntsman Academy, causing the sky to fade from its brilliant red to a dreary gray instead. As though in response to the more dismal color, any and all background noise ceased to be. Even the Grimm at Beacon fell silent, as though trying to set the mood for a long walk in isolation.

"Sheesh, it got quiet," the Huntsman said to himself. "If I didn't have to keep an eye out for Grimm, I'd put some music on."

"Tell me about it," Nora said with a nod. "Walking in complete silence is the worst. That's why you've gotta learn to sing!"

At that moment, another sound filled the air, a sound Jaune knew all too well- the sound of crackling flames. And sure enough, just up ahead of him, half-hidden behind the puffs of dust kicked up by the wind, was an overturned truck, the underside of which was ablaze. An angry cloud of black smoke rose into the air, where it quickly intermingled with the haze and disappeared. There was a humanoid shape laying facedown in front of the wreck, causing the Huntsman to run over to it.

"Hey!" he called to the prone figure, hoping to get a reply. There was none. Jaune stopped in front of body, and pursed his lips. It was another White Fang Grunt, based  on the clothing, and the amount of blood puddles beneath his chest. The Huntsman knelt beside the Faunus, and rolled them over onto their back. "Oh, God..." Where the Grunt's throat had once been was just a gaping hole. Large claw marks ran down his chest as well, cutting deep enough to expose the bone beneath. The Faunus's mask had been knocked off, revealing his lifeless eyes, which were wide with terror.

"Ugh..." Ruby stuck her tongue out, silver eyes shut tight.

"That is disgusting!" Weiss snapped, her pale cheeks tinged pink.

"That's a horrible way to die," Pyrrha moaned, disturbed.

Jaune shook his head, then closed the Grunt's eyes, giving the corpse just a little bit more dignity.

"Alright, buddy, who did this to you?" the Huntsman muttered, before inspecting the area around the wreckage. The constantly shifting dust had completely erased any footprints, save for one set belonging to a big, quadrupedal animal with long claws. There were also several more bodies spread out around the site, all belonging to White Fang Grunts. Each had varying injuries to their chests and limbs, but all had one thing in common: their throats were all torn out. As he inspected the body of yet another Faunus, this one missing so much of his neck that he had practically been decapitated, Jaune reached a conclusion. "Beowolves," he determined. "They're led by an Alpha, judging by the severity of this guy's injuries, plus the weight required for those footprints to stay intact. Well," the Huntsman sighed, deploying his shield and drawing Crocea Mors. "Now that they've gotten a taste for flesh, I'd better deal with them now, before they decide to head for town." Planting his sword's blade in the ground, Jaune brought a pair of fingers up to his mouth, and used them to whistle shrilly. "That should get their attention," he declared, before pulling Crocea Mors free to brandish in front of him. "Come on, you creeps..."

"Be careful, Jaune," Yang said with a grimace. "Beowolves are weak alone, but that pack's gotta be pretty big to kill that many people."

"Not to mention there's an Alpha amongst them," Blake added. "Those beasts tend to be harder to kill."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

A few seconds passed as Jaune stood there, his teeth clenched and his knuckles turning white as they tightly gripped his shield and sword. And then, low growls and snarls announced the arrival of his enemies. On all sides of the Huntsman, several dark shapes appeared amongst the dust clouds, and glowing red eyes glared at him murderously. And then a larger form appeared in front of him, standing up on its hind legs to look down upon him. The Alpha Beowolf lifted its head and howled, causing all of its smaller followers to do the same, before one of the wolf Grimm lunged towards Jaune.

"Here we go!" Ruby cheered.

Jaune quickly sidestepped the Beowolf's pounce, then bisected the wolf Grimm as it barreled past with a downward swing of Crocea Mors. Hearing a fierce snarl coming from behind him, the Huntsman pivoted his feet, bringing his shield up to block a paw swipe aimed at his neck, before swinging his sword through a second Beowolf's neck, slicing its head off. Another of the wolf Grimm snarled and began to bound towards Jaune, but before the Huntsman could turn to face his attacker, he was blindsided by a fourth Beowolf, who's toothy maw clamped down on his wrist, restraining his sword arm as it attempted to pull him down to the ground.

"Uh oh!" Nora yelped.

"Hurry, Jaune, get out of that!" Pyrrha called.

Jaune grimaced, then raised his shield as the charging Beowolf lunged at him. The wolf Grimm slammed into the Huntsman's guard snout first, and howled in pain, but then sprang up onto its hind legs, using its front paws to pull the shield out of his hands. At this, Jaune simply smiled.

"Gotcha!" As the Beowolf came forward again, aiming to clamp its fangs down on his throat, the Huntsman's hand flew flew down to his side, quickly drawing Ebony and putting a bullet through the wolf Grimm's open mouth, blowing the back of its head apart. He then swung his arm around to shoot the Beowolf mauling his arm right between the eyes. As a fifth Beowolf bounded forward and lunged at him, Jaune dropped his sword and fell on his back, unholstering Ivory as he did so. The wolf Grimm sailed right over the Huntsman, allowing him to fire several rounds into its belly, killing it before it hit the ground.

"Yeah, Jaune! That's the way!" Yang whooped.

"Those pistols certainly give him an edge in combat," Weiss admitted.

"Yes, but I'm afraid they won't work as well on that Alpha," Blake said with a frown. "See?"

Jaune leapt up onto his feet and repeatedly shot the Alpha Beowolf in its chest and head, but the bullets simply bounced off its bigger, thicker body. With an irritated snarl, the large wolf Grimm rushed forward, swiping at the Huntsman with its large claws. Jaune backed out of the way, then rolled to the side as the Alpha Beowolf lunged forward to snap at his face with its fang-filled maw. The Huntsman used this opportunity to kick the wolf Grimm in the side of the head, causing it to stumble and fall on its side. The Alpha Beowolf snorted, then lifted its muzzle and let out another howl, sending the remaining lesser wolf Grimm barreling towards the Huntsman.

"Trying to gang up on me, huh? Well, I can't have that!" Jaune declared. He backed up a little, getting closer to his fallen sword, and then just as the first Beowolf closed in, kicked Crocea Mors up off the ground, causing it to pierce through the wolf Grimm's jaw and out the top of its head, causing it to go rigid as it simply stood there on its hind legs. Another Beowolf came up at the Huntsman from behind, but he simply snatched his shield up off the ground and slammed the bottom of it into its head, caving in its skull. As the last of the lesser wolf Grimm leapt towards him, Jaune pried his sword out of the other's head and parried each of its claw swipes, dismembering its front paws. The Huntsman then plunged Crocea Mors through the Beowolf's chest, and then tore it out, allowing the beast to collapse.

"That takes care of the pack," Pyrrha stated.

"That just leaves the Alpha," Ren surmised. "Hopefully, Jaune has the right equipment to kill that thing."

With the lesser Grimm slain, Jaune turned to face the Alpha Beowolf, which was back up on its hind legs, leering at him. The large wolf Grimm snarled and stomped forward, attempting to grab the Huntsman. Jaune ducked under its claw swipe and then dragged Crocea Mors across its chest. The Alpha Beowolf let out a pained grunt, but the damage to its chest was minor. With another growl, it shoved the Huntsman onto his back, then slammed itself down on top of him, pinning him in place as its open mouth plunged towards his face.

"Oh no!" Ruby yelped.

"Look out, Jaune!" Blake called.

"He's fine!" Yang assured them, pointing at the screen.

Grumbling, Jaune released Crocea Mors again and grabbed the Alpha Beowolf's bony snout, holding its maw at bay as he struggled to free himself. He managed to get one leg out from under the large Grimm's bulk, so the Huntsman took a deep breath, and then, focusing Aura into his foot, kicked the Alpha Beowolf in the chest, sending it crashing onto its back, though it quickly scrambled back up onto all fours, just as Jaune rolled back up into a crouch himself. For a split second, the two glared at each other, before the wolf Grimm let out a third howl and then bounded towards the Huntsman as fast as its four feet could carry it. As it drew close, Jaune shoved its gaping maw downwards to prevent it from biting him, then swung himself up onto its back, wrapping his sword arm around its thick neck.

"Oh yeah! I love it, Jaune! Do it just like that!" Nora started to clap, laughing excitedly. "Ride that bucking Beowolf!"

"I never thought Jaune would take a page out of Nora's book," Weiss confessed, staring at the screen in shock.

The Alpha Beowolf roared and thrashed, trying to dislodge Jaune, who held on for dear life as the Grimm flailed and swiped its claws behind it. Steeling himself, the Huntsman balled his free hand and began to slam his shield into the back of the beast's head. With a few solid strikes, the Alpha Beowolf lost its footing, sending both Huntsman and Grimm alike tumbling to the ground, right next to Jaune's sword. Seeing this, the Huntsman released his grip and rolled toward his sword, grabbing it up just as the Alpha Beowolf came at him again, rearing up to try and crush him. Jaune threw himself into a backward handspring, narrowly avoiding the pair of large, clawed paws that smashed down where he had just been. Now on his feet, the Huntsman launched himself forward, intercepting the wolf Grimm as it rose back up as well. Before the Alpha Beowolf could attack, Jaune focused Aura around his sword arm and began to rapidly thrust Crocea Mors into the Grimm's chest, small puffs of smoke erupting at every stab.

"He's doing it!" Pyrrha cheered. "He's overpowering that Alpha Beowolf!"

"Come on, Jaune! Finish that meanie off!" Ruby called.

"Hmph! Grah! Yah!" Jaune grunted, as his thrusts slowed but the power behind them increased. "Breakdown!" His last stab was forceful enough to cause the Alpha Beowolf to stagger backwards, though it was quick to throw itself forward again. In response, the Huntsman bent his legs, and lunged forward himself. "HIYAH!" Jaune shouted, his arm and sword rippling with Aura as he descended upon the Grimm. Crocea Mors connected with the Alpha Beowolf's shoulder, sinking down through its chest to finally snag on the Grimm's pelvis. With a dying howl, the Alpha Beowolf fell on its knees, then went limp. The Huntsman pulled his sword free, and the Grimm crumbled to ash.

"That was awesome!" Yang laughed. "He made killing an Alpha Beowolf look easy!"

"Well, he's not a Huntsman-in-training anymore," Blake pointed out. "He should have graduated a year or two ago, right? Huntsmen of that skill level should be able to kill a Grimm like that by themselves."

"Phew! What a workout!" Jaune declared, folding his shield back into a scabbard and sheathing Crocea Mors, before wiping his sweaty brow. "Though it was more of a warmup, considering how many more Grimm are camping out here," he went on, staring at the ruins of Beacon Academy, which was now considerably closer. As he started to make his way toward the school again, a bright light suddenly flashed from the Headmaster's office. With a low hum, the academy began to flicker to life, as the electricity flowing throughout the buildings illuminated the inside of the school. The instant after this happened, the howls and cries of the Grimm inhabiting the ruins increased tenfold.

"Whoa, what happened?" Nora asked. "Did lightning strike the top of the academy or something?"

"No, that was something else," Weiss deduced. "I think someone restored power to Beacon."

"It's been one year since the last time we met," Jaune muttered, glaring up at the top of Beacon Academy, where he could see the small shape of a humanoid. It was hard to make out any details from where he was standing, but he could still see that they had red hair, and was wearing a mask. The Huntsman shook his head, and started to run towards the ruins, as a Wyvern Grimm swooped over him with a loud roar, attracted by the increased activity of its smaller brethren. "No doubt you've got some fun planned for me, right, Adam?" The episode ended.

"Adam," Blake whispered, feeling mixed feelings at the sight of him again. "Whatever you're after, please, don't let it be a weapon..."

"So that's Taurus, huh?" Yang hummed. "He didn't look too threatening. I'd be more worried about the Wyvern than some White Fang guy, if I was Jaune."

"Yang, we only saw him from a distance, standing there menacingly," Ren reminded her. "We have no idea what he is capable of yet."

"Well, I'm sure Jaune can handle him!" Ruby stated brightly. "After all, Jaune's a licensed Huntsman now! Anyone without that kind of training doesn't stand a chance! Right, Abe?"

"Uh, sure..." Abe said, trying to keep a straight face.

~GRIMM MAY CRY~

"Oz, I'm telling ya, something's really weird about that Fall chick and her team," Qrow told Ozpin, as the two men, along with Ms. Goodwitch, conferred within the Headmaster's Office. "I'd need a better look at 'em, but I think they're the ones that attacked Amber."

"Yes, I have my suspicions about them as well," Ms. Goodwitch said with a nod. "Lionheart's description of their team sounded a little too rehearsed. Not to mention the fact their transcripts have strange signatures on them. It is not an obvious forgery, like Mr. Arc's, but it seemed like Lionheart was in a hurry to sign them."

"Believe me, I am well aware of all of this," Ozpin assured his two colleagues. "I have already arranged for Ironwood to take them in for questioning as soon as the Vytal Festival begins. If they are the ones responsible for Amber's current condition, then we will get to the bottom of it, one way or another." Just then, the buzzer for the elevator leading up to the Headmaster's office went off. "One moment, please," Ozpin  requested, before answering the buzzer. "Who is this?"

"Headmaster! It's.. It's Jaune... Arc, sir," the voice on the other end panted. From the sound of it, he was out of breath, and a little nervous, too.

"Mr. Arc, we are in the meeting of a very important meeting right now!" Ms. Goodwitch said sternly. "Whatever this is, it had better be important!"

"S-Sorry ma'am," Jaune's voice stammered. "I don't mean to interrupt, but- Well, it's just that... I think there might be a black hole in Team RWBY's room?" Qrow, who had taken this momentary recess in the conversation to have a drink from his flask, spat out his booze.

"Say what now?!" he shouted.