Despite the impending doom facing the entire group, Sepia decided that one of her famous wise cracks was in order. Without even looking to see what she was typing, she sent a group text to Timbre, Arty, and Roland. It simply read 'Oh really? I thought it was an Ursa…' in response to Roland's previous comment.

They quickly read the texts, then put away their scrolls. Tough crowd… In an attempt to raise morale, she popped her knuckles and took a step forward. This was what they trained for. This is what a Huntress did.

"No! Sepia! Not again!" Timbre yelled as they all backed away from the massive beast.

"We need to get back to the cliff!" Arty waved his arm, trying to get Sepia to step away from the monster. He knew it was a fruitless effort. Huffing in defeat, he dashed forward and aimed his gun at the beast. A Grimm like the Minotaurus wasn't just going to let them run back to the cliffs.

Sepia looked at him, confused. Her eyes darted between him and the Grimm. Sure, she was insane enough to take it on, but she didn't think Arty was too.

"You don't honestly think you can take that thing on on your own, do you?" He smirked, showing off the gap in his teeth. "Come on, we can give the others some cover to get back to the cliffs."

"Don't be stupid," Roland growled at them both. The paper and ink that he typed out contorted into a blade parallel to his arm. In his other hand, he tossed a black grenade up and down. "You two aren't going to kill that thing. As much as I hate to say it, I'm standing by you, partner."

"Right on! I knew you'd come around!" Arty gave his partner a thumbs up.

"Don't push it."

Sepia gave an even more confused look at the Faunus. He hadn't seemed like the cooperative type, but she wasn't complaining. Between Arty's Dust and Roland's versatility, they might have actually had a chance at taking the Grimm down.

Everest stepped forward to join the forming line of students. His muscles flexed and bulged out when his hands tightened around the blindingly white club in his hands. An affirmative grunt told the group that he was more than willing to fight.

The grinding and shifting of metal followed as Turf stepped up and held aloft his shovel-gone-shotgun. "Five on one? I think we can make it happen. What do you guys say?" He rocked the pump action to ready his weapon.

Rime held up a solid ice axe that she didn't have before. She juggled the axe through the air over and over while staring down the Grimm. It seemed to be confused by their gathering for an offensive. "Why not six on one? Eh big guy?" She nodded to Everest.

A haughty huff was heard as Alice stepped up next to Arty. Her blazing blue eyes pierced the Grimm. She raised a card to throw, "I can't let you lot have all the fun, now can I?" The burning red heart on the card glowed like a raging flame.

Timbre wanted to run as she looked up to the monster at the other end of the clearing. She was so close to the trees. She could run for the cliff. No. I didn't run at Koruss, and I'm not running now.

Knuckles turned white when she finally made her decision. She would take this thing down with these people at her side. Her wrists clicked, and wires reached to the ground. She stepped up to the group with a determined glare leveled at the Minotaurus. "C'mon ugly. Let us prove to you we're ready to be professional Grimm killers."

Arty couldn't help but smile. All eight of them except for Rime and Everest didn't know each other, yet here they were. All eight faced with one common enemy. A very deadly common enemy, but an enemy that they could kill nonetheless.

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Roland shouted as he lobbed the grenade at the Minotaurus. Ink exploded in its face, and a clench of his fist served to make a small crack in the Grimm's mask. The ensuing roar shook the earth. This wasn't going to be easy. "I thought that was going to be at least… semi-effective…" He mumbled.

Sepia silently laughed, gave the group a nod, and shot forwards with the reels of film and bullets trailing off of her weapons. That spur of the moment decision in the hospital was the right one. Beacon was the place for her. They were going to kill this monster. Just them with the teachers watching back at the cliff. Sepia hoped they would enjoy the show.

"I'll flank him, sound good?" Turf turned to everyone. His eyes followed Sepia on her way towards the Minotaurus. He saw that her whips weren't doing too much damage on their own. "Maybe get the heavy damage dealers out to take out those legs?"

"Sounds reasonable." Rime placed a hand on Everest's arm. A white layer of frost traveled up his arm and enveloped his torso, and Rime just smiled. "We can take care of that, can't we, Everest?"

"Awesome. If we can get that thing to fall, then I can make sure it stays down!" Turf jogged away, toting his shotgun close to his chest.

"YES. KILLING TIIIIIIME!" Everest roared and held up his club. He plucked Rime off the ground and threw her onto his shoulders. Together, they ran to face the beast head-on.

"Okay. I definitely look normal compared to all of you guys." Arty laughed. "But that's not saying much!" He dashed forward, diving in and out between the monster's legs. He raised his gun and fired Dust paintball after Dust paintball. Fire, lightning, and even rock burst around the monster's legs with each shot. With a target this big, there was no way he would accidentally start another forest fire… hopefully.

It began stomping as the students dashed around it, smashing and slashing at its ankles. A massive fist plunged into the earth, just narrowly missing Arty. Sepia darted off away from the impact zone to regroup with her partner. When it dragged its fist back through the ground, it slammed into Everest and Rime. The limb rattled when it came to an unexpected stop.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Everest slammed his club against the side of the Minotaurus' hand like a bat against a baseball, sending the arm jerking back into the air.

"We've got your back, Arty!" Rime shouted and raised her arms. Seven ice spears formed above her head and shot towards their opponent. They exploded upon contact, but left no visible damage.

Arty clenched the grip on his gun. They needed more fire power. He cycled through his paintballs and apprehensively replaced them with bright orange ones, Magma Dust, while he, Everest, and Rime ran around the skeletal hooves of the Minotaurus. It raised a foot to stomp on all three of them while they attempted to reposition.

Sepia slid to a stop next to Timbre, Roland, and Alice. She turned her head just in time to see the Minotaurus raising its hoof to crush their friends. No!

"You're not leavin' me out of this that easy painta boy!" Alice reared her arm back, a whole hand of cards between her fingers. She could feel Timbre, Sepia and the Faunus eyeing her curiously. She'd show them. She'd prove to Timbre that they should have been partners. She held her breath and lined up the shot. Time seemed to slow down as the heavy bone-plated hoof inched closer to crushing the other three students.

The cards flew through the air. The questionable weapons looked like thrown toys up to the point they exploded into large fireballs against the left side of the Grimm's masked face. It stumbled, making jerking steps away from Arty, Everest, and Rime.

"Woah! Nice one!" Arty gave her a thumbs-up. He only got a turned-up nose in return. "Right then." He kept circling the beast as it flailed about in its attempt to stomp on the puny students. Balls of fire dotted the bone plates of the Minotaurus' pecs with every Magma Dust-charged shot from Palette.

Roland growled as he watched his peers. "Oh no, I'm not being out done by the guy who accidentally blew up part of a school and started a forest fire…" He entered the fray and leaped onto the monster's leg. Writer's Block's blade shrieked as it cut through the air in an arc above his head. Ink went splattering around the entry wound when he plunged the blade into its calf. He continued to stab and slash at its leg, joining the effort to get the thing down on their level.

Sepia zipped up towards Roland and latched onto the leg with him. Her weapons shifted back to their camera-pistol forms and the barrels dug into the black flesh and fur. Wow, he's kinda handsome. She thought with her eyes trained on Roland while blasting bullet after bullet into the Minotaurus' calf. Wonder what kind of food is at that diner Timbre told us about… No, no, need to focus. She shook off the thoughts clouding her mind. This was fighting time.

Timbre watched as the other seven slashed at the beast, but it just refused to fall down. She knew she had the perfect method to take it down. "Everyone! Stand back and get down!" Once Roland and Sepia were off and everyone else was safely away, she lept up and shot her wires forward. They pierced into the beast's leg, making it roar. She began to retract the wires, drawing her closer. She kicked up off of the ground and began to swing in circles around the Minotaurus's legs. As her body spun around it, getting closer and closer while the Minotaurus tried to bat her away. At one point, the tips of its claws nearly took off her head. She had to act fast. With one last rapid retraction, the wires tightened, bringing the Grimm's hooves together. She clipped the wires and launched back towards the ruins. Dirt flew up in the air as she rolled across the ground.

Sepia saw her idol on the ground and immediately turned away from the falling creature in order to go to her side. Picking Timbre up and dragging her away, she checked to see if her partner was still breathing. Thankfully, Timbre just seemed to have had taken a little too much g-force on her trip around the monster's legs.

"That'll help!" Turf ran along the side of the falling Minotaurus. He thrusted his hands into the air, causing the ground to shift in its shadow. Suddenly, a thick spire of rock burst out of the earth and slammed into its abdomen. Bone plates shattered to reveal its glowing red innards. The pillar shot back into the ground, allowing the Minotaurus to come crashing down. It turned to swipe at the fighter that had brought it to the ground, but as it reeled its arm back, Turf leveled his shotgun to the exposed chest. Two loud blasts rang out, blowing chunks out of the creature as Turf backed away from it.

If only Sepia could have spoken, then she'd be screaming with joy. Before she could communicate her happiness to her unconscious friend, she realized that there was still more to be done and took off running to deal some more damage. She replaced the reels of film and bullets on her guns and made a running jump onto the monster's back. The crooked spray of bullets dotted a line up the creature's spine. The beast roared in pain as the puny young student hit every kink in its bony armor.

Everest smashed his club against the ankles of the Minotaurus. "EVEREST DESTROY!" The bone plates finally shattered around its hooves. There was no way that it was getting up after that. Rime cheered him on and sent ice spears down into the glowing red wounds that Everest made, her laughter masked by the pained groans of the Grimm.

"Hey! Arty! Remind me not to fight the caveman!" Roland shouted as an ink grenade exploded in a new mass of paper on his arm. The paper coiled and extended, creating what seemed to be the barrel of a cannon. "Alright, let's get down to business…" A sadistic smile formed as he loaded in a few grenades into the end of the weapon. He held it up, sending a small ball of spiked ink hurdling towards the monster's head. It exploded in a black cloud on impact, shattering the already damaged plates of its mask. "I always thought that might work!" He fired off another round from his cannon.

Even though the giant Grimm was on the ground and unable to fight back, it just wouldn't die no matter how much they hacked and slashed.

Alice sat back and watched the fight continue. That's when she noticed the back of the monster's neck, where Rime and Everest had made a wound exposing the odd glowing inside the base of its head. She knew it was her chance to take it down. Decapitation. "Everyone back away!" She ran towards the fallen beast, a card drawn back in her hand. She jumped, aimed, and-

"Take this! You ugly bugga!" she yelled as she threw her card.

A small orange object flew between Alice and the Grimm just as she threw her card. Her eyes widened as she saw her ultra-sharpened card draw closer to the small glass vial. In her focused state, she watched as the bright orange paintballs slowly bounced around inside the tube. Apparently Arty had a similar idea for a decisive blow and she didn't have time to get out of the blast zone.

The monster disappeared in a huge fireball. Black smoke burst out with wisps of fire curling upwards to the sky. Chunks of rock and bone shot every which way. From the fire and smoke, Alice shot up into the air.

Roland watched the ginger sail through the air at subsonic speeds. Truly, it was a beautiful sight to behold. The small smoke trail that followed her was the icing on the cake. He walked up beside Arty. "So is that the same kind of situation that you caused at Atlas, or…?"

"I didn't mean to do that!" Arty ran to where Alice was about to hit the ground, following her through the air with his eyes. He cringed as he heard Alice slam into the ground, bouncing a few times from the impact. Luckily, he didn't have to watch as he couldn't see through the dense black smoke.

Roland jogged after Arty and held him by the backpack, "No, no, just let it happen. She'll flip out you if you're the one to help her."

"Pretty… Fire…" Everest was entranced by the hypnotic glow of the flames. Atop his shoulders sat Rime, who was just smiling from ear to ear as she examined the scene. In their own unique ways, they seemed proud of their contribution to the battle.

Turf trudged up, obviously exhausted. "I'm gonna… go help Alice…" He slumped over on his way to his partner.

Sepia shouldered a dazed Timbre and helped her over to Arty and Roland. With her free hand, she gave a thumbs up to Arty. Although she couldn't say it, she was really enjoying the whole gig at Beacon. It was more lively than she'd expected, but that was the best possible outcome that she could have asked for.

Arty didn't understand why Sepia was smiling so much when he might have just killed someone. He turned to run to Alice when she suddenly slapped him across the face.

Alice held onto Turf's shoulder to stay up and glared at Arty. Though she was up and moving, she wasn't too stable on her feet. "What in tha bloody hell were you thinking?!" She yelled, getting in his face as much as she could. "If my aura had been down, I would 'ave died! Do you even think about tha people fighting next to you before you do somethin' that reckless?!"

Arty couldn't get a word in through her enraged tirade.

"And anotha thing, I-"

"Alice, you hair is burning..." Turf waved his hand in front of his nose to alleviate the scent of burning human hair.

Alice stopped yelling at Arty and instead started screaming as she waved her sleeves at her head repeatedly to put the small flame out. She huffed and pointed at Arty sternly. "You're payin' ta have this dress cleaned painta boy!" She reached up to feel the singed strands of hair and pouted, "An' ta 'ave my hair done…" She elbowed Turf in the side, "Come on then, Turf! Take me back ta tha cliff!" She glared at Arty before she suddenly began to stumble. Turf caught her and helped her along. She finally disappeared into the forest with her hateful gaze still intact.

"But…" Arty stammered.

"Yeah…" Rime said from Everest's shoulders, "We're gonna head back too. I just want to be done with today!" She slumped over, resting her head against Everest's. The pale girl kicked a foot against the caveman's chest. "C'mon big guy! Let's go get some lunch!"

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooood…" Everest's voice trailed off as he and his pilot ran into the forest.

Roland looked over to Sepia and Timbre. Timbre wasn't looking too great, but, despite a few spots of dirt, Sepia looked better than ever. "Is she going to be alright?" He asked while slicing off the paper that connected his cannon to his typewriter.

Sepia gave a quick nod of affirmation to Roland and kept smiling at Arty. 'Nice work!' She texted the group.

"Yeah… nice…" Arty mumbled half-heartedly as he looked over to where the two other pairs had walked off.

"Arty."

He looked over to see Timbre awake and beginning to try to stand on her own.

"Woah, hey. You need to not." He held out his arms, going over to help her.

She waved a hand to let him know that she would be fine. "As much as that Alice girl… bugs me, she has a point."

Arty's spirits dropped even further. He honestly felt like his weak friendship with Timbre was already crumbling.

"But…" Timbre flashed her famous smile. "You did kill the thing, didn't you?"

And with that, his spirits came shooting back up. "Yeah… I guess I did, didn't I?"

"You blew it up like Atlas Academy, more specifically." Before Arty could make a rebuttal, Roland waved the group along, "Come on. We need to get going. We have to get there so we can be rested for the opening ceremonies tonight. I look forward to seeing who we're all with." As much as it had begun to pain him to be passably nice, these words were genuine, "And I'm hungry. I just hope the cafeteria has clams…"

"Ew, gross!" Timbre laughed while Sepia helped her along.

A crowd was already gathered around the stage. The staff and upperclassmen were all eagerly awaiting for the ceremony to begin. Above it were three giant screens to display the names, photos, and team names of students. Dim lights were scattered about in the humongous room, and bright stage lights lit the massive stage that Professor Alabaster stood to one side next to a microphone stand. On the ground in the center of the stage were four circles of light created by the spotlights hidden in the rafters above.

Professor Alabaster cleared his throat, "And now for the last of this year's orientation groups. After being thrown headlong into the Emerald Forest, these twelve students had to overcome their lack of familiarity with each other, for the most part. Though there were complications along the way, they completed what most of the staff considers a test, but me, I believe that they have successfully gone through their first mission as young Huntsmen and Huntresses. At the end of their fifth hour in the forest, an unexpected obstacle interrupted their initiation. A Minotaurus Grimm, as you know, is highly dangerous and wreaks havoc wherever it treads. Right as Professor Maple and I were about to send some of the upperclassmen into the forest to help defeat the Grimm, we witnessed an amazing spectacle of comradery, resolve, and cooperation as these students banded together to take down their foe."

Alice rolled her eyes, "not exactly everyone…" she sneered, looking over to Frost. From the moment they were paired together, she knew she didn't like her.

"That is why, I'm proud to introduce the first of the last three teams," Professor Alabaster held his arm out to the group of students off in the shadows to the side of the stage, "Frost Aurora, Rime Chione, Everest Hyperborean, and Zero…" he paused awkwardly upon reaching that name, as if he were about to say a last name before realizing that there was none to be said.

The four named students made their way into the spotlights, taking spaces next to their headmaster. Everest and Rime smiled as they stood next to each other. Frost and a boy in a black hoodie took the remaining spaces. Frost didn't smile and stood rigidly on the stage as she faced her classmates.

"From now on, these four shall be known as Team FREZ, led by Frost Aurora."

Frost gave a dainty wave to the crowd. Instead of flashing a big grin, a small smile curved at her lips. The other three members clapped for her as she shook their hands one by one.

Zero was apprehensive at first, but Frost gave her new partner the benefit of the doubt. All sorts of people ended up aiming to become Huntsmen. "I don't bite, Zero," she said calmly.

He let out a short 'hmph' before taking her hand and shaking it.

Professor Alabaster cleared his throat, "Shortly after landing in the forest, Everest and Rime found each other. Unlike the other students, this pair already knew each other before coming here. I was fascinated by their near-symbiotic approach to dealing with the Grimm that they faced on their way to the temple. When they had to make the decision to keep going or help other students after seeing smoke rising from far off, they went to help. The problem wasn't Grimm, but a forest fire. This moment led me to believe that these two take one of the most important aspects of being a Huntsman or Huntress to heart; that the needs of others outweigh your own."

Rime bent her head down and twirled her hair as her cheeks blushed.

"The other pair, Frost and Zero, while they weren't involved with the brawl against the Minotaurus, they were however the first pair to get their artifact and make it back to the cliffs. The speed and tactics they displayed during their mission will aid them in their future careers greatly as a Huntsman always gets the job done swiftly and efficiently." He began to clap his hands, "I look forward to seeing you develop your skills during your time here at Beacon Academy and wish you the best of luck."

The rest of the students in the hall clapped as Team FREZ stepped down off of the stage.

"Now for our second team. Alice Crims, Navy Bulava, Turf Fescue, and Ebon Carbonado, please come up."

Arty recognized Ebon and Navy from his tour group. Knowing that Alice and Turf were partners, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Ebon knowing how antagonistic Navy had acted during the tour.

Seeing the other pair next to her and Turf, Alice was happy to see that she had teammates that were at least cleaner than her partner.

"Please help me welcome Team ANTE, led by Ms. Alice Crims."

Alice gasped in seemingly mock surprise before her cheeky smirk reappeared across her lips. "Well of course." Unlike Frost, Alice made a huge show of her being named leader. She blew kisses, curtsied, and gave them all a ginormous, cat-like grin.

After what seemed like an eternity of showing off, Alabaster finally took the show back from Alice. "While there was some bickering and disagreement among these pairs, when faced with danger, they were able to put aside differences in order to focus on the task at hand. I watched as Grimm fell from the use of knives, pistols, clubs, a shovel, skiis, and even playing cards." He allowed himself a quick bit of laughter before carrying on, "I swear, every year, prospective students come up with more and more interesting weapons. Turf and Alice were there to aid in the fight against the Minotaurs as well, doing their part to take down the monster. I'm anxious to see what the four of you do within the next four years and hope you go very far, after you learn to get along a bit better, of course." He began clapping, nearly having to shoo Alice off the stage in order for the last of the orientation group to take their place.

As she walked past the remaining four students, Alice couldn't help but sneer at Arty. "Well, this kinda kills the surprise, don't it?" She rolled her eyes, "can't wait ta hear what he has ta say about you nutters."

Arty's brow furrowed as he watched her swagger her way into the crowd with her new posse at her heels. He leaned over towards Roland "is it just me, or did her ego inflate by about forty times just from being on that stage?"

"Spotlights tend to have that effect on vain, stuck-up, self-indulgent, pompous, megalomaniacs," Roland recited half of his insult dictionary with his eyes still locked onto Alice, "I think that about covers it."

"No, wait, hold on," Arty grinned.

Timbre and Sepia stood a few feet behind the two boys as they continued adding words to their new mocking moniker for the girl in red, "Oh man…" Timbre was rubbing her hands together nervously, "This is so nerve-wracking…"

'Aren't you used to being on stage…?' Sepia looked up at Timbre. She looked back at the audience and then back to Timbre, 'This was your job.' She put a lot more gusto into the last motion for the word 'job'.

"I know, but that was as a singer… this is… pretty different, don't you think?"

The room fell silent as the old man cleared his throat again, "And for the last team of new students for this school year," he began as the remaining four students took to the stage, their pictures and names flashing on the screens overhead, "We have Arty Umber, Roland Wells, Timbre Forté, and Sepia Hughes. I present Team ARTS."

Arty, Sepia, and Timbre beamed while Roland stood perfectly still.

"Led by…" he paused, "Arty Umber,"

Timbre and Sepia seemed overjoyed by the team placements. Arty went numb.

"I… I'm a leader?..." he muttered in amazement as the two girls patted him on the back. The guy that blew a hole in the military academy of one of the strongest powers of Remnant. The guy that let his friends down by getting kicked out of school. The guy that had to go halfway across the planet to get Huntsman training. Here he was, the leader of his team. Arty couldn't help but smile.

The white knuckled fists that Roland had seemed to suggest that he was less than pleased with the selection of their leader. "We need to have a talk after this…" He glowered at his leader.

"Are you bloody kiddin' me?!" They heard the posh accented girl scream from the crowd. "He almost killed me!"

Ignoring Alice's comment, Alabaster continued, "Unlike ANTE and FREZ, all of the newly formed Team ARTS was present during the fight with the Minotaurus. At first, I believed their actions were brash and reckless,"

"They were!" Alice yelled out again.

"But their skill with not only their own weapons, but with their abilities to assess any situation put before them is something that we've never seen in Beacon. Timbre and Sepia, when they ran into a student without a partner, suggested that he come along until they could find him a partner rather than allowing him to walk off on his own. Arty and Roland, after a forest fire had started as a result of their fighting a pack of Beowolves, stayed put until they could find a way to put out the blaze as to not burn down the Emerald Forest. This team exemplified quick wit and situational awareness, two aspects every Huntsman and Huntress should have. The creativity they possess outside of combat has bled into their training, and it shows, and I'm eager to see how this continues in the future, and what they'll achieve by doing so." He allowed the applause to die down as Team ARTS left the stage. "I've seen some impressive things today. While all of you could use some more practice, well, that's what you're here for, right? Thank you all for being here. Good luck on your classes, now go on and get something to eat. You all have a big day to prepare for." As the entirety of the student population applauded, Onyx Alabaster descended the stage and disappeared out of the main door.

Hustling and bustling to get out of the crowded auditorium, the students began spilling out into the courtyard in groups of four. Finding solace in a little bit of peace and quiet, Team ARTS retreated to the base of the statue in the center of the Beacon courtyard. They had a perfect view off of the cliff and down to the city of Vale. Airships buzzed around the lake, ferrying students from Beacon to Vale as they went to celebrate the beginning of a new school year.

"You're the leader, huh?" Roland finally broke the contented silence.

Arty, not taking his eyes off of the landscape bathed in the setting sun's light, nodded, "Yeah… I guess so…"

"Well, I'm glad it was you and not me," Timbre kicked her legs back and forth against the base of the statue, "I probably would've had a panic attack if I was given that much responsibility all at once. I think you'll do fine, Arty."

'I'm with you, T. I wouldn't be able to communicate much. I'd freak out too!' Sepia hopped up next to her partner nudged her arm. Her hands contorted into a few more signs, 'I've also got my money on Roland in the fight that's about to happen.'

"Sepia, stop it!" she snapped quickly, preventing her from egging them on.

Roland shifted his jaw as he thought about what to say, "You know, I really want to punch you over this, Burne…" but his mother would have frowned on that. She would have told him to just trust that things would go at least semi-okay. He finally huffed, "Excuse me, Arty. Just don't go screwing this up. I'll beat the snot out of you if we all go down because of you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Roland." Arty said as he let his gaze sink to the cobblestones at his feet. "To be completely honest with you guys, I'm not exactly sure what it means to be a team leader. I wasn't even supposed to be one."

"Well now you are now, so act like it," Roland gave a less than light punch to Arty's arm, "Doesn't matter what you were or what you're going to be. It just matters what you are now." He glanced ahead to one of the arriving airships, "You guys want to head down to Vale to… you know, celebrate?"

Timbre smiled and clapped her hands together, "Sounds good! I know the perfect place!" She suddenly remembered something, "Oh yeah! I was going to ask Turf if he'd want to come, too!" She jumped up and dashed towards the hall, where some of the straggling students were still flooding out into the courtyard.

Luckily, Timbre noticed the red, black, and white of Alice's dress. As she drew closer, she noticed the bright green of Turf's beanie sticking up above the crowd.

"Hey! Alice! Turf!"

Team ANTE turned to face her.

"Timbre Forté!" Alice said with a big grin, "what brings you over here without your…" she peeked over Timbre's shoulder, "team?"

"Um, well," she stammered. Alice's demeanor was still very uncomfortable to deal with, "When Sepia and I ran into Turf in the Emerald Forest, we talked about how we should celebrate team formation with a dinner out in the city. I know a great cafe down there and I thought that maybe you guys would like to jo-"

"As much as I'd love to dine with you, Timbre, I'll have to decline your offer," Alice said quickly and forcefully.

"Come on, Alice. Timbre and Sepia are pretty fun to be around, and Arty and Roland don't seem too bad either. We could all have a pretty good time," Turf piped up and gestured over to the airships.

"I said, no." Alice put a hand defiantly on her hip, "and that's my final ansa. Nobody on Team ANTE's going down with you four ta Vale."

"What? Why?! We have nothing going on tonight, come on." Turf began walking towards Timbre to head down to the city with Team ARTS, "Whatever, I'll just meet up with you guys later. I already said that I would go back in the Emerald Forest."

Navy latched onto Turf's forearm.

"What the?" Turf looked back at the boy in blue camouflage. "Hey, bud, what're you doing?!"

"She said, no." He gave a quick glance to Alice, "She's the leader now. What she says, goes."

Timbre didn't understand the scene unfolding before her. She'd never met Navy before, but ever since she saw him on the stage, she knew there was something off about him, and his over-obedient and cold behavior was off-putting.

"Hey, Alice," Ebon tapped her on the shoulder with a mittened hand. "Why are you so against Turf going? A celebratory dinner doesn't sound too bad…"

Roland jogged up behind Timbre, "Hey, what's taking so long? We're starving over here, and you're the only one who knows where we're going." He glanced over at the scene unfolding, then to Navy's hands on Turf's shoulders, "You guys coming too, or…?"

Alice whipped her head around to face Ebon, "because nobody on a team under my leadership is going to sit at the same table as a dirty Faunus!"

Timbre was going to say something, but didn't get a chance to before Roland shoved her aside.

"Wanna run that by me one more time?!" Roland shouted in Alice's face.

The whole situation had gone from awkward to hostile in a matter of seconds.

Alice raised an eyebrow at Roland. Timbre could've sworn she saw a smirk cross Alice's lips. "Oh. I guess you heard that, then?" She giggled, "Oops. But I stand by what I said. My team doesn't need ta be around people like you. They might catch some of your… violent tendencies. Or maybe your beastly behavior."

"Oh boy…" Roland took a deep breath. Don't beat up another student. Don't beat up another student. "Alice… I'd be happy to demonstrate some of those violent tendencies and beastly behavior on you." He raised a fist to begin the long lesson that he was going to teach Alice.

"Woah! Woah! Let's just chill out. It's okay. We'll just walk our own ways and get on with the night. Everyone is tired." Turf held up his hands, "We don't need to break out in a fight with so many people around. Team ANTE will stay here. It's fine."

Timbre saw the disappointment in Turf's expression. While prejudice against Faunus was more common than some would've liked, she bet he wouldn't have thought he'd have someone like that on his team in a million years, much less lead it. "Turf, are you su-"

"I don't want this to get out of hand." Turf eyed Roland's raised fist, "Just get him out of here before we all get in major trouble. Alice said that we aren't going to eat with you guys, and that's her decision." He looked back at Ebon and Navy, then to Alice. He knew that she was less than kind, but he thought that Faunus-hate was gone for the most part, but in Remnant, anything could happen.

Timbre wanted to do something to diffuse the situation and still let the more pleasant half of Team ANTE eat with them, but she didn't think that she could calm Roland down no matter how hard she tried. She was defeated. She nodded solemnly, "Okay, Turf," she waved one hand to him while latching onto Roland's arm with the other, "see you around, then?"

"Yeah… see you around…" Turf turned to the rest of his team.

As Timbre dragged him away, Roland finally turned and walked beside her, "You should've just let me take a swing at her. I knew she was mean, but I didn't think that she was… that. I thought that kind of thinking went out the window after Menagerie was given to Faunus."

Throughout her tours as a singer, Timbre had met plenty of people, all with different backgrounds and viewpoints on the world. "You'd be surprised, Roland… and you just got a prime example."

"Believe me, I had plenty of examples back in Mistral. I just thought that things were different in Vale. You know, since you guys are known for being inclusive to us." Roland's tail slumped low to the ground, "Come on, let's just get a move on to the restaurant."

"Right…" Timbre walked silently as Roland fumed beside her. They quickly met up with Arty and Sepia at the airship station at the end of the cliff.

"Like I said, you guys are going to love this place!" Timbre said excitedly as they walked down the well-lit and lively streets of downtown Vale. Despite it now being dark, the city's nightlife had just begun. She decided to push the events with Alice to the back of her mind. She was going to help make her team happy and forget about the negatives and doubts brought on by the day they had. They were a team now, and she was going to play her part.

Arty gazed at the buildings in wonder. Originally, he had only seen Vale's architecture and layout from the air, but now that he was in it, all of the small quality detail began to appear. The shop windows, the lights, even the holographic street lights were all completely different than his home. "Woah… there's so much… color."

Timbre giggled, "You act like you've never seen color before."

"Not in a town really… The most color I saw in Atlas was in my mom's flower shop or the museum. That's nothing compared to all this."

"It's a lot like my home in Mistral. Dad designed the estate so that it had the same kind of architecture that you typically see in Vale." Roland peered around, taking in the bright beams of color that dotted everything around them, "Still, it's really cool to see it everywhere. Beautiful, even."

Sepia walked between Roland and Timbre. She sent a message out to the group, 'So, food, or are we just going to keep gawking at the sights? I could use some coffee. Maybe a burger, or some ice cream.'

Did she just?... Timbre shook her head, "Yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine around here, Sepia."

'Cool, but I still want food. Come on!' Sepia messaged out again.

"I'm with her, where is that place you were talking about, Timbre?" Roland looked around for a sign or some kind of holographic display. The motto in Vale seemed to be 'Go big or go home.'

"Right here," she said as she stopped in front of a simple brick building. The archways made a supported half-indoor, half-outdoor courtyard where a spread of tables and chairs were organized underneath the roof. The front door lead straight to the counter where a barista was ready to take quick-service orders. Despite the time, it seemed to be a pretty popular spot.

"Um… Timbre?" Arty began.

"What is it, Arty?"

"No offense, but this is a bit more… hole-in-the-wall than I was expecting."

Timbre rolled her eyes, "Okay, first thing you guys need to learn about me is that just because I'm famous, it doesn't mean I don't enjoy the smaller things in life. Not everything is about fine dining and extravagance for a celebrity."

Roland peeked inside, "So do we get a discount with you around, or…?"

'Student discount. It's like ten-percent off if it's just you, and twenty-five-percent off if you're with your entire team.' Sepia sent out a message, then turned to Timbre.

"Yeah, what she said… er… typed…" She winced and looked apologetically to Sepia, who just shrugged it off.

Team ARTS, a name that all of them thought felt fitting, proudly announced their status to the attending barista, got their food and coffee with a lovely twenty-five percent discount, and picked a table near the sidewalk. After a few people recognized her, the team was slowed down as Timbre was dragged off to take pictures and sign autographs. After that was said and done, they all began taking their seats, Sepia made sure to not stray too far from Roland, and quickly claimed the chair to his right.

"Haven't had to do that in a while!" Timbre laughed and took a bite of her crepe.

Timbre and Sepia laughed, or at least Timbre did, and signed back and forth with some awkward interjections from Roland and Arty. Something was becoming blatantly obvious to the singer.

"Are… are you two okay?" She asked the two guys through a mouthful of food, "You seem kinda down." She suddenly nudged the two partners from her place at the table, "C'mon! Cheer up! The day is done, we killed a huge Grimm, you got on a team that… doesn't seem to absolutely hate each other yet! You should be happy!"

"I am! I am." Arty said defensively. "Just… super."

Timbre wasn't convinced, but decided to turn to Roland for his answer.

"No." Roland took a sip from a coffee cup with a massive swirl of whipped cream on top. No one expected him to be the one to order a mocha with about five extra things tacked onto it.

Timbre set down her fork and sat back in her chair, her arms crossed. "You guys… whether you like it or not, we're stuck together for the next four years… don't forget that."

Arty looked glumly down at his plate, completely uninterested with his grilled cheese sandwich. With a sigh, he leaned down and unzipped his bag.

The rest of Team ARTS watched as Arty dropped a crinkled and folded piece of paper in the center of the table. It was obvious he had carried it with him for a while from the wearing and slight tears around the folds. Sepia, Timbre, and Roland looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"You guys… aren't my first team." He said glumly, purposely avoiding eye contact with them.

In the forest, Timbre couldn't help but hold the fact that Arty accidentally blew up part of Atlas Academy against him. She knew he wasn't a bad guy, but that didn't mean it never happened. Had she known that Atlas Academy did their team placements earlier than Beacon, she would've figured that Arty had a former team assignment. She gingerly lifted the paper and unfolded it, careful not to be too forceful as to not tear the page.

Student Name: Umber, Burne

Team Assignment: Team MLBC (Malbec)

Midas Ankara

Ledning Coyle

Burne Umber

Curie Geiger

Timbre could barely make out the original text through the dark red "ANNULLED" across the paper.

"That sucks." Roland leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

Sepia typed out a message, 'I'm sorry that happened to you. Did you know those three people personally, or…?'

"Midas and Curie have been my friends my entire life. Ledning's Midas's cousin. They acted as if everything was fine after… my screw up… but I still feel like they resent me for it."

Roland raised an eyebrow. Everyone seemed focused on Arty's issue, so maybe he could get them frustrated enough to leave him out of it completely, "Probably do. I would too."

Timbre's mouth fell open in shock. Arty looked at his partner in sudden disbelief.

"Roland?!" Timbre said as she handed the paper back to their leader, not breaking her eye contact with the Faunus across the table from her. "What the heck?"

"Wouldn't you resent the guy? I mean, imagine how much of a pain it was to find a replacement." Roland jumped as he felt an elbow get driven into his side. He looked to his right to see Sepia glaring at him. He rolled his eyes, "Look, I'm just saying that it makes sense that he feels like they hate him for it. They very well could."

Arty was feeling upset now. Yeah, he felt like his friends resented what he did, but that didn't mean it was the absolute truth. His emotions told him one thing, his reasoning another, and Roland was bashing him for that. "Well what about you, huh? Surely even you had some friends back home that're going to Haven. How do you think they felt when you up and left for Vale, huh?" He was fuming, but he wasn't going to let things get too out of hand. He didn't want his new team to fall apart as quickly as his first one did.

"They felt upset that I was leaving, but they understood why. We had a going away party for me. It was nice." Roland kept sipping as his coffee. He didn't like where this line of questioning was heading, but at least it was staying on the subject of his friends. Keeping it that way would help him continue to avoid the subject of his past. "You know, I even asked them if they would be fine without me, and they told me to do what I needed to. We parted ways with hugs and smiles instead of tears and an exploded school."

"Okay," Arty snatched up the paper, shoved it into his bag, and stood up, "I'm not dealing with this right now." He went to leave, but stopped, "You know, I actually thought we were getting along pretty well. You know, after you saved my life after I bought you time to type out a weapon, which, may I remind you, is the reason I got cornered in the first place. I came back to make sure you weren't dead when I saw those Beowolves coming for you. Now here you are bashing me for my mistakes. I know what I did. I know I screwed up. But I'm sure you've screwed up too, and you know what?"

Roland kept his eyes level with his new team leader's as Timbre and Sepia sat by in stunned silence.

"I barely know you, but I wouldn't hold those against you." Arty stormed out of the cafe and into the lit street.

You're right, I did screw up, but my screw up got her killed. Roland clenched his fists. Even though Arty was out of earshot, he still said what he wanted to, "No, I actually think though you would. I know you'd hold my screw up against me, partner." Even if it Arty wasn't the type to hold things over someone's head, Roland, with his twisted view of what had brought him to Beacon, believed that anyone would.

Timbre stood up and, not caring about drawing attention to herself, called after the offended painter, "Arty! Wait!" She snapped her attention back to Roland. "What is wrong with you?!" Without giving him time to respond, she began to head to the exit.

Roland stood up and caught Timbre by the shoulder, "Look, I'll take care of this, okay?"

"I think you've done enough, Roland…"

"Yeah, that's why I should tell him what I was doing." Roland pushed past her, "Don't ask about it. Leave it alone. I'll handle my partner."

Timbre eyed him warily before sitting back down. "Fine. But if I hear paintballs and typing, I'll be out there to stop you two from killing each other."

As Roland left, Sepia let out the breath that she had been holding. She held up her hands, 'Why are boys so stupid?'

"Hey!" Roland sprinted to catch up with Arty before he boarded an airship. He grabbed his leader by the backpack strap and yanked him back. Once he had Arty off of the entrance ramp, he let go. "Can we talk about what just happened?"

Arty didn't even turn to face his partner, "Please, you're the last person I want to talk to right now. Let me enjoy my last night of solace before I have to share a dorm room with you for the next four years."

"Arty, I started all of that to keep you guys from prying into me. Timbre had her sights on both of us, and I knew that you were okay with talking about yourself to some degree." Roland panted to catch his breath.

"So you use the mistake I already feel terrible for to make them forget about you? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like it was your choice to come here." Arty turned to Roland and pointed to himself. "I didn't have a choice because of what I did. Do you know what General Léon did while I was knocked out for half a day after the explosion?"

Roland went to ask but was cut off.

"She told the headmasters of the other three schools not to let me in. Not only did she not want me going to Atlas, she didn't want me going to Shade, Haven, or Beacon either. She believes I'm a danger to everyone around me because I'm so reckless with Dust… She didn't want me to develop into a Huntsmen. If I can cause that much damage as a novice, what could I do when I'm fully trained…?" Arty sighed, "The only reason I'm here is because Alabaster looked beyond that. He believed that one fluke shouldn't screw up your whole life, your hopes and dreams. It really didn't help you sitting there and telling me that more people close to me resent me for that fluke."

"So you're who she was talking about…?" Roland felt the weight of what he made Arty relive sink down in his chest.

Arty shook his head impatiently, "What are you talking about, Roland?"

"I… know the headmistress at Haven Academy. I overheard her talking to someone in her office, and she said something about how she would be sure to bar 'that little menace' from ever gaining entry into her academy…" Roland pat his leg as he thought on what to say, "Look, I never connected the dots. I didn't think about what I was saying too much. I only wanted to avoid talking about my past, and I did that in a crappy way. I'm sorry for that much."

"Yeah… you should be. You're not the only one with a past they don't want to talk about in great detail. I showed you and Timbre and Sepia that paper because you're my team now. I'm team leader. I thought I should be open about what brought me here. If you don't want to talk about yourself, that's fine by me, but what you said back there… that wasn't cool."

"I know, I was already really pissed off anyway. I thought that I should be leader, and that really got to me. How I just acted proved that it's best that I'm not. Timbre would panic, Sepia can't communicate easily, and it looks like I still let my emotions get the best of me. Then Alice went and said... well, some unsavory things about Faunus. I stayed pissed over you being leader, then Alice's... well, blatant racism didn't help. Then I got on the defensive when we started talking about personal stuff, and..." Roland took a slow breath to clear his head, "Look, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings that bad. I was being stupid and selfish. Do I need to keep apologizing for an hour, or can we just move past this? I was way out of line. Boom, that's it."

Arty was hesitant, but he knew things needed to get better between them. If he kept resenting Roland like this, the next four years were going to be miserable. He held out his hand. "Fine. Apology accepted. Just forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to help you the next time you're getting charged down by a pack of Beowolves."

"To be fair, I could have handled them myself. I just wanted to try out a little cooperation instead of being a lone wolf. I know I said to stay out of my way, but I remembered that a wise woman always told me to lean on your team," Roland took Arty's hand and gave a hearty shake. He slowly grinned, "The spear was great, but I thought a hook-blade would suit me better."