It was midnight, and the full moon filtered down through branches onto a red cloak that was tightly curled around a little girl lying down under a makeshift shelter of branches and leaves, her chest slowly rising and falling with each small breath. Ruby Rose had elected not to light a fire, because she was worried about the light giving her away in the dark forest. Unfortunately, that left a light chill in the air of her little shelter, even though it provided protection the blowing wind. She was comfortable in the cold though, and her cloak provided what warmth was absolutely necessary for the young huntress. Ruby had been running all day, making good time and running farther than she figured anyone would think to look, all while making sure to cover her tracks and leave false trails for anyone who might be following her. She suspected that some people would be sent after her eventually, especially once Nora and Blake told Professor Ozpin what she had done to team CRDL. Ruby fully believed what had been done to them was completely justified, and the small voice in her head had trying to speak to her all day.

How could you do that to them? They weren't the ones who attacked Beacon.

What would your father think of you? Yang? Your Mother? Uncle Qrow?

All day the small voice kept speaking to Ruby Rose, telling her she should turn herself in for what she's done, that what she did, and what she was doing now by running, were wrong. And all day Ruby Rose kept crushing the voice under her mental foot, yelling back that she had done nothing to apologize for. And after an entire day of squashing the voice, eventually it had gone quiet, vanishing with a quiet whimper, that Ruby felt sounded familiar, but she couldn't quiet place. Maybe a younger, more naïve, Ruby once had made that sound, a Ruby that had wanted to save the world and protect people from monsters. Ruby couldn't protect her sister from monsters though, because she hadn't realized that not all monsters were Grimm.

As she slept, Ruby began hearing another voice, filling the void the quiet voice once occupied in her mind. This new voice, only a whisper, was somehow louder in Ruby's mind than the earlier voice. The whisper was seductive, its breathiness promising a way out of her heart-wrenching pain.

It wasn't just CRDL that killed your sister.

Ruby whimpered in her sleep, unwilling to listen to this voice. Ruby knew what the voice wanted to say next, that it was also Ruby's fault for failing as a leader, and as a sister. But the voice surprised Ruby.

The soldiers are to blame. We need to find where they came from.

Ruby paused her thoughts. Not her fault? The soldiers' fault? Not her fault. The soldiers' fault. The soldiers killed Yang.

Find the soldiers. Make them regret ever hurting you and your sister.

Ruby's eyes opened, her silver eyes reflecting the moonlight, giving them an otherworldly glow. "…Not my fault. Make them pay." She whispered.

Ruby closed her eyes again, hoping for a few more hours sleep before she had to start running again, but now with a different goal in mind. A snapping twig immediately brought her eyes open again. Ruby looked around with her eyes, unwilling to move and risk making a noise that may alert whoever or whatever was making a noise nearby. She waited, and noted soft steps approaching her from the left side of her small shelter. It didn't sound like a person walking- an animal? A Grimm? She quietly moved her hand over to grasp Crescent Rose its perch from next to her, and gently brought it up to her chest, ready to deploy. The footsteps stopped near her shelter, and she heard whatever the creature was sniff the air heavily. Ruby tensed and held her breath. Then she heard the creature stomp and grind its hooves outside her shelter, snorting, before suddenly fleeing and running away from her shelter, leaving Ruby alone in the dark.

Ruby Rose let out a sigh of relief as she set her weapon aside and turned over to return to sleep. She wrapped her cloak back around herself, and rolled back to her right side. Right when she lay her head back down onto the tree trunk, she saw red eyes staring at her through the gaps in her shelter. As her eyes widened in surprise, the Beowolves roared and attacked, smashing Ruby's shelter around her as blood sprayed in the air, painting the tree her shattered shelter once rested against red.

"Good evening Glynda. Did you manage to contact everyone on the list?" Professor Ozpin asked Glynda Goodwitch as she returned from her tent, eyes down, reading her scroll.

Glynda Goodwitch nodded curtly as she continued reading the profiles of the huntsman and huntresses she had contacted on her scroll. "I did. Though I must say, you certainly picked a strange group of hunters to train our students." She flicked her hands, moving profiles around. "Like this one here. Vimentis. His combat scores from when he was a student were terrible, barely passing. And his combat record isn't stellar either." She moved around some of the windows again. "This one I understand, but this one? And…" she moved more windows around again.

Ozpin interrupted before she could continue to rant about the hunters he had chosen. "I picked each one for a specific reason Glynda, not just because they were available. They each have their purpose." He set down his scroll and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "We really should get some sleep tonight. Has Barty reported back in yet? He didn't show up at sundown like I asked." Professor Ozpin could almost feel the disapproval from Glynda at calling Professor Oobleck 'Barty' radiating off of her.

"He did, but through scroll. Check your messages." She replied curtly.

"Ah." Professor Ozpin opened up his messages that he had ignored in favor of other work. Oobleck's message was short, informing Ozpin he had found the remains of CRDL and destroyed the Deathstalker that had killed them. He ended the report by writing that he was following the trail left by Ruby Rose. "I see. Well hopefully he returns sometimes this night."

As soon as Ozpin finished talking, there was a flurry of movement outside the tent, and Professor Oobleck strode in with a bag on his back, his shirt and pants torn, his skin scratched here and there. "I've returned, Headmaster." He looked at Glynda, nodding his head in greeting. "Professor Goodwitch."

"What in the blazes happened to you?" Glynda asked as she fussed over his wounds and clothes. "Were you attacked?"

"Attacked?" He looked down at himself. "Oh, no. When I'm running in the woods I don't always see branches. I run into them going too fast occasionally. It isn't anything to worry about."

"…You get cut by branches from running too fast?" Glynda deadpanned.

"Yeah."

Glynda just closed her eyes and sighed. She turned back to Ozpin. "If there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep for a few hours."

Ozpin waved her off. "Sleep, sleep. I can deal with this work." Glynda left the tent, stealing another glance at Oobleck and rolling her eyes disbelievingly at him before she exited.

"You'd think she was my mother, the way she treats me." Oobleck complained.

"It's cause you're young." Ozpin explained.

"Compared to you, maybe. She can't be that much older than me."

"Never mention a woman's age, Barty."

Oobleck just sighed. "Well. Anyways. I've gathered what was left of team CRDL," Oobleck reports as he gestured towards the bag at his side. "It's mostly just some armor and clothing scraps. I believe Ruby Rose kidnapped them and left them for Grimm to eat, based on the nearby Deathstalker lair, and the blood stained Deathstalker inside it." Oobleck pulled out his scroll, and opened a map. "I followed Miss Rose's trails as far as I could but…" He shrugged. "She's good. False trails everywhere, real trails covered up, false trails covered up to look like they could be real trails. I spent hours trying to track her, and I can confidently say I have no idea where she went."

"That's unfortunate." Ozpin turned off his scroll and stood. "I have someone coming in tomorrow morning that will assist with the search. Let's all get some sleep tonight before our real work begins in the morning, shall we?"

Oobleck checks his watch. "I didn't expect I'd be out this long. I guess more coffee is out of the question."

"It is indeed. Now go get some rest, I just have a few more parents to contact before I go to sleep as well."

"Alright. Goodnight, Headmaster."

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the three professors met once again in the Headmaster's tent. They looked reluctant to be awake, rubbing their eyes and groggily drinking their coffee. Except for Glynda Goodwitch, of course, who refused to look anything but professional around others. "You could have at least made an attempt to clean up." Glynda commented, seeing Professor Oobleck stroll into the tent, still wearing the same torn and dirty outfit from the night before.

"Mmrgh," was the perfectly coherent response from the groggy professor. He accepted a coffee mug from Professor Ozpin, who was not as clean as Glynda but at least still looked presentable.

"Mmrgh indeed." Ozpin replied as he saluted with his own coffee cup.

A rustling of the tent flap and an accompanying gravelly voice drew the three professors' attention. "You are as articulate as ever, I see." A man wearing a black suit on said with a smile as he entered the tent. His pale white skin contrasted with his dark suit, making him even more pale than he already was, but somehow it worked. His shoulder length hair was almost completely gray, the last few strands of black hair fighting a losing battle to retain their color.

Ozpin stood up to greet the man, retorting "And you are still as old as ever, Qrow." Ozpin clasped hands with Qrow, a smile on his face. "It is good to see you old friend. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Yes, well. Things happen." He let go of Ozpin's hand to shake Professor Oobleck's hand, who was still in the process of recovering from sleep. "And Miss Goodwitch, you are the image of beauty, as always." He held his arms open out in front of him, a mischievous smile sneaking its way onto his face.

"Your flattery will win you no rewards from me, Qrow." Glynda replied, her smile betraying her seemingly cold words as she gave Qrow a quick hug.

"It was worth a shot. An old man has to keep his skills sharp." He laughed. As everyone settled into chairs and the greeting were over, his smile fell off his face. "So it's true then. How bad is it?"

Ozpin gave a summary of the events of the past couple days, along with some speculation about the reasoning behind the attacks. "How did Signal fare in the attack?"

Qrow waved off the question. "We weren't attacked. It seems they passed over the preparatory schools for the younger students. Didn't see them as a threat." He accepted a cup of coffee from Glynda with a nod of thanks, and a smile that she just rolled her eyes at while grinning. "And Ruby? Your message indicated a problem."

Ozpin and Glynda gave an account of what they knew about Ruby's actions so far- her kidnapping and murder of CRDL, then fleeing. Oobleck, finally awake enough to participate in conversation, finished the report to Qrow. "I tried tracking her last night, but she covered her tracks so well and left so many false trails I ended up going in circles before I had realized it. Multiple times." His cheeks blushed pink slightly as he recalled the previous evening. "It's quite embarrassing."

"Maybe I taught her a little too well. Though my sister probably taught her some tricks that I don't know about." Qrow smiled fondly as he remembered his sister, Ruby's mother. "I'm taking some time off from Signal. I'll spend some time looking for Ruby, and spend time with the girls' father. The poor man's lost everyone at this point."

"A lot of people have lost a lot. And with the Council declaring war, we're looking at many more lives lost, no matter what happens." Glynda added.

"Well I try to stay out of wars and politics. I fought my battles a long time ago." Qrow replied. He stood up from his chair after downing the last sip of coffee, shaking Ozpin's and Glynda's hands. "I'll send you a message about what I find as I search for Ruby." He turned to Oobleck. "Would you mind showing me your map data?"

"Of course, of course." Oobleck led Qrow to another table to start downloading the map data and giving his observations from the night before.

"The old man is as nonchalant as ever." Ozpin commented, watching the two discuss ideas over a map.

"Remaining calm and cool under stress is an attractive trait in a teacher." Glynda replied, watching Qrow.

"…'attractive?'"

"You know what I mean."

"Sure I do," Ozpin smiled. "When do the hunters we contacted arrive?"

"They should be here any moment now." Glynda consulted her scroll. "Their airships transponder puts them about fifteen minutes away, actually."

"Excellent."

Blake awoke to shuffling noises coming from beside her. Her nose told her that it was just Weiss, and the warmth against her side told her that Velvet was still sleeping, curled into her. Opening her eyes and looking up at the ceiling, Blake turned her head to look at the Rabbit faunus that was sleeping on her arm. Velvet sleeping like this wasn't an unfamiliar sensation to Blake, but at the same time Blake was reminded by this small action that Yang was missing from her other side. Turning her head the other direction, Blake saw Weiss brushing her hair with the help of a small mirror that the heiress stood up against a box.

Weiss noticed the movement and turned around to look at Blake. "Good Morning, Blake." Weiss was still wearing the light nightgown she had slept in, indicating to Blake that Weiss hadn't been awake for long.

"Morning, Weiss. Did you sleep well?" Blake asked while easing Velvet off of her arm and sitting up.

"Slept well, but not much, unfortunately." Weiss turned around to face Blake. "Shall we all go wash at the creek again? I'd like to be clean for our new orders and training today."

"Good idea." Blake turned to gently shake Velvet's shoulder. "Hey, wake up dear. We're going to go take a bath. Want to come along?"

Velvet yawned as she stretched, her arms above her head as her feet pulled downward. "Yeah," Velvet said through her yawn, "I'll come."

"I'll go see if Nora and Pyrrha will be joining us while you two get your things." Weiss said as she walked out of the tent to go to the next tent over. She returned moments later. "They'll be coming too."

Blake and Velvet nodded as they gathered their regular outfits so that they could change into them after bathing. After gathering their stuff they gathered together to meet with Pyrrha and Nora, retrieving their towels off the lines hanging between their tents. Weiss protested when Jaune started accompanying them, but Nora assuaged her fears. "It'll be fine! We'll blindfold him and tie him to a tree so he can't peek."

"I'm sorry, we're what now?" Jaune replied, clearly unaware of this plan until this moment. "Can't I just, wash up somewhere away from you guys and meet you back at the edge of the forest?"

"What if you peek at us?" Velvet asked playfully.

"He wouldn't dare." Pyrrha replied for Jaune, her smile playful but her eyes promising Jaune a painful retribution should he peek.

Jaune held his hands up in an attempt to placate the girls surrounding him. "I won't peek, I won't peek, geez. You act like I'm a terrible person."

"What about that time when-" Blake started.

"That wasn't my fault!" Jaune complained. "It was Pyr-" he stopped mid syllable. Pyrrha was flushed red, whether in anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell, but he did see the gentle gaze of his girlfriend shift to something not so gentle. Something that said to Jaune said 'don't you dare' with a terrifying finality. "I mean. Ahem," he coughed. "That was entirely my fault and I apologize profusely for my error." Everyone just laughed as they continued walking. Eventually they reached the forest's edge and Jaune split off his own way, while the girls continued on to the same spot as yesterday.

The airship arrived exactly when Professor Goodwitch told Professor Ozpin it would, allowing them to meet the airship at the landing zone without any waiting for either party. Oobleck had departed with Qrow just a few minutes previously to the forest, to better point out the trails he was following until Qrow picked up on the areas where Oobleck went wrong.

"Does she really have to be one of the ones training our students?" Glynda asked Ozpin irritably.

"Yes, she does." Ozpin smiled. "She's an excellent teacher and huntress, and you know it. Besides, she's the leader of the squad we called in. Can't call the others without her, can I?" He looked at Glynda out of the corner of his eye. "Or are you still bitter about her beating you in the tournament all those years ago?"

"I'm not bitter." Glynda mumbled. "Her personality is just…" Glynda waved one hand around, searching for a word to describe this huntress she so disapproved of.

"Well, I can agree with that." Ozpin agreed, himself knowing the difficulty of describing this particular huntress to anyone. As he finished agreeing with Glynda, the doors to both the airships cargo bay and the passenger area opened.

The first person out of the ship was the huntress that they were speaking of. "Morning Ozzy!" She waved her hand up high as she hopped down from the ship. The huntress was lively and unbelievably beautiful, with straight, golden hair that fell down to her waist. Her clothes were brightly colored robes, mixing whites and reds. Her lower body was adorned with a pair long, red, divided trousers that looked like a skirt when she was standing still, with black leather boots. On her upper body she wore a white, half kimono jacket that had long, loose sleeves with red ribbons stitched onto it in swirling patterns. Her kimono left her toned midriff exposed, showing off her otherwise covered body. A pair of fox ears and a long, fluffy tail, both the same golden color as her hair but tipped with white, displayed at her faunus heritage. Coming to a stop in front of Professor Ozpin, it was evident that she was also fairly tall, matching Ozpin's height, which in turn caused Glynda to have to look up at the huntress, much to Glynda's chagrin.

Glynda huffed her annoyance at the peppy huntress. "Please try to refer to the Headmaster by his proper name in the presence of students, Miss Mae." Glynda said disdainfully.

"Oh, no 'Miss Mae,' please. Makes me sound old." The fox faunus replied. "Call me Tammy!" She struck a pose, with her hips out to the side and her hands twirling her hair.

"I'll abstain, thank you." Glynda replied, leaning back to put some distance between her and the huntress.

"Don't tease Glynda, Tamamo." Ozpin said with a chuckle. "How have you been?"

"I've been amazing, of course." She replied cheerfully.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, yes. The fortress is holding out fine, no one's been hurt in a long time." Tamamo amended. "Still Grimm, as always. But they aren't a problem, no Grimm get past us to the city on my watch." She poked her ample chest proudly with her thumb.

"Who did you get to substitute for you while you're here?" Ozpin asked.

"Fionn Macgorm. He owes me a favor, I had him convince his squad leader to fill in for a few days." Tamamo giggled.

"Poor guy." Ozpin deadpans.

"I try to make his life interesting."

"Let's talk in the tent, shall we? Will the rest of your squad be joining us?" Ozpin asked, gesturing to the others exiting the airship.

"Those guys aren't my squad. They just take care of the ship. The rest of my squad is back at the fortress. Just let me know what you need and I'll be sure to tell them what they need to know." Tamamo replied, her tail flicking back and forth happily behind her. Following along behind Ozpin, the playful huntress walked along, almost bouncing with excitement.

Their bathing went much the same as the previous day, except Blake washed Velvet instead of Nora, much to Velvet's relief. They finished much more quickly because they didn't need to wash any clothes this time, and were on their way back to the camp, dressed in their normal attire when they came across Jaune, sitting on a tree trunk where they entered the forest.

"Hello ladies. Shall we?" Jaune held his arm out. Most of the girls just rolled their eyes as they walked by him, but Pyrrha obliged him, linking her arm with his as they strolled back to camp.

As the group neared the camp, Velvet shushed everyone as her ears twitched. Looking at Velvet expectantly, everyone walked in silence. "There's an announcement happening right now." Velvet said after a few moments. Blake's ears twitched, her own hearing finally picking up the voice as they got closer. Velvet continued relaying what she was hearing. "Professor Goodwitch is saying that the former students who wished to fight are supposed to meet in the same clearing as yesterday at one o'clock, pm." Velvet went silent for a few moments. "And if we're late we get sent home with the rest of the students."

"Well, we'd best make sure we're not late then." Weiss said, picking up the pace.

"Weiss, it's barely nine in the morning. We could take a nap and still be there in time." Nora commented, skipping along happily.

Weiss slowed back down. "Right. Sorry. I just… don't want to be left behind."

"Does anyone else want breakfast?" Pyrrha asked. "I'm starving." Everyone agreed as the reentered the camp, walking towards the mess tent.

"Oh, Weiss!" Nora asked as she strolled along.

"Yes, Nora?" Weiss replied nervously.

"Can I sleep in your tent tonight?" Nora continued.

"…Why?"

"Because last night Jaune and Pyrrha thought they were being quiet but they really weren't and-"

"Nora!" Pyrrha shouted, red faced. "Can I talk to you over here please?" Before giving Nora a chance to respond, Pyrrha dragged her away by the elbow. Once they were a sufficient distance away, Pyrrha began whispering hurriedly to her, waving her arms animatedly as she spoke to Nora. Nora listened patiently with a smile on her face, before responding with something that made Pyrrha immediately stop talking and put her arms down. Pyrrha remained quiet for a few moments, before hugging Nora and then walking her back to the rest of the group.

"Weiss," Pyrrha started. "Is it okay if Nora sleeps in your tent to give me and Jaune some alone time?" Pyrrha face was once again red and blushing, and Jaune's followed suit.

"...What." Jaune contributed.

"Uh…" Weiss looked at her two fellow companions that she shared a tent with. Blake and Velvet immediately nodded their consent. "Sure thing. We don't mind."

"Thank you!" "Thanks" Pyrrha and Nora exclaimed. Pyrrha grabbed Jaune's arm and pulled him ahead of the group, with Nora following after them, but still at a distance.

"You'd think Pyrrha would remember that we have good hearing." Blake noted, looking at Velvet.

"Yeah…" Velvet sighed. "That was really understanding of her though."

"Who is understanding? Nora giving them some space?" Weiss asked. Her own hearing was not as acute as the two faunus' next to her, so she had not heard the exchange between Pyrrha and Nora.

"Nora was just making up an excuse to get out of the tent. She couldn't sleep because Jaune and Pyrrha are still together, and they remind her of Ren." Blake explained.

Velvet continued when Blake stopped. "When Nora confessed that to Pyrrha, she decided to cover for Nora, even if it embarrassed her." Velvet smiled. "How cute of her."

"Though I suppose it would be proper manners to pretend we didn't hear them." Blake finished. "Let's go get some breakfast, and then go see what there is to do until the meeting."

As one o'clock drew nearer, the students who volunteered to fight drifted towards the clearing from their various locations. Weiss had been sitting alone in her tent, tending to her weapon, while Blake went to retrieve her own weapon from the military engineering corps that was in the camp, who had fixed her weapon that broke on the night they fled Beacon. The rest of their group had been off doing their own things, but eventually they met and gathered around each other in the clearing, exchanging greetings.

Jaune broke the silence, adjusting his sword and shield on his hip and asking "So do you think we'll be doing any training today, or this is more informational?"

"Who knows, we have no idea what's going on." Velvet responded, before pointing off to their right. "But there's Professor Ozpin."

The rest of Velvet's companions' eyes followed her pointing finger to see Professor Ozpin walking into the clearing, accompanied by another woman. This woman was the center of attention in the eyes of everyone who saw her strolling by. Even Weiss, raised among the wealthy and beautiful couldn't help it when her mouth opened slightly in surprise and awe. Using the word 'beautiful' seemed inadequate for this woman; her golden hair shining in the sun, her fair skin very nearly glowing, her exposed midriff toned and rippling with toned muscle. Her fox ears twitched towards the students, picking up their whispers, while her long, fluffy tail flicked back and forth behind her with each step.

"Holy crap she's beautiful." Jaune commented. He reflexively covered that back of his head and flinched away from Pyrrha, expecting a smack or some sort of retaliation.

"Yeah, she is." Pyrrha agreed, also staring. Jaune was baffled at Pyrrha's behavior.

"I know I'm pretty sure I'm shooting myself in the foot for asking, but… you aren't mad I said that?"

"No, I'll give you this one. I'm having a hard time not staring too."

Conversations of similar nature were happening all around them, with many of the students not yet recovered from the initial shock of seeing her. Weiss finally got her wits back, turning to Blake. "Do you know who that is?"

"I don't think so. She seems familiar though. Maybe I've heard about her somewhere." Blake responded, blinking repeatedly and looking away from the fox faunus.

Professor Ozpin stepped up onto the same truck he had used for the assembly the previous day, clearing his throat to get the attention of the gathered students. "Ladies, gentlemen," he began, "As of this morning, you are no longer students at my academy. You are huntsman and huntresses now."

"Almost!" the beautiful woman interrupted. Ozpin gave her a look that clearly said 'please be quiet' but all she did was giggle back at him.

"As I was saying. I will consider you graduates from my academy, and I will of course file the necessary paperwork. You are all confident enough in your abilities to think you are capable of fighting in this war, which may very well be true. Your new superior, Tamamo Mae," he held his hand out, presenting the woman next to him, "Will be the one making that call. She will be in charge of training you for battle, and assisting you as needed."

Blake's eyes widened when she heard the name she leaned over to whisper in Weiss' ear. "Tamamo Mae. That's why she looks familiar to me- she's a legendary huntress. She's a hero among the faunus." Weiss' eyes widened slightly at the news.

One student raised his hand. "Haven't we proved we know how to fight, Professor? We've been fighting Grimm for years." Weiss and Blake didn't recognize the young man.

The woman answered for Professor Ozpin. "Yes, I'm sure you're all wonderful at fighting Grimm. But how are you at fighting soldiers? As part of a unit? Against other Hunters?" she waved her hand dismissively at the student. "I'd bet most all of you are still children when it comes to battle and war."

Ozpin coughed into his hand. "Ahem. Well. I would've put it differently, but Miss Mae here-"

"Tammy!" she interrupted once again.

"-has made her point quite clear." He continued, ignoring the interruption. "You will accompany her to…" he paused as the student raised his hand again. "Yes?"

"We've been fighting together as teams since we got to Beacon, and in tournaments, and against each other, I think we know how to fight!"

Ozpin took a breath to respond, but Tamamo Mae put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, then stepped back, allowing her to take his place in giving the speech. "So you know how to fight then?"

"That's what we've been training for, right?" the student replied with an air of superiority.

"So you've been training for this then?" She hopped off the truck, and approached the student slowly, her voice losing its cheery tone and instead becoming deeper, and menacing. "So when your school was attacked, what did you do? Wheen enemy soldiers came knocking on your door, did you answer?"

"I-" he stuttered.

"Did you fight?" She walked closer still, her height becoming apparent as she approached, taller than most of the students. "Or did you run?" The imposing feeling of power rolling off of her made Tamamo Mae look even taller as the student tried to lean away.

"I- I fou-" he stuttered, but looking into her eyes, something inside him cracked. His shoulders slumped. "I ran."

"As I thought. You ran, and then have the audacity to talk big?" She jammed a finger against his chest. "You are the worst kind of person, aren't you. You aren't coming with me. You can run on home to your parents." She pushed him back, stumbling. "Anyone else here who thinks they're all that?" No students responded.

Her voice changed back to the cheery voice from before. "Good. The rest of you are free to accompany me when I leave." Her mouth opened into sadistic smile that was at odds with her cheery voice. "When we get to my fortress, I'll begin testing you, and weeding out those of you who aren't good enough. You're mine now."

Author's Note: Fionn Macgorm is an OC, courtesy of Snaketicus. Shoutout!