"MONSTERS! Demons...Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names."

Lyra growled at the mention of those horrific beasts, and she gripped her pencil so hard she felt it crack in two within her grasp. She cursed, throwing her pencil onto her desk in frustration. She glanced over at her team; Tanya was eagerly enthralled in Professor Port's speech, her eyes wide and excited. Janelle was frantically taking down notes, while the Grimm girl was doodling something on her paper, not paying any attention whatsoever. Kill it, do it, avenge me... Lyra felt her hands twitch, aching to wrap themselves around the Grimm's neck...

No. Lyra had to remind herself that the Grimm-no, Nico was a girl. Again and again, Lyra struggled to see anyone besides a monster, even though she tried her hardest to think of her as a girl. She just couldn't comprehend how anyone who looked like a Grimm could be good...The voice howled in frustration at Lyra's resistance.

Kill it!!!

"But I merely refer to them as PREY! And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy," Professor Port said loudly and excitedly. The only person paying any sort of attention was, in fact, Tanya as Lyra began to tune Port's boring story out. "Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the three other kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces...which is where-"

"Hunters and huntresses come in!" Tanya burst with excitement, bouncing up and down in her seat. Luckily for her, Professor Port just chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Right," Professor Port grinned enthusiastically, while everyone else sighed of boredom. "Us individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. But! It's not an easy job. A true huntsman must be honorable, dependable, strategic, well educated, and wise!"

So that's what a true huntress is, hm? Lyra frowned to herself. Would a true huntress know better than to trust anyone who looked like a Grimm? Or would they be forgiving and understanding?

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss' hand shot up quickly, an irritated look on her face. Apparently, the supposed 'Ice Queen' was unsatisfied with her team because she wasn't elected team leader, and she also wasn't with Pyrrha or Lyra.

"I do, sir!"

"Well, then...let's find out," Professor Port said joyfully, eyeing a cage in the corner of the room. "Step forward, and face your opponent."

Team RBY cheered Weiss on, and the heiress huffed in frustration and irritation at everyone's antics. Weiss held her rapier with grace and determination. Professor Port grinned, holding his axe.

"Then let the fight begin!"

Port unleashed the Grimm with a swoop of his axe, and a monster with white tusks and menacing red eyes stumbled out of its cage. Lyra felt her eyes turn a scarlet red at the sight of the Grimm, and Tanya grabbed Lyra's arm to stop her from getting up and killing the monster herself. Don't let her hold you back, kill it! Lyra bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood with the amount of force she was using to stop herself from getting up. Weiss seemed to struggle a bit with taking down the monster, named a Boarbatusk.

However, the Grimm was eventually taken down with a swift strike to it's belly. Weiss panted heavily, eyeing Professor Port with surprise. Lyra's eyes faded back to gold and the voice dulled as the Grimm disintegrated into dust.

"It seems we are truly in the presence of a true huntress after all!"

The lesson continued on, but Lyra no longer cared to hear about Professor Port's old stories as a hunter. After what seemed like a year, the bell finally rang, dismissing everyone from the class. Lyra sighed in relief, packing up her belongings. Headmaster Ozpin suddenly appeared in the doorway, acknowledging the students who were leaving before heading over to LJNT's shared table.

"Hello there," Professor Ozpin smiled at her sincerely, and Lyra felt herself grimace in return. She found it a bit difficult to smile at the man who had assigned her with a Grimm. "May I speak with your team for a brief moment?"

"Yeah! Yeah, of course.."

"Good. I wanted to meet with all of you considering your special...circumstances," Ozpin acknowledged, the pleasant smile never leaving his face. "What a strange team. A famous ballerina, a non-professionally trained but incredibly intelligent fighter, a half-Grimm, and the daughter of two, brave warriors..."

Ozpin paused, getting carried away in his thoughts. The team of four watched him patiently, and finally, Ozpin looked back up, bemused.

"Well, I thought I'd give you all a bit of a test. You have your weapons, correct?" Ozpin questioned, and everyone nodded. "Good. Follow me."

The team nodded, following the Headmaster who continued to sip casually from his coffee cup. After a moment of walking, they entered a large, open area that was designed in a circle. It looked like the fighting stadiums Lyra watched Pyrrha battle in.

"Uh, Professor Ozpin..." Lyra began to question just what their headmaster wanted them to do. "You're not making us fight each other, are you?"

"Oh, of course not!" Ozpin was quick to dismiss that idea, and a wider smile grew on his face. "You'll be fighting another team."

"What!?"

A girl with asymmetrical brown hair and a stylish black beret approached, sauntering up confidently as she lowered her shades to look at team LJNT. Her name was Coco Adel, a second year student and the leader of her team. She was accompanied by a boy with messy, copper hair named Fox Alistair, a girl with brown hair and perky bunny ears named Velvet Scarlatina, and a tall, tanned boy named Yatsuhashi Daichi.

"Team LJNT, meet Team CFVY," Ozpin introduced, before backing away to the side. "Miss Ng-Nikos, please step forward. Miss Adel, step forward."

"Ng-Nikos...Ah, you must be Lyra," Coco grinned, holding out her hand. Lyra moved forward to shake it, and Coco smirked. "Let's see how well a famous ballerina can hold up."

"On the count of three," Ozpin announced gleefully, sipping from his coffee cup. "One...two...three! Fight!"

Lyra leaped forward, grabbing her axe from her back in order to slam it downward. Coco grabbed a...handbag from her waist? Before Lyra could question it, she felt her axe being blocked by Coco's choice of weapon. Lyra whirled around, swinging her axe horizontally, and Coco casually swung her bag to deflect the blow effortlessly.

Janelle's arrows flew forward, heading straight toward the other three members of Team CFVY. They dodged them easily, heading straight toward the other members. The red haired boy named Fox rushed forward, swinging his wrist blades toward the Grimm girl. Out of the corner of her eye, Lyra could see the girl speeding around her enemy.

Lyra swiped her leg downward before quickly standing as Coco dodged. Lyra's axe swung downward, ready to tear Coco to pieces when she suddenly saw a flash of blue speed toward her. Lyra quickly redirected her movement, forcing herself to change her momentum as Tanya darted in front of her to engage Coco. Yatsuhashi, the tall male with the giant sword, quickly took advantage of Lyra's offset balance to swing his sword into her side.

Lyra tumbled backward, quickly flipping up from the floor. As she rebounded, Yatsuhashi's sword dug into the ground where Lyra had once laid. Lyra grit her teeth, her eyes flashing red before engaging once again.

Why did Tanya have to get in her way!?

"Go left!" Lyra shouted to her team. Much to her annoyance, the Grimm girl headed in the opposite direction. Lyra growled. "Your other left!"

Lyra held her axe up to block Yatsuhashu's blade, frustrated that the Grimm couldn't follow simple instructions. Tanya had taken over fighting with Coco, Janelle was dodging Velvet, while the Grimm girl was engaged in combat with Fox.

Tanya's staff twirled quickly, moving around with quick ease. Coco was unable to land a hit on the agile female, and she swung her handbag forward. Tanya slid through Coco's legs, her staff hitting Coco square on the back. Coco narrowed her eyes and reared her bag backward, hitting Tanya in the side and sending the blue haired huntress flying due to Coco's immeasurable strength.

Janelle ducked under Velvet's kick, nocking her bow with an arrow to shoot it at Velvet. The Faunus easily dodged, forcing Janelle onto the defensive as she had no choice but to dissemble her bow into two swords. Janelle swung her sword, but Velvet easily dodged and punched forward. Her fist hit a reflective, invisible shield that appeared in front of Janelle's face.

Janelle took this moment to dust her swords, sending a block of ice shooting jaggedly in front of her. Velvet just barely managed to dodge it, and the ice spread onward as their battle continued.

From where Nico was battling, she quickly transformed from her katanas to her shotguns to try and catch Fox off guard. She darted all around, occasionally sneaking in a shot or two while dodging all of Fox's quick blows.

A stream of ice surged toward her, and Fox quickly kicked right at her chest before swinging upward with his wrist blade. Nico activated her semblance to avoid the blow, melting into shadows. As she materialized, the ice from Janelle's dust reached her and one of Nico's katanas became stuck in the ice. Taken aback by this, Nico was forced to abandon her other weapon as Fox flipped toward her, punching rapidly.

As Yatsuhashi advanced with his sword, Lyra quickly flipped backward, throwing her axe forward at his face as she cartwheeled forward. Her axe bounced off of his sword, making her weapon clatter the ground. This distraction allowed Lyra to handspring forward, and her feet slammed down onto him, sending him to the ground. Before Lyra could make another move, she saw Coco spraying a great number of bullets in her direction. Coco had a large minigun in her hand, and Lyra quickly grabbed her axe to shield herself.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Yatsuhashi quickly swung his sword, clashing with Lyra and sending her tumbling to the ground. Lyra grit her teeth as she skid across the floor. Yatsuhashi swung his sword downward, and Lyra held her axe up in an awkward position to try and block the blow.

Except, Lyra never felt the weight of it.

Lyra gazed in surprise to see the Grimm girl in front of her with her katana pressed against Yatsuhashi's blade. Lyra quickly rolled backward and onto her feet as the Grimm continued to fight.

Did the Grimm-no, Nico just...save her?

Kill it, kill it, kill it...

But...but it covered me...

Lyra shook herself out of her stupor, her eyes melting back to a golden shade. Focus! Nico was engaged in battle with Yatsuhashi, and from the looks of it, wouldn't hold out for long as Yatsuhashi's sword swung right through her shadowy body. Looking at everyone else, it didn't seem as if the fight was going in their favor.

Janelle desperately tried to keep up with Fox's incredible speed, but one misstep broke her perfect posture, and Fox punched straight for her face. His blade tore across the shield that appeared in front of her, and eventually broke the shield. Janelle gasped and stumbled backward as Fox punched her square in the chest.

Tanya was shooting her rifle at Velvet, sending fiery dusted rockets straight towards the Faunus. One rocket exploded in front of Velvet, and Tanya satisfying smiled...only for Velvet to pop out from behind it and kick Tanya right in the leg. Tanya fell to one knee, blocking Velvet's next blow with her rifle.

Yatsuhashi couldn't quite keep up with Nico's speed, but he didn't seem fazed by her either. He couldn't land a hit on her, but it didn't bother him much. Nico was tiring herself out from circling him pointlessly, and as such, slowed down. That was when Yatsuhashi struck, and his large blade swung straight for her. Nico activated her semblance, feeling her body weaken from overuse. Coco was preparing to fire toward Nico, and Lyra felt adrenaline rush through her veins as she charged toward the other team leader. The voice inside of her head screamed, but Lyra defied it's orders for once as she rushed to protect her teammate.

Lyra flipped and dodged the bullets that Coco shot at her, her axe covering her head. Coco's weapon transformed back into it's suitcase, and she swung it at Lyra. Lyra leaned backward, swinging her own axe forward. Coco sidestepped before slamming her case into Lyra's stomach. Lyra doubled over, unable to defend herself as Yatsuhashi swung his sword downward.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

Tanya fell to the ground, exhausted as Velvet kicked her once more.

Nico collapsed, her aura utterly drained as she panted from the long fight.

Janelle stumbled backward, barely holding herself up with her bow as she feebly tried to stand.

No....

Lyra's body slammed to the ground as Yatsuhashi's sword struck her. Lyra groaned in pain, feeling her aura break. She put her hands by her shoulders, pushing herself up. It hurt to stand, but she needed to! She needed to keep fighting, and-

"Stop!" Ozpin interrupted, glancing to the screen. All of Team LJNT had their aura depleted while Team CFVY was about halfway. "Team CFVY...you are declared the winners."