I believe there are some notable spelling mistakes or missing words along the chapter here. Do point them out for me if you happen upon one, thanks!

Pardon my grammar.

A pair of Creeps waddled around the forest, brushing aside small bushes and low hanging tree branches with their snouts. They raise their head up and sniff the air, smelling the presence of a human descending near their location. The Creeps ferally snarl, scurrying towards a small clearing where the human would be making landfall. A rustle from a nearby bush caught the Creeps' attention.

A Beowolf emerge from the bushes to join the two Creeps, growling with anticipation of sinking its claws and teeth into human flesh. The trio of Grimm looks up eagerly at their falling, misfortune prey as it got closer and closer, surrounded by a transparent green sphere. Not registering the possible danger that's bearing down on them, all three Grimm recklessly lunge at the human boy the moment he landed. Powerful shockwave exploded outward, instantly twisting the Grimm bodies as the transparent green sphere burst, killing the Grimm trio.

The debris settles, and from the point of impact stood Oscar, who slowly got up and contemplate where he has landed. "I think I did pretty well." He observes the mangled Grimm corpses disintegrating into the air. "Yeah. I'm already doing well."

He hasn't even taken his first swing at a Grimm and he's already slain three of them in this timeline. That's something he can be proud of, right? Oscar pushes away the trivial thoughts within his mind and cautiously makes his way through the bushes, cane grasp firmly in his hand. Emerald Forest isn't as lush as the name implies compared to Forever Fall. The grasses were typically shading of faint yellow, and the leaves on the trees are dark green. In other words, there's nothing really emerald about the forest.

It's just a regular forest with some ruins here and there.

"And now I'm lost. Where was I supposed to go?" Oscar pauses and inspects his surroundings, pondering which direction he should go in a place that's basically a sea of trees. He suddenly felt the scroll ring in his pocket. Ozpin handed him one this morning, seeing how he didn't have a personal scroll on him. "Hello?"

"Ah, Oscar." Ozpin's voice filter through the other end. "I've just so happened to neglect to tell you that your destination is on the northern end of the forest."

"Now you tell me."

"You didn't tell him where to go beforehand?!" The shrill voice is from Glynda sounding very vex.

"It was a spur of the moment, Glynda."

"That's even worse, sir!"

Oscar sighs and rubs his head. "Do I just walk in a straight line through the forest?"

"That is for you to figure out," Ozpin reply cryptically, "and don't hesitate to destroy everything in your path," On cue, three Beowolves step out into view, leering at Oscar with their glowing red eyes. "or you will die."

The call ends, leaving Oscar to fend for himself against three Beowolves that towers over him by a large margin.

"Thanks for the information," Oscar grumbles, pointing his weapon defensively at the charging Grimm.

The first Beowolf swipe at his center, forcing Oscar back as the claw strikes against his cane, nearly throwing him off balance. He took a step back, receiving another swing from the Beowolf, parrying it, and delivering three hard strikes against the Beowolf's upper body and head, ending the combo with a crunching thrust of his cane into Grimm's chest.

The Beowolf flew back, landing on its back, howling in pain. It's two packmates immediately dash around to flank him, before rushing towards Oscar on all four with a bone-chilling howl.

Oscar remains on the spot, glancing back and forth between the Beowolves. He bends his knees and crouches low as one lunge over him, claws missing his shoulder by a few inches. While the first Beowolf missed its attack, the second one will not.

Using his current stance, Oscar put all his weight on his right knee and angle his cane. With a push, Oscar shot towards the charging Beowolf and ram his weapon into the Beowolf's throat with a tremendous force, breaking its neck and killing it. Keeping his momentum, Oscar turns around just in time to prevent the Beowolf from earlier from snacking on him. Wide jaws snap down on Oscar's cane; teeth meeting metal, emitting an awful metal grinding sound.

He couldn't help but let out a small yelp when the Beowolf uses its height and strength to its advantage, forcing him on his knees. Oscar push against the Beowolf using his cane with his hands on both ends. The Beowolf brought a claw down on one of his hands, making him wince in pain. Gritting his teeth, Oscar uses the Beowolf's unevenly distributed weight against it, twisting his body and pulling the Grimm over his shoulder.

The impact forces the Beowolf to release its jaw on his cane, allowing Oscar to roll back and lunge at the Grimm with a precise strike on its neck. The Beowolf collapse on the ground, its corpse quickly evaporating.

Faint memories flooded into his mind. He remembers now; a Beowolf's weak spot is generally around its joint and neck. Nearly all Grimm share that same weakness, save for a few types or older Grimm. A low growl brought Oscar's mind back to reality. He forgot there were three Beowolves instead of two, with the last one glaring at him.

"Guess you're the last one." The Beowolf drop on all four and gallop towards the farm boy. Oscar didn't back down, briefly matching the Beowolf with a quick charge of his own. With a battlecry, he leaps into the air and twists his body, thrusting his cane down on the Beowolf's skull. The Grimm fell face-first into the dirt ground, tongue lolling out as its red eyes lost its glow. "I did it… Wow, I really did it!"

His celebration came to an abrupt halt when several Grimm made their presence known behind him. Oscar slowly turn around and found a horde of Grimm staring back at him.

'Too many!' Oscar immediately bolted in the opposite direction.

At that moment, a figure came crashing down upon the hordes of Grimm. Pink explosions and walloping sounds cause Oscar's world to shake as he turns around to see what had just happened. To his delight, and horror; Nora Valkyrie had just landed straight into the fray, already decimating the Grimm pack with her trusty Magnhild.

"Yahoo!" She whoops, firing off a salvo of grenades before shifting her weapon from grenade launcher to a massive hammer. "Alley-oop! Whoosh!" A single swing of Magnhild shatters an Ursa minor and a Beowolf in one go. "Yeah! Haha!"

"Um… Hi." Oscar cautiously greets the hyperactive Valkyrie girl. Nora ceases strangling a Beowolf with the shaft of her hammer, and curiously turn her attention towards Oscar. Her eyes lit up with brightness upon seeing the farm boy.

"Cute! Oz! Boy!" Nora releases her hold on the Beowolf and sent it flying into the sky with a whack of her hammer. Oscar wince and watch the Beowolf shoot into the sky and dissipate like a faulty firework rocket. His inattentive cost him the chance to brace himself as Nora appear in front of Oscar, pulling him off his feet with a spinning hug. "Hello there! Hello there!"

"H-h-hi…?!"

"I'm Nora! You must be Oscar." Nora put her face close to his, disregarding his personal space. "How are you on this wonderful day~? Did you finish your secret mission? Tell me, what was it? I won't tell a soul."

"I… Haven't finished my task, yet." Oscar manages to squeeze out under Nora's immense hold.

Nora gasps like the worse thing had, "No! That won't do!" She put him down on the ground and grabs his hand. "Not if I'm around! Let's go, Oscar! I'll help complete your secret mission!" She stops in her track, mind suddenly clicking into place. "Oh yeah, I need to find a partner!"

"I can wait until you find a partner." Oscar hopes she'll find Ren, and that his presence doesn't affect Nora's chances of partnering with Ren. "I think we'll be going to the same area. The northern end of the forest?"

"Awwww! Come here you!"

Once again, Oscar found himself crushed by Nora's bear hug. The biggest hazard to his life so far in this forest full of Grimm.

/-/

Glynda and Ozpin observe the students on their scroll, flipping through the many camera feeds that provide real-time feedback of their progress in Emerald Forest. One particular camera feed is constantly windowed to the upper corner, one focus on Oscar and a recent addition to the screen, Nora Valkyrie.

The blond deputy breaths out a sigh of relief upon seeing Nora enter the fray, "Her arrival was spot on." Glynda huff and glare at the headmaster. "What were you thinking? Throwing a young boy out into the wilderness like that; without telling him where to go?"

Ozpin calmly sips on his mug of hot chocolate. "He's proven himself quite capable, don't you think? His form is unpolished, but it'll be refined in due time."

"That's not the point, Ozpin. What if he didn't know how to land, or fight properly? It would have been safer if you were to launch him along with the rest of the students, not be the first send-off for half a minute!"

"It was a gut feeling that leads me to believe that young Oscar is capable of defending himself." The wizard slowly stirs his drink, looking at his dark reflection within the liquid. "His display earlier proves that he can."

"He was about to be swarmed if it weren't for Miss Valkyrie just now."

"He would have managed to escape." His response causes Glynda to sigh in defeat. "I understand that you're concern about him despite being dubious of his claims, but he's more than ready to confront the hardships that are to come."

"I'm not sure what to make of this." Glynda massages her temples before resuming her duties. "I pity the boy, having to put up with Miss Valkyrie." She furrows her brows when she sees them heading towards the direction of a young man with black hair with a pink stripe, Lie Ren. "More so for her soon-to-be partner."

/-/

"Do you hear that, Oscar?"

Distant rapid gunfire sounds off in the distance, reaching Nora and Oscar's ear. It didn't sound like it's that far from their position.

"Yes, I heard it."

Nora and Oscar were up in a tree, with the latter dangling from a solid tree branch of an oak tree. The former, in question, wanted to get to the high ground and couldn't find one. So, with Nora being Nora… The girl decided to launch them up into a tree and hop from branch to branch to find herself a partner.

"It's Renny!" Nora half-squeal, bouncing on the tree branch that held the two of them. "I know the sound of his weapon anywhere!"

"S-stop! The branch is going to break!"

"No time to be scared! Come on!" She grabs him by hand, wraps an arm around him, and jump down on their tree branch, causing it to bend and creak. "Let's go!"

"Nonono!"

Nora laughs and rebounds off the tree branch, soaring into the skies with Oscar. "Wee!"

"Ahhhhh!"

Gravity acted quickly upon the two of them, making them dive down into the forest, scraping through numerous tree branches. Somehow, Nora's foot snags multiple branches, slowing their fall to a slow bounce.

"Qrrraaw! Qrrraaw!" Nora holler as they drop down several feet in front of Lie Ren, who had just dispatched a King Taijitu. "Qrra- Whoops!" The acting force causes Nora to lose her grip on Oscar, sliding away from her one arm hug.

"Oof!" He fell on his head, temporarily performing a headstand, before falling onto his back. "… You have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, Oscar! I'll give you one of my pancakes to make up for this!"

"I'm really sorry about her behavior. I'm Lie Ren." Ren offers a hand to Oscar, helping him to his feet. He then turns to Nora with a small smile, "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

She pokes him on the nose and sticks her tongue out. "Boop!"

Ren couldn't help but smile at her shenanigans, "We should start moving. Our goal is at the northern end of the forest where we're to retrieve the relics. What about you?"

"I'm also supposed to go there." Oscar brushes dirt off his clothes. "I think my so-called tasks are about the same as everyone else."

His goal is to retrieve an item inside some small device that Ozpin put out there along with the 'relics' the students were supposed to retrieve. Whatever that is the item or device is.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Nora drops to the ground and grab both boys by the hand. "We're off on a grand adventure! Forward my brave warriors! March in the name of your queen!"

/-/

In another part of the forest, Ruby and Weiss were bickering with each other after wiping out a small group of Beowolves but not before setting fire to the forest.

"What was that?!" Ruby exasperatedly threw her hand into the air and points at the burning forest behind them. "That should've been easy!"

"Well perhaps, if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I would have set the forest on fire!"

Their inability to coordinate their attack nearly caused Weiss to burn Ruby, forcing her to redirect her attack to a far-off tree, which promptly burns and spreads very quickly. On the bright side, they were able to eliminate nearly all Grimm during their escape, so not much of their pride was lost. Though, being forced to flee regardless of their situation, from a small group of Beowolves is still a blow to their pride as huntresses-in-training.

Not that either of them will admit it outright.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm just surprised that someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!"

"Well, I'm sorry that you needed my help to win a fight." Ruby sass back, arms crossed as she internally fumes. "I'm just fine on my own!"

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest…" Weiss was about to say child, but she would be insulting Professor Ozpin's apprentice, who is much younger than Ruby. Since Ozpin himself determine that Oscar is worthy enough to be his apprentice, Weiss would like to be cautious of disrespecting him, and by extension, Ozpin. "Immature brat to sneak your way into Beacon, bravo."

Weiss walks away with a huff, leaving an angry Ruby to trail after her.

Ruby angrily vents her frustration on a nearby tree with her weapon, pausing upon hearing the sound of wood splintering sound of trees shattering. "Hey! Someone might be in trouble!"

"It's not far from our position." Weiss checks her Dust chambers on her rapier. "Come on."

They could feel the ground tremble beneath their feet, caused by numerous trees going timber. Heavy rustling and wood splitting sound of trees meeting their end could've been seen and heard even in this dense part of the forest.

"Wow! Something big must be chasing after someone!"

"Or it could be a large group of Grimm."

"Whatever the case is, we won't be able to catch up at this rate." Ruby picked up the speed, ready to active her semblance. "I'll go on ahead! My semblance let's be run very fast!"

Weiss scoffs, white glyphs forming on the ground ahead of them. "My semblance allows me to do just that as well." She hesitates for a brief moment, "But there might be a drawback when its effects wear off."

"I'll cover you!"

"Let's hope you can."

Two blurs of white and red dash through the forest, steadily catching up to unrest occurring ahead of them.

/-/

"Isn't this fun, Oscar?!" Nora holler as Oscar desperately tries to cling onto the backside of an Ursa.

This was far from fun. This was terrifying!

"Why does this keep happening to me?!" Oscar wails, feeling the wind wildly breezing through his face. The Ursa did everything it can to dislodge them, flailing and galloping through the forest with all its might.

Behind them, Ren desperately tried to keep up with them, pushing his legs to their limits.

"This ain't your first rodeo?" Nora's eyes brim with more creative and destructive ventures for the future. "What am I saying? Of course, this isn't your first rodeo! You're professor Ozpin's apprentice, silly me!"

Oscar's eyes widen, "That's not what I meant!"

"Don't worry! Let's make this more fun!"

"Nora, no!"

Ren's out of breath voice manage to carry through, but that didn't stop her from doing anything even more reckless. Whatever Nora did forces the Ursa go barreling through a tree, stumbling over a rock, causing them to tumble down a hill. Miraculously, the bony spikes protruding from the Ursa back didn't impale them as they tumble down the forest hills, nor were they crushed underneath the immense weight of the bear-like Grimm.

Oscar's vision was nothing but blurs and swirls, causing him to close his eyes. Several minutes were like hours in this Grimm rodeo, until the Grimm's frantic hurtle came to a trudge. Bravely opening his eyes, Oscar figured out how Nora got the Grimm to go haywire earlier. She used her grenades to get it moving! Now, he's planning on doing it again, putting the barrel of her Magnhild on its back and fire.

"Yeehaw!" An electrifying magenta-color explosion ruptures the air and Grimm, finally putting the Ursa out of its misery and ending their rodeo. The Grimm fell flat on its stomach, throwing Oscar and Nora off. "Aww, it's broken." She looks sad for a moment before jumping back onto the Ursa, inspecting it with a childish expression. "Eeeew."

"Oh, thank gods it's over." Oscar rapidly blinks and puts a hand on his head, trying to stop his brain from spinning out of his head. When his vision stabilizes, he spots Blake and Yang, looking at them with a bewildered expression.

Behind them is the temple containing chess pieces on pedestals. At the foot of the stairs leading to the ruined temple laid a metallic pedestal staked into the ground. A small grandfather clock was grafted into it, quietly ticking away.

'That must be the small device Ozpin was talking about.'

"Um, this is crazy and all." Oscar turns at the direction of the familiar male voice, and there was Jaune, hanging on his foot in a tree. "Can someone get me down from here?"

He frowns, wondering how Jaune got up there. "How did he…?"

Finally catching up, Ren stumbles into the opening, putting both hands on his legs while he catches his breath.

"Nora…? Please…" He gasps for air, leaning on the Ursa's corpse. "Don't do that again." He turns his head, only to find Nora gone. Understandably, he began a frantic search for her, until stopping when he saw her at the podium.

"Ooooo…" Her eyes were fixated on a white rook, snatching it off its pedestal and placing it on her head. "I'm Queen of the Castle! I'm Queen of the Castle!"

"Nora!"

She ceases dancing and salutes him, "Hehehe! Coming, Ren!"

Blake and Yang were coming to terms with what they had just seen, the latter gesturing with one hand at the absurdity that has occurred.

"Did those two just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asks to no one in particular.

"I…" Yang tried to answer, interrupted by someone screaming from the sky.

Everyone glances up, seeing Ruby arch over the forest, wildly waving her arms as gravity pulls her down. "Waaaaah!"

"Ruby?!" Both Oscar and Yang exclaims.

Complementing Ruby's descent, Weiss flew in at a vertical velocity, colliding with Ruby halfway. The girl in white blew past Ruby, making Ruby hover briefly in the air, spinning from the impact. In turn, their collision also broke the crimson reaper's fall and she hit the ground with a slight imprint on the soil.

"… I'm okay." Ruby weakly gives them a thumbs up.

As for Weiss, she crashed into Jaune.

"OOF!"

"Ah!"

The two slams into the trunk, with poor Jaune cushioning most of the impact for Weiss.

"My back…"

"My hero." Weiss ungratefully thank the blond boy, picking herself up and balance on a branch while brushing away the leaves.

Meanwhile, Oscar was running towards Ruby, lending her a hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby reply, jostling her red cape to get rid of the dirt clinging to it. "Had worst at Signal."

"Did your sister just fell from the sky?" Blake then points at Weiss, "Did she just catapulted from the forest?"

Yang opens her mouth, managing to get a single letter out of it. "I…"

A shriek caught everyone's attention, followed by a massive Deathstalker bursting out of the forest, hot on Pyrrha's heels. The red-haired champion narrowly dodges its massive pinchers and continue sprinting across the grassy plains.

"Jaune!" She cries out with relief upon seeing her partner unharmed.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune lost his footing and fell from the tree, landing flat on his face. "Wh-whoa! Guh!"

Weiss gracefully lands on the ground like a ballet dancer, glancing dismissively at Jaune. "Hmph."

From there on out, everyone seems keen on calling each other names.

"Ruby!"

"Yang!" The two sisters run towards each other, arms spread out for a hug, only to be intercepted by Nora jumping in between them.

"Nora!" She pulls Oscar over, "And Oscar!"

"Uh, hi." Oscar greets them awkwardly. Several meters away, Pyrrha is still being chased by a Deathstalker. "Are we going to help her?"

Is this normal, or has his presence somehow altered the world by lowering everyone's sanity?

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asks with her arms cross, not sure what to make of this as did everyone else.

One, in particular, is starting to feel extremely peeved by these eccentrical turn of events.

Yang's temper quickly flares up, her body angrily shaking. "Grrrr! I can't take it anymore!" Her eyes turn crimson, and her hair blazing brightly. "Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

'It's a bit surprising that Yang of all people has some common sense despite her outgoing attitude.' Oscar thought to himself as he took a step back from the raging Yang.

Everyone complied. Ren took this opportunity to join the group, still catching his breath. Coolly sauntering over is Weiss, who crosses her arm and eye the misfits with a cold, calculating gaze. Only two were left out of the odd group: Pyrrha and Jaune, still being chased by a Deathstalker or clumsily clambering up from the ground.

The sound of the miniature grandfather clock ticks quietly in the background, ending exactly at two seconds, just in time Jaune to catch up with them. He's then joined by Pyrrha, who had managed to outrun the Deathstalker, throwing herself on the ground near them, finally joining their group.

Jaune helps his partner up. "You okay, Pyrrha?"

"Uh-huh."

"Great! The gang's all here!" Yang claps her hand, "Now, we can go pummel that Deathstalker!"

"So, what's the plan?" Oscar asks, drawing his cane.

Yang laughs, "Plan? We don't need a plan when there are one giant Grimm and nine of us!"

A loud screech above startles the teens. They turn their heads up into the sky and there, flew a massive Nevermore overhead. Its four eyes stare back at them malice, letting out an air piercing shriek in a declaration of its desire to kill them.

Jaune squeak let out a squeak. "That's a big Grimm!"

Everyone else, barring Nora, turn towards Yang with an unreadable expression, but one single thought was made clear. You jinxed it.

The blond girl sheepishly looks away and rubs the back of her head, whistling innocently.

Oscar sighs, "Oh, boy."

Pardon my grammar.

The trees. The trees...

A little bit of interaction with Nora and Ren. Here and there with Ruby later on. Let's not rush things.