Before the Dawn (RWBY, Book 2)

A storm is coming...

After their strange mission in the desert, Coco, Fox, Velvet and Yatsuhashi are back at Shade Academy, doing some "extracurricular" work to track down The Crown, a mysterious force that's snatching up people with powerful semblances. The job should be easier with Team SSSN by their side, but The Crown continues to evade them. Out of options and worried that a bigger plot is in motion, CFVY and SSSN notify Theodore, the Headmaster of Shade Academy, but Theodore has problems of his own.

Troubled by the disasters at Beacon and Haven Academies and struggling to support the flood of refugee students, Theodore declares a new initiation – including the formation of new teams to better unite the student body. Amid mounting tension at the school, CFVY and SSSN must contend with unfamiliar teammates and uneasy rivalries, all while The Crown plots their next move.