ACT 1: Fortitude

"I know of no higher fortitude than stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds."

- Louis Nizer

'I'm… alive?'

Jaune blinked as the fog in his eyes cleared up, revealing the outline of the trees that loomed over him. He felt his consciousness return, and with it, a growing pain in his abdomen.

Hissing in pain, his hand reflexively reached out, alarmed when he felt the dampness of blood seeping through his shirt, coating his hand. Stunned, he could only stare until the pain spiked, eliciting a strained cry from his parch-dry throat.

"Son of a-! Ow!"

Gritting his teeth he forced himself on all fours, panting from the effort. Swivelling his head, he tried to find something, anything, to help stop the bleeding. As luck would have it, he found his backpack not far from where he was, its contents haphazardly strewn about. Grunting, he crawled towards his belongings, his hand finding purchase on one of his shirts. He vaguely recognised it as one of the few clothing he reserved for formal occasions, though the sharp pain on his stomach quickly dismissed that thought.

Roughly folding it in his hands, he placed it on his wound, and, bracing himself, applied pressure.

Jaune Arc rarely swore, having lived under a same roof with seven females – eight including his mother – tended to dissuade him from uttering profanities. For the first time in a long while however, torrents of expletives spewed forth as he saw stars in his eyes from the overwhelming pain.

"FUUU-!"

He didn't know how much time has passed, nor was he aware that he blacked out at some point. When he woke up again, he felt somewhat better. Not a whole lot, but he certainly didn't feel like he was close to knocking on Death's door now.

That would do. For now.

Pyrrha Nikos was not happy.

Then again, it was hard not to. Squeals of fans and all those requests for autographs wasn't exactly her ideal kickstarter of the day, after all. Breakfast in the mess hall was worse, being subjected to all the stares and whispers killing her appetite even before she was halfway through her toast. To top it off, several people approached her in the locker room, initiating conversations that all subtly hinted at topics of potential partnership. A polite smile and a friendly encouragement or two was the extent of her reply, and just when she thought she was finally left to her own devices, more would accost her with eager (and to some extent arrogant) expressions that threatened to grind her patience to dust.

Her partner went the extra mile and utilised those dust to freeze an Ursa in place with ice. With a flick of her rapier, Weiss sent a wave of fire that hit the Grimm squarely in the face. Temporarily disoriented, Pyrrha took the opening and used it to end the Grimm's existence with a powerful thrust of her Miló.

"Great work, Pyrrha. With a teamwork like ours, it won't be long before the two of us are recognised as the strongest among other students." Weiss complimented as Pyrrha pulled out her spear from the carcass. When the champion did not respond, Weiss continued, "It was quite fortunate that we were paired up, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't want to get some… commoners mixed up with the elites. God only knows it can only end dreadfully."

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be that bad. It is Beacon Academy, after all." Pyrrha replied, trying to keep her voice neutral. Her partner could certainly walk the talk, but the condescending tone left much to desire in terms of personality. Not that Pyrrha would ever say that to anyone's face. "Only the top students from various combat institutions around Remnant can sign up, and even then not everyone gets accepted. It's a little early to consider ourselves the best, don't you think?"

"Highly unlikely." Weiss snorted. "Even if that was the case, then all we have to do is train harder to surpass them, and clearly show them how outmatched they are."

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably, though she couldn't really disagree with the heiress. After all, she too disliked the taste of defeat, and with her status as a record-holder champion of Mistral Tournaments, victory was the only option left for her. Her pride wasn't the only thing that would crash and burn when she failed. "You've got a point there."

"Of course. Now, let's make haste, shall we? I'd much prefer if we avoid being the last to complete this initiation." With that she set off on a brisk pace, leaving Pyrrha no choice but to follow her partner with a discreet sigh.

"Do you even know where we're heading?" The question came out harsher than she intended, though the Schnee heiress didn't seem to notice. Either that, or she chose not to care.

"Of course I do! We just make our way towards the… well, where we need to find the relics…" Weiss trailed off awkwardly, her face flushing in embarrassment as Pyrrha giggled in amusement. "I-it's not funny!"

"It's alright, Weiss. Being directionally challenged isn't the worst flaw of a character." Pyrrha placated, though her lips were still curled up.

"I am not directionally challenged, and for your information, have they had enough sense to provide us with a map, or even a basic layout of this landscape we wouldn't be wasting our time here."

"I believe you." Pyrrha said in a tone that convinced neither of them. Before Weiss could protest, Pyrrha continued. "But I think I can get us to where we need to go. Can you trust me to do that?"

"Fine, I'll defer to your superior sense of direction, then." Weiss replied, grumbling.

The two continued walking for an hour, when they heard the echoes of thunder in the distance, accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground. Puzzled, they turned towards the general direction of the sound, though the vast canopy of the Emerald Forest trees obstructed their view.

"What was that?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't know. Though by the sound of it, whatever it is, it's far enough for us not to care." Was the heiress' nonchalant reply. "Now, we really should get going. If we wish to secure our positions in this Academy, then we need to get our hands on those relics before other initiates do."

"Right, of course." With that the two of them set off once more. If the headmaster's vague instructions were anything to go by, not every students would be granted entry to the academy, and neither had any intentions of being one of the rejects.

So for another hour or so they continued on, alternating between running and walking to preserve their stamina, all the while looking out for Grimm. The forest around them soon thinned out, leading to a large clearing. A tall mountain stood to the side, and on its base stood a large spire, with series of platforms jutting out on the side in concentric design, greatly resembling a staircase that led downwards into the chasm, its gap bridged by an overpass built of same material.

"Whoa, you can't even see the bottom. How deep does it go, and where does it lead?" Fascinated, Pyrrha inched closer to the edge, her focus turning to the stairway that continued its spiral descent into the dark depths of the ravine. "Weiss, you have to take a look at this!"

"I-I'm fine right here, thank you." Weiss replied hesitantly, firmly rooted to the spot well away from the edge. She turned to look at anywhere but where her daring partner stood, her gaze focusing on a decrepit ruin, or rather, an object that glinted in the daylight, barely visible through the cracks in the structure. Calling for her partner, she ran towards and around the side of the rotunda. There, laid in circular formation were multiple pedestals, and placed on them were objects that looked suspiciously like chess pieces.

"These are… chess pieces?" Pyrrha wondered as she picked up a gold piece with a triangle tip. "Bishop." The champion stated, confirming their suspicions. "These must be the relic pieces we were looking for."

"Well, I suppose we're set." Weiss declared with a mixed tone of relief and pride. "Still, that doesn't explain how the teams are arranged-"

She was cut off when an exhilarated cry pierced the air, and from the bushes out leapt an Achlis, riding on its back a girl hefting a large war hammer. The elk-like Grimm gave a strangled whine and collapsed, and the girl prodded it with the tip of her oversized weapon, a baffled expression adorning her face. "Hey, what happened? Why isn't it moving?"

Another figure leapt from the trees, landing gracefully on her feet. Clad in a rather exotic ensemble of black and white, the mysterious girl sighed as she walked up to the hyped redhead. "Can you not pull off something like that in the future, please? Nora?"

The girl called Nora bobbed her head up and down. "Okies! I promise I'll let you ride the next one, Blakey! Ooh, look! Shiny stuff!"

"That's not what I- wait, Nora!" Blake shouted at her partner, who was already darting back and forth the pedestals, before snatching up the last of the golden bishop piece. "Blake, look look look! It's got a funny shape that looks a lot like one of those pyramid-things in Vacuo and it looks a lot like a sloth nose! Hey, maybe we should make sloth noises and it can be our own secret signals! And-"

"Nora, please!" Blake shouted again, finally catching her hyper partner's attention, who had the decency to look sheepish.

"Ooops. Sorry Blake!"

Blake sighed. "It's fine. Just… come here, please." Rubbing her temple, she noticed the two girls standing to the side, one staring at them with disdain, the other with curiosity with a hint of amusement. "And you are?" Blake asked, eyeing them warily.

"Oh, pardon us! My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and this is Weiss Schnee, my partner." Pyrrha stammered, embarrassed at getting caught staring. The black-haired girl's eyes hardened at the mention of the name Schnee, and Pyrrha mistook it as a sign of irritation to her introduction. "Sorry for staring, but we weren't exactly expecting your, uh, friend, to make such an appearance."

Blake's eyes softened, as did her demeanour. "It's alright, I understand. My name is Blake, Blake Belladonna, and that's Nora, my… partner, and as you can see, she can be a bit…" She trailed off, struggling to come up with a right term.

"Unstable? Mentally unsound?" Weiss offered in a curt tone.

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'energetic'." Blake finished, frowning at the heiress, receiving one in return.

"Weiss, was that really necessary?" Pyrrha shot the heiress a disapproving look, flashing an apologetic one to Blake, who simply waved it off. Nora, done examining the remaining relic pieces, skipped over to the group, waving the bishop piece in the air. Noticing this, Pyrrha pointed out. "You picked up the other bishop piece? What a coincidence, so have we!"

At this, both Blake and Weiss blanched, while Nora whooped and slung her arms over the stunned would-be team members. "Yaaaay! We get to be in the same team now! Do you guys like pancakes? Of course you do, everyone loves pancakes! Oh oh oh! Maybe we can ask Renny to make us one and we can invite his team over and the eight of us can all eat pancakes and-"

Both girls squirmed out of the hyperactive Valkyrie's grip. "Alright alright, we get it already!" Weiss exclaimed, massaging her shoulder. "Dust, take a breath!"

Nora took no notice of the heiress' irritation, too preoccupied with the thought of devouring her childhood friend's baking. Her smile slightly faltered as she wondered where her introverted friend was now, the fact that they would not be in the same team together now sinking in. Still, it just meant that she would make even more effort to spend more time with him, she reminded herself. Uplifted with the thought, her smile broadened again.

Pyrrha stood from the side, observing her would-be teammates. Blake was leaning against a tree, with Nora's incessant rambling shattered any hope of reading her book in peace. Weiss walked in circles, lips pursed in thought, her expression turning foul when her eyes made contact with Blake's. Their wordless animosity did not go unnoticed by Pyrrha, and she couldn't help but sigh. They weren't even declared an official team, and already the tension between the two was palpable. Suddenly the four year duration of the academy seemed longer than ever.

The vibration in her pocket provided a temporary distraction from the rather depressing train of thought. Curious, she took out her scroll, the notification of a new message flashing on the screen. Swiping it open, her eyes widened when she saw that it was set on high priority.

'To all initiates' it read.

'An hour ago, the airship carrying passengers from Vale to Beacon Academy have crash-landed en route. It was last known to be flying over near the border of the deeper part of the Emerald Forest, a territory restricted to all but authorised Huntsmen. Vale Military and the Guild have been notified promptly, and will mount a joint rescue mission with the aid of Beacon staff.

The Initiation process is postponed until further notice. In the meantime, all initiates are to report to the nearest extraction point, and the coordinates will be updated to your scroll. Under NO circumstances the initiates are to involve themselves in the rescue operation due to high level of danger.'

Seconds later, the scroll chimed another notification, this time a layout of the forest, and several co-ordinates marked as extraction points.

Yang ignored it, however, merely shoving the scroll back into her shorts pocket before stomping off. A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn to her side, levelling a heated glare at the individual. "What?!"

"You can't. You saw what the headmaster said." Her partner stated calmly.

"Then this headmaster guy can go fuck himself! My sister was on that airship, my sister!" Yang shouted, radiating fury.

"The authorities will be there soon, and they're better suited for handling this."

"But how long will they take before they get there? Hours? Days?!" Her lilac eyes slowly turned red, the air around her body simmering. "News flash, pretty boy, my sister doesn't have that long! If those official dudes can't get off their ass and rescue my sister, then I will!"

"So you think you can do a better job?" The blonde fighter's lip curled back in a snarl. Her partner merely raised a brow, before he carried on. "The inner part of the Emerald Forest is inhabited by Grimmkind far more dangerous than what we've faced so far. There's a reason why only accredited Hunters and Huntresses are allowed to venture past the border. They told us of this much before the Initiation started. I know you heard them."

"Yeah, and you know what, I'm still going!" Yang hotly retorted. "It'll be a freezing day in hell if I turn around and leave my sister in danger."

"But what if-" Ren never finished the sentence, as Yang's eyes turned red, teeth bared. To his credit, Ren coolly stared her down.

"She's not dead," Yang hissed. "She's my family, I won't allow it."

Tension bled out of her body, and she relaxed, the usual violet slipping back to her eyes. "Because of my stupidity I almost lost her once. I'm not gonna let that happen again."

"You could die," Ren pointed out.

Yang shot him a toothy smile. "That's not gonna happen." Tightening the straps of her Ember Celica, she turned to the young man that has been her partner for the past hour. "You should head back to the rendezvous point. No reason for you to risk your neck for someone else's sister, after all."

With that, she turned and resumed her trek towards the heart of the Emerald Forest. It wasn't long before she saw her partner by her side, matching her stride.

"Partners stick together, that was the rule, wasn't it?" The Eastern Mistralian commented, answering the look of surprise on Yang's face. It soon turned to a smirk, and Yang punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"And here I thought chivalry was dead."

"You're most welcome." Ren rolled his eyes, though his lips quirked up ever so slightly. Yang snorted in amusement, before putting on a serious mien. The pair picked up their pace, all thoughts of initiation and extraction shoved to the recess of their minds. "So, got the directions for us?"

Yang smiled, pointing at the sky above them. "Easy, just follow the smoke."

Corpses, blood, and fire. He's seen plenty of them before, but only behind the monitors of his computer screen, often as an ensuing result of his own deeds in the virtual world, by a digital proxy in a fantasy setting.

Turns out, the transition from the virtual world to a real one wasn't as trivial or hilarious as he thought. The waves of nausea creeping up this throat wasn't expected, either, though he already vacated the contents of his stomach earlier, back when the airship was still whole and in one-piece, still up in the air, filled with people who were alive, talking, laughing, and certainly not in pieces or lying on the pool of their own blood…

The airship – or what was left of it – was scattered all over the place like shards of glass. Apparently just as sharp, Jaune winced as he caught sight of few formerly alive passengers impaled with the debris, splatters of blood decorating the metal surface. Fire crackled around him, slowly spreading to the surrounding flora, sending pillars of smoke above, thick and thin.

Taking care to avoid inhaling the toxic fumes, he continued his search for any possible signs of other survivors. He even called out a few times, only to be met with silence. Dejected, he lowered himself until his back was against a fallen log, placed a safe distance away from the nearest hazard. Closing his eyes, he steadied his breaths, trying – and failing – to calm the racing thoughts in his head. The dull throbbing pain in his abdomen didn't help either.

It was then he heard it; at first, a very faint noise that was barely audible, but slowly growing louder and clearer.

"Get away from me! Someone, help me please!"

His eyes snapping open, he jumped on his feet, momentarily cringing in pain from sudden movement, before hurriedly making his way toward the source of the cry. It wasn't very far, and as he pushed his way through the bushes he found himself staring at the scene before him, which involved a girl trapped in the wreckage, her head the only part of her that was free. Her eyes were wide open in terror, and Jaune too saw the object of that fear.

A Grimm stood hunching over the trapped girl, its tail swinging back and forth. Saliva dripped through the gaps in its fangs, its blood-red eyes trained on its helpless victim. As Jaune gasped, the Grimm, sensing the presence of another, trained its demonic gaze on the teen.

Having never seen the Grimm save for on the pages of books, staring at one in flesh froze him in fear, his eyes locked on to that of the Grimm. The lean, muscular physique, hook-like claws sharp enough to tear him to shreds, and the jagged fangs that lined its jaw, it awoke one powerful instinct in his being.

Self-preservation.

Before he could process his actions, his legs swiftly carried him away from the abomination, silent screams pouring out of his mouth. Jaune Arc ran and ran, the girl's desperate cries pursuing him before it died down to nothing.

He didn't know how far he ran. When he tripped over tree roots that snaked the ground, he picked himself up, only to continue running. Only when his lungs were aching for oxygen did he stop, tentatively turning to look behind him to see if the thing was hot on his trail. It wasn't. He sighed in relief, though that was soon replaced with guilt that ate through him. Guilt, shame, and disgust.

"Coward..." A voice whispered.

Panicking, Jaune looked up. "W-who's there?"

"Weakling..."

"WHO'S THERE!" Jaune yelled.

The disembodied voice cackled, the sound carried in the wind, swirling around him. "Too weak... your fault..."

"W-what was I supposed to do? There was no way I could've fought something like that! It's not my fault!" Jaune yelled hysterically, eyes darting about as he tried to find the source of the whispers.

"Coward... excuses...!" The voice grew louder, stronger, the disgust and mockery becoming more palpable.

"Leave me alone!" Jaune shouted, falling to his knees. The wind grew stronger, drowning the world around him in its howls. Then, as if flicking on a switch, everything fell silent. The wind, the dark whispers, leaving only his gasps.

Until a voice whispered into his ear.

"Pathetic."

He screamed. With that came down the wall, flood of memories smothering him, suffocating him. Memories that he wasn't proud of, memories that reminded him who he was.

His parents. Siblings. Neighbours. The Voice laughed, and they laughed with it. At him. It twisted his memories, changing them and distorting them until he couldn't tell whether they were true or not. His parents neglecting him, his siblings alienating him. Neighbours whispering behind his back, and the strangers he never met mocking him.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he curled and retreated into himself, trying, in futile, to protect himself in the only way he could. He didn't see the shadows of the trees slowly inching closer towards him, until complete blackness enveloped him.

His eyes snapping open, he realised he could see nothing. Panicking, he tried to shout out, only to find that something was constricting his throat, strangling him. Desperately he clawed his neck, trying to pry off whatever was squeezing his throat, only to find nothing.

Was this what it felt like, to get a visit from the reaper? Flickering consciousness, blood slowly freezing as warmth left the body? Was he going to die here, alone and forgotten by all, as he was choked to death by something that he couldn't see, much less fight off?

With what little breath he had left, he yelled. And as he did, several things happened at once.

Endless white filled his vision, the darkness banished in an instance. The iron-tight grip around his neck faded, and Jaune greedily sucked air in. A distant scream of anger and frustration that was not his own echoed in the distance, before it was silenced, and with it the ghostly laughter and whispers.

Unbeknownst to him, his body glowed faintly, disappearing not a moment later.

Jaune had no recollection of what had just transpired, or how much time has passed. His mind was clear, and for the first time in a long while, the weight that pulled him down grew lighter. He didn't know how or why, but at that moment he felt more... alive than he was before. As if there was still some will left in him yet to continue onward.

The girl's scream drew his attention, and faint hope swelled within him. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and ran back the way he came from, fervently hoping the girl was still alive. Branches whipped past him, leaving thin scratches on his face and body, though he paid no heed to the pain, too driven to rush to the girl's rescue.

Fortunately, the girl was still alive, the wolf-like monstrosity circling around the helpless girl, as if toying with its food before diving in for the kill. Not that Jaune would let that happen.

That paralysing fear surged back up again, though this time Jaune ruthlessly crushed it beneath his foot, and let out a roar as he charged at the Grimm. It wasn't the smartest move on his part, he realised in hindsight, though he was surprised when he managed to catch the Grimm unaware, tackling it to the ground.

The Beowolf lashed out with its claws, intent on prying him off its torso, though Jaune was faster. The legacy of the Arcs glinted in the light, before it pierced the Grimm's heart, ending its life. The Grimm convulsed, before its limbs went limp and fell on its side, unmoving.

Jaune sat up, still straddling the lifeless form of the Beowolf, panting and sweating. His arms shook, and he heard, no, felt, the drumming beat of his blood like a war drum inside him. Wrenching the sword free from the corpse, his legs gave out beneath him, adrenaline levels lowering to optimal levels.

"Hey… you're…"

A small voice called out, and he realised he forgot the girl was still there, trapped in the rubble. He made his way to her side. "A-are you ok?" He asked tentatively, then mentally smacked himself for asking such an asinine question.

"You... you came back." The girl sniffed.

Jaune hung his head in shame. "I-I'm sorry. I just..."

"You came back for me," the girl repeated, shaking her head. "It's okay."

He nodded, though it didn't completely erase the guilt that gnawed at his conscience. Instead, he quickly made his way to her side, and attempted to help the girl free. It took some effort, though eventually he was able to clear away enough debris for the petite girl to wriggle her way out.

As the girl dusted herself, Jaune's eyes widened in recognition. "Hey, wait a sec! You're that girl with the soda, back on the airship!"

The girl smiled. "Yep! Thanks for helping me out! My name's Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose." She introduced herself, extending a hand covered in soot and dust. Despite her dishevelled appearance and the near-death experience, the smile on her face was bright and genuine.

Jaune Arc couldn't help but smile back. He took her dainty hand with his bigger, gloved one.

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

A/N: So that's the second chapter done and dusted. I have to say, it's been a while since I've been this into cranking out new chapters since my very first story. Of course, all the support from you readers play a large role in that as well. On that note, thanks to all who favourited/followed this story, as well as those who left me some nice reviews. Totally made my day.

As usual, thanks for reading!

*Updated: 25/04/17 - edited a few bits and pieces there to smooth out the overall flow of this chapter.