Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon
Jaune sighed in relief when he and Ruby finally arrived at the auditorium.
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" a voice called out. Jaune turned to the source of the voice and saw drop dead gorgeous blonde woman.
He didn't stare though. Much.
"Oh! Hey, I gotta go!" Ruby told him. "I'll see you at the ceremony!" and she ran towards Blondie.
"Hey, wait!" Jaune called out to no avail as Ruby either ignored him or didn't hear him as she ran away. He sighed.
'Yeesh, I didn't think I came off as such a creep. Although then again, who could blame her for leaving little ol' me for…that?'
"Great, now where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky to talk to?" he mumbled. Still, it hadn't seemed as though she knew more of Beacon than him, so it wasn't all that bad. She probably wouldn't have been able to answer his questions anyway.
With nothing to do, he decided to find a quiet spot to sit in and wait for the orientation to end. He was scanning the area when he heard a loud yell.
"YOU!"
He immediately turned to the source of the noise, expecting a banshee or a hag and saw the heiress yelling at Ruby. Jaune allowed himself to relax and smiled a little; for once, fate wasn't kicking his ass.
'Damn, it's really not Ruby's day, huh?'
"Oh, god, it's happening again!" Ruby screamed and jumped into the Blondie's arms. Jaune gaped at scene before him.
'Did she just…Did she just jump into Blondie's arms à la Scooby Doo?'
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Schnee continued her tirade.
"Oh my god, you really exploded…" Blondie muttered.
The deadpan look on Blondie's face as she said that made him smile.
"It was an accident! An accident!" Ruby tried to defend herself as she got down from Blondie's arms.
Schnee promptly interrupted Ruby's rather impressive verbal defense with a pamphlet.
"What's this?" asked a confused looking Ruby.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for…" Schnee began.
'Oh wow. Did she seriously memorize the contents of the pamphlet? Wow. I'm not sure whether that's sad or impressive. Sadly impressive? Impressively sad?'
Ruby seemed just as flabbergasted as him. "Uhh…?"
"You really wanna start making things up to me?" Schnee asked befuddled Ruby.
"Absolutely?"
"Read this and don't ever talk to me again."
Jaune's eyebrow rose at this. 'Damn, that's harsh…What, did the explosion clip your fingernails, Princess?'
Blondie tried to defuse the situation. "Look, it sounds like you 2 got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends?" she asked them.
Jaune snorted. 'Oh, sure! And maybe they can all form a team and fight for peace, love and justice!'
Ruby seemed to like the idea though. "Great idea, sis!" she told Blondie.
'Wait, sis? As in "sister"?'
Ruby turned to the heiress. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby. Want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"
Jaune discreetly examined Blondie's and Ruby's facial structure. 'Okay, either she meant that figuratively or their milk man got very lucky one day.'
"Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there!" Schnee replied a little too enthusiastically.
Jaune's musing was interrupted by that last statement. He could almost taste the sarcasm in her voice. He also noticed that she was talking about him. He snorted.
'Tall, blonde and scraggly? Really?'
"Wow, really?!" Asked a hopeful looking Ruby.
Beat.
'And wait for it…'
Shnee's glare could have frozen lava.
"NO."
Ruby seemed a tad crestfallen.
'D'aww she looks so sad, someone should really pat her, tell her it's gonna be alright and give her some treats.'
The sound of a throat being cleared made everyone focus on the stage, where an old man was preparing a mic.
'So that's Ozpin, huh?'
"I'll... keep this brief." Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge; to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
'Well, someone forgot their happy pills.'
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin finished and left the stage.
A blonde woman took the mic. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
'Welcome to Beacon!'
Jaune sighed and decided to go to sleep. There really was nothing he could do right now.
Ozpin was pleased. She could tell. Ozpin looked as if a huge load had been lifted off of him. He hid it well, but she could tell.
"Would you mind telling me what put you in such a good mood?" she asked him.
Ozpin hummed.
"Well, my coffee tastes great and some of the new students show potential."
She fixed him a stern look. "Ozpin."
Ozpin smiled. "The solution to our problems has arrived."
Glynda's eyes widened. "You mean the person you were looking for is here?"
Ozpin nodded. "Yes. It took a lot of time, but Jaune Arc has finally arrived at Beacon."
Glynda's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure he can deal with our problem?"
Ozpin's smile widened.
'Jaune Arc…Finally. Now, I can repay my debt and help my students at the same time... Fate truly works in mysterious ways.
Jaune woke up and stretched the kinks out of his body.
'Up and at 'em, cowboy! Let's get some work done today!'
But first, he had to find his locker. He began to whistle jauntily as he searched for his locker.
'Alright, 525…526...' He was searching for his locker when he ran into Schnee and a cute redhead. Schnee seemed to really want the redhead in her team. Like really, really want her.
'My mind just went to a really happy place.'
Schnee was saying something about how great it would be.
'Yes, that would be great…'
Shaking his head, he decided to repay the heiress for her jab at him the previous day.
"You know what else was great? The explosion in the courtyard yesterday!" he interjected.
"What-who are you?!" Schnee demanded.
Jaune gasped theatrically. "To forget me so quickly…Am I not the apple in your eyes? I, your tall, blonde and scraggly?"
Schnee's eyes widened in realization.
"You?!" she demanded.
"Me!" Jaune replied cheerfully.
A giggle suddenly interrupted them. Jaune turned to the redhead.
"Ah, but where are my manners? I'm Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee's object of affection."
"Wha-" Schnee began only to be interrupted by the redhead.
"My name is Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you, Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee's object of affection."
Jaune smiled. 'Oh, this girl's gonna be fun.'
The betrayed look that Schnee gave Pyrrha and the glare she gave Jaune would warm his heart until the day that he died. He was sure of it.
"You are not the object of my affection! I don't even know you!" Schnee yelled at him.
Jaune gave an exaggerated sigh and turned to Pyrrha. "As you can see, she's rather shy in public."
If Schnee's glare could be weaponized he was sure that no being alive in this world would be able to survive it.
Fortunately for the heiress, Pyrrha decided that enough was enough. "So, Jaune, have you heard the rumors? Have you chosen a partner?"
Jaune frowned. "Partner?"
Schnee snorted contemptuously. "Do you know nothing? Students in Beacon Academy have a partner and form teams of four with 2 other students."
Jaune's frown deepened. This could be troublesome. "I see."
Pyrrha noticed the frown. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine!"
Jaune smiled bitterly. "Yeah, everything's gonna be just peachy!"
Schnee glared at him again. "The nerve of-! Do you know who you're talking to?"
Jaune's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He'd run into the heiress to one of the largest corporations in the world. Was Pyrrha also some kind of heiress or something?
"No. Enlighten me?" he asked her politely.
"This is Pyrrha." Weiss told him imperiously.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha greeted him cheerfully.
Jaune gave the heiress a dry look and pointed at his hoodie. "…And this is a hoodie. Oh, and hello again!"
Weiss glared again.
'She really should smile more. '
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" Weiss tried again.
"Well, congratulations, Ms. Nikos!" Jaune cheered.
"Thank you, and please, call me Pyrrha." Pyrrha smiled.
Jaune nodded. "Only if call me Jaune."
"Do you even know what Sanctum is?!" Weiss demanded.
Jaune did, in fact, know what a sanctum was. He just didn't know what the Sanctum was.
"No?"
Weiss scoffed. "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"
Jaune turned to look at the redhead. "Congratulations! Again!"
"Thank you. Again." Pyrrha replied easily.
""She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Schnee went for her Hail Mary.
Jaune's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, that's you?!"
Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."
Jaune shrugged. "Wouldn't know. I'm more of a Count Chocula kind of dude."
"Now that you understand do you think you have right to speak to her so…" Weiss began.
"Insouciantly?" Jaune interrupted.
Beat.
Weiss gave him an incredulous stare. "…I'm amazed you know what that word even means."
Jaune smiled and nodded. "I know right? I just look so stupid."
"Ah, I really don't mind." Pyrrha interrupted.
Jaune grinned. "See, she's cool! Now if you 2 fine ladies would excuse me, I have to go find my locker." With that, he left to search for his equipment.
'Partners and teams, huh? Well, damn, this is not gonna make my job any easier…Sigh, I just hope I'm partnered up to someone that doesn't ask too many questions…'
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin told them.
Jaune shifted nervously before mentally scolding himself. All the other students seemed fine. They were all standing on the edge of cliff. He peered over the edge and saw a luscious, thick forest.
He mentally groaned. 'Damn it, I'm guessing we're gonna have to walk down a lot of stairs to get there.'
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates today." Glynda continued.
'Do we get to choose? I want that big, dumb looking one.' He thought to himself as he saw a brown haired boy wearing a thick set of armor.
"These team mates will be with you for the duration of your stay here in Beacon." Ozpin spoke up. "With that said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner, so make sure to choose wisely!"
'What.'
""After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." Ozpin calmly continued.
'Who the hell came up with this idea? Seriously? What the hell is wrong with you people?!'
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin kept explaining the assignment. "At the end of the path you will find a temple containing several artifacts. Each pair is to pick one and return with the relict. Intact."
Jaune noticed that when Ozpin had said intact he had not necessarily been talking about the students.
"Any questions?" Ozpin finished.
Jaune looked around and noticed that no one here seemed to have any questions. He sighed
"Yes, sir." He spoke out loud.
"No? Good! Now take your positions!" Glynda commanded.
Jaune noticed a student being launched into the forest.
'What. The. Hell.'
"Sir, I think I forgot my parachute." He tried to inform his professors.
Ozpin and Glynda shared a look before turning to look at him.
"That's okay, Mr. Arc, no one here has a parachute." Ozpin "encouraged" Jaune.
"Oh, well, in that case-" Jaune began. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" he finished.
"Oh, do calm down, Mr. Arc. I am sure that you have a landing strategy already, correct?" Ozpin informed him, amused.
"What do you mean landing strategy?! How are you expecting anyone to survive this? Seriously, What the fuuuuuuu-" His tirade was interrupted by a severe case of sudden loss of gravity.
Glynda gave Ozpin a skeptical look. "Are you sure he's the solution to our problem?"
Ozpin nodded. "He may not seem like much but I assure you he has the potential."
Glynda sniffed. "And it's our job to ensure he reaches that potential?"
Ozpin shook his head. "No, we will simply show him the way. Whether he reaches his potential or not is up to him."
AN: Apologies if this just felt like canon rehash; this is just supposed to be a filler chapter.
