Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.


Raine rubbed his head, trying to will away a growing migraine. He'd probably take camping in a Grimm infested wilderness over the shenanigans in the ballroom, and the rambunctious actions of a girl named Nora Valkyrie hanging on the sleeves of one Lie Ren did not help his situation. Still, with Initiation starting on a cliff side overlooking the Emerald Forest, the constant fresh air did help clear his head a bit. As they were now, about 40 of them stood atop spring-loaded platforms. It didn't take a genius to figure out just how this was starting. They stood in a single file line, with Yang to his right and a redheaded girl named Pyrrha Nikos on his left, whom he had met in the locker room earlier today.

Unlike most of the other girls, except for perhaps Yang, she was far better built for combat. She stood a few inches taller than him, years of training shown in honed and well-cut muscles. She wore her waist-level hair in a ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet. Her top consisted of two layers. The top layer was a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. It appeared to resemble a leather and bronze cuirass, and seemed to be quite stiff, maintaining its shape without support; this layer also seems to have some kind of riveting or small, round embroidery on the sides. The bottom layer is a low bronze V-neck. Pyrrha wore an elastic, black, A-line miniskirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle-length drapery that appeared to be wrapped around her skirt. Elaborate bronze greaves dressed her thighs, continuing downwards to her bronze, high heeled boots. A bronze bracer decorated her left arm. Strapped to her back was a shield and a collapsible spear.

"Good luck out there Pyrrha, I'm looking forward to doing battle with you," he told her with a smile, extending a fist out to her.

"The feeling is mutual, Raine Zaffre," she answered with a smile of her own, returning the gesture with a tap from her own fist. He then turned to the blonde bombshell.

"Hey Yang?"

"'sup?"

"Told you they would get sent home," he chuckled as he nodded his head to the drastically reduced numbers.

She let out a low whistle. "Wow, they didn't waste any time did they?" she commented.

"Of course we didn't, Miss Xiao Long," came the authoritarian voice of Professor Goodwitch. Headmaster Ozpin leisurely followed her, coffee mug in hand, as they took their places facing the line. "Such... behaviors have no place at this academy, and in the field have shown to prove disastrous to team functionality, increasing mortality rates."

She fixed Yang with a pointed glare. "Great, she knows. I better thank Raine after all this for saving my neck."

Ozpin cleared his throat as he addressed the new recruits. "For years, you all have trained to be warriors. Today, those abilities will be tested here, in the Emerald Forest."

Goodwitch stepped forward. "Now I know you have been hearing rumors about team assignments, so allow me to put an end to your confusion. You will be given teammates... today."

"What?" uttered a worried Ruby.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," continued Ozpin.

Ruby's panic only increased.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing shall be your partner for the next 4 years."

"...what?!" she cried out.

"Given some recent... disqualifications," he adjusted his spectacles, "there maybe a few teams with an extra hand. For the purposes of this class, each case will be settled in turn based on that group's performance."

Raine and Yang both gave Ruby a wink and thumbs up, calming her slightly but not entirely.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will encounter opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

Jaune laughed nervously, swallowing the golf ball sized lump in his throat.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of this initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each team will choose one. You will retrieve these relics and return here to the top of the cliff, defending them and your standing. Are there any questions?"

Jaune hesitatingly raised his hand. "Uh yeah, sir-"

"Good! Take your positions."

"Um sir? I've got uh... a question. Are you going to be like... dropping us off?"

Weiss and Blake were launched from their platforms.

"No, you will be falling."

Ren and Nora were next, the latter giggling madly at the sudden "roller coaster."

"Oh... I see... did you uh, hand out parachutes for us?"

Pyrrha was sent next, followed closely by Raine.

"No, you will be using your own landing strategy."

Yang gave her little sister a wink as she slipped on a pair of shades, rocketing off into the distance. Ruby turned to Jaune and gave him a sympathetic smile, then she was gone too.

"Uhhhuhh... so what exactly is a landing strategYYYYYY!"

Ozpin smiled as he took a sip from his coffee. Interesting indeed.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat," muttered Goodwitch as she tapped away at her scroll.


Few things gave Raine as big of a rush as free-fall. As he focused his aura for the incoming landing, he took a moment to observe his peers. Weiss made perfect and practical execution of her glyphs as jumping platforms to slow her descent. He also noticed her weapon of choice was a rapier, but at this distance couldn't make out any details. Pyrrha smashed into trees with her shield, her form never buckling from the impacts. He couldn't find Blake anywhere, and assumed she already hit the ground. An explosion rippled next to him. Swinging his head right, he laughed openly at the sight of Yang, firing rounds from her gauntlets to propel herself higher and faster than what gravity would allow. She was having the time of her life. He was nearing the treeline now. Drawing on the energy he stored in the sapphire at his neck, he enveloped himself in a transparent but solid cocoon of energy as he made contact with the trees. He barely felt it as he hit the ground with a roll.

Ruby wasn't far behind, extending Crescent Rose and hooking herself to several branches as she swung down to safe, hard earth. On the outside, she was calm but inside she was screaming.

"Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta... fiiiiind..." "Yaaaaang!" she cried out at the top of her lungs.

Her inner monologue continued. "This is terrible. What if I don't find her? What if someone else finds her first? Come on Ruby, think! Who else do you know here? Maybe Jaune...? He's nice, fun to talk to, and funny! But probably not that great in a fight... Oh! How bout Blake? Calm, confident, and mysterious, and she likes books! But then again I probably wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with her... ugh! How bout Raine? He's strong, he's cute, and we already fought together against that Torchwick guy, but he took off before Yang did! He's probably way ahead of me at this point... dang it, who else do I know at this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Raine, aaaand..."

She skid to a stop as she came into a clearing, finding none other than the Ice Princess, Weiss. They shared a look for a few moments. The Heiress showed no outward signs of disdain or hostility, and Ruby's initial anxiety shrank a bit. She showed it with a small smile. Then the girl was leaving.

"Wait! Come back!" Ruby called out. "We're supposed to be teammates..."

Weiss huffed as she struggled through the underbrush. Idiot Crater Face was one of the last people she wanted to be teamed up with. The immature little girl would only slow her down. She sighed as she forced her way into another clearing, only to be drawn to the sound of muttering. She looked up to find Jaune... nailed to a tree by Pyrrha's spear. He chuckled nervously, all the confidence he showed in the locker room that morning completely gone. "Uh, a little help?"

"No no no no no, and no," she thought as she stomped back the way she came, towards Ruby.

Ruby was snapped out of her lamentations as Weiss pushed past her, grabbing her by the hood while growling, "This does not make us friends."

"You came baaack!"

"Hey wait! Who's gonna get me down from here?" yelled Jaune as he struggled with the spear.

"Jaune?"

He looked down to find Pyrrha smiling up at him. "Do you... still have room on your team?" she asked with a smirk.

"Very funny..." he muttered, but he then smiled too.

Weiss in the mean time trudged along through the underbrush.

"What's the hurry?" called out Ruby.

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you were being too slow," she ground out. "I swear if I get a bad grade because of your- what the?" She was cut off as Ruby appeared in front of her in a flurry of rose petals.

"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!"

"How did you-"

"Weiss... just because I don't know exactly how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to take care of monsters. You're about to see a whole 'nother side of me today," Ruby gushed as she put an arm around the Heiress' shoulders. "By the end of today, you're going to be thinking 'Wow, that Ruby girl is really, really, cool... and I wanna be her friend.'"

With that, she disappeared once more, rose petals fluttering around in her wake. Weiss indignantly waved them from her face.

"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" She was answered only by rustling of leaves and then silence. "Ruby?" she called out. A menacing air seemed to fall over the clearing. Weiss dropped low into a stance, her hand drawing her rapier, Myrtenaster.

"Ruby?" she asked more quietly. This time she was answered by menacing growls. Weiss gulped as numerous pairs of red eyes appeared within the underbrush, piercing her with their gaze. Beowolves. One of them stepped out from behind a tree, the alpha of the pack. Scraggly, black fur covered it's wiry physique, protrusions of bone sticking out here and there, and the bloodied skull mask adorning its face showed numerous scars and scratches. Weiss swallowed the lump in her throat as the rest of the pack began to converge on her, all of them growling in a cacophony of hunger.

"This is nothing Weiss, you can handle it," she thought. "Just remember your training. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward... not that forward!" She narrowed her eyes at her target, the alpha himself. If she could kill him, the rest of the pack should scatter. "Slow your breathing, wait for the right moment to strike and..."

"Now!" Her sword close to her face and parallel to the ground, Weiss shot forward with her aura, poised with a fire dust crystal primed and ready.

"Gotcha!" announced a suddenly appearing Ruby, her scythe cutting into the same beowolf at the waist. Weiss panicked and stumbled, swiping her sword off to the side as the crystal discharged, sending a torrent of flame into a nearby tree.

The attack wasn't enough to kill it though. With an angry growl, it swiped its claws at Ruby, the girl barely raising Crescent Rose in time to block the attack. She was sent flying backwards by the force, into Weiss.

"Hey watch it!" she bit at her.

"Excuse me, you attacked out of turn! I could have killed you," berated Weiss.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..." grumbled Ruby.

The wolves began howling in unison as the two girls backed up together. Ruby loaded a fresh clip into her scythe, cocking back the bolt as she held it at her waist. But the fires from Weiss' failed attack were spreading. They jumped to the side with a yelp when an ignited tree fell beside them.

"We have to go," declared Weiss as she grabbed Ruby's arm. Together they made their escape, the flames covering their tracks and keeping the Grimm from following.

They kept running until they were certain they had finally lost the Grimm. As they slowed to a stop, Weiss bent over at the waist, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Ruby on the other hand was barely even winded.

"What was that?!" she asked. "That should have been easy!"

"Well maybe if you had exercised even the slightest bit of caution in the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"

Ruby scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just baffles me that someone who can talk so much does so little communication during an encounter."

"I'm sorry that you needed MY help to win in a fight. I can handle myself just fine on my own!"

"Congratulations then on being the strongest 'child' to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo." Weiss gave a mock bow and turned on her heel, walking off into the underbrush. Ruby yelled in frustration as she followed her, angrily cutting a tree in half.


"Helloooooo? Is anyone out there?" called Yang as she strode through a misty part of the forest. "Hellooooooooo! I'm getting bored here."

Her attention was drawn to some rustling in the bushes. "Someone there?" She ran over to investigate, shoving the foliage aside. "Ruby is that you?" she asked, smiling. A growl answered her and she looked up. "Nope."

The blonde back-flipped out of the way of a massive claw swipe. Two Ursai, the Grimm's twisted version of a grizzly bear, charged after her. She rolled to the side as the second Ursa swung for her head. Activating her gauntlets, Ember Celica, she stared her opponents down.

"I don't suppose you two have seen a little girl have you? Black hair with red ends, wearing a red cloak?"

The ursa's answer was to charge her again. She smirked and dodged underneath another claw swipe, sending a punch into the Ursa's chest. A shotgun blast from her gauntlet accompanied the punch. Three more were beat into the Grimm, forcing it to stumble backwards on its hind legs. Yang followed it up with a jump, spinning side kick into its chin.

"You could just say no!"

The ursai roared in response, one stepping forward to take another swipe at her. Yang laughed as she vaulted back out of range.

"Geez. You guys couldn't hit the broad side of a-" Time seemed to slow as a single, gold lock of hair drifted past her vision. It fell to the floor, making not even a fraction of a sound, yet it felt like a gavel had dropped. "You..." Yang growled out as her aura began to flare. The Ursai looked at each other in confusion.

"You monsters!" she roared, eyes turning scarlet, her body erupting in flames as she tapped into her Semblance.

The Grimm had no time to react as Yang shot forward with fiery speed. She buried her fist into the first one's stomach, following up with a relentless barrage of punches, shotgun blasts, and kicks. The ursa was dead before it even hit the ground, its body thrown through multiple trees. The second one roared out to her, squaring up to deal with the new threat.

"What, you want some too?!" she challenged.

It didn't get to respond, its body locking up as the sound of a blade severing its spine echoed throughout the clearing. The ursa, having been reared back on its hind legs, fell forward with a crash, revealing Blake standing behind it with her hand wrapped around the ribbon attached to Gambol Shroud, her chain scythe, embedded in the Grimm's back. With a yank, the blade pulled free and she promptly stowed it away, smirking the whole while. Yang shrugged.

"Eh, I could've taken him."

Blake said nothing, only shaking her head in amusement as she motioned Yang to follow.


Raine sprinted through the trees, his breath coming out in puffs of mist. How he ended up in one of the colder parts of the forest was beyond him. He vaulted over the body of a King Taijitu, the giant twin headed snake Grimm barely noticing him before the swordsman disappeared into the trees. He started to wonder if everyone had completed the test already, aside from the explosion earlier he hadn't seen or heard anything from anybody. It was starting to wear on his nerves. Would he be disqualified if he completed the mission alone? Obviously they were monitoring him so it wasn't like they didn't know.

"Gah, where the hell is everyone!"


Jaune and Pyrrha were lost. After a run in with some beowolves, they lost their sense of direction and were just wandering whichever way felt right. It brought them to a large cliff face with several markings painted on the side. They all referred to a cave a little walk away.

"Think this is it?" asked Jaune as they approached the mouth of the cave. Pyrrha shrugged and followed him in.


"It's definitely this way," declared Weiss as she walked off into one direction. Ruby sat cross legged on the ground playing with a stray leaf out of boredom. "I'm mean... no this way! It's DEFINITELY this way!" Weiss changed direction again. She spun around once more and stopped in front of Ruby. "Ok, it's official. We passed it."

Ruby huffed and stood up. "Why can't you admit that you have no idea where we're going?"

"Because I know exactly where we're going."

"Really, and which way is that?"

"We're going to... the Forest Temple!"

"Ugh!"

"Oh stop it, it's not like you know where we're going either."

"At least I'm not the one pretending like I know everything!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I hate you!"

"Ugh! Just keep moving," Weiss snarled and walked away.

"Oh just keep moving," Ruby mocked her behind her back. "Hurry up! Wah wah, watch where you're going! Why are you always so bossy?"

"I am not bossy, stop saying things like that!" Weiss denied, rounding back on her.

"Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Stop acting like one!"

"Well stop acting like you're perfect!"

"I am not perfect," Weiss ground out. "But I will be, and I'm still leagues better than you." She turned away a second time, this time with a glare.

"You don't even know me..." Ruby deflated.


Raine's mood perked up when he saw a break in the treeline. Finally, some sunlight. He burst from the foliage into a massive clearing. About time he made it. In the center was a ruined temple, it's crumbling supports arranged in a circle, surrounding an overgrown stone floor with multiple stone pillars. Upon each pillar was an odd piece. The relics it looked like. He relaxed his pace as he strode forward, examining the pieces with a curious eye. They all resembled chess pieces. More of Ozpin's cryptic symbolism? He debated whether or not to wait for someone else to arrive before grabbing one. He didn't want the teachers to think he was actively avoiding people. Thankfully he didn't have to as he heard Yang's voice.

"Raine!"

He looked up to see her running up to him, Blake keeping an even pace behind her.

"Wow, you don't have a partner yet?" the blonde commented as she joined him in the temple.

"Nope. Aside from an explosion earlier, I haven't seen any other students or even evidence of students since the test started. In fact, this whole forest just seemed deserted as I made my way here. Not even a beowolf to bother me," he mused.

"That's really weird. Blake and I had to fight a pair of Ursai on the way here."

"Well I did pass a King Taijitu earlier but it didn't chase after me."

"Man, I was hoping Ruby would be with you," Yang sighed.

Raine raised a brow.

"I know she can take care of herself but as her older sister I guess I can't help but worry sometimes," Yang chuckled.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," commented Blake. "On the other hand, looks like we're officially a three-man team now."

Yang nodded. "Yep. Team Badass is now official," she declared as she pumped her fist. She looked at all the relics. "Hey some of them are missing."

"I guess we aren't the first ones to get here," commented Blake. "Which one should we take?"

Yang put a hand to her chin as she gave it some thought. "How about... a nice horsie?" She grabbed the white night. Blake shook her head and smiled.


"Jaune... I don't think this is the place," said Pyrrha as they slowly made their way through the cave.

"Pyrrha, I made the torch," he replied, shaking it for good measure. "At least humor me for like, 5 more steps?" He promptly tripped over a rock, into a puddle, and the torch went with him, submerging them in darkness.

"Do you... feel that?" Pyrrha hesitantly asked.

"Soul crushing regret?" Jaune replied hopelessly.

"No it feels... warm."

He froze, realizing she fell with him and had pissed himself. He actually pissed himself.

"Nope, haven't the slightest idea!" he laughed nervously. "Let's keep going!"

Easier said than done, the pair being forced to feel their way forward through the dark. It felt like they were rounding a corner when a soft, warm light was bathed over them. Jaune's mood perked up immediately. Floating in from of them was an odd, sharp shape that glowed orange.

"Pyrrha," he whispered excitedly, "I think we found it! We found the relic!" He reached out to grab it, only for it to back away from him. "H-hey!" he protested and grabbed again, still missing. "Stupid relic, stay still!" He jumped this time, wrapping both his arms around it as it lifted him into the air. "Got it!"

"Um, Jaune?" she tried to tell him as she realized what it really was.

Jaune looked forward to see hundreds of glowing red eyes staring back at him. He went white. The rest of the body lit up, bathing the cavern in a low, red glow, revealing a giant scorpion Grimm, a Deathstalker. Jaune had grabbed the stinger at the end of its tail. At that point, the mind of Jaune Arc emptied of all rational thought. The boy from a meager farm in the agricultural district of Vale was now hanging from the stinger of a demonic scorpion as he literally stared death in the face. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather would have been proud. Would have. Because he did the only thing he possibly could do in that situation; screamed.

Pyrrha ran, ran as fast as humanly possible, the angry Deathstalker hot on her trail. The only good thing she thought of this was that the monsters natural illumination let her see where she was going. She swung around the corner and sprinted for the cave entrance. Luck of the draw. Warm sunlight bathed over her as she broke into fresh air. The Deathstalker... took the wall out with it, now a small two person opening could accommodate a giant Grimm Scorpion.

"Pyrrhhaaaaaa!" Jaune cried out. "Oh god why, why! Pyrrha this isn't the relic! It's not!" The Deathstalker shook its tail harder, realizing one of the humans was still hanging on. "Do something!"

Pyrrha's spear extended to full size, her shield fixed to her bracer. "Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-" His scream went louder as the deathstalker reared back with its tail and flung forward as hard as it could, sending Jaune flying through the air for the second time that day. "...go." She trailed off. She watched him disappear into the distance for a moment, but only a moment. She turned her attention back to the Grimm. It was old, very old. It's white bone protrusions were cracked and scarred. Some moss had even grown into the crevices between the plates of its chitin. For the first time in her life, Pyrrha Nikos felt genuinely outmatched, so she spun on her heels and ran.

Back at the temple, Yang jumped at the sudden high pitched wail coming from the distance. "A girl is in trouble!" she said as she reflexively activated Ember Celica. "Blake, Raine, what should we do?"

They didn't answer her, both of them transfixed at the sky as something rapidly descended on them.

Meanwhile IN the sky, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, in a culmination of teammate frustration, fatigue from the forest, and all around impatience to get the mission over with decided (well Ruby decided and Weiss played along against her better judgment) to do something rather rash.

"Ruby!" the Heiress yelled over the whipping of wind in their ears. "I told you this was a terrible idea!" She clung to the feathers with such a death grip, her hands were even more pale than the rest of her. Yep, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee had hitched a ride on a monster raven, a Nevermore.

"We're fine!" Ruby yelled back. "Stop worrying!"

"I am SO FAR beyond worrying!"

"... in a good way?"

"In a BAD WAY! A VERY. BAD. WAY!"

"Well then why don't we just jump!"

"What are you insane?!" She never got her answer, because Ruby was gone. Her mind clicked. "Oh you INSUFFERABLE LITTLE RED-"

"Guys didn't you hear that?" Yang was waving at them. "What are we going to do?"

Blake and Raine simply pointed up, gaining the blonde's attention.

"Heads uuuuup!" screamed a free fall Ruby. Raine tensed up, ready to catch her when a blonde and brown blur intercepted her, which just happened to be a terrified, screaming Jaune Arc. The pair crashed into the trees across from the temple.

Dizziness spun in Ruby's head, her eyes were seeing stars. The fall and the impact did a number on her. "Oh god..." she groaned. "What was that?"

"Ahem..." She shook her head and looked up, to see Jaune hanging by his legs from a branch above her. "Hey Ruby," he greeted her sheepishly.

"Did... your sister just fall out of the sky?" asked Blake as she looked towards where they landed.

"I..." Yang started, just as confused as her friends, but was interrupted by a loud snarling and crashing trees.

"Yeeeeehaaaaaww!"

An Ursa came flailing out of the treeline, screaming bloody murder until it was silenced by a massive, pink electrical surge on its back. A young girl hopped off its back, orange hair with a black and white jacket and white tank top with a tiny heart cut above her collar bone to accent her cleavage. She wore a white detached sleeve on each arm and a short, pink skirt that reached her mid thigh. On her feet were pink and white boots, with pink laces. Strapped to her back was a pink and silver grenade launcher. A boy stumbled out from behind her, dressed in a green eastern style jacket and white slacks. His black hair was tied into a long ponytail.

"Aw maaan, it's broken," the girl whined as she smacked the Ursa on the head.

"Nora..." spoke Lie Ren. "Please... don't ever do that again." He heard a woosh and looked up to find her gone.

Nora ran over to the temple, completely ignoring the trio that made it before them in her narrow span of attention. "Oooooh!" she cooed over the white rook piece. In a comical fashion, put the piece on top of her head which, against all laws of physics, stuck without any adhesive.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" she sang and danced.

"Nora!"

She giggled with embarrassment at her peers, whom she finally noticed. "Coming Ren!" she called back and ran over to him.

"Did... she just ride in on an Ursa?" asked a dumbstruck Raine.

"I-" Yang tried again, but more Grimm snarling interrupted the conversation.

Pyrrha ran into the clearing, the deathstalker still crashing in behind her, smashing down trees left and right as it snapped at her with its claws. She jumped at one moment and passed between a pair of pincers. "Jaune!" she yelled as she got sight of him.

"Pyrrha!" He called back as he struggled to get free.

"Whoa," breathed Ruby as she once again left him to his own devices.

She jumped down into the clearing, joining her sister and friends at the temple.

"Ruby?" Yang said with surprise as her sister landed next to them.

"Yang!" she answered.

"Nora!" screamed Nora as she popped up in between them.

"Did she just run all the way here with a deathstalker on her tail?" asked Blake.

"I don't even know anything anymore," Raine answered as he shook his head. Ren stumbled over to join them.

Yang growled as red embers flared up around her. "Will everyone just CHILL OUT for like two seconds before something ELSE CRAZY HAPPENS?!"

They waited exactly two seconds while her fire died down. So when Ruby thought it was safe to approach her again, she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Uh, Yang?" She pointed up towards the Nevermore circling overhead. Clinging to one of its talons was Weiss.

"Why did you leave me?" she cried out terrified.

"I told you to jump!" Ruby yelled back.

"She's gonna fall," said Blake.

"She'll be fine," answered Ruby.

"She's falling," confirmed Ren.

Raine sighed and took in a deep breath. Aura focused, he shot forward and jumped, snatching the falling Weiss out of the sky. She landed in his arms with surprise as he held her bridal style, stepping from tree branch to tree branch on the way back down to earth. Weiss couldn't form any words, her arms reflexively clung around his neck as he touched down. He just saved her life. Pink dusted her cheeks in a very un-Weiss like fashion.

"Well looks like the Ice Princess is capable of having some fun after all," he commented dryly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say your dropping in like this was just a way to impress me." She continued to stare at him, not letting go even as he walked back to the group.

"He has nice eyes... even has a scar like I do," he inner thoughts mumbled.

He began to feel self-conscious as she didn't respond to his comments. "You uh... wanna stop looking at me like that Princess? We're kinda being watched," Raine muttered as he turned his head away, face glowing red, the entire group's gaze fixed on them. Even Jaune and Pyrrha were finally able to join them, the latter of which able to give the deathstalker the slip for a few moments.

Reality snapped back to Weiss as she realized what she was doing. She let go of his neck and quickly, but surprisingly gently pushed herself out of his arms, refusing to face him as her normally cold face heated up. The pair refused to look at each other as they rejoined the group. While Yang thought it was cute, Ruby was almost fuming.

"So um, I guess the gang is all here then?" asked Raine as he broke the silence.

"Yeah, now we can die together!" declared Yang.

As if on cue, the deathstalker came crashing out of the treeline again, screeching in rage as it lumbered towards them. Ruby smirked as she saw her chance.

"Stupid Weiss, I'll show her!"

"Not if I can help it," she boasted.

With a battle cry, she sped off against the deathstalker, firing rounds behind her with Crescent Rose to amplify her speed.

"Ruby wait!" Yang cried after her.

Ruby lifted her scythe at the ready, and as she got close to her target, she cleaved downwards with all of her strength. This wasn't any young deathstalker though. The Grimm smacked her aside with its claws. She hit the ground with a grunt of pain and shakily got back on to her feet.

"D-don't worry! Totally fine!" she called back to the group.

No, she wasn't. The deathstalker reared forward, its stinger twitching in anticipation. With fear in her eyes, Ruby swung her scythe around and emptied her clip into the Grimm's face, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off its armor.

"Oh crap," she groaned, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled out as she took off in a sprint towards her sister.

Raine narrowed his eyes as the Nevermore floating above them reared back with a great flap of its wings.

"Yang, dodge!"

"Huh?" She looked up.

A thick volley of spear sized feathers with razor sharp points shot out from the Nevermore. They fell with whistling speed, nailing themselves into the ground and catching Ruby by her cloak. Yang slid to a stop, sliding across the ground as she barely avoided impalement.

"Ruby get out of there!" Yang cried out.

"I'm trying!" her sister called back, struggling to get her cloak free.

It was too late, the deathstalker was upon her. It's mandibles clicked as it raised its tail for the killing blow. With no way out, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the hit.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled as a white blur sped past her.

The attack never came. She felt a sudden burst of cold air and heard the tell-tale crackling of ice forming. She slowly opened her eyes to find the tip of the stinger frozen in place inches away from her.

"You are so childish."

"Weiss...?"

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Weiss leaned down towards her, swiping with Myrtenaster as she cut Ruby free. "And I can be a bit... difficult, but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together." She smiled slightly at Ruby. "So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer."

Ruby dusted herself off as she stood up. "I'm not trying to show off. I just want to show you I can do this."

"You're fine."

Ruby sighed in relief. "Normal knees..." she whispered to herself.

She gave a glance at the deathstalker, growling as it tried to break free. She pulled her eyelid down and stuck out her tongue, giving it the stink eye stare and ran back to her group.

"Hey uh, guys? That thing is circling back," said a nervous Jaune. He pointed skyward as the Nevermore lazily glided around for another pass.

At the same time, the ice holding down the deathstalker fractured and broke, the scorpion angrily shaking free.

"Uh, any ideas how to fight two giant Grimm?" asked Yang as she looked to her friends.

"We don't," said Raine. Everyone looked at him in confusion, Ruby picking up on his train of thought.

"He's right! Our mission was only to find the relics, then make it back to the cliff. We don't have to fight any of these things," she declared happily, earning a smile from Weiss.

"So run and live," summarized Jaune. "I can get behind that."

"There's nine of us now, and only two of them. That sounds like really good odds to me, we got this!"

Ruby grabbed the other white knight piece and nodded to her friends, Jaune grabbing the other white rook. "Let's go and kick some butt!"

Yang didn't take off right away, instead smiling at her little sister as she and Raine led their group.

"What is it?" asked Blake.

The blonde smirked at her. "Nothing."

Nine companions bolted through the forest, throwing caution to the wind in favor of speed. It helped when aura could be used to boost someone's physical aspects. Even Jaune, who's aura was locked until Pyrrha released it for him earlier that day was able to push himself to keep up with the other, more experienced fighters. Speaking of experience.

"Hey Raine?" he asked as he caught up to their leader. "If and when we get there and we end up having to fight those things, how are we supposed to do it?"

"Well, deathstalkers are tough but lack mobility. There are breaks in their natural armor, mostly in the joint areas and the stinger is a weak point, nothing but a sharp cluster of nerves and poison sacks if you manage to hit it," Raine spoke loudly enough for the whole group to hear. "As for the Nevermore, we need to get it out of the air if we want to kill it. Cripple its wings or..."

"Or?" asked the Heiress.

Raine smirked at Weiss. "Freeze it to something. Get it on our playing field and it won't stand a chance."

The trees started thinning out, they were approaching another cluster of ruins. The ground turned dusty as they sprinted between two, ancient suspended stone roadways. A foot bridge about 500 yards in front of them crossed a misty gorge, leading to tall, ruined stone tower. Behind that was their finish line. Now if they could just get to...

The Nevermore landed atop the tower, letting loose an ear splitting screech. The kids all dove into cover behind some debris as a volley of feathers filled the field.

"Perfect, just perfect," commented Yang.

A crashing from the treeline drew their attention; the deathstalker was still following them.

"Out of the frying pan..." sighed Raine.

"And into the fire," finished Ren. He turned to Nora. "Nora, distract it!"

"You got it!"

She slung a grenade launcher she affectionately named Magnhild from her back and jumped for cover. Rolling into a kneeling position, she took aim and fired at the Nevermore, one of the rounds nailing it in the neck, explosions of pink dust and shrapnel forcing the Grimm back as her friends bolted for the bridge. She chuckled but jumped when the deathstalker came up from behind her, claws swinging wildly. It was pushed back by Ren and Blake, who each knocked a claw backwards with swipes from their own weapons. Weiss appeared from behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist, launched them forward with a glyph.

Ruby, Raine, Pyrrha, Jaune and Yang had now crossed the bridge, but the deathstalker was gaining on them. Shifting her spear into a long rifle, she took a knee and aimed at the scorpion.

"Go, go!" she yelled as she opened fire. Ren joined her, his twin machine pistols emptying their clips to give Blake some breathing room. Thankfully, it seemed that the scorpion wasn't fond of heights and didn't pursue them

They sprinted across the bridge, their goal of the tower within reach, but the Nevermore wasn't done. It flew low for another pass, talons spread.

"Jump!" yelled Raine as the monster crashed into the bridge, taking taking the stone with it. It flew on without flinching, but the bridge was gone, separating the group in half. Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren were left to fight the deathstalker while Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Nora and Jaune were thrown at the tower.

"Wait, where's Raine?" asked Ruby as she looked around.

"I really hate birds," muttered Raine as he struggled to hold onto the Nevermore's back. "I can't believe Ruby and Weiss actually rode this thing."

Wind whipped around him, forcing him to squint his eyes as he looked down onto the battlefield. Most of the bridge was gone but thankfully none of his friends were knocked off. Still, three of them were left fighting the deathstalker on their own, leaving the other five at the temple and unable to reach them. Until Nora turned her grenade launcher into a giant hammer and, after knocking Jaune backward from the edge, brought it down with all her strength, catapulting them to the other side. Raine blinked, shrugged, then turned his attention back to the giant bird he was riding. His left hand gripping the feathers, he pulled Tempest free from its sheathe and, in a reverse grab, stabbed it into the Grimm's back. It shrieked in response, and flapping wildly as it fought through the pain.

"Oh shut up and die already, you stupid overgrown turkey!" he yelled back.

"Ahhh smash!" yelled Nora, swinging her hammer down on the deathstalker's head. It buckled under the impact but regained its footing and knocked her back with a claw. She collided with Blake, knocking the ninja off from the bridge.

Thinking quickly, she threw Gambol Shroud towards what remained of the bridge, the blade embedding itself into the ruined stone letting her swing to safety. That was when the Nevermore made another pass through the gorge. Squinting she made out the shape of Raine on the thing's back, hacking wildly at its neck. She angled her swing slightly, and with a yank of her wrist, pulled the blade free at the height of the swing. Blake flipped through the air, on an intercept course with the Nevermore. Using her semblance, she vaulted from a shadow copy of herself into the bird's face, swinging wildly with Gambol Shroud as the blades cut into their mark. She made another copy and appeared once more on its back, drawing a nod from Raine as she ran down to its tail, slashing as she went but the blades barely pierced its hide. She flipped to safely as it passed the tower.

"Raine's up there trying to bring it down," she said as she rejoined the girls. "It's a lot tougher than it looks."

"Now I'm wondering who's worse, you or him," Weiss commented dryly to Ruby, much to the latter's indignation.

"We can sort out your little love triangle later after we kill this thing," said Yang as she reloaded Ember Celica, ignoring the cries of protest. "Let's hit it with everything we've got!"

The girls morphed their weapons into their ranged forms and as one, sent an eruption of gun fire and dust blasts at the Nevermore. Raine ducked as a fire bolt shot dangerously close to his head. Realizing the bird was going to ram the tower, he yanked Tempest free and, as the Grimm crashed through it, jumped to safety on the ruined base. The girls vaulted through the collapsing rubble, blasting, swinging and glyph skating their way up to join him.

"None of this is working," complained Weiss.

"We need to pin it down," he announced as he drew Hurricane from his belt. "Weiss, keep your ice dust ready, Yang and I are going to shoot it out of the sky. Freeze it when it hits the ground." The two girls nodded. "Blake, Ruby, once that thing is down finish it. Don't let it get back in the air."

"I got an idea to do exactly that," said Ruby. "Blake, I need your ribbons."

"Got it," she answered.

Raine rushed forward, loading a clip of explosive rounds as he joined Yang. Together they opened fire on the Nevermore, fire erupting around the bird as they peppered it with shrapnel. Unable to get close through their shots, it circled and waited, screeching at them in anger.

Back at the bridge, the deathstalker stabbed forward with its tail, sending its enemies stumbling as the stone continued to break apart.

"We need to get closer! Pyrrha, with me!" said Jaune as they rushed forward.

Pyrrha arrived first, ducking under a claw swipe and repelling it with her shield. She in turn stabbed forward with her spear at its face, Jaune joining her to block the other claw as it swung in to hit her. Switching it back to sword form, Pyrrha vaulted over him and with a spin, sent a slash through the scorpions many eyes. Ren ran forward next, firing a few rounds and stepping to the side as the tail crashed next to him. With honed reflexes, he grabbed onto the stinger before it could retract, emptying the clip into the weak spot Raine mentioned earlier. Nora covered them with several more shots from her grenade launcher. Hearing the shots, the Grimm swung both claws forward, knocking Pyrrha and Jaune back as it protected its face from the explosive rounds. Pyrrha was waiting though, and as it swung its claws back open to clear the smoke, threw her spear with expert aim into its large, right eye. The Grimm flailed in pain, swinging Ren loose and into a pillar, knocking him out.

"Ren!" Nora cried in concern.

Jaune groaned as he cleared his vision, then noticed the stinger was barely hanging on by a tendon, poison and black blood dripping freely from the wound.

"Pyrrha, the stinger!"

"Done!" she answered, throwing her shield like a disc and severing the barb completely. It embedded itself into the creature's mask.

"Nora, nail it!" commanded Jaune.

She nodded, weapon back in hammer form and turned to Pyrrha. "Heads up!"

Pyrrha got the message as Nora jumped, landing on her shield like a platform. A pull of the trigger from Magnhild sent her flying into the air, Pyrrha jumping with the shot to give her extra force. Nora rode her hammer like a flying broom, giggling and giving a mock salute. She fired another round, sending her spinning back to earth with twice the force she'd normally have, burying the stinger as deep as possible into the deathstalker's head. The force sent them flying over the corpse and onto the safety of solid ground. The monster gave a death rattle as it fell into the gorge with what was left of the bridge. Ren stumbled over to them, holding his side from a cracked rib and promptly collapsed. Finally able to rest, the group looked towards the tower as their friends continued battling the Nevermore.

A lull in the gunfire prompted the bird to go back on the attack. Raine's clip was empty. He swore under his breath and stowed the gun away, drawing Tempest once more. He crouched low as it flew over him, then jumped with his sword raised high, embedding itself to its chest. Yang jumped as it charged her, planting itself into its beak.

"I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUNGRY!" she yelled with each shot into its open maw.

With two heavy wounds to take, being a sword in its chest and its throat on fire, the bird had a lapse in wing control and tumbled towards the cliff face. Yang jumped free and joined Ruby who filled her in on the plan. Raine tumbled with it, using their mid-air wrestle to roll the Nevermore into a position that it would crash with its wings. He braced himself for the impact, and when it came, vaulted free with Tempest, flipping backwards through the air. A flick of a switch separated the sword into its twin form, the runes lighting with aura.

"Stay down!" he yelled at his foe, blades raised in a cross. He swung them down, two crescent shaped energy blasts erupting from the edges. They crashed into the Nevermore, forcing a shriek from its mouth, a burning red X branded into its breast.

"Weiss, now!" he commanded as he landed with the rest of his team.

The Schnee Heiress skated forward, Myrtenaster poised and glowing with ice energy. The nevermore flailed in pain, struggling to get airborne again. But as its wings flapped heavily, Weiss stabbed forward into its tail, pinning it with a sudden growth of ice. Knowing what was coming next, she quickly retreated to prepare for the final blow.

Blake and Yang acted quickly on Ruby's plan, the former nailing Gambol Shroud into one pillar while the latter grabbed the ribbon and pinned it to another. The idea? A giant slingshot, with Ruby as the ammo. Ruby vaulted backwards with a sniper round, Crescent Rose sitting upon and pulling the ribbon back like a nocked arrow. Weiss, now back with the group, formed a gravity glyph and pulled her teammate back, the tension audible as it was stretched to its limit.

"Of course you'd come up with a plan like this," Weiss scoffed.

"Think you can make the shot?" asked Ruby.

Weiss snorted. "Can I?"

There was a pause between the two. "Can-"

"Of course I can!"

Ruby smiled and looked to Raine for the go-ahead. He smirked and gave her a thumbs up. In sync with Weiss who released the glyph, Ruby fired a round to give her extra speed. She shot forward at the Nevermore, scythe poised for the neck. She crashed into the bird with enough force to rip its tail in two, planting her feet into cliff face. Weiss wasted no time. With a flick of her sword, a line of white glyphs appeared in front of Ruby, and with a roar, she activated her semblance, rushing forward up the wall in a flurry of rose petals with ever gaining speed. Her friends watched in awe as she dragged a bird easily 200 times her size up a sheer cliff wall, emptying her clip behind her using the recoil to do the lifting. The bird struggled in vain as they reached the top. Gripping the shaft of Crescent Rose, Ruby let out one last yell and swung, taking its head off in a fountain of black blood. She landed with winded breath, turning to see what was left of the bird tumble down the side of the cliff. The cloud of rose petals surrounding her scattered with the wind.

"Wow..." breathed Jaune. His friends all had the same thought as they watched the Nevermore's body tumbled into the mist of the gorge.

Raine, Blake, Yang and Weiss all stood in the middle of the ruined tower staring up at Ruby in her moment of victory.

"Well, that was a thing," said Yang to break the silence.

They all stared at her, then Raine doubled over, laughing. Steadily, the others joined him, drinking in the feeling of their first ever successful mission. As Ruby looked down upon them from her perch, she suddenly realized that maybe, just maybe having real friends wasn't so bad after all.


"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal) lead by... Cardin Winchester," Headmaster Ozpin announced at the induction ceremony, their faces and team name displayed on the holoscreens above their heads.

Team CRDL bowed in respect and left the stage.

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren." The four in question stepped forward. "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper) lead by... Jaune Arc."

Jaune flinched when he heard his name. "L-lead by?" he said under his breath.

"Congratulations young man," said Ozpin.

Pyrrha smiled and lightly punched him on the arm, knocking him over much to the amusement of the audience. Team JNPR took their leave.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Raine Zaffre, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The five of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RRWBY (Ruby) lead by... Ruby Rose."

Both Ruby and Weiss jumped in alarm. Even Blake rifted a brow. They all expected Raine to be named the leader. Even so, it steadily dawned on Ruby what had just happened and a wide smile grew on her face.

"I'm so proud of you!" squealed Yang as she wrapped her sister in a big hug.

Ruby glanced over Yang's shoulder and looked at Raine as if to ask if it was ok. He gave her a reassuring smile and a nod, so she let herself be happy.

Ozpin allowed a small smile to show. "Yes, this is looking to be an... interesting year."


A/N: Chapter three has now been released. This is the longest thus far, a lot of activity is going on in the Emerald Forest. I wanted to make a point with my OC here. The fanfics that I've read have made their OCs either too powerful, too intelligent, or a combination of both and always made them the leader of Team RWBY. I found these concepts boring and frankly too easy. My goal is to make Raine as in depth and believable as the leading characters he accompanies, which will be expanded upon in following chapters. Also, a bit of OCxWeiss fluff! She's a difficult character but that doesn't mean she shouldn't get any love.