Chapter 2

A white hulking airship landed in one of the many docking bays of the famous Beacon Academy. A long gangway extended to the ground and new and returning students alike poured out of the huge set of double doors. Six was one of the last to disembark the gargantuan craft.

Six took in his surroundings. In front of the airship docks was a wide stone path that was lined with Victorian double headed streetlamps and elaborate red and white banners. The path led to a beautiful stately edifice with imposing flying buttresses and towering spires, which was surrounded by a circular moat and intricate arched bridges. The Academy reminded B312 of the ancient Victorian cathedrals on Earth that he had seen in history lessons. In fact, the entirety of Vale was a spitting image of ancient pre- Great War Earth. The Spartan wondered how long the peace these people took for granted would last.

B312 stepped into what looked like a very elaborate amphitheater, where many of the other students had already arrived. It had raised bleachers arranged in a circle around a circular stage that had an ornate backdrop with blue lights. There was also a large, open area in front of the stage where students could stand.

Six was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard someone clearing their throat loudly. He snapped to attention, turning his gaze to the stage, where Ozpin and his assistant stood.

" I'll keep this brief," Ozpin began, pushing up his spectacles. " You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are 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. 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's assistant and the lady who had aided Six and the scythe- wielding girl, stepped up. " You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Noble Six followed the crowd into the ballroom of the magnificent academy. Sleeping bags of all shapes and sizes filled the massive space of the empty ballroom. A series of loud noises rang out outside. Six got up and opened the doors to see what looked like four sealed UNSC Ordnance Pods. He looked up at the sky, just in time to see a glowing white portal close, identical to the one he stepped through to get to Remnant. Six smiled. ' Note to self: Thank the Maidens next time I see them.'

The pods' metallic shells hissed and spread apart like flowers, the contents giving off white wisps of steam from the intense heat from air friction. Six pulled a heavy M6/E Spartan Laser from the first pod, the Selene's Lance variant, to be exact, with faster charge time, longer beam duration, and additional battery capacity. It had a white paint job with green and red stripes. Six slid the heavy weapon onto the magnetic strips on his back as he scrutinized the contents of the next pod, a more powerful variant of the M4D Tactical Shotgun, the Blaze of Glory, with added range and faster projectiles. The third pod contained what seemed like a copy of the legendary Nornfang variant of the SRS 99- S5 Sniper Rifle wielded by Linda-058, sporting camouflage paint and yellow stripes. The rifle fired high- explosive, armor piercing rounds that devastated vehicles and enemies alike. The fourth and last pod contained tons of extra ammunition for the aforementioned weapons. Six smiled as he silently collected his new supplies and headed to the locker rooms.

The lockers seemed to have holographic pads that could be used for entering a passcode and were equipped with some form of rocket booster on the underside for some reason. The passcode, 72452, was written on a sticky note inside the locker. Six was appalled by the ridiculous use of money. ' Jesus, if everybody has one of these rocket lockers… how much money does this academy have to burn?' He thought as he stored his ammunition, equipment and numerous weapons before returning to the crowded main room. Six, accustomed to surviving in horrible conditions, sat down in an unoccupied corner and closed his eyes.

B312 suddenly felt something heavy landing on his chest.

"Ohmygoshyou'retheguyfromyesterdayyouweresooooocoolhowdidyoudisappearlikethatisityoursemblance?" Six looked up to see the scythe- wielding girl from before on his chest firing questions like at him like a machine gun. ' Man, does this girl ever breathe?'

" Who's this guy, Ruby?" A cheerful voice piped up.

Behind her stood a golden blond girl in an orange tank top and black boy shorts.

" I am Noble Six." Six was very uncomfortable as he had next to no experience interacting with civilians, as he had been shut away for most of his life.

" Is that, like… a code name, or something? It doesn't sound like an actual name." The blonde guessed.

" Well, you can call me Nathan as well, but I'm more accustomed to Noble Six or Six."

Ruby, as she was apparently called, crossed her arms. " I prefer Nathan. I'm Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose." She turned her head and stared at the blonde girl behind her.

The blonde took the hint and quickly said, " Yang Xiao Long. I'm her sister."

Six was confused. " You look nothing alike. Was one of you adopted?"

Ruby giggled and answered, " We're half- sisters. We have the same dad."

" Ohhhh. So what brought you here? Why do you want to be a Huntress?"

" As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves." Ruby replied, getting off Six's chest armor and standing up.

" That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Six remembered feeling the same way before he had lost everything to the Covenant.

" Well, that's why we're here. To make it better." The optimistic girl replied with a small smile on her face.

Yang, who had remained silent this whole time, suddenly hugged Ruby and lifted her off the floor. " Ohhh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!"

Struggling against her sister's iron grip, Ruby yelled for her to cut it out and punched Yang in the face. The half- sisters then became a ball of flying dust, fists, and feet on the floor.

" Well, Ruby, Yang, it's been a pleasure to-"

Six was cut off by a cranky- looking white- haired girl in a light blue nightgown. " What in the world is going on over here? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Ruby and the bossy girl glared at each other. " Oh, not YOU again!" they shouted in tandem.

" Hey, what's your problem? She said she was sorry!" Yang angrily asked.

" She's a hazard to my health!" The princess pouted, stomping her foot.

Ruby tried to calm everybody down. " Guys, Weiss's right, people are trying to sleep!"

" Oh, NOW you're on my side?" The haughty girl, or Weiss as she was called, crossed her arms.

" I was always on your side!"

" Yeah, what's your problem with my sister?" Yang butted in.

Six rolled his eyes and punched the light switch.

B312 opened his eyes. Years of Spartan training had triggered some kind of internal clock that woke him up at exactly six in the morning, as punctuality was key if you didn't want to run twenty extra laps.

B312 headed to the locker rooms and opened his locker. He slid the Selene's Lance and Blaze of Glory onto the magnetic strips on his back and clipped a Magnum and an Energy Sword onto the strips on his thighs, making sure to pack extra clips into the many pockets on his armor. As he was checking his weapons for malfunctions, he happened to overhear a conversation between two of his peers.

" We should come up with a signal, a secret signal so we can find each other in the forest. Can you imitate a sloth?" A bubbly girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes piped up. She wore a collared black vest that ended at her waist and a white sleeveless top that formed a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, with a white detached sleeve on each arm. She sported a pink skirt and armor that began in the middle of the shoulder and neck and ended by the waist.

" Nora?" Her tired-looking companion asked. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail that ended midway down his back. There was a magenta streak on the left side of his hair, matching his eyes. He wore a dark green tailcoat with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs and a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath it. Light-tan pants with black shoes completed his outfit.

" Yes Ren?" Nora asked in turn.

" I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

Nora thought for a second. " That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together."

" Come on Nora," Ren said tiredly, closing his locker. " Let's go."

" But not TOGETHER, together." Nora giggled happily, following her companion.

" Wonder what's got them so worked up?" A high-pitched voice asked.

Six turned around to see Ruby and Yang.

" Oh, who knows?" Yang answered. " So you seem awfully chipper this morning."

" Mmm, yep, no more awkward talk or getting to know you stuff. Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby took her folded- up scythe and started coddling the weapon like a baby.

" Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together."

Ruby groaned loudly, rolling her eyes." UGH, you sound like dad! Okay, first of all what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk." She crossed her arms.

" But what about when we form teams?"

Ruby turned away and looked worried. " Uh, I don't know, I'll just be on your team or something…"

" Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang asked, fixing her hair.

" My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" Ruby pointed an accusing finger at Yang's face, narrowing her eyes.

Yang backed up. " Wh-what? No! Of course I do! I just thought… I don't know, maybe it would help you break out of your shell!"

" What the- ! I don't need to break out of my shell, that's absolutely-"

" Ridiculous!" A blond kid holding a piece of paper walked by. He wore a white chestplate and shoulder armor. Under the armor, he wore a black hoodie with reddish-orange sleeves. He had two brown belts crisscrossing his waist along with blue pants and black high-tops.

'Huh, nice timing,' Six thought as the boy continued his rant.

" There's no WAY I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Ugh, why does this have to happen today?" The boy walked straight past Weiss, who was talking to a girl who Six recognised as Pyrrha Nikos from a news broadcast when he was on the airship.

Pyrrha wore her red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet, and had vivid green eyes. She also wore light-green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her eyes.
Her top consisted of two layers. The top layer was a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. The bottom layer was 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. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. She had elaborate bronze greaves that start below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees. She also donned a bronze bracer on top of the sleeve on her left arm. Her high-heeled boots reached up to mid-calf.

" So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?" Weiss asked. " I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well- known individual, such as yourself."

" Hmmm, I'm not quite sure." Pyrrha answered, looking away. " I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

" Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." The white- haired princess replied hopefully.

" Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha put her hands on her hips.

" Great!" Weiss cheered. She turned away from Pyrrha with a sadistic look in her eyes that made Six shudder.

" You know what else is great?" Weiss turned around to see the blond boy from before leaning on the lockers behind her. " Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

Weiss crossed her arms. " You again?" She said exasperatedly.

" Nice to meet you, Jaune." Pyrrha piped up.

" Yeah, yeah." Jaune brushed her off rudely to talk to Weiss. " So, Weiss! Couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day." He started flexing his arms.

Weiss looked away, facepalming. " You have got to be kidding me."

" Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed! So, been hearin' rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one. What do you say?" Jaune crossed his arms and scooted closer to Weiss.

Pyrrha, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange, decided to correct him. " Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

Jaune turned towards her, cutting her off, and continued with his train wreck of a pick- up attempt. " You don't say. Well, hotstuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team." He said cockily.

Weiss decided she had enough and squeezed between Pyrrha and Jaune, pushing them apart. " Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

" Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune replied, clueless.

" This is Pyrrha." Weiss pointed behind her at Pyrrha, who waved at Jaune.

" Hello again!"

" Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss stated.

" Never heard of it." Jaune shrugged.

" Ugh, she's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row… a new record!" Weiss continued in a slightly miffed tone.

" The what?"

Weiss glared at Jaune, incredulous. She started flapping her arms around in exasperation. " She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Jaune gasped. " That's you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

" Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha answered.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss butted in.

Jaune turned his gaze to the ground. " I guess not. Sorry."

Pyrrha walked up to Jaune and put her hand on his shoulder, trying to cheer him up. " Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader."

Jaune's mood did a complete 180. " D'oh, stop it!"

" Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss reproached.

" Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick." Jaune resumed trying to get Weiss to like him. " Now I'm not supposed to do this, but, maybe I could pull some strings." Jaune bent over to look Weiss in the eye, who was quite a bit shorter than him. " Find a place for you. What do you say?"

Weiss backed up, uncomfortable. " Alright, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help please?"

A red and gold spear pinned Jaune to a nearby locker by the hoodie. " I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.

" Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation?" Goodwitch's voice rang out through the speakers on the walls.

" It was nice meeting you!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she pulled her spear out of Jaune's hoodie.

Jaune sighed. " Likewise."

Six followed a small group of students, including Ruby and Yang, to a grassy cliff overlooking a lush forest, where Ozpin and his assistant were waiting for them. Fifteen silver platforms were built into the ground. B312, following the others' examples, stepped onto the one on his far left.

" For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin started.

His assistant continued, " 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."

" These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued. " That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

" Wait..." Six thought, confused. " How are you supposed to choose someone you can work well with if the first person you see becomes your partner? What if you have bad luck and land next to a complete idiot?" Six shook his head. " Shut up, Six. Don't think. Just go with it."

" 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. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Jaune started to say something, but was immediately cut off. " Good! Now, take your positions."

Not sure what to expect, Six got into a sprinter's starting position, his left foot and knee touching the ground, expecting to be launched forward. He was shocked when he was launched upward.

B312 yelled as the motion of the platform combined with his unbalanced position flipped him head over heels into the air. His 1000- pound armor weighed him down drastically and he went only a third as far and half as high as some of the other students. He smashed through a layer of trees and hit the ground hard, creating a six- foot crater, ruining his cloak. However, his shields were practically untouched. He stood up shakily and shook himself off, pulling off the tattered cloak. The other students practically flew over his head.

" Well, better get moving," Six told himself, before accelerating to his full sixty kilometer per hour running speed, simply tearing through bushes and shrubs that were in his way.

Six ran for what seemed like ages without much opposition. As the other students had landed so far ahead of him, B312 had not found any sign of the others. A blip showed up on Six's radar as he vaulted over a narrow ravine. B312 noticed and headed straight for the anomaly, which turned out to be an eight- foot bearlike Grimm with black fur and bony spikes on its backs and arms, as well as a white, bone-like mask. He shoulder rammed the monster, which slid a few yards back, roaring.

" 'Sup Gigantor?" Six taunted. The bear growled menacingly, aiming a swipe at the Spartan's throat, which B312 promptly dodged. " Whoa, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He ducked under another slicing paw and pulled out the Blaze of Glory, pumping it and firing a single shell which spread into a cluster of neon orange hardlight projectiles. The beast roared in agony as the projectiles dissolved its skin and flesh into glowing orange dust. Its attacks came faster and faster as the bear descended into a pain- fueled frenzy. The blows that Six didn't dodge were absorbed by his shields. B312 fired again and again, each shot tearing the ursine creature's body apart. It finally slumped over after Six mercifully fired a shell into its head. He inspected the rapidly disintegrating corpse before continuing on his way.

B312 arrived at a clearing in the forest. Weiss was sitting on top of Jaune, who had his face in the dirt. Pyrrha, who had arrived at the same time as Six, dodged a snapping claw from what looked like a gigantic scorpion while Ruby, Yang, Ren, and Nora stood off to the side.

" Great, the gang's all here, now we can all die together!" Yang piped up.