#New chapter, yay!
Disclamer: I do not own RWBY, or anything this fanfiction references.
Joe was the first to awaken.
He slowly rose out of bed, his head lolling about a bit. He still didn't feel fully awake, so to conquer this, he whacked himself on the head with the back end of Maddening Night.
"Ah, much better." He said.
His gaze wandered over to the girl sleeping next to him, who was cuddling Crescent Rose like a teddy bear. She looked peaceful.
He gently shook her awake. "Oi kid. Time to get up."
"Mmm, five more minutes." She mumbled.
Joe wasn't having that. "Kid. Initiation time. Wake up."
Ruby instead turned over.
'Time to go with the age-old tactic, I guess…' He thought. "Ruby, if you don't get up, I'm throwing your cookies into the river."
"I'M UP!" Ruby screamed, snapping awake and bolting to the changing rooms.
Joe blinked at the disappearing girl and sighed. "Huh, she reminds me of someone. Can't remember who, though."
Joe stood up, and slipped on his remaining clothes, flipping up the hood last. As he turned to follow Ruby, he noticed a girl with orange hair and blue eyes staring at him from across the room.
The girl grinned widely, before shouting, "Hello, Grim Reaper!"
Joe gave a simple, confused wave in return, before leaving the ballroom.
The girl looked at the guy below her, waiting for him to wake up. When he did, she was the first thing his magenta eyes could see.
"Wake up, lazy-butt!" She said, jigging about like a madman. "It's morning, it's morning, it's morning, it's morning!"
Her friend could look on in silent apathy at this point, clearly used to this behaviour. As he got ready for Initiation, the girl rambled on and on.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full 24 hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out, of course. I mean, you're the perfect student and I, well, I'm me. But it's just crazy, you know? We've been friends for soooooo long. I mean, what are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not "together" together. Not that I'm saying you're not handsome. You are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right? Right. What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together. Ooh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together. Maybe we can bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work, he has the school. I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! *gasps* A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora?" The boy interrupted.
"Yes Ren?" Nora asked.
"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." Ren explained calmly.
"...That's why it's perfect! No-one will suspect we're working together!"
"Come on, Nora." Ren smiled. "Let's go."
"But not "together" together." Nora giggled, as they passed Ruby and Joe, the latter now dressed.
"Wonder what those two were so worked up about?" Ruby asked.
"Eh, who knows, kid?" Joe replied, before noticing Ruby's demeanor. "You know, you seem awfully chipper this morning. Why's that?"
"Because, my dear friend, there'll be no more small talk, no more awkwardness, no more 'getting-to-know-you' stuff." Ruby embraced Crescent Rose, stroking it like a pet. "Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking for me."
"You could do that, but you gotta remember, you're not the only one going through initiation, kid." Joe said. "I mean, there's me, Jaune, Blake, the Ice Queen, and a whole load of other people as well. Besides, as fun as isolation is, you gotta learn to talk to other people, especially if they're gonna be your teammates. It's all part of growing up, kid."
Ruby glared at the elder teen and growled. "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."
"Hardcore." Joe remarked. " But like I said, what about when we form teams?"
"Well, I'll just go on your team. I don't know…"
Joe looked at the younger girl for a moment before conceding. "Alright, you made your point. I think."
Ruby grinned in triumph. "I know I did. The thought of me socialising with people is just absolutely-"
"-Ridiculous!" Jaune passed by the two of them. "There's no way I put my gear in Locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered to count that high."
As he moaned about today being the worst, he walked by Weiss, who was talking to another girl. She had long red hair, bright green eyes and was dressed like a warrior.
"So Pyrrha," Weiss started. "Have you given any thought as to who's team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself."
Pyrrha looked slightly annoyed at the praise, but accepted it anyway. "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well, I was thinking we could be on a team together? We are quite alike, you and I." Weiss said, a small evil glint in her eyes.
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha said, a slight grimace on her face.
"Great!" Weiss grinned. 'This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class. Together, we'll be unstoppable! I can see it now; we'll be popular, we'll be celebrities, we'll get perfect grades! Nothing can stop me now!'
"You know what else is great?" Jaune asked, interrupting Weiss's train of thought. "Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
"You again?" Weiss said, crossing her arms.
"Nice to meet you too, Jaune." Pyrrha said.
The blonde knight, however just waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. So Weiss! Couldn't help but overhear your fascination of me the other day."
"Ugh, you have got to be kidding me." Weiss facepalmed.
"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed. So, been hearing rumors about teams. I was thinking you and I would make a good one. What do you say?"
Pyrrha spoke up. "Uh, actually, I think the teams are comprised of 4 student's each, so-"
"You don't say." Jaune interrupted, turning to the girl behind him. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right, and you could end up joining the winning team."
Weiss, not pleased with Jaune's attitude, stepped in between the two. "Look, Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea about who you're talking to?"
"Not in the slightest, snow angel." He said, dreamingly.
"This is Pyrrha." Weiss introduced.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha waved.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss explained.
"Never heard of it."
"Ugh! She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament 4 times in a row. A new record!" Weiss explained, greatly frustrated.
"The what?"
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss exclaimed, waving her arms about like a chicken.
"That's you?!" Jaune gasped. "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah…" Pyrrha admitted. "It was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal wasn't very good for you though."
"So then, Jane-" Weiss said.
"It's Jaune."
"I don't care. But after hearing about her and all of her achievements, do you think you are in any kind of position to ask this mighty warrior to join your pitiful team?" Weiss asked.
"Oh, I guess not." Jaune apologised, sounding depressed,
Pyrrha felt bad for the blonde, who was constantly being berated by the Ice Queen. "Actually Jaune, I'd think you'd make a great team leader."
"Oh, stop it."
"Yeah, stop it." Weiss snapped. "You're the Great Pyrrha Nikos, you don't need to be mingling with commoners like him."
Jaune, now spurred on by Pyrrha's compliment, ignored Weiss' insult however. "Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick. Now I'm not supposed to do this, but, maybe I can pull a few strings for you and find a place for you. What do you say?"
"Alright, that's a bit too close." Weiss said, stepping back. "Pyrrha, a little help please?"
Before he knew it, Jaune was pinned to the wall, a javelin in his hood.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliffs for initiation?" Glynda's voice suddenly came through the intercom. "Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliffs, immediately."
Weiss walked straight pass the immobile Jaune, glaring at him. Pyrrha pulled her javelin free of the wall and Jaune's hood. "It was nice meeting you." She said.
"Likewise…" Jaune sighed.
"Having some trouble there, ladykiller?" He looked up, and saw Ruby and Joe looking down sympathetically at the depressed knight. "I thought ladies loved your name?"
"I don't understand. My dad told me that women loved confidence. Where did I go wrong?"
"Well, I'd say you lost it around 'snow angel', buddy." Joe answered.
Jaune accepted Ruby's hand up. "Come on, Jaune. Let's go.
The Cliffs the students had been told to meet at were located at the farthest edge of the school grounds, overlooking a vast forest.
The students were all lined up, standing on small square platforms, each of them hardened and ready for battle, with the exception of Jaune, who was nervously fidgeting about.
Joe looked at the students next to him. On his right were Ruby and Jaune. On his left, in order of distance, Nora, Ren, Yang, Blake, a ginger boy who looked almost the same height as him but shorter, a guy with a turquoise mohawk, Pyrrha, Weiss, and a few other kids he didn't recognise.
Ozpin and Glynda were facing them, the former quickly flitting his eyes at Ruby before he spoke. "For years, you have all trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"I am most sure you have all heard or thought up rumors about team placements and assignments." Glynda continued. "Well, allow us to bring your confusion to an end. Each of you will be given teammates today."
Joe looked over to Ruby, noticing the worry etched all over her face.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is advisable and in your best interests to pick someone you work well with." Ozpin picked up.
A small groan came from Ruby.
"That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with will be your partner and loyal teammate for the next four years."
"WHAT?!" Ruby squeaked in outrage.
"After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern part of the forest. You will most likely meet opposition along the way. Destroying them is key to success and survival."
'So it's basically a Kill-or-Be-Killed situation.' Joe thought, his grin widening. 'Works out for me…'
"You will be monitored and graded throughout the duration of the Initiation. Our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin explained. "However, your initiation will also be observed by the rest of the faculty and the other students. How you complete your Initiation will determine your interactions with the rest of the school."
Ruby visibly trembled; she didn't know she'd have an audience watching her.
"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair will choose one, and return to the top of this cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately." Ozpin finished. "Any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune started.
"Good!" Ozpin interrupted. "Now, take your positions."
Everyone on the metal platforms braced themselves. Well, everyone except Jaune, who stuck his hand up in question. "Uh, sir? I got, um, a question."
What he didn't notice was that the metal square Weiss was standing on had flipped up, catapulting her into the forest below.
"So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it?" Jaune asked. "Are you like, dropping us off or something?
"Yeah, I wanna know too." Joe added. "I wasn't filled in at all."
"No." Ozpin replied. "You will be falling."
"Oh, I see." Jaune chuckled nervously. "So did you hand out any parachutes, or something like that?"
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."
"Oh, that ain't good." Said Joe. "With my weight, I'm gonna drop like a STOOOO-AAAAAAHHHH..."
Joe was thrown off the cliff before he could finish, quickly followed by Ruby, who quickly smirked at Jaune before she too was launched into the air.
"So, um, what exactly is a landing strateGYYYYY…" Jaune was the last of the students to go, flung into the sky in a similar fashion to Joe.
Ozpin watched the student tumble through the air, taking a sip of coffee out of his mug.
As they soared through the air, Ruby hitting a bird in the process, most of the first-years had a great strategy for landing.
The same could not be said for two of them, though, as they were flapping around like flightless birds.
"I hate flying!" Jaune yelled.
"Yeah, guess how I feel!" Joe grumbled with his arms crossed, sailing alongside. Soon, as predicted, he was the first to fall. "Welp! See ya soon, buddy!"
After breaking through several trees, the sound of a small explosion occurred as Joe belly-flopped into the ground, comically creating a crater in his shape of his body.
He clawed his way out and shook his head. "Not the most graceful of landings…" He groaned.
Joe then heard someone yell "thank you!", and another apologising from really far away. 'Jaune and Pyrrha, I bet.'
Joe hefted Maddening Night in his arms, and slowly ambled through the trees.
'Okay then.' Joe began delving into his own thoughts. 'So Ozpin said the first person we make eye-contact with is basically our forced friend for the next 4 years. Eh, I can deal with that, as long as Ruby is the first one I meet.' Then he remembered something, something that had been bugging him for a little bit. 'For some reason, Ozpin seem's really interested in her. He keeps looking at her, like a hunter does to his prey. I'll say this, if he, or anyone for that matter, hurts her in anyway…'
Joe chuckled darkly. 'I won't just give them a bad time. No, I'll split open their stomach, rip out their intestines, tie them around their neck, and hang them up in front of the school for all to see. This I vow, with all of my heart.'
He heard some rustling from behind some bushes up ahead. "Hmm? Is someone there?"
As he passed through into a clearing, it was not a person he saw.
It was a group of wolves, giant ones with black fur and white spikes. They were feasting on something.
As Joe stepped closer, he noticed that the thing the wolves were eating was actually another student. He didn't know exactly who it was, so he didn't mourn at all.
One of the wolves had noticed his presence, and turned to him. It was slightly bigger than the rest, and had more spikes. It growled, alerting the others to the stranger.
'Must be the Alpha. I wonder if it'll be friends with me?'
He stopped in front of the Alpha, staring into it's blood-red eyes. "Hi there, boy." He said. "Do you want to be my friend?" He switched Maddening Night to his left arm, and stuck his right hand out, palm facing the creature.
The Alpha sniffed his appendage and moved closer.
Joe smiled; it seemed he would be having a pet!
However, the happiness was dashed when the wolf, instead of accepting the warm and friendly gesture, instead chose to bite down on the entire forearm, resulting in a metallic clunking noise.
Joe wasn't scared at all.
He didn't look frightened, he looked almost offended.
"BAD DOGGY!" Joe whacked the blunt end of Maddening Night on the Alpha's head. "BAD! BAD! OFF NOW! GET OFF MY BLOODY ARM!"
After a receiving a multitude of blows to the cranium, the wolf finally let go. Joe inspected the damage on his right arm. There was none to the actual limb itself, thanks to his gauntlet, but the sleeve had a few bite marks in it.
"That was my only jacket." He said looking at the wolves. They growled back.
Joe snapped his fingers, and a plethora of sharp bones erupted from the ground, impaling one of the other wolves. It writhed in pain for a moment before hanging still.
Joe then brought his hand up, and a giant skull materialised next to him. It had sharp teeth, and a massive crack in the left side. It's purple eyes stared at the wolves with equal malevolence.
(#Hi, just cutting in to let you know that the skull Joe summoned is that of a T-Rex. Thought you ought to know, so sorry for interrupting and enjoy the story.)
The teen thrust his hand toward the creatures, and the skull fired a purple beam of energy at another of the group, vaporizing it instantly.
His grin went psychotic, and his eye black and violet. He let out a growl of his own.
"So then, doggies," He said, his voice now trembling and cracked. "Do you want to play?"
Joe's body glitched out of existence, reappearing in front of another wolf. He raised his axe, and swung it down in a large arc, cleaving off half of it's face. It was still alive, backing away into the rest of the group.
"Come here! Let me rend your flesh! AHAHAHAHAA!" Joe laughed maniacally, before charging them head on.
Glynda was horrified with Joe's fighting style, the way he was playing with his opponents, before brutally murdering them. Sure, they were Beowolves, but the amount of glee on his face scared her.
"I thought his Semblance was to summon bones, not whatever that is?!" Glynda gestured the the giant reptile skull following the crazed boy around, turning anything he'd missed into ashes.
"Well, it would seem that he is much more powerful than we anticipated." Ozpin replied, clearly not phased by Joe's actions. "However, if he is able to summon both bones and those skull to attack, it is possible that he may possess other abilities as well. Like that version of teleporting, for instance."
Glynda looked back down at the screen. Joe had just ripped both the arms off of a Beowolf, and was using them to bludgeon another to death. "We cannot just accept a student like this into the school. He is a danger to everyone."
"That may be, Glynda, but he seems to rope himself in when Miss Rose is around." Ozpin explained. "As I said, her silver eyes contain the key to destroying the Grimm once and for all. As long as Mr Tennyson is by her side, nothing can hurt her."
The blonde witch sent a seething glare to the headmaster, but agreed nonetheless.
"Speaking of Miss Rose, I believe she has just now found her partner." Ozpin said, looking at another screen.
Silver eyes stared right at pale blue.
Weiss narrowed her eyes in disapproval at her new partner, and walked away, leaving her behind.
"Hey wait!" Ruby called out. "Where are you going?"
"Away from you."
"But we're supposed to be teammates…" Ruby mumbled, kicking some dirt.
Weiss made her way through a few bushes, trying to put as much space between her and Ruby as possible. Then she heard grumbling coming from above her.
Jaune, who was stuck to a tree, was trying to remove the spear that had impaled his hood. He noticed Weiss looking at him, and chuckled nervously.
"Uh, little help?" He asked.
Weiss instead turned away, back towards Ruby; she decided even she was better than the idiot trapped up high.
"By no means does this make us friends." Weiss said, grabbing Ruby's hood as she passed.
"You came back!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully as she was pulled back into the forest.
"Hey wait! Come back!" Jaune called out to the two girls. "Who's gonna get me down from here?!"
As they disappeared into the woods, Jaune was starting to lose all hope. Until he heard a familiar voice call his name.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha called. A smirk grew on her face. "Do you have any spots on your team?"
"Very funny." Jaune muttered, before looking down at the warrior with a smile. She smiled back.
"What's the hurry?" Ruby asked.
"I will not let my mission be delayed by some idiot who's too slow." Weiss replied. "I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your- What the-?!"
Ruby cut her off by suddenly popping into view, right in front of her. "I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!"
Weiss was generally confused. "When did..?"
"Look, Weiss. Just because I have problems dealing with people, doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with Monsters." Ruby explained, hooking her arm around Weiss's shoulder. "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss! And after it's all over, you're gonna be like "Wow, that Ruby girl is really, really cool… and I want to be her friend.""
Ruby disappeared from sight, a shower of rose petals in her place.
"In your dreams…" Weiss mumbled. She glanced around the forest, looking for the insufferable girl in red. "You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!"
All around her, leaves rustled. The forest seemed to darken around her.
"Ruby?" She asked.
What she didn't notice was a pair of blood red eyes glaring at her from behind. But then she heard growling, and was surrounded on all sides by hidden monsters.
To her left, was a Beowolf, which advanced menacingly.
"Ruby!" She shouted, and the Beowolf roared in response.
#Crappy way to end this chapter, I know. But, this story's only slighty AU, so the Beowolf isn't going to rip Weiss' head off, or something like that. Anyway, I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but my original plan for this chapter was to merge 'The First Step' and 'The Emerald Forest' into one big chapter, but then you wouldn't be reading this chapter, would you?
I've said 'chapter' too much now, it sounds and looks weird.
Also, did you like how I changed Joe's mindset from chilled and lazy to psychotic? That's normal if he's alone, and in combat. I also tried to get the message across that Joe is still a psycho, he just tones it down around friends.
Hoped you enjoyed it, and I'll catch you guys in the next one! DarkPugLord23, out!