"Hraaaaaah"

Gabe let out a loud yawn as he walked to the lockers. He woke up a bit late having trouble getting to sleep the night before. If he had his way, he would've slept one more hour to get in top form. Nevertheless, today was the day he'd been looking forward to for so long. No way he was going to let a little sleep deprivation get in the way of a possible ticket back home.

As he neared the door, he let out a deep breath. 'Ok, let's do this!' He opened it and went inside.

"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me!?"

Gabe saw he had walked right into the middle of a sibling argument between Ruby and Yang.

"W-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!"

"Uhh is everything okay?" Gabe interjected, catching the two sisters' attention.

"Oh Gabe!" Ruby rushed up in front of the boy. "Could you please tell Yang that I've got no problem with making friends? I mean, we're friends right?! And we just met yesterday! That's gotta count for something? Right? Right?!"

"Woah slow down there!" Gabe tried to push Ruby back. "Keep this up and I think Yang may have a point"

"Thank you." the blonde said. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the save from a potentially messy situation.

"R-right, sorry." The younger girl said, looking a bit down at his response.

The depressing expression on Ruby's face made Gabe feel a bit guilty, and he hurried to think of a follow up "...though for the record, I'd like to think we are." he added with a smile. The young girl's face lit up at the remark and she gave a cheerful nod.

The boy turned to the lockers. "Now let's see… locker 610… ah! Here it is." He input the code he was given and the storage promptly opened, revealing the Junkyard. Gabe took the weapon and proceeded to do his usual inspection.

"Oh right, before I forget.."

Gabe reached into his jacket and took out the bullet he'd been charging the night before. Pressing on the trigger for a few moments, the encasement split open. He promptly put it in the vacant chamber. The cylinder spun around a few cycles before retracting back into the blade. The casing then shut close with a mechanical click, reminiscent to a gun loading.

"Lock and load." Gabe grinned. No matter how many times he did it he could never get tired of how the sword deployed itself. The way each mechanism of his weapon moved in perfect sync just left him with a sense of geeky satisfaction.

Confident that everything was in order, he turned around…

"Ooooooohhhh…."

He was greeted by a wide-eyed Ruby. She had been peering over his shoulder, using the locker benches for elevation. Their faces came uncomfortably close.

"GA HA!" Gabe yelped. The surprise from the sudden encounter caused him to lose footing and fall backward.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" the young girl shrieked in excitement. "That's a sword right!? Why does it look like a lighter!? What are the bullets for!? Does it have a name?!"

Gabe groaned in pain as Ruby continued the unending barrage of questions.

"Sorry about that, Ruby's a bit of a nut when it comes to weapons." Yang said, helping the boy get up.

"Point taken" Gabe replied.

She then approached her sister and flicked her on the forehead, snapping her out of her trance.

"What did Gabe just say earlier?" Yang scolded.

"Ughh… sorry."

Gabe sighed. He knew a couple of weird and quirky people back in his own world, but seeing Ruby obsess over his sword was something else. Still, he guessed it was better she was quite energetic and lively. Besides, he thought there were worse things she could be fixated on.

Then from out of nowhere, they heard a faint whoosh in the air, followed by a rather high pitched scream.

"AHHHHHH"

The trio turned to the commotion, and saw three people gathered around one of the benches. First thing they noticed was Jaune pinned by his hood to one of the lockers with what looked to be a red and gold javelin. Gabe turned to the other two individuals. One was the white-haired princess that was caught in the verbal scuffle with Ruby yesterday.

The other was an unfamiliar face, a girl with flowing red hair tied together in a rather long ponytail. Her outfit composed of brownish gold pieces of armor, a black miniskirt and a long red sash around her waist. Her look reminded Gabe of the archetypal amazons or valkyries found in his world's fictional works .

"I'm sorry!" The red-haired girl called out to Jaune. 'That's some scary good aim' Gabe thought.

Glynda's voice suddenly rang out from the locker's PSA system.

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

The two girls started moving out. The red-haired one stopped briefly by Jaune to retrieve her javelin. The blonde boy fell with a slight thud to the floor.

"It was nice meeting you!" the girl said before walking off.

"...Likewise" Jaune said. The dejected look on his face told the story.

Gabe, Ruby and Yang approached their friend.

"Having some trouble there ladykiller?" Yang quipped.

"I don't understand… My dad said all women look for is confidence." Jaune whimpered. "Where did I go wrong!?"

"For starters, maybe prep time right before the big initiation wasn't exactly the ideal moment to try hitting on girls." Gabe suggested.

"Anyway, you won't get any second chances if you don't pass." He offered his hand to Jaune. "C'mon, we gotta go."

The four exited the lockers, with Jaune assisted by Gabe, legs still wobbly from the ordeal.


The sun was shining brightly overhead as the freshmen lined up side by side, facing Beacon Cliff's edge. Ozpin and Glynda were already there to brief the initiates on their test. Gabe looked at the dense forestry before them.

'Emerald Forest. Can't believe it's already been four years'.

If it weren't for the fact that he almost got torn to pieces during his last visit, Gabe thought he would've been a little more nostalgic. The view from the cliff wasn't half bad either. He would even go so far as to call it scenic, something he'd find printed on a postcard.

Seeing the all participants assembled in front, Ozpin began the briefing.

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

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Glynda continued. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion."

"Each of you will be given teammates… Today."

Some murmurs started among the students. Gabe swore he heard Ruby squeak, sounding a bit worried.

"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." Ozpin added.

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

"WHAT!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"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 stated in a rather ominous tone.

Gabe and Jaune swallowed lumps in their throats.

"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." Ozpin explained. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune began.

"Good" Ozpin cut him off. "Now take your positions."

The students went into their stances and braced themselves. The square platforms they stood on suddenly started launching them one by one.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um, a question." Jaune called out. "So, this landing strategy thing, w-what is it? You're like dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes?" Jaune continued, his anxiousness mounting.

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

"So what exactly is a landing strateGYYYYYY..."

Jaune's voice trailed off to the distance as he was catapulted to join his peers.

Ozpin then turned to Gabe, the last remaining student.

"Good Luck" he whispered.

Gabe just nodded before being promptly shot through the air.

Ozpin looked at the youngsters soaring over the horizon, taking casual sips from his morning coffee.


Gabe wasn't sure how far from the cliff he was launched. He couldn't see any of the other students beside him as he flew above the trees. In a few moments he began to descend.

"Alright here we go!" He shouted.

Gabe adjusted his position mid air so his legs were in front of him. Focusing on the soles of his feet, he let out a blast by the bottom of his shoes. Using the force to slow his forward momentum, he let out a second blast and launched himself vertically. At the height of his jump, he did a back flip to position himself upright. Now falling to the ground fast, he let out one final small blast to reduce his velocity. Within a few seconds he landed on the forest floor in perfect superhero fashion, the Junkyard held in hand firmly with a reverse grip.

"Ok that part's done."

He quickly got up and checked his surroundings. He was in an open area of the forest. Looking at where he landed, he saw he was standing on a rather large, bare patch of land. Trees and shrubbery surrounded the edge of the open field.

"Wait a minute…"

Gabe turned behind him, and he saw the face of a steep crag. He noted that the large rock formation was outlined with cracks. His gaze traced the crooked lines from top to bottom. By the base he saw a large crater on the wall, the center of which was where the cracks seemed to originate.

Gabe let out a knowing smirk. "Thanks Ozpin." He muttered.

There was no mistaking it. This was the place where they found him unconscious four years ago. The ground may not be burnt anymore but the large dent on the wall was hard to miss.

'Leave it to him to set this up.'

However, before he could begin looking around a sharp howl pierced through the air. Immediately, Gabe turned his attention back to the forest. He knew full well what was about to happen. His knees began to shake out of anxiety.

Realizing he was starting to lose control, Gabe breathed in heavily.

"Okay Gabe, this is what you've been training for." he said under his breath. "You can do this."

The self-assurance managed to calm his nerves a bit. After letting out a long exhale, he took to his stance. The growls were getting louder and louder.

Gabe held his weapon in front parallel to the ground, ready to guard against any incoming attack. Within a few moments, four beowolves burst out of the thickery, fangs and claws bared. They looked just as menacing as Gabe had remembered them. The creatures wasted no time and began encircling him.

Gabe pressed on the Junkyard's trigger and the "eye" of the sword began to glow a deep orange. He looked back at the Grimm, determined to take them down.

No holding back. It was do or die time.