"Ruuuun!" Jaune cried as his partner, Pyrrha, and two other students they'd met riding a dying Ursa shot through the bush and stone filled Emerald Forest.

Striking their ears from from behind were growing clacking noises and deep demonic hisses, followed by the loud smashing of two giant pincers clamping together at their backs.

To say that Jaune's plans for the Beacon initiation- test- thing, hadn't gone as he'd expected would be inaccurate. Largely because he hadn't had a plan, after all, what school tests people after they'd been accepted? At worst the blonde had expected some sort of class ranking test with a bit of sparring maybe; he could have handled that, or so he told himself.

What Jaune hadn't expected was to be catapulted off a mountain into a forest teaming with Grim and filled with ruins. 'And everyone else was just OK with it!' He thought. The clacking sound grew louder and Jaune yelped as he felt the hard skeletal pincers brush against his denim jeans.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried, the redhead half spun around, gold armour shining, short red skirt distracting and her gold-red javelin at the ready. It was unnecessary however for as it turned out mortal terror could reach heights Jaune had not imagined before, which forced him to speed up once again despite the fact his lungs were heaving, his white chest plate was smacking against him and that he was sweating buckets in his hoodie.

"To the ruins!" He cried as a broken down grey stone tower came into view through the tree-line. It almost seemed to hover in this air between a wide gorge the other side of which was a hill back up to where they'd been launched from. Bursting from the forest and darting passed crumbling stone beams Jaune felt a sense of relief run through him as his feet touched the stone bridge, 'Now all we need to do is get over the... cracked, unstable, and really, really old bridge... Hahahaa...' Sometimes Jaune really hated his luck. The squeak of rubber shoes dragging on stone as he ran somehow seemed almost louder than the raging scorpion monster behind them, each clack of the stone or slight rumble sending a tremor through Jaune's frame as they shot across the bridge and towards safety.

Casting a glance behind him Jaune saw how thin the bridge was and let himself slow, stumbling forward towards the big... tower, thing, he leaned against the cool stone, heaving and panting in relief. Slapping his back against the ruin Jaune turned to look at his fellow Beacon students. There was a tiny looking orange-haired girl with a massive shark like grin on her face. She wore a pink skirt connected to a white shirt with a heart-shaped hole in the centre the chest and was holding a giant silver rocket launcher. Next to her was a guy with dark hair partially tied back into a small ponytail who looked as exhausted as Jaune felt, though he wasn't panting as much. He carried two green mini-machine guns and wore simple grey pants and a slightly fancy looking green shirt with gold patterns on the sleeve. Pyrrha didn't even seem winded, her red pony tail swung back and forth like a tail as she eyed the massive scorpion monster. The beast clicked its claws and let out a low frustrated screech as its mandibles skittered across the ground, digging up chunks of earth as it wavered from side to side, glaring at them with six glowing red eyes.

"Its too big to follow us here, we can... relax..." Jaune gasped, sucking in a breath.

"I suppose," Pyrrha relented, slowly diverting her attention from the scorpion to Jaune. Under her emerald eyes gaze Jaune tried to hold himself a little higher, he'd already been saved by her way too many times, he couldn't go looking weak now!

"Nya nya nya!" Said the hammer girl, blowing a raspberry at the Grim while pulling down an eyelid.

"Nora!" Cried the boy with weary tone of someone who was had seen such behaviour before and knew they were going to see it again in maybe five minutes. Jaune was quite familiar with the tone, growing up with seven siblings and all.

"Sorry Ren!" Answered the gir- Nora, in a high pitched and chipper cheer before she began skipping towards him.

"So uh, guess we should go hand this in...?" Jaune said, holding up the golden rook, his words trailing out as he saw Pyrrha's eyes shoot wide open before the girl spun around clutching her spear. 'Oh no,' Jaune thought numbly jaw dropping and ears burning, his hands shook as he tried to grasp Crocea Mors and he began sliding back.

The Deathstalker, that was what Pyrrha had called it, was moving, the massive yellow-ish bone covered scorpion so old moss had grown on its body was skittering along the bridge, its long speedy legs flickering as it dashed towards them.

Something was blurring towards him leaving orange trails of light through the air. 'The stinger!' Jaune thought, instinctively throwing his shield up in front of him, but it was coming in on top and-

"Clang!"

The sound of rock hard bone striking against steel rang out and Jaune saw Pyrrha standing before him, shield held high and protecting his head. Pyrrha's normally serene features were a mask of frustration, her lips thinned and teeth grit as the stinger lurched back and forth atop her shield, smashing against it in an attempt to break through her guard.

Something flashed from the corners of his eyes and towards Pyrrha, Jaune kneeled at her side shield up and let out an, "Ah!" As a massive pincers slammed into his shield. The force of it force him to skid back across the ground until he and Pyrrha were touching as they struggled with their burdens.

"Nora I can't hold it alone!" Ren ground out from behind them.

"I've got it Ren!" Nora answered and Jaune could only assume the two partners were now holding back their own pincers. Though judging by how the Deathstalker's right arm seemed to be straining as it leaned itself forward they looked to be having better luck than him.

Jaune could hear the stones cracking around them and the pressure began to steadily increase as the Deathstalker slowly scraped forward. "We-! We need to blow out the bottom of the bridge!" He cried, desperately hoping the only one with the rocket launcher would listen.

"Ren!"

"Go I have this!"

Nora slapped one hand on the rough pincer, left hand flying to her back as she grasped her beloved Magnhild and she flung herself over the Deathstalker's limb.

"Hrr!" She heard Ren grunt as the Deathstalker tried to swing at her only to be caught be her friends grasp.

'He doesn't have much Aura left!' Nora thought. Slinging Magnild into her arms she took aim at the bridges crumbling base and squeezed the trigger just as the Grim started... pulling back?

Ren sagged with relief as the Deathstalker drew back, crunching in on itself like... "Its going to jump!"

The Grim slid back on its spindly legs, crouched down and just as Nora's rockets blew out the bridges support it launched itself into the air. A mighty, almost slobbery "Schree!' leaving its pincer-covered mouth. It hadn't jumped well though, going high but falling almost head first towards him? Ren staggered back towards the tower for cover and watched as the Grim's pincers lashed out and its stinger shot down towards, "Nora!"

Before Ren could act the blonde cried, "Pyrrha!"

"Yes!" And the girls bronze shield blurred through the air letting off a strange hum as it tore through the Deathstakers stinger.

"Schree!"

Not far from him Ren heard Nora let loose a roar mixed with one of her trademark cackles as she aimed her weapon and shouted, "Smile hahaha!" And suddenly a wave of pink missiles were unleashed upon the airborne Deathstalker exploding with giant pink puffs of Dust-smoke, pummelling its back and sending it hurtling from the tower and screeching down into the chasm below.

Nora leaned over the edge of the balcony one hand cupped around her ear and she smirked at the muted boom that hit their ears.

Pyrrha held her arm up and sent out a rippling energy wave with her Semblance. Her Aura flowed threw her flying shield and the metal thrummed as it responded to her beckoning call and hurtled back through the air and slipped onto her wristband in a flash.

Behind her Jaune was leaning on the wall having smiled and swaggered when she offered to help the exhausted boy stand only to lean on the cold stone in an attempt at a cool casual pose. Pyrrha personally thought it looks both cute and dashing.

Seeing their impromptu allies strolling over to them Pyrrha smiled and said, "Maybe we should return the relic now?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Answered the dark haired boy in a slightly rough but calm voice.

His partner however had strolled right by her and Jaune and was staring at the mountain behind them, finger on her chin. Finally she hummed and said, "Hmm, don't you guys feel like something missing here?"

"I'm, not sure what you mean," Pyrrha said slowly, glancing subtly at the boy, Ren, to see if he knew what she was thinking but the pink eyed warrior seemed just as lost as Pyrrha while Jaune was looking on in similar confusion.

Nora threw out her arms and waved them as she said, "I don't know, like that mountain feels like its missing a decapitated Nevermore or something! I mean even our win felt kinda dull, all that build up and we drop it down a hole!" She cried, stomping her foot in disappointment and sending hairline cracks through the stone floor.

"I know right!" Jaune cried, pushing himself up and only wobbling a little as he spoke animatedly. "I mean imagine if we'd cut the stinger off before it jumped and you-"

"Smashed it with my hammer!" Nora shouted, grinning in terrifyingly rampant excitement.

"That would have been so cool!" Jaune enthused, clutching his fists and cheering into the sky.

Pyrrha looked to Ren again and saw the boy seemed both worried and resigned to the discussion which to Pyrrha felt like it was slowly spiralling out of control.

Coughing into her hand she said, "Well, while I am sure that would have been brilliant it seems we didn't have the time and the plan we had worked very well. Thank you Jaune, Nora, and Ren, for doing so much."

"You kinda did a lot too Pyrrha," Jaune said, first enthusiastically but he seemed to sag a little as he spoke.

"I loved the part where you cut off the stinger!" Nora chimed in.

"We all played our part, but now maybe we should go return our relics," Ren said with the subtle instance of a parent trying to herd their energetic child.

"Yes, this place looks perfect to be dive bombed by a Nevermore and I don't think any of us are in a fit state to decapitate one," Pyrrha said.

Gulping Jaune cast his gaze around the sky, now ignoring Nora's look of predatory excitement as he said, "Yeah we should go. Like, now," He said, pointing to the mountains behind them with his thumb.

"Aw out-voted," Nora sighed, slumping forward with her arms going limp.

"Don't worry Nora, I'm sure we'll get to fight a Nevermore some other time, once we've rested," Ren said calmly as they all began walking towards the only remaining bridge.

"I guess, still, it makes ya think doesn't it?" Nora said as she stared at the mountain.

"Think about what?"

"What could have been," She said, giggling at her friends perplexed expression as she booped him on the nose and then jogged forward to take the lead.

Later that evening the quartet found they would be seeing a lot more of each other as they were dubbed team JNPR, under their leader, Jaune Arc.

And thus, their time as Beacon students, truly began.