Sorry, this took so long guys; one thing after another came and I kind of just had a crash; not a mental crash, more like I don't know what to do with my life crash. That and I kind of had to slog my way through this one I'm alright, no need to worry-
(ROAAARRR)
Great, it's back. You all enjoy the chapter; I'm going monster hunting. And I don't own anything I use in my story other then any OC's I come up with.
(Trevor grabs a shotgun and a baseball bat and walks out of the room. A minute later, the sounds of a gun could be heard and someone shouting "DIE, BEAST, DIE! DIE YOU HORRIBLE CREATURE THAT IS MY EMOTIONS!)
[Hr]
The group eventually came back to the reading room with various expressions: team RWBY all watched an anime and they couldn't believe what they saw . . . well, Weiss anyway. Ruby still had stars in her eyes at how awesome it was though one part made her cry. Yang had a big grin as she loved every moment of it except for certain parts. Blake was moved at how determined every one of the protagonists were and this solidified her resolve to take down the old white fang and bring equality to all. Weiss was trying to comprehend how such massive machines move so quickly and how they could be powered by pure will alone.
Team JNPR saw a movie and they enjoyed it a lot even though it wasn't historically accurate. Pyrrha was happy to proclaim that she comes from a line of warriors that some were of the greatest in history. Jaune will admit he is terrified of the Spartans but is tempted to train under them if given the chance. Ren is interested in learning more about their culture though he does admit some of the things they do are harsh. Nora just wanted to see the movie again.
The adults have been discussing plans and how this could help them beat the queen of Grimm though Ironwood was still being cold with his decisions at times, this leads to Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, even Winter verbally assault him for those ideas and pointing out the flaws. The general was not in a good mood.
The group finds Trevor passed out on the couch with a box nearby. Ironwood, seeing a chance to get back at him, walks forward and shoves him off the couch before anyone could stop him. Trevor grunted as he was abruptly woken up from his nap.
"Was that really necessary?" Trevor grumped.
Winter sighed and stepped forward. "Forgive him, he tends to do something like that when he's in a bad mood and a soldier is sleeping in."
Trevor mumbled a 'fine' and dusted himself off. He turned to the group and started. "Before we begin, I got a package earlier while you all were relaxing. It's from a place called Phoenix warehouse productions." Everyone turned their interest toward Trevor.
"Now I know what you're thinking. 'I'm a god, I can do anything' right?" Trevor asked. Many either nodded or said yes. "Well you're right but I did say I'm still figuring out my powers and because of that I have to be careful." Trevor suddenly realized something. "Oh! Yeah and I've actually been a god for a good couple years now."
"Seriously?!" Yang asked, eyebrows raised to her hairline.
"Have you been practicing all that time?" Weiss asked, trying her best to comprehend how someone with only two years of training to be able to move between dimensions.
He nodded and spoke. "Most of the new gods tend to spend a lot of their time in denial, panicking, or taking advantage of their power but I didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone so I spent most of the time I had training and Azndrgn helped me a lot." Trevor then lets out a breath and continued. "But anyway, there's one god that's established a multiverse-wide company to help the younger gods but only if they accept. Their main export is dealing with delicate stuff like tools or manuals, basically, anything to help a god get off the ground and not destroy everything."
Many were impressed and amazed that such a company exists. Ozpin, being curious and wanting to know more, asked. "Will they deal with mortals such as myself?"
The god shook his head. "Not really mainly because they don't want to let a mortal have too much power; they have a saying in the company: Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Ozpin nodded as understands that saying all too well.
"Anyway, I've talked to you all long enough so let's go ahead and open the box." Trevor finished as he stepped toward the large box. He opened it and pulled what looks like two daggers shaped like dragon fangs. "These are for Ruby." He continued as he handed over to the eager huntress. "Careful with those because they're able to poison Grimm and if you channel your aura into them; you're able to launch blades of compressed air that can cut through solid stone." Ruby was instantly drooling as she held them close to her chest. Yang snapped her fingers a few times near Ruby's ear to snap her out of it.
Ruby gave a sheepish smile while her sister smirked. Yang then asked. "So sister of mine, what are you going to name em?"
Ruby thought for a moment then came up with a name. "I'm going to call them Rose's Thorns." The silver-eyed girl stated with a smile."
Trevor pulled out the next item while the two sisters were talking. The item is a big double-bladed ax. The blades were curved with one pointing up while the other pointed down. The Handle had a single button on it. He presented it to Yang, who eagerly accepted, and stated. "This ax is able to split into two single-bladed axes and if you channel your aura into them; you can light them on fire." Hearing the flame part, Yang pumped some aura into them and the blades lit up like they were covered in oil. The blond grinned like a maniac; she really wanted test her new weapon out. Ruby was gawking at the weapon and wondered how exactly it worked.
Trevor pulled out the next item or items as it was a stack of book. He places the stack of books in front of Blake. Blake saw the covered. "Icha Icha?" She asked.
"Thought you might like it." The god stated. Blake opened the top book to a random page. She quickly shut the book with a blush on her face. He Faunus mumbled a 'thank you' and carried the books over to her spot on the couch.
The next item stunned Weiss and a few others. The item is the most beautiful rapier she's ever seen. The guard had several different jewels on it and the blade seemed to glow in the light. She snapped out of it when Trevor began to speak. "This is the perfect rapier, made for a six finger-man." The heiress carefully wrapped her right hand around the handle, as if it were made of fragile glass. "Better be careful when you're fighting with that because that blade can slice through aura like a red hot knife through warm butter." Weiss had a small smile as she marveled at the blade. She'll have to ask Ruby to add a Dust revolver to it.
"For Jaune." Trevor grunted as he pulled out a particularly big brown leather book. Jaune took the book though he had to adjust his grip. Trevor released a breath and said. "that's a book on runes; Everything from a simple light rune to things like retrieval and teleporting runes, though the teleporting may take a lot of your aura so I don't recommend doing stuff like that until you've had practice." Jaune nodded in understanding then turned his attention to the book cover. The cover had a golden ring that seems to glow with several other runes inside like a purple zigzag, two green crescents connected together, and symbols just like it.
"This next one I got from your family, Jaune," Trevor stated. The blond looked back in surprise. Trevor pulled out what looks like a photo album and the knight looked on horrified because he knew exactly what that was. Pyrrha looked at her boyfriend in worry because of the looked but her attention was abruptly taken by the book Trevor held out to her. "This has photos of Jaune's childhood." He then turned to Jaune with a nervous smile. "Sorry Jaune but I had to or else I would lose all my powers." The student in question then dropped his head and let out a long-suffering groan. Pyrrha would've comforted him but she was too busy gushing at the photos. It got worse for the embarrassed blonde as team RWBY joined in.
A long squeak sounded from the box and something green and furry poke its head out. Trevor's shoulders slumped a little and said to no one. "You woke him up." Trevor picked up the furry thing which turns out to be a sloth. Nora was squealing in delight she was handed her new green companion. "That's a baby battle sloth. The reason it's called that is that it knows how to use all kinds of weapons so be careful if it's near guns and such." Nora acted like she didn't hear him just hugged the thing.
Ren sighed because he'd most likely be making sure it was fed and had a place for it to go to the bathroom though he also hoped this would teach his partner some responsibility. The ninja opened his eye to see the good holding a green book and a brown bag that smelled like herbs. "The bag is enchanted to be always filled with herbs so as long as you onto it, you'll never be without some ready to make tea with. The book is all about healthy eating and what food to avoid; it even includes a diet for hunters based on their style of fighting." Ren gave him a thank you, placed the bag of herbs on his belt and opened the book which was titled 'eating right to live long and bright'.
"Winter, yours has been sent to your scroll." Winter flinched in surprised then opened up her scroll. She saw she had a new message. After opening it and playing she saw something that caught her completely by surprise: A drunk Qrow without a shirt singing both Sweet Transvestite and I feel Pretty. It was too much at once for the specialist as she began to laugh so hard she had trouble keeping her balance. Qrow groaned because he knew she's never going to let him live that down now. Even Ironwood's mood improved from listening to the video. "Found that in a dimension where Summer is still alive, she says hello by the way." Ruby teared up a little but still smiled when she heard what Trevor said.
Qrow rubbed his face in frustration because of what Winter now holds on her scroll. "Hang in there because you're next." The god spoke to the usually drunk teacher as Trevor pulls out a bottle. The brown bottle had a label titled 'Little Man's Hammer' with a picture of a short man with a bushy beard holding a hammer as big as him. "This is Dwarven vodka. Don't drink too much at once because this stuff is so strong it can make Grimm drunk." Trevor then laughed some. "I got you one bottle but I bought two just to see what would happen if this stuff got on a Grimm." He laughed some more. "I really wish I was recording at the time because I could barely breathe when I saw it." Qrow nodded in thanks and was tempted knock back a shot right now but knew he had to stay sober for this.
Trevor then pulled out what looks like a purple whip rolled up. "For you, Glynda." He stated as he held the whip out her. The headmistress got a better look at it now it's in her hands she notices the whips has a silver tip. "The whip, like Ruby's weapon, can poison Grimm and if you channel aura into it; the whip will launch or destroy your target when you crack it. But it takes a lot of training to use and it amplifies your semblance." He then leaned in close and whispered. "Be careful because people might and will think you're a dominatrix." That caught Glynda by surprise as her face lit up like a light bulb. Blake heard the god and she blushed even brighter than when she started reading.
Trevor went back to the box while Glynda was busy trying to calm herself down. The next thing he pulled out was actually a stack of notes, some of them looking torn and/or burn at the edges. He then held them out to the general and stated in a firm tone "These are notes on an AI called Skynet and it warriors; the terminators."
Yang nervously asked. "Why do I have a bad feeling about them?"
Trevor turned to her and said. "You should because their shells are made of titanium and their weapons are so powerful, their rifles can turn auraless humans into a pile of roasted flesh." Many like Jaune and Ruby gulped in fear. Ozpin feared they would all of humanity and Faunus from existence. Ironwood began to make plans for all of the robots in Atlas' army to a have a human handler.
The last thing he pulled was just a simple mug. "Despite how it looks, the cup is enchanted the same way as Ren's bag so that it never runs out of Cinnamon coffee." Ozpin gratefully grasped his new favorite cup. Glynda let out a sigh of relief as this will lessen the strain on Beacon's budget. Trevor continued. "From what the CEO told me his grandpa came up with the recipe. The coffee really helps waking up but that's a given, help relieve stress if his gramps is to be believed, blood pressure as well."
Ozpin hummed in content as he drank from his new mug. "Give my thanks to the CEO next time you meet him. This is very good."
Trevor nodded. "Sure thing, now let's get started. The sooner we finished the sooner you all can go home and I can move on to a new group." Some stared at him with a 'are you serious' look as they took their usual seat. Blake set down her new book and opened Jaune Ryu-Long to chapter 9.
Chapter 9: First steps & Emerald forest
Jaune woke up excited one day. It was the day that Beacon Academy would finally start! He knew Pyrrha and Yang were coming and was excited to surprise them! Especially Pyrrha, since she didn't know he was here at Beacon. He looked out the window and saw the airships flying in. He lied back on his bed, wondering what would have had happened if Vlad didn't banish him. Most likely be kept up in his room, trying to never let anyone know he existed. Which in turn, he probably would have run away and faked his transcripts to get into Beacon. He chuckled at this before stretching his muscles and getting ready for the day.
Jaune chuckled nervously when the two teams gave him a knowing look. Ozpin smirked and thought: The boy seemed destined to be a farmer or some other domestic worker but instead he broke the chains of destiny and forged his own path, no matter what life threw his way.
Glynda had been a godsend for him. When she finally learned some of Jaune's back-story, she cried and took Jaune and helped him set up a bank account as well as take him to a well-known jewelry store. There, he sold two more rough jewels with a weight of 20 carats each. The jewelers and Glynda were surprised at this. The buyer almost had a heart attack at the size of the diamond and tried to rip Jaune off. That was easily taken care of by Glynda, who threatened to blast him to Mistral after she had tossed him into the ceiling a few times.
"Man, you're scary when you want to be," Yang said to Glynda. The teacher was secretly proud of this fact as she let a small smile show.
In total, Jaune managed to get 96,000 Lien, which he immediately put into the bank. This would allow him to be set for the next few years. He didn't want anyone to know he actually had cut diamonds from the best jewel makers of the past. That would attract too much attention.
"Especially from father," Weiss spoke. Winter nodded, there was no way father wouldn't hear of this. Ozpin thought Oobleck would be over the moon if he found out.
He still carried with him a few Lien cards just in case, along with his debit card. He didn't bother with the wallet because he would always carry his bag with him everywhere. Purchasing a few more school supplies and a wardrobe full of clothes his size, Jaune was ready to attend Beacon. He had a black hoodie and blue jeans, as it was his favorite style. He bought running shoes and combat boots to switch off, depending on what he would be doing for the day. He donated any usable old clothes away, figuring somebody else could use it.
"Most people would throw their old clothes away," Pyrrha said to her partner.
Jaune shrugged. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Pyrrha Nikos sighed as she was flying on the airship to Beacon. She had won the Mistral annual tournament four times now, and her fame had spread across the seas apparently. People on the ship were constantly admiring her as the "Goddess of Victory" now, instead of "Invincible Girl". Her newest nickname was given to her after her third win in the tournament, where she completely dominated her opponents. It felt worse now, as her fame was even higher than she thought possible.
Pyrrha gave a depressed sigh while Jaune did her best to comfort her.
She had to admit her new versions Milo and Akouo certainly helped accelerate her reputation. Hephaestus went overboard and managed to mix Adamantine into Milo, making the weapon even sturdier and stronger. Underneath her light armor, she had a modified Mithril vest. Hephaestus originally wanted to make it a shirt, but Pyrrha wanted to keep her image. That and the sponsors did too. So he relented and had his friend modify it so it was hidden under her clothes while still offering her protection. It was dust enchanted so if she channeled some of her Aura, the Mithril shirt would extend upwards to her necklace, covering her flesh. This was the only compromise Hephaestus insisted, saying that having some armor just in case was better than none.
"Better have it and not need it then need it and not have it," Trevor spoke. Ozpin and Ironwood decided to keep that in mind.
Not only did she have better weapons, she felt like her aura reserves had undergone a huge change too. It was bigger, and she was able to use her Semblance much easier than the past. She theorized that when she unlocked Jaune's aura, hers also underwent some change as she had been the closest to him as well as having touched his aura with hers.
"I hope you're here, Jaune," she whispered and prayed.
"Again; you rely on it way too much to save you in a fight." Trevor continued. Pyrrha decided to try and fight without the use of her semblance but that will be difficult because using it has become instinctual for her now.
Weiss Schnee was huffing with impatience as she rode on an airship to Beacon. She had it all planned out. Find the strongest fighter, preferably female, become friends with her, and become the perfect pair. They would be unstoppable and popular! Then, she would lead the Schnee name to glory after her father had dragged it through the mud. She then thought of Jaune. She slightly blushed at what she had done three years ago. That was just a crush, a feeling that was just temporary!
"You sure about that, Weiss-cream?" Yang teased. The girl received a pillow to the face from the younger Schnee.
Time then paused as everyone stopped moving except for Trevor. He turned to the viewer and said. "Yang being hit with a pillow is becoming a running gag I didn't intend to make." He then turned back to the group when time started up again.
She heard Winter talking about how Jaune actually punched a famous Huntress in a battle that she herself was unable to even land a hit. Weiss was crestfallen when she heard the Winter had to forfeit her position in the Vytal tournament. Still, she tried her best to talk to Weiss after also forfeiting the position of the heiress to her. Perhaps Jaune would be at Beacon. If not, the Winter was determined to find him and have him enlist at Atlas. She had made General Ironwood promise to accept him if he did come in return for becoming a special operative.
Ironwood sent the specialist a look. Winter cleared her throat, though the pink tint to her face betrayed her.
Blake was reading her book while waiting for the ship to land. She had taken the test and passed with flying colors. She sighed as she flipped to the next page of her book. As she read the adult artistic erotic fiction, she began to daydream. She imagined herself as the priestess who was waiting for her lover while Jaune was the knight swooping from the sky with his wings. He came near her, and they started to re-enact one of her favorite scenes. She stumbled out of her imagination when she heard a squeal.
Blake blushed hard because of her thoughts being displayed and read. A few others blushed at the raunchy thoughts. "You've got a problem, Blake," Yang said with a red tint to her cheeks.
"Like your one to talk," Blake argued. "You smash anyone for even so much as pulling a few loose strands out." Ironwood raised an eyebrow in question but didn't bother when Qrow shook his head and had a look that said' You don't wanna know.'
For a few seconds, Yang did until finally saying. "Touché."
Jaune mumbled. "What is it with girls and their hair? It grows back."
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" said Yang, hugging her sister.
"Please stop," gasped Ruby.
Yang was giving her sister the 'how proud she was' speech to Ruby.
Ruby groaned because of her sister's antics. Yang asked, "Did I really act like that?" Ruby just nodded. Yang grimaced; she acted and sounded like a more excitable person, not Nora level thankfully.
"Think Jaune will be there?" asked Ruby.
Yang looked away guiltily. She hated to admit, but she really did like Jaune. All those times of him treating her like a lady, and not those jerks trying to get a peek down her assets, she developed a crush on him. Even with him gone, it was still there. Not to mention all those adventures he told her. He treated her flirting as a joke, and would sometimes flirt back for fun.
Yang did her best not to blush but there was a pink tint to her cheeks.
"Probably," replied Yang.
"I can't wait to see him!" said Ruby. She had also developed a crush on Jaune too and could see that Yang crushing on the same person. More than once, she thought about approaching the subject up, but could never have the guts to do so. On a few occasion, she even thought about sharing Jaune with Yang. That way she could keep her sister while also dating him. The idea of sharing Jaune was becoming more prominent, though.
"Ruby Rose!" Yang suddenly shouted with a scorned mother tone. "Where did you get such an idea!?"
"Dad had two wives, didn't he?" Ruby retorted.
"That was different! Raven left us when I was a baby!" Yang clarified, her frustration building but she kept it under control.
"So? She didn't sign divorce papers; did she?" Ruby asked.
Yang, at the end of her rope, said. "Uncle Qrow, help me out here."
"Nope, I'm staying out of this." He replied. Yang groaned and rubbed her face out of frustration.
They had just landed, and Ruby was spinning in dizziness as Yang had ditched her to talk with some of her friends. She fell on some rich girl's suitcase, and it didn't help that she kept yelling at her while shaking Dust in front of her face. She sneezed and blew a crater in front of the courtyard, which made the rich girl in white even madder. Soon enough, she learned the rich girl's name was Weiss Schnee from a mysterious girl with a bow wearing black and white. Weiss actually blushed in embarrassment when the girl identified her company as also having controversial labor forces and questionable business partners.
Yang started to laugh hard, making Ruby blush in embarrassment. In between laughs, Yang said, "I thought you were kidding about the explosion, Ruby."
"Weiss!" The heiress flinched at the tone of voice. "What have I told you about Dust vials?" Winter scolded.
"Make sure they're properly sealed." Weiss meekly answered.
"That's right." Winter immediately continued. "You're lucky father didn't hear of this incident."
"I don't have anything to do with those choices," said Weiss, trying to defend herself.
The girl merely raised her eyebrow. Weiss felt like she didn't need to explain further and left. Before Ruby could thank the girl, she had also left, leaving her alone. She pouted while collapsing to her knees.
"Welcome to Beacon," she said to herself, lying on her back as she closed her eyes for a second. She really did miss her friends back in Signal, as they didn't come with her. She may have had been excited to get to go to Beacon so early, but it had its cons. She wasn't able to go to Beacon with her group of friends and had to find new people over again. It was not easy for Ruby to do that.
Ruby sighed as she missed her friends but also sent a glare towards her sister for up and abandoning her like that.
Then, a shadow seemed to cast over her face.
"Rough start?" said a familiar voice.
Ruby opened her eyes to see Jaune standing over her with his hand outstretched.
"Jaune!" shouted Ruby, blushing in embarrassment that Jaune had apparently seen what had happened. She took the offered hand to pick her back up before dusting herself clean while making sure everything on her was clean. She was even checking her hair.
"Come. Let's head to the auditorium. It's going to start soon," said Jaune with a smile.
Ruby nodded and followed him like a lost puppy while talking.
"I swear, Ruby, you are the human embodiment of a puppy," Trevor said, making Ruby blush. Yang laughed at the thought.
"I'm not a puppy!" She denied. Trevor simply held up a cookie. Ruby's eyes were wide as she rushed forward and said. "Cookie!"
"Stop!" Trevor shouted. Ruby did so just 2 feet away. "Sit" Trevor commanded while pointing at the ground. Ruby crouched down, her knees brushing up against her chin. "Roll over." Trevor continued. Ruby rolled onto her back, hands in the air. "Play dead." The teen commanded again. The silver-eyed girl's head lolled to the side, her tongue sticking out with her eyes closed as her hands flopped to either side of her. Trevor smiled and said, "Good girl," as he dropped the cookie right above her mouth. Ruby caught and munched away while humming in contentment.
Yang couldn't take it anymore and was laughing hard; Qrow, Nora, and a few others as well. Ruby's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she realized what she was doing. She then shot back to her seat in a cloud of rose petals, a pillow covering her face which was very, very red.
They walked into the auditorium, where Ruby was looking around at all the new attendees and their weapons. It was very crowded, showing around 100 people, maybe more, trying to attend Beacon.
"I forgot how many other people we were competing against," Jaune said, surprised and proud that he managed to beat so many people without actual training.
"Certainly puts things in perspective." Ren agreed.
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" shouted Yang, noticing her sister enter first.
"I see my sister there. Want to come with me, Jaune?"
Before Jaune could reply, he heard his name being called from behind him. Turning around, he saw Pyrrha running towards him at full tilt. Before he could do anything, he had the air knocked out of him when she pounced on him. Barely managing to keep standing, he regained his breath as he saw Pyrrha looking at him with a pout while hugging him.
"That went better then I thought," Qrow commented.
"Why didn't you tell me you were at Beacon?" pouted Pyrrha, not wanting to admit she was worried if she was in the same academy as Jaune.
"It was a surprise. Your father knew two months ago, but I had him keep it as a secret," answered Jaune. "By the way, we're making a scene here."
Pyrrha looked around to see many attendees looking at them and jumped back.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly. Jaune shook his head.
Jaune, Nora, and several others laughed at Pyrrha's reaction, much to his girlfriend's annoyance.
"Don't worry about it, Pyrrha. I'm glad to see you too," said Jaune. Pyrrha responded with the biggest smile that few had ever seen. It made her look more radiant than all those photo shots she had to do for sponsors.
Ruby, along with Yang who had come to see what was happening, was about to ask how they knew each other when a coughing sound was heard on stage. Everyone quickly stopped staring at Jaune and Pyrrha to listen to what the Headmaster had to say.
"Sounds like you didn't have any coffee that morning, Ozzie." Qrow jabbed.
Ozpin sighed and said. "I didn't and I wanted to dispel any grandiose views or dreams about hunters." The adults agreed with the headmaster on that.
Once Ozpin's message ended, they were all escorted to a large hall where they would all be sleeping for the night. Ruby was telling Yang about how she blew up in the courtyard. However, they were both paying attention to Jaune, who was sitting next to Pyrrha talking about his adventures and feeling jealous.
'When did he meet Cereal girl?' grumbled Yang in her mind.
'I was Jaune's first friend in Beacon! Or was he my first friend in Beacon? Doesn't matter! I should be there!' Ruby mentally screamed.
"Wasn't your other plotting on how to share him with your sister?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow. Ruby sheepishly smiled.
Two other girls were also watching Jaune in a jealous state. They said hi to Jaune while walking to their sleeping quarters, but didn't get the chance to talk more as Pyrrha dragged him away. Jaune, of course, noticed Weiss' scar and asked what happened, but Weiss brushed it off.
'Dammit. Jaune just got harder for me to catch. Well, my mother caught my father. I'll do the same!" thought Blake before an invasive thought kicked in, 'I wonder if she's willing to share. We could have thr- Bad thoughts Blake!'
Blake blushed and covered her face with both hands. Yang patted the girl on the back.
'Urg, just my luck. My chance to have the strongest girl to come to Beacon was just taken by the most likely candidate to be the strongest guy. It doesn't matter! Partners haven't formed yet! I still have a chance! I'll get Jaune... I mean Pyrrha!' thought Weiss, slightly blushing at the fact she was thinking about Jaune.
Weiss blushed in embarrassment as she closed her eyes.
Yang decided to make a quip. "Looks like the ice queen is turning into a snow angel."
"Shut it, Xiao Long!" Weiss retorted, her cheeks even brighter.
Pyrrha could feel the jealous gaze of the four girls as well as other stares from other girls who were staring at Jaune and his well-built muscles that could be easily seen from his clothes. She couldn't help but smirk. Other guys were also glaring at Jaune for attracting Pyrrha freaking Nikos before they even had a chance to introduce themselves to her, and probably seduce her. There would no chance now, seeing that she was basically hanging off Jaune's arm. Jaune, however, seemed oblivious to all this as he focused his attention on Pyrrha, and she loved it. Maybe a kiss to show everyone Jaune was hers? Before she could contemplate that, it was time to sleep.
Pyrrha noticed she was hanging off Jaune's arm as well, she blushed but didn't move. The blond boy simply sighed and wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment.
Before going to sleep, Lie Ren looked at Jaune, feeling the same energy he had felt years ago. The same energy his parents told him to be on the lookout for. Could he be the one they mentioned? Too tired to even think more about, he went to sleep, with Nora cuddling him on his side.
Ren wondered what this meant. Does my family know about the dragons in this dimension?
The next morning, everyone had grabbed their weapons and was now standing on what seemed to be silver platforms facing Emerald Forest. Ozpin and Glynda were also there, ready to start the initiation. Nora was still trying to make sloth noises for Ren to know it was her, who humored her. Ruby was still pouting when Yang told her to try to find and meet new people, as it was part of growing up. There was no need for that! She drinks milk already! That and she wanted only Yang or Jaune. Any other partners would just be too scary for Ruby to even think about it. Others were discussing the rumors about partners when Ozpin coughed to grab all their attention and spoke. Jaune noticed that not all the attendees were at where they were and wondered why, but threw that question away for later.
"What did happen to the other initiates?" Jaune asked that question he's been meaning to ask.
"We usually hire veteran hunters to take them outside the walls but close enough to help if needed," Ironwood answered. "The objectives vary depending on the area they're sent to: from rescuing dummies that act as civilians to taking over an enemy camp or even just clearing out the Grimm."
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'," continued Glynda, "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."
"What? Ohhh...," squeaked 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," said Ozpin, causing Ruby to groan. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"Is that really the best way to form teams?" Trevor asked.
Ironwood answered. "It's not but the council won't let us try any new methods."
Jaune could only snicker as he saw Ruby's crestfallen face at this as if her world was shattering, squeaking out a word of disbelief. Yang also smiled as she put on her aviator sunglasses. Ozpin finished his lecture with a stern notice to not hesitate and also their mission parameters, to find the abandoned temple, choose a relic, guard it, and return to the cliff. Nobody asked any questions, so they commenced the exam. Of course, some people, especially 5 certain girls, already had in mind who to try to get as a partner.
'Jaune is mine!' thought Pyrrha.
Pyrrha shrunk in on herself a little as she blushed.
'Jaune can fly. Maybe I can make it so I crash into him in the air, making him spread his wings!' thought Blake as she wanted to relish being carried in Jaune's arms again.
"It must be good if you're that desperate," Yang said to her partner who said nothing.
'Jaune should be with me! Blondes should stick together! Although I guess being with my little sister wouldn't be bad either,' thought Yang, 'but preferably with me.'
Yang's teammates gave her a questioning stare and she responded with "what can I say, he's Jaune-some!" There were quite a few groans and some facepalms.
'I don't wanna partner up with someone I don't know! Yang! Jaune! I will find either of them!' Ruby mentally screamed.
"You panicked that much at initiation?" Weiss asked.
"I got moved up 2 years, remember?' Ruby responded.
"True." Weiss agreed.
'Hmph. I better get someone strong like Pyrrha or Jaune,' thought Weiss as she prepared herself.
They were then all sent flying into the air via springing platforms. Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, relishing its taste while also enjoying sending people flying into the forest.
The stares at the headmaster were starting to get awkward for him so he decided to clarify. "The reason that I encourage landing strategies is lets just say I was tossed out a few windows that were several stories up when I was a huntsman in training."
'Hmm, should I use my wings? Naa, not yet; I'm not in the school yet, so I can't let my dad find out, otherwise he could still get me. Better to hide it until I'm sure I'm completely out of his grasp,' thought Jaune as was falling through the sky.
"Can't be too careful with a guy like that," Qrow commented, his eyebrows creased.
He saw Ruby using her gun to lower the impact by for hooking onto a tree but not before running right through a stray bird. Weiss was using a glyph as a jumping pad to break her descent. Pyrrha was crashing through tree branches to slow her descent before landing on one. Yang was having fun using her gauntlets to propel herself forward, using the shotgun recoil. Blake used her Gambol Shroud to hook onto a tree before using her Shadow up onto a branch. Jaune decided to grab his sword and stab into a tree, rotating around it, leaving a trail of splintered wood in the tree before jumping to another one and doing the same thing until he was close to the ground. He threw his shield out in front of him and landed on it, surfing on it. As it so happened, 3 Beowolves were unfortunately there. Jaune smirked as he launched his shield with his foot, stunning one of them. Within the next second, Jaune dashed forward, cutting two of the Grimm in half. The last one, who still at the edge of the shield indented into its face, found itself with a muzzle being pointed into its mouth. Jaune had slipped his hand into the handles of the shield, activating the hand cannon function. Without hesitation, he fired.
"Fatality!" Nora shouted in a surprisingly deep voice. Ren simply shrugged when a few people questioned him.
"Well, then. Time to find someone," said Jaune out loud to himself after making sure there were no more Grimm around him, walking towards where he thought the ruins would be. After casually walking while killing a few Grimm here and there, he heard a noise and shots being fired. Quickly running towards it, he saw a male with black hair with a pink dye on the side wearing green clothes shooting at a giant Grimm serpent, the King Taijitu. The black one was about to bite him when he blocked it with his bare hands. Jaune could see his Aura protecting him before breaking the fangs, twisting into a perfect position to use the fangs as daggers and stab it in the Grimm's eye. Before the snake could react, the boy focused his Aura into his palm and blasted it right into the fang, causing the Grimm's head to explode from the impact.
"Definitely used too much aura there," Ren said to himself
"The kid's not bad," said Andusk with interest, "To be able to channel his Aura like that. Not many are skilled enough have such control over their Aura to do that, and it's not even his Semblance."
Ren was tired. He just wanted to relax now. Still, he had the white head of the King Taijitu to deal with. Quickly dashing towards it, he grabbed the weapons he had dropped before firing. The white snake tried to bite him when suddenly; a bullet went through its eyes, blinding the Grimm. Taking this chance, Ren spun and decapitated the second head. Looking around, he saw a blonde boy with his shield out, the muzzle of a sniper pointing out from it. Ren just grinned before walking towards him.
Jaune and Ren shared a fist bump. Nora looked a little sad that they didn't partner up in that dimension but she bounced back to cheery when a stack of pancakes appeared in front of her.
"Guess we're partners. I'm Jaune Ryu-Long," introduced Jaune, putting his hand out.
"Lie Ren," replied Ren before shaking it, "But just call me Ren. It's easier. I hope Nora won't mind me not being her partner. She even had a sloth noise ready to call me out."
He mimicked what Nora had decided was a sloth call.
"Isn't that a bird's call?" asked Jaune, "Sloths don't sound like that. Actually, I don't even know what they sound like."
Ren just shrugged, and the two of them left to find the artifacts.
"Now I'd like to point something out real quick," Trevor said as he pulled out his phone. "This is what a sloth sounds like."
Everyone listened as the sound played.
"I was close! I was close back at initiation!" Nora exclaimed in glee. Ren simply went huh at that little bit of info.
Ruby was running through the forest hoping to find Yang or Jaune. Who she found was not someone she wanted, though. She made eye contact with Weiss.
Weiss and Ruby cringed a little because of how it went down.
Weiss huffed and stomped away, hoping to find somebody else even if she had made eye contact with Ruby, leaving Ruby pouting. Her eyes lit up as she saw Pyrrha's back; comparing Pyrrha and Ruby as potential partners, Pyrrha won by a landslide. After all, she had a reputation for being one of the best!
Weiss inwardly cringed because of how much she sounded like her father.
Before she could call her out and deny any fact that she had made eye contact with Ruby, a strange sound rang, and an orange haired girl popped out from a tree, looking right at Pyrrha.
"In case anyone's wondering, the teams will be the same with the exception of JNPR swapping partners," Trevor said loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I guess we're partners," said Pyrrha, "My name is Pyrrha Nikos.
"I'm Nora Valkyrie! I know who you are! I've eaten your cereal before! Ren doesn't let me eat it too often, as it's unhealthy," replied Nora before giggling and jumping off the tree. "Let's go! I need to find Ren, and you probably need to find your boyfriend that I saw you hanging with and hugging."
Pyrrha blushed but didn't deny the accusation before walking off with Nora.
Nora got up and hugged the Spartan in glee; luckily it wasn't bone-crushing as Pyrrha returned the hug. Both of them felt like they had a sister.
Weiss huffed with anger before stomping back to Ruby.
"By no means does this make us friends," grumbled Weiss as she dragged Ruby by her cloak.
"You came back!" cheered Ruby even though she was being dragged.
Weiss was worried what Winter might say but to her surprise, her sister chuckled instead. The older Schnee saw the confused face her sister was making and decided to clarify. "I was just reminded of how I met my partner when I went to Beacon."
As Jaune and Ren were walking, Ren was sure that Jaune was the one emitting the energy he had felt and decided to ask.
"Jaune. Are you in possession of some sort of artifact related to dragons, the ancient rulers?"
Jaune slightly stiffened at this and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
"I can feel some sort of Draconian energy around you. I was told by my parents long ago to look for anyone with the power of dragons. Either your body is making it or you have something on you," answered Ren with a serious face.
"That explains what my other was reacting to," Ren muttered.
Jaune hesitated to answer Ren's question. As he tried to find a way to deflect it, Lung Wang spoke up in his mind, "I'd say he's trustworthy. I give you permission to reveal your contract to us to this man."
"Are you serious?" asked Fafnir.
"There have been people who have hunted our power before," warned Alaerth.
"I agree with Lung Wang. This man is not one who is jealous, but rather a follower of a tradition," said Ryo-Wo.
Nora seemed frustrated at that. "Renney is such a stickler for traditions. It's ridiculous!"
Pyrrha and Jaune voiced their agreements with the pink bomber. Ren simply heaved a sigh of annoyance.
Jaune took a deep breath, "Ren. Whatever you hear in the next few minutes, you can not disclose to anyone. Not even Nora. Neither Ozpin nor does anybody else should know about this. Do I have your word?"
Ren nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of the situation. Jaune linked up with Fafnir and stomped the ground and spun, creating an earth barrier dome around them so nobody could see them.
"That could be used for a quick respite in battle," Ironwood commented.
"I'm in a contract with dragons. Supposedly, my Semblance is that I'm able to enter into contracts and borrow their powers. Not too sure how it works."
Ren was silent for a bit, trying to see if Jaune was lying from his facial and body movements. There were none. Slowly, he kneeled down in front of Jaune, his left knee touching the ground. His left hand was above his right fist as he greeted him.
"The Ren family, Lie Ren, greets his esteemed holder of dragons," said Ren before bowing.
"Seems my family remembers the dragons," Ren said then sighed; he wished his family was alive to see this.
"I'd rather you not you become my servant, Ren," Jaune said to his fellow male.
"I don't plan to," Ren responded with a small smile.
"I thought so," said Lung Wang.
Jaune was confused, and tried to get Ren up, "There's no point in bowing to me."
"Tradition dictates I must," replied Ren as he got back down, "My family carried the history of dragons even when everybody else forgot about them. We were the ones who remembered and respected the Dragon Clan when it still existed. Without it, the Ren family wouldn't exist today. Although I am the last of my family, I will do my duty as best as I can."
Ren and Nora said nothing as they hugged each other as they only had themselves to rely on for several years.
Jaune sighed. He really didn't want his partner to be someone who would always be trying to serve him.
"Then don't," said Aryz, "Give your first command. Tell him to be your friend, not a servant."
'Good idea,' thought Jaune before making his announcement, "Stand up, then, Lie Ren, last of the Ren family."
Ren slowly stood back up as Jaune continued, "My first order. Forget about that stuff. It's in the past. I want you to be my friend; someone who has my back and will tell me if I'm wrong."
"You always did ask for my opinion when you planning," Ren said to his teammate.
Jaune shrugged and said. "I always did want a second opinion." Ozpin smiled because Jaune made some of the best plans he's ever seen, even in the heat of battle.
Ren tilted his head in confusion for a second before smiling, "I can do that. I'll make sure Nora doesn't bother you too much either. If it's not too much to ask, who are you in a contract with?"
Jaune pondered if he should tell him all of it, but the dragons convinced him to say one only. Lung Wang told him to say his name. When Ren heard it, he again bowed in respect, for Lung Wang was a dragon his family knew very well, as it was from his tradition. Lung Wang laughed and told Jaune to pass Ren a message, saying he liked him.
"At least I don't have to worry about him roasting your ass." Jaune jabbed.
"But he's not my head." Ren countered.
Ruby giggled at the interaction while Weiss muttered "Boys."
They continued to walk to find the artifacts after Jaune lowered the barrier. Ozpin, who had been looking at the cameras, was intrigued for a bit.
'Does that mean Jaune has some sort of earth Semblance?' Ozpin thought to himself while Glynda was telling him all attendees had formed partnerships. She also mentioned how she pitied Pyrrha as she had to team up with one of the most energetic girl she had ever seen.
"You can blame my semblance for that." Nora piped up. "I'm constantly absorbing the electricity in the air so I'm always hyperactive." Team RWBY were surprised that Nora said something intelligent. The bomber noticed this and gave them a glare while saying. "I'm jumpy, not stupid."
Ren sighed and said. "We've been working to try and stop her from doing that but we haven't had much success." Qrow decided to stay away from that girl.
Ozpin barely acknowledged his assistant as he switched to a few other cameras, one of them looking at a lost Ruby and Weiss; he slightly smiled as he saw Weiss huffing, having no idea where to go, but frowned when he heard the conversation between the girls. Ozpin made a few mental notes about this conversation while judging who would be a more proper leader.
Weiss was disappointed in herself in how she aced; she wanted to prove she was better then her father yet here she is not admitting she's lost and insulting her own partner. The heiress considered herself lucky that Ruby cut a tree and not her and a god was nearby because she was very uncomfortable with the glare Yang was giving the ice queen.
He had to smile when he saw what happened next to them, involving a certain Nevermore.
"Nora, I don't think we should go in this cave," said Pyrrha. Nora ignored her and charged in, cackling and saying that there might be sloths inside the cave. Pyrrha sighed as she went in to chase her energetic partner. A few minutes later, they were both running for their lives as a giant Death Stalker burst out the cave. Compared to the usual breed, this Death Stalker must have been far older, as none of their guns could penetrate its hide.
Pyrrha, Ren, and Jaune all heaved a sigh at the same time. Ren then turned to his partner and said, "Nora, what have I told before?"
The girl in question looked sheepish and said. "Think before acting."
"That's right, so we can avoid stuff like that." Ren finished.
Ironwood, Winter, and Qrow sweatdropped. "This kind of thing normal?" Qrow asked.
"Unfortunately yes. I don't know how many times I had to fix something she broke." Glynda answered, so done with cleaning up after that girl
"Why didn't you stop me?" asked Nora, laughing as she was running.
"I'm sorry," was the automatic reply.
"Ah don't be. It was fun. Ren's always telling me to stop and judge my surroundings. Oh, look an Ursa! We can hitch a ride!" said Nora.
Before Pyrrha could stop her, Nora was already on the Grimm, whacking it with her giant war hammer. The Ursa had no choice but to run and follow her directions.
Quite a few were wondering in Nora was insane. Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Jaune ran a hand through his hair. All of Team RWBY considered themselves lucky that they didn't have Nora on their team.
"C'mon Pyrrha! This is faster and easier!"
Pyrrha sighed before leaping onto the Ursa. The Ursa indeed did go faster than she thought it could. Then again, with Nora provoking it while it was trying to run from a Death Stalker from stabbing it, it could've just been running for its life and survival.
"Definitely the latter," Qrow commented then asked. "How do you guys put up with her?"
"Seven older sisters," Jaune answered.
"Years of practice," Ren stated.
"I've dealt with worse," Pyrrha added.
Nora pouted and said. "I'm not that bad."
Her teammates responded in sync. "We beg to differ."
Ozpin had to commend them for putting up with a girl like Nora for so long. Winter didn't think she could stand having her as a roommate. Ironwood didn't think he could discipline the girl at all. Qrow had a new respect for those three for putting up with her.
Yang was tossing the golden knight chess piece while surveying the area with her partner Blake. The two had become partners after Yang was busy wailing a poor Ursa with anger for cutting a piece of her hair. They noticed that some of the pieces had been taken already, and figured that other people had come and go.
"I hope Ruby is all right," Yang said out loud, "I can't help it since I'm her older sister."
"I'm sure she's fine. She's a prodigy. You said so yourself," replied Blake with an eye roll.
"You worry too much," Blake said.
"I can't help it, ok?" Yang responded.
Yang sighed in agreement. Suddenly, Ren and Jaune popped out from the forest.
"Hey, looks like we found it!" said Jaune. Ren nodded in agreement while Jaune went up to look at the pieces, noticing some were missing, "Any preference?"
"Hmph. You should take the King chess piece," said Lung Wang.
"The castle. Nora likes that," said Ren. Jaune shrugged as he took the rook and going back to his partner.
"Nora began humming her 'Queen of the castle' song.
"Jaune!" said Blake and Yang. Both of them looked at each other, asking each other how they knew Jaune mentally before turning back to him.
"Blake, Yang, nice to see you two are doing well. You two are partners?" asked Jaune, walking up next to them. Ren followed along and introduced himself.
They both nodded. Before they could say anything else, they heard a large shriek of a Nevermore, followed by a voice saying heads up. Looking up, they saw Ruby falling down directly towards them. Jaune sighed as he took three steps forward with his arms forward. Ruby fell right into his arms without any trouble for Jaune.
"Thanks, Jaune" Ruby sheepishly said to the blond.
"Falling from the sky Ruby?" asked Jaune. Ruby had her eyes closed to prepare for impact into the ground and slightly opened her eyes to see Jaune smirking at her while carrying her bridal style.
'Lucky,' thought Blake and Yang while Ruby blushed, but made no movements to get off. Another roar in the forest made her jump off to prepare for an attack just to see an Ursa collapse in front of them.
"I think we lost it!" said Nora as she jumped off the Ursa she was riding.
Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren sent a small glare Nora's way. The pink grenadier only smiled back.
"Please, let's not try that again," said Pyrrha as she got off. She took a look at where her partner was to see her disappear, only to reappear at the pillars containing the chess pieces. Nora took the rook while singing her castle song. Pyrrha could only ruefully grin while walking up to Jaune to say hi again.
"Sorry, you stuck with Nora, Pyr." Jaune apologized.
"It's alright. Nothing I haven't dealt with before." Pyrrha replied. "Then again, she has proved me wrong on that aspect before."
"How could you leave me?" shouted Weiss from above. They all looked up to see her still on the Nevermore, hanging onto its talons.
"I still don't know how you talked me into riding on a nevermore," Weiss said to her partner. Ruby shrugged as she wasn't quite sure either. Glynda heaved a sigh because of the antics the two teams seem to get into. Winter was slightly concerned for Weiss when she heard that.
"I said jump," said Ruby.
"She's gonna fall," reminded Blake.
"She'll be fine," replied Ruby.
"She's falling," deadpanned Ren.
Jaune could only sigh as he took a step back with his arms out again for Weiss to land in his arms, the same as Ruby did.
"Thank you for catching my sister," Winter said to Jaune as the specialist relaxed now that her sister is out of danger. She knows it's not her actual sister but that didn't stop her from worrying. Jaune nodded in response, completely understanding her worry.
"Just dropping in?" asked Jaune. Weiss looked up and blushed but quickly got off, patting herself and trying to look dignified. Pyrrha, Blake, and Yang looked a bit jealous at Weiss.
Weiss tried to look dignified as well but stop the blush from forming.
Suddenly, the trees parted, and a Death Stalker came crawling out, clicking its pincers.
"Whoops," said Nora.
"Nora, what did you do?" Ren sighed, facepalming. Obviously, this giant Death Stalker coming for them was Nora's fault.
"We might have provoked it," Pyrrha apologized, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," replied Jaune, "Stuff happens."
"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" said Yang cheerfully.
"Not if I can help it!" replied Ruby, yelling out a battle cry and rushing towards the Death Stalker. Suddenly, she was jerked back by Jaune, who grabbed her hood before she could charge in. She felt some spit come out of her mouth from the sudden halt and glared at Jaune.
Yang released a sigh of relief because that version of her sister has been stopped from doing something stupid.
"Thought I taught you better than that, Ruby." Qrow scolded with a light glare. Ruby mumbled an apology.
"There's no point in fighting right now. Your objective is right in front of you. There are two large Grimm, and you're about to charge into one of them without any clear communication," lectured Jaune.
Ironwood was reminded of some of the recruits: Eager to prove themselves and ready to charge into battle without considering the consequences.
Ruby blushed as she understood the consequences of her action before grabbing a knight piece and turning to the crowd, "He's right. Live to fight another day. No point in risking more than we should to complete our objective."
Everyone nodded and quickly ran off, hoping to lose the Death Stalker and Nevermore. Still, they were quite persistent on chasing them. The Nevermore got ahead of them and blocked their paths as they arrived at some ruins before the cliffs. Jaune took a look back and noticed the Death Stalker still chasing them.
"That giant scorpion was a pain to deal with," Jaune mumbled. He was thankful he had aura at the time because his arm felt numb when he blocked its attack.
"Everyone, run forward. Ren, with me."
"Nora, distract the Nevermore," said Ren before following Jaune.
As everyone ran forward, the Nevermore gave a cry before firing sharpened feathers at them. They all dodged it as Nora took out her grenade launcher and fired away. The Nevermore shrieked in pain before flying up to the sky to avoid damage.
Ren and Jaune fire their weapons at the thick hide of the Death Stalker. All it did seem to just anger it. As it got closer, it swung its pincer. Jaune struck back at it with his sword at full force with a two-handed upward swing, causing it to stumble back from the impact. Jaune quickly used the momentum to strike downwards, sending rocks flying towards the Death Stalker. Seeing as it was now quite distracted and stunned, Ren and Jaune took this opportunity to run towards the ruins to catch up. Both of them were shooting wildly behind them at the same time, hoping to get some more damage in.
The two male students shared a fist bump without looking at each other.
The girls managed to get to the bridge when Pyrrha turned around to see Jaune and Ren trying to catch up.
"Go, go!" shouted Pyrrha as she converted Milo into a rifle and started firing at the Death Stalker. Ren and Jaune managed to get on the bridge before they all ran again. The Death Stalker stopped at the edge, not willing to run on a path that it couldn't fit on. The others continued their path when the Nevermore suddenly swerved into the bridge they were all running on. They were split into two groups. On the side closest to the Nevermore was Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake. The other side had the other four girls, who were shooting at the Nevermore.
"I need to get back to my partner," said Nora.
"Go, we'll handle things here. Blake can come to us after," said Ruby.
Nora nodded as she converted her weapon Magnhild into a hammer and shouted out to Blake. Blake who had tried an aerial attack at the Death Stalker was knocked down by its pincer, but Jaune managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She looked at Nora and nodded before running and jumping off the edge. Nora slammed jumped and turned to slam the ground, causing a good chunk of it to capsize. Quickly switching her position so her feet were on the hammer's head, she pressed a button to force a grenade shot out of the hammer's head, causing her to soar over to Jaune and them, smashing her hammer down at the Death Stalker.
Does she know the meaning of the word restraint?" Ironwood whispered to Glynda.
The teacher sighed and muttered. "No, I'm afraid not."
Blake tossed her weapon into the capsized rock, allowing her to swing under it for a bit before recalling it and using her Semblance to dash into a pole. Using her innate skills, she climbed up a bit before tossing her weapon to swing her right into the Nevermore. Drawing out her sheath as a secondary weapon, she slashed and dashed across the Nevermore's back before landing with Ruby and her gang.
"It's tougher than it looks!" warned Blake as she felt her blades barely penetrate the Nevermore's skin. "Then let's hit it with everything we got!" said Yang as she prepped up her shotgun gauntlets Ember Celica. Weiss prepared her rapier Myrtenaster, and Ruby positioned her Crescent Rose. They all opened fire. The Nevermore, shrugging off the attacks, crashed into the building they were all on before flying away. The girls managed to dodge the falling rocks while getting back on solid ground
"Cover me, I have a plan!" shouted Ruby to Weiss, who nodded and dashed towards the Nevermore. Ruby went to quickly tell her plans to her other teammates.
"I don't even want to know where you came up with such an idea," Weiss said her partner with her hands on her hips.
"It worked didn't it?" Ruby retorted. She won't admit that she had no idea where her plan came from.
Back with Jaune and his crew, they found themselves at a collapsing bridge with the Death Stalker in front of them.
"We gotta move!" yelled Jaune.
They all nodded and charged. Pyrrha blocked the first pincer on her left with her shield before transforming her weapon into a xyphos and slashed at its eye. Jaune blocked the second pincer and stabbed its claw joint. Ren was running directly at the Death Stalker when it tried to use its stinger to stab him. He dodged it before grabbing onto it and shooting its stinger at point blank range. Nora provided heavy artillery, shooting it at the Death Stalker's eyes. Angry at this, the Death Stalker swept its claws in before swiping it out at the same time at Jaune and Pyrrha hoping to push them off.
"Get behind me!" shouted Jaune.
Pyrrha immediately obeyed, leaving Jaune to deal with the incoming swipe. He linked up with Fafnir and held his ground, halting the attack completely. The Death Stalker was shocked to see its pincers halted completely. It became more frightened when it senses that the man standing there was leaking Aura and energy similar to the beings that once ruled Remnant. Before it could do anything, Jaune pushed. The Death Stalker stumbled backward with Ren still shooting its stinger. Suddenly, Pyrrha dashed in with two xiphos in hands now, having transformed her shield into a weapon. She stabbed and slashed rapidly at the Death Stalkers eyes, causing at least 4 of its eyes to go blind. It flailed in pain, stinger swinging wildly. Ren, however, had already jumped into the air when he saw Pyrrha charging in. Taking a deep breath, Ren spun and cut the stinger off, causing it to land on its head. Ren landed on the Grimm's head with the stinger behind him and quickly turned around, doing an arcing kick loaded with Aura directly on the stinger, causing it to go down a bit deeper, forcing the Death Stalker to flail in pain even more.
Pyrrha smiled because of how well they all worked together back at initiation, and they just met. Nora was giddy because of the finisher her other is going to do
"Nora, nail it!" shouted Jaune as he positioned his shield above his head.
"Heads up!" shouted Nora, jumping onto his shield, hammer's flat head facing the shield.
With a quick count, Jaune sent Nora into the sky as Nora triggered an explosion to send her up higher. As she reached the apex of her arc, Jaune swore she could hear her giggling before she fired another shot to send herself spinning.
"Pyrrha!" shouted Jaune.
She immediately knew what Jaune wanted, and jumped back next to him before letting her hand glow black. Nora's weapon glowed a bit, and her rotation increased even more. Ren had already jumped away into safe land after doing his attack.
Nora is giggling madly and wishes it would hurry up. Jaune decided to keep that move in mind in case they have o deal with another giant Grimm.
With a huge bang, Nora slammed the stinger even further into the Death Stalker, so much that the end of the stinger was touching the ground through its head. Acting like a see-saw, the bridge end where Jaune and Pyrrha went up, allowing them to fly over the Death Stalker while it was now doing its death flail. Nora quickly swung her body as she triggered another point-blank explosion so she would also land on safe ground, right towards Ren. Ren sighed as he prepared himself and caught Nora impacting on him, slightly being pushed back before stabilizing himself. Jaune and Pyrrha landed next to each other, mirroring each other's landing pose. They looked at each other and grinned before taking a look to see if Ruby and her team needed help.
Yang was shooting out ranged shots, switching her ammo from buck shots for ranged attacks. She kept punching until one of them finally landed on the Nevermore's head. Irritated, the Nevermore swerved around, flying straight for Yang. Its mouth opened wide, intent on eating her with one merely smirked at this before jumping up right towards the Nevermore. Almost in slow motion, Jaune and his team saw that Yang managed to time it perfectly, her legs at the bottom of the Nevermore's beak while her left hand held the top of it open, preventing her from being eaten while also giving her the chance to land some solid hits.
"I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUNGRY!" grunted Yang, punching and launching projectiles into the Nevermore's open and defenseless mouth.
Yang laughed; she had a blast while blasting the bird's mouth. Qrow shook his head in amusement; she's Tai's daughter alright.
The Nevermore groaned in pain as it began to descend and lose control of its flight. Seeing that they were near a wall, Yang quickly backflipped away into the ground while the Nevermore collided into the cliff, unable to stabilize itself in time. Still, it landed on its claws before cawing out in anger. Yang looked up and grinned as she noticed everybody was already in place. Blake was on top of a pillar, Ruby was at the center, and Weiss was already running towards the Nevermore. Weiss dashed past her as Yang quickly ran to her position, at the other pillar across from Blake.
The Nevermore flapped its wing, trying to ascend into the air again to regain its advantage. Weiss, however, took that away from it by freezing its feathers into the ground. The Nevermore squawked in surprise, trying to free itself from its icy prison. Weiss quickly jumped up, using a glyph as a foothold to quickly run back to her position. Blake quickly threw her weapon towards Yang with the ribbon tied around her wrists several times. Yang grabbed Gambol Shroud and stuck the blade onto the stone pillar before pushing in her body weight for support. Blake pulled on her side, creating a tight tension on the ribbon, perfect for a slingshot. The ribbon was created from special materials; otherwise, this plan wouldn't work. Ruby smile as she used the recoil from her sniper to send herself to the slingshot, quickly maneuvering herself in the air to let the blunt end of Crescent Rose hit the ribbon first. The ribbon started to stretch to its maximum tension, where Ruby was standing on her beloved weapon. Weiss quickly summoned her usual white glyphs before flicking her finger upwards and readjusting the position, so it would intercept and hold Ruby in place. The glyph quickly turned black and held Ruby in place as the slingshot was ready for launch. Ruby quickly switched out her ammo pack for the special gravity Dust bullets. This would allow the recoil to be much stronger, and aid her in what she had planned.
Qrow chuckled "Seriously Ruby? That's how you took it out?" Ruby shrugged her shoulder as if to say 'hey it worked.'
"Of course, you would come up with this idea," scoffed Weiss. Inside, she was impressed by how Ruby was able to make a plan so fast.
"Think you can make the shot?" asked Ruby.
"Hmph. Can I?" smirked Weiss.
Ruby frowned and raised her head in confusion at this, missing her sarcasm. She turned to look at Weiss, "Can yo-?"
"Of course I can!" snapped Weiss. She mentally did a facepalm, noting that sarcasm went over Ruby's head sometimes.
"I'm not the best around new people, ok?" Ruby admitted.
Ruby looked forward, eyes sharpening and grinning as she cocked her beloved Crescent Rose, ready to fire. Weiss lifted her blade Myrtenaster for a second before swinging it, a light blow glow following it. The glyph turned red and let go, shooting Ruby forward. She left a trail of rose petals as she began to fire as fast as she could, increasing her velocity. The Nevermore, still trying to free itself, suddenly found itself being dragged into the wall with a scythe on its neck. Just before Ruby landed on the wall, Weiss quickly summoned glyphs at Ruby's feet, keeping her in place there before summoning as many glyphs that lead up all the way to the top of the cliff. Once she was done with that, she collapsed into the ground, tired. Yang quickly helped her up.
As soon as Ruby landed, she started running up the wall, dragging the heavy Nevermore behind her while leaving a trail of broken rocks from being dragged, ignoring all that weight that she technically wasn't supposed to be able to drag. Weiss' glyphs certainly helped as it also propelled her forward, letting the majority of the weight be lifted off. She was still spamming as many shots as possible, using the recoil to boost her forward. Ruby yelled as she was dragging her victim up, getting louder and louder until she reached the top. At the apex, the Nevermore was stuck in a hard place. As Ruby still had her momentum with her scythe, its head was stuck between the scythe and the jutting of a few rocks. Grimm flesh gave way to the scythe and Ruby decapitated the Nevermore. The head stuck with Ruby at the top of the cliff while the rest of its body slowly slumped away from the cliff and towards the ground.
"Well, that was a thing," commented Yang as she looked at her sister proudly. The other two nodded in reply.
"Ya think?" Trevor asked. Ruby was honestly proud of how awesome she looked. Qrow chuckled because of the plan her niece came up with in that head of hers.
Yang then thought of something she was sure would make her new friends laugh.
"Guess Ruby has a head start on us. Hopefully, it won't go into her head," grinned Yang. The two just groaned at her puns. She was one of those people.
Everyone, not including Yang groaned at the terrible pun. The blonde simply laughed.
Jaune whistled, impressed at their tactics.
"That Yang girl is pretty gutsy to do that. I like her," said Lung Wang.
"I'll admit, those point-blank shots into the mouth was impressive," admitted Othim, "But so was that finishing move!"
Yang and Ruby shared a high-five. Glynda sighed as she pushed up her glasses. Honestly the things they come up with. Ironwood didn't know whether to be impressed at how effective the plan was or how crazy it was. Winter worried what kind of antics her sister has gotten up to ever since teams were formed.
"It seems like Ruby was the one who put up the whole plan together," observed Andsuk. Ruby was indeed a worthy addition, and if she ever got the mate mark, she would become so much stronger.
Soon, they were all back in the auditorium, but with the students of the academy there to welcome there. After asking around, Jaune found out that other attendees were placed into other groups all around the Emerald Forest, meaning everyone had a different starting point. They were all the same distance to the relics to give everyone the same chance. It became obvious that Ozpin also wanted Hunters to be able to navigate through the forests themselves as well as be able to work with others. Overall, out of all the attendees trying to get into Beacon, only 40 students were accepted, as there were only 20 chess pieces available. The ones that failed to reach the goal in time were sent back home with a pat on a back or a suggestion to attend other fields of study. Those that still wanted to try were welcome to come back next year.
As Ozpin called up four people at once to form teams, Jaune spent his time wondering how he was supposed to tell the girls about his "conditions". Would they accept it, or would they look at him with disgust and leave? Jaune shivered at that thought, though Aryz kept whispering to him that it would be all right.
Jaune worried what his sisters and parents will think; they've always been overprotective of him so they might not approve and even if they could it would be a long and bumpy road. Though knowing his dad he'll approve as long as he treats them fairly and vice-versa.
Pyrrha saw her boyfriend panicking a little and whispered. "It'll be fine, Jaune. We'll be right there with you." Jaune looked over to confirm and the look in her eyes helped get rid of any worries the blond boy had. He then leaned onto her as she rested her head on the crook of his neck.
He heard his name called up with Ren, Pyrrha, and Nora and quickly walked up the stage.
"Jaune Ryu-Long. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR.," announced Ozpin. Everybody clapped in welcoming the new team. Nora was hugging Ren in happiness.
"Led by... Jaune Ryu-Long!"
"Haha! Just as I suspected! Well done, boy," congratulated Lung Wang in pride.
"A fitting position," said Ryo-Wo.
Jaune smiled because of how supportive of the dragons are. Ozpin smirked because he was the best choice out of the four; Not Pyrrha because she hates being in the spotlight and too lenient, not Ren because the boy was too passive and lazy at times, not Nora because . . . well, Nora.
The other dragons offered their congratulations, but Jaune's attention was mostly on Pyrrha, who seemed to give off her real smile again towards him, not the fake smile that she gave off the crowd. He liked it and hoped to see more of it again. Jaune took a look at Ozpin, who was also smirking.
"Congratulations, young man. Show him what he failed to see," whispered Ozpin. Jaune nodded in reply.
After that, they witnessed the birth of team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose. They were all shown to their rooms after it was over. By luck or chance, team RWBY was right across from team JNPR. As Jaune put his head on his pillow, he found himself exhausted. He wasn't the only one. Everybody who had just been accepted found themselves sleeping very easily after changing into their night clothes. Most didn't even bother unpacking their stuff before conking out.
Blake then closed the book and asked. "Who wants to read next?" Weiss said she wanted and the Faunus handed the book off to her teammate.