Jaune gaped as the Deathstalker drew closer, its shrieks growing louder and louder with every skittering step. The ceaseless screams of the Nevermore rang in his ears.
He wasn't ready for this.
A chorus of shifting metal sounded around him and glancing to either side of him he saw his comrades preparing to fight. Glancing back at the pedestal, he realized there was no time to grab a relic.
He was gonna fail with his objective less than 500 feet behind him?
'No fucking way…'
"I got this!"
"Ruby wait!"
Ignoring Yang's desperate plea, Ruby dashed towards the Deathstalker. Her trail of rose petals came to an abrupt halt as a hail of feathers pierced the ground around her, narrowly missing her but instead piercing her scarf.
Screeching in triumph, the Deathstalker raised its stinger, dead set on impaling the helpless girl. As the stinger approached, two words shook the clearing.
"HOLD IT!"
Everything ground to a halt as Jaune proceeded to pull his belt up to his chest, said chest puffing out into a huge slab of round flesh. With his new and larger appearance, he marched up to the deathstalker ignoring the bewildered looks his comrades gave him.
"Who do you think you are you overgrown waste of a sentient life form?!"
The grim scuttled back, its eyes showing a slight bit of confusion. Jaune continued on with his rant, steadily marching forward as the grimm retreated more and more.
"You should be ashamed of yourself! Attacking a poor innocent girl! What would your mother think?! Is that the type of grimm she raised?!"
Raising it's pincer as if offering up an explanation would appease him, the Deathstalker uttered a series of clicks and groans.
Jaune was having none of it.
"Now you go sit in that corner and think about what you've done!"
Another round of clicks reached his ears prompting Jaune to stand slightly taller.
"Now!"
Skittering off to a corner of the clearing the now dejected Deathstalker sat down, a gloomy rain cloud forming over its head as it absentmindedly carved grooves into the ground.
Seeing the pacified Deathstalker, Jaune turned his ire to the baffled Nevermore.
"And you! Come down here right now young lady!"
Turning its head left and right searching for any other flying creature that may shoulder the blame, the Nevermore stumbled mid flight as it pointed a wing towards itself as if to ask "who me?"
"Yes you. Get down here now!"
A bashful Nevermore slowly descended, its head hung low as it approached Jaune.
"Now young lady, what is this?" asked Jaune gesturing vaguely to the field littered with dozens of feathers.
Squawk!
"Well I don't see another Nevermore around here! Now I'm gonna give you thirty minutes, and when I come back, this place better be spotless!"
Squawk!
"Don't you take that tone with me missy! Now clean!"
The Nevermore let out a series of hisses and clicks under its breath as it begun to meticulously walk around, snapping its earthbound feathers in half causing them to dissipate into black smoke.
Upon reaching the feather that had Ruby pinned, it let out an agitated huff and snapped the feather as it proceeded to continue its cleanup.
"Eep!"
Ruby darted back to the group as Jaune stomped his way over to the group. Releasing a sigh, he deflated.
"Alright guys let's grab those relics and get out of here."
He began marching over to the relics, only to pause as he heard Yang speak.
"So Jaune?"
"Yo."
"What the hell was that?"
Turning to face the entire group, Jaune found a myriad of looks ranging from sheer disbelief to awe.
"Hmmm...to tell you the truth…" the rest of the team leaned in, eager to hear what his explanation would be. "I have absolutely no idea."
Eyeing Jaune in disappointment tinged disbelief, they watched him struggle to articulate his thoughts.
"I don't know. I just...guess I just thought about how we were about to fail. It already had me bothered, then I saw Ruby run in there and almost die! I couldn't let that happen and something...I don't know...just clicked. It's hard to explain…"
Seeing the look of sadness cross his face, Pyrrha opted to approach him. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, she smiled at him.
"It's ok Jaune. None of us mastered our semblance in a day. Given time, I'm sure you'll be able to understand exactly what...all of that was!"
Glancing at Pyrrha, Jaune could help but return her beaming smile.
"In any case, we should grab a relic and move before the grimm come to their senses,'' spoke the curt voice of Weiss as she warily watched the Nevermore snap it's own feathers.
"Right."
Ozpin's once proud mug lay scattered, its pieces lost in the tall grass. His eyes remained locked onto the screen, a look of absolute focus overtook his face as he watched the impossibly of the situation.
He only knew one being on the face of this earth that still maintained authority over the grimm, yet somehow this young man had appeared in his school and shown a slew of abilities that not only defied nature, but the very laws of physics that governed their world.
Meeting Glynda's gaze, he noted how her mouth was pressed into a thin line, her knuckles chalk white from her grip on her scroll.
It seemed she understood the gravity of the situation before them.
Good.
"Glynda."
"Yes headmaster?"
"I want all of the footage of today's initiation to be deleted. I want no trace of what has transpired here today."
"But sir, it's customary to allow the children to watch their initiation. To see the flaws they have made and reflect on how to improve."
Pausing for a bit, Ozpin's grip on his cane tightened as he watched the group approach the cliff.
'Damn, they'll be here soon.'
"Glynda, what we have witnessed today is a power only one other entity on this planet wields. That's not even taking all the other abilities he's shown into account. If this footage were to somehow end up in the wrong hands, it could be devastating."
Biting her lip, Glynda couldn't help but see the truth in his words. If word somehow got out about a student being able to force grimm to do his bidding, it would not only paint a target on her student's back, it would bring the school under fire as well.
She shuddered as she imagined what the council would do to get someone like that in their clutches, or what people of a more...ill repute would do if they found him.
"I'll get on it right away sir."
Turning back to gaze into the foliage, Ozpin allowed his mind to roam once more.
'What other abilities are you hiding Mr. Arc?'
Reaching the top of the cliff, the eight associates couldn't help the relief that flooded through them. Their initiation was over. Flopping onto the grass, they tried to soak in as much rest as they could.
"Well done. You made it back."
All of the teams bolted upright, standing ramrod straight as the headmaster approached them.
"Yes sir!" chorused the group in unison as Ozpin let out a wry chuckle.
"At ease. I assure you that despite my less than optimistic speech earlier yesterday, I am not exactly what one would call...militant."
Sighs of relief erupted from the group, as their shoulders sagged in exhaustion.
"Oh Professor Ozpin!"
"Yes miss Schnee?"
"You mentioned earlier that despite not intervening, the initiation would be monitored and recorded. Does that mean we will have a chance to review our performance as well?"
"Oh yeah! It would be cool to watch us kick butt!" said Yang, flexing her bicep as Ozpin raised his hand to his mouth.
'Oh right, my mug…'
Opting to play it off as a gesture or contemplation, Ozpin's eyes took on a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry students. We had a bit of an issue with the recording system. Unfortunately we were both unable to see your performance or record it. We're hoping to have the issue rectified soon, but regardless you've all made it here. That's what matters. Now, I'm sure you're all exhausted. Feel free to rest for the time being, the formation of teams will take place as soon as the other students return."
Placated by the response, the students accepted the dismissal. As they bantered on their way to the campus, none of them noticed the hawklike stare that followed them.
'I need to start preparing.'
"Cardin Winchester, Sky Lark, Russel Thrush and Dove Bronzewing. The four of you gathered the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you shall be known as Team CRDL, led by...Cardin Winchester."
A smattering of applause ushered the boys offstage as the next team stepped forward.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee. You four have gathered the white knight pieces. From this day forward you shall be known as team RWBY led by...Ruby Rose!"
Jaune watched the proceedings with hornets in his stomach. He hated being in front of people, honestly he wished the formation of teams was done in a nice quiet office or something.
Watching as Yang gave Ruby an enthusiastic hug he felt his stomach flip as Pyrrha, Ren and Nora began to move forward. Moving with them, he felt his heart pounding out of his chest. The uproar of laughter as he stepped into the blinding lights didn't help in the slightest.
"Most amusing mister Arc, however; I must ask you to put the prop away. This is a rather prestigious moment after all."
'Prop?'
Following Ozpin's eyes down to his chest, he almost fainted right then and there as he saw his "heart" pumping in and out of his chest, extending at least a foot out of his chest with each erratic beat. With a nervous chuckle he reached out, grabbed his heart and forcibly held it down with his hand.
"I'm sorry headmaster, it won't happen again."
"I'm sure. Now...Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you recovered the white rook pieces. From this moment forward you shall be known as team JNPR led by…"
'Pyrrha's gonna be a great leader. So kind, beautiful and strong. It's gonna be great being on-"
"Jaune Arc."
Ozpin watched in rapt fascination as television static appeared in Jaune's eyes, his body seemingly being left vacant on stage. Noticing the headmasters' intrigued stare, Pyrrha nervously punched Jaune in the arm sending him to the ground.
Shaking his head free of the static, Jaune once again heard uproarious laughter directed solely at him. Meeting the headmasters' gaze once again, he wilted.
"Me?" asked a timid Jaune, sincerely hoping his aversion would sway the verdict.
With a slight nod of his head, Ozpin crushed that hope beneath his heel.
"Congratulations young man."
