A/N: Chapter one far surpassed my expectations! So, here's chapter two, I hope you enjoy!

That afternoon was spent looking around the school, getting an idea of where everything was and, most importantly finding the dining hall! There was so much food available that I honestly didn't think I'd be able to go back to eating cup ramen again after this! They had real ramen, along with every other type of food imaginable!

Who was I kidding though, I'd still eat cup ramen, how could I not? It's the food of the gods!

The others had all scattered to try and discover more about the academy, which was okay, besides, Penny was still with me! She seemed intent on staying right by my side, which was a big comfort. Especially because even with Aura, I didn't do good in places that were super crowded if I was on my own. I could handle the ship, but that was because Penny was there, and even then I was overwhelmed.

There were loads of people in the dining hall, although they were all fellow first years since the school year didn't actually start for a couple days, I imagined the other years would start moving in while we were at initiation tomorrow.

One initiate I found was a girl with short orange hair who was eating loads of pancakes, which I personally found impressive! I walked over to her to tell her as much, Penny close behind, and I saw that she was also not alone! She had a boy with long dark hair and a pink…extension? Highlight? Sitting next to her, eating much more reserved portions of food, boring!

When we reached them and stood on the opposite side of the time, I placed one hand on my hip, "You eat impressively large portions, ginger-hair! You must really love pancakes!"

The girl stopped eating, only after chewing and swallowing the bit she was eating, to look up at me, "Hell yeah! Pancakes are the best food ever invented, and Beacon has some of the best that I've ever had! Blueberry, strawberry, chocolate chip! It's got it all!"

Penny, for one reason or another, had been standing patiently directly behind me, she side-stepped and stood on my right as she tilted her head and placed her index finger on her chin, "You eat portions of food very large for your size! You must burn it all in exercise and combat!"

The girl nodded, "You're damn right!" She flexed her arm and I had to stop myself from gawking (and drooling) at her muscles, they must have felt hard as rock! "Name's Nora Valkyrie, and don't you forget it!" She jerked her thumb to the guy next to her, "That's Ren, he's my friend and we've been together since we were kids!" She gained a sort of flustered tone as she corrected herself, "Well, not together-together…"

The boy named Ren looked up from his food at us, he seemed the exact opposite of Nora, which fit all of my romantic tropes perfectly! He politely nodded to us, "Hey, I'm Lie Ren." So he went by his last name? Wow, he must have been Mistrali! He looked like it too! Although not all Mistrali people only used their last name, which was weird, nothing seemed consistent in places like that.

This was our cue! I shared a glance with Penny and struck my usual pose, "I am Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire! Master of the Eight Blades of the Eclipse, and future Savior of Remnant!"

Penny followed up in what was becoming her usual response, "Her real name is Violet!" I deflated again with a sigh, causing Nora to giggle and Ren to just barely smile. Then Penny struck her magical girl pose, "I am Penny Polendina! Bringer of the Funtimes and Deliverer of Cheer to all of Remnant! SAL-UUU-TATIONS!"

Her last declaration drew some attention from people around us, but let them look! They could bask in the confidence and power of the future saviors of this world, future legendary huntresses! Nora broke into a grin at our intros and, after getting some laughs out of her system, responded, "Well I'm not forgetting you two anytime soon! I wish I had an intro like that, hey Ren, maybe we c-"

"No." Ren responded flatly, it was hard to get a read on his emotions at any given time, but he looked amused too! However, he certainly did not look like the kind of person to have the strength of will to do what Penny and I did! He regarded us politely and asked, "Do either of you have any idea what to expect for initiation? Nora and I are unsure."

I didn't really know what to expect for initiation, Penny seemed like she had an idea, "I could tell you, but it would be going against the spirit of the event!" She smiled, "However! Rest assured that I am certain you will pass, with 99.5% certainty!" I had no idea where she got these percentages from, but it did instill confidence!

I followed up, "Of course, Penny and I will succeed at a 100% success rate!" I had no idea what I was talking about, but I pressed on, "There's no problem we can't tackle as long as we work together!" I held up my hand for a high-five to Penny, she gasped and seemed thoroughly excited before giving me a high-five that actually caused my hand to ache!

While I was rubbing my poor hand, Nora grinned, "We'll see you on the other side then! Now, I need to get back to my food!" She promptly began to eat with all of her strength, and I had to admire that she seemed to do everything at 100% strength! Maybe even further beyond!

Penny and I went to find our own food as well, which wasn't hard! There were almost too many options, it was hard for me to choose! Yet Penny seemed to have some idea of what exactly would be best to eat given the time of day and what wouldn't keep us up all night, which was handy! She was like some sort of dietician or something, and a timekeeper, and a great friend, she had it all!

After we ate, Penny and I just spent time walking around the campus and talking. There were loads of new people doing the same thing as us and exploring this new place they'd be living for the next four years, if we all passed initiation, and I knew I would!

How hard could it be, after all?

Penny and I found a park bench to sit on and that was when our conversation shifted away from the school as she asked, "So, Violet! You have not told me much about your life, or yourself, outside of your interests! I would like to know more about you."

I blinked a few times, again thrown off by her blunt way of speaking as I felt a blush rising on my face, "M-me?" I looked down and away, "There's really not much to talk about…I'm just me." I looked back up at her and grinned, "Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire! You know that!"

Penny tilted her head, "Well, I know that! However, that does not answer my question! What was your past like?"

I opened my mouth to respond before I closed it and looked away, sighing as I closed my eyes, "It…It was fine. Grandfather adopted me when I was eight, and he was a really nice man who raised me the best he could."

Penny was like me and in a lot of ways that was a great thing, in some other ways not so much, because she had trouble reading when I really didn't want to talk about something. She nodded along, "...And before that?"

I shook my head before looking at her again, "I'll tell you later, okay?" My voice came out sharper than I wanted it to, I covered my mouth and looked away, "Sorry…Look…We can talk about it sometime in the future, okay?" I smiled at her.

Penny seemed surprised by my sudden caginess, but she smiled nonetheless, "Of course! Shall we prepare to go to bed? The sun will be going down before long!"

I did my best to give her my trademark smile, "Yes! Let's go!" Then I stood up, placing a hand on my hip as I pointed forward, towards the direction of the ballroom, "Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire will need her rest if she is to amaze everyone at initiation tomorrow!"

The two of us walked off, although my mind was still on Penny's question. She'd rattled loose some memories that I didn't want to relieve, things that belonged where they were, in the past.

It was hard to be Umber Sha'dow when Violet was constantly being dragged out of the dark and put firmly in the light! Being Violet was too difficult, that's why I didn't want to be her. I wanted to be Umber, for better or for worse.

We weren't the only ones who wanted to get to our luggage and set up our bedrolls early, it seemed many people were of the mind that going to bed early was a good idea so they could wake up early and have time to eat breakfast before getting put through whatever the Headmaster had planned.

It was smart! Although I was used to staying up all night, that's why I woke up early today, so that I would only have to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for maybe an hour instead of three or four!

I laid out my bedroll on the edge of the ballroom, and Penny followed suit by laying hers out right next to mine. That flustered me, imagining sleeping near Penny…That was scandalous, but at least we would be in our sleeping bags!

As it got closer to nightfall, I changed into my nightclothes in the privacy of the bathroom, a silk black shirt with red lining and matching black pajama bottoms. I also took off the chestwrap I was wearing, because sleeping with that on was incredibly uncomfortable!

Once I left the bathroom, I stretched and yawned, my shirt lifting up slightly as I did so, even if there was time left before I would sleep, I still was feeling tired from all the social interaction I did today!

Once I finished stretching, I walked over to my bedroll and sat down. I had placed it against the wall for maximum social distance from others! Penny soon walked over, wearing an emerald green T-shirt and a pair of shorts, she looked so cute! She sat down on her bedroll next to me while I looked out at the rest of the ballroom.

I thought I saw some people glancing in my direction, although I had to be imagining things! After all, what was there about me to look at? Besides, I was easily distracted by all the shirtless guys walking around, most of them just wearing pajama bottoms. I had to cover my mouth to stop from drooling! Why did all the boys here look so hot, or cute, or something in between?

There were a few examples I noticed that were stand-out among the boys.

There was Jaune, just as cute and boyish as he was before. Except now he was wearing footie pajamas, which I saw some people laughing about, however I thought it was adorable! What was wrong with wearing something like that if you were comfortable? Jeanne was just wearing a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, it was at this point that I noticed that she had a labrador tail! That was surprising, but it was adorable! Not as adorable as my raccoon tail, but still!

There was this smaller guy who had fluffy brown hair and mouse ears, he wore a simple red T-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms. He was currently talking to (or being talked to, rather) by a girl with cat ears, I'd seen her before. They must have known each other before, or something, because they both seemed super at ease!

There was this guy with platinum blonde hair and brown eyes who was wearing dark blue pajama bottoms, he wasn't wearing a shirt, and was certainly drool-worthy. Curiously, he was talking to Ruby, who seemed absolutely overjoyed about talking to him. They must have known each other before too, but didn't Ruby say she had left her friends at Signal? Maybe she didn't know that this one came here. I'd have to ask her later.

Yang was, similarly, talking to a boy who looked like her exact opposite. Willowy with dark blue hair that fell down to his upper back, and blue eyes that watched her with a calm smile. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms, both of which were navy blue.

The final person of notice was a girl, actually, wearing a nightgown. She was playing what looked like a fancy guitar to a small audience of people who seemed enraptured by her singing and playing, and her looks too. She was cute, with fair skin and hair that alternated between black and blonde in horizontal stripes, she had amber eyes that were hexagonally shaped, and she had a friendly smile on her face.

Penny then pulled me out of my people watching by whispering in my ear, "Violet, did you know that you are being glanced at by a small number of people?"

I furrowed my brow, "W-What?" I whispered back, "No way, why would anyone look at me, Penny? That doesn't make any sense." Although the attention was welcome, everyone clearly was aware of my greatness already! They saw me and they knew that I was the future Savior of Remnant!

That was when Yang called out to me, "Yo, Vi!" I looked in her direction as she and her friend walked over to us, she grinned while he smiled, Yang continued, "You know you can't bring pets to school, right?" I tilted my head curiously as she continued, "Cause you clearly broke the rules bringing those sweater puppies." She placed a hand on her chest with a grin.

My face ignited a bright red as I covered my chest, "W-What?! They're not that big!" I looked down at them, they weren't, were they?

Her friend nudged her side with his elbow, "Yang!" He chided, "That's not something you just say to someone!"

Yang grinned, "Awh, come on Ven, I'm just telling the truth!" She knelt down near Penny and I, "I'm just messin' with you anyway, I was surprised to see you were hiding those, do you wrap them or something?"

Penny spoke next, "Hmm, statistically speaking hers is larger than normal, I believe…" She rubbed her chin.

I coughed into my hand, starting to become overwhelmed by this line of questioning, "D-Do you guys really need to talk about my chest? That's…lewd!"

Yang chuckled, "Can you blame a girl for being curious? You're half my height but you're my…size, if you catch my drift." She patted my shoulder, "How're you settling in? Liking Beacon? I think it's pretty cool!"

I was happy for the change in topic, so I quickly nodded, even if my face was still burning red, "It's great! They have real ramen in the dining hall! I haven't had anything like that for…over a year now!" Grandpa used to make the best ramen, I still haven't successfully replicated his recipe, but I have tried!

Yang's friend, Ven, she named him, said, "Ramen is rather good. It can even be nutritious if eaten with the right ingredients. I have tried to get Yang to eat more vegetables for many years now, but she insists that all she needs to eat is meat…"

Yang shook her head, "Awh come on, I eat my greens…sometimes! I gotta stay healthy after all so I can keep these guns in top shape!" She flexes one of her arms, showing off her muscles which I had to try very hard to avoid drooling over.

Ven averted his gaze with a blush, "Oh, Yang…" He sighs, although there was a smile on his face all the time. "We should go to sleep, we need to be well rested for the trials to come tomorrow."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Alright alright." Then she stood up and waved to Penny and I, "See you lovebirds later!" Then she walked away, laughing while I sputtered in indignation at her slander.

Penny, for her part, just looked confused, "Violet, what's a lovebird?"

I blinked in surprise as I looked at my friend, who seemed to be genuine when she was asking that question, wow! I'd never met someone who didn't know what that kind of phrase meant before, she was like one of the oblivious protagonist characters in my manga! "Lovebird is a term that describes people in love! So two lovebirds are a couple!"

Penny nodded in understanding, "Ooohhh…" Then she followed up, "Are we lovebirds?"

I blushed a dark red and feverishly shook my head, "W-Wha-N-No, we're friends!" Why did she have to ask that? Did she think we were, or was she just confused? As she nodded in understanding, I sighed and relaxed. That was almost a heart attack, I've never been with anyone before! If suddenly someone like Penny started flirting with me, I was certain I'd overheat and probably pass out in an instant.

Speaking of overheating…

Pyrrha walked over to us, wearing a white tank-top with yellow bubble-lettering that read 'SHINE!' on it and a pair of red shorts that didn't even reach her knees. She had just the bearing bit of midriff exposed as she walked over to us, which just served to make her outfit all the more…what it was!

She was carrying her sleeping bag with her, which was colored a dark red. Now, I knew she was getting looks, at least I thought she was, and yet people seemed to go to great effort to not look at her! Which was strange, because I couldn't stop staring at her! It made my heart feel weird and made my face heat up.

Pyrrha smiled at us, "Hello again! I hope you don't mind if I sleep near you two, I was going to sleep somewhere else, but my spot got taken."

I rapidly shook my head, "No-I mean, yes-Uhm, yes you can!" Pyrrha's smile grew as she rolled out her sleeping bag next to Penny's now Penny was in the middle of our little slumber party!

Once she sat down, she asked, "Are you nervous for tomorrow?" Of course Pyrrha didn't sound nervous at all, but that was expected, from what I knew about her, she was amazing!

Penny shook her head, "I am certain we'll make it! Violet and I are combat ready!"

Pyrrha smiled warmly, "I'm glad! I dearly hope we can end up on the same team, it would be…less than ideal to end up on a team with some of the people here." She glanced to the right, I couldn't see who she was looking at in the crowd, but I was sure there were more than a few people that came to her mind.

Most people were starting to go to sleep at this point, and Pyrrha noted this by looking back at us and advising, "We should get some sleep as well, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day!"

She was right about that, and besides, I was incredibly tired from all the talking I had to do today! So, after agreeing and wishing the two a good night, I got comfortable in my sleeping bag and, quicker than I would normally, fell asleep.


The next day after getting dressed and having breakfast I was in the locker room to grab my weapon, which I still had no name for! I was sure I could come up with something cool for it eventually, but names were never my strong suit!

I looked around at the others who were also getting ready. Pyrrha and Ruby were talking, Penny was waiting outside (apparently she'd already gotten her weapon), I saw the brother Schnee trying to talk up that platinum haired boy from last night, who had a giant buzzsaw on his back, which I thought was super cool!

The others were all there as well, although there were plenty of first years who had already left, prepared for initiation. I slung my sword, still in its sheath, over my back and looked over myself in the mirror that was inside the locker.

I was wearing my huntress gear again, complete with the eyepatch! Even if it limited my vision a bit, it didn't stop me from seeing! I just…only saw out of one eye, was all! I noted as I turned to leave that Jeanne was currently trying to convince the Schnee Sister to be her partner, which I didn't think was going to work! I'd heard rumors that this was going to be a random pairing thing, which made me nervous. I hoped I'd be able to get Penny!

When I finally left the locker room, Penny was waiting on me. She hurried over and hugged me, and I reciprocated with a smile, "Y-You know Penny, you don't have to always hug me every time you see me…Not that I'm complaining! Umber Sha'dow values her friends dearly!"

Penny just gave me a squeeze, which was just tight enough to cause me to squeak, "I simply enjoy hugging my best friend! It's a wonderful feeling!" I couldn't disagree with that, although her wording made my eyes widen as a blush spread across my face.

I started to smile, "Best friend?" I asked softly and hugged her a bit tighter, was she my best friend? I'd known Aura my whole life, basically, but Aura was just…me, really. My subconscious, and right now Aura had extended a pair of aura arms out to join the hug with Penny, so I guessed that my subconscious agreed with her, "You're my best friend too, Penny."

Penny was overjoyed to hear that and squeezed harder, after I pleaded to be let go, the two of us headed to the initiation starting point, which was a cliff overseeing the actual initiation grounds, the Emerald Forest. It was a place filled with Grimm, from what I'd heard about it online and on TV, and a favorite place for Ozpin's initiations!

If I had to guess, I was going to assume that he would do something cool like launch us into the air. That was going to be fun! I'd never gone skydiving before, but this was a great first opportunity!

I took my place on a landing pad to Penny's left, Pyrrha was on my right, and she smiled at me warmly, which made me feel all fuzzy inside as I meekly waved at her. Before I could ask her how she was doing this morning, Ozpin started to speak, holding a scroll and standing off to the side as he was, "Welcome to initiation. Your first goal will be to find your partner, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the duration of your stay at Beacon, usually teams stay together long after graduation as well, so try to get along. After you've found your partner, the two of you will begin searching for a relic. I have hidden many of them at different points in the forest. Find one and bring it back here to complete your initiation."

Just as I suspected, I heard the launching of platforms on my left, I started to grin as I braced myself much like Penny and some of the others were, especially Pyrrha, since I knew she knew what kind of form to use. I heard both Jeanne and Jaune panicking over this realization about what was about to happen, before they were both sent flying towards the forest and into the air. Drama queens, the both of them!

Penny got launched next, and then it was my turn! I launched into the air and laughed as I was suddenly catapulted hundreds of feet off the ground and made to barrel forward towards the forest. Aura created several arms around me and waited until we drew closer to the trees before it grabbed a hold of a branch and swung us forward while I continued to laugh in total glee.

It continued to grab a hold of branches to swing me forward until I reached the ground and landed with a roll. Then I popped back up off the ground and pumped my fist in the air, "That was awesome!" It was trivial for Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire to execute a landing strategy, of course!

It only took a few seconds to pass before I saw Penny flying up above, she seemed to be having about as much fun as I was, although her moves looked less like a landing strategy and more like a 'falling strategy.'

I started to worry if she'd be fine, but before I could try to catch her she landed on the ground in front of me, crouched down as dirt kicked up around her and I had to cover my eyes. When I opened them next, I saw her standing up straight again, a smile on her face and the ground cracked in several places beneath her. My eyes widened as I marveled, "Wow…That was amazing!"

Penny walked over and hugged me, "Now we're best friends and partners!" I returned the hug with a smile. After she broke it off, she looked around our immediate area, we were surrounded by forest and I was unsure of exactly where these 'relics' were supposed to be, it was like finding a needle in a haystack! Penny pointed in a direction after staring that way for a moment, "I believe we'll find what we're looking for in that direction!"

"Great work, Penny!" I grinned, "Let's go then!" I started forward with a determined gait, "We'll be the first ones to get our relic and show everyone that we're the premier duo of Beacon Academy! They'll know to pay close attention to, uhh…I can't think of a name for our cool duo." I deflated, "It'll come to me eventually."

Penny giggled, "It will be more than enough for them to hear our intros!" She was right! I stood up straight again and continued on our path.

Although, our march was cut short as we both heard rustling in the bushes. The two of us turned towards it just in time to see two Beowolves appear, growling at us. I gasped and fought down a feeling of fear, Grandpa trained me for this! I drew my Scimitar and Penny made a wide gesture with her arms, causing a whole bunch of swords to appear behind her! I couldn't see where they came from, but that was cool! "Don't worry, Violet! I am combat ready!"

I grinned, feeling emboldened by Penny's presence as I nodded, "Let's go!" Aura stayed with me, I didn't need to use my semblance for this! I raced forward, keeping my sword ready for a downward slash. As I brought it down, the Beowolf jumped to the side and dodged it! I growled as I brought my sword around into a swing and this time managed to connect! The creature howled in pain while I laughed, "Take that, stupid dog!"

Meanwhile, I heard Penny's swords move as they rapidly cut through the air and swooshed towards the other Grimm! I glanced back just in time to see the Grimm get stabbed by a thousand different swords!

I looked back at my opponent just in time to see it preparing to swipe me, however Aura had my back, I guessed I did need them, but that's okay, it's still just me! Aura grabbed the creature's paw with its aura hand and gave me an opportunity to drive my giant sword forward, straight into the creature's heart! If it had a heart! I knew for a fact that Grimm did not actually have hearts, they were creatures of evil!

I yanked my sword out and Aura pushed the creature back, sending it onto its back, smoking the black smoke of death! I grinned as I looked back and saw that Penny had already dispatched hers as well, "Nice work Penny!" I complimented as she smiled at me, then we continued on our way.

Penny had some questions for me while we walked, "I noticed that you did not use that sword during your combat trial, and yet you seem to be combat ready with it! Why didn't you use it?"

I furrowed my brow as I sheathed it back onto my back, the thing got heavy after a while! "I wanted to try and do my own thing! After all, this was my Grandpa's sword, and he might have wanted me to use it, but I still wanted to try something else! That…didn't work out, as you saw." I looked down and sighed.

Penny had a different outlook, "You're still doing your own thing! Just because you have his sword doesn't mean you aren't! Jaune and Jeanne both have family heirlooms, but those weapons are still theirs because they made it so! When you become a famous huntress, people will look at the sword and think of you, and the legacy you're carrying on for your grandfather!"

I had never thought of it like that before, actually…

It made me smile, "You're right! This sword will come to symbolize me and the legacy I carry, what Grandpa left me!" I pumped my fist in the air, "I'll make him proud of me, everyone will see it!" I looked back at her, her weapons were now gone, probably resting on her back, "Your swords are super cool! What're they called?"

Penny tilted her head and rubbed her chin, "Dad just called them 'Floating Array' so I suppose that's their name!" She smiled while I just gained a look of confusion on my face.

"That's a…weird name for a weapon, but!" I continued, "Who am I to judge? I don't even have a name for my weapon right now!"

As we continued on our way, Penny gained a look of contemplation on her face, "I am not sure what to call it either! Other than 'sword!'" Walking beside me as she was, she suddenly got an idea in her head, but it wasn't related to the sword! Instead she reached out and took hold of my hand, holding it! She was holding my hand! That was scandalous, "Friends do this, right?" She asked innocently.

My face heated up, "U-Uhm, I m-mean, yeah, t-technically they do…" I couldn't object to it, that would make me look and sound rude! However, I could at least try to explain, "A-Although usually at our age it's less a thing for friends and more a thing for…people who are…dating." I managed out shyly as I looked away, although she didn't let go of my hand.

Instead she asked an odd question, "What's 'dating?' Do you mean the calendar date?" I looked back at her in confusion and surprise, she seemed completely genuine while asking that question, it was odd! Who had never heard of dating before?

I responded, "It's when you're interested in someone romantically, and you're going out with them! That means you're dating, because you're partners! Boyfriend and girlfriend, boyfriend and boyfriend, girlfriend and girlfriend, that kind of thing!"

Penny gained a look of understanding, "I understand!" She nodded, "So are we not allowed to hold hands?"

I shook my head quickly, "No, we can!" Why would I not want to hold hands with my best friend? "It's different! We're best friends, so it's okay!"

Penny, thankfully, accepted that. So we continued to hold hands as we walked through the forest, if it weren't for the fact that this place was crawling with all sorts of foul Grimm then I could almost call this a nice forest walk! That would be a great friend outing, walking a forest trail with Penny!

We soon reached a clearing with a cave in the middle of it, and Penny declared, "Our target is in there! We will find our relic, and then we can head back and become part of a team!"

I had no idea how she could declare that with such certainty, but I nodded and grinned, "Exactly! We will make our debut as…Emerald Shadows! That's our duo name!"

Penny seemed pleased with that, "Emerald Shadows forever!" Then the topic changed, "The cave looks tight, it would be inadvisable for us to use our weapons inside, so let's hope there are no Grimm we need to worry about!"

"Well…" I reached up to my sword and pressed the button on it, then I pulled the hilt off as it transformed into a gray-colored collapsible buttstock extended outward as the hidden components all emerged from the hilt, which was now the receiver of the gun. I wasn't some gun-nut but if I was correct, Grandpa called this a 'Mini-14.'

I reached down to my satchel and pulled out a magazine packed with dust rounds before loading the rifle and then taking it back into both hands, keeping it lowered as I took the lead, "At least this way we won't be completely weaponless!"

Penny gasped and smiled, "Sen-sational! Now we will have a statistically better chance of not getting put at a disadvantage when fighting a Grimm within these caves!"

Right, how did gun safety go? Finger off the trigger, safety on, it's not a toy…

Penny followed my lead, it was dark in here…Thankfully Penny had a flashlight which she produced from a satchel she kept at her side. The further we got in, the more I wondered if this was really the place where the relic we wanted could be found, "Penny, are you sure this is the place?" I asked as I continued onward.

Penny responded in her usual upbeat tone, "I am at least ninety-five percent positive!" That wasn't a one-hundred, but hey, it was better than I thought the chances were!

However, that didn't stop me from getting goosebumps as I worried that maybe we weren't alone in this cave. Eventually we reached a large cavern with a high ceiling and stalagmites everywhere, in the middle was a raised platform with two pedestals, both holding a queen chess piece! "You were right, Penny!" I grinned as I walked forward.

Yet, before I could grab a chess piece, I heard the sound of a grimm hissing at us, I raised my rifle and flicked off the safety as I looked towards the tunnels that were past us, from that tunnel emerged a giant Deathstalker! My eyes widened as I promptly popped off a couple fire dust rounds, causing them to explode in the creature's face.

Penny, no longer burdened by the confines of the smaller tunnel we came in through, deployed her weapons. As the Deathstalker started towards the platform I was on, it was immediately harried by Penny's flying swords, which gave me the time I needed to fire more rounds into the thing, the explosions causing it to start moving backwards.

I took the momentary distraction of the creature to grab both pieces, I could give the other one to Ruby and Pyrrha! I slipped them in my satchel and then immediately had to jump off the platform as the Deathstalker struck out towards me with its massive stinger, just in time for Penny's flying swords to spin in a deadly circle and give the Deathstalker an impromptu amputation!

It screeched in pain as the stinger fell off and venom shot out of it, spewing harmlessly in the air. I took this opportunity to activate the gravity dust that was implanted within my sword's blade, causing it to exit its sheath and float in front of me. The blade curved in on itself as it transformed into a large floating chakram, glowing purple with gravity dust as I pointed forward, my other hand still on my gun, "Let's show it what we can do!"

The chakram flew forward and slashed into the creature's claws, cutting one of them off, which was so cool! I sent Aura out forward as it took the shape of a larger version of me, like it usually did. It raced forward and grabbed the other claw of the creature, holding it in place as the creature struggled against them while the chakram continued its amputation! Now declawed and with no stinger, the creature was a lot more harmless, but it wasn't done yet!

It charged towards me directly now that Aura had nothing to keep it in place with, and yet I willed my semblance back to me, it changed shape, instead of looking like me, it took the shape of a large wall in front of me that the creature slammed into. Aura's energy was dropping, so now that the Deathstalker's momentum was killed I recalled Aura so I wouldn't lose all of it, I didn't want a repeat of the combat trial!

Penny's own spinning blades went in after the creature again, she stabbed into it several times and the creature screeched in pain before finally it collapsed and started to emit smoke. It was dead!

Just in time too, that was when I heard Ruby's voice from where we came from, "I told you there were people in here, Pyrrha come on!" I turned and sure enough I saw Pyrrha and Ruby, "Hey you two!" Ruby said with a grin, she gasped as she saw that not only was I holding a gun, but also saw the chakram float back to me as it decoupled itself and went back into looking like the normal blade, then, while it was still floating in the air, I attached it to my hilt and then sheathed the whole thing, "Wow! That's so cool!"

I smiled sheepishly before recovering and grinning, "Yeah! Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire, Master of the Eight Blades of the Eclipse and Future Savior of Remnant, has a very cool weapon! I don't know what to call it though!"

Pyrrha tapped her chin, "Well…" She wracked her brain, "Why not call it Suncutter? It has two different blade forms, and you like shadows! You could even paint it a different color, maybe red fading into deep purple? Like noon into night!"

I gasped, "Pyrrha that's the edgiest thing I've ever heard! It's perfect!" That got everyone laughing, even Pyrrha covered her mouth to giggle, "Oh right!" I reached into my satchel and produced one of the queens, "Here! Now we're a team!" I held out the piece and Ruby walked forward and took it with a grin.

She put it into her own satchel, "Awesome! I wonder who'll get to be the leader?" I anticipated one of the others, but there was no telling what Ozpin planned! Pyrrha was the obvious choice given her experience and poise, but I didn't know how the Headmaster planned these things, maybe he just picked a name out of a hat, or maybe he had some sort of devious plan he followed? That would be the kind of thing someone like him would do!

Pyrrha smiled, "I suppose we will find out won't we? We sho-" She was cut off as suddenly we all heard the sound of a large Grimm bellowing out a roar. We turned towards one of the tunnels, the same general area the Deathstalker came out of, just in time to see the creature.

Emerging from one of the larger tunnels that it was still hunched over it was not shaped like a beast, but rather a giant monstrous humanoid, its face was covered in the classic bone-like armor of the Grimm. Its right had ended not in an arm, but a giant club, black as night! Its right arm looked normal, well, as normal as possible, it was clenched in a fist. As the creature reached its full height, I saw that it was easily at least ten feet tall! It was like a small version of a kaiju with how it was able to stand up straight in this cavern and almost have its head touch the ceiling!

I drew Suncutter once again as everyone else prepared their weapons, "This would be the PERFECT time for a theme song to play! If only we had a musician on the team!" I lamented the lack of music, but hey, at least we could look cool while killing this thing! For the second time today I broke apart my sword and allowed it to form its two mechashift forms, raising the rifle and putting the cartridge back into it. I aimed as the creature started forward and swung its club towards us!

I prepared to dodge, except Penny CAUGHT the thing in its hands as the swing reached the ground, and she didn't get sent flying! Instead she dug her feet into the ground, which gave Ruby the opportunity to rush forward, now wielding Crescent Rose as she jumped onto the club and started to run up the creature's arm as it roared and tried to pull away from Penny.

I covered her advance by firing dust rounds at the creature's stomach and grinning as it howled in pain. Ruby reached the top and began slashing into the creature's arm and face with her scythe; she had to retreat backwards as it tried to grab her with its other hand.

Pyrrha ran forward as well, wielding her spear and sliding underneath the creature as it attempted to swipe at her with its free hand. She reached its legs and began stabbing into it, leaping backwards and charging forward whenever the thing tried to stop its foot to catch her underneath.

I sent out Aura to grab the club and relieve some of the load from Penny, although Aura wasn't as strong as Penny apparently! Still, it gave Penny an opportunity to send out Floating Array again, which I saw was one blade that rested on her back and then split into several. I didn't know how it managed that, but it was cool!

As it split into multiple, they began to spin rapidly in a circular motion with the hole in the middle facing the beast. Suddenly green energy formed inside the middle, and then a powerful beam was shot out from the middle! The beam connected with the beast and caused it to stagger backwards, it was then that I noticed that the swords were controlled by some…strings? She had on her back. They looked more like wires. That was cool!

I sent Suncutter's chakram form out to dig into the creature's hand that was holding the club, repeatedly directing it to dig into the thing's wrist in order to try and amputate it like I did the Deathstalker! It seemed to be working as the creature wailed in anger, I wasn't sure if these things felt pain, but it must be hurting if it did!

Ruby took this opportunity to run back up the thing's arm, once she was at its shoulder, she caught its neck with her scythe and shot several times with it, the force and recoil of which was enough for her to cause the thing to stagger. As if that wasn't enough for the creature, Pyrrha took this chance to hurl her spear, transformed into a javelin, at the thing's neck.

Her spear connected, piercing the thing's jaw under its bone armor, and Ruby followed up with one final volley of shot and force as she leapt off the creature, not moving her scythe and finally ripping the creature's head off!

It fell to the side with a CRASH as Ruby landed on the ground then pumped her fist in the air, "We did it!" She grinned before collapsing her scythe and running over to Pyrrha and giving her a big hug.

I started walking towards them, "Woo!" I cheered, ready to go celebrate with them until Penny started running towards me, "Penny! Penny no-" And then she tackled me to the ground and hugged me tightly, I squealed as she hugged me tightly, "Penny! Air!"

She let me go and stood up, "Oops!" At least she was apologetic! I staggered to my feet and rubbed my head with a groan. I was about to say something when suddenly the whole cave began to shake and Penny's eyes widened, "It appears that our activity has triggered a collapse! We have approximately one minute to escape this cave!"

I looked at the other three and yelled, "Run!" Then I hurried for the way we came, with the other three swiftly behind me as the cavern we fought in began to cave in on itself. My legs were burning from all the exertions of today, but I pushed on through the pain, I could make it!

Although apparently I wasn't fast enough for Penny, who was directly behind me. She scooped me up, causing me to squeak in surprise as she began running much faster! That gave the others the space to move faster, but not as fast as Penny! Instinctively, and for stability, I wrapped my arms around Penny's neck as my eyes remained wide in shock as we ran.

As I looked up at Penny I saw a determined expression on her face, with her tongue ever so slightly poking out of her mouth as she focused on running. At that moment I felt a strange fluttering in my chest as my face heated up, although I had no idea why!

We escaped the cave just in time, with Ruby tripping on an outcropping, Penny set me down as she watched Pyrrha trip on that same outcropping and fall forward onto the girl. I burst out laughing, my earlier weird feelings forgotten as I wrapped Penny in a hug and jumped up and down in celebration, "We did it! We really did it!"

Penny joined me in my jumps for joy, wrapping her arms around me, "We surpassed all my calculations! We were sen-sational!"

Ruby and Pyrrha finished getting back on their feet, and once they did they both hurried over to us and joined our hug, making it a group hug! I'd never gotten one of those before, it was amazing!

Afterwards we all broke apart and started walking together, although we couldn't completely lower our guards because there might be more Grimm, but with all four of us together, they would be stupid to challenge us! Which was fitting, because most Grimm were incredibly stupid!

While we were walking, Pyrrha asked, "I saw the corpse of that Deathstalker there, you two did a real number on it, I'm very impressed!" Here I thought Deathstalkers weren't even supposed to be that scary, even if that one was big, yet Pyrrha was more than willing to praise us for killing it!

Ruby picked up, "We killed some Ursa on our way to the cave, we thought that maybe it would be one of the places the Professor hid the relics, and we were right! There was this really giant bird that attacked us, but we fended it off and it flew away!"

Pyrrha laughed nervously, "Hopefully one of the other teams will be able to kill it, having a Nevermore that size nesting in a place this close to Beacon would not be good for the safety of ill-prepared students."

Penny added, "Given the number of teams still in the forest, it is statistically unlikely that the Nevermore will not be brought down by one of those teams before initiation is over."

As if to punctuate our point, when we entered the clearing the cliff was overlooking, we saw two teams fighting two different giant Grimm.

One team was the girl with gold and black hair along with Nora, Ren, and that platinum-blonde haired boy! They were all fighting the Nevermore off in the distance, with the girl who's name I didn't know playing her guitar and sending soundwaves and dust-based attacks out after the creature while Ren shot at it with his gun, Nora and the other boy were both atop the creature. Nora was wielding a giant hammer, while the boy was holding what I now saw was a giant buzzsaw weapon!

They were far off, on the cliff at this point! Yet they weren't the only team to pay attention to.

The two Arcs and the two Schnees seemed to have ended up together, they were fighting what looked like a weird giant platypus Grimm with an armored back that had tentacles waving around atop it, I think it was called a Splitback!

We would have joined them, but we entered the clearing just in time to see the Schnee sister launch the Arc sister using a glyph. Jeanne used that momentum to plunge her giant sword into the creature's neck, ending what I assumed was a protracted and epic battle!

Further in the distance, I saw Nora bat the Nevermore with her hammer into platinum-boy's buzzsaw, which was more than enough to rip the thing in two!

Well, that was impressive, and the others all agreed by clapping their hands, so I joined them!

Sure, they were great, but today was the debut of team…Whatever we were going to be called!

The world would know our names!


After we finished celebrating the other teams' victories, the rest of our trek back was uneventful. Ozpin was very pleased to see the four of us, "Somehow I knew you four would end up on a team together." He stated cryptically with a satisfied smile on his face. I had no idea what that was about, but I took it as a compliment!

When we got to the auditorium, we saw that we were, unfortunately, not the first team out, but I bet most of those teams didn't have to fight a Deathstalker and what I later learned was called a Troll! Nope, we might not have been the first, but we had to be the best!

We all sat together while we waited for the actual initiations to begin, with Ruby asking, "Who do you think will be the leader?"

I responded, "I think Pyrrha should be the leader! She's awesome!" Now, one might have expected me to want to be the leader, but that was a lot of pressure! It would be better if Ozpin let someone else take control of the boring stuff and let me focus on hitting stuff!

Pyrrha blushed and waved her hand dismissively before responding nervously and humbly, "Oh no, no…I don't think that would be a good idea. I might be a good fighter, but I was never the type to lead anyone."

Penny spoke up, "I think it should be Violet or Ruby! Both of them have the charisma and battle awareness to grow into a competent leader!"

Both Ruby and I blushed, Ruby looked away, "I-I dunno…I mean I wouldn't say no if he put me in charge! But I'm not that good at talking to people…Not as good as Violet is!"

I was about to fight her on that point when suddenly Ozpin began to speak over the microphone, while we were having our conversation the last of the teams made it out of initiation, so it was time to begin forming teams!

After a while, Ozpin began to call up groups of people who I actually knew. The girl with the black and yellow hair, Ren, Nora, and the person who Ruby said was named Lunus, "Orchid Grove, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Lunus Marigold took the White Pawn piece. You will form team Granola," the letters 'GRNL' formed on the screen, "Ms. Grove will be your leader. We wish you all the best of luck."

People politely clapped as the team congratulated Orchid and walked off stage to take their seats again. The next group came up and Ozpin called out their names, "Ven Yue-Long, Yang Xiao-Long, Blake Belladonna, and Caine Branwen took the White Rook piece. You will form team Vibe." The initials 'VYBB' appeared on screen, "Ven will be your leader. Good luck." Another round of clapping as they celebrated and headed off stage.

Next was…Jaune, Jeanne, and the two Schnees, Ozpin read out their names, "Jaune Arc, Jeanne Arc, Weiss Schnee, and Whitley Schnee took the White King piece. You will form team Ashwood." The letters 'AASW' appeared on screen, which I honestly thought was better than them going with something which used two S's, "Jaune Arc will be your leader, good luck." Weiss looked upset, while Whitley looked more intrigued, Jaune looked nervous and Jeanne looked excited. The four of them headed off-stage, and suddenly it was our turn on the list.

The four of us stood up and made our way on stage, after we'd all taken our positions, with me standing in the middle between Penny and Pyrrha, Ozpin began to read, "Violet Merino, Penny Polendina, Pyrrha Nikos, and Ruby Rose took the White Queen piece. You will form team Vapor." The letters 'VPPR' appeared on screen, and I already had a sinking feeling in my chest, "Violet will lead you, good luck." He smiled at us while my face paled.

The four of us walked off stage, the three of them were congratulating me on getting chosen while I was, admittedly, terrified. I was not a leader, I was a fighter! How did Ozpin expect me to lead three people who were clearly all better leaders than me!

We were the last team announced, so we were allowed to immediately go to our dorm, and as we were walking there and I was lamenting my fate, Penny patted my back and spoke in a lighthearted and congratulatory tone, "This is simply sen-sational! You will be a perfect leader Violet, I know you will!"

Pyrrha smiled and also placed a hand on my back, walking on the other side of me as she was, "You will be wonderful, I know it. Besides, we're all friends, what's there to worry about?"

Ruby agreed with a grin, "Yeah! You're super good with people, you'll be fine!"

I took a deep breath before standing straight, "You're right! Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire never backs down from a challenge! I'll be the best leader in Remnant!" I pumped my fist in the air while the others gave me words of encouragement, which helped lift my mood further. If I was being honest, I was still afraid! However, Umber Sha'dow was never afraid, even if Violet was!

We continued onward together until we got to our dorm and used my scroll to open it. When we all stepped inside, we saw that all our luggage was already moved inside! That was very handy, it meant we could get right to unpacking!

The dorm was what was expected from a place like this, four queen-sized beds on two opposite sides of the wall, there was a door that led to a bathroom, a decently sized closet, and two more doors that led to a balcony and our kitchen respectively. All in all, it was fancier than anything I'd lived in before!

There were also a couple large bookcases flanking either side of the beds against the windows, which I knew I was going to need to use to store most of my manga and other books. The rest would go in my trunk, all of us got one of those as well, at the foot of our beds. They were luckily large enough to hold my clothes and my books, but that was partly because I didn't have a lot of clothes. None of us did, it seemed like, we all had a few changes of school clothes and of our huntress outfits, although Pyrrha obviously only had the one set of armor, but I was pretty sure armor couldn't really get that dirty, so that was fine! Besides, she could just clean it by hand like I did with mine!

We went about decorating the room and getting all of our stuff put away. I expected Pyrrha to have trophies and sports-like things, but instead she had her clothes (obviously!), a laptop, some notepads, and…manga?!

When I saw her putting her collection with mine I gasped, "Pyrrha! You partake in the best form of literature as well?!" I pointed to her stack of manga, which was in fact literature, currently sitting on her bed while she found places on the shelves to put them.

Pyrrha's face dusted a light red as she laughed nervously, "A-Ah, yes, I'll be honest I didn't expect to be able to just…put this stuff up. Most people would probably be shocked to find out that I read things like this, they think it's…unbecoming. I disagree!"

I grinned and placed my hands on my hips, "You're damn right! People look at manga and see all the pictures and think it's for kids, but it's not! I can tell you that some of mine is definitely not for kids-E-Ehm, because it's got violence and blood and stuff!" Saved it!

Pyrrha giggled, her face reddened more, which led me to believe that she was going down the same mental track I was going, which wasn't good! Luckily she didn't press it, "Maybe we could read some of it together sometime? It would be a fun bonding activity, I think! Do Penny and Ruby like it?"

Penny, who was helping Ruby put on some pictures of her family, including a picture of her dog, looked back at us, "I love reading with Violet! The manga is sen-sationally good!" It was strange how Penny could say things that could have very easily sounded sarcastic and make them sound completely genuine, but that was part of her appeal!

Ruby finished putting up one of her family photos and turned around, "I usually read magazines, but I'm willing to try anything once! Maybe we could read together, or have days where we talk about what we've been reading? Like a book club meeting but for manga! That would be fun!"

I grinned and pumped my fist in the air, "Yes! Not even one day as Team Vapor and we've already come up with a team bonding exercise! We really are going to be the greatest team on Remnant!"

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with that, and then the conversation shifted with Ruby stating, "Ugh…If I weren't so tired I would say we go and celebrate by eating something or watching a movie, but that initiation was a lot of work!" She deflated and whined, "It sucks…I would have loved to go eat some sweets to celebrate."

Pyrrha giggled as she put away a few more of her own books, "Well, we might not be able to do anything until Friday, but once we're done with classes on Friday maybe we could find something to do to celebrate getting into Beacon!"

I grinned and placed a hand on my hip, "Yeah, great idea! We'll find something fun to do not just as a team, but as friends!" Sure, tomorrow was Monday, but Friday would come sooner rather than later, and then we could celebrate!

With that all set in stone, we finished putting up all of our decorations and, with everything put away, we thankfully still had space to walk around! It was a good thing none of us were bringing any extra furniture…Maybe we'd have to get a TV at some point, so we could play video games!

Once we were done decorating, we all agreed it was best to go to sleep early, if we woke up early enough, Pyrrha suggested, we could eat breakfast in the dining hall and still have time to walk to class without being late!

Well, I thought that was a good idea, so we all went to bed in high spirits after changing into our night clothes.

Tomorrow was the next step on our path!