Volume 1, Chapter 1: The First Step

All the new arrivals to Beacon were lined up at the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest. They stood on silver tiles pointing towards the forest, while Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Glynda Goodwitch stood in front of them holding their signature mug and tablet, respectively.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin spoke to the students. Glynda took the opportunity to speak up.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today."

"What? Ohhh…" A student, Ruby Rose, groaned out while Ozpin continued.

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

Ruby couldn't hold in her shock and let out a "WHAAAAAT?!" while another girl in pink with orange hair turned to a boy in green and said, "See? I told you-!"

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," Ozpin interrupted. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die."

A blond in a black hoodie and armor, Jaune Arc, laughed nervously before gulping loudly.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Any questions?"

Jaune raised his hand and said, "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good!" Ozpin said, ignoring Jaune. "Now, take your positions."

Everyone began to strike poses as they got ready to be launched. Jaune, however, was still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um… a question. So, this landing… strategy thing… Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something like that?" He asked, unaware of students being launched from their platforms.

"No. You will be falling," the headmaster answered.

"Oh, uh, I see… So, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

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

"Uh-huh… Yeah." Jaune said, still not noticing the students before him being launched into the forest.

When it came to her turn, Ruby's older half-sister Yang Xiao Long winked at her before putting on her aviator sunglasses. She flew off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before her little sister joined her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY?!" Jaune asked right when his platform launched him into the sky. Ozpin simply looked to the cloud of students making their way down into the Emerald Forest as he took a sip from his mug.

Over the Emerald Forest, a bird was flying gracefully through the air until it let out a shriek and was turned into a cloud of feathers by a certain red-and-black-clothed scythe-wielder.

"Birdie, no!"

Ruby then fired off her High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe, Crescent Rose, a few times to slow her descent to the forest floor. She transformed her weapon into its scythe form and rammed the blade into a tree, sliding down at a slower pace.

Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, used her rapier to summon a glyph to land on and then jumped to the forest below her. Landing gracefully, she took a moment before running off deeper into the tree line.

Lie Ren, the boy in green, descended through and spun in the air before using the blades of his weapons, StormFlower, to spiral around one of the giant trees of the Emerald Forest. He hit the ground and brushed off his clothes, but then a sound caused him to look up and see…

"WOO-HOO! YEAH! ALLEY-OOP!"

Yang sailed over the treetops using her gauntlets to propel herself further and further through the air. She eventually crashed through the leaves of a tree and leaped off the trunks of two others and tumbled to the ground.

"Nailed it!" she called out as she ran off.

Famed tournament fighter Pyrrha Nikos crashed through the trees with her sword and shield. She rolled on a branch before shifting her sword into its rifle form. She looked through the scope to see a screaming Jaune still falling helplessly through the air. Pyrrha transformed her rifle into its spear form and took a moment to evaluate her throw, and then threw it through the forest until…

THUNK!

A distant "Thank you!" from Jaune was answered with an "I'm sorry!" and a wave from Pyrrha.

Back in the middle of the forest, Ruby landed on the ground in a crouch before darting off with a single mantra: 'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find…' Ruby paused her mantra with a shout of her sister's name. She resumed her mantra, though it eventually progressed to her imagining of other people she's met at Beacon so far.

'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad… What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice, funny… don't think he's very good in a fight though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm, and she likes books! Then again, I doubt I'd be able to hold a conversation with her… UGH!... Okay… who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, aaaand- '

Ruby and her thoughts stopped as she skidded to a halt in front of the fourth person she knows (and not for a good reason).

Weiss Schnee, the girl who created a cloud of Dust and made Ruby sneeze, engulfing the two of them in an explosion. On the first day.

Back to the two students, a pregnant pause followed them as their eyes meet, cementing them as partners. The pause was broken when Weiss turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Ruby to weakly follow her.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" she exclaimed, only to stop and give a dejected kick to the ground. "We're supposed to be teammates…"

The high-class fencer pushed through the plants and shrubbery of the forest with the occasional "Ow!" or grunt when she ran into a branch. She managed to reach an opening and took the time to brush off any leaves and twigs off her person. She sighed in relief before hearing a voice above her.

"Come on, come on! Stupid…!"

Weiss looked up to see Jaune pinned to a tree by a spear through his hood and, from the struggle he's having with pulling it out, wasn't going anywhere. He gave up after a few moments before he look down and saw Weiss below. All Jaune could muster up was an embarrassed wave.

Deciding to go with the lesser of two annoyances, Weiss turned around and walked back the way she came, leaving Jaune to groan. Ruby hadn't left the area by the time Weiss came and passed her, grabbing her hood with a, "By no means does this make us friends."

"You came back!" Ruby said, overjoyed as she was dragged away into the bushes. Watching from his elevated position, Jaune waved his arms in an attempt to get their attention.

"Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!"

"Jaune?" a voice spoke from below.

Jaune looked down and saw Pyrrha, the girl whose spear was still keeping him to the tree, looking up at him. Back at the school, Jaune had tried (and failed) to flirt Weiss and Pyrrha onto his team. It ended with him being sent against a locker by her spear when he got too close to Weiss.

"Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

Jaune crossed his arms and said, "Very funny," before looking back down at her with a smile which she returned.

Not too far from the newest set of partners, Weiss trudged through the forest with Ruby way behind her taking her time.

"What's the rush?" the red reaper asked.

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your- What the…!" Weiss answered but was taken by surprise when Ruby used her speed semblance to suddenly move next to her.

"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!"

Weiss looked back to where Ruby was just a second ago in amazement, letting out a, "When did…?"

Ignoring Weiss' confusion, Ruby continued, "Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!" She put an arm around the snow-themed girl's shoulder, "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, 'Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool… and I wanna be her friend!'"

With that, Ruby once again used her semblance to dash away from Weiss, who was waving away the shower rose petals she left behind when she heard rustling and crackling in the bushes around her.

"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" Weiss called out to her partner but was only answered with more noises. It was silent otherwise. "Ruby?" Weiss asked, leaning in due to the forest getting darker unaware of something glaring behind her, its red eyes standing out in the dark. It was soon joined by others.

A growl caused Weiss to turn around, where she spotted a large, jagged Beowolf emerging from the bushes and approaching its prey.

"RUBY!" Weiss called out one last time before the Beowolf roared.