Main theme: Can't Trust Anybody Now by Jeff Williams
Arc Theme: Shadowkeep from the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep soundtrack
Theme: Whispers in the Dark from the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep soundtrack
Ruby wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she woke up, but she knew for a fact that it wasn't a girl with a purse that turned into a minigun shooting around a dozen rounds into the ceiling just to wake everyone in the room up to tell them that they had to be down at the Bullheads in half an hour.
Okay.
Beacon Academy may be even more awesome than she originally thought.
(At least there weren't any men in black armour pointing guns at her, like her dreams had been taunting her with.)
What was not awesome, however, was her sister still snoozing away right next to her, completely oblivious to what was going on around her! Seriously, Yang was such a heavy sleeper! Someone could probably set off a nuclear bomb next to her and she would still sleep... Through...
She wasn't in her sleeping bag?
Where was she?"
"Mornin', Ruby."
The Little Red Riding Hood girl jumped in place as she shot up, and looked to the side to see Yang walking over to her, putting her infinity scarf around her neck and shoving her arms through the sleeves of her tan jacket.
When did she get up so early?
"About half an hour ago," Yang replied when Ruby asked, "I've heard enough rumours about Beacon's initiation to know what to expect, even if Dad and the guys at the company are tight-lipped about it. And you know how much I like to keep my hair looking perfect."
Ruby just nodded at this, supposing that she had a point, "I still think that you should cut it, though."
"The day I cut my hair is the day I die."
"You won't be able to cut your hair when you're dead."
"Exactly."
She just sighed at Yang's unnatural love for her hair, before a concerning thought came over her, and she looked up at her elder sister and asked, "Is that really why you got up so early?"
Yang blinked, "Why'd you ask?"
"Yang..."
She paused, and then, dropping her voice an octave, she said, "I just wanted to check that Jaune guy's bag, is all..."
"Yang! You can't go around looking at other people's stuff!"
"Why not? I look in your diary all of the time!"
"Wha- Is that why the lock on my diary always- Stop it, don't change the subject!" she pointed an accusatory finger at her elder sister, "Yang, you can't just look through people's stuff! That's a bad thing to do!"
"...You know my reasons why," was Yang's quiet response.
Ruby didn't reply directly to that. She just sighed, and sadly went, "Right... I'll get my stuff ready."
"Mm," Yang grunted, "We'll head down to the cafeteria before we go to the lockers, grab a snack or something. We've only got half an hour, so be quick."
"Are you seriously asking me if I can be quick?" Ruby asked as she poked a thumb into her chest and huffed, "I am quick! I am the very definition of quick! I'm quicker than you when it comes to showering, that's for certain!"
Yang snorted, "Yeah, says the girl who makes us wait hours outside of weapon stores all the time, just so she could nerd out on every piece of hardware in sight."
You're the same with bikes! Ruby wanted to retort, before remembering that they were on a serious time limit, and so quickly began the process of getting changed out of her pyjamas and into her combat uniform (Under her sleeping bag, at least, "Thanks," she said to Yang after she had gone through the effort of shielding her from any prying eyes).
As they began to follow the crowd that was heading towards the cafeteria, and as they began to walk with the constantly moving lines towards the venders that had been set up in the wide space that was the mess hall, Ruby's thoughts went back to Yang.
Would she actually threaten Jaune if he didn't tell her anything about Mum? Ruby wanted to say that she wouldn't but... But she couldn't be so sure.
Yang had always had an obsessive side to her. Whenever she jumped onto something, she wouldn't stop until she got whatever she wanted out of it. It was both a defining characteristic and a fatal flaw.
On the one hand, it had been that obsessive streak that had gotten her a grade A+ in vehicle mechanics, full star accommodations in all her combat classes, and a license to drive her motorbike, Bumblebee, which she had also built completely from scratch. Yang had one heck of a competitive and obsessive streak that would launch her straight into the Huntress life without much effort, and it had been with that obsessive dedication to it all that she could succeed.
On the other hand, it was also a source of weakness on her part. Yang had always been obsessed with finding out why her... 'Egg donner' (As she put it), Raven Branwen, had left her when she was still a baby. The thought of it had consumed so much of her life beforehand. Heck, she had gotten into trouble with the law enough times (Especially recently, when she blew up a flipping bar!) To become a sort of regular down at the police station- And gain a criminal record!- All because of this obsession with finding Raven.
Ruby didn't know why Yang was so insistent on discovering the truth behind why Raven left. Yang hated Raven's guts with a passion. Why would she still bother to try and find out the truth? It didn't make a lot of sense to her, and she doubted that it ever would.
After all, didn't Yang always say that her mum- Summer Rose- Was the better mum- Was her true mother? If that was the case, then why did she so easily accept their mother's death and not do anything about it?
Ruby knew the answer to that one. It began and ended with a barn, a trolley, snarling wolves and a scythe covered in black blood.
It was the first and only time that Yang had ever given up on an obsession.
It was times like these that made Ruby wonder if Yang both loved and loathed Summer Rose. Loved her for raising her- Even if for a short time- Like a normal girl. And loathing her for leaving them just like Raven did, for whatever reason that they both had.
She didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
But now, here came a boy, wearing a cloak just like Summer Rose, with the same emblem as Summer and Ruby... Well, it was safe to say that that obsession was rekindled.
So would Yang threaten Jaune with violence if she didn't get the answers that she wanted?
Probably.
Most likely.
…
Yeah.
Yeah she would.
She was weird like that.
Ruby realised that she had been going on autopilot, as she broke herself out of her thoughts, to feel Crescent Rose in her hands (It had been recovered from the From Dust Till Dawn store in Vale a week ago, and she had spent some of her free time in the hospital repairing it, under the supervision of the Providence guards of course). She had been following Yang by instinct. Now they were standing near the Bullheads with the crowds in the darkness of the morning, illuminated by the holographic streetlights and lamps that were set up all around them. Hundreds of initiates were gathered in groups and singles and clumps, doing last minute checks on their weapons and gear, pacing in place to cool their nerves, laughing with friends and newly made acquaintances, muttering to themselves, and so on.
"Miss Rose?"
Ruby jumped in place, and turned herself to the side and saw the teachers from before- Miss Glynda Goodwitch and Miss Baobhan Sith- Approaching her with a formalness to their steps, though Miss Sith looked to be more lax in her posture than the stiff-paced Miss Goodwitch.
As they stopped in place before her and Yang, Ruby let out a stuttered, "Erm... Did... Did I-"
"You haven't done anything wrong, dear," Baobhan waved her concerns off gently with a smile, "Headmaster Ozpin has merely requested that you partake in your own initiation, separate from the others."
"Huh?" Ruby hummed, "What do you... What do you mean?"
"It has been deemed that thanks to the Black Hand targeting you specifically, it is too dangerous for you to partake in the same initiation as the rest of the year," Miss Goodwitch explained to her, "As such, it has been decided that both you and Mr Arc," she looked to Miss Sith for a moment, and then back to her, "Will be taking part in an enclosed initiation test within the walls of Beacon Academy, where it is safer for you."
"But I..." Ruby paused, and then asked, "But, what about- What about Yang? What about her?"
Miss Goodwitch turned to Yang, and said, "She will have to partake in her initiation along with everyone else."
Yang's eyes turned to red as she glared at both of the teachers before them both, "Hey, you can't do that!"
Miss Sith teetered her head towards the girl in question, and said, "Rest assured, Yang, she will be safe. As long as she passes her test, as you should hopefully pass yours, all will be well, and you will be able to meet up again afterwards."
"That's- That's hardly fair."
"I wouldn't say so. The oh great and powerful Ozpin has deemed it so, after all," Miss Sith said to them, earning a slight glare from Miss Goodwitch for some reason "Of which I support, of course. And please don't worry; I will see if I can place you both on the same team, if need be."
Well, that was good. That was very good. Would be very good if possible.
"...Then why does Arc get the same treatment, then?"
Miss Sith's smile turned to a frown, and her eyes narrowed, "Don't be foolish, Miss Xiao Long," her tone, once chirpy, now quiet and cold, "Both Ruby and Jaune have been through a traumatic experience, and are due the same preferential treatment. Are you trying to say that Mr Jaune Arc has done something that would demand that he is deserving of the same benefits as any other victim of intense violence and trauma?"
"Er, no, but I-"
"Good," Miss Sith let her cheerful smile adorned her face once more, "Then there should be no reason for you to disagree with my- Our decision, no?"
"...No."
"Good."
"...You best get into the Bullheads, Miss Xiao Long," Miss Goodwitch quickly sent an admonishing look to Miss Sith, before turning back to Yang and going, "They'll be taking off in a few minutes."
"...Right," Yang scowled, before turning to Ruby and going, "You better pass, Rubes. You better have passed by the time that I get back."
After a moment's pause on her end, Ruby gulped down a wad of spit, and replied, "I'll do my best."
Yang nodded at that, and with a wordless goodbye and a scowl across her face, she turned around, and made her way towards the crowding and crowded Bullheads nearby.
"Come along, Ruby," Miss Sith patted her on the shoulder as she gestured back to Beacon, and the rabbit Faunus in brown, black, and gold that was standing before it, "Velvet will take you to the training facility dressing room downstairs."
"..."
With a bite of her lips and a nod, Ruby turned herself on her heel, and followed the rabbit Faunus towards the insides of Beacon Academy, Miss Goodwitch following closely behind her as she did, Miss Sith much further back.
She was talking to that girl with the beret and the sunglasses.
("Is everything in place?"
"Yes, my goddess. Alpha Force are on route now, as are Bravo Force to their own objectives. Charlie Force are already securing their objectives inside the building."
"How long will it take them to finish?"
"Last I checked? At best approximation, as soon as Arc and Rose's initation begins. The other initiates will probably be already embedded in the Emerald Forest by the time Alpha Force arrives."
"That'll be good enough for them. They'll do their job. In the meantime, get into position yourself. Once everything is in play, move to capture Arc and Rose. Alpha Force will back you up when you do."
"Roger that."
"Remember... We need to make it look convincing."
"...Of course, my goddess.")
In the training facility changing room in the bowels of Beacon Academy, Jaune laid out and inspected the armour set that Nana brought for him on the floor, and teetered his head to the side.
It looked very similar to the armour produced by Providence.
A COINCIDENCE, MAYBE? NOT ENTIRELY SURE... MAY HAVE TO LOOK INTO THIS
A black body glove that was worn underneath his set of gear, followed by a blank white helmet with a domed top and black visor shaped in a line, with a horizontal vent in the shape of a frown near the bottom of it, and a pair of oxygen filter vents in the shape of tubes at the bottom of the helmet. No chest plate, lower arm armour, or pauldrons, considering how he already had those, but there was also hand and upper arm armour for underneath his shoulder pauldrons, bendable torso armour and a crotch plate, was well as a belt that could hold his sword in it, as well as the pistol holster on his other thigh, and ammo pouches as well. The leg armour that he had been given was a black white, as well as the boots, and a pair of elbow and knee guards had been ordered for him as well, as well as a backpack similar to the ones on Providence commandos, all of them shiny and new, and clashing almost violently with the recently scuffed and coloured armour of his own family.
Well, adopted family, at least.
Jaune picked up the helmet, and looked into the black visor of the white helmet. It looked incredibly similar to the armour that those Providence guys wore- Nay, incredibly similar to the armour that Nana wore, albeit in white rather than black, and lacking the glowing blue visor. In all honestly, that might prove to be a problem in the future. A lot of people did not like Providence in this school, and he was already receiving disapproving looks from a lot of his peers, just for being dropped off by them. If he was seen walking around in their armour, then he might just invite more people to hate him than ever before.
But then again, he wasn't here to seek people's approval. That would be saved for his family's ancestors and the people that he failed to save in Gris Square. And if Nana said that this armour would protect him, then who was he to not believe her?
Taking his clothes off- Save for his undies- And then changing into the black body suit, he then placed on each individual piece of armour, clipping on the pieces that he was already familiar with, slipping on his crotch and torso pieces first, then his belt, then his leg armour and boots, then his chest plate, then his mismatched arm armour and pauldrons, before clipping the metal pack to his back and walking out of the changing room, helmet in hand, and-
"Jaune?"
He jumped in place, and looked to the side. There was Ruby, in her gothic black and red outfit once more, adjusting her skirt with one hand, and holding her Crescent Rose in the other as she fidgeted in place.
Her Crescent Rose?
"Hey Ruby," he waved to her as he held his helmet in one hand, and gestured to her weapon with the other, "I thought... I thought that thing broke."
Ruby broke out of whatever stupor she was in, as she twirled her weapon in her hand and replied, "Oh, my baby? I fixed her at the hospital."
"...Oh," Jaune went as he looked to the side, and then asked, "They... Let you do that?"
"Ah... I was under guard as I did it, of course, I... Yeah, I was under guard as I fixed her. It... Her."
"...Right."
"..." Ruby pointed to him, "Nice."
"What?"
"T-The armour."
"O-Oh... Thanks."
"...Looks... Familiar."
"Oh," Jaune looked over himself for a few moments, and then said, "Ah, er, Nana- Nana got this for me... The armour, I mean. Most of it... And the gun."
"Oh... Nice," Ruby said to him, "...Who... The girl you were with yesterday?"
"...Y-Yeah."
"...Nice."
"..."
"..."
SILENCE
NOTHING BUT SILENCE
AS ALWAYS
Jaune looked to the side once more, and let them both slip into an uncomfortable silence as they stood in the training facility changing rooms, staring at the opposite walls and doing their best not to look each other in the eyes.
What was he supposed to do, what was he supposed to do, what was he supposed to-
The intercom in the changing room crackled into life.
-Do.
Over the intercom, Baobhan Sith's voice calmly called out, "Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose, once you are done training, please make your way through to the training ground entrance, where you will find the ammo for your weapons," the door on the opposite side of the room, leading to the training facility entrance, suddenly became more pronounced to them as Baobhan's voice continued on, "Once you are there, a central platform will take you up to the training grounds, where your initiation will begin."
As the intercom around them turned off, Jaune and Ruby looked to each other, and sighed.
Whatever conversation they were supposed to have... It would have to wait for another time.
Putting his helmet on, and attaching his sheathed sword and pistol holster to his belt and thigh (No pistol, though. Where was it?), Jaune followed Ruby out through the exit of the changing rooms, and into the metal walled training ground entrance, with round-white patterns running along the walls, round lights in the ceiling, and an elevated square piece of ground, where in front of it, two tables, with ammo magazines and a spare handgun (There it was), Were being wheeled in by-
"Ryuzu?" Jaune asked as the pink-haired and red-eyed maid in the black and white uniform with the Schnee emblem on her pulled in the tables- There were wheels on the legs, he noticed- And let them rest in front of the elevated platform, before standing tall and looking to both him and Ruby.
"Hello there, barf boy. Other one," Ryuzu said bluntly to the both of them. Ruby flinched at her blunt dismissal of her, but luckily Jaune was able to hide his discomfort at his crude nickname behind his helmet.
"What are you... Aren't you meant to be with the others? In the Bullheads to your initiation?"
"Ryuzu is not training to be a Huntress," Ryuzu explained as she stepped away from the tables, "Ryuzu is assigned to be Ms Schnee's maid, not a Huntress. As such, Ryuzu was pulled back to allow Miss Schnee to pass initiation on her own," she gestured to the tables, "Ryuzu figured that Ryuzu would make herself useful while Miss Schnee was away. Most staff here seem pretty incompetent, so it would be for the best if Ryuzu did."
"Beep boop..."
Jaune and Ruby jumped in place at the sudden sound, and Ryuzu looked to the side to see a girl with stars in her eyes peeking through the door, her electric-pink hair fluttering to the side as she blinked her starry eyes that looked like they held galaxies within them.
"Oh, not Stella, Stella. Ryuzu thinks that Stella is competent. Everyone else is an idiot."
"Beep boop."
"Ryuzu is being nice. Ryuzu is being nice by not insulting incompetents further."
"W-Wait," Jaune began as he looked to Ryuzu, "You can... Understand her?"
"Of course Ryuzu can," Ryuzu said to him, "Ryuzu is not dumb, unlike barf boy and everyone else."
"..."
"And Stella and Miss Schnee."
"...Er-"
"Beverage team is waiting outside," Ryuzu turned to the door with Stella in its frame, "As well as Ryuzu and Stella. Incompetent teachers are watching upstairs. If problem arises and barf boy and other one are too useless to get themselves out of it, everyone intervenes."
As she stood at the door, Ryuzu swung her head towards them, and calmly spoke in that blank tone of hers.
"Do not fail," was all that she said, before turning back to Stella and going, "Come on, Stella. People like Ryuzu and Stella need to stick together."
"Beep boop."
"Wait, what do you mean by-"
But the door closed behind them, and Ryuzu and Stella were gone, leaving Jaune's interrupted question unanswered.
Jaune and Ruby looked to each other as Jaune put on his cloak over his armour, his thin metal backpack covered behind the white fabric, before the both of them walked to the tables, and inspected the ammo in their magazines, being what looked like strange dud-like bullets with luminescent cyan lines glowing down them.
"Training bullets," Jaune heard Ruby mutter next to her as she spoke to herself, "Hurt a lot, but don't kill. Soft tips, not metal. Electronic pulse in them..." she blinked, and then looked up at Jaune, "Training bots, then?"
Jaune shrugged. He hadn't been in one of these training courses before, so he didn't have any previous experience to speak of, so he couldn't reassure her of anything. Thank goodness that he had a helmet on, otherwise she'd be able to make out his uncertainty and nervousness instantly.
Oh, did he forget to mention that he was nervous.
Yeah, he was nervous. He was beyond nervous. He was terrified. Here he was, in a suit of armour that fit a bit too comfortably for his liking, wielding a sword that belonged to a family that he wasn't even born into, trying to fake his way into a school that deserved so much better than him as he was about to and pass an initiation that would most assuredly kick his weak ass for all that it was worth, all to prove that he didn't belong here, only further painting failure over his soul.
Just like the people that he had failed to save in Gris Square.
Just like with Emerald.
And just like with Tipoca...
It was times like this that made Jaune look back on his life and reflect upon the path that had led him here. He didn't know who his birth parents were, and part of him didn't care to find out. His first memories were of living on the streets, and finding Emerald, back before either of them had names, and they were both just 'Boy' and 'Girl', and not 'Orion' and 'Emerald'.
He had learnt a lot of stuff when he had been living on the streets. A lot of it on how to fight, really. He was weak, sure, but luckily for him, those tricks hadn't faded with time. Well, not that much, at least. But they only really worked in specific situations, like on those said streets as well, so he doubted that he would be able to make use of them in whatever this initiation course would be for them.
Still though, he had his Crocea Mors on him as well. That would come in handy. He had some practice with swinging a stick around constantly as practice, when no one else was looking, and when it came to Crocea Mors... He didn't know why, but it just felt right to wield. Right to use. Like it was made for him...
OR YOU WERE MADE FOR IT
Jaune blinked, and shook the thought away. What did that even mean?
THAT PERHAPS IT IS YOUR DESTINY TO WIELD IT
PERHAPS IT IS YOUR DESTINY TO USE THE SWORD
…
Jaune shook his head, and picked up the handgun from off the table, inspecting it in his hands. True to form, it was an ML-17 heavy pistol, like Nana had said it would be, and like the one that he had used in Gris Square. Taking a moment to aim down the sights of the empty gun, Jaune then took one of the magazines off of the table, and loaded it into the pistol, before pushing it into the holster, and taking a moment to look at Ruby as she pushed one of the red magazines on her table into her weapon, and then look at him as well.
"You know them?"
"Who?"
"The two girls just now?"
"Oh," Jaune tilted his head to the side, "Well, R-Ryuzu I met outside the bathroom yesterday, when I was... Yeah."
"Oh."
"But Stella, I... She healed me last night."
There was a long pause from Ruby, before he looked at him with widened eyes under his helmet, and uttered, "Eh?"
"Hm?" was Jaune's response, before his own eyes widened and he replied with, "Oh, no! Nothing like that, it's just- She has a healing semblance. Stella. She healed the ache in my ankle," he lifted his leg up and wriggled his foot, "My- My bad ankle. The one that I was..." he coughed awkwardly, "The one I was shot in."
"...Oh... Ooooooooh," Ruby replied with, "I... I see."
"...Mm," was all that Jaune could say in response, as they took the extra magazines on the tables and pocketed them- Ruby in her belt, and Jaune in the ammo pouches on his belt- Before moving around the tables, and onto the elevated platform before them.
After a few moments wait, a light on the wall changed from red to green, the room above them slid open, and the platform began to elevate into the training grounds above.
This should be fun.
Velvet looked to the side to Fox Alistair, their minds connected to each other, as well as the other members of their team thanks to Fox's telepathy semblance.
Well, almost all of their members.
Hopefully, Velvet shot back with as nearby, Stella and the one known as Ryuzu walked into the viewing room of one of the training courses within the buildings of Beacon Academy, looking down onto the various slopes and metal ditches below them, with their blocky fields of cover, running trenches, and spiralling towers up above, I think the Ruby Rose girl will be able to ace this, she sent through their link, I've read her combat reports from Signal the other day. She's a prodigy. Barring any accidents, she should be able to get through initiation easily.
Next to her, her partner, Yatsuhashi Daichi, looked to her and sent back, Do you not think the same about the Arc boy? this got Fox to look to her as well, an eyebrow raised.
Velvet didn't reply for a moment, before finally getting out, He seems... Unconfident.
To say the least.
Velvet looked to the side, Fox!
Don't pretend that it's not true, Fox shot back with as he leant back, I heard about what happened last night and yesterday.
From who?
From you, and from rumours, Fox shrugged, As well as that jock guy. He was loud. Annoyingly so.
Velvet shrunk in on himself, I don't like him.
Me neither, but his loud ranting was informative, Fox replied with, That Arc boy needed that Nana girl to protect him from the jock boy. Those kinds of people don't last long in this place.
Velvet looked over to Fox, Really?
You're different, Fox waved it off with, You let it happen because you don't want to fight them- Because you'd rather fight Grimm than people. But that boy... I've seen people like him come and go. He really won't last long in this place.
Unless he has a good team, Velvet replied with, But I do see your point. He seems too... Docile, to say the least. And not mentally sound. Not mentally well. I know that he did well in Gris Square-
Well enough, Fox cut in with.
Maybe, but still... If he's suffering from some sort of mental disorder or condition, then he either got it from Gris Square, or had it beforehand, and considering what happened in the square, going through such a stressful event might've only worsened that condition. I want to be fair to him, but... But I don't have the highest hopes for his chances.
You are being fair to him, Velvet, trust me, Yatsuhashi reassured her, And I do understand what you are saying. He does not strike me as the most capable of Huntsmen, but perhaps he will surprise us all.
Perhaps... Velvet responded with, before looking to the side, past Fox, and seeing Coco staring at them with a smile on her, What? she asked over their link, before remembering that Coco had (For some reason) Closed herself off from them, and repeated her question out loud, "What?"
"You guys," Coco said as she looked at them, "Chatting away like a couple of conspirators."
"Beverage leader's beverage team is not talking. Are not talking. Only looking," Ryuzu said to them as she and Stella stood by the window next to them, "Beverage leader needs to get her head checked."
"Beep boop..."
Ryuzu looked down to Stella as the girl with the stars in her eyes rubbed her hands together awkwardly, "'Semblance'? That? Well, Ryuzu supposes that that is a good explanation..."
Velvet blinked, and looked to her, "Wait, you can-"
"Ryuzu has already explained this to barf boy and other one. Ryuzu can understand Stella because Ryuzu is smart. Everyone else is dumb."
"...That explains nothing."
"It explains everything," Ryuzu continued, "Bunny girl is not smart enough to understand, like everyone else."
"'Bunny'- Hey!" it was not Velvet who said this, but Coco, as she looked to the pink-haired maid girl with an irate look on her face, and said, "You're not allowed to call my teammate that! It's offensive as all hell, you know."
Ryuzu just gave Coco a deadpan look, "Beverage leader calls bunny girl 'Bun-Bun' all the time. Hypocrite."
"Yeah, well that because my Bun-Bun's got good buns," Velvet blushed violently as Coco continued, "And I don't mean it offensively. You do, though."
"Ryuzu means everything offensively," the maid just shrugged, "No difference between human and Faunus. Everyone equally offended," she stared at Coco, "And 'Bun-Bun' still offensive, intentionally or not."
"...Right," Coco sighed in turn, before her scroll vibrated in her pocket, and she took it into hand. Velvet- Nor anyone else- Didn't have another time to see what was on the scroll's screen, before Coco muttered, "Dammit," and pocketed the scroll once more.
Before anyone could ask as to what was going on, Coco stepped back from where she had been standing, and walked to the door.
"I've got to go," Coco said to them as she left, "Important team leader stuff."
"Coco, what do you-"
But before Velvet could finish her sentence, her team leader was gone.
Velvet frowned, and looked back down into the training course below. Coco had been acting... Strange, lately. Very recently, actually. She had always been an oddball of a girl- Extravagant, flashy, and outgoing to say the least, on top of being incredibly flirtatious (With other women) And addicted to fashion- But now, there was... Something different about her. Something off.
Her cutting herself off from Fox's telepathy semblance was the biggest red flag out of all of them.
Perhaps it all had to do with what happened in the Lighthouse.
Maybe...
She would have to ask about it later.
With a sigh, she turned her head back to the training course below, and stared at the training course below.
Maybe Fox was right. Maybe this would be fun.
(Somewhere not too far away, Coco shook the memories of the Lighthouse out of her head, and looked to the figure next to her, and asked, "Is everything ready?"
"Almost. We're just waiting for Alpha Force to arrive at the moment."
"And Bravo Force?"
"Same with them."
"Good.")
"How is the Emerald Forest initiation going?"
Glynda looked down to her scroll as the cameras of the faraway forest gave her a sound view of the initiates within, and responded to Ozpin's question with, "Bart and Peter have just launched them into the forest."
"Only just now?" Baobhan asked as she looked up from the consoles in front of her, looked past Ozpin, and asked, "What were they doing all of this time?"
"If my experience speaks for itself, then Peter was most likely telling one of his many stories, before Bart finally put him back on track," Ozpin said with a smile, which earned him a nod from Glynda in turn, "Well, Glynda? Was his story the one about how he tamed a pack of Kitsune with nothing but his 'Manly pecs', or how he 'Discovered a city of elves within the forests of Vale'?"
"I believe that this is a new one, about how he saved the world by beating the Brother Gods in an arm-wrestling contest," Glynda couldn't help but smile as she said this.
Baobhan didn't through, as she just sighed and said, "Ah, if only it was that easy."
"If only it were that easy, yes," Ozpin's response was, before asking Glynda, "What about the initiates? How are they fairing against the challenges of the Emerald Forest?"
Glynda looked down at the scroll in her hand, and said, "Well, from the looks of it..." she sighed, "Even without Mr Arc and Miss Rose, it looks like we are in for a difficult year in of itself."
"Oh?"
"It appears that potential partners are actively avoiding Mr Cardin Winchester."
"Well," Ozpin began as he took a sip from his coffee mug (It was actually hot chocolate, contrary to popular belief), "He did not make the best impression yesterday, did he?"
"No, he did not", Glynda replied, before blinking again, and going, "Actually, it looks like he does have a partner now", she angled her scroll towards him, to view the boy in question talking to... Oh, this was going to be a problem, "One Yang Xiao Long is now his partner."
Baobhan looked at her in a mix of bemusement and concern, "Is she?"
"Indeed, though from the looks of it, she doesn't seem to be enjoying it herself. Nor do Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna, it would seem," Baobhan and Ozpin sent Glynda questioning looks, "They've become a pair as well, and they're not getting along at all."
"It's this way... No, it's definitely this way..."
"Weiss, that's east."
"Oh... What about this way?"
"That is still east."
Weiss wheeled around to look at Blake, "Well, I can't tell, alright? Every single part of this forest looks the same! How can you tell?"
Blake pointed her hand upwards, "The position of the sun."
Weiss blinked, "...Whatever", and then went back to trying to figure out which direction they were meant to be going on.
"Weiss, that's east again."
"UGH!"
Somewhere behind them, Yang reluctantly looked up to her new partner, Cardin, and muttered, "Well, this is going swimmingly so far."
"This is going the exact opposite of swimmingly."
"I know, that's why I said 'This is going swimmingly' in a sarcastic, rhetorical sense. We need to work on your ability to pick up sarcasm more."
Cardin snarled at her, "The fuck does that mean?"
"It means-"
"You know what, I don't fucking care," Cardin said as he barged past her, "Just stay the hell out of my way, and let me kill some Grimm."
Yang frowned at him, "You know, we're meant to be partners now."
Cardin snorted, "Yeah, that's great. I got stuck with a partner who's only good for a pair of tits to gawk at. Lucky me."
Yang growled, "What the fuck was that?!"
"Oh, what're you going to do? Tell on me?" Cardin snorted again, "Fuck off, and get out of my way. S'the only thing you're good for."
Yang clenched her fists, and looked to the side to see Weiss and Blake still arguing with each other.
"Weiss?"
"What?"
"That's still east."
"You're making that up!"
Blake just relished the smug grin on her face.
Yang just sighed, and tweezed the bridge between her eyes.
These are going to be my teammates? This is going to be hell.
"That is to be expected of partners when they first start off, of course," Ozpin said, "But, they are partners, and subsequently a team now. As such, they must learn to work together, or fall apart."
Glynda nodded, and then switched the channel on her scroll, to see another group of Huntsmen and a Huntress forming together, "Well, that Anima Senterra girl seems to be a natural born leader. She's already corralled three boys into being on her own team."
"Three of them?"
"Sky Lark, Dove Bronzewing, and Russel Thrush, though I do not know how the last boy can tolerate that atrocious haircut," she shuddered at the thought, and then added, "They do strike me as more 'Go with whatever they are told' kind of people."
"You don't believe that they are assertive enough as Huntsmen?"
"I think that they have served as doormats of a sort in the past- Though if they were truly once friends of Miss Xiao Long, then that must've been the reason behind why- And as such, do not seem to put up any kind of fuss against what they are told," Glynda gave him a sincere look, "I believe that if their leader was that Winchester fellow instead of Miss Senterra, then they might've gone along with whatever prejudices or violent acts that he wanted without much question."
"Well," Ozpin paused, "That is a problem."
"Alright then, boys!" Anima cheered as she called to the boys around her, "Let's get to the relics, and secure our place in Beacon!"
"Okay."
"Sure thing."
"I don't see why not."
"...Seriously?"
"Yep."
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"You're just going to... Agree with me? Just like that? No friction at all?"
"No."
"Nope."
"Nah."
"...Huh."
"Indeed. It is good to be loyal and follow orders, but not when the orders are wrong. Such blind judgement will not get them far. If they do succeed, then I shall have to focus on their abilities of act independently and assert themselves more," she paused once more, "Though I know for a fact that they won't be the only team that I have problem with this year."
Baobhan looked to her, "Anyone in particular?"
"Nana Shaula."
"What about her?" Baobhan asked in a slight hurry.
"She's just been partnered with Miss Nikos, who herself has teamed up with Miss Valkyrie and Mr Lie-"
"Mr Ren," Ozpin corrected for her.
Glynda nodded to him, "Right... Well, they have partnered together and teamed up with Miss Nikos, who herself is trying to work with Miss Shaula..."
"'Trying'?"
"It appears that Miss Shaula is actively trying to avoid Miss Nikos."
"Like Mr Winchester?" Ozpin asked with a curious look to him, "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Many potential partners may be intimidated by the fame and attention that Miss Nikos brings with as much as others may be attracted to it."
"I do not believe it is that," Glynda corrected herself, "I believe that Miss Shaula does not like Miss Nikos to some degree. From what I am witnessing, I would go as far as to say that she hates Miss Nikos."
"Um, M-Miss Shaula."
"..."
"Miss Shaula?" Pyrrha tried to keep up with the woman as she bobbed and weaved her way through the forests further ahead of them, "Miss Shau- Miss Shaula, we need to work together! We are-"
Nana continued on, going further and further ahead until she was almost lost in the foliage before them.
"Miss Shaula, we are partners now! We have to-"
"Leave. Me. ALONE!"
Pyrrha stopped her pursuit of the girl with the trench coat, shocked at her sudden words and refusal to work with her (In all honesty, that had never happened before), As well as the sheer anger in her tone of voice, as the girl continued her march unimpeded, and into the forest around them.
Nearby, Nora looked over to Ren, and said, "Well... That's new."
"I must admit," Ren added, "That was not what I expected."
"Well," Ozpin began with, "That is... Most surprising. Miss Nikos does not strike me as the type of person to easily invite hate onto herself."
"Regardless, she will have to make due with it," Baobhan said with a tone of finality in her voice, "And if we're lucky, it will make finding spare spots in the teams for Jaune and Ruby that much easier."
"Are you implying that Miss Shaula would make room for either of them by leaving?" Goodwitch began, "Or Miss Nikos?"
Baobhan didn't answer.
"Regardless, they are all partners now, and as such, they will have to make due. Just as Miss Rose will have to make due with whatever team we put her on."
"And Jaune as well?" Baobhan said with narrowed eyes.
Glynda frowned, and Ozpin just replied with, "I shall reserve my judgement until the very end."
"As you should do for Ruby, as well."
Ozpin didn't reply.
While all three people in the room were aware that Jaune Arc had doctored his transcripts, it was the psychological report that confused Gynda and everyone else the most. The psychological report was written years ago, and very clearly not by Jaune, considering that the handwriting was completely different, and was also filed years ago by a professional psychologist.
However, Jaune had the clear signs of a mental disorder. So clear in fact that the only way it could be more obvious is to attach a neon sign that glowed in the dark to him. Undiagnosed schizophrenia, that was the current theory. However, the fact that every other psychological report that was filed by Jaune's doctors did not say anything about this, only saying that he was of perfect mind and body, the former of which was clearly a complete lie.
Someone had faked Jaune's mental condition, though why was unknown.
However, it was clear that Ozpin had his own theories...
"If he passes initiation, then he deserves to be in our academy," Ozpin replied with, though there was a certain strain to his voice, "If he doesn't, then he does not deserve to be here, faked transcripts or not. It was the same with Qrow and Raven, remember?"
"Let me remind you that I had to fight tooth and nail to get you to agree to those terms..." Baobhan muttered to herself, "Just saying... You wouldn't have let him in if I didn't say that he deserved the chance..."
"Ozpin, they clearly had training and skill! Mr Arc does not. For gods sake, he is clearly suffering from what happened in Gris Square, as well as his mental condition on top of that, and something tells me that he has never taken the chance, or ever been given any kind of said chance, to talk about it with anyone. He is in no condition to fight, much less without any aura,"
"Glynda, we have seen the greatest Huntsmen of our time suffer from worse injuries and recover, even without aura. We must trust that-"
"Is this about Summer?"
"..."
Baobhan just sent Glynda a dry nod. Of course it was about Summer. It had to be about Summer, of course.
Glynda scowled, "Ozpin, we can't... We don't have enough evidence to suspect him of working for Salem, nor any solid evidence to suspect him of knowing anything about Summer Rose."
"We don't know that."
"Ozpin, wherever he is or isn't, he isn't prepared for this at all. He is wounded and clearly in pain. If you wanted to interrogate him, then you could've just called him up to your office and asked him where he got his cloak, or whatever else may cross your mind."
"Calmly, of course," Baobhan added in with her, "And rationally," she then sighed, "Can't believe I'm saying that to you, and not Ironwood..."
"...Let us begin," Ozpin changed the conversation immediately, and gestured to the platform at the far end of the training course below them, "I am eager to see how they do."
Glynda just frowned, as did Baobhan, but they both said nothing as the latter of them pressed on the console in front of her, and activated the training simulation below.
The training course around them was expansive, being rectangular in shape with high walls and tall cylindrical towers lining them. Trenches ran alongside and across the grey cubed floor beneath them, supported by elevated platforms and walls of varying sizes. At the end of the course was what looked like a large citadel-like structure that looked kind of like a castle at the end, with two towers on either side, and a central structure in the middle. Above the citadel structure, a viewing station was built into the clay-coloured walls, the lights within giving a golden shine to the room as Headmaster Ozpin, Baobhan, and Glynda looked down at Jaune and Ruby far below. On the wall next to them, a similar viewing stationed, coloured with blue lights instead of yellow, was built closer to the ground than the other. Within it, Jaune could spot Velvet and the other members of her team- Save for Coco- As well as Ryuzu and Stella, looking down at them.
Oh great, an audience. Now everyone could see how much Jaune sucked.
Great...
HAVE A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE, WILL YOU?
Jaune smacked the side of his head once again. Well, his helmet at least, but it had its effect.
He really needed to concentrate. He really needed the headspace to concentrate.
Above them, the intercom came to life in a burst of static once more, and Baobhan's voice called out, "Due to the unique circumstances of your enrolment into this academy-"
THAT'S ONE WORD FOR IT
Jaune hit the side of his head again. Shush. Let him concentrate.
WE WANT TO HELP YOU
LET US HELP YOU
Seriously, stop it.
Jaune couldn't help but sigh anyways as he smacked his hand against his helmet twice in a row. Seriously though, even if he somehow did the impossible and made his way into Beacon, this enrolment process was only going to isolate them even more from the rest of the student population. Special treatment, and what not, considering how unsympathetic a lot of people in the year were to Ruby and himself, considering how they had almost died and everything.
One would think that that would garner him a bit of slack now, wouldn't it?
"-A specific series of tests must be used to verify your positions in this academy, and wherever or not you are worthy enough to stay in its halls."
Jaune winced. It felt like those words were directed at him. An ugly reminder of himself and his own unworthiness.
"The first test will be of your joint combat capabilities, and your ability to work together in order to complete your objective."
The lights around the citadel at the end of the course blinked with light and life. A staff at the top of the central structure glowed an ominous red.
"The citadel at the end of the course is your central objective for this test. Get to the top of the citadel and remove the staff from its position. Only then will your objective be complete, and the training course will be finished. Now, take your positions."
Jaune sighed with nervousness, and took his pistol into his two hands, and muttered, "This is great. This is fine. I'll be fine, surely..."
YOU'LL BE FINE
Not inspiring confidence, voice in my head...
"Oh, well, if you think you'll be fine, then that's great!" Ruby obviously didn't pick up on the sarcasm in his voice as she continued, "Pretty sure this is going to be great for the both of us! I mean, I've done these kinds of courses, what? A thousand times? Same as you?"
"Er..." Jaune didn't answer. He should've, but he didn't.
"...Okay," Ruby said, before they both ran to the cover in front of them, and ducked dowm, Ruby moving first to the slab of metal on the right, Jaune following after her and taking the metal cover on the left.
Above them, the towers lining the walls shuddered to life, and twin-barrelled turrets attached to ball joints revealed themselves as they rotated around and pointed at them. At the same time, on the ground, the floor ahead of them opened up, and what looked like Atlesian Knights, of the 130 model it would seem, coloured completely grey with glowing orange lights across their heads, chests, and upper legs, were raised from platforms in the ground, and pointed the guns in their arms towards the two initiates ahead of them as well.
Jaune looked to Ruby, "This is... This is perfectly safe, right?"
HOPEFULLY
"Hopefully!"
"Your initiation begins in three... Two... One... Now."
Above them, the guns in the towers lit up with orange light, and sprayed electric bolts down against the cover that Jaune and Ruby were occupying, whilst below, the training bots fired off orange bolts of energy towards them as well as they marched onto their position.
They were firing dud rounds, though. Stun rounds. That was good. Nothing fatal, at least.
Poking their heads out of their cover and firing beams of cyan light into the robots ahead of them, Jaune watched as Ruby sent off four rounds from her sniper rifle, and landed each round on the head of a robot. Taking inspiration from her, he then levelled his pistol to the bots advancing on them, and sent off four cyan rounds of his own.
All of them missed.
Cursing to himself, he fidgeted his gun in his hand, and-
AIM DOWN THE SIGHTS
What?
AIM DOWN THE SIGHTS, KEEP A TIGHT HOLD OF THE GUN, AND MIND THE RECOIL. DON'T LET IT FLY OUT OF YOUR HAND
Why would-
JUST DO IT
…
Dammit, Jaune thought to himself as he aimed down the sights of his pistol, doing what the voices told him in his head as he held it in both hands, keeping it tight in his grip, and-
{TPWIZZ}
-Sent out a cyan-coloured round of electricity.
It hit one of the robots to the left of its chest, and sent it falling to the ground as it crackled with electricity.
One down, dozens more to go.
Though the recoil from his handgun made it almost damn well fly out of his hand.
FOCUS
Right.
For the first time in what felt like forever-
Actually, no, that was a lie. Back in Gris Square, he had listened to the voices in his head, when they were helping him against the Black Hand. He had listened to them...
Maybe he should start-
The thought died in his head before it could fully form. No. He wouldn't give them that kind of power of him. Not again.
Not after what happened in Tipoca.
So, with a growl, he aimed down the sights of his handgun once more, held it tightly in his hand, and sent another round of light into the robots in front of them. Some of them landed, some of them didn't.
For now, it would have to be-
REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN GRIS SQUARE
Yeah, Jaune remembered. How could he not-
Oh.
Oh yeah.
Pulling out his shield from his side, he pushed it in front of himself, and moved to leave his cover-
{TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ}
-Only to be forced back behind his piece of cover as twin blasts of orange blasts of energy slammed themselves into his shield.
Jaune swore, and looked up at the towers spraying blasts at them, taking a moment to empty the rest of the rounds in his ML-17 heavy pistol into the robots ahead of them- Some shots missing, others not- Before reloading his weapon and looking to the side, to see Ruby, having reloaded her weapon, sent four more shots into the heads of four more robots.
He remembered that her weapon was part sniper.
"Ruby!"
The girl in question looked to him as she ducked down behind her cover once more, orange bolts of light continuing to fly past them as she called out to him, "What?!"
"Sniper! Towers!"
"Full sentences, please!"
Jaune just pointed to her sniper, and then to the towers shooting at them from above.
A moment's pause, and then Ruby's eyes widened, "Ooooh..." before she looked up to the towers themselves, and then said to him, "I've got a plan, but you'll be on your own for a while."
"That's fine. I'll cover you and draw their fire. You do what you've got to do."
Ruby looked to him, "Wait, you'll be-"
"Go, Ruby!"
Throwing his shield back out in front of him, he brought his pistol to bare, and threw himself out of cover, the robots and towers around them flinging orange rounds around and at him as he darted from cover to cover, and-
BEHIND YOU
-Throwing rounds of his own at any robots that got too close to him, whilst nearby, Ruby frowned at his actions (For some reason, he didn't know why), Before enacting her own plan, and-
{BURST}
-Bursting away in a flutter of rose petals as Jaune drew their fire. Reaching the side of one of the closest towers, Ruby then used her semblance to scale up the side of the structure, practically running up it as-
{TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ TPWIZZ}
-The tower turret opposite them began to fire on her, lances of orange light flying past her as she flew up the wall, and reforming herself right by the turret at the top of the tower, jumping down onto it, and-
{TPWIZZ TPWIZZ}
{CRACKLE}
-Allowing the turrets opposite it to fire into it, and take the turret out themselves, the automatic cannon shutting down as Ruby took a moment to hide behind it and ready her weapon, before moving around it and
{TPWIZZ}
{CRACKLE}
-Fire into the tower turret opposite her, shutting it down, before repeating the quick process one by one with the other cannons around them, and shutting them down one by one in cyan crackles of light.
Once the cannons were all down, Ruby looked down through the scope of her Crescent Rose, and began to fire rounds into the robots below, thinning the herd of them as Jaune continued to shoot into the crowd of robots, throwing his shield up to deflect their blows once more as-
{TPWIZZ}
{CRACKLE}
"Augh!"
-A round connected with his foot and almost forced him down to the ground, just as behind him, another wave of robots emerged from the ground, and began to fire wildly at him as he ducked down behind cover.
"Dammit!" Jaune called out as he held his shield close to him behind the trench that he had jumped down into, before looking upwards and calling out, "Ruby! The citadel! We need the staff on the citadel to pass!"
"Yeah, so!?" Ruby called up from the tower that she was standing on.
"So go get it! I'll keep these guys busy!"
"What?!" Ruby called back to him in a slight panic, "Jaune, there are too many of them!"
"Not for you, now go!"
"But-"
"GO!"
Ruby looked hesitant for a moment, before forcing herself up onto her feet, and then bursting into rose petals once more and jumping from one tower to another up above them, letting rose petals flutter to the ground, before they faded into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Jaune just muttered to himself, "Right, as long as she does her job, I'll do mine," and then threw himself back out into the open, drawing the fire of at least most of the robots away from Ruby and towards him, allowing the red-cloaked girl to run towards the citadel mostly unimpeded, and forcing Jaune to stay on the move and weave around the robots advancing towards him as he held his shield high, blocking most of their shots, though some were still able to land on him, though his aura and armour kept him safe for the most part.
THIS IS NOT A GOOD PLAN
"Yeah?!" Jaune said as a shot landed on his shoulder and forced him against a piece of cover, forcing him to push himself back into his feet, and level his heavy pistol once more, "Well it's the best that I've got!"
(Further ahead, Ruby looked back towards him, and hesitated as she watched Jaune slowly being overwhelmed by the machines surrounding him.
Clutching her weapon in her hand, she made a decision.)
Baobhan's eyes narrowed as her frown widened, "Jaune seems too... Self-sacrificial for my liking. Too willing to throw himself away."
"It's not new behaviour," Glynda said to her, "Rare, but not new."
"You have an answer on how to deal with that, because it seems to me that he's more focused on completing their objective and throwing his life away in order to complete it, rather than working together to accomplish it."
"Not at the moment, I don't," Glynda responded with, "But with time and effort, I might be able to."
As usual, Ozpin said nothing, more focused on Ruby Rose as she turned herself around, and ran back to Jaune.
A stream of orange blasts flew past him, and faded harmlessly into nothingness against the wall, but Jaune didn't pay it any mind as he emptied his entire magazine of stun bullets into the crowd of robots, and ducked down behind cover as-
SWORD
-He pulled out Corcea Mors from the sheath in his shield, and-
UPPER SWING
-Swung it upwards and into the neck of a robot, cutting it open and sending black oil foaming out from it as the machine collapsed backwards, and its head rolled to the side.
Crocea Mors was a very useful sword. Robust, easy to maintain, incredibly durable, and shard. Extremely sharp. Able to cut through anything and everything, it was. No wonder it was the prize possession of the Arc family, if not for its incredibly historic value.
As for why he was listening to the voices in his head... Well, it was more less a mixture between subconscious thought, and reluctant acceptance. As much as he didn't want to give them power over him, he was beginning to learn that now, as much as he hated it, he needed to listen to those voices, and understand the advice that they were giving to him, so that he might just last a little bit longer in this fight.
An orange round cracked into his shoulder, and covered him with a shock of orange electricity.
For as long as that might be.
Letting out a pained groan, Jaune wasn't sure how, but he could feel his aura constantly being chipped away by these rounds. Again, he didn't know how, but he could just feel it.
YOU'RE LOOSING THIS FIGHT
That didn't matter. It didn't matter to him if he got bogged down fighting the horde of robots that were coming for him, and almost had him dead to rights. It didn't even matter if he lost this. As long as Ruby was able to complete her mission, and capture the staff at the top of the tower, it would all be-
"HYAH!"
-Fine.
From the sky above, Ruby slammed herself down into the middle of the robot horde via a bust of rose petals, and used that burst to momentarily disorientate the machines, before she twirled her weapon above her in its scythe form, and used the momentum to behead the training robots surrounding her, before once more bursting into a series of rose petals, and flinging herself towards the robots around her, and using her scythe to destroy them, before repeating the same process with another group of robots, and then another.
Jaune felt like he should be impressed by it, but he wasn't.
What the hell was she doing?
TRYING TO HELP YOU
Jaune frowned. That was the complete opposite of what she was meant to do.
Finally, Ruby leapt back from the piles of destroyed robots- Just as another wave of them were released from the ground below- And jumped to Jaune's side, "I-"
"Ruby, what the hell are you doing?!" Jaune yelled as her as they both ducked behind a slab of cover as orange blasts began to rain down on them once more, "I told you to get to the tower!"
"What?!" Ruby looked at him incredulously as she then called out, "But you needed help!"
"So!?"
"What?! What do you mean 'So'?!"
"It wasn't your problem!"
"I wasn't about to leave you to fend for yourself! You would've been taken out by those robots if I hadn't intervened!"
"Ruby, it doesn't matter what happens to me! As long as you complete the objective, what happens to me is irrelevant!"
Ruby looked at him in annoyance, "And in a real fight, where I have to choose between saving you and completing the mission-"
"Complete the mission! Forget about me and complete the mission!"
Ruby looked angst as his words, "Wh-What are you-"
Too late. The AK-130 training robots flanked around their position and surrounded them, and unloaded dozens of orange stun-rounds into them.
Their first test was a failure.
"And, that's that," Baobhan frowned as she leant upwards from the consoles, disappointment evident in her tone as the training robots around Jaune and Ruby herded themselves towards their initial starting positions and shut themselves down, "They both failed their first test," she turned to Ozpin and Goodwitch, "Thoughts?"
"Mr Arc seems to be far too willing to fail in this test in order for Miss Rose to succeed," Ozpin began with, readjusting himself in his seat as he continued, "In a real life combat scenario, this would be akin to giving up one's own life in order to complete a mission objective. Of course, selflessness is an excellent trait to have in an aspiring Huntsman, but for it to be on such a level as this, and in a training exercise no doubt... It is concerning. Not to mention how he spent too much time arguing with Miss Rose, and allowed them both to be distracted too easily."
"The same can be said for Miss Rose, Ozpin," Glynda said as she began to vouch for Jaune, "As much as Mr Arc requires improvement, so does Miss Rose. She allowed them both to be distracted in her argument as well, and she had a clear opening to seize their shared objective and end the training course for both of them."
"Miss Rose was merely trying to save her teammates."
"Just as Mr Arc was trying to protect his by drawing away the training robots from her, and was the one to forward their plan to her. Miss Rose was too rash. She allowed herself to be distracted from her objective by trying to assist a teammate that she should've trusted to be able to take care of her own."
"We both know that that is not the case."
"Don't be biased, Ozpin," Baobhan cut him off with, "It doesn't suit you," her face suggested that she didn't believe what she said.
Glynda continued past Baobhan's interruption, "Be that as it may be, Miss Rose does not know that, and from the looks of it, Mr Arc was somewhat able to take care of himself, without Miss Rose's interruption. She shouldn't have wasted time by trying to help him. She should've taken the chance to claim their objective and win the training course."
"I think you're both focusing too much on the negatives," Baobhan cut in with, "They put together a good plan to begin with, they were both able to take care of themselves, and they both showed that they could work well together, at least at the beginning. Not to mention their attitudes going into the battle. They didn't display that typical arrogance that seems to befall most young Huntsmen and Huntresses nowadays. If they did, then they would've just ignored any sense of working together and charged in guns... Blazing... Hm..."
Baobhan seemed to notice something on the controls, and began to fiddle with them. At the same time, Ozpin turned to Glynda and went, "That reminds me: How is the Emerald Forest initiation going? I'd hate to miss out on anything."
Glynda nodded to him, and then took her scroll out of her pocket, and...
"That's odd."
Ozpin looked at her, "What is it?"
"The feed to the Emerald Forest camera network is offline," Glynda said as she tapped against her scroll and tried to regain access to the cameras.
"Oh," Ozpin's face turned just a single shade paler, "That is... Most distressing."
"Um, guys?"
Ozpin and Glynda turned around in their seats, and saw Baobhan pointing to the training course below.
"Something's happening down there."
They both missed her tiny smile.
"Ryuzu believes that that was incredibly disappointing. Ryuzu demands Ryuzu's lien back."
Velvet didn't have anything to add to that. She just stepped back from her place in the viewing station further down, and began to walk towards the door, "Come on, everyone. Let's go get them ready for the-"
"Wait."
It was rare for Fox to speak. It was rarer still to hear him sound serious instead of jokingly sarcastic. As such, Velvet immediately span towards him at full alert as she spotted him peering out through the window of the viewing station, "What is it?" she asked as Yatsuhashi stood at her side, equally as ready as her.
"Something's happening. Shifting. In the training course."
Velvet didn't bother asking how he knew this, considering his blindness. She knew that the A.D.A (Accessibility Dialogue Assistant) In his ear was feeding him information on what was going on around him, including whatever was happening down in the training course room right now.
Velvet and Yatuhashi looked down through the window once more as they stepped back towards it, with even Ryuzu and Stella leaning in to join them, behind a pair of shifting walls, a new set of figures, hiding away from the people below, were visible to them.
"Oh no."
Jaune threw up his hands in frustration as the room shifted around them, with trenches filling up and slabs of metal cover poking themselves out of the ground in rows and columns as the towers nearby collapsed into the ground, "Great, just great," he groaned, "Our first test, and we fail. Huzzah to us, really."
"Hey, I helped you out back there! I saved you! Don't forget about that!" Ruby called out as she looked towards Jaune with what looked like an equally-frustrated look on her face.
"'Helped me'?! We both failed! If you had just taken the citadel and seized the objective, we would've succeeded! We would've won!"
"At the cost of you! I wasn't about to sacrifice you just so I could win!"
"Since when did that matter at all?! My job was to make sure that you were covered and not hassled at all! You're was to scale the citadel and win the course!"
"Those were jobs that you pushed onto both of us! Without a second thought! I'm just- I'm not going to choose a mission objective over saving an innocent person's life!"
"Ruby, that is not what I-"
Behind them, a pair of shifting walls rose from the floor beneath them. Behind the walls, Jaune and Ruby could make out stretching shadows of people.
Thinking that this was another test, Ruby brought her Crescent Rose to bear, and charged forwards with a leap and a-
{BURST}
{FLUTTER}
-Of rose petals.
Jaune blinked under his helmet, and then quickly raised his hand in a panic towards her, "Wait, Ruby, don't! If this is another part of initiation, then we need a new plan of attack!"
"I already have a plan!" Ruby called back as she reformed herself and swung her scythe down on the figure leaving their cover, "Just try not to go and get yourself-"
{CLAMP}
-K-Killed..."
Someone had caught the bladed edge of Crescent Rose in their hand. That 'Someone' being an armoured figure in all black armour, with a sickly green visor.
Ruby's eyes widened, "N-No... Meant to be safe... Beacon's meant to be safe..."
Jaune's face turned pale underneath his helmet, "No, it's... It... How is..."
NO... IT CAN'T BE
A member of the Black Hand.
With one swift motion, Crescent Rose still in their hand, the Black Hand mercenary raised the carbine in their hand-
{BANG}
-And shot Ruby.
Coco smiled.
"Alpha and Charlie force... Move in."
Across Beacon Academy, explosions were ripping through the buildings that made up it's vast campus.
First it was the armoury that was destroyed in the sudden explosions, but then it was the cafeteria, then the auditorium, then the infirmary, then the guard posts surrounding the CCT, just as suddenly, out of the ether and nothingness, dozens of Black Hand soldiers flooded into Beacon, and began to seize control of various areas and zones within Beacon's walls, and hunting down anyone who stood against them with an intense ruthlessness as they travelled down the halls of the school that some would say they were intensely familiar with.
Almost as if they were intensely familiar with the halls and pathways of Beacon Academy.
Then, from just above the waves... They arrived.
Dozens of Bullheads and small airships of all sorts of shapes and sizes, all of which were bearing the emblem of a blood-red wolf with three scratch marks going down it.
The fleet of the White Fang, flying under sensors and scanners via flying as close to the ground and lake beneath them as possible, sped across the surface of the lake with intense speed, before lifting upwards, and disgorging their soldiers onto the ground below, at key parts and vital areas of the academy.
Both White Fang soldiers, and Black Hand mercenaries.
And at the front of it all, leaving the charge, Jaracas stood, supported by the viciously violent Draughr on one side, and the the constantly-calm technophile Cihuateteo .
Underneath his helmet, he smiled.
"Let's get to work."
The battle of Beacon Academy was on.
Reviewer response time:
Xealchim: Hey, if it works, it works! But anyways, thanks for reading!
firewyrm2: Welp, this chapter definitely took a bit longer to come out! I hope that that was enough time for you!
bosterflaming: Yeah, there are a lot of differences between the Grimm of this story, and that of Ascendancy. Thanks a lot for noticing!
gogo bananas: Wait, what? What am I making obvious? I would like some context, please.
firewyrm2 (Again): Who knows? Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Who knows, indeed?
VV: Honestly, I don't get why no one else just decides to sod with the canon initiation and just do their own thing with it. If RWBY authors really hate initiation that much, then just changed it up a bit. It's fanfiction for a reason: Use your imagination a bit more!
Guest: No, I did not know that. Thanks for letting me know.
Fyr RedNight: Thanks a lot for reading them! I'm glad that you enjoy them!
And here we are, the part of the story where I say 'Sod it' and get rid of initiation- Because god knows we've seen that for the millionth time already- And replace it with the Battle of Beacon three volumes early.
No long A.N. for today, as it is midnight here, and I want to go to sleep, so sorry if the last few sections seem a bit too rushed.
But, with all of that said and done, have a good night, please leave a review, follow and favourite, and I shall see you all next time!
Titanmaster117 out!
