Chapter 3: One maddening initiation
-Beacon Academy, the next morning-
Sky let out a groan as he woke up… and saw Yang looking down at him with a smile. He certainly wouldn't complain about waking up to a smile like that every day.
"Nice of you to wake up, Sky. Me and Ruby were just about to head to breakfast." The blonde told him as she helped her friend to his feet, watching as he stretched his noticeably toned body.
"Thanks for waiting. Come on, let's go." He grunted groggily. He still wasn't fully awake yet, given how he usually slept, something the sisters were fully aware of.
Off to the side, Sun and Neptune were still very much asleep. The latter was currently lying on his stomach, goggles covering his eyes as he snored, drool running down his mouth. The former was lying on top of his friend's back while also snoring, a snot bubble inflating and deflating from his nose as his tail twitches randomly.
Up against a wall, Ace was sleeping slightly propped up with a pillow behind his head, hood hanging down on his face… and the Ace of Spades in his hand.
Sundance appeared and looked at him before sighing.
"Wake up, moron!" She yelled, causing Ace to wake up with a startled yelp as she shouted. This caused him to accidentally let a shot fire from his cannon, narrowly missing Weiss's head as she tried to gather her things.
"GAH!" The heiress yelped as she jumped a few feet off the ground before glaring in Ace's direction. "What in the world is going through your head?!" She snapped in irritation.
"I got spooked, alright?! Sue me!" The gunslinger shot back as he glared at his Ghost as she laughed. "Not funny, Sundance." He snapped.
"Yes it is!" She retorted wittily. Both Ace and Weiss gave the drone a glare before they started getting their things together.
(Later)
After everyone had eaten breakfast and gotten dressed in their usual clothes, they were in the locker rooms getting their weapons together.
"Finally, no more trying to socialize or make friends! Time for me to let my baby do the talking." Ruby sighed happily as she cradled Crescent Rose.
"Is she usually like this?" Sky asked Yang with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, pretty much. It isn't easy getting her out of her shell." The blonde nodded in reply, much to Ruby's indignation.
"Wha- what are you talking about?! I don't need to break out of my shell!" She huffed as she folded her arms.
"Ha! Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, pipsqueak." Ace laughed aloud as he stuck his gun in his holster.
"Hey, I'm not a pipsqueak! I drink milk!" The silver eyed girl retorted.
"... Then keep drinking that milk, little kitten." Sky joked, getting a snort from Yang.
"Why you-!" Ruby growled rather adorably before she started trying to smack his shoulder, only for the Knight to hold her back with one hand on her face, making the scene look rather comical.
Meanwhile, Weiss walked up to a red haired girl who wore what looked to be a sort of form fitting Greek armor.
"How do you do? Pyrrha, right? Pyrrha Nikos?" The heiress asked the girl. "My name is Weiss, it's nice to meet you in person." She added, introducing herself.
"Ah, hello there. Yes, I am Pyrrha Nikos." The redhead nodded in reply with a polite smile.
"Wait, as in the Pyrrha? The prodigy from Argus?" Neptune whispered in surprise, strapping his weapon to his back.
"Shh!" Sun hissed, placing his gunchucks on his belt. "Don't say it out loud, you idiot." He whispered. Celebrities don't get many chances to be away from their fame, so he really didn't feel like making Pyrrha uncomfortable by bringing up her fame at Beacon.
"Right, right." The blue haired lad sighed.
Meanwhile, Jaune was walking around aimlessly as he tried to find his locker. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636, or I'd remember having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?" He lamented as he walked by Pyrrha and Weiss.
'I honestly can't tell if it's stupidity that plagues him, or just sheer bad luck.' The whitette thought as the boy walked by. "So, I was wondering. Would you perhaps be on a team with me? I'm sure that with your combat prowess and my sharp mind, we'll be nearly unstoppable." She said aloud, which caused Ace–who was loading his weaponized cards–to let out an amused snort.
"Yeah right. Having just those things ain't gonna be remotely enough for the real world." He muttered. This caused Weiss to spin on her heel and glare at him.
"And what would you know about the real world? You're not a Huntsman. As far as I know, you're just a penniless orphan with a hand-me-down hand cannon and a Ghost." The heiress retorted. only to flinch when the boy gave her a cold glare.
"Says the little princess that was raised in an ivory tower with a fucking silver spoon in her mouth and a doting family. You probably haven't had a single bad experience in your whole life." He fired back before he stalked off, failing to see Weiss flinch again from his words.
"That–That's not even remotely true!" Weiss called back.
Sky saw the exchange and frowned at Weiss' lack of respect for the people around her.
'She's not gonna make any friends with an attitude like that.' He thought as he put his weapons in their respective places on his person.
It was at this point that Jaune decided to jump in. "Hey, don't worry about Ace. He's just sensitive about that kind of stuff." The blonde stated.
"Why?" Pyrrha questioned.
"His dad was killed. That Ghost? It was his dad's first." He replied, pointing at Sundance.
"Oh dear." Pyrrha gasped before frowning at Weiss. "You need to be more mindful of what you say to people." She told the whitette disapprovingly.
"B-but–" She stammered only to be cut off.
"No buts. Until you apologize to that Ace fellow, we won't be talking." The green eyed champion declared, issuing her ultimatum before she took her weapons and walked off. Jaune looked at Weiss before he shook his head and walked off to get his weapons. He was going to flirt with her a little, but in all honesty, what she said to Ace kinda killed his desire to do so.
"Would all first year applicants please report to the cliffs for initiation." Glynda announced over the intercom.
"Looks like that's our cue." Sky said as he started heading for the cliffs, Ruby and Yang in tow.
"Fuckin' finally!" The gunslinger groaned as he sheathed his knife. "Let's blow this ice cube stand." He added as they headed outside.
(Later)
-Cliffs, Emerald Forest-
Everyone stood on a platform at the cliffs overlooking Emerald Forest while both Ozpin and Glynda stood just out of their way. Today was the day they proved themselves.
"All of you have trained for years to become Hunters, all coming from different backgrounds. Today you will descend into Emerald Forest and head to a temple to the North and retrieve a relic while fighting through the forest." The Headmaster explained.
"Worry not, however, as there is a barrier keeping Grimm out. The most you'll run into are vicious hybrid animals or regular wildlife." Glynda added. Sky felt a pang of disappointment at that.
'Just hybrid animals and basic wildlife? That is completely boring!' He complained mentally. After spending years upon years of killing Grimm in Mistral, those animals just felt way too easy for him.
"Heh, piece of cake." Ace grinned, cracking his neck from side to side.
"But if the test is down there, then why are we…?" Neptune questioned.
"Up here?" Jaune added.
"To practice landing strategies." Ozpin replied casually, much to Jaune's confusion. "And then there's the issue of partners. You will all be given yours today." He continued, causing Ruby to whine in dismay.
"Uh, how, exactly?" Sun questioned, raising his hand.
"You're kidding me with the hand up, right?" Ace questioned incredulously.
"The answer is fairly simple: the first person you make eye contact with after touching down in the forest will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin revealed, causing Ruby's world to shatter like glass.
"WHAT?!" She yelled in despair.
"See, I told you!" A gingerette from elsewhere in the lineup exclaimed.
Turning, Sky looked at Ace, Sun and Neptune, who looked back at him.
"See ya on the other side, Knighty boy." The gunslinger grinned as he and Sun were launched first.
"Right back at you, card boy." Sky chuckled as Neptune was launched followed by himself seconds later.
"AH HO HO HOI!" Neptune and Jaune yelled as the two were flung into the forest.
Ozpin and Glynda watched as the applicants flew through the air, though the latter's gaze lingered on the raven haired Knight as she watched him fall into the forest below.
-Skies of Emerald Forest-
Sky grinned under his helmet as he pulled out his two pistols and shifted them into dagger form, and when he was closing in on the treeline, he started cutting through the branches and cleared himself a path. Right as he was close to the ground, he righted himself and dug his daggers into the ground to skid himself to a halt. Letting out a breath, he wiped the dirt off the blades and shifted them back into pistol form before starting his trek north.
'Okay, let's see here, what are my options for partners?' The boy thought to himself as he jogged. 'Ace seems like a decent first choice since we have some common ground, especially on the familial side of things.' He continued, recalling their disclosure of a bit of their backgrounds the night before. 'Neptune doesn't seem too bad, and neither does Sun. Though I do feel like they'd goof off a lot.' He added flatly, already imagining them fucking around.
After a few more minutes of jogging, the Knight came across Ace right as he did a superhero landing. The gunslinger dusted himself off and was about to start walking when he noticed Sky.
"How long have you been there?" He asked with a blink.
"About twelve secondes." Sky shrugged.
As the two started heading towards the temple–as if on cue, a chorus of howls could be heard as large Gray wolves started running towards them, and they were chasing Sun.
"WHY ME?!" He yelled as he ran, causing Sky and Ace to sweatdrop as the monkey faunus came towards them.
"Let's help him out." The Knight sighed as he put his pistols away in favor of his sword.
"Don't worry. I got it." The gambler told him before throwing his cards at the wolves, the explosions killing them.
The monkey faunus panted as he tried to catch his breath. "Thanks…" He sighed as the three sat down.
"Don't mention it." Ace stated as he leaned against a tree–right as Neptune's head popped out of the ground like a gopher.
"GAH! I thought I was gonna suffocate for a minute there!" He gasped, a breathing straw in his mouth.
"Why the hell were you even down there to begin with?" Ace questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I was hiding from a Grizzly bear." The boy stated as he climbed out of the hole he was in.
"Yeah, that's a pretty good reason. Those guys are not fun to be around." Sky shrugged, knowing from experience how unpleasant a child fighting a grizzly bear was.
"But at least we're partners." Sun grinned as he wrapped an arm around his best friend's shoulders, getting a grin in return.
"Okay, come on. That temple is to the north, so we still have a ways to go." Sky beckoned as he started walking again, the others following suit.
ThermalsniperN7: Sorry about not posting in a while. I still have other stories of my own and a lot of others to help Dragon Emperor0 with. But still, the main team has come together… And Neptune is acting like Vash the Stampede, apparently.
Dragon Emperor0: Given that Neptune didn't really have too much personality to speak of what we saw in the show. I'd say basing our version on Vash will be a good idea.
ThermalsniperN7: Fair enough… And why were he and Sun sleeping the way they were in the beginning? That's just something I find myself raising an eyebrow at since I don't get it.
Dragon Emperor0: I remember rolling on top of my cousin once during a sleepover. We woke up in a similar position, people can wake up in weird positions when sleeping.
ThermalsniperN7: I've woken up with a numb arm a few times, so I believe that. Anyway, see you guys next time!