The night in Haven's lobby had been long and unpleasant for Nindsey Lerneascarlet, filled with dreams of her father Kynaios and her adoptive sister Theresa Blau. Thersesa came into her father's custody shortly after her mother died and the two motherless children had found a closeness born of their mutual lack of a mother. Kynaios did drift away from them as he became more active in the White Fang but the three had remained close until his death from police brutality at a rally for faunus rights in Mistral. After that, Kynaios' friend Veradun Azure became their guardian. At first, he was a welcome presence in her life, but as his violent actions and murders piled up, she and Theresa had made the choice to desert him. They ran as their adoptive father went to kill a huntsman two years ago and had split up upon their escape to make them harder to track. Finally, the dreams turned pleasant with her fond memories of jamming with Theresa when a loud noise from the other room woke her from her sleep.
She quickly dressed into her usual red shirt and yoga pants as she went to see what that noise was. It was Gyoshun, who was practicing his salsa with a speaker just some meters away from him.
Gyoshun accidentally bumped into her as he finished another graceful spin, turning slightly red as he said "Sorry, Nindsey! I just dance when I'm nervous about something."
This interested Nindsey, suddenly seeing the overconfident speedster blushing right before her. Maybe he had given her a bad impression before, but the fact that he was this good made her want to try but of course she was still quite rusty with the dance. She stepped forward and said, "Actually, don't apologize for yourself, Gyoshun. I wouldn't mind trying to dance with you. Considering our initiation today, I'd love to relax a bit."
"I like it." Said Groshun as he bowed.
Gyoshun took her hand and went to the room's center as the next song began, Ananas Marti's My Home Porto. The two positioned themselves diagonally across from each other and began in a loose handhold that looked as if Gyoshun was holding two cups for Nindsey to dip her hands into. He stepped forward, leading to her stepping back. The pair started slow but accelerated with the music's pace, spinning and dipping in ways that Nindsey had not in years. Gyoshun suddenly pulled her into a cuddle from an exhilarating cross-by lead, following up with a pretzel as their hands stayed connected. The two leaped up into the air, dipping as Gyoshun's right hand glowed white, slowing down their time as they descended. As the song ended, Gyoshun spun himself into a bow.
"Nice" Nindsey commented as a solitary tear trickled down her cheek. She had not even realized it was coming when Gyoshun instinctively froze it in time and wiped it with a red handkerchief.
"You didn't need to do that, but it was nice."
"You're welcome but why were you sad?" Gyoshun asked.
"I-I hadn't done this since my dad died. Thanks." Nindsey answered with a slight blush on her face. Suddenly, the bell rang, calling for breakfast.
Draco was up early as well, practicing for nearly two hours with his greatsword. His technique was nearly perfect, switching from parry to murder-stroke to half-swording within a couple steps. He did a front kick as his arms began to ache and the bell rang for breakfast. He quickly finished up, drenched in sweat. He did a rapid shower and went over to the cafeteria and grabbed a big bowl of eggs and sausages. A humble mug of hot chocolate was next to it on his tray as he went for a table in the back, noticing Gyoshun and Nindsey laughing about the former's days on the road. Next, he noticed a small table next to it where Professor Snow was trying to get a man in gold robes to eat his oatmeal.
"Mind if I join you guys?" Draco asked.
"I don't think I could stop an Argentum if I wanted to." The man in gold muttered as his spoon traced the outer part of his oatmeal. Finally, he pushed it in, grabbing a small spoonful and eating it.
Draco sat down as he grabbed a spoonful of eggs and ate them.
"You're the pilot for that crashed airship, right?" the young student asked.
"Yeah." Ragnar answered. "I guess I'll have to practice my flying."
"Your right engine was blown out by a rocket from the White Fang. It's a miracle that you're still alive, kid." Zhuge Snow commented.
"You got a name?" Draco asked.
"Ragnar Fafnirssen." The pilot answered.
The two finished their breakfast shortly thereafter as the announcements blared across the cafeteria.
"Incoming Haven Students, this is Professor Lionheart. You are to report to the situation room as soon as possible for your initiation."
Minutes later, every freshman was in the room as Lionheart walked with his tail slightly twitching.
"You will be dropped into the initiation near Mount Qin via airship. Your mission is simple: rescue the bystanders nearby and work together against the grimm. We have randomly assigned the various fighter types to about twenty teams of four in total. Good Luck." Lionheart addressed the students. Draco, Ragnar, Gyoshun, and Nindsey were assigned to the same airship. Another airship nearby held a man in a rust-colored jacket named Frederick Steel, a woman in a purple jacket named Lila Pilsudski, A man in gold-colored armor named Alexandros Aurum, and a man in a blue jacket named Rackley Hamilton. As soon as the airships got close to the area, a hail of Nevermore feathers streaked in, downing several of the airships, including the ones that Draco and Frederick were on. The automated airships crashed just at the foot of the mountain as the students dropped out. Gyoshun slowed down his time effortlessly to land with grace while the other seven impaled trees to cushion their fall. More Nevermore feathers impaled the ground, narrowly missing them. Ragnar grabbed his bow and shot three rocketing arrows that drove off the nearest Nevermore with explosive blasts. A pack of beowolves charged towards their position, but Draco, Nindsey and Alexandros stood in their way, hewing them down with clear ease. Rackley downed two Ursai as another pack of Beowolves was decimated by Lila and Frederick's rifles. Ragnar looked up and screamed, "Gryphons!"
"I got an idea!" shouted Alexandros.
"I'd like to see it!" Draco shouted back.
The man in gold-colored armor responded by impaling the ground with the butt of his weapon, a long-handled falx, summoning a horde of horses to carry the group away. Their tails were ethereal, vanishing the further away they got from the crash. The grimm followed as many horses as they could, narrowly missing the eight students who split into their teams to reduce the grimm following them. Finally, the Gryphons turned away, leaving the students to sneak to the bystanders.
Draco led the way for his team as Ragnar leaped and dashed through the trees with his bow in hand. Finally, after nearly an hour of walking, they noticed a black flag, signaling that they had made it to a camp of ten bystanders. The bystanders were robotic of course, since Lionheart was unwilling to put civilians in actual danger. The team took a deep breath as they examined the camp's light fortifications seconds before they heard a Nevermore cry.
"We need to get them back to the checkpoint closer to Haven." Said Draco, holding his sword in a middle guard.
"I guess that leaves out using these fortifications to stand our ground." Ragnar remarked.
"Hold on, my semblance can slow down time around me. I'll be able to run faster with that." Gyoshun suggested, attaching his sword to his back. "I'll take them and-"
"We'll provide the distraction." Nindsey interrupted him.
"Well, we all know our parts. Let's do it, team!" Said Draco, holding aloft his sword Grimgutter as many Beowolves started charging their position. Ragnar fired arrows to draw away the Nevermore. Draco focused on the dragon familiar on his shoulder, causing it to form scales along his arms to augment his strength and defense, firing several rounds to propel himself towards the Beowolves. Nindsey looked at the swooping Nevermore that came towards her and Ragnar. She had to do attack the beast as well. Nindsey grasped her fire-sword Master of Tides and pushed a button just below its guard, turning it into a violin and a bow. She opened the flap on her waist, revealing several CD's infused with dust. She breathed as she pressed another button on her violin, allowing her to insert a CD. Inhaling again, she began playing her violin, letting the music stream out in dust-infused notes. While Ragnar's arrows had drawn the Nevermore, Nindsey's notes pummeled it with damage. Just as she was ready to channel her semblance, several gryphons swooped into Nindsey and Ragnar, knocking them off their feet and carrying Nindsey off. Ragnar shot down two of the gryphons, but he was forced to narrowly avoid an attack from the Nevermore.
Draco's charge had broken the beowolves' momentum as he slashed through one after another. Nonetheless, their numbers were staggering, and Draco was becoming surrounded by the grimm, two Ursai charged from his left. Before they could slash at the exposed student, Gyoshun landed behind them, shouting "Everyone, aura up!" The tattoo on his left hand glowed white, freezing the remaining grimm on the ground in time and held out the long rod on his back and pressed two buttons extending a blade from each side. He rushed towards them in a brilliant blur, slashing down the ursai as he cut down many of the beowolves. As he saw Ragnar and Nindsey's struggle, he focused, glowing white and summoning a white horse to boost his speed. As he sped towards his classmate, he pressed another button on his sword, ejecting one of the blades on a perpendicular angle with a long chain extending behind it. It swept from right to left, decapitating the two gryphons holding Nindsey. The blade retracted back into sword mode as he cut down the remaining grimm. She managed to land as Gyoshun's aura broke from sheer exhaustion. Nindsey landed and began playing her violin again, pummeling the Nevermore with dust infused notes and using her semblance to generate eight identical clones wearing shirts colored like the rainbow. They blasted the Nevermore with their own dust-infused notes, causing it to turn into ashes as Draco caught the falling Gyoshun.
"Warn me next time when you use your semblance like that, all right?" said a frustrated Draco.
"I… make no promises." Gyoshun smirked as the four walked off.
It did not take long at all for Frederick, Rackley, Alexandros, and Lila to reach their own fortified camp of robotic bystanders with Alexandros' ethereal steeds. As the horses vanished, a horde of grimm began charging towards them. Beowolves and ursai surged towards the team with increasing speed and numbers. Frederick Steel and Lila Pilsudski readied their rifles as Rackley drew his pistol.
"You can't use your horses, right?" Frederick asked.
"Correct!" shouted Alexandros as he leaped from the camp, pressing a button on his weapon. It contracted into a kopis as he cut down one beowolf after another.
"Open fire!" cried Frederick.
Many grimm were cut down with the first couple volleys of fire from the students. As they continued to fight, a roar echoed across the battlefield as a new beast rushed them. It had nine heads and rushed towards them as it sprayed poison. As the last beowolves and ursai were cut down by the four students, Alexandros charged towards the crazed hydra, expertly slashing off three heads in one swing. Unfortunately, the beast kicked him back and grew two heads for each one that was cut off. As it lumbered towards the camp, the four barely managed to save the bystanders from its poison. The poison's acidity caused much of the camp's fortifications to deteriorate. As Frederick and Lila changed magazines to keep on firing, Frederick had an idea.
"Alexandros, Rackley, catch!" he cried as he threw rounds of fire dust towards them. The two imbued their weapons with the dust and charged again, felling the hydra's heads in a few short strikes. The fire dust cauterized the wounds, making it impossible for the heads to grow back. The beast finally fell with a thud as the four returned to Haven.
The procession after the initiation was long thanks to the fact that all of the teams passed it with flying colors. Finally, the announcements from Lionheart blared, first saying "Draco Argentum, Ragnar Fafnirssen, Gyoshun Baiyulong, and Nindsey Lerneascarlet, you will now be known as Team DRGN."
As the four students walked off the stage, Lionheart's voice blared, saying "Frederick Steel, Rackley Hamilton, Alexandros Aurum, and Lila Pilsudski, you will now be known as Team FRAL. Good luck and a good year to all of you."