Jaune and Pyrrha were both exceptionally grateful for the dialogue options at this very moment. The game would help remove the naked panic from their voices at the sudden change in expectations.

"Let's make sure we stick together. There are a lot of Grimm out there," Pyrrha quickly selected the most neutral option.

"That sounds like a good idea you two," Jaune quickly agreed.

Ruby beamed. "Let's go!"

"She's something else," Blake echoed.

Jaune smiled. "Ever had a friend like Ruby before, Blake?" Curiosity had egged Jaune into choosing 'Inquiry'.

[Partial Success!]

'Partial Success? What does that even mean?' ~Pyrrha, remind me to read the instruction manual when we get back to Beacon...~

~Of course, Jaune,~ Pyrrha promised through the Siraad team-chat.

"I… No, none like Ruby," Blake agreed. Tension danced across the young woman's face. Odds were that Jaune only recognized the reaction because the game wanted Jaune to recognize the reaction.

"Well," Jaune selected a more positive statement for his follow-up. "I'm sure we'll figure it all out together."

"Yeah, I'm sure we will." Blake looked visibly relieved.

Jaune took the hint and returned his focus to the Grimm infested forest. So far, his compass hadn't provided a warning. However, the game had stated only a horde would set off the alert. 'Fantastic,' Jaune thought.

He needed a plan…

Further ahead, Pyrrha was engaging in a fierce battle. It was civil. However, passions were starting to boil over.

"Type-4 rounds are too 'jack-of-all-trades'," Ruby huffed.

"True," Pyrrha agreed. "I am impressed with your knowledge of weapons."

Ruby beamed. "Then you should listen to the expert!"

Pyrrha, cheekily, selected the Inquiry option. "So, what type of rounds would work best for Miló in your expert opinion? I'm always looking to improve."

[Success! XP Gained!]

"Oh! Oh! You focus on recoil for your mechashift weapon and mid to long range, right?"

Pyrrha nodded in response to Ruby's question. The younger teen continued. "I use Type-6. That round has huge recoil and even better ballistics at extreme ranges."

The Huntresses fell silent as they scanned the treeline. They had not forgotten where they were. Silence was danger. Birds and wildlife had fled.

"Grimm," Pyrrha hissed. ~Jaune, we will need you and Blake soon.~

~On it!~ Jaune replied.

"That's Yang!"

Ruby's cry split the eerie silence. Blake immediately drew her weapons. Jaune nodded. Pyrrha understood instantly. Siraad chat or speech was not needed. The canopy of the forest barely moved to mark Pyrrha's passing.

"Nevermore!" Pyrrha reported.

"What are those snowflakes?" Blake asked.

Pyrrha flinched at the question. She was shocked that Blake managed to sneak up on her so easily. "How?"

"Practice," Blake grinned at Pyrrha's wide-eyed surprise. "But what is going on over there?"

"I really can't see anything! Fill me in?" Jaune shouted from the forest floor.

Aiming through her scope, Pyrrha tried to follow a yellow blur using the ethereal snowflakes to propel herself upwards. "That… is unique."

"Yang is jumping between those glowing, squiggly lines! It's so cool, but…"

Jaune selected the most comforting option. His hand came to rest on Ruby's shoulder. "Have faith in your sister. I'm sure this isn't the first time doing something crazy… awesome like that."

[Success! XP Gained] "No…" Ruby agreed with a negative. "And I guess its better than the time at Junior's Club since she has backup right now."

"I'm not saying that you can't worry about your sister. I'd be freaking out if it was one of my sisters, but I'd believe in them."

Ruby nodded, but was ready to protest. Jaune deftly continued. "We're still going to back them up though. Who knows what else is out there?"

[BOSS BATTLE!]

~Feel free to punch me later, Pyrrha,~ Jaune communicated.

~I'm not getting any alerts about the Grimm,~ Pyrrha stated.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Blake said. "Listen."

Crescent Rose announced her presence with the snap of a chambered round and the scythe-blade extending into its combat form. Pyrrha and Jaune were standing next to Ruby and the sound was barely above the snap of a person's fingers. The incessant popping and creaking of the woods around them as something approached.

~We aren't dealing with a horde,~ Jaune announced. ~This is just one Grimm.~

Pyrrha pulled Miló, in its rifle-form, tight to her shoulder. ~Then it is one Grimm. I… don't think we are dealing with the Deathstalker.~

Trees swayed, and even fell, as the Grimm advanced. "Scatter!" Ruby and Jaune shouted simultaneously.

It struck like a thunderbolt. Baleful red eyes stared down the assembled huntresses and lone huntsman.

"That's a new one!" Blake hissed.

"A Beringel..." Pyrrha announced.

As if to reinforce the point, the massively muscled monstrosity pounded its chest. The Beringel was a very rare Grimm supposedly native to Mistral. No one present had ever heard of a Beringel in Vale.

Much less a Grimm three times Blake's height.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled.

The Beringel's punch passed through the smokey remnant of Blake's Semblance. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Jaune felt a sense of relief that was short lived. The Grimm ripped a boulder from the ground with a howl.

~Pyrrha! Arkos in front of Ruby!~ Jaune suggested. The partners moved in unison. They barely got in front of the rock as their friend dodged out of the way. Ruby rolled to her right and brought rifle-form Crescent Rose to her shoulder.

Ruby's fearsome weapon released a thunderous fusilade. A series of quick crack-crack-cracks of Gambol Shroud joined in the assault. The thick 'bone' plates formed a powerful armor and even Crescent Rose had trouble punching through.

"We need a plan!" Ruby shouted.

"Working on it! Do you have an idea, Ruby?" Jaune responded.

Ruby dodged a hammer blow from the Grimm. "This thing is too fast and armored!"

'You don't have to tell me twice,' Jaune thought with a grimace. His left forearm throbbed where the boulder had struck the shield of Crocea Mors. "Shit!"

Pyrrha barely heard Jaune's curse before the monstrous Grimm landed in their midst. At odds with its enormous size, the Beringel moved with speed and purpose. The beast brought down another hammer blow against Pyrrha.

"Scatter!" Blake called out. The 'r' in scatter morphed into a frustrated growl.

The Grimm's hammer blow grazed Pyrrha and shattered the earth. A red flash alerted Pyrrha to the drop in her Aura levels. 'I was just grazed by that thing's knuckles! What would a direct hit have done?'

Miló barked as Pyrrha fired off round after round to at least draw the Grimm's attention away from her friends.

"We aren't doing enough damage!" Jaune shouted.

"There has to be something we can do!" Ruby hissed. "Even Crescent Rose is having issues with this doodoo head."

~Doodoo head?~ Jaune asked.

~Worry about that later!~ Pyrrha countered as she dodged a series of over-sized boulders thrown by the boss.

"He's attacking in a pattern!" Jaune announced.

"Great!" Ruby responded. "How does that help us?"

Jaune smiled. "I've got a plan now!"

The Beringel roared as soon as the last rock was thrown. The abomination tensed as it prepared to launch another attack.

[DANGER!]

A red path appeared in front of the Grimm. Jaune and Pyrrha yelled, "Blake!" at the same time. The warning barely reached their friend in time. Blake managed to avoid the majority of the Grimm's physical charge, but a mysterious cone of energy burned Blake's sides.

"Blake! Are you okay?" Ruby called out.

Blake grimaced. "I'll be okay! I don't understand how that got past my Aura!"

~Boss logic sucks,~ Jaune explained. "We have to cut down on its mobility! Blake! Can you wrap that asshole's legs?"

"If it bounds its chest before throwing rocks at us, yes!" Blake answered.

"It will!" Jaune answered; calling on his video game knowledge. "Pyrrha! When Blake trips it, I want you to stab its right hand. I'll be going for the Beringel's left."

"What about me?" Ruby asked in between potshots at the beast.

"Simple," Jaune answered with a smile promising brutality. "I want you to put Crescent Rose's blade right through its brain."

[Success! XP Gained!] "I like this plan," Ruby shouted out with glee.

[Success! XP Gained!] Blake grinned. "It is risky, but we can do this!"

The, currently, ad hoc team was trying to herd the Beringel into a more advantageous position.

~Finally!~ Pyrrha communicated through Siraad.

"Blake! Showtime!" Jaune shouted.

Blake dashed forward, using her Semblance to distract the Beringel. It was spiteful, but Blake made sure to cut at the 'tendons' of the Grimm as she wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around its feet. She made sure to land a flip kick to the chin of the Beringel which knocked the beast on its back. The cloud of dust barely had time to settle before Pyrrha and Jaune descended from the heavens like a pair of meteorites. Crocea Mors and Miló were buried up to the hilt in the Beringel's hands.

Jaune had expected Ruby to piece the Beringel's with an attack punctuated by some kind of flip or flourish. He hadn't expected Ruby's strike to be augmented by her Semblance. The sheer force of the blow caused the Beringel's head to explode.

"That… was impressive," Blake spoke for everyone.

Ruby flashed a radiant smile. Her silver eyes shined as she looked to her friends for approval. "So! Relic?"

The rest of initiation had been uneventful. Pyrrha, Blake, Jaune, and Ruby had reached the 'temple' and grabbed the last two relics. All that was left was the White Bishop pieces. Ruby had been beyond ecstatic that their merry band was sharing the relic type. For once, the two gamers were glad that their dialogue options were somewhat restricted.

The surprise was going to be amazing.

Blake had figured out that Jaune and Pyrrha knew more than they were letting on. Ruby practically skipped to the auditorium.

"Is something the matter, Blake?" Pyrrha asked.

"You know something about teams," Blake stated. "I've seen you and Jaune exchange a different kind of smile than the 'usual'."

Pyrrha choose the first option out of curiosity. The hyphen in the first word caught her attention. She would probably regret it… "T-The usual? I need to learn how perceptive you are, but yes, Jaune and I have a feeling about the teams."

[Success! XP up!] "The relics?"

"Yes! You are right, Blake!" Pyrrha recited the standard answer. The group arrived to the auditorium in the midst of a horde of their fellow students. Ozpin began announcing teams. Jaune and Pyrrha fought off the urge to grimace as Team CRDL was announced. The teams were so identical so far.

Then, everything went off the rails compared to last time. Jaune and Pyrrha expected the change, but it was still odd to hear Ozpin announce "Team YRNS". The name came from the Yarran tree of the Vacuo savanna.

"My sister is a team leader! Go Yang!" Ruby cheered.

~At least Ren and Nora are on a team together,~ Pyrrha said with relief.

~The universe would not separate those two.~ Jaune wanted to laugh.

Weiss, the S of YRNS, was shocked that she was not a team leader. It was exactly the same look she had when Ruby had been named team leader in the previous play-through.

"Our final team..." Ozpin began to announce. Ruby continued to cheer wildly as she was very excited about her new team. "Team ABRN, or Auburn, consisting of Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, and Pyrrha Nikos."

~You are receiving some very unfriendly glares, Jaune,~ Pyrrha pointed out.

Jaune grinned. ~I'd be glaring at someone if they got on a team with you, Blake and Ruby. One guy with the most beautiful girl in all Remnant and two of the most beautiful at Beacon? Yeah, that would be instant jealousy. I bet Ren got some glares too.~

~Flattery will get you everywhere, Jaune,~ Pyrrha finished.

"The leader of Team ABRN is… Jaune Arc! Congratulations!" Ozpin finished his pronouncement.

Jaune quickly choose the humble answer. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin. I'll do all I can to help my team be as successful as they can be!"

"Yay! Go Team ABRN!" Ruby squealed happily and jumped in the air. JNPR would always have a special place in Jaune and Pyrrha's heart, but this wasn't too bad.

Jaune was pushing a dolly stuffed to the brim with his teammates' items. The lone male of Team ABRN knew this was his fate for a while. He did, after all, have seven sisters. Jaune had honestly pushed less clothing and gear around in the past.

'Besides, volunteering got me some XP,' Jaune thought to himself.

He did wonder why only success got XP. ~Hey Pyrrha, I've been thinking about a game mechanic. You mentioned getting a 'Partial Success' while we were getting our stuff.~

~I did. I'm not quite sure what that means,~ Pyrrha confirmed.

Jaune was grateful a near metric-ton of girl luggage was between him and his teammates. His confused and wandering gaze was hidden from the rest of Team ABRN. ~Did you get XP for it?~

~I do not believe so,~ Pyrrha answered. ~What is the game trying to keep track of, if not experience?~

~Question for later, we're about to get on our hall.~ Jaune pointed out.

Pyrrha smiled. ~I really hope the heater works better this play through.~

~I don't know, but it was cute when you burrito-fied yourself that one morning.~

~T-Thank you.~ Pyrrha was about to espouse on the evils of below freezing temperatures when a commotion cut her off.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL?!" Cardin Winchester bellowed as he backed out of Team CRDL's room. Jaune and Pyrrha blinked as they realized 'their' room was CRDL's room this go round.

~Oops?~ Pyrrha asked through her connection with Jaune.

"Seriously!" Dove followed with his face contorted in a mix of disgust and confusion. "What the heck is that stuff?"

Sky was shaking his head. "Dunno."

Russel, the last member of Team CRDL to speak up, threw his hands in the air. "At least the mattress can be cleaned! The screws in my bed were ripped out and my bed fell apart!"

Pyrrha buried her head in her hands to hide her embarrassed blush. ~How did we not notice that?~

~It isn't our fault. We didn't know everything seems to be procedurally generated.~ Jaune pointed out.

~But they are talking about… well… the 'aftermath' of our night.~ Pyrrha couldn't believe that she was saying that 'out loud'. No one but Jaune could hear her, but even mentioning it through their shared Siraad voice chat was almost too much.

After a beat Jaune said, ~Probably the closest CRDL will ever get to something like that.~

~Jaune!~ Pyrrha scolded for a moment. There was a pause. ~As selfish as they are… you aren't wrong. That is as close as they will ever get.~

"Ooooh! Here's our room!" Ruby announced. ABRN walked in and took stock of the room.

~Wait,~ Jaune called out to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha nearly stopped collecting her items, ~Is something wrong, Jaune?~

~We traded rooms with CRDL,~ Jaune revealed.

Pyrrha was radiant. ~We can be on the roof without a hostile audience!~

"Let's get to work! I'll let you ladies choose first!" Jaune selected the option that was one step above ass-kissing and flirting.

[Success! XP Gained!]

[Success! XP Gained!]

~Success! XP Gained!~ Pyrrha added playfully.

~Figured out what that means?~ Jaune asked hopefully.

~Nope! That just appears whenever you say something right. You answered perfectly, Jaune!~

Team ABRN worked on setting up the dorm room. Ruby and Blake chatted happily about books. Pyrrha joined the conversation. She selected the neutral friendly options to keep up with the rapid conversation on stories, training regimens, and explaining to Ruby how to fight in heels.

"Hey, ladies, can we talk for a bit?" Jaune asked.

Team ABRN gathered around the table in the room. Jaune smiled at his team as they sat down. "My last name may be at the start of the team's name, but we're all in this together."

Jaune joined them at the table. "We worked together so well against the Beringel. I want us to keep that up. We were awesome."

"I was surprised by how smoothly everything went," Blake agreed.

Ruby brought her hands close to her chin and radiated enthusiasm. "It was great! We should really work on more strategies like that! Maybe even have code names for attacks!"

"Code names sound fun," Pyrrha choose an agreeable option.

Jaune followed suit. "I think we can work something out."

"Now, for the important bit..." Jaune selected a theatrical dialogue choice. "What's the order for the bathroom… other than 'Jaune goes last'?"

"Well..." Blake started. Jaune simply sat back and let the girls settle everything.

Pyrrha tried to pretend that she hadn't seen the smirk Blake tossed her way. Jaune had gone to check in with his family in private. Pyrrha was going to do the same thing. Blake didn't buy the semi-excuse at all. 'She's been reading too much of that Ninjas of Love book. Though… I am curious about it.'

She pushed those thoughts aside as she headed to a secluded area. It was going to be nice to talk to her parents. Pyrrha dialed her parents' contact information happily.

"Pyrrha! Oh I am so glad you called! Are you safe? Is Beacon keeping the press at bay? Let me get your father!" Pyrrha's mother bombarded Pyrrha with questions.

"My kóri! Do I need to make someone disappear?" Kassíteros entered the conversation.

"I'm safe! I made it through Initiation. And no! You do not need to make Jaune disappear!" Pyrrha selected an option she thought was safe.

Of course, it mentioned Jaune without telling her! The next few minutes were spent trying to assuage her parents' concerns about all the situations Pyrrha was facing. Pyrrha was both relieved and a tad melancholy when the call ended.

~Jaune,~ Pyrrha reached out. ~Have you finished your call?~

~Just did. Seven sisters...~ Jaune replied. ~And they all had questions. The game railroaded me into mentioning you. I think Marigold was having a fangirl heart attack. Oh, it's not for the reasons you think. Want to meet on our roof and actually talk about it?~

~That sounds grand.~

It was always a bit windy on the roof. Pyrrha did not mind the cold this time. She had earned her second chance. Pyrrha had hope that she could correct the mistakes and have a future with everyone she loved now. This was the singular hope that had kept Pyrrha from embracing oblivion and selecting the 'Quit' option on the 'main menu'.

Pyrrha, if she was honest with herself, was still partially convinced she had gone insane. How else could she explain how she was the 'player character' in a video game?

She wasn't sure how long it had taken to claw her way back, but it had happened. In some ways, failure had saved her. She had clung tightly to the happier memories. Pyrrha had desperately searched out and embraced any and all positive memories. A few may have been her subconscious reaching for hope. There were memories of being hugged by her mamá and bampás that were constructed.

They had helped save her nonetheless.

Time did not flow as expected, but that was actually an unexpected blessing. Pyrrha used every second of every day clawing for her sense of self. 'Pyrrha' had been rebuilt over the course of… months… perhaps.

She had wanted to exist again.

There were little things that she missed so much. Pyrrha wanted her grandmother's eggplant mousska. She wanted her father to prop a book of fairy tales against her duck lamp and wave his arms as he told the story. Pyrrha wanted her mother to gush over a good grade. She wanted her simple post-workout shake with extra blueberries. Pyrrha wanted to wake up to Ren and Nora talking about breakfast. She wanted Jaune to flash his trademark 'I can go another round' thumbs-up after training.

It had been the simple, even mundane, things she had wanted the most.

'Now, I have another chance. I swear to make the most of it!' Pyrrha declared with fervor and determination.

A smile slipped its way past her determined features. Jaune was sitting at the edge of the roof gazing out at Vale's cityscape. Pyrrha didn't need their Siraad link to know what Jaune was thinking. She stifled a giggle when Jaune nearly jumped out of his skin as she sat down. He relaxed instantly as he registered that it was her.

Resting her head on his shoulder, Pyrrha could only say one thing.

"We'll get it right this time."

Author's Note: Initiation is done! We're on to the story proper soon. As you can see, procedurally generated shenanigans abound. Hope y'all enjoy!