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This is a Disclaimer: "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "RWBY" "RWBY who?" "I don't own RWBY." :/


On your marks! Get set! Go!

Night had fallen when the airship landed. Beacon academy was located in the distance. Its glorious tower stood above all, just as radiant as Mallow had imagined in his dreams. Even though he wasn't in the academy's hallways yet, he could feel the grandness and prestige that the place offered and demonstrated. Hunters that graduated from there were the best of the best. Now, all Mallow had to do was get in. If only that were as easy as it sounded.

The group of ten was led towards Beacon's cliff face. When they looked downwards, they saw that the Emerald Forest was shrouded, choked by shadow. From their perspective, the applicants couldn't even tell that a forest was down there. In their eyes it was darkness, pure dark that didn't allow for prying eyes to see its secrets from a distance. Those secrets needed to be experienced, up front and personal.

Each would-be student had varying reactions towards the mystifying sight below.

Mallow was terrified upon remembering that down there was where the initiation took place. The young man became even more scared as he remembered how freshmen were usually launched into the forest. And finally, he realized that – for some reason – the initiation was being held at night, instead of morning. At night, the creatures of Grimm practically combine with their surroundings, even in a clearing. They would be hard to discern. 'I'm so dead,' the young man deadpanned to himself.

When Mallow looked around, it appeared as if the other teenagers were largely unaffected by the shadowy imagery. Some looked slightly unnerved or agitated, but they didn't betray the amount of fear that Mallow was convinced he was showing. Phlox was among them, so was the fox faunus and the red-eyed bottle-girl. A few didn't seem to notice the dark mass that was apparently a forest; they had a casual, relaxed expression of their faces. Nothing seemed to bother them. Lupine was among them, so was the spiky-haired boy, the turquoise-haired, the really tall boy, and the girl that Mallow had mistaken for a man. Finally, there were those who appeared comfortable, almost excited upon seeing the humongous shadow down the cliffs. This category applied to the albino boy and the mountain of a young man with purple eyes. They each had a crooked smile on their face. Their breath was short, although Mallow doubted that it was because of fear.

The focus on the dark Emerald Forest shifted as footsteps could be heard. Two figures approached from the shadows: a gray-haired man holding a coffee mug and the blonde-haired woman from the airship. Mallow recognized them instantly as Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. The young man nearly fainted just by being near these two.

"For those of you who don't know, I am Ozpin. I am the headmaster of Beacon." The teenagers murmured in response. "And you are very special individuals invited to attend this school from all around Vale and the surrounding areas. Tonight, your abilities will be evaluated down there, in the Emerald Forest." He paused to regard the students calmly, without betraying emotions or feelings. "I will call out your names. As I do, please stand on the launch pads in the order I call you.

"Adonis Iridis." The purple-eyed boy left the crowd and took his place on the platform farthest down the row. The young man towered over both Ozpin and Glynda, who became recipients of an unreadable expression from the mountain of a young man.

"Maverick Casco." A raven-haired boy took his leave from the crowd. He wore an apathetic smirk as he strolled towards the platform next to Adonis.

"Marron Heltinne." The dark-haired masculine woman that Mallow mistook for a man walked slowly towards the platform next to Maverick.

"Sangui Yong." The creepy albino boy slinked excitedly towards the platform. The crooked smile remained on his face as he walked. He stopped by the platform beside Marron, he gave her a strange glance before turning and staring ahead at the darkness below.

"Phlox Verde." Phlox finally found some peace from her avid admirer as she moved with such grace, that Mallow almost swore that she was gliding. She stopped by Sangui's platform and – as the albino turned to stare at her with his creepy pink eyes – Phlox immediately wished she was with Lupine; until Ozpin called his name and then, there he was.

"Hey darling," Lupine whispered in Phlox's ear, making her roll her eyes in slight annoyance.

"Waxyn Pequod." The really tall, but skinny boy left the dwindling crowd and took his place beside Lupine.

"Teel Squall." The red-eyed girl with a small gourd at her waist, took her place besides Waxyn. She looked down the aisle, gauging her opponents. They all looked very formidable, especially the extremely hot one at the end and the creepy albino boy; however, she probably only thought that because one was extremely good looking and the other was just plain scary.

"Amber Byeon." The fox faunus nervously stood on the platform besides Teel. She also looked down the aisle, but for a different reason. Her eyes rested on the boy farthest down the row and would not leave. That is, until, he returned her look with a stare of cold loathing making her shiver and look down in shame and regret.

"Mallow Rouge."

The young man nearly fainted after hearing Ozpin say his name. It was like a dream come true. He tried to look dignified as he only had to walk a few steps to stand on his platform. But unfortunately, he couldn't stick the landing and nearly fell on his face. Afterwards, Mallow looked down in shame and prayed that no one was looking at him.

"Alright, now that everyone's in position. Let's continue," Glynda said curtly. "I'm sure that many of you have heard of it by now. But, here at Beacon students are assigned to teams of four or teams of two pairs. You will be living with your team and be spending most of your time with them. Tonight, you will be receiving your teammates."

Aside from Mallow – who already knew how this process worked – the other nine murmured and muttered in response to her comment.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your tenure, here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to find someone that you will work well with," Ozpin continued. "Once you land, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Ozpin paused for a moment as every teenager in the area looked at each other and made a quick evaluation. Lupine caught Phlox's eye and waggled his eyebrows at her. She gave him a blank stare and shook her head in exasperation. Mallow just stared at his feet.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will be hindered along the way. If you hesitate to react to opposition, you will die."

Reactions varied all through the line. Adonis didn't do anything. Maverick grinned as if he was saying, "bring it on". Marron pursed her lips. Sangui smiled and licked his lips with a rather long tongue. Phlox found herself tensing nervously, but calmed once Lupine placed his arm around her, comfortingly. Waxyn simply shrugged. Teel stared ahead, steeling herself for the harrowing experience. Amber gulped and nervously looked at the ground. Finally, Mallow nearly wet himself.

"You will be monitored and evaluated for the duration of the initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. Once you've reached the end of the path, there will be an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Mallow was so tempted to raise his hand, so tempted to jump off the platform, so tempted to run. But then he decided that there was no point to raising his hand as he already knew more than the other teenagers going through initiation, and he would look so terrible if he ran.

"One more thing. Since we only allow teams of four at Beacon, two of you - regardless of your success - will be eliminated. Now, take your positions."

'But I'm going to die. I'm screwed. I don't even…' As his mind stirred, the launching process had already begun. Adonis shot off without anything in his hand, so did Maverick and Sangui. Everyone else drew their personalized weapon. Except for Phlox, who reached into a pouch she happened to have with her, withdrew a vial of red dust, and opened it, letting its contents fall in her hand. She then, proceeded to do something strange with it: she brought it up to her face and snorted it up her nostril. Her dress began to glow with a bright crimson color. She reached into her bag again, and withdrew a cylindrical tube with a rounded bottom adorned with green twisting ivies. She tossed a few pinches of light-green, yellow dust and somehow set it on fire causing the contraption to emit smoke.

'What am I doing? What am I doing?' he thought wildly. He turned to see the tall boy named Waxyn getting launched. 'I still can run. I can still run.' He looked back down towards the path and then back towards Ozpin and Glynda and his blood ran cold.

Professor Ozpin was well-known for his apathy and general lack of expression but now, he was looking directly at Mallow with an eyebrow raised. As if he was daring him to run.

Mallow was, naturally, distracted by this and found himself confused for a second. Then, he heard a fateful clang and felt the wind whipping his face and hair.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Mallow twirled in the air, the rush of the wind made it impossible for him to see or discern his location. It went like this for a while. It felt like infinity. But then, Mallow felt the wind's force lessen and the ground opened up to him. "Oh great," he roared – but also whispered, as the wind was still too strong – "I'm dead." He closed his eyes too afraid to see the ground approaching and waited for the end.

To be continued…


Pointless cliffhanger is pointless... Oh well. I've had a ton of fun so far and I hope you guys are too.

Have a nice life!