I know, I know. One chapter after I just posted one yesterday? I didn't have a busy day, or a good one, so I wrote. It's therapeutic.

And now we're getting into Initiation. Anyone who remembers how it went down will have a pleasant surprise this go around.

-Phoenyx

Vale was an absolutely wonderful place, much different than the cliffs of her homeland. She felt herself swell with amazement with each new discovery. The architecture was easily modern and urban in the city, but sleek and classy the closer to Beacon you looked. While the daytime had given her a clear view of the skies and people, the night held a completely different type of beauty; the city that refused to sleep. Pyrrha Nikos was nearly glued to the window, her hands planted firmly into the sill as to keep her from barreling face first through the panes. It wouldn't make for a very grand first impression, even if everybody already knew her name. A flickering of lights came from an overpass, just barely in view even with the clear night and cloudless sky. Each way she looked was another intricate flickering of colors. Almost like the wisps you could find in the forests between outlying towns. Foxfire.

Her lips pursed to the side, wiggling back and forth across her face as she imagined what it would have been like to dance among the trees. Freedom. An exhale of breath followed the thought, leaving a fading circle of fog over the glass. One day, perhaps. Pyrrha pushed herself off of the window sill, adjusting her breastplate until it was comfortable again and continuing her path down the halls with the rest of her peers. As she was accustomed, the braver ones greeted her and complimented her. Their honeyed words were replied with a practiced smile and a truly sincere 'thank you', even if their conversation seemed limited to her accolades. Her mother had told her that making friends should be easy and natural, like breathing, especially for someone like her. Pyrrha couldn't help but disagree. Everybody asked about her tournaments, her thoughts on the Headmaster's speech, or if they could have a picture with her; all of which she tried to oblige. Nobody asked how she felt, or if her day was going okay, or about her hobbies. Nobody cared that she ornamented her own armor, or that she liked to tinker with the mechanics of Miló.

It was an unfortunate side effect of fame… well, that and the tabloids always scooping for another shot or another story. One more thing she had to thank Vale and Beacon. None of the news here knew or cared who she was... At least, not yet. Eventually, someone would discover where she had gone. She was bound to turn heads after time had passed - She always did. Hopefully her team, whoever they may turn out to be, would be forgiving. Maybe she'd even get a little lucky and they would steal the limelight from her even for a moment.

She found reprieve from the students who knew her in the form of the locker rooms. Most of the people were far too busy arranging their lockers, adjusting their gear, or talking to their friends to pay her any mind. Pyrrha slipped between their notice with a fleeting freedom, hurrying to the locker set aside for her and pulling the metal container open. She deposited half of her belongings in, stashing both Miló and Akoúo against the back wall and making to begin removing her boots when a voice interrupted her.

"Hey, you're Pyrrha Nikos. Right?" The cheery tone belonged to a blonde, one that was just pulling off her own boots. Her lilac eyes met Pyrrha's, a smile framing her face. Pyrrha met it with a practiced one of her own. "My sister made me watch your fights. Impressive stuff."

Ah, more talk of her accolades. Still, compliments were compliments. Chin up, maintain eye contact, do your best to sound grateful. "Why, Thank y-"

"I can't wait to face you myself." She continued as if she wasn't interrupting. It irked the redhead, even as she tried to ignore the rudeness. "It will be great to face someone that can take a punch from me."

"I'm looking forward to it then." The Champion folded her hands over her stomach, trying to puzzle out the other girl. The words should and very easily could have been cocky, but they had come out as a simple statement of fact. "I hope we can learn from each other."

"You're very formal." The blonde replied after a pause, her hands removing her second boot and dropping it next to the first. "Ah, and I forget. I'm Yang. The girl hiding around the corner trying not to get spotted-" Yang gestured to the side with her thumb, where a pair of silver eyes disappeared around the corner. "-is my sister, Ruby. She's a little shy."

"So I can see." Pyrrha noted with a slight giggle. Yang's smile only grew, but no more words came from her. Using the time she was allotted before somebody else inevitably noticed her, the Champion pulled away the segments of her armor. She dressed nearly as quickly as she'd undressed, light clothes that would keep her comfortable through the night. As much as it surprised her, the silence lasted all the way until she was strolling through the ballroom searching for a free space to claim.

Many of her peers offered her a spot near them, but each of them was gratefully declined in favor of somewhere quieter. It took her a few minutes more than she may have liked, but when she found her little corner of the room, she was quick to spread out her bedding and settle herself into a comfortable seat on the cushion. While she waited for the lights out, she twirled a lock of her hair through her fingers and hummed a melody. Her eyes ran over the assembly of students, noting pairs of wrestling boys - no doubt trying to prove their bravado and strength - to where the girl she'd previously met, Yang, was spurring them on with comments and suggestions - loudly, much to what looked like Ruby's chagrin.

Past them were sets of boys and girls of every shape and size. A pair were juxtaposed in nearly every way; a calm boy in muted colors meditating while a cheery, brightly colored girl bounced around him and talked nonstop. Near them, a blonde in a powder blue bunny onesie was inching himself a bit further away from the previously noted bundle of energy with a nervous look.

Pyrrha watched him for a moment as he slipped under his blankets and disappeared, leaving her eyes wandering again. She spotted a girl in fine white clothing, no doubt one of the Schnee family as evidenced by the snowflake adorning her nightclothes. She made a mental note of that - the Schnee were great contributors to her tournament days, going as far as to sponsor her after she'd won her first victory without so much as a scratch.

They were notoriously hard to get along with, by what she'd heard, yet Pyrrha had only met with the head of the family. The 'playdate' that he'd scheduled between her and the youngest two had fallen through. She still remembered their names, one boy and one girl. You must be Weiss, then.

Hopefully the Schnee heiress would understand her plight about fame.

With a sigh, Pyrrha moved forwards to stretch herself out under her blanket. So far, the day hadn't been terrible. She'd made at least two acquaintances, had one planned for the next day. Not to mention she had to go through initiation and be put on a team, which could mean three new people to befriend. It should be simple enough. Friends were often made by simply being in close proximity to one another, right? All she had to do was be herself… right...?

Maybe she was overthinking this whole friends thing. Best to just let everything work out as it will.

She spun to her side, resting her head on her arm and pulling her circlet from under her hair. It glinted at her, as if taunting her memory in forgetting to put it into her locker. She half-glared at the adornment, before dipping it under the covers with her and hiding it away from any unsavory or prying eyes. Better to not get anything stolen on her first day, much less something her mother had given her. Pyrrha would be quite cross if such events unfolded, much more if it were due to her forgetting something so simple. With her hair free, she spread the red tresses over the blanket behind her, basking in the tingling, released feeling over her scalp - one of her favorite parts of always tying her hair back so tightly.

With a final sigh, she hugged the circlet to her chest and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, the sunrise was attempting to peek its way through the wide windows above. True to habit, Pyrrha sat up with an overhead stretch, dropping her circlet onto her lap and suppressing a pleased groan as the stretch sent relief through her back and arms. For a moment she sat with her eyes closed, enjoying the slowly fading pleasure that her sleep had brought. Without the necessity of sight, her hands pulled her hair back with practiced motions, binding it back and replacing the circlet onto her forehead. The warm metal did wonders to help her feel awake, though she was accustomed to it being cold when she first donned it every morning.

While she was up far before the rest of her class, as evidenced by the chorus of breathing and snoring all around, there was no use in trying to cuddle back up under her covers and sleep for any longer. Her body just wouldn't allow it. Instead, Pyrrha took to folding up the blankets and padding into neat little piles. Once that was done, she strode over to the area designated for them and settled them into place. Despite how careful she was to keep things tidy, there was no doubt in her mind that it would devolve into nothing more than a graveyard of colors and fabric by the end of the morning. Truly, she sympathised with the staff member who had to dig through it all, much less sort it. The neat little pile she had left was unlikely to inspire more of the same, but she could always hope.

Finding herself with a bit of free time, Pyrrha returned to her locker room and changed into her usual gear again. With each strap and knot, she felt more and more normal, more comfortable in her second skin. Once she was reunited with her armor, her weapons strapped into place on her back, the champion stretched once more. Then, while adjusting her gear to be comfortable, she strode out into the halls of Beacon with the intention to explore.

Her exploration didn't last as long as she'd hoped, though she was easily able to catalog the important rooms of the school into her head. It was divided into separate wings for each of the type of activity, classrooms, dorms, cafeteria, and even combat. Quite an interesting design compared to Mistralian schools, which were limited in class space. The combat and training arenas more than made up for academic negligence, but she had been sure to spend her time equally.

A bell chimed once the clock hit eight, the sun shining through the window - it was time for the initiation. Pyrrha was sure to bask in the momentary flickers of warmth during her walk to the area that had been described to her on the flight in. Once she had made it out into the open and spotted the procession of her peers, she was quick to join them. She fell into step behind the assembled group, hoping to stay as incognito as her golden armor and bright hair would allow her.

It didn't work.

"Pyrrha Nikos." A white haired girl fell back to walk alongside her, fingers splayed out and pressed against each other. "A pleasure to finally meet you. I am Weiss Schnee."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Schnee."

"Please, call me Weiss." The heiress smiled, one that flickered between honest friendliness and hard practice. "I should hope that we become good friends."

Something swelled inside of Pyrrha's stomach. Hope. "That would be grand, Weiss."

"Us powerful, popular people must stick together, after all." The hope withered, "I wonder, have you given any thought to who you might like to be partnered with? I've been accosted several times now by this neanderthal, but I prefer the company of one such as yourself."

"I was planning on simply allowing the pieces to fall where they may." She held onto a grain of hope that Weiss would catch onto her meaning; she did not want someone who was only interested in her fame, fortune, or skill. Weiss, to her credit, did not miss a beat. "Well, I was hoping that we could be partners. With our combined skill, we would be unstoppable. Not to mention our intelligence"

"That would be grand." The words fell flatter now, but Weiss seemed to miss the lack of enthusiasm. The heiress was, instead, lost in her own self-interested, triumphant thought. Pyrrha could practically see the lightning and thunder around her head. The rest of the walk was filled with mindless chatter about various topics, most of which were centered around Weiss and her various achievements. It went on to how Weiss would make a great partner, and how Pyrrha would benefit as greatly as she would from their partnership.

It left her empty, and she was all too glad when Professor Goodwitch addressed the group. "Children, if you would please take your place on the launch pads so that we may begin."

"Launch… pads?" A blonde to her left asked, nervousness clear in his tone. Did he not know? "You mean like… launch launch?"

"Indeed. You will be flying." The Headmaster this time, his movement through the remaining crowd of students slow and deliberate. "I am sure that many of you have heard rumors as to the assigning of teams. Allow me to put this talk to rest. You will be assigned partners, and teammates. Today."

A short, black haired girl to the left of the blonde made a whimper.

"This partner, and this team, will be a part of your life at Beacon from here on. So it is imperative that you find someone with which you work well."

Another whimper, this one higher in pitch.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner."

"Whaaat!? B-but..." The tiny hooded girl whined, even as the redhead between Pyrrha and her leaned forward to yell at the quiet boy she had been accosting last night. "Told you!"

"Can we uh… go back to this flying thing." The blonde rubbed his hands together in front of his chest. "Do we get like… parachutes or something?"

"No." The Headmaster's curt response was augmented by the sound of a launch pad, followed by a brown and yellow blur fading in the distance. Pyrrha readied her weapons, though she couldn't help but feel worried for the blonde as he kept talking. "Oh, okay."

"Don't worry, Jauney," The redhead hopped up and down on her plate. "I'm sure things will be fine. We might be new friends, so it might be a bit weird to hear this from me, but I'll say it anyway. You seem bouncy enough!"

"What Nora means to say is that she thinks you'll be just fine." The quiet boy added from his side.

"Right…" It didn't look like it comforted him any. Another plate sprung. The hand that he had resting on the hilt of his blade tightened until the teen's knuckles were white as bone. "So… about this landing strategy… did you guys hand out brochures or-" whatever word he had next came out as nothing more than a surprised scream as his plate bucked beneath him and introduced him to the air. The Headmaster regarded his flight with disinterest, taking one sip from his mug. The redhead just waved at his disappearing, flailing body.

Pyrrha frowned at the man, but ensured her shield was strapped firmly onto her arm and kicked the plate release herself. If they weren't going to help him, the she would have to. The sudden rush of air forced her eyes to slits, so she maneuvered her shield into place and cut off a good majority of the wind. Her eyes scanned her trajectory, her mind at work to judge the distance and path she would take.

Then, she found the flailing figure of her peer, his shield out. That brought another frown - he should have thought of the air it would catch. One look told her that unless she landed in the next twenty or so seconds, he was going to beat her to the forest floor, and likely wouldn't survive judging by the current circumstance. So, with a nudge from her polarity, Pyrrha sighted the nearest tree and adjusted her path.

She crashed through the thick wood shield first, driving the metal through it with the help of her Semblance like a battering ram. Her momentum she killed with a roll over the wide branch and a stomp of her foot as she came to her full height. The scope of her rifle came to her eye out of habit, but she dropped it in favor of spinning her weapon around her arm and triggering the spear form.

One thumb came into the air as her weapon spun and transformed, testing the local wind - none. The tree leaves in the distance flicked to her right, so she adjusted for that, reared her arm back and triggered the rifle end of the spear as she threw. The weapon shot out in a blur and soon disappeared over then into the canopy. There was a muted sound of impact in the distance, and a echoing "Thank you!" over the sudden silence. Relief flooded through her, as well as anxiety that she'd been suppressing. A thousand 'what ifs' went through her mind, but she pushed them back. No use in concentrating on what could happen, Her mother had once told her, concentrate on what you can do.

"I'm sorry!" She called back with a wave, as she was certain that being pinned out of a free fall had most definitely hurt. With one final glance at the Headmaster, whose face was unreadable at the distance, Pyrrha stepped over the edge and fell into the Emerald Forest below.

It was time to meet her partner.

Stark differences between this and canon now. I'll talk about this more in the ATFAW section below.

Lemme know what you think, and tell me if you noticed the difference in character voice in this chapter. It should feel different, but not like another author is writing it.

-Phoenyx

Advice for the Aspiring Writer;

The Butterfly Effect

Everything you change for a Fanfiction matters in the whole of the story. This effect is just as prevalent in your personal stories or novels, but it's much more as a background than in Fanfiction.

When doing any story based off of someones idea, you can only follow canon for so far before it becomes boring. Why? Because we know the story. This is why most novelizations have minor changes and additions, because following directly along can be boring. I'll cite the Halo novel, The Flood. This novel follows along with the game pretty closely, but William C. Dietz does an amazing job with adding just enough that it doesn't feel like it's just a guide to the game.

Keep in mind what you change from Canon, and try to play out how that would have an affect on the story. Want good examples? Once again I point you to Coeur Al'aran. All of his stories divulge based on the Butterfly Effect. Remember that Chaos Theory had a part to play; not everything has a logical line of action, some changes will have small effects even if it's a large change, and some the opposite. Stories are dynamic, and the Chaos Theory deals with dynamic systems... though it's mathematical and not creative, so take that with a grain of salt.

In BMS, as it is an AU, I can start out canon and diverge greatly, as I have and will. All I've done is nudged around events a little here so far; Weiss meets Pyrrha outside of the lockers. Jaune flirts with Weiss off screen to Pyrrha, instead of in front of her, which means she doesn't receive any of his attention at all or even know his name. The placements of the launch pads are different. These small things mean something, whether it be red herring or an actual foreshadow to change.

The launch pads are mixed simply because I couldn't remember if Pyrrha was on their left or their right. All I remember is Yang going first. I think Cardin was there... but I don't think he said anything, so I didn't mention him because he's not important right now.

There's one pretty good change that I'm sure you might have noticed. Can anyone tell me what it is? I'll give you a hint that it's relevant to both of our main characters.