Not much else to add: thanks to the few new readers, still working on editing the next few chapters. Hopefully this chapter adds just a bit more to the plot for you guys.
But, on a topic aside from this fic, I wanted to challenge myself by doing a Valentine's day RWBY quick write. So, I sent out a poll on my general RWBY FaceBook group earlier today (in addition to various friend's opinions) to see which ship I should write a one-shot about. I'm still going to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see the final results, but it's currently between Arkos and Flower Power. In all honesty, it's probably going to end up being Arkos: people in the fandom tend to go nuts over anything Pyrrha-related. Anyways, thanks again for reading.
Keep Moving Forward
Published Feb. 13 2017
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"PARTNER?! HEY, I never agr-WHOAAAA!" Jade screams as the pad flings her head first into the forest below.
She grimaces and summons her shield, breaking through tree branch after tree branch until she reaches a clearing. With a flick of her wrist, the shield dematerializes, and the base immediately began to change its form into that of a sword hilt, the blade erupting outwards a few moments later. She plunges the sword into the ground in an attempt to stop her momentum, slowing down only slightly before the blade shatters, leaving only the hilt in her hand. "Well… fuck." she mutters quietly, continuing to move until flying face first directly into a tree.
"Owww… that fuckin' hurt… hey, Goodwitch, what was that about partners again?! I know you can hear me! You said you're gonna monitor us, so you have to be able to hear me right now. Hey, ANSWER ME!" She waits a few moments in the same spot, and sighs, realizing that she wasn't going to get a response.
"Just so you know…" she grumbles as she stands up and dusts herself off. "I prefer working alone."
…
She buckles over and begins coughing again, the impact having jarred her lungs.
"Fuck… third time…" she groans a few minutes later as she gets up and continues walking. "Why's the thing gotta start acting up now… and for the millionth time, why don't I have a better nose if I'm a cat? Can't smell a damn thing around here…"
"HELLLOO! IS SOMEBODY OUT THERE?" a voice calls out from somewhere in the treetops.
Instinctively, she morphs her bracelet into its bow form and pulls the drawstring back, only realizing what she just heard after doing so.
"If somebody's out there, I'm stuck in one of these trees… can you help me down?"
She hesitates, but aims slightly above where the sound was coming from and fires. A branch shatters with a decent amount of noise, and another young girl came falling down, screaming the entire way.
"You ok?"
"I… I guess… thanks."
The dust clears, and Jade sees the pint sized girl in front of her, probably not even over five feet tall.
"So, have you found anyone else yet?" the girl asks.
Jade takes a closer look at her clothes and sees that her entire wardrobe seems to be combat-based designer materials. A look farther up reveals pale skin, deep green eyes, and neon blue hair.
"Well?"
"What? Oh, sorry. No, you're the first."
"So, we're partners then?"
"Technically, yes. But let me just tell you now, I fly solo. Feel free to do what you want, I'm leaving."
She turns to leave, but feels her lungs begin to flame up, immediately causing her to buckle down and collapse.
"Hey, are you ok?! What's wrong?"
Jade finishes coughing a few moments later and scowls, upset at her sudden bout of illness. "No clue…" she lies. "Allergies, maybe?"
"That doesn't sound like an allergy. Wait a second, I'm going to try something."
The girl sneaks up against her back and jams her palm between Jade's shoulder blades, forcing her to cough even harder until something flies out. Upon closer inspection, it was a piece of bark, presumably from the tree she had been flung into before. "You ok now?"
"I guess... thanks."
"Why was there a piece of tree bark in your throat?"
"Why? I dunno, I guess I must've accidentally bitten off some when I ran into a tree a while back."
"Why'd you run into a tree?"
"I couldn't help it, it's where I got launched. You know, you sure have a lot of dumb questions, pipsqueak."
"HEY, DON'T CALL ME PIPSQUEAK! IT'S SKYLA! SKYLA O'LEARY, of the great O'Leary medical company!"
"..."
"..."
"Haven't you guys been going under lately?"
…
"Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang… wait, who do I know at this school? There's Yang, and Jaune, and Blake, and…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Wait, where are you going?! We're supposed to be teammates…"
…
"Jaune? Do you… have any spots left on your team?"
"Very funny."
They stay silent for a while, only to have the silence broken by Jaune asking "So… you want your spear back?"
…
A young girl in a black jumpsuit rolls to the side of the Beowolf, hoping to attack its blind spot, when a gigantic rock shaped like a fist appears out of nowhere and sends the Grimm flying into another girl's fist. She could see that, once the Grimm dissolved, the stone fist is covered in spikes. The new girl, easily clearing 6'5" with a build like a professional wrestler, picks her up by the collar and places her gently back on the ground, grinning as she did.
"Yo. You my new partner?"
She slowly nods, somewhat afraid of what the other girl might try to do. However, before she could react, the other girl grabs her and holds her in a bear hug probably strong enough to break a rock.
"Well then. The name's Dolores Magdalene Vermillion, or DMV for short. Everyone calls me 'Sloth' though, 'cause, you know? Nobody gets through the DMV easy. Plus, kinda irony too, cause I can zip around really really fast, and"
"Erm, Dolores?"
"Oh, YEAH, I forgot to ask about you! What's your name?!"
"Ni… Nicole… Nicole Vanta… and… you may be crushing me, just a bit…"
"Oh, whoops."
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And we have the main cast! Or, at least some of them… the rest'll show up within the next two chapters. Another chapter of Initiation after that, and it's the legendary 'chapter 8' that I've had a hard time getting around to: yikes. Although, I'm sure you guys will love that one.
Keep Moving Forward