The Game The Gods Play

by Izlawake

Magic & Gods AU. Ruby, Jaune, and others learn of their destinies to protect the world as Paladins, mystical warriors chosen by the Gods to fight against the evil Goddess Sheena who created the Grimm and started a war over a thousand years ago at the dawn of time. Can our heroes end The Game The Gods Play, or will they just be mere pawns in a seemingly never-ending war?

2. Taking the First Step

Chapter 2: Taking the First Step

"Legends…stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that they are remnants, byproducts of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, splitting images of the Gods themselves, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction. The creatures of Grimm, created by my Goddess, Sheena. Sheena and the Grimm set their sights on Man and all his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning Man's brief existence back to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, and with help from the Gods, Man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. Iris, the Nature Mother, gathered the elements of the world and from them, created Dust. Combining the power of "nature's wrath" and the Paladins who carry the power of the Gods, Mankind lit their way through the darkness and in the shadow's absence, came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.

"However, even the most brilliant of lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone…darkness will return. So, you may prepare your Paladins and your Guardians…Build your monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed…There will be no victory in strength."

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August 29th 1580

The Skies of Vale

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is coming with me to Beacon! This is the best day ever!" Yang exclaimed on the airship to Beacon, pulling Ruby into a tight hug.

"Please stop…" Ruby moaned.

"Oooh, but I'm so proud of you!" Yang responded, releasing Ruby from her tight grip. "You must be excited too. I mean, everyone will think that you're the bee's knees!"

"But I don't want to be the bee's knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees…" Yang lowered her eyes at her sister. "Look, I got pushed ahead two years. I…I don't want anyone to think I'm special, or expect something incredible from me, or something…"

Yang pulled Ruby into another hug, this one more comforting. "You are special…You're special to me," she told her, making Ruby smile and return the hug. "Thanks, Yang," Ruby whispered.

"Hey, that crook you ran into last night, is that him?" Yang suddenly asked. Ruby spun around and scanned for Roman Torchwick, but gave a sigh of relief, as the Roman Yang was talking about was on the holographic television.

"The criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick evaded police forces last week after he attempted to rob a Dust store, though he failed thanks to a Huntress who happened to be there at the time," stated Cyril Ian. "Torchwick remains at large, and we encourage anyone with any information related to Torchwick to contact their local police department. Back to you, Lisa."

"Thank you, Cyril," said Lisa Lavender. "In other news, a recent Faunus civil rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted it. A number of Humans and Faunus were hospitalized, though fortunately there were no casualties. The once-peaceful organization turned to acts of violence ever since its previous leader stepped down nearly five years ago and…" Lisa's video feed was abruptly cut off and replaced with a holographic video feed of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the blonde Huntress introduced herself. "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor to attend our prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The video ended and the holographic Glynda disappeared.

"Look, you can see Signal from up here!" Ruby exclaimed, pressing herself up against a window to see. "I guess home isn't as far as we thought," Yang told her.

Off on one side of the ship, Blake Belladonna sat along in a corner reading a book, unamused by everyone admiring the view aboard the airship. On the other side, Pyrrha Nikos was at her seat surrounded by various people praising her, asking for her autograph, or asking for combat advice to succeed at Beacon. Pyrrha, not wanting to be rude, answered all questions and gave those who asked her autograph. Once the fans dispersed, Pyrrha noticed a scraggly blond teen nearby: Jaune Arc. Jaune was bent half over against the wall, his hands at his stomach, and he was moaning up a storm.

He's got airsickness, Pyrrha noted, recognizing the symptoms immediately; Pyrrha had similar symptoms when she went sailing with her family years ago on vacation. She headed to Jaune's side while digging into her pocket and retrieving a large red handkerchief, which she hovered under Jaune's face. "Here, maybe this will help," she said, offering it to him. Jaune mumbled a "thank you" and pressed the handkerchief to his mouth before giving a lurch forward. "Um, need some help?" Pyrrha gave him a light back rub with one hand. "This always helped me whenever I get seasick."

"Except we're in the air…" Jaune gurgled. The back rub went on for less than a minute before Jaune started tilting in all directions. "Sorry! Gotta go!" he told Pyrrha before running off for the nearest trash can, where he deposited his digested breakfast into it. Jaune then collapsed by the can, remaining there for the rest of the trip.

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Down on the ground level, Weiss Schnee was being escorted in a limousine by one of the many drivers of the Schnee Dust Corporation. She spent the time in silent peace, her head wild with the sort of adventures she will have as a Huntress; becoming leader of her own team which would consist of only the most elite of students, rising above the ranks of Beacon and becoming the best of the best. Weiss snapped from her fantasy when her Scroll started ringing with a message from her sister, Winter.

"Hello, Weiss. I'm sorry that I could not be home to see you off to Beacon. I wish you luck in both your progress with your eventual team and your studies. -Winter."

Just like Winter, always looking out for me even while serving the Atlesian Military, Weiss thought. Weiss' train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a loud engine beside her. Scooting to the window, Weiss' eyes widened when she saw a teenage girl riding upon a motorcycle.

The girl, with deep olive hair that reached her neck was tied into a short ponytail, wore black goggles, but Weiss could see fuchsia eyes behind them, was riding upon a Fat Boy motorcycle. She was wearing an anchor grey hoodie and a black combat vest over the hoodie. Weiss could see her matching anchor grey camouflage cargo pants' hips with a leather grey belt. Pressing against the pedals were a set of black combat boots, and black leather fingerless, Ridgeback gloves were adorned upon her hands. The teen noticed Weiss looking at her and flashed her a Cheshire grin, and Weiss then noticed a pair of wireless headphones around her ears.

"Driving a motorcycle while listening to music? Barbaric," Weiss muttered. The teen glanced at Weiss a few times then pulled ahead, where she drove in front of the limousine, cutting it off and forcing the driver to slam on the brake, flinging Weiss to the car floor. "Ms. Schnee, are you alright?" exclaimed the driver.

"I'm fine. Please, continue towards our destination." The driver nodded and picked up speed again as Weiss sat herself back down, now feeling rather shaken and angry at that crazy teenager.

Ahead of the Schnee limousine, that teenager, Olivia Marquette, was heading for Beacon Academy for initiation, hoping that she will become a Huntress. She zoomed down the busy streets, avoiding cars in her path before turning down the long and winding road that lead to Beacon. With the sudden change in direction, the sun now shone in her face; she tapped a finger to the side of her aviator goggles and the lenses turned a tinted brown as Beacon loomed in the distance.

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Ruby and Yang disembarked the airship with everyone at the airship platform. Everyone stared in awe up at the magnificent Beacon Academy except for Jaune, who dashed to a nearby trash can one last time. "Wow, this is incredible," Yang commented.

Ruby, however, was more entranced by the passing students' weapons. "Sis, look! That girl has a collapsable staff! Ah, and she's got a fire sword!" Yang had to hold Ruby down to keep her from wandering off.

"Ruby, you need to stop being so obsessive over weapons," she advised.

"But weapons are an extensive of ourselves! They're like a piece of our souls!" Ruby argued.

"Well, you need to make some actual friends, Ruby."

"But why would I need new friends when I've got you?"

"Well, my friends are already here, so I gotta go!" Yang said with haste as a number of people Ruby did not recognize appeared and whisked Yang off so fast it made Ruby's head spin. She ended up dizzy and collapsed onto a trolley holding several luggage cases, which sparked an outcry from Weiss Schnee.

Ruby tried apologizing while picking up the luggage, only for Weiss to yank each one from her. "How can you be so clumsy?" Weiss snapped after gathering up her luggage while Ruby looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

"Hey, there a problem here?" Olivia Marquette asked, strolling over to see what the commotion was about, who replaced her helmet with an anchor grey box cap, which she pulled her ponytail through and had her goggles resting atop the brim. On her left waist was a grey sash bearing a green sun.

"You! You sideswiped my limo out in Vale!" Weiss snapped, pointing at Olivia.

"Oh, that. So…what about it?" Olivia asked with her Cheshire grin.

"'What about it!?' You could've gotten me killed!"

"Geez, it sure is loud around here," said a new voice, this time belonging to a caucasian Wolf Faunus with dark grey hair and piercing amber gold wolfish eyes. He was wearing an apple red long-sleeve shirt with a popped collar with an obsidian black cargo vest over it, a hot pink handkerchief tied around his neck, washed-out faded blue jeans and red and black sneakers. There was a symbol that appeared like a slanted amber-colored wolf eye imprinted on his vest's left breast pocket. Two wolf ears poked out amongst his hair, and there were two matching blades on his back. The swords were thin and made of stainless obsidian and were straight and curved at the ends. The hilts were a crystal black with amber lines running through them like blood veins and the pommels appeared like large screw heads. Jutting out from the stub crossguards were thin grey metal bars for Tristan's fingers to rest against holding the hilts. "You think people would be more excited being at Beacon rather than being bitchy about it."

"And who are you?" Weiss demanded.

"Name's Tristan Cortes, sweet cheeks. Now, how about I show you around the campus grounds a little, huh?" Tristan said with a fanged grin, making Weiss give a disgusting face in return. With a huff, she gathered her belongings and continued on. "I can show myself around just fine," Weiss shot at him.

"Um, thank you," Ruby told Tristan. "No problem at all," Tristan said before leaving.

"Geez, we've been here for less than an hour and we've pissed off the Schnee heiress," Olivia commented, making Ruby chuckle. Nearby, a group of people dressed similar to Olivia waved at her, beckoning her over. "Oops, there's my team. Gotta go!"

"Wait, you have a team already?" Ruby asked, making Olivia stop in her tracks.

"Nope. That's Glas Radiance, my old team. They came to help deliver my luggage to Beacon. Oh, before I go, what's your name?" Ruby introduced herself, and Olivia did the same. "Seeya around, Ruby Rose!" Ruby said goodbye back.

"Um, hi," said a new voice behind Ruby. Turning around, she was met with Jaune Arc. "My name's Jaune."

"Hey, aren't you that guy that puked on the airship?" Ruby asked with a chuckle.

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A little later, and Ruby and Jaune found themselves in the auditorium with the rest of the initiates. Ruby left Jaune to go be with Yang, where they were soon joined by a displeased Weiss. Jaune, however, hovered near by them, interested in the Schnee heiress while Pyrrha watched him from afar. Who is this boy? Pyrrha wondered, feeling herself drawn to Jaune for some unknown reason.

Ozpin soon came out onto the stage, accompanied by Glynda and Kyler. Ruby gave a silent wave to Kyler, who returned it back with a smile. Ozpin cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone. "I'll keep this brief," he told everyone. "You've traveled here today in search of knowledge to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose and direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin stepped away and went off stage, where he disappeared without a further word.

Glynda swiftly took his place. "You will all gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation test begins. Be ready." Glynda followed after Ozpin, to which Kyler took her place.

"Now, I know that some of you may be excited to be here, some of you may be worried, nervous, scared even. Some of you may be discouraged if you fail initiation. I want to let all of you know that no matter what happens, so long as you keep your dreams of becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses solid and strong, you will overcome anything before you," Kyler told everyone, which boosted some peoples' moral. "One last thing, and I want all of you to remember this for the rest of your lives. No matter what happens to you, whether you fail to become a Huntsman, whether someone in your life dies, whether things don't go as planned, or anything of the sort, you must remember to keep moving forward. That is the most important thing you can ever do when life goes down the wrong path; learn from what happened, grow stronger from it, and move forward." Kyler left the stage, entering through the same door Ozpin and Glynda took.

In the audience, everyone was muttering about what Ozpin and Kyler told them. "Ozpin seemed kinda off, almost like he wasn't even there," Yang mentioned.

"I think what Mister Wolf said was inspiring," Ruby noted. Yang, Weiss, and Jaune gave her a puzzling look. "Oh, you guys don't know him. His name is Kyler Carnaid, but I call him Mister Wolf—"

"Wait, that was Kyler Carnaid?" Weiss interrupted. Ruby nodded. "You do realize who he is, correct?" A shake of the head now. "Kyler Carnaid is among the best Huntsmen of the four Kingdoms. He's considered a Master-level Huntsmen, having defended the Kingdoms from the Grimm and criminals for many years since he graduated from Haven Academy, from what I hear. I have heard word that the High Council intends to create a new Huntsmen rank specifically for him, given his record."

"Ya seem to admire him, Schnee," Olivia said with a laugh as she strolled over. Weiss shot her a mean glare.

"He is among the best of the best, after all. What's not to admire about him?" Weiss retorted with pride.

"I gotta say, I want to know what sort of make up he uses," Yang wondered. "He's gotta be at least forty years old with a Huntsmen record like that, but he looks no older than twenty-five or so."

"How do you know about him, and why do you call him 'Mister Wolf'?" Weiss asked Ruby. Ruby gave a quick rundown of how she met Kyler when she was young and learned how he and her mother used to be allies.

"That's odd…I don't remember mom ever mentioning this Kyler guy before," Yang said when Ruby had finished. They did not have time to ponder this further, as they were among the few left in the auditorium, so they had to scramble to catch up to the others before getting lost.

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Later that night, in the ballroom, everyone had gathered to sleep the night away on cots and sleeping bags, having changed into their nightwear to get comfortable. Ruby and Yang were situated side by side, with Ruby writing a letter to her friends at Signal and Yang checking out the guys and girls alike. She glanced at the various guys flexing their muscles, Jaune, who, even for a wimp, had worked out a bit before coming to Beacon, which Yang took note of at his bottom as he headed for the restroom to change. Some of the girls here are sexy too, Yang thought to herself as she watched some of the girls wander about, but her gaze was quickly captured by Olivia Marquette, who was openly changing by her sleeping bag with a duffel bag nearby. She pulled her hoodie off, revealing an olive green long sleeve under armour shirt made of polyester, which slightly clung to her body. The curious gazes soon turned into hooting from some of the guys when Olivia took off her shirt and sports bra, revealing her bare athletic body and a black sleeve tattoo that resembled circuitry lines and shapes from a circuit board on her right arm and a couple scars on her left arm for a brief minute before an olive-colored wife beater shirt took its place, followed by a pair of grey track pants. "She's an interesting one," Yang commented as Olivia laid down to sleep.

Over by a corner, Weiss Schnee was having what presumed to be a pleasant conversation with a caucasian girl with amethyst purple-colored eyes and long black hair. In another corner, Tristan Cortes was in his maroon boxers and white undershirt skimming through a magazine entitled "PlayFaunus," which earned some disgusting looks from passing girls. Near him was Lucas Dias, who was fast asleep in his sleeping bag with his face buried into his pillow. Elsewhere, Nora Valkyrie was playfully bouncing around Lie Ren, who was straightening out his sleeping bag, though Nora's, whose was right next to his, was an untidy mess; her neighbor grumbled to himself in his bag and threw his pillow over his face to muffle her voice.

As for Jaune, he was just leaving the restroom wearing a bright blue set of bunny pajamas (complete with bunny feet even), grumbling to himself as he remembered one of his sisters, Violet, bought him a "new set of pajamas for little brother to wear at Beacon," though he had no idea this was what she bought. "I should've known she'd do this to me. Now I look stupid," Jaune moaned to himself as he headed for the restroom entrance, only to bump into Pyrrha Nikos, who was heading in to change. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she quickly said to him.

"No, no, it's my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going," spoke Jaune. Pyrrha gave him a smile, noticing his choice in pajamas. Jaune noticed too. "These aren't mine…Well, they are mine, but they were a joke gift from one of my sisters, which I didn't know until too late, so this is all I had to wear tonight."

Pyrrha gave a giggle. "Well, I must say, it takes a lot of guts to wear something like bunny pajamas." Jaune gave a sarcastic chuckle in return, feeling as though Pyrrha was trying to embarrass him. "You're the one who got sick on the airship, correct?" A nod from Jaune. "I guess my back rub didn't help much, huh?"

Jaune's eyes widened. "That was you? Well, thanks…kinda. I mean, I appreciate you trying to help me back there and all, but it didn't really help."

"Yeah…I guess it didn't…" Pyrrha felt as though the conversation was growing awkward, from talking about bunny pajamas and airsickness, so she excused herself and headed for a stall to change into, but Jaune stopped her dead in her tracks with "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"Um…I don't think so," Pyrrha quickly played off, praying to the Gods above that this boy wasn't going to turn into another devoted admirer of hers.

Jaune went over to get a closer look at Pyrrha. "I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Mind if I ask what your name is?"

"I'm Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos," she said with a smile. Will he recognize me?

Jaune stared at Pyrrha for about a minute, with each passing second making her more and more nervous until he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's just my imagination. Sorry about that." Pyrrha accepted his apology, telling him it's nothing. "Seeya around, Pyrrha," Jaune waved her as he left, and she returned with the same. Outside people began snickering upon seeing Jaune's pajamas; some even burst-out laughing.

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The Next Day

Everyone rose up from their beds to prepare themselves for initiation, from showering, dressing, and having breakfast before retreating to the locker rooms to gear up. Ren and Nora prepared themselves by gathering their weapons and deciding on a secret signal to find each other. "Can you imitate a sloth?" Nora asked her dear friend.

"Nora, I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," Ren told her. "But that's why it's perfect! That way no one will suspect us of working together!" Nora retorted back before they went off for the cliffs. Ruby and Yang had a hearty discussion about Ruby trying to find other friends beside Yang before they went off as well.

Olivia got dressed in the same outfit as yesterday, with the addition of an microphone earpiece in her left ear. She went to one of the foot lockers that she brought with her—which was cast in an olive color and had "Happiness is a Warm Olive" inscribed upon it—and opened it, revealing four guns inside. On top was her custom-made olive-colored assault rifle, Eclipse. She then took the two olive-colored custom Hi-Power mark III pistols each with an under barrel shotgun attachment with "Prime" and "Echo" inscribed on their sides and slung them to her knees. Last, her giant revolver "Olive," which went to her right butt cheek. She went to another locker and pulled out a small missile launcher and a sling of four missiles. After slinging all these onto her body, Olivia strolled outside towards the cliffs, accompanied by Blake Belladonna, who gave the girl a passing glance, though Olivia gave her her Cheshire grin.

In the lockers still, Weiss and the amethyst purple girl were with Pyrrha having a pleasant chat. The amethyst purple girl was dressed in a white button-down shirt that was tucked into black pants. She was wearing a black leather belt with a gold buckle depicting a sea ship, and she had black high-heel boots on, which her pant legs covered up down to her ankles. She had two loose black and gold belts attached to the main one, which hung loosely at her sides. At her left hip was an elegant sword, and around her body was an amethyst purple trench coat with a leather brown shoulder strap and on her hands, expensive black leather gloves. On her back was her emblem: a galleon ship facing east with senna leaves adorning around the ship.

"So, Pyrrha, I was thinking that you, Senna Raleigh here, and I would make for a perfect team, what do you say?" Weiss suggested. Senna stood by silently, watching how this unfolds.

"Well, I was thinking of…just letting the chips fall where they may," Pyrrha told her.

"Well, however they fall, I hope you end up with a supportive and well-rounded team, Pyrrha," Senna comforted, making Pyrrha smile. "I'm sure I will get myself a great team as well, with me as leader, hopefully."

Weiss, at that moment, was devilish imagining what it would be like to have Pyrrha on her team. The smartest girl and the most powerful girl on one team, where no one can defeat us! We'll get perfect grades! We'll be popular! We'll be perfect! No one will match up to us! Weiss thought.

"You know who else would be perfect? Me, Jaune Arc," Jaune interrupted, jumping into the mix. He shot a hello at Pyrrha, who said the same back. "So, Snow Angel, while I don't normally do this, I might be able to pull some strings and help get you placed on Team Jaune, waddya say?"

Weiss gave a disgusting look, but Pyrrha and Senna seem to be enjoying what was unfolding. "Well, I doubt you even have the power to do such a thing, Mr. Jaune Arc," Senna lightly teased. Jaune gave her a good glare.

"And what makes you think that I can't?" Jaune retorted.

"Because even with my title, I wouldn't be able to 'pull some strings,' so to speak." Jaune opened his mouth to ask, but Senna cut him off. "And before you ask, I happen to be the heiress behind the Raleigh Winery Company, so I've got a good standing, though not as high as Weiss, being the Schnee Dust Corporation's heiress, or perhaps like Pyrrha."

"Wait a second. Pyrrha, you're a heiress to a company? Why didn't you tell me?" Jaune blurted out, his face twisted in surprise.

"Jaune, do you not know who Pyrrha Nikos is?" Weiss questioned sternly. He shook his head. "Well, she graduated top of her class at Sanctum, for one thing." Pyrrha looked down at her hands in embarrassment. "Um, so?" Jaune asked, surprising Weiss and Pyrrha.

Weiss gave a scoff. "She's also won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row, a new record, I might add." Silence from Jaune, who did not understand how important that was. "She's also on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal!" Jaune gave a gasp.

"That's you!? No wonder I thought I recognized you last night; Pumpkin Pete's only does that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" Jaune blubbered, making Pyrrha giggle.

"Yeah, it was a pretty neat endorsement. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you," she explained. Pyrrha was now starting to like Jaune more and more now.

"So, do you honestly believe you can measure up to Pyrrha with accomplishments like that, let alone be on the same team with her?" Weiss retorted, making Jaune slump in his spot.

"I think you would make a great team leader, Jaune," Pyrrha quickly said, patting his shoulder.

"Doh, stop!" Jaune squealed, being the embarrassed one now. Weiss shot Pyrrha a look that told her not to encourage him. The four of them headed off for the cliffs; Jaune and Pyrrha lagged behind so Jaune could ask her about what it was like sponsoring for Pumpkin Pete's, which Pyrrha did not mind answering, instead finding it amusing that he was more interested in her endorsement deals than the rest of her accomplishments.

Ozpin and Glynda were the last to arrive at the cliffs, mostly due to Ozpin meeting Lucas Dias along the way and stopping to chat with him. Ozpin noted how much Lucas had changed over the year since he dropped him off at Qrow's door; now dressed in a cerulean blue hoodie vest (which bore the same Mistral symbol on its back) with an anchor grey shirt, wood brown cargo pants, a black glove with the thumb and the first two fingers missing, and black converses. At his right side was a hip-long pouch filled with shotgun shells. On his back was his shotgun in a new sling. "I see the training with Qrow has been successful, but I'm surprised that you did not follow in Qrow's footsteps and choose to wield a scythe," Ozpin commented as the three of them strolled towards the cliffs off the Emerald Forest.

"Well, he did train me in scythe wielding, but I thought it wasn't my sort of thing," Lucas told him. "But I have mastered my Aura and unlocked my Semblance though, and that counts for something." Ozpin smiled. He ordered Lucas to go ahead of him to prepare for initiation.

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Everyone stood at the cliffside overlooking the Emerald Forest. Some people were chatting amongst themselves, like Ruby, Tristan, and Yang. Some, like Weiss and Lucas, were standing around patiently and impatiently. Others, like Nora, Olivia, and Pyrrha, were gazing upon the Emerald Forest, though Nora was just enjoying the view whereas Olivia and Pyrrha were getting a scope of the land using their goggles and rifle's scope respectively.

Within time, Ozpin and Glynda arrived at the cliffs. Glynda ordered everyone to stand upon a long line of steel panels while Ozpin gave instructions. "All of you shall be sent into the Emerald Forest, and from there, you must make your way to the ruins of an ancient temple where a series of relics have been placed for you to collect. You must collect one relic apiece and return to these cliffs. If you accomplish that, then you shall be accepted into Beacon. However, be warned, the Emerald Forest is teeming with dangerous creatures; if you are not careful, you will surely perish," he explained, sparking murmurs amongst the initiates. Nora was among the few who was grinning from ear to ear at the danger of possible death.

"Now, any questions?" Ozpin asked everyone. Jaune raised his hand and began, but… "Good! Everyone, take your positions!" Ozpin spoke, cutting Jaune off.

"But sir, how are we entering the Emerald Forest?" questioned Jaune. "Are you dropping us off or something?" On the other side of the line, the steel panels began launching initiates into the sky one-by-one.

"No, you will be flying," Ozpin answered with a grin. More students went flying into the air, including Blake Belladonna, Olivia Marquette, and Cardin Winchester.

"I understand that now, but isn't there some kind of landing strategy you will be giving us?" The steel panels continued firing initiates into the forest. Weiss, Tristan, Nora, Ren, Lucas, Senna…

"No, you will be making your own landing strategy," Ozpin told Jaune just as Yang was launched followed by Ruby.

"So…what is a landing strategy exa–!" Jaune got out before being launched into the air with a scream. Ozpin and Glynda watched the young men and women soar through the air, with Jaune's screams still echoing into the sky.

"You think they will be alright?" Glynda asked Ozpin, watching Jaune twirl about in the air, unlike the rest, who remained straight and aligned.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "I'm sure they will be just fine."

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Ruby smacked into a large crow that crossed her path before she let loose several shots from Crescent Rose to slow her descent, then smacked the scythe's blade around a tree branch to slow her descent again, and landed safely. She dashed off through the forest calling for Yang, unaware that Yang was far gone, having blasted her way across the forest treetops before making her landing. Weiss had already landed, having used her glyphs to bounce around before reaching safety. Blake applied her Aura to her feet, allowing her to land onto the ground without taking damage. Ren somersaulted through the air, where he hooked his StormFlower around a tree and swirled down it. Nora was nowhere to be seen. Pyrrha had crashed through a few tree branches before landing onto a thick branch, where she switched Miló to rifle form and spied Jaune tumbling through the air, still screaming, and with no landing strategy planned. Pyrrha switched Miló to its javelin form and took aim.

Tristan landed upon a set of tree branches with grace, then glanced up at the sky, where he could see the tumbling speck that was Jaune sailing through the air with a scream. "I wonder if he will be alright," Tristan wondered aloud as he watched Jaune. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, one that forced Tristan to cover his human ears, and he saw Jaune being yanked by some spear-like weapon that was flying and pulled him into the trees. He heard Jaune call out "Thank you!" followed by Pyrrha answering with "I'm sorry!"

"Well, I guess he's alright." Tristan said just before Olivia Marquette came skydiving through the air. She aimed for a set of trees, where she hit the jet boosters on her combat boots, slowing her descent where she stepped down onto the ground.

"Well, that was fun," Olivia noted as she sprang up, goggles on her face, and Eclipse in her hands, scanning the area for Grimm or allies. After a quick check that it was clear, she headed off into the forest, Eclipse trained ahead of her.

Lucas simply tucked himself into a ball and applied Aura around himself for protection before hitting the dirt and rolling along the ground before springing to his feet and breaking into a run, using the momentum from his roll to gain extra speed. Senna was still soaring through the air by the time everyone else had landed, but she had her landing strategy planned out back at the cliffs. She ran her hands down her amethyst purple trench coat and then shot them forward as the ground rapidly accelerated towards her. A transparent shield made of amethyst purple Aura appeared around her crackling with amethyst purple lightning sparks as she crashed into the earth. When Senna recovered, she was unharmed, but lightning sparks were dancing along the edges of her trench coat. She shook herself clear and drew her longsword Nobilis, an elegant yet expensive-looking longsword with an amethyst purple steel blade that crackled with small lightning sparks to the scabbard when she drew it. She dashed off into the forest.

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Jaune was currently pinned to a tree by his hood with Pyrrha's spear keeping him in place. "Well, at least I got myself a landing strategy," Jaune moaned as his legs swung helplessly. He tried tugging at the spear, but given his current position, his efforts were in vain. "Can anyone help me out here?" he called out into the forest. He was soon answered with a loud growl; a Stage 1 Beowolf—a young one at that—emerged from a bush and gazed up at Jaune, its eyes glowing with hunger. It let loose a loud roar, but it was abruptly silenced by a gun blast to the Beowolf's head, splitting it into pieces and sending the corpse to the ground where it disintegrated. From another bush, Olivia appeared, smoke emerging from the barrel of Olive.

"What are you doing up there, Jaune?" Olivia asked, flashing him her Cheshire grin.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around," he joked.

"Well, you certainly picked a bad time to do it," said Tristan, who hopped down onto a tree branch. Weiss then emerged from another bush to find the three together. Tristan gave a wave, Olivia gave her trademark grin, and Jaune gave a weak wave, prompting Weiss to turn around and return to Ruby, the first person she met; she would rather partner with Ruby than have to deal with the three people she disliked most in the world, and she met them only a day ago.

Pyrrha emerged from a bush soon after Weiss left, and the shock on her face told Olivia and Tristan everything; they could tell she wanted to partner with Jaune. "Well, Tristan, shall we go search for the relic?" Olivia asked the wolfish teen. Tristan hopped down and the two wandered off into the foliage. Once they were gone, Pyrrha let loose a sigh of relief and turned to Jaune.

"So, Jaune, is there any more room left on your perfect team?" Pyrrha jokingly asked.

"Very funny," Jaune frowned, crossing his arms. His frown soon turned into a smile to Pyrrha, who gave one back before climbing up the tree to release him.

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Ren had found himself attacked by a King Taijitu, but he was able to kill it before it could make a meal out of him. As he stood over the corpse of the giant snake as it disintegrated, a long animal-like sound rang behind him, making him spin around. Nora fell hanging from a tree upside down, giving him a wide grin. "Just like a sloth!" she chirped.

"I don't think that's what a sloth sounds like," Ren told her. She giggled and tapped his nose with a "boop," making him smile in return. "So, looks like we're partners now, Nora."

"Yay!" she cheered, falling from the tree and into Ren's arms.

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Jaune and Pyrrha were foraging through the forest in search of the ruins where the relics were kept. Pyrrha's eyes were shifting back and forth for danger, but Jaune was staring straight ahead absent-mindedly. Pyrrha pushed aside a tree branch, but it as soon as she passed, it whipped back and struck Jaune in the face, knocking him down. "Jaune, I'm sorry!" Pyrrha called, rushing to help him to his feet. Pyrrha noticed a small cut across his cheek. "Why didn't you use your Aura to stop the tree branch from hurting you?"

"My what?" Jaune asked, puzzled.

"Your Aura."

"Bless you."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Jaune, do you know how to properly use your Aura?"

"Well…I…of course I do!" That uncertainly told Pyrrha everything. He had absolutely no idea what Aura is, but that concerned Pyrrha, who was wondering how he even made it this far to Beacon without knowing how to use his Aura properly.

"Here, let me help." Pyrrha approached Jaune and placed her hands upon his cheek and onto his chestplate. "Just close your eyes, relax, and clear your mind." Jaune gave a nod and obeyed. Pyrrha directed her Aura through Jaune's entire body, searching for his Aura with hers. She soon found it located in his mind. She guided her Aura inside and found his, and she worked with it to unlock it. During this, Pyrrha's body glowed with a red aura, her own, and Jaune's bright white with his. However, what Pyrrha found was not Aura, but something else entirely different; something more powerful and plentiful than Aura. She could feel her Aura weaken coming into contact with this strange Aura, but she kept at it, and she soon unlocked it. She gave a gasp and began panting for a brief moment, but she soon calmed down, and she began to speak. "For it is passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee…" The words that left Pyrrha's lips were ones that she did not know herself, nor did it feel like she was speaking them of her own will. Pyrrha collapsed to the ground, forcing Jaune to lift her up. Their Auras stopped glowing around them, and Pyrrha soon recovered.

"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Jaune inquired.

"I'm fine, I just inserted some of my Aura into your body to unlock yours," she answered. She watched as the cut on his cheek glowed white before healing in mere seconds. "You have a lot of Aura inside you, but it is yours to control and master." Jaune marveled at his body, which glowed a bright white for a brief moment, before the pair continued on through the forest. Unaware to him, however, his right hand revealed what appeared to be a tattoo of a black round shield with a spear crossing it underneath his glove.

Jaune, just who exactly are you? she wondered with concern as he lead the two of them further into the forest.

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The initiates eventually found their way to the ruins, where a series of black and white chess pieces sat upon pedestals, though four were missing. "Well, I guess we're supposed to just take one apiece," Yang noted as everyone went around. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang took themselves four matching white knight pieces. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren took four matching white rook pieces. Lucas, Olivia, Senna, and Tristan grabbed four white bishop pieces.

"Well, that wasn't too hard," said Jaune, which Pyrrha nodded about, even though the two of them ran into a large Death Stalker earlier.

"Well, we best hurry back to the cliffs before something bad happens," Olivia noted, sticking a fresh cartridge into Eclipse and making the ammo counter read "50."

"Yes, staying here in Grimm territory will only endanger us further," Ren added. Everyone was about to turn and leave when a loud "caw" echoed across the sky. Everyone scanned the skies and saw a giant Nevermore coming towards them.

"It's a Nevermore!" Senna exclaimed. "It looks it's a Stage 4, making it a Class C danger level!"

"Oh, geez, thanks for reading it straight out of the Grimm Monster Manual or whatever!" Tristan shot at her.

"Everyone, let's go! We gotta go now!" Ruby ordered, making everyone follow after her. Just as they started running, a loud screech echoed around them, and the Death Stalker Jaune and Pyrrha encountered earlier emerged from some trees.

"Oh, Gods, how much worse can it get?!" Jaune whined, but at that moment, a swarm of Ursai and Beowolves emerged from the woods, all of them between Stages 1 and 3, towering over the initiates easily.

"You just had to say something," Lucas commented.

"Follow me!" Ruby called, speeding off in one direction with everyone following her. Pyrrha, Ren, Yang, Nora, and Olivia used their guns as they ran at any Grimm that attempted to charge them, but the way ahead was blocked with three large Ursai; everyone knew that stopping to fight them would result in being surrounded. "We've got this!" Weiss and Senna declared, jumping ahead of the group. Weiss drew Myrtenaster, armed its fire dust cartridge, and Senna ran fingers along her trench coat. Weiss fired off a ray of fire at one Ursa, sending it down dead, while Senna struck her hands out and struck down the remaining two Ursai with streaks of lightning.

The group dashed through the opening, but Lucas, Olivia, Senna, and Tristan were cut off from the rest as the opening was quickly closed by Grimm, cutting the stragglers off from the rest. "Oh, damn," Lucas muttered as he drew his weapon, Fida'an.

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The rest of the initiates made it to the bottom of a cliff with the fragile remains of an old temple hovering over a foggy abyss. The Nevermore and Death Stalker chased after them, as the remaining lesser Grimm chose to stick with the others. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang climbed atop the ruins and worked to shoot down the Nevermore while Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren were trapped on a broken bridge fighting the Death Stalker.

With quick reflexes and strategies by Ruby and Jaune, the Nevermore soon found itself decapitated and the Death Stalker at the bottom of the ravine with no one seriously injured. The group chose to return to the ruins as quick as possible to aid the others. When they got there, they found Lucas, Olivia, Senna, and Tristan arranged in a cube formation pushing their way forward through the Grimm, all of whom constantly advanced on the four students. Lucas shot any Ursa or Beowolf that came at him with precise accuracy, Olivia kept most of them at a distance with Eclipse and her launcher, Senna sliced at any that came close while shooting lightning at the ones from afar, and Tristan did the same, shooting arrows made from his Aura with his swords merged at the pommels. The others joined in among their ranks, and the Grimm soon began dwindling down until there was none left, with only splattered Grimm blood and empty bullet and Dust cartridges as proof of the battle. The entire group, now knowing the area was safe, all collapsed together in a heap, leaning upon each other and their weapons for support. "I vote we rest for a couple minutes before we head back to Beacon," Ruby moaned with the shaft of Crescent Rose propped against her.

"I would argue against that motion as I suggested before about getting back as soon as possible, but I think we all need a few minutes to even stand up," Olivia wheezed with her arm propped against her empty launcher and Eclipse at her foot.

Jaune was leaning against Pyrrha's shoulder and the shield to Crocea Mors. "I have to agree with you both on that," he groaned as he shifted his body, making his bones pop.

"Am I the only one who can still keep on going?" Nora asked with a grin. Ren laid at her feet. "I'd imagine so, Nora," he told her.

"As soon as we get back, I'm gonna rub one out and go to bed," Tristan yawned. Weiss and Blake gave him a disgusted look, but Ruby was confused at his phrase of "rubbing one out."

"At least we got the relics and kicked some ass," Yang grinned, sweat pouring down her face and mixing into her hair.

"Yes, we did really good today," Blake said with a smile. "We all did good."

After a short rest, they all picked themselves up, gathered their gear, and headed back to the Beacon Cliffs, where Ozpin and Glynda were waiting for them. The group was taken to the infirmary where some of the other initiates were being patched up, then everyone gathered in the auditorium, where Ozpin, Glynda, and Kyler stood on stage with the group, who were the last to return.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark, you four recovered the black bishop pieces, and so, you four shall be known as Team CRDL, lead by Cardin Winchester," ("So that's how the team organizing works," Yang whispered to Ruby) Ozpin stated to the four, who stood straight and proud. Cardin let slip a smirk at being named leader. Ozpin passed them and moved onto the next initiates, while Kyler gave Cardin a nod.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren, you four recovered the white rook pieces, so you four shall be united as Team JNPR…" Ozpin stated. "…and your leader shall be Jaune Arc." Jaune was astonished, but Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren gave him encouraging smiles instead. "Well done, young man, I expect great things from you," Ozpin added to Jaune with a smile before moving onto the next team. Kyler went forward and shook Jaune's hand.

"Lucas Dias, Olivia Marquette, Senna Raleigh, and Tristan Cortes, you four recovered the white bishop pieces, and so, you four shall be known as Team LOST, with Lucas Dias as your leader." Lucas was the one to be shocked now. Olivia gave a whoop and Tristan threw his fists into the air and latched himself onto Olivia in a hug. Senna went to her new leader and shook his hand while giving him a compliment. As the newly-formed Team LOST celebrated on stage, Ozpin moved onto the remaining four students.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, you four recovered the white knight pieces, and so, you shall be named Team RWBY, with Ruby Rose as your leader. Yang jumped onto Ruby in a tight embrace, expressing her happiness for her little sister while Ruby moaned. Weiss was shocked that Ruby was chosen as leader over her, who she believed to be far more capable. Blake simply smiled and watched everyone silently. "It looks like it's going to be an interesting year."

Later that night, the teams all gathered into their new dorm rooms, where their belongings have been delivered. The newly-formed RWBY all changed into their pajamas and crawled into their beds and dozed off. Across the hallway from them, JNPR was the same, though Nora chose to bounce on her new bed for a while until she soon tired herself out and went to bed. Down the hall, LOST all changed into their pajamas and went to bed, and near their room, CRDL was all growing accustomed to their new room before turning in for the night.

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The Next Day

Team RWBY woke up to a bright morning, to which they began unpacking their clothes and

possessions and decorating their dorm; Ruby hung up the curtains, organized her clothes, weapon attachments and gear for Crescent Rose, and set up picture frames of her family, and Weiss set up and organized her desk with various cosmetics and belongings from home, Blake set up a little bookshelf (including the hiding of a book entitled Ninjas of Love), and Yang decorated her walls with a poster of the Achieve Men and various posters of brawlers and fighting champions. Decorating proved to be troublesome and ended up creating a massive clutter, so RWBY opted to turn their beds into bunk beds. Once they had all finished, everyone undressed and went to the conjoined bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

Across the hall, JNPR woke up and began to unpack as well. Jaune unpacked a photo of his family, numerous issues of X-Ray & Vav, and some fantasy books. Pyrrha unpacked roughly the same, but in addition to her family photo and X-Ray & Vav issues, she set up a picture frame of her Sanctum class photo, four medals she earned for her tournament winnings, and a talisman of a shield with a spear crossing before it. Ren and Nora had little to unpack aside from their clothes. When the time came to shower, Jaune offered the girls to go first, as it being the first day together as a team, they have yet to establish any normalcy regarding the co-ed living arrangements. While waiting for Pyrrha and Nora to finish getting ready, Jaune noticed something on the back of his right hand: a black-inked tattoo of a spear crossing in front of a round shield, very similar to Pyrrha's symbol. When did this appear? It wasn't there when I left home for Beacon, Jaune wondered, taking care to keep it hidden until he would dress and get his gloves on.

In their dorm, LOST was unpacking as well before getting ready for the day. Lucas had little aside from a few sets of casual clothes, though he had a picture frame of him with a number of men and women around his age range and older, all of them dressed in ripped clothes that all bore the symbol he wore. Olivia soon went to work converting her walk-in closet into a closet armory with the extra weapons she brought along, from a couple shotguns, a sniper rifle, some pistols, and a few explosives, then she set up a photo of her old group, Glas Radiance, depicting everyone lined up dressed similar and bearing the green sun on all of them; Olivia was positioned next to a green-haired boy who looked exactly like herself and went into the bathroom to shower. Senna took time in unpacking, making sure everything was neat and tidy, most especially her trench coat, which she hung on a coat hanger on her closet's door, then went to work tiding her dresser and desk. Tristan threw all his clothes into his dresser with no rhyme or reason, tossed his combat attire onto his desk's chair, and his weapons near the desk; his closet remained unused, and Senna noticed no one shred of decent clothing such as pants or a polo shirt while he was tossing clothes everywhere. Tristan hid several dirty magazines of various genres under his mattress and laid a picture frame of his family on his nightstand, depicting a younger him, his Wolf Faunus parents, and a young, strange-looking human girl with multicolored hair, giving the camera a grin.

By the time all three teams had finished unpacking and getting ready, they were late for their first class. Everyone dashed from the dormitories, a couple of them half-dressed even; Jaune was slipping his jacket on as he ran, Tristan was tugging his pants on as he ran down the hall with his team, and Yang was running a large comb through her hair, water droplets hitting the floor as they ran. Along the way, they ran into Teams CRDL and CFVY, who realized they were late for class as well and joined alongside them. They all passed by Ozpin and Glynda, who were watching them hurry to class. "To think, the next generation of Paladins are among them, and they're running late for class on their first day," grumbled Glynda.

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One Week Later

The first week at Beacon for the new teams went smoothly for the most part, though there happened to be a lot of tension among teammates given their new partnerships and living arrangements. RWBY had no trouble with this, though Weiss acted extremely bossy and strict with everyone and even snapped at Ruby, calling her an incompetent leader and felt that she should be leader instead. Across the hall, Jaune was proving to be inadequate as a leader, as their morning schedule was still unorganized and a jumbled mess, and he still was unable to control Nora, though Ren could to a certain extent. The team still have not adjusted to their co-ed living arrangements together, and this often resulted in Jaune and Ren looking the other way whenever Pyrrha and Nora had to change clothes or use the bathroom, and vice versa. Pyrrha supported every action Jaune made and often gave her input to help, which gave the blond leader some confidence. For Team LOST, there was unrest among the members; Senna constantly nagged Tristan about his perversions and threw out several of his dirty magazines, as well as Olivia and her derogatory attitude and habit of strolling through their dorm room from the shower half naked as well as leaving her belongings everyone. Lucas did not seem to mind how everyone acted, though he soon found his partner to be more annoying than the others, as she also chastised him for not controlling his teammates. Olivia did not seem to care what Senna thought of her actions and continued them, and the same went for Tristan.

One morning, from down the hall, LOST could hear Weiss arguing with Yang. "Look, whatever you may think, Ruby is our leader, and nothing will change that!" went Yang.

"Well, Ozpin can certainly change that," argued Weiss.

"He's the one who made Ruby leader in the first place! What makes you think he'll change his mind!?"

"I will convince him to change his mind then!" There was a slamming sound, and then footsteps, indicating Weiss left their room, but then more footsteps appeared; Lucas stuck his head out and saw Ruby heading down the hall, most likely after Weiss. From down the hall again, JNPR's door opened and Jaune stepped out. "Do you think they're alright?" Jaune called to Lucas, who shrugged before going back into his room. Jaune chose to explore the academy grounds a little rather than go back inside his room.

Back inside LOST's dorm room, Tristan was sitting on his bed playing a guitar, using his built-in claws as picks, Senna was reading a book while drinking earl grey tea she made from their dorm kitchen, and Olivia was disassembling Eclipse on her desk with a round black ball with colorful red lines dotting its sphere sat next to her. Lucas flopped onto his bed against the far wall and leaned back to nap until Olivia interrupted him. "So, I take it Weiss is angry about Ruby being leader over her?" she voiced, though given at how loud Weiss was a while ago, the answer was obvious. "Geez, she acts like a bitchy princess."

"I think the bitchy princess needs to take a chill pill," interjected Tristan, followed by a chuckle from him. "Get it? Cuz she uses ice and is cold." Senna and Lucas groaned to themselves. Senna looked over at Olivia, who had just pulled the barrel from Eclipse out and began running a squeegee through it to clean it. Senna got up and strolled over, where she looked at the various gun pieces on the table, but her eye was drawn to the black ball.

"What is this thing?" Senna asked, her hand reaching for it until Olivia slapped it away.

"Don't touch it, it's a bomb," Olivia casually answered, making Senna's mouth fall open in shock.

"You're keeping a bomb in our dorm room!?" she shrieked.

"Don't worry, I keep it in a box in my closet."

"How is that supposed to make me not worry?! Why on Remnant would you need a bomb!?"

Olivia gave her puzzled look, as if Senna forgot where they were and why they were there, but her face twisted into her Cheshire grin. "For when things get really hardcore, or when we need to blow shit up."

"No one is blowing anything up," Lucas stated with his eyes closed.

"You just want to suck the joy out of everything," Olivia grumbled before turning back to Eclipse. Senna collapsed onto her bed with her face burrowed into her pillow. "I got myself stuck with a team full of nut jobs," Senna moaned, muffled by her pillow.

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Jaune went down to the training facility, which was open at all hours for students and faculty to test their strength, speed, Aura, and other skills against training bots to improve themselves. Jaune felt he should pay the facility a visit after an embarrassing loss fighting against Cardin Winchester in a practice match the previous day. The training facility is arranged of multiple cubic arenas of various sizes with bleachers lining the outer rim of the facility for students and faculty to observe fights. Jaune entered a medium-sized arena and went to the console which stood on a small pedestal. He set up a single training bot armed with a sword and shield to fight him then walked onto the arena floor, where the bot emerged from the floor through moving panels.

The training bot was modeled like a metal humanoid that towered over Jaune, a design choice to give a sense of diminishment to students. The bot held a large longsword and shield in its hands and eyed Jaune through its glowing red visor, which served as its "eyes." Jaune, with a hard swallow, drew Crocea Mors and positioned himself for battle. The bot was the first to move, swinging its sword in a horizontal strike, which Jaune ducked under, then he leapt forward with a stab at the bot's ankle before leaping backwards to avoid a shield bash from it. Jaune glared the bot down for a good moment as it strolled towards him with its sword raised at its side. I gotta get behind it, he thought. He saw his chance; as the bot swung its blade down where Jaune stood, he dashed forward, where he rolled in-between its legs and ended up behind it. Jaune spun around and readied his sword to strike until the bot slammed its foot into Jaune, sending him sprawling across the floor, his sword and shield thrown from his grip. Jaune groaned on the spot, trying to pick himself up as the bot casually walked towards him. "End training!" Jaune called, which the console recognized and complied, making the training bot shut down and descend down through the floor. Jaune sighed and rolled over, facing up at the dome ceiling. Just then, Ruby popped her head in over top of him. "Hi, Jaune," she chirped before helping him to his feet.

"Hey, Ruby," he moaned, brushing the dirt off of himself. "Man, I was terrible just then, wasn't I?"

"What, no, not at all," she argued, shaking her head. "Your form was good, you just let your guard down when you thought you had the advantage. Here, I'll get your sword for you." Ruby went off and brought his sword back, which he returned to its scabbard.

"How is training coming along?" said Headmaster Ozpin, who strolled up to the two, his cane clicking along the floor.

"Hello, Headmaster," Ruby chirped with a smile. Ozpin asked Ruby to come aside, leaving Jaune alone by himself. "What is it, sir?"

"Ruby, Weiss Schnee came to me a while ago demanding that I make her leader of Team RWBY instead of you, believing that I made a mistake in choosing you." Ruby instantly slumped, her head towards the floor. "Do you believe I made the wrong choice?"

"Well, maybe…I mean…well, I'm not sure, exactly. I mean, I really appreciate all you've done for me, letting me into Beacon two years early and making me team leader, but maybe Weiss is right," Ruby hummed, tapping her fingers together.

"Ruby, I have made many mistakes during my lifetime, more so than any man, woman, or child, but in all the years I have been headmaster here at Beacon, the only time I made a mistake in assigning teams was when a team turned my choice in a mistake. If you believe that you are not qualified for being team leader, then you will only add another mistake onto my list. But, if you work hard and prove yourself as a formidable team leader, then you will confirm that I made the right choice." Ozpin gave her a smile, which she returned.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

"You best head back to your team. Show them that Ruby Rose is the best team leader that there ever was." Ruby nodded and skipped back to the dorms. Ozpin watched Jaune activate another training bot—one much smaller—for a moment before leaving the blond alone to train.

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Later that night, Ruby and Weiss made up, to which Weiss told Ruby to work her hardest to become the best team leader in Beacon. "…While you're working hard to become the best team leader, I'm going to work hard to be the best teammate you can have, understand?" Weiss told her beside her bed. Ruby smiled and nodded, to which Weiss crawled into her bed, leaving Ruby to work on homework for a while longer before she too retreated to bed.

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Jaune returned from the training facility to his dorm covered head to toe in bruises and scraps. He was about to go straight to bed until Pyrrha stopped him, questioning where his injuries came from, which he answered. "Jaune, you need to be more careful with those training bots, they can seriously hurt you if you're not careful," she warned as she checked his battle wounds.

"Pyrrha, I'm fine, really," he insisted, brushing her off.

"You're not fine at all! Why on Remnant would you be practicing this much with training bots?"

"So I can try getting stronger, obviously," he scoffed as he went to his dresser for his pajamas, but Pyrrha went over and closed the dresser drawer on him and took his hand. "Come with me," she told him before dragon him out the door and down the hall.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Pyrrha lead him to a balcony on the west side of Beacon near the dorm rooms that overlooked the illuminating city of Vale. She guided him to the edge and showed him the view. "Pyrrha, honestly, I'm not that depressed. If I wanted to give up, I'd probably just become a farmer or something," he told her. She quickly realized what he was thinking and yanked him from the balcony's edge.

"No, that's not why I brought you up here!" she exclaimed. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so I want to help you."

"W-What?" he said, confused.

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us instead of you hurting yourself so much against training bots."

"You really think I need help?"

"N-No! No, that's not what I meant." Jaune opened his mouth to argue that that is what she said, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time, and that doesn't make you any different from anyone else. You made it to Beacon, and not only that, Ozpin elected you leader of our team, and that speaks volumes of your capabilities."

Jaune turned away from her and looked out at Vale. "You're wrong. I don't belong here…" he muttered.

"That's a terrible thing to say. Of course you do."

"No, I don't!" he snapped, surprising her. Jaune let out a sigh and calmed down. "Look, I wasn't really accepted into Beacon…"

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests, Gods, I barely have any combat training, the extend being just backyard training with my uncle and sister using sticks as practice swords! I've had no Aura training either! I didn't properly earn my spot at this academy…I lied. I got ahold of some fake transcripts, and I snuck into Beacon, just like that."

Pyrrha was shocked, but she was curious to know more. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Because it's what I've always wanted to do, ever since I was a kid!" he explained. "I grew up hearing stories of brave heroes like the Paladins of Remnant! I grew up listening to my father and uncle telling me stories about my great-great-grandfather and my ancestors who were all knights that served the Kingdom of Vale before the Huntsmen and the Great War! At least one person in each generation of my family was a knight that protected Vale and they were revered as heroes, and I wanted to be just like them…I wanted to be the next Arc Knight in our family…I just was never good enough; I was always weak, frail, small…I could never control my Aura, develop my Semblance, or anything like that…"

Pyrrha went forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then let me help you…" Jaune grew angry and swatted her hand away.

"I don't want any help! I don't want to be the damsel-in-distress! I want to be the hero!"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha stuttered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I am tired of being the lovable idiot stuck in a tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand!? If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I!?" Pyrrha took a step towards him, but he shrinked away, telling her that he did not want her comfort. "Just leave me alone…"

Pyrrha shed a tear and left him there to be alone. However, no sooner had she left, Cardin Winchester, who was perched on the window sill below the balcony where his dorm room was located, climbed up onto the balcony, his Scroll in hand. "Hey, Jaune, I heard your little conversation wth Pyrrha there," Cardin dictated, surprising Jaune. "and I have to say, that little bit of information I just recorded onto my Scroll is pretty interesting, and I think Ozpin would love to hear it…" Jaune suddenly got a really bad feeling about this.

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A Week Later

Cardin blackmailed Jaune the entire week to do anything he demanded of him, be it schoolwork, snack buying, or miscellaneous tasks, one of which included gathered giant wasps. However, one day, while teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, and LOST were in the Forever Falls forest, named so for the autumn cycle the forest is eternally trapped in, Jaune learned that Cardin intended to use the wasps that Jaune caught for him earlier that week to attack Pyrrha with for revenge after she embarrassed him in class a couple days ago. Cardin decided it would be best that Jaune splash Pyrrha with tree sap from the Forever Falls trees, which the wasps would find attractive. However, Jaune instead defied Cardin, choosing instead to douse him in the tree sap instead. Cardin responded by beating Jaune up to teach him a lesson.

"Do whatever you want to me, but I won't let you hurt my friends!" Jane shot back after several good punches, spitting in Cardin's face. Cardin growled and punched him again, but this time, as his fist connected to Jaune's face, there was a sudden burst of white light, and Jaune found himself on the ground unharmed and Cardin clutching his first; Jaune noticed that his entire body was glowing white with his Aura, and glowing through his right glove was the strange tattoo, though it faded away a moment later.

Jaune nor any of Team CRDL had time to ponder what had happened when a loud roar echoed near them; nearby an Ursa Major appeared from the woods, easily towering at least two times over the boys and sniffing the air. Team CRDL realized that the Ursa was drawn to the sweet tree sap splashed on Cardin's armor. Cardin and Jaune were frozen in place, but the other members of Team CRDL turned tail and ran, screaming "Ursa!" for everyone to hear. Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Senna went running to assist Jaune and Cardin while a few others went to alert Professor Goodwitch who was supervising them for the lesson. Reaching the edge of the clearing where Jaune and Cardin were, the girls could see the Ursa Major standing over Cardin, who was lying on the ground with his weapon lying too far from him. Jaune was unharmed and a safe distance away.

"That's an Ursa Major, Stage 5 at least!" Senna exclaimed in awe. According to Grimm Monster Manuals, Grimm earn the title of "Major" upon growing to Stage Five, which is when they grow much larger in size, as well as their armor growing much thicker and larger, and proving to be more dangerous than a Stage Four Grimm.

Jaune debated running away given that the Ursa Major was focused on Cardin, but his feet would not obey his mind. All Jaune could think about was Cardin being killed by the Ursa Major, and before he realized it, he had drawn Crocea Mors and rushed between Cardin and the Ursa Major, deflecting a claw swipe with his shield. Cardin may be a jerk, but he doesn't deserve to die, not like this! Jaune told himself as he shield bashed the Ursa Major, knocking it backwards a little. "Cardin, get up and back away!" he ordered, which Cardin obeyed, scrambling to his feet and running.

Weiss drew Myrtenaster and Senna drew Nobilis, but Pyrrha held her hands up to them both. "Let's just wait and watch what happens," she told them, keeping her gaze on Jaune.

Jaune and the Ursa Major circled around each other slowly, both looking for an opportunity to strike. Jaune suddenly dashed forward, letting out a battlecry with his sword raised, and the Ursa Major sideswiped him, but Jaune leapt over it and slashed at its belly, making it roar aloud. The Ursa Major retaliated with an overhead strike, but Jaune rolled to its side, rising up and slicing in an uppercut, cutting across the Ursa Major's side. The Ursa Major lashed out, slamming its paw into Jaune and sending him sprawling across the ground, but he quickly rolled onto his feet and readied himself. The Ursa Major let out a roar and charged forward, and Jaune did the same, gripping his sword and shield tightly as he readied them. As both drew near, the Ursa Major swung its claws at Jaune, intend to skewer him, while Jaune swung his sword towards its belly, but let his shield falter, opening his defenses. Pyrrha noticed this and raised a hand glowing in her black Aura, and Jaune's shield suddenly glowed black and raised itself up, where it deflected the Ursa Major's attack, making it lose its balance. Jaune took this chance and struck the Ursa Major's belly repeatedly, screaming with each swing before plunging his sword into its chest, making it howl in pain. As Jaune drew his sword out, the Ursa Major made one final, desperate move and slashed at Jaune with its claws, striking his chest, bouncing off his chestplate, shredding clothes, and drawing blood. Jaune screamed in pain, and Pyrrha left their hiding spot to run to him. Jaune suddenly leapt forward and slashed at the Ursa Major's chest again, then spun around and swung his sword upward with a yell, decapitating the Ursa Major and killing it instantly. The creature fell to the ground dead, and Jaune swung his sword at its corpse with a victorious yell before sheathing his sword at his hip.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha cried as she and the others reached him, where he collapsed into her arms. "He's hurt," she told the girls. Cardin came over with a shocked look, bewildered that Jaune killed the Ursa Major on his own.

Senna shared the amazement as well. "A Class B Grimm defeated single-handedly is quite a feat, especially for a Huntsman-in-training," she noted as she watched the Grimm's corpse disintegrate into dust.

"Cardin…" Jaune wheezed. He hoisted himself up in Pyrrha's arms to get a better look at the teen. "…Never mess…with my team…ever again," he ordered, giving him a stern glare. Cardin bowed his head and looked away. "And you should rethink…your attitude towards everyone…or else next time, you won't have anyone to watch your back, or worse…leave you to die just to get rid of you." Cardin looked away, ashamed of himself.

Professor Goodwitch appeared with the remaining students alongside her. She got a quick recap of what had happened and inspected Jaune's wounds. She deemed them non-serious, but had him escorted to Beacon's infirmary to be patched up.

Jaune spent about an hour in the infirmary having his cuts doused in alcohol and patched up with bandages by a kindly nurse. "Now, these should heal within a day or so, especially with your Aura unconsciously healing them, but you should avoid doing any serious fighting or extracurricular activities until you heal up." She had him stay for a while longer to check his vitals, and during that time, Ozpin came to visit.

"Hello, Mr. Arc, I heard of your little battle with an Ursa Major in the Forever Falls forest today," Ozpin remarked with a smirk and a sip from his coffee. "I was also a little curious as to why you and Mr. Winchester were spending so much time together, and I learned from him after I questioned him enough times that he was blackmailing you with information regarding fake transcripts that you seemed to have used to sneak into my school."

Jaune swallowed hard, and he knew there was nothing he could do to avoid the subject. "I'll pack up my things and leave tomorrow," he mumbled under his breath.

"Care to repeat that?" Ozpin asked. Jaune repeated it again, now more clearly. "Why would you want to do such a thing, Jaune? You have a team to lead and to care for."

"Pyrrha can take over in my place. She's more suited to being a leader than I anyway."

"Jaune, being a team leader is not about being stronger or smarter than everyone, and it never is." Jaune stared at the headmaster curiously. "Jaune, I know your transcripts were fake, I've always known, but do you know why I allowed you into my school anyway?" Jaune shook his head, unable to figure out an answer, yet he was shocked that Ozpin knew about his forged transcripts.

Ozpin pulled out his Scroll and opened up a video file, which he turned to Jaune to show him; it was a video of Team JNPR's fight against the Death Stalker on the ruined temple's bridge. Jaune watched as Nora pelted the giant scorpion Grimm with grenades, him deflecting pincher strikes followed by Pyrrha striking at the monster's face. "We have flying drones that record all the footage of initiation for me to review and decide the order of teams," he explained. "Watch this part here." Ozpin tapped on the screen, where a long slider bar along the bottom appeared, which he grabbed with a finger and dragged it to the right, speeding up the video. Jaune watched as he ordered Ren to climb onto the Death Stalker and shoot at its stinger before being tossed off, followed by him ordering Pyrrha using only her name and pointing with his sword, to which she flung her shield and severed the stinger, which fell into the Death Stalker's head. "See that? You quickly deduced that the Death Stalker's stinger is its primary attack, and that severing it would give you four an advantage, as well as damage the Grimm if done properly, and you did all this under pressure with yourself cornered against a broken bridge."

"But Pyrrha could've done the exact same thing…" Jaune began to argue until Ozpin silenced him.

"No, you are wrong there, Mr. Arc. Pyrrha Nikos specializes in one-on-one combat, and has never been involved in team battles before up until initiation. Having her as leader would have jeopardized all four of your lives, probably owing to her attempting to defeat the Grimm on her own, which would be brave of her, but could result in her being seriously injured." Jaune stared down at the floor for a moment. "Jaune, you understand now why I assigned you as leader? I didn't do it because you are strong or fast, or have a fancy weapon, I did it because you are a natural-born strategist. You can formulate an attack plan quickly and while under pressure, and are able to communicate with allies you have barely associated yourself with, yet follow your orders without complaint. Now that is a skill that only leaders possess."

Jaune gave a confident smirk. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

"One last thing, while you're smart and quick on the battlefield, you could stand to improve upon your combat skills. However, I would recommend that you spend less time doing it with training bots and instead pursue it with Ms. Nikos," Ozpin suggested. "Even the most advanced technology cannot replace the teachings that come from a human instructor, especially from a star athlete such as Ms. Nikos. And Jaune, do not be ashamed about needing training from Pyrrha; that's why you're here at Beacon anyway: to learn and improve upon your skills." Jaune nodded and Ozpin turned and left the infirmary.

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That night, Jaune and Pyrrha met on the balcony again. "So, what happened to Cardin? I thought you two were best buds?" she asked.

Jaune grinned. "We're not anymore. He said he had more important things to do. He went to Velvet Scarletina and personally apologized to her and her teammates about his rude behavior towards her last week. From what I hear, Velvet forgave him, though Coco gave him a good slap first." The two of them laughed a little. "So, Pyrrha, about what I said last week, about wanting to get better on my own…it was the wrong thing to say. If you're okay with it, will you train me to become a better fighter?"

Pyrrha smirked and gave him a hard shove, making him fall to the floor. "Your stance is all wrong. You need to plant your feet firmly on the ground and be lower to the ground so you cannot be pushed around so easily," she smirked. She lifted him back up. "Good, now, let's try again."

When Pyrrha lifted Jaune up, she noticed the spear and shield tattoo upon his right hand, how it had a similarity to the emblem of Aziela, Goddess of Victory. She was curious about it, but chose to ignore it for now and focus on instructing Jaune to form a proper combat stance suited for his weapon of choice.

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September 16th 1580

A week passes by, and students from the neighboring Kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo begin to arrive in Vale for the upcoming Vytal Festival. After getting themselves organized at Beacon where they would be staying, the exchange students occupied themselves by greeting fellow Beacon students and others, making new friends in the process, or visiting the city of Vale. Ozpin sent Team JNPR on a mission for that weekend, so Team RWBY and LOST were left alone at Beacon.

Lucas of Team LOST decided that the four will go see a movie and enjoy their day off, given that classes were cancelled for the arriving neighboring students. As they were leaving their dorm room, they spotted a Beacon professor escorting a few teams from Haven Academy of Mistral to the dorms they would be staying in. Olivia spotted a girl with light green hair and green eyes wearing a lavender hoodie walking among them, and without a word, she broke from her team and went back into their dorm room. "Hey, Lucas, that blonde one there would look good with you," Tristan teased him, motioning to a platinum blonde girl with dark skin and golden eyes. The girl noticed Lucas and Tristan staring at her and flashed them a smile as they passed. "Hey, you should ask her out to the Vytal Festival and then use your Divining Rod to lead yourself into her Oasis if you play your cards right!" Tristan winked with a snort, to which Senna gave him a slap upside the head. The group of students passed them, and after they disappeared down the hall, Olivia returned from their room, now sporting a Colt 1911 on her right hip.

"S-So sorry, I f-forgot to grab a-a gun!" she hastily stuttered with a grin, grabbing her teammates and shoving them down the hall towards the entrance. The members of Team LOST tried questioning Olivia why she went back to their dorm, why she seemed nervous, as well as why she needed a gun in the city, but she constantly changed the subject to avoid answering, and before her teammates could get an answer from her, they had already reached the movie theater.

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"Remind me why we're spending our Friday at the stupid docks?" Yang annoyingly asked Weiss as Team RWBY overlooked the piers moored with sea ships from Vacuo.

"Ugh, they smell like fish…" Ruby whined, plugging her nose in disgust.

"I've heard that students from Vacuo would be arriving by ship today, and as a representative of Beacon, I feel it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine Kingdom," Weiss proudly explained. Vacuo, despite being situated in the scorching deserts of the west, relies heavily on fishing as their primary economy, and the oceans surrounding the Kingdom's regions are overabundant with a range of fish, ranging from common types to exotic types never seen anywhere else, the latter of which fetch extremely high prices in the other Kingdoms, and as such, Vacuo has invested more money into sea ships over airships over the years since the Great War.

"Whoa, check that out," said Ruby, pointing to a Dust shop fenced off with police tape. The team went over to check it out, where several people have gathered to look with a few police officers overlooking the situation. "What happened here?" Ruby asked one of the officers.

"Robbery last night, plain and simple," the officer told her before walking over to his partner. "It's odd that they took all the Dust, yet left the money. Who needs that much Dust?" he told his partner. Ruby was curious about the officer's comment, instantly drawing a comparison to Roman Torchwick's robbery that she foiled.

"Willing to bet it was the White Fang?" his partner asked, to which the first officer nodded. "Yeah, and I bet we don't get paid enough for this crap," groaned the first officer.

"I should've known the White Fang was behind this, those degenerates," Weiss huffed.

"What's your problem?" Blake hissed.

"I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths; they're just misguided Faunus."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss burst out.

"So they're very misguided then," Blake added before turning to look at the Dust shop. "Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Blake does have a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into back before school started, so maybe it could've been him instead," Ruby theorized.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are scum! Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal!" Weiss declared.

"That's not necessarily true, Weiss," Yang chided. "I mean, Velvet is the sweetest girl we know, and she's a Faunus, and Tristan is a nice guy once you get to know him."

"That rapscallion of a wolf is bad news for anyone, especially his team!" Weiss exclaimed. "I once caught him taking an underskirt photo of me at lunch, and he constantly makes obscene sexual gestures at me and the other girls in this school!"

"Well, okay, Tristan has some…problems, but I've spoken to him before, and he can be a really nice guy," Ruby argued, defending her friend. "I mean, he has a little sister that's a Human that his family adopted off the streets, and from what I can infer, he loves her a great deal. That says a lot about who he is, deep down."

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" shouted someone from the docks. Team RWBY rushed over to the source and saw two men aboard a Vacuo ship chasing after a blond-haired Monkey Faunus with a backpack on him. He leapt over the starboard side with a "Thanks for the ride, fellas!" and ran down the pier before stopping at a lamppost and began eating a banana from his pocket. "You no-good stowaway!" spat one of the deckhands.

"Oh, c'mon, a no-good stowaway would've gotten caught. I didn't, which makes me a great stowaway," the Faunus retorted with a laugh. Two police officers approached him, but he simply threw his banana peel into one of their faces, temporary blinding him, then ducked under the other and sprinted up the steps. He went past Team RWBY, and, unbeknownst to the others, he gave Blake a passing wink, making her stare wide-eyed for a brief second before he zoomed past.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes," Yang giggled.

"Quick, we have to observe him!" Weiss yelled, soon giving chase with her teammates following behind her. The team of girls kept close to the Faunus boy and the officers, following them down a couple streets, but as Weiss turned around a corner, she ran smack into someone, both of them falling to the ground. The rest of RWBY stopped to observe what had happened, but by then, the Monkey Faunus had already alluded the police officers and disappeared. "He got away!" Weiss moaned.

Weiss looked down at the person she ran into, a ginger-haired teenage girl with bight green eyes. The girl gave Weiss a creepy grin, making the heiress to spring to her feet. "Salutations!" the girl cheerfully proclaimed, though she remained on the ground.

"Um, hello," said Ruby.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking!" said the ginger girl.

"Do you…want to get up?" Yang asked.

The girl was silent for a moment, then…"Yes!" and she sprang to her feet, though Team RWBY took a step back away from her. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Team RWBY each introduced themselves. With how short their conversation was, Team RWBY could deduce that Penny was a strange person, and they quickly formed an excuse to leave her be. "Seeya later, friend!" Ruby told Penny as they walked off.

"She's an odd one, alright," Yang noted as they headed down the street.

"Now where did that Faunus riffraff run off to?" Weiss wondered, unaware that Penny suddenly appeared before them.

"What did you call me?" Penny inquired. Weiss was bewildered at how quickly Penny moved, dumbfounded even.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd hear me!" Yang quickly shot out apologetically.

"No, not you, I meant her," Penny answered, going up to Ruby. "You! You called me 'friend!' Am I really your friend?!" Ruby looked to her team for support, and they were all waving her to answer "no."

"Um, yeah, sure! Why not?" Ruby answered.

"Sensational!" Penny cheered before suddenly rabbling off on all the activities her and Ruby could do together. Weiss managed to stop her rabbling to question her about the Monkey Faunus, calling him a "filthy Faunus," though Penny did not know who he was.

"Why do you keep calling him such things?" Blake shot at Weiss. "He's not a degenerate, a rapscallion, or anything like that! He's a person!" Weiss shot argument after argument back at Blake, from referring to trash cans more than that, or arguing that he will eventually join the White Fang and commit worse crimes than stowaways and evading police. "You're such an ignorant brat!" Blake growled.

"How dare you speak to me like that! Do you know who I am!?" Weiss piped up.

"Yes, you are a judgmental, spoiled little brat, that's who you are." Weiss gave a gasp and jabbed her finger at Blake.

"How dare you!?"

"How dare I!? You're the one who's sorting that Faunus boy with the terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be."

"Ah-ha! So you admit it; the White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss shot back gleefully.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

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This continued all the way back to Beacon as night drew over the sky. In the halls, Ruby and Yang kept on either sides of Weiss and Blake to keep an eye on them to ensure they did not tear each other apart in their arguments. As they were heading back to their dorm room, they passed by Tristan Cortes, who was with Kovaltio Kyrstallo from Beacon. "Hello, girls, how was your trip into Vale?" Tristan politely asked. Weiss responded with a kick to his crotch, making him keel over. Clearly, she was in no mood to speak to rapscallions like Tristan either. Kovaltio could only crouch over Tristan with his hands hovering over him, unsure of how to help from the sudden attack as the Faunus teen squirmed on the floor in agony.

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Back in their dorm room, Weiss and Blake resumed their arguing, and both of them were reaching their breaking points. "You do realize that you're defending an organization that hates humanity, correct? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss told Blake.

"There's no such thing as 'pure evil!' Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, and people like 'you' that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures to earn their equality! All they want is their own Gods-given rights and be accepted among the public, and people like you instead treat them nothing more than animals!" Blake burst out.

"What do you mean by 'people like me'?" Weiss retorted.

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shot at her. Weiss strolled over to the window and stared out at the night sky of Vale. "Ever since I was young, the White Fang has been at war with my family and our company for many years; and I mean war, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has been a target of the White Fang for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a child, I have seen family members disappear without a trace, board executives executed by Faunus, an entire train car full of Dust stolen…" Blake swallowed hard, as she knew it was her and her partner Adam who highjacked that very train car less than a year ago. "…and every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a difficult childhood." Weiss turned back to Blake, hatred burning in her eyes. "You see now why I hate the White Fang so much? They're nothing but liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well, maybe we were tired of being treated like animals!" Blake shot at her, making Weiss shrink back. Everyone stared in shock at her, and Blake quickly realized her mistake. She bit her lip, and, without saying a word, dashed from their dorm and disappeared, with Ruby crying out after her to return.

Outside, Blake ran from Beacon out into the deserted courtyard, where she stopped in front of the courtyard monument bearing two warriors towering over a defeated Grimm. One statue was a man clad in armor holding a sword into the air and a shield at his side. The other was a hooded woman with a battle-ax at the her side. The Grimm below them appeared defeated, its mouth agape in horror. There was a plague at the foot of the statue, but the inscription upon it had worn out ages ago. This is what humanity thinks we are: monsters, Blake thought, tears forming in her eyes. She reached up and untied her bow, revealing a pair of black cat ears. Was Adam right all along? Is there no hope for Humans and Faunus to live in peace? She wiped at her eyes.

"I knew you'd look better without the bow," said a voice behind her. Turning around, Blake was met with the Monkey Faunus from the docks. "Name's Sun Wukong," he said, stretching out his hand.

Blake smiled and accepted his handshake. "Blake Belladonna."

"Judging by the fact that you're always wearing a bow, I guess your teammates don't know you're a Faunus?" Sun asked.

"They do now. I kinda…I kinda blew up at one of them and let it slip, and now I don't think I should go back to my dorm for a while, not at least until Weiss stops being so judgmental of Faunus…"

"Well, you can hang out with me and my team in our dorm until then, if you want," Sun suggested. "However, Scarlet will probably let it slip that you're sleeping with us, which will get out of hand."

"Perhaps I have a solution for you both," said a new voice nearby. Blake and Sun turned to see Kyler Carnaid standing beside the statue monument. "It seems you need a place to stay, Ms. Belladonna, and I have a solution for you, though I would advise against it."

"I would appreciate any help, sir," Blake told him. Kyler let out a sigh and went to her.

"I have a small apartment building located in downtown Vale on Congress Avenue, Room number 619. It's stocked well, so it can last you quite a while if need be." Kyler reached into his pocket and fished out a key attached to a keychain of a rose flower and was about to hand it to Blake, who reached for it, but he jerked it out of her reach. "Blake, please think this over. Your teammates love you, despite what Weiss may say about the Faunus, and if you just disappear on them like this, it will just worry them."

"I can't face them like this, not after I've been hiding who I really am to them for all this time," Blake answered.

Kyler gave her a frown, but handed her the key anyway. "Do you remember what I said before initiation? I told you all that no matter what happens to you, you need to keep moving forward. Always remember that, Blake. No matter what happens, you must always keep moving forward, or else you will find yourself consumed by the darkness of the past." Blake nodded, said her thanks, and she and Sun left for Vale.

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The Next Day

The remaining members of Team RWBY decided the previous night that Blake needed some space given what had happened, and that she would be back before morning, but when Ruby, the first to awake, found Blake's bed still empty, her worry grew. Ruby quickly organized a search for Blake with her team as well as Team LOST. Team RWBY went out patrolling the streets calling for Blake as well as showing a picture of her to random citizens, but nothing turned up. Team LOST went their own ways to search for Blake; Lucas searched through the slum district as well as any back alley bar or gathering place for thugs for info, which lead to him having to beat down a number of thugs. Olivia sped through Vale on her Fat Boy searching for Blake, but found nothing. Senna investigated all the bus and tram stations, asking the workers there if they saw Blake, but nothing. Tristan tried looking everywhere, but he came up with nothing.

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At a small rooftop cafe near their new apartment, Blake and Sun were enjoying some hot tea for a mid-afternoon snack. Blake recently revealed to Sun about how she was a member of the White Fang for most of her life, how the organization once served as a means of peace and unity between the two races following the Great War, how she was always at the front of their peaceful protests and rallies, and how she was there when their now-current leader, Adam Taurus, assumed leadership of the White Fang and switched their peaceful protests to violence, which caused a ripple in history and lead to respect towards the Faunus, but only out of fear.

"This Adam guy, he a friend of yours or something?" Sun asked when Blake finished her story.

Blake let out a sigh and sipped her tea. "Yes, he was my closest friend, actually. We grew up together, though he is about four years older than I, but we always looked out for one another, and we were very close…" Blake's cheeks blushed a little for a moment. "…I…I was in love with him too…" This added comment made Sun cough into his drink. "…However, when I was thirteen, Adam…he…changed…I don't know how else to describe it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I believe it began when he returned from a protest, and the area around his eyes was covered in horrible gashes, as if someone cut him. The cuts eventually healed over, but left horrible scars upon his face. Adam began wearing one of those Grimm-like masks that the White Fang often wear nowadays, and he grew bitter towards humanity even more. He stopped coming with me to protests, claiming he wanted to be alone…A few weeks later, that's when our leader was murdered."

"Wait, 'murdered?' I always thought the old leader stepped down from his position?" Sun questioned.

"That's what people would want you to believe, but really, he was murdered, and I saw the body; his body was covered in large gashes that were inflicted by some kind of blade. Adam soon rose up as our new leader, and he was quick to change our tactics into violent ones. He started off his new revolution by slaughtering a small village of humans, sparing no one. I did not go, as Adam forbade me." Blake took a deep breath, another sip, and dabbed at her eyes.

"Take your time, Blake," Sun assured her with a smile. She returned it back.

"Something happened to Adam in those few weeks; for one thing, following the first week, he got some kind of tattoo on his right shoulder that looked like a heart composed of two high heel shoes facing each other, and a katana with a blade made of some kind of red steel. I have a feeling that it was he who murdered our leader."

"Geez, this guy sounds really messed up!" Sun concluded. He noticed the sad look on Blake's face and apologized.

"Yesterday, I argued to Weiss that the White Fang was just misguided, and maybe I'm right; maybe they're being steered the wrong way because of Adam. Adam is not the person I grew up with anymore, and it took me nearly three years to figure that out. I ran away from Adam and the White Fang when I was almost sixteen, and I made my way to Vale, where I hoped to join Beacon and become a Huntress, hoping that if I work hard enough, I could show the Faunus in a different light through me, and that maybe Humans wouldn't be so awful to our race."

"Sounds pretty big for someone like you to accomplish," Sun noted with a grin.

"Well, no matter how challenging my goal is, I will do anything and everything to bring peace between Humans and Faunus, even if it costs me my life. And my first task on that is to stop these Dust shop robberies."

"I think I can help with that. While I was on that boat from Vacuo, I overheard a conversation about a huge Schnee Dust shipment being brought in sometime this weekend. So the logical thing to do would be to be there as whoever's behind these robberies would never pass up a shipment this big, and we can bust them, White Fang or not, and it would look good for the Faunus too."

"That sounds like a great idea, but I'm curious, why were you hiding on that boat anyway?"

"Well, I made a quick trip to Vacuo to visit family, is all, and instead of traveling with the Vacuo students, I thought it would be fun to smuggle myself to Vale," Sun explained with a serious grin.

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That night, Blake and Sun stationed themselves at the docks, watching as the last of the Schnee Dust shipments were unloaded and left for collection in the morning. After a while, a couple bullheads arrived and touched down, and a number of White Fang thugs filed out with weapons, with Roman Torchwick following behind them, barking orders to gather the shipments quickly. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would the White Fang be taking orders from a Human, especially one like him," Blake wondered aloud. She drew Gambol Shroud and headed down to the site, where she snuck up behind Roman and put her blade at his throat with the gun attachment facing towards the thugs. She undid her bow, revealing her Faunus ears. "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" she declared at the soldiers pointing their guns at her. "Our people have suffered too much, and what will working with criminals like this accomplish for us? Absolutely nothing!" A couple soldiers looked amongst each other, as if debating her words.

Roman chuckled. "Oh, if only you knew." Blake put her blade closer to his neck and demanded he explain. "See, the White Fang and I, as well as a few other powerful people, are starting a partnership," he revealed before he activated his cane and blew up the ground at Blake's feet.

The explosion was heard a few miles away in all directions. Ruby, accompanied by Penny, heard the explosion and made their way for source. Lucas and Tristan, who were nearby, heard it as well as made their way towards the docks while calling Olivia and Senna to alert them, who raced there as fast as they could.

Back at the docks, Sun joined alongside Blake to fight Roman and his thugs. Sun dashed forward and activated his weapon's staff form, which he used to take down a few WF thugs. Blake charged at Roman and sliced at him, but he blocked all her attacks and blasted her, knocking her backwards. "HEY!" shouted Ruby from atop a nearby building, Crescent Rose deployed at her side.

"Well, hello, Red, isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman teased. Penny, standing behind Ruby, asked what was going on, which distracted Ruby, allowing Roman to blast her off with a shot from his cane before he turned his attention back to Blake and Sun. Penny stepped forward to take Ruby's place.

"Penny, get back! It's too dangerous!" Ruby warned her.

"Don't worry, Ruby, I'm combat ready!" Penny assured her. Upon her back, a small mechanical pack opened and a series of blades emerged from it, appearing as though floating in midair. Penny leapt down onto the ground and began attacking the WF thugs.

Team LOST soon appeared on the other side of the docks facing behind where Roman and his thugs were situated. Lucas ordered Tristan to sneak around from the right side while he and Senna went from the left to flank them, and Olivia opted herself to attack from a distance. They set off, and Olivia climbed up onto a shipment container and drew Eclipse. With the zoom feature on her goggles, she could see Lucas hiding behind another shipment container and give her the go ahead to attack. She opened fired on the WF thugs, taking out two of them before the rest dove for cover. Roman, Sun, and Blake were fighting amongst each other and did not notice the sudden change in battle. Lucas and Senna attacked some nearby WF thugs while Tristan maintained a safe distance by moving from cover to cover while shooting down thugs with his arrows. Two bullheads soon touched down and more thugs emerged from them. "I got this one," Olivia spoke into her earpiece and drew her M319N grenade launcher and fired a shot at one cluster of thugs, sending them tumbling. She quickly reloaded around grenade shell and fired it onto the others, who went down as well.

"Nice job, Olivia," Lucas complimented into his Scroll's earpiece. The team regrouped together just as three large bullheads flew through the sky towards them. "I don't suppose you might have something that can shoot down those bullheads?" he added with a negative response in return. Nearby, Penny encircled her blades around herself and a bright green light charged up within them, resulting in a large, powerful laser beam to burst from them, easily skewering through the bullheads and causing them to crash into the waters off shore. Roman, still fighting Blake and Sun, recognized that things were not going well for him, so he shot down a shipment container to block the Faunus Huntsmen from him and retreated into his bullhead and made his escape.

Most of the White Fang thugs have either been killed or knocked unconscious during the battle, but a couple survived and attempted to escape until Blake and Sun captured them and dragged them over to the others. "We should interrogate them and try to figure out why they're stealing so much Dust," Blake told everyone. Weiss and Yang soon arrived onto the scene with a number of police cars behind them, their sirens and lights blaring.

"Well, you're late to the party," Tristan joked.

Yang and Lucas both offered to do the interrogations before the police could get ahold of the thugs. Yang went the easy route and crushed one thug's genitals in her fist while questioning him, but the pain made him faint instead. Lucas was a bit more direct, having Olivia hold the thug up while he smashed his fists into his stomach while demanding answers, but the thug was resilient and refused to talk, and by the time he was reaching his breaking point, the police came and took the thugs into custody. "Now we won't know why the White Fang have been stealing Dust," complained Blake. Weiss went up to Blake, giving her a stern look, and Blake understood why. "Weiss, I want you to know that I am no longer affiliated with the White Fang and I…"

"Do you know how long you've been away?" the heiress interrupted her. "Two days. And in those two days, I had a lot of time to think about everything, and I've decided…I don't care. If you say you're not affiliated with the White Fang anymore, then I guess you're not. However, I must advise next time you have a personal problem, you come to us, your teammates, and not…" She glanced over at Sun, who gave her a nervous smile. "…Not someone else, okay?" Blake shield and nodded, and Weiss smiled back. "However, I still don't know how I feel about you!" she snapped at Sun with a jabbing finger, to which he nervously chuckled.

"Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby squealed, prompting her teammates to close in for a hug.

"We should hug too!" Olivia suggested, slinging an arm around Senna and pulling her close, despite her displeasure of it. Tristan attempted the same with Lucas, who gave him a mean glare, but then relented, giving a half-fast, one arm hug to the Faunus. However, amongst the celebration, no one noticed that Penny had disappeared, for a black car appeared among the police cruisers, and a young man in a black suit whisked her way. She stared out the window at her friend, Ruby, who was still overjoyed that her team had reunited. "You know better than to wander off by yourself. Your father was extremely worried about you," said the young man in the driver's seat.

"I understand, sir," Penny muttered before apologizing, still staring out the window even as the car drove off. The driver noticed this in the rear view mirror.

"Your time will come soon enough, Penny, I know it will," he assured her as they disappeared down the nighttime street.

At that exact moment, up in his office in Beacon's highest tower, Ozpin received a message from Ruby's uncle Qrow on his Scroll, reading: "Queen has pawns." Ozpin hummed to himself as he stared outside the tall windows at the shattered moon orbiting the night sky. "So, the time is coming sooner than we thought…" Ozpin said to himself, with only the soothing turning of the cogs in the tower accompanying him. He dialed Qrow's Scroll, but it quickly went dead. He tried again, but it was still dead. "Oh dear…"

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Teams RWBY, LOST, and Sun were taken to the police station to be questioned as to why they were at the docks when the White Fang were there, and each of them explained that they were there under the suspicion that the White Fang would attempt to steal a shipment from the Schnee Dust Company, though they chose to leave out the details of Blake being a former White Fang member or that Teams RWBY and LOST were there because they heard the explosions. Ozpin soon came to all of their aid and had them escorted back to Beacon, telling the lieutenant overseeing them that he should be happy enough that his students sabotaged the White Fang's plans and bid him good night.

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After Ozpin had the teams interviewed as to what happened at the docks and then sent them back to their dorms, he went searching for Kyler, whom he found sitting on a bench on one of the many balconies of Beacon with a book in his hand, though he was not reading it. He was staring up at the shattered moon, and a song was leaving his lips:

"Dry your eyes now, baby;

Broken wings won't hold you down.

You'll take flight soon, baby.

You'll be lifted up,

And you'll be there

"Twelve hours,

Is a long night.

When you're searching,

With no hope in sight…"

"Kyler…" Ozpin interrupted, making Kyler pause his song. "…Kyler, I need you to go to Mistral and search for Qrow. I fear he may have been compromised."

"Compromised? How can that be?" Kyler inquired, rising to his feet.

"He's not answering his Scroll, and the last message I received from him was 'Queen has pawns'." Kyler froze in his tracks.

"Th-That cannot be!" he sputtered.

Ozpin nodded. "I'm afraid so…this puts us in a difficult position…what do you believe we should do?"

Kyler rubbed his goatee and paced the balcony. "I do not know," he said after a minute. "I feel as though we should go ahead and start training the Paladins now and prepare them for what's to come, but I keep thinking about how this will affect them; to suddenly discover that everything they knew about the world and its history was a lie, and that they are destined to protect the world from the greatest evil of all time…it would destroy them, Ruby most of all, given her age."

"I understand. This sort of thing is something that no one should have to bear," Ozpin added.

Kyler clenched his fist tight and swung it down at his side in frustration. "…Ozpin, I believe you should make this decision. I…I just can't this time…"

Ozpin glanced up at the shattered moon, staring longly into its beautiful glow. "I believe we should wait a while longer; the Paladins of today are still children, and it is a role they won't have forever. I want them to enjoy the last of their youth before it is time for them to grow up and become adults and Huntsmen…the defenders of the world…we will begin training them once the Vytal Festival is over."

Kyler made a long "hum" sound and nodded his head. "The Vytal Festival…that seems best. They will be able to enjoy themselves while improving their combat skills in the tournament. A win-win situation, one can call it." Kyler walked past Ozpin towards the door. "I'm going to go pack for the journey to Mistral and head out tomorrow," he told him as he passed.

"That song you were singing…it was 'Wings,' was it not?" Kyler froze in his tracks, but he did not answer, though Ozpin knew the answer was "yes." "That was Summer's favorite song, if I recall correctly." Ozpin could tell that Kyler was nodding even without looking at him. "Kyler, you're not responsible for Summer's death, you know that? Do what you always tell everyone to tell and keep moving forward, understand? You told us those words long ago, and we are here because of them, remember?"

"That was a very long time ago, Ozpin, and those words lost meaning to me a since then," Kyler muttered before leaving the headmaster standing there, staring up at the moon.

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Roman huddled over a map of Vale in an abandoned warehouse, grumbling to himself. Just then, the doors opened and a woman in a red minidress walked in with two people at her side: a dark-skinned girl with long green hair, and a teenage boy dressed in grey with matching hair. "Roman, this warehouse should be full of Dust. What happened?" the woman demanded.

"Well, some stupid kids decided to crash the party and beat up my men, that's what, especially that stupid red girl," he grumbled.

"Red girl? By chance is this that same red girl that ruined your robbery back in August?"

"Actually yes, yes it was. I swear, I'm gonna kill Little Red!"

"Roman, what sort of girl is this 'Little Red?' What stands out about her?" The woman asked with a curious smile.

"Well, if it isn't obvious enough, she dresses in red. She also carries a huge scythe for a weapon, and she has silver eyes," Roman answered.

"Silver eyes?" the woman raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so? That supposed to be important?"

"No, not at all, or at least, not important to you." the woman waved her hand at her henchmen and they turned to leave.

"Hey, what about me? What am I supposed to do, just sit around, twiddling with my thumbs and rob small Dust stores?" Roman complained. The woman had her duo freeze and she turned back to Roman.

"Oh, Roman, we have big plans for you…" she purred, extending a hand out and a ball of fire ignited within it, illuminating her eyes, which glowed with the color of fire. "…Well, to be truthful, my Goddess has big plans for us both." Roman gave her a confused look, but she merely smiled, an evil smile at that. She exited the warehouse with her two henchmen and the three left the area in a car, which the teenage boy drove while the woman and girl sat in the back silent. Ozpin, Kyler, and Glynda are at Beacon, but so long as they are there, we cannot touch neither them nor the new generation of Paladins, the woman, Cinder Fall, thought to herself with an evil smile. However, we know that two of the new Paladins are at Beacon, training to become Huntresses. I must give you credit, Ozpin, I didn't think you would accept them into your school had they been simple Humans without destines, and yet, I suspect you would've anyway; you were always such a kind and caring man, but that will lead to your downfall, that I promise.

Next Chapter 3: Times Are Changing