Chapter three people: perhaps some of you already know what will happen, perhaps some don't.

Dragonslasher20: Thank you for your continuing reviews. Did you know that you are the first reviewer? And not just somebody making a one-time appearance; you have actually reviewed twice now! I wanted to thank you for that; I like to think that (Among other things) fanfictions are rated by the positive reviews they receive. So it goes without saying that I really appreciate your feedback :)

"Vale´s government seems to exist out of a vaguely-present council and a major governing party, which is located in the city itself. The choices made are bounced between all the members, sent to the council for verification and then executed by officials. It seems that, should this political party be taken out, Vale might spin out of control. Steps need to be taken to assure their safet.

Day 3, 7:55:67

The day had finally arrived! It was finally today! She had been waiting for so long and the moment was finally at hand! It was the day of the Initiation, the major event that Headmaster Ozpin had planned for the students of Beacon Academy to prove what they are worth. Now she could finally show everyone what she was made off!

Ruby had woken up five minutes before her alarm could wake her. Her excitement for the coming day was so intense that her body had actually set a biological clock for her that would wake her up a few minutes before her clock did.

The people sleeping around her hadn't noticed it, but she had set the alarm to wake them as soon as the clock hit 8:00. That way she had all the time she needed to make the necessary preparations and steady her mind for what was to come. There would be no coming too late for her! She would be the first on the site and that way everyone could see how dedicated she was.

The only problem would be the potential consequences of waking every single new student on beacon Academy with her clock. So that was why she had set its volume very low; so that it would only wake the people that were sleeping around her. And the only persons who were sleeping around her were Yang and the girl with the bow, Blake.

Had she forgotten someone? Nah, probably not.

The clock turned 7:57. Just three minutes left and then she could spring to action! She could wake her dear Crescent Rose from her slumber together they would be very awesome!

7:58. Ruby wondered what the initiation would be. Would the entire school be watching them? She would be in trouble if that was the case; she didn't really work well under pressure. But how high would the chances be when it came to everyone watching her? Every single student would have to act in the Initiation. That meant that there would be multiple dozens of students running around. How likely would it be for someone to be watching her?

Well…there would always be someone watching her. And she would feel that person watching her and she would feel the pressure increasing and-

But that wouldn't be very likely to happen, right?

7:59. The lockers where their gear and equipment was stored were only a few minutes away from the hall where they were currently sleeping. In theory she could get dressed, brush her teeth and eat breakfast in only a few minutes. After that, she would race to the lockers and get ready for action! After that, she would grab a quick bite in the dining hall and then she would be of.

8:00. Her alarm went off and her heart skipped two beats. She had completely forgotten that she had set the alarm! Her intense focus on the coming minutes had completely purged the memory of her little clock. The sudden and still very loud alarm nearly killed her, so nervous had she been!

It took her a few seconds to scramble around in a desperate search for the clock and when she found it, she had suddenly lost every memory of how to operate the thing. Was she supposed to break the glass and tear the pointy things out? Or should she tear them out before she broke the glass? Wait, that didn't even make sense! Was there a password or a code on the damn thing? How would she-

"Here, let me." Someone grabbed the clock out of her hands and quickly deactivated it.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled and was relieved to see her big sister coming to her aid. "You saved me!"

"What, from the evil clock? " The blonde jokingly said and she set the little device down. "Were you actively planning to wake everyone up?"

"Well…" She said, not knowing what to say. She had a very tense pressure in her stomach and the normal thoughts seemed to slip her mind every now and then. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous…"

Yang laughed. "Well of course you are, we are about to-"

"Hey!" yelled someone, nearly causing Ruby a cardiac arrest. She turned around and saw Weiss Schnee coming through the set of doors. "What's with all the noise? People are sleeping here!"

"I am sorry!" Ruby said, furious with herself for forgetting her alarm like that. What was wrong with her! Why did her brain have to insist on causing problems with the Heiress?

"People have actually been getting up for quite some time now…" Blake Belladonna calmly said.

"Oh, seriously? Then…there's no problem, right? We cool?"

Weiss' angry glare was fairly indicative of them being not cool.

"Then let's get the party on the road!" Yang yelled and grabbed Ruby's hood. "Breakfast very quick and then action very fast!"

That didn't even make sense. Yang was right, but it still didn't make sense.

Their breakfast was actually very enjoyable. Scrambled eggs and bacon were the best! Even though other people had woken up before she had, he morning was still going splendid. She and Yang then proceeded to move to the locker room, where they could finally don their weapons and equipment. But it quickly became apparent that they weren't the only ones getting ready for the Initiation.

"Morning Ren!"

Lie Ren felt someone poking him in his face and he sighed. So much for acting like he was sleeping; he should have known better. It was practically impossible for him to fool Nora Valkyrie.

The stupid thing was that he actually DID know better. He had known her for most of his life now and if there was one thing that he had learned in all of those years…it was that Nora had learned nearly everything there was to learn about him.

"Morning Nora…" For the next ten minutes the girl proceeded to tell him virtually all of her strategies she had come up with. He didn't really listen to half of those, but by now he knew just how to give the girl the impression that he was in fact listening to her. It was a carefully thought out and well balanced combination of making and avoiding eye-contact, slowly nodding when her voice reached the appropriate amount of excitement and making small "aha" and "Hmm…" noises when her sentence reached a question mark.

"Sloths!" She yelled at last, actually catching him off guard. They had reached the dining hall and he was enjoying a delicious bundle of pancakes. He nearly responded with "Yes…" before he realized what she had said. "Wait what?"

"It's the perfect plan! Sloths!"

"Ehh…Nora? I don't think Sloths make noises at all," Ren told her, hoping that she would discard the idea. She was desperate to get in a team together with him and he wanted to be in the same team with her as well. It was just that he was being more rational about it.

Or at least he liked to think that.

Nora kept talking throughout the entire morning, until they both reached the locker room.

"I really want to be on the same team as you Ren!" Nora sighed and dreamily looked into the distance. He smiled and thought about the possibilities of a future where they were teamed up on Beacon. How their two teammates would declare them mad…how their teachers would declare them mad. How he would try to convince those people that they were in fact not mad and how Nora was just enthusiastic.

"I know…" He said and grabbed his Storm Flowers. But first they had to survive the Initiation…and that would be problematic. "So…tell me about the sloths."

Well…the day was finally there. The horrifying Initiation. The moment where he, Jaune Arc, would have to prove what he was worth in Beacon Academy and where he would find out who his teammates would be. It wasn't exactly a very pleasant thought, but he could still hope for some cute girls on his team.

Jaune sighed and slowly walked to the dining hall, his shoulders hanging and his hair being completely terrible. He hadn't even gotten a good night's sleep! How was he supposed to survive the Initiation when he was half asleep? And how was he supposed to even sleep on such a hard floor with nothing but a sleeping-bag underneath him? It was ridiculous. His first night was more terrible than all the nights in his life; including the one where he had accidentally set fire to his pillow.

Jaune really hoped that it wasn't an omen for the coming event. He slowly dumped his body at the table and began planning what he would eat for his breakfast. In his sleepy demeanor, he barely noticed the red-haired girl entering after him. She gave him a curious glance, but then focused on her own breakfast.

By the time he had eaten his fill, he realized that he would still have to gather his equipment. But where would he need to go? He couldn't really remember where he had placed his stuff…he knew it was in a locker and he knew that he had a pamphlet with the written code of his personal locker on it, but that was about it. Was he just supposed to wander around aimlessly until he stumbled upon it? That didn't really seem a very attractive prospect.

"Are you lost?" Someone asked him. It sounded…female? Was a girl asking whether he was lost or not? Things were suddenly turning for the better!

"Yeah I…can't seem to find my way to the locker room…could you…you know…"

"Help you? Yeah, sure!" the girl who offered to help him was really pretty. Her long, red hair was collected in a waist-length ponytail and she had bright green eyes. She appeared to be already fully equipped; wearing fancy golden and brown armour that ended in a red skirt. Was she carrying a long red and gold spear with her? That looked awesome!

"So what's your name?" She asked him.

"J-Jaune…" He muttered. Why? Why did he have to stutter like that when he was only naming himself?

"Hello Jaune!" She said. "My name is Pyrrha. It is nice to meet you!"

Together with Pyrrha, he managed to find the room where he had stuffed his gear in his locker. If only he knew where to find said locker… his pamphlet said that he had his weapons in locker 14.31…but where would that be? Was that even correct?

"Hey Jaune, my locker is over there," the redhead said, leaving his side to make her way to her own locker..

"Oh…bye Pyrrha!" He said. He grabbed the paper and tried to decipher his own handwriting. "Ridiculous!" He said and didn't notice the sisters he passed by looking at him with incredulous expressions. "There's no way I put my gear in locker14.31! I would have remembered such a hard number…oh, why does this have to happen today!"

5:55 –Beacon Hangar bay

He had slept enough. Seven hours of sleep was more than enough for him and it was useless to sleep longer if he was awake now. He stood and flexed his joints; as they felt a little stiff.

His superiors had told him that he had to make his way to the well-known Beacon Academy and that he should only take enough gear with him to see him through a medium firefight and nothing else, so he wouldn't be slowed down. Because of that, he had left his usual survival gear behind, taking only the necessary equipment with him. That meant sleeping on the ground without anything to cover himself should the weather decide to take a bad turn. It wasn't that bad though; Beacon was dry and warm and he wouldn't have needed the gear on his first night here anyway.

The Headmaster Ozpin had planned an Initiation event where the man would test the individual combat skills of the new students and determine which teams he would form with them. The students would have to bring certain artifacts with them to prove that they had successfully made the journey.

Unfortunately, Ozpin was his superior until further notice, which meant that he had to obey the man's orders. That logically resulted in him having to take part in the planned Initiation, much to his frustration. Because that also meant he had to play along with the students…perhaps even walk among them. He could not see how that was supposed to work out well.

Quickly dressing himself, he started the usual morning exercises to warm himself up and get his body in working form. It wouldn't do to get cramped up in the middle of a fight and he had nothing else to commit to at the moment. Was it normal at this Academy for students to get up around six? Would he attract attention if he prepped himself in a few minutes and then showed up at the cliffs where he needed to be? It would probably be the smartest thing to show up at the same time as most of the students would, to prevent himself from attracting unwanted attention. But in order for him to arrive at the same time as other people, he would be forced to join them in their journey at some point. Which would mean pointless social interaction.

This was a lose-lose situation; the mission was already getting more and more complicated and the bullets had yet to start flying. Perhaps he would simply grab his gear and move to the cliff on his own; it would be better that way.

It took him a minute to find his rucksack in the empty hangar bay, but he found it eventually. It was, for all intents and purposes, an armoured backpack that could be attached to his body-suit, which he had placed next to it.

Speaking of which, where was it? He had dumped most of his gear underneath the empty vehicle frame stored in the corner of the hangar. So why was it not there now?

He noticed a small piece of paper folded against the backpack. Weird, he didn't remember seeing that before. He picked it up and concluded that it had to be message of some sorts. Folding it open, he began to read it. Slowly he felt a sense of unease spreading through his body.

'Dear Two-Oxford:

I have seen fit relocate your equipment to the general locker room. It will be better for your state of mind if you actually saw your fellow students during your stay here.

With the best regards,

Professor A.

PS: don't kill anybody.'

That was…weird. Someone had snuck up on him and taken his stuff to move it to a general room to store stuff?

Snuck up on him?

Taken his stuff?

That was just plain wrong. Who was this Professor to sneak up on him? And why the Post scriptum telling him to not kill anybody? A failed attempt at humor?

Beacon locker-room, minutes before initiation.

"So are you ready for the coming part?" Yang happily asked. She was so glad to finally see her little sister feeling somewhat better. The poor girl had been struck by the doubts last night and she had anxious ever since.

"Actually, I feel like I am ready for everything!" Ruby responded with a cheerful cry. "No more awkward meetings, no more randomly combusting in people's faces and no more trying to make things right! Today I can let my sweetheart do the talking!"

That sounded a bit troublesome. "Remember Ruby, you're not the only one to go through Initiation. If you want to grow up, you should meet new people and learn to work with them."

The redhead groaned with frustration and she lowered her head in…protest, Yang guessed. "You sound just like dad! Okay, first of all: what does meeting new people have to do with fighting or the Initiation for that matter? And secondly: I don't need people! I drink milk!"

Oh Ruby, you have no idea. "And how about when we form teams?" Now she had hit her mark. Her little sister was suddenly getting very nervous.

`Uhm…I don´t know, I´ll…I´ll just be on…your team?"

Now for the hard part. Even though Yang wanted nothing more than to be on the same team with her little sister, the social interaction would be good for her. Ruby was too…introvert? No not that…she was just not social enough. A bit socially awkward. "Maybe you should try getting in someone else's team?"

Uh-oh. That didn't amuse the girl one bit. "My dear sister Yang; are you implying that you don't want to be on the same team as me?"

Since when did Ruby know the word imply? "What? No! I just think that it would be better for you if got on a team with new people. You know, break out of your shell!"

"What the-? I don't need to break out of my shell!" She was silent for a second and then realized what she said. "I don't even have a shell!" She quickly added and then seemed satisfied with her explanation.

Yang was about to point out that was in fact not true, when the blond kid she had come to know as Jaune walked past them, seeming utterly confused.

"I'm going to go help Jaune now!" Ruby said and pointed at her. "When I come back, you will have changed your opinion on my team matter!"

Oh Ruby, you are so cute, Yang thought as she watched Ruby turn around, If only you knew that I only have the best for you in mind.

While the red-hooded girl walked away, Yang realized that she had not yet donned her Ember Celica's. How stupid! How could she have forgotten to do that?

While she searched her locker for her weapons, she noticed someone walking up to his own locker a few places away from hers. She couldn't help but to be interested in the person though; she thought that she recognized him from somewhere.

No, she knew that she recognized him from somewhere.

"Hey!" She yelled. She closed her locker as soon as she found her gauntlets and turned to face him. This was the jerk that had ignored her yesterday in the hallway.

Again, he didn't respond. So rude. Why would someone not respond to her when the only thing she did was greeting them? She hadn't even gotten to the violent part yet!

Although that would come very quick if he kept that attitude up…

The guy grabbed multiple black and grey coloured items from his locker. She watched for half a minute as he donned a weird-looking suit and then her curiosity won over her anger. A long time ago, she had learned that blatantly attacking everyone who wronged her one of the stupidest things she could do. The last time she had gotten carried away with beating someone up…it had not ended well. "What's that?" She asked. She knew that the people here were very proud of their equipment and their weapons, so even if he didn't want to talk to her about silly things like greetings and other forms of simple social interaction, he might still comment on his gear.

And she might learn something about potential teammates. Or enemies, more likely. This place was different from normal combat schools; the people here took great pride in their skills and abilities and that would create fights and arguments.

"What the hell is that supposed to be!" She then laughed and walked up to him. His suit looked very weird; she hadn't ever seen anything like that. It looked awesome and completely ridiculous at the same time.

The guy turned to face her. "Can I help you ma'am?" He asked her. His voice sounded devoid of any kind of emotion whatsoever and his face was all serious. She could have sworn that she recognized him from somewhere…but she just couldn't place him. And what was with that whole 'broom-up-the-ass' manner of replying?

"You know, I'm curious to see how something that silly-looking can be useful!" She said. He met her gaze for a second before his eyes turned away, looking at a point next to her head instead of looking her in her eyes.

"Are you referring to my equipment?" He replied, still sounding so awfully neutral. At least she got him to reply, so a point for her! She did wonder why he was being so stupidly polite, while he had been ignoring her beforehand.

"Yes I was. What are you going to use for the Initiation?" She asked him.

"Weapons," he said and grabbed a few pieces of black armour. He strapped the components to his shoulders, knees and chest and double-checked if they were attached properly.

"Uh-huh. Why did you ignore me?"

"That's irrelevant."

…Irrelevant? Irrelevant? She would show him irrelevant!

"Yang!" Her little sister cried from across the room. "Hurry up!"

"Coming sis!" She said and took one last look at the strange guy with his black suit. "You gonna tell me your name or what?" She said, letting a threatening tone creep into her voice "Or don't you have one?"

He grabbed the last of his equipment out of his locker and turned his back towards her. "Not important." Then he simply walked away, not even taking the time to say goodbye or anything! What a jerk!

And now he was just using other words to say irrelevant! It didn't make any sense!

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff?" Glynda Goodwitch's voice echoed through the room as she announced where they needed to go.

Well, there was at least one good thing about it all; Ruby´s social skills were royal compared to the guy she had just ´met´. At least she tried to not insult people when they asked for their names.

She noticed that Weiss Schnee and a girl with long, red hair just exited the room together. Jaune was sitting on the ground looking awfully depressed and Ruby appeared to be trying to comfort him. What had happened to him? Why was Ruby trying to comfort him and why was she asking herself all these questions?

"Having trouble here?" She walked up to the two and took another look at the exit, where the two girls had disappeared. Slowly she reached an idea on what might have happened and she sighed.

Guys.

"I don't understand…my father said all that women looked for is confidence! Where did I go wrong…"

Women didn't look for false confidence. Yang for one liked it when a guy was modest about his abilities. And dad the kid seriously tried to seduce Weiss Schnee? Was he actively trying to get himself killed?

Ruby offered him a hand and he took it, pulling himself upright. "There there Jaune…it's alright. Let's go…" Ruby said and escorted him together with his damaged ego out of the room.

Yang lagged behind for a few seconds while she tried to process what was happening around her. Had all the guys suddenly lost their minds or something?

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch had been waiting for them on Beacon Cliffs. Every first-year student had to come there for the planned Initiation and when everyone had actually arrived, Ozpin had started another speech. He was good in giving speeches that completely ruined your self-esteem and hopes for the future.

Ruby had been among the first wave of students to get to the Cliff and she was very anxious as to the results of today. This would be the day that she got her team…and she was desperately hoping that Yang would be her teammate.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...and it will happen today." Glynda added.

"What!" She muttered as realization dawned upon her. She hadn't expected the issue to be addressed so soon.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued. What he said made sense, but his tone didn't sound very promising to her. His expression was solemn, so the coming part would be negative.

She groaned as she processed the part where Ozpin bound them to their partners for the coming four years. If she teamed up with someone she absolutely hated –like Weiss- then she would be stuck with that person for a very long time. All the more reason not to mess up!

"That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with after your arrival will be your partner for the next four years."

…what? What?! WHAT!

Two students turned to look at her and she noticed that Miss Goodwitch was glaring at her with a very angry expression. Ruby swallowed and concluded that she must have yelled that last word at the top of her lungs. Her cheeks stung red and she coughed nonchalantly. Please continue please continue please continue…

"See?" A girl with orange hair said to the male standing next to her. "I TOLD you!"

Did Ozpin seriously tell them that they would have to make eye with their partner in order to team up with them? Absolutely everyone could become her partner that way!

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will certainly die."

That was brutal.

Jaune laughed nervously before he realized that no 'one else was laughing. Then he gulped, seeing that the situation was very much non-humorous.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. "

That meant that if they messed up, they would be screwed.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and you will be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?"

So they would have to gather an item with a partner and return that item…all the while evading and dodging mortal danger while intertwined in personal problems if the partners clashed? Great.

Jaune raised his hand and cleared his throat. "Uhm…sir?" He asked.

Ruby realized that they were all standing on a tile in the middle of a grass field. Why was that? How were they supposed to land in the Emerald Forest?

"Good!" Ozpin said, completely ignoring the blonde. "Now, take your positions."

Positions? Wait a minute…they were standing on weird tiles at the top of a cliff, they needed to head to a forest which lay before and below them. Would these tiles drop them through the ground? Launch them in the air?

…teleport?

"Sir? I have a question?" Jaune tried again. Ruby glanced over to her left and noticed that the tile underneath Weiss had risen up into a springboard. So they would be launched in the air? That meant flying! She couldn´t fly; milk didn't give any wings!

And why, why had she looked at Weiss? She just glanced at her general direction and she immediately noticed her. Why was that! Was she cursed or something? Doomed to hang around the Schnee girl forever?

A sense of dread fell into her stomach like a slab of metal and she suddenly felt nauseous. What if that curse caused her to be teamed up with that girl? Her career would be as good as over!

Weiss was launched into the air, confirming Ruby's suspicions. More tiles activated as the row progressed and she quickly assumed a combat stance. She would have to improvise.

Even though she sucked at drama and theater.

"This landing? Strategy…thing? What is it? Will we be…dropped? Or something?"

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin said. Poor Jaune still didn't catch the message; more and more students were launched in the air and three of them even screamed with fear or –in Yang's case- total glee. Was she just imagining it or was her big sister actually wearing aviator glasses? Where had she gotten those!

"Yeah…uhh…" Jaune muttered. He was just about to ask what this 'landing strategy' would be when his tile activated.

Ruby had never heard a guy scream so high-pitched before and she actually had to giggle a bit. But then her tile activated as well and she had no choice but to join Jaune in his screaming activities. She had overestimated the potential of the tile underneath her feet and now she was paying the price. If only she could land soft…

Or alive. Preferably both.

Ozpin took another sip of his delicious coffee and watched the students go. Miss Goodwitch had already taken the necessary precautions to ensure the complete taping of the coming events and thus he would be able to completely follow everything that transpired.

"Coffee is good." He sighed as be looked over the beautiful hill.

"I am glad you enjoy it sir…" Glynda replied as she tinkered around with her Scroll.

Gradually the screams of his students faded away and a sense of proud filled him. He had sent more than a dozen people sailing through the air to collect a relic for him, all in days' work.

"Hey! There are people!" Someone yelled and disturbed his peace and harmony. He recognized that voice; and he had hoped not to hear it for a long while. At least today, of all days.

He turned around and faced the newcomer. "Glad you could make it…" Ozpin said, taking another sip of his coffee. He was having a very enjoyable day and he would not let it be ruined by his recent colleague. He would deal with him…later.

"Yeah, well you know. If SOMEONE hadn't rigged the speaker unit in my room to play a pre-recorded message on a loop containing false information and if that SOMEONE then hadn't tried to sabotage complete hallways in an attempt to keep me away, I might not have missed the launching procedure."

Well, that was a small speech. Was he talking crazy again, or was there an actual sense of truth in what he said?

"Someone sabotaged hallways to keep you away?" Ozpin said, already realizing who that might have been. "I am sure that you are just being paranoid."

"Yes, well that was what I thought." The man replied and walked over to him. "So! What do they have to do in the Emerald Forest this year?"

"I thought that you rigged the forest for the students?" Ozpin replied.

"Well…I actually did. I just placed the traps, lured the Grimm and prepared certain paths to the temple."

"You did what/" asked Glynda Goodwitch. "Are you telling me…" she then said. "…that you lured…actually LURED the creatures of Grimm to the Emerald forest? Wasn't it good enough to simply confirm their presence, like you had told me you would do?"

"Good job," commented Ozpin.

"Good job?"

"Relax! It's not like I…you know…placed more Grimm! Besides; I am sure that no 'one will get hurt. They are all very capable students and even the blind girl looks like she can survive Grimm without trouble!"

Ozpin sighed when he realized that he wouldn't get anything useful out of the young Professor. His comment about the blind girl was odd though; he had seen her standing between the students, but he had assumed that she simply chose to wear it for some complicated reason that kids their age had. He had not assumed that she was actually blind; why did he have the feeling that his 'companion' knew more about that particular situation than he did? It wasn't exactly the nicest of feeling.

The Headmaster chose to ignore that comment, however and focus on the results of Miss Goodwitch's footage.

"So far everyone has successfully landed. The teams have yet to be established and there are no reported casualties so far."

"Good." Ozpin replied and took another sip of coffee. "Keep monitoring and inform me of any developments."

Then he turned to the newcomer and decided that he would make some…agreements with him.

"We should talk, you and me." He said and took another sip of his coffee.

Ruby sailed through the air and realized that physics were not exactly acting in her favor. If she didn't slow down, she would smash into the ground and die.

Or sail into a tree and die.

Or smash into a lake and drown. And then die.

At least she wouldn't run into Weiss Schnee if she died. That was one positive part of her dying- no, scratch that. There were no positive aspects to her dying. So she would have to prevent that from happening! Now, how would she slow her own descent down? The recoil from her Crescent Rose was enough to slow her down if used properly. If she managed to fire off a few shots at the right timing, she would slow herself down and then she could use her scythe to suspend herself above the ground.

In theory at least. Once again, physics wasn't exactly her best subject. If she got something wrong …well…she'd be royally in trouble. Just like she would be when teamed up with Weiss.

Ruby formed her Scythe to its gun form and fired off a few shots. The sudden recoil was enough to slow her down enough for stage two of her plan. She unfolded her Scythe once again, just in time for her to swing it at the approaching trees. The weapon cut through multiple branches before it latched onto a particularly large one.

'Yes!' she thought as she felt her body swinging upwards. Her plan worked! Her Crescent Rose had latched successfully onto a branch and her many swings around the thick appendage should be good enough to slow her down to a more manageable level.

Or so she thought. She had just completed her sixth circle around the branch when she felt her balance shift. The blade of her Scythe cut through the wood like a hot knife through butter and she crashed to the ground together with the heavy appendage.

The impact on the ground knocked the breath out of her and she was temporarily fazed. Little scythes flew over her head as she tried to clear it and suddenly, she heard a loud snapping sound. She looked up and noticed that the thick branch –easily two feet in diameter- had nearly crashed down on her. Another tree had caught the piece of wood, but it was slowly breaking the thinner branches as gravity pulled down on it.

Damn you physics!

Ruby immediately rolled to her side, just in time for the branch to break through its cover and come crashing down. It narrowly missed her and fell down on its side; causing a lot of ruckus in the process. Why couldn't her landing have been smooth? It should it have been smooth!

She shook her head and started to run in a general direction. She had no idea where she was, but the forest was bound to have been filled to the brim with booby-traps and other deadly things. She needed to find someone to team up with and fast. And that actually meant finding Yang and team up fast.

"Yang!" She yelled during her mad dash to safety. "Yang! Where are you?" Yang was good! Weiss was bad.

Her mind formed all kinds of weird scenarios; the results of Jaune being on her team. The results of Blake being on her team. The results of having to explain how she teamed up with nobody or worse, with a thick branch. She was so nervous that she didn't even notice where she was going anymore.

´Anyone but Weiss…' She thought. Not Weiss, anyone but her. Yang would be great, but not Weiss.

Not Weiss Schnee!

She saw a clearing ahead and increased her speed. She just had to team up with anyone –anyone at all, as long as they weren't-

She noticed someone standing there all of a sudden and cursed that person's sudden appearing-potential. She tried to slow down; to break her momentum and prevent herself from crashing into the person standing there. It worked –partially. She skidded to a halt just a meter in front of the person standing there and she thought she glimpsed a bright white colour before she looked down. This couldn't be true! This person just had to be anyone except for Weiss, how hard would it be!

Het right feet got caught in a surfaced branch and she nearly tripped. Instinctively she waved her wands in front of her to prevent herself from falling and she pushed her upper body up –causing her to face the girl known as Weiss Schnee in the process.

The pale girl looked her in her eyes and her eyebrows narrowed. Whoops.

Then she turned around and walked away.

Of all the people…of all the mean people to run into, she had to find the one she had wanted to join the least! How hard would it have been to simply not find someone that was Weiss?

"Wait! W-where are you going!" She yelled and decided that she would follow the girl. Even if she was the stupidest girl ever –she still needed to have a teammate in order to not die. "We're supposed to be teammates!"

Ren needed to slow down. This Initiation was already getting messy and if he didn't find a proper way to touch down, there would be no coming year for him.

He was sure that Nora would be fine though, the girl had been through tougher situations before and she had always managed to pull through.

He on the other hand, would need a bit more luck with the situation. And his luck was about to turn; he had just about entered the Emerald Forest and was about to smash into the treeline. What if he could…?

Even though the prospect wasn't exactly enticing, he still had to try. If he could latch onto the bark of a tree and then use his Aura to steer him under the right corner…he could ride the tree all the way down and be fine when landing.

On the other hand; if he did so in a wrong way, he would tear both of his arms out of their sockets and then he would not be able to team up with Miss Valkyrie.

He approached the chosen tree with a relatively high speed and cautiously aimed with his Storm Flowers's knifed edges for the trunk. As soon as they made contact, he used his Aura to propel his body in a different direction. His remaining momentum was dissipated when spiraled down the tree, encountering no more problems than the stripped bark falling on his head, forming an unorthodox hat.

So. Now to find Nora and team up with her. After that, they would-

His thoughts got cut off when a bright light flared through the air.

Seconds later, Yang entered his vision and immediately disappeared again.

What just happened?

"Woohoo!" Yang cried, feeling her aviator glasses slowly making their way up her face. Well, technically they weren't hers. She had sought out the flight-officer who wore them and then beaten her at arm-wrestling. Of course she had won and the cool glasses had been her reward.

Now, flying through the air with the greatest of ease, she briefly wondered what other miracles of flight she might have procured. At least she could enjoy this little trinket!

She reached for her eyes and pushed the glasses back down. She needed the cool thing to stay where it was; otherwise she might curse her luck and she would crash.

"Yeah!" She yelled and used her Ember Celica's to propel her even further through the air. The more distance she covered while flying, the less she had to walk and risk showing herself to the potential traps in the forest. She couldn't pummel to death that which she could not see, right?

With every blast of her gauntlets she spun around and laughed with enjoyment. Why hadn't the school come up with launching them through the air sooner? She might invent a new sport right here-

Oh god tree!

She crashed through multiple trees and branches during her speedy crash towards the ground, but she hardly felt anything as she plowed through the wood. Eventually she saw a larger branch coming up and she decided that that would be where her journey through the sky ended. Her feet hit the branch and she instantly pushed herself off, this time aiming lower to get herself to the ground eventually

"Nailed it!" She cried and jumped off the last branch. Flying-time was over and soon she would get to the clobbering part.

Weiss was fuming. After years of training and specialization, her entire career could be ruined because of the stupidity of one child! The nerve of that girl! That she actually though that she could join her team? Preposterous! It didn't count –it would not count! She wouldn't accept it as it was. She would simply find someone else to join her team and then everything would be alright.

She stumbled into a small clearing and suddenly stopped, feeling a strange sense of foreboding.

Multiple explosions went off in the distance and she could swear that there was a faint smell of smoke hanging in the air. Which one of the students used explosives or fire to fight? And what would that person be fighting? She had no idea what to expect of the forest…it was kind of creepy.

Hey, were those voices? Was she actually hearing voices in the forest, or was she simply going insane?

"Damnit…have to…let…stupid!"

Weiss recognized that voice…it spelled trouble. She looked up and noticed the blond boy who had tried to flirt with her in a very embarrassing way. What was the brat's name again? Oh it didn't even matter…

The two locked eyes and he waved shyly. She groaned with frustration and turned back to find that idiotic Ruby-person. That girl was the lesser of two evils, as far as she knew. Better to be with her than to be with this guy. If only she had managed to team up with Pyrrha Nikos… things would have gone so differently! Her team would have been the best one out there; with her intelligence and Pyrrha's physical prowess, nobody could have beaten them!

And Weiss walked away just in time to miss the redheaded Miss Nikos enter the clearing, look at Jaune and thereby confirming their partnership.

"It appears that Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee have formed a duo, as have Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc." Glynda Goodwitch said, confirming her information on her Scroll. "Furthermore, Cardin Winchester and Sky Lark have teamed up."

"I see." Ozpin replied and brought his cup of coffee to his mouth. It was still an enjoyable day, even though his present company wasn't the most…enjoyable of people.

"Furthermore, I think we might have run into a small problem."

That didn't sound really promising. "Have we? Do enlighten me."

Glynda nodded and took a deep breath. "We have determined that the total amount of students can be divided into multiple teams of four men each. The problem lies with the following; there is an unequal number of students. The repercussions of which-"

"Resolve themselves," someone said and interrupted her.

"Think about it! The situation which Headmaster Ozpin has laid down for the students –no offense to you, of course-"

"Continue."

"-can either be seen as an obstacle to be overcome or as a problem to be avoided or resolved. If there was someone that saw forming teams as a problem, wouldn't that person go out of their way to prevent having to form a team?"

"That has never happened before!"

"It hasn't. "

"Neither has it ever happened before that a new collection of students has been collected from a group with actual combat experience, a girl has skipped two years of the source of said combat experience and that Faunus civil right protests are getting interrupted by the White Fang. Things change and people will always find a way."

"Are you implying that there is someone down there right now who doesn't want to be in a team?" Goodwitch replied with a sharp tone.

"Would something like that even be possible mister Ozpin?"

The Headmaster stayed silent. The annoying man was right in one part; he could most definitely imagine someone amongst the students who didn't want to join a team. But his method would prevent that from happening! A nervous glance…a simple look in the eyes and two students would be bound for the coming four years. It was practically impossible.

"It would be possible…but not in this instance."

And with that Ozpin cut the conversation short.

"Don't you dare letting me fail the mission simply because you can't keep up!" Weiss yelled with anger. Why didn't the girl simply shut up and let her take the lead? She had done nothing to let her down thus far, so why was she being so angry with her? It wasn't like she had insulted her or something like that. At least not that she knew off. But if Weiss was worried that she would fail the Initiation because of her being too slow, she had a whole new surprise waiting on her.

She jumped through the bushes, dodged a few trees and appeared next to the pale girl.

"Wha-" She cried in surprise and looked back at the spot where Ruby had been standing previously. "How did you- what?"
"Weiss…" Ruby said and stared the Schnee girl in her eyes. Eyes were such magnificent things; they told so much about humans. They could speak of untold horrors and pain, but they were also a lock to joy and pleasure. If one had the right key, they could use the eyes as both a lock and a shining beacon to guide themselves to the happiness lying in someone's else's heart. Weiss' eyes were filled with many things; the most prominent one being worry and a thin line between anger and fear. "Just because you fear that you will fail because of someone else's incompetence…doesn't neccesarily have to mean that everyone actually is incompetent. "

She waited two seconds before continuing. "I promise that you don't have to worry about a thing; my skills are sharp enough to ensure victory for both of us."

There were two ways Ruby could have tried to sooth Weiss' worries. She could have either addressed the emotions directly, letting the girl know what it really was what she felt and possibly causing an even bigger wedge between the two of them.

Or –instead of pulling at the roots of the problems- she could simply address the direct consequences of her actual feelings. That meant taking away her doubts over the situation and letting her in the vain that she was in control over the situation.

So it was really just a choice between taking her control away and reasserting her control; a choice which was made rather quickly Ruby hated having to tell people what their problem really was just to get them to shut up; it was an abuse of a natural gift and also an atrocious form of bullying.

"How can you be so sure of yourself? You are so young, there so many things you don't even know about the world around you!" Weiss said, her voice losing its mocking edge but replaced by a bitter tone now instead. "And if you don't even know the world, how can you know yourself!"

Well, she had a point. How could she know herself if the world was unknown to her? Wait…actually that didn't make any sense. "Because…understanding comes from yourself, and THEN you can move on to the world. If you don't know yourself, you can't get started on the world."

And with that, the redhead turned around and walked away. She would leave princess Schnee alone with her confused little thoughts and give her some time to think about what she had said and what needed to be said. She would come around soon enough, Ruby was sure of that.

"It is funny how completely incompetent the Vale Police Department is when compared with the younger generation. I have seen officers running around in circles when someone opened fire on them, not knowing what to do. With that in mind; let's take a look at one of the potential new students of Beacon Academy. His combat experience comes primarily from two years of Police Academy and then another two years at…some other facility which name I have totally not forgotten. He was good enough to be enlisted in Beacon, which is more than can be said for the entirety of the VPD."

"Your point is…?"

"The point is that it doesn't matter where you come from. If you are disciplined and experienced, you can reach a lot. Perhaps I haven't explained this one enough…"

~0~