A/N: This was originally chapters 5-7, "A Knight Before Initiation" and "Initiation" Parts 1 & 2.

OMAKEs 2 and 3, from the original chapters, are also at the end. A summary of important Review discussion from the original chapters is there as well.

CHAPTER 4:

Into the Gauntlet, Initiation

Ever since Summer Rose, her Mom, disappeared, it always started the same. It wasn't until the night before that anything changed.

Every time Ruby had dreamed of her world, it began with her walking through a sea of flames. She was always numb to it all, and in the haze of the heat, she barely ever registered anything apart from feeling herself fall and stare up at a cloudy, rainy sky, waiting for something, for death. Somebody would appear, they would smile with tears in their eyes, and the person giving it always seemed to change. Sometimes it was a man with spiky hair who looked like he had lost everything. Other times it was Yang, or her Dad, Tai. But most nights, it was her Mom beaming down at her with tears saying:

"You're still alive. Thank the gods, you're still alive. Thank you. Thank you so much. Please keep living for me."

The words would change too, but it was essentially the same thing: They were all happy because Ruby was alive.

And because I'm alive, I have to make the most of it.

That was what she always thought, anyways. It was why Ruby needed to be a hero. So that she would never have to disappoint those who love her. So that everyone could feel and see the same joy she felt and saw every time she dreamed.

However, that wasn't to say Ruby always dreamt of her world. She liked to think she had regular dreams like everyone else. Dreams about cookies, guns, scythes, cookies that fought each other with gun scythes, and seeing Mom again.

This time was different however. Something in Ruby realised this was different from anything she'd ever dreamt of before.

Ruby found herself staring in awe as two warriors clashed violently in the middle of a school courtyard. A man in a red shroud and black body armour wielding two beautiful swords struck and defended against a man in a blue bodysuit wielding a sickly red spear. For some reason, she couldn't Read these weapons, but they were so very familiar, as if their names were on the tip of her tongue.

Her attention returned to the battle unfolding before her. It was like seeing a storm brewing at super speed, or watching two giant waves crashing into each other. It was one force of nature versus another, and Ruby didn't even question the fact that she was there witnessing it. She just knew that she didn't want to be anywhere else…

So why do I feel so tense?

Something was wrong. Ruby felt like she wasn't in control. Like she was watching through someone else's eyes, because her body moved when she didn't want it to, breathed when she didn't think of breathing, shook in fear when she thought she had been shaking in excitement. She felt more like a spirit watching through a vessel. But she could still feel everything, see and hear everything that was happening.

The blue spearman took a stance and seemed to activate his spear, a haze of red energy spilling out of it. Ruby felt her eyes widen, and she looked in awe at the display of power. But then, cursing herself, she made a noise that caught their attention.

"Who's there!?"

A surge of of terror filled her being as the blue man's eyes locked onto her, and she felt herself break into a sprint. She burst through the school doors and ran up the stairs, down the halls, up more stairs. Her eyes darted around while sweat dripped from her forehead, and she let herself catch some big breaths–

"Yo. You got pretty far."

Ruby felt herself whirl as her senses went haywire. Standing right there in front of her was the man, twirling his spear like it was nothing. And even from this distance, Ruby couldn't Read it. Why couldn't she Read it? It was like something wasn't letting her.

"You know better than anyone that you can't escape, right? People who

get killed are usually like that. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You

don't have to feel ashamed."

Ruby tried to turn. To run. Everything about the man was so outstandingly lax, and it was sending her every instinct into overdrive because it was exactly what Qrow was like when they trained–Completely unassuming, but deadly all the same. Yet Qrow was one thing, and this guy was another. And she needed to run but her body, the person she was, wasn't moving.

"You were just unlucky, kid. Well, you saw us, so die."

And Ruby blinked as she was pierced. Her body went numb, her breath caught. Slowly, she looked down and saw the spear he had so casually been holding now running through her. She hadn't even blinked. It was so fast. She doubted her Semblance could have done anything to avoid it.

She coughed blood. She felt like laughing as she could finally Read the spear, [Gae Bolg], but she could only cough more blood. Her body drooped. The spear was removed, and she fell to the ground in a heap. The world turned to black static and the man, Cu Chulainn, Lancer, heaved a sigh. Her vision blurred as her breathing grew wet and hollow. Her vision grew dark, and she barely registered Lancer muttering and disappearing while the shouting form of someone dressed in red rushed over to her.

Ruby expected her dream to end right here, but it didn't.

The world shifted, and Ruby found herself in what she assumed was her home. She was sore all over, and her heart was still beating. Her heart was still beating! While Ruby screamed in confusion about how she was still alive, her eyes widened at the sight of the bells that hung from the ceiling ringing. Then, Lancer burst through her roof, and she leapt out of the way.

Ruby barely followed what happened as she tried to survive against this monster of a person. She could barely even call him a person, because he moved faster than she could see, seemed to know everything that she was going to do, and watched it all with a smile that told her he was just playing with her.

"First of all, I need to find a weapon…"

While the person she currently was kept moving, Ruby's mind froze. Ruby was shocked by how deep her voice was, and she could only think of one reason why this could be.

I'm a–a boy?!

The dream around her blurred at this realisation as she found herself (himself?) turning to a poster that some Fuji-nee (your older sister, her mind whispered) had lying around, and then her conscience jolted back into the present as she heard herself utter words she had heard before, words that had power to them. The same feeling, the same burning she felt when she found out she could Read.

"Trace, on!"

And then she felt a rush of emotion as whatever she did worked, and the poster was able to hold up against Lancer–For a moment, at least. That moment was soon short lived, as Ruby screamed at herself to run away, and run away she did. Finally, Ruby broke through a window and rushed towards what looked like a shed and fell forward to escape the stab that Lancer had tried to land. She found herself glaring at the man as she backed up, and she held her burning hand to her aching chest.

"No. I refuse. I was saved by someone, and because I was saved, I won't die here! I can't! I have to live so I can save as many people as I can, and I can't do that if I'm dead. So I won't die in a place like this, to a guy like you, who kills people like it's nothing!"

Ruby was shocked, not only by what she, the person she was, said, but the sudden burning she felt in her left hand. She screamed as the burning grew, Lancer's spear was thrust, and a burst of wind and the clanking of armour deflected the thrust and blew her hair back. Lancer flew into the air, and Ruby got a better view of just who had saved her.

There, standing in front of her, was the most beautiful, amazing person she had ever seen in her life.

"I ask of you…" The radiant knight turned, and Ruby felt her eyes widen. "Are you my master?"

~~R o a D~~

Ruby's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up as she threw her covers off of her and ripped her eye mask off. Her breathing was ragged and she was shivering even though she felt like she was on fire. Without even thinking, she brought up her left hand and stared at the back of it.

Unblemished. It was still as clear as ever. There were no burns or markings on her hand that she could feel or see. She then searched for a hole or a scar on her chest, only to find nothing there. Finally, she held her face and stared at her lap as she processed the fact that she was herself again, in her body–In control and alive and not dead. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than just dreaming about being a boy or dying and being revived. And there was the fact it didn't feel like it was just a dream. It was too detailed, too real to be a dream. It was more like–

A memory.

The thought terrified her. Was she losing her mind? This was the most vivid dream she'd ever had in her life, minus the one from the night before. It wasn't the world of swords and weapons that she was used to, but it was just as shocking and confusing. Two people moving even faster than the most experienced huntsman and huntresses, clashing with weapons that held power stronger than any amount of Dust could ever compare. The boy she had been, dying but not being killed, and those words she had heard him say…

Trace, on.

There was something about those words that made Ruby's mind flare with the sound of whistling metal and falling snow. The same as her world of weapons. It was as if, just by thinking those words, some aspect of her soul rang at the same frequency. And if it rang at the same frequency…

What does that mean for my inner world? Is there something more to all of this?

It was odd, really. Ruby had known her world since she was small. She had seen those millions and billions of weapons from afar, and she had never been able to interact with them before yesterday. This and her bizarre dream formed a puzzle that was growing more and more confusing the more she thought about it. Maybe it was her fault for never trying to do anything before, but now, she wanted to know everything she could. Adding on to that, there was the matter of her new ability to just Read weapons.

She had figured that the weapons she Read were burning themselves into her soul, but what if they were erected in her inner world? Did they become part of it? Could she go back to them and study them, look at them, Read them again? And could she Read more than just weapons? If she were to focus on something mundane and try to decipher it, understand it, would she be able to?

Still, those words rung in her head like a tuning fork, and she opened her mouth to try saying them aloud when–

"Ruby?"

Yang's voice snapped Ruby out of her daze. "Oh, hey, Yang! Good morning!"

"Good morning." Yang yawned and sat up in her sleeping bag. "What time is it?"

Ruby looked around and realised that, since she woke up, everyone else had too. It actually looked like Yang was one of the last to do so, and Ruby rubbed her head. "Uh, almost time to go?"

Yang stared at Ruby before sighing and pulling out a brush she had been hiding under her pillow. "Well," Yang said, "I guess it's better to shower after the test anyways. Let's get ready."

They started packing their things up, and Ruby watched in awe as Yang managed to do it all while brushing her hair with one hand. As Ruby finished, she couldn't help blurting out, "Sorry."

Yang shrugged. "Seriously, Ruby, let it go. I would only get mad at myself if I got my hair dirty right after cleaning it. This way, it won't be that bad either way."

"I mean, sorry for not waking you up earlier."

"Oh." Yang laughed before whacking Ruby with her bed roll. "A girl needs her beauty sleep, right? I should be saying thank you! Besides, I'm the one who should be worried about you. Are doing better after yesterday?"

Ruby bobbed her head in thought as they entered the change rooms. She then hummed as she realised she felt better than ever. Apart from her dream, that is. "I feel fine, Yang. Great, even! I feel like I can take on anything right now!"

"Good! That means I won't have to worry about you when we split up." They both dropped their bed rolls into a laundry chute and went to their lockers. "I can't wait to see what Ozpin is going to put us up against. Initiation is going to be awesome!"

As the two siblings finished putting on their clothes, they watched as a red-head skipped cheerily behind her quiet friend. "Hey. I like the energy. Those two look as worked up as I'm getting!"

Ruby watched the two disappear with a small smile. "I wonder why?"

"Who knows? Maybe they want to fight as much as I do." Yang closed her locker and started fiddling with her Ember Celica just as Ruby finished tying her boots. "Are you sure you're alright, Ruby?"

Ruby finished clasping her cloak and looked at Yang in confusion. "Why wouldn't I be? I told you I'm fine, right?"

"You looked out of it when I woke up," said Yang. "You had your thinking face on. The one you get when you're plotting to go out in the middle of the night and buy cookies."

"I did not! What? How do you even know that?" Ruby stomped her foot before folding her arms. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"You're pretty bad, Ruby," laughed Yang.

"Okay, fine, I like my cookies. But I'm serious!"

"Hi, serious, I'm Yang."

"Yang!"

"Okay, okay, haha!"

Ruby huffed. "But seriously–" She glared at Yang who opened her mouth, "–I'm fine. I had a dream and was thinking about it, that's all."

"Don't tell me–"

"No, it wasn't about my world of weapons," confirmed Ruby. "It was something else. Doesn't matter right now though. What matters is this!" She then pulled out her compact Crescent Rose and smiled brightly. "I can finally use my precious!" She held it up to her face and sighed at the cool metal. "I haven't done anything with Crescent Rose since I fought that Roman guy. I'm just happy I don't have to worry about making friends and all that now!"

Yang snorted and closed Ruby's locker for her. "Okay, Ruby, I get it. But you have to remember that Initiation isn't a solo act. If you want to be with the grown ups, you have to meet new people and learn how to work with them."

"I am working with people!" Ruby tucked Crescent Rose under her cloak and pointed at Yang. "I'm working with you!"

"I don't count, Ruby. I'm your sister; We're meant to work together. I meant when we eventually form teams, you're going to have to make those connections on your own."

That made Ruby pause. "Yang? Are you implying that you don't want to be on my team? That you'd rather be on a different team?"

"What? Psh, no. What gave you that idea?" Yang laughed shallowly. "It's not like I think you need to talk to more people and step out of your inner world for a little."

Ruby actually felt a little hurt at that. As if she wasn't already insecure about herself, Yang had to go and poke the one piece of her that was still sore. "That's ridiculous!" cried Ruby. "I talk to people. I have friends. I don't need to 'step out' of anything. You've got to be kidding me, Yang!"

"I'm only trying to look out for you, Rubes, please understand." Yang pulled Ruby into a side hug. "You have friends, but none of them are here right now. And the ones you've made are currently, well…" Both sisters turned to look at Jaune talking to Weiss and some other girl in armour and red hair that seemed vaguely familiar to Ruby.

Right off the bat, Ruby had a good impression of the red-haired girl. While Ruby still didn't have enough control to outright stop herself from reading the girl's weapons, she was able to stop herself from seeing any further than their names and the name of the girl wielding them. What she was able to glean from the sight of the weapons themselves, however, was that they were well taken care of, and had scuff marks and wearing in all the right places. They were being used by a seasoned warrior.

Miló and Akoúo̱, owned by Pyrrha Nikos.

"They're beautiful," Ruby murmured. This prompted a snort from Yang.

"Damn, Ruby. You have some good eyes. Didn't know you were into girls, though. That's a surprise."

Ruby tore herself out of Yang's side hug and punched her in the arm. "That's not what I was looking at, Yang! Her spear and shield, they look amazing!"

Yang could only laugh as her Aura took the hit. "Sorry. I had to."

"What are they even talking about, anyway?" Ruby turned back to see Weiss waving her hands at Pyrrha and yelling things about her at Jaune.

"Sounds like Weiss is trying to get Jaune to recognize that girl," Yang said. "I mean, she does look familiar…"

They both got a little closer, enough for Weiss to notice them and sigh in relief. "You two! Ruby and her cow of a sister, do you know who this is?!"

"Not a clue!" Yang replied cheerily. "And I wouldn't be so quick to resort to nicknames, Princess. Buy me a drink first."

Ruby tilted her head to look at Pyrrha, who shied away at the look. She then nodded in understanding, realising that Pyrrha appeared uncomfortable with the idea of being recognised. "Hm…She does look familiar. I can't tell where you're from though." When Pyrrha sighed in relief, Ruby took it as a win. I was right!

Of course, Yang had to ruin the moment by adding, "Aren't you on the box of that one cereal? You taste pretty good, you know."

Ruby sighed as Weiss and Pyrrha flushed red at Yang's comments. "I literally can't right now, Yang."

Yang blinked. "What? I was just saying–Ohhh…hehe." Yang began to laugh as she realised her own joke, and her laughter only grew as Weiss grew indignant and Pyrrha shook her head. "Haha! I'm a genius! Go Yang!"

In the midst of Yang's laughter, Pyrrha managed to say, "Well, yes, I am a Pumpkin Pete's mascot, but it's not very good for you."

"Uh, I'm completely lost?" Jaune said, raising his hand. "Oh! And hey, Ruby. How's it going? I've just been trying to recruit Pyrrha and Weiss to be on my team. There's still space for more people, you know!"

Ruby smiled warmly at Jaune. "Thanks, Jaune! I'll have to pass for now, though. We don't even know who our partners are yet, much less the team we're going to be on."

Jaune froze, as if he hadn't considered that. "Huh. That does change things."

"Yes, it does," Weiss finally said after calming down. "Now, do you really think yourself worthy to ask her to be on your team?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, yeah. There's nothing wrong with asking, right?" He sighed and drooped. "You know what, never mind."

Ruby watched as Pyrrha stepped forward and put her hand on Jaune's shoulder. "No, Jaune. I think you'd be great as a leader. You already have good initiative in trying to find a partner in me, after all."

Jaune beamed at the smile Pyrrha directed at him. "Hey, you're right! Thanks, Pyrrha!" He then whirled on Weiss as his smile brightened. "What do you say? Spots are filling up quick for Team Jaune, and Pyrrha's on board. I think we could definitely use another member!"

"Uh, Jaune?" Ruby said nervously. "Don't you think–"

"That's a little too close!" Weiss cringed. "Pyrrha, Ruby! A little help?!"

Ruby's hand was already stretched out just as Pyrrha's spear caught Jaune's hood and launched him towards the wall. Ruby blinked at her empty hands, and glanced towards Pyrrha who shrugged helplessly. "Sorry!" Pyrrha called after Jaune, before shrugging helplessly at the three girls looking at her. "It was the first thing to cross my mind?"

"...Remind me not to get on your bad side," said Yang. She then turned to Weiss and smirked. "Don't like the idea of being on his team, huh?"

Weiss scoffed. "As if."

Ruby could only look at Jaune in pity as the sound of crackling and an authoritative female voice filled the air. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all remaining first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Was that Miss Goodwitch?" asked Ruby. Yang shrugged, while Weiss frowned at the both of them and started walking for the exit.

"I don't know about you two, but I don't want to be late." Weiss started walking before she paused and looked back. "Are you coming, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha smiled awkwardly at the two sisters before walking after Weiss. Ruby and Yang then helped Jaune up, who lamented his ability to keep a conversation going, and Ruby could only nod in sympathy. She knew exactly how hard it was to keep talking with someone when there wasn't much to talk about.

They followed the rest of the straggling first-year students to where the start of the test was going to be: A cliff side that overlooked the entirety of Emerald Forest. It stretched almost as far as Ruby could see, and ruins shrouded in fog in the distance. On the cliff itself was a series of platforms for every initiate present, and to the side stood Ozpin and Goodwitch, both overseeing the entire event.

They each took the last few open platforms and waited until Ozpin started speaking. When he did, Goodwitch would swap speaking with him, and Ruby quickly had her worries confirmed when Ozpin told them that their partners would be the first person they made eye-contact with.

When they started talking about being monitored after they were launched into the air, Ruby tuned them out and instead thought about something else that was strange.

Professor Ozpin doesn't have his cane?

That cane, the name of which she didn't want to recall, wasn't present to give her another headache. No, it was conspicuously missing from Ozpin's hands, only his mug of cocoa in sight. Was there a reason for him not keeping it on his person all the time? She could hardly even think about going outside without her own Crescent Rose beside her, but to see that Ozpin was so ready to abandon a weapon she knew had a history…

"Take your positions!"

Ruby shook her head and drew Crescent Rose. "Now's not the time, Ruby," she whispered to herself. "Keep your head in the game. Just have to stick the landing, find a partner, and make it to the ruins. Easy peasy, right?"

Students started getting catapulted to her left, and Ruby gulped. She turned to see her sister grinning at her as she put on some sunglasses, and Ruby couldn't help but laugh incredulously at the situation.

"Now? Really?" asked Ruby.

Yang shrugged and started bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Gotta look cool when you're in the air, right?" she said, right before her platform sprung forward and removed her from Ruby's side.

Ruby shook her head as she took a position on her platform. It was any second now, and she would be launching into the air too. She then heard Jaune asking Ozpin about how to land, and she giggled.

"Sometimes crashing is the best way to land!" Ruby started to say, but was abruptly flung by her platform before she could finish. What Jaune ended up hearing was her shouting the last word, a shout he would interpret as a scream of terror.

In the air, Ruby laughed freely and twirled as she kept rising in the air. This was the first time she could say she'd been in a long free fall and it was as exhilarating as she thought it would be. On either side, in front and behind her, she could see other initiates already beginning to fall, and she herself had finally reached the zenith of her arc. When gravity finally overpowered her forward momentum, she pulled Crescent Rose out and simultaneously unfolded it.

As quickly as she had it ready, she loaded a cartridge into it and began firing to further kill her momentum. One shot, two shots, three shots, four, until she had slowed enough that she was nearly falling straight down. Her eyes then narrowed, and she felt them sting as every tree, branch, twig, and leaf came into razor sharp focus. She frowned at the sudden pain but didn't complain as she was able to easily manoeuvre through the trees and hook her scythe around the sturdiest branches until she nimbly dropped to the forest floor.

"That was fun!" exclaimed Ruby as she planted Crescent Rose into the ground. She then furiously rubbed at her eyes and blinked rapidly as the pain receded. Luckily, it wasn't hurting as bad as the last time it happened, but it was still odd. "Weird."

Plucking Crescent Rose, Ruby gave it a few test swings and grinned. "Alright. Back to business. First on the list: Find a partner!" Jumping and down a few times and doing some stretches, Ruby compacted her scythe and began speeding through the underbrush with her Semblance.

"Yang, Weiss, Jaune or Blake. Yang, Weiss, Jaune or Blake." Those four names kept being repeated as her eyes scanned left and right, left and right. "It's fine if I meet anyone, but I already know Yang and Weiss and Blake and Jaune. I just need to be open minded, right? Just gotta keep moving, keep looking. Doesn't matter who, right?"

Just then, she heard noise up ahead and she picked up her pace until she saw a familiar white and red dress. "Oh, hey! I recognise those clothes!" She broke through the foliage and startled her new would-be partner. "Weiss! Weiss! Looks like we're partners!"

Ruby waited patiently as Weiss finished her scream and recomposed herself. "Gods, Ruby! Don't sneak up on someone like that! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?!"

That stung a little, but Weiss didn't know. "Mom's gone, and even if she did teach me manners, how didn't you hear me? I was making as much noise as possible while running through the forest!"

Weiss moved to retort, but realised Ruby was right and huffed. "What–Oh fine. Sorry about your mother. And I didn't hear you because I wasn't paying attention, alright?"

"Makes sense!"

Ruby watched as Weiss sighed before eyeing Ruby up and down. She then rested a hand on her hip and pursed her lips. "So. Partners, hm?"

"Yup!"

"For four years."

"Yup!"

"And you're fifteen."

"That is correct!"

"I'm doomed."

Ruby pouted. "Hey! I'm not that bad!"

"I wouldn't know," Weiss said flatly. "I haven't seen you in action yet. I'll reserve my judgement on you, but for now, you're just a fifteen-year old who's trying to fit breeches that are too big for her. Follow me if you want, but I intend to be the first to reach the relics."

Leaving it at that, Weiss turned around and started walking. Ruby smiled in proverbial pain as she watched Weiss' confidence in her ability to navigate. "Uh, Weiss?"

"What is it now?" Weiss shouted back.

"You're going the wrong way."

Weiss froze. After a moment, she turned around and marched back a little. "What do you mean 'I'm going the wrong way'?"

Ruby folded her arms. "You were literally walking away from where the temple is."

Weiss marched closer and frowned. "And how would you know where they are, huh? Tell me, genius. Or are you a liar as much as you are a faker?"

A fire ignited in Ruby's soul, and she felt something clang into place as she flinched at Weiss' retort. "Alright. Fine." Ruby brushed some hair out of her face and pointed up. "Do you see the sun? Yeah. While we were still on the cliff, and when we were in the air, I saw some ruins. All I have to do is position myself from where the sun is, to where those ruins are. Bang and boom, I know where they are."

Ruby then cocked her head and grinned giddily at Weiss' surprised expression. "So tell me, Weiss Schnee," Ruby said. "Where are the ruins from here?"

Weiss' face quickly grew red as she looked around and shut her eyes. "I–Well I, I don't know," she said through gritted teeth. She then opened her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, already! You win, Ruby Rose! Ugh, you're as insufferable as your sister!"

"At least I don't make puns and bad jokes every ten seconds."

"Just lead the way already, you dolt!"

Ruby giggled and looked up before walking lazily in a certain direction. "Your wish is my command!"

"I will maim you."

They continued to bicker as they walked through the forest. All the while, Ruby found her attention drifting to the woods around them. She couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. Followed. Was it the Grimm?

Ruby then slowed and her fingers twitched as she sensed the air around them change and she looked around. Ruby couldn't help but wonder why she was suddenly so cautious, but she could tell that something had changed around them. Where once they were the only ones in the vicinity, now there were other presences, and ones she knew for certain weren't friendly.

"Hey, uh, Weiss? Let's stop for a sec!"

Slowing to a stop, Weiss narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to question why until she saw Ruby's tense expression. "Is there something wrong?" said Weiss instead. She put a hand on her rapier and did the same as Ruby, looking around. "What's happening?"

"We're being surrounded," Ruby said. "Not sure by what, but it isn't anything good."

"How can you tell?" Weiss turned to look at Ruby with a frown. "Don't tell me it's just a hunch."

Ruby merely sighed as she took her Crescent Rose out and deployed it. Weiss took a step back as it unfolded completely, and Ruby tilted her head. "It wasn't a hunch! Put a little more trust in me, alright? Look. It's too quiet. That's how you know everything that doesn't want to be eaten around here is gone. We've got predators or Grimm on our hands."

The bushes then rustled and Ruby found her eyes zipping around the edges of the small clearing trying to count how many there were. At the same time, Weiss inhaled sharply at the dozens of red eyes appearing from the shadows of the trees. "Beowolves," Weiss hissed. "Where'd they come from?"

"Doesn't matter," said Ruby as she blinked the sharpness away, planted Crescent Rose into the ground and loaded a shell. "Get ready!"

Weiss drew her rapier and stepped in, back to back with Ruby. "Don't tell me what to do." she said. "I know what I'm doing."

The Beowolves began circling them, and Ruby found herself pouting at Weiss' comments. "If you know what you're doing, then do it!"

"I will when you stop talking!" Weiss said through gritted teeth. Ruby felt her new partner shift into a stance, and Ruby dropped to her knee.

"There's thirteen of them," said Ruby. "First one to seven wins!" In that same instant, the Beowolves leapt at them, Weiss shot forward, and Ruby fired three shots, puncturing three Beowolf skulls. Ruby then kicked off from the ground and swung up on the length of her scythe before shooting into the ground and flying into the air. Repositioning Crescent Rose behind her, she fired another shot and spun into a large slice that cut one Beowolf straight in half.

Hitting the ground in a slide, Ruby bled off her extra momentum by cutting into the ground with her scythe's blade. Seeing that she wasn't in immediate danger, she chanced a glance over at Weiss and felt herself flinch.

Weiss' form was solid, but every time she was surprised by an attack it grew flimsy and uncertain. So unlike what Myrtenaster had told Ruby. Still, she could see where exactly Weiss was correcting herself so that she was more stable in her footing and powerful in her strikes, but Ruby wondered if it was Weiss' first time actually fighting 'for real'. That, and glancing at the one decaying Beowolf next to Weiss, Ruby knew Weiss wasn't exactly being efficient.

If she faltered then Ruby would have to step in. As two more Beowolves filled in to avenge their fallen, Ruby rested Crescent Rose on her shoulder. "I'm at four, Weiss!" Ruby hollered. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing–" Weiss pierced the Beowolf all the way through, pulled out her rapier, and activated Myrtenaster's fire cartridge, "–Just fine. Worry about yourself!"

Ruby let the Beowolves jump into the air before she flashed forward and twirled to a stop. Behind her, the Beowolves fell with heavy thumps, and their heads quickly followed. "I did. I'm worrying about you, now!"

A line of flames slammed into two more Beowolves that had thought to try sneaking up on Weiss from behind. The smell of burnt Beowolf invaded the air as they were quickly consumed by the flames. "Then stop it. I can handle myself!" Weiss cried. She then leapt back as two more flanked her, and she slid to a stop. "And I count four. Take that!"

"I'm at six, Weiss."

Weiss stared at Ruby for a moment before she remembered the two Beowolves rushing at her. "What? How?" Weiss yelled, fending off one Beowolf before taking down the other with a rapid series of stabs infused with Ice Dust.

Ruby shrugged and leapt at the other Beowolf. "I drink milk?"

The Beowolf she leapt at jumped away, straight into the pointy end of Weiss' Myrtenaster. "That is not an acceptable answer!" She activated her Ice Dust and the Beowolf was skewered from the inside out. "And that makes six for me too!"

Letting Weiss catch her breath, Ruby walked up to her and stopped by her side. "I've got a lot of real-world experience, Weiss. You can practise all you want, but nothing beats the real thing."

Weiss widened her eyes at Ruby. It looked like she wanted to say something, but Ruby turned instead to the final Beowolf, larger than the rest, who had been staying back the entire time to watch the fight. The Alpha. Grinning lightly, Ruby looked at Weiss and pointed her thumb at the Alpha.

"You up to finish our game?"

She watched Weiss' eyes widen even further as she looked between Ruby and the giant Beowolf. "Do you really think we can take that thing on?"

"Why not?" Ruby asked. "It's two against one."

"It's bigger than us, at least twice as big as any Beowolf I've ever seen, Alpha or not."

"And we have Dust, guns, and our Semblances. Your point?"

"We could die!"

"It would take a lot more than this to kill me."

When Weiss realised Ruby wasn't going to back down, she straightened up and tried to regain her composure. "I am not fighting that thing, Ruby. Our objective is the relics! If you're so dead set on it, do it yourself."

For a moment, Ruby looked at Weiss with a small frown. When the Alpha Beowolf finally got tired of waiting and charged at them with a roar, Ruby closed her eyes and held her scythe close. The Beowolf was still coming fast and they were very much in danger, but something in Ruby's chest cooled and stung like cold frosting metal. The words that came next spilled out of her mouth before she could think.

"I know what it's like to be alone, Weiss. We're partners now. If I'm going to do something, I want to know you're right there doing it with me."

When Ruby heard a soft gasp followed by the sound of rotating gears, she looked up to see Weiss in another stance, a glare directed at the coming Beowolf. Ruby felt her soul reignite at the sight, and she could have sworn she saw her Aura flicker, almost in happiness. "What are you waiting for, you dolt!" Weiss exclaimed, a drop sweat forming on her temple as the Beowolf lunged. "It's right on top of us!"

Ruby slid a foot book and let her scythe begin to swing down from her shoulder. Then, as she twirled the scythe and Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster forward, she smiled wide. "I was waiting for you," Ruby said, and their attacks connected at the same time.

With some well placed Gravity Dust, Weiss had stopped the Alpha's charge just short of reaching them and forced it to land hard. The moment it started fighting the glyph, Weiss had released it and stepped in with Ice Dust frosting over her blade. Ruby had used her scythe's falling energy to twirl into a powerful upward slice that cut through the Alpha's thicker hide but clashed with its protruding bones, while Weiss' strike glanced off the Alpha's faceplate and into its side.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted. They both kicked back as the Beowolf got back up and roared. "Let me handle distracting it. Aim for its eyes."

"Easy for you to say," retorted Weiss. The Beowolf was charging them again, this time with a noticeable gait. "That bony faceplate isn't just for show."

"Oh, I know. But what kind of partner would I be if I didn't trust you?" Ruby smiled at Weiss. "We've got this! Just believe in yourself, because you're more amazing than you know."

Ruby wasn't just saying that either. Knowing what she knew about Myrtenaster, it was easy enough for Ruby to see just how much Weiss was already adapting, how much of her skill was turning into battle-worn instinct. Fighting beside Weiss made it all the more apparent that she was just as quick a learner as Ruby herself was. If anything, Weiss made up for her lack of experience with a drive to prove herself. A drive she sadly knew didn't come from a good place.

But if Ruby could save Weiss from the personal hell she must be in, then she would do everything in her power to do so.

She watched as Weiss' grip on her rapier tightened. "You don't need to patronise me, Ruby," Weiss said, "But, thanks I guess."

"No problem!" Ruby then rushed forward to meet the Alpha head on. "Now, are we finally taking this thing down or what?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Weiss shouted back. Ruby laughed as she started using her Semblance to run circles around. She spun in and out of her Semblance, using her speed to slice at and evade from the Alpha. Crescent Rose would occasionally clash against the Alpha's bones and fend off a swipe, but for the most part she was doing everything she could to annoy it.

All the while, Weiss was looking for the perfect hole. The perfect moment for her to rush in. Ruby had given her her prerogative, and there was no way she was going to fail now. She started walking, then jogging, before she was running, and finally sprinting straight at the front of the Alpha. She began casting glyphs ahead of her to propel her forward as she swung her rapier like a wand, casting glyph after glyph above the Alpha.

Hearing Ruby still laughing as she dodged another swipe from the Alpha, Weiss found herself breaking into her own smile—Something that shocked her greatly. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, and she was starting to lose herself in the tempo that Ruby was creating. With each slash, Weiss grew closer, and her smile grew a bit wider. Every step increased the strange warmth in her chest that bubbled out.

At the last glyph, she tweaked its strength and yelled, "Now, Ruby!"

A few red petals blew past Weiss in a rush of wind as Ruby stopped in front of the Alpha. Its blazing eyes were locked onto her form, so little in comparison to the large Grimm. For just a moment, Weiss felt another shadow of doubt creep into her chest, but it was immediately shattered when Ruby finished her stop with a spin and a look at Weiss.

"Go Weiss!" Ruby shouted. She then hooked her scythe into the Alpha's open maw and fired a bullet. The concussive force nearly cut through the Alpha's jaw as Crescent Rose shot towards and planted itself into the ground, bringing Ruby and the Alpha's head along with it. The sound itself stunned the Alpha long enough for Weiss to get a clear and steady shot.

She wouldn't waste it.

Weiss blasted forward, a blur nearly on par with Ruby's own Semblance, and her rapier sparkled with electricity as it shot straight through the Alpha's head. The many other glyphs she created around the Alpha then sparked before a cage of lightning erupted and the entirety of the Alpha convulsed from the thousands of volts burning through it. Finally, Weiss released her hold on her glyphs, and there was silence in the clearing as she pulled her rapier out of the already-dissolving Alpha.

All Weiss could hear was her heavy breathing and the soft hiss of the Grimm disappearing. was interrupted by the sound of furious clapping. Weiss was jolted out of her stupor as she looked over and saw Ruby jumping up and down ecstatically. She then yelped as in another wave or rose petals, Ruby grabbed her free hand and began dancing.

"You did it, Weiss! You beat it, haha!"

The thought of being annoyed crossed her mind, but Ruby's energy was infectious. Something about her ecstatic celebration made Weiss' exhaustion disappear and be replaced with a warmth she knew well. She felt herself begin to smile, and she couldn't help but laugh along with Ruby.

"No, Ruby," Weiss said as she sheathed Myrtenaster. "We beat it. I only landed the finishing blow. I wouldn't have been able to do that if you weren't there to distract it."

Ruby fidgeted in place with a light blush. "Pshaw, you're just saying that, Weiss. All I did was cut it up a little."

"While that is true, I think I can confidently say, from what I've seen, that you've proven yourself to me." Ruby gasped as she met Weiss' eyes with a twinkle in her own. Weiss then smirked. "Well, mostly. You did well for being a kid."

Ruby's excitement immediately turned into an indignant pout as she rushed to Weiss' side. "That's not fair. You barely even used any of the Dust in Myrt–I mean, your rapier when we fought. You haven't proven yourself to me!"

"As if I have anything to prove," Weiss said haughtily, though Ruby saw the smile on her face.

Ruby hummed in a teasing tone. "Sure, Miss Perfect. I'd love to see you handle an Alpha on your own."

She was then surprised by Weiss' immediate response. "I'm not perfect, Ruby," said Weiss. Ruby paused in her step to see Weiss frowning at her. "I never said I was. And I likely could have managed if you gave me time and a moment to collect myself."

"Whoa, Weiss," Ruby said with her hands up, "I didn't mean–"

"Honestly," interrupted Weiss, "I never wanted to fight that Alpha in the first place! But it was your idea, so I guess we had to run along with it, huh?"

"But didn't you have fun?" Ruby asked quietly. "I saw you smiling…"

Weiss flinched. She couldn't deny that the last part of that fight had been quite thrilling. "I–Well, yes, I might have smiled, but that has no bearing on the fact that we didn't need to fight that to keep heading towards our objective; Which, if you've forgotten, is the relics at the temple ruins."

"I haven't," Ruby said, some strength returning to her voice as she turned to Weiss. "Didn't you notice? The Alpha was in the way. It was blocking the forest in the direction we're walking in right now. I think it knew that we wanted to go further past it. And we wouldn't have gotten past it even if we ran away because it likely would have chased us! The only reason it wouldn't follow is if something crazy happened, like the forest catching on fire or something."

An odd feeling rushed through Weiss, as if she had just missed an incredibly large bullet. Weiss cleared her throat. "H-Hmph! Fine. You have a point. And what kind of idiot would set the forest on fire?"

Ruby shrugged. "Couldn't be me."

"Whoever would do such a thing sounds like a bunch of idiots."

"True that."

An awkward silence settled between the two as they kept walking until, after a couple more minutes of walking, they found themselves standing on a short cliff overlooking what must have been the ruins Ozpin had been talking about. Ruby looked at Weiss smugly. Weiss huffed at her expression, though she couldn't stop herself from smirking as well at the thought of being the first to make it.

"Go ahead. You're going to say it anyway."

"Told you we were going the right way!"

Just then, the bushes rustled behind them, and they both immediately readied their weapons, Ruby dropping to a knee as she loaded a shell into Crescent Rose.

When a familiar yellow mane appeared, Ruby compacted Crescent Rose and disappeared from Weiss' side. "Yang!" cried Ruby, and the now fully visible Yang caught Ruby in a spinning hug.

"Ruby! Wow, didn't think you had it in you to beat me here!"

Ruby stepped away and waved her arms. "You should have seen us, Yang! Weiss was like 'bzzzzat' and I was like 'whoosh' and 'slice' and then she went 'wapow' and got the Alpha, and we were just, like, super cool!"

Weiss winced and sheathed Myrtenaster. "I wouldn't say it like that, but I do agree we did fairly well."

"What an interesting partnership you have," a voice said from beside Yang. All three jumped as Blake practically materialised next to them.

"Oh my god! Blake!" cried Yang. She tried punching Blake in the arm, but she effortlessly moved out of the way. "Don't do that!"

"But it's funny," Blake said with a grin. "Especially since the Schnee got scared too."

"My name is Weiss."

Blake gazed at her lazily. "Hm. Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation. I know your name."

Weiss flinched at her tone of voice and she placed her hands on her hips defensively. "Then please, use it."

Blake stared at Weiss for a moment longer while Ruby and Yang shared a look. "Uh, Yang? Is Blake okay?"

Yang glanced at Blake, who raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know," Yang said. "What's going on here, Blake?"

"Nothing. Just curious." Blake turned back to Weiss and tilted her head as she folded her arms. "So. You're Ruby's partner?"

"As much as it pains me to say so, the answer to that question is yes."

Ruby whined. "Hey!"

Weiss grinned. "In any case, if you're with the yellow menace…?"

Both Yang and Blake snorted. "Yes. I'm Yang's partner."

"Damn straight, Weiss Cream," confirmed Yang.

Weiss scoffed. "Did I hear something just now? In any case, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Blake, was it?" She stretched out her hand. "Weiss Schnee, though it seems you're already aware of who I am. I hope that doesn't change the way you look at me."

Blake stared for a long moment at the hand. Weiss kept it out for just as long, and when she was about to retract it and cough into it, Blake slowly stretched out her own hand and shook it. "Blake. Belladonna. I hope we're not on the same team."

Something about the way she said that rubbed Weiss the wrong way, but then she took a glance at Yang and saw her grinning widely. She shivered as she let go. "Likewise. Any team that has Yang in it is sure to be a disaster."

Yang mock gasped and leaned forward with a wide smile. "You hurt me, princess. That hurt."

"Cry about it."

"Alright, alright, let's get back on track," Ruby chimed in. "Let's get moving, Weiss. We got here first, so we get first dibs!"

Weiss looked at Ruby in confusion. "First…dibs?"

Everyone looked at her in mild shock. Blake was the first to break their confusion. "You don't know what dibs is?" she asked. "Wow. You really were sheltered…"

"I had a good upbringing!" Weiss defended weakly. "I know about a lot of things!"

"But you don't know about dibs," Yang murmured. "Damn."

"Okay, quit it, guys." Ruby patted a mildly distraught Weiss on the shoulder. "'Dibs' is when you claim the right to something, Weiss. That's all there is to it. I'm sure you can guess what 'first dibs' means."

"Yeah…I got it," Weiss said. Then, she got fired up and jumped down the cliff. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get our relics before they do!"

Ruby watched as Weiss bolted for the ruins, and she looked back at the stunned pair behind her. "You heard the lady!" Ruby grinned as she fell backwards. "Schnee you down there! Ha!"

A puff of petals rushed over the cliff edge as Ruby's body disappeared, and Yang turned to Blake with a shrug. "Wanna race?" Yang asked.

"No."

~~R o a D~~

Once she made it to the ruins, Ruby saw Weiss inspecting the oversized chess pieces each situated on different pillars. "These are pretty big," Ruby commented. "I don't think these are meant to be played with."

"They're relics we're supposed to retrieve, Ruby," Weiss said. "Of course we're not playing with them."

"They look cute though."

"Sure." Weiss sighed and picked up a white knight piece. "Might as well grab one then. I don't think whatever we choose is going to affect us too much in the long run."

Ruby let her eyes roam the ruins and looked at each of the other pillars with chess pieces sitting neatly on top of them. Each piece had their opposite counterpart, and frowned in thought at the observation. "Maybe not. But there's still the other knight piece as well." As she said this, Yang and Blake made it to the temple, and took one glance at each relic.

"Hm. Chess pieces, huh?" said Yang. She shrugged and marched over to the black knight piece and grabbed it in a fist. "Eh. I always did like a dark horse."

Blake folded her arms. "You do know what a dark horse is, right?"

Yang let her head tilt to the side as she grinned. "Do you? Because I definitely see us being the up and coming powerhouse partnership of Beacon Academy! If anyone underestimates us, we can just pummel them into the ground!"

Blake coughed. "Let's not do that. I'd much rather avoid making enemies."

"That looks fun, eh, Weiss?" Ruby said with a grin.

"Hardly," Weiss said. "They're arguing as if we're not in the middle of a test right now. We should get going before anything else crazy happens."

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but frowned as she heard something rushing close to them. She strained her ears as she turned her attention towards a seemingly random patch of trees. Noticing this, Weiss pocketed the relic and stepped closer to Ruby. "What is it now?"

"Something's coming, and fast," Ruby muttered. "Sounds like…an Ursa? And a boy shouting at someone?"

Weiss looked between Ruby and the grove of trees she was peering at and blinked. "How can you hear that? I don't hear anything."

It was just another thing to add to Ruby's growing list of strange things. First it was her eyes, then her smell, now it was her hearing. It was like, if Ruby wanted, she could enhance her senses at the press of a button. She turned to look at Weiss and shrugged helplessly. "I just can, I guess. If I focus, I think I can enhance my senses."

"You can 'enhance' your senses?" Weiss asked. "Is that part of your Semblance?"

"No, definitely not. You've already seen my Semblance. I go really fast."

"Then could it be that you might have some latent Faunus traits?" Weiss asked. "I know the Faunus have better senses than regular humans." Ruby noticed Blake flinch at the edge of her vision, and when she looked, Blake turned away.

"I don't think so," Ruby said, breaking her gaze away from Blake and looking at Weiss with an incredulous look. "I think I would know if I was part Faunus."

"That's strange, then." Weiss muttered in thought. "Perhaps you're manipulating your Aura—"

A scream cut through the air, and everyone turned to look in the opposite direction that Ruby had been looking at. "It sounds like a girl's in trouble!" Yang shouted, and they all watched as a speck in the sky grew larger by the second.

Focusing on the speck, Ruby found herself raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Wait, that's Jaune!" Ruby cried. Everyone looked at her and then back at the speck before expressing their disbelief.

Blake kept watching. "I wonder how he got into the air."

Yang glanced at Blake. "Should we help him?"

Weiss harrumphed. "As if I would care about him."

They then watched as, with perfect form, Jaune flew across the sky above them and crashed into a nearby tree hard enough that it shook to the roots. Then, the shouting Ruby had heard earlier finally grew loud enough to hear as a girl riding an Ursa drove it into the ground and another guy caught up to the chaotic sight.

"Hey, I recognise those two," Yang remarked.

The boy came to a stop and heaved, saying, "Nora, please…Don't do that—huh?"

Nora, who Ruby now knew the name of, had rushed forward, blown past them, and grabbed a white rook before dancing in place. "Haha! Come on, Ren! We've got a castle! I can be king, and you can be queen!"

That made something within Ruby twitch.

"Nora!" Ren shouted as he ran after Nora again.

"Isn't it the other way around?" Yang asked. "And is that an Ursa?"

Blake shook her head. "I have no idea what is going on."

"Oh great, more people," Weiss muttered. "Ruby. Can we please go before we're caught up in this craziness? I swear, the longer we stay here, the crazier it gets!"

"Gotta agree with Weiss Cream, Ruby," Yang said. "All of this chaos is starting to get a little annoying."

At that moment, Jaune cried out in alarm as he fell from the tree and landed with a thud. Everyone watched him shakily pull himself up before gingerly walking over to them. "Wait, guys!" He hobbled over before resting on his knees. "Wait."

"We're waiting," said Weiss impatiently. "Spit it out already."

After collecting himself, Jaune started waving his hands and pointing frantically at where he came from. Out of the many words he started shouting, they all heard three things: "Pyrrha! Deathstalker! Help!"

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose and walked up to Jaune. "Hold on, Vomit Boy. Say that again, but slower."

"Aw come on, that was once—! You know what? Nevermind." Jaune took another deep breath and said, "Pyrrha and I were searching for the ruins—Er, these ruins. We went into a cave and we found a Deathstalker. I was able to stop it for a bit with my shield, but it hit me away! Pyrrha's still over there!"

Ruby felt her battle instincts flare up, and she found herself turning away from Jaune as he kept explaining. She then widened her eyes as she saw Pyrrha break the other tree line in a dead sprint and a panicked face. "Hey!" Ruby shouted, and they all looked at her before noticing just who she was looking at.

They watched her keep running before lunging towards them, rolling to a stop, and splaying herself on the ground as she caught her breath. "Pyrrha?" Jaune walked up to Pyrrha and crouched low with a hand extended. "Uh, you alright?"

Pyrrha closed her eyes and nodded with a weary smile. "Yeah! Just, uh, catching my breath." She breathed a bit more before she finished by saying, "Deathstalker incoming. Thanks." She took Jaune's hand, and just as she stood up, the tree line shook and out emerged a large scorpion-like monster.

Ruby shrugged as Weiss sighed, Blake shook her head, and Yang punched her gauntlets together. "So…Deathstalker, huh?" said Ruby sheepishly while pulling out Crescent Rose.

Weiss facepalmed. "We could have avoided this if we just left when we got our relic!"

Yang's eyes flickered red as she hopped in place and shadow boxed a bit. "Ah, cheer up, Weiss Cream. I'm as annoyed as you are, but at least we can take out our stress on this thing!"

Weiss growled as she pulled out Myrtenaster. "I'd have liked it more if we had just gotten this test over with, but if I have to fight then I will." She drew into a stance and paused. "And stop calling me that!"

Yang grinned. "I'll stop when you finally start being nice to me."

"In your dreams, Yang Xiao Long!"

"Exactly."

As Weiss whirled on Yang and started sputtering nonsense, Blake snorted and Ruby couldn't hold it anymore. She burst into a giggling fit as she deployed her scythe only to lean on it. She then heard Nora laughing nearby, and she looked to see Ren cracking a smile next to her. She then sucked in her breath as she was able to Read their weapons.

Magnild and StormFlower, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren's weapons respectively. She cut off the rest of it there, but the little she grasped from their history was enough to tell Ruby that there was much more to them than meets the eye. She then shook her head.

She didn't want to make any assumptions. She didn't even know them yet. With her own smile, she waved at the pair. "Come on, guys!" Ruby said. "Are we going to fight this thing or what?"

"You know it!" Nora yelled. She brought up Magnild and laughed. "Let's beat this thing to a pulp!" She then grabbed another chess piece and tossed it at Jaune. "Catch! You're going to need this!"

"Woah!" Jaune barely managed to catch the piece, and when he did, he widened his eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks! Uh, Nora, right?"

"Yup!" Nora said. "And this is my bestest friendliest friend in the world, Lie Ren!"

Ren waved his hand meekly as Nora pulled him into a side hug. "Hi."

At that, the Deathstalker finally seemed to notice them and their large group as it started rushing at the group of eight. Ruby flipped her scythe and switched it to it's rifle mode. She then knelt as the blade of the scythe sunk into the ground.

"Alright everyone! Let's do this!" Ruby flipped up her scope and looked straight at the charging Deathstalker. "I'll give cover fire. Yang, annoy the heck out of that thing! Weiss, do your thing and support everyone next to me! And Blake, you can—" She then looked around to see Blake pulling the blades from her back that had been hidden by her hair, and Ruby's eyes widened as she Read Gambol Shroud for the first time.

Since meeting Blake, Ruby had been eager to see just what weapons Blake might have been carrying. Was she a brawler like Yang? Did she use daggers? Or maybe even a scythe like her? But what she got was more intriguing than anything she could have imagined. Gambol Shroud apparently identified itself as a Variable Ballistic Chain Scythe that could morph between different sword forms and she had had them since—

Ruby stared at Blake. Oh, gods. She'd seen too much again. Her eyes flickered up to Blake's bow, and Blake turned to see Ruby eyeing her with some amount of fear. "Ruby? You were saying?" Blake asked, uncomfortable under the sudden scrutinizing gaze.

Ruby screamed an apology in her head for finding out Blake's secret and coughed. She would have to lie through her teeth now, and she hated lying. "Uh, right," Ruby said. "Blake, I don't know what you can do yet, so just support Yang, I guess?"

"Got it." Blake turned forward. "And hey, don't be so tense. I don't bite."

"Oh, yeah!" Ruby said. "No. Not tense. Not at all."

"Hm."

Ruby laughed nervously and decided to deflect by looking behind her. She then hummed as she saw Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren all nodding at something Jaune had said. "Hey! You good?"

They all looked at her and nodded. "I guess?" Jaune shouted. Pyrrha slapped him on the back, and he yelped. "I mean, yeah, we got a plan too! We'll just jump in whenever there's an opening!"

"Nice!" Ruby cried. "Well then, here it comes!" She stared down the charging Deathstalker and smiled at the presence of her partner and sister standing next to her. "Together, we can do this. So let's go!"

Ruby focused, and fired the first shot that signalled the start of her second battle during Initiation. She had aimed for one of the Deathstalker's eyes, and once again, that strange calm had fallen over her and she breathed as she pulled the trigger. The bullet flew true and somehow, despite being such a small and hardy target, one of the Deathstalker's eight eyes was blasted right through.

Blake and Yang jumped forward along with Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune. Weiss began casting glyphs, and Ren trailed behind everyone. After the first shot, Ruby had found that the Deathstalker was now shielding its remaining eyes, and before everyone made it to the Deathstalker itself, she fired once more, hitting an eye on its other side.

Then, she watched as Blake seemed to dance around the Deathstalker's jabs and sliced at it while Yang punched its sides as hard as she could, hard enough that flames trailed her gauntlets and her punches cracked its shell in some places. Pyrrha did much the same, using Magnild to hammer away at its remaining shell while Jaune shielded every strike the Deathstalker could think to try.

Pyrrha was right behind him, jabbing at the subsequent openings it would give. Weiss supported them by slowing the Deathstalker and tripping it up with Ice Dust formations. Ruby then looked for Ren and saw him supporting Nora's blind spots, as well as doing something that seemed to make the Deathstalker occasionally ignore him and Nora, which they used to their advantage.

In what seemed like no time at all, the Deathstalker was blinded and broken. It's shell was completely missing in some places, it's tail had been caught off, and several large wounds dotted its now dissipating frame.

Ruby laughed to herself at how easy everyone made it look as she got up from her position and put Crescent Rose back into standby. She then hopped next to Weiss, who sheathed Myrtenaster and folded her arms.

"Honestly. I would have had a much better performance if I was out there fighting that thing."

Ruby looked at her questioningly. "Are you sure about that? I don't know if you noticed, but we barely avoided hurting them with our own support, much less the organised chaos that took that Deathstalker down."

Weiss paused before sighing. "Whatever. Let's just get this thing over with. I'm tired of this forest."

Ruby looked at everyone supporting each other as they walked back to where Ruby and Weiss were, and she smiled at the sight. "As long as everyone is happy," Ruby murmured, "Then we'll be alright."

~~R o a D~~

"…From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose!"

Ruby blinked as she stared at Ozpin. The migraine Ruby had when she saw Ozpin's cane was back, but it was muted compared to the surprise she was feeling. "What…" she murmured. "Leader?"

She then felt attacked as Yang glomped onto her, and Ruby went limp. "I'm so proud of you!" Yang cried. "You totally deserve this, haha! This is crazy!"

"Talk about crazy…" She then turned her attention to the rest of her team and saw Blake look at her with an impressed look and a twitch of her bow, while Weiss looked like she had just swallowed something sour. Weiss then noticed Ruby's gaze, and frowned before folding her arms and closing her eyes.

I'll have to talk to her later, Ruby thought. She then found her eyes roaming back to Blake's bow and squeezed her own eyes shut.

I need to talk with everyone.

A/N: The Review Responses from the original Chapters 5-7, "A Knight Before Initiation" and "Initiation" pt.1 and 2, touched upon these main topics:

Ruby's Fighting: She can only use Reinforcement sparingly, because she is just barely tapping into her old abilities as Shirou. Tracing is just out of the realm of Ruby's ability right now. This, and the fact that while she could technically be better at magecraft, she doesn't know anything about it. Thus, she isn't proficient in any of her Shirou abilities—However, she is good at adapting quickly.

The Origin and Elements I've assigned to Ruby for this story are: Warrior, and Weapon, respectively. Warrior, because she is a Silver-Eyed Warrior and warriors are often heroes, and Weapon, because she has been freed from the chains that bound Shirou Emiya down throughout his life. Thus, her RM (Reality Marble) is different as well.

And RM's are complicated. Search it up.

Weiss' Depiction: I believe I've fixed this. Originally, people had concerns over Weiss being seemingly unskilled in fighting. I wanted to show the fact that this is Ruby's thoughts on the matter and not actually the case. Weiss is good. Don't get me wrong. But we're in Ruby's mind; A mind that is being affected by Shirou's analytic mentality. She can find faults in anything if she looks, which Ruby is doing.

Now, onto OMAKE 2 and 3, from the original chapters 5 and 7 respectively.

OMAKE 2:

Ruby and Co. in Chaldea

Team RWBY and Team JNPR both blinked at the same time. In the space of that one blink, all eight of them felt a tugging at their navel and a severe case of nausea before suddenly feeling like their existence had just rubber-banded and they all opened their eyes to see themselves in a completely different place.

Jaune threw up, while everyone else minus Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha and Nora looked a little queasy.

"Whoa!" Nora exclaimed. "That was weird, and I've experienced some weird stuff. That was weird weird!"

Ruby, meanwhile, blinked some more before laughing nervously. "Uh, where are we?"

"It looks like some sort of meeting room," Pyrrha observed. "And we're standing on a platform."

"This place doesn't look like anything I've ever seen," Blake said. "There is nowhere on Remnant that looks like this."

"The air feels different too," Ren said. "Like it's charged with Aura. In fact…" He stretched out his hands and his Aura flared. They all then felt a surge of power flow through them.

"Whoa," Yang said. "That was weird."

"It's almost like we're supercharged," commented Weiss. "Just what is going on here?"

The sound of something clattering to the floor had the seven of them ready their weapons, while Jaune struggled to stand. "Who's there!" Ruby yelled.

They then entered a staring contest with a boy with black hair who was looking at them in confusion, while a man wearing a red-shroud and black body armour stood behind him.

Archer?! Ruby thought incredulously. She then realised she said that aloud when the man jumped in place.

"Who are you?" Archer's deep voice asked, his stance suddenly hardening as two blades appeared in his hands.

"Hey, hey!" the boy cried. "Let's not fight! We just summoned them! They probably don't know anything!"

Ruby ignored him and stared at Archer. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Archer hummed. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"It shouldn't. We're from another world!"

"Goddamnit. The Kaleidoscope?"

"Something like that! I think it's more of an 'alternate dimension'.

Archer sighed. "That still doesn't tell me how you know who I am."

"That's easy. It's because I was once Shirou Emiya."

An awkward silence filled the air as Archer dissolved his projections and scratched his head. "Uh, what?"

The boy also stared at her like she had grown a second. "Wait, you're Shirou Emiya?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. I'm not Shirou, but I was, once. I got killed, but I didn't die."

"...Isn't that the same thing–"

"RITSUKA!" A voice boomed, before the doors to the summoning room slammed open. A girl with bright orange hair and a crazed look stormed up to the now-named Ritsuka. "What did I say about summoning servants without me?!"

"Uh? We were just setting up and this happened?"

"That's no excuse!"

They started arguing. Meanwhile, Archer stared at both teams, who stared back. "So," he started. "If you were once Shirou, then–"

"Yeah. I've got the reality marble."

"Oof. Must be rough."

"Nah, it's not terrible. I love weapons a lot–"

"Maybe a little too much," Yang quipped.

"–So it's fun to see it in my dreams."

"Wait, what's a 'reality marble'?" Nora asked. "Can I play with it?"

"No!" Ruby and Archer quickly said. They then looked at each other and flinched.

"Yeah, this isn't weird at all," Blake said.

"That scruffy-looking man is another version of Ruby?" Weiss asked, her cheeks red. "Ruby's very nice, but like…wow."

Meanwhile, Pyrrha sat down and rubbed Jaune's back. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're good," Jaune said. "I just have really bad motion sickness."

And then the doors burst open to see a group of women all looking nearly identical, if it weren't for the wildly different attire each one had. One in particular, a silver and blue knight that Ruby would recognise anywhere, stepped forward, while the rest of them hushed down.

"EMIYA! Why aren't you in the cafeteria yet? Everyone is awaiting your return!" She then turned to look at the two newly summoned teams. "And who might you be?"

Ruby turned to Archer and gave him a quizzing look. "Why do they all look like Saber?"

Archer shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could tell you."

OMAKE 3:

Summoned ROSE

A clash of metal and the sound of Lancer's grunt shocked Shirou out of his mind. He stared at the rich red cloak that fluttered before him, and he widened his eyes as he met a piercing silver gaze with his own.

Her cloak settled just above her feet. She wore lots of black with red highlights, and her hair seemed to melt from black to red on its own. In her hands, she held a wickedly sharp-looking scythe that hurt Shirou's head to look at, and it looked like there were many interlocking mechanisms that made up the bulk of its shaft. He then noticed the grin that had placed itself on her face as she opened her mouth.

"Hey! Are you my master? I'm Saber!"

"W-what?"

The beautiful woman blinked before widening her eyes and making an 'o' with her mouth, as if she just realised where she was. "Shoot. I've really done it, huh? Curse our E-rank luck! I replaced her!"

"What are you—"

The woman shushed Shirou as she turned. "Goodness. Lancer really doesn't know how to stay down, huh? Well, I'll show him!"

Shirou then witnessed sparks of light ringing in his courtyard, before he squinted and Reinforced his eyes. He was then barely able to follow the woman smirking at the Lancer before she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and reappeared above him.

"Go, Crescent Rose!" she cried, and her scythe's blade burst into flames as she swung down at an impossible speed. Lancer widened his eyes in shock, before suddenly disappearing in a puff of wavy golden mist. He had been recalled.

"Tch. That was starting to feel pretty fun," the woman said. "Anyways, uh, Shirou. Can I call you Shirou? Calling you Master is weird."

Shirou blinked. "Uh, yeah? Is your name really Saber, though?"

"No," the woman said. "And you wouldn't find me in any history books either, so you can call me by my name. I'm ROSE." She stuck her hand out, which Shirou took. "And I was you, once."

"Huh?"

"Whelp, there's some enemies outside, so follow me, eh, Shirou?"

Shirou blinked as ROSE disappeared in another flash of petals. "Wait! What did you mean?!"

He then tripped as he stepped outside to see ROSE high-fiving a tall red-coated man next to his school's idol, Rin Tohsaka.

"Tohsaka?!"

"Emiya."

Rin had a smile that was scary to look at, and Shirou instinctively took a step back. "Mind telling my why my Archer and your Saber seem super chummy with each other?"

"That's a little hard to explain," Archer said. "Timey wimey stuff."

Rin cocked an eyebrow and scowled. "Try me."

"I'm actually a reincarnation of Shirou," ROSE said, "And Archer is actually a future version of Shirou."

Archer gasped and looked at Ruby. "You weren't supposed to say that!"

Ruby pouted. "Aw, come on. It would take another 10 hours at least before anyone found out otherwise. I just sped things up a little."

"Why is every version of me insufferable?" Archer groaned. "I swear, this is the reason why I wanted to kill myself."

"I just can't believe you're still getting summoned to different versions of this same war," ROSE said. "Hell, I was summoned. That shouldn't be possible."

"Yeah. We're cursed aren't we?"

"It's our E-rank luck, I tell you."

Rin and Shirou grew closer as they watched their Servants argue with each other.

"So…" Shirou started. "Does this always happen?"

Rin side-eyed Shirou. "What do you think, Emiya? Does any of this feel like something that always happens?"

Shirou scratched the back of his head and looked away. "I was just asking…"