Chapter 2

Atlas Academy

The trip to Atlas Academy was a short one. Following the halls and the guidance of guards, Ruby and Penny were taken to the primary landing platform outside the academy entrance.

There, several airships of different stripes were landing. Some looked like private vessels, likely some rich folks wanting a leisurely journey. There were also some public transport Airbuses, a couple of which seemed particularly beat up and in disrepair.

Already, people were leaving the ships and walking towards the towering building in front of them. After a moment of watching, Ruby and Penny joined the procession into the academy itself. At the forefront, a woman with white hair was directing everyone to follow her to the auditorium. The building was pretty much the same as what Ruby had seen below, except there weren't many, if any, soldiers around. A few older students watched them go by, however.

Soon enough, they arrived in the large auditorium. It was big enough to fit quadruple their number, a couple hundred at least. Ruby scanned the crowd, and guessed that there were about fifty to sixty teens here.

Among them, she spotted a brightly coloured cat girl wearing rollerblades, a girl tuning a guitar, a guy with a trumpet, and a young man in blue armour. There were more with normal looks but plenty had odd airs about them, making the group look like quite the eclectic bunch. As Ruby glanced around, the woman that had led them stepped up onto the stage.

Her white-grey hair was pulled into a tight, elegant bun at the back of her head, with a few loose bangs framing her fair-skinned face. Cold, ice-blue eyes stared out from a pair of half-moon glasses as she surveyed the class. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with flared cuffs and a high collar, a dark brown vest with a pocket full of pens on her breast, and a long black skirt reaching her ankles. Ruby could just barely make out a pair of black high-heeled shoes and brown stockings. The woman had an air of stern coldness about her that made everyone fall silent quite quickly.

The woman took hold of a microphone and began to speak. "I am Alexandria Demeter, Deputy Headmistress of Atlas Academy. You may call me Professor Demeter or Ms Demeter. You will see me often this year, especially those of you who are delinquents. Due to his busy schedule, you will see little of our Headmaster, General Ironwood.

"Here at Atlas, we seek to bring about the best of the best. We are strict, for we do not wish to tarnish the name of our profession and our academy with those who cannot abide by society's rules. You will learn how to battle Grimm as well as criminals and rogue Huntsmen. I'm sure you are all aware of our Specialist program, but you don't need to worry about that yet. It is an optional course starting in your third year, so take the time to think carefully about joining it."

She glared down at all of them. "Do not waste our time, or your own time. Now, a brief word from General Ironwood." With that, she stepped aside and allowed a tall, well-built man to take the stage.

General James Ironwood cleared his throat as he took the mic. "Good afternoon, everyone. You've all done well to reach this point, trained hard, and chosen a noble career. However… once you pass initiation, there is little going back. Graduation will place a hefty burden upon you. A brutal world waits for you, and a quest to purge Grimm that will likely continue for longer than any of us live for. But should you succeed in your missions, you will save lives, bring joy to the defenceless, and protect humanity from the darkness.

"This is a difficult job. A harrowing career. Nobody gets out free. If you are terrified, if you believe you may falter, step back now. Take on a different career. I will not judge you. None of us should. Knowing you are not ready, not cut out, and stepping away so you do not drag others down is a noble and respectable thing to do. But if you are willing to face the horrors of the world… stay here. Tonight you shall sleep in the ballroom. Tomorrow morning, you will do battle. Take this time to prepare. Good day to you all."

After his speech, he left the room. Professor Demeter gave directions to the ballroom and then adjourned the assembly. They were free. Ruby glanced around the room, as many others were doing. One girl was already walking out the door back to the ships, apparently having decided she wasn't up for it.

She looked pretty… rich, from what Ruby could tell. Maybe she was just after the prestige of being a Huntress, or maybe she had genuinely wanted to be one for good and gotten scared.

Ruby was scared too. It was going to be a difficult life, a challenging career. But… it wasn't as scary as that night had been. It wasn't as bad as her nightmares. She'd survived worse, so now that she had some strength, why should she let her fear win?

Most of the class was starting to head towards the ballroom, where the scent of food was drifting from. Neither she nor Penny really needed to eat, but it was still delicious and any food they did eat was converted into various kinds of fuels and fluids for their body. They could even be more efficient than normal humans, thanks to the power of technology.

Really what it meant was that they could join everyone else and not have to draw suspicion by never eating.

Tables were pushed up against the walls of the ballroom, many laden with food and drink of all kinds—except alcohol, of course. Other tables had sleeping gear, such as sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets. There was even a table, manned by a teacher, with Dust and ammunition, apparently available for those who hadn't been able to stock up before today.

Ruby grabbed a paper plate and filled it with little bits of meat and cheese and crackers, ready to make them into a form of sandwich. Or was it a kind of burger? She didn't really care either way, for they were delicious.

As she enjoyed her meal, there was a giggle behind her. She turned and saw the guitar girl there, sans guitar now. Ruby had to look up at her, as she was much taller than expected up close. "Lunch of champions, eh? Looks good. Any recommendations for the meat and cheese or are they all good?"

Swallowing, Ruby looked her up and down. She was about six foot one, had black hair with stripes of yellow at mostly even intervals and her eyes were bright yellow with hexagons inside of them.

The towering girl bared her midriff with a black and gold shirt that was offset from her shoulders, showing the straps of a tank top underneath. She also wore a pair of black shorts under a black skirt with a slit in the side and gold trimmings, as well as a ribbon tied around her waist and hanging off one side. A pair of stockings extended out of a pair of boots that reached just below her knees and seemed to have amps built into them.

"Uuhhh… um…" Ruby's brain came to a halt for a good few moments, barely processing the question let alone the tall, attractive girl that had just approached her out of nowhere. What was she supposed to do? Talk video games? Maybe weapons? She had a guitar earlier, so maybe music? Ruby had no clue what to do!

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You okay there? Oh, was I a bit too close?" She took a step back. "So anyway, which cheese do you think I should try first?"

Cheese? Oh right! Booting her brain back up, Ruby looked down at her plate. "Ummm… the Mistral Mountain cheese was pretty good."

"Perfect, I'll try that. I'm Orchid by the way. Orchid Grove. And you?" the tall girl asked, holding out a hand for a shake.

"Uh… Ruby Rose," she replied, taking the girl's hand and gently shaking it. She had to be careful not to use too much power…

"Ruby! I have discovered that these sandwiches are delicious! They have salami!" Penny said, bounding over with a plate piled high with sandwiches. "Oh! Salutations! Are you two becoming friends?"

Orchid shrugged. "I'd like to hope so! Orchid Grove. You?"

"Penny Polendina! I am Ruby's best friend!" she said as they shook hands. "If we are friends now, does that mean we can hang out, have sleepovers, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys?"

"Heck yeah! If you want to, of course," Orchid agreed immediately. Ruby swallowed another cracker/cheese sandwich and glanced between the pair as they quickly hit it off.

For some reason, she felt… cautious of Orchid. She gave the tall woman another glance, wondering why she felt this way. Her eyes were drawn to her hips, which were, in a word, powerful. Tall, powerful hips, personable, extroverted… why did Ruby feel like those aspects made her wary of Orchid when she talked with Penny?

"...Lockers are over there. I can show you my guitar tomorrow, but as it's my weapon I put it away already. Then I came for some food and noticed Ruby here enjoying her crackers and, well, here we are." Orchid was explaining when Ruby tuned back in.

"Interesting! We'll have to put our weapons away as well," Penny said, nodding. "But how do you fight with a guitar anyway?"

Before Orchid could answer, Ruby cocked her head to the side. "Maybe Semblance? Or Dust…"

Orchid chuckled. "The second, mostly. The strings are made of Dust infused metal, and it has a built-in amp. I use the sound waves to disperse the Dust when I strum, and when activated that lets me blast people with fire or ice or whatever I want. Well, depending on the Dust I've got. Hard to get some types, you know, and I can't just pick up a pack of bullets or anything." She shrugged. "My Semblance is focused around music, which is why I went for a guitar."

Ruby hummed. Discussing weapons was a good strategy! Like video games, she'd had plenty of time to learn a lot. She liked weapons well enough, but because she thought of being super knowledgeable about them as a tool to make friends, she could come off a bit… more enthusiastic than she was. So she had to be careful here, lest she creep Orchid out. "Hmm… wouldn't you want a sidearm?"

"I guess? I never really got a chance to practise with guns much…" She sighed. "It'd be nice to have some kind of fallback plan, but I'll have time to figure that out here. How about you two?"

Penny grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "My weapon was designed by Ruby and my Father! I control swords!" She puffed out her chest in confidence that made Ruby look away, embarrassed.

"I just have a sword… that's also a scythe and a sniper rifle," Ruby answered, shrugging.

"Those are both pretty cool sounding, I gotta say." Orchid smiled down at the two of them. "I'm sure I'll get to see them in action during initiation. Maybe if we get the chance we should meet up and work together?"

"That sounds sensational!" Penny said.

Ruby nodded, feeling cautious still. "I'd prefer that to people we don't know…"

Orchid nodded. "Exactly. Now, I'm gonna go make sure I know some more folks here. And I'll try some of the cheese. I'll see you two later, okay."

"Goodbye, Orchid!" Penny waved as Orchid started to walk away. Ruby gave a quiet goodbye, staring after the girl while still pondering the odd caution she didn't quite understand. "She seemed very nice."

"Mhm…"

"Are you okay Ruby? You seemed quiet…" Penny asked, looking over Ruby.

"I just… I don't know. Just… feeling weird. Anxious maybe," she replied with a shrug, not really knowing what to say.

Penny took her hand and squeezed it slightly. "Okay. If you want to talk, I'm here. Always."

Ruby smiled a little. "Right. Thanks, Penny."

After they put away their weapons, the pair found a quiet corner to observe from. There were so many different kinds of people here, providing an interesting look into their individual cultures. Most here were from Atlas, so they wore rich clothing and had advanced, stylish weapons. Some were from Mantle, using more basic gear and clothes. There were a few from other Kingdoms too, like a dude with a katana from Mistral, or a girl in sandy robes from Vacuo.

Also, there was a girl nervously approaching them.

Penny immediately smiled and greeted her. "Salutations!"

"Umm… hi," the girl said. She was of average height, which was taller than them, and had long aquamarine hair that reached the small of her back. She had fair skin, with some light blush on her cheeks. Her teal eyes were behind a pair of square glasses and looked tired or like she lacked sleep. Her clothing was pretty simple, a black beanie, a hoodie two sizes too large, a chain choker, slightly ripped grey pants, and black running shoes with white laces and accents. She was also carrying a large plush shark.

"That is a very cute shark," Penny said, looking at the blue and grey plushie. "Does he have a name?"

"Um… T-triteia. Oh… no wait… sorry that's my name. Um… he's Lefko," the girl, Triteia, stammered, looking between Ruby and Penny awkwardly. "... Sorry… let me try again… umm… I-i'm Triteia. Clymene. N-nice to meet you…"

Penny nodded. "I am Penny Polendina! This is my best friend, Ruby Rose! It is good to meet you."

"Yeah… good to meet you," Ruby said, greeting Triteia with a wave. What followed was an awkward silence as none of them knew what to talk about.

As they stood there awkwardly, a man sighed and walked over to them. He was tall and strong looking, like he was cut from stone. He had short blue hair that was just a little messy. His skin was fair, his eyes were blue, and his posture emphasised his height. Ruby asked VIA, who estimated him to be about 6'3" or so. He was in combat gear, which for him meant pieces of azure plate armour and chainmail alongside a white hooded cloak with gold trimmings.

"I can see you still struggle with this, Triteia," he said, shaking his head and sighing. "Oh well, we'll have time to work on it." He gave Triteia a pat on the head, causing her to hide her face behind Lefko, and then looked at them. "I'm Cobalt Lazuli. A pleasure to meet you both. Triteia and I are old friends from our last school. I was hoping she would have gotten better at meeting new people by now, but we've still got to work on that."

"Sorry…" Triteia said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll help you." His words were full of genuine concern, Ruby thought. They might have been used to scold her, but instead, he consoled her with them. "So then, are you two excited for Initiation?"

Ruby blinked as he suddenly brought the conversation around to them. "Uhm… sorta?" she replied, unsure exactly what she should say. Couldn't exactly say that they were basically impossible to fail due to all the military funding that went into the pair of them, now could she?

Penny nodded. "I cannot wait to see what the General has in store for us."

In response, Cobalt nodded back. "It'll be interesting, for sure. I imagine we'll be making use of Solitas' cold terrain. Perhaps a survival mission? Trekking through the snow from one point to another? Hard to say."

"I hope it's not too cold…" Triteia sighed. "At least it's not sand that I'd have to clean off of Lefko."

"That would be irritating." Penny nodded sagely. "But will the snow not melt and possibly damage him?"

"Oh, uh... Not really. He's pretty resistant to stuff. It's just sand gets stuck on him and all… Water just slides off," she explained.

"Oh, I see." Penny hummed in acknowledgement.

Ruby tilted her head as a look of curiosity came over her. "Why's that?"

Triteia explained softly, "Ah, Lefko is my Semblance." Ruby and Penny shared a look of surprise, causing Triteia to gain a small, shy, smile, "I can split my Aura and give some to him; it makes him grow really big, and water starts to trail around him." She looked away. "It's because of that that I never have to worry about him getting damp."

Penny's eyes widened slightly as she perked up. "That is a wonderful Semblance! I don't think I have ever encountered one like that before."

Once again, Cobalt placed a hand on Triteia's head and pat her, causing her to hide her face behind Lefko again as it practically caught fire. "She's got the more interesting semblance between the two of us," he said, grinning. "All I can do is a little magic trick; I call it Smite, lets me strike down enemies. Though…" His smile faltered. "It's not as potent as I'd like it to be, not yet."

Triteia seemed to decide to take a stab at this whole 'conversation' thing and asked, "S-So, do you two play video games?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to perk up. "Oh, all the time. Penny and I play all sorts of games together! It's one of our favourite pastimes, really." She grinned awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. "Not that we had much else we could do for a long time…"

Cobalt gained a look of curiosity. "Oh? You weren't able to go outside or something? Why? If you don't mind me asking."

Ruby suddenly wished she had a spare boot so she could shove it in her mouth. She laughed nervously; "D-did I say 'had', I meant we were just really~ lazy! You know, we just… spent a lot of time playing games, so much that sometimes it felt like there wasn't anything else to do!"

Penny backed her up. "Yes! We were simply two shut-ins who played a bunch of games, but now we're Huntresses-in-Training!" She grinned around a hiccup and continued, "Someday we will be protectors of the world!"

"That's a very admirable goal." Cobalt smiled, his earlier curiosity being pushed aside. "I hope to do the same, and protect the world! Maybe someday people will write songs about me and my heroic deeds, and I can be like the knights of old."

Triteia looked like she wanted to say something in response to that, making Ruby wonder if she'd already written one of those songs, but that wasn't likely. Instead, she said with nervousness clear in her voice, "I… kind of just became a Huntress-in-Training because I thought it'd be fun." She smiled anxiously as her voice took a somewhat self-defeating tone, "It is, but… I guess I don't really have a grand poetic goal like you guys. It's kinda boring, and a bit stupid…"

Cobalt shook his head and lightly smacked Triteia on the back of her head, causing her to squeak in surprise. "What'd I tell you about that kind of talk?" He smiled down at her. "You're still going to be protecting innocents, and that's heroic enough! To do so without expectations of glory is perhaps even grander than my goal. Ironically."

Before the conversation could continue, an announcement from Professor Demeter came on over the intercom. "Attention prospective students, ensure you are prepared for bed. You will be waking up early." Following her words, much of the food was being packed away. Obviously, they had to sort themselves out before everything was packed up.

Triteia frowned. "I still haven't gotten a sleeping bag!"

Cobalt chuckled. "Let's grab some. It was good meeting you both. I hope to see you in class."

Triteia concurred, "Yeah! Nice to meet you guys."

Ruby smiled a little and waved. "See you soon."

Penny added with a salute, "And good luck at initiation!"

With that, the two pairs split up, and Ruby was left to turn to Penny. She sighed, relieved. "Penny… we succeeded at talking to people today…"

Penny smiled brightly. "I know! We've far surpassed expectations within this field very quickly! Father will be very pleased."

Ruby grinned weakly. "Still. It was a bit tiring. Let's find a corner to hide in after we grab what we need. I'm ready for bed already."

Penny giggled. "I am bed ready as well!"

With a little laugh, the two set out to prepare.

Sleeping like a normal person without the simulated room was an experience Ruby had sort of forgotten. It was different from her hazy childhood memories, mainly because her body didn't really need sleep the same way. Her brain did, but her body? It didn't need anywhere near the same level of time dedicated to rest. It meant she had a hard time getting to sleep.

In the end, Ruby got to watch most of the others fall asleep first. She also awoke earlier than everyone alongside Penny, so the two took an early shower and got ready.

The intercom called for them to follow a series of red lights to a hanger, after which the lighting above a door turned red. The hall past it had thin red lights leading the way to the aforementioned hanger. The students gathered there as soon as they could.

Inside were three separate Airbuses with the Atlas Academy logo on the side as well as a number from one to three. General Ironwood and Professor Demeter were waiting for everyone to arrive before starting.

Ironwood looked over them once they had all gotten there, and then began. "Welcome, students. Today you will be tested to see if you truly have what it takes. You will be split up into these three vessels and given a seat with a letter, either A or B. The person next to you with the letter that isn't yours will be your initial partner for this exercise. You can change mid-operation; however, those that end without a partner will have a harder time passing."

Professor Demeter continued for him. "Your mission is simple. You will be deployed to an old mining town that was taken by the Grimm many years ago. We have not had a need to reclaim it until now. You will go in and exterminate the Grimm, claiming the town for Atlas once more. To do so, we recommend finding not only a partner you can work with, but another pair as well to form a full team."

"Note that you will be graded on your performance here," the General added. "Your speed, kill count, effectiveness, teamwork, and other things shall all be graded. Those who do not meet our expectations will not pass, and so will be sent home. Perform well."

Several dozen beeps filled the room as everyone's scroll went off. "You have all received two numbers. That shall be the airbus you travel in as well as your seat number. You have five minutes to get onto the ship." With that, both of them stepped away.

Immediately, people began moving towards the ships. Ruby glanced at her numbers. Two, and twelve. A glance at Penny's scroll revealed the numbers three and eight. They were on separate ships. "We'll have to meet in the town, I guess."

Penny nodded. "We will. I will find you as soon as I can!"

Ruby smiled. "Right. See you soon."

They shared a nod and split up. The second ship was already filling up, so Ruby hurried to squeeze through. She found her seat quite quickly, marked with two things. Her number, and the letter A. Beside it was another seat with A, in which was sitting a brightly coloured cat Faunus girl with roller skates, and an empty seat with B.

She sat down and strapped in. To her right the cat girl was speaking to a guy in a nice suit with a trumpet. Ruby put them out of her mind and focused on breathing. She closed her eyes and tried to push away the anxiety that boiled in her stomach. Would she do well? Would she be able to team up with Penny? What would happen when she met a real Grimm again? These thoughts and more swirled in her head.

Her worries were interrupted by a scoff as someone sat down beside her. She glanced over, seeing a young man of average height with short brown hair that had a streak of light blonde at the front. His upper body was armoured, looking much like the armour of Atlesian Soldiers. He had brown pants, and some kind of plate around his head, resting just over his ears and curling around the back in a semicircle. Ruby guessed it was some kind of machine connected to his scroll so it could display information directly over his green-blue eyes.

"Is that even a combat skirt? Good Gods am I seriously partnered with a brat who can't even wear appropriate attire? What are you, some kind of delicate lady?" he said, scoffing at her once again.

Ruby blinked at him, shocked at his attitude. "I… what?"

"I am informing you that your attire is not suitable for combat, and so questioning your combat capabilities, little lady," he said with faux elegance but genuine condescension. "So unless you're here to be the damsel that I, the noble knight in this metaphor, must protect, I'm going to question why the hell someone so ill-equipped is even here."

Yikes. Ruby was appalled at his attitude, but lacked the experience to react properly. All she could do was sit there, staring in shock.

"Psh, listen to this bozo. Thinks he's some knight in shining armour," The cat girl next to Ruby scoffed, leaning around her to giggle at the man. "What, compensating by trying to push others down?"

He glared fiercely at the girl who stuck out her tongue playfully. The guy on the other side of her sighed and slapped her arm. "Neon, that's not cool."

Neon pouted. "But Flynt, he's being an asshole!"

"Yeah, but come on. We're better than that."

"Fiiiine," Neon whined, then turned back to Ruby's partner. "By compensating, I actually mean your hair. I mean come on, what is with that style? Are you trying to look like a posh twat?" She asked mockingly.

"Tch. I am Wilhelm Wilson and I will not stand for this mockery!" he spat back, face red with rage.

"Yeah, 'cause you're sitting for it," Neon giggled back. Flynt let out a pft as Wilhelm went even redder. Instead of arguing further, he simply glared and looked away, his foot tapping in anger. Neon gave Ruby a wink then went back to talking to Flynt as the ship left the hangar.

… I wish Penny was here…

The ships came to land in the snow-covered plains near a mountainside village. The town had a damaged and broken outer wall with destroyed turrets, but most of the buildings seemed to be intact. The students disembarked and, with a ping from their scrolls telling them to begin, got to work.

Ruby hurried to keep up with Wilhelm as he rushed through the snow-strewn streets. His sword glinted in the morning light. It was a gunblade with a variable Dust chamber. He was quick and light on his feet in spite of his armour, and he dispatched a Beowolf before Ruby even noticed it was coming out of the door of a house.

"Pick it up, damsel! We have to move fast!" he shouted, charging ahead. Ruby let out a sigh as she deployed her scythe and stalked down an alleyway after him. He's so annoying! And mean! Damn it… where's Penny? Faster I find her, the better…

As Wilhelm turned the corner and left her sight, she let out a sigh of frustration. Her calm attitude was short-lived, however, as another Beowolf dropped down from above, landing in front of her. Its eyes glinted like pricks of red light shining through a ring of yellow amber. It snarled and raised up on its hind legs.

"A-ah…" Ruby knew what she was supposed to do. Slash and cut it down. But her body wouldn't move. It locked up immediately as the Beowolf rose to its full height. She could feel its teeth cracking her bones as its claws ripped her skin. Her blood ran cold as her mind flashed with nought but memories of pain.

It took a step forward.

She took a step back.

I need to run. Run! Get out of here. Move! Please! Before it gets me! Before it chomped. Bit. Clawed. Racked. Tore. She had to run. Flee. Escape. But she was powerless. Its gaze trapped her in place. She couldn't move. She was stuck. Her breathing hitched as it sped up. Her vision grew wobbly.

It took another step forward.

She tripped on her cloak and fell backwards.

The Beowolf towered over her. Red dropped from its mouth. The blood of its last victim… or hers. Her arms failed to pull her back as it stepped closer and raised a blood-covered arm. Ruby felt cold.

Yang! Why did you-!

It pounced…

A blade crashed into its chest from the side and sent it flying into the wall, breaking through the wood and landing in the room of a house. Wilhelm stepped through the hole and stabbed its chest, killing it. Ruby watched it die, disintegrating into nothing but dust in the wind as she breathed heavily, and made a realisation.

There wasn't any blood on it at all.

She swallowed and kept breathing, trying to get herself under control. Wilhelm glared at her. "What the hell was that!? Are you really just some damned damsel!? How are you here if you can't even beat a Beowolf!?" he yelled at her, eyes flaring with anger again.

His yelling attracted another Grimm, an Ursa this time. It broke through the wall of the other building and roared at them. Ruby was surprised to find she wasn't losing herself to her panic again, though she still hadn't gained control of herself yet. Wilhelm snarled but before he could go to face it, a lance was thrown through its head, killing it.

As it died, a knight in blue dropped from the roof and landed in the snow. He grabbed the weapon from where it had landed, twirling it as it shifted from a spear into a polearm with a hammer on one side and a spike on the other. A Bec De Corbin as VIA helpfully supplied. Its main body was light blue while the hammer and such were gold painted.

"Wilhelm Wilson. You aren't being productive by shouting. If a lady is in trouble, act more professionally," Cobalt scolded as he walked over.

"Hmph. Cobalt Lazuli. I have no reason to care about some 'lady' who can't even fight!" Wilhelm replied, scoffing and walking away. "Screw both of you."

Cobalt ignored him and knelt next to Ruby. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Ruby's voice was weak and trailed off, even though she didn't want it to. She swallowed as he nodded.

"It's alright. Take your time. Breathe in and out slowly and focus on something that makes you happy."

Ruby nodded. Something that makes me happy? Well… immediately, Penny appeared in her mind, which made her blush. Aaaa… why is she… Thankfully, the distraction helped calm her a little bit, making it easier to gain control of her breathing.

Cobalt, seeing her recovering, took a look around to make sure they were safe. Wilhelm had walked off, leaving them behind. Probably to find a new partner, after her failure. I… I really… I'm not cut out for this, am I? I couldn't even try against a Beowolf…

Snow crunched underfoot as Cobalt returned and picked up Crescent Rose, which she must have dropped when she fell. He held out a hand to help her up, then gave her back her scythe afterwards. "I was on the same ship as Penny. Think she was heading towards the mine with her partner. We'll meet up with them, sound good?"

"Y-yeah." Ruby nodded and followed him out of the alley. Sounds of battle echoed all over the city, but they ignored it in favour of heading towards the large opening in the mountain. Cranes and rail tracks and other such equipment filled the space near the mine, long unused.

A green laser tore through an Alpha Ursa as they approached. Penny looked around, making sure there were no more Grimm nearby, when she noticed Ruby and came bounding over with a big grin. "Ruby!"

"Penny!" For a moment, her heart's pain faded as she put away her scythe and jumped to hug Penny. She basked in Penny's warmth, both physical and metaphorical, for several moments before finally separating. "I'm glad to find you… my partner sucked."

"I am also glad you are here," Penny replied. "Oh, this is my partner-"

Another girl who was standing behind Penny stepped forward and interrupted Penny's introduction. "Ciel Soliel. Assigned as Penny's partner. A pleasure." She spoke in short sentences, like she was trying to hurry them along. Her outfit was nice enough, a beret, white shirt, and blue skirt. The most interesting part was the weapon attached to the back of her hip. Judging by the way it was folded and the grip on it, it looked like another gunblade.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said, a bit quietly.

Cobalt smiled. "You'll be alright with Penny? I need to find Triteia."

Ruby nodded at him. "I will. Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." With that, he left to find his own friend and future partner.

"Time is of the essence. We should move on," Ciel said, pushing them to get started.

Penny nodded before turning to Ruby. "Are you okay, Ruby?"

"I… I'll be okay. Just a… not ready for Beowolves…" Ruby took a deep breath as Penny nodded. "Shall we uh… clear the mines?*

"Sounds good!"

The mines were dark, but they didn't have much trouble moving through them thanks to the glow of Dust in the walls. The veins near the surface were small and not worth much, but as they went deeper they slowly became more and more numerous.

Inside they battled Ursai and Centinels. There was even a Creep, only rarely found outside of Vale. Beowolves did make an appearance, but Penny and Ciel dealt with them quickly. Ciel was quick on her feet and always seemed to know how and when the enemy would attack, allowing her to dodge and cut down everything with her sword.

It was a gunblade, like Ruby had thought. The bladed edge was curved while the blunt end was perfectly straight for the gunbarrel. It also had some kind of Dust engraved into the surface, looking like old numerals running along next to the barrel. They glowed whenever she used Dust, though it was only a couple of the more directly damaging types. Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Wind, mainly.

Ruby took to the back lines with her sniper, in spite of how close everything was in the mines. She just wasn't sure she could take on anything, especially Beowolves, up close right now. It was something she would have to work on, she knew. But right now, she just wanted to pass.

They were all careful not to hit the Dust veins, for fear of blowing them all up. It would be a bit of a downer way to fail…

As they progressed, they began to hear the strumming of a guitar echoing through the mine. After glancing between each other, they moved forward until they entered some kind of intersection. Four passages, including their own, met in a large oval room littered with mine carts and other tools. Some mined Dust was still here, stacked in the carts waiting to be pulled to the surface.

Inside of the intersection was a familiar girl launching bolts of fire and lightning at Centinels as they burst from the ground. Orchid hummed a tune as she strummed her twelve-stringed guitar, each flick of the colourful strings preparing yet more Dust attacks to be launched.

They of course jumped in to help as the next wave arrived. Ciel moved in first, her blade dancing between targets as she beheaded them. Penny's swords flew through the air like a fan being waved, tearing each foe struck into ribbons. Orchid's strumming charred yet more of the monsters. Ruby joined the fray with her scythe this time, racing around as she spun and slashed, cutting them down.

The four of them slaughtered the Centinels at record speed.

"Wow, you guys are pretty good!" Orchid said once the room was clear. "Thanks for the help. Got a bit lost. My partner got scared and threw in the towel early." She sighed and shrugged while shaking her head.

Penny nodded gravely. "That is a shame. Would you like to join us? I'm wanting to be Ruby's partner, but Ciel seems nice, so you two could be partners and we could all make a team! Isn't that right, Ruby?" She looked at Ruby with a huge grin on her face while slightly bouncing on her feet with excitement.

Ruby looked at Penny and realised that she couldn't say no to her. Not when she was so happy at the idea. "Sure. If you want, Orchid."

The musician smiled. "I'll take it! We worked super well together, so I think it'll be a good idea to stick together."

"Sensational!" Penny cheered, smiling widely. "What do we do now?"

"Search and destroy, I guess…" Ruby answered. "Let's go."

And so they continued on. They met and killed plenty of Grimm as they explored the mine. Eventually, they came across another team, but they all moved on quickly. They had to rack up score as fast as they could.

It was just after they beat a group that they noticed something. One of the Ursa had been thrown against a wall of another intersection, cracking it. What it revealed was a thin space between parts of the wall, hidden behind a kind of stone panel that had been broken, heading into something with a soft light. They all shared a look, deciding to investigate without even saying a word.

Penny pulled aside the rest of the panel, allowing them to enter into the tight space. Ciel went first, followed by Ruby, Penny, and then Orchid at the back. After transforming her scythe into its sword form, Ruby nodded and they set out, squeezing through the passage. As they went, small lights flickered in above them, old and seemingly motion activated.

The strangeness continued as they arrived in a carved chamber unlike the ones before. Where before they had rough walls from the mined stone and Dust, this was smoothed. There were small buildings here too, a line of wooden chambers with doors on them to their left, while on the right was an opening leading to a room full of desks.

Ruby shrugged and walked over to one of the wooden doors, pulling it open slightly to look inside. It was a bedroom, with basic furnishings and a pretty powerful-looking heater, despite the obvious age on it. The others moved around and started checking the other doors.

Next to the bedroom was a kitchen, followed by a bathroom, and then storage. It was pretty well stocked for the long term with plenty of non-perishables. The last door led to a long passageway, extending off into the distance.

"Judging by our location, I would expect this to lead to the other side of the mountain," Penny whispered.

Orchid frowned. "But there isn't a town on the other side. So… was this some spooky secret passage?"

"It seems so. However, this is unrelated to our mission. We should return to hunting Grimm." Ciel said.

Ruby let out a low hum and looked at the other room. "We may as well explore it all first…" she said, heading over to the room filled with desks. The others followed, though Ciel seemed slightly annoyed.

The room wasn't just filled with desks, instead, it was akin to a lab. It was a large circular space with all kinds of fancy science equipment as well as cages of various sizes and shapes, all with strange machines connected to them. Pipes wound around the room, with several opening into the cages as well as on the other side of the room, where small packets of Dust remained.

Splitting up to explore, they searched everywhere they could. There was quite a bit of Dust around, all old offcuts from the mine. Some of it still sat in beakers and test tubes, obviously having been the subject of some form of experimentation. Sadly, there weren't stacks of documents or anything that could really tell them what was going on here.

Or so Ruby thought until she noticed a small, damaged scroll under a desk. She knelt down and grabbed it. It was an old model, at least a decade but probably older, although it seemed modified. Surprisingly, it still had a faint bit of power.

But before she could investigate it further, something dropped down from above. Everyone leapt back and prepared their weapons, with Ruby pocketing the scroll. Standing before them was an eight-foot-tall spindly humanoid made of metal, cables, and wires. Its metal plating was rusted, with much of it having fallen off around its joints, revealing the pipes and cables that made up its skeleton.

The machine lurched wildly around before drawing out a pole from its back, the end of which ignited into a flaming spearhead. It swung at them, forcing them all to dodge back towards the entrance. "INTRUSION DETECTED. INI-KHSSSS-NG COUNTERMEASHHHHHURES." A heavily damaged robotic voice came out of the machine as it stumbled towards them, intent on cutting them down.

The machine swiped out with its spear, trying to cut them down where they stood. The four of them jumped back and leapt into action. Orchid strummed her guitar, humming a tune as she began to fire bolts of flame and lightning. The robot took both without much damage, seemingly resistant. Penny ran forward and slashed her blades down, crashing them into its right shoulder which threw off its next attack so that it hit the ground.

As dirt was flung into the air, Ciel ran straight through, using it as cover to unleash her attack. She jumped into the air, landed on its shoulder, and cut down at the neck. The metal let out a groan from the power of the strike as the robot reached up to swat Ciel off of it. She jumped, flipping in the air to land on her feet.

Ruby transformed her weapon into scythe mode and ran around the side of the bot before jumping and hooking her feet on the blade. With a gunshot, she propelled herself forward and spun into a slash, cutting into the back of its knees. She skidded across the ground and turned back to face it, just as its spear came right for her.

Acting on impulse, Ruby pushed off the ground and rolled through the air over the polearm. As she hit the floor she twisted and slashed out, scoring a blow across its faceplate. Bullets struck the face a moment later as Penny and Ciel opened fire. The robot reeled, raising a hand to block the gunfire as a wave of ice crashed into it from Orchid.

As it struggled to recover, Ruby noticed that the metal of its neck had warped, making it a prime target. "Ciel! Go for the neck again!" she yelled, transforming her scythe into its sword form. If they cut it from either side, they could act like a pair of scissors and shear it right off!

"Understood," Ciel called back, sprinting immediately. Ruby wasted no time either. The pair ran parallel to each other around the robot as it swung at them, trying to stop them. They ducked and jumped and dodged around the waving spear and hand as they moved into position.

"Now!" Ruby shouted, leaping into the air. She soared, her cloak fluttering out behind her as she pulled her sword back and, when the time was right, swung…

And missed.

Her eyes widened as her sword came up short, not long enough to even graze the metal. Ciel's blade carved through, tearing a chunk of the armour off of it. But without Ruby's blade, the robot still remained active. I overestimated the length! Such a rookie mistake! Sure, she was new at this, but it was a bad mistake to make.

And the robot was intent on punishing her. Its spear came around while she was still in the air, recovering from her flubbed attack, and stabbed at her. It was large, and the flames practically consumed her as it struck her chest. She was flung against the wall, letting out a sound of pain as she hit it and then the floor. Her Aura kept anything from being singed, but her body was reporting pain across its entire form.

"Leave Ruby alone!" Penny shouted, throwing her rifle into the air where it split into its component swords. She swirled Floating Array in a circle behind her as she began gathering energy in the centre, preparing her laser. As she did, the sound of heavier rock music filled the space, making Ruby feel energy pouring into her, like it was trying to speed her up.

Glancing over, she saw Orchid grinning next to Penny as she began to sing, her voice echoing around them as if enhanced. "I see and hear no evil, black writings on the wall!" The robot turned to stab them, but Ciel jumped again and parried the spear away. Ruby grunted and pulled herself up, glancing at the alerts that filled her vision, thankful that the damage was limited to her Aura and pain. "Unleashed a million faces, and one by one they fall!"

Ruby grabbed her dropped sword and stumbled into a run as the robot swung again. Ciel was out of position, dealing with the weight of the spear during her parry had thrown her off, but Ruby was fast, especially as the music filled her with more and more energy. The rock beat thrummed through her body and sent her flying forwards, arriving in time to block the spear from reaching Penny, who was still charging her laser.

"Black-hearted evil! Brave-hearted hero!" Orchid sang, putting her all into her music. A flower popped up onto her head, glowing with power. The robot, seeming to panic at the building energy, tried to push and jump at Penny. But Ruby wouldn't have it. Raising her sword with haste, she transformed it into rifle mode and activated the railgun. Gravity Dust whirred as power filled the weapon at great speed, faster than usual. "I am all, I am all I am…"

As the robot loomed over them, Ruby pulled the trigger, launching a boosted bullet straight into its face. "I… I… I am…" As it fell back from the force of the blow, it tried to sweep them aside with its hand. However, Ciel's sword, wreathed in fire, smashed into it. There was an explosion that sent the arm and Ciel flying.

"Here we go buddy, here we go buddy, Here we go, here we go buddy, here we go!" Orchid's words echoed through the room as Penny finished charging. "Go ahead and try to see through me! Do it if you dare (dare)!" As she spoke, Penny fired.

"One step forward, two steps back, I'm here!" She called out as a green laser crashed into the robot's upper body, centred on its neck area.

"Do it, do it, do it, do it!" The chant thrummed, repeating with each beat in time with the laser as it melted through the machine's metal casing.

"Can you see all of me?" It dropped the spear. "Walk into my mystery!" Its arms went limp. "Step inside and hold on for dear liiife!" She finished strumming, holding the tone as the laser faded and the robot fell to the ground, its head and shoulders a melted mess of metal. "Phew! Been a while since I went all out with that. Are you guys good?" Orchid asked, wiping her forehead free of sweat.

Penny nodded as she retracted her sword. "I'm okay. Though I have used quite a bit of my energy. I'll need to stay at the back for the rest of Initiation…"

Ruby rubbed her arms and checked over herself. Her dress was a bit scuffed from the dirt here, but otherwise, she was fine. All her warnings were simply for some 'bruises' that she would have suffered from if her body was… normal. So really she was just fine. "I'm good. That… sorry guys. I messed up the jump and… missed…"

"It's okay, Ruby," Penny reassured her. "We all make mistakes."

Orchid grinned. "Yeah. Plus, you made up for it. You're good."

Ciel huffed. "We are wasting time. Grimm may yet remain and we will not prove our worth in here. We should leave and continue hunting."

Ruby sighed. "Right. True. Let's go."

But as they prepared to leave, Ruby's thoughts remained on the room, the lab, and the robot. What is this place? Why is it here? Who built it? Who left that robot and why? And… what is hidden on this scroll?

However, before she got those answers, she'd have to pass Initiation…

R.U.B.Y. Project Reports

Entry: 018

Date: October 4th

Contacting Doctor Geraldine has proven a great help. Without her knowledge, it may have taken me a great many months to properly adjust the simulation to allow for Subject Beta to live a normal life. Or as much as we can give her, at least.

Dr Geraldine won't be here for long, but at the very least I'm glad for her assistance. I'll be sending some of the non-confidential data with her for study. Hopefully, she can find some breakthroughs to help in the construction of a body for Subject Beta. As it is, she will have to make do with video calls from her simulated space.

She's adjusted well to it, partially because we were able to make it look however she wanted. Currently, she favours a bombastic, fantasy princess's room from a fictional story, though I imagine she will want one like her bedroom from home soon. I've already requested pictures from Mr Xiao-Long to help facilitate that.

In addition, I'm requesting some additional funding for entertainment for Subject Beta. She will be living in that simulation for an unknown length of time, but it will most likely be several years at this rate. Keeping her happy will improve the success of the project, without a doubt.

I believe she wanted a gaming console, and as her birthday is approaching, it would be a good time. I will leave it to the General's legal team to get the company's permission to make a digital form of their games and consoles.

It may also be prudent to request a therapist's assistance, especially as she grows older. I will look into it.

-Doctor Pietro Polendina

A/N: Initiation begins after some meet and greet, including several OCs. Some are by me, but most are from ToastyAuthor, who graciously allows me to use them. Orchid sings the song I am (All of Me) from Shadow the Hedgehog, if you weren't aware. Not sure why I chose that one exactly, but I think it turned out well. Adding songs into the story is an experiment so I hope it works out.

I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.