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Edit: Chapter has been reuploaded with the Review Replies at the bottom.

Sins of the Forefathers

Act the Second: The First Step

Chapter Eighteen: Launch

Surprisingly, my sleep the past week has been completely restful. Not that the bed I've been sleeping in has been particularly spectacular or anything. It's just, in this school, surrounded by bloodless Guardians in training…

I can let my guard down, just a bit. I don't have to be as tense as I was when I was still worried about Cinder. Weird as Ozpin can be, no one in their right mind would attack his school without serious preparations.

I mean, Raven Branwen or my dad could pull off attacks by themselves, at least in theory, but the thing to consider is whether it would be worth it.

No, no it wouldn't be.

My sisters still live in Atlas, and while my dad could also - in all probability - destroy Atlas, he wouldn't do anything to put my sisters at risk.

As for Raven, attacking a Guardian school would earn you the ire of the entire world, and I doubt her tribe would appreciate a leader who gets that sort of attention.

...which makes her and Cinder's plan really odd, now that I think about it. Why would they destroy Vale? What would they have to gain? I mean sure, if Vale's government and combat forces were destroyed it would be easy for her to step in as a new ruler, but what would be the point in that? From everything my father's told me about her, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who seeks power to lord it over others- that's more Cinder's thing. Rather, Raven is the type to seek power for the sake of power- what did dad call it? A 'Path Walker' or some obnoxious shit like that?

I pushed the thoughts away as I brushed my teeth.

Don't get too relaxed, now. This is just the beginning. Once I'm on a team and learning, doing my 'Jobs' on the side, that's when the real work begins. I don't have the time to spare thinking about stuff over my head.

Once I finished in the bathroom, I headed to the communal locker room, to grab the weapons I had prepared- the same guns I'd used to help Amber against Cinder's ambush.

As I approached my locker, I noted two people blocking my way. One of them I respected, the other I despised.

Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee, respectively.

As I approached, I caught the end of their conversation-

"-and since we will be choosing our partners and teammates today, I felt it imperative to extend my hand to you. If we work together, we would be unstoppable! Just imagine it, Pyrrha- the strongest fighter with the smartest Dust user. Nothing would be able to stand up to us!

I guess the Schnee's propositioned Nikos. Typical Schnee, but then again, I imagine most of the freshman class has done so by now.

I perked in interest at Nikos' response-

"I'm sure that would be grand, Weiss, but truthfully, I intend to just let the chips fall where they may. Destiny will decide my partner for me."

I didn't take her for a gambler. Her fighting style is practically the opposite- precise and intentional.

I didn't want to keep waiting for them to finish, so I walked up and coughed into my fist.

The Schnee turned to me with an offended look on her face, as though she couldn't believe I'd even dated to enter her presence.

"Excuse you," she said, doing her best to turn her nose up at me despite being shorter, "but we were having a conversation."

"In front of my locker. Finish it somewhere else."

"How dare you! Do you have any idea-"

"Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee. Newsflash princess, your name isn't worth shit here. We're all equal in status. Just initiated, not even students yet."

"I beg to differ!"

"I didn't think your kind was capable of begging."

"And what, exactly, do you mean by 'my kind'?"

"You know. Spoiled, upper class brats with no self awareness, no humility, and no idea of what the real world is like beyond the confines of a book or television."

"HOW DARE-!"

Before she could continue, I opened the locker door and swung it wide. I stopped it just before it hit Weiss, but she still stepped back out of instinct.

She looked like she still had something to whine about, but before she could, Pyrrha spoke up.

"Um, excuse me?"

As I grabbed my gear, I glanced out the corner of my eye at Pyrrha. "What is it?"

"You know who we are, and yet you're so… dismissive. I'd like to know why that is."

"What? Too used to being fawned over?"

"Well yes, but to be honest, I'm not offended by your actions- we were in your way after all. It's just so unusual to have someone my age behave so indifferently. I'd just like to know why that is."

I sighed as I holstered my pistol. "Look, unlike the Schnee, I have some respect for you, so I don't mind answering."

"HEY!" the Schnee cried indignantly, but I continued ignoring her.

"I've seen your matches, Pyrrha. I'll openly admit that you're a better fighter than I am, and more than likely you'll be the person that everyone's gonna try to partner with. But you've only ever fought in heavily scrutinized tournaments bound by rules, closely guarded by referees to make sure that no one gets seriously hurt. Fighting on a flat plain with no cover, just your opponent and yourself.

"Don't take this in a disparaging way, because there's a strength in being able to beat people in 'fair matches'. But the real world isn't fair. The real world doesn't have flat, open battlefields, the real world doesn't have referees or rules, the real world doesn't stop the fight when your Aura enters the red. In the real world, the fight doesn't stop until you drop for good."

Pyrrha had been listening intently, and from her silence I assumed even the Schnee had done so as well.

"You speak like someone from the Mistral capital," Pyrrha noted.

"Take it as you will. In short, while I don't doubt your strength, I also don't think you're particularly special, either. Just a big fish in a small pond."

She nodded. "I appreciate your criticism. You have a valid point - while I have been trained in different environments, even a novice Bushi knows that training is nothing like real combat, and I've yet to be tested in that way. But for you to stress real combat so much… have you been faced with such struggles?"

I glanced at her before closing the locker, finished with setting up my gear. "Tell you what. You end up on my team, I'll tell you all about my life. Otherwise, let's keep a professional distance, yeah?"

With that, I turned away from the girls and headed out to the Beacon cliffside.

There was a long day ahead, and I wasn't going to waste any more time on these two.

Yang had to hold herself back from racing up to the Headmaster's desk when the elevator's doors opened. She didn't know how the blonde guy - and his apparent black-haired henchwoman - had snuck under the radar for so long, but now that she'd finally gotten a face-to-face appointment with Headmaster Ozpin, she could finally expose him!

The Headmaster looked up at Yang as she stood before him. "Welcome, Miss Xiao Long," he began. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No, sir. I just need to warn you!"

"Warn me? Of what?"

"One of the initiates- Jaune Arc, I think his name was. He's a criminal! He was working alongside Hei Xiong, Junior, the crime boss who runs the Just Right! And that black-haired girl with him must be an accomplice!"

"Hm. Truth be told, I am impressed at your patience. From what your father's told me, I'd expected you to try and force a confrontation with Mister Arc."

"What do you mean-"

She was cut off as the elevator dinged again, and she turned around to see her father and uncle step out.

"Dad? Uncle Qrow? What's going- wait! You guys can help arrest Jaune-"

"No can do, kiddo," Qrow stopped her in her tracks. "We're actually here to help explain what's going on to you."

Yang blinked. "Explain what?"

Taiyang stepped forwards. "Jaune has a very particular set of circumstances surrounding his application. You're right, he is connected to Junior, but he's not a criminal."

"Not anymore, at least." Qrow picked up where Taiyang left off. "Beacon is his chance at a new start."

"New start? He's in with a mob boss! He's dangerous! You can't trust-"

"Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin cut in. "I think it's quite ironic for you to claim that Mister Arc is dangerous, when you're the one who assaulted Auraless civilians."

Eyes wide with fright, Yang turned back to Ozpin, only to freeze.

Hovering on a holographic screen, a recording of that night at the Just Right played out. Yang was front and center on the recording, attacking Junior's men left and right, using her weapons indiscriminately.

"How did you-"

"Get a recording of this? Irrelevant. Miss Xiao Long, the truth of the matter is that the only one committing a crime that night was you."

"But if you could get this, you must know that Junior-"

"Of course we know about Junior's criminal activities," Ozpin dismissed. "We - that is, the Council, the IGO, and I - permit Junior to remain operational because he cooperates with Guardians. He has criminal connections yes, but more often than not those connections are critically important to maintaining the peace of Vale, allowing Guardians access to vital information that could not be obtained through conventional means."

"What, Junior pays his protection money so the Council looks the other way?"

"In short, yes. He's not as wealthy as his Club would suggest. Most of his income, both legal and extralegal, is actually used to pay tithes to certain Council members in order to remain in business. His open cooperation with investigations is the reason that I have not shut him down."

Yang staggered back, as though she couldn't believe what Ozpin had said. "I thought it was weird that he was allowed to operate in Vale, but… I didn't think you'd actually support him! Is that what Guardians do? Just allow criminals to go free if they're useful?"

"You're not seeing the big picture, kiddo." Qrow said.

"And what is that?"

"That you can't stop crime. It's impossible - even if Ozpin killed every criminal in Vale overnight - and he could - it would just be a temporary solution. Sooner or later, someone new would either rise up or move in from abroad. In which case… better the devil you know and have control over than a new, untested one."

Yang shook her head. "Okay, so the government's corrupt. Fine, I guess I could see that coming. But what about Jaune? Why does he go free?"

"Mister Arc is being allowed to attend Beacon Academy in accordance with several stipulations," Ozpin explained. "He will do occasional work for myself and the Council that directly relates to his past, and he will be under close watch to ensure that his bid for redemption is genuine."

"But you can't just-"

"Yang," Taiyang stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's been decided, and it's out of your hands now. All that's left is this."

Dropping her hands in defeat, Yang looked up to her dad. "What?"

Ozpin pulled out a slip of paper and placed it on his desk facing Yang, alongside a pen. "A Non-Disclosure Agreement. I recommend taking a good look at the terms, but in short, you must remain quiet about Mister Arc's true nature, and by extension Miss Belladonna- that would be the black-haired girl you've seen with him. She is in the same boat, so to speak, as Mister Arc. If you should ever break this NDA, your recording at the club will be leaked - in short, your reputation will go down with him."

"What!? How is he that important? What can he do that warrants being protected by you?!"

"That is not for you to know, Miss Xiao Long. Simply read the papers, know what is expected of you, and then sign them - or leave Beacon."

Yang looked at Ozpin, then at her father and uncle - and she was saddened to see that her father and uncle had sided against her. Qrow's face impassively looked to the side, and while her father at least had the decency to look at her, his expression was solemnly defeated.

Tearfully, Yang reached for the pen.

Ruby excitedly looked all around, at the Emerald forest. From up on the cliffs, she could see the expanse of trees stretch outwards into the distance. At the moment, all the other Initiates were gathered into groups, chatting excitedly among themselves.

Ruby turned as she heard footsteps behind her.

"Yang!" Ruby called out. "About time you got here! What took so- Whoa, are you okay? You don't look so good."

As Yang walked up, Ruby noted that her expression was withdrawn, and her eyes were red, but not in the way that happened when she used her Semblance. It was as though she'd been crying.

"What happened, Yang?"

Yang shook her head. "I'm fine, sis. I just- I'm just more nervous than I thought I'd be, that's all."

Without hesitation, Ruby stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Yang. "Don't worry! We'll get through this together!"

Yang's expression softened as she hugged Ruby back. "Right, of course! You skipped two whole years to get here, and I've worked too dang hard to back down now!"

With Yang successfully cheered up, Ruby turned back to the various groups of initiates and noted some people she recognized - Jaune and Blake - talking to a man who appeared older than most of the initiates.

"Hey, that's Jaune and Blake!" She said, pointing to them.

Behind her, Yang flinched.

"I wonder who they're talking to? Come on Yang, we should go talk to them!"

"Uh Ruby, I dunno if-"

"Now who's the shy one? Come on, they could be our partners!"

Yang shivered, but ultimately decided to follow Ruby. If nothing else, she could be there to keep Ruby safe from him.

Jaune noticed her approach and waved, pausing his conversation. As Ruby approached, she noted the person Jaune had been talking to.

He was a fairly tall man, just about the same height as Jaune. His hair was a dark brown, with eyes and skin much the same. A hat reminiscent of the style worn by cattle ranchers in Vale's agricultural district adorned his head. He wore a leather vest over a plaid t-shirt. A silver chain poked out of a shirt-pocket under the vest. A pair of large revolvers hung from his belt, and he wore leather chaps over some brown trousers. Adorning his feet were leather riding boots with spurs on the back of the heel.

"Hey Ruby, Ruby's sis," Jaune waved in greeting as they approached. Behind him, Blake and the man Jaune had been talking to simply nodded at them.

"Hey Jaune! Hey Blake! This is my sister, Yang," Ruby introduced.

Jaune nodded at Yang, then tilted his head. "Yang? Haven't we met?"

Yang narrowed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists, ready to act-

"Oh my god you're the girl I puked on!" The man next to Jaune raised his eyebrows as Blake facepalmed. Jaune bowed at the waist, and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry about that! I actually had food poisoning when that happened."

"Wha- uh- oh," Yang stuttered. "That- uh, it's fine, I guess. I accept your apology."

"Jeez son," the older man spoke up, "what the hell did you eat that would make you throw up on a lady?"

"Spoiled milk," Blake deadpanned.

"Spoiled-? Son, I know your parents raised you better than to hurt yourself like that."

"My parents raised me to never let anything go to waste," Jaune countered. "Anyways, Yang, Ruby, this is Wilhelm."

Wilhelm tipped his hat to the sisters. "Wilhelm Blacksmith Junior. Charmed."

"Uh, Wilhelm?" Ruby asked. "If you don't mind my asking-"

"You're wonderin' how it is that I'm an initiate when I'm so old? No need to pussyfoot girlie, Jaune was asking the same thing. Truth is, I'm a repeat tester."

"You can apply to Beacon multiple times?"

"'Course! The world's not so saturated with Guardians that they can afford to turn away people who are willing to take up the fight. So long as you can prove your worth, most Guardian academies will let you in no matter how old you are. Well, assumin' you meet the minimum age,'' he glanced down at Ruby, "but I'm guessin' you got some special circumstances or somethin', right?"

"Well, um-"

"No need to explain, girlie. We all got our own circumstances. As for me- well, like I said, I'm a repeat tester. First came here when I was your age, fresh outta my village of Plain Swell, down south of Vale. 'Course, I failed."

"You certainly bounced back," Jaune noted.

"Yessiree, I did. Joined my town's militia for training, spent the last few years getting experience, and now I'm back for my third try."

"Wow!" Ruby said. "So do you know what the Initiation test is?"

"Ah, well," Wilhelm chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "truth is, this is the furthest I've ever gotten. Sorry, but I got no clue what the Initiation is."

"Then allow me to explain," a voice interrupted.

The group turned to face the voice and were taken aback to find Headmaster Ozpin standing behind them. Once they collected their bearings, they all stood at attention in some form or another. Wilhelm saluted, Jaune, Blake, and Yang assumed a ramrod straight posture, and even Ruby straightened up a bit more in his presence.

Ozpin chuckled even as Glynda Goodwitch came up behind him and narrowed her eyes at them, as though she sternly disapproved of how slow they'd been to react. "Please, this isn't Atlas. There's no need to stand on ceremony for me. Just line up on the stones," he waved his cane towards some raised stones on the cliff grass.

As the crowds dispersed to follow his directions, Ruby anxiously fidgeted.

I'm so close!

"Ahem," Ozpin coughed, getting everyone's attention. When he spoke, his voice seemed to carry out over all the cliffside despite his lack of any oratorical technology. "Today, all of you assembled here are but initiates. You've passed the entrance exams, but only now are you taking the first step on the path of the Huntsman. As it was for those who came before you, that path is clouded, uncertain - but Huntsmen have ever and always been the first to tread where none before dared to. Ours is the path of the vanguard - Huntsmen have long been those to survey land for new settlements, new villages, new opportunities for Vale. As such, your Initiation is a simple test of the basic skills that all such pioneers should have."

Ozpin nodded to Glynda, and she held out a riding crop, waving it towards a stack of boxes. The lids came off, and a series of cylinders flew out, held aloft by her telekinesis, one cylinder going towards each initiate.

Ruby took hold of hers and hugged it tightly, before noticing that it had an adjustable strap. She put the cylinder around her shoulders and waited for more instructions.

"These cylinders," Ozpin continued, "contain maps of the Emerald forest and a compass. Each map has a location marked that is unique from any other map. At each marked location, you will find an item - your initiation will be to collect the item marked on your map, then proceed to the secondary rally point that is also marked on the map.

"The rally point is exactly ten miles from the cliffside. You won't have to worry too much about Grimm, as our faculty has gone through and culled the local population for this - the most there should be in the forest are some Creeps.

"Also, I'm sure you are all aware that teams are somehow formed during Initiation. This is true. The first person you make eye contact with in the forest will be your partner for the next four years-"

"WHAT!" multiple people cried out, only to fall silent as Glynda glared at all of them.

"-and teams will be formed afterwards in accordance with certain criteria," Ozpin continued. "The faculty will be keeping watch from above in Bullheads, so know that your lives should not be in any particular danger, but in the event of any sort of emergency, the cylinders also contain flare guns that can be used to call for assistance. With that said, know that doing so outside of a genuine life-or-death situation will constitute an immediate failure of the initiation. Are there any further questions?"

A girl raised her hand, and Ruby heard the bratty girl she'd run into on the first day speak up. "How do we-?"

Before she could finish, however, Ruby found herself launched into the air, and heard screaming- everyone was screaming, as they all suddenly realized they'd been flung off the Beacon cliffside and were now slowing down in the air, soon to begin falling.

As Pyrrha began falling, she thought about the things the Headmaster had told them. About the maps, about the objective, and most importantly, about the partner process.

The first person I lock eyes with, hm? That's quite random. I think in Atlas, the Academy assigns teams since it's all military based, but Haven and Shade all have similarly secretive initiations. I wonder how they form teams there? Well, knowing Mistral, it wouldn't surprise me if it was some group fight where teams form spontaneously.

She angled herself down towards a dense group of trees - those should slow me down - and brought her shield out to protect herself.

As she slammed through the trees, she continued pondering who she'd like to partner with.

I don't think I'd like to partner with any of my fans. I… I don't think I'd get along with people who fawn over me. I've had enough of that in Argus.

As for Weiss, well… she's her own bag of problems. I don't think she wants a partner, but rather an asset. She wants me for the same reason all my fans wanted to be my partner. I suppose the only difference would be that she'd actually be capable enough to complement my abilities, but in the long run, I don't think we'd get along if all she sees in me is a powerful tool.

Which leaves… Jaune, and I guess that girl he was with? They've been pretty neutral to me… Jaune was downright objective, even critical… and yet not disparaging.

He said he respected me…

She broke through a tree trunk and rolled along a particularly long branch before skidding to a stop. She turned up and looked out at the sky, eyes scanning for a particular man-

There.

She held her hand out, reaching with her Semblance, and did her best to subtly pull Jaune to her, controlling his descent through the air.

…

As Jaune picked himself up off the ground, Pyrrha jumped down and made certain to look into his eyes.

"Well!" She said, a practiced smile on her face, "I suppose this makes us-"

"Was there a particular reason you wanted to partner with me, Pyrrha?"

She blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I felt that pull, slight as it was. I didn't angle myself this way, that's for sure. As it is, I'm not mad, though I suppose I could do without the spotlight that'll be on me from partnering with you."

"Well…" she coughed. "I suppose you've been very honest with me, so I will be honest with you. I decided that I didn't want to partner with people who idolized me, like my fanbase-"

"-or the Schnee, who saw you as a tool?"

Pyrrha blinked again, dumbstruck. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"It's more that I knew what the Schnee was thinking. It was fairly obvious from what I heard of your conversation this morning. I think her exact words were, 'the strongest fighter with the smartest Dust user'? She treated it like she was offering a business merger, rather than a partnership between people."

"I suppose that is a good way to put it. Ultimately, I decided that you were a good choice since you saw me from a fairly objective standpoint. You said you respect me, but you also had genuine criticism to offer. I thought that, partnering with you, I wouldn't have to deal with someone either constantly fawning over me, or a detractor always trying to one-up me."

Jaune nodded. "Fair enough. Well, no sense in standing around here chatting all day. Let's break open these maps and plan our route."

Pyrrha nodded, and pulled out her cylinder as Jaune did the same.

Weiss hopped from Glyph to Glyph, controlling her descent.

I can't believe the Headmaster! Pulling something like that, how uncouth! What if someone saw up my skirt?

Nevermind, I can file a formal complaint later. I need to find Pyrrha! She was launched the furthest, I think, and broke through some trees, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her-

Just as she landed, her thoughts were interrupted by a cry of "Birdie no!" from behind her, followed by a series of metallic crashes and clangs as well as the whipping of branches being torn off of tree trunks.

Dumbfounded, Weiss was unable to resist turning around to find out what happened, and found herself being run into for the second time in a week.

"Wagh!"

"Oof!"

They tumbled in a heap of bodies, before Weiss proclaimed, "Get off me!" and shoved the offender away from her. Swiftly standing, she glared at the girl who'd knocked her down, only to realize that she was looking into her eyes.

"Agh!" Weiss cried. "Now look what you've done, you buffoon! Because of your- buffoonery, I missed my chance to partner up with Pyrrha Nikos!"

The red haired girl glared back at her. "Well excuuuse me, princess! It's not like this is any better for me, to be stuck with some- stuck up brat!"

"How dare you! Who do you think you're calling a brat? I'm Weiss Schnee, of the Schnee Dust Company, Atlas' premier Dust experts!"

"Ooh, 'I'm WeIsS ScHnEe, I'm a prissy bossy girl who doesn't like it when things don't go her way'!"

"You insufferable little- How did someone like you even get to Beacon? I would have thought that someone as immature as you wouldn't have passed the interviews, let alone the exams… Hey wait a minute, you weren't at any of the exams! How did you get here?"

The girl blinked, caught off guard. "Oh. Well, Headmaster Ozpin scouted me personally and said that since I skipped two years, I wouldn't have to take the exams."

Now it was Weiss' turn to blink in shock. Headmaster Ozpin scouted her personally!? I suppose it wasn't for her sense of professionalism, but then again, she did say she skipped two years ahead. Wait, two years?

"You're fifteen?"

"Uh, yes?"

"What did you do to get scouted by the Headmaster?"

"Well, I dunno. I just stopped Roman Torchwick from robbing a store-"

"YOU DEFEATED ROMAN TORCHWICK?!"

The girl pulled her fingers out of her ears. "Gods, could you not shout so loud? And no, I didn't defeat him, Professor Goodwitch did that. I just happened to be in a store he was robbing, and I beat up his henchmen is all. Honestly, I'm not sure why he thought that was worth recruiting me, but I'm not about to complain! I've wanted to go to Beacon for years!"

If she's got the eye of the Headmaster, then being her partner might actually be a good thing! She's immature and missing two years of schooling, so I'll look even more impressive in comparison! I'll outshine her academically and in combat, then make everyone appreciate my virtue by taking the time to tutor her myself! I'll make her even better than she is now, and everyone will know that her success is because of my teachings!

"Well, miss-?"

"I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Well, Ruby, I suppose if you have the eye of the Headmaster, then you must be capable enough to be here. Very well, I will allow you to be my partner."

"Oh, joy," Ruby sighed.

"You should be joyous! It's a great honor to be partnered with a Schnee in Atlas, you know. Now, open up your map. We must plan our route and decide which of our items to collect first."

Ruby rolled her eyes, but did as she said.

A/N: Well, another one down, another - *checks list* - god knows how many chapters to go. But hey! Things are moving along, and now that we're really in Beacon, things should pick up. Just need to actually dedicate time to writing things out.

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