Soaked. That's all Robin felt as she ran through the hard rain that came upon the city of Mantle. Her heavily drenched bodysuit weighed her down even more than the armored plates did. And she hadn't fully recovered from the previous tussle. But there was no time to lose. She had to keep going.
The exhaustion from running at top speed was starting to catch up, yet she continued to push herself. She should've been there. She should've had his back when he needed her.
The memory of her journey there was foggy, almost a distant memory actually. All that was important was the circus. An abandoned circus that lingered in the back of her mind, constantly haunting her with memories of pain.
That smile. That goddamn smile had always taunted her. It's burned in her mind.
Robin wasn't sure for how long she had been running for. The R-cycle had been long abandoned by the front entrance. She had to go on foot.
Her own legs ached and were starting to slow down from fatigue. Not too long later did she fall to the ground, heaving heavily, trying to catch her own breath. But she shouldn't rest for long, as she saw the colorful Big Top from a distance. Feeling the adrenaline kicking in, Robin picked herself back up and sprinted to the final stretch. She was close, very very close to her destination.
But she wasn't close enough. As she was a short distance away from the entrance, the entire tent erupted in an internal explosion that reached the night sky.
The blast wave knocked the young vigilante high and far from the epicenter. She hadn't had time to activate her aura, so she felt both the heat of the blast and the impact as she fell to the ground. The suit was able to break her fault and protected her from the blast. However, pieces of the suit began falling off her. It was almost as if they witnessed all that had happened and were rejecting her. Although, her still aching body began to hurt a thousand times more now and she could barely hear anything as her ears were numb and ringing. She was too late. She couldn't make it in time. This was all her fault.
Oh gods. Bruce. Forgive me.
I'm sorry.
Please. I didn't mean it.
I'm so sorry.
It was my fault.
IT WAS ALL MY DAMN FAULT.
Ruby jolted up from her own sleeping bag, drenched in sweat and tears. She tossed the headphones from her head and curled herself into a ball. Her grip around her legs tightened as more tears fell from her own eyes while her memories resurfaced. Even though she was surrounded by peers and even her own sister, Ruby silently wept to her lonesome.
She always hated these way it made her feel helpless in her own mind, a slave to her own dreams. They weren't new by any chance. Far from it. Ever since her first year as a vigilante, they've been popping in every now and again. But over time they had gotten worse.
It had been that night again. If it's not that then it's Roy or Barbara. When will you start to realize that we need help!?
Seeking help around here only means revealing who we were. Who we are. Doctor Leslie isn't here so it's our burden to handle.
We're tired! We haven't had proper rest in months! How long do you think we can keep this up!?
So long as we're still here.
It took a few minutes, but Ruby was able to calm down and uncurl herself. Checking her scroll, it was minutes away from hitting 4 o'clock in the morning. Explains why all the students in the ballroom were still sleeping, even Yang, who was sleeping (loudly, might she add) next to her, and Jaune, who was wearing a funny onesie with Pumpkin Pete at the front.
Seeing as there was no use in trying to go back to bed, she wrapped her sleeping bag and packed up her surrounding items.
Now here was her other predicament: the sleeping students. All the students were blocking most of the way to the exit of the ballroom. For anyone else, it would be difficult to walk over them without waking someone up. But she wasn't anyone else. And besides, best to try and stretch your limbs and reflexes before initiation, right?
Strapping her sleeping bag and other items to her person, Ruby gave herself enough room for a running start. She breathed in and out to relax herself before running to the edge and lunging off from her small space.
Her reaction speed was quick before landing. She stretched her arms and boosted herself back into the air. With the same momentum and speed, she continued to perform different flips after each brief landing. While in the air, the girl couldn't help but perform another side flip before landing softly back onto her feet in-between the sleeping bags of two students.
Unfortunately, her momentum still pushed her forward and caught her off balance, threatening to fall onto someone.
Ruby attempted to regain her balance using her arms and legs. While she leaned and wobbled back and forth, she eventually found her balance.
Too close for her comfort. Seeing that she was close to the end, Ruby decided to do something exciting and dangerous.
She swiftly twirled herself forward before launching in the air. While airborne, her hips twisted around and moved her legs higher than the body before switching leg positions and landing safely, but quietly, back onto the ground.
Taking a deep breath, Ruby couldn't help herself but chuckle at her own performance. It had been a long time since she had done a good trick move. And by gods did it feel good, even outside of her previous 'night job'. With that, the young huntress left the ballroom and headed towards her locker to check her secret stash of snacks that she snuck in her main pack.
Little did she notice that a pair of glowing green eyes followed her out and had just witnessed Ruby's little 'show'.
After making a quick snack out of a granola bar from her bag and grabbing her weapon, Ruby made her way towards the gym area of Beacon. It was the day of initiation. She would need to properly limber up before taking on the challenge.
It wasn't a surprise to find the place to be empty and barren at this hour. She'd prefer not to be watched when practicing with her weapon.
Taking out Rose Thorn, the girl looked over the weapon to check for any tampered parts or required maintenance. With none found, she transformed her weapon to its spear form, having both ends of the stick extend outside of itself until the entire spear was the length of Ruby's body.
To start the practice, she needed to stretch her limbs properly with her weapon in hand. Using her right hand and thumb to lead, Ruby began turning Rose Thorn across her body and back before doing the same action again with her other hand.
She wasn't sure why but her weapon felt almost off, which was odd. There was nothing wrong with it; nobody had tampered with it and it was still in good condition. Yet, she felt uncomfortable just holding her own weapon.
Having done with the simple stretch of the wrists and hands, it was time to do some basic attack exercises.
As Ruby properly gripped Rose Thorn, she began practicing different thrusts, swipes, and slashes. Again, the moves felt foreign for her entire body. This was not the first time she had practiced or fought with Rose Thorn, but here her arms and legs felt quite stiff during the exercise.
This entire thing felt wrong to her.
Having Rose Thorn retracted and placed aside, the young girl began to contemplate with herself. She had no problem when she last used it. Her body was capable of performing the moves, yet her mind told her otherwise. She had a strong suspicion of the cause of it, but was afraid to act on it. Should she? Nobody was watching her anyway. What was the harm in it?
With that, Ruby searched the entire gym for any practice equipment. Normally, Huntsman academies carried sample weapons to have their students practice without causing extensive harm to others and themselves. It didn't take long for her to find where it was placed. She thoroughly searched the equipment until she found what she was looking for: a pair of wooden escrima sticks.
As she held the sticks in her hands, a wave of nostalgia and familiarity coursed through her body. She gave one a quick twirl around her fingers to get used to the wooden weight and it had felt perfect to her. Her body and mind had missed using these weapons. Hell, during the robbery, she felt joy within herself when her hands picked up the twin steel pipes. Maybe it was best to at least practice these weapons once in a while.
Once again, Ruby readied herself to practice her kali exercises. She positioned her right arm at an angle with the stick behind her neck while her left arm wrapped around her waist with the stick behind her back.
Time to practice.
In quick succession, she performed a bottom hand strike and followed with a quick top hand strike before having both sticks interchange positions. With a smirk on her face, she continued this drill while continuously gaining speed then ended it with a double handed strike.
For the first time since the robbery, Ruby had felt alive. Her muscles craved more.
She quickly brought herself back to a standing position then placed both arms at an angle with the sticks behind her neck. Again in quick succession, she performed simple single weaved strikes at a steady pace. As her pace sped up, her single weaved strikes became double and eventually became a variety of random but consecutive types of strikes. As her enjoyment continues, her adrenaline rises.
She wasn't practicing anymore. This wasn't a set of drills beginners follow to hone their craft. Every movement done was calm and smooth, almost water-like, yet, every swing held a fast and powerful blow. This was a presentation of hard-earned skill, long experience, and heavy passion with each strike done. And to finish it all off, she made a front flip, performed a cross-split attack towards the ground, then landed in a crouch position with her arms to the side and sticks pointed to the ground.
Ruby panted as her adrenaline wore off. Sweat poured down from her face, but her grin grew twice as wide.
*CLAP CLAP CLAP*
She was quick to react to the noise by launching her escrima stick towards the source. Fortunately for the recipient, it missed their face by a mere hair.
Once the adrenaline had finally worn off, guilt started building in Ruby as she realized what she had done. Her instincts were quick to check to whom she aimed for.
It was another Huntress-in-training. She was surprisingly tall, even from a long distance. Her long hair was fiery red that was tied into a pony-tail. Lastly, her eyes were vivid green and she had a pale complexion. What surprised her was the girl's choice in clothing, which was a set of matching baggy pajama wear that hung from her frame. It was clear that she had just gotten out of her sleeping bag, but for what reason?
The vivid green eyes of the girl widened and covered her mouth in worry. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have surprised you."
She nearly got hit by a high-speed projectile and she's the one apologizing?!
"No, No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have thrown that at you in the first place," Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "I am normally used to something attacking me back after training."
The redhead was surprised at the reason. "Wow, it must've been some really intense training."
Ruby morbidly chuckled at the memory. Oh, you don't know half of it.
Sensing that the conversation was about to turn awkward real quick, the amazonian introduced herself.
"My name is Pyrrha."
"Ruby."
Pyrrha gave a look of preparedness, but was confused when the girl in question just stood there looking at her.
"You...don't know who I am?"
"Nope," Pyrrha Nikos, 4 time winner of the Mistralian Regional Tournament. Graduated top of her Class at Sanctum and sponsored by numerous businesses, including the entertainment branch of Wayne Enterprises. "Should I?"
A smile grew onto Pyrrha's face and a light shined into her eyes. "Nope. Not at all."
Dislikes hate her notoriety. Humble. I wonder how often she meets genuine people.
"So, what were you doing? I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."
Crap, how long had she been watching me? "I was doing some Kali. It's an anima martial art that focuses on using sticks for striking and defense."
This intrigued Pyrrha even more. "Well, what you did was beautiful. I've never seen anybody move like that and I've participated in a lot of fights."
"Oh, that was nothing special. I was just….stretching my limbs." Ruby shyly chuckled.
The redhead was surprised at her passive nature. "If that was you stretching, I certainly can't wait to see you fight."
Wanting to drop the topic, Ruby changed subjects. "So, I thought I was the only one awake. I don't mean to sound rude but, what are you doing up at this hour?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I normally wake up at this time to train and prepare to do some...uh…" Pyrrha mumbled off before continuing. "Anyway, I would've slept in today to be rested for the initiation, but my body clock must've forced me to wake up. Then I saw you jump around the students with ease, so I decided to see what you were up to. Oh, and I'm sorry again for following you."
I really need to work on my spatial awareness again. Maybe even teach Pyrrha on how not to apologize too much.
"Well, since you're awake now, would you like to join me?"
Pyrrha smiled at the gesture. "I would love to."
After Pyrrha slipped into something more 'Gym-appropriate', she and Ruby trained with one another whilst also having some conversations about each other's life. Although, both did withhold certain information such as the extent of Ruby's training and Pyrrha's celebrity status. It wasn't until around 6am did both hit the showers and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Even though the breakfast was prepared early for the students, the cafeteria was almost completely empty. Say for the one student who sat alone reading a book.
Ruby immediately recognized the bow-wearing girl from the previous day. Quite the coincidence to see her this early in the morning, but Ruby wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Perhaps it's a chance to get to know her.
With Pyrrha in tow, the Girl Wonder first grabbed some breakfast before seating herself on the same table as the mystery girl. She must've noticed their approach as she lowered her book before they took their seats.
"Hi," Ruby greeted, then waved. "I think you would remember me from yesterday?"
"Hello." Pyrrha said with a smile.
Their efforts only got a nod from the girl before she focused her attention back onto her book. Seeing that a normal gesture wouldn't work, Ruby attempted a different approach.
"What's it about?"
The hook. This attracted the girl's attention. "Excuse me?"
"Your book. I'm familiar with the works of Ursula Berpdioloo, but I don't believe I've read that book."
The line. The girl seemed surprised but continued. "Well, it's about 2 souls fighting for control over a body."
"Sounds interesting. If you want something similar, I'd recommend you check out 'Slave to the Sword'."
The girl smirked at Ruby's knowledge and recommendation. "Blake, Blake Belladonna"
And we got ourselves a sinker.
"Ruby Rose. My friend over here is Pyrrha."
"Hello again!"
And so, all 3 of them began conversing with one another, occasionally taking a bite from their meals. Blake and Ruby discussed different books and authors while Pyrrha was happy to just be a part of the conversation. Time had passed and more students had begun entering the cafeteria.
They were now discussing each other's favorite genre. The two red-themed girls loved genres of drama & adventure, but Blake favored those that were a bit of 'saucy' in nature. Pyrrha kept a hand to her mouth to cover her blushing face and giggle. Blake had buried her face behind her book whilst Ruby looked at her aghast.
"Oh my gods, I'm friends with a-"
"A girl who is interested in a very particular genre" Blake defended, but that only caused Pyrrha to giggle even harder.
It all came to a halt when the three noticed almost everyone around staring at them, particularly at someone. Blake had rebury herself into her book while Pyrrha kept her head down. Ruby already knew what was going on.They must all be staring at Pyrrha. I oughta move her fast.
"Psst Pyrrha," Ruby whispered, shifting the focus of the redhead towards her. "Why don't you and Blake head to the lockers to prepare for initiation. Don't mind the stares, I'll create a distraction."
Blake gave a doubtful look. "And what distraction would that be?"
At that exact moment, the front doors of the cafeteria burst open. There stood a hyper-active orange haired girl who looked behind her and yelled "Ren! I found the pancakes!".
Everyone's attention then shifted towards her as she sped towards the breakfast area and started stacking hefty loads of pancakes.
The three girls were stunned at the orange-haired girl's robust attitude and sudden attention shift, but at least they now had an opportunity. Blake and Pyrrha headed straight towards the locker room whilst Ruby went back to the ballroom to check on her sister.
Inside the locker area, Pyrrha waited patiently by her own locker as Blake went off somewhere to claim her stuff. Using that time, she reflected on what had recently happened and it was safe to say that she was absolutely happy about it. Saw a cute boy at initiation, obtained 2 new friends who saw her for her, and she was starting a new life and reputation at Beacon Academy. Pyrrha was more than content with everything she has now.
She was broken out of her thoughts when someone had cleared their throat next to her. Facing towards the source, there stood a familiar white haired girl dressed in an elegant, but expensive white attire. Pyrrha had a sneaking suspicion about what she wanted and feared what was to come.
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be the Pyrrha Nikos, would you?"
She was hesitant to answer, but obliged out of kindness. "Um...yes?"
The girl put out her hand, which Pyrrha politely shook. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company"
By the end of the introduction, an awkward silence grew between the two as Weiss just stood there while Pyrrha quickly opened her locker and removed her weapons.
"So, Pyrrha, I heard that there will be teams for the year. Have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?" The heiress started, before turning towards Pyrrha with a wicked smile. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself."
Pyrrha already loathed her current situation. She knew this would've happened eventually, but that didn't stop her from hating to experience it. Was it too much to ask to be normal? But she kept the thought to herself and put on her own facade.
"Hmmm...I'm not quite sure," She lied through her teeth. "I was just planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well, I was thinking maybe we should be on a team together."
Behind her facade, Pyrrha really wanted to say No. But, appearances towards everyone always outweighed her own feelings. With a fake smile, she finished.
"That sounds grand"
Weiss smiled to herself at the accomplishment. Pyrrha just wanted the conversation to end.
Almost like a Knight answering a call of aid, someone got between the two girls, and he wasn't staring facing the Mistrali Champion.
"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
"You again?!"
It was the cute boy Pyrrha noticed from the previous day. What excited her even more was that he didn't notice her, meaning he didn't know her. Testing her theory, the amazonian moved around him to properly greet herself.
"Nice to meet you Jaune."
Jaune merely just ignored her and moved out of the way to get back in front of Weiss. "Yeah, Yeah. So, Weiss…"
With that confirmation, her whole world lit up like fireworks. A new chance at life, a couple close friends, and a brand new friend. And if she isn't mistaken…
"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of 4 students each, so-"
"-You don't say. Well, hot-stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."
Pyrrha blushed at the response and was about to say something until Weiss interjected.
"-Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
A sudden dread began filling within the redhead. Please no…
"Not the slightest, Snow Angel"
What?
"This is Pyrrha Nikos!"
Oh no, please don't-
"-Never heard of her"
Everyone was gobsmacked at Jaune's response, especially Pyrrha.
"The Invincible Girl?!"
"The what?"
Weiss fumed with anger, but Pyrrha was more surprised that he still didn't recognise her.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes Box!"
"That's you!? They only do that for Star Athletes and cartoon characters!"
THAT'S what made her recognise me?! If they had met in a different situation, Pyrrha would've mistaken him for a civilian who lived outside of the kingdom.
"So, after hearing all of this, do you think you're in the position to ask her to be on your team?"
If the heiress wouldn't shut up within the next few seconds, Pyrrha might actually be willing to sacrifice her own image just to put her in place.
Jaune looked down in shame. "I guess not...Sorry"
Not wanting to lose the chance to get a new (boy)friend, the redhead quickly stepped in and put her hand onto his shoulder. "Actually Jaune, I believe you'd make a great leader."
He couldn't help but smile at the compliment before turning back towards Weiss. "Sounds like Pyrrha's onboard for team Jaune. Spots are filling up quickly. Now I'm not supposed to, but maybe I could pull a few strings."
The Heiress gave him only one response and it certainly wasn't Yes.
Across the hall, Ruby and Yang were collecting all their gear for initiation. Yang was carefully combing her long blond mane whilst Ruby was preparing all the needed gear. She attached Rose Thorn to the back of her belt, along with a couple other things such as throwing knives, a scroll, a couple pellets, others of the like. She also made sure that her equipment in her clothing was fully functional such as her gloves, belt, cape, and boots.
"So, you seem awfully chipper this morning." Yang turned towards Ruby, having finished combing her mane.
With the exception of the nightmare, I'm peachy. She kept the thought to herself. "Well, it is initiation and for your information, I just made new friends today."
Yang raised her eyebrow at her sister, clearly not believing her. "You actually made more friends that weren't Jaune?"
At the mention of the boy, Ruby came to a realization: she hasn't seen the boy since earlier that morning. "Now that you mention it, where is Jau-"
At that moment, Jaune Arc was sent flying through the air by a glyph before hitting one of the lockers and falling to the ground next to the half-sisters.
Yang looked over Jaune and smirked. "So, how was your game, Lady Killer?"
The only response she got was a heavy groan coming from the fallen young man.
As all the first-year students arrived at the cliff that edged the Emerald Forest, the Headmaster and Headmistress stood there waiting for the students to quiet down. Once silence was met, Headmaster Ozpin started the introduction of the initiation.
"For years, you all have been trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
The Headmistress continued where he left off.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion." Almost everyone perked up at the mention of it, eager to hear what she was going to say. "Each of you will be given teammates...Today."
The students murmured at that. Weiss and Pyrrha were anxious to see whom they would be paired up with. Ruby and Blake were indifferent with the decision. Yang and the orange-haired girl from earlier were just eager for a fight. The only one who was slightly scared and confused was Jaune.
"These teammates would be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well with." Ozpin said, worrying some of the students, specifically Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune. "That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Now all the students were worried. They had to be very careful with whom they were partnered with. Yet, with all that said, there were still students who felt indifferent, especially Blake and Ruby.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not…"
Ruby blurred everything out for the moment before brainstorming for what's ahead of them. They were fighting Grimm, so it was alright to not hold back. Once partnered up, she must do everything she can to be able to work with who she was paired with. For once within the last few months, she was okay with allowing Robin to slip out and help with initiation. North. Temple. Relic. Back here. Simple enough.
"Are there any questions?"
"Yeah..um Sir?"
"Good. Now, take your positions."
Almost everyone readied themselves for the upcoming launch. Everyone, except Jaune. And that concerned Ruby. Jaune, what are you doing?
"Uh, sir? I got, um, a question." Weiss was first to be launched into the air.
As he was talking, more students were launched from their places. "So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
Her concern only grew with the question. Jaune, have you never been to a Huntsman academy?!
"No, you will be falling."
"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" The orange haired girl was then launched.
With that, a sudden realization struck her. Oh my gods, please tell me you didn't forge your way into the academy.
"No, you will be using your own landing strategy"
"Um...yeah."
If Jaune did forge his way in, that means he might not have the proper training of using his weapon. That would mean he doesn't know how to fight Grim. It also means that he doesn't have an aura, meaning...Oh no.
"What exactly is a landing strateGYYY"
Ozpin hid his smirk behind a sip of his coffee mug as the blonde was launched into the sky. His gaze then shifted to the Girl Wonder before he tipped his mug at her. "I wish you the best of luck, Miss. Rose."
It wasn't too long until Ruby herself flew into the air. She was quick to terminate any sort of plan she had originally. She needed to catch this oaf before he got himself killed.
Sorry for the long wait. I have re-edited almost the entire story (Omakes included) by fixing some errors, rewrote some scenes, and even adding more scenes to enhance aspects of the story. Volume 1 of the story is almost about to wrap up so I hope ya'll enjoy this in the mean time. I would like to thank you all for the support, please leave a review or a comment on the story, and I hope you enjoy.
I do not own any of the characters. All characters and names used are owned by either Rooster Teeth and Detective Comics (DC).