Author's Note: Hope you enjoy!

There was something to be said about the beauty of the Emerald forest. While it was still close enough to civilization that you could realistically walk to Vale, it was practically untouched by that same civilization. Most people would never set foot outside the walls of their kingdom. While there were outposts and small towns beyond the walls, more than ninety percent of the population lived within them.

Ruby would never thank the Grimm for anything, they were monsters afterall; but she was smart enough to know that humans weren't always the best for the environment. Seeing the three toppled trees with clear signs of combat only helped reinforce that mindset.

"What do you think did all of this?" Jaune gestured towards where one tree had been splintered in two, having been broken a few feet from the ground by what was clearly not a person.

"These woods are host to Grimm." Pyrrha reminded them.

"You think an Ursa did this?" Ruby asked, though as she looked at the trees, she found that hard to believe.

"While Ursa are strong they do not possess the strength to split trees in half or knock them over entirely." Weiss stated as a matter of fact. "More likely this was a Deathstalker or Major of some kind. You would know that if you were actually old enough to be here."."

Ruby tried to ignore the insult, focusing on the fact that Weiss had at least spoken to her. After Amber had left she had gone back to her usual self, despite her friends attempts to get her to give Ruby a chance.

"I wouldn't expect something that big so close to Vale, let alone Beacon." Pyrrha jumped to her defense, much as she had for the past thirty minutes of their walking through the forest. "I would have expected the Headmaster or the Professors to have dealt with them by now, they have to have cameras out here to watch the initiation, and I'm not so certain that they would let us fight something so strong."

The champion's words caused Weiss to pause and blush. "I hadn't considered that, maybe you're right."

For not the first time, Ruby wished she could have had Pyrrha as a partner. She was cool, awesome, and nice. All things Weiss wasn't, despite the heiress' attempts to lead the group, she hadn't left the best impression. She hadn't asked them if she could take charge, or even offered that much in the way of leaderly wisdom. She'd simply shown up and taken charge under the assumption that they would follow. The only reason they had was because Amber had told them Pyrrha knew the right way, and she had.

Ruby could tell Weiss was smart, really smart, like a teacher's pet smart, but she could also tell she wasn't a people person by any means. The irony wasn't lost on her, Ruby was more than willing to let someone else take charge and lead if that meant she wouldn't have to talk to as many people, but Weiss didn't just demand to be respected, she expected it, despite having done nothing but insult her since they met!

"At any rate, we should get moving." Pyrrha interrupted her thoughts. "The Headmaster didn't say anything about a time limit, but there were a lot of potential students, and I doubt Beacon has enough space for them all." Weiss seemed to agree, nodding her head and starting to walk off, only to stop when Pyrrha gestured a little ways to the left of where she had started off. "It's that way."

"And how do you know that?" Weiss looked mildly upset by being corrected, but altered her course nonetheless, the rest of them following her only because she kept herself in the front of their group.

"I managed to catch a glimpse of some ruins before I landed, I'm assuming that's the temple the Headmaster mentioned." Pyrrha replied. She didn't look offended by Weiss' attitude, that alone being an impressive feat of skill, and simply smiled back at her. Despite her smile however, Ruby couldn't help but notice the way she hadn't smiled like that while talking to Jaune or herself though.

"You managed to do that while being launched through the air?" It was clear by her tone Weiss didn't quite believe her, though maybe she was just trying to cause problems. At this point, Ruby wouldn't have been surprised, she doubted that Weiss could be so difficult without trying!

"No, I landed on the tallest tree I could find so I could…" Pyrrha's eyes shifted towards Jaune, who looked away from them. "-Scout out the area."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Weiss grumbled softly to herself, before graciously deciding to speak to them. "Then I apologize for questioning you, I hadn't expected such quick thinking during the descent into the forest."

'Descent' was one way to put it, 'chaotic' was a much better choice. Seriously, who launched untrained students into a forest full of Grimm without the slightest bit of warning!? Sure, they had all figured it out the moment they stepped onto the cliff and saw the launch pads - and Amber had warned her and Yang about it beforehand - but still! Most students hadn't been warned and Ruby knew she would have been stressing out about trying to figure out a landing strategy in the span of only a few minutes.

"Uh, what did that?" Jaune pointed off to the side of where they were walking to the small mountain the Emerald forest surrounded. Nestled in the rock was a massive entrance that led into what must have been a cave. While it might have been a natural thing, the rock and boulders lying around suggested something had forced its way out.

The group paused, staring at it in disbelief.

"Well… That would explain why the teachers hadn't found it yet." Ruby said softly.

"So what's the plan for killing something that big?" Jaune asked, his panic mounting as each of them winced. "We're dead, aren't we?"

"N-no, we'll just… um." It was the first time Weiss had been speechless so far, and while that should have been a small victory, it really wasn't.

"Sure, now you have nothing to say." Ruby muttered quietly, though judging by the quickly smothered giggle form Pyrrha and the glare from Weiss, she hadn't done so quietly enough.

Crud… I wonder how Yang is doing.

"Honestly… I expected worse!" Yang yelled out to her partner, ducking under a pincer as the ridiculously large Deathstalker swiped at her. It was large, and she knew that it would hurt badly if she were hit, but it was also slow enough that she could dodge it. Even so, it was surprisingly fast for something of its size.

Blake didn't say anything back, though Yang got the feeling that was because she was just a quiet person, and not so much out of any attempt to snub her. It also might have been the fact that she was desperately trying to dodge both the other pincer of the deathstalker and its tail, pulling off some frankly ridiculous acrobatic moves in the process that Yang doubted she could mimic.

"Incoming!" Yang heard a voice that could only be described as ecstatic as the pink girl came flying over her head with her hammer primed for attack. Her hammer struck like a comet coming down to the ground, and the Deathstalker's body smashed into the ground, it's bone armor cracking and splintering as the ground beneath it was deformed by the impact.

Yang whistled softly, more than just impressed by the show of strength. Not only had the girl managed to take the pressure off Blake, she had dazed the Grimm in the process. The moment it started to stand back up, the fourth person in their little group slid under its body and swiped at some of its legs, managing to sever a couple, before sliding out the other side.

"Yeah! Go Ren!" The girl with the hammer cheered out excitedly, actually taking a second to clap as the Deathstalker tried to balance itself now that it was missing limbs. Yang took the moment to clap as well, the girl's excitement proving infectious.

"Nora, now is not the time to celebrate." Ren stepped around the struggling Grimm, walking over to them at the same time Blake did. "I don't think the Grimm-"

"Mr. Snipykins."

"-is going to be willing to give us a ride to the relics."

"Aww." Nora looked disappointed, though Yang was still stuck on the name she had come up with for the Deathstalker. "But we asked so nicely, I even knocked before going inside."

"I doubt it heard you knocking on the outside of a cave." Ren replied flatly, although Yang didn't miss the momentary smirk that had overcome his stoic expression. He turned towards her and Blake. "Thank you for your help, had we known there were others in this area we wouldn't have brought the Grimm. We tried to circle back and lead it away from the others but… well, you can see how well that worked."

Yang nodded, losing a Grimm hot on your trail was difficult, with them being able to sense your location. It wasn't impossible to lose them, just difficult. Still, the fact they had tried showed they were good people. There were a number of students from Signal who might have simply led it to more people to try and get help killing it, though she supposed that there was more than one way to deal with it.

The Deathstalker shakily stood up, apparently having learned how to balance itself even with the loss of some limbs.

Ren sighed. "I hate to ask-"

"We'll help." Yang answered before he could continue, sparing a momentary glance towards Blake to make sure she wasn't against the idea. Blake saw her looking and, though she didn't nod in her direction or make any obvious sign of support, she didn't refuse either, and Yang took that as agreement. "But we can't get slowed down for too long, we've still got to get those relics."

"You're right." Ren nodded in her direction. "We aren't on a timer, but we have a mission to complete." The latter seemed aimed at Nora, who sagged dramatically.

The Deathstalker stepped forward, just as they turned and ran. There was a moment of silence, as it seemed almost confused by their sudden departure, before she could hear the thundering sound of it giving chase. It was slower now with less limbs, but it was gaining in speed, and quickly managing to make up for its injuries as it started to close the distance between them.

Amber said there would be Grimm during initiation, duh, Beacon is a combat school after all, but I didn't think she meant anything so big. Yang appreciated the warning and help from Amber, she was a pretty cool person once you got past the obvious fact that she didn't know how to talk to them, but she would have appreciated a warning about a giant Deathstalker. Maybe she didn't know either?

Though she didn't like to mention it, Amber was also a Huntress, not just in training, but licensed, so maybe she didn't think a Deathstalker was even worth mentioning. As Yang ducked under another pincer, having heard Ren's warning at the last second, she couldn't help but disagree.

I wonder how Ruby's doing?

Ruby stared at the pedestal for a moment. "Is that really it? This feels kind of… I don't know."

"Anticlimactic?" Pyrrha knew what she meant, and Ruby nodded in agreement. "I agree, despite how foolish it may be to say, I expected more from the Grimm."

"We haven't even seen any since running into that Professor." Weiss agreed, managing to sound just as disappointed as them, not that it was difficult to understand why. That fight had been an embarrassment, each of them trying to fight off the Grimm as individuals instead of pairs or as a group of four. They'd practically been stepping on each other's toes for the whole fight, and it was a miracle that they hadn't hit one another.

"Amber isn't a teacher." Ruby reached out to grab one of the chess pieces she assumed would act as their 'relics' for the initiation. She didn't know what she expected, but this certainly hadn't been it. "She just works for Ozpin."

"Until the Headmaster says differently, I shall not take any chances." Weiss said back, though it lacked the same icy tone as earlier it was still far from friendly. She held out a hand expectantly and, with a roll of her eyes, Ruby handed over the golden queen piece. Weiss turned to look at Pyrrha, handing her the piece before walking over towards another pedestal and grabbing another so-called relic.

"Hey!" Ruby wasn't sure what to make of that, though she felt she should be offended.

Weiss simply rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, there's plenty to grab, besides if you'd paid attention you might-" Weiss' impromptu lesson was cut off as a tree was toppled in woods nearby, four people running out a second later.

Ruby gasped. "Yang!" Her sister had made it and, judging by the even number of people, had managed to find herself a partner. Ruby would have preferred that to be her, but unfortunately there'd been no such luck. At least her sister would still be making it though, there were plenty of relics and-

A Deathstalker came flying through the trees behind them.

"We have to help them!" Ruby had already drawn Crescent Rose and leapt after her sister before anyone could move.

"Ruby, wait!" She was sure it was Weiss that called out to her, but by this point Ruby was tired of listening to her. Despite Amber's best try, Weiss still saw her as a kid, now was her chance to prove her wrong!

Using her semblance Ruby managed to place herself on the Deathstalker's flank. Yang's eyes flashed in a brief moment of recognition before with another burst of her Semblance Ruby launched herself forward. She was already mid lunge when she realized Yang's eyes had widened in panic, the first sign that something had gone wrong being that the Deathstalker turned slightly in her direction.

A stinger slammed into the ground in front of her, blocking off her charge and causing her to slam face first into it. The surprise, and the sudden stop, caused Ruby to lose her grip on her weapon, as Crescent Rose continued on several feet and slid under the Deathstalker.

Ruby fell on her butt, looking up just as the Deathstalker removed it's stinger from the ground and reared up. Had she been standing she could have moved away easily, but sitting as she was made that far more difficult, and by the time she got to her feet it would come crashing down.

Using her semblance, she turned and tried to launch herself back. Normally, she was too fast for most people to catch because landing a hit was difficult when you didn't have time to register your opponent's movements. That being said, she wasn't invulnerable while using it. Her Dad and Uncle Qrow had managed to knock her down during sparring more times then she wanted to admit, but given they were professional Huntsmen with more than a decade more experience than her she'd decided it totally didn't count. They had tried to stress the fact she didn't become entirely untouchable while using her semblance.

She really wished she'd paid more attention to that.

Her Semblance cut off as her cloak tightened around her throat, causing her feet to fall out from under her. As she landed on her back she caught a glimpse of the Deathstalker's stinger stabbed into her cloak. The fall, unexpected as it was, had knocked the wind from her. As the stinger was withdrawn again, she watched from her back as it reared up once more. She had managed to get out of the last situation, but this was arguably worse.

The stinger plunged down before she could think, Ruby's panic mounting as she tried to think of a plan. Something flashed in front of her, Pyrrha appearing with a similar speed afforded to her only by her semblance. How Pyrrha managed it, Ruby didn't know. The older girl held her shield up, catching the stinger as her knee was driven to the ground.

Ruby felt something lurch underneath her, before she felt herself thrown towards the side. She managed to turn the launch into a roll, helping to bleed off the momentum gradually as she bounced off the ground and came to a stop.

The glyph that had appeared beneath her disappeared before reappearing under Pyrrha's feet, as soon as it did, she pushed the stinger to the side and rolled. The glyph underneath her helped to launch her in Ruby's direction, giving her far more distance than she would have gotten otherwise. A wall of ice caught the Deathstalker's stinger, keeping it from following after.

From the moment Pyrrha landed her guard was back up, her shield forward and sword ready. Despite her attention being kept on the Deathstalker, even if it was temporarily trapped in ice, she spared her a momentary glance. "Are you okay Ruby?"

Ruby nodded, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. She'd rushed off with the intention of proving she wasn't some helpless kid, only to end up nearly getting himself killed. Dad would have been disappointed, Yang would too, but it would be nothing compared to how Ruby felt in that moment.

Weiss and Jaune rushed over to her, Jaune falling in beside his partner with his shield up as Weiss offered her a hand.

"Try not to get yourself killed."

Ruby glared at her partner's hand softly. A partner who wanted nothing to do with her. "Why? If something happened they might let you have a different partner."

Her partner looked like she might lash out at that, her mouth opening for a brief moment before clicking shut. Weiss' eyes softened ever so slightly before she closed them with a sigh as she pulled her hand away.

Ruby immediately wished she could take the words back, but knew now wasn't the time to have a conversation. She stood by herself, refusing to look at Weiss. She'd talk with her later, maybe after asking Yang for some advice, or maybe even Amber.

"I believe I have devised a plan to deal with the De-" Weiss didn't get to finish her sentence as a sudden screech interrupted her. They all winced, slowly looking up to see a Nevermore flying over the clearing.

"Did you have to say that?" Ruby asked flatly.

"Don't blame this on me you dunce!" Weiss snapped back.

"You did tempt fate." Pyrrha said, nodding and sighing at the sudden arrival.

"This isn't my fault!" Weiss stomped one foot. "The Deathstalker probably knocked over the tree it was roosting in or something!"

"Do Grimm have nests?" Jaune asked simply.

Pyrrha hummed. "I don't know, they don't really have a use for them so I'm not sure why they would. They don't sleep, they don't get tired, and they don't reproduce from what we know."

"A-Anyways," Weiss stammered. "It looks like we'll have to deal with that as well."

"Do we?" Ruby asked. "We have our relics, and I don't know if the Nevermore has seen us just yet, so maybe we can-" A flurry of feathers shot towards them, forcing them to scatter or risk being skewered. Weiss looked at her with a smug smile as they fled. "I'm sorry!"

Ruby narrowly dodged a feather, pulling her cloak along with her to avoid a repeat of what had already happened. Yang's group had started to move over to them while the Deathstalker was pinned but now quickly rushed back towards the ruins to seek cover. Weiss had yelled for them to do the same and the eight of them quickly grouped up.

"Who brought the bird!?" Yang yelled from the other side of the stone column.

"Weiss jinxed us!" Ruby called back.

"This isn't my fault!" Weiss snapped at her. "What do we do now?"

Ruby watched the Nevermore perch itself on top of the ruins, its back facing the cliff wall. "Does anyone have a way to get me up to the Nevermore?" She looked between them hoping one of them had a weapon or strategy they could use. After a couple moments of silence, Pyrrha nodded her head. "Okay, here's the plan."

Pyrrha watched the unfolding carnage on her scroll in disbelief. She hadn't been sure if the Nevermore would show itself or not, with Weiss and Ruby having walked there instead of trying to save time by catching a ride with it. It seemed the Grimm had been drawn by the noise however, and she'd been forced to watch nervously as her friends tried to come up with a plan to deal with both the Nevermore and the Deathstalker.

She knew they could do it of course, they'd done it before after all, but she'd learned that things could change. Her actions had caused some people who lived to die and she had been worried she might have done something to change things here as well.

Ruby's mistake against the Deathstalker, while similar to what happened last time, had gone worse than she remembered and very nearly gotten her killed. That seemed to serve as the kick they all needed however, and before long it was clear they had a plan. Now she saw what that was.

The groups had split differently, something she thought might fix itself as it had in her time, but there had been no such luck now. As they fought, Ruby and the Pyrrha of this time had kept close to one another as they pushed the Nevermore back. She had been worried they wouldn't be able to recreate the move Ruby used to kill it without Blake's help, but she should have known better. Despite her age, Ruby was a gifted leader and it seemed that hasn't changed. Her plan had adapted to incorporate what she had at hand, namely, Pyrrha's Semblance.

Between the two of them, Pyrrha and Ruby were able to get the Nevermore pinned against the cliffside once again. She'd never thought to do that in her own time, but then it had never been necessary, had it? Weiss did her part as she had last time and helped Ruby to stay grounded even though she was standing on the cliff side. Given all of that, Ruby had done what seemed impossible once again. Only this time it was without half her team.

Pyrrha looked over towards the Headmaster hesitantly. This initiation had been different than her own, and while she wanted to say something, she knew Ozpin was aware of that. She had told him everything she could remember about it and he would no doubt remember how the teams had formed the last time. The question was simply whether or not he would step in to guarantee that or not.

Taking a deep breath, she dared to ask.

"You have seen them work together, and you know that Team RWBY and Team JNPR were perfect examples of what all Beacon teams Strive to be." Ozpin said. "But it is our experiences that shape us, just as much as character."

It wasn't a straight answer, in the same way that Ozpin never liked to give a straight answer to anything, but it was answer enough. There would be no Team JNPR in this lifetime.

Author's Note: I made an assumption here that Pyrrha has an idea of where the temple is since during initiation she ran straight there while being chased by the Deathstalker. Probably just a convenience thing on the original writer's part but still, I wanted to explain it somewhat. As for the rest of it… well, let me know what you think.

Initiation is a really overly done thing in fanfiction, mainly because there are only so many ways you can go about it, but hopefully this taking place so far into the story sets it apart from the others. I tried to make it interesting but also keep it to one chapter so that it doesn't go on forever like some fics like to do. Again, let me know what you think.

Team names will be revealed in the next chapter, along with team leaders.

Hopefully you all enjoyed it and let me know if you hate me breaking up the teams. Important information to learn for future stories. Too late for this one, but something I can keep in mind.

Sincerely SE