Perun watched as her Driver unsuccessfully flirted with a white haired girl trying to talk to a pair of redheads. Sighing, she grabbed him by the back of his hoody and pulled him away from them. Once they were a comfortable distance away, Perun let go of Jaune's hoody as he turned to fsce her.

"Perun, what gives?" Jaune asked, practically whining. Perun sighed and crossed her arm, "I was getting somewhere!"

"Yes, stabbed, on the edge of a rapier," Perun said, "Jaune, you were harassing the girl, she clearly wasn't interested and annoying her about it won't do anything to get you in a relationship faster."

"But my dad said Perseverance is a good thing," Jaune said.

"And that is very wise of him, so long as he wasn't talking about harassing a girl until they give in. That leads to unhealthy relationships. If you really have your heart set on a girl you just met, you're still going to have to take it slowly. Now, let's go apologize."

Perun led Jaune to the girl, who looked irritated they were back, and watched him rub the back of his head awkwardly, "Hey, sorry if I came on a bit strong, earlier…"

"A bit strong?" Snarked one of the redheads, hair in a high ponytail and a familiar core crystal on her chest. But this wasn't the Aegis, so how? Unless they had a daughter…"'More like you were being completely obnoxious. Anyways, do you really have time to be flirting, this is prep time and it ends-

All initiates to the Emerald Forest launch zone

"Now, apparently," she said, summoning a heavy staff and walking by the white haired girl and Jaune. She was right. If this was a multiday exam, they'd be scrounging because Jaune hadn't packed any rations.

Her Driver, it seemed, had a lot to still learn.

They made their way to the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, the zone right outside Vale's walls. Standing there were Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch, and four women.

"Hello, and good morning," Ozpin said, "We're here today, obviously, for the Beacon Entrance Exam. Your task is simple, reach the ruins to the north of your deployment zone and collect a totem from there. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering about teams and partnerships. The latter is simple, the first non blade you make eye contact with will be your partner for your time at Beacon."

"Why is Professor Rose here?" The white haired girl asked.

"She is here to assess how well those who have Blades have acclimated to them. Now, prepare for deployment.

"Uh," Jaune asked, as Perun slowly wrapped her arm around his gut, "are you handing out parachutes-"

Ozpin had just enough time to say no and the Master Driver to snort sharply before they were launched into the air, her grip tightening on Jaune.

Yang landed on top of a Ursa with a meaty thud, pulling back Ember Celica and smashing it into the Ursa's head. Standing to stare at the other three, she prepared for a showdown. Before she could, small arms fire pinged off the Grimm, making them turn with a growl.

Blake Belladonna rushed in, drawing Perceval's blade as a blue line, an Affinity Link, according to Ruby, connected Blade to Driver. The Blade was drawn off her back and slashed outwards. The blade didn't hit them, but the black "flames" trailing in the tip of the blade's wake did. The Grimm roared, swinging their claws for Blake.

In her place came a clone of shadowy flamee, Blake landing a few feet back and lowering herself so she had a smaller profile. The clone seemed to pull on the Ursas' arms until they ripped off as the implosion.

Shaking her head, Yang rushed in and pummeled one grimm to the ground, then the other, while the third was killed by Blake rushing in, her personal weapon im a reverse grip and her Blade in a forward.

"Looks like we're partners," Yang said.

"Looks like it," Blake said, before a large, explosive boom came from the distance.

Nora was skipping along, looking for Ren, when she found the Core Crystal shaped like three tomoe connected. She paused, thinking. If she wrapped this up and brought it to Beacon, she could make some serious money off it, which would be nice for her and Ren.

But on the other hand, it seemed to be calling to her. Begging her to pick in up. Slowly, she did so.

Electricity rolled from the crystal and across her hand, making Nora grip it tighter. It crawled up her arm until it hit the center of her chest.

Thu-Thum.

Nora's grip on the crystal grew tighter, and more electricity rolled to the center of her chest.

Thu-Thum, Thu-Thum.

Somewhere in the distance, Nora heard someone laughing. She would never realize it was herself, laughing through the storm that has formed around her.

Nora's grip on the crystal grew so tight it shattered. Golden light grew from it, surrounding Nora as the biggest high yet covered her. To the teachers watching on the monitors, they could see Nora's eyes, just for this one, unstoppable, perfect moment, had turned the same shape as the Core Crystal. Electricity flew from her body, striking trees and leaving burn marks in the bark. Glynda moved to stop it, only for Ruby to swing out Mythra's sword to stop her in turn.

"Come on," Ruby muttered, both eyes open and glistening as they reflected the storm, "You got someone who can take it, 'Lectra. Come on out."

"It is a good home for her," Mythra commented, "You nearly died awakening that Crystal, she's taking it like it was nothing."

Slowly, only to Driver ears, a drum beat started, once, twice, thrice, getting louder each time.

"That's it…"

Finally, with a crash like shattering glass that everyone could hear, a bolt of lightning split the air, pushing even Ruby back a couple of inches as the shockwave blew over trees and hit them. Ozpin was only held in place by his cane.

For Nora, it was a transient, fleeting moment, and she knew what to do. She thrust her hand up, catching the lightning bolt and gripping it tight as it formed into a long, drum-like hammer.

She lifted with her right hand. She lifted with her left hand. She lifted with both hands and brought the hammer down.

The drumbeat blasted trees off the ground and away from her, lightning blasting so far Mythra had to throw up a barrier to stop it from hitting the teachers. Still, Ruby's neck length hair flew backwards as she grinned wildly.

Back at the sight of impact, a voice said, "Hello! You must be my Driver! I'm Electra, sorry about the mess, I'm not good at controlling my power."

Nora turned the see a little girl with small horns and a ring of tomoe around her, amber eyes sparkling.

"Hi, Electra," she said, hefting the hammer to her Shoulder, I'm Nora."

Glimmer felt, rather than saw, the burst coming before it happened. As a part-Blade, she had a connection to Ether regular humans just didn't have.

The ether around them twisted south eastward, dragged along as if by a tide. Then it started. Pulses of energy came rushing through the treeline like a doom drum, growing in intensity.

What's going on?" Glimmer asked aloud, turning her gaze towards the source of the drumbeat, feeling her hair flutter on the aether breeze.

"What's what?" Weiss asked.

Doom. Doom! DOOM! DOOM!

"Get down!" Glimmer turned, tackling Weiss to the ground. As the loudest, most destructive wave crashed into the earth, Glimmer felt it blast over them with a tidal wave of force. Lightning struck the treeline, breaking down trees, smashing into the ground to make craters, including one an inch from Weiss and Glimmer's head.

Finally, it stopped, and Glimmer stood up off Weiss and helped her new partner to her feet. Weiss wasted no time in breathing "What just happened? Even an explosion of Dust shouldn't have been that destructive…"

"I think," Glimmer said slowly, staring down the path of scorched and toppled trees, "Someone just Woke a Blade, and a powerful one at that."

"A blade can do that?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"I think it was just the ether burst from them awakening, I doubt we'll see something like that from them again in a long lime, if ever."

Glimmer knew what her Aunt kept in orbit. The amount of destruction that could be laid down by her if she felt like it. The destruction she had released before, to the death of Torna, several other Titans, and scarring of even more. And while this Blade was pitiful compared to the Aegis, it was still powerful, Glimmer could smell that on the wind.

"Is it still following us?" Jaune asked desperately.

"The answer hasn't changed in the last five seconds, Jaune!"

"I'm trying to be optimistic, Perun!"

Jaune Arc was currently and deeply reconsidering some of his life decisions. Namely, the one to go to Beacon. He had expected, perhaps a bit foolishly in hindsight, that they were going to start with something sane and rational, like sparring or something.

Not being thrown into a giant forest and told to find some relics or die trying.

Of course, the die trying part was implied by the giant, pissed off scorpion Grimm chasing them and no professor having shown up to stop it. Oh, they were dead, they were so dead, they were-

Jaune barely noticed the thumping in his head, so focused on escaping certain death, he mistook it for his own heart beat. That was until a bolt of lightning smashed into the tree in front of them, knocking it into their path. Jaune gulped, turning to face the Grimm… Just in time to see it be blasted off course by another lightning bolt, tipping it over onto it's side.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha and Perun called as one, "Now!"

Jaune tossed the spear to Perun, watching her dash forwards in a blur of motion, stabbing repeatedly into the Grimm's chink in alternation with Pyrrha. The Grimm faded into black smoke as it thrashed around.

"Thank God for whatever that was," Jaune sighed, catching Perun's spear as she threw it back to him.

"We got lucky, we can't rely on that happening again," Perun said, "We're going to have to train harder."

"Glimmer Rhodes, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin called, "from today on you will be known as team RWBY, led by Glimmer!" Ruby watched Glimmer's lips tighten, knowing she was thinking about her old Angus squad, but she didn't protest, just nodding.

"You must be proud," a voice said to Pyra and Ruby, and they blinked at the brown haired young adult sitting next to them. There was something about her, she could tell…

"Oh, yes," Pyra said, "We're very proud of Glimmer. She's a amazing daughter and fighter."

"Healer, more specifically," Ruby added.

"Pyra Rose," Pyra said, holding out her hand for a shake.

"Amber," the woman said.

If you're reading, please think about leaving a review, they really do revitalize my excitement for writing a story