Nigel plummeted towards the ground. Despite how gripped with terror he was, he was laughing. He couldn't help himself. This was the most fun thing he'd done in years. Or it was until he crashed into the ground. The sound of his aura shattering filled his ears.

"Ow."

He laid there waiting to recover. As soon as he was able, he dragged himself to his feet.

Nigel walked through the forest for over an hour without finding another person. He called out for anyone, but didn't get a response. he resisted the urge to start crying. This was the worst idea he'd ever had. At this rate he would fail before he even got into Beacon.

"Nah, I can think of worse ideas you've had," his friend quipped.

"Now isn't the time," Nigel complained. He looked around, but still couldn't see anyone.

"Hello, is anyone out there? I'm lonely."

He heard a rustling sound nearby. Full of hope, he turned towards the sound. Out from the brush came an Ursa, its massive black body towering over him. Nigel's face fell.

The voice in his head broke into laughter. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go say hi."

The Ursa roared and charged at him. it swiped at him with its claws. Nigel stepped back and thrust his fist into its head. It cracked against the white mask covering its face. Nigel frowned. He wondered why he was even here. He was just going to screw this up like he screwed everything up. He would have been better off just staying in bed for the rest of his life.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the Ursa closing the distance. It stood on its hind legs and swiped with its massive claws. Nigel's mind went blank. He thrust his hand into the Grimm's stomach, feeling his fingers pierce its body. The Grimm doubled over in pain. Nigel drove his elbow into its head, sending it crashing into the ground. He took a deep breath and drew his fist back. With a shout, he punched down with all his might and obliterated the Grimm's head.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He looked at his shaking right hand and sighed. He had been fighting for years, but he was still afraid.

"Alright, time to take some initiative. I'm going straight ahead, and I won't stop until I find a partner."

With newfound confidence, he walked into a thicket. Pushing past the branches he found himself in a clearing. In the center was a large group of Ursa. In the center of the group of giant bear Grimm was a much larger Grimm covered in spikes and plates of armor. Dozens of glowing red eyes looked at Nigel. this time he didn't try to keep himself from crying. Tears streamed down his face as the Grimm swarmed him to attack.

XxX

Rock couldn't believe what he had gotten himself into. He had heard tales of what the Academies put their students through, but he thought those were just stories. What would be the point of letting someone in if they died before their first class? But here he was, flying through the air, wondering how he was going to survive hitting the ground.

The question was answered for him when he slammed full force into a tree branch. His stomach burned as vomit poured from his mouth. He lacked the energy to move and stayed there for what felt like hours. Eventually, he fell to the ground. Staying there all day was out of the question, so he dragged himself to his feet and got moving.

Walking through the forest he could hear gunfire and other sounds of combat in the distance, but nothing was near him. He hadn't even found a Grimm while he was walking. Despite not finding anyone, he still felt eyes on him. the back of his neck wouldn't stop burning. He looked up into a nearby tree and saw a small glint of light. Looking closely, he could see a tiny camera hidden in a tree.

Guess it makes sense that they'd be watching us. Still weirds me out.

He found a spot under a tree and sat down. There was no need to waste energy, with any luck someone would come to him.

After half an hour of waiting he heard someone step on a branch. He jumped up and prepared to fight. Instead, he wound up wishing it was a Grimm.

A boy about his age stumbled up to him, crying his eyes out. His straight, brown hair came down over his eyes, but from the tears still streaming down his face he'd been crying for a while. What stood out the most was the fact that he wasn't wearing any shoes. He looked far too weak to be a huntsman. Rock wanted to leave, but he couldn't just leave this person like this.

"Are you okay?" he asked

The boy shook his head.

"Well in that case I'll just leave you to it." Rock turned to leave but felt something pulling on him.

"Wait," the boy said, "You can't just leave me here."

"Why not?"

"We're supposed to be partners now. You have to stay with me."

Rock pushed the boys hand away. "Alright, I'll stick with you, but only if you stop crying."

The boy wiped the tears from his eyes.

Rock sighed. "Much better. What's your name?"

"I'm Nigel," the boy responded.

"My name's… Rock."

The two boys shook hands and began their long partnership.

The two traveled through the forest. Rock stole glances at his new companion trying to get a read on him. Nigel was balled up and jumpy. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, and sometimes he'd say something as if he was responding to someone that wasn't there.

In short, the boy was nuttier than trail mix. Rock was incredibly disappointed. Not only did he end up partners with another guy, this one was completely out of his mind. He doubted this kid would last long at Beacon.

"So how did you even end up here?" Rock asked.

"My parents enrolled me. I did well at Signal so it was a no-brainer. What about you?"

Rock scratched the back of his head. "I just handed in an application and that was that."

Nigel looked around. "I wonder where everyone else is?"

"Probably heading towards that temple or whatever. We're in for a lotta walking, I bet."

"It's nice, though. I can't remember the last time I had a nice, relaxing walk."

Rock coughed. "Relaxing?"

"Yeah. I mean other than getting launched off a cliff, and falling into a tree, and the Grimm, and the other Grimm There were a lot of Grimm Like, more than I've ever seen at once."

"Is that what you were crying about earlier?"

Nigel sighed. "There were twenty Ursa, including a Major. I can't help it, when I get nervous I start crying."

Rock stopped and stared at Nigel. "Wait, when you came through the bushes, what happened to the Grimm?"

"I killed them," Nigel answered. He saw the strange look Rock gave him and recoiled.

"What?"

"You took out twenty Ursa, including a Major, by yourself and didn't get so much as a scratch?"

"Is it that weird?"

Rock laughed. "A little."

They kept walking until they heard something crash into the ground. There were more sounds on top of that; footsteps, stone being destroyed, flesh striking flesh.

"Maybe we should check it out," Nigel said.

XxX

Lucia casually strolled through the forest whistling to himself. He hadn't found anyone yet, though he didn't look that hard. He had seen people passing off in the distance, but none of them looked like they were worth pursuing.

"It's been two hours already. I don't think I can afford to be so picky."

On the other hand, it might be better to have a weak partner. If they were strong, he might not be able to help himself.

As he walked he heard someone snoring. He thought he was hearing things at first, but he listened closer and realized that someone was definitely sleeping in the forest. Someone like that would have to be incredibly powerful or extremely stupid. Either way, they were bound to be interesting. He went towards the sound of the noise.

He found a boy sleeping under a tree. They were certainly handsome, with a muscular body and blonde hair with red streaks. His shirt was unbuttoned, giving Lucia a good view of his abs and chest.

Lucia kept his distance. Even while sleeping he could tell this boy was powerful. If he played his cards right he could have some fun.

"Enjoying your nap?" Lucia asked.

The boy's expression shifted. He yawned loudly and frowned.

"You don't sound like a girl."

"You're right, I'm not."

The boy rolled onto his side. "Then go away. I don't want to partner with any dudes."

"If you spend too much time sleeping, you'll fail the test."

"I don't need anyone looking out for me."

Lucia walked up to the boy and raised his foot over his head. The boy jumped away before Lucia's foot destroyed the ground. He glared at Lucia with his blue eyes.

Lucia put his hands together. "Look at that, we're partners now."

The boy put his fists up. "Not happening. You're about to drop out."

The boy ran towards Lucia and swung his fist up towards his head. Lucia dodged out the way and put his arms up as another fist shot towards him. The fist collided with his forearms like a hammer. Lucia's arms ached. If that punch had hit his face, it would have knocked him out. He smiled widely. He thrust his palm at the boy's chest. the boy dodged and countered with a hook to Lucia's stomach. The wind was knocked out of him. he grinned as he felt the pain course through his body.

Lucia laughed. "You're pretty good."

The boy unleashed a flurry of punches. Lucia narrowly dodged each strike. It was like dodging raindrops. The attacks slowed down. The boy ran out of breath and took a step back. Lucia stepped forward and struck. He suddenly found himself looking at the sky. The boy's fist slammed into his chin. Lucia couldn't put any strength into his legs. He tried to stand up but fell over. His vision became blurry and unfocused. The boy stood over him and raised his fist. Before he could deliver the finishing blow two more people arrived. One of them Lucia recognized.

"Nigel. I see you've found a partner."

Nigel ran to Lucia. "What's going on?"

Lucia chuckled. "Nothing, just getting to know my new partner. I see four of us, so I guess we're a team now."

Lucia got up and stretched out. "Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

"Oh, right. This is Rock. We met in the woods earlier."

Rock looked at the other boy. "I know you."

Giallo sighed. "Whatever. I guess this is my loss. We've got a whole team, might as well finish the test now."

The four walked on in silence. Nigel looked nervous as his eyes went to his teammates.

"Maybe we should take this time to introduce ourselves. I'm Nigel."

"Rock"

"Lucia"

"Giallo."

Nigel let out a sigh. "Why did I even bother?"

"I think I see the temple," Rock said. They saw a stone altar in the distance. They could see a series of raised stone platforms with chess pieces on them.

"Those must be the relics," Rock observed.

They heard screaming and trees crashing into the ground. A massive Deathstalker tore through the trees as it chased two students. The two led the Grimm towards the altar, and it was frozen in a large block of ice. And then two more people showed up, one of them riding on an Ursa. And then a giant Nevermore attacked.

"You think we can find a different Altar?" Rock asked.

Nigel stepped forward. "We need to help them."

Giallo stopped him. "They can handle themselves. Let's wait, if it looks like it'll go sideways, then we'll help."

The Nevermore attacked the students waiting at the temple. It took the combined efforts of eight students, but the Grimm was destroyed. The students claimed their relics and made their way back to the school.

The four boys went to the altar. It was badly damaged from all of the fighting, and most of the relics were gone. They found one piece, a white king. Giallo took it and put it in his pocket.

"Alright, now we just need to head back."

The four turned to leave when an ear piercing screech rang through the air. A second Nevermore, even larger than the one the other students killed, suddenly appeared.

"Are you fucking serious?" Rock said.

"I don't suppose any of you have a gun?" Giallo asked.

The others shook their head. The Nevermore screeched and fired its massive feathers at the boys. Nigel batted them away with his fists while the other three ran for cover. The Grimm swooped down and opened its beak wide. Nigel's eyes went wide as the Grimm grabbed him. he felt the heavy, sharp beak pressing down on him. It felt like he was about to be torn in half. The giant bird flew back into the air as Nigel screamed. His screaming was so loud it sent waves along the ground. The other boys clamped their hands over their ears.

"Man, that's loud," Giallo shouted.

"He has a pair of lungs on him," Lucia said.

"That's nice, but how are we gonna get him down?"

"Stand behind me," Rock said. He took a hand off of his ear and pointed it like a gun at the Nevermore. Blood dripped from his ear. There was a high pitched whine, and in the next moment the Nevermore exploded. Burning pieces of flesh fell to the ground, along with Nigel. He landed with a thud, then hastily put out the flames on his gi.

Exhausted, he fell against the ground. "I hate this place."

Giallo ran towards Nigel and helped him to his feet.

"You're really loud, you know that?"

Nigel coughed. "Sorry. That happens when I get scared."

Lucia got close to Rock. "That was impressive. I might have to reevaluate my opinion on you."

Rock pushed Lucia away. "We can do that later. Let's get back to the school before the sun goes down."

XxX

Once they were back in the amphitheater they listened to the headmaster assign teams. None of them were paying attention until some names stood out to them.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos. You have retrieved the white rook. From this day forward, you will fight together as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc."

Pyrrha happily punched Jaune on the shoulder, knocking him to the floor.

Lucia had a lecherous grin on his face. "Check out the blonde."

"That guy's really weak," Rock said.

Nigel bit his fingernails. "Pyrrha Nikos? Like, the Invincible Girl? What's she doing at Beacon?"

Giallo frowned. His hunch was correct.

So that was Jaune. Maybe I should say hello later. Nah, he probably doesn't even remember me.

Ozpin addressed the next group of students

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, you all have retrieved the white knight. From this day forward, you shall fight together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."

Rock whistled. "Check out that blonde."

Giallo shrugged. "I've seen bigger."

Rock poked Nigel in his side. "Which one's your type?"

Nigel squeaked in shock. "Well, if I had to choose, maybe… wait, why are we even talking about this?"

The four of them made their way to the stage. Ozpin smiled at them as he addressed them.

"Lucia Verde, Giallo Fiamma, Nigel Arniano, Rock, you all have retrieved the white king. From this day forward, you shall fight together as Team VNGR, led by Giallo."

The auditorium filled with applause. Everyone looked happy except for Rock.

"Can't believe I'm stuck on a team with all guys for four years. This is some bullshit."

Nigel raised his hand. "Is our team name really 'vinegar'? You couldn't think of anything else?"

The students in the audience started laughing.

Ozpin let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry, but that is the name you were given. Now then, if there are no other complaints, let us move on."

Ozpin called the last group to the stage. It was a group of girls, each one looking like they had just fought in a war. Their clothes were torn and stained with blood, their faces were covered with bruises, and they were clearly exhausted.

Despite their appearance, Ozpin kept that same inviting smile on his face.

"Lotus Chahna, Iris Star, Lala Lamb, Yasmin. You all have gathered the black pawn. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team LILY, led by Lotus Chahna."

Ozpin looked out into the crowd. "Congratulations, all of you are now officially students of Beacon Academy. I look forward to working with you all. Make sure you are well rested, classes begin first thing tomorrow morning."

XxX

Minutes later, the newly christened Team VNGR were getting settled in their dorm. Nigel unpacked his things, but noticed that he was the only one who brought a suitcase.

"None of you guys brought anything with you?"

Rock shrugged. "I came with what I could fit in my pocket."

"I've never had a need for material goods," Lucia said.

Giallo was already in bed snoring.

"Our dear leader has the right idea. I'm exhausted," Rock said.

"Tomorrow morning we'll be Huntsmen students. I'm so excited," Nigel said.

Lucia yawned. "I am as well. I've never been to school before."

"Oh yeah, I never got to ask, why'd you come to Beacon, Lucia?"

Lucia laid back on his bed. "Would you believe me if I told you I wanted to find a friend?"