This will be the Chapter you have waited for!
Chapter 3! (Yeah, I'm teasing you. Get over it!)
One more thing to note: What Fox was saying was in reference to JCA, where Uncle describes using ALL senses to 'see' around oneself. Fox also has Aura. Neat little trick, an Aura Sonar usage. He picked it up from Death. I've read a few fics where he actually has it naturally, so I thought I'd incorporate with his reasoning of being a Reaper of Grimm.
I'm gonna be honest, I'm trying to balance keeping it with Ruby's story (even though that's not how it is in canon with good reason), while trying to keep it to an episode per chapter (2-parters as one chapter as it was last chapter). I typically do this for my other stories, so it's not uncommon, but I can't keep Ruby in the spot light while only covering "the First Step" and have a decent length. Next Chapter is when things get good. A true and proper fight scene I LOVE, and probably the one that convinced everyone this show is worth sticking with (at least back then).
Disclaimer: All praise (and rights) to Rooster Teeth and our beloved Monty Oum, RIP.
(Chapter Begin)
(Recap)
"I love books," said Ruby, getting Blake's attention again, and not in a bad way, "Yang used to read to me when we were kids. Countless stories of Heroes and Monsters... it's actually one the reasons I wanted to become a Huntress."
"And why is that?" asked Blake, more genuinely interested than she first realized, "Hoping to find your Happily Ever After?"
'...and the emotion has dulled, but gotta keep going since I dug myself this deep,' thought Ruby, having to force a bit more interest now herself, "More like helping others find theirs. I wanted to be just like those Heroes who helped those in need have a more peaceful life. I know now it's a full time job. But doesn't mean it's not worth it."
"That's rather ambitious, Ruby, but... Fairy Tales are for kids. The Real World doesn't accept that change so easily," replied Blake, speaking more from experience than she intended.
"Well, that's why it's a full-time job. It won't get any better if we don't keep trying," replied Ruby, suddenly ducking behind Yang and bopping her on the head.
"Oh come on Rubes! This is a good moment for you!" countered Yang, rubbing her head.
Ruby just stared at her, giving Yang a full understanding of what happened to Ruby right during the middle of it.
"I would like to remind you guys that people are trying to sleep," spoke up Weiss, coming over from her makeshift bed, "Please be courteous to them."
"Sorry," said Ruby, smiling apologetically.
"I think it's time we all get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be big day," replied Blake, bringing up her candle and blowing out the lights.
(Recap End)
The next morning, Ruby woke up early with a smile, today's the day for Initiation. With Yang still Snoring, Ruby slipped out and to the shower. It was basically habit for Ruby to try to get to the shower before Yang, who usually took an hour with her hair the way it is. Ruby couldn't begrudge her because Yang loved her hair in a similar way to Ruby loving Crescent Rose. It takes lots of time, love and tender care to get them just right. Speaking of which, after getting Dressed, Ruby went back to make sure Yang had enough time to get ready before they began.
Later, at Breakfast, she overheard an Orange-haired girl with exuberance and enthusiasm sitting next to what looked like the calmest man in Remnant. Death hadn't given her any information on them yet, but Ruby could tell they seemed to be longtime friends. Ruby looked around at all the different hopefuls and could already see potential team combos, even if she had no information about them. She gained a lot of observant skills after dying. It was quite humorous in the ironic retrospect.
After Breakfast, Ruby and Yang headed towards the Lockers, Ruby looking over her sweetheart very carefully in case she needed to make some quick adjustments before they got started.
"...that's why it's perfect!" exclaimed the Orange-haired girl from before, "No one will suspect we're working together!"
"...Come on Nora," replied the dark-haired Boy who oddly had one Pink strand standing out, "Let's go."
"But not 'together' together..." rambled Nora as she followed her friend out the Locker Room.
"Hmm... They seem close," remarked Ruby.
"Yeah, you'd think their personalities would clash," replied Yang, "But they seem to actually mesh well together. Speaking of which, you seem cheerier this morning."
"Yeah, well, I'm going to be fighting today. Have a few more Grimm to add to the Tally, ya'know. I'm Top 10 in my age group. If I want to keep my spot, I need to kill more Grimm."
"Really, that's all? Nothing else?"
"Well, Team Placements are a must, so can't ignore that. Think you can handle being on my Team?"
"Your team? Isn't that cheating, knowing who's on your team already?"
"Wow, and you say you rubbed off on me, but can't spot it again," chuckled Ruby as they headed out, "Death wouldn't do that. Though I am concerned about why Weiss is important."
"Maybe she'll be your partner? Wanna bet?"
"No bet," replied Ruby immediately.
Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by Jaune getting his hood impaled by Pyrrha's Javelin.
Ah, Pyrrha Nikos. Quirky girl, much like herself. If she qualified as a Reaper of Grimm, she'd be tough competition in more ways than one. Good thing she knows how to keep herself alive. Pyrrha's file wasn't as short as others, mainly due to her Public Status as Mistral Regional Champ Four Times running, and Spokesperson for Pumpkin Pete's Cereal, which she had a seen a few people eating this morning. If they were partners, or at least on the same team, it'd be pretty hard to find a challenge they couldn't overcome.
Glynda's voice came over the intercom, remaining people to head to the Beacon Cliff. Ruby couldn't help but hear a sound as Pyrrha moved her Javelin with surprising ease from Jaune's hoodie as she headed out with Weiss.
'Did... she just move that without touching it?' thought Ruby, 'If that's her semblance, no wonder no one could touch her. Her Mastery is so precise, she can disguise it without anyone getting suspicious. If I wasn't a Reaper of Grimm, I probably wouldn't have noticed.'
(AN1)
"Having some trouble there, Lady Killer?" teased Yang while Ruby helped Jaune up.
"I don't understand," sighed Jaune, "My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?"
"Snow Angel wasn't the best opener," shared Yang.
"Come on Jaune," said Ruby, pulling Jaune's arm over her shoulders, "Beacon Cliffs await."
After all 16 Initiates got into place, Ozpin and Glynda addressed them.
"For years, you have trained to become Warriors," informed Ozpin, "And today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now, I'm sure many of you have speculated about assigned Teams," picked up Glynda, "I'm say this to clarify: You're getting teammates today."
"These Teammates will be with you for your time here at Beacon, and maybe afterwards," added Ozpin, "So, it would be prudent to have someone you work well with. That being said: The first person you make eye-contact with will be your Partner for the Four Years."
'Okay, that's a bit heavy-handed. Find someone, but make sure you get along with them,' thought Ruby, 'Well, considering I have limited options, it's not in my favor. Thank you, Universe.'
(You're welcome Ruby!)
Ruby chose to ignore that.
"After you've partnered up, head towards the Northern End of the Forest. You will meet opposition. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
'Been there. Done that. Have the scar,' thought Ruby with a mental eye roll.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation," continued Ozpin, "However, our instructors will not intervene. At the end of the path, you will find yourself an Abandoned Temple that contain several relics. You and your partner need only to retrieve one of the relics between you and return to the Cliffside adjoining Beacon. Your Grade and Standing will be judged by said Relic. Any questions?"
Jaune immediately raised his hand.
"Good," pressed on Ozpin, intentionally ignoring Jaune's hand.
Glynda pressed a button on the screen she held in front of her, and Initiates began launching out into the Forest. Jaune attempted to ask about Landing Strategies, but he ultimately got sent off (last of the sixteen) before he could truly get an answer. Opzin just sipped in Coffee Cup, enjoying and savoring the brew for as long as possible.
Ruby was flying through the Air, enjoying the feeling. Outside of a tiny Grimm Nevermore, Ruby didn't hit anything on the way down, using Crescent Rose's 'High Impact' customization to slow her momentum and using the Scythe to drag around a Tree Branch and landing with her Aura. No sooner than landing did she already hear Grim around her. Moving into a clearing nearby, she noticed a pack of Creep Grimm and even an Alpha Boarbatusk.
"Aww... All of you for just little ol' me?" taunted Ruby, grinning. Even being dead couldn't dampen her excitement this time. She slowly backed up a bit while putting away Crescent Rose, allowing the Grimm to form a Group in front of her, she could see all of them in her range. Smirking, her eyes began to glow, "Never underestimate a Human, especially a Silver-Eyed Warrior!"
Ruby's eyes lit up the area as she blasted all the Grimm in front of her to ashes, the Alpha being smart, managed to dodge. Ruby had to jump out of the way, otherwise the extra spikes on the back would have shaved her quick.
"So you actually have a few extra years on you, huh? Let's fix that," replied Ruby, as the Alpha Boarbatusk uncurled to get a better lineup. Ruby was faster with her Semblance though, and unleashed another blast point blank. The Alpha disintegrated this time, though a bit slower than the regular Grimm, "Hmm... An Alpha in this forest is rare, though one like him was even rarer. Just how lucky did the previous classes get?"
(AN2)
With that, Ruby started rushing off northward, knowing she'd find someone crossing her path.
"Yang would be ideal," mused Ruby as she made her run through the forest, "Jaune... would be okay. Pyrrha's a good choice, though I'd have to get to know her from scratch. Blake wouldn't be too bad either. Though Karma's about to rear it's ugly head, isn't it?"
(I heard that!)
Ruby then noticed a blur of white appear in front of her and she skidded to a stop. She didn't collide with anything, so that's good. Looking up, she saw the form of Weiss Schnee, staring at her like a deer in the headlights. They're eyes made contact.
(That's what you get for calling me ugly!)
'Fine, fate brought you together, better make the most of it,' sighed Ruby, before addressing Weiss, "So... this makes us partners, huh?"
Weiss turned around and started walking away.
"Oh come on!" called out Ruby, before noticing Jaune stuck to a tree a little ways away.
Weiss simply used her glyphs to remove Jaune from the tree, causing him to crash on the ground.
"Thank you," muttered Jaune gratefully as he got the feelings in his legs back.
Leaving Pyrrha's Javelin with Jaune, Weiss turned around and started walking back, grabbing Ruby by the arm and started walking Northward again.
"Thanks for that," remarked Ruby, walking to keep pace with Weiss, before she let go and turned to face her.
"We're partners, so there's no use in arguing it. I doubt Ozpin or Glynda will budge on these choices," remarked Weiss, "But if you slow me down, I will make you regret it."
"Slow YOU down?" quipped Ruby, smirking, "Who's got the Speed Semblance here?"
With that Ruby raced off, leaving some petals behind.
"Oh great, if Ruby's this bad, I can't imagine what Yang's like. I hope I'm not on a team with her," groaned Weiss, before hearing a noise.
Suddenly, she was surrounded by Beowulfs. Falling back on her training, she got into position, carefully getting into striking position. Switching to Red Dust, she made to strike the Beowulf in front of her when Ruby appeared out of nowhere, slicing the Grimm in half, causing her to shift her aim at the last second causing a life of literal fire to explode a nearby tree. Ruby was distracted by the fire and her kill that an Alpha Beowulf managed to get a hit on her, sending her back into Weiss.
"Weiss, why didn't you move?" asked Ruby.
"What are you talking about!? You got in MY way!" countered Weiss.
"I meant earlier. You were just standing there not doing anything. These Beowulf could have killed you in that time!"
"My attacks require perfect precision! I had this until you got in my way!"
"And that's the problem! You took too long! What do you think this is," countered Ruby, moving them away from a few others taking their swipes, "a Turn-Based RPG?"
(AN3)
Ruby didn't listen to whatever reply Weiss gave because she put her Semblance into overdrive, slaying through all the Beowulfs, including the Alpha, and as an added taunt, put out the fire before it completely consumed the tree.
"Weiss, let that be a lesson! Don't make your attacks perfect. Make them COUNT!" lectured Ruby, "There's a difference!"
"Are you kidding me? You're the one who was the dolt who got in the path of my attack!" countered Weiss, "If that had connected, I would have killed you!"
"As if, you'd have to be either lucky, or extremely skilled to kill me like that," scoffed Ruby, 'Died once, don't need a repeat. I'd take you with me and recommend the third level of hell for your punishment!'
"Just because you're fast on your feet, doesn't mean you can be slow in the head!" growled out Weiss, before turning around.
'Now that is crossing a line!' thought Ruby, grumbling in frustration, slicing a tree down in her anger before going after Weiss. Neither noticed the largest Nevermore Feather either of them WOULD have seen float down behind them.
A few minutes later Ruby stopped, causing Weiss to stop when she no longer heard footprints.
"What now? Need a break after running that marathon?" quipped Weiss.
Taking a deep breathe, Ruby calmed herself, "We're not going to survive a week, let alone four years if this is what we do. I don't know what happened to reset us to arguing again, but we need to find a way to communicate without insulting each other."
"Maybe if you would just follow my lead, we'd be done by now," replied Weiss.
"Why does it have to be your lead?" asked Ruby. If they were going to get through this, words had to be the way to do it. Weapons would not be productive.
"I'm older. I have more experience," said Weiss matter-of-factly.
"I don't know when you started training, but I've been training just as long if not longer. Especially since you're Heiress to the SDC and can't be training all day," replied Ruby, causing Weiss to relent a bit.
"You're not wrong about that last statement. Father's been... resistant to me coming here."
"I can imagine. Though from what I've seen, I can't say he has the best intentions."
"His 'best' intentions are me becoming exactly like him and continue 'his' legacy," sighed Weiss, not sure why she's sharing this, "I am not my father. And this is how it starts."
'Okay... progress,' realized Ruby, not having heard that tidbit... not that she should, given the public persona of Jacques Schnee, "Well, if we're going to get to the Temple, we need to find the best way to get to the North End of the Forest."
"And how do we do that?" asked Weiss.
Just then, both of the heard a loud screech, much louder than it should have been.
(Chapter End)
Yes, I'm evil, leaving it on a cliffhanger. But hey, that's the end of the episode as far as Ruby's concerned, and I DID say I was keeping it to Ruby's perspective.
Next time: Ruby, Weiss, and a lot of others meet up and somehow are already in a battle for their lives. Will Ruby pass initiation, or have you really not seen the actual show?
Author Notes!
AN1: I'm being honest, I never payed attention to the sound clip in this moment. She used her Semblance so subtly we didn't even notice! Go Pyrrha!
AN2: This will tie into my Grimm Theory I'm adding at the end of the next chapter. Also, wanted to add more variety to the Grimm in Emerald Forest. Also Alpha Boarabtusk... haven't seen that before. I will add extra Grimm here and there for Ruby to show off or just let off some steam. Unique ones like the Dragons and Nuckalevee I'll leave alone. Just about anything Else is fair game, including the Goliaths... but more on that in the future.
AN3: No offense, but it felt WAY to off-putting that Weiss got away with this. Thankfully, this is the only time that really happens to such a degree.
Thank you Universe and Karma for some fourth wall pokes. Hopefully you won't find it offensive.
Later,
RDF1