30XxXxX
#INITIATING FILE : 'FOR JAUNE'#
'If you have access to this message, it most likely means I passed away. I'm sorry my boy, I hoped that there would be much more time before you would need to care for yourself. There's so much for you to learn and experience and sadly I won't be able to accompany you.' The shaky voice of an older man resounded in his ears.
'For years you were my whole world, everything I did was in hope that one day your existence would become reality. When your eyes opened for the first time… I always imagined that this would be the exact same feeling as laying your eyes on your firstborn child. It was the greatest moment in my life, the moment that no doubt would make your mother squeal in happiness.' A bit of emotion sneaked into the old man's voice, enough that the blonde boy that was listening to it could easily imagine the wobbly smile on his father's face.
'Look at me rambling… I'm terribly sorry, my boy. You must feel lost and alone. Don't worry. You are literally built for greatness, Ha! It will take some time but you will find your way, I believe in you. You will do so much good for the world, gods know it needs that… All the technologies developed by me and your mother were to make sure you will be prepared to face this unforgiving world. Most of them would probably be called magic in today's society, a bunch of uneducated philistines…' The voice turned a bit grumpy, causing Jauneto smile a little.
'Please, watch yourself out there my boy. A lot of people would be trying to get their hands on you if they would ever discover what you are. Sadly, people are often afraid of what is different from them. They shun what they can't comprehend, even if they don't have any reason to. There always are exceptions though, remember that.' Once more the blond 'boy' could visualize his father's smile, closing his eyes he let out a small sigh.
'Please, never forget that I'm proud of you wherever and whatever you decide to become. Juniper and I may have been the ones that gave you your life, but it's YOUR life now. Nobody can take that away from you. Be safe. Be strong. I'll always be watching over you.'
# PLAYBACK END#
With the end of the message the blonde teen let out a sigh, at this point he listened to this exact recording over a thousand times. Even if he could vividly recall all the memories of his late father this exact message felt much more personal, more grounding.
Focusing back on his work he checked once again if everything he needed was packed up properly, he didn't know when he would be able to visit his home again if at all.
A few spare clothes, the portable terminal that his father gave him for his eight birthday, a couple of mementos to remember his old man by. It seemed a bit silly, his memory literally not capable of forgetting anything unless he willed so.
His father had a few things like that too, to remember his mother even if Jaune personally never knew her.
A small pendant with a picture of his father and mother in their younger days tucked inside, a worn out book titled 'A man with no soul', a small blue and yellow teddy bear that, according to his father, his mother wanted to give him when he opened his eyes for the first time…
Those went into the bag too.
A portable tool kit for emergencies in case his body wouldn't be able to deal with any potential damage on its own.
The most important item, the Crocea Mors. According to his father it was an artifact passed down in his family for generations, one of the first mecha-shift capable weapons in the world. Now it was his turn to take care of this blade.
Maybe he could even use it for combat?
His own built in combat systems were hardly inconspicuous.
Lifting one of his arms before himself he observed how his forearm split apart and shifted into a Plasma Blaster in the form of two metal rails, one over another with electricity moving between them.
With only a thought his arm shifted once more, returning into a more normal shape with the exception of a Mantis Blade extending over his forearm.
Looking at his reflection in a nearby mirror he could see his unnaturally glowing eyes, the venting ports for active cooling systems starting to give a slight glow under his shirt. The synthetic skin all over his body receding to reveal armored plates and metal components, remaining only on his face.
Yeah… No. He shouldn't use this.
Checking a few more things he once more looked back into the depths of his home, the colorful pictures he painted on the walls with his father bringing a small smile out of him.
Turning the other way he centered himself, the large vault-like door staring him down.
It would be the first time he set foot outside since his father passed away.
At first he didn't know what to do, how to proceed without his family. For a few years he immersed himself in distractions, mostly the vast library of books, even if they seemed to be rather dated.
Then he found a book about the Great War and the following few years. It was then that he learned about the Hunters.
People using their strength to protect humanity against the forces of darkness, against the creatures of Grimm.
His father said it himself, that he was created for greatness. What's greater than saving lives and protecting those that can't protect themselves?
Typing a few commands on a nearby terminal he switched off most of his home, putting the rest into hibernation. Entering one last command the heavy door let out a heavy groan, splitting down the middle and sliding to the sides.
"Wish me luck, old man. I'll make you proud." Speaking those words into the empty now home he stepped outside, not at all bothered by the raging blizzard or arctic temperatures in his way.
XxX
"Greetings! May I trouble you for a bit?"
This was… a rather novel experience to Glynda Goodwitch.
Working with hormonal teenagers allowed her to have a bit of an insight into how she was seen by them. In her rather short career she even had a few cases of her students confessing to her, that was awkward.
Nowadays her reputation as the strictest teacher in the history of Beacon Academy caused students to actively avoid her, not just talk to her on the street. It seems that her reputation didn't proceed her as much as she thought.
"Yes?" The blonde woman replied, seeing that the blonde teen before her was patiently waiting for an answer. He even made sure that his eyes stayed on her face, that's a plus for him.
"Thank you!" He started joyfully. Like a little puppy. "I'm sorry to take your time but I couldn't help the feeling that you may be a Hunter. Am I correct?" He continued, eagerly awaiting confirmation.
"I am a Huntress, yes. How can I help you?" It wasn't unheard that people in need would approach the Hunters directly for assistance. Taking a close look she blinked a few times at how worn out his attire was. It looked as if he trekked across half of Remnant.
"Momentous! I finally found the way!" The young man before her literally vibrated from happiness. "I need to find the Hunter Academy founded by the King! I wish to join in!"
"You wish to join Beacon? As a student?" This slightly put her off. Not only was he acting strange but from the way he worded his request it was as if he thought that the academy itself was just opened.
"Yup!" His smile never faltered. "I want to make my father proud and become a Hunter!"
Taking yet another look at the young blonde she took into account that he was indeed armed with what looked to be Hunter grade weaponry, even if it seemed rather aged. His posture was lacking however and too stiff, indicating that he didn't really have too much experience.
"There are procedures in place to gain a spot in the academy. Do you possess any transcripts from your primary combat school?" Deciding to give the young man the benefit of the doubt she opted to at least give him the right direction for signing up. She still has two hours before her favorite tea shop closes after all, she could sacrifice a bit of time to help.
"There is no need for me to attend such a place, I was created combat ready!" And just like that her rather good mood took a bit of a dive. Yet another child believing that fighting big bad monsters would be fun and games, not even putting in the effort from the start.
"To attend Beacon Academy you need previous education in a preparatory combat school. Being a Hunter is a commitment that requires discipline and dedication. I'm sorry but you won't be able to join the academy like this." Hearing her, the young man seemed to freeze like a statue. Literally. Great… Now she felt like she just kicked a puppy with how his smile started to look more and more plastic.
"But… I'm combat ready! The King called for any able bodied young people to pick up arms and become the defenders of humanity! I'm able bodied, and have arms! Two of them!" He exclaimed suddenly, waving his hands high into the air as if to prove a point.
What was this young man talking about? It was as if he didn't know that the King that he's talking about reigned nearly a century ago. Wait… was he talking about the original manifest about Hunter Academies that was created after the Great War? That couldn't be…
A great explosion not so far away ripped her out of her thoughts, the calm to this point crowd of people all around panicked and started to run away.
Picking her way between the rushing people she ran in the direction of the commotion, a few high caliber gunshots causing a small chill to go down her spine. Who in their right mind would use anti Grimm weaponry inside the city?
A small column of smoke rose around 400 meters down the street, the clash of steel on steel created sparks visible even from this distance.
Frowning, she saw a girl in a red cloak using the recoil of her enormous scythe-gun hybrid to shoot upwards onto a building. Another individual was just cresting the said building, his white attire, ginger head and black bowler hat made him easily recognizable.
Roman Torchwick. A notorious thief that is avoiding capture for over a year now. Numerous attempts of apprehending this criminal ended only in massive collateral damage and with the man in question to just shatter like a glass sculpture. She could already predict that this encounter wouldn't be any better, hopefully nobody got hurt.
"Do you require assistance, Miss Huntress?" The surprisingly calm and unbothered voice of the blonde teen caught her off guard. Looking behind her shoulder she found the young man easily keeping up with her despite the fact she was using her own semblance for propulsion.
"No! Get back to safety!" She ordered without even considering his offer. He might have a bit of speed on his side but without proper education he would be a hindrance at best, a potential fatality at the worst.
"Well… Okay. But I really need to get to the King's Academy. Could you tell me where it is located?" He asked, nearly causing her to trip.
Hearing the engines of a low flying Bullhead she bit back her retort, having more important things at hand.
Pulsing her semblance she jumped straight into the roof on which the two from before were, pausing for a second to take the situation into account.
The young girl was standing dumbfounded after Torchwick jumped into the aircraft, the criminal in question just waving mockingly to them both now.
Raising her trusty weapon, the Disciplinarian, she focused on any loose debris and flung it into the VTOL that was trying to pull away. It didn't get damaged but the still laughing Torchwick was nearly sent out of the still open doors only to get caught by a feminine hand that grabbed him harshly by his collar and flung him back inside.
Getting out of her stupor the hooded girl spun her scythe, planting the tip of the blade into the concrete she opened fire from the built in anti materiel rifle. That would explain the noise from before.
An enormous gout of flames enveloped the attack, striking into a telekinetic barrier Glynda created to shield herself and the girl.
"Are you sure that I couldn't help?" Nearly jumping out of her skin, the blonde teacher looked behind just to once again see the same blonde teen who was just standing there as if nothing was happening.
How did he even sneak up on her like that?!
Looking back to the fleeing thieves she scanned the situation. If he thought he could do anything then why not? Maybe she was wrong about him in the end?
"Do you see that water canal?" She asked, getting a nod back. "If you can put that Bullhead into it then go ahead."
She would never be able to explain why she thought it a good idea at the time.
"Calculating attack vectors." The young man murmured to himself in a barely audible voice, from the looks of it not even knowing that he did that.
Registering that allowing a young man with potentially no training to act wasn't the brightest idea she was about to call to him but the serious look on the blonde's face gave her pause. Maybe she was seeing things but in the low light his eyes seemed to glow slightly as he dropped into a runner's stance for some reason, his worn out boots practically digging into the concrete roof beneath. Maybe she was hearing things or it was just wind but she could have sworn that his body let out a soft humming sound
In one moment he was standing beside them and in the next he shot off like a bullet, a small shockwave in his wake.
Looking to the fleeing aircraft she couldn't help the way her mouth slightly opened, seeing the same unimpressive young man push off of yet another building in the distance straight at the fleeing machine. Landing in crouching position on the Bullhead's wing he slammed his sword into the engine that puffed out a large gout of flames as the whole machine swerved from the impact. Moments later it started to tilt into the water canal and when it was certain it would go into it the blonde teen wrenched out his sword and jumped off onto another rooftop. From this distance she could see something resembling white smoke escaping the young man's mouth, maybe an aftereffect of whatever Semblance he used?
"Woah… How did he do that?" The question from the scythe wielding girl took the Huntress out of the moment.
Massaging the bridge of her nose she sighed heavily. This was going to take her whole evening, wasn't it?
The great splash of water in the background seemed to agree.
XxX
"Intriguing…" A deceptively young looking, silver haired man said as if to himself. The long slurp of coffee that followed grating on the nerves of his employee that was standing at attention with a clipboard size device in hand.
"There's nothing. No medical records, no birth certificate, not even for the family members. Arc family name isn't common but there are a few families registered in Vale and Atlas, without any connection. There's only one piece of information pertaining to his existence and it's just the ticket from Atlas to Vale. Are you certain that it is a good idea to allow him to attend?" Glynda asked with a slight tick of her eyelid when in response the Headmaster of the prestigious Beacon Academy decided to once more obnoxiously slurp his coffee.
"I like to think that I'm a good judge of character, Glynda. Young mister Arc comes off as an earnest young man, if a bit awkward. Besides, your report about the robbery and the subsequent capture of the stolen Bullhead says quite a bit about his potential…" Clearly trying to be ambiguous about his reasoning, Ozpin walked up to the windowed wall of his office that overlooked nearly the whole campus and a part of the city of Vale.
"Yes… a shame that Torchwick managed to once more avoid capture. The downed aircraft was empty, without any signs of the crew being present at the time of the crash landing." The blonde professor decided to change the subject, less headache that way.
"Let the police take care of him, it's outside our jurisdiction now." He paused for a quick sip. "Never mind that. We have quite a roster this year, don't you think?" As if to accentuate his statement a small explosion bloomed on the walkway from the air docks, clearly caused by improper handling of Dust.
"Yes… that we do." And just like that the headache was back, with a vengeance. She would need to repair any damages later too…
"Let's make our way to the auditorium, we need to greet the next generation." Turning around, the silver haired man in the overly green suit started heading to the elevator.
Massaging the bridge of her nose, Glynda dutifully followed. Her only solace was that her employer forgot to refill his coffee so at least no more slurping sounds.
"Oh… Could you prepare a new mug of coffee for me? It seems I've run out."
XxX
This was officially the worstest bestest day ever in her life.
It would seem that it was so cool and stuff to attend Beacon two whole years earlier, with her sister no less!
First thing after getting off the Airship she gets abandoned by that same older sister.
"Stupid Yang… having friends… I could have friends too If I wanted…" A fifteen year old girl grumbled under her breath.
Then she accidentally bumps into the grumpiest girl on Remnant, who just so happens to push around badly secured dust vials.
Now, laying in the crater the white girl totally was the cause of, she couldn't help but feel… sad. Maybe skipping two years of school wasn't as cool as she anticipated… If she waited a bit more then she could attend Beacon with her peers, maybe even a few familiar faces…
"Greetings!" A boy's voice called out to her, followed by something blocking out the sun for her. "Are you sunbathing?" He asked in such an innocent tone of voice that one couldn't tell if he was really curious or just making a snide remark.
Opening her eyes, Ruby Rose let out an undignified yelp at the blonde boy that was hovering over her, much too close for comfort. For some reason he bent at his waist to a 90 degree angle and was looking at her with big sapphire blue eyes.
"Umm… hey…" She squeaked out lamely, having a sudden dejaVu about this guy.
"Greetings, fellow student candidate! I'm Jaune Arc!" He said with a smile, extending a helping hand to the still prone girl.
Accepting it tentatively she once more yelped in surprise as she was lifted clean off the ground by the energetic blonde man who set her back on her feet as if she weighed less than a feather.
"Hello… I'm Ruby Rose…" She introduced herself awkwardly. The radiant smile on the blonde teen's face was a bit unnerving. Not in a bad way… more in a 'why would anyone be that happy without any apartment reason' kind of way…
"It's so nice to meet you, Miss Ruby Rose! I'm so excited, all of this is so new and exhilarating!" He exclaimed, nearly vibrating from excitement.
No… wait… he WAS vibrating in place…
"Yeah… and a bit overwhelming…" She added, mumbling under her nose.
"Well… I was overwhelmed with happiness when I met another person for the first time too… Don't worry, my father always said that my mother always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!" To her surprise he replied, in a surprisingly dorky and sweet way…
Brothers… Another Dork! She wasn't alone!
"Taking into consideration this is our second meeting, I'm fairly certain that we can't be called strangers any more… Does that mean that we are friends already?" He asked suddenly with brightly sparkling eyes… She could nearly picture Zwei as he tried to beg for more treats…
"Wait… Wait a minute! I knew I recognized you! You are that scruffy looking guy from the dust shop! What were you doing there anyway?" Now that he was wearing normal, clean and undamaged clothes it was so hard to recognize him.
"I wanted to talk to Miss Glynda Goodwitch, she was kind enough to help me with applying to this Academy. You two seemed to have problems so I just wanted to help." He shrugged as if jumping onto a flying Bullhead that was around two hundred meters away and fleeing was nothing more than a Thursday morning stroll to the grocery shop.
"Your Semblance looks a bit like mine… Speedster buddies?" She asked with a smile, extending a closed fist to the boy who just looked cluelessly at the gesture.
"Ugh… don't leave me hanging like this…" She whined with a blush, shaking her fist at him a bit.
"I'm sorry Miss Ruby Rose but I don't know what this means… Do you want to punch me?" He asked, clearly lost at the gesture.
"You never did a fist bump? You just make a fist like me and bump it into mine as a sign of friendship and stuff…" She explained, a bit confused how a teenager like her didn't even know the basic teenager etiquette.
Gasping, the strange boy did as asked and bumped fists with her.
"Does this mean we are friends now?" He asked with so much hope she couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Yeah, we are friends." Ruby replied with an even bigger smile. Maybe this whole two years earlier stuff wouldn't be so bad?
"Momentous! My first friend!" At that enthusiastic exclamation her smile dropped slightly, wasn't he older than her? How is it possible that she would be his first friend?
"Umm… Juane? Do you know where we are going?" She asked, deciding to not think about this strange boy's quirks too much.
"Yes, friend Ruby Rose! We are walking to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. Miss Huntress Glynda Goodwitch said that this will begin the initiation." He replied happily, pointing to a large building in the distance.
"Okay…" Once more she took a glance at him, his radiant smile nearly blinding. "You can call me just by my name, you know?"
"But I am?" He replied, confused.
"No, I mean… call me just Ruby…"
"Okay, Friend just Ruby!"
Ugh… her only friend in this place and he was even a bigger weirdo than her…
"Sooo… I have this." She decided to once more ignore his quirkiness and unfurled her baby, Crescent Rose. Maybe talking weapons would relax her a bit more.
XxX
Breath in…
Breath out…
Relax…
Just read your favorite book and don't think about anything…
Don't think about the fact you are surrounded by hundreds of people wanting to become hunters…
Don't think about the fact that there are dozens of licensed hunters milling around, a few of them renowned worldwide…
Nobody knows you are a faunus, Blake. Your disguise is impeccable. Just don't stand out and it will be fine.
"Greetings!"
The only thing that prevented her from jumping out of her skin was the sheer surprise of the fact that someone walked up to her unnoticed.
He even had the gall to greet her… Okay Blake… Normal human interaction 101… Greet people back…
"Hi." Short and to the point. Nailed it.
"I noticed that you were reading here by yourself, would you mind if I joined you by the light?" A blonde teen her age asked, a slightly goofy looking grin plastered on his face.
Scanning his face for a few seconds she couldn't recall if she met him before…
"Suit yourself." She replied in a leveled tone, watching him with the corner of her eye.
The blonde boy sat beside her, leaning on the wall and setting his luggage beside. He took out a worn-out book from his backpack, one that clearly saw heavy use.
Intrigued, she couldn't help but be curious. With sheer will she stopped her already itching ears from moving, pesky little things.
"What are you reading?" Placing her finger between the pages she lowered her own lecture to take a better look.
"Oh… This is an old book that I got from my family. A man with no soul." He smiled gently, as if remembering a fond memory.
"I never heard of it… Is it a part of the 'souls' series? I always thought that 'A man with two souls' was the first book written." This was so exciting! Did she just find a real gem of literature?!
"Oh? I haven't read that one yet. I only had access to the books in my home because we were living really far from cities." The blonde continued to smile while gently holding the book in his hands as if it was something really precious.
"Could I read it?" Barely stopping her ears from twitching once again, Blake asked hopefully. Being non stop on the run and in hiding didn't really allow her to get something fresh that often.
"I… Okay… But please be careful, this book is really precious to me…" Seeing how reluctant he was, she put down her own book and reverently received the much older and worn out one.
It was leather bound, something that wasn't really a thing any more. This book had character, had history of its own and it showed.
"Hey lover boy, who's your friend?" Sighing, Blake accepted the fact that her calm space wasn't going to be calm for much longer.
Before them were two girls. One was looking a bit young, had black hair that ended in deep red tips and rather uncommon silver eyes. She was clearly shy, hiding slightly behind the other girl that was the complete opposite. Long, golden hair cascaded to her back, mischievous lilac eyes were looking between the two bookworms and equally mischievous smile greeted her lips.
"You work fast, lover-boy. First you woo my little sister and now you are making moves on someone else?" The blonde asked, smiling toothily.
"Yaaaaang… stoooop embarrassing meeee…" The redhead whined, blushing.
"Oh, hey! This is… um…" The 'lover-boy' started to reply, only to turn to the black haired girl. "I forgot to initiate introductions, didn't I?" He asked her, looking sheepish.
"It's alright… I didn't do that either. Blake Belladonna, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She smiled slightly at the blonde boy, an action that she did probably for the first time in weeks.
"I'm JauneArc, this is my friend just Ruby and her older sister Yang Xiao Long." He introduced himself and the two girls.
"Juaaaane… stop making fun of meeee..." Ruby once more whined. "I told you to just call me Ruby! Just Ruby! Not 'just Ruby'!" She pointed to the boy in question, who looked comically confused.
"But I'm doing that, friend just Ruby." He replied, tilting his head slightly.
It had to be some inside joke because Yang started to laugh while her younger sister growled angrily while pulling on her hair.
"Could you be any louder?!" A cold voice interrupted their small interaction, belonging to a petite girl with white hair and light blue eyes. She glared frostily at the group, as if she was willing them to disappear. "People are trying to sleep here, cut out this banter and respect your peers!" She commanded without hesitation and with her voice carrying authority.
"Yeeees mooooom." Yang snickered, getting a few chuckles from the people in the background too.
Sending a particularly chilling glare to the blonde girl, the newcomer scoffed and looked at the rest of the group expectantly.
"I don't know why I would need to follow your demands, Schnee. Lights out will be in over half an hour, you will need to deal with us until then." Feeling the old resentment to the Schnee family bubbling back up, Blake replied to the white haired girl in an equally cold voice. The hatred started to burn even more when she remembered that this could cost her the new reading material from the blonde boy.
"Now, now. There's no need to fight. We'll be quieter. I'm sorry miss…" Standing up, Jaune raised his own palms in a placating gesture. The fact that he was towering over the white themed girl by a head and half seemed to take the girl aback.
"You don't know who I am?" She asked with disbelief, somehow managing to look down at the blonde boy despite the fact she needed to crane her head back.
"Umm… should I?" He asked the two sisters and the still sitting Blake.
"I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss introduced herself while puffing out her relatively small chest, clearly expecting some reaction.
"Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." And clearly, she didn't expect for the blonde to just introduce himself back and offer her a hand to shake.
More by instinct than anything else she took his hand, her own practically drowning in the much larger palm of the boy.
"Likewise…" She replied in a slight daze that went away as suddenly as it appeared. "Please be quiet from now on, we should try to be rested for tomorrow. Good night to you all." With that said, Weiss turned around and gracefully walked away from the group.
"Huh… who would have thought that lover-boy here has such a way with words? And here I thought that there would be a cat fight." Yang broke the ensuing silence, a small smile returning to her lips.
"I just don't like conflicts. My father always said that we shouldn't create unnecessary fights." The blonde boy said, returning to sitting beside Blake. "And there are no cats over here…" Shielding his face from the others he theatrically whispered to the black haired girl
"That doesn't mean that you need to listen to everyone who thinks that they can order you around, lover-boy. You need to stand your ground sometimes, even if it means offending some people." Yang countered.
"I guess we'll see each other tomorrow before the initiation, see you around lover-boy." Taking by hand her younger sister who still was grumbling at Juane, the blonde brawler walked off to wherever the two came from.
Looking around, Blake sighed when she saw that most of the people were already in their sleeping bags or going to sleep. The old book still in her hand beckoned her, calling to her to start reading and live through the story…
"We should go to sleep too… thank you for lending me this book, even if I was unable to enjoy it." Giving her companion a small smile she gave the book back, holding onto it a bit longer when he took it.
"Are you going to pass the initiation tomorrow?" His question took her a bit by surprise.
"Well… I'm planning to."
"Then you can read it after, can't you?" He asked once more with a smile. "I'm not comfortable with leaving this book with you when I don't know if you will be staying in the Academy so if you get in it won't be an issue any more, right?"
"Right, now I don't have any choice but to pass, do I?" With one of the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile, Blake couldn't help but think that her decision to come to Beacon wasn't all that bad.
XxX
"For years you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin, the headmaster of the Academy spoke to the gathered examinees.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard about the assignment of teams. Allow us to put an end to that confusion." Glynda Goodwitch took over. "All of you will have assigned teams, today."
A small murmur went through the crowd of students, most of them surprised that they would be paired so soon.
"Those teams will be with you for the next four years that you will spend at this Academy." Ozpin continued, taking a large sip of coffee from his mug. "That being said… The first person you will make eye contact with will be your partner."
"What?!" A shrill voice of Ruby Rose echoed from beside him, causing Jaune to wonder if this was so unexpected.
Granted, he never was a part of any initiations but it didn't seem to be that surprising. Looking at the other prospective students that were arranged in line with him it seemed that maybe, just maybe it actually was unusual.
"After you partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way." Ignoring the slight commotion among the students, Ozpin continued. "Do not hesitate to destroy everything along your way, or you will die."
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of your path, it will contain a few relics for you to recover. You need to bring one of those relics per pair back here to pass the initiation." The headmaster continued with the explanation. "Are there any questions?"
"Yes, about that 'destroy all in your way' thing?" Jaune tried to ask, raising his hand.
"No? Good! Now, take your positions." Just to be completely ignored.
At the older man's words everyone prepared themselves, crouching lower and taking out their weapons.
"Mister Ozpin? I have a question?" Jaune tried once again, as Weiss Schnee was launched high into the skies over the forest.
"Sooo… this 'destroy all in your way' thing…" He continued as more and more people were sent into the forest one after another.
"Yes, mister Arc? I don't think this will be any problem for you?" Glynda was the one to answer as the headmaster was occupied by watching some of the flailing students while drinking his coffee.
"Well… I mean… I don't want to misunderstand your instructions." The blonde boy continued, causing the blonde woman to raise her delicate brow for him to continue.
In the corner of his eye he could see Yang Xiao Long putting on aviator sunglasses just before being sent into the air with a laugh.
"How much of the 'all' should I destroy?" He continued to ask.
"The Grimm. Headmaster was talking about the creatures of Grimm." Letting out a sigh Glynda specified for him, already knowing that the blonde boy had a few strange quirks like that. She learned it after Ozpin invited him to one of the Beacon's training halls and asked him to attack the training robot with his all.
She spent nearly half an hour putting the whole building back together.
"Remember, Mister Arc! Use everything at your disposal. Your admission to this school depends on it!" Her employer's voice brought her out of her musings, making one of her eyes twitch.
"Oh! Okay then!" The strange boy replied, just in time for his platform to activate too, the blonde teen on it being launched into the forest while tumbling head over heels without any control.
"This is going to be one big disaster, you know that right?" Following the quickly disappearing form of the blonde teen with her gaze, Glynda asked the headmaster.
"This is going to be interesting, is what this is going to be..." Slurping his coffee once again Ozpin smiled slightly seeing an enormous explosion of dirt and wood from where Jaune Arc was supposed to be sent.
"... I want a raise." His assistant deadpanned, starting to monitor the prospective students on her large scroll.
"Denied."
XxX
"It's all that child's fault!" Weiss shouted, using an acceleration Glyph to dodge a strike from a massive golden stinger.
This was supposed to be her moment.
The start of her career as a Huntress.
The first few moments she sends away her father's lackeys she runs into that girl in red and black.
It wasn't her fault that the luggage cart was so heavy and hard to stop. That Ruby girl should be more aware about her surroundings, she should have moved away, not stand in the middle of the walkway like a dolt.
To make matters worse, that childish girl managed to create an explosion that damaged most of her Dust supplies. Thanks to her she had only a few cartridges for her Mertynaster, not nearly enough for the coming weeks of school but hopefully enough to finish initiation.
Sliding under a low hanging branch she created one more acceleration Glyph, launching herself further away from the Alpha Deathstalker that plowed through the trees as if they were made from wet tissue paper.
A bus sized scorpion, armored like a tank and armed with pincers capable of crushing boulders like dry lumps of earth. As if that wasn't enough it had a long, powerful tail with a stinger that contained venom so corrosive it could eat through steel.
Okay… maybe she could have thought a bit more about the crude drawings at the entrance to that cave, which was much too small for such a thing to be inside by the by.
She tried to find someone that could become her partner, hoping that it could be Pyrrha Nicos. It was such a stroke of good luck that she managed to meet the Mistrali champion, they even had quite a nice talk if she said so herself.
For some reason she didn't find anyone though so she decided to go to the designated target location in hope of finding herself a partner.
Creating more Glyphs, Weiss jumped between a few more trees to try and break off from the powerful Grimm. Being high in the air she caught a glimpse of a man made structure, hopefully those were the ruins that headmaster Ozpin talked about. With a bit of luck she could meet up with some other student candidates to fight off this overgrown scorpion.
Breaking through the treeline at the edge of the clearing with the ruins in the center she immediately spotted five people near the entrance, registering much too late that her foot didn't hit the ground in her next stride.
There was also the small fact that she emerged on top of a small cliff, around fifteen meters over the ground with such speed that before she could react it was too late.
Crashing gracefully into the ground the white haired girl rolled for a few more meters with her momentum before she stopped before a trio of her peers with a groan.
"Are you alright, Miss Weiss Schnee?" Not even a few seconds later she found herself in the shadow of a mountain of a man, clad in jeans and a black hoodie of all things.
"Death… stalker… A-Alpha…" She eloquently wheezed out, trying to stop her world from spinning.
"Wow, did you see that entrance, Renny?!" An obnoxiously energetic girl with orange hair shook her partner who looked so passive one could mistake him for a sloth faunus or something.
She could feel the adrenaline draining from her system as she was away from the beast for the moment.
Taking the offered hand from the man she certainly didn't yelp when he lifted her bodily from the ground without so much as a sign of effort.
"Well, lover-boy. Looks like you got yourself a partner after all!" The boisterous voice of that blonde girl from yesterday was the first thing that took her attention after the rapier wielding girl centered herself.
"You see Juane? I told you that everything will be grand." A red haired girl in bronze armor buted in with a small smile.
Great… So having Pyrrha Nikos as her partner was out of the question now.
Looking once more to the man that helped her she recognized him immediately.
"This is Momentous! I hope we will be able to become friends." He exclaimed happily with a grin.
Well… this could always be worse. The tall young man before her seemed to be sturdy at least, even if his posture looked a bit too relaxed.
A loud crash stopped any further talk, gaining the attention of the four.
The same Grimm monster that chased the heiress for the last fifteen minutes was tearing through the forest alongside the cliff, trying to get to them in a way that didn't include falling to its death.
"An Alpha Deathstalker, a really large one!" Weiss replied to the unspoken question, taking a quick look around while trying to come up with some kind of plan.
"And that's a big bird." Hearing her new partner, Weiss looked in the direction the blonde pointed.
It would be extremely hard to tell with her complexion but she paled slightly when she saw an enormous Nevermore, probably an Alpha too.
Something caught her attention though, making her squint her eyes at the airborne beast. It was hard to see with the distance but there were two shapes moving around the Grimm's frame.
"Oh, friend just Ruby and Miss Blake Belladonna. What are they doing up there?" Jaune asked, somewhat being able to distinguish everything from this distance.
"MY RUBABY IS UP THERE?!" Yang erupted, overhearing the other blonde.
"Oh… No, not any more." He replied without too much care.
A small, red and black dot jumped off of the Grimm bird, shortly followed by a black and white one.
Oh… so that's what he meant…
"Arc! Catch Belladonna!" Weiss ordered, pointing her rapier to the sky as the Dust chambers cycled to the gravity Dust.
Focusing on the falling girl she created a few weak stasis Glyphs, cushioning and slowing down her descent.
Just as she was going to yell at her partner to hurry up she heard a strange humming noise before a sudden burst of wind erupted from beside her, just for the blonde boy to fly upwards and intercept the second girl high over the tree tops and land on the ground with a heavy impact.
"Wow… Sis really didn't exaggerate…" Yang commented, clearly less surprised by what Jaune did.
"Thanks Weiss!" Ruby happily skipped to her, raising a hand for a high five.
"What even was that you dolt? What were the two of you doing up there?!" Not dignifying the younger girl with the childish gesture, Weiss barely stopped herself from exploding and decided to merely chide her for being reckless.
"Please calm down, partner Weiss Schnee. I'm sure that they have their reasons." Jaune stopped her before she could really start to tear into the red reaper. The fact that he was still carrying Blake in his arms like a princess caused her to pause too.
"Umm… Juane?" The girl in his arms tried to get his attention, holding her both hands close to her chest.
"Yes, Miss Blake Belladonna?" The boy in question looked down to her with a smile that caused the black haired girl to blush slightly.
"Can you set me down?"
"Yes, I can."
"..."
"..."
"Will you?"
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"Can you do it now? Please set me down on the ground." Trying to maintain her crumbling composure Blake barely managed not to cover her burning face.
Acting as if nothing happened, her partner set down the black haired girl on the ground.
"We probably should do something about the Grimm." He unsheathed his sword with his right hand and unhooked the scabbard, gripping it in his left. His gaze turned to the Grimm flying overhead with a strange gleam while his face was set in that carefree smile of his.
"We need to split them up between us!" With the years of leadership training Weiss immediately came up with a strategy, even if only a rudimentary one.
"Long range fighters, take on the Nevermore! Mid to close range fighters stall the Deathstalker until the rest can give you support!" She commanded, projecting her voice clearly for everyone to hear.
This was her moment!
She could shine as the Huntress she dreamed of becoming!
A loud explosion from beside her nearly pushed her to the ground, her Aura stopping a few pebbles from bruising her flawless skin. (No, her eye scar didn't count because it was earned in combat and was a badge of honor!)
"Woohoo! Go Juane!" Ruby Rose cheered from nearby, waving her oversized gardening tool like a makeshift banner.
"How in the world…" The baffled voice of Blake Belladonna caught her off guard too, seeming out of place coming from her.
Hearing the screech of pain from the enormous flying Grimm, Weiss lifted her gaze upwards just in time to see her partner nearly bisecting the beast. With what looked like one powerful swing of his rather plain sword he cut off one of its wings and caused it to plummet to the ground.
As if the blonde teen decided that this wasn't enough he positioned himself on the underside of the bird and with what she now saw as an incredibly powerful jump he pushed downward with enough force to send the Nevermore upwards and cause another explosive shockwave.
Falling like a meteor he impacted with the ground just behind the tree line, a large eruption of dirt and dust following just after. The loud screeches of the bus sized scorpion that chased her earlier suddenly stopped, replaced by the noise of a few falling trees and pieces of earth raining back down.
"See Yang? I told you so!" Turning back to the group of teenagers that gathered beside her, Weiss could practically taste the smugness emanating from the scythe wielding little red riding reaper.
Feeling her mouth open slightly Weiss Shnee, the heiress to the biggest company in the world, felt numb. Only one question slipping out of her mouth.
"What the f…."
XxXxX
Author's note: Hello! Yes, I know that the characters are OOC. No, I'm not going to do anything about it :D. I had this first chapter saved for quite some time, so I decided to just publish it for six and giggles.
For anyone that's confused. Jaune is an Android, somewhat like Penny but much more advanced. How did he come to life? Why? Who knows… You can think of him as Genos from OPM but with synthetic skin that covers him outside his designated battle mode.
Yeah, it's stupid and weird but so am I.
Cheers! :D