Chapter 1: First Impressions

RUBY

When she was a little girl, Ruby would often have the same, blissful dream, night after night without fail.

In her sleep, she would find herself standing before a great castle, constructed from columns of beautiful white ivory stretching high into the sky, as if straining to pierce the moon and stars themselves.

The sun would shine down on her, its bright yellow rays enveloping her body in a warm glow as she watched flocks of lovely black birds flying above, bathing in the light. And all around her were fields of lush red roses, reaching out far beyond her line of sight, seeming to go on forever. They would call out to her as she approached the castle's gates, with voices of people she didn't recognize, yet felt as though she'd known for years.

The first time she'd dreamt it, Ruby had woken up the next morning remembering nothing but the vague memory of something pleasant. But every day afterwards, she would recall one more detail of her dream, piece by piece, until one day she was able to recount the entire thing to Uncle Qrow.

Her mentor had laughed, not maliciously, and told her that her dream sounded like something right out of a fairy tale. It was a pretty thing to think about, but nothing one might find in the real world.

And yet the castle in her dreams was all Ruby could think of as the Naglfar descended from the skies, bringing the full majesty of Beacon Academy into view. She'd seen pictures and videos of the place many times, but viewing it up close was an entirely different experience. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her life - besides Crescent Rose, of course.

Uncle Qrow was wrong, Ruby thought with a smile. Fairy tales are real.

"Hey, Ruby?" Yang gave her a bump on the shoulder, breaking her out of her stupor. "Get your mind back to Remnant, sis. Looks like everyone's getting ready for landing."

Ruby looked around and sure enough, crowds of students were heading away from the inner deck, either carrying their luggage on their back or dragging it along the floor. A scrawny, meek-looking boy was awkwardly scrambling his way through the crowd, a nauseous expression on his face.

"Come on," her sister said with a grin. "Let's go get a better look at our new home."

Ruby smiled back. "Okay."

As the airship prepared for the final stage of its landing, Ruby and Yang made their way to the front of the passengers, getting several looks from other students as they passed by. Ruby did her best to avert her gaze, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes.

She wondered what they thought of her, a petite girl who clearly looked younger than the average Beacon freshman, standing among so many future heroes of Remnant. Perhaps they resented her for 'cutting in line'? Did they think she cheated her way into the school?

While lost in thought, she bumped into someone's steel-plated shoulder. "Ow! Sorry," she said hastily to the scrawny boy, who had now turned an alarming shade of green. His face was crunched up in a tortured expression, and he didn't even seem to have noticed her. Taking this as a blessing, Ruby rushed ahead to where her sister was waiting for her.

"There you are," Yang laughed as Ruby bent over, gasping for breath. "I almost thought I'd left you behind. That would've been a story to tell Dad and Uncle Qrow, eh? On the very first day, I had to fish you out of the Lost & Found bin again."

"Aw, shut up." Ruby gave her a soft punch in good humour. As she looked around at the hundreds of other students, she let out a nervous sigh as her gaze moved down to the floor. "It's kinda scary, isn't it?"

"Scary? How so?"

"I mean, there's a lot of people here. Way more than there ever were back at Signal Academy. And we're gonna be basically living with all of them for… almost four years? Doesn't that sound overwhelming to you?"

Yang seemed to ponder this for a second. "Hmmm… nope, not really. I dunno how to keep telling you this, Ruby, but you need to stop thinking of people like they're the Grimm or something. Sure, most of these guys are strangers to us, but not all strangers are bad guys."

"... Dad told us they are," Ruby muttered.

"When you were six!" Yang laughed. "C'mon, lighten up. This is a great opportunity for you. Just think of all the friends you're gonna make here at Beacon - and they'll all be brave, strong warriors, just like your favourite heroes! Not like you have a choice anyway, since we'll all have partners and teams and everything."

Ruby knew about that, even if she'd tried her hardest to forget it. She didn't understand why she would need a partner here at Beacon - she could hold her own in battle just fine. The only people she'd ever fought alongside with were Yang, Qrow and occasionally her father, and she was perfectly fine with that.

She thought about Professor Ozpin, and how the headmaster had discreetly bent the rules to allow her early entry into Beacon. Was it possible he could do it a second time? Give her a special privilege to be excluded from this whole "partner system" nonsense? It was a long shot, but maybe… just maybe…

Suddenly, Ruby felt the Naglfar come to a sudden halt as it completed its landing. Almost immediately, the front doors opened and students began pouring out en masse. Taking a deep breath, Ruby took her first step outside, into the wonderful world of Beacon Academy, sticking as close to Yang as possible.

Yes, that was a good plan. If she absolutely, no questions asked, had to be stuck with a partner, she'd just make sure she was paired up with her sister. It just made sense: they'd always done everything together, so why should this be any different? They already knew each other's fighting styles, and they could cover each other's weaknesses, so they'd be perfect partners. That why, she wouldn't need to make any stupid 'friends', ever.

Qrow would probably laugh at at her, say she was being a wimp - but Qrow wasn't there. Ruby smiled and nodded to herself as she basked in the brilliance of her plan. It was perfect, absolutely perfect, and as long as she stuck with Yang at all times everything would turn out fine-

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!" Suddenly, a young woman's voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd, her yell as loud as the crack of thunder. Alarmed, Ruby turned around and saw, in the distance, a short ginger-haired girl waving excitedly in their direction, grinning ear to ear. A dark-haired boy stood by her side, wearing a worn green robe that Ruby recognized as Mistralian design.

"Heey, Nora! And Ren, too!" Ruby saw her sister wave back, an equally enthusiastic grin on her face. "Long time no see!" Yang gave Ruby a pat on the shoulder, ignoring the confused expression on her face, and ran off in their direction. "I'll meet you in the auditorium for the ceremony!" she shouted before disappearing in a sea of faces. "Make at least one friend by then, alright? See ya!"

"H-h-huh? No, wait!" Ruby reached out for her, but it was no good - Yang was out of sight, and already at least twenty people were between them, with virtually no hope of her getting through. It was then, while nearly suffocating from the weight of countless students surrounding her on all sides, that she realized her genius plan had failed, and she had just lost her only lifeline. Overcome by shock, she felt herself leaning back.

At that moment, several things happened at once.

The scrawny boy from earlier - who was now directly behind her - finally reached his limit, and with a horrid, nightmarish gurgle of a sound, threw up the entirety of what had presumably been his breakfast. An ocean of milky, orange fluid cascaded onto Ruby's head, shoulders and back, along with soft, wet chunks that smelled of toast and eggs. Many pieces clung to her hair, a few made themselves a new home inside her hood, and more still came dripping down onto her face.

Screaming at the sudden warm sensation, Ruby leapt forward, accidentally activating her super speed. She felt a sharp pain in her head as she collided with someone in front of her, falling gracessly onto the concrete ground below. Groaning, and fully aware of how awful she smelled, she turned her head to see the scrawny boy keeled over, hands on his stomach as he continued retching with no end in sight.

Gross, she thought, horrified. Looking up, she noticed that most of the people in the crowd were backing away from her with expressions of disgust and fear on their faces. Well, at least she didn't feel so claustrophobic anymore, but Ruby was hardly in a position to feel good about that.

After a moment, she saw that there was another girl lying in front of her, clearly dazed from the collision. She was clutching her suitcase, which now lay open, and a few pieces of the vomit had gotten into her otherwise immaculate white hair. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry," Ruby tried to say, crawling over to her. "I didn't mean-"

She paused, only now realizing she was holding something in her hands. Somehow, during the collision, she'd found herself holding two expensive-looking vials of Dust - one of fire and the other of ice. Worse still, the two vials had been cracked open from the fall, and their contents were mixing together, producing a suspicious-looking black smoke…

"Uh-oh," was all Ruby could say, before the explosion happened. She had the vague sensation of flying straight through the air, flailing wildly, before crashing back down to earth, now also covered in soot from head to toe, whimpering in agony.

If the bystanders weren't avoiding her before, they certainly were now, as most of them fled in the other direction, screaming. A few stayed behind to help the white-haired girl to her feet, anxiously asking if she was alright. They pulled her to her feet and began ushering her towards the school, completely ignoring Ruby a few feet away.

Ruby lay on the ground, her body hurting all over, and decided that death by a Grimm mauling didn't sound so disagreeable at the moment. Before she could wallow in her own misery, however, she saw someone approach her - the boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked sheepishly, his face looking significantly healthier, though it had traded out its green for a bright shade of red. He extended a hand to her. "I'm so, so sorry. That was all my fault. Trust me, I don't usually get motion sick, but it was pretty rocky on that ship, and-"

"It's fine." Ruby brushed him off, wincing from the pain as she got to her feet. She still had no desire to converse with anyone, least of all the person who had just thrown up all over her and caused her to become a human bomb. "I'll just… be on my way…" Ash-stained chunks of vomit began falling from her hair, and suddenly she wanted to cry.

"No, really! Look, here, let me at least clean you up." Desperate, the boy rushed over to her with a dainty lace handkerchief in his hand. Before Ruby could respond, he began to gingerly brush her hair, along with her shoulders and cape, scraping away bits and pieces of the abominable mess that had gathered on her. It wasn't a perfect job, but she was grateful nonetheless.

"Guess I should introduce myself," the boy said. "The name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. It's, uh, nice to meet you?"

"Ruby Rose," Ruby muttered, getting a better look at Jaune Arc: he had short, messy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and from closer up he was more average-sized than scrawny, his large suit of armor making his actual build appear smaller. His weapon lay at his hilt - a rather unimpressive-looking sword and sheath.

By this point, all the other students were long gone. The two of them began their arduous walk toward the front entrance, groggy and smelling like filth. "So, super-speed, huh?" Jaune asked, breaking the silence. "That's a neat Semblance."

Ruby nodded silently. Her Semblance - a unique ability powered by Aura, the manifestation of one's soul - was indeed useful, and had gotten her out of many difficult situations before. But in this instance, it had clearly done more harm than good.

"I wish I had a Semblance," Jaune sighed, staring at his hands. "I mean, I know I have one - everyone does, I just haven't found it yet. Maybe here at Beacon it'll finally happen, and then I can just as good a Huntsman as everyone else."

He hasn't found his Semblance yet? Ruby found that odd. It was true that the vast majority of people never unlocked their Semblance, but those who followed the Huntsman's path typically discovered theirs during prep school.

"I wonder what we're gonna do here," he continued. "Are they just gonna send us out to fight Grimm right off the bat? Or are we gonna be stuck in classrooms most of the time? I know I shouldn't have anything to worry about, but sometimes I wonder if I'm up to the task. Last thing I wanna do is let down everyone back at home."

Ruby frowned at him. "... Do you usually talk to yourself that much?"

"Huh? Myself?" Jaune stopped in his tracks, looking confused. "I'm talking to you, obviously. You know, since we're friends. Aren't we?"

Ruby was shocked, but when she thought about it, she realized that Jaune was, in a way, her friend now. Her very first friend at Beacon. She should have been happy about that, but when she looked at him, she couldn't help but feel he didn't quite live up to the image of a noble, fearless warrior that she'd always admired.

Then again, who was she to judge? "Yeah, you're right," she said. "I… I'm sure you'll be fine. I mean, we're all here cuz we proved ourselves worthy, right? I mean… except maybe me. I'm actually two years too young to be at Beacon."

"Really? You're fifteen?" Jaune looked at her, surprised but also with a glint of admiration in his eyes. "That's amazing! If you got in early, that just means you're even better than the rest of us! You're probably gonna do great."

Despite herself, Ruby smiled at the compliment. "...Thanks," she said softly.

They finally reached the school, and some annoyed-looking coordinators ushered the two of them to the auditorium, where the opening ceremony was already underway. Multiple heads turned as Ruby and Jaune entered, and quite a few of them looked away in disgust, whispering to each other. Her face flushed in embarrassment, Ruby tried to find her sister in the crowd.

"You have traveled here today because you seek strength," came a voice on the stage, and Ruby immediately recognized the man as Professor Ozpin. It seemed like they'd arrived in the middle of his speech. "You believe that by becoming strong, you will find what is necessary to protect what is precious to you.

"But strength will only take you so far. By itself, power can be used in service of creation or destruction, in equal measures. It is my hope, and the hope of everyone on the academy board, that your time here at Beacon will provide you with all the skills needed to hone that strength into something more - something truly indomitable." His gaze moved over the hundreds of students gathered before him, and for a brief moment his eyes seemed to rest on Ruby.

"Many of you are prepared to swear yourselves to protecting the people of Remnant from the Grimm. In time, you will find that there is far more to being a Huntsman, far more duties than a single person can hope to accomplish. My greatest hope is that with the knowledge you will find here at this school, when the time comes you will be able to make the right choice - a choice you can be truly proud of."

Suddenly, an indignant scream filled the hall. "There you are!" The white-haired girl from before was pushing her way through the crowd, her hair and dress still dirty, her pale blue eyes filled with rage as she furiously approached Ruby. "You. You're the one who pushed me, aren't you?"

"I-I… I didn't mean to." Ruby protested, aware that all the eyes in the room were on her now. "It was just an accident…"

"She's right!" Jaune added, rushing to her defense. "It was my fault. I, um, got sick at the wrong time and, well…" He winced as people began to laugh at him.

"Oh, shut up, both of you," the girl snapped. "You do know that was some very expensive Dust you ruined, right? And what about this dress? Worth more than all the Lien you've ever spent in your lives, I'd bet. You could have nearly gotten someone killed, and if you think some silly excuses are going to-"

"You're Weiss Schnee, right?" An unfamiliar voice interrupted her rant. Ruby turned to see a dark-haired girl wearing a bow emerge from the crowd, moving gracefully as though she were a shadow. "The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?"

Weiss Schnee stared at her in confusion. "... Obviously, I am," she finally said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find someone in Remnant who doesn't know my name. I'm painfully aware of that fact."

For a few seconds, the dark-haired girl simply stared at Weiss, creating an uncomfortable silence in the great hall. "It's rare to see someone from such a rich family covered in filth, and with such an ugly look on her face." Her eyes squinted in an expression of barely-concealed scorn. "I have to say though, I think it suits you better."

"You… how dare you!" Weiss yelled, all her anger at Ruby forgotten in an instant. The mysterious girl ignored her, however, and simply slinked back into the crowd, vanishing as quickly as she'd appeared. Weiss turned back at Ruby and opened her mouth as if to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Without another word she stormed off, as bystanders stepped aside to let her through.

"Did she have to be so mean?" Ruby wondered aloud, and turned to Jaune to see if he agreed. To her dismay, he was blankly staring ahead, his gaze transfixed on where Weiss had been a moment ago.

"... As you can plainly see, cooperation is necessary for our survival," Professor Ozpin said, a hint of wry humour in his voice. "That is why one of your first - and most important - lessons will be to learn how to work with your fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses, to create bonds that will last beyond your years here at Beacon. Keep this in mind when you are matched with your partners tomorrow. That will be all - thank you."

His speech concluded, and everyone burst into applause. After a brief hesitation, Ruby joined in.

Professor Goodwitch took the stand. "Tomorrow, your initiation will begin. You will all gather in the ballroom for the night, with separate sections for boys and girls. Be sure you are all ready, if you plan on making it out in one piece." With that ominous statement, she dismissed the students and followed Ozpin off the stage.

Shortly afterward, Ruby bid Jaune farewell, and made a beeline for the nearest shower room. After cleaning herself up as best as she could, she somehow found her way to the ballroom, ignoring the looks and whispers from passerby. Instantly recognizing a head of long, loose golden hair, she ran over to her sister.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed happily, opening her arms for a hug. She yelled in surprise when she instead got a flurry of punches and kicks to the stomach, along with some angry screaming. "Ow! Hey, what are you doing?"

"Why did you ditch me?" Ruby asked as she glared at her sister, who stood at almost a full head taller than her. "Thanks to you, I got puked on, I blew myself up, and then I got yelled at in front of hundreds of people! "

"Oh, I've heard all about it," Yang chuckled. "I have to say, sis, you've exceeded my expectations. The first day and everyone's already talking about 'Bomb Girl and Vomit Boy'. You're already a celebrity!"

"Stop it, stop it!" Ruby groaned. "This is not how I wanted to become famous! I mean, at least Jaune turned out to be kinda nice, but it doesn't make up for everything I had to go through! I wish I'd just stayed at Signal…"

"Jaune? Who's that?" Suddenly, Yang's eyes lit up. "Oh, wait. Ohhh, I get it… don't tell me, sis. Do you already have a boyfriend?"

"No, no, no!" Ruby yelled, no longer caring that people could hear her. "It's nothing like that! Just stop talking to me! This is the worst day of my life, and it's all! Your! Fault!"

Yang placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "... Sis, it's okay," she said, her voice becoming far gentler. "Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby. What matters is you don't let it keep you down. You'll get over it, and before long this'll just be a funny story to tell your friends at parties." Her mischievous smile returned. "Trust me, I'm gonna get a lot of mileage out of this."

"I know you will," Ruby replied, her anger subsiding, as she suddenly realized there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "But I'm not gonna hold back, either." Wiping them away, she gave Yang a playful punch to the shoulder.

Before long, the night was upon them, and the two sisters lay in their sleeping bags, watching the stars shine through the glass ceiling. And with them was the moon, its shattered half visible this time of year. Ruby always found it an eerily beautiful sight.

"Tomorrow's the day," Yang said.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "I… I hope you're my partner, sis."

"Honestly? Me too. But if things don't go so well…" Her sister smiled at her before tucking herself in. "Well, you can't come crying back to me forever, y'know."

Ruby smiled back, and closed her eyes.

WEISS

As always, she woke up at the crack of dawn.

Yawning softly, Weiss made her way to the locker room as the first rays of the morning sun came in through the ornate windows. They were fancy affairs, but not quite as overbearing as the ones in Schnee Manor, and she was perfectly fine with that.

Her hair was tied up in her favourite side ponytail, and she'd picked out a fresh new dress. It smelled of perfume, which Weiss didn't normally enjoy, but it was preferable to keeping her defiled old outfit. The previous day, she'd learned what scrambled eggs and ham smelled like mid-digestion, and she'd give quite a bit of Lien to cleanse it from her memory.

So her life at Beacon hadn't begun on the best note. But she resolved to put that behind her, and make sure that after today, people would remember her for who she truly was: not a rich girl, not a Schnee, but a prodigy. She opened the door to the locker room, fully expecting to be the first one inside.

She wasn't.

Approaching the only other person there, Weiss saw it was the dark-haired girl from yesterday - the one who had insulted her in front of everyone. The girl turned around, adjusting her bow, and their eyes locked. Several seconds passed, and the silence between them was almost tangible.

"You're early," the girl said, breaking the tension.

"I could say the same to you," Weiss replied coldly. "I must say, I didn't expect to see you again so soon, miss... ?"

"Beaumont," she said. "Blake Beaumont. I come from a little village called Quilt, on the outskirts of Vale. Most of us were farmers or fishermen. No one was ever really rich, and the weather wasn't always kind to us, but we made it work."

Weiss nodded slowly. "I'm happy to hear that."

"At least, until prospectors found a hefty Dust deposit under our land. Then some corporate suits came to verify the findings, and in the blink of an eye almost all our crops were gone, our houses and farms demolished, replaced by a large factory and some very unsafe mines." Blake's steely gaze never left her as she spoke. "They were right about the Dust, though. The company made money. A lot of money, and they didn't have to give up anything."

Weiss met her stare, suddenly feeling very threatened - which was ridiculous, of course. How could this girl pose any threat to her, the Prodigy of Atlas? "... That wasn't me," she finally muttered, fully aware that it was the worst possible thing she could have said.

"Of course it wasn't," Blake said, her tone unchanging.

Suddenly, the tension was broken by the sound of the door opening. Relieved, Weiss turned around to see another girl enter the room. She was a tall, beautiful young woman with fiery scarlet hair, bright green eyes, and already clad in a full set of ornate, bronze armour. Just from a glance, she would seem to be a famed Huntress from the great legends.

"Hello, everyone!" she chirped, unaware of the animosity brewing between Weiss and Blake. "Who's ready for a great initiation today?" Her voice was sweet and friendly, but seemed strained - almost artificial.

Blake ignored the girl; her attention had turned back to her own equipment, and she simply returned to her preparations as if the other people in the room didn't exist. She softly hummed a tune to herself as she worked.

Weiss, meanwhile, stared at the new arrival. "I know you," she exclaimed, her heart beating with excitement. Careful now, don't betray yourself. "You're Pyrrha Nikos, aren't you? I've seen you all over the news! I hear you're the best Huntress-in-training in all of Mistral."

"Oh, is that what they say about me?" Pyrrha smiled, going to retrieve her weapons - a lance and shield, with the same aesthetic as her armour. "That's an honour, but I'm afraid those tales have somewhat exaggerated my strength. I hope you won't be too disappointed."

But Pyrrha's assessment of herself was wrong, and Weiss knew it. Every aspiring Huntsman and Huntress worth their salt knew about Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, and the stories that were told of her prowess. Four-time grand champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, graduate with top honours at the notoriously strict Sanctum Academy, and winner of several medals for heroism in her hometown's Grimm repulsion efforts, it was hard to think of a seventeen-year old with a list of accomplishments more impressive than Pyrrha's.

In other words, she was the perfect partner for Weiss. Why, if they were on the same team, they would be unstoppable. Not only would they be the most undefeatable duo in terms of both combat skills and classroom smarts, but they would be all but guaranteed to sweep the Vytal Festival Tournament in the fall term.

It was the chance of a lifetime, better than anything she could have hoped for. All she had to do was become Pyrrha Nikos's partner, and Weiss was set for life. Feeling all of her hopes and dreams coming true, Weiss opened her mouth, preparing to say something that would butter the girl up.

"It's a neeeeeeeeeew day!" An obnoxiously loud voice rang out, echoing throughout the locker room. A ginger-haired girl entered with a wildly enthusiastic grin on her face. "This is gonna be the best day ever! I can feel it!" She began singing to herself as she danced towards her locker, the other two girls trailing behind her. One was a tall, blonde beauty who was dressed like some village tramp, and the other, practically clinging to the blonde's arm was…

Weiss locked eyes with the girl in the red cape, and though it was only for a moment, she felt an unpleasant scowl form on her face. When she turned back, Pyrrha had gone over to her own locker, on the other side of the room, greeting the students who were now beginning to flood into the room like a flock of lemmings. Her perfect opportunity was ruined.

Seething, Weiss gathered her equipment - Myrtenaster, spare Dust vials, her combat skirt - and stormed out as fast she could, making her way to Beacon Cliff. Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch were waiting, and she felt a pang of relief to see she was the first one to arrive.

"Good morning, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, with a good-natured smile and a twinkle in his eye. "You're as punctual as I'd expect from someone with such a disciplined upbringing."

"Thank you, professor," Weiss replied, hoping she sounded like the very personification of respect. "I hope my performance today will impress you."

"We shall see, very soon," the headmaster chuckled.

He seemed to like her - that was good. Taking a deep breath, Weiss decided to take a chance. "If I may, professor, I'd like to request my partner - Pyrrha Nikos, of Mistral. Of course, whether she'll agree is up to her, but -"

To her dismay, Ozpin shook his head, still smiling. "I'm afraid that's not allowed, Miss Schnee. All of our pairs will be chosen the same way - no privileges, no first-come, first-serve basis. That being said, I hope you'll be satisfied with whomever you're partnered up with."

Weiss's mouth was left agape. "But-"

"Please position yourself on one of the platforms, Miss Schnee," said Professor Goodwitch, her voice far colder than her superior's. "The rest of the students should be arriving shortly… if they don't wish to face the consequences."

Reluctantly, Weiss made her way to one of hundreds of strange, stone slabs engraved with the Beacon emblem that were scattered along the cliff. She stood on its surface, noting how uncomfortable it felt under her heels.

As Goodwitch had said, the other students soon arrived, and before long all of the stone platforms were occupied by people of all shapes and sizes, from a variety of different cultures; Weiss recognized some of them as her fellow Atlesians, while others were dressed like peasants - likely from the deserts of Vacuo.

To her unending horror, it was none other than the 'Vomit Boy' from yesterday who mounted the platform beside her, and immediately flashed her an insufferable grin. "Hey, snow angel," he said. "I don't think we properly met. The name's Jaune Arc. I find that the ladies have a hard time forgetting it."

"Please refrain from talking to me," Weiss said icily. "Or looking at me. Or breathing in my general direction. In fact, please stop breathing altogether. That would do me much good, thank you."

As Jaune Arc's face fell, Professor Ozpin began to speak to the gathered students. "I'm glad to see everyone is here on time," he announced, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "Your initiation will take place in the Emerald Forest, which lies before you. You may have heard that the place is quite dangerous, teeming with many dangerous Grimm."

He took another sip of his drink, and smiled at them. "It is my pleasure to inform you that those rumours are entirely true." A series of nervous laughs and whispers ensued.

Professor Goodwitch took over. "Somewhere within the forest are a set of 'relics' - items that prove your capability to overcome obstacles and triumph over adversity. You will be graded on how many you obtain. Know that the moment you enter the proving grounds, you will receive no support from us nor the instructors - your success, and your survival, depends entirely on your ability to adapt and cooperate."

"Which brings us to the partner system," Ozpin continued. "After the initiation, you will be sorted into teams of four - but those teams will be comprised of two pairs. This initiation will also determine your partners, who will serve as your most loyal companions." He smiled again, and pushed up his glasses. "When you enter the forest, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Weiss's heart sank. It can't be that random, can it? Desperate, she leaned over to see where Pyrrha Nikos stood, several rows ahead. She made a mental note to keep track of wherever the redheaded girl ended up.

"That should be all," the headmaster said. "Now then, I hope you all prepared a good landing strategy. And remember… things are not always what they seem." With that, he pressed a button on the end of his cane.

Immediately, the platforms sprung to life, flinging the students into the air - some screaming, others calm and focused - in the direction of the Emerald Forest. Weiss gritted her teeth and readied Myrtenaster. She'd been preparing for this moment, but it would all mean nothing if she couldn't pull it off.

"W-wait!" Beside her, Jaune was panicking. "What landing strategy? Um, I don't think anyone gave me my parachute! Are we getting parachutes? Are there gonna be soft pillows to break our fall? Guys? Guys?"

Ignoring him, Weiss waited for her turn. Soon, the platform beneath her activated, and she felt a sudden rush as she flew into the sky, her skirt billowing beneath her. Be graceful, she told yourself. You must remain graceful. Like a bird. She glanced down, where the vast expanses of trees unfolded below, far away at first, before getting closer and closer.

Weiss activated her Semblance, creating several glyphs below her that slowed her descent as she fell through them. It wasn't enough, however, so she pointed her rapier downward and activated a chamber of gravity Dust, causing her to gently float towards the ground. She landed soundlessly on the soft grass below, her arms outstretched as if giving a performance.

Perfect form, she thought triumphantly. Of course she'd had no reason to worry - the very idea was foolish. She was Weiss Schnee, after all, and Weiss Schnee was not known for her failures.

She made her way through the Emerald Forest, warily holding Myrtenaster. At any moment, a Grimm could leap out at her, thirsting for blood. She had to be prepared for that. And then there was the initiation itself - she had to find some 'relics' hidden in the forest, but where could they possibly be? Was it some sort of scavenger hunt?

She found the first Grimm in a clearing, growling as it prowled among the trees, sniffing the air as if it could smell the scent of humans - which in a way, it could. Weiss observed from a distance, noting it was the rather common Beowolf-type Grimm, albeit a fairly large specimen.

Never one to waste an opportunity, Weiss lunged at the Beowolf, her rapier glowing with fire Dust. The hulking wolf of a monster was fast, however, and turned around before she could even blink. Its claws tightened around Myrtenaster, and even as it howled in pain, its merciless grip never loosened.

Gritting her teeth, Weiss summoned a glyph, knocking the Grimm back and freeing her blade. Before it could recover, she thrust Myrtenaster upward, impaling it in the beast's right eye. There was a soft squish, as if it were tearing through jelly.

"How vile," she muttered, preparing to pull Myrtenaster out. However, just as she let down her guard, she heard the Beowolf's faint growl. Its other eye opened and stared directly at Weiss, its gaze nothing but pure rage.

Impossible! It should be dead! But regardless of what was possible, the beast threw itself at her, as if its existence was sustained solely by its unbridled hatred for all life. It had barely moved an inch, however, before a bright red flash moved across its neck, stopping it in its tracks. Its body fell limply to the ground, crumbling into ashes, leaving Weiss with the Beowolf's head skewered on her blade. A second later, it too faded away.

With nothing left between them, Weiss found herself face-to-face with the girl in the red cape.

Time seemed to stop. No, Weiss thought. No, no, no, no, please. Not her. Even knowing that the rules were rules, she turned and began walking away.

"Hey!" the girl in red called out indignantly, putting away her weapon, but Weiss paid her no attention. "We're supposed to be partners now, remember? Where do you think you're going?"

"Wherever you're not!" Weiss replied angrily.

"You know, I did just save your life! You kinda owe me one right now!"

"I could have handled it myself." But even as she said that, Weiss's feet stopped moving. The girl was right, and she knew it. She had a debt to pay, and besides, this was all the consequence of her own mistake.

Sighing, Weiss resigned herself to her fate. "Come on, then. Make sure you can keep up." She continued walking, not looking back even once, as she heard the girl's footsteps shortly behind her.

"I'm Ruby, by the way," she said.

"I don't care," Weiss said.

"Why are you acting like that? If we're gonna be partners, we should at least talk to each other!" She heard Ruby walking faster, and hastened her own steps to stay ahead. "I mean, I don't really want to talk to you either, but isn't this what partners should do?"

Weiss sighed. "You seem to be getting 'partners' confused with 'friends'. Even if I've resigned myself to being your partner, that doesn't meant I'd ever want to be your friend."

For a minute, there was nothing but the sounds of their footsteps and the rustling of trees, and Weiss thought she'd shut her up. But as it turned out, Ruby wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. "Umm…" she heard the girl say. "Do you have any siblings, Weiss?"

I guess I'll have to endure her, for now. "I have a younger brother… and an older sister, named Winter. She practically raised me through all of my childhood, and helped train me into the warrior I am today." Despite herself, she smiled as the memories came flooding back. "She's the most important person to me in the whole world."

"Oh! I have an older sister, too!" To her shock, Ruby had somehow crept up on her, and they were now walking side by side. "Her name's Yang, and she also raised and trained me for most of my life! I guess we've got a lot in common after all, Weiss."

"No we don't," Weiss replied. "And please don't ever say that again."

It was some time later that they came across another clearing, where some trees had been smashed and nearly flattened - clearly some student's landing spot. Weiss and Ruby could make out the shape of a person nearby, who seemed to be talking to someone unseen.

The person saw the duo approaching and waved. "Hello again!" Pyrrha Nikos said.

It was at that moment that despair overcame Weiss Schnee. If she had just landed a few metres closer, she could have run into Pyrrha herself and become her partner, just like she'd intended. She wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees and bawl her eyes out, but she forced herself to keep her composure.

"It's… good to see you too," she said, nearly choking on her own words.

"You're Pyrrha, right?" Ruby stared at her in awe, clearly recognizing the famous Invincible Girl. "I've heard of you - you're awesome!"

Pyrrha laughed nervously. "Thank you. I have to admit, I didn't realize just how well-known I am here in Vale. To be honest, it's a little overwhelming." There was a rustling in the tree above her, and several leaves came falling down. "Come on, it's not as high as it looks," she said.

Someone came crashing down in a mess of crusty leaves, letting out a pained yelp as they landed on their behind. In their hand, they held Pyrrha's ornate lance, which had lodged itself in their hood. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Jaune groaned, flashing an embarrassed grin at Pyrrha. "Hey, uh, thanks for helping with the landing."

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha replied cheerfully.

Weiss glanced at them in horror, the truth dawning on her. Of all the students in Beacon, Pyrrha Nikos was stuck with him as her partner? She could hardly imagine a more devastating fate.

"Hey! Jaune!" Ruby greeted her friend, who eagerly waved back. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Ruby," Jaune said. "Ha, it's kind of a shame. I wouldn't have minded if you were my partner, actually…" As he said this, Weiss saw Pyrrha's face fall for some reason.

Suddenly, she felt a lightbulb turn on inside her brain. "Hey, I just thought of a wonderful idea," she said, praying to the gods that it would work. "Since the four of us are here, and there seems to be… dissatisfaction with how things have turned out, why don't we all exchange partners? Nobody will need to know!"

"Huh? Really?" Jaune's eyes practically lit up. "Are you taking any offers, Miss Snow Angel?"

I want to throw up. "Not you," she hissed. "Pyrrha. I think the two of us are, to put it simply, meant for each other. We're the two smartest, most talented, most promising students in all of Beacon. Us as a partners would be a match made in heaven."

"Well, thank you. But no, I'm quite pleased with the current situation," Pyrrha said amicably.

That's all she has to say?! Weiss was crestfallen. "I-I see," she stammered, trying and failing to hide her disappointment.

"What's wrong with you?" Ruby said angrily. When Weiss turned to look at her, she was surprised to see her partner looked genuinely hurt. "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying my best! Really! Are you just like this because your family's rich?"

Hearing those last few words, a cold fury erupted in Weiss. Her eyes narrowed. "It wouldn't matter if I was the poorest peasant in Mantle," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I'd still marry a Beringel before even thinking of pairing myself up with you."

Ruby stared at her for a moment, before sharply turning away. Drawing her scythe, she began silently cutting down trees in her anger. How uncivilized, Weiss thought disdainfully. She turned to Jaune and Pyrrha, who looked very uncomfortable. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said to the Invincible Girl.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Pyrrha didn't seem to understand.

Suddenly, they heard Ruby speak. "Huh? Hey, guys… take a look at this…"

Weiss looked, and saw her partner standing among several freshly-made stumps. She was staring at a set of trees in front of her, looking confused.

"Yes, Ruby, that's what a tree looks like," Weiss sneered.

"No! I mean, look! I tried to cut it down…" Ruby swung her weapon, but the scythe simply passed through as if it weren't there. There was a faint shimmer as the tree's shape seemed to distort itself, before returning back to normal.

Jaune yelled in surprise. "What the heck? Is this some kind of illusion?"

Weiss walked over to the 'trees', suddenly thinking of something. Something her father had once shown her, in one of the few conversations they'd had in the past several years. It's still in the testing phases, girl, Jacques Schnee had said. But when it's done, it will change the rules of battle itself. Every warmonger from here to Vacuo will empty their wallets for us. Even the great General Ironwood himself will fall to his knees, and beg for my gifts.

And then she remembered what Ozpin had said right before the initiation started. Things are not always what they seem.

She reached out, and felt her hand disappear into the mirage. The others all screamed at the sight of her limb vanishing.

"Ahhh! It's eating her!" Ruby exclaimed, horrified.

"No, you dolt," Weiss snapped. "Just follow my lead, okay? I promise, it's not going to hurt you." Even so, she took a deep breath as she stepped in, feeling the world behind her disappear as the illusion broke. A moment later, she heard Ruby, Pyrrha and finally Jaune enter after her.

"What is this?" Pyrrha gasped.

"It's a new type of Dust," Weiss explained. "Mirage Dust, to be exact. My family's company was still developing it when I left, but it seems the academy somehow obtained a prototype. It's meant to project an illusion to the outside world, concealing everything within a certain area." She looked up. "Things like this."

They were still in the Emerald Forest, but in front of them stood a large, towering mountain, something none of them had seen from outside. A large, gaping cave stood as the entrance to the structure.

There was also a small wooden sign next to it. Congratulations on completing the first phase of the test, was written in fancy green handwriting. Another important lesson to learn as a Huntsman is to grasp the true nature of things. The relics you seek lie within the mountain - the higher you get, the more points they're worth. Good luck, and try not to die! -O

"...Well then," Pyrrha said, smiling at Weiss. "It seems having you with us was the best boon we could have hoped for."

"Thank you," Weiss replied. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to reconsider my offer?"

"I'm afraid not." The redheaded girl wandered into the mountain's maw, Jaune at her side.

"This place looks…pretty scary," the boy muttered.

Weiss and Ruby were left alone. The girl in the red cape turned to her, and her silver eyes were apprehensive, yet resolute. "It looks like it's now or never. You sure you can keep up, partner?"

"Of course," Weiss Schnee said.

A/N:

For those who don't know yet, I'm going to be alternating between uploads of this and my other fic, Stark (a prequel focusing on Team STRQ), at least for the near future. For this fic, that means either weekly or bi-weekly uploads depending on how fast I can write something I'm satisfied with.

Cheers,

donutkirby