Did you miss me?

It's been over two months since my last update, and I'm still struggling to finish To Marble We Return, so I decided it was time to create something new. Stretch the creative muscles, and prove to myself I can still write.

For that purpose, I dug up an old idea I had: "What if the characters of RWBY were stuck in a mutual killing game - Danganronpa style?"

Some considerations before we start:

1. You don't need to have played the DR games to read this.

2. This is not a crossover. All characters are from the RWBYverse, apart from Monokuma, who's only a mascot.

3. Some OOCness is unavoidable. I had to rethink most characters' motivations and backstories, because almost none of the students of Beacon would willingly commit murder, and well, a killing game with no deaths... that would be awfully dull, wouldn't it?

4. This is a High School AU. Sort of. No Grimm, Aura or Semblances.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the ride!

Prologue - An Unfamiliar Despair



The boy was woken up by the sound of his brain threatening to burst from inside his head. He moved with discomfort, becoming acutely aware of how stiff his muscles were. How long had he been asleep? It was obvious he wasn't in his bed, a bed wasn't hard and cold, feeling much like wood under his backside.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and directed his gaze down at the surface beneath him. His body seemed to be sitting on a chair, although he felt a great deal of displacement looking down at it. He didn't recognize the chair, nor the table in front of it, where his arms rested. In fact, he didn't even recognize his own body.

The thought pierced his consciousness like a high caliber bullet. Where was he? Who was he?

As if he'd known all along, the answer materialized in his mind, dispelling the first layer of the confused daze he was in.

Jaune Arc.

Of course, how could he have forgotten his name? No, that had been a mere slip of the head. He knew plenty well who he was, how could he not? He was even wearing his trademark outfit, a pair of jeans and a black hoodie engraved with the drawing of a rabbit.

He chuckled at his own idiocy, and got up from the chair. The room he was in seemed to be a classroom, with many other sets of desks for the rest of the students. There was no one else there, however, be it classmates or even a teacher. He was alone in that unfamiliar environment.

Looking around for further clues that would help situate him, he turned around and it was at that moment that he noticed the windows, if he could even call them that. On the wall, where he would expect to see glass separating the room from the outside, there was instead a couple of wide metallic panels bolted down by comically large screws. Approaching them, he tried to yank on one of the iron plates, but the contraption didn't budge a single inch.

"What the… I guess the school doesn't want any distractions during class." As he spoke those words aloud to no one in particular, his memory flashed yet another piece of information.

Beacon's Peak Academy.

The most influential school in all of Vale, and maybe even the best across the whole world. Only the top students were accepted to enroll, the best of the best at their field, the so called Ultimates, pupils with so great a talent they distinguished themselves from all the other high schoolers. Jaune had always dreamed of going to that school, of being one of the amazing people he heard about in the news. They always ended up creating great inventions, helping science take unbelievable strides, or producing art like no one had ever seen. The school cultivated talent, allowing the graduates to nourish and develop that which made them Ultimate. Being a part of Beacon was the key to success, a success he would never achieve. He was an average student; he had failed to excel at any field. He would never have a place among the elite.

Yet he had been give one. One fateful day he had come home to find a letter at the kitchen table, a letter inviting him to enroll in Beacon. Apparently, he had been picked from a random lottery out of all the students in Vale. The Ultimate Lucky Student, they called him. Made a part of the greatest high school in the nation not by skill, but by mere chance.

Now feeling lost in a strange classroom, the pieces came together in his head: he had to be at Beacon's Peak Academy. It made sense, it was a school after all, even if he didn't remember how he had gotten there. Maybe it was all part of an elaborate acceptance ceremony. Regardless, if he was inside Beacon, that clearly meant one thing: there had to be other people there, people with answers.

Feeling reinvigorated by the realization, the boy quickly paced to the exit. He threw his hand to the handle, but before he could even reach it, the door swung open, striking him square in the face. The impact pushed him to the ground, providing him with yet another serving of pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" A voice came from the doorway, sounding concerned.

He blinked in disbelief as he saw the redheaded girl in front of him, offering him a hand to get up. She was tall and athletic, with strong arms he soon realized as she pulled him off the floor. She was wearing a practical outfit composed of a pair of black tight pants and a red t-shirt, matching with her hair which was tied in a ponytail.

"Sorry, again! Did I hurt you?" She repeated the question, since he had been too distract to answer it.

"Oh no, I'm fine. It was nothing, really." He instinctively raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, but instead decided to extend it to the girl, gathering up his best smile. "Hey. I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc."

She shook his hand, nearly smashing his fingers in the process. "Nice to meet you, Jaune."

"That's it?" The redhead made a confused expression, clearly not understanding what he meant. "Your name?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "So… Do you know what's going on here? I just woke up, and this is all seeming kinda strange to me."

Pyrrha smiled sadly. "Not really, everyone has the same story. We woke up recently, and we don't know where we are."

"I see… Wait, did you say 'we'? Are there more students?" He had so many questions, so many concerns, but it was refreshing to know at least he wasn't alone in that predicament. Although it would've been nice if they had some answers.

"Yes, we've been gathering in the gymnasium. I guess I should take you there…"

He nodded, and followed her outside. They entered a long hallway, walls adorned with many other doors much like the one he had been made acquainted with, meaning they were probably more classrooms. As the hall stretched on, he took note of the two smaller doors marked as bathrooms, as they would no doubt come in use later, and observed the girl walking with him.

She had a confident spring in her step, like she knew those paths from memory. It was intriguing, that she appeared to be so familiar with that strange environment when he had just woken up. I guess that's just how Ultimates act. He had made up his mind: they were in Beacon's Peak Academy, there was no other reasonable explanation. And that meant the girl walking in front of him was one of them. One of the talented.

Jaune struggled against the voice inside his head telling him he wasn't worthy, he wasn't good enough to talk to an Ultimate, and decided to mention what he had observed.

"How can you not be scared?" Pyrrha stopped suddenly, and turned around to face him with a quizzical look. "We woke up in a strange place, with no clue why we're here, and you seem to be keeping your composure really well. I'm… kind of a mess right now, so it looks weird that you can hold your own like that."

He wasn't lying. Ever since waking up there was an ever-present pit in his stomach, a quiet anxiety that didn't hurt but slowly crept on his sanity and swallowed it bit by bit. There was just something inherently distressing about that whole situation, a feeling of unease that only piled on to his countless doubts, even if he couldn't quite explain why.

"Why do you think I'm not scared?"

"Well, you were looking for people, right? That's why you entered the room I was in; you were looking for other students. That means you woke up in this place, in this strange…situation, and your first instinct was to help someone else."

Pyrrha laughed. It wasn't condescending laughter, but genuine amusement.

"Actually, I was roaming the school to avoid… Ah, you'll meet them soon enough." She chuckled yet again, and resumed the walk.

It wasn't long after that they reached a turn in the hall, and its end, where a large double metallic door stood imposingly, and from within came the sounds of shouting. He couldn't quite discern any particular words through the muffled barrier, but it seemed to consist of two very angry girls, yelling at each other.

He looked sheepishly at his guide, who gave him a guilty half-smile, and pushed open the entrance.

As he stepped inside, he looked around to find a wide gymnasium, big enough to house an entire football field. Metallic rods curved over on the ceiling, forming a structure much like a vault. There were white bleachers on the farther side, and to the left was a wooden stage with a small podium. The rubbery floor was oddly orange and coarse.

Of course, Jaune Arc saw all of those things, but registered none of them. The reason for that was, evidently, the show currently happening right at the center of the gym.

First, he noticed the ivory-haired girl. She was standing up, arms crossed over her chest, wearing an equally white and elegant dress, that fell over her form like a cloud. She was quite beautiful, in a prim and proper sense, although her expression was far from composed. Her face was reddened and her veins protruding from screaming. She must have been at it for a while, considering her state, but her voice was untainted and melodic, even through all the rage it convened.

Across from her, sitting on the lower stand of the bleachers, was a raven-haired girl with little cat ears protruding from beneath her mane. She wore white jeans and a black hoodie, no doubt to be able to cover the animal traits if such need arose. Her eyes were golden and irate, and, despite her position, she seemed to be just as engrossed in the angry discussion as the other one.

"So, what if we fight back? You have been enslaving us and exploiting our people for generations! We have every right to be angry!"

"And does that give you the right for murder too? Does it give you the right to kill my..." The white-clad girl's screaming voice faltered in those last words, but the argument didn't stop. Compassion was clearly off the table for those two.

"As if you haven't killed thousands of us too!"

It didn't take a genius, which was fortunate because Jaune clearly wasn't one, to figure out that the topic at hand there was the Faunus race.

Jaune vaguely knew about the issue, even though he had personally met very few of their kind. The Faunus were a race that displayed traits of an animal, like a tail, horns, or cat ears like the one he was currently looking at. Besides that evident distinction, they also benefited from other qualities like night vision. However, that was where the advantages stopped.

For years, decades even, the Faunus had been victim of discrimination. They were considered by many to be lesser beings, closer to their feral nature than humans. Their talents were exploited by companies, particularly mining ones, since they could work in much darker places than any man could. They were refused service in restaurants, scoffed at on the street, and relegated to live on the outside of towns, forced to create small and precarious villages of their own.

Of course, after some time the Faunus had begun revolting, demanding to be treated like people. Jaune had only read about it in school history manuals, but he knew about the Faunus War. He had been taught in school about how many had died on both sides, in that gruesome conflict, about how the Faunus, despite having almost only rudimentary weapons they made with their own hands, had proved to be a ruthless opponent. In the end, after so many losses, a truce was reluctantly established, and the Faunus given full citizenship. That hadn't brought about the definitive ending of the discrimination, but it was a great victory.

Just thinking about it was starting to give the boy a raging headache, so he turned to his companion for help.

"Hey, isn't that girl a famous singer? I feel like I remember her from somewhere."

"Yes, that's Weiss Schnee. I hear she's a pretty amazing interpreter, although I admit I haven't heard any of her work."

"Well you can hear it now; doesn't she sound great?" It was a corny attempt at humor, the kind he'd make when he was feeling uncomfortable, but to his surprise Pyrrha burst out laughing.

He felt soothed by her laughter. He wasn't used to people finding him funny, or even paying him any attention for that matter, but above all it was good to see someone at ease, when he felt so overwhelmingly anxious.

Sadly, the two arguing girls didn't share the same reaction, in fact they were still screaming with such abandon that they completely failed to notice it. Luckily, someone else decided it was time to intervene.

"You two are scaring off the newcomer." The commotion stopped, and everyone in the room turned to look at the source of the voice.

Amidst the confusion, Jaune had failed to see the boy sitting on the upper side of the bleachers. Stepping out from the background, he leapt graciously from the upper stand back on the ground and walked in their direction. He wore a green oriental jacket and dark pants, matching with his long black hair, tied in a ponytail, and decorated with a pink streak that fell over the side of his face.

The boy approached Jaune and wordlessly stretched his hand, which he accepted.

"That's Lie Ren. He's the Ultimate Cook." Pyrrha broke the silence to offer some information.

"Nice to meet you. Jaune Arc." He then pointed at his companion and added. "And she's Pyrrha."

Ren smiled subtly at that last part. "We've met."

Right, she just mentioned his talent. They probably met earlier when she came here. Jaune felt stupid for not having figured it out. Simultaneously, he was also painfully reminded that he still didn't know Pyrrha's talent, but he didn't even think to ask. They were Ultimates, and he was nothing. He could pretend that she was just a normal girl, and even though he was clearly aware it was just an illusion, he was adamant to keep it going for as long as he could.

The Ultimate Cook went back to his seat, now that his work was done and peace had been restored, leaving the blond boy in the middle of the silenced atmosphere. Desperate to break the awkwardness, he shuffled over to the ivory girl and offered his hand in greeting.

She scoffed at him.

"Do you really think you are worthy of touching me?" He flinched at the animosity coming from her soft red lips. "Tell me, Jaune Arc, what is even your talent? You'd better have a good one if you wish to associate with me."

He swallowed dryly. The moment he so dreaded had come, the time to lift the veil on his uselessness.

"I'm... the Ultimate Lucky Student. I was picked at random to come to Beacon."

No one laughed, but neither did they speak. The lack of reaction was almost like they were ignoring his presence. He felt his insides burning.

Weiss' face contorted in a display of astonishment, but she wasted no time in reverting to her mask of serenity, and promptly turned her back on him, striding off somewhere she couldn't see him.

Rejected.

He had expected that reaction, but it pierced his heart nonetheless. He could still sense the redhead's presence behind him, but he was too afraid to look at her. She had treated him kindly, with respect, and he didn't want to see that smile being turned into a betrayed frown. He had deceived her by not telling her his talent, made her to think he wasn't mere trash. The reckoning for his deeds was more than he could bear.

He sank on the ground, wishing he was able to disappear, fade into nothingness and away from the other students. He wasn't worthy of being one of the Ultimates. He was just Jaune.

A hand gripped his shoulder, and he instinctively turned to find the Pyrrha Nikos squatting to be at his level, and smiling at him.

"Well, I personally think that's a great talent you have there. Having luck sounds like a marvelous thing."

"You don't have to lie to cheer me up, Pyrrha. It's okay, I know I'm useless."

Her hand moved quickly, striking him on the cheek. It was soft, barely more than a pinch, and it surprised him more than it actually hurt. In all fairness, she looked just as astonished, mortified even, staring at her hand like it was a sinful appendix needing to be amputated.

"I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?" He shook his head. "I just don't want to see you do that to yourself. You are in Beacon, aren't you? Then you are one of us. You can't put yourself down."

He laughed nervously. "It's easy for you to talk, you have amazing abilities, while I'm just… average."

The girl hid her disappointed eyes beneath the palm of her hand, and sighed deeply. Then, out of the blue, she raised her head as if an idea had just formed in her head. She got up and forcefully grabbed his arm, pulling him along.

"Hey!"

"We're going to deal with your self-worth issues, and we're doing it now. You are going to talk to…" She glanced around the wide room, and her green eyes fell on the girl with the black hoodie, who was sitting in the bleachers, engrossed in a book with no markings on the cover. "…her."

Jaune looked at his companion pleadingly, but she wasn't about to take any nonsense. Reluctantly, he walked over to the bleachers, but before he could greet her, the girl's ears twitched and she looked up from her book. There was a frown on her face, unhappy about being interrupted, but it softened slightly as soon as she saw it wasn't the ivory singer.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know who I'm here with. And since you already know my name, I guessed..."

"Blake Belladonna." As soon as the required information had been shared, she lowered her gaze back to the printed pages.

Pyrrha filled the silence that had once again fallen.

"She's the Ultimate..." Something made the redhead unsure, because she did not finish the sentence.

"Terrorist. No point in beating around the bush."

The boy felt his blood chill inside his veins. That stranger had not only just admitted to being a murderer, the way she had done was so detached, like she had talked about her unremarkable breakfast. He just stood frozen, unsure of what to say, which seemed to suit Blake just fine, as it meant she could keep reading in peace.

He glanced at Pyrrha, and she gave him a gentle nod, encouraging him to keep the conversation going.

"You're with the White Fang, right? That's what you two were arguing about. I heard about them, Faunus freedom fighters against human rule or something like that."

"Freedom fighters, huh? Not everyone calls us that. Not everyone understands what it's like to be offered a hand, but slapped with the other. Certainly not a Schnee." She grimaced whilst speaking, but never took her eyes off the book.

When once again no one spoke, Pyrrha decided the exercise had gone on long enough.

"I think she'd rather be left alone. We should go."

Blake nodded at the redhead, and kept reading.

They walked through the long football field and away from the Ultimate Terrorist. Jaune breathed out deeply, feeling the weight of the stress leave him.

"Please don't make me do that again. It was painful."

"Okay maybe that wasn't the best choice, but you need to work on your self-esteem, Jaune. And talking to them is the best way to do it, to have you realize we're just people like you."

He was about to retort, but the Gym door slammed open, and in came two more girls.

"Just as we expected, the main door was locked shut, and it's reinforced steel, so that puppy isn't going to move anytime soon." The girl who spoke had luscious blonde hair flowing over her shoulders and all the way down her back, framing her rosy cheeks, clearly from exerting effort, and sparkling lilac eyes. She wore a leather jacket over an orange top that gave up just after her bellybutton, and brown cargo pants.

"Wait, does that mean we're really stuck here?" Jaune voiced the concern shared by everyone that had gathered to hear the news. The feeling of danger could easily override any confidence issues he had.

"Oh, you're new. Well, New Guy, did you see the windows? They're SUUUUUUUPER heavy and well bolted. Someone doesn't want us leaving here." The other girl that had just entered had short bright orange hair and green eyes, her whole body screamed energy, from the way she spoke to how she never seemed to stop moving. She had pink boots and a matching pink skirt, and above a blue jacket and a white top, featuring a small opening over her chest. Jaune didn't get the purpose of that opening, but in all fairness, what did he know of fashion?

Pyrrha came behind him, and took care of the introductions.

"That over there is Nora Valkyrie, the Ultimate Blacksmith." She gestured towards the ginger, who waved, and then to the blonde. "And that's Yang Xiao Long, Ultimate... Boxer?"

"Yep, that's me!" Yang flexed her arms, and though it was just a joke, he felt menaced by the musculature on that woman. He made a mental note never to make her angry, it would surely be a costly mistake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jaune. Ultimate... Lucky Student." He almost hesitated at that last part, but a swift elbow to his ribs fixed the anxiety.

"Oh, cool. More importantly, look what we found!" She turned behind her, and rotated her head looking for something. He was thrown off-balance by how quickly she accepted his worthless talent. "Dammit, where did she go?"

The Ultimate Boxer walked back to the double doors she had entered from, and not even a second later she returned dragging along a very petite girl. She would appear to have their age, but she was so much shorter that it made her look like a child. Her hair was parted between pink and brown, probably inspired by her eyes which featured the same colors. She had very tight fitting clothes, dark pants and a pink and white jacket, which helped not only with not only mobility but also to prove she wasn't really a little girl.

"Isn't she cute?" Yang seemed overly excited about it all, making the girl she had hostage roll her eyes.

"Well, does she have a name?"

"I don't think she speaks..." Yang was trying to explain when her hand was forcefully pulled down to the petite girl's level. "What are you... oh, are you spelling? Are you spelling your name?"

The short girl drew on Yang's palm. "N... E... O... Neo? Is that your name?" She nodded.

Everyone was silently staring at Yang and Neo, watching that odd display.

"And what's your talent, Ne- OH, I didn't know the human body could bend that way..."

"So, is she like the Ultimate Contortionist?" Nora asked eagerly, and Neo, now back to a normal position, shrugged her shoulders, indicating the guess had been not quite there, but close enough.

The commotion revolving the three new entries kept going, mostly through conversing with the apparently mute girl, which posed an entertaining challenge, but Jaune did not participate. He slowly took a few steps back, and inconspicuously left the rest of the students behind, moving back to the bleachers. Blake was there too, engrossed in her book once more, but he didn't join her. There was too much on his mind at the moment.

"Someone doesn't want us leaving here."

They were trapped inside the school, with no way of escaping. Eight students so far, but he had no idea of knowing how many more there were. Who had closed them inside? What were their intentions? Everything about it reeked of danger, he could feel the skin of his arms tingling. But worst of all, no one else seemed to be reacting to that impending darkness. A room full of Ultimates, the talented elite, and he appeared to be the only one noticing it. Did they know something he didn't? The doubts swirled around his mind, making him feel dizzy and disoriented.

He looked around, searching for any form of solace, anything familiar that could ease his mind and make him feel like he wasn't in such an alien place. The crowd was dispersing, each one going their individual way, and Pyrrha was travelling towards him. The boy smiled at her, but as he observed her approach, his eye caught a glimpse of something else.

The gymnasium door opened ever so slightly, and a girl slid through the opening, with orange hair that curled at chin-length, and a tilted pink bow tying it behind. Her clothing was simple, a green summer dress over a grey puffy shirt, and black thigh-high socks and shoes. She glanced at both sides, and her vivid green eyes widened, evidently frightened by the number of people in there. Sticking to the wall, she attempted to move away from the other students, most of which had yet to notice her, like a skittish animal slowly backing away from a threat.

Jaune got up. She was clearly in deep distress, which was something he could very well relate to, so he couldn't just stand and watch. He noticed Weiss Schnee do the same thing, which he found surprising since she had yet to show even a trace of compassion, but he didn't question it. She surely had her motives. Pyrrha followed them as soon as she understood what their intent was.

The frightened girl sat down on the floor, close to a corner, and hugged her knees. When she saw the approaching group, she cowered even further.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." Weiss was the one who spoke.

She looked at her sheepishly. "Where… where am I?"

The singer looked back at the other too, her icy irises asking for help, as her pride would never allow her to do it with words. Pyrrha took the lead.

"We think it's Beacon's Peak Academy. You just woke up here, didn't you? That's what happened to us." The girl nodded, looking more and more like she was fighting back tears. "What your name?"

"Penny…"

Pyrrha smiled kindly. "It's very nice to meet you, Penny. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, and that's Jaune Arc and Weiss Schnee."

Jaune tried a half-smile, but it was the best he could muster. The pit in his stomach was still there, as was the feeling of extreme unease.

"What's your talent, Penny?"

"I… can't say."

"What do you mean you can't say? Are you hiding anything from us?"

"Weiss, maybe we should back off. If she doesn't want to say, don't pressure her."

The Ultimate Singer made an offended look, and stormed off.

"I'm sorry, I really can't…"

"It's okay, don't worry about it. She's… an acquired taste." It was an odd choice of words, but it earned him a giggle, so he took it as a victory.

"Do you want to join the rest of the group?"

"I… I think I'd rather stay here a little longer, if that's alright."

Pyrrha nodded, and they left the scared girl behind, sharing a concerned look between them. The sentiment, however, was short-lived, since yet another distraction decided to appear. A girl in a stylish brown jacket and pants appeared almost if from nowhere, and began inspecting them from up close.

"That hoodie with those jeans really? Ugh, there is no saving you, but… you darling, hmm, with that I can work."

"AH WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?"

The woman pointed at the gymnasium door. Right, that's where everyone comes from, idiot.

She was wearing sunglasses indoors and a black beret, holding in place the light brown strand of her dark brown hair. Behind her stood an imposing figure, a monster of a man that cast a shadow that could probably swallow Jaune whole. He had buzz-cut hair, and wore a short-sleeved green robe over a brown t-shirt, showing off his toned and muscled arms, and light brown pants. At his hip, strapped to his thick belt, was a sheathed bamboo sword.

"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc, and this is Pyrrha Nikos."

"Coco Adel, and he's…" She turned to look at the towering man. "Sorry, I'll probably butcher the pronunciation of your name."

"Yatsuhashi Daichi."

Pyrrha looked at him with curiosity.

"You're the Ultimate Swordsman, aren't you? I've heard about you before." He nodded, apparently not a man of many words.

"And I, as you can obviously tell by the fact that I'm the most well-dressed person in the room, am the Ultimate Fashionista." She looked around, but her eyes stopped at a certain person inside. "Oh. Schnee."

Hearing her named called, Weiss looked over, and made an equally formal and detached voice. "Adel."

"You two know each other?"

"We've… met. People of the high society tend to."

The topic was cut short there, luckily, as both girls didn't look to keen on speaking any further, by loud voices coming from the just outside the gymnasium. The door opened, and three people came inside.

"And then I... Oh, didn't know there were people here."

The boy stopped dead on his tracks, his story interrupted but a smile still on his lips. He chiseled abs shown off by an open vest and nothing else on his torso, and a pair of jean shorts, from behind which a fuzzy monkey tail, faded yellow just like his hair, could be seen. A Faunus, and he wasn't alone.

Behind him was another Faunus, a brunette girl with large bunny ears. She wore a brown sweater and shorts over black thighs, and had yet to stop taking pictures of all the classmates inside.

The third member of that little group was a girl, who, much like the boy, had no quarrel with exposing her olive skin. She wore a very short sleeveless green top, matching with her short hairdo, and white pants. The most striking feature of her look was, however, her vivid red eyes.

Coco was the first to greet the newcomers, not by talking but inspecting them up close and muttering under her breath.

"Peculiar choice... could be salvaged, I guess... hmm..."

"Hey, I'm Sun. She's Emerald, and..." He pointed at the girl in back. "...Velvet."

"We apparently all woke up in weird classrooms, and happened to run into each other on the way here." Emerald was the one who decided to explain their situation.

"Let me guess, you are the Ultimate Abs, she is obviously the Ultimate Photographer, and you... I got nothing." Nora busted in through the crowd and proceeded to point at Sun, then Velvet, and finally Emerald.

"I'm the Ultimate Magician, and if I remember correctly he is the Ultimate Thief, not... abs."

"Ooooh a magician, can you do a trick?" The blacksmith was practically jumping up and down in place with excitement.

"Sorry, I forgot my c-"

"Wait, do you just say 'thief'?" Weiss had been strangely quiet, considering two new Faunus had just joined the group.

"First a terrorist and now a thief, are we really just going to let them run around unrestricted? They're a menace to our safety!"

Yang stood in front of the heiress of the Schnee family, facing her directly. She wasn't outright enraged, but her face had a distinct 'no lollygagging' expression.

"Look, princess, if you try something, it will be the last thing you try."

"Are you threatening me?"

Pyrrha stepped in between them, making sure nothing actually happened.

"I think maybe you two should stop with the hostilities."

Weiss took off once again, it was something she was apparently very good at. The blond brawler, on the other hand, wasted no time in getting over the matter.

"That makes…" Yang pointed at each one of them, counting in her head. "…fourteen of us. I wonder if that's all."

There was a murmur of agreement. It had been a while since the first of them had arrived at the gymnasium, and the numbers had kept increasing steadily, but at one point it had to stop.

"Actually…" Everyone turned to look at Ren, still sitting at the top of the bleachers. "We're missing one person."

"How do you know that?" Blake's was heard for the first time in quite a while.

"I found a box up here, it has some sort of tablets with each of our names on it. And there's fifteen of them."

"Why didn't you say anything until now?" Coco hadn't been there for that long, but she felt lied to nonetheless.

"I was waiting for everyone to arrive. I thought it would be more fair if we all saw what's in the tablets at the same time. After all, they could contain the reason why we're here." He talked calmly, every word pronounced with care.

The whole class fell silent. "The reason why we're here." It was the question on the back of everyone's minds, the unanswered thorn on their sides since waking up. Jaune wanted to know, but at the same time he was scared. What if he didn't like the answer? He imagined most of the others felt the same way, if the aura of quietness was anything to go by.

Yang, however, had other concerns.

"Wait, you said the tablets had our names on them? Then who's the missing person?"

He picked up a thin object from behind his back, and raised it so he could read, but before he could the large door creaked open one final time. All fourteen students stared impatiently at it, expecting the final piece of the puzzle.

The girl who walked in measured the whole gym with her eyes in an instant, and then made a yelping sound.

"YANG!"

She took off running before Jaune could even take a good look at her, a red blur speeding towards her target. She jumped at an unsuspecting Yang Xiao Long, who nearly fell down trying to keep balance from the tackle, arms tightly wrapping around her.

"Ruby? Is that you?"

"I'm guessing you two have also met before."

"Of course, she's my sister!" Ruby removed her arms from around her prey, and grinned happily. She had a red hoodie and a matching skirt over black ties and boots. She wasn't too tall, but nowhere near Neo's height of course.

"And does she have a talent?" Jaune noted how Weiss seemed to be really insistent on knowing everyone's talents. It was almost like she was scoping out who among them could be a threat or not.

"Lil' sis here is the Ultimate Sharpshooter. She has special eyes, she can spot a fly from a mile away, and you don't want to see what she can do with a scope!" Yang grabbed her sibling with one arm, displaying a proud look in her eyes.

"Wait, did you say little?" Yatsuhashi and Sun stepped out of the way, allowing Velvet to look at the receiver of her question.

"Yep, two years younger but already in High School. That's how special she is." Ruby looked down embarrassedly, and blushed a little at the praised she was getting.

"So..." A voice that didn't belong to any of the pupils interrupted their banter, an unknown presence elsewhere in the gymnasium.

"Everyone's finally here? Upupupupupupu"

The fifteen students all turned to the source of that eerie laughter, the stage on the upper side of them gym, or more specifically, the podium.

"Then let's begin."

PROLOGUE END

Students Alive - 15

That... was so freaking long, oh wow. Future chapters will probably vary in length, but I doubt any will be of this size. You can't imagine what a pain to proof-read that is - I'm sure a few mistakes slipped by me.



Anyway, the stage is set and the actors are in place. Are you curious about where it will take us? Are you mad because I removed Mercury as the Ultimate Break-dancer from my early plan for this story? Think you know who will be the first to die?



Then why don't you leave a review? I'd really appreciate it.