Autumn Arc

Well feedback from the previous chapter was a mixed bag of praise, condemnation, and people laughing at the condemnation.

All I can say is- yes, I have a plan regarding that particular partnership. I'm not just writing Blake and Cardin as partners to trigger half the fanbase, I intend to use it as one of many plot points moving forward to develop all the characters involved in the matter. As some of you have noted, this is a pair that is likely to clash, often and vehemently. But with conflict comes potential for growth.

Hopefully, as this story develops, the audience will see where I am going with this. Some of you have already hit the nail on the head with your reviews, and for that I am glad. (it means I'm not crazy and there's others who think similarly to me XD)

This story is all about change, about diverting from the norm to create something that has never been done before. And with change will inevitably come dissention. Some of the minor changes I implemented before may have been disagreed on by people here and there, but this is the first change that I've received so much of a divide in positive and negative criticism. And I'm all for it! Just keep it civil ;)

So enjoy the chapter!

"We just have to grab one of these relics then, and bring it back?" Jaune noted, glad that Ruby was more than willing to go into details.

"Yup!" Ruby chuckled in amusement. "Kinda silly of you to miss that part, huh?"

Laughing nervously, Jaune shrugged. "I guess I was just…uhh, overly focused on the mission? Wait that doesn't make any sense…"

"You are so ridiculously lucky that you found someone you knew." Amber noted rather pointedly as Ruby continued to chuckle at Jaune's expense. "I don't think many people would have been as forgiving if they found out you missed out on the instructions entirely."

Sheepishly, Jaune hung his head in shame. Yet another reason to question if I belong here or not…what kind of huntsman misses out on the briefing?

"So!" Jaune jumped at the noise as Ruby continued. "Where did you go before coming to Beacon?"

For a moment, Jaune didn't get it. "Go?"

"You know, combat school! Which one did you go to!"

Jaune gulped. An innocent enough question given the circumstances. Most students who made it into Beacon did so because of high scores from preliminary combat school. But of course, Jaune wasn't most students. He began to sweat. "I uh…" For a moment he considered making up a school. I already dodged a bullet coming in though…I have enough secrets with Amber in my head to worry about without making more… "I actually, didn't go to a combat school before here."

Ruby stopped in her tracks, looking surprised. "Really? Then how did you get in?"

Images of the assassins from the road flashed through his head, and he shivered. "It's a long story, but I somehow met Ozpin, and he invited me in."

Silent for a moment, Ruby mulled that over. Jaune tensed up, waiting for her reaction…

"That's so cool!" Ruby's eyes shone with excitement. "You got in just like I did!"

"Buh?" Jaune might have expected her to reject him, or at the very least, reluctant acceptance. This was a whole 'nother end of the spectrum. "So uh, you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Ruby exclaimed, and Jaune began to feel at ease. Maybe I'm overthinking things a bit here…And she's right, that is something we have in common!

Ruby continued however "I mean, I got in early, but I had my scores from Signal to back me up! You must be really REALLY good if you got in without them!" Determination filled her eyes as she proclaimed. "Oh, but don't worry! I'll make sure I don't slow you down!"

Jaune felt his heart plummet again. She's completely off track! "Wait, Ruby-"

A large cracking noise interrupted him, followed by the sound of a tree hitting the ground. Both of them froze. Noises sounding somewhat like giant footsteps and something large moving through the brush sounded from ahead of them.

Ruby glanced around, and pointed at a rock formation that lay nearby. "This way!" she whispered.

Jaune nodded, and the two of them made their way to the rock, camping out behind it. This will be a good vantage point to see whatever it is that's coming through…

"This will be a good place to launch a surprise attack on whatever's coming through." Ruby whispered, already having Crescent Rose out and ready, causing Jaune to groan internally. Again, not on the same page here.

"Wait, let's see what it is first." Jaune cautioned, and Ruby nodded reluctantly.

"Quite the ball of recklessness, that one." Amber noted.

All three of them went silent as the massive creature finally burst into view. Another tree fell, landing right next to the rock they were hiding behind.

Ruby's whispered voice held a note of awe. "It's a Death Stalker!"

Jaune's mouth was agape. "Wow…" He'd read about Death Stalkers when doing research on the Grimm with Amber, but he had never expected to run into one this soon! It looked far more intimidating in person than it did in the books. Almost its entire upper body was covered in white armor, and its eyes glowed with the same menace that all Grimm shared. Jaune had read somewhere that most Death Stalkers tended to wait in burrows for their prey to come. Most humans never ran into the younger ones unless they fell into their traps. Huntsmen could escape with ease, but most normal humans would fall prey to their venom. As they grew older, they eventually became too big for caves and burrows, and would begin to hunt humans more actively.

And judging by its size, this one was rather old-and dangerous. "We should try to avoid fighting it if we can." He cautioned to Ruby. "Our main objective is the relics, not to fight every single Grimm we come across."

Pouting slightly, Ruby lowered Crescent Rose. "I guess that makes sense."

Sighing with relief, Jaune continued to observe the massive Grimm. It seemed to be looking around the clearing, and Jaune pulled behind the rock as it glanced in their direction. However, moments later, the sounds of it moving away could be heard. Jaune looked back out to see it heading in the opposite direction from them. "Looks like its heading away from us."

Ruby sighed in disappointment. "Well, at least we can try to find the relics now instead."

"I'm telling you, we're lost!" Both of them jumped as a girl's voice yelled out somewhere behind them.

"Relax already, would you?" Someone else growled in response, their own voice raising in tempo. "We'll find it eventually."

"I had my bearings from where we were before! I should have known better than to trust your sense of direction, Cardin."

Jaune began to panic as he realized that the sounds of the Death Stalker moving away had stopped. Warily, he glanced around the rock, gulping as he saw the Grimm glaring in the direction of the two voices. Which was directly at them. "Aww crap."

"No need to be an overbearing knowitall, Blake." Cardin bit out, pausing as the two of them came across Ruby and Jaune behind the rock. Glancing at Jaune, he smirked-Jaune recognized him as one of the males who had been laughing at his onsie- and called out. "Oh hey! Maybe you guys could help us out!"

"For once, I agree with you." Blake deadpanned, causing Cardin to scowl at her. She sighed. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where the relics are, would you?"

At that, the Death Stalker screeched, and began skittering towards the rock. Jaune slowly turned to the two of them, his expression one of extreme frustration. "You two," he began, his voice gradually increasing in volume "have the WORST. TIMING!"

All four of them scattered, the Death Stalker hitting the rock and pulverizing it. Without realizing it, Jaune had drawn his sword as he rolled. Huh, I guess when it comes to monsters, I'm more comfortable using this. Maybe I'm kind of like that guy from that one video game, having one weapon for people and one for monsters- He yelped and rolled away as another tree fell nearby. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS!

"Oh shi-" Cardin's swear was drowned out by another vicious screech.

Blake glared at Cardin, clearly blaming him for the mess they were all in. But she didn't say anything about it, merely muttering "We need a plan."

"I'll take care of it!" To Jaune's horror, Ruby shot directly at the monster.

"Ruby wait…oh damnit!" Jaune ran after her as she approached the creature. He didn't see what the other two did, too focused on the scene in front of him.

Letting out a battle cry, Ruby swung downwards at the monster. In a surprising show of speed, the Death Stalker simply swatted Ruby out of the air with its claw. "Ruby!" Jaune cried out.

"I'm…fine!" Ruby stood up and fired a shot into the Death Stalker's face. It merely rebounded off of its armor as the creature hissed. Ruby attempted to move out of range, but yelped as the creature managed to get ahold of her cloak. Raising the other claw, the monster attempted to crush her.

Jaune jumped in front of her at the last moment, blocking the claw with his shield. It was a testament to Amber's training that he managed to stay upright and in stance with the blow, and he was able to return with an overhead blow to the creature's head. Unfortunately, this had about as much effect as Ruby's shot from earlier.

Screeching, the Death Stalkers slashed down at them furiously. It took all Jaune had to block each strike, panicking as he was driven away from Ruby little by little. Ruby continued to fire at the Death Stalker, each shot pinging off the monster's armor. Crying out as he moved, Jaune thrust forward, aiming at the monster's eyes. However, he was a bit off, the blade being deflected by the armor instead.

"Jaune! Look out!" Amber cried, but it was too late. A counterattack drove Jaune off of his feet. Pushing himself up, Jaune gasped as the Death Stalker raised its tail menacingly. But he wasn't its intended target. "Ruby, watch out!"

Ruby struggled to free herself, eyes widening as the stinger fell.

"RUBY!" All at once, Jaune felt a tingling sensation running through his outstretched arm as he ran forward.

The same rush of power from before surged through Jaune's body, a burning sensation. It was perhaps that burning sensation which prompted Jaune's next action, to try and reverse it. The temperature dropped suddenly in the air around the Death Stalker as a bluish mist shot from Jaune's outstretched hand.

The stinger stopped in its tracks, mere inches from Ruby's face. The Death Stalker howled with frustration as ice coated its body, preventing it from moving freely.

Pyrrha frowned as they crested yet another hill, only to find more trees ahead rather than anything that looked man-made. "Are you…sure this is the right direction?"

Weiss huffed "Well of course!" Moments later, after scanning the horizon, she slumped. "Well…I guess there is room for error." Rummaging through a small pouch, she sighed with irritation. "Of all the things I remember to bring, a compass is not one of them. I don't suppose you happen to have one on you?"

"I'm afraid not." Pyrrha shook her head. Though there might be another way…

"I guess even a pair as talented as us can make mistakes." Weiss sighed. Pyrrha resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that, smiling apologetically instead. "Well we'll just have to find another way." Weiss crouched, a glyph appearing beneath her. "I'll get a bird's eye view and see if I can spot any landmarks."

Pyrrha nodded. "I'll attempt to get my bearings from down here, see if I can figure out which way is west."

"Good luck with that." Weiss tone of voice clearly indicated she didn't have much riding on that hope, as she took off to the skies, jumping up on a series of white glyphs.

Now that she's gone… Pyrrha drew a small needle from her pocket, and rested it on her hand. This particular trick was harder than it might seem. She had to simultaneously levitate the needle, while not influencing the direction it was pointing in so as to allow natural magnetism to take hold. It had taken her many hours of practice to finally figure out how to pull this off.

After a moment, the needle righted itself, pointing in the direction they had been heading in. So we've been heading north this whole time…then west is that direction. If we can try heading that way, we might find a trail we can use. Pocketing the needle, Pyrrha marked a tree heading west with her weapon and sat down to wait for Weiss.

Half a minute later, Weiss descended from the sky, looking frustrated. "Well there certainly wasn't a lack of ancient ruins in this forest." She grouched. "There's so many of them that I can't tell which one we should head to first!"

Pyrrha pointed to the tree she marked. "Were there any of them in that direction?"

Raising an eyebrow, Weiss nodded. "There was only one actually. Why?"

A pile of moss grew at the base of the tree, and Pyrrha decided to use that. "I looked around, and moss has a tendency to grow on the side of trees facing east. So I was able to determine that way was west, which is the direction that the ruins were supposed to be in."

I actually can't remember which side moss is supposed to grow on…and it's a myth anyways. But Weiss probably doesn't know that.

Weiss seemed impressed. "Wow! You certainly seem to know your way around the woods. I knew we would make a good team."

Pyrrha smiled politely. "Of course." I certainly hope that ends up being true…

Then, the sound of footsteps rushing through the woods. Before they could turn around, the source was upon them "Heads up!" Yang zipped by them, sprinting. "C'mon Dovey-boy, you've gotta run faster than that!"

Moments later, a brown haired guy in armor sprinted by them as well. "C'mon Yang! Don't leave me behind!" He panted out

Pyrrha frowned in confusion, turning to look behind them-and her eyes widened as she saw a volley of black feathers raining down on them. "Look out!" She pulled Weiss forward as the feathers impaled the earth where they once stood. Screeching, a massive Nevermore dove down, causing both Weiss and Pyrrha to run after the other two.

The two soon caught up with Yang and Dove. "You imbeciles! How on earth did you find a Nevermore this big?! And why lead it straight to us?!" Weiss demanded as they ran.

Yang grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's a long story…"

"She pushed me into the tree it was sleeping in." Dove shot Yang an accusing look.

"I was just kidding around!" Yang shrugged, not looking apologetic in the least. "Besides, you had it coming."

"Perhaps we can discuss this later?" Pyrrha ventured as the four swerved out of the path of another volley of feathers.

Up ahead, the forest opened up into a larger clearing. As they burst out of it, Yang snapped her fingers. "Look, it's the ruins! I think we can get our relics here."

"Assuming we survive this, that is." Weiss bit out.

"Well, this is as good a place as any. Let's take that bird down!" Yang turned, cocking her gauntlets and firing them at the Nevermore. Startled, it careened past them and nearly crashed into the trees on the other side of the clearing before righting itself.

Dove's mouth dropped open. "I thought we were trying to get away!"

"Naw, that's no fun." Yang grinned. "I was just trying to lure it to a better place to fight it." Her grin seemed to falter. "If we kill this thing, it can't harm any of the other students, right? We'd be doing everyone a favor."

She sounds concerned… Whether it was for the student body as a whole, or someone in particular, Pyrrha wasn't sure. She recalled the devastation from the cave earlier, and felt concern grip her own heart as well. That definitely wasn't a Nevermore…hopefully no one gets hurt if they run into whatever caused that mess.

"All right, fine!" Weiss glared at the massive bird. "Let's take of this thing fast."

Desperately, Dove turned to Pyrrha, and she shrugged sheepishly, responding "Might as well do it together, right?"

"I swear, you people are going to get us all killed." Dove's voice shook a little as he spoke, but he seemed resigned to sticking around. He drew his sword, firing up at the massive bird alongside Yang. Pyrrha shifted her own weapon to rifle mode and joined in as Weiss fired blasts of dust up at it.

Unfortunately, none of this seemed to have any visible effect on the Nevermore as it cawed and attempted to dive bomb them. All four of them rolled out of the way as its talons carved massive furrows in the earth.

Shifting her weapon to its javelin form, Pyrrha readied herself as the creature turned around for another pass. "Any ideas?"

"Let's try to disable its wings when it attacks." Weiss ventured. "Shoot them, crush them, burn them, doesn't matter. If it can't fly, it's more or less helpless."

Yang slammed her fists together. "Sounds good to me!"

"You people are crazy…" Dove shook his head, but stood his ground regardless as the Nevermore swung down yet again to attack.

"That was way too close for comfort." Amber gasped out. "Any later and…" She chose not to finish that thought.

Jaune panted as the Death Stalker struggled to free itself from its icy prison. I did it…whew, just in time too. However, it still maintained a tight grip on Ruby's cloak. "Ruby, can yourself get free?"

Now that she was out of the immediate danger, Ruby seemed more composed, and nodded after a moment. She fired a shot, aiming directly at one of the joints of the claw holding her. Screeching with fury, the monster let go for a moment, allowing the two of them to back off. However, the moment's reprieve was short lived. The ice began to crack, the monster slowly beginning to break out.

"Geez, what does it take to keep this thing down?!" Jaune cried out as he readied himself to fight.

With a massive shattering noise, the Death Stalker broke free and screeched. Bullets pinged off of its armor from the side, and the Death Stalker turned, momentarily distracted as Blake and Cardin approached.

Jaune moved forward to try and help, only to stop as Ruby's voice sounded out softly behind him. "I'm sorry…"

Turning, Jaune saw that Ruby's face was wracked with guilt. "Ruby…"

"That was…that was stupid of me." Ruby berated herself. "Someone told me recently that I need to be more careful, more aware of how my actions affect others." Her expression became even more despondent. "But I…I wanted to prove to you that I could hold my own. I wanted to show you that even if I was coming in two years early, that I could be a reliable partner." Looking away, she muttered sadly "So much for that, I guess."

A lightbulb went off in Jaune's head. Of course… He'd been so focused on his own insecurities, his own problems, that he hadn't even thought about what Ruby was feeling. She's just as unsure of herself as I am…

"Ruby, you should know…I'm not really that good of a fighter." Jaune began. "I actually only recently started training to fight. I only got my aura unlocked a few weeks ago." Ruby's eyes widened at that. "I…don't really know why Ozpin invited me to come here. I don't know what he saw in me."

Extending a hand to Ruby, he continued. "I've been feeling like I wasn't good enough to be your partner either. But you know what?" Jaune cracked a smile. "Maybe that doesn't matter. Maybe together, we can be more than good enough as a team."

For a moment, Ruby digested the words, before breaking out into a smile. A real smile, Jaune realized, not like the strained ones she had been making since they met up in the woods. A fact that he only saw now in hindsight. "Yeah. Let's do this!"

She high fived Jaune, much to his amusement. I was going for more of a handshake, but that works.

"As touching as this is, could we get some-"

"GODDAMN HELP OVER HERE?!" Jaune and Ruby both jumped as Cardin shouted, practically finishing Blake's annoyed hiss.

"Right! Sorry!" Both Jaune and Ruby yelped in unison, moving to rejoin the fight.

"Jaune" Amber's voice was filled with pride. "That was well said. Now show this thing who's boss!"

Nodding, Jaune muttered under his breath in return. "Right!"

Cardin stood in front of the Death Stalker, backpedaling from the force of each attack. Each time he made to swing, it repelled him with its claws. Blake was firing at its eyes, and it hissed in pain as one of the bullets connected, causing one of the eyes to dim.

Ruby's expression was thoughtful. "Why is it focusing on him?" She wondered aloud as they moved in.

"What?" Jaune turned to face Ruby as he ran.

"It seemed fine with getting hit by my bullets, or your sword. But it's not letting Cardin get a hit in with the mace." Surely enough, the Death Stalker was almost completely ignoring Blake, focusing on keeping Cardin off balance.

Jaune's mind raced. Larger Grimm were known to be rather intelligent, given their years of experience. If it's avoiding Cardin's mace…then that means that it poses a real threat.

The beginnings of a plan took hold in Jaune's mind. "Ruby, do you think you'd be able to disable the stinger?"

"Yup!" Ruby's voice resounded with confidence.

"Good. Wait until I have it distracted, then strike." Jaune rushed towards the Death Stalker, blocking a blow that would have knocked Cardin off his feet. As he pushed the claw back, he muttered quickly. "We're going to cause a distraction. Get ready to hit this thing as hard as you can."

Cardin frowned, clearly not big on the idea of taking orders from him. But the heat of battle and the instinct to survive took over. "Sure."

Blocking each strike with his shield, Jaune patiently waited for an opportunity. Then, as the Death Stalker raised one claw in a massive overhead blow, Jaune swiveled out of the way instead of blocking, raising his other arm for a counterattack.

It wasn't his sword that he struck with however. Rubens Vitae exploded with fire, washing over the monster's eyes and momentarily blinding it. "Ruby! Now!"

Ruby jumped off of a nearby tree, scythe extended. As she passed over the creature, the blade of her scythe caught the stinger, and she swung around in a half rotation, pulling it back. The tail stretched beyond what was normal for a scorpion, causing the Death Stalker to hiss in discomfort. Pulling down on the scythe and the trigger as the same time, Ruby landed neatly on the ground as Crescent Rose sliced the stinger of the monster off.

Screeching in pain, the Death Stalker blindly lashed out. Jaune jumped back, just as Blake jumped forward to join him. "We'll hold it down." Blake stated shortly.

"Right." As the two of them ran forward, Jaune shouted back. "Now Cardin!" Jaune and Blake attacked the Death Stalker's claws, pinning them down for a brief moment.

"About time." Cardin grumbled, but smirked viciously as he jumped through the air, swinging down as he fell towards the Death Stalker. "DIE!"

Cardin's mace connected with the top of the monster's head, right where Jaune and Ruby's attacks had already hit home. The monster screeched, disoriented by the blow, but no other effect seemed to be visible. The three of them jumped back as it once again began blindly swinging its claws at them.

"Are you kidding me?!" Cardin demanded. "How hard is that damned thing?"

Blake's eyes widened. "Wait no, look! There's a crack!" Even as she spoke, Jaune could see it for himself. A crack had formed in its armor, and as it shifted around, the black flesh of the monster could be seen underneath.

Cardin sneered. "One more time then!" And he rushed in, roaring with battle fervor.

The Death Stalker's tail swung down, smacking Cardin in the face. Even without the stinger, it packed a decent punch, disorienting him enough that he didn't notice the claw swinging in from the right.

It stopped just short of him, as Blake's weapon and ribbon wrapped around it. "Don't go charging in on your own!" She snapped at Cardin as he regained his bearings.

"Tch." Cardin looked anything but grateful, and Blake scowled. Then he yelped as the other claw slammed into the ground, grasping his leg. "No no noo!"

Blake gasped at the site, only to fall off her feet as the Death Stalker pulled at her ribbon. "Ahh!" She began sliding across the forest floor as the monster began flinging the two of them around.

They won't survive long if it keeps slamming them down like that. Panic flared up in Jaune's chest. I have to do something! Momentarily taking a deep breath to try and prepare himself, Jaune bunched up and sprinted straight towards the monster, swerving between the flailing claws. Both of its claws are occupied, so I just need to worry about its tail.

True to form, the appendage swung down to meet him. Before he could even make a move, a flash of red swung by, deflecting it. "Stay away from my partner!" Ruby glared at the Grimm.

"Thanks!" Jaune shouted, before vaulting up onto the Death Stalker's head. Reaching the spot where the crack lay, Jaune took Crocea Mors in both hands and glared down at the monster. "Just die already!" Thrusting down with all his might, Jaune stabbed the Grimm straight through the head.

The screech that followed was deafening, but the monster continued to struggle, Blake and Cardin still being thrown around. It's not dying! Desperately, Jaune tried to thrust the sword further, but couldn't penetrate any deeper into the monster's dense muscle. I'm not strong enough to do this!

"Jaune! Use my power!" Amber cried out. "You can control it, I believe you can!"

An idea came to mind almost immediately, and Jaune took one hand from the hilt and brought it down to touch the blade. Channeling the power through his arm, Jaune's eyes lit up momentarily as lightning surged down the metal and into the skull of the Death Stalker.

The creature instantly let go of both Cardin and Blake, flailing around in a mad frenzy as it was electrocuted from the inside. For a moment, it continued to struggle, but as Jaune poured more power into it, the eyes of the creature dimmed, smoke pouring out of them, and it lay still. The creature began to dissolve as Blake and Cardin stood up, breathing heavily. They looked disheveled, but no worse for wear.

Cardin practically fell into a seating position. "You just...Holy crap…"

"WE DID IT!" Jaune turned just as Ruby flew into him, engulfing him in a hug and carrying him off his feet. They almost crashed into Blake, but passed through a shadow clone as the real one stepped aside.

Jaune winced as the two of them hit the ground. Ruby leapt off him in an instant, helping him up. "Ahh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry I'm fine." Jaune stared at Blake. "What was that?"

"Semblance." She responded. "Looks like you've got a few tricks of your own as well."

"Heheh, well I suppose…" Jaune raised a hand to his head. A piercing headache seemed to be forming, stabbing his skull from the inside. Is this a result of Amber's power?

Ruby suddenly looked him in the eyes, frowning. "Wait, don't you have blue eyes normally?"

What a weird question. "Yeah, why?"

Blake was the one who responded. "Well, they're brown now."

Startled, Jaune took out his scroll and inverted the camera. Sure enough, the eyes that stared back at him were not his normal baby blues, but a deep brown. The same color of Amber's eyes…is that what's causing it? "Huh, I never noticed that before."

"Is that a part of your Semblance?" Ruby tilted her head in understanding. "I mean, my sister's eyes turn red whenever she uses hers."

Jaune saw an opportunity and shrugged. "That must be it." His eyes slowly faded back to blue, even as the piercing headache from before faded. "I never got the chance to see myself in the mirror before, I guess."

"Well alright then." Ruby bounced on her feet with excitement "Ohhh, I bet we were the only team to fight a Grimm this strong! Yang's going to flip out when she hears about this!"

"Awwww yeah! Ruby's going to flip out when I tell her about this!" Yang cried out triumphantly, standing over the dissolving corpse of the Nevermore.

Weiss leaned against a stone pillar, trying to catch her breath. Raising a hand in Pyrrha's direction, she wearily stuck up her thumb. "We…did it."

Pyrrha smiled in response. "The first of many victories, I hope."

Dove's eyes were still wide with adrenaline, but he shakily sheathed his sword. "I can't believe we're still alive…"

Yang pulled him into a headlock. "Don't be so dramatic! We'll have way more exciting fights in the future to look forward to."

"Ack! Let me go!" Dove stumbled away from Yang, clutching his throat. "What crimes did I commit in a past live to deserve this?" Dove grumbled as Yang laughed "There is not a single person in this forest with a partner as crazy as mine."

"AA-CHOO" Ren sneezed.

From where she was, Nora turned to face him. "Bless you Ren!"

"Thank you." Ren took in the situation she was in. "But shouldn't you be paying more attention?"

The King Tajitu hissed, Nora riding on top of its head. "What, to lil snakey here?" Nora laughed, a cheery boisterous noise. "Naw, he's harmless."

"I see…" Ren deadpanned as the massive snake barreled into a tree and knocked it over. "Well alright then."

Ozpin looked over the four standing before him on the stage. "Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, Yang Xiao Long, Dove Bronzewing. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. You shall form team WYND (Wind). And your leader shall be…Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss looked elated, Yang shouted out "Whooo, kickass!" Pyrrha clapped politely, and Dove grinned.

Ozpin smiled at Weiss. "Congratulations."

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down." Weiss curtsied, and the four of them stepped back.

"Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Russel Thrush, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black Bishop pieces. You shall form team RRSN (Risen). And your leader shall be…Lie Ren!"

Ren barely reacted to the announcement, except to wince as Nora enveloped him in a hug which might have crushed an Ursa's ribs. "Let's goo Ren!"

"Congratulations." Ozpin smiled at the pair, clearly amused by their antics.

Ren cracked a smile through the pain. "Thank you." The four of them walked off the stage, Russel Thrush pumping his fist in excitement, and Sky Lark congratulating Ren.

Jaune began to sweat. We're up next…I've never even been on a stage before, but I think I already hate it. Glancing over, he sighed. And just after I figured out things with Ruby…now I have to deal with these two?

Cardin and Blake hadn't stopped bickering since they had gotten out of the forest. The two hunters in training genuinely seemed to dislike each other, not able to compromise in the slightest. Even ignoring that, the two hardly seemed like ideal teammates to begin with. Though Cardin's initial animosity towards Jaune seemed to have faded- possibly since he had saved his life- and he didn't seem to be bothered by Ruby, he wasn't particularly friendly either, and was more than a little aggressive overall. Blake seemed polite enough, but kept to herself for the most part. These two are going to be a pain…

Ozpin sized up their team. "Jaune Arc, Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Cardin Winchester. The four of you retrieved the white Rook pieces. You shall form team AWBR (Amber)."

"WHAT?!" Amber's voice practically shouted in Jaune's mind.

Jaune was just as shocked. He doesn't…he doesn't know, does he?

Ozpin's face showed nothing but pride for his students however. "And your leader shall be…Jaune Arc!"

The revelation of being leader hardly even registered in Jaune's mind compared to the shock he had just received. That…that has to be a coincidence. Right?

"Way to go Jaune!" Ruby cheered, and held up her hand for a high five.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jaune smiled. "Yeah!" As he high fived her, it THEN hit him what just happened. "Wait…ME?!"

Ozpin nodded. "Congratulations young man."

"But I…uh…" Jaune stammered. "Of course-I mean thank you! I won't let you down!"

"I wouldn't expect any less." Ozpin motioned all the students from orientation to the stage, and made his way back to the podium. "May I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, the newest students of Beacon Academy!"

Applause filled the room, all sorts of people gathered to watch the ceremony. Jaune stood up straighter, suddenly experiencing an overwhelming feeling of pride. I did it…I made it into Beacon! And best of all, he hadn't needed to use his forged ID to get in.

Amber sounded a little shocked still, but her voice sounded out happily regardless. "You did it Jaune! I knew you could."

Underneath all the noise, Jaune felt comfortable whispering "Thank you." The image of Amber smiling in his head made the moment all the sweeter. At that moment, even the potential troubles of his teammates not getting along seemed far away. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment. My future at Beacon begins today!

Sitting amongst the crowd, Neo smirked as she clapped along. Her eyes were focused on Jaune as she typed into her scroll. 'Kid is named Jaune. First-year at Beacon, leader of his own team. You owe me' The message was accompanied by a picture of Jaune, from when he had first been told he was the leader.

Silently, Neo made her way out. Now that they knew what his name was and where he could be found, they merely had to figure out why he was so important.

Neo hadn't been the only observer in the crowd. Perry hesitated as his finger hovered above the send button. Adam said that if Blake didn't actively interfere with us, that we were to leave her alone...

Of course, his Lieutenant had other ideas. But Perry felt at a loss as to how to approach the matter. If Adam found out, I'd be in just as much trouble…

Then a thought occurred to him, and he nodded. Of course. By becoming a Huntress in training, Blake was siding with the government. She was agreeing to fight for them. Which would, by extension, eventually lead to Blake fighting against the White Fang. As long as they could make that case to Adam…

"Eh, that's good enough for me." Perry shrugged, pressing the button. The message sent, and Perry stood up and walked out of the auditorium, past many others who were chatting loudly about the new students. Too late to turn back now. The White Fang comes for you, Blake…

The full teams have been revealed! Ren and Nora are, of course, still partners, as nothing that has happened would have changed the fact that they were deliberately seeking each other out. Most of the other characters didn't know each other before orientation, and how they interacted changed how they behaved during the orientation. For example, Ruby didn't seek out Jaune in the show because she thought he would slow her down, but here Ruby deliberately seeks him out from the start because she thinks otherwise. Blake never met Yang beforehand, so the same thing happens. Pyrrha didn't meet Jaune, ect. But Ren and Nora knew each other since well before the storm happened, so things haven't changed that much for them…yet.

And with that, orientation is finally over!

For the sake of this story, I'm assuming that the induction of the first-years is an event that's open to the public, through ticketing or other means. It would make sense for parents to want to watch their kid being made into one letter of a four letter word.

I know what you're thinking, and no, Neo did not pay for her ticket. Don't be silly, you know what she's like. Perry did pay for his however. Didn't want to draw potential suspicion on himself and all that.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a (polite) review, follow, and/or favorite if you did! Or leave a (polite) review if you didn't and let me know why, that also works too :)

Also, yes I know the team names are kind of pushing it. The reason this chapter took so long to come out was due to the names. I knew who I wanted on each team since the beginning of the story, but I didn't have the luxury of having characters whose names would neatly make a color based word. In the end, I decided to just break the rules and move on.