Ruby POV

Ruby's eyes opened to a familiar white-haired face. She blinked and pulled her hands up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She probably should have slept more for today, but she got kind of caught up last night with Weiss. That brought a smile to her face, and she chuckled.

Ruby lifted Weiss's arm up from where it lays across her chest and sat up in the sleeping bag. She moved her legs as to get up, but was interrupted by a hand grasping at her wrist.

Weiss's half-open sleepy eyes were looking up at her from the sleeping bag. "Can I-" she said, breaking off with a yawn. "Can I pay you to pretend this never happened?"

Ruby smiled inwardly but put on a thoughtful expression. "How much we talkin'?"

"Uh," said Weiss, turning and digging around in her bag for a moment, before pulling out a small silver card. "This should cover it, I think." She yawned again.

Ruby took the card in her hand. 'Holy shit!' She thought. 'This is nearly triple what I usually get paid for a job! I can maintain Crescent Rose for almost a year on this!'

The expression on Ruby's face was unreadable, but her eyes, wide and staring at the card, said it all. "This is fine," She managed to choke out in a small voice. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Weiss smiled and yawned again, clearly still half-asleep. "Any time."

Ruby attracted a few stares as she walked back to her and Yang's sleeping bags, which was unsurprising. After all, she did just climb out of Schnee's sleeping bag on the first night, but that wasn't helped by the fact that Ruby had dragged Weiss away before lights out last night and not come back until well past midnight several hours later.

"Good morning Yang," Said Ruby, walking up behind (You'll never guess who it is) Yang, who was rolling up her sleeping bag. "Did you sleep well?"

Yang turned around with an eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips. 'Oh no,' Thought Ruby. 'This is not gonna be good.'

"Did I sleep well?" Asked Yang sarcastically. If Ruby had been looking behind her, she would have noticed Blake lift her head up from her pillow to watch the exchange.

"Oh, I slept great alright. What I want to know is…" She poked her finger at Ruby and spoke through gritted teeth. "How. Well. You Slept." She punctuated each word with a light poke to Ruby's forehead.

"Because you know how Dad said no boys? I don't think this is what he meant!"

Ruby blushed. "I, uh, have no idea what you're talking about."

Yang raised her other eyebrow, and now Ruby was worried.

"Oh, so you have no idea who dragged a very likely half-naked celebrity back to bed at one in the morning, even though you were the one who left with her?"

Ruby blushed.

"Like, jeez, at least wait a day before you seduce half the student body." Yang was half-laughing at the end, and smiling now.

Ruby was relieved, until…

Yang's expression switched back to serious, and then she said the five worst words any person had ever said to her.

"No Cookies for a month."

Ruby's world shattered. "What?!"

Yang crossed her arms and turned her head to the side. "You heard what I said."

Ruby's voice quivered. "But- but-"

"No buts, Ruby," said Yang, attempting not to fall victim to Ruby's puppy eyes. "I mean it this time. Now let's get ready, the entry exam is in half an hour." She then turned and walked out of the room.

"Ugh, fine," said Ruby, stomping her foot. "But when you wake up with 6 inches of hair missing, don't blame me!" She could have sworn she saw Yang stop and freeze for a second before walking ahead.

^THE LOCKER ROOM^

Yang and Ruby stood at the lockers talking, a girl in pink and a boy in green across the room.

"Ruby, if you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together," Yang said.

"You sound just like Dad!" Ruby growled, shoving Crescent Rose into the locker. " I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

Yang snorted. "But what about when we form teams, hm?"

Ruby paled. "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something…" She trailed off.

Yang grabbed a large lock of her hair and began to stroke it. "Maybe… You should try being on someone else's team?"

Ruby turned to her slowly, a faux smile on her face. "My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you… don't want to be one team with me?"

Now it was Yang's turn to go w few shades lighter. " What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell! Maybe even help you find a semi-permanent girlfriend!"

"What? I don't need to break out of my shell!" Ruby yelled, crossing her arms. "And who says I don't have a girlfriend?"

"Well," said Yang, smirking. "One, if you had a girlfriend, I don't think she'd take very kindly to you making a snack out of Ms. Schnee over there-"

From the other side of the locker room came an annoyed shout. "Hey, I heard that Xiao Long!"

Yang chuckled. "-And two, you're just a bit too into Crescent Rose over there for you to have any other physical contact."

Ruby went red as her name and looked down at the floor. "What Crescent and I do when we're alone is none of your business."

Yang looked dumbfounded as her face also went red. "Holy shit. I was joking, but-"

"Shut up!" Ruby yelled. "I don't wanna hear it!"

Fortunately for Ruby, she wouldn't have to, because it was at that moment that her saving grace appeared.

"Uh, guys," Started Jaune, who walked up holding a map of the school. "Where- Where can I find locker 636?" He looked up to notice both Ruby and Yang staring at him with red faces. "Did I, uh, come at a bad time?"

Yang snapped out of it and shook her head. "Uh, no, you're good," she looked at the map he was holding. "I didn't even know the locker numbers went up that high, but it should be down that way." She pointed down the room past where Weiss and a red-haired girl were chatting.

"Thanks," He said beginning to walking that way, passing Weiss talking to a tall redhead.

WEISS POV

"So, who might you be?" Weiss asked the girl, who stood next to the locker fitting on armor. "My name's Weiss Schnee."

The Amazon, which is what Weiss called her in her head whenever she looked at her, finished adjusting a strap of her armor and turned to Weiss.

"My name's Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss's jaw dropped. "It's very nice to meet you, Weiss."

"Pyr- Pyrrha Nikos?" Asked Weiss, starstruck. "The Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Mistral?"

Pyrrha's face fell. "Yes, that Pyrrha Nikos." (Wow we just said Pyrrha's name a lot)

Weiss improvised on the spot. "So, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on?" Weiss was trying and failing to act as inconspicuous as possible "I'm sure there must be people lining up to be on a team with someone with your-" Weiss stared at Pyrrha's muscled arms. "-skills."

Pyrrha either didn't notice Weiss's stares or didn't care, looking down at her feet. "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

Weiss grinned. "Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."

Pyrrha tilted her head and smiled. "That sounds great!"

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but was rudely interrupted by one (1) Jaune Arc.

"You know what else is great?" He asked with a tv-announcer smile. "Me." He turned to Weiss. "Jaune Arc. Nice to see you again."

Weiss's expression went from excitement to a distasteful frown. "And what might you be doing here?"

Pyrrha slid up to Jaune's slide so fast that Weiss stepped back, startled.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Jaune!" Said Pyrrha, smiling sweetly.

Jaune turned his head towards Pyrrha. "And who might you be, beautiful?"

Pyrrha made a sound almost like a dying animal but managed to squeak out her name. "Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune smiled. "That's a very nice name. Now, I overheard y'all talking about teams, and I was thinking that we'd make a great one. What do you say?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, but Weiss intervened.

"Do you even know who you're speaking too!?" Asked Weiss, gesturing to Pyrrha. "This is Pyrrha McFucking Nikos- pardon my language- the champion of Mistral!"

Jaune narrowed his eyes and looked thoughtful for a moment before going back to his normal deadpan expression. "Never heard of her."

Weiss felt like she was about to die. "What!? What do you mean, you've never heard of her!?"

Pyrrha's face, however, lit up like a christmas tree. "You mean, you have no idea who I am?"

Jaune nodded. "Yup," before switching back to his tv-smile from earlier. "But I was hoping to get to know you better later."

Weiss walked between them. "Wait, so you're telling me," She pointed at Jaune. "That you have never heard of her." She pointed at Pyrrha.

Jaune nodded again. "Mhm."

Weiss gaped. "The Champion of Mistral? 4-Time winner of the Mistral-Vacuo Tournament? Record holder for the Javelin throw?"

Jaune looked suspiciously at the redhead beside him. "Are you sure that's her?"

"Ugh!" Weiss grunted, and then looked thoughtful for a moment, before brightening. "The girl on the front of the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!"

Jaune gasped. "You're her!?"

Pyrrha, embarrassed, nodded.

Jaune was basically jumping for joy, and if people's pupils could turn into stars, then his did. "I love that cereal! I even won one of the hoodies!" He then lifted up the front piece of his armor to reveal the large bunny logo on his hoodie.

Pyrrha rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I did a promotional run for the cereal about a year ago, even though it's… not all that great for your health."

Weiss slid up to Jaune's side, knocking Pyrrha out of the way. "Now that you know who she is, do you really think you're in a position to be asking her to be on your team?"

Jaune hung is head. "No."

Pyrrha peeked around from behind Weis where she had fallen. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!"

Jaune smiled. "Aw, stop it."

Weiss sighed. "Seriously, stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

Jaune leaned in. "Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?"

"Okay, that's a little too close," Weiss gowled. "Sorry-not-sorry about this!"

She whipped out her rapier and made a nice walkway of ice from Jaune to the other side of the locker room, which he immediately slipped on, causing him to slide all the way across the room.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha called out to him. "I'll talk to you later!"

There was a faint "Okay!" but nothing else.

RUBY POV

A woman's voice echoed through the locker room through the speakers. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Alright Rubes!" said Yang, smashing her fist into the palm of her hand. "Let's do this!"

As Ruby and Yang walked out of the locker room, they encountered a Jaune Arc, still attempting to stand on the ice walkway that Weiss had created.

"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Asked Yang, grinning.

"I don't understand," cried Jaune, accepting the hand that Ruby offered and lifting himself up. "My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"

"Going after the white one probably wasn't the best idea," Ruby said. "She can be a real di-" Ruby stopped, able to feel the vengeful eye of Yang on the back of her head. "-Meany pants."

Yang cleared her throat. "Although, the way the red one acted, you might have a chance with her…"

Jaune chuckled. "Pyrrha? Nah." He made a thoughtful face. "I mean, she is really cute. And nice. And funny. And-" He looked down at his shoes. "Oh no."

Yang laughed. "'Oh no' is right, buddy." She patted him on the back. "Now come on! We have monsters to slay, entrance exams to pass, and cute girls to impress. Away!"

*5 MINUTES LATER*

Ruby, Yang and Jaune arrived at the top of Beacon Cliff, Yang grinning, and both Ruby and Jaune panting.

"Yang," Ruby managed to get out between gasps for air. "How can you… How can you run so fast for… so long!?"

Yang replied with one word. "Breath control." (Well fuck, I guess that's actually 2 words)

Ruby and Jaune both groaned.

Before they could say anything else, however, the same woman from the assembly blew a whistle, causing all the students to stop speaking and look in her direction.

"Children," She began. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. For the rest of your time here, should you pass the entrance exam, I will be your most-seen administrator, so I advise you be on your best behavior for me." A couple students chuckled, but were silenced with a glare. "Now, if you would, please find a platform and stand on it while Professor Ozpin begins the presentation."

As students scrambled to find a metal platform to stand on, Ruby, Yang, & Jaune looked at each other.

"Presentation?" Ruby muttered. "What kind of- Oh."

She jogged over to get on one of the metal platforms as Ozpin and Goodwitch wheeled out a pull-down screen and a projector on a cart.

Yang raised an eyebrow. "An actual presentation. Huh. Who would've thought."

Ozpin cleared his throat, and ell eyes turned to him. The projector started up, and a slide appeared on the screen. It was blank, except for the word T.E.S.T. in block font.

"Hello new students!"Said Ozpin. "Welcome to the T.E.S.T., also known as-" He clicked a button on his cane, and the slide changed, revealing what the acronym stood for. "Totally Ethical Suicidal Training, designed and named by me, of course."

Poor Jaune, who had already been nervous enough, went whiter than Weiss's hair.

"We will be testing three things today. Firstly, your ability to Improvise. You will need to create unorthodox and creative solutions on the spot to overcome challenges." The slide changed, showing a Beowolf surrounded by several huntsmen and huntresses. "Secondly, your ability to adapt. You will have to be able to adjust quickly to your unfamiliar surroundings so that this-" The slide changed to a very graphic image of what happens when someone doesn't realize there's a cliff behind them when the back up. There were several gagging noises, and Jaune vomited. Again.

"-Is not you. For those of you wondering, yes, this student did survive, but she really didn't enjoy her legs being turned 180 degrees for a week." Ozpin paused, clicking his cane again. The screen changed to the huntsmen and huntresses from before, standing triumphantly over a dead Beowolf's dissolving body. "Thirdly, we will be testing you ability to overcome challenges that have been set out before you. If this test is too difficult, then you just might not survive your first real mission. Be advised, there have been several severe injuries and deaths resulting from this test in the 20 years since I implemented it, so if you want to back out, now is the time."

Jaune looked like he was about to raise his hand, but brought it back down to his side.

Ozpin smiled. "Everyone ready? Perfect." He turned to Glynda, who had wheeled the projector and screen out of the way. "Glynda, if you will."

Glynda walked out in front of them. "Each of you, after landing in the forest, will be partnered up with the first person with whom you make eye contact."

Everyone looked at each other, mentally attempting to choose who they wanted.

"As Headmaster Ozpin just said, you will need to Improvise, Adapt, & Overcome (heh heh) to make it to the other end of the valley where the relics are to be found. After you and your partner select an artifact, you will proceed to the top of the opposite cliff, where me and the Headmaster will be waiting. Any questions?"

Jaune tentatively raised his hand.

"Yes?" Glynda asked turning, towards him.

"Um, so these… landing strategy things… Will you be providing parachutes or something?"

"No," said Ozpin, from off to the side. "You will be devising your own landing strategies."

It was at that moment that Jaune was launched off the platform, flying off into the distance, a faint scream echoing through the air.

"You ready, Yang?" Yelled Ruby on the platform.

"You bet your ass I aaaaaaaam!" Yelled back Yang as she was launched into the air.

Ruby turned to Weiss. "Wish me luck, Snow Whiiiiiiiiiite!" She flew off into the air, cackling madly.

Weiss and Blake were then launched in quick succession, followed by a girl in pink and a boy in green, Pyrrha having been launched before Jaune.

Ruby sailed through the air, laughing. Suddenly, there was a Crow, who she obliterated.

"Sorry birdy!" she called after it as she approached the tops of the trees.

She pulled out Crescent Rose and fired off a dozen rounds, slowing her down enough that she landed on the forest floor in a kickass combat roll. "Nice!"

Running around the forest, she kept muttering to herself. "Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang," She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Or Blake. She was nice." She smiled. "And hot."

She heard a grunt through a wall of bushes. "Yang? Is that you?" She called out. "Yang?" She pushed through the wall of bushes, and her face fell. "Aw, You're not Yang!"

Weiss stood in front of her, then locked eyes. "Well, shit."