Chapter 12: Taking the Second Step!

(An: Sorry, guys, but I'm dropping the whole previously thing. Not only is it kinda pointless, but this isn't Yu-Gi-Oh, where we need Tea or "Anzu" to tell us every single flashback. Sorry. If you guys want it back, then let me know.)

(Linebreak)

(Kirito POV)

As I arrive at Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, I see several students, some old, some new, and some unseen standing on silver tiles. In front of them are a mug-holding Prof. Ozpin and Prof. Glynda with her tablet. I spot Alice, who was next to Ruby, Yang, and Jaune, who waves me over.

Alice: (smiling) Hey Kirito! There you are! Come on!

Kirito: Okay!

As I step on a silver tile next to her, I whisper our landing strategy to her and she grins.

Alice: (grinning) Probably going to scare everyone, but I got it.

Kirito: Let's just switch to combat armor. People are staring at us.

And I was right. Around us, people were staring at us. Some were looking at us with pity, while others ignored them. Some even held worry in their faces.

(3rd Person POV:)

Glynda: Mr. and Ms. Kirigaya, where is your combat armor?

Alice: Oh that? Here, we'll show you!

Kirito, Alice: (on-sync) [Switch]!

Everyone watched in shock as both Kirito and Alice were hit by a bright light. Ozpin's eyes widened slightly, but everyone's eyes were definitely on both of them. As the light vanished, everyone's eyes widened in shock even more as both Kirito and Alice were donned in their combat armor.

Kirito: (drawing sword) Whew, it's been a while since I've used this!

Kirito twirled the sword in his hand skillfully before sheathing it on his back.

Alice: Yeah, it's definitely been a while.

Alice swung her sword a few times before implanting it into the ground, gleaming in the sunlight.

Ozpin: (thinking) Interesting... Kirito and Alice, huh? Let's see what you people from [Aincrad] can do...

Glynda: I-I see... Though the light show is a bit much, you think?

Alice: (shrugs) I don't know how to stop it. It just happens.

Ozpin then clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

Ozpin: For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.

Glynda composed herself before speaking with a straight face.

Glynda: Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today.

Ruby: What? Ohhh...

Kirito: (thinking) Wait for it...

Ozpin: These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.

Ruby: (groaning)

Ozpin: That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.

Ruby: (white-faced) Whaaaat?!

Nora: (to Ren) See? I told you-!

Ozpin: After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die.

Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly.

Ozpin: You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?

Jaune: (raising his hand) Yeah, sir-?

Kirito: Just one. Do we need to use these launch pads?

Ozpin raised a single eyebrow before he shook his head.

Ozpin: If you can get there without it, then be my guest.

Kirito: (grinning) Alright then. You said it!

Kirito then dashed towards the edge of the cliffside, with Alice running after him.

Kirito: Ruby! Yang! Weiss! Blake! Jaune! Pyrrha! See you guys there!

Alice: We'll be waiting for you!

Kirito and Alice grabbed each other's hands before jumping off the cliff, with a wide grin on their faces.

Ruby: KIRITO!

Yang: Alice!

Weiss: (pale) You dolts!

Blake: (concerned)

Jaune: So sir, about that quest-

Pyrrha: Kazuto!

They ran over to the side of the cliff, frantically looking for the two siblings until they hear laughter coming from above them.

Alice: Woohoo!

Kirito: How you doing, [Aoiyoru]?

Everyone watched in silence as the two started flying towards the ruins, both of them on top of a certain dragon.

Yang: Wait! Take us with you!

Alice blew a raspberry before giving them a sh*t-eating grin as they got further and further away.

Yang: (hair covering eyes) Kirito is dead.

Ruby: (purple aura) Oh sis, you had the same idea as me?

Everyone in the area, including the professors, began to shudder. They felt cold all of a sudden.

Ozpin: Good! Now, take your positions.

Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, and Jaune is still raising his hand.

Jaune: Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question. (Weiss gets launched, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line) So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?

Ozpin: No. You will be falling.

Jaune: (Doesn't notice more students being thrown) Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?

Ozpin: No. You will be using your own "landing strategy."

Jaune: (still not seeing an excited Nora and Ren getting launched) Uh-huh... Yeah.

When it becomes the sister's turns, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" before a second later Ruby joins her.

Jaune: So, what exactly is a landing strategyyYY!...

He asks as he gets hurled with the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink before the Glynda stands next to him with her tablet in hand.

(Linebreak)

An overhead view of Emerald Forest appears, where a blackbird is seen flying slowly and magnificently, guiding around the area. It squawked a few times, but right up to the moment it gives a final shriek, Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.

Ruby: Birdie, no!

Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace.

Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below.

Ren descends (with Nora briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed) and spins in the air, eventually using his weapon's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...

Yang: Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!

Yang, soaring right over the treetops, is using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.

Yang: (runs off) Nailed it!

Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.

Jaune: (in the distance) Thank you!

Pyrrha: (waving) I'm sorry!

In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch then darted off with a single mantra in her mind.

Ruby (thinking): Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find... (shouting) Yang! Yang! (thinking once again) Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. He's kinda awkward to be around though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Alice maybe? She's strong, nice, and funny! Wait! What about Kirito? He's good at fighting, he can cook, and he's kinda cute... Ugh! (shakes her head of daydreams) Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Alice, Kirito, aaaand...

Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and an awkward pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.

Weiss: (thinking) Nope. Not that insufferable dolt. Pyrrha should have landed around here. Ooh, maybe Kirito? No, he's probably partners with Alice since they went together.

Ruby: (following her slightly) Wait! Where are you going?! (stops and kicks the ground dejectedly) We're supposed to be teammates...

Weiss struggled through the forest, giving an occasional grunt as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.

Jaune: (apparently struggling to free himself) Come on, come on! Stupid...!

Weiss sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from and Jaune groans in dejection.

Weiss: (thinking) On second that, I'll take her.

(AN: Poor Jaune. It's okay. Pyrrha can have him.)

Weiss: (as she passes Ruby and pulls on her hood) By no means does this make us friends.

Ruby: (overjoyed as she's dragged away into the bushes) You came back!

Jaune: (seeing the scene and waving his arms) Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!

Pyrrha (below): Jaune? (he looks down at his savior) Do you... have any spots left on your team?

Jaune: (crossing his arms) Very funny... (he eventually looks down at her and gives a smile, which she returns)

Weiss trudges through the forest, with Ruby ways behind her.

Ruby: What's the hurry?

Weiss: I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear if I get a bad grade because of your— (a smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her) What the...?

Ruby: I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!

Weiss: (looking back, slightly amazed) When did...?

Ruby: Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters! (gets an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders) You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... (somewhat mousily) and I wanna be her friend!"

Ruby disappears in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around her.

Weiss: (calling out to Ruby) You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time! (silence, save more noises) Ruby? (the forest darkens, forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her) Ruby...?

The camera revolves around Weiss, as multiple pairs of red eyes stare at her from the bushes, and a deep growl is heard. She turns around until she spots a large, jagged Beowolf emerging from a bush and approaching her.

Weiss: (yelling) Ruby!

(Linebreak)

(Kirito POV:)

Kirito: You think teams are going to follow canon?

Kirito and Alice sit on a nearby destroyed wall, waiting for the other to come to meet them. They had already recalled [Aoiyoru] and were simply waiting.

Alice: Maybe. From what I know from father, each world, even if it is an Alternative one, always has something known as a [World's Will]. They will always try to follow the original or stick close to it as much as possible.

Kirito: We didn't change canon much, so we should be fine, but...

Kirito proceeds to yawn before pulling out a futon from their [Inventory].

Kirito: I'm tired.

Kirito then lays it down on the ground, before unequipping his armor and getting inside.

Kirito: Wake me up when they get here.

He began to doze off, only to be surprised as Alice removes her armor as well, letting her casual clothes take her place. She then enters the futon as well, before snuggling close to him.

Alice: Tonight is supposed to be Ruby's turn, but I'll take this opportunity.

Kirito just shrugs before slowing dozing off, the sounds of light snores heard in the forest. Alice smiles before falling into slumber with him as well, as the two completely ignore the fact that they are in a forest filled with [Grimm], but the plot probably won't let anything happen to them.