-Zion Pov-

I make my way down to the cliff after I manage to ignore everyone trying to talk to me, and Jaune trying to hit on me again. When I make my way to the cliff, I look down into the forest, and then think about my plan for the initiation, and if it'd be possible for me to make my way through it without getting a partner. A lot of people claim it, but I really do work better on my own, and didn't need a partner to slow me down. As I thought about it, I felt footsteps as someone walked to the launch pad next to me, and then I look over to see Kay.

A small smile was on my face when I saw her, and then she sighed. " Guess we're gonna be placed on a team today huh," she asks, sounding just as disappointed with this idea as I am. I nod in agreement, and then Kay sighs again and makes a motion of slicing her throat, which makes me chuckle. " Kill me. Just kill me now," she says jokingly, and then the two of us stand in silence for a little bit as we wait for Ozpin to explain what the initiation is going to be.

While we wait, I look around and then find the three people I had met yesterday, and then think about how that meeting had gone, and if there was any point to having us all meet, especially since we all almost killed each other. Shaking my head, I hear Kay saying something to me, and then I look over to Kay, asking her to repeat what she had asked me, and then she chuckles. " Wanna play the make fun of game again until the initiation starts," she asks, and then I smirk and nod.

The two of us go down the students one by one, finding something to mock in all of them, especially Jaune, who seems to be just an infinite well for jokes at his expense, and then we smirk and chuckle when we say something about him. As we're prepared to keep going, two sets of footsteps can be heard, and then we look over to see Ozpin walking with Glynda, the two of them talking softly, coming to an agreement about something, and then they end up in front of us, and smile and give a kind wave.

" There have been a lot of rumors and questions about how this process of teams is going to be given. And so, let us put those rumors to rest. You're going to be given teams today," he says, and then Kay and I both sigh when he says this, knowing there's probably no way out of this, and then Ozpin continues, and both Kay and I tune out for a few moments, only coming back and listening when he's about to finish. " The first person you see is going to be your partner for the next four years."

A string of profanities enters my mind when he says this, and then I just sigh as he begins to launch the students. The only silver lining for the day is that I get to see Jaune launch helplessly, which manages to make me smile. As Kay launches, I realize I'm going to be launched next, and then I try to think what I can do to just get partnered with her, since I can't imagine myself enjoying my time with a partner if it isn't her. And so, when I get launched, I try to keep Kay in my sight, since my teleportation will only take me places I can see.

I curse when she throws her chain-sickles, and then pulls herself out of reach of my sigh, and then I teleport to the ground and just walk through the forest, trying to find the artifacts, and then duck out of sight from any student I may have to end up partnering with. I manage to do this for a while, and then a horde of Grimm surrounds me, which I realize is from my irritation with this whole process. And so, I sigh and pull out my sword, and get ready to fight.

Before I even can, I hear a loud noise, and then I look up to see a student falling, and then I curse when I realize whoever it is is going to be my partner. The dark part of me just prays for their landing to kill them, but I know it probably isn't going to happen. I look up to see the student coated in metal, and then I curse, thinking that it's Hercules. Whoever it is lands, and smashes through several Grimm, and then stands up, his skin turning to normal again, and then I let out a small sigh of relief when I see Jason with his shield and sword.

His eyes are both red, and he looks at the Grimm with killer intent, and then I realize I can stand back and just let him handle this. From years of reading people, I can tell just how angry he is, and that he wouldn't be able to distinguish between the Grimm and a fellow student. Still, I can't help but be impressed with him cutting down all of the Grimm easily, and fighting like a cage wild animal.

Eventually, all of the Grimm fade away, and then he turns to me, and I curse when I realize he still hasn't calmed down. I hold up a hand between the two of us. To be honest, I'm not sure I can take him in a fight. I can tell he's had a lot of real world experience, and he's even appeared as a target for assassinations when I was in that line of work. On top of all that, he's a Branwen, and historically the Branwens have been one of the strongest families in the history of Remnant.

I watch for a few moments as he blinks a few times, and then he opens his eyes. One of them has remained red, and the other is blue. He sees me, and then sighs. " Damn it," he says and then looks around. " I didn't really want a partner, or need one either." I chuckle when I realize I'm in the same boat as him, and then he looks at me. " But, at least it's you and not one of those other idiots I had to meet yesterday." I chuckle again when he sees this, and I can't help but agree. Out of him, Emma and Hercules, I'm just so glad it's him as my partner.

I walk with him down to the temple, or at least trying to find it, and I thank Oum he doesn't try to make small talk with me, since there's technically nothing we need to talk about other than the initiation. We walk in silence, until it ends up getting to me first, and then I turn to him. " Do you have a plan for what to do when we find the temple," I ask eventually, and then he nods.

" Find the temple. Get the relic. Kill everything. Leave," he says, and then I chuckle. As I walk with him, I realize how glad I am he's on my side and not on another team. I had read his files in the bingo books, and I knew how dangerous he was, and I had gotten to see that first hand today. Kay might've been my first pick for a partner, but at least my partner ended up being with someone who wouldn't be dead weight. The two of us keep walking together, and then make it to the temple eventually, and look around.

We go to look for a piece, and then we nod when we pick up a black rook, and then are about to head back to the cliff. As we do, we look around and see some of the other people coming down to the temple. Jason smiles a little when he sees his sister Yang with Blake, and then they go over to talk for a little bit, and then we all look over to see Ruby running on the ground, and above her Weiss in the mouth of a Nevermore. On the ground, Jaune and Pyrrha run from a Deathstalker.

A few more moments pass as all of us take it in, and then a Mammoth Grimm barrels in, as I see Hercules and Emma running from it, as Hercules calls out that he can take it as Emma tries to convince him that he can't. As if that wasn't enough, on the other side of the Mammoth is Kay being carried by a girl on fire as they try to hurt the Mammoth at all.

" Can crazy things just stop happening for a little bit," asks Yang angrily. A bit more time passes, and then she doesn't get her wish for crazy things to stop happening, as a girl in armor runs in with a man who seems to be a monk, running from a horde of Ursa as a girl with orange hair rides on one.

" Great. The gang's all here," says Yang. "  Now we can all die together!" I chuckle a little at her gallows humor, and then I agree that this situation looks pretty bad for all of us. Despite this, Ruby smiles and then charges at the Deathstalker. I sigh, and then as I expect, she gets defeated in seconds.

Weiss runs into save her, but before she can, the girl on fire flies in, and then flies Ruby out of harm's way, and then burns the Deathstalker a little bit, and then sets Ruby down with the rest of us. " Are you okay," she asks, hugging Ruby.

" I am," says Ruby. " Thank you Karen," says Ruby and the two of them continue to hug as Jason and Yang sigh in relief when they realize their sibling is going to be safe. All of us give quick introductions to each other, and then we look at the horde of Grimm, and talk about the ways we can handle this.

" We can't beat them all," says Weiss, and then Jason scoffs.

" Maybe you can't ice queen. I can," he says, and then the two of them glare at each other.

" You can fight like an old married couple any other time," I tell them, and they both look over at me. " But, we don't have to fight them. It's a waste of time. We all have the pieces we need, so we can just head back to the cliff and call it a day."

" Run and live. That's a plan I can get behind," says Jaune, and I roll my eyes and kick myself mentally when I realize I have no choice than to agree with Jaune. And so, all of us go to head back to the cliff. Before we can however, the wall of ice Weiss had set up and then start charging for all of us.

Jason and Yang's eyes both turn red at the same time, and then I see them sizing up the Grimm. Even now, the two of them want to fight their way out, and I don't know if we can win. Before I have time to even process everything, all of them teams get split apart and then I end up with Jason, Emma and Hercules at the edge of the cliff, fighting with the Mammoth Grimm.

Looking around, I see Ruby and her group fighting the Nevermore, Jaune and his group fighting the Deathstalker, and then Kay and her group fighting the horde of Ursa. And so, I stand with my group of three, and look at the Mammoth Grimm, and get ready for the fight, with me already knowing this is going to be the most difficult fight of my life.

( let me know what you thought)