Cenn felt his eyes begin to slowly open as he fell out of sleep. The sun was shining through the windows, giving the whole ballroom an adequate amount of natural light instead of the faint light of the chandelier from the night prior. He yawned, then sat up and stretched. He looked around the room. Some people had already gotten up, but some were still asleep. He slowly got up to his feet, grabbed his duffel bag, and headed towards the bathrooms.

As Cenn walked into the bathrooms, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He grimaced, seeing how messy his hair was and the bags under his eyes. He took a few minutes just to make his hair a little less frizzy, and then walked into a stall to get changed. 

Bathroom stalls were always Cenn's worst nightmare. His wings always had no room to breathe and it always felt extremely cramped. He reluctantly, and uncomfortably, got changed into a similar outfit to the one he was wearing the day prior, except he slipped a black beanie onto his head. It hung off the back of his head, only exposing the front half and the bottoms of his ears. He walked out of the stall, stretched out his wings, then looked at himself in the mirror. He adjusted the beanie on his head, then gave himself a determined nod.

As more people began to enter, Cenn started brushing his teeth. After he was done doing that, he then made his way over to the locker room. He opened the locker that he was assigned the evening before, and took out various pieces of armor. He slipped a breastplate over his head. It the bottom rested just below the middle of his rib cage, and attached to the breastplate was one large shoulder pauldron that rested on his right shoulder. The breastplate, like every other type of upper body clothing item he owned, had spaces in the back for his wings to slip through. He then slipped on one gauntlet, also on his right hand, and then a smaller glove with a bracer on his left. He then knelt down and began to clip metal guards onto his boots. Every piece of armor that he had on was chrome colored with white accents, and his emblem was engraved over where his heart was on the breastplate.

Then, he grabbed the final piece of his armor set out of the locker. It was a pair of welding googles. He rested them on the crease of his beanie, then grabbed his sword from the locker. He sheathed it on his back, then looked at himself in a mirror in the locker room.

That was when he heard a loud THUNK! sound. He looked behind him to see boy with blond hair stuck to the wall, his body suspended by what looked to be a spear. Cenn recognized him as the boy who had vomited on the airship ride here. He then heard a little, "Sorry!" come from the other end of the room. Suddenly an announcement played over the intercom.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation?" said Glynda's voice over the intercom. "Again, all first-year students report to Beacon cliff immediately."

'Well,' Cenn thought to himself, 'That's me, I guess.'

As Cenn began to walk out the door, he noticed the people who were in front of him. Ruby, Yang, and Mal were all walking with each other and talking. Cenn had the sudden urge to go up and say hi, but he stopped himself. He couldn't. Not right now.

As they made their way over to the cliff, Cenn noticed the launch pads on the ground in front of it. 'Landing strategy evaluation,' he thought to himself, 'That's pretty much expected...'

Cenn stepped onto a tile. He looked to his left. The person next to him was someone that he didn't really recognize. His black hair was blocking his face, so he couldn't make out any specific facial features at the moment. The only thing he could make out was a pair of headphones over his ears... He looked down the line a little farther, then spotted something VERY odd. It was a boy, but it wasn't entirely a boy. His body was covered in cybernetic parts. Even one of his EYES was machine. He had bright red hair and horns, but he also had a large pair of robotic, dragon-like wings protruding out of his back.

Cenn was snapped out of his little trance by the voice of Ozpin.

"For years," he said as he paced back and forth in front of the students, "you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

When Cenn was looking at Ozpin, he caught a glimpse of the person to his right. He recognized that spiky black hair and that white cloak immediately. Mal. Glynda then cut in.

"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."

People around Cenn began to murmur. Cenn was completely internalizing his confusion, however. Teammates? TODAY?

Ozpin continued.

"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 work well."

Cenn began to think about possible teammates. However, he was interrupted by Ozpin's next sentence.

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

Cenn felt reality around him shatter. What did he just say? The first person you make EYE CONTACT WITH?! 'Oh, god, help me...' Cenn thought to himself.

"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."

Cenn took a deep breath, calming himself down.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation," Ozpin continued, "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 them, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Cenn saw the boy with blond hair, the one who had barfed and was stuck to the wall by the spear, raise his hand. "Yeah, um, si-"

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Cenn took his sword off of his back and held it out in front of him. He held a wide stance and spread his wings out as far as he could. He heard people on his right begin to get launched. Then, he heard Mal yell, "LET'S DO THIS!!" and then saw him fly into the air out of the corner of his eye.

Cenn heard his launch pad begin to click as it wound up to launch him. Suddenly, he felt himself lurch forward into the air. Because he had his wings spread, he ascended much higher than everyone else. As he flew, shifted his goggled down over his eyes, then focused more on his surroundings, using his Hawk-like eyes in order to get a good view of everything. Then, after scanning the area, Cenn took a nosedive towards the ground, then pulled up as soon as he reached the ground. He skidded to a halt, digging his heels into the ground.

When he came to a complete stop, he exhaled and brushed himself off with his free hand. He then grabbed his sword with both hands and began to walk farther into the forest. As he wandered around, he began to wonder to himself. Who would he get partnered up with? He had only talked to few people when he got there. Alice? No, she seemed a little bit mean, although she had been a little bit nicer to him than she was with Mal. Mal? He was a little bit...much, but he could probably get used to it. What about Ruby? She seemed like the best bet for him. She was very nice to him when they met, despite him being extremely awkward. Maybe he would look for Ruby.

Cenn then heard growls behind him. He stopped, then looked over his shoulder. Behind him was a pack of Beowolves, snarling and gnashing their teeth at him. Cenn sighed.

"Great..." he said.

One of the Beowolves pounced at him, slashing a clawed hand at Cenn. Cenn jumped back, then dashed forward and sliced right through the Beowolf that had attacked him. More came at him at once. As one tried to cut him, Cenn ducked, then jumped over a claw that tried sweep him out from underneath him. He spun 360 degrees, cutting both Beowolves in half. There was one last Beowolf in front of him, but this one was larger than the rest of them. This Beowolf roared in his face, then went tried to bite and scratch at Cenn. He dodged all of the Beowolf's attacks, got a few slashes in for some minor damage, then, as a finishing blow, swept his leg at the Beowolf's hind leg, knocking it off balance. Cenn then impaled the Beowolf with his sword right into the ground.

As the Beowolf faded away, Cenn exhaled, then took his sword out of the ground. He rested it on his shoulder. Then, suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes. He quickly turned around, holding his sword up in front of him defensively. The bushes rustled even more.

Suddenly, something burst out of the bushes. A giant Beowolf, but something was a little off.

Someone was riding it.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" cried the person riding it.

Cenn screamed in terror and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the Beowolf's charge. Cenn suddenly felt himself get lifted off of the ground and onto the Beowolf's back. Cenn's eyes were wide with fear and confusion. Then, he realized who was riding the Beowolf.

Mal.

Mal was his partner now. How fun.

As they rode on, Mal yelled out, "TALLY HO, FENRIR!!! TALLY HO!!"

Cenn peeked around from behind Mal.

"U-Um..." Cenn managed to stutter out, "H-Hello there..."

Mal turned around and smiled at Cenn.

"Hello, Cenn!" he said cheerfully, then went back to controlling the Beowolf's direction. "So! Do you know where the relics are?"

Cenn nodded, then pointed in the direction.

"I-I got a good view...from when we launched..." he explained, "The temple is that way..."

Mal gave a thumbs up. After a moment of silence, Mal's aura suddenly became visible, then began to crawl all over the Beowolf's body. Cenn was mildly freaked out by this, as he began to tense up. As the aura died down, the Beowolf's fur was suddenly colored white at the tips. Cenn looked extremely confused.

"W-What was that..?" Cenn asked.

Mal looked just as confused as Cenn was.

"I don't know," he said, "It's like I infected him or something!"

As they rode, Mal looked back at Cenn again.

"So," he said, "I guess we're partners now! Who'd've thought, right?!"

Cenn's eyes drifted down, not answering. Then Mal smiled.

"Well, at least I got partnered with someone I already met! That's a plus in my book!"

Suddenly, they burst into a clearing. There, Cenn saw the boy that was basically almost entirely robot, who was standing as if he had just finished killing a few Grimm. He was holding a large battle axe. The boy looked up at them silently, extremely confused. Mal stopped the Beowolf, which he had named Fenrir, then held out a hand to the boy.

"Come with me if you want to live," Mal said in a...strange accent.

The boy grabbed his hand, but when Mal tried to pull him up, he couldn't. Mal then looked at Cenn with pleading eyes. Cenn's eyes shifted between Mal and the boy, then he grabbed the boy's hand. Cenn managed to pull the boy up with ease. The boy sat behind him, and when Cenn looked back up at his partner, Mal's eyes were practically sparkling.

"W-What...?" Cenn asked, wondering what he did to garner such a reaction.

"You did that so easily..!" Mal said.

"L-Let's just get to the relics, please..." Cenn said as his shoulders pushed forward and he cowered back a little bit.

"Right!" Mal said, "TALLY HO, FENRIR!!"

As Fenrir began to move, Mal looked back at the boy they had just picked up.

"So, what's your name, my ominous, cyborg friend?" Mal asked.

"It's Lex," he said bluntly. "Lexar Cybersteel."

Cenn immediately recognized that last name. The Cybersteel company was a cybernetics company, one that built robotic soldier hardware and send them to the Kingdoms for their defense systems. And he was sitting in front of the son of the CEO.

Mal smiled and waved.

"Michael Dantes Espina," he introduced himself, "Mal for short."

Cenn spoke timidly.

"I'm Cenn..." he said in a hushed voice.

Lex collapsed his axe into a compact form, then put it on his lower back. Lex seemed to have this perpetual deadpan expression, not necessarily mean, but rather...uninterested. How mysterious.

Mal continued to speak to the newcomer.

"You got a partner yet?" Mal asked Lex.

Lex simply shook his head. "No."

Mal looked back forward.

"We'll find one for ya, don't worry."

 They soon came to a clearing. In said clearing was the temple with the relics which were...chess pieces? Mal hopped off of Fenrir and went over to the pedestals holding the relics. Cenn slid off of Fenrir's back and began to follow Mal with Lex in tow. As Mal was inspecting the relics, Cenn heard something behind them.

"What the hell?!"

Cenn turned around to see a boy with black hair and golden eyes standing next to Fenrir. He looked mildly shocked, considering that the Grimm was just...sitting there. However, Cenn recognized one feature of the boy had: the headphones that he had over his ears. It was the boy that was immediately to the left of him when they were on the tiles.

Cenn then simply tried to pretend that he didn't see him, and turned to talk to Mal.

"U-Um, we should get a relic...and go..." Cenn said.

Mal put up a finger.

"Hang on...I'm choosing...Hmmmmmmm..." he said.

"Hey! Excuse me?" 

Cenn, Mal, and Lex all turned around to face the boy with the headphones.

"Yeah?" Mal said.

"Why is there a giant Beowolf just...sitting there?"

"Oh. I tamed him. I least I think that's what happened."

"Oh. Sick. I'm Rogue by the way. Any of you not have a partner."

Mal pointed at Lex with a fully extended arm. "He doesn't!" he said.

Lex, with his signature deadpan stare, looked over at Rogue and nodded to him. Cenn stepped back from everyone, slightly separating himself from everyone else. This was too much for him. He couldn't be around all of these people. As he backed away, he suddenly bumped into something. He squeaked, then quickly jumped back and turned around.

There, standing in front of him, was Alice, her arms crossed, clearly unamused.

"Oh, great," she said sarcastically, "You're all here. Whoop dee doo..."

She walked past Cenn, who had sheathed his sword and was now hanging his head in embarrassment. He then saw her walk over to the pedestals. Cenn sighed. Why were all of the new people he was meeting so mean..?

He walked back over to Mal, who had finally picked up a relic. It was...

"A checker piece..?" Cenn said, confused. He thought all of the relics were chess pieces. Where did he get a checker piece.

"Yup!" Mal said, "I picked this because it shows that we're gonna be different! We're gonna go down in history, Cenn!" Mal had an extremely bright smile, which practically lit up the entire area.

As they all picked out their relics, Cenn thought he heard something. He couldn't make it out at first, but it sounded like it was coming from above them. After a few more seconds, Cenn could finally make out what he was hearing.

The flapping of wings.

"U-Um..." he said, stepping away from the group, "D-Does anyone else...you know...hear that..?"

Everyone else looked slightly confused.

"Hear what?" Rogue asked, lifting his headphones off of his ears for a few seconds.

"Shh," Alice said, holding up a finger.

They all gradually began to hear the flapping. As they did so, all five of the students slowly looked into the sky. A large shadow began to slowly creep over them as all of their eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly, two huge CAW!'s sounded from the sky. From, behind all of them, they could hear Lex simply say one word:

"Shit."

~----~

Wow, that was a long one! I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Thanks again for reading! Next chapter will either be up tomorrow or Sunday! -Cenn51903