It was a
quiet evening in the Kingdom of Vale. A Dust shop called From Dust Till Dawn
was tucked away on one side of the city’s streets.
It was
growing late, and in preparation for the next day, the old shopkeeper was hard
at work cleaning his display cases and sweeping his floors. He looked up at the
clock. Only a half hour left before he could close.
He went
into the backroom and put his broom, cleaning spray, and rags away when he
heard his shop’s bell ring. He looked to see who it was and saw a short girl in
a black combat skirt paired with a red riding hood and cape walk to the back of
the store. The old man smiled. He knew who it was. She was probably just here
to check out the new Weapons Monthly. The old man wasn’t worried, but he did
note a strange crimson metal object hooked onto her lower back.
The
shopkeeper still paid it no mind and went back to his nightly cleaning duties.
Finally he walked back up to the front desk and started locking his display
cases which were full of Dust crystals, the number one energy propellant in the
world used in everything from weapons to technology and even used in its rawest
form giving its wielders control over the forces of nature.
Suddenly,
out of the corner of his eye, there were five shadows just outside his shop
window.
Five men
strode brazenly in. Four looked like Junior’s men from Junior’s Club. But the
one who led them—there was a dangerous air about him. He had shocking orange
hair slicked over one of his eyes with a black bowler on top. He wore a worn
white coat over a tacky, outdated suit and he carried a cane with red accents.
But the thing that irked the old man most of all was that the man was smoking a
cigar in the store.
The five
walked up to the front desk and the leader tapped the ash from his cigar onto
the display case. The old man gaped.
“Do you
have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?” asked the man
in white.
One of
Junior’s men pointed a gun at the old man.
“Please!”
he begged. “Just take my money and leave!”
The man
in white shushed him. “Calm down,” he said reassuringly. “We’re not here for
your money.” He smiled. Then turned to Junior’s men and demanded, “Grab the Dust.”
One of
Junior’s men produced a case that was taller than it was wide. Inside were two
rows of five canisters, each with a nipple on top. Three of the others each
grabbed a canister and walked over to the glass tubes of raw Dust lining the
store’s walls. Each put a canister beneath a different color of Dust and watched
as a bar on the side of each canister began to light up telling them when the
canister was full.
Another
one of Junior’s men opened another case and demanded of the shopkeeper,
“Crystals. Burn. Uncut.”
The old
shopkeeper reluctantly reached into his display case and did as he was told.
As
Junior’s men continued to perpetrate the robbery, one of them could just barely
hear muffled music coming from somewhere. He looked toward the back of the
store and saw the girl in the red hood reading a magazine.
The
thief drew his red-bladed parang and demanded, “All right, kid. Put your hands
where I can them!”
The girl
didn’t respond.
The man
sneered. “Hey! I said hands in the air!” He approached the girl and turned her
by the shoulder. “You got a death wish or something?!”
The
girl’s hood came off and she looked at the man surprised.
The man
pointed at his ears.
The girl
took her head phones off. “Yes?” she said casually.
“I said,
put your hands in the air. Now!”
“Are
you… robbing me?” asked the girl entertained.
“Yes!”
said Junior’s man frustrated.
“Oh…”
she said slowly. Her lips curled back into a smile.
The rest
of Junior’s men continued the robbery while the man in white examined a Dust
crystal. They heard a battle cry followed by a thump and the one henchman went
flying past them and crashed into the front wall.
The man
in white nodded at another and he charged the girl. This time a streak of red
and mass of black flew past breaking the window out into the street.
The rest
of the thieves looked out the window and saw the henchman knocked out cold
while the short girl stood up proudly. The red metallic object hooked onto her
back was now balanced on her shoulder and it extended into a large mechanical
scythe. The haft was at least twice as long as the girl was tall, and its
menacing, curved double blade was just as tall as her.
The girl
looked at them and gave a confident smirk. She impressively flourished the
scythe around hand over hand and arm over arm before bringing it to a stop on
her other side letting its blade tip crash into the street.
“Okay…”
said the man in white. “Get her.”
Junior’s
men charged the girl. But using the scythe’s haft like a balance beam, she spun
around it and kicked the first one in the chest with both feet.
The girl
landed and held her scythe crossways behind her. She pulled a subtlety hidden
trigger on it. A shot was fired and the recoil from the end of the scythe made
the girl spin around with such force that when the scythe butt connected with
the next henchman he was sent flying.
The
third pulled a machine gun and started firing. But the girl kept pulling the
trigger on her scythe and used the force of the recoil to dodge the gunfire not
once, not twice, but three times. She dodged toward the henchman, swept him up
with her scythe and then brought it around again knocking him back to the
street. He landed pathetically at the boss’ feet.
The man
in white looked down. “You were worth every cent. Truly, you were.” He took a
step forward. “Well Red, I think we can all say it’s been an eventful evening.”
He dropped his cigar on the ground and smothered it with the end of his cane.
“And as
much as I’d love to stick around,” he continued, pointing his cane at the girl,
“I’m afraid this is where we part
ways.”
The girl
gave him a quizzical look. Then the end of his cane opened up and revealed an
aiming reticule. The gangster fired a shot from the end of his cane which
exploded when it hit the road.
The girl
managed to dodge using the recoil from her scythe to jump over the shot. She
landed among chunks of broken road and looked for the ruffian. She noticed him
behind her climbing a building’s fire escape.
He just
barely cleared the top of the fire escape as the girl nearly flew to the top of
the building using her scythe to propel her.
“Hey!”
she called.
He
growled. “Persistent little…”
The girl
scowled and readied herself for combat when what sounded like an accelerating
turbine engine reached her ears. A Bullhead-class airship shot into the night
sky from behind the building. The girl recoiled from the wind it kicked up.
A hatch
on the side opened up and the man climbed into it.
He
turned and shouted, “End of the line, Red!” before throwing a burn crystal at
her feet.
He took
aim with his cane and fired. There was an explosion and he whooped with joy.
But
before the explosion had gone off, a tall figure had dropped in front of the girl.
When the smoke and fire cleared, a tall, middle aged woman, with glasses and
short blonde hair was standing there holding a riding crop with a purple glyph
held up before her to shield her and the girl from the blast.
The man
in white growled.
The
woman brandished her crop and several purple streaks shot from its end and
crashed into the airship making the pilot lose control.
“We’ve
got a huntress!” shouted the man in white to the airship’s pilot.
The
pilot turned out to be a young woman in a red dress with long black hair. She
rushed to the side door as the man in white tried to control the airship.
The huntress
shot a purple light into the sky above the airship and a storm manifested.
Shards of ice descended from the cloud piercing the ship.
The
young woman in red appeared in the side hatch. She took stock of the situation
and seemed awfully relaxed. The sleeves on her dress burned revealing embedded Dust.
She activated the Dust with her aura and cast a fireball at the huntress.
The
huntress defended herself with another glyph splitting the ball into many tiny
fragments all over the roof. The young woman raised her hand and the fragments
exploded, but the huntress was able to back flip out of it.
The
huntress used her psychokinetic powers and gathered the shards of the roof into
a deadly spike and launched it at the airship. The young woman fired several
blasts from her hands trying to destroy it, but the spike merely reformed and
continued on its course.
The man
in white, being somewhat clever, tilted the ship and managed to ricochet the
spike off the top hull of the ship.
Not to
be outdone, the huntress separated the spike into three streams and threatened
to slice the ship to bits. But the young woman summoned the fire from her dress
and expended it outwardly blasting the streams apart.
The
airship was offered a brief respite and began to turn away.
The
girl, not willing to let these crooks get away, transformed her scythe into a
more compact shape that allowed her to use its embedded rifle more accurately.
She charged the bolt and began firing, but the young woman aboard the ship was
able to block each shot. She then cast a ring of fire around both the girl and
huntress.
The
huntress threw the girl out of harm’s way with her telekinesis before barely
escaping herself.
Finally,
the ship’s hull closed and flew off into the night. Everything was quiet again.
After a
pause, the girl turned to the woman. “You’re a huntress? Can I have your
autograph?!” she gushed.
Somehow,
some time later, the girl found herself on the wrong side of a table in an
interrogation room used by Vale’s police department.
The
middle aged woman paced the room. “I hope you realize your actions tonight will
not be taken lightly, young lady,” she said sternly. “You put yourself and
others in grave danger.”
“They
started it!”
“If it
were up to me, you’d be sent home with a pat on the back…”
The girl
brightened.
“And a
slap on the wrist!” The woman punctuated her statement by slamming her riding
crop onto the table making the girl yelp in surprise.
“But…
there is someone here who would like to meet you.”
The girl
blinked, and in walked an elderly gentleman of at least sixty. He had grey hair
and wore an old-fashioned, but still stylish, three-piece emerald green suit.
He had blacked out glasses that sat low on his nose, and carried a mug in one
hand and a plate of large chocolate chip cookies in the other.
“Ruby
Rose,” he said, addressing the girl. He leaned in, “You…”
Ruby
raised her eyebrows.
“Have
silver eyes.”
Ruby
looked away confused. “Um?”
“So!”
said the distinguished man. “Where did you learn to do this?”
The
woman took out a full-sized scroll and pulled up footage of Vale’s security
footage showing off Ruby’s impressive combat skills.
“S-Signal
Academy,” replied Ruby unsure of whether or not she was still in trouble.
“They
taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?” he
asked intensely.
“Well,
one teacher in particular.”
“I see…”
he said, placing the plate of cookies before the girl. “Help yourself.”
Ruby
looked at them both and hesitated. But only for a moment before shoving cookies
in her mouth at will. They were delicious. Almost as good as her mother’s. In
fact, they were strangely similar.
The
gentleman continued. “It’s just that I’ve seen only one other scythe-wielder of
that skill before. A dusty, old crow…”
“Oh!”
chimed the girl, and she tried to speak with her mouth full. She stopped and
gave herself a chance to swallow and cleared her throat a little embarrassed.
“Sorry. That’s my Uncle Qrow. He’s a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage
before he took me under his wing. And now, I’m all like…” Ruby’s description
devolved into faux karate moves complete with soft kiai and battle cries.
The
gentleman smiled at her taking a sip from his mug. He enjoyed her enthusiasm.
“So I’ve noticed.” He placed his mug on the table and sat down. “And what is an
adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?”
“Well,”
Ruby began seriously, “I want to be a huntress.”
“You
want to slay monsters?”
“Yeah. I
only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I’m going to
apply to Beacon. See, my sister’s starting there this year, and she’s trying to
become a huntress. And I’m trying to become a huntress because I wanna help
people, and my parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, well,
might as well make a career out of it.” She giggled nervously.
“I mean,
the police are all right, but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more
romantic and exciting and cool and…” Ruby let out an excited squeal. “You
know?!”
There
was a brief pause. The woman blinked and frowned. But the gentleman’s stare was
much more pleasant and understanding.
After a
while, he asked, “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re
Professor Ozpin. You’re the headmaster at Beacon.”
“Hm,”
said Ozpin satisfied. “Hello.”
“Nice to
meet you.”
“You
want to come to my school?”
“More
than anything.”
Ozpin
exchanged looks with the woman standing next to him. She rolled her eyes.
“Well,”
began Ozpin, “okay.”
Ruby
couldn’t believe her ears as a euphoric smile crept across her face. She still
couldn’t believe developments when she was aboard an airship with other students
being ferried to Beacon.
Her
older sister Yang still wouldn’t shut up about it. “This is the best day ever!”
she cried, embracing Ruby tightly.
“Please
stop…” begged Ruby between crushed lungs.
It was
bad enough that Yang was infamous for giving the sort of hugs that could
collapse airways, but it was made worse by the fact that she was incredibly
strong and topped all her hugs off with the sort of exuberance that can only
come from an over doting older sister.
“But I’m
so proud of you!” said Yang,
releasing Ruby. She bounced on the balls of her feet overflowing with
enthusiasm.
“Really,
sis; it was nothing.”
“What do
you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you’re the bee’s knees!”
“I don’t
wanna be the bee’s knees. Okay? I don’t wanna be any kind of knees! I just want
to be a normal girl with normal
knees.”
“What’s
with you? Aren’t you excited?”
“Of course,
I’m excited. I just… I got moved ahead two years. I don’t want people to think
I’m special or anything.”
Yang
cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged and wrapped an
arm around Ruby’s shoulders. “But you are
special. A lot of people may only see you as just small and helpless. They may
see you as just a child. But they’ll be surprised when a warrior soon runs
wild.”
Ruby
thought Yang was overdoing the big sister act, but somewhere deep inside,
Yang’s argument was hitting home. This only made Ruby feel more torn between
trying to appear normal and feeling guilty for not taking Yang’s praise.
Suddenly,
there was a telecast on the airship. “The robbery was led by nefarious criminal
Roman Torchwick who continues to evade authorities.”
Ruby
looked up and recognized the man in the mug shot as being the one she had
thwarted at From Dust Till Dawn.
“If you
have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department.
Back to you, Lisa.”
“Thank
you, Cyril,” said a woman with violet hair. “In other news, this Saturday’s
Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang
disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted—”
The
broadcast was interrupted and a visual of the blonde haired woman from the
other night showed up on the screen. “Hello, and welcome to Beacon.”
“Who’s
that?” asked Yang.
“My name
is Glynda Goodwitch. I’m a professor at Beacon.”
“Oh.”
Professor
Goodwitch continued, “You are among a privileged few who have received the
honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is
experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and
huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it.
“You
have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now, it is our turn
to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.” The
visual of Goodwitch disappeared.
“Oh,
wow!” said Ruby, rushing over to one of the windows on the ship. The view of
Vale’s cityscape was breathtaking. “You can see Signal from here,” she said to
Yang. “I guess home isn’t too far after all.”
“Beacon’s
our home now.”
There
was a groan from the rear of the ship. Yang and Ruby looked and saw a young man
with his arm around his stomach and a hand over his mouth. He wore a white
breastplate over a blue hoodie and had a messy head of blonde hair. As the
airship came to dock at a cliff overlooking a grand lake that was just outside
Beacon, the young man ran to depart the airship as fast as possible.
“Well, I
guess the view isn’t for everyone,” commented Yang.
“It was
a nice moment while it lasted.”
“I wonder
who we’re going to meet.”
That was
just like Yang. She loved meeting new people, and had no problems making
friends.
“I just
hope they’re better than Vomit Boy,” said Ruby.
Vomit
Boy heard her. He twisted to look back at her. Ruby turned red and faced away.
Fortunately for her, Vomit Boy had to turn to a waste can just outside the
airship with all haste enabling Ruby to sneak past with Yang.
Yang and
Ruby made it to the courtyard just outside of Beacon and couldn’t stop
themselves from a simultaneous gasp of awe. Beacon Academy looked more like a
Gothic castle made of alabaster stone than a combat school. It was truly
enormous and the CCTS tower, Cross Continental Transmit System, was at the
center of it all.
Yang
said, “The view from Vale’s got nothing on this.”
Ruby
didn’t hear her. She was too busy geeking out over other students’ weapons. “Sis!
That kid’s got a collapsible staff! And she’s got a fire sword!”
“Easy,
little sister!” chided Yang. “They’re just weapons.”
“Just
weapons?! They’re an extension of ourselves! They’re a part of us! Oh, they’re
so cool.”
“Well,
why can’t you swoon over your own weapon? Aren’t you happy with it?”
“Of
course, I’m happy with Crescent Rose,” said Ruby. She swung it out and cuddled
it like a stuffed toy.
Yang had
the feeling Ruby would sleep with it if she could.
“I just
really like seeing new ones. It’s like meeting new people. But… better.”
“Ruby! Come on!” Yang said, pulling Ruby’s hood
over her head. “Why don’t you go and try to make some friends of your own?”
“But,
why would I need friends when I have you?”
“Well,
actually my friends are here now. Gotta go. Kay. See ya! Bye!” And like that,
Yang was gone in a flash after some group of people Ruby had never seen before.
“Wait!”
she called after her. “Where are you going? Aren’t we supposed to go to our
dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?”
But Yang
was gone.
Ruby
sighed heavily and stared forlornly along the path that Yang had disappeared.
She groaned. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said, collapsing to the ground.
Or at least she would have if a luggage cart hadn’t slammed into her heel and
knocked her back into several large suitcases.
“What’re
you doing?!” someone shrieked.
Ruby
looked up and saw a girl about Yang’s age dressed in a white combat skirt
complemented by a vest and had long white hair. It had been pulled back into a
pony tail, but oddly, not at the back of her head—it was off to the side. Ruby
also noted that there were two men in extravagant suits with her helping to
transport her luggage.
“Um,
sorry!” said Ruby.
“Sorry?!
Do you have any idea of the damage you could’ve caused?”
“Uh…”
The girl
picked up one of her cases checking its contents. She pulled out a glass vial
of red Dust. “This is Dust. Mined and purified from the Schnee quarry. What are
you? Brain dead? Dust! Fire. Water. Lightning. Energy. Are you even listening
to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!” the
girl demanded, shaking the vial.
Some of
the vial’s contents escaped and filled Ruby’s nostrils. She couldn’t stop
herself from sneezing which would have been bad enough, except sneezing from
the Dust created a fireball that completely engulfed the girl opposite her.
The vial
of Dust was thrown across the courtyard into the ankle high boots of another
girl who had long black hair and a black bow. She picked up the Dust with mild
curiosity before returning to the book she held in her other hand. Finally, she
gave the vial a good look and recognized the Schnee family crest.
“Unbelievable!”
cried the girl in white. “This is
exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!”
“I’m
really, really sorry!” said Ruby,
looking at the ground.
“You
complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren’t you a little young to be
attending Beacon?”
Ruby
hemmed and hawed.
“This
isn’t your ordinary combat school. It’s not just sparring and practicing, you
know. We’re here to fight monsters, so—watch where you’re going!”
“Hey! I
said I was sorry, princess!”
Ruby
finally had the nerve to look the girl in the eye and noticed a rather nasty
scar across her left eye. For such a well primped girl, it was a unique oddity
that should have been hidden, or at least attempted to be hidden. It was the
girl’s only noticeable flaw besides her terrible attitude.
“It’s
heiress, actually,” corrected the girl in the ankle boots. She walked up to
them. “Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest
producers of energy propellant in the world.”
“Finally!
Some recognition,” said Weiss, her tone changing.
“The
same company,” continued the dark haired girl, “infamous for its controversial
labor forces and questionable business partners.”
“Why
you—! How dare—!”
Weiss
let out a disgusted sigh and took her vial of Dust before walking off. Her
servants attended to her luggage.
Despite
her horrendous attitude and seeing how sweet it was for Weiss to get her just
desserts, Ruby still felt guilty. “I promise I’ll make this up to you!” she
called obsequiously. “I guess I’m not the only one having a rough first day.
“So…”
said Ruby, turning back to the other girl. But she had already left.
Ruby was
depressed. She collapsed. “Welcome to Beacon,” she said to herself.
Suddenly,
someone’s shadow crossed her face.
“Hey.
I’m Jaune,” said a boy. He offered her his hand.
“Ruby,”
she said, unsure of whether or not to take it.
She did
and Jaune pulled her up.
“Wait.
Aren’t you Vomit Boy?”
The two
walked off together and found themselves alone in a different part of Beacon’s
enormous and maze-like courtyard.
“All I’m
saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let
on,” Jaune explained, defending himself.
“Look,
I’m sorry. ‘Vomit Boy’ was the first thing that came to mind.”
“Oh,
yeah?! Well what if I called you ‘Crater Face?’”
“Hey!
That explosion was an accident.”
“Yeah.
Because like anybody pukes on purpose,” said Jaune. “Anyway, the name’s Jaune
Arc. Short. Sweet. Rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it.”
Ruby
stifled a laugh. “Do they?”
“Th-They
will! Well, I hope they will. I mean, my mom always says—uh, well, never mind.”
Ruby
laughed nervously. Desperate to change the topic to anything else, she said,
“So, I’ve got this thing,” and pulled out her scythe.
Jaune
jumped back. “Whoa! Is that a scythe?”
“It’s
also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle.”
“Huh?”
“It’s
also a gun.”
“Oh.
That’s cool!”
“So, what
have you got?”
“I got
this sword,” said Jaune, unsheathing it.
“Ooh!”
said Ruby genuinely.
“I’ve
also got a shield.” Jaune took the sheathe off his belt and it expanded
outwards in both directions into a classic shield.
“So,
what do they do?”
“Um, the
shield gets smaller,” explained Jaune as it did so. “So, when I get tired of
carrying it, I can just… put it away.”
“But…”
said Ruby, grabbing onto the obvious logical problem, “wouldn’t it weigh the
same?”
“Yeah,”
said Jaune, sounding defeated.
“Well,
um, I’m kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little
overboard in designing mine.”
“Wait!
You made that?”
“Of
course! All the students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn’t you make
yours?”
“It’s a
hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it back in the war.”
“Sounds
more like a family heirloom to me. But, I like it! Not many people have an
appreciation for the classics these days.”
“Yeah,”
agreed Jaune bolstered. “The classics.”
“So why
did you help me out?”
Jaune
sheathed his sword. “Enh, why not? My mom always says, ‘Strangers are just
friends you haven’t met yet.’”
“Hm. By
the way, where are we going?”
“Oh, I
don’t know. I was following you.” Looking around, Jaune asked, “Do you think
there’s a directory or food court around here?”
Ruby
stifled another laugh.
“Is that
a ‘no?’”
“That’s
a ‘no.’”
Eventually,
Jaune and Ruby found their way to Beacon’s auditorium. New students were
milling about everywhere waiting for the headmaster to make his opening
statement.
“Ruby!”
called out Yang, waving. “Over here!”
“Hey,”
said Ruby, turning to Jaune, “I gotta go. I’ll see you after the ceremony.”
“Hey,
wait!” called Jaune after her. He groaned. “Great. Where am I supposed to find
another nice, quirky girl to talk to?” He stomped off with his shoulders
slumped forward. “Every time I think I’m getting somewhere, they always leave.
My luck with women is terrible.”
Jaune
looked at the floor and continued to curse his luck. Out of the corner of his
eye, he saw a girl wearing bronzed greaves over knee high boots. He looked up
and briefly made eye contact with a tall, beautiful girl with long, red hair
wearing a golden circlet and bronze breastplate with a red miniskirt. She gave
him a smile and a little wave. But that was lost on Jaune.
Ruby joined
Yang but gave her the cold shoulder. She hadn’t forgotten what Yang had done.
Sensing
the tension, Yang asked, “How’s your first day going, little sister?”
“You
mean since you ditched me and I exploded?!”
“Yikes.
Meltdown already?”
“No, I
literally exploded a hole in front of the school. And there was some fire, and
I think some ice.”
Yang
smiled. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“I wish!
I fell over some crappy girl’s luggage and then she yelled at me. And then I
sneezed, and then I exploded! And then she yelled again. And I felt really bad
and I just wanted her to stop.”
“You!”
said a shrill voice from behind Ruby.
“Oh,
god!” cried Ruby, jumping into Yang’s arms. “It’s happening again!”
“You
were lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff,” continued Weiss.
“Oh my
god,” replied Yang. “You really exploded.”
“It was
an accident!” cried Ruby, jumping down.
Weiss
stuck a pamphlet in front of Ruby’s face titled “Dust For Dummies.”
“What’s
this?”
“The
Schnee Dust Company isn’t responsible for any injuries or damages sustained
while operating a Schnee company product….”
Weiss
continued to ramble off the fine print legalities while Ruby just stared at the
pamphlet blankly wondering if this situation could get any worse.
“You
really want to start making things up to me?”
“Absolutely.”
Weiss
shoved the pamphlet into Ruby’s hands. “Read this, and don’t ever speak to me
again.”
“Look…”
began Yang, “it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t
you start over and try to be friends, okay?”
“Yeah!
Great idea, sis. Hello, Weiss. I’m Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shopping
for school supplies.”
“Yeah!”
said Weiss excitedly. “And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk
about cute boys like… tall, blonde, and scraggly over there.”
Weiss
jerked her thumb in Jaune’s direction. He took notice.
“Wow!
Really?”
Weiss
gave a consummate glare. “No.”
At last,
Ozpin appeared on the front stage and cleared his throat. “I’ll keep this
brief. You’ve travelled here today in search of knowledge—to hone your craft
and acquire new skills. And when you’ve finished, you plan to dedicate your
life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see… is
wasted energy, in need of purpose.”
Yang’s
eyes narrowed. She had plenty of purpose if someone just cared to ask.
“You
assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove
that knowledge can only take you so far. It is up to you to take the first
step.”
Ozpin
stepped aside and Glynda stepped up.
“You
will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be
ready. You’re dismissed.”
Yang
noted, “He seemed kind of… off.”
“Almost
like he wasn’t even there,” added Ruby.
Jaune
materialized next to Weiss. “I’m a natural blonde, you know.”
She
facepalmed.
Later
that night, all the new students had gathered in the ballroom as instructed.
Bedrolls had been laid out for them. They changed into their pajamas and
started going to bed, but some still milled around.
“It’s
like a big slumber party!” said Yang, flinging herself down next to Ruby.
“I don’t
think Dad would approve of all the boys though,” observed Ruby, writing
something.
“I know
I do!”
Yang
looked up and saw several flexing their muscles, stretching, and horsing
around. She growled amorously at them. But then Jaune walked into her line of
sight wearing footie pajamas. She grimaced.
“Ugh.
What’s that?” she said to Ruby.
“A
letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and
how things are going.”
“Aw!
That’s so cute!”
“Shut
up!” cried Ruby. She pelted Yang in the face with a pillow. “I didn’t get to
take my friends with me to school. It’s weird not knowing anyone here.”
“What
about Jaune? He’s… nice. There you go! Plus one friend. That’s a hundred
percent increase!”
“Pretty
sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero.”
“There’s
no such thing as negative friends,” said Yang, her mood not dampening at all.
“You’ve just made one friend and one enemy.”
Yang got
another pillow, this time in the shape of a Corgi head, thrown in her face.
“Look,”
she said, becoming serious, “it’s only been one day. Trust me. You’ve got
friends all around you. You just haven’t met them yet.”
Ruby
doubted that, but before she could really think on it, a flickering light
distracted her out of the corner of her eye. Over by the wall was the girl with
the dark hair and bow reading a book by candlelight.
“That
girl.”
“You
know her?”
“Not
really. She saw what happened this morning but left before I could say
anything.”
“Welp,
now’s your chance!” Yang
bounded onto her feet and pulled Ruby with her.
“Wait!
What are you doing?!”
They
approached the dark haired girl with all the subtlety of a dump truck.
“Hell-o!”
said Yang in a sing-song type of voice. “I believe you two may know each
other.”
The girl
said to Ruby, “Aren’t you that girl that exploded?”
“Uh,
yeah. My name’s Ruby,” she said, extending her hand.
The girl
didn’t seem interested.
“But…
uh, you can just call me Crater Fa… actually, you can just call me Ruby.”
“Okay,”
said the girl, continuing to read.
Yang
whispered to Ruby, “What are you doing?”
“I don’t
know! Help me!”
Yang
turned back to the girl. “So! What’s your name?”
The girl
sighed. “Blake.”
“Well
Blake, I’m Yang. Ruby’s older sister.”
Blake
gave them a hard stare. They were sisters? One was tall with long blond hair,
and the other was sort of short with short black hair and dark red highlights.
Were they adopted?
“I like
your bow!” said Yang.
“Thanks…”
“It goes
great… with your pajamas.”
“Right…”
“Nice
night, don’t ya think?”
“Yes!” said Blake, her patience wearing thin.
“It’s lovely. Almost as lovely as this book.”
The
sisters stayed where they were.
“That I
will continue to read. As soon as you leave!”
“Yeah,”
said Yang. “This girl’s a lost cause.”
“What’s
it about?” asked Ruby.
“Huh?”
“Your
book. What’s the title?”
“Well…
it’s about a man with two souls each fighting for control over his body.”
“Oh,
yeah,” said Yang uninterested. “That’s real lovely.”
“I love
books,” said Ruby. “Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of
heroes and monsters. They’re one of the reasons I want to be a huntress.”
“Why is
that?” asked Blake, half laughing. “Hoping you’ll live happily ever after?”
“I’m
hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the
books. As someone who fought for what was right and protected those who
couldn’t protect themselves.”
“That’s
very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately,” said Blake, tuning sad, “the real
world isn’t the same as a fairy tale.”
“Well,
that’s why we’re here,” reasoned Ruby. “To make it better.”
Yang
couldn’t stop herself. “Oh! I’m so proud of my baby sister!” She embraced Ruby
in one of those near death inducing hugs.
“Cut it
out!” said Ruby, slugging Yang.
Blake
giggled. “Well, Ruby, Yang. It’s been—”
“What in
the world is going on around here?!” said Weiss, suddenly appearing. “Don’t you
realize some of us are trying to sleep?”
“Aw! Not
you again!” cried Yang.
Ruby
shushed them. “Guys! She’s right. People are trying to sleep.”
“Oh!”
said Weiss disgusted. “Now you’re on
my side.”
“I was
always on your side!”
“Yeah!
What’s your problem with my sister?” demanded Yang.
Weiss
stomped. “She’s a hazard to my health!”
Blake
blew out her candle and walked away. They’d probably be squabbling for a while,
and tomorrow was a big day for them all. Blake wanted to get an early start,
but as she headed for her bedroll, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking
fondly about Ruby and Yang. One was living her dream and doing it for the right
reasons. And the other was trying to help her along, picking her up when she
stumbled. If only more people were like them.
Weiss Schnee on the
other hand—that girl… was still a problem.
RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.
