Hello there, I am ACheddarMonk and I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this new fanfic. Now I do ask that you bear with me, as this chapter is a slight retelling of the beginning of RWBY. Enjoy, Dear Reader.
Welcome to Beacon
Ruby woke up feeling slightly dazed. Her eyes wandered the area before her. She appeared to be in a normal bullhead. The only noticeable difference was the walls, they were covered in a blue velvet-like fabric and a lavish couch facing a table before her.
There were three other people in the room with her it seemed. An elderly looking man with a long nose and bloodshot eyes sitting before a table, a young woman with a book in her hands standing next to him, and a silhouette beside Ruby whose features she could not determine.
Ruby was startled out of her observations when the elderly man began to speak.
"Welcome to the Velvet room," the man said, "this place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." The man appeared to be observing them both as he continued his introduction. "Only those who have, in some way or another, signed a contract can enter this room." He continued.
The boy beside her remained silent, Ruby however decided to speak up. "What contract?" She said.
The man smiled back at Ruby in a way that unnerved her. "That, my dear, will become clear within the coming days." The man responded, "Why don't you tell us your names?" He asked.
Ruby hesitated a moment before hearing the voice beside her, it sounded muffled, she couldn't make out what he had said.
Ruby spoke up as well, "Ruby Rose." She said.
The man nodded before continuing on. "Man wishes to know the truth, even in the dark they search for the light. In the coming year, you both will play a vital role in discovering the truth of the mystery you will be presented with." He continued, "The bonds you form will determine whether you succeed, or if the truth will ultimately be lost. You both have one year."
At that moment the young woman beside the man handed them both an object. Ruby recognized these objects; tarot cards.
"You, my dear, have been presented with The Fool. And you, my young boy, have been presented with The Jester." The man said, "It is fitting, such innocence to the horrors of a Huntsman, however innocence does not last forever." The man finished.
At this moment, the woman beside him spoke up. "Our time here is limited, until next time." She said.
The room around Ruby began to fade as she began to wake up from this strange dream of hers, as the world faded she noticed that the boy beside her was already gone.
Ruby woke up, finding herself in another bullhead. This time however, she knew why she was here.
She turned to see her sister Yang watching the water below the flying bullhead. Ruby stood up from her improvised napping place, shaking of the feeling her recent dream had left her.
She took a spot standing next to her sister. Yang meanwhile turned and noticed her hooded sibling and couldn't help but smile.
"I can't believe my little sister is coming to Beacon with me!" Yang shouted enthusiastically as she suddenly embraced her sister.
Ruby's ribs only slightly cracked from the sudden display of affection.
"It's seriously no big deal sis." Ruby managed to choke out.
"No big deal?" Yang replied, "You've jumped ahead an entire year! I couldn't be more proud. A student at Beacon as young as you? I'm sure you're going to be the Bee's Knees."
Ruby appeared to be embarrassed by the sudden praise lavished on her. "I don't want to be the Bee's Knees though!" She said while fidgeting, "I just want to be a normal girl, with normal knees."
Yang sighed. "It's too late for that now. You're training to be a Huntress, it's the hero's life for you from now on. You'll learn to protect mankind, 'normal' is out of the question now."
Those words reminded Ruby of her dream, and what that man had said about losing her innocence.
Yang had just proven what she had obviously already known, she couldn't stay a child forever.
Ruby happened to overhear a news broadcast being played nearby. "In other news, the criminal known as Roman Torchwick still evades police, Roman has been involved with multiple armed robberies of Dust shops throughout Vale. Roman is also a known supporter of the White Fang, whose Faunus discrimination protest last evening once again turned violent." The newscaster reported.
The news report cut out and was replaced with a holographic image of a woman wearing a purple cloak. "Hello there students, my name is Glynda Goodwitch." She said, her mannerisms exuding an air of authority and propriety. "On behalf of the faculty at this esteemed academy, I hereby welcome you all to Beacon. Initiation will began shortly after the bullhead has landed, and I wish you all a prosperous year as you train to become the first line of defense against the Creatures of Grimm."
Her image faded as Beacon came into view. Ruby's mouth hung open. It was huge, much bigger than Signal had been.
Yang gave her a hard slap on her shoulder, causing Ruby to stumble. "Well here we are, the beginning of the rest of our lives." Yang said with a smile.
Ruby smiled to herself and turned to the side. Her eyes stopped dead on a boy sitting nearby. The blond haired boy appeared to have just woken up himself. Ruby felt she knew him from somewhere, and as the boy made eye contact with her, she could tell her recognized her too.
It was just a dream… Right?
Her musings were broken as the bullhead came to a complete stop. They were finally here. Welcome to Beacon.
Ruby quickly shook the thoughts of the boy from her mind as she followed Yang off the bullhead and into a large courtyard. As she walked by the numerous first year students, Ruby couldn't help but gawk at the weapons they carried. Her enthusiasm eventually spilling over into her speech. "Yang! She's got a collapsible staff!" Ruby's attentions was quickly drawn to another passerby's weapon, "And he's got a fire sword!" Ruby said enthusiastically.
Yang put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder, "Whoa there little sis. Calm down, they're just weapons." Yang said.
Ruby looked taken aback by her words, "Just weapons? They are a part of us, an extension of our souls. Oh man they're so cool." Ruby said with a dreamy look in her eyes.
Yang gave a smile to her sister, "Just relax Rubes. I'm sure you'll make a ton of new friends with awesome weapons." She said.
Ruby fidgeted in place. "Why would I need friends when I have you?" She asked.
"Well…" Yang said as though she was trying to say it delicately. "Actually my friends are all here." Yang gestured to the sudden crowd of students around her, "Gotta go catch up 'kay?" Yang smiled as she was pulled away by her friends. "I'll meet up with you at initiation!" Yang yelled before disappearing from sight.
Ruby began to panic. "Wait! Where are you going!? Are we supposed to go to our dorms?" She called out to her older sister, "Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms? I'm so confused…" Ruby resigned herself the situation. She turned to leave when she tripped over what appeared to be another student's luggage.
As Ruby was digging herself out of the pile of luggage, she heard an irritated sounding voice from above her. "What do you think you're doing!? The voice said.
Ruby looked up to see a young woman, about two years older than herself, standing above her. Her hair and dress was white as snow and she bore a faded scar over her left eye. "I'm sorry." Ruby said nervously.
The girl in white continued her tirade, "Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused!? Dust is a valuable and dangerous substance." She paused mid-speech and scowled down at Ruby. "Are you even listening to me? Dust, Fire, Electricity, energy!"
Ruby, finally regaining her composure, decided to speak up. "I said I was sorry 'Princess'."
Ruby heard another woman's voice join the conversation, "It's heiress actually"
Ruby and the woman in white turned to the newcomer. A slim young woman dressed in black and white, a black bow on her head, and piercing yellow eyes that didn't seem natural on a human.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." The new woman continued.
The woman in white, known as Weiss, smiled, "Finally, someone with a decent amount of cultural sensitivity" Weiss said.
The woman in black narrowed her eyes, "The same company known for their shady business partners and controversial Faunas labor contracts." She said.
Weiss was shocked, "What? H-how dare you?" Weiss said. She stomped up to the woman in black and looked her straight in the eyes, their noses inches apart. Ruby could almost feel the tension between the two. Weiss gave a grunt of disapproval before storming off, the rest of her luggage in tow.
Ruby blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "I'm sorry!" she yelled, "I hope we can still be friends?"
Weiss didn't give any indication that she had heard Ruby, continuing her march towards the academy.
Ruby looked slightly downcast before remembering the girl who came to her rescue. "Hey thanks for the help, my name's…" Ruby trailed off as she noticed the girl in black was walking away as well. Ruby sighed to herself before falling back down to the floor in defeat. "Welcome to Beacon…" She said to herself.
She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps beside her, followed by the sound of a male voice. "Hey there, you need a hand?" He said.
Ruby looked up to see the face of the boy from the bullhead. The boy from her dream.
Jaune Arc didn't quite know why he was helping the girl in the red hood. Maybe it was the fact that he could swear she was in his dream, or maybe it was the fact that he was raised to never leave someone in need.
The girl in red looked up at him and smiled at what may have been the first sign of friendship since she first arrived. "Thank you." She said as she took his hand.
Jaune smiled at her as he hoisted her to her feet, "My name is Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." He said with confidence.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at him. "Do they?" She questioned.
He seemed flustured. "They will!" He said. "Hey, you were on the bullhead with me right? What's your name?" He asked as he regained some composure and began to walk with her.
Ruby nodded at him as she looked ahead. "Yes, we were. My name is Ruby Rose. And this," It was here that she drew her scythe with an exaggerated flourish, "is Crescent Rose." She said with a proud glint in her eye. "It's also a high impact, long range, customizable sniper rifle."
Jaune, startled by the large blade suddenly before him, stammered a confused response. "Ahhh W-what?" He said.
Ruby chambered a round into her scythe. "It's also a gun." She said, "I made it myself at Signal." She beamed proudly.
Jaune had a childlike look of wonder in his eyes. "You made that?" He said.
Ruby shrugged, "Every combat school has you make your own weapon. Didn't you make yours?" She asked curiously.
Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Mine was actually passed down from my grandfather, he used it in the war." He drew finely crafted, yet normal blade from its sheath. The sheath expanded into a full shield.
Ruby showed slight interest in the blade. "Ohhhh. Does it turn into a gun?" She asked.
Jaune sighed. "No, but the shield can collapse into a sheath, so when I get tired of carrying it in my arm I can just make it smaller." He said with a smile.
Ruby looked slightly confused. "But wouldn't it still weigh the same?" She asked.
Jaune gave a defeated sigh. "Yeah…"
Ruby quickly backstepped to cheer him up. "Well I tend to appreciate the classics." She said with a smile.
Her words brought a small smile to Jaune's face. "Thanks for that." Jaune, at this point, took notice of his surroundings. They appeared to be next to a large fountain, not a single student in sight. "So where exactly are we going?" He asked.
Ruby stopped walking and turned to face him, a look of panic evident on her face. "I don't know, I was following you!" She cried out.
What a way to begin the school year.
Ruby couldn't believe it. They had almost missed initiation, only just managing to meet up with the other students in the amphitheater. She quickly spotted her sister's unmistakable yellow mane of hair among the large congregation of students. "Um. Hey I gotta go do something." Ruby said to Jaune, "I'll be sure to catch up with you." She said as she walked away, waving her hand to him.
Jaune gave a weak half smile and waved back to her.
Ruby approached Yang from behind, "Yaaang!" She yelled, getting her sister's attention.
Yang froze mid conversation with another student and turned to face her sister. "H-hey Rubes, Did everything go ok?" She asked while rubbing the back of her head.
Ruby tried her best to look angry, but it probably came off as more cute than threatening. "Did everything go ok? No!" She said, flailing her arms, "First you abandon me, then I get yelled it by this prissy girl, and then I almost missed the initiation speech."
Yang attempted to calm her sister, "C'mon, I doubt it could have been that bad?"
Yang's attempt at calming her in no way worked, "You have no idea! She just kept yelling at me, and I just wanted it to stop." Ruby said.
Suddenly Ruby heard a familiar voice right beside her. "You!" Yelled Weiss.
Ruby, startled, quickly took cover behind her older sister. "Oh God, it's happening again!"
Weiss had her hands on her hips "You're lucky the Dust didn't ignite and blow us off the cliff!" She yelled.
Ruby had her eyes closed as she spoke from behind Yang. "It was an accident! I swear!" She was interrupted when Weiss shoved what appeared to a pamphlet in her face. "W-what's this?" She asked.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any damage caused by Dust misuse. Though it isn't required, we ask that you read this pamphlet and familiarize yourself with safe Dust usage." Weiss said as though it were a well-rehearsed speech.
Ruby, for her part, was unable to keep up. "W-wha…"
Weiss sighed. "If you really want to make it up to me, read this and don't ever speak to me again." She said.
Yang spoke up. "Look, it just looks like you two got off on the wrong foot, why don't you just start over and try to be friends?
Ruby seemed overjoyed with the idea. "Yes! That's a great idea." She cleared her throat and extended a hand to Weiss. "Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies." She said.
Weiss immediately took on a mocking tone. "Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there." It was here she gestured to Jaune who noticed instantly.
Ruby smiled, apparently misunderstanding her sarcasm. "Really?" She said with a hopeful glint in her eyes.
There was a pregnant pause that seemed to go on forever as Weiss scowled at her. "No." She said curtly.
The opening ceremony began with the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, taking the stage, the headmistress, Glynda, by his side. "I'll… Keep this brief." He said, adjusting his glasses. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He paused in his speech and gave a deep sigh. "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction." Ruby could almost swear he was making eye contact with her. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He gave a nod to the students gathered before him before slowly walking offstage.
Yang watched the professor walk off the stage. "He seemed kinda… Off."
Ruby finished her sister's thought. "Like he wasn't even there."
The two siblings walked away together into the main hall of the academy, leaving Weiss by herself.
She felt a small tap on here shoulder. She turned to see Jaune Arc giving her his best impression of a charming smile. "I'm a natural blond you know." He said with a wink.
Weiss gave a small noise of distaste. Whatever charm he had attempted to work up had obviously failed. She promptly ignored the blonde boy and took her leave from the amphitheater.
The girl in black watched the other students from the corner she was in. She pretended to busy herself with reading the book in her hands.
She shook her head as the students all unpacked their sleeping bags, each one getting ready for their first night sleeping in the Great Hall. Her soon to be classmates were naïve. She could see it in the way they interacted with each other. This was a game to them, or just an adventure. Like children playing hero.
They didn't know what it was like to fight, to kill… Just to survive. They are here to learn to save lives, not live a fairy tale.
The memories of her past followed her to this new life. Adam's words echoed in her head. "We can never forget what we've fought for, Blake. We can never back down, we've come too far."
Blake shook her head. Memories of her partner would do her no good. This was meant to be a new start… That's right, a way to fight for what was truly right, to end the bloodshed she had been exposed to since she was a child, a way to end it right.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges, she hoped her classmates would rise to the challenge like she would.
Blake blew out the candles lighting her corner she had taken, she needed sleep if she wanted to face initiation tomorrow.
Blake silently gave her classmates her best wishes.
Jaune once more woke up in the place from his last dream. The Velvet Room, if he recalled correctly. The same occupants as last time were also here, including the girl in the red hood, Ruby.
There was a moment of silence before the old man before them began to speak. "Welcome back. Don't be alarmed, You are still sleeping safe and sound in your sleeping bags. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Igor, and this…" Here he gestured to the woman dressed entirely in blue holding a book, "is Margaret." He said.
Margaret spoke up, finally making eye contact with the two students, her stare betraying a lack of humanity. "It's good the two of you have officially met. This bond will be the cornerstone on which all your future bonds will be created. Don't forget how important these are." She said.
Jaune finally spoke up for the first time. "This isn't just a dream is it?" He said nervously.
Igor looked at Jaune for a moment. "This place does not exist in the real world, yet the events that happen here are real. You should take heed of the advice I give you in this world."
"Tomorrow you will enter the Emerald Forest for initiation, this place will become the center of the mystery you have been presented with." Margaret said. "You will meet dangers in that forest that far exceed those presented by the creatures you call Grimm. You could even say that the forest comes from another world." She closed her eyes. "Hold strong, and don't give in to whatever darkness you may face tomorrow."
Igor's smile never faltered. "The next time we meet, it will be of your own free wills. You will have many questions you want answered, but we can only offer assistance."
Margaret opening her eyes once again. "Until we meet again, good luck on your test tomorrow. It will be more harrowing than you know."
The world around the two students began to fade once again.
Well there we go, the first chapter is finished and the second chapter will contain much more Persona elements. Please leave a review of any kind, constructive criticisms are largely appreciated. I do apologize for this first chapter as it is pretty much a novelization of the first few episodes of RWBY, but I felt the beginning was the best place to start. Furthermore my target audience is, in fact, Persona fans; so I felt the need to properly introduce all our heroes. Until next time Readers.