Chapter 1: Dreams do come true!

The world of Remnant is a fun, yet dangerous place at the same time. Humanity has had to make great strides to achieve what we have now, over the course of hundreds of years. It is a place where, kids can grow up, make friends and enjoy life, but at the same time, nothing is completely a fairy tale. What you have one day, can be gone the next so you have to make the best out of everything you do and cherish what you do have be it friends, family and even material items if you're that type of person for as long as possible because nothing is promised. That is what my mom used to tell me when I was young every night before going to sleep, and now, even though she is no longer with me, her memory, her words, the way she lived life is something that I will forever cherish. My family is a bit difficult to explain, but I now understand what my mom was telling me given our families history. I am Ruby Rose, and this is my story.

May 10th, 20XX is a date that quite literally had to have been the luckiest day in my life…Aside from being killed that is. It was Friday, the last day of school at Signal Academy before my final year there, so I was out for summer vacation. Some of my friends were gonna go to a party that evening that Jacks parents were throwing for him for making it to the last year in Signal. He's kinda like the school jock, a real Flash Thompson if you will for those who read Spider-man. They wanted me to come but I declined, partying was more of my sister's Yang thing. My idea of partying was quite different. First I went to my favorite fast food place and got myself a burger and some fries, then I went to the theater to see a new movie, after that, I went shopping and bought myself a small kitty keychain, it was so adorable. As it was getting late, I was gonna head home, but then my friend Sepharah sent me a text saying that the next issues of SJ magazine and Secret Wars came out that day. I couldn't pass that up, especially seeing as I was already behind on an issue of Secret Wars. I know, I'm such a nerd, but hey, it makes me happy. I ran to a well-known shop called 'From Dust Till Dawn', Granted it was a Dust shop, it doubled as a small comic and magazine shop as well.

This wasn't my first time here, the old man who owned the shop was very nice and understanding. I'd come in so often, he'd leave a tray of cookies by the Comic/Magazine section just for me or if it weren't cookies he'd leave a few CD's that he thought I'd maybe like to listen to while I'm in the store, if I didn't have enough cash, he'd let me slide saying it's on the house, though I'd still come back and pay him the rest of what I owe. Today, it was CD's. I popped one of the CD's into the Walkman that was built into the comic stand and put on my headphones so I wouldn't disturb the other customers and began reading some comics and magazines. After about an hour or so, some strange guy dressed in a black suit with a red tie pulled my shoulder making my red hood and headphones fall around my neck. "Put your hands up!" he said. At first I didn't hear him because I was trying to figure out was this guy Rob Lucci from One Piece or not, but he barked the same order again much louder, then I noticed he was holding a sword a red sword.

"Are you robbing me?" I asked him.

"Yes!" he replied. Just as he was about to grab me again I kicked him in the chest sending him flying towards the front of the store. When I looked around the corner of the Dust shelve, I noticed 4 more guys dressed the same as him and a guy with orange hair wearing a white trench coat with a Buller hat and smoking a cigar while looking at the dust in the glass shelves. When he looked up he noticed me. I tried to duck but it was no good. I guess he gave the order for one of the other guys to take care of me because one of them came to my isle and pointed their gun at it. As their shot loaded, all I could think to myself was Dad is gonna kill me for coming home late, but maybe I could make up an excuse. Maybe I saw a cute cat stuck in a tree and it needed my help or maybe I helped an elderly couple carry groceries from the store to their place, but getting into a fight with a gang inside a store where people could get hurt or worse killed was a whole other topic all together.

Once the guy's shot loaded, he fired. I ducked my head letting the energy bullet pass over my head and hit the shelve behind me. Before he could react, I dashed at him and tackled him through the store window into the middle of the street. I was inside longer than I anticipated because it was night fall already. The guy was out cold. As I stood up a pulled out a hefty looking machine from behind my dress and under my hooded cape. It was about the size of a small suit case until I expanded it into my trusty scythe. The black suits and trench coat guy looked dumbfounded as if they didn't expect what they saw. "Well, what're you guys standing around for?" said Trench coat, "Get her!" The other guys ran outta the store at me. 2 with swords and one other with a gun. The first guy was swinging his sword at me from multiple angles, I could tell he had some good skill. Down, diagonal, left, right, thrust, every swing I easily evaded. The 2nd guy thought he was cleaver and tried to come at me from the side with a tackle. I stabbed my scythe into the ground and spun around. When the guy was in the space that I previously was, I kicked him in the head with both feet sending him tumbling into the other sword wielder.

The gun wielder decided to attack at that moment and fired with a Gatling gun. 100 bullets per seconds, I had to step my speed game up. Left, right, I danced around the bullets with blinding speed. I noticed the 2nd sword wielder was attempting to get back up, I spun my scythe around and started deflecting the bullets. I hit one in the sword wielders direction hitting him in the leg making him fall back down. He wasn't getting back up after that, then I hit another one towards the shooter, the bullet hit the ground in front of him sending shrapnel in the air and tripping him. By time he got back up, I had escaped his line of sight. He looked around in every direction but couldn't find me and that's when I struck. From behind I kicked him in the back of the knee and he went down to one foot, I spun my scythe around my body and turned with it, hitting him in the neck with the shaft part like a clothes line sending him flying down the street doing multiple flips. "…8, 9, 10!" I counted. The guy landed in some ones pool. "YES!" I cheered, "10 flips, I beat him!" My uncle and I have these weird contest between each other sometimes. Our current one was seeing how many times we can flip a person with a single hit, his highest score was 8 flips, so I just beat him by 2, but that's irrelevant. I composed myself and turned back to face Trench coat guy who was just walking out of the store with a briefcase full of dust stones.

"Hmm, I guess not even money can buy good help these days" he said as he saw his men sprawled out everywhere. I pointed my scythe at him.

"You're not going anywhere without a fight!" I said with a stern voice, or a stern as voice I could make. And he chuckled.

"Is that right, Red?" he responded.

"Yeah!"

"Ah", he said, "Well, as tempting as that may be, I'm kinda on a time crunch so we're gonna have to cut this conjecture short" he pointed his Cain at me and shot. There was a bright flash of light and next thing I knew, there was an explosion where I was standing. Luckily I managed to dodge. When I looked around, I noticed he had begun climbing the letter up the side of a building some distance away. The old man came out of his shop to inspect the commotion that was happening outside.

"Mind if I go after him?" I asked the old timer. He shook his head.

"Go for it" He said and I chased Trench coat. I made it to the roof of the building he ran to just as he was making it to the edge.

"Hey!" I said with my scythe ready. Trench coat chuckled a bit as he turned to me.

"You are very persistent, red…" he began. The wind started picking up and from behind him a medium sized aircraft came up from the ally. "…But unfortunately, it'll be the death of you!" He jumped on the ship and set the briefcase down. I was about to run and jump on the ship myself when he pulled a red crystal out of his jacket and tossed it towards me. It rolled in front of me but did nothing, as I looked up to face him again, he had his cane aimed at me again. There was another bright flash, my eye couldn't take its intensity so I shielded them and attempted to block with my scythe. A huge explosion shook the building and ringed my ears. When I opened my eyes, standing before me was a very pretty woman. She had long wavy blonde hair tied into a bun with a curl hanging over her face which was fitted with a pair of thin ovular glasses, she wore a white long-sleeved female's dress shirt that exposed part of her chest with puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist. From the waist down she wore a black slim fitting work skirt that had 4 golden buttons going down to her a bit above her knees. Her legs where covered with dark brown leggings and she wore black heels that covered her shins (Author's Note: If you're reading this, you know how she looks).

Behind her was a large glowing glyph with a bunch of intricate patterns and designs. She blocked the explosion with it. "Are you ok?" She asked. I nodded while blinking the spots outta my eyes. Trench coat was laughing like a maniac thinking he got rid of me until the airships engines blew the smoke away revealing us.

"W-what?!" he said in shock. The woman's glyph faded away. From behind her cape she pulled out a small shaft and pulled the end. It extended into a 2 and half foot wand. "Oh, that's not g-..!" She waved her wand and several purple energy beams bombarded the airship making it lurch. One of the beams hit the floor in front of him and he was blasted back deeper into the ship. He hit the roof then face planted onto the floor. I wanted to laugh but I thought it would've been inappropriate for the situation. When he got up I saw him mutter something then run towards the cock pit. The ship was pulling off when the woman waved her wand again and a purple energy orb flew above the ship creating a black thunder cloud. She extended 2 finger and motioned down and shards of Ice assailed the ship breaking into the cock pit and piercing important parts making it lurch back towards us. From the opening where trench coat guy was previously standing a woman dressed in a short red dress appeared. The shadow from inside the ship covered her face but her irises were glowing red hot. The trimmings of her dress lit up from her sleeves to across her chest and she fired a molten hot fire blast at us. The woman standing in front of me raised her hand and blocked the fire blast with a small purple barrier. Specs of the molten fire sprinkled the ground around her when Ms. Blaze raised her hand. The specs glowed red hot then gathered under the blonde lady. Within the next instance a large pillar of fire burst up into the sky from under her but she flipped away from it. The shrapnel from the building glowed purple and started levitating. The lady swirled her wand and it formed into a spear then shot at the airship.

The fire lady shot multiple fire blasts at it breaking it back into smaller pieces but they just reformed above the ship. Wand lady waved her wand down at it reformed into a spear and flew at the top of the ship. Trench coat guy who was now piloting tilted the ship downwards allowing the spear to deflect off of it instead of piercing it, but the force was still enough make fire lady lose her balance and almost fall out. Wand lady held her hand up and the spear broke down into smaller streams and circled the ship like a vulture, but before she could do anything, the fire lady's hand glowed red as she raised both of them. Flame glyphs appeared around her body and when she extended her hands the also extended like a sphere around the ship, completely vaporizing the shrapnel and ice shards. I made my scythe blade fold in and bend down until I was holding a Torrent-esk gun. I fire multiple shots at the fire lady but she casual waved her hand blocking everyone with her palm. Just as I got ready to fire my next, she waved her hand and beneath me and the roof started tuning into molten lava. The wand lady waved her wand forward telekinetically pushing me out of the way and jumped outta the way herself. The molten areas exploded sending a plume of smoke into the air. By time I looked back, the ship was already flying off in the distance. The wand lady looked a tad bit peeved they got away, but I couldn't help look at her in awe. "You're a huntress!" I said with glee, "Can I get your autograph!?" The looked at me with confusion at first but then had a serious look on her face.

"Do you seriously believe now is the time for that?" She said. My glee turned into confusion.

"I-I don't get it." I replied

"Look around you" She said. When I did, I noticed the roof was all but destroyed. Holes leading into the building. Multiple large stress fractures from the explosions, smoldering fires still burning and smoke still polluting the air. She folded up her wand and put it away as she walked to the edge. "And down there" She noted. When I looked, almost the entire neighborhood was out and about looking up at us possibly wondering what was going on. Almost every window in the area had been shattered. Debris from our fight and the building we were standing on had fell to the ground, People got injured, I hadn't noticed it at first with all the commotion but the police and ambulances were on scene treating people. "And over there…" She said as she pointed to the Dust shop the fight broke out at. The ground was filled with holes, debris and glass. People that had gotten shot while in their own homes from all of the shooting that happened over there where being treated for their injuries by medical teams. After seeing all of this, it just hurt my spirit. "Right now there are more important things to worry about other than autographs and such. I have to make sure these people get reimbursed for the damage that was caused. You're coming with me as well, there are several questions that you must be asked". I transformed my scythe back into its holding form and put it back on its latch behind my dress.

"Okay" I said then followed her off the building. We walked for a while before coming up on the police station, once inside, one of the officers escorted me to the interrogation room and behind them was the lady. She told me her name, Glynda, and scolded me about the situation. After a while, a man came in. It was Ozpin, head master of Beacon Academy. He spoke with me, asking me about what I planned to become in the future and questioned me about my skills, I was truthful with him and then the impossible happened. He was gonna allow me to skip my final year at Signal and start fresh at Beacon, I was soooooo stocked that it was everything just not to bust out with excitement. Through the glass window on the door behind Ozpin, I could see my dad walk into the station. "Oh…dang it" I said as my excitement died down. My dad was really over protective and had a knack for lecturing. Ozpin got up and began walking out of the room.

"I'll be seeing you Ruby Rose…" he said as he opened the door. My father was already on his way to the room when he saw Ozpin and Glynda walk out.

"Well, I'll be, Ozpin and Glynda, how have you guys been?" said my dad. I was shocked then exited the room behind them.

"Wait, Dad, you know Prof. Ozpin?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yup, from our days in Beacon together" dad said

"I was talking to your daughter about her skill with her scythe. Very reminiscing of…" Ozpin began.

"Qrow, I know." He replied. Ozpin nodded.

"Which is why I will allow her to start Beacon Academy this semester", my dad was surprised by Ozpin's statement.

"Really?" he said. Ozpin nodded, but before he could say more, Glynda spoke.

"Ozpin, we have other pressing matters to attend to." She said.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. It was good seeing you again Tai" Ozpin said as he walked away.

"Likewise" my dad said.

Afterwards, me and my dad left the Police Station and got in the car. I was surprised that my dad didn't scold me. I guess he was proud. I told him that it's been a long day and that I was gonna take a nap. The ride home from this part of the city takes about an hour. Later on, dad woke me up as he was pulling into the driveway, when we got out the car, dad handed me the keys and said he'd be right back. He went to go talk to our neighbors on the right, so I just went inside. As soon as I opened the door, Zwei shot down the stairs like lightning and jumped into my arms and started liking my face, I couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, stop it Zwei" I said as I put him down and ran upstairs. I kicked my shoes off in my room and went to see if Yang was here. "Yang?" I called out as I opened her door and turned on the light, her room was junky as always, Clothes everywhere, her bed as messed up, games and CD's strolled out on the floor. The only thing that was neat and untouched were her Band posters on her walls. "You know, sometimes I forget just how much a tomboy you actually are" I said to myself as I walked across her room and got the hair brush off her dresser. After getting my shower and putting on my pajamas, I walked downstairs to the kitchen scavenging for food. "YES!" I yelled, "Dad went to the store today". I pulled out bread, butter, cheese and some cheese whiz in order to make my favorite, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. 6 minutes later, I finished cooking them and was heading back upstairs when. Yang shot up the stairs

"Hey Sis!" She said from her room.

"Yang…" I said as I walked up the stairs plate in hand. "What's going on?" She was rummaging through all of her stuff.

"I'm looking for my wallet" she said

"Oh, what for?" I asked

"Don't tell dad, but me and couple of friends are gonna crash the after party Remnants are having tonight" she said. I was confused for a bit like I heard that name before

"Wait, Remnants as is the band?"

"Yeah" Said Yang was she opened up her dressers, "And afterwards, we're gonna go get breakfast from the Pancake shack, which is why I need my wallet"

"You guys are gonna eat breakfast food at what? 3:00am in the morning?" I said.

"Come on sis" She said as she walked towards me and ruffled my hair, "You gotta live a little!" I pushed her hands away.

"Not the hair, I just washed it!" I said. Yang went back to looking.

"Also, sorry about not being able to respond to your text earlier, my phone was dead." She said.

"It's cool. But guess wha-..!" I started.

"FOUND IT!" Yang yelled in victory, I covered my ears.

"Ouch, inside voice please next time" I said. Yang laughed then from outside a horn blew, Yang went to the window to inspect.

"I'll be right out!" Said Yang as she walked past me.

"Wait Yang, I didn't finish te-..!"

"Sorry Ruby, I can't stay at the moment, text me ok?" Yang said as she cut me off then hugged me. I sighed and just went to my room.

"Have fun I suppose…" I said as I flopped on my bed with my cheese sandwiches, thankfully they were still warm. Yang ran down the stairs and left with her friends. I turned on my TV and ate. Next thing I knew, I was falling asleep in no time and could barely keep my eyes open. Within seconds the sand man took me away to my dream scape.

The next day I woke up and got dressed, it was the day the airships were gonna take the new students to Beacon Academy. While in the car I texted Yang about what was going on and she was excited. I was genuinely nervous, more so then I have ever been. I was likely gonna be the only one here that is 15, would I be outmatched, would they look down on because I'm younger, I just didn't know and so many things were flowing through my head. When my dad looked over at me he laughed a little.

"W-what is it?" I asked

"Are you nervous?" he replied

"Yeah, how did you know?" I said, in all my life, I have never been nervous except for one other time, so I was surprised Dad could tell.

"You're turning paler then usual" he joked, it got a small laugh out of me but he was right, my skin was getting paler.

"Don't worry Ruby, you have nothing to be afraid of. Trust me, I was the same on my first day as well, it runs in the family" he said.

"Mom wasn't scared though" I replied. Dad laughed

"Your mom was as hard a steal with passion for being a huntress that was hotter than lava. Nothing could scare Summer. Though, between you and, nothing made her more weak at the knee's then my looks, if you know what I mean" He said with a cheesy look on his face, I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his ridiculousness.

"You're just like uncle Qrow" I said

"Where do you think he gets it from?" he said as pulled in to air strip. Hundreds of kids were getting out of cars and walking up the ramp into the Ship.

"Whoa…" I said as I looked around as we slowly came to a stop. So many customized weapons and unique people. I was mesmerized. "Dad…am I really ready for this?" I wasn't sure if I was myself.

"Ruby listen to me. Beacon isn't scary at all. All you have to do is pay attention in class and stay vigilant when fighting and you'll do good…and if anything happens, Yang will be there for you. You can do this, you're even more like your mother than you realize." The words my dad were saying to me made me feel better, more confident, but it also almost brought me to tears….I didn't know how to express my feelings so instead of crying, I hugged him.

"Thank you dad" I said, my voice full of emotion.

"No problem" he said, "Now go give them hell!" I smiled and then fist bumped my dad.

"Yeah!" I said then jumped out of the car. I looked up at the air ship, it was much bigger than I had expected. I took a deep breath and thought about what I wanted to be when I got older. This next step put me one step closer to my goal and I embraced it with confidence. I boarded the ship waving goodbye to my dad one last time. It'll be awhile before I saw him again. When the doors closed the Airship lifted up and with that, we were on our way to Beacon academy.