Ruby knew she wasn't the only weapon geek out there, but she was positive that Crescent Rose couldn't be beat by any weapon in all existence. She made it entirely by herself; the design was original, completely unheard of, and she made it with her own two hands. Not even Qrow's scythe could compare to her beautiful high-caliber sniper-scythe; Crescent Rise: her pride, joy, beloved sweetheart and the only weapon she'd ever need.

That night, she didn't expect to be proven wrong again.

The reaper stood in front of some... place, her scythe in hand. It reminded her of Beacon Academy, so she assumed it was some kind of combat school. When she looked up at the sky, however, she was suddenly terrified.

The shattered moon she was used to seeing was replaced by a large sun, fit for a haunted house. It didn't seem to be that high in the blue sky, either. Ruby definitely did not want to see the moon if that sun was considered normal.

"Hello? Are you new to the Academy?" a feminine voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Ruby looked straight ahead and into the green eyes of a blonde girl. What made her interesting wasn't her "odd" sense of style or the pigtails, it was the black, red, and silver scythe she held behind her back with a mysterious eye on it.

"Academy?" Ruby questioned.

"Yeah, the Death Weapon Meister Academy." The blonde nodded with a sweet smile.

"I don't go here, but..." Ruby paused. "You wield a scythe..."

"I do." She laughed, sticking her hand out for a shake. "I'm Maka Albarn."

"Ruby Rose!" Ruby exclaimed enthusiastically, shaking her hand. "So, what does your scythe do?"

"He cuts stuff, mostly." Maka shrugged.

Mine is already so much cooler! Ruby thought happily.

"So does mine, but"-Ruby grinned, transforming Crescent Rose into a sniper rifle-"it's also a gun."

Maka smirked, accepting the challenge. "Okay then," she said slowly. Her scythe flashed white before turning into a snowy-haired, red-eyed boy. "He's also my friend."

Ruby had been smug as a pirate before, but she began to crumble, her grin faltering. It's too early for this, darn it. Crescent Rose disappeared to who-knows-where and she dropped to her knees, utterly defeated.

First it was that guy's gun collection, now she met someone with a scythe friend. Her jealousy raged like a wildfire behind that flustered look of hers. She could hardly believe it. Not only did she meet a weapon, she met a person at the same time. Her mind was scattered, unable to process it.

Ruby's head snapped up and she grabbed the scythe boy's hands in determination. Her voice was cracking. "How do you do it?" Her head swiveled to face Maka as desperate tears cascaded from her unfocused eyes. "How does he do it? What's the secret? Weapons don't just transform into people, do they?"

"Soul here isn't a rarity, you know," Maka pointed out.

"Yeah, tons of people are born as weapons," Soul added with a scoff. "You can let go of me, too."

"No." Something flashed in Ruby's silver orbs. "I'm not letting you go, Mr. Scythe. Never."

"'Mr. Scythe'?!" Soul exclaimed, flustered. "Look, I'm Maka's weapon, not yours, got it?" he tried to yank his hands away from her, but her vice grip said otherwise.

"Hey, Ruby, your scythe is actually really cool," Maka tried to calm the girl down. "None of our weapons shoot actual bullets like yours does."

Ruby's grip loosened a but, freeing Soul from her grasp. "Then what do they shoot...?"

"Soul wavelengths."

In a flash, Ruby was standing with a wild look on her face. She grabbed Maka's shoulders and shook her violently. "You shoot parts of your soul at your enemies? Are you completely nuts? In what universe do you shoot parts of yourself at people? This is bonkers! Madness! I will not accept this! I don't understand any of it."

"Well, it's—"

"Stop right there." Ruby halted her shaking, staring Maka dead in the eye. "I know it'll make me nauseous." She covered her face with her hands, sighing. "This is too much for me."

"Then how do you fight where you're from?" Soul asked. "If you don't use your soul, what do you use?"

"Weapons, Aura, and Semblance," the red-and-black-haired girl perked up. "Aura's like your defense and Semblance is your offense. My Semblance is super speed, which is really cool, by the way, but there are tons of different types. My partner, Weiss, can make glyphs, my sister, Yang, can reflect damage, kind of, and her partner can clone herself for a split second. My friend, Pyrrha, can also control magnets and poles."

"So you have superpowers?" Maka asked.

"Pfft, no, anyone can do it." Ruby waved it off. "Soul is the one with superpowers here, not me."

"I still think you're the odd one out here," Soul grumbled, crossing his arms.

Ruby huffed. "I'm not the weird one, it's you. Nobody can turn into a weapon."

"I told you, it's pretty common," Soul fired back. "Nobody has super speed or glyphs here."

"You guys are weird."

"No, you're weird."

"It's not me, it's you."

"This isn't cool, Ruby." Soul frowned.

Maka sighed. "Stop arguing, guys. We're from different places, okay? No one here is weird."

"Alright, fine." Soul smirked. "She's just jealous her weapon isn't as cool as me."

Ruby gasped in an exaggerated manner, her hand flying to her chest. Crescent Rose appeared in her hands, its blade catching the light from the odd sun shining above. "How dare you insult Crescent Rose. Take that back right now."

"What if I said no?" Soul's smirk grew in the form of a challenge. While the sniper-scythe was intimidating due to its size, he wasn't about to back down.

Mischievousness gleamed in silver orbs. "You wanna find out?"

Maka wasn't sure what to do in this situation, especially not after Soul's next words:

"What if I said yes?"

This isn't good, Maka thought.

"That means it'd be scythe vs. scythe." Ruby smiled. She'd always wanted to go head-to-head with another scythe wielder.

"Fine by me. Maka?"

Ruby's eyes snapped open.

Oh, come on. This is no fun.