Chapter 1: Home Weird Home

December 12th, 1299

11:50 PM

Yang sat in the most comfortable chair she currently owned. It was nearing midnight, but since this time of night was especially popular with the pub below Yang was wide-awake. The Huntress rarely slept anymore, mainly because of a note she had gotten the day before. It sat in its opened envelope currently resting on the one-legged short but round table next to the chair Yang was currently occupying.

The chair in question was an armchair, and a rather comfortable one at that. Weiss was currently sitting in a corner, fiddling with something. Yang's mood caused her to not really care what the Heiress was currently doing. But the Huntress decided to ask anyway mainly out of shear boredom, "Hey ice queen!"

Weiss gave a bit of an angry snarl then turned around in her wooden chair to face Yang, "What?" She snapped irritably, a noticeable scowl present on her face.

"Whoa, why the sudden hostility?" Yang asked in surprise. It wasn't as if the nickname had set the heiress off, they were past that pettiness – or at least Yang thought they were. "I'm just curious as to what's keeping you, oh so intensely interesting in keeping to that corner."

This earned a sigh of apology from Weiss, and Yang knew those didn't come very often if at all. "I miss Ruby, I mean where the hell is she?" The question was framed almost like a demand. And now that Yang thought about it, she too wanted to know where Ruby was.

"Great question maybe if we turned on the TV the news anchor might tell us," Yang said.

"And why would Ruby still be on the news?" Weiss asked clearly acting oblivious to what had transpired a few months ago.

"Haven't you noticed something is off? Why haven't we been called to go back to school, hmmm?"

"Well," Weiss answered, "that's easy. Ozpin wants to start a war, good heavens as to why though."

"It had something to do with…"

"Ah stop right there!" Weiss said cutting Yang off with a raised hand. "I know for a fact that if you're going to be a soldier in a war, it's best not to concentrate too much on why the war came about in the first place."

"But when is school going to start up again?" Yang asked, still curious. "And when is Ruby going to come back? They know she's innocent, right?"

"Good questions … it is a bit odd that Ozpin hasn't started school again. Although I have heard that Beacon has been rebuilt," Weiss said.

"What about this?" Yang proposed. "Let's listen to the midnight news and see if we can't gather anything from that?"

Yang turned toward the flat screen TV propped up against one wall and turned it on with a push of the remote.

December 13th, 1299

12:15 AM

After the weather and other such menial but somehow still important things the news anchor appeared and started off three news stories that neither of the two Huntresses had expected.

"Hello all, and welcome to the hour of midnight news. I'm your news anchor here to bring you, three top-of-the-line stories. The first being that Beacon will no longer be an academy for learning, but a training facility. With the multiple brewing tensions snapping across the continents, and very strange and disturbing supernatural events resulting in many deaths, the headmaster of Beacon Ozpin is clearly expecting a war. All 4th and 3rd year students this year and the next will be automatically drafted into the Beacon Regiment. Training will begin almost immediately after the former students turned new soldiers will arrive in the boot camp so to speak. I have been told however that the boot camp is a lie, and most of the students will be sent of their first field mission. In other words as soon as Ozpin begins gathering 4th and 3rd year 'students' who would have originally attended Beacon, the war will have officially begun.

"The second news story I bring to you is concerning the strange supernatural occurrences originating from the continent Suthix. It has been reported that the continent has been ravaged and many of the councilmen are dead. It is unknown at the moment as to what officially caused this incident, but it seams a side to the war has begun its move. So far the southern continent of Suthix is shrouded in deep mystery, no reports have come from there up to Vale so there's no way of telling what has transpired there.

"In a semi related news story a maximum security prison in Northern Vale has opened up its doors for one such inmate – and a particularly unusual one at that. Surprisingly enough protests have been going on near the prison. Fueled and encouraged by the Northern Vale College the protests have been going on for almost two months now. The prison has decided, for whatever reason to release this prisoner. Hold on … I've just gotten word that Ruby Rose, the infamous Huntress still in training, is the prisoner being released. It is believed that Ruby Rose has been linked to a mass murder in central Vale city, as well as being a known girlfriend of the legendary Heiress Weiss Schnee. At the moment it seems that Ruby Rose is receiving a lot of celebrity like attention. Hold on another moment … yes! It has been confirmed ladies and gentleman Ruby has agreed to address the general public of Vale continent!"

Yang and Weiss leaned forward eagerly, not knowing what to expect since they hadn't seen their friend in months. After a moment the screen cut to a wide shot of the southern face of Northern Vale maximum-security prison. The camera zoomed in and focused on a lone figure standing in front of a microphone affixed atop a podium. It was then that Yang and Weiss realized that Ruby was standing in a city square, standing where the mayor of Northern Vale would normally speak.

Ruby began softly but gradually raised her voice until she was almost shouting, "I first would like to address the Faunus of the world, or whomever is watching this. When will you realize that whatever peace you have right now is at stake? Something is wrong, very wrong indeed. Don't bother going over to the White Fang, they will just tell you lies and convince you to help steal more Dust or whatever despicable plan they have in store. Do you know what I say to you? Come to me, and I'll tell you the truth – even now I'll say what most others wont. War is here! The second Great War in fact that has ever happened to the world of Remnant, and there is more than one side. In one corner you have Ozpin with his trained soldiers ready to fight and obey every word he says as if it was law. Do you want that? To the south you have a very dangerous individual making his way to the middle of Vale. Grimm wants to find the already open Rift and open it wider allowing for a massive army of Grim creatures to come pouring into the world. Will you fall pray to this evil? NO! Join me and shed the oppression, find your inner strength and come help me fortify the northern mountains of Vale. Food shelter freedom and the agency to fight for what you believe in. Will you join me?"

Suddenly the screen cut back to the news anchor, which said in a hustle, "I've been told by anonymous sources that already the White Fang's ranks are depleting of Faunus. Also it seems that the cities of all the continents as well have begun to move en mass, especially from the continent Suthix where the majority of the Faunus population resides."

The news ended after that. Yang and Weiss were left with a blank screen and they stared at it until it turned to static.