The following day, Kristofer woke up to find that he'd been sleeping on a couch. That was one weird dream, he thought. As he got up to stretch, he was shocked to see the tail from his dream still attached to him. At that same moment, Ruby walked into the room. I guess it wasn't a dream after all.
"I see you're awake," Ruby said.
"Yeah," Kristofer groaned groggily. "Is the bathroom open?"
"Be my guest."
After showering and brushing his teeth, Kristofer exited the bathroom to find an older girl standing there. The girl (who happened to be Ruby's older sister, Yang) wore a yellow shirt and black short shorts which were covered by a brown skirt and a tight brown vest which accentuated some of her more…feminine features. She also wore black gloves, yellow wristlets, and an orange scarf. Her unkempt blonde hair stretched down the entirety of her back.
"Ruby and I are all packed," she said. "We're just waiting on you."
"I'm all done," Kristofer replied. "To be honest, I don't really have anything to pack."
"I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."
When the trio arrived at the airship station, they found the airship had already landed and was loading up passengers. As Kristofer boarded the ship, he couldn't help but gawk in wonder, unable to comprehend how this colossal construction could possibly fly.
"What?" Yang asked, noticing Kristofer's bewilderment. "Don't they have airships where you come from?"
"Yes, but not like this. We have yet to develop anti-gravity on Earth."
"It's simple," Ruby said. "Just use Dust."
"How can miniscule grains of rock cause something to float?" Kristofer asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.
"No, no, no," Yang laughed. She then popped open one of her wristlets, revealing a red crystal, much like the one the thug from the day before had thrown at Kristofer and Ruby. "This is Dust," she explained. "There are numerous different kinds, each providing a different kind of power. The airships use a sort of anti-grav Dust."
"Interesting," Kristofer mused, stroking his chin. He was broken out of his thought process when he saw a mug shot of the bowler hat guy on the holoscreen.
"The robbery," the reporter said. "Was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."
The projection then shifted to show a gray haired woman. To her right was an image of what appeared to be an organized protest. "Thank you Cyril," the female reporter said. "In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark…"
"What's a Faunus?" Kristofer wondered aloud.
"You are," Ruby replied. "Faunus are just like humans, except they have one or more animalistic attributes, such as your tail."
"Oh…"
The report on the holoscreen was cut short as the image was replaced by the Huntress from the previous night. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon," the recording said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. 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." Her image then vanished, revealing a stunning view of the city (which Kristofer had learned was named Vale).
Looking out the window, Ruby exclaimed, "Look, you can see Signal from up here!" Then, in a quieter voice, "I guess home isn't too far after all."
Yang threw her arm around her sister's shoulders. "Beacon's our home now."
To the girls' right, a blonde haired kid in brown with white shoulder pads let out a groan. He then proceeded to quickly make his way over to the nearest trash can, trying to hold in his vomit.
"I guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang said.
Kristofer walked up to the two girls. "Hey, I'm gonna go make sure he's alright."
"Why?" Ruby asked.
Smiling, Kristofer replied, "Because I can relate. I'm highly prone to seasickness."
"Blegh," Yang said. "Go ahead. We won't stop you."
Walking over to the boy, who had just finished violently vomiting into the trash can, Kristofer put his hand on the boy's back. "You doing alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," the boy groaned. "I just…urp…get motion sick."
"I hear you. My name's Kristofer Schade by the way."
"Jaune Arc," the boy replied.
"Well Jaune," Kristofer said, shaking his hand. "Here's to an excellent several years at Beacon."
As the door of the airship opened, all the students flooded out onto the campus. As they slowly waded through the crowd, Juane and Kristofer discussed things such as what they might learn, if one or the other knew any girls they should be interested in, typical guy stuff. Suddenly, they saw an explosion in the distance. Running towards it, the pair found Ruby watching a girl in a white dress angrily walk away. She then collapsed to her knees, looking absolutely downtrodden.
"You wanted to know a girl to be friends with, right?" Kristofer whispered to Jaune. "She's not a bad start."
Nodding, Jaune walked over to Ruby, offering his hand. "Hey," he said. "I'm Jaune."
"Ruby," she replied, shyly accepting his assistance to stand. Snorting, she then asked, "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"
Smiling in satisfaction over the new friendship he created, Kristofer decided to try and figure out where in the world he was supposed to go. Wandering around, he spotted two male Faunus (at least, he assumed that the raccoon tails made them Faunus) talking together. Walking up to them, he said, "Excuse me?"
The two turned around. In surprise, Kristofer realized that they must've been twins. Aside from the color of their outfits, they looked identical. They both shared the same dark skin tone, shoulder length chestnut hair, and dark green eyes. The one on the left wore a yellow undershirt and olive vest with a pair of long tan pants. On his wrists, he wore a pair of dark green and yellow bracers. The one on the right wore a mahogany undershirt with brown pants and vest. He also wore a pair of bracers, these ones being red and black.
"Can we help you, mate?" the one on the right asked in what would be an Australian accent on Earth.
"Yeah, uh, where are the first years supposed to go?"
"It should all be on your Scroll," the other answered, pulling out a miniature version of one of the tablets that Goodwitch had the previous night.
Rubbing his hand behind his head awkwardly, Kristofer said, "I, uh, never got one."
"Ah," the one on the left replied. His brother then offered, "Would you like us to show you then? We're first years as well."
"Yes, please," Kristofer replied. "I'm Kristofer, in case you're wondering."
"Well, Kristofer," the one on the right said, "I'm Artie, and that's my brother, Mac."
"So," Mac asked. "Where'd you learn to fight? We both came from Signal."
"Ummm…" Kristofer was unsure of how to answer the question. He couldn't lie to them, because Signal was the only other school he knew of, and they both would know he hadn't attended.
"You did attend a combat school, right?" Artie asked with a sideways glance.
"Umm…yeah…about that…"
"I'll be buggered!" Artie exclaimed. "The headmaster let you in on talent alone?"
"Sorta, yeah."
"Good onya, mate," Mac said, clapping Kristofer on the shoulder. "You must be pretty spiffy in a fight. What kind of weapons are ya packing?"
Pulling his cudgels out, Kristofer said, "Just these. They aren't much, but they get the job done."
"Do they at least shoot?" Artie asked.
"Nope. They're only good for smashing stuff."
"So," Mac asked. "What do you do if something's shooting at you?"
"Well," Kristofer began. "I have this…ability. I'm able to sense where and when something's going to hit before it's even begun moving."
"Must be your Semblance then," Mac explained.
"Semblance?" This time it was Kristofer's turn to be confused.
"Yeah," Artie said. "Everyone has their own unique Semblance. But, everyone knows that."
"Ummm…"
Artie and his brother exchanged a glance. "Is there something you're not telling us mate?"
"You won't think I'm crazy will you?" Kristofer asked hesitantly.
Mac waved his hand. "Of course not. Beacon would never allow crazies to come here to learn."
With a sigh, Kristofer retold the events of the previous day. The two brother listened to every word intently. When he finished, Mac gave out a low whistle. "Mate, that's some heavy stuff. But, if you ever need help learning about this world, we'll be glad to help. Right Artie?"
"Too right!"
"Thanks," Kristofer said with a smile. As Kristofer followed his newfound friends into the auditorium, he was bowled over by a red-haired girl clad in a navy blue sports bra and shorts. Strapped to her back was a bayonetted, double-barreled, pump-action shotgun of the same color.
"I'm so, so sorry!" she exclaimed, helping him up. "You're not hurt or anything? I really hate to be the person to send someone to the nurse on their first day of school. Are you sure you're okay? You are? Great!" Before Kristofer could even get in a word, the girl dashed off.
He was then approached by a girl with fox ears. "I'm sorry about that, sir," she said timidly, twiddling her thumbs with her head down. She wore a simple sky blue dress with white fringes. Her black hair reached down to the small of her back. "My friend can get a little overexcited."
"It's alright," Kristofer said. But, before he could say anything else, a hush covered the audience as Professor Ozpin stepped up to the podium.
"I'll…keep this brief," he said, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "You have travelled 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. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
As he walked off, using his cane for support, Professor Goodwitch walked up to the mic. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight," she said. "Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"Is the Headmaster always like that," Artie asked, looking at Kristofer.
"He wasn't like that when I met him," Kristofer replied. "Something must be troubling him…"