AN: Back again with the next chapter. A few things to note: It was brought up that Yang's semblance was portrayed poorly last chapter. That is true; however, that was done on purpose. Now is probably a good time to bring up that this does not follow cannon as it is an AU. If you're here to see Ruby and Yang portrayed exactly as they are in the show, this isn't the fic for you. Please understand that both Ruby and Yang's semblances do not operate the same in this fic as they do in the show. This becomes increasingly more important and begins to show in this chapter. These changes are both subtle and extreme at the same time. This fic creates new mechanics for Semblances as well and offers a different background for Remnant. Unfortunately, explaining any further ruins part of the plot. As for Pyrrha's magnetism: Yes, they are aware of that. Pyrrha's semblance is not what Weiss was panicking about – it was the fact that Ruby's arm (the one that has something wrong with it) was stuck to Crescent Rose and would not budge. Also, Weiss is aware that her Glyphs work without Dust. She was worried about being unable to perform to her fullest in a support role without Dust, since it is such a large part of her style. At the moment, the fic is taking place before the Prologue. In a couple more chapters, we will be caught up to the Prologue. I understand that I may not convey some parts clearly – please let me know if something is not clear. I will try to update the chapters to convey ideas more clearly. I will most likely go back and try to clear up anything that I feel might be confusing.

UPDATE 8/2/2016: Hopefully, this story is flowing a lot more easily this time around and there is less confusion.

"What does she mean by 'she's scared'?" The puzzled girl in white asked. Nora looked hesitant and Ren placed an arm on her shoulder to console her. He took a deep breath and sighed, as the teams focused their attention on them.

"You've never seen Ruby and Yang fight seriously or as partners, have you?"

"We run team training all the time," Blake offered.

"Er, no," Ren averted his eyes from the monochrome part of Team RWBY. "I mean… without the two of you." There was an awkward silence and the two couldn't help but feel insulted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss spat. The normally quiet boy put his hands up in defense.

"No, I mean, you've never heard of them previously to Beacon? They've never sparred in front of you one-on-one either?"

"No offense, Ren, but they've never sparred in front of us either and I've never heard of them. How did you?" Jaune cut in. Everyone looked at Ren and he sighed once more.

"Well, I guess it doesn't hurt." He looked at Nora for moment and considered his approach. "You see, Nora and I are orphans. We lost our parents very young and wound up in a bad… situation... We were saved by these two mercenaries – "

"Reaper and Scylla!" Nora quickly added, having regained a bit of her normal self. She crossed her arms and 'hmphed'. "Two hunters!"

"Yes," Ren said slightly annoyed. "Reaper and Scylla… And they weren't hunters. No way they could have been licensed at their ages back then."

"We don't even know how old they are, Ren! Duh! We've never even seen their faces!"

"…They took us into their group and they brought us to an orphanage that treated us very well and gave us everything we needed to get to where we are. The orphanage is sort of a Hunter's Hall and a lot of the orphans try to help out from shear gratefulness. We had our first run-in with them there. Ruby and Yang hadn't debuted in local competitions yet, but a lot of the kid's would go out to support Reaper and Scylla's matches."

"Total butt-kickers!" Nora proclaimed, before whispering. "Just don't tell Ruby and Yang I said that. Huge rivalry!"

"Ruby and Yang are also orphans?" Pyrrha's expression became sorrowful.

"No, their family helped out a lot though. Their dad and uncle helped out as consults for the Hunter's Hall and they all volunteered to help with the kids, but I don't think they were actually members," Ren replied. This seemed to raise a question out of Blake.

"So, if they were always around other children, why is always Ruby so awkward around people?"

"Ruby was rarely around us. We saw both of them, but we never really talked much. I know I saw Yang the most – we talked a couple of times, but really only during the Head Start Program." Nora mused out loud. "Yang helped her dad teach kids some basic defense stuff and like PE stuff! That's how Ren and I learned Aura Control!"

"Ruby tended to help her uncle with weapon repairs. I guess he planned for them to go to Signal, so he gave them a head start on weapon builds," Ren decided to answer the actual question. "Ruby was almost obsessed with machines. Unless you were an adult, she rarely ever responded. I think a few times I heard that she had been offered a future position with the Hunter's Hall – probably in regard to Weapon and Auxiliary maintenance. The last time we saw her, she had two personal projects she was working on – one looked like the beginning stages of Crescent Rose. The other looked like some sort of gauntlet, but Yang swears she built Ember Celica herself, so that can't be it. It didn't look like it was meant to be a weapon either… but Ruby just loved working on projects more than interacting with other kids."

"So, what does this have to do with Ruby and Yang's ability to fight without us around?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Do you want the short version or the long version?" Ren asked blandly.

"Short," Weiss barked… and that was when Nora barreled in.

"They're really good!" She shouted as she flailed her arms around, causing everyone to jump.

"Hold on a second… Weren't you just afraid of them?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Only for Cardin's safety, captain!" Nora winked as she saluted her leader, with her tongue sticking out. Ren closed his eyes as if to pretend she wasn't doing something ridiculous again.

"If they're so good, then they wouldn't be in any classes with us and we definitely wouldn't have lost." Weiss' expression was highly unamused.

"I've thought about that a lot recently and I've noticed something in regard to that, but I thought it had to do with Blake and Weiss," Ren spoke to the group. "But Ruby and Yang's individual styles of fighting have been altered drastically since entering Beacon. I thought for sure that these next four years would be in for something spectacular with the announcement of Ruby being offered a full-ride to Beacon. That alone should say something toward Ruby's ability. I'm just surprised they overlooked her disability."

"Disability?" The other four all asked in unison.

"I don't have all the details, but I distinctly remember being told that something about Ruby's physical condition rendered her unfit to become a Huntress. It was something that would be detected easily during both a physical and an Aural exam, but I haven't noticed anything."

"Ren, if there's something wrong with Ruby, we need to know," Blake pushed.

"You would have to ask them more about it. If I knew, I would tell you."

"Well, the only disability Ruby seems to have is working with others! I refuse to believe she's that good, especially after she froze in the arena!"

"Well, you don't have to believe me, Weiss," Nora shrugged. "But I was happy about our matchups because they got split up earlier – not because we were paired against Team RWBY. Those two are ridiculous when paired together – like gas and fire! I'm like totally sure they're just pretending to be bad," Nora winked. "Don't believe me, just watch for yourselves." Nora turned to the arena. "BREAK THEIR LEGS!" At this time, Pyrrha felt that something didn't quite sit well.

"They both feel different now." Weiss and Blake's eyes eased up. For Pyrrha to be making it a point to say something, it must have been a concern. "Not just that they're angry or determined. Their auras feel different from before – like they're not the same people. So much sadness… darkness." She turned to Jaune. "Do you feel it?"

"No," he gulped. "I can see it." Large waves of a red and yellow haze emanated from the two girls.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha cocked her head. "There's nothing there." He shot around to look at her.

"Oh, come on! You can't all not see that!" He threw a hand out in the arena's direction.

"There's nothing there, Jaune," Blake said. Dismayed, Jaune looked on at the growing miasma that leaked from them; the red one twisting its way around Crescent Rose. With a ding, the Aura Meter signaled the match.

ooOOoo

"Hey, Cardin, you think they'll cry?" Russell grinned toward the sisters. "Maybe, we should take it easy on them?" The two boys snickered at them.

"Nah, we gotta' show them their places!" He brought a fist up and shot a thumb down. "Beneath us!"

"Sounds good, boss!" Russell straightened himself up into as much of a macho posture as he could manage, though it was effectively reversed standing next to Cardin.

"So, look Russ, I want you to lure the dumb one in and I'll knock her out, then we'll deal with the blonde." Russell nodded in affirmation and looked at the two sisters again. They appeared to exchange a few words, though there didn't seem to be enough to form any sort of tactics. "Uh, I think they're winging it again."

"Really? Again? I guess they didn't actually learn anything!" An arrogant laugh escaped Cardin and he focused his sights on them. "Well, whatever. This will be easy."

ooOOoo

"Yang." The blonde focused her eyes on her black-and-red clad sister and grimaced. Without the cape, she really looked like a different person. "Did you have trouble activating earlier?" Silence was the only answer Ruby received. "I forgot your Arti Charge. Sorry, I've been paying so-"

"Much attention to Weiss?" Yang snapped. She deserved that. Clearly, her sister had already been upset previous to Cardin's jeering. He had just been the icing on the cake. Figuring it would be best to deal with the issue later, Ruby moved on to the planning stage.

"Yeah, we'll talk about that later. For now, you know what to do." In response, Yang rolled her eyes. As if Ruby needed to tell her – only show off a little. Miss Goodwitch would probably have a cow if they went all out. They didn't want to kill the idiots in CRDL – just give them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.

"Right, I got you." A warping sound drew their attention to the Aura Meter, as it measured their auras and began to fill their respective gauges. Figuring she should get started, Ruby deployed Crescent Rose and started to focus her aura. Red petals flurried out to her left from her arm, dancing excitedly in the air before swaying as they made their way to the floor. Red eyes basked in the storm of petals and Yang reached up to lightly grasp a single petal. Placing it between her teeth she clamped down, holding it in place. As the Aura Meter completed its loading procedure, flames of gold engulfed Yang and the signal to start hummed. The show of flames, followed by a hungry grin spreading across Yang's face, ebbed away at Russell's spunk and Cardin became aggravated with his partner's lack of guts.

"Dude, just bait the annoying one! The flames are for show – she always does this." With that reminder, Russell became somewhat relieved and drew his daggers. Maybe he'd try some sort of feint and some stunts to reel her in. Ruby Rose was known for both her speed and gullibility, but her ability to process a situation rivaled her speed – not to mention her combat tactics were usually borderline insane. Without proper planning though, she was pretty much useless and that showed in her earlier match, so he would stay wary of the older sister, for now. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself, before refocusing on them. He took a few steps forward before every hair on his body stood and his muscles clammed up.

Basic instincts alerted the body to possible danger and hunters were trained to pay special awareness to their bodies. Right now, his body was processing this unshakeable feeling that some serious shit was about to go down. Reassessing the situation, he noticed Yang's fire licked at her surroundings and scorched everything in its path, except for Ruby. Alarmed, he looked at the meter for reassurance that the flames were indeed harmless and became unnerved by what he saw.

"Cardin, what's going on with them?! I thought you said it couldn't hurt!" Confused, Cardin looked at the board. Nothing was wrong with Russell, but the Aura Meters on their challengers' side dropped a percentage with each passing moment. If it had just been Ruby's, that might have been understandable, but the flames waned away at its owner's aura, too … yet, both girls remained equally unphased.

On the sisters' side, Yang opted for a more supportive role. She took a few steps in Ruby's direction, remaining behind her capeless compadre, and the flames raged once more. Ruby's mother… no… Their mother… even if they shared no blood, Ruby's mom raised Yang as her own… How dare they threaten what little Summer had left behind! Yang reached out toward Ruby and placed her right hand on the shoulder that yielded the haze of petals. With another burst, the petals spread across the arena, creating an infernal storm of molten rain.

As if to pull the same stunt as her earlier match, Ruby dashed forward and Russell prepared to intercept. As she neared, Ruby changed things up and lunged forward. Thinking quickly, Russell ducked out of the way, letting Ruby plow straight into Cardin's incoming mace. Responding with her own set of evasive tactics, Ruby slammed Crescent Rose's blade into the ground, allowing her to vault herself over him. Hands now devoid of her scythe's presence, Ruby grasped Cardin's shoulder with her left hand and snaked her way below him, using her right to cushion her landing. Puzzled, Cardin searched for the flexible girl, finding her sprawled out on the ground and he immediately slammed his mace down.

In that moment, the girl virtually disappeared in a flurry of petals. With a sound similar to a glass breaking, the red hue of the petals shattered into a haze that covered the arena and revealed white petals. A tap from behind caused Cardin to swing into another flurry, missing his intended target. Another set of searing petals fell from above, igniting the most recent additions to the petal collection, and Cardin became irritated as the smoldering blossoms mocked him. Letting it get the best of him, he blindly swung at Ruby, connecting instead with Russell's face and launching him straight at Yang.

Amidst the commotion, Yang rushed toward their now-separated opponents, armed Ember Celica, and intercepted Russell. As the gauntlets deployed, she threw a right hook and effectively caved his face in on itself and sent him flying into Cardin. As Russell collided with his partner, the incoming force was enough to take Cardin with him. After a moment, Cardin realized they were no longer moving forward, nor had they collided with the ground. In fact, they were hovering above the ground. It was then that he registered the blade of Crescent Rose beside his face, with the pole-arm bearing their weight… Ruby had caught them.

In as short a time as it took to interpret what had occurred, Ruby virtually teleported with Cardin and Russell in tow... arriving next to the blonde… who grinned at them with eyes full of mischief. With a shake of the scythe, the two oafs fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Cardin rolled onto his back and immediately wished he hadn't. He was greeted with the sight of a cyclone of flaming petals rushing toward them, trapped in the current Ruby's speed had created. Well, on the bright side, at least they'd all be roasted toge- oh come on! Seriously?!

As the conflagration hit them, Yang completely absorbed the concoction of flames and petals into her aura and a golden glow brilliantly outlined her voluptuous frame. Resting her arms on her hips, Yang's grin widened and she disarmed Ember Celica. Flames began to pool around Yang's feet, lighting the ground beneath all of them and she leaned back and cocked her right arm back all the way to the ground, preparing the necessary force for this next move. The source of heat energy beneath the ground lurched at her hand, attaching itself as it offered a small resistance that tugged her fist toward the ground. In the mean time, Ruby planted Crescent Rose into the ground, then perched herself atop the sickle.

With everything now prepared, Yang launched a rocket-force punch toward the heavens, creating an updraft of flames that carried Ruby and the two meatheads with it. Flames licked at them from all sides, melting away their auras, but Ruby grinned through the ordeal. Driven by sheer force, the flames collided with the arena's roof, smothering them.

Reaching the maximum height, Russell's eyes were drawn to Ruby's and they widened in horror. The small girl grinned wickedly and his blood ran cold. His chest hollowed as she rolled in the air to prepare the trip down. The slaughter wasn't over yet. Who the fuck was she?! These weren't the semblance iconic to the sisters, nor were these the happy girls they tortured for fun. These were just a taste of the monsters truly buried beneath their skin and it was clear this was only a taste of what they could do. In a flurry of more petals, Ruby vanished and the downdraft that trailed behind her sent them barreling back to their own demises. Ruby reappeared atop Crescent Rose, eyes closed, and perfectly balanced as she awaited their landing. In that moment, the flames cleared and the petals returned to their former red hue. It truly looked as if the ground was soaking itself in blood, but they were simply just petals. It was a horrifying sight.

Having taken heavy damage to their auras, the impact knocked Russell out at just under 30%, with Cardin holding on at 31%. Barely able to move, his foot twitched and he tried to push himself upward but collapsed again. Noticing the remaining percentage, Yang casually walked his way, while humming a tune.

"Yang…" Prominent silver eyes piercing through her bangs, Ruby peered down at her sister as she called her name sternly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." She paused in front of the downed captain and defiantly returned Ruby's gaze. Petal still clinched in her teeth, she flashed a goofy smile before proceeding to tap his foot with her own, just hard enough to take down the last percentage. The blonde wrapped her arms behind her head and waltzed toward the exit, pausing briefly as she passed Miss Goodwitch. "They might need some help." Behind Yang, Ruby hopped off of Crescent Rose, collapsing it and approaching the more agile member of their opponents.

That seemed a bit unnecessary.

Coming from something that wants me to use unnecessary power?

I would rather our existence be made known under more… spectacular circumstances.

I despise you.

Such is your curse.

Unsure of where he was, Russell opened his eyes to look at the top of the arena. That's right. He'd just been in a match… but with who? Groggily, he tried to push himself up, but had a hard. He lifted his head and tried to look down his feet to make sure he was still alive. His vision was blurred, but a dark silhouette approached him, filling itself out vivid accents of red as it drew closer… Who?... Silver… His eyes widened and his breath quickened as he clambered backwards across the floor, but she only walked a little faster.

"St- stay away!" The figure hesitated for moment, considering his request, but it decided against it. Russell found his back against the arena's aura structured wall and he prayed for forgiveness. They had done horrible things to people in the past, but he never truly meant any of them. He was just doing what his leader did. They were all afraid of him. He didn't know that cape was so important to them! The figure leaned down and Russell was sure it was the end.

"Miss Rose! That is enough!" The figure ignored their instructor, remaining focused on Russell and the haziness began to clear from his vision. Instead of some horrifying figure, he could make out concerned silver eyes and a hand offered to him. He looked to her hand and then back at her to wonder to himself if any of this had been real. It must have, otherwise Glynda's voice wouldn't have carried so much concern. Regardless, he took her hand in hopes she would understand he regretted his actions.

"If you're truly sorry, Russell, you should stand up for yourself. You should also make an effort earn forgiveness." He gave her a confused look. Had she read his mind? Ruby suddenly blushed and rubbed the back of her head as she helped him up. "Oh, uh, you were talking out loud. I think you have a concussion." He grunted a dazed response and his eyes traveled to Miss Goodwitch as she hurried to check on him.

"I'll be needing to speak with the two of you later." The huntress glared at Ruby as she passed by and Ruby trotted over to Yang, bashfully walking out and bickering with Yang.

"Seriously though, you could show off less!" Ruby nagged as they got back to their desk area.

"Oh, I could show off less? Well, excuse me for manipulating air currents and amping myself up to previously impossible speeds… Oh wait, that was you!" The blonde was riddled with sarcasm. Yang eyed Ruby's cape before grabbing it and handing it at her. "You don't look right without it… and tactically, it would have been better." Ruby gave her a confused look that begged her to elaborate. "What?! You make more petals. More petals equal better fire!" Yang shouted excitedly toward the end, earning a facepalm from the younger one.

"I was raised by an arsonist… That must be what's wrong with me!"

"Hey! That hurts!" Yang smacked her in the arm and Ruby stuck her tongue out in response. "I prefer 'Flame Philanthropist', thank you!"

"Whatever," Ruby laughed through the word, before snatching the petal out of her mouth and letting it deteriorate. "And give me that! You don't need it, anymore!" The laughter continued but died out when she felt six pairs of eyes staring holes into them. The crimson and coal huntress-to-be began to sweat as it now dawned on her that she would have to explain so much. Slowly, she turned her head to meet the many eyes of their friends and she froze. Ruby looped herself around Yang and hid behind her. "Yang… pressure… help!"

"Relax, I got this!" The golden girl shifted her weight onto the table and drummed her fingers. "Well, wasn't that an explosive match!" Silence…. Well, I tried! "Well, you're on your own!"

"Yaaang!"

"Ruby, what the hell was that?!" And like that, the heiress initiated the barrage of questions. "You couldn't have tried that hard earlier?!" So many questions flooded the heiress, fueling her frustration. It just didn't make any sense. How was it that, as Ruby's partner, she was unable to achieve results anywhere close to their demonstration? It was impossible for them to be so far ahead… Every student had to take a placement test before they were even allowed to attend Beacon – regardless of talent. Afterward, students were either assigned to the Emerald Forest Challenge or special placement among similarly skilled peers was granted to the exceptional ones, with both clearly falling into the latter category.

"I think it was us winning," Ruby's brow furrowed causing Weiss to grit her teeth. The crimson girl took notice of her assigned partner's irritation. "CRDL started crap with us and we finished it. I don't really know what else you want me to say, Weiss. At least, we stood up for Team RWBY."

"Well, if everything went the way we all wanted, then maybe you could have gotten the right partner." Weiss said sarcastically.

"What're you trying to say, Schnee?" Yang stepped in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Guys, let's calm down," Jaune tried to play the peacekeeper.

"Stay out of this, Jaune." Yang glared at him and he backed down. "Seriously, what're you trying to say?"

"Things aren't going right, so you just traded out for who you could show off the best with? Is this all a joke to you?" The heiress failed at finding the right words and lashed out. Ah, so that was it. Having figured out the problem,Ruby smiled warmly. "Oh! And now this is funny to you?! Blake and I are trying to make the best out of our abilities with our given situations! We're not here for games!" Insulted, Yang took a step forward, stopping when Ruby held up a hand to halt her.

"Stop, Yang."

"Oh, what a surprise! You take her side! This is bull-"

"I said, 'Stop', Yang… Calm down… Too much adrenaline…" Ruby became quieter as she finished speaking. The blonde pouted and collapsed hard into her seat, keeping an annoyed glare trained on Weiss. She'd be damned if she let Weiss keep hounding Ruby. "It's not like that, Weiss. It's not a game… It's just, enough is enough. They won't bother us anymore, now."

"Ugh!" Weiss let out a scream of frustration. "That's not the point!"

"Then say it." It was like Ruby knew what Weiss wanted to say. Why was she being so difficult!

"I… just… it's…" Words failed her once more and the heiress struggled with expressing herself. The dismissal bell rang and she slammed her hands on the desk. "Forget it!" She stormed out of the classroom with haste. "You obviously don't need me, so I don't need you."

"What's eating her?" Yang off-handedly commented, earning a scoff from Blake.

"You don't get it? You really don't get what you two did?" Yang gave her an alarmed look that said that she genuinely didn't understand what was so bad about it.

"I take it 'No' is the wrong answer, but it's the only one I have?" Blake gave an aggravated sigh and began her explanation.

"Sure, Cardin started it. Yeah, he needed to be put in his place by someone… but what you two did… I understand why… but I feel the same as Weiss." Blake clenched her fists together. "Ruby was moved up a couple years, so she's already ahead. She's a prodigy – it's expected - but you're the same age as us, Yang." Blake gritted her teeth. "I understand you've lived your whole lives together, but to us, we all just met… According to student guidelines, the entrance exam is supposed to place us amongst peers of similar skill level, but that was clearly beyond ours. It stings a lot that my partner is ridiculously more efficient with a member of my team other than myself - that I can't achieve even similar results. It says that I'm the one holding her back…" Blake paused and gathered herself. "That I'm disposable…" The two sisters took a moment to consider Blake's words before Ruby started to walk toward the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yang jumped up.

"…To find Weiss…"

"I'll go wi-"

"I'd rather do this on my own," Ruby scratched the back of her head. "It's probably best if we don't partner up for a while… That's kinda' why we're here, right?" Ruby left the room and Yang crossed her arms in thought. As Blake passed her, Yang reached out and touched her fingertips to Blake's arm.

"Walk with me."

AN: Woo, development next chapter. The Partners arc is pretty much being done to establish the relationships Ruby and Yang have with different people and offer a small portion of insight into their characters for this fic. Things I would like people to assume: Yang and Ruby are the only ones aware of Blake's faunus nature, but Ruby is the only one who has mentioned it to Blake. No one else knows. RWBY has been together for roughly two months and Ruby/Yang have been doing just enough to keep up appearances. The rose petal that Yang put in her mouth is important. No, Ruby does not have a split personality, but there will be an explanation for what seems like it. The orphanage Ren and Nora mention is located in Patch and is funded by the Patch Hunter's Hall. Ruby and Yang's Aura Meter decreasing will be important later. It is not a glitch. Later on, Ruby and Yang are going to seem unnecessarily OP, but it comes with major drawbacks. Also, "Arti" is one of the new mechanics I mentioned earlier. Um, Yang REALLY hates the Schnee family – not particularly Weiss. She just assumes her to be a "typical Schnee" and Yang has trouble adjusting to the fact that Ruby does not believe Weiss to be the same.