Stayed up until 7am finishing this, I only had the first quarter or so written out, so I hope you're all happy! Got Detective Pikachu as an early Easter present from my husband and totally forgot about writing ^^; Hope you all enjoy!


"And this," Qrow said in a very dramatic voice "is the Order of Beacon." Her eyes were wide in amazement at the pale gray three story building in front of her, a large clock tower gutting out the middle that towered over even the five story building not far off. Fire, lightning and rocks floated around it as though completely normal, ivy crawling up the walls of the building and into a few open windows while metal beams wiggled like they were dancing out front. Wild animals like deer and birds jumped/flew and weaved through courses that seem to have been built for them, several children nearby in groups of four with one adult each who seemed to be practicing their magic. The whole place looked more like something out of a storybook than reality to her.

"Woah..." Ruby breathed in amazement, they had walked passed a courtyard and down a pathway that was smoky gray with dark then pale grey on each side, lantern posts with no flames lining the path. Two separate sets of archways of almost white rocks and metal surrounded a circular lake the path seemed to have been built over, grass and a few trees on each side between the outer arches and lake. From the lake were arches of water like some sort of fancy fountain, passing through crystals of ice that hung in the air.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He agreed, sounding like it amazed him a little too. "12 years since I first got here, I even lived here for 4...and it still feels sorta unreal every time I see it." She nodded, still trying to take everything around her in.

"...The statues?" The redhead questioned, gesturing to the almost black statues of people along the front of the building.

"Powerful mages who were part of Beacon." The black haired man explained. "The most recent ones are beside the doorway." Neither of them point out the statue of a hooded woman with clothes like her on the left side of the door, features soft even if they were carved from stone. "Come on, Oz'll be wondering where I am."

"Ok!" The goggled girl grinned, following him through the doors as he pushed them open.

~FM~

"Hi Qrow." "Hello Qrow." "Welcome back Qrow." "Good to have you home Qrow." "Glad to see you weren't hurt Qrow." If the little girl thought everyone in the last village knowing her uncle was a little overwhelming this was downright uncomfortable, with each person the duo passed giving a greeting which he gave a simple wave in return to. She wondered, for a moment, why no one said anything about her... before remembering the man had admitted to bringing children here often. She pulled the hood further down her face, goggles visible but face covered by shadows from the sun streaming in the windows.

"Qrow!" He groaned while her head snapped to the childish voice, finding a girl with shoulder length bright orange hair flared up at the back a few feet down the hall. "It's about time!" The other little girl exclaimed, blue eyes narrow in annoyance.

"Go AWAY Nora." Qrow growled, a pout spreading across the new girl's face.

"Me and Renny worry 'bout you and the first thing you say is 'go away'?" A boy the goggled girl hadn't noticed until now stood silently beside the pouting child, black hair pinned up behind his head with a single streak of bright pink on the one side, pink eyes looking at her calmly. "How cruel!" 'Nora' suddenly exclaimed dramatically, hand even on her forehead and emphasizing the 'ue', causing the silver eyed one to jump slightly in surprise as her attention snapped back.

"Don't you have better things to do than botherin' me?" The red eyed man demanded harshly, glaring when the second girl grinned widely.

"Nope!" He released another groan, taking a long drink from his flask. "Renny's mentor is sick, so we have the day off."

"HE has the day off, not you." The black haired man corrected.

"We have the day off." The other girl repeated, causing another groan.

"Nora." 'Renny' had a slight accent, his voice somehow drawing the attention of his friend to the hooded girl.

"Wait...is this?" Blue eyes widened and excitement filled them, snapping to the man. "It is, isn't it?" She was bouncing on her toes like the black and redhaired girl whenever she was excited.

"It would seem." The boy agreed when her uncle didn't say anything.

"I'm Nora, this is Renny!" The grin got even bigger.

"Lie Ren. Call me Ren." The pink eyed child explained.

"O-oh...I'm-" Ruby began, almost immediately getting cut off.

"We-"

"Nora." The grin turned into a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. Go ahead." Silver eyes turned to look at her mentor, who looked irritated but nodded nonetheless.

"I'm Ruby Ro-"

"It is you!" She had a feeling the other cut people off a lot, which Daddy had said was rude...no one was scolding her though.

"Um... me?"

"You're S-"

"Nora!" The mage snapped, the orange haired girl stopped talking while his niece could only stare. He took a breath and another drink. "...Thought Oz'd tell you not to use her name so casually."

"Haha... he did." Nora admitted, giving an apologetic look. He gave her a sharp look. "Sorry."

"Look, I've gotta bring her to Oz-"

"We're coming too!" She insisted.

"Why would you-" Qrow cut himself off with a sigh. "Sure, come on. "

"Woohoo! Let's go Renny!" The boy nodded as the group started in the direction they had been headed earlier.

~FM~

The new mage had her ear talked off by the girl she had found out was older, almost everything she was saying was either too fast or stuff the younger didn't understand.

"How could you not teach her?!" Nora demanded of the man after he had said she didn't know what the other was talking about for the tenth or so time.

"We weren't going to try teaching her when she probably wouldn't even be a mage." Qrow explained with a sigh.

"But she is." The blue-eyed girl pointed out as they reached a large set of metal double doors.

"I know she is." The red eyed man stated as the door creaked and began opening on it's own. "But we didn't know she would be until her magic awoke."

"But she is." She repeated.

"I just...why am I trying to argue with you?" He questioned after a moment of thought, the open door revealing a woman with light blonde hair tied in a bun and robes of white and purple sitting at a desk with a wall of solid rock beside her.

"I don't know, but it seems pretty stupid." The orange haired child grinned when he groaned again, the woman looking them over.

"Hello Qrow, Miss Valkyrie, Mister Ren." The three gave their own greetings. "And who are you?" Looking up at her uncle for permission again got the redhead a nod, attention returning to the woman.

"R-Ruby Rose." Ruby murmured, seeing the woman's green eyes widen slightly behind her thin glasses.

"Qrow?" The woman asked simply.

"Yep." Her uncle responded. "So Glynda, mind opening the way for us?" The woman, 'Glynda' though she had a distinct feeling she wasn't supposed to call the adult that, nodded. Without even looking the blonde flicked what looked like a riding crop from the stable back home, golden pink-purple covering it, the rock wall glowing pink-purple before splitting and opening to reveal a platform like the one they used to get up the cliff and arrive at Beacon.

"I'll tell him you're on your way." The green-eyed woman informed, getting a nod.

"Thanks." The other adult gestured for the children to go onto the platform. "Go on Kiddo." He murmured when the youngest didn't move, gently guiding her onto the platform. The wall slams shut and small hands clung to his arm when she jumped, suddenly surrounded by darkness.

Trapped...I'm trapped... Panic shot through Ruby's body, heart hammering in her ears as her body began to tremble. Can't get out- She couldn't feel her uncle's clothing or arm anymore, couldn't feel her own clothing. Uncle Qrow! Uncle QROW! Desperately screaming in her mind, struggling to even breathe as tears gather and magic tries to find something to attach to. I don't wanna be alone- There is suddenly light, it's bright and hurts the goggle covered eyes but it's THERE.

"Ruby?" When did Nora get beside the younger girl? The older girl looked worried, hand on her arm. "It...it's ok. Right Renny?" The boy had made the light, a ball of pink flickering fire floating above his palm...he nodded, looking at the adult.

"May I?" Ren asked softly, a sigh sounding behind her.

"Normally I'd say no...but it seems like she needs it." Qrow responded softly. "You got enough control?"

"For a minute." The pink eyed boy assured, turning his attention to his friend. "Nora."

"Got it!" The orange haired girl grinned, pulling what looked like a toy hammer from her back. A breath and the head began to spark, like pink lightning, quickly enough to light the room better than the small flame. "Minute here Renny." He nodded, taking the two steps to stand before the youngest child.

"Just look at Ren's eyes Kiddo." The hooded girl did as told, the black haired boy's eyes beginning to glow the same pink as the fire earlier. The glow slowly turned a soft gray, her breathing and senses returning to normal...it was as though she had never panicked to begin with, fear faded away.

"Ngh!" The boy gasped in pain as he snapped his head to the side, his friend dropping her hammer to dart to his side and wrapping her arms around him to help keep him up. The hammer still let off pink lightning, though not as much as before. The ground below began to move, and it took the redhead a moment to realize it was the platform.

"Is... is he gonna be ok?" She asked quietly, getting a comforting smile from the other girl.

"Renny'll be ok! His magic just doesn't like to listen to him for long, so it gives him a bit of a headache." The little apprentice looked at him, getting a nod and soft smile when he looked up at her.

"So...you use storm magic?" A change of the topic might be nice.

"Lightning Dust!" The blue-eyed girl corrected with a grin as they continued to raise. "I'm a Utilizer, not mage."

"A...Utilizer?" The happy expression was immediately replaced with narrowed eyes at her 'mentor' and an angry childish hum.

"You didn't even teach her that?"

"If it upsets you so much then you can do it." He responded.

"I will!" The hammer user agreed, looking back at the other girl. "A Utilizer is-" The platform stopped, the wall behind them glowing green before opening the same as the one downstairs. Standing there was a grayhaired man with a cane, brown eyes covered by glasses and a soft smile in emerald green and black robes. The silver eyed girl's breath caught the moment she saw him.


You guys have no idea how HARD I tried to keep this chapter happy...I just couldn't do it. And I'm sorry, but Ruby has PTSD at this point...on a lighter note, I love Qrow just suddenly realizing arguing with Nora is pointless XD And Ren just needing to say Nora's name to get whatever response he wants is adorable. Also, I've always had the firm belief that Ruby and Nora would have become friends even if Jaune wasn't around, which I decided to incorporate into this because we know Ruby had friends at Signal before she went to Beacon. See you all soon.