Chapter 9 : An honest soul

Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "Dust."

Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.

The people had enjoyed a millennium of peace and prosperity, throughout oppression, destruction and war. However, one fateful day it everything changed when the entire world, Remnant, merged with another world called…

Earth.

When the Four Kingdoms appeared in the Earth's great seas, the people of Remnant saw Earth and believed it at first to be a paradise, untouched by the darkness.

But unbeknownst to the people of Remnant, Earth was already plagued by the bloodshed of conflicts and corruption made by mankind itself. The darkness made its move and sought to destroy the civilization built by the people of Earth.

But once the Earth recognized the Grimm's incursion, they moved in, leading the entirety of mankind, with over a hundred nations unified under a single banner. The creatures of darkness had underestimated Earth, with their near endless amount of resources feeding their armies, war machines to keep the darkness at bay, and their strategies, learned from their history of bloodshed. The tide turned against the Grimm. Mankind won the war at a large cost, and peace came once again in a newborn era.

In the urban areas of San Francisco, a masked man in a black tuxedo wearing a top hat and carrying a cane walked through the empty streets in a gentlemanly way, followed by a group of armed biker thugs wearing helmets that completely covered their faces. The pedestrians gasped as they recognize the fancily-dressed man, who was the most wanted criminal since he managed to escape from Area 52. Now he headed into a local gun store.

But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return.

The Masked Tuxedo entered the stores as the bikers spread across the shop and inspected some weapons. One biker accompanied the Masked Tuxedo to the counter.

But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.

The Masked Tuxedo stood in front of the counter with his arms crossed. The store owner glared at him while reaching for the gun in his holster. However, he didn't stopped when he heard a gun being cocked, seeing another biker thug pointing his Smith & Wesson Magnum Revolver at him. The store owner grunted in defeat and raised both of his arms in the air.

"Are you trying to kill me with a mere pistol? I thought all of you knew that I was a huntsman." Keith smirked under his mask then scoffed. "At least you're lucky that you hadn't shot in the first place. Though today might be your last."

"Just get whatever you want and leave my store, now," the store owner growled as he gritted his teeth.

"Good! Good, that's more like it." He laughed as he patted the owner's shoulder. "Ya' hear that lads? Get everything our boss needs."

The biker thugs nodded, and began to grab weapons, tying them together with ropes and placing them in wooden boxes. They poured boxes of ammunitions and dust bullets from the shelves into bags. Calibers didn't matter to them, as they could waste no time before the police arrived. A person wearing a red cloak caught one of the one thug's eyes.

"Hey, raise your hands, this is a robbery!" he said loudly while raising his pistol. However, he didn't hear a response. "Hey! Kid, are you fucking deaf or what!?"

The thug walked up to the person and then grabbed their shoulder. The person turned around turning out to be a silver-eyed girl with a pale complexion and black hair with a red tint. The thug pointed his finger to his ear, and understanding what he meant she pulled off her headphones.

"Yes?"

"Raise your hands in her air, now," he said while pointing a Glock pistol at her. "I never knew kids came to this place late at night. But hey, do you have a purse with you?"

"Are you...robbing me?" she asked curiously.

"Well, of course. What do you think I am?"

"Ohh."

The Masked Tuxedo was leaning at the counter and examining the coins when he suddenly heard a scream. A biker flew through the air and hit the wall, knocking him out cold. Another biker headed straight towards the girl and aimed his shotgun.

"Hold it right there!"

Suddenly, the biker found himself flung through the glass window with the girl. The rest watched the scene while Keith examined the red cloaked girl. Her appearance was youthful, and underneath her cloak was an opened red sweater jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, a black miniskirt and a pair of black combat boots. Her expression turned determined as she grabbed her weapon from the back of her hips and twirled it into the air, transforming it into a scythe.

"Well..." Keith clasped his hands together, looking at his hired henchmen. "The hell are you waiting for boys? Kill her."

The thugs ran out of the store and pointed their firearms toward the girl. When they fired, the girl disappeared in a flash of red petals and reappeared right in front of them.

"Holy shi-!"

The thug in the center didn't finish his sentence as the girl impaled her scythe into the ground and twirled her body, kicking him in the chest making him fly backwards into the wall. The second thug used his shotgun as a bat, but ended up launched into the air by a scythe.

"Oh god!" a third thug yelled as he aimed his Uzi towards the girl.

"Uh oh." Her eyes went wide.

The girl zipped away from his view as the biker began to fire blindly. The young scythe-wielder dodged every bullet and then re-appeared in front of him, using her scythe in an uppercut that knocked him out cold.

The knocked-out biker landed nearby the Masked Tuxedo.

"A waste, but you were worth more than a dollar." He grunted as he rolled his eyes, stepping forwards to confront the scythe-wielding girl. "It was nice meeting you this late evening, little red riding hood, but unfortunately I must take my leave."

The criminal turned around and walked away from her. For a moment, the scythe-wielding girl stood dumbfounded but then she snapped out of it and swung her scythe at him with her semblance. But as her blade made contact with his body, he suddenly dissolved into white confetti.

"Huh? Where did he go?" The girl looked around, then found him standing on top of a building then ran off.

"Can I go after him?" she asked the store owner who left his shop, armed with a Winchester shotgun.

"Do it kid." He nodded.

The scythe-wielder propelled herself with her scythe and reached the top of the building where the criminal was standing.

"Stop it right there, mister!" she warned him with her scythe ready.

"How naive." He smirked under his mask.

Suddenly, there was a sound of engines from above. A single Bullhead flew through the building and stopped at the Masked Tuxedo's position. The hatch opened for him. He climbed up the bullhead and then grabbed a red dust crystal from his pocket.

"Today is your last day to see the light, Red Riding Hood!" he yelled.

He threw the crystal towards the girl and pointed his cane at it. A trigger mechanically popped out and he pressed it, firing a bullet of dust and lead as soon as the crystal landed, causing an explosion.

The criminal scoffed to himself and turned away from the scene, but then froze and looked back. The smoke dissipated to reveal a wall of light, which dissolved, showing a new challenger. The person was a brown-haired female cat faunus who wore a brown leather jacket, blue jeans, and light brown military boots.

She glared at the criminal and raised her hands, summoned arrows made of light, and struck the Bullhead multiple times in several mini-explosions.

"Oh dear." The criminal managed to maintain balance and head for the cockpit. "We got a Huntress."

The pilot, Cinder, went out of the cockpit as Keith took control. She went to the open entrance, leaving her identity obscured in the shadows. The brown Huntress stood her ground and summoned another hail of light arrows. However, Cinder summoned multiple fireballs to deflect them, and suddenly, the brown Huntress noticed something coming from the ground. She pulled the scythe-wielder aside while dodging the flames that erupted like geysers. The Huntress summoned dozens of levitating overly large swords and sent it against her mysterious opponent. However, Cinder deflected her attacks completely, shattering the swords into pieces in a blastwave of heat.

The duel ended as the Bullhead left, and the brown huntress looked towards the young scythe-wielder.

"You're a Huntress...?" she asked in glee. "Can I have your autograph?!"

San Francisco Police Department.

The scythe-wielding girl found herself looking down in embarrassment and shame as the Huntress yelled at her.

"You know it's extremely dangerous to chase down an S-Class criminal like him, young lady." She scolded. "You put yourself at risk and it would not be taken lightly."

"But they started it." the scythe-wielder explained.

"If it were up to me, I will be reporting this to your guardians and you would be sent home." The Huntress sighed. "But there is someone that wants to meet you."

The Huntress stood aside as a man in his thirties who wore formal clothing entered. He was carrying cookies and a glass of milk.

"Ruby Rose," he said. "Or shall I call you by your full name, Ruby Rose Xiao Long?"

"Um, my family refers to me only as Ruby Rose," she said.

"I see then." The man then placed the cookies on the table, and Ruby began to stuff her mouth full of them in a matter of seconds.

'You have silver eyes,' he thought. He took out holo-screen and showed her some footage. "So tell me, from where did you learn to do this?"

Ruby swallowed the cookie before responding, "T-Treasure Island Academy."

"They had taught you to fight with one of the most dangerous weapon that...you've ever designed?"He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's one teacher in particular."

"But those skills belong to a professional that no amateur can pull them off. The professional I know was once my teacher, none other than a drunken old Qrow."

"Oh, tzhatz muh unchle!" Ruby muffled with her mouth full, then swallowed, embarrassed. "Whoops, sorry, that's my Uncle Qrow. He's a teacher in Treasure Island Academy. I was a total garbage until he took me under his wing then soon afterwards I went Hwaaa-Wachaa!"

"I've noticed." Then he leaned in. "So tell me, what exactly is your goal in a school designed to train warriors?"

"I want to be a Huntress," Ruby responded. "And that's what I wanted to be."

"So you want to slay Grimm?" he asked.

"Yeah! I have two more years of training left in Treasure Island and then I'm going to apply to California Huntsman Academy!" Ruby began to talk faster with growing enthusiasm. "You see, my sister and my friends are staring this year, well one of them is the same age as me and skipped two years and applied to the school where they went... damn you Richard for leaving me alone."

She growled for a while with a clenched fist before continuing. "So as I was saying they're trying their best to become Huntsmen and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I want to help people. My dad and uncle taught us to help others, so I thought, hey, I might as well make a career out of it and see the world!" She giggled for a while and her mouth began to flip. "I mean police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are much more romantic, exciting and cool, gosh! You know?!"

There was a moment of silence until the man let out a small cough and asked.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ryan Johnson," she answered. "The Headmaster of the California Huntsman Academy and a Champion of the Vytal Festival in 2005."

"Hello." Ryan smiled.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted.

"Do you want to come to my school as a transfer student?" He asked. "Just like your friend that you've mentioned?"

"More than anything," she said.

The two adults exchanged glances. The brown Huntress gave out a stressed sigh and gave a disapproving look before Ryan looked back to Ruby.

"Absolutely, why not?"

Half an hour later had passed after Ruby had left the Police Station, Mina gave Ryan a dark glare.

"I can't believe that you allowed another child like her to transfer in our school, by skipping two years." she argued. "Just like that young man a week ago."

"But what if Ozpin says it's true." He explained. "Our enemies we don't know are prepared and Keith is out there, trying to snuff out everything until they find her."

The next day, airship en route to the Academy.

Ruby was suddenly tackled by her older sister Yang, causing her to need air.

"I can't believe that my little baby sister is going to the same Academy with me!" Then Yang began to hug her tighter. "This is the best day ever!"

"Yang... Please stop," Ruby wheezed. "Need... Air!"

Yang released her. "But I'm so proud of you!"

"Really sis, it felt like nothing," Ruby sighed.

"Ruby?" Suddenly a voice called out. "Is that you?"

Ruby turned around and saw an older brown-haired teen the same age as Yang. He wore an open blue sweat jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, brown cargo pants, a pair of brown combat boots, and a pair of fingerless gloves. He had a shield carried on his back, and on his right shoulder was his insignia, a white crest shield with wings and a blue star in the background.

"Oh hi Aiden!" Ruby greeted her older childhood friend and then spoke out proudly to him. "Surprise to see me?"

"Uh, yeah, but what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Ruby skipped two years because of the Headmaster and is coming to the same school as us!" Yang explained.

"Wait, no way?" Yang nodded to him. "Awesome, I bet everyone in the entire school will think that you're the bee's knees."

"HEY!" Ruby fumed. "I don't want to be the bee's knees, alright? I want to be a normal girl with normal knees... I just skipped two years and nothing feels special."

"But you are special, Rubes." Yang smiled as she patted her sister's shoulder.

"Say Aiden, is Richard around here?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, he's over there near the window." He pointed over to the corner and then realized what her plan was. "Don't tell me that you're going to give him a surprise huh?"

She didn't respond as she zipped past him at full speed. Going through other areas of the ship, Ruby looked left and right until she saw a certain black haired boy, who wore a close black sweat jacket, cargo jeans and a pair of sneakers. Behind his hip was a two-handed sword carried on a strap belt. His insignia, on his left shoulder, was a blue-colored sword and a white star in the background.

Ruby had found her target.

"RICHARD!" she screamed while flying at full speed, tackling him to the ground.

"Wh-What the-! RUBY?!" he said out loud in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I skipped two years and applied to the California Huntsman Academy through the headmaster." She smirked victoriously with her arms crossed, and then pointed her thumb at herself. "So that makes me a special one."

"Like someone who was the bee's knees, huh?" he asked curiously.

She facepalmed, gritted her teeth and sighed.

"But hey, we're both bee's knees," he said. "Just like your sister and Aiden say."

"I sometimes hate my sister," Ruby grunted.

As both of them stood up, a holo-television appeared on screen.

"This is CNN reporting!"

"The most wanted criminal, who escaped Prison Area 52, the Masked Tuxedo, real name Keith Morgan, has once again done an armed robbery in San Francisco. A local Gun store called the High Bridge Arms was robbed last night, however, a single Student from Treasure Island Academy managed to intercept the robbery, though he escaped in a Bullhead. Back to you Christiane."

Richard glanced at Ruby before glancing back to the news. The scene changed to a female news reporter, with a picture of injured Faunus being carried away by the ambulance crew and being protected by the riot police from a mob of angry Red Hand sympathizers.

"Thank you. In other news, yesterday, the Faunus and the leaders of the former White Fang members who celebrated their 17th Anniversary of Civil Rights in Vale were attacked by a mob of angry sympathizers of the Red Hand, who disrupted-"

Suddenly, the news feed was cut off and was exchanged by the same brown cat Faunus Huntress.

"Greetings and welcome to the California Huntsman Academy."

In the meantime, Aiden and Yang came along.

"Who's that?" the blonde brawler asked.

"My name is Mina Brown," the huntress said.

"Oh"

"Seriously Yang?" Aiden shuddered while the hologram continued her speech.

"You are among the privileged to receive the honor of attending this prestigious academy. The World we lived in is experiencing a time of troubles. As future huntsmen and huntresses, it is up to you to defend it. In order to uphold your duty, you will demonstrate the courage needed for such a task. Now, it is up to us to teach you the ways and give you the training to protect the people of our world."

As the hologram disappeared, several other students, including Ruby, Yang, Aiden and Richard walked over the large windows to see a view of their city.

"Wow, I can see Muir Beach from here," Yang said.

"Oh! I can even see Treasure Island from up here too!" Ruby added with glee.

However, their sightseeing was disrupted by a groan. They looked to their left side and saw a blonde male having motion sickness. Luckily he was being comforted by his two friends.

"Ren! Jaune forgot his pills!"

"Quick, grab a paper bag!"

"Searching!"

"Uuughh, Why does this happen to meee!"

The four friends from Muir Beach exchanged glances for a while.

"Well, this view ain't for everyone," Aiden stated.

As the ship sailed for the Academy, there was a splash, and they screamed.

"Ew Yang! There's something caught on your shoe!" Ruby yelped.

"Holy crud that's gross," Richard said.

"Hey, don't get that near me!" Aiden said.

Chapter 9 end.

Next Chapter: Chapter 10: The new school.