Chapter 3: The Shinning Beacon
The several Airships carrying students dock at the entrance of the school. As soon as the first one lands, the blonde haired boy comes running out and goes over to a nearby trash can, hunching over it as he loses his lunch.
Hero and Oliver, alongside several other students, walk out of the ship and head down the paved path to the front of the school.
The two look at the school up close and are in awe."Wow..."
"This place is amazing!" Oliver said impressed. While Hero looks around at all the students there." This is it Hero, The First day of the rest of our lives!"
"Yeah!" Hero agreed." i just hope we can do this."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... I never went to any of the combat schools. And i was accepted... Because of this." He nodded to the sword.
Oliver playfully ruffles Hero's spikey hair." You just need to have some faith in yourself! And be the best!"
"Your right, Oliver! I have to show everyone that i can be more than just the boy who pulled out The Fallen King Sword."
"Yeah!... Well I'll see you later on!" Oliver said in a hurry.
"Huh!? Where are you going!?" Hero asked in a panic.
"I'm gonna go look around! Get familiar with this place!" Oliver slowly moved away.
"But where am I supposed go!? I have no idea where," Hero checks the schedule." I don't where the main hall is!?
"Don't worry. Just follow all the students that are going in the same direction!"
"Oh...! Your going to pick up girls, are you?"
"Uh... See ya later!" Oliver quickly ran off. Leaving Hero in the dust.
"... See ya." Hero looked around." What am I supposed to do?"
Behind him, two girls were getting a good look at Beacon.
"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" The older one said. The younger girl saw all the student's with different weapons and started fangirling.
"Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" She tries getting closer, but her sister pulls her back by her hood."Ow,Ooww!"
"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!"
"Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"
"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"
The younger sister suddenly pulled out her weapon: A scythe." Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."
The older sibling playfully pushes her sister's hood down." Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"
Ruby takes off her hood." But... why would I need friends if I have you Yang?
"Well..." In a flash, a group of other students surround Yang." Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. Kay, c'ya, bye." They all dash down the road. Leaving Ruby spinning and dizzy from their pace. They even pass by Hero leaving him dizzy as well.
"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms?" Stopping for a moment, still reeling." I don't know what i'm doing..."
Ruby falls backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying. Someone is standing over her." What are you doing!?"
This got Hero's attention. He turns around and see's the situation.
"Uh sorry!" Ruby quickly tried to apologize.
"Sorry!? Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused!?"
Hero picked up one of the cases. He walks over to them." Uh... excuse me ma'am?"
"What!?" She angrily turned to Hero and saw the case." Give me that!" She snatches it away from him.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take it!" Hero tried to explain.
"Do you even know what's in here!?" The girl yelled at Hero.
"N-No ma'am!"
She opens the luggage and reveals its contents" This is Dust!- Mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"
Now both Hero and Ruby were confused.
"What are you, brain-dead?" She pulled out a vial of red Dust and shut the case." Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" She said this while shacking the vile, some of it's dust get's into Ruby's face.
"I... I know..." Ruby starts coughing from the dust pouring into her face.
"Are you listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What have you got to say yourself?!"
Ruby, who had been receiving more and more Dust to her face, finally sneeze, which erupts into a full-blown explosion of flames, snowflakes, and electricity right onto the girl and Hero. The bottle she had been holding flies over to the courtyard and is caught by a young man, with blond hair and aqua-blue eyes. He wore a white half-buttuned long jacket, with blue outlines, and long black. His arms were wrapped up in bandages. The young man notices the Schnee Dust Company logo" What the?" He looks over and see's what happening." Oh no, not again..." He finishes putting together all the luggage and walks over to them. Both Hero and the girl are covered in soot though it quickly disappears.
"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing i was talking about!" The girl yelled.
"I'm really sorry!" Ruby tried to apologize. Hero was still in a daze.
"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"
Hero got out of his daze and looked at Ruby.'Now that she says it... She does look a little younger than me... about one year... i mean i'm only 15 years old. I guess she's just like me...'
"Well...I-I..." Ruby tries to explain herself.
"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... Watch where you're going!"
Ruby finally lost her patience." Hey, i said i was sorry princess!"
"It's heiress actually." The three look over to see the young man approach them with the bottle." Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
"Finally! Some recognition! Weiss said smiling smugly.
"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor forces and questionable business partners. And miss Schnee could do better than all of them, if she doesn't act like a spoiled child all the time." He said calmly.
Weiss got angry again as Ruby chuckles and Hero looks in panic." Wha-How dare you-The nerve of...Ilivane!" She get's up in his face and takes the bottle from him." Hurry up and get the rest of my luggage before i have you fired!"
"It'll only prove my point, Lady Schnee." He said, still with a smile on his face.
"Ugh!" Weiss walks off in a huff as Ilivane and a few helpers gather the luggage. Ilivane, while picking up the luggage, then see's Caliburn on Hero's back and his eyes open with shock.
"Is that... The Fallen King's Sword?" He asked Hero.
"Oh... uh yes it is." Hero said reluctant.
"I see..."
Ruby goes after the storming Weiss, still sorry." I promise i'll make this up to you!"
"Oh don't mind her. She always throws a fit." Ilivane said to the two." Well i must be on my way, before she throws another tantrum." He takes one last look at Hero and smiled." Good luck... I hope we meet again." He walks away with the luggage.
"Hmm..." Hero was now confused." As of right now, Beacon is a strange place..." He then see's Ruby collapse on to the ground on her back. He runs over to her." Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Was all she said.
"... First day?"
"Yeah..."
"Me too." He holds out his hand." Hello, my name is Hero."
Ruby slowly takes his hand," Ruby."
Hero helps her up." Looks like we've both had a rough first day."
"That's true." Then the two saw a trash can roll over to them. There was also someone inside it.
"Uh...Is anyone out there!? Please help me!" The person inside said. Hero walked over and helped em' out. It was the same blonde hair boy who threw up on the airship."...T-Thanks..." Hero helped him up.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I just need a moment to rest." He said." I'm Jaune, by the way."
"Hello Jaune. I'm Hero." He then pointed to Ruby." And this is Ruby."
Ruby looked at him closely." Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"
(Inside the walls of Beacon.)
Beacon inside the walls are filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, which Hero, Ruby and Jaune are walking down.
"All i'm saying is that motion sickness is much more common problem than people let on!"
"Look, i'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby said laughing.
"Oh yeah? What if i called you Crater Face?"
"Hey, that explosion was an accident."
"Hehehe..." Hero chuckled listening to their talk.
"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue-ladies love it!" Jaune declared.
"Do they?" Hero asked.
"They will! Well i-i hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind."
Ruby giggles. Then there was an awkward silence between the three."So... I got this thing!" She pulls out Crescent Rose and stabs it into the ground.
"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked jumping up. Even Hero is also surprised, but then get's a sense of Deja Vu.
"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"
Both Hero and Jaune look at her in confusion.
Ruby cocks it, smiling." It's also a gun."
"Oh. That's cool!"
'Her scythe reminds me of Master Qrow's scythe... but... a prototype version..'
"So what do you guys got?" Ruby asked Jaune and Hero.
Hero pulls out Caliburn." I have this sword... It's also a sword." He then pulled out the rod he used earlier." And i also have a customizable grappling rod!"
"... Huh?"
"It can turn into a fishing rod."
"Oh!" Ruby jumped up." That was you!"
"Huh?"
"You were the kid that everyone said: used some kind of grappling hook thingy to catch on to the ship. That was you!"
"Oh..."
"I think their calling you Grappling Kid."
"Hehehe...(It's only been one day, and i already have a name for myself.)" Hero thought sadly.
"Oh! I uh..." He unsheathes a blade." I got a sword as well." He get's his scabbard, raises his arm and expands the metal into his defense." And I've got a shield, too!"
"Oooohh!" Both Hero and Ruby looked in awe.
"So, what do they do?" Ruby touches the shield. Causing Jaune to fumble with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt." The shield gets smaller, so when i get tired of carrying, i can just... put it...away."
"But, wouldn't it weigh the same?" Hero asked.
"...Yeah it does..."
Ruby giggled." Well, i'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so i guess i did go a little overboard when designing it."
"So, you made your weapon?" Hero asked.
"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! What about you guys?"
"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great grandfather used it to fight in the war." Jaune answered. They both look at Hero.
"I... Pulled mines out of a stone." Hero said shamefully.
"You... didn't make it?" Ruby asked, confused
"No... I found it."
"That's... Cool!" Ruby cheered.
"Really?"
"Yeah! I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."
"Yeah... The classics.." Hero put the sword away." All I really want is to get along with others..."
"Hey, you will, trust me." Jaune said." It's like what my mom always says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."
"Hmm." Ruby looks around." Hey, where are we going?"
Jaune looked around as well." Oh!, I don't know! I was following you guys. Y-You think there might be directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... is that a no?"
Hero laughs." That's a no."
And that's another chapter!
Not much to say on this chapter, Hero meet Ruby, Weiss, Ilivane, and Jaune. He befriended Ruby and Jaune, may have an ally in Ilivane, and Weiss may not like him. But hey, only the future can tell where this will all lead.
Comment below and let me know what you think. Until then...Keep moving forward!
